By John Lawrence

OPINION: In June of last year, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro nominated Mr David Connolly to be our next Administrator replacing Dr Hugh Heggie whose three-year term was coming to an end on 30 January 2026. After a five-month delay, the Prime Minister eventually “advised” the Governor General to sign his Commission, which she duly did on 11 December 2025.

The Labor Prime Minister was clearly not thrilled about Mr Connolly being the next NT Administrator and when asked about the delay, went as far as to say “he wouldn’t have been my choice”.

The appointment has not yet been finalised. Completion is scheduled to occur when Mr Connolly swears his Oath on 27 February. That Oath, contained in Schedule 6 of the Northern Territory Self Government Act, significantly reads: “to do right to all manner of people according to law, without fear or favor, affection or ill will” (writer’s emphasis).

The interim Acting Administrator is the Chief Justice of the NT Supreme Court, Michael Grant AO, as evidenced by him issuing the Writ for the Nightcliff by-election on 12 February 2026.

The Role of the NT Administrator

The position of Administrator sits at the apex of the NT’s constitutional structure. The role is Vice-Regal with the Administrator representing, no less, King Charles III of the UK and Commonwealth of Australia. It sits within the federal structure as the equivalent of the Governor-General of Australia and the Governor of each State.

Its functions are legal, ceremonial and civil. The Administrator opens and closes Parliament, assents to legislation and represents all NT citizens at significant ceremonies like Anzac Day and Australia Day. The Administrator is also the patron of many major community organisations and holds the responsibility of overseeing the Northern Territory jurisdiction if it happens to fall into political chaos.

Only recently, Tasmania’s Governor had to decide whether to hold a state election. Thus, the position is not without real power and is clearly very important.

The holder of the position is required to be a person of good character; a person seen as politically neutral and of unquestionable integrity; one who can relate to the entire community of the NT and provide, particularly in these ever-growing times of conflict and polarisation, social cohesion and moderation.

Illustrating the point clearly are our previous NT Administrators, all of exemplary character: Austin Asche AC KStJ KC AO; John Anictimatis AO; Sally Thomas AC, Vicki O’Halloran AO CVO; and Ted Egan AO to name only a few (writer’s emphasis).

Mr David Connolly (the Nominee)

Chief Minister Finocchiaro’s government has chosen and nominated Mr David Connolly, a Queenslander, former president of the NT Cattlemen’s Association and former general manager of Tipperary Group of Stations, a company partly owned by Victorian millionaire barrister Mr Alan Myers AC.

The Tipperary Group, of which Mr Connolly was general manager for 11 years, is involved in the politically controversial growing of dryland cotton including investing in a cotton gin.

Mr Connolly has, in his previous positions, been actively and robustly involved in advocating traditional right-wing politics. Prior to his nomination his recent public speeches have included aggressive attacks on the Labor side of politics, calling the Federal Labor Prime Minister Albanese a “liar” and a “boofhead”.

His public statements and views are clearly partisan, railing against environmentalists, the Voice to Parliament, Treaty and, for good measure, blaming the NT “crime crisis” on the NT’s “weak judiciary”. His appointment will clearly fly in the face of the long established convention that requires neutrality, balance and the promotion of social cohesion.

The Chief Minister has made this political decision with a purpose in mind. When asked about it, she stated that Mr Connolly will have a “huge role to play” and will bring with it a “change of pace”.

Within days of his Commission being signed, the Fourth Estate acquitted their function by finding and publishing a slew of social media posts and reposts from him under his sobriquet “sokitome”.

Mr Connolly, through these postings and repostings has revealed direct to the world his views on race, ethnicity, gender and women. They thereby reveal the type of man he is and his character. Consistent with what they revealed, he said of himself in a public speech delivered as president of the NT Cattlemen’s Association in 2023:

“I’ve been called: ‘bigoted’, ‘racist’, ‘homophobic’, ‘transphobic’, ‘elitist’, ‘prejudiced’, ‘a destroyer of the environment’, ‘a torturer of animals’, ‘discriminatory’, ‘biased’, ‘intolerant’, ‘chauvinistic’, ‘small-minded’ … none of that worries me”.

The man is certainly not shy.

His posts and reposts reveal a person of strident, strongly held, and forceful opinions; opinions that are homophobic, sexist and racist. When all of this taken together, it reveals the character of a person who is clearly unfit to hold the office of Administrator, which would have been known to the Chief Minister, her advisors and colleagues who nevertheless nominated him.

