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Katie Woolf spoke with Former Member of the Labor Party Scott McConnell · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining us on the line is the well the former
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Member for Stuart, former member of the Labor Party and
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Labor Caucus, Scott McConnell.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Good morning to you, Scott, Yeah.
• 0:12
  Speaker 3: Good morning and good morning listeners.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Scott.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: I know that you had some pretty big concerns about
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: this twelve million dollar grant right from the get go,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: didn't you.
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Look exactly. I think that we need to remember
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  Speaker 3: at the time, we just had the Langorland Report handed down,
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: which clearly said that the Northern Territory was facing a
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: fiscal cliff and really needed to make sure that it
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: didn't carry out expenditure that wasn't in the budget. We
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: had a budget passed, we had Economic Scrutiny Committee look
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: at the budget, and then a matter of weeks later
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  Speaker 3: we have the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner walk a proposal
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: for a twelve million dollar grandstand at the race card.
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: He walked it into cabinet himself, now on the public record,
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: and it was very concerning at the time. Look, it's
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: a project that you know, so many things you can do,
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  Speaker 3: but there's only so many things you've got the money
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  Speaker 3: to do, and it's just really concerning in the situation
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: that the territory is in that we can just pick
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: up twelve million dollars by walking a submission into cabinet.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Scott, what do you make of the current situation now
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  Speaker 1: that we're seeing Obviously the IKAK made these findings and
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: release them on the twenty fifth of June. We've now
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  Speaker 1: seen this very extensive statement come out from the chairman
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: of the Darwin Turf Club, Brett Dixon, Well really disputing
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: a large amount of you know, what is in those findings,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: but also you know, saying that you might be asking
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: yourself while why a lengthy report makes no reference to
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: that decision making process, going on to say, I'll tell
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: you why. It's because the workings of cabinet are the
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: subject of a claim for public interest immunity, so they
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: can't be inquired into and they cannot be reported on unless,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: of course, the government waives that immunity in the interests
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: of insparency.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Look absolutely, and we're in a case now where
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: the government's credibility has been undermined on this now, and
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: I think we've got a real problem at a time
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: when we need trust in government because of you know,
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: COVID and climate change and economic conditions and so on,
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: where we've got a government that clearly now we just
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: you know, the public trust has been betrayed. It's clearly
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: evident here that the Chairperson of the Cabinet needs to
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: make some advice available to his colleagues and they need
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: to open up their processes and tell us how that
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: decision was made. Now, I'm interested in these statements about
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: twelve months of due diligence and so on. My understanding
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: is that there was some sort of paperwork produced a
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: matter of hours before the cabinet meeting. We're just hearing
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  Speaker 3: all sorts of things that just don't add up, and
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: it's quite clear now it's incumbent on the Chief Minister
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: to come out and clear this up because we need
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: to have trust in our government and this situation is
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: undermining our trust in the government.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: Scott, where do you think this is all going to
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: land for Michael Gunner and for the Gunner government.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: Well, look, I think they have a grand stand full
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: of regret at the moment, so I think that they've
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: got to do something now. Clearly the responsibility here lies
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: with Michael Gunner, the Chief Minister. It's not our Leonardi.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: I have known our Leonardi for a long time, both
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: as a senior bureaucrat and the senior political advisor, and
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  Speaker 3: I have never known anyone to substantially question his credibility
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: or conduct before. So the idea that this is somehow
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  Speaker 3: all the responsibility of our Leonardi, the former chief of
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: staff for the Chief Minister, it doesn't wash with me,
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: and it doesn't wash with the general public.
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  Speaker 2: So what do you reckon needs to happen?
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  Speaker 1: I mean, do you think that the Chief Minister needs
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: to take full responsibility for this and stand down, or
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  Speaker 1: do you think that the sharks are going to start
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  Speaker 1: circling what's going on?
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: The Chief Minister needs to take full responsibility. Taking full
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: responsibility is not just standing there and saying I take responsibility.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: That responsibility requires you to take action, substantive action. I
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: think that we're in a situation now where the government
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: is severely undermined and I am really sort of getting
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: tied in knots now by the conduct of the Chief Minister.
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  Speaker 3: The Chief Minister clearly needs to take responsibility about this
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  Speaker 3: and consider his position, and yes, I do mean consider
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: whether he's fit to be the Chief minister. He needs
• 4:35
  Speaker 3: to make that judgment.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Himself, Scott, some people listening might be thinking, look, you're
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: just angry because you know you were kicked out of
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: the caucus or removed from the caucus, and that you've
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: just got an ax to grind.
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  Speaker 2: What would you say to those people?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, look, I think I need to leave that judgment
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  Speaker 3: to other. People are going to have their opinion on
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: that whatever way. What we're really talking about at the
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: moment is can we trust the go we have? Is
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: it appropriate that you can walk into cabinet and ask
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  Speaker 3: for twelve million dollars and walk out with it?
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Scott McConnell I really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: for having a quick chat with us.
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: Thank you, thank you.