Misuse of public money claims at Darwin Waterfront Corporation referred to NT Public Accounts Committee
Misuse of public money allegations involving the Darwin Waterfront Corporation (DWC) and its deputy chief executive have been referred to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny.
On Wednesday night, Opposition Leader Selena Uibo told NT parliament she was referring "serious" allegations relating to conduct at the DWC to the NT Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The DWC is a statutory authority established by the NT government which controls the Darwin Waterfront, one of the Top End's most popular recreational facilities.
The DWC board released a statement on Thursday saying it "categorically denies any wrongdoing and welcomes the opportunity to respond to any matters raised by participating in any inquiry".
Ms Uibo's referral follows a series of media reports by the NT Independent about the allegations, which the online publication said were based on internal memos.
Speaking in parliament, Ms Uibo said the allegations involved "significant sums of public money and they cannot be allowed to quietly fade into the background".
She said among the claims was the "alleged creation of a made-up, part-time job for Mr Sam Burke", the DWC's deputy chief executive.
Ms Uibo said the role was "reportedly unadvertised" and allegedly resulted "in a $60,000 salary increase via a temporary higher duties allowance".
"The higher duties allowance allegedly continued for up to six years," she said.
Ms Uibo also referenced "reports of public service rules being repeatedly breached".
"With roles not advertised, promotions bypassing merits-based reviews and job evaluation [processes] ignored for the benefit of certain individuals," she said.
Mr Burke, Chief Minister Lia Finocchario's husband, has worked at the DWC since January 2016.
He is also the chief executive of AustralAsia Railway Corporation (AARC), another statutory authority established under NT law.
Ms Uibo said the allegations included money being transferred between "taxpayer-funded entities to support Mr Burke's salary".
"There have been claims of funds being moved between the DWC and the AARC," she said.
"It has been further alleged that a memo outlines how the DWC would recoup salary costs from the AARC, raising concerns of potential fraud and gross conflicts of interest."
In a statement, AARC chair Alastair Shields said the two corporations were co-located and for many years had "shared some corporate services and staff for efficiency".
"There is nothing untoward or unusual about this arrangement, and it predates the appointment of Mr Burke as chief executive."
Mr Burke initially joined the DWC as general manager, which a spokesperson said he secured "following an open recruitment process".
The DWC spokesperson said in 2023, Mr Burke's title changed from general manager to deputy chief executive — a role responsible for the corporation's daily operations.
"This was a change in title only and there was no salary increase at this time," they said.
Ms Uibo said allegations had been made about Mr Burke being "promoted" in 2023.
"Mr Burke signed a new four-year executive contract in November 2023 ... promoting him … with a salary of $259,824, plus benefits," she said.
Ms Finocchiaro has declined to answer questions relating to the allegations, saying that "clear separations are appropriately and properly in place".
Calls for an inquiry, by the Labor opposition and independent MLA Justine Davis, have been shut down by Tourism Minister Marie-Clare Boothby.
In deciding not to call an inquiry, Ms Boothby referenced a departmental briefing which she said proved "due process under those allegations was actually followed".
Ms Boothby has refused to publicly release the briefing.
In its statement, the DWC board said it had been subject to annual audits by the NT auditor-general.
"These audits, conducted in accordance with the relevant NT laws and with reference to the Commonwealth corporations law, have consistently found no evidence to support any finding of financial or governance misconduct," it said.
Ms Uibo acknowledged in her speech that the allegations occurred solely during Labor's eight years in power.
"But that does not, and it will not, deter me from demanding accountability," the former cabinet minister said.
The DWC board said it had invited Ms Uibo "for a briefing on the allegations", but had not received a response.
The five-member Public Accounts Committee — which has a government majority of three members — will now decide whether to accept Ms Uibo's referral and investigate the allegations.
Mr Burke was contacted for comment.
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Gordon Flake: We have been told probably literally hundreds of times that this is going to be something that moves the dial on Donald Trump and it never proves to be true. I mean, what would not have thought that somebody had been convicted with 34 felony accounts would be, you know, it would turn to the presidency. So I'm a little bit sceptical that something like this is gonna fundamentally change the debate around Trump or the Trump presidency. Isabel Moussalli: As for the relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, Professor Flake believes the back and forth criticism will continue to flow and continue to distract from serious policy issues. Samantha Donovan: Isabel Moussalli , over the years, many attempts to land a spacecraft on the moon have failed. Japanese company, iSpace, tried to land an uncrewed vessel on the moon two years ago, but it crashed during the landing. Now it appears the company's second attempt has ended the same way. Elizabeth Cramsie has more. Elizabeth Cramsie: If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. It's a useful motto, but for the second time now, Japanese company, iSpace, has failed to land on the moon. Takeshi Hakamada: In conclusion, we have not achieved the landing. So in that regards, you can say we failed. Elizabeth Cramsie: That's Takeshi Hakamada, the CEO and founder of iSpace. Two years ago, iSpace's first attempt ended in failure when its spacecraft crashed into the surface of the moon. This second uncrewed lander was aptly named Resilience. But in a media conference today, Mr Hakamada once again had to apologise to everyone who contributed to the mission. Takeshi Hakamada: This is the second time that we were not able to land. So we really have to take it very seriously. Elizabeth Cramsie: The suspense had been building as the lander approached the moon and prepared to land. Up until that point, the mission had gone well, but communications were lost less than two minutes before the scheduled landing. Ryo Ujiie is the Chief Technology Officer. Ryo Ujiie: Based on the fact that the speed of the lander was not reduced enough, I think it's appropriate to think it is crashed. Elizabeth Cramsie: Associate Professor Alice Gorman is from Flinders University in Adelaide. Alice Gorman: I'm very sorry that they weren't successful. It would have been an amazing mission. But what we have to keep in mind, I think, is that in some ways failure is more common than success on the moon. Elizabeth Cramsie: She says while moon landings have been achieved before, they haven't gotten any less difficult. Alice Gorman: People remember the successes like the Apollo missions. They don't remember the failures. And with the Apollo missions, I think we were extremely fortunate. So the President of the United States had speeches prepared if the astronauts all died. That was the real possibility. And they didn't, and that's extremely fortunate. But then there was a period after Apollo of about 50 years where people just weren't sending missions to the moon. So a lot of that continuity of knowledge was lost. Elizabeth Cramsie: She says there's multiple challenges in a moon landing and it's more difficult than other planets. Alice Gorman: There's no atmosphere. But what that means is that a spacecraft can't use parachutes to slow its speed down when it's coming out of orbit. It has to rely on engines. In the case of the iSpace lander, the information it was getting about its distance from the surface wasn't happening fast enough. So it's kind of out of sync with the little rocket thrusters. So it just went, poof, down it went. There's no air to slow it down. Elizabeth Cramsie: Professor Gorman says every crash is a learning opportunity. Alice Gorman: You learn something about your systems, your engineering. You learn something about the lunar surface, the lunar atmosphere. So it's not entirely useless. It's just not what people were hoping for. Samantha Donovan: That's Associate Professor Alice Gorman from Flinders University, Elizabeth Cramsie, reporting. And that's PM for this week. PM's producer is David Sparkes. Technical production by Joram Toth, David Sergent and Nick Dracoulis. I'm Samantha Donovan. PM will be back on Monday evening. Just a reminder too, the podcast of the program is available on the ABC Listen app. I hope you have a safe and happy weekend. Good night.
