Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion orders NLC meeting over ‘conflict of interest allegations’

NIGEL Scullion has ordered the Northern Land Council to hold a full council meeting to deal with ‘significant governance issues’

Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion has ordered the Northern Land Council to hold a full council meeting to deal with “significant governance issues”. Picture: Keri Megelus

INDIGENOUS Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion has ordered that the Northern Land Council hold a full council meeting to deal with “significant governance issues”.

Speaking at Senate Estimates on Friday, Senator Scullion cited the recent removal of former chief executives Joe Morrison and Rick Fletcher as well as “allegations of conflict of interest among its executive council and claims of deficiencies in the organisation’s internal audit”.

“I’ve also called the meeting because I was very keen that all full council members have access to the report of the investigation which has now been completed into the land council and that was conducted by their internal audit committee,” he said.

Senator Scullion said he took the action after two previous requests to hold a full council meeting were ignored.

“The genesis of this was a letter from the now previous CEO of the land council, Mr Joe Morrison, that there were some conflict of interest issues where there is one organisation that owns buildings and the other organisation is the NLC, both are in effect the same people,” he said.

“So when they are actually negotiating re-leasing of premises and the prices of premises and how they’re going to play, clearly there is a perceived conflict.

“Members of the council and some members of the executive have been speaking to me for some time and it’s very sad to have seen the huge level of confidence people have had in this particular land council move to somewhat disquiet.”

In s statement, interim NLC CEO Jak Ah Kit “condemned” Senator Scullion’s intervention and rejected the audit report’s findings as “baseless”.

“Senator Scullion has totally ignored a written opinion dated 19 February, 2019 from Raelene Webb QC which demonstrates that the report cannot be given any weight or relied upon in respect of perceived concerns about ‘governance and leadership’,” he said.

“Senator Scullion also ignored resolutions by six of the seven NLC regional councils in meetings since last Friday, which considered the report and Ms Webb’s opinion. Each expressed full confidence in the executive council, and rejected the minister’s decision to call a full council meeting.

Dr Ah Kit said the report “does not provide a sound, let alone lawful, basis for the minister’s decision”.

“Senator Scullion has politicised, and given credibility to, baseless allegations,” he said.