Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Independent Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley has referred former Chief Michael Gunner to the ICAC...convinced him quitting and corruption allegation are no coincidence

Transcript

Independent Member for Araluen Robyn Lambley has referred former Chief Michael Gunner to the ICAC...convinced him quitting and corruption allegation are no coincidence · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now we know that there was an explosive claim made
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: late yesterday that the reason for the abrupt departure of
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the Chief Minister was because there is an IKAC investigation underway.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Robin Lamley joins me on the line right now. She
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: is the Independent member Fararah lun Good morning, Robin.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Robin, you have confirmed that you have referred Michael Gunner
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: to the IKAT what for so.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Late last year, the Northern Territory Independent online newspaper printed
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: a story written by Christopher Walsh making allegations that the
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: Chief Minister and his ministers and staff had undertaken multiple
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: trips to remote marginal seats during the twenty twenty caretaker
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: period the period leading up to the Northern Territory general
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: election in twenty twenty, which were in breach of the
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: caretaker provisions, and alleging that they were used to campaign
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: to purely for the purposes of campaigning and not for
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: ministerial business as they should have been used for. So
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: the allegations were to the tune of about forty thousand
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: dollars of travel allegedly misappropriated or missed, the misuse of
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: public funding for political campaigning now I read that story, Katie,
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: and I found the story compelling. The evidence that Christopher
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: Walsh put in his story was damning, and so I
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: referred the matter to AKAK, as did the opposition.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: So, Robin, obviously you think that money or you know,
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  Speaker 1: the accusation here is that money has been used to
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  Speaker 1: hire planes or to travel to remote communities throughout an
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: election campaign taxpayer money when you're not actually allowed to
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: do that during the campaigning period. Is that correct?
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: That's correct? Look, Katie, I'm also very mindful that this
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  Speaker 2: is being investigated by IKAK, and I don't want to
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: influence that investigation. My sole purpose in coming out yesterday
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  Speaker 2: was to provide information to Territorians that they needed to know,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: and that is Michael Gunner is being investigated by IKAK.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: It was confirmed by the IKA Commissioner. Just by chance,
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  Speaker 2: randomly last week. I thought, what's happening with that referral
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: I made many months ago. I sent him an email
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: and said, are you investigating this matter? His email came
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: back to me, yes, I am investigating the matter, very
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: very simple, basic. I then clarified with him, am I
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: able to go public on this? And he said, I
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: can't tell you what to do. You're not bound by
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: confidentiality that I can't advise you. But he did say, however,
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: it would be advantageous to the investigation if he held
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: off for a couple of weeks because they're still collecting information.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: I said, yep, that's fine, happy to do that. I committed.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: I told him that I would go public on it
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: next week. But after what happened yesterday, the sudden resignation
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: of the Chief Minister, I then texted him and said,
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: circumstances have change and I'm going to go public on
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: it today, which was estiny. So really need to know, Katie,
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: this is about the integrity of our democracy.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Do you think that there is legitimacy to this and
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: the Chief Minister standing down? Do you think that these
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: two things have something to do with each other.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: I think there's a distinct possibility that that is the case,
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  Speaker 2: and I've always maintained that there are no such thing
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: as coincidences in politics.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: So Robin, essentially what you're saying is that you don't
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: feel that he's resigned for the reasons that he stipulated.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: I think that's probably half the story.
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  Speaker 1: Now, he was asked about this yesterday at a press
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  Speaker 1: conference and he reckons it's not the reason. Do you
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  Speaker 1: buy that?
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  Speaker 2: No, I don't. I think he knows that this investigation
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: is underway. I think you can answer a question depending
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: on how it's asked, in many ways, and he probably
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: thinks that he's answered that truthfully, but there's probably many
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: ways he could have answered it. Look, I don't know.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: The answer to that question is I don't know, But
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  Speaker 2: I just think Territorians need to know that their chief
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  Speaker 2: Minister former Chief Minister is currently being investigated by IKAQ
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  Speaker 2: and these allegations are very very serious to my mind,
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  Speaker 2: In fact that I read the whole of the report,
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: the story written by Christopher Walsh from the NTA Independent
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  Speaker 2: onto Parliamentary handsard onto the Parliamentary Record in December because
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  Speaker 2: I was so horrified by the nature of the allegations.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: I then referred it to the IKAK Commissioner, and then
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  Speaker 2: I said through about one hundred questions to the Chief
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  Speaker 2: Minister through the Legislative Assembly written question process, asking for
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  Speaker 2: further details on about eleven trips that this matter pertains to,
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  Speaker 2: and he failed to answer any of them. Well, Robi
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: did not answer any of those written questions that I
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  Speaker 2: put to him, and that's all on the website, the
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  Speaker 2: Legislative Assembly website. You can go to that and see
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: where he said I have answered all these questions previously.