Many of the social media posts are demeaning towards Indigenous culture and people. They include sleazy, sexist comments placed alongside a photograph of the Australian female beach volleyball team. They include vile, racist clips deliberately mocking Kriol Indigenous English.

One of his posts compared the current Prime Minister to a Blue Whale’s anus, namely Anthony Albanese being “the largest arsehole in the world”. Combined, his comments have the tone and pitch of an obnoxious ignoramus. Perhaps worse, in this scenario, they constitute dog whistling. He might not be Sir Les Patterson, but he’s clearly a man not fit for this office.

The Reaction

The effect upon the Northern Territory community was inevitably loud and immediate.

The NT’s population is 30 per cent Indigenous. Their reaction has been predictable, direct and negative. They are “appalled” and consider him to be “a racist”, unfit for office, and have demanded the immediate revocation of his appointment.

The peak body, APONT, which represents all NT Indigenous Land Councils, NAAJA, the Aboriginal Medical Alliance, AMSANT, Aboriginal Housing and the Territory Indigenous Business Network, jointly demanded the immediate rescission of his appointment.

The chair of the Northern Land Council, Mr Matthew Ryan, described his comments on Indigenous Australians as “appalling”, “hurtful” and “straight up racist”. He said that because of the comments, the relationship between the NLC and the NT Administrator is broken. He then avowed never to talk to the man.

Nationally, the Director of the Centre for Public Integrity, Geoffrey Watson SC, called on the NT Government to rethink its nomination. The Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody stated his derogatory social media posts revealed disrespect for women, Indigenous Territorians and members of the LGBTQIA community.

Community division has led to more than just words. Federal Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne presented an 1800-signature petition calling for the immediate rescission of his appointment.

Consistent with “none of that worries me”, Mr Connolly and the NT CLP Government are unperturbed and the appointment remains.

Often, when persons are spotlighted in this way, they issue withdrawals, explanations and apologies. None of that here. Mr Connolly himself has had ample opportunity to walk his comments back, deny their obvious inferences and claim what is often claimed: “that was me then, I’m no longer like that, nor do I hold such views”. Not a whiff of it.

Mr Connolly has said when questioned: “my former social media posts are exactly that”, these being abuse of the Prime Minister, mocking Indigenous people and culture and sexist bile to boot. The Chief Minister is backing her man in and pressing his appointment.

And so, here we go. Pistols at dawn and choose your weapon. Further hurt, anger, protest and division coming up.

The weapons chosen by the opponents of this appointment will no doubt be street rallies outside Government House on the appointment date and further protests in and outside Parliament every time he has an official engagement there.

The racist divisions and rancour will no doubt be reported nationally and maybe even internationally. Remember that in 2011 our then Administrator, Sally Thomas, welcomed and hosted US President Obama along with our Prime Minister Gillard. What will occur if and when similar occasions arise in the next three years? All of this was undoubtedly foreseen by the Chief Minister, her advisors and her colleagues.

Contemporary Politics of Division

My view is that this NT issue should be considered in the present international context. Everything really is connected. This rancour is happening at a time, often described as “late-stage capitalism”, when all liberal democracies are under threat. They’re disintegrating before our very eyes if we stop averting them.

President Trump and his policies are leading the charge, and their right-wing playbook is a continuum of the extreme right-wing political advisors Roy Cohn, Roger Stone and now Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller. Monsters to a man. One of their central mantras is “attack, counter-attack, and never apologise”. It’s a vile and wrecking approach to politics aimed at replacing democracy with themselves and their equally vile cronies.

Heaven forbid it ever gets going in this country, but there are foreboding signs and this decision may well be one of them.

I was in the public gallery of our Parliament on 5 February for Question Time when MLAs asked about David Connolly’s proposed appointment as Administrator.

Their questions were blocked by Speaker Robyn Lambley who took the particularly restrictive interpretation of Standing Order 30, read with House of Representative’s Practice Directions (7th Edition), which—combined—read that “no member could refer to David Connolly, the Commissioned Administrator, “in a disrespectful manner” whatever “disrespectful manner” means these days (writer’s emphasis).

I watched on as every time an Opposition or Independent Member tried to ask a question relating to the appointment, Madam Speaker interrupted and stopped them continuing by applying this, her, interpretation.

