Gunner’s decision to sack three Labor members has been slammed as a “bloody disgrace” by outspoken MP Ken Vowles

THE Gunner Government has been left in a state of disarray following Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s shocking decision to sack three ministers including the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs Ken Vowles for voicing their criticisms about the government

Minister Ken Vowles was sacked from his position by Chief Minister Michael Gunner on Friday. Picture: Keri Megelus

THE Gunner Government has been left in a state of disarray following Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s shocking decision to sack three ministers including the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ken Vowles for voicing their criticisms about the Government.

Mr Vowles along with two outspoken Labor backbenchers, Jeff Collins and Scott McConnell, were suspended from their caucus following a meeting held just before 12pm yesterday.

Mr Gunner, who phoned in to vote at the caucus meeting, said Mr Vowles, Mr Collins and Mr McConnell were dismissed for “breaking the caucus values and standards” they signed up to at the beginning of the term of government.

Mr Vowles said the Chief Minister called him shortly after the decision was made and told him he had been booted from Cabinet, the caucus and stripped of his ministerial portfolios.

Later at his electorate office, Mr Vowles was brought to tears while receiving comforting hugs from his family members as the news of his dismissal broke.

“This is a sad day for politics,” he said.

“I think the thing that hurts the most — that absolutely pains me to my heart — is that my own colleagues have booted me out. To be kicked out like that because you’ve stood up for what you believe in. I think this is an absolute bloody disgrace.”

The NT News this week published a leaked email in which Mr Vowles likened the government to a business that was “trading insolvent”.

“I won’t be gagged by anybody because I’m representing the people who voted me in,” he said. “As a government we need to tell Territorians what we’re doing, without the spin.

“I’ve seen more spin here than Shane Warne has ever bowled on a cricket ball.”

Mr Vowles said he predicted the trio would soon be booted out of the Labor Party also.

“If that happens, democracy has lost the plot” he said.

Charles Darwin University law lecturer and former Labor MLA Ken Parish said there was a “strong argument” the parliamentary party had acted unconstitutionally in sacking Mr Vowles, Mr Collins and Mr McConnell from caucus.

“There’s no express power (in the party) for members of caucus to be dismissed,” he said.

He said the trio could “drag a judge out” for an out-of-hours sitting of the Supreme Court to prevent their sackings from caucus, but that doing so would likely be pointless given the pending moves to expel them from the Labor Party as a whole.

“Even if they have the power to kick them out … it’s a stupid thing to do,” he said.

“Labor caucuses around Australia have had dissident members, dissident backbench members who mouth off in a much more extreme way than these guys, for much less valid reasons.”

Mr Gunner, who is on holidays in New Zealand, will now cut his trip short and return to the Territory to hold a media conference this afternoon.

“When the Territory Labor Government was elected in 2016 we promised to put Territorians first by delivering jobs, putting kids at the centre of government and restoring trust,” he said.

“Unity of purpose is vital to Government achieving these aims.”

Mr Vowles said he believes the Chief Minister’s chief-of-staff Alf Leonardi was behind the trio’s dismissals.

“Make no mistake, there’s one bloke running this show and it’s not Michael Gunner, it’s Alf Leonardi,” he said.

“Michael Gunner doesn’t fart without Alf Leonardi’s say-so. He needs to go. What you’ve read is all true, the advisers run the show.”

Labor Minister Jeff Collins said he was driving in the car with his family on holiday when he was told about his dismissal.

“I stood by my guns, said what I honestly thought and it cost me but I don’t regret it one bit,” he said.

“This is a failure of leadership from Gunner and it’s probably going to cost them the next election. Territorians would be shocked if they saw how things were really run.

“The same puppet masters who controlled the Henderson government are still here calling all the shots. There are about 10 of these senior advisers who are really in charge.”