Adam Giles says sorry for attack on police

NT Chief Minister Adam Giles has been forced to apologise for accusing senior police and politicians of being “in cahoots” to bring him down.

NORTHERN Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles has been forced to apologise for accusing senior police and politicians of being “in cahoots” to bring him down, admitting he has no proof to back his extraordinary claims.

In the midst of a leadership crisis last week, Mr Giles called an invitation-only media event at his Darwin apartment where he described “a significant problem within police” that he said warranted a full judicial inquiry.

“The allegations that have been coming out, about senior members of the police force actively running a coup or a campaign in cahoots with some alleged politicians, is a significant problem,” he said last week.

Yesterday he apologised unreservedly for creating “anxiety” by airing unsubstantiated claims.

“I shouldn’t have aired them. I should’ve passed them straight on to the judiciary before airing them. I do apologise, and I particularly apologise to police that there have been some allegations made,” he said.

“I have full confidence in the executive arm of police and all police within the Northern Territory.”

The backdown comes after The Australian revealed details of a secret recording of comments Mr Giles made at an Alice Springs Country Liberal Party branch meeting last week.

At that meeting, Mr Giles spoke poorly of several of his colleagues, claiming to have “evidence” some had been involved with senior police officers in a “plot” to get rid of the former police commissioner and in spreading rumours that had contributed to the breakdown of his marriage.

Yesterday he acknowledged that while some of the claims he had heard were “terrible”, he could not prove their “veracity”.

He declared full confidence in senior police and his cabinet colleagues, but stopped short of admitting he had never had evidence implicating them.

Nevertheless, the judicial inquiry looks set to go ahead.

Opposition essential services spokeswoman Nicole Manison accused Mr Giles of throwing out allegations “just to cling to power”, describing his behaviour as “very questionable”.

“People are losing faith; they’re losing trust in this government,” she said.

Mr Giles’s principal media adviser, Danielle Parry, has pursued a policy of notifying only certain media outlets or journalists about government media events, and of ignoring questions from certain reporters.

Following last week’s chaotic scenes that saw Mr Giles purportedly rolled by his colleagues, clinging to power only by refusing to resign, the Chief Minister has promised to run a “more consultative” government.

However last night Ms Parry did not respond to questions about whether the selective media policy would continue.

Mr Giles acknowledged that the leadership turmoil had been embarrassing and “bad for Territorians”, but said his government was “ready to move forward”.