Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has moved to change Freedom of Information laws to block correspondence between ministers and their staff ever being made public, which will effectively end a legal challenge seeking a former Territory Labor minister’s correspondence, in a move Ms Boothby claims is somehow “strengthening integrity”, while a national integrity expert says it removes a “cornerstone of accountability”.
UPDATED: NT Greens Member for Nightcliff Kat McNamara was referred on urgency to Parliament’s disciplinary body last night by the CLP Government for hosting a “casual information session” in her electorate office, that the CLP allege was a misuse of her taxpayer-funded office and part of a plot to recruit new Greens members.
While multiple unresolved integrity scandals hang over her head, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro introduced legislation to Parliament on Thursday to establish a new Ethics and Integrity Commission, which she said will “streamline integrity oversight”, but failed to seek any public input on the changes and chose not to refer the proposed bill to the Parliament’s scrutiny committee for bipartisan oversight.
Racing Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the beleaguered Racing and Wagering Commission’s alleged conflicts of interest with the industry it regulates – that formed the focus of a recent Four Corners investigation – by suggesting it would be “amazing” if she could take two crossbench MLAs to the racetrack and lay a couple bets down with them to “see what happens”.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s pick to run the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority went to university with the Chief Minister’s husband and remains close friends with him, the NT Independent can reveal, with the appointment made amid sweeping changes to the Sacred Sites Act and the government’s move to push through the proposed Darwin Waterfront hotel project despite traditional owners’ objections.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has refused to publicly release the official rules around the use of the taxpayer-funded white car chauffeur service while revealing on Monday that Education Minister Jo Hersey has now paid back taxpayers for misusing the service, which she previously refused to do, while also telling the public to have “confidence” that the secret rules are being followed.
A long-time public servant IT specialist, part-time musician and fishing enthusiast has been elected the CLP’s third president in two years at the party’s Central Council meeting over the weekend in Alice Springs, which comes amid party turmoil that saw its now outgoing president suddenly withdraw from seeking re-election at the last minute.
Education Minister Jo Hersey not only took a white car chauffeur service to Casuarina as she claimed on Monday, but also used the VIP car service to attend the casino, a Darwin Greek restaurant, a health clinic and the botanic gardens in a two-month span, newly reported government records revealed by ABC Darwin show, with the Minister now claiming all the trips were “work trips”.
Education Minister Jo Hersey has become the first CLP minister to admit using the taxpayer-funded white car chauffeur service for a personal trip, raising the prospect of other potential misuse by ministers, but claims she received advice from a body that has nothing to do with the car service that her personal trip to Casuarina was “within the guidelines”, even if “it doesn’t probably float with the public”.
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo was forced on Friday to admit to abusing the taxpayer-funded government white car service for personal use following an FOI application filed by the ABC, stating she will now pay back the money, which the NT Independent understands was used for transport to dinners in Darwin, a birthday celebration earlier this year and other personal events.
The Justice Alan Blow inquiry into senior police appointments under former police commissioner Michael Murphy has found the promotion and appointment processes “have many shortcomings” that need to be addressed immediately, while also exposing a war within the senior ranks of the NT Police over unresolved allegations of favouritism, bias and “undeclared or unmanaged conflicts of interest” that is continuing to affect the police’s culture and morale.
EDITORIAL: If we needed any further proof that Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby is completely out of her depth in her role as the Northern Territory’s first law officer, it came this week during her latest disaster that led the public to once again question the integrity of its government institutions. It’s time for her to resign or be sacked to restore some modicum of confidence in our beleaguered justice system.
