NT Labor president Erina Early says Gunner must address allegations that ‘could impact’ party integrity
Chief Minister Michael Gunner has “serious questions” to answer about “serious allegations” involving members of the Labor Party, Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro says.
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OPPOSITION Leader Lia Finocchiaro says Chief Minister Michael Gunner has “serious questions to answer” about “serious criminal allegations” that have been put forward about members of the Labor Party.
“He needs to come clean and explain to Territorians what he knows and what is going on to restore the integrity of the parliament and the government,” she said on Monday, ahead of parliamentary sittings starting Tuesday.
Her comments come as the President of NT Labor has also urged Mr Gunner to respond in more detail about the cocaine sex scandal allegations.
Labor Party president Erina Early, speaking to Katie Woolf on Mix 104.9FM, said “anything that could impact the integrity of the party” needed to be addressed.
“If he doesn’t address them people will jump up and down,” she said.
It comes as Mr Gunner, for a second day refused to acknowledge allegations that Labor Party members were embroiled in the cocaine and sex scandal that occurred on election night.
Mr Gunner, speaking before his Year Ahead speech this morning, said if he spent his day “chasing every rumour, I would never get anything done” when asked about the claims.
He also took aim at Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro, saying he would not go “down into the gutter” with her on the situation.
In comes after Mr Gunner was forced to address the “serious allegations” about the scandal yesterday.
In a statement to the NT News on Sunday, Mr Gunner said: “My job is to serve Territorians. The CLP can fixate on rumours and innuendo if they want but my focus is on Territory lives and jobs.
“We are working with the Australian government to keep the Territory the safest place in the country and keep our economy open, as we continue the fight against this global pandemic. Our primary focuses include the safe rollout of a COVID-19 vaccination program in the Territory and the expansion of the Howard Springs Centre for National Resilience.”
It is understood Mr Gunner’s office became aware of the allegations last week.
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Mr Gunner issued the statement after Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro called on Mr Gunner to “publicly address” the issue, saying she was aware of “serious allegations involving members of Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s Territory Labor Party”.
“In the interests of protecting the integrity of the government and parliament of the NT, I am calling on the Chief Minister to publicly address these allegations,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
It followed a Bushranger report in the Sunday Territorian which implicated a Territory political party member in the incident, believed to have taken place on election night.
It is understood one of the people involved had been too cavalier about sending out pictures of certain body parts.
A member of the Labor Party told the NT News the scandal was an unwanted distraction. “We’re into a new term of government and something like this is not helpful to what we’re trying to achieve,” they said.
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The NT News first made contact with two of the people allegedly involved last Tuesday.
They have yet to respond to calls or text messages.
Senior party sources said it would be difficult for the people involved to keep their jobs within the party.
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