Corrections Commissioner Scott McNairn on unknown ‘period of absence’ while seen drinking beer at CBD pub
CORRECTIONS Commissioner Scott McNairn is on mysterious leave from his nearly $400,000-a-year job and the department won’t say when he’s due back to work. But he’s been spotted at a pub drinking beer in the middle of the day on a weekday.
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CORRECTIONS Commissioner Scott McNairn is on mysterious leave from his nearly $400,000-a-year job and the department won’t say when he’s due back to work.
The NT News understands Mr McNairn has been on several periods of leave over the past year.
High-level Corrections sources say Mr McNairn, who was appointed to the role in late 2018, has been impacted by health and personal issues over the past 12 months.
His leave periods are understood to have totalled several months.
It is understood he was offered a payout from his position last year but he declined, meaning taxpayers have funded his leave, which he is entitled to take as part of his employment.
Some Corrections staff have been growing increasingly frustrated about his ongoing absence from the top job.
The NT News was sent a photograph of Mr McNairn drinking a beer inside The Cav hotel in the Darwin CBD about 2.45pm last Wednesday.
Mr McNairn was by himself and dressed in shorts, thongs, a Barcelona FC jersey and was wearing dark glasses.
The NT News asked Corrections to confirm whether Mr McNairn was on leave and for how long.
In a statement, a spokeswoman said: “Mr McNairn is on a period of absence.”
“Deputy Commissioner Custodial Operations, David Thompson, is acting in the role of NTCS Commissioner,” she said.
“(The Department of the Attorney-General and Justice) does not comment on staffing matters or individual employees.”
A post on professional social networking platform, LinkedIn, shows Mr McNairn attended a National Corrections Day service last month.
“More than 950 Correctional Services employees and invited guests gathered around the Northern Territory today to mark National Corrections Day,” he wrote.
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Three months ago, he posted a photo from a recruit graduation at Darwin Correctional Centre.
“A proud Commissioner!” Mr McNairn wrote.
A riot at the Darwin prison last May is estimated to have caused more than $20 million damage.
The NT Government has yet to publicly release an independent report into the riot.
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