Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro, says it’s absolutely staggering the lengths Labor is
willing to go to, to avoid scrutiny around its gifting of $12 million for the dodgy grandstand
deal – by the Chief Minister and his Cabinet.
“Since the release of the bombshell ICAC report, the Chief Minister and his cabinet have done
everything possible to try and avoid scrutiny, including shutting down any skerrick of debate
in Parliament around why it approved and signed the $12 million cheque.
“They’ve continued to lie straight to the faces of Territorians by saying this was a ‘market-led
proposal’ and followed ‘normal Cabinet process’. We challenged Ministers to repeat those
lines in Parliament, which they refused because they know they can’t lie inside the chamber.
“To get to the truth, we submitted more than 200 written questions to the Gunner
Government through a formal Parliamentary process. It’s a requirement that they are
answered within 30 days. Unsurprisingly, the answers didn’t come back on time.
“The questions ranged from whether the Chief Minister or any Cabinet Ministers were
actually interview by ICAC, to why the grant was included as ‘Industry Support Program
Funding to Peak Industry Bodies to Assist with Industry Sector Development’ when the Darwin
Turf Club is not a peak industry body. Each question relates to specific information not
contained in the ICAC report.
“The brief answers to our thorough and detailed questions are laughable. When quizzed
about the processif the grant had been paid from Labor’s ‘Jobs Fund’, the Minister answered:
‘The Jobs Fund is not a policy of the Northern Territory Government’.
“The ‘Jobs Fund’ was, in fact, an initiative of the Gunner Government in 2018. This just shows
how ridiculous this situation has become. Labor is prepared to lie in answering the most basic
questions.
“In response to more than 80 questions submitted directly to the Chief Minister, he answered:
‘The ICAC had the ability to review all of the paperwork and all of the processes. All findings in
relation to the process are in the ICAC Report. The ICAC Report made no findings against the
Government or any Minister.’
“This is another blatant lie. The ICAC Commissioner states, on page 23 of the report, that he
couldn’t look into the Cabinet process to approve the grant because of ‘confidentiality and
privilege’.
“The stench of desperation and panic being emitted from Michael Gunner and his Cabinet is
glaringly obvious. We condemn the deceit and cover-up from this Chief Minister and his
Cabinet in the strongest terms. If they have nothing to hide, why are they doing everything in
their power to cover this up?
“In total, there were eleven documents formally submitted, each containing multiple
questions across eight separate Government portfolios. All answers were four sentences or
less and many were duplicated across documents.
“Thisincompetent and arrogant Chief Minister has forgotten he is accountable to Territorians.
He has squandered millions in taxpayer funds for a pet project in his own electorate and
Territorians want answers.
“The CLP Opposition won’t stop holding this shameful Gunner Labor Government to account
until Territorians get the answers they deserve. It’s not Michael Gunner’s money, it’s
Territorian’s money and he needs to justify this dodgy deal,” said Mrs Finocchiaro.
ENDS