Terry Mills ‘beyond appalled’ by Northern Territory in turmoil

OUSTED former NT leader Terry Mills has questioned the integrity of democracy in the Top End.

OUSTED Northern Territory leader Terry Mills has questioned the integrity of democracy in the Top End as parliament prepares to vote on a confidence motion next week that could trigger an early election.

Mr Mills, who was this month dumped as the Territory’s commissioner in Indonesia, said he was “beyond appalled” by recent political turmoil, and that MPs no longer appeared focused on the best interests of their constituents.

Labor Opposition Leader Delia Lawrie yesterday gained approval for the NT Legislative Assembly to debate on Tuesday whether the Country Liberals government still had its confidence.

At least two CLP MPs would have to cross the floor for the motion to be successful, beginning an eight-day process that could see voters go to the polls 18 months early.

Mr Mills last night declined to advise his former colleagues to back their current leader. “The majority of our community, whether in remote places or in the suburbs, are appalled at what they see on both sides of the house,” he said. “What has happened in the Territory is noticed and commented upon, both here and internationally, and not in a positive light.”

The comments follow extraordinary scenes in which the man who replaced Mr Mills in a leadership coup in early 2013, Adam Giles, was purportedly rolled himself earlier this month, only to cling to power by refusing to resign.

Mr Mills criticised Mr Giles for ignoring the will of a majority of the caucus, saying he could have done the same in 2013, but chose not to “because I believed there was something greater than me — democracy”.

Mr Mills — who led the CLP to a landslide victory in 2012 before being dumped as chief minister seven months into his government’s first term while on a business trip to Japan — was dumped as commissioner after retweeting a picture of himself laughing in the middle of the latest political crisis.

In cancelling his contract, a high-level bureaucrat in the Office of Asian Engagement made extensive reference to Mr Mills’s “inappropriate public comments and use of public and private social media accounts”.

Mr Mills said he regretted the retweet, but denied it justified termination. He said he had been refused opportunities to brief Mr Giles or cabinet during his term as taxpayer-funded commissioner.

He accused the government of misusing the position to instead contain his own public profile for largely political reasons. “I found that the role I had been given was to reduce my profile in the Northern Territory (and) to malign it if possible,” Mr Mills said.

Mr Giles reportedly said last night that he had no prior knowledge of Mr Mills’s sacking.

Ms Lawrie called for an immediate election, saying Territorians had lost confidence in the “chaotic and dysfunctional” government.

She said Labor, which has yet to unveil its policies, offered a credible alternative.

“In government, Territory Labor will work to undo the damage to the Territory caused by Adam Giles and the CLP government,” she said.