Cunningham: Hypocrisy of Territory Labor’s recent handling of Paech, Potter scandals not unnoticed

“Who would have thought the sequel would be just as good as the original?” Commentator Anthony Hudson might have been talking about 2006 AFL Grand Final when he delivered this line, but he could easily have been talking about the Northern Territory Government, writes Matt Cunningham.

NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy and Police Minister Brent Potter. Picture: Fia Walsh

“Who would have thought the sequel would be just as good as the original?” Commentator Anthony Hudson might have been talking about 2006 AFL Grand Final between West Coast and Sydney when he delivered this unforgettable line almost 20 years ago, but he could easily have been talking about the Northern Territory Government.

The chaos, dysfunction, scandal and disgrace of the most recent Country Liberal Party government was documented in Christopher Walsh and Ben Smee’s book Crocs in the Cabinet in 2016.

There were failed midnight coups, sex scandals, allegations of sexism and homophobia, and questionable business dealings involving a senior minister.

After Labor won a landslide victory in August 2016, the book found pride of place on the shelves of most new cabinet ministers.

Who would have thought they’d have used it as a how-to guide, rather than as a warning of pitfalls that should be avoided.

But here we are in March 2024, less than six months out from an election, and Labor is treating us to all the madness of the CLP’s glory years, and a bit more.

The only thing missing seems to be any sense of accountability for those involved.

Crocs in the Cabinet by Ben Smee and Christopher A Walsh

Since Natasha Fyles was forced to resign over undisclosed shareholdings last December, we’ve been treated to a story about Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech’s unfathomable decision to buy shares in the grocery and liquor distribution company Metcash, creating an unmistakeable conflict of interest for a minister advocating for the removal of alcohol bans in Aboriginal town camps.

And now we have the revelation about the sexist, homophobic, racist and anti-Semitic contents shared on Facebook by Police Minister Brent Potter.

Potter did a mea culpa that would make Peter Beattie proud on Thursday.

He was sorry, they were “dickhead” posts, he’s grown since then, they don’t represent the man he is today – it was an impressive performance.

Chief Minister Eva Lawler called him an idiot, but he kept his job.

Paech was less contrite, but on several occasions since his shareholdings were revealed, he has been unable to say if he made the necessary declarations in cabinet, as required under the ministerial code of conduct.

His cabinet colleagues know whether this happened or not – in fact the Chief Minister said she couldn’t recall it happening – yet Paech remains in his job.

We can only conclude political expediency has trumped the accountability Labor promised us when they replaced the shambolic CLP in 2016.

The problem with the lack of accountability for Potter and Paech is the message it sends to the broader community, particularly those who work in the public sector.

SOCIALS: Crocs in the Cabinet, Authors Chris Walsh and Ben Smee.

How do you explain to former Children’s Commissioner Colleen Gwynne why she was charged with a criminal offence over an alleged conflict of interest far more trivial than the one involving the Territory’s first law officer?

Yet Gwynne gets three years of legal hell before her case is eventually thrown out, while Paech gets a free pass.

How do you explain to Mark Casey why he was sacked from the Northern Territory police force for an open letter criticising the top brass, and other officers were sacked or disciplined for content posted on social media – yet the police minister can be caught out sharing racist, sexist and homophobic memes and remain employed at our expense?

On Thursday, Potter said Fyles, who was chief minister at the time, and other senior members of the Labor Party involved in vetting candidates, were aware of at least some of his controversial Facebook posts at the time of his preselection in 2022.

This was happening at the same time the government was pushing through parliament the country’s most radical anti-discrimination legislation.

So while we were being told it was necessary to make it unlawful to use words that might offend, insult or humiliate someone on the basis of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, Labor figures at the highest level weren’t doing enough to pull Potter into line over his posts.

In most functioning democracies the revelations about Potter and Paech would be enough for a minister to resign, at least from the cabinet, if not from the Parliament.

But when the Legislative Assembly sits on Tuesday, these two men will resume their seats on the front bench, where people will run around referring to them as “honourable”.

Their actions have been anything but.

Originally published as Cunningham: Hypocrisy of Territory Labor’s recent handling of Paech, Potter scandals not unnoticed