How the Northern Territory government went from landslide to 'laughing stock'
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Version 0 of 1. How does a government go from a comfortable majority in a unicameral parliament to poll predictions of electoral annihilation in a single term? Well there are a few ways. Coups that aren’t coups, ports that aren’t ports, links to alleged corruption, and accusations of arrogance and voter disconnect have plagued the Northern Territory government since its election. Now, a leaked poll obtained by the NT News suggests the Country Liberal party could be wiped out entirely, losing every seat if an election were held now. But the drastic prediction will come as no surprise to many inside and outside the ruling party. I talk to people and ask them what they think, and they just shake their heads. In 2012 the CLP took government with 16 seats to Labor’s eight, with one independent, but it has since been reduced to a majority of one in the 25-seat assembly after multiple resignations and a series of controversies, including public infighting, corruption allegations and leadership challenges both successful and unsuccessful. The poll found that only 18% of people thought the CLP was doing a good job, and less than one in four thought the party deserved to win the next election. Gerry Wood, an independent MP for the seat of Nelson, told Guardian Australia the results matched the concerns of his electorate. “That’s exactly how people are feeling – I talk to people and ask them what they think, and people just shake their heads,” Wood said. “They think we’re the laughing stock of governments in Australia.” Related: 'Adam Giles has driven me out': Robyn Lambley quits NT's ruling party The survey – which Guardian Australia has been unable to verify but which was described as a “third-party poll” by the NT News – reportedly questioned more than 1,100 people and showed more than half of them thought the territory was heading in the wrong direction. The poll also asked about the chief minister, Adam Giles, finding the controversial leader had a net approval rating of minus 37 points. Bad blood Giles and the treasurer, Dave Tollner, have been at the centre of much of the bad blood in the CLP, with the former’s leadership style and attitude frequently criticised. The party has been labelled a “boy’s club” by departing members who warned women against joining. Wood said the individuals were part of the problem only “to some extent”. “Obviously when you get a perception of arrogance that has to come from individual members of parliament,” he said. “I’d say it’s a mixture of arrogance and a mixture of not involving the people in a lot of the decision-making process.” Wood said the CLP’s first defeat in 2001 “was probably the one that you would have thought would say to the CLP that if you get too arrogant and too cocky … and if you just go out supporting certain businesses and certain groups without involving the people, then it’s more than likely you’re going to get kicked out.” Since taking office, the government has had 14 cabinet reshuffles. The most recent followed a failed leadership spill in February when parliamentary colleagues attempted to roll Giles – who had taken the leadership from Terry Mills while Mills was in Japan six months after the election. Related: Adam Giles survives Northern Territory's attempted leadership spill A 2am, a three-question press conference with the chief minister apparent, Willem Westra Van Holthe, was met with incredulity, but the attempted coup descended into farce eight hours later when the swearing-in ceremony was delayed because Giles refused to step down. In the ensuing melee, Giles described Westra van Holthe as not having the “capacity, capability or the tenacity or the professionalism to be the chief minister”. After a day of scrambling, Giles retained the leadership – with the tenacity-lacking Westra van Holthe as his deputy. Giles welcomed back to his new cabinet his arguably more controversial former deputy Tollner as treasurer. Tollner had been forced to resign in August after being accused of directing homophobic insults at a colleague’s staffer. Not long after his resignation he labelled his own party a “nest of vipers” on live radio. Robyn Lambley, one of the instigators of the failed coup, was sacked from cabinet. Another, Matt Conlan, resigned for “family reasons.” Lambley stewed on the back bench for three months until resigning in a 20-minute speech to parliament which accused the CLP of being a “boys’ club” led by Giles, who would be remembered in history as the worst chief minister ever. Lambley’s speech also offered support to calls from Labor and the NT ombudsman for an Icac-style body in the NT – something the government has repeatedly rejected and the mere suggestion of which Tollner told a radio host amounted to an accusation of corruption because corruption commissions “undermine the supremacy of your parliament”. Related: Former CLP president Sue Fraser-Adams quits, adding to claims of sexism In the meantime, the CLP lost its former president, Sue Fraser-Adams, who backed up much of Lambley’s criticisms and then pledged to start her own party. With Lambley’s resignation the CLP was down to a majority of one, with many speculating that the Speaker of the House, Kezia Purick, would be next to go. Purick – herself the subject of national headlines after a colourful Facebook rant against federal minister Kevin Andrews – had previously floated the idea that the views of her constituents, angry about a proposed development in her rural seat, should determine whether she stayed in the CLP. Purick acknowledged she had criticised the government in the past over the development, but said she did not threaten resignation. “My constituents are my priority and an involvement with a party must yield benefits, hence the reassessment on a regular basis,” Purick told Guardian Australia. Purick declined to comment on the poll as she had not seen it or its methodology. Slush fund allegations Leadership battles are not all that has eroded public confidence in the government. The government has also been linked to an alleged CLP slush fund, Foundation 51, on which the police recently handed over a brief of evidence to prosecutors. In August the scandal prompted Wood to move for an inquiry into the past two decades of political donations. The parliament passed the motion, seemingly by accident. The CLP later used its numbers to reverse the decision. During his refusal to step aside amid the February coup attempt, Giles claimed unnamed senior police officers and “alleged politicians” had plotted “in cahoots” to remove him and police commissioner John McRoberts from their respective offices. Related: NT electoral commission refers alleged Liberal slush fund to police Giles later walked back from his comments but a subsequent apology was rejected by the police association. The resignation of and subsequent investigation into McRoberts centred on allegations he sought to interfere in a fraud case against travel agent Xana Kamitsis, whose agency, Latitude Travel, also booked fares for government ministers on occasion. An independent review by KPMG is now underway into public sector travel processes, but media reports of questionable travel entitlements continue. More recently, a government response to revelations a $130m deep sea port project did not have environmental approval raised the question of when a port named Port Melville is not technically a port. In May the ABC revealed the construction of a facility – which included a 36-hectare area of land, a 30m-litre tank farm for fuel storage and distribution, and a wharf in 12 metres of water – on the Tiwi Islands had gone ahead without any federal or territory environmental impact statement (EIS). Over the course of a week the government scrambled to offer various explanations, including: the facility did not require an EIS; the operators were asked for an EIS but did not provide it; the approval without an EIS was a legislative loophole – that there is no relevant minister for port approvals in the NT government; the project was just an upgrade, and that Port Melville was in fact not a port. The federal environment department investigated the development but found it did not breach commonwealth environment laws. The findings were made the same day it was revealed the port had been referred to the NT environmental protection agency over a diesel spill. Questioned on the poll results on Monday, Giles responded in timeworn fashion: “The poll that matters is the poll on election day. Related: The Adam Giles non-spill proves a day is a long time in Northern Territory politics “What I know is we’ve been working very hard to pay back Labor debt, fix Labor’s deficit that they left us, and I think everyone understands that,” he said. “What we’ll do is, come election time, we’ll listen to that poll.” Giles cited the government’s education and health budgets, elective surgery waiting lists and high tourism numbers as achievements, but conceded its communication had been poor. Giles said his leadership was “absolutely” safe. With the next Northern Territory election not due until August 2016, recent history suggests his confidence may be verging on reckless optimism. |