Tourism Minister and Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has rejected calls for a public inquiry into the possible misuse of public resources at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation involving the Chief Minister’s husband and other senior public servants, stating she “is the Minister” and has received a secret internal “briefing” that exonerated everyone of any wrongdoing. However, the briefing was completed before revelations the Chief Minister’s husband benefitted from questionable hiring practices.

The Labor Opposition has acknowledged some of the potential misconduct exposed by an NT Independent investigation into the Darwin Waterfront Corporation occurred while Labor was in government, but has joined growing calls for an independent inquiry to get to the bottom of the potential malfeasance and misuse of public resources at the taxpayer-funded corporation.

Chief Minister Lia Finnochiaro fled a press conference Thursday morning, refusing to comment or answer questions about her husband’s involvement in the growing Darwin Waterfront Corporation scandal, that saw him collect more than $400,000 in “higher duties allowance” on top of his large salary for unadvertised jobs that were created by his mates, as well as a massive $300,000 contract that did not appear to go through proper recruitment processes.