Shadow Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing, Marie-Clare Boothby says, the Chief
Minister has to stop hiding behind the COVIDC-19 outbreak and provide more details about
his Government’s role in the Turf Club grandstand scandal.
“Chief Minister Michael Gunner and other Labor Ministers including Manison and Fyles keep
putting out that the ICAC made no findings against Government or any Minister,” Ms Boothby
said.
“In fact, the ICAC found the conduct of the Department of Trade, Business and Innovation
involved negligence or incompetence and resulted in a substantial mismanagement of public
resources and substantial detriment to the public interest.
“This did not happen in a bubble. There is a chain of command – and Territorians won’t cop
the Chief Minister and his Racing Minister trying to sweep this under the carpet.
“Despite the ICAC’s report, it remains unclear to what extent the conduct of Ministers was
scrutinised, or if they were even questioned or subject to compulsory notices by the ICAC.
“It seems the spotlight was never shone directly upon Gunner, Manison and Fyles, who largely
evaded ICAC scrutiny, and we know that the ICAC does not have the power to look at matters
that are ‘cabinet in confidence’.
“In Parliament in 2018,k the CLP called the Chief Minister out for favouring the interests of
his mates, noting the $100k in donations by Mr Dixon. Michael Gunner in response said ‘We
are happy for the ICAC to investigate any decision we make, as a government’.
“If he’s happy for scrutiny he should release the Cabinet Papers or, at the very least, identify
which Minister brought the Fannie Bay proposal to Cabinet and which adviser had briefed the
Minister the grandstand deserved $12 million.”
“That was a considerable allocation of taxpayer funds awarded to the Darwin Turf Club at a
time when the hospital was cancelling elective surgeries and police and principals are
expected to sign up for a pay freeze.”
ENDS