New powers and restrictions for NT anti-corruption commissioner explained
Changes to the corruption watchdog have passed parliament, outlawing it from hiring people with political history and giving journalists better protections. But not all members are happy.
Northern Territory
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Changes to the way the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption operates have passed parliament, although not without controversy.
The ICAC Amendment Bill passed during Tuesday’s parliament sittings, putting in place new protections for journalists to maintain a source’s identity and barring the watchdog from investigating some minor misconduct.
There are also new restrictions against the ICAC hiring people with prior political affiliations, which comes after it had to defend recruiting an ex-CLP member.
However independents and the CLP were unsuccessful in their bids to delay debate, with some accusing the government of being too closely tied to the independent office.
Blain MLA Mark Turner, who was recently kicked out of the Labor party, said the timing of the reforms were “to put it mildly, concerning”.
“Let us not mince words: the ICAC is under pressure from not just the weight of its responsibilities but also the very institutions it is designed to hold accountable,” he said before parliament.
“We have a government that, from my understanding, is under investigation by the ICAC, yet it is the same government that is pushing forth legislation to amend the ICAC Act.
“If that does not raise eyebrows, I do not know what will. It is akin to a defendant in a trial suddenly declaring that they want to rewrite the laws concerning the evidence against them.”
Treasurer Eva Lawler then stood up to raise a point of order on relevance.
“What proof does he have that any member on this side of the house, any minister in this government, is under investigation?” she said.
“The Member for Araluen was peddling those lies earlier today, but it is not true.
“There is no member on this side under investigation.”
MLA moves to adjourn corruption watchdog reforms
The NT’s corruption watchdog will soon be prevented from investigating minor misconduct while journalist shield laws have been strengthened.
However some MLAs have tried to delay the new laws amid claims the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption office is currently investigating some Labor ministers.
Introduced by Chief Minister Natasha Fyles and supported by the Labor bloc, the reforms to the ICAC Act were expected to pass during Tuesday’s sittings despite opposition from across the chamber.
One of the amendments will mean ICAC will only investigate the “most serious, systemic and sensitive improper conduct”, delegating matters that don’t meet this threshold to “an appropriate existing entity”.
The ICAC, now led by Commissioner Michael Riches, would still be able to probe allegations of misconduct or unsatisfactory conduct if it was believed to have been done by a member of parliament or head of a public body or government-owned corporation.
The watchdog could also investigate such matters if it was believed it could have a “significant effect on the Territory”, or if the conduct was believed to be systemic.
The ICAC will also be barred from compelling a journalist to disclose the identity of their sources, placing the role of determining otherwise with the Supreme Court – which is in line with national laws.
It comes after previous commissioner Ken Fleming QC used his extraordinary statutory powers in 2020 to subject NT News journalist Jason Walls to a secret interrogation, which included probing questions about the identity of a source.
While the chamber seemed to be unified in supporting those changes, independent Araluen MLA Robyn Lambley tried to delay debate on the legislation while raising concerns before parliament that some ministers had conflicts of interest in the matter.
“In this house we have people that are being, no doubt, investigated by ICAC, that should recuse themselves, that should declare they have a conflict of interest,” she said.
“That can only happen by adjourning this debate.”
Ms Lambley’s concerns were based on her understanding that MLAs’ identities would be hidden in relation to reports on minor misconduct matters, however Chief Minister Natasha Fyles pointed out the proposed legislation said otherwise.
“There is no restriction to the naming of a member of the Legislative Assembly in an investigation report, even if that matter amounts to no more than misconduct or unsatisfactory conduct,” she said.
“I cannot stress this enough on the public record, this is consistent with the highest standards that the community expects of members of (parliament).”
Ms Fyles could not address the accusations of ministers under investigation.
The NT News has not been able to substantiate the claims.
The debate continued on Tuesday.
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