Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has named two controversial picks to lead the newly established Integrity and Ethics Commissioner agency, with former Ombudsman Peter Shoyer appointed commissioner and former police commissioner Reece Kershaw appointed chief executive of the new anti-corruption body that will replace the ICAC amid unresolved questions about the potential for political interference.

To avoid any new blood overseeing the fight against corruption in the Northern Territory, Bruce McClintock – who oversaw the dysfunction in the current OICAC as its Inspector – has also been brought back as the “Oversight Inspector” of the new agency, after he recommended establishing it in a rushed report last year.

The move to establish the new Integrity and Ethics Commissioner – that will see the Office of the ICAC, the Office of the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, and the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner merged into the new super commission – was roundly criticised late last year by national and international integrity experts as weakening independent oversight and creating potential “political interference”.

The government’s lack of any public consultation before announcing the massive change to the NT’s integrity systems was also heavily criticised by integrity experts, with questions raised over how senior officers would be appointed to the new agency and the concern there could be political appointments.

Ms Finocchiaro did not hold a press conference to announce the appointments Wednesday, instead issuing a media release stating a national recruitment process for the commissioner role was overseen by an “advisory panel” made up of unknown individuals chaired by Justice Peter Barr.

She did not say how Reece Kershaw was chosen CEO of the new anti-corruption body, if the position was advertised, or who recommended him for the role. The legislation to appoint the CEO was passed last November without any provisions for a proper appointment process, including eligibility criteria and how the hiring process would work.

Mr Kershaw is close friends with current NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole.

Concerns were also previously raised about the recruitment processes for the assistant commissioner roles in the new agency, which could also be filled by the government with their own people, but it is unclear if those positions have been filled yet.

Transparency International Australia CEO Clancy Moore last year called on the Finocchiaro CLP Government to put the proposed integrity agency reforms “under the microscope of a parliamentary committee” to ensure the agency was independent, that conflicts of interest could be properly dealt with and to “ensure appointments are based on merit with transparent selection criteria”.

Despite its significance, the legislation establishing the new IEC was not passed onto the scrutiny committee for review, which was also criticised as hypocritical.

Mr Shoyer, in his role as NT ombudsman between 2012 and 2024, had powers to investigate complaints about police conduct and oversaw police surveillance operations, while he also served as information commissioner for the last six years in the role. His “experience” could be perceived as being too close to historical matters and high profile people in the Northern Territory.

Ms Finocchiaro has previously said the conflicts of interest that will undoubtedly arise for the new commissioner would be managed by a “built-in mechanism” with responsibility falling on the commissioner to identify the conflicts and report them to the inspector.

The Centre for Public Integrity argued last year that was not enough to ensure conflicts of interest were dealt with appropriately.

The CLP press release announcing the appointments stated that Ms Finocchiaro said “Territorians deserved a strong and stable independent integrity system”.

“These reforms are about making sure Territorians can have confidence in the integrity of public administration and the people entrusted to serve them,” she said.

The government’s 2026-27 budget papers showed the new Office of the Integrity and Ethics Commissioner would have a budget of $11 million. The government has continued to say it will “become operational in the first half of 2026”. It was revealed this week that acting ICAC Naomi Loudon has left the role as of May 7, while it remains unclear if anyone is currently running the Office of the ICAC.