Police Minister Brent Potter defends buying shares in Seafarms while adviser to aquaculture minister

Police Minister Brent Potter says he ‘had absolutely no inside knowledge’ about the multi-billion dollar prawn farm when he decided to invest while working for the aquaculture minister.

Police Minister Brent Potter said there was no conflict of interest in his former Seafarms shareholding. Picture: Fia Walsh

Police Minister Brent Potter has defended purchasing shares in a company given Major Project status by the Northern Territory government while working as a senior adviser to the minister responsible for that project.

The NT Independent on Wednesday reported Mr Potter purchased 8700 shares worth about $500 in Seafarms Group in June 2021, the company behind the now defunct Project Sea Dragon prawn farm at the mouth of the Victoria River.

At the time, Mr Potter was police policy adviser to Nicole Manison, who was then both Aquaculture and Police Minister, but says he “absolutely had no inside knowledge” about the $1.7 billion dollar project and the conflict was always properly managed and declared.

Brent Potter was senior police adviser to then Aquaculture Minister Nicole Manison when he purchased the Seafarms shares. Picture: Floss Adams.

“I declared them on the disclosure form, and it’s not just about what shares you have in your interest, you have to actually articulate how you’re going to manage the conflict of interest, which I did,” Mr Potter told ABC Radio.

“I bought them like most Territorians supporting a Territory Major Project, which was declared a Major Project before I started.

“I knew nothing more than what Territorians did in the public.

“As police adviser you’re not sitting through meetings around prawns or any agribusiness.”

Mr Potter said he made moves to divest the shares the day he became a minister on October 30 last year, but due to the company being in administration “they took a bit longer than I would have liked” and did not sell until November 17 – the day after former Chief Minister Natasha Fyles divested her shares in Woodside Energy.

Mr Potter did not update the parliamentary register of interests to reflect his divestment within the requisite 28 days, admitting that was “an oversight”.

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said Territorians had “lost trust in Labor’s ability to be open and transparent”.

“It shows the complete lack of competency on the Labor side, given their choice to elevate people like Chansey Paech and Brent Potter into Cabinet, despite their lack of judgement,” she said.

Project Sea Dragon was supported with millions in public funding before it went into administration this month.

Project Sea Dragon was made a Major Project in 2015.

The NT government contributed $56m in roads infrastructure to the project, the Commonwealth contributed $63.45m, mainly also to roads, and the WA government gave about $15m.

Seafarms is appealing a Federal Court ruling placing Project Sea Dragon into administration after it went into voluntary administration this month.

Mr Potter sold his shares for a significant loss at $0.004 per share, worth $34.80.

Chief Minister Eva Lawler has ordered a review into the Ministerial conflict of interest controls to improve procedures and transparency, with a final report due at the end of April.

The review was announced after Ms Fyles resigned amid a scandal surrounding her undeclared shares in South 32, the company that owns the Gemco manganese mine on Groote Eylandt about which she made a decision as health minister.

Earlier this month another share scandal engulfed Deputy Chief Minister Chansey Paech, who purchased shares in alcohol wholesaler Metcash while loudly advocating for the removal of grog bans on town camps.