Michael Gunner flagged his desire for the board to resign on Friday following a damning report from the NT’s Independent Commission Against Corruption
The Darwin Turf Club board is yet to respond to a request from Chief Minister Michael Gunner that its members resign.
Northern Territory
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THE Darwin Turf Club board is yet to respond to a request from Chief Minister Michael Gunner that its members resign.
Mr Gunner flagged his desire for the board to resign on Friday following a damning report from the Territory’s Independent Commission Against Corruption.
The government will write to the board on Monday to formally request the resignations.
The NT News understands the Darwin Turf Club will release a statement on Monday morning.
The ICAC found the turf club’s conduct under the current board had been “improper” in the circumstances surrounding the construction of a multimillion-dollar grandstand, partially funded by the NT government.
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The report by ICAC commissioner Ken Fleming QC found that as far back as 2014 an independent expert had recommended changes to the governance and structure of the turf club’s board so it would comply with legislation and independent governance modelling.
“These (recommendations) were comprehensively ignored,” Mr Fleming wrote.
The report singled out board chairman Brett Dixon, whose company was awarded the tender to build the grandstand, for particular criticism.
Mr Fleming found that when the rest of the board became aware of Mr Dixon’s intention to bid for the tender, it allowed him to continue participating in board meetings and took “no action” to address his conflicts. “There were multiple instances of false statements made about Mr Dixon’s attendance at board meetings, his involvement in the meetings, official minutes not accurately reflecting business transacted at meetings and repeated cut-and-paste copies of conflict-of-interest declarations from earlier minutes that did not accurately reflect the meeting to which they claimed to apply,” he wrote.
Findings of improper conduct were also made against the former chief of staff to the Chief Minister Alf Leonardi, Darwin Turf Club board member Damien Moriarty, former turf club chief executive Keith Stacy and Jaytex Constructions and NT Kerbing general manager and co-director Matthew Moss.
Mr Fleming said Mr Dixon’s actions “may be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions for the consideration of criminal charges”.
Mr Dixon did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
Originally published as Michael Gunner flagged his desire for the board to resign on Friday following a damning report from the NT’s Independent Commission Against Corruption
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