ICAC yet to decide if investigation into former Speaker Kezia Purick will be escalated to prosecutors

The NT’s peak corruption watchdog is yet to decide if it will hand over a brief of evidence regarding former Speaker Kezia Purick’s alleged corrupt conduct to prosecutors months after the explosive investigation was made public.

The Northern Territory’s peak corruption watchdog is yet to decide if it will hand over a brief of evidence regarding former Speaker Kezia Purick’s alleged corrupt conduct to prosecutors months after the explosive investigation was made public.

Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Ken Fleming QC, in a radio interview yesterday, confirmed the ICAC was having “proper discussions” and reviewing all the evidence into findings it made about Ms Purick.

It has been nearly three months since the ICAC went public with a nine-month investigation into Ms Purick, finding she had engaged in a “series of acts” that amounted to corrupt conduct because each was a “serious breach of public trust”.

Kezia Purick.

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A spokeswoman for the DPP earlier this week confirmed no brief of evidence had been received.

In the report, Mr Fleming said the facts set out in the report, “together with facts in my possession that cannot be set out” should be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions who would ultimately decide if Ms Purick was charged with a criminal offence.

“(It’s) properly under discussion in our office to ensure that we have in fact, dotted every I and crossed every T,” Mr Fleming said.

“Whether or not it will go to the DPP will depend upon a total review of all the evidence that we have and it is evidence that will have to be proven beyond reasonable doubt as distinct from on the balance of probabilities for my report.”

The ICAC declined to provide an estimate on when it expected to make a decision on whether a brief of evidence would be submitted or elaborate on what the complexities were around preparing it claiming “any further commentary could adversely affect the legal process and the rights of the parties involved”.

Ms Purick was contacted for comment.

The NT parliament’s privileges committee is expected to continue its investigation into Ms Purick’s alleged corrupt conduct to identify potential breaches of the MLA code of conduct.

Mr Fleming also mentioned in a statement in June he had forwarded other allegations about code of conduct breaches to the new Speaker to investigate.

The next Speaker will more than likely be Karama MLA Ngaree Ah Kit.