Chief Minister and Police Minister Lia Finocchiaro has remained silent for three days on the Coroner’s findings from the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker, which found the NT Police exhibited the “hallmarks of institutional racism” and providing a series of recommendations for government and the police force, while the Opposition says Ms Finocchiaro has “failed to show leadership” during challenging times.
Following the previous Labor government’s move to arm public housing and bus safety officers with pepper spray last year, the current Finocchiaro CLP Government has moved to give them guns, as part of a plan to quickly train those officers and police auxiliary members as new “Police Public Safety Officers” to “target antisocial behaviour in public places”.
Nearly 800 letters demanding an independent investigation into the death of Kumanjayi White have been presented to NT Parliament, while the Chief Minister continues to reject the calls, stating this morning that she “can’t understand” why Indigenous Territorians do not trust the NT Police and claimed it is “a fantastic relationship”.
The Chief Minister’s $400,000-a-year chief of staff Alex Bruce publicly boasted last year that he wanted to see “some mongrels” cop pepper spray to the eyes and wanted to post it to social media, raising questions about how the CLP developed its “dangerous” policy to arm the public with OC spray, while the police association says it’s concerned its officers could also be injured.
What occurred at the Public Accounts Committee hearing on Tuesday should serve as the last indictment on the Northern Territory, and the latest reason for the Federal Government to take over management of our institutions. It’s also shown us how bureaucratic fat cats have weaponised the public service to benefit themselves at the expense of the public.
A two-hour hearing into the potential misuse of taxpayer money and other misconduct at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation has been quickly scheduled for Tuesday by a CLP-dominated parliamentary committee, following a referral from the Opposition last week, but the committee has yet to seek internal documents from the corporation as evidence to inform its investigation, the NT Independent understands.
Darwin Waterfront Corporation chair Patrick Bellot has offered confidential briefings to select elected officials about the Waterfront scandal, but has declined the NT Independent’s request to share his “briefing” with the public, amid concerns the information he has offered has not been independently verified and could be a breach of his duties under the Corporations Act.
UPDATED: Opposition Leader Selena Uibo last night referred “potential fraud and gross conflicts of interest” at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation involving the Chief Minister’s husband to Parliament’s public accounts committee, citing “serious allegations involving significant sums of public money”.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has defended hiring former low-level bureaucrat and one-time gas lobbyist Stuart Knowles as the Territory Coordinator, claiming on radio that he was hand-selected for the role without going through a public recruitment process because of his “vast experience” in the government and private industry and for his record of delivering “major projects”, but his work background suggests neither claim is accurate, the NT Independent can reveal.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has passed reforms to the NT Sacred Sites Act, with Opposition and crossbench MLAs accusing the government of amending the legislation to help their “mates build a hotel at the Darwin Waterfront”, while others have criticised the lack of consultation with traditional owners.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s claims that she was unaware of criminal animal abuse charges against Territory Coordinator Stuart Knowles before she appointed him have been seemingly contradicted by a May 2023 email sent to her from a whistleblower, detailing the animal abuse investigation cover-up and other alleged misconduct concerning current Mining and Energy CEO Alister Trier, who ordered the charges against Mr Knowles be dropped.
UPDATED: Treasurer Bill Yan has handed down the Finocchiaro CLP Government’s first budget this morning that will see more big spending and increased debt, with next year’s deficit alone estimated to be $1.31 billion and the Territory’s net debt projected to blow out from its current $10.5 billion figure to $14 billion within three years.