In the context of this important issue, it seemed to me to be an unnecessary and restrictive interpretation, which prevented a far more important requirement, namely having the CLP Government explain why, oh why, they have nominated such an unqualified man for this position.

Apparent here was that trying to explain or justify his nomination would have been difficult and politically embarrassing. But Madam Speaker wouldn’t allow it and the government avoided the issue. Bullet dodged.

NT Politics

Robyn Lambley is the Independent member for Araluen. She was previously a long-serving member of the CLP and served as deputy leader and Treasurer when the CLP was in government between 2012 and 2016. However in 2015 she resigned from the CLP, alleging gross sexism against her by its then leader Adam Giles and all his male colleagues.

At the time, she said this: “never would I have thought in my wildest dreams that I would be forced to resign from a party that I have been philosophically aligned with all my life” (writer’s emphasis). Well, Adam Giles is long gone and the CLP is back in power with a female leader and three other women in her Cabinet. Things are different now.

When Speaker Lambley was in that CLP Cabinet between 2012 and 2016, her chief of staff was a Mr Alex Bruce and it’s been reported the two remain friends. Alex Bruce, after seven years as the CEO of Hospitality NT, was appointed Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Chief Minister in September 2024 following the CLP’s thumping win at the general election.

On the first sitting of the new post-election Parliament, Robyn Lambley was nominated by the Chief Minister as the Speaker and was duly elected. Her MLA salary of $175,000 was increased to $288,750, a rise of $113,750.

The “historic” NT parliamentary sitting of February 2026 was truly horrible to witness. The behaviour of some of the government’s MLAs was embarrassing, obnoxious and rude. Whilst watching it, I was initially taken back to an ingrained childhood memory of being taken, at the age of four or five, to a pantomime at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh by my father. The whole thing was…well, it was a pantomime with all its classic ingredients: Big Fat, Fairy Good Witch, the two-man panto horse, villains; “it’s behind you, it’s behind you, oh yes it is! Oh no, it’s not!”

I think my father was quite happy when I asked to leave early because I couldn’t abide any of it. In Parliament on that day, the “show” I observed didn’t have music or cross-dressing, but there were similarities.

There were Dorothy Dixer questions and answers, crap jokes and fake laughter; Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley waving up to his brother Peter Maley sitting in the public gallery; and seated in the Speaker’s chair the Fairy Good Witch herself Robyn Lambley. But the pantomime soon evaporated and I found myself watching something worse.

It was hubris, arrogance, power and it made me think of a cackle of hyenas well and truly pleased with themselves. Between the Dorothy Dixers and the disallowed questioning from the cross-bench I found the whole thing sickening. This was apparently the centerpiece of our civil society: democratic freedom in the hands of badly behaved men and women.

The killer was Speaker Lambley’s interruption and silencing of Indigenous Elder and Member for Mulka Yingiya Mark Guyula who was trying to ask a question in English only to be shut down by Speaker Lambley: “take your seat or leave the Chamber”. He at first pushed back, but sadly did stop asking and took his seat. And that was one of the most disgusting displays of bullying behaviour I recall witnessing.

MLA Guyula is a man of honour, dignity and integrity, a real leader and representative of his people trying his best to prosecute his function only to then be ordered to resume his seat or leave the Chamber by Speaker Robyn Lambley was beyond any pale. It was shameful.

A walkout followed, whatever good that did. The party with the power and arrogance won that day, and the people of the NT, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, lost.

Watching the behaviour of the victorious side in the Parliament that day brought to my mind Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote on how to gauge a person’s character: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power”.

John Lawrence is a legal practitioner whose career began in the Territory in 1987 as a Crown Prosecutor, five years later becoming the Solicitor in Charge of NAALAS, now NAAJA. He later joined the Independent Bar where he has remained for 28 years. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2010 and has featured in many high-profile cases, including several Royal Commissions of Inquiry. He has served as President of the NT Bar Association as well as the Criminal Lawyers Association NT (CLANT) and as a Director of the Law Council of Australia.

John has written numerous articles for various national publications over the years, mostly on justice issues. He has been a passionate advocate for human rights, the rule of law and the rights of all Territorians, having spent a large part of his career representing Indigenous people and organisations in their struggle against disadvantage and injustice.

His regular column for the NT Independent is called Se Acabo.