Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro responds to Marion Scrymgour claim public servants are ‘in fear’

Public servants are “in fear” of being punished by their superiors, claims Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour, who says there is a “reluctance” by police officials to pick up her calls. But two top government leaders reject the claims.

Harry Brill

2 min read

January 28, 2025 - 6:30AM

Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour (centre) says public servants are "in fear" of saying the wrong thing and has claimed contacting Police Commissioner Michael Murphy has also become more difficult.

Under the Finocchiaro Government, public servants are “in fear” of being punished by their superiors, claims Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour, who says there is a “reluctance” by police officials to pick up her calls - a claim two Territory leaders reject.

The claim comes after the Federal MP accused the Country Liberal Party of setting up a “wall of silence” regarding crime in Alice Springs.

After a woman was targeted by a group of eight girls in Alice Springs last week, Ms Scrymgour said authorities should disclose whether an alleged offender was on bail or not.

“We’re seeing a wall of silence and I think that’s a concern, there should be more transparency in terms of defendants who have committed a terrible crime and whether or not they were on bail,” she said.

Ms Scrymgour says public servants are “in fear” of reprisals if they speak out of turn. Picture: Liam Mendes / The Australian

Now, Ms Scrymgour has slammed the Territory Government further, claiming the public service was being coerced into withholding information.

“There’s been very good public servants over many, many years and they’ll work for whoever the government is,” she said.

“But people are in fear of saying anything in case it’s interpreted in a different way and that’s a culture I haven’t seen since 1999 and 2000 where there were a lot of people who were in fear of saying anything for fear of reprisal.

“Because if they do, the payback and demotions will start happening, people will start being moved out.”

Ms Scrymgour accused the government of painting a positive picture on crime since taking power.

“Everyone should be working for whoever the government is, whether there’s a change of government and policy, that’s what you do,” she said.

“But I don’t think that (the government should) use the media or others to spin (and) say ‘we’re living in a utopia now’.”

Ms Scrymgour says its been hard getting a hold of Police Commissioner Michael Murphy, who maintains he is “always available”. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Ms Scrymgour claimed lack of communication extended to public service higher-ups, including Police Commissioner Michael Murphy who she said was “hard to get a meeting” with.

“I’ve sort of been thinking ‘is the commissioner on leave’, because previously I could ring the commissioner if there was an issue and I had that relationship with (former Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker) as well,” she said.

“In my role as an elected member you’re able to talk to people, but I find that there’s a real reluctance from the police force to engage like they did previously.”

Mr Murphy told the NT News he did not remember missing a call, text or email from Ms Scrymgour, maintaining he was “always available”.

“I am not exactly sure what Ms Scrymgour is referring to, and I’m happy to be provided the information when I have not communicated with her,” he said.

“As part of my duties I’m always happy to pick up the phone and speak to any concerns or issues our elected members have, whether it’s Territory, local or Federal Government.”

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro says Ms Scrymgour had “never raised” her concerns. Photo: Liam Mendes / The Australian

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said Ms Scrymgour had “never raised” the issue in their meetings.

“I can’t comment on what she’s talking about because she’s never raised it with me despite having the opportunity.”

Ms Finocchiaro also denied public servants were being gagged by their superiors.

“Our public service work incredibly hard (and) they have a code of conduct they have to abide by,” she said.

“Our focus as elected officials is on setting the agenda of the government and strategy and our terrific public service are the people who go out there everyday and implement that.”