The Gunner Government was elected on a platform of restoring trust in government after a turbulent four years of the Giles CLP.

Their catch cry was “open and transparent” government. In the time since, they have been anything but. 

In more than three and a half years, they have moved to hide elected representatives’ travel costs and other charges to taxpayers, they have overseen a shambolic Freedom of Information process that ranks as the worst in the country and they’ve been guided by self-interest while engaging in the same backdoor handouts and favours to their political donors that have gone on for decades in the NT.

As Michael Gunner rides this current wave of public popularity over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, his power it seems, knows no bounds. His government has now banned the free press from obtaining critical information in the middle of a public health crisis and banned them from daring to question the government.

These are truly remarkable times. 

Getting real, substantiated information to the public is crucial at a time like this, yet the Gunner Government, despite their recent claims of focusing solely on saving lives and jobs, have taken time out of their busy schedules to ban this media outlet from questioning their actions.

We won’t let that happen. The lack of an invite didn’t stop us before and it won’t now.

A free press is not only a concern of journalists, it’s about your right to know what the government is doing. And in the time of a pandemic, that right takes centre stage.

Late last week, Michael Gunner’s director of communications, Maria Billias, wrote an email to the NT Independent informing us we were no longer permitted to attend ministerial press conferences or question the government’s actions.

And with that, the Northern Territory of Australia joined a list no free, democratic state would ever want to be on. The NT is now pushing the same policy as North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Cuba in banning the free press.

To think it would happen in our own backyard during a public health crisis is deeply troubling and not in keeping with the “open and transparent” government we were told we would get.

But the Gunner Government has been heard loud and clear that they think they are above public scrutiny.

While they pat themselves on the back for no new confirmed cases of coronavirus in a week, questions remain over how many tests they’ve done. It’s these types of questions that aren’t being asked that the Gunner Government are thankful for, but come at the expense of an informed public.

It remains unclear what authority the Gunner Government has for instructing the supposedly “apolitical and impartial” public service to not respond to this newspaper’s queries or what the ramifications of that will mean.

For instance, the NT Independent sent 10 questions from our readers about the coronavirus to the NT’s chief health officer for a Q&A feature on April 2. These were crucial questions that you wanted answered by the health boss, so you could stay informed.

We know those questions were answered by the proper health authorities, but have not been returned, by order of the Gunner Government.

This is serious. The Gunner Government is suppressing the public’s right to information by withholding those answers for no reason other than trying to settle personal grudges.

We can think of no greater example of undemocratic conduct than banning a media outlet and restricting the flow of information in a time of public crisis.

To that end, the NT Independent will be sending a brief of evidence and formal complaint to the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) to investigate. Because it is undemocratic conduct for a government to ban media outlets they don’t like for personal reasons and then instruct an entire public service to follow suit.

While that works its way through the proper channels, this newspaper remains committed to providing you with unfettered access to the most up to date COVID-19 information as the pandemic progresses. We’ll also be providing you with free access to some of the best investigative, political and opinion writers in the Territory.

We knew disrupting the media and political establishment in the Territory would be a struggle, and we’re ready for the fight.