ICAC senior figure cleared of wrongdoing over call to NT News boss before DTC report

The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has called for parliament to consider changing laws which determine what the ICAC can do.

UPDATED: INDEPENDENT Commissioner Against Corruption Michael Riches has called for the government to overhaul the section of the ICAC act used by his predecessor to release the report into the $12m Darwin Turf Club (DTC) grandstand grant.

Mr Riches’ public plea to the Gunner government comes after both the report’s author, former Commissioner Ken Fleming, and ICAC Inspector Bruce McClintock raised concerns about whether Section 55 the ICAC Act provided authority for the public statement to be released.

The DTC report, released on June 25 last year, was released as a ‘Public Statement’ under Section 55.

Responding to questions from the NT News, Mr Riches said he would not use section 55 “to publish a detailed statement on an investigation until the existing ambiguity is resolved, either by way of judicial determination or, preferably, by legislative amendment”.

Northern Territory Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Michael Riches.

He said he had made a submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in August, urging politicians to change the ICAC Act to “provide greater clarity”.

“Of course it is a matter for the Legislative Assembly to determine the public policy question as to whether such publication or tabling should be permitted at all.”

When asked whether parliament would consider changing the ICAC act, Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s office referred to comments made on January 8.

“It was appropriate that three years on from its establishment, a review took place last year which will make improvements to the (ICAC) Act … to ensure it maintains its integrity,” a spokesman said.

“Public feedback on this review will be sought shortly.”

The ICAC was found to have denied natural justice to former NT News editor Matt Williams after Mr Fleming included an incomplete text message from him to former DTC chairman Brett Dixon in the report.

Four applications for judicial review have been launched, three of which directly question whether Section 55 was appropriately used.

Former Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Ken Fleming QC. Picture:AAP Image/Regi Varghese)

Both Mr Fleming and Mr McClintock, in a review of the report, cited ambiguity and an absence of prior experience to weigh up whether the report should’ve been released as a Public Statement.

“I have concerns as to whether such a Public Statement was authorised by section 55 of the ICAC Act,” Mr McClintock said.

Due to three judicial reviews, Mr McClintock said he “decided not to deal with that issue but to await its determination by the Supreme Court”.

Mr Fleming agreed, saying: “As with all fresh acts of Parliament, the complexities of individual sections in the absence of case law specific to the Act in question presents its own challenges”.

UPDATED: ICAC senior figure cleared of wrongdoing over call to NT News boss before DTC report: A SENIOR figure in the Office of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has been cleared of revealing confidential information and breaking the ICAC Act by calling and emailing the general manager of the NT News days before a bombshell report wrongfully implicated the newspaper’s editor.

The report into the procurement of the Darwin Turf Club’s (DTC) $12m grandstand was released on June 25, 2021.

Following an official complaint by News Corp Australia, ICAC Inspector Bruce McClintock SC found the report incorrectly quoted a text from then-NT News editor Matt Williams.

Mr McClintock concluded the text message was incomplete and Mr Williams was denied natural justice.

The News Corp complaint also asked the Inspector to investigate the conduct of a senior ICAC officer, which the NT News revealed last week was deputy chief executive Matthew Grant, over phone and email conversations he had with the newspaper’s general manager Greg Thomson just four days before the DTC public statement was released.

ICAC Inspector Bruce McClintock SC has released further findings into the DTC report. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

“I am advised that Mr Thomson was given the impression by the senior officer that the reference to Mr Williams in the forthcoming report was, in essence, a retaliatory act by the ICAC over the NT News’ reporting of unrelated matters concerning the ICAC,” national editorial counsel Michael Cameron wrote in the complaint.

Mr Cameron also questioned whether Mr Grant had the authority to disclose confidential information about the investigation before it had been published.

Mr Grant’s lawyer, Mary Chalmers SC, wrote in response that his actions were authorised because they were made at the request of ICAC Commissioner Ken Fleming.