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  Speaker 2: That's not the case.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Robin, I'll be really interested to see what happens here.
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  Speaker 1: And I think that this is an important part of
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  Speaker 1: the story, you know. Like you've said, I think that
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  Speaker 1: it's important to make sure that territory are aware of
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: everything that's going on behind the scenes as well. Robin,
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: who do you think should step into the role now
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  Speaker 1: as the chief minister?
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  Speaker 2: Oh? Look, I don't really back any of them, Codie.
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  Speaker 2: I come from Central Australia and over the last five
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: years the quality of our life has gone downhill. Crime
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: has escalated to levels I've never seen before. I've lived
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  Speaker 2: in Alice Springs for almost thirty years. I've never seen
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  Speaker 2: crime like this. I don't really back any of them.
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  Speaker 2: But if I was to say who do I think
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: has the ability and the commitment to lead, I would
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  Speaker 2: say it's Natasha Philes. I think she's the hardest working,
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  Speaker 2: most competent out of all of them that you know
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  Speaker 2: from a Central Australian perspective, they all fail this miserably.
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  Speaker 1: Robin on that. Let's talk about the budget. What did
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  Speaker 1: you make of that budget yesterday? Was there anything much
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: in it for the people of Alice Springs?
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  Speaker 2: Look not really nothing new. I mean it's all sort
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: of rehashed stuff. It's all been announced. But the budget
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: was underwhelming. And you know, who has heard of a
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  Speaker 2: treasurer delivering their budget and we then seconds resigning and
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  Speaker 2: running away. I think that speaks volumes about this budget
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  Speaker 2: and this government. For the Treasurer and Chief Minister to
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  Speaker 2: run away seconds after he tables his budget in Parliament,
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  Speaker 2: that's an indictment of where we're at with this government.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Things are pretty bad. And the tone and the mood
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: in the chamber last night was one of it was somber.
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: They're all sort of out the back doing the numbers.
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  Speaker 2: Obviously not many of them sitting in the chamber. I
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  Speaker 2: think there is thrown by this is what we all are.
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  Speaker 2: And now, of course they're going to be fighting over
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  Speaker 2: who's going to leave them well, who gets the poison chalice.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: It's certainly going to be interesting and I know the
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: well acting Chief Minister Nicole Madison was on the show
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: just a couple of minutes ago. She reckons it's not
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: going to turn into a fight, that they'll have a
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: decision by Friday, but she wouldn't say yes or no
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: whether she's prepared to put her hand up. I feel
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  Speaker 1: as though, you know, Territorians do deserve to have a
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  Speaker 1: bit of an understanding about who's going to have a
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: tilt here. At the end of the day, it's Territorians
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: who vote people in. They thought lik him or loathing
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: that Gunner was going to be the chief Minister, you know,
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: for a bit longer. So you know, I actually think
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: that those caucus members should come out and be honest
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: about whether they're planning to have a run or not.
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, Katie. I will tell you that Joel Badden has
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: cleared his diary. Him and I have several commitments over
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: the next couple of weeks, and I was informed that
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: those commitments are no longer going to be happening. I
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: won't give you any detail because I'll get wrapped over
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  Speaker 2: the knuckles. That he's clear desire for the next two weeks,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: which I think is very interesting.
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  Speaker 1: So you reckon he wants to slot in there.
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, Why else would he clear his dog for the
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: next couple of weeks.
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  Speaker 1: Who knows.
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  Speaker 2: That would be an indicator for me that he's certainly
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: throwing his hat in the ring and he's thinking big.
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  Speaker 2: He's thinking he's not going to be available for his
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: current commitments going forward. So interesting he most certainly is
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: it certainly is. It's absolutely chaos in the chamber. The
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  Speaker 2: Chief Minister is actually still the Chief Minister. I think
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: they haven't changed the administrative orders. He's still he's still
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: the Chief Ministry, is still the Treasurer. I think he's
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: technically on leave, and yet he wasn't in Parliament yesterday afternoon.
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  Speaker 2: It's all very strange given that he's just had two
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  Speaker 2: weeks paternity.
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  Speaker 1: Lee Well, Robin Ladley is going on. Yeah, it's anyone's guess,
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  Speaker 1: I think at the moment. Robin Ladley the Independent Member
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  Speaker 1: for Aralu. And we always appreciate good time. Thank you
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: for chatting with us today.