Mystery deepens over NT Police chief Jamie Chalker’s break from the job

Mystery surrounding the apparent sacking of NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker has deepened as the Fyles government refuses to publicly state whether it has confidence in him.

NT Police commissioner Jamie Chalker on Monday. Picture: Liam Mendes

Mystery surrounding the apparent sacking of Northern Territory Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker has deepened as the Fyles government refuses to publicly state whether it has confidence in him.

The government asked Mr Chalker to resign last Friday after losing confidence in his ability to continue in the role, but the government – and Mr Chalker – have refused to confirm that this ­occurred.

At a heated press conference on Monday, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles batted away questions, ­refusing to confirm or deny the status of his employment and ­refusing to say whether she had confidence in him.

“The police commissioner is on leave, and deputy commissioner Michael Murphy is acting, and the police service has been advised of that,” Ms Fyles said.

“I’m not going into details, I have articulated what I’m going to say on this matter and I won’t be providing ongoing commentary.”

She would not confirm whether she had confidence in the “top brass” of the Territory police.

“I have answered what I’m going to say on this matter,” Ms Fyles said.

Speculation over the police commissioner’s position came as Ms Fyles said she did’t believe knife crime had taken a hold in her community, and that she believed the issues plaguing the Territory could be overcome. Ms Fyles acknowledged to The Australian that the Territory was undergoing a “particularly challenging time” but said she was optimistic “long-term change will start to take place”.

The NT Police Association called on the government on Monday to “urgently and directly” address the media reports.

“Every single day our members are faced with challenging, volatile, and dangerous situations, and the last thing they need is the added stress and uncertainty caused by rumours about the leadership,” president Paul McCue said.

A survey conducted by the union last August showed almost 80 per cent of participants “do not have confidence” in the leadership of NT police.

A survey released last month showed more than 80 per cent of officers rated police morale as low or very low, and more than 97 per cent of respondents said police were extremely under-resourced.

Sky News has also reported that during any one pay period ­between 400 and 600 officers – about a third of the force – were calling in sick.

NT police faced recent criticism for their response times, with residents sometimes waiting up to 10 hours or more for officers to ­arrive after break-ins that have plagued families and business owners in recent times as the Territory struggles to contain a surge in youth and alcohol-fuelled violence.

Mr Chalker did not respond to numerous attempts by The Australian to obtain comment.

When The Australian was outside his residence, detectives appeared and made claims they could arrest the reporter with stalking.