Boongs & Politics Just Don't Bloody Work!

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/giles-says-he-cant-support-willem-westra-van-holthe-as-chief-minister-clp-parliamentary-wing-meeting-to-decide/story-fnk0b1zt-1227206076554

UPDATE: 230pm - Giles says he's still the leader

ADAM Giles has held a press conference where he came out fighting.

"I'm still the Chief Minister," he said.

"Now I have the choice, do I do the right thing and step aside, or do I say Willem isn't good enough to be Chief Minister?

Mr Giles said that Mr Westra van Holthe had made a "tactical error" and did not have the numbers required to be the chief minister of the Northern Territory.

"Here we are at 2pm in the afternoon and I don't really know what's going to happen," he said.

"I can't support (Willem Westra van Holthe) as chief minister, I think that's a fundamental error.

"I do recognise it provides a high degree of uncertainty for Territorians right now.

"I have been in this situation before, it's just horrible to be here and for all the people reading, watching and listening, all I can do is apologise. It is immature politics.

"If you can't get over the hurdle on the first day in the first minute, what capacity can you have to be chief minister?"

Mr Giles was scathing about the abilities of Mr Westra van Holthe, saying he did not have the "capacity, capability or tenacity or the professionalism to be chief minister".

"'I cannot support Willem Westra van Holthe as chief minister. If you want to change chief minister come talk to me."

There will be a CLP parliamentary wing meeting held at 3.30pm where the issue of who is actually the leader will be discussed.

"There's every possibility we'll be going to an election in the next three months," Mr Giles said.

He also addressed the furore over the resignation of Police Commissioner John McRoberts after conflict of interest allegations, saying he would push for a judicial inquiry.

He also found time to talk about banana freckle.

UPDATE: 11.41am - Bush duo rejoin CLP

ALISON Anderson and Larisa Lee are believed to have farcically rejoined the CLP in order to prop up the ailing new leadership team.

The rebels stormed out of the party, alleging racism, less than 12 months ago.

Willem Westra van Holthe "anointed" himself the Chief Minister last night after securing nine caucus votes. But he was forced to cancel a swearing in ceremony this morning when it became apparent that incumbent Adam Giles would not resign.

Mr Giles is refusing to stand aside until the rebels can prove they can get an absolute majority. That would mean the 13 votes necessary to run parliament and not simply a majority within the CLP party room.

It is understood an envoy has been sent to court independent Gerry Wood's vote in the event Mr Westra van Holthe falls a number short in parliament.

UPDATE: 11.03am - Swearing in ceremony cancelled

THE Territory is engulfed in a leadership crisis, with self-appointed Chief Minister Willem Westra van Holthe forced to cancel a swearing in ceremony this morning because incumbent Adam Giles is refusing to resign.

Nine of the CLP's 14 members have backed Mr Westra van Holthe. Last night he called himself the "Chief Minister apparent".

But it is understood that Administrator John Hardy has been advised he cannot swear in a new Chief Minister. At the moment, Mr Westra van Holthe can only demonstrate he has nine of the 13 votes required in NT Parliament to form a government.

Without the acquiesce of Adam Giles, Dave Tollner, Bess Price, Peter Styles and Kezia Purick, any attempts for Mr Westra van Holthe to run parliament would collapse.

UPDATE: 9.33am - Parliamentary wing at risk of suspension

THE Country Liberals management committee is holding a crisis meeting this morning and is understood to be considering suspending the party's entire parliamentary wing.

The bitter war within the CLP has now raised the very real prospect of an early election.

Van Holthe has anointed himself Chief Minister, after winning the backing of nine party colleagues, but he would still need the entire CLP wing to remain united to form a government.

He could not do so without the votes of Mr Giles's frozen-out supporters: Dave Tollner, Bess Price and Peter Styles.

READ: GILES HOLIDAYS AFTER HEARING ALLEGATIONS

One MLA who voted to sack Mr Giles told the NT News that the members were fed up with his style of leadership.

"Mostly we were looking at what has happened in Queensland and that painted a pretty clear picture about what happens when you're arrogant," he said. "We didn't have the confidence in [Giles] that he would take that on board and learn from it."

The CLP are now openly at war with each other over the knifing, with Mr Giles's supporters seething over the betrayal.

In an email exchange obtained by the NT News, Ms Purick chastised her colleagues last night for knifing Mr Giles and demanded an official wing vote for the morning.

