NAAJA co-founder Natalie Hunter calls for board's resignation as pressure builds on agency

ABC NEWS (Australia)

There is hope that the Northern Territory's largest Indigenous legal service can continue on despite ongoing turmoil within the organisation. The ABC revealed four board members, including the chairperson, resigned after an ultimatum from the federal and NT governments. But advocates for the organisation say there needs to be further renewal at the top.

Transcript

00:00As a co-founder of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, Natalie Hunter has long held

00:08concerns about issues within the organisation.

00:11We've had many CEOs in the past and now I think it's number six or five or six that's

00:17coming on.

00:18NIGER has been in the headlines for years and now an announcement yesterday that four

00:23board members intend to resign in coming days, including its chair Hugh Woodbury.

00:29That follows a letter sent by the federal and NT governments stating they had lost confidence

00:34in the entire board and questioned the organisation's ongoing funding.

00:39The Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfuss unwilling to speak today.

00:43The ABC understands he is waiting for all board members to give written notice of their

00:48resignations and not stand for reappointment.

00:52An ultimatum spelled out in the letter.

00:54You can't identify one between the other.

00:57You have to do it as a clean sweep for the future of NIGER and I cannot hold on to individuals

01:04knowing that it's going to cost the whole of NIGER and the whole of Aboriginal people

01:08across this territory.

01:09They should all be dismissed, they're unfit for office and they need to be replaced with

01:13people who are dedicated, industrious, professional.

01:16The Criminal Lawyers Association also saying it hopes NIGER can continue delivering legal

01:22assistance, describing its role as vital.

01:25NIGER staff telling the ABC in confidence these latest developments are just another

01:30example of instability in the agency's upper ranks.

01:34Natalie Hunter has also spoken to current staffers.

01:37I have to say they were delighted with the stepping down of members.

01:44NIGER provides vital legal representation for Indigenous Australians within the Northern

01:49Territories justice system, but these latest revelations have led to renewed calls for

01:54a total rethink of how the organisation operates.

01:58That includes the potential for term limits of board members and a review of its $80 million

02:04in taxpayer funding over five years.

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