Minister Gerard Maley says no conflict of interest with prison contract

Former NT prisons boss and current CLP corrections adviser Ken Middlebrook played no part in G4S winning a tender to start work in Territory prisons, Minister Gerard Maley says.

Former corrections commissioner Ken Middlebrook – who took a job as the CLP’s senior corrections adviser late last year after four years working for G4S.

The NT Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said the procurement process that saw a prisons contract awarded to G4S was conducted “entirely independent of my office”.

Mr Maley also refuted suggestions his senior adviser a former NT Corrections Commissioner, who previously worked for G4S, had any involvement in the prisons contract.

Ken Middlebrook was NT Corrections Commissioner from 2012 to 2015 and took a role as adviser to Corrections Minister Gerard Maley in December last year.

From 2020 to November last year Mr Middlebrook worked as an employment, training and education manager for G4S – a multinational private security firm which was last week hired to help manage record prisoner numbers in the Territory corrections system.

The Labor Opposition said Mr Maley has “serious questions to answer” about how his adviser’s former employer won the contract.

“When and how was this contract advertised, if at all? Why has the cost been kept secret from Territorians? And was Ken Middlebrook’s conflict of interest properly declared?,” Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said.

Current Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley and Corrections Minister Gerard Maley. Picture: Fia Walsh.

Mr Maley said the procurement process was conducted “entirely independent of my office”, and that it was “not unusual” for senior management in the corrections industry to have “regular contact with their counterparts in other states and territories”.

“At no time during the process did the department provide any information to my office regarding the three companies that submitted applications, or the successful provider until the Corrections Commissioner (Matthew Varley) executed the contract with G4S late last Friday,” Mr Maley said.

“Mr Middlebrook has a strong background in corrections, with experience in both the public and private sectors across four jurisdictions.

“He has worked with, or alongside, all of the major private correctional service providers.”

Mr Maley said staff in the Office of the Chief Minister completed conflict of interest declarations as appropriate.

United Workers Union NT secretary Erina Early. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A spokeswoman from the corrections department said the total cost of the G4S contract would vary depending on ongoing negotiations related to the number of services, officers, and duration.

The United Workers’ Union NT said Mr Middlebrook’s proximity to the deal “doesn’t pass the pub test”.

“There’s meant to be a division between the minister and the department, but when you’ve got instances like this where amendments to the Corrections Act impact operations they’ll be working very closely together,” secretary Erina Early said.

“Maley told us when we met he got all of his advice from Middlebrook – Middlebrook is the only corrections adviser, he used to be commissioner, and he’s very experienced. He’s a big influence.”

Originally published as Minister Gerard Maley says no conflict of interest with prison contract