“The communication was made in the public interest (and the interests of News Corp) and was consistent with the objectives of the Act,” Ms Chalmers said.

Former ICAC commissioner Ken Fleming with ICAC deputy CEO Matthew Grant. Picture: File.

“It was to ensure that parties potentially adversely affected by the outcome of the ICAC’s investigation were not prejudiced at the sensitive natural justice stage by inaccurate, unbalanced or unlawful reporting.”

In a response published on the ICAC website on Friday, Mr McClintock ruled Mr Grant had committed no misconduct.

“I consider that Mr Grant’s actions did not breach section 145 of the Act, nor amount to any form of misconduct or impropriety and I propose to dismiss the News Corp complaint,” he concluded.

“I do not consider that Mr Grant’s conversation with Mr Thomson, or his first email to him, shows any form of misconduct or impropriety, or breach of any relevant legislation.”

NT Police are continuing to investigate allegations of misconduct within the ICAC office, in an operation codenamed Operation Hundt.

EARLIER: ICAC boss breaks silence over ‘secret’ report

INDEPENDENT Commissioner Against Corruption Michael Riches has ended months of silence to clarify issues around a “secret” ICAC report into the Darwin Turf Club $12m grandstand grant scandal.

On Tuesday, Deputy Opposition Leader Gerard Maley said Chief Minister Michael Gunner had received a “secret” copy of the ICAC report in advance of the release of the full document the following day.

Mr Maley said Mr Gunner had received the “secret” document on June 24, 2021 and the actual statement was released the following day.

It followed a finding by ICAC Inspector Bruce McClintock SC that Mr Gunner had been privy to a report not made public to Territorians. Mr Gunner on Wednesday moved to clarify Mr McClintock’s finding, saying the advance copy “contained material that was subject to a natural justice process” involving former government staffer Alf Leonardi.

Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) Michael Riches.

In a statement responding to a series of questions posed by the NT News, Mr Riches acknowledged ICAC had prepared two documents.

“The former commissioner (Ken Fleming QC) prepared two documents,” Mr Riches said. “The first was an investigation report prepared in accordance with section 50 of the ICAC Act.

“That investigation report was delivered to the Chief Minister and to the then Minister Racing, Gaming and Licencing on 24 June 2021.

“The former commissioner also prepared a public statement on the investigation, which was publicly released.

“The investigation report and the public statement are in largely identical terms. The only substantial differences were the omission of certain names and titles from the public statement and the correction of certain typographical and spelling errors.

“The public statement omits part of a single sentence, which I presume was done in order to avoid the prohibition contained within section 59 of the ICAC Act.”

Section 50 of the ICAC Act relates to Investigation reports and section 59 to inadmissable material contained in ICAC reports and public statements.

Mr Maley said the government’s lack of transparency had come back to bite.

“Why did we have to find out about this report through the Inspector? What do the Labor Government have to hide and what else is it hiding?,” Mr Maley said.

“Territorians are not fools. They can clearly see that this whole fiasco regarding the Gunner Government’s involvement in this grandstand deal has had ‘dodgy’ written all over it from the start.”

Mr Gunner yesterday restated ICAC rules had been followed and there were no breaches.

Gunner rubbishes claims of ‘secret’ ICAC Turf Club report

CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner has poured cold water on suggestions his government is hiding a report by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption into the Darwin Turf Club.

Deputy Opposition Leader Gerard Maley earlier drew attention to mention of a “secret” report by ICAC Inspector Bruce McClintock SC that not been made public.

But on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Gunner rubbished the claim, saying “There is no secret report”.

Mr Gunner said the report mentioned by Mr McClintock was provided to him as ICAC Minster “because it contained material that was subject to a natural justice process” involving former government staffer, Alf Leonardi.

“The ICAC made no findings against the government or any minister,” he said.

“The Chief Minister received the report as the Minister for ICAC and because the report made adverse findings about a former staff member.

“Any material that can be made public in relation to the Turf Club report is located on the ICAC website and further questions should be directed to the ICAC.”