"Clearly you do not care about electorate or people in the electorates," she wrote. "People want stability and calmness in government, which Adam and Peter C can bring to them.

"You need to think also who will be leader of government business, whip, deputy speaker, chairman of parl(iamentary) committees and the like. This is not about you and your selfish, self serving view of the world, there needs to be consideration of the Territory, all of them everywhere, which I believe you are not doing."

"Willem and John, you need to think you can wrestle control over night and without a vote from the wing. You are wrong."

Sources close to the meeting said Mr Westra van Holthe phoned Adam Giles after the numbers were secured to demand his resignation.

Mr Giles is expected to hold a press conference this morning where it is believed he will stand down as chief minister, but not quit Parliament. The move could throw the party into full blown chaos, as Mr Giles' supporters are seething over the vote.

Rumblings had started to reach a fever pitch that the move was coming yesterday after weeks of discontent among the wing over Mr Giles's leadership style. He had also drawn the ire of some in cabinet for flying out of town on holidays the day after hearing serious allegations against former police commissioner John McRoberts.

The NT News can reveal that Education Minister Robyn Lambley was secretly orchestrating the move to roll Giles with Mr Westra Von Holthe.

Ms Lambley recently flew to the Tiwi Islands to court the caucus vote of Arafura MLA Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu, one of the Country Liberals members seen as a crucial vote to oust Mr Giles.

It is believed Mr Kurupuwu, along with backbencher Lia Finnochiaro and Transport Minister Matt Conlan pledged to vote against Mr Giles by proxy. The other members who signalled they would vote to roll Mr Giles last night were Mr Westra van Holthe, Ms Lambley, former deputy leader Peter Chandler, Gary Higgins and Nathan Barrett.

READ: TIO AND PORT MUST GO

It is believed those who support Mr Giles were Giles himself, Dave Tollner, Bess Price, Peter Styles and Kezia Purick.

Mr Giles had spent the day in one-on-one interviews telling media and the public that he had learnt valuable lessons from last weekend's Queensland election that saw LNP leader Campbell Newman lose big at the polls. He pledged to be more inclusive of differing opinions on major decisions moving forward.

He told the NT News yesterday afternoon that he was not concerned about any leadership challenges and that he would be leading the party into the 2016 election.


See Even though they want this boong leader out .. he still makes a heap of trouble. Kick this Coon boy out for good! People just don't get that "BOONGS AND POLITICS JUST DON'T BLOODY WORK"!

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/adam-giles-has-accused-senior-police-of-being-involved-in-political-bid-to-topple-him-as-chief-minister/story-fnk0b1zt-1227207344371


SENIOR police were yesterday accused of being involved in a bid to topple Adam Giles as chief minister. 
 
And as he entered the CLP party wing meeting that would determine his political fate, Mr Giles also accused an unnamed parliamentary colleague of working with the upper echelon of the force to bring him down.

"The allegations that have been coming out about senior members of the police force actively running a coup, or a campaign, in cahoots with some alleged politicians is a significant problem," he said.

Mr Giles has demanded that concerns he has about possible police involvement in destabilising his leadership be investigated as part of a broader judicial inquiry.



After consistently rejecting such an inquiry, Mr Giles yesterday said it had become necessary to look into the police investigation of the government-run pensioner travel scheme which saw the arrest of travel agent and socialite Xana Kamitsis and the forced resignation of former police commissioner John McRoberts.







   After seeing off the leadership challenge, Mr Giles said he would soon begin working on the terms of reference for the proposed judicial inquiry.

Acting Commissioner Reece Kershaw yesterday endorsed "the integrity" of the force, saying Territorians could have complete confidence in Territory police.

Mr Kershaw said he had referred three matters to the Solicitor for the NT, who has been asked to investigate whether the conduct of Commander Richard Bryson, who is under suspension, warranted any further action.

He has also asked if anything in the conduct of Mr McRoberts before his resignation could constitute a breach of the NT Police Force code of conduct and ethics or a breach of any criminal offence provision.

The Solicitor for the NT has also been asked to determine whether any actions by Mr McRoberts or Commander Bryson involved any conflict of interest and, if so, what the nature of the conflict was.

"In relation to the last of these, I have asked the Solicitor for the Northern Territory to assess whether any changes may be required to existing police policies, protocols or procedures governing conflicts of interest," Mr Kershaw said.

"I have taken these steps to ensure there can be absolutely no question as to the integrity of any investigation of any matter that led to the resignation of the former commissioner and subsequent related events.

