Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says it is absolutely mind-blowing the Chief Minister
thinks he has dodged a bullet following the release of the ICAC report into the $12 million
Darwin Turf Club grant, when this report ties him directly to corrupt behaviour in his office.
“His name doesn’t need to be printed under the headline ‘corruption, misconduct,
unsatisfactory conduct, breaches of public trust, failure to manage conflicts of interest,
mismanagement of public resources and detriment to the public interest’ of the ICAC report
for Territorians to see Michael Gunner has been knee deep in this dodgy deal right from the
start.
“For three years, the Michael Gunner’s Chief of Staff, Alf Leonardi, was involved in back room
dealings to set up this $12 million taxpayer funded project so it is entirely implausible that
throughout those three years Michael Gunner had absolutely no knowledge of any of the
workings of the deal.
“The Turf Club sits squarely in the Chief Minister’s electorate. On the 11th of February 2020,
the Chief Minister admitted to Parliament he’s been aware of the Turf Club’s expansion plans
since he became the member for Fannie Bay in 2008.
“The Chief Minister’s pathetic justification of “I was lied to” is like the boy who cried wolf all
over again. It’s the exact same excuse he tried to use during the Labor ‘Cocaine Sex’ Scandal.
Well, Territorians aren’t buying it.
“Ultimately, it was the Labor Cabinet who made the decision to award the $12 million dollar
grant. If they didn’t know anything about the workings of the deal, why did they approve the
spend?
“The ICAC report outlines seven pages of timelines that lead up to that Cabinet decision. A
decision that could have only been made by the Chief Minister and his team. Not Alf Leonardi.
Not Brett Dixon.
“When you strip it all back, it is Cabinet that granted the funding. Territorians don’t believe
Alf orchestrated this complex and sensitive proposal on his own without the knowledge of
the Chief Minister.
“A few months before the cabinet decision, the Gunner Government told us the Territory was
on the path to a $35 billion debt if we didn’t rein in spending. At the time the funding was
granted, Royal Darwin Hospital was cancelling surgeries and Labor announced an Executive
pay freeze including police and school principals.