Estimates Day 4: Natasha Fyles: No answers, No integrity

Media release from the Leader of the Opposition, Lia Finocchiaro:

Today in Estimates the Chief Minister not only used every trick in the book to avoid scrutiny, the Opposition has uncovered that many of the Territory’s important scrutiny bodies had again had their funding cut.

Leader of the Opposition Lia Finocchiaro said “For a Chief Minister that promised transparency, today Natasha Fyles proved again that this is nothing but a broken promise.”

“Our key scrutiny bodies have had funding cut and her Government has failed to release information, most notably the full Paget report into the Darwin prison riot in 2020.”

“Incredibly despite the ICAC Commissioner revealing his budget from July 1 onwards would cop a further cut of $500,000, the Chief Minister tried to gaslight Territorians by disagreeing with the Commissioner quoting different figures. In reality she couldn’t read her own budget papers, quoting figures from the wrong year.”

“Even victims of crime are backlogged under her Government with 239 Territorians waiting since before 2018 and 755 since before 2020 to see funding, all the while crime continues to escalate out of control.”

“All we continue to see is more secrets and less solutions under this Labor Government. Natasha Fyles continues to show Territorians that she exists only to manage the media not the Territory.”

The Opposition has uncovered:

• Last year the ICAC budget was $1.4m less than the previous year according to the Commissioner
• That as of 1 July a further $500,000 would be cut from the ICAC budget
• The Auditor-General wasn’t satisfied that the Jobs Fund was using best practice
• Increases in costs and no further budget allowance will mean the Auditor-General will undertake less investigations
• The Ombudsman made it clear that it was the Fyles Government that had stopped the release of the full Paget report into the Darwin prison riot in 2020, despite him believing a significant part could be released
• 239 Territorians have been waiting for Victims of Crime funding since before 2018
• 755 Territorians have been waiting since before 2020