Shadow Minister for Territory Families, Joshua Burgoyne, says he’s dumbfounded that Labor
has chosen Dheran Young as its candidate for the upcoming Daly by-election.
“I can confirm Dheran Young, the recently announced Labor candidate for Daly, is the person
who confronted me outside Parliament House late on February the 18th and tried to
intimidate me as a direct result of issues I had raised inside the chamber.
“During the verbal altercation, Dheran confronted me and had to be led away by a fellow
staffer. As I outlined in Parliament at the time, Dheran used words to the effect of ‘You’re that
[expletive] Josh Burgoyne. You better watch your language’ and ‘Watch what you say’.
“It is a serious parliamentary, and potentially criminal, offence to intimidate or threaten a
Member of the Legislative Assembly.
“In response to my complaint, Labor told Parliament it took the allegations seriously, that the
behaviour was inappropriate and that a formal warning had been issued. Labor though,
refused to launch any investigation; and voted against any formal action being taken by the
Parliament against this individual.
“The reason I brought this incident to the attention of the Parliament, at the time, is because
it’s my duty to call out bad behaviour and I want to ensure no other members of Parliament
are threatened in the course of representing their community.
“I am astounded that this is the sort of person Labor wants representing the party in the Daly
by-election. I cannot believe this is the sort of behaviour Labor not only accepts but rewards
with the possibility of becoming a member of the Legislative Assembly.
“My concern is, that if I do not speak up now, the Territory risks having a thug in Parliament
who, by Labor’s own admission, does not reflect the party’s values,” said Mr Burgoyne.
Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says Labor’s candidate for Daly is part of a toxic
workplace culture, led by the Chief Minister on the fifth floor.
“Michael Gunner has again failed as leader. Not only does he oversee a government plagued
by scandal, deceit and cover-up, he endorses disgraceful behaviour by his own party
members.
“Dheran Young is a staffer to the Labor team who conspired to hide the Labor ‘Cocaine Sex
Scandal’ and approve the dodgy $12 million grandstand deal. He has shown he is capable of
trying to intimidate and threaten a Member of Parliament who spoke up about the horrors of
domestic violence and should be utterly ashamed of his behaviour.
“Labor has preselected a candidate that is just another cog in the Labor spin machine.
“In his current role, he advises the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, who has left
victims, most of whom are Indigenous, out of the Aboriginal Justice Agreement. The same
Minister instructed lawyers to give $35 million to Don Dale detainees while leaving Victims of
Crime to wait three years for compensation and support. The same Minister won’t rule out
raising the age of criminal responsibility. The same Minister is part of a government hell bent
on putting the rights of offenders above the rights of victims.
“The choice in Daly couldn’t be clearer,” said Mrs Finocchiaro.
ENDS