Ousted NLC member to have case heard by full council, minister

OUSTED Northern Land Council member Paul Henwood will present his case for reinstatement to his position today

OUSTED Northern Land Council member Paul Henwood will present his case for reinstatement to his position to the full council and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion today.

The NLC’s full council is meeting at Mr Scullion’s request to discuss governance issues raised in an internal audit report alleging conflicts of interest involving the council’s executive.

Mr Henwood was kicked out of a council briefing yesterday by interim NLC chief executive Jak Ah Kit after he was removed from his seat on the Darwin Daly Wagait regional council last month.

He told the NT News last week he believed his removal was improper and undemocratic and would seek to have it overturned by the full council today, saying he believed Mr Scullion would give him a fair hearing.

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“I respect the guy, he’s done great for our people and I feel that he feels what I’m feeling and he understands where I’m coming from and he’ll hear my story after the auditor’s report,” he said.

“I told Ah Kit that yesterday was his day and today’s the minister’s and I want the floor to present my case to the minister.

“The chair acknowledged my attempt to take the floor and speak of my concerns, he then confirmed that I could do that after the auditor’s report.”

Prior to losing his position Mr Henwood was the leader of a 24-strong “members delegation” which was agitating for the release of the audit report that sparked Mr Scullion’s intervention.

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Speaking prior to the start of the meeting, Mr Scullion said he was “very confident” the issues would be resolved today so the council could return to focusing on issues like jobs and housing.

“We needs some transparency, all of the members have a right to know what is in their legacy trust and all those members have a responsibility to ensure that the people who put them there — because they’re here through a democratic process — also understand exactly what’s going on,” he said.

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“I have a very high level of confidence that the full council are going to resolve some of these governance issues and we can get back to talking about and dealing with a number of challenges that face our shared constituency.”

Former NLC chief executive Joe Morrison was also seen outside the meeting but declined to make any comment.