NT Planning Minister Josh Burgoyne appoints new Planning Commission chair Mark Coffey to AAPA board
The CLP’s appointment of a former deputy mayor and private consultant to both the Planning Commission chair and the watchdog for sacred sites has raised serious conflict of interest concerns.
The appointment of the Planning Commission chair to the board of the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority has raised concerns about conflict of interest management, amid the NT Government’s battle over the Territory’s sacred sites.
On Thursday, Lands, Planning and Environment Minister Josh Burgoyne quietly announced in a government gazette the three-year appointment of former CLP Alice Springs Deputy Mayor, Mark Coffey to the AAPA Board.
It comes less than a week after Mr Burgoyne announced Mr Coffey as the new Northern Territory Planning Commission chair.
The NT News understands Mr Coffey’s appointments have raised serious concerns about the management of conflicts of interest between the two independent statutory bodies.
AAPA’s role is to identify and protect sacred sites from damage, desecration or interference — including granting certificates for infrastructure proposals — while the NTPC is tasked with advising the Minister on significant development projects.
Mr Burgoyne did not respond to questions about whether the dual appointments created an inherent conflict of interest for Mr Coffey.
“Mark Anthony Coffey has extensive experience in planning especially in rural and remote communities across the Northern Territory,” Mr Burgoyne said.
“His appointment to the AAPA board is justified by his profound understanding of how policy interacts with service delivery and the importance of community engagement to achieve outcomes.”
Mr Coffey has also not confirmed if he will step down from his role at his two private consultancy firms — Mark Coffey Consulting and Centred Solutions — following his high level board appointments.
The Mark Coffey Consulting website said the company provided advice on navigating “all levels of government”, including “options to overcome regulatory blockages”, while Centred Solutions advertised “we leverage our longstanding and well-established relationships across multiple sectors in the delivery of our projects”.
As the Alice Springs Deputy Mayor, Mr Coffey‘s consultancy work resulted in him declaring conflicts of interest over the controversial National Aboriginal Art Gallery development, which Traditional Owners said risked a registered women’s sacred site, Untyeyetwelye.
In 2021 council meetings Mr Coffey disclosed he was “part of a consortium that has tendered for future work on the design of the NAAG”.
Mr Burgoyne did not respond when asked if Mr Coffey would be asked to stop his consultancy work, stating: “questions regarding Mr Coffey’s employment with private consultancy firms should be directed to him”.
Mr Coffey said his two board appointments were “a decision of government”, and maintaining the integrity of both independent bodies was “paramount”.
“I thank the Minister and government for their trust in me to take on these roles, which I intend to fulfil to the best of my ability,” he said.
“I intend to fully comply with the relevant processes, procedures and legislative requirements of both boards.”
Both the NTPC and AAPA said their agencies had clear processes in place to identify, disclose and manage any conflicts.
AAPA said all board members were required to submit a full written declaration of interests upon appointment to the Board, and declare any potential conflicts in every board meeting “to ensure they are appropriately managed to maintain the integrity of the Authority’s work”.
“The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority takes very seriously actual, perceived, or potential conflicts of interest within the Board,” they said.
While NTPC said all members were “obliged to exercise professional care and act with integrity and diligence in the performance of their functions”.
Mr Coffey’s government appointment to the AAPA board replaces Larrakia and Wulna man Nigel Browne, who has been outspoken about the CLP’s interference with the Sacred Sites Act.
Controversial reforms allow historical AAPA certificates to be “transferred” or have additional parties added, which critics warned would allow developments to bypass Traditional Owner approvals.
Now the chief executive of Aboriginal Investment NT, Mr Browne has labelled amendments to the Sacred Sites Act “legislative vandalism”.
“The recent amendments were deliberately designed by government to facilitate a Darwin Waterfront Corporation supported development that is utilising AAPA clearances not by stealth, but as a backdoor,” Mr Browne said in a LinkedIn post.
Indeed last week, SH Darwin Hotel and the Darwin Waterfront Corporation were added to a 20-year-old AAPA certificate to allow the approval of a high-rise building — despite Larrakia custodians warning the project exceeded height limits and exposed a registered sacred site.
The move resulted in Board Member Rachel Perkins resigning in protest, while the remaining AAPA board has written to Federal Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy and Environment Minister Murray Watt in objection to the development.
Mr Coffey, a former police officer, was previously the most senior Indigenous Affairs bureaucrat for the Territory, as Tony Abbott’s NT manager in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, head of the Office of Northern Australia, and the Department of Social Services NT manager.
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Originally published as NT Planning Minister Josh Burgoyne appoints new Planning Commission chair Mark Coffey to AAPA board
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