This week is a gargantuan test for Natasha Fyles.
It’s the beginning of a fortnight of Estimates hearings, which is critical opportunity to put the Fyles Government under the microscope and drill down into the spending of Territory taxpayer dollars.
After Michael Gunner dropped his resignation bombshell in the middle of his budget speech, it took Labor four days to find a replacement leader.
More than a week later, after days of infighting and backstabbing, the new cabinet was announced – with glaring demotions.
Nicole Manison was unceremoniously dumped as Police Minister. Selena Uibo got the boot as the Territory’s top law officer, Lauren Moss was ditched from Education, and Chansey Paech lost remote housing.
Treasury now sits with Eva Lawler, a Minister who has an abysmal record on fiscal management, and is known for nonchalantly saying “sometimes projects go over, sometimes they go under”.
The biggest loser was Joel Bowden, who completely missed out on being elevated to Cabinet or securing the role of Speaker.
Territorians also want to know if the disgraced Member for Blain, who was dumped from caucus for his involvement in the Labor ‘Cocaine Sex’ Scandal, is back in the fold.
The post-budget reshuffle could be seen as a cover for some Ministers not being across their brief, but we won’t be taking “I’ve only been the Minister responsible for a few weeks” as an excuse for not answering important questions.
Territorians are expecting Natasha Fyles to step out of the tainted shadow of her predecessor Michael Gunner, and show a point of difference.
On Thursday, she managed a move in the right direction when announcing that the divisive and draconian vaccine mandate would be scrapped.
Let me be clear, the CLP supports the best health advice and backed the introduction of the mandate – but only because of Labor’s sensational bungling of the remote vaccine rollout.
If the Health Minister, who is now the Chief Minister, had got the vax rate up in the bush the mandate would never have been needed.
The critical staff shortages in health, education, tourism, retail, and hospitality may have been eased somewhat if hundreds of Territorians hadn’t lost their job because they didn’t get the jab.
The CLP Opposition will use these Estimates to ask the Chief Minister/Health Minister and the Chief Health Officer, directly, to detail the advice and evidence used to make a range of COVID-related decisions over the past 12 months – and how that advice was implemented by NT Labor.
We will use this opportunity to directly, and publicly, ask Natasha Fyles to explain why she rammed through amendments to legislate the vaccine mandate CHO directions – signalling the mandate was potentially invalid all along.
Territorians are concerned the Fyles Labor Government is using its numbers to change the law to avoid legal action.
Territorians should also be concerned that the amount of time for Opposition and Independent members to carefully scrutinise expenditure in multiple departments has been slashed compared to last year: Chief Minister, Health, Treasury, Infrastructure, Police, Education, and Territory Families.
Scrutiny of these critical portfolios has gone from 36 hours in 2021, to just 23 hours this year.
We hope the Fyles Government is better prepared than last June, when Labor Ministers took a staggering 209 questions ‘on notice’, because they didn’t know the answer to questions.
Adding to the embarrassment, government took an additional four weeks to answer those 209 questions because the relevant Minister wasn’t across their brief.
Natasha Fyles has an opportunity to be different.
To unit a divided community.
To be the leader her predecessor couldn’t be.
Territorians though, are yet to see if she has the political will, or the stomach, to face up to scrutiny and lead a truly open, accountable, and transparent government. Next week will be her first real test.
ENDS