MLA calls for parliamentary inquiry into NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Northern Territory’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption was established in 2018 but has travelled a rock road since then, with question marks and scandals plaguing the watchdog body in its short history.

Transcript

00:00An inquiring eye from the crossbench.

00:05ICAC has failed. It's been a monumental flop. It's been a farce.

00:10Alice Springs Independent Robin Lamley has been in Parliament since before the ICAC's creation.

00:15Now the ABC can reveal she will move a motion in Parliament calling for an inquiry into the body.

00:21It's fed into our national profile as being dysfunctional in such a short period of time.

00:29The Northern Territory ICAC has been absolutely plagued by this constant problem of conflicts of interest,

00:36lack of separation and even questions around the integrity itself of how ICAC operates.

00:46The NT ICAC has faced ongoing issues since it was established in 2018 by the then Labor government.

00:53But soon after that, inaugural Commissioner Ken Fleming was forced to step down from a probe into a police shooting.

00:59Then, more problems, when earlier this year Commissioner Michael Riches took leave

01:04after revelations he paid his former partner $20,000 at the same time she withdrew an application for a domestic violence order against him.

01:13The ICAC inspector finding Mr Riches had not acted improperly when making this payment.

01:19An anti-corruption expert says distractions in the ICAC's short history could have eroded trust.

01:25So there's a lot of interest in this issue in the Northern Territory

01:28and anything that can be done to strengthen how the ICAC works is only a positive step.

01:33Uncertainty in the ICAC's office has delayed a key investigation into alleged political misconduct dating back to before the 2020 election.

01:41Neither the acting ICAC Commissioner nor the CLP answered questions put to them about the performance of the watchdog.

01:48Ms Lamley saying after years of delay it's now time to act.

01:52We're entering a new parliament with a new government, a new CLP government.

01:56Hopefully they'll have an appetite to really dig down and try and fix this terrible mess up.

02:03We'll soon find out if the new government has the stomach to take on the task.

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