The current ICAC, Michael Riches, who took over from Ken Fleming QC after the Turf Club investigation concluded, has been contacted for comment.

UPDATE: THE Country Liberal Party Opposition has called on the Territory government to release a “secret” Independent Commissioner Against Corruption report into the Darwin Turf Club.

Former ICAC, Ken Fleming QC, released a bombshell report into the DTC’s new grandstand on June 25 last year, which made findings critical of its board and then chairman, Brett Dixon.

The report was also critical of the process by which the grant funding to build the grandstand was awarded by the Territory government.

But on Tuesday, Deputy Opposition Leader, Gerard Maley, pointed to a passage in a follow up report by ICAC Inspector, Bruce McClintock SC, that references a second report.

“On the previous day, 24 June 2021, the ICAC had provided to the Chief Minister, who is the minister responsible for ICAC, a report dealing with the same subject matter,” Mr McClintock’s report reads.

“This report has not been tabled in the Legislative Assembly, nor otherwise made public.”

Mr Maley said the CLP had submitted formal questions to Chief Minister Michael Gunner about the report and Territorians deserved to know the role played by the Gunner government in the grandstand deal.

“If in fact there is a separate report, we call on the Chief Minister to release it immediately,” he said.

“In addition, following on from the ICAC revelations last week that allegations dealt with in the report were ‘currently subject to an investigation by NT Police’, we ask the Chief Minister and Nicole Manison, the Minister for Police, to confirm what and who is under further police investigation and whether or not there is a broader investigation into the deal?

“If there is any police investigation into the dodgy grandstand deal, then it should include the Chief Minister’s office.”

Mr Gunner’s office has been contacted for comment.

EARLIER: FORMER Milingimbi School principal, Jennifer Sherrington, has become the latest subject of an adverse ICAC report to sue former commissioner, Ken Fleming QC, seeking more than $3m in compensation.

In July last year, the then Independent Commissioner Against Corruption found Ms Sherrington falsified thousands of attendance records in a bid to secure $1.4m in additional funding.

The investigation also found Ms Sherrington diverted school funds for her own personal use, including travel and accommodation, car hire for personal shopping and fine dining for herself and her family and friends.

But in documents filed in the Supreme Court last month, Ms Sherrington claims those and other allegations made in the investigation report were “false or misleading”.

Ms Sherrington also claims she was not given a reasonable opportunity to respond to the allegations, with the alleged falsification of records not included in a notice of tentative findings provided to her ahead of the publication of the report.

“The investigation report and public statement do not summarise at all, or fairly, the plaintiff’s response that the plaintiff was transparent with the Milingimbi community, the Milingimbi School Council and departmental staff about her efforts to improve effective attendance, generally and in particular weeks,” the documents read.

“The investigation report and public statement do not summarise at all, or fairly, the plaintiff’s explanation for expenses incurred or approved by her and how those expenses contributed to improving student attendance and education outcomes.”

Ms Sherrington is seeking a declaration from the court that the report was unlawful as well as general, aggravated and exemplary damages, interest and costs.

The documents say Ms Sherrington has suffered shame and embarrassment over the affair and is “unlikely to find work again as a consequence” of the ICAC’s findings.

“Since publication of the public statement the plaintiff has had to relocate to Queensland to avoid stigma now associated with her name,” the documents read.

Ms Sherrington claims if she continued to work until retirement at 67, her total projected income would have been $2,930,048.

She also claims she is entitled to exemplary damages “to punish the defendants for the contumelious disregard for the plaintiff’s rights shown throughout the joint investigation”.

Examples include the “unnecessarily condescending and aggressive manner” adopted by counsel assisting the ICAC and the “florid and sensational language used in the media statement intended to attract media attention”.

Mr Fleming, and co-defendants the office of the ICAC and the Territory government, are yet to file a defence.

Originally published as ICAC senior figure cleared of wrongdoing over call to NT News boss before DTC report