NT Chief Minister Accused of Ignoring Corruption Findings

Chief Minister Accused of Ignoring Corruption Findings

The Northern Territory Chief Minister, Lia Finocchiaro, is facing accusations of sweeping corruption findings under the rug. This comes after she remained silent for nearly a month following a damning report by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) against a senior public officer.

The ICAC report, released on February 18, found that the unnamed "executive contract officer" had misused sick leave entitlements for nearly three years. This included using sick leave to go fishing, travel interstate for golf days, and stay at casinos.

The report, titled Operation Tasman, revealed that the officer had planned fishing trips in advance of calling in sick, and had taken interstate holidays to casinos and golf days while claiming to be unwell. In a voluntary interview with the ICAC, the officer admitted to taking liberties with their sick leave.

Despite the seriousness of the findings, Chief Minister Finocchiaro has not made any public statement on the matter. She has also not indicated whether she will adopt the report's recommendations to tighten up public service leave processes.

Following questions from the ABC, an NT government spokesperson confirmed on Monday that the executive had resigned from their position in February. However, this news comes days after another ICAC report, Operation Apollo, led to the pending dismissal of the NT Police Commissioner.

In the case of Operation Apollo, Chief Minister Finocchiaro was criticized for only taking action after the Commissioner named himself as the subject of the investigation. This was despite being briefed on the findings a week earlier.

Opposition Leader Lia Uibo has criticized Finocchiaro for her inaction on both reports. She stated that the Chief Minister has "turned a blind eye" and "done nothing following damning revelations." Uibo called for Finocchiaro to show leadership and deliver real consequences in line with community expectations.

Following the publication of this story, Ms Finocchiaro confirmed that the recommendations from Operation Tasman around tightening leave processes "will be accepted." However, she defended not making any public statements over the ICAC's findings, citing confidentiality issues.

Finocchiaro also defended taking more than a week to announce any significant action over Operation Apollo. She stated that she was working through the matter methodically in the interests of Territorians.

The ICAC has not identified the public officer at the center of the Operation Tasman report due to statutory constraints under the ICAC Act. However, the office declined to explain why it did not name the officer and declined the ABC's request for an interview.