Public Accounts Committee dismisses ‘baseless’ allegations against Darwin Waterfront Corporation
‘Demonstrably incorrect and readily disproven’: The Public Accounts Committee has found no basis to a series of allegations levelled at the Darwin Waterfront by the NT Independent.
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A parliamentary inquiry into allegations made by online media outlet NT Independent has heard it published “demonstrably incorrect and readily disproven” claims about the Darwin Waterfront Corporation – all of which were found to be unsubstantiated.
Allegations included deputy chief executive Sam Burke receiving more than $400,000 over six years for higher duties payments, when he was in fact paid $42,411 before tax over two years – a total nearly 10 times less than reported.
On Tuesday the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) examined four allegations related to the misuse of public funds and improper hiring practices at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation (DWC), which first surfaced in the NT Independent in April.
The committee – comprised of one Labor, one independent, and three CLP members – unanimously dismissed the claims, with the government now calling on the Opposition to apologise for “slinging mud at public servants” without any reliable basis.
Labor and a crossbencher had called for an independent inquiry into the allegations in the wake of the media coverage.
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo last month used parliamentary privilege to detail the claims – including several related to the Chief Minister’s husband, Mr Burke.
In its submission the DWC said it welcomed the opportunity to set the record straight, condemning the NT Independent and expressing “disappointment” that Ms Uibo had not accepted their offer of a briefing before putting the claims on the public record.
“(Editor) Christopher Walsh and the NT Independent have demonstrated a persistent lack of rigour and due diligence prior to presenting allegations online,” the submission said.
“It is therefore disappointing that these allegations have now been repeated in parliament, without independent verification, leading to this inquiry.
“These allegations and the decision to name individuals in parliament have had a profound impact, both reputationally and personally, on the DWC Board and our staff.”
The DWC said it had referred concerns to NT Police and the anti-corruption watchdog about a former employee leaking “select internal documents”.
It said the NT Independent had appeared “to selectively use these documents to construct misleading narratives that are unsupported by facts”.
It also accused the media outlet of repeatedly sending “misleading or inaccurate questions framed to reinforce predetermined narratives”, and mischaracterising the responses.
“When responses from DWC are provided, these are frequently ignored, selectively quoted, or presented within a predetermined and negatively skewed context,” it said.
NT Independent editor Christopher Walsh stood by his reporting and said the PAC should have done more to interrogate the claims.
“The NT Independent stands behind its reporting on this matter of public interest, namely the use of taxpayer money for temporary jobs and the failure to independently assess publicly-funded executive contracts,” he said.
“Fair questions relating to the articles published, including articles involving further unresolved conflicts of interest which the committee chose not to examine, were put to the appropriate people before the articles were published.
“Their responses were reported accurately in accordance with our editorial policies.
“The CLP government-controlled Public Accounts Committee let the public down by not asking any questions of substance and by not demanding documented evidence to back up the claims put forward by Waterfront Corporation personnel.”
The CLP directed its ire at the Opposition, accusing Labor of using “parliamentary privilege to smear public servants with baseless allegations”.
“Following the public accounts inquiry that Ms Uibo called for – finding that there was absolutely no case to answer – the public are left questioning the integrity and judgement of the Opposition Leader,” Tourism and Hospitality Minister Marie-Clare Boothby said.
“Ms Uibo owes Territorians an apology. She owes public servants an apology. And I am calling on her to make it – publicly and without delay.
“This has been a deeply challenging time for the staff and agencies caught in the middle of this political stunt. I thank them for their professionalism and resilience throughout.
“I dread to think how much taxpayer’s money was wasted by the opposition slinging mud at public servants.”
Ms Uibo said she would not be doing her job as Opposition Leader “if I didn’t raise questions on behalf of Territorians”.
“I referred the matter to the PAC to resolve issues raised publicly and that Territorians continued to raise with myself and my team,” she said.
“Throughout my time in parliament, I have always held the NT public service in the highest regard and have always treated public servants with the utmost respect.
“There were opportunities for the relevant minister to have this cleared up much sooner by publicly releasing the briefing she was provided about the matter however she failed to do so – creating further doubt and uncertainty.”
The PAC will prepare a full report for the Legislative Assembly.
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