Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro has said the Chief Minister needs to explain how long a legal stoush with the reportedly former police commissioner Jamie Chalker will go, as the saga drags into an eleventh day, but would not answer if she would have removed him, while Natasha Fyles said unexplained negotiations with Mr Chalker would remain private despite him publicly calling for mediation through high priced lawyers on the weekend.

Mr Chalker was reportedly told to resign by the government two Fridays ago while there has been no explanation since then as to whether he is still in the job. When asked today if she had confidence in him, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles did not respond.

The NT Independent has confirmed from reliable sources that Mr Chalker has taken indefinite leave and Ms Fyles has said Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy is the acting police commissioner.

Ms Fyles took days to come forward in response to the initial media reports of the resignation demand, and for several days she would only say he was on leave and that she could say no more, causing public anger.

However, on Wednesday she told reporters she was engaged with him in “private conversations” about his contract.

“We have been having, in good faith, conversations with the police commissioner around his tenure in that role,” she said.

“I won’t be making comments publicly whilst there is private confidential conversations around commissioner Chalker’s … contract.”

The beleaguered top cop issued a statement on Saturday morning through Sydney defamation lawyer Rebekah Giles, which said Mr Chalker sought to “resolve this unfortunate matter” but did not explain specifically what that matter was, instead pointing to a wish to see out his contract and then be reappointed for another four years.

The statement said he had also engaged top Sydney silk Arthur Moses SC. Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate hired the team of Mr Moses and Ms Giles over a fight with the postal authority board over her high-profile employment contract.

Mr Chalker’s lawyers proposed that a mediation take place between the legal representatives of the Northern Territory government and his legal representatives to be chaired by an eminent retired judge from an interstate jurisdiction.

Ms Fyles fronted the media again on Monday, but once again said nothing about the status of Mr Chalker, and made no mention of the proposed mediation.

“As previously stated these are ongoing confidential negotiations which will not be had in the public arena,” the NT News reported Ms Fyles as saying.

“We are in negotiations with the police commissioner in good faith, while we continue to support our hardworking police force.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, Ms Finocchiaro referred to the situation with Mr Chalker as a “secret sacking scandal” and said Territorians could have no faith Ms Flyes would fix what Ms Finocchiaro called a mess the Chief Minister created and that Territorians would have to pick up the tab for.

“Natasha Fyles has tried to secretly cover this up. She has tried to solve a media problem, once again, by using politics instead of focusing on what the Territory requires from its top leadership,” she said.

“We know that the police force is in crisis and the Territory has got to get on top of law and order issues so that people can live free and playfully across the Northern Territory.

“She’s clearly lost confidence in Jamie Chalker as commissioner, as has her Cabinet. She’s tried to ask him to leave and completely failed in the exit process. The question now is how much will Territorians pay to make Natasha Fyles’s bad headlines go away?

“Over the weekend when all Territorians should have been celebrating Easter safely with their friends and family, many again were victims of crime. With a string of break-ins and stolen cars across the Territory, even the criminals know that Labor’s changes to bail were nothing more than window dressing.

“Natasha Fyles must clarify how long this legal stoush is going to go on for, what the cost is to Territorians and what her plan is going forward.

“Natasha Fyles has told us over and over that her government would act transparently and with integrity. This couldn’t be further from the truth.”

When asked by a reporter if she would have sacked the police commissioner, Ms Fyles would not answer.

Mr Chalker was deeply unpopular with the NT Police’s rank-and-file during his time as the NT’s top cop, coming into the role shortly after the 2019 Yuendumu shooting with criticism levelled at his handling of that matter from the beginning.

An August 2022 NT Police Association survey found that nearly 80 per cent of respondents had no confidence in Mr Chalker to continue in the role, but Mr Chalker repeatedly downplayed the results and refused to resign.

The number one reason offered for why Mr Chalker had lost the confidence of his officers was his handling of the Yuendumu matter and Constable Zach Rolfe.

A more recent NTPA survey in February found 85 per cent of current officers had considered an exit strategy, but again neither Mr Chalker nor the government addressed the problems in the police force.

Mr Chalker has also been part of an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption investigation into allegations of political interference in the charging of Constable Rolfe with murder over the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker in 2019.

ICAC Michael Riches has stated his report is complete but will not be released until the coronial inquest into Mr Walker’s death is finalised.