Blain MLA Mark Turner, staffer should be sacked immediately: senior Labor figure

A SENIOR Labor figure has called for the politician and staffer at the centre of the party’s alleged cocaine sex scandal to be sacked immediately.

A SENIOR Labor figure has called for the politician and staffer at the centre of the party’s alleged cocaine sex scandal to be sacked immediately.

The Government has gone into crisis mode following revelations the NT Police Special References Unit is investigating the scandal and has obtained text messages exchanged between Blain MLA Mark Turner and a self-described “bondage mistress” with whom he has admitted having an extramarital affair.

The respected party elder told the NT News the revelations were damning, particularly for Chief Minister Michael Gunner.

“Cabinet and caucus (are) irreparably destroying the standing of the Labor Party in the community,” he said.

“It’s always all about Gunner.

“The President and admin committee should convene urgently and revoke the MLA’s membership.

“The senior adviser should have been sacked on day one.”

Mr Gunner called a crisis caucus meeting this morning where it’s understood he moved that Mr Turner be disendorsed as the deputy speaker.

Blain MLA Mark Turner in Parliament.

But there are growing called for him to be sacked from the party.

Comparisons have been drawn between the scandal involving the CLP’s former Blain MLA Nathan Barrett, who was sacked from cabinet and disendorsed by his party after it was revealed he had sent an explicit video to a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair in 2016.

Mr Barrett and Mr Turner had both projected themselves to the electorate as church-going family men.

After the 2016 incident Mr Gunner called for Mr Barrett to quit the Parliament.

“CLP Member for Blain, Nathan Barrett has fundamentally breached community standards,” Mr Gunner said.

“His behaviour is also an unforgivable breach of Parliamentary standards.

“He should resign immediately and not take his seat in Parliament.”

But the senior Labor figure also drew comparisons between a stunt orchestrated by the Labor Party when in Opposition, after former CLP Minister John Elferink has said he would “like to slap” Labor’s Natasha Fyles.

Natasha Fyles

“Remember when all the women in the Assembly lined up in their bright jackets and condemned misogyny and disrespect for women,” he said.

“Where are those convictions now?”

Former Labor MLA Scott McConnell, who was kicked out of the Labor caucus after publicly criticising Government policy, called on the Labor MLAs to sack Mr Turner.

“The Labor caucus need to show some leadership because Michael Gunner isn’t, and the Labor caucus need to act and bar Mark from the Labor caucus,” he said.

“It’s quite clear that there is no other option.

“The people of Blain deserve better, the people of the Territory deserve better from Michael Gunner but they’re not going to get it so it’s up to the caucus to step up and preclude Mark from the caucus.

“It’s then Mark’s decision whether he stays in the Parliament as an independent or resigns altogether, but the people of Blain deserve better.

“I don’t expect the Chief Minister to make any clear decision and any decision that the Chief Minister makes will be in his own personal interest.”

Mr Turner is a member of Mr Gunner’s right faction and his removal from the caucus could destabilise his leadership.

The Chief Minister’s rival left faction has been strengthened since 2020 with the election of Johnston MLA Joel Bowden and the recruitment of Karama MLA Ngaree Ah Kit.