"I would like to again reassure the people of the Northern Territory that they can continue to have full confidence in the integrity of the men and women of the NT Police Force and the other arms of the tri-service."

Before entering yesterday's party meeting, Mr Giles said he would provide any judicial investigator access to all emails, phone records and text messages "to find out who knew what and when".

"There have been a series of allegations and rumours made today, particularly in relation to some senior police and members of the political fraternity on the Country Liberal Party side," he said. "The only way to get to the bottom of that is through a full investigation."

No one had yet been identified to head the proposed judicial inquiry.

"I think that there are serious things that have been going on," Mr Giles said.

Mr Giles said that included Mr McRoberts' removal as police commissioner "under a cloud of allegations". "It's time to say 'right, let's have look at exactly what's happened in that investigation process'."

While Mr Giles did not name the politician he accused of working with police to topple him it is believed to be Attorney-General John Elferink

Mr Elferink returned from a US holiday on Monday afternoon, shortly before Willem Westra van Holthe launched his unsuccessful bid to become chief minister.

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/mla-robyn-lambley-leaves-ministry-after-the-clp-coup-and-attacks-the-chief-minister/story-fnk0b1zt-1227207361831

FORMER Education minister Robyn Lambley has attacked the chief minister Adam Giles and spoken about her decision to back Willem Westra van Holthe in this week's failed coup attempt.

"Obviously heads had to fall," Ms Lambley said.

"The Chief Minister Adam Giles has chosen my head to fall. I question the rationale around that but I have not supported Adam Giles through his leadership challenge."

She said that Willem Westra van Holthe was a "better person to manage the business of the Northern Territory."

"There are a number of values that I hold very, very dearly: honesty, integrity and respect," she said.

"And those three things I don't see in the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. He lacks honesty, he lacks respect and he lacks integrity. And for those reasons I feel quite relieved to be stood down from cabinet today."
(well.. what do you expect he is a bloody boong!! He shouldn't be running the show)

She travelled back to Alice Springs on Wednesday afternoon and planned to spend "some time reflecting on the events over the last couple of days."

According to Ms Lambley, a vote was not taken in the wing meeting on Tuesday when Mr Giles retained the leadership.

"(Mr Giles) does not have the full confidence of the parliamentary wing I believe," she said.

"I will be spending the next couple of days considering my future."



EDUCATION Minister Robyn Lambley - the organiser of the bungled leadership coup - is out of cabinet.

It is unclear at this stage whether Ms Lambley was sacked or resigned after the stunning events of the past few days.

She was instrumental in rallying the numbers for Willem Westra van Holthe to roll Chief Minister Adam Giles. The plan fell apart due to poor execution, and Giles walked from a wing meeting last night triumphant, with Mr Westra van Holthe by his side.

Her relationship with Mr Giles has bordered on untenable for some time.

On radio this morning, Mr Giles said the coup was "bullshit" and named Lambley as one of the agitators.

He also spoke publicly about delays to the Palmerston Hospital, a project under Lambley's carriage as Health Minister.



ADAM Giles has described yesterday's leadership crisis as "bullshit" and publicly named his education minister Robyn Lambley as one of the plotters during a series of radio interviews this morning.

Mr Giles and usurper-cum-deputy Willem Westra van Holthe took to the airwaves to put on a united front. In successive interviews with ABC local radio and Mix 105.7, the CLP leaders said the crisis of yesterday had been put behind them.

But Giles also had some stern words for those who pulled the trigger on a bungled coup.

He told Mix host Pete Davies the whole scenario was "bullshit" and that Ms Lambley - the education minister who many believe will now be ditched from cabinet - had been "going out and doing a few things".

"People need to remember that it's an honour to be a Member of Parliament and represent consituents," Mr Giles said.

It is anticipated that Mr Giles and Mr Westra van Holthe will spend today deciding the makeup of the new cabinet.



IT started over a cup of coffee.

Robyn Lambley, whose ­hatred for Chief Minister Adam Giles could no longer be contained, had just been dumped from her pet portfolio. She vented to Graeme Lewis, the influential CLP fundraiser, over a latte at the Fannie Bay Cool Spot.

Giles had left himself exposed taking holidays while the scandal involving police commissioner John McRoberts deepened.

The chief minister spoke yesterday about how he was undermined, the "spreading rumours about myself by one parliamentary member in particular". He was talking about Lambley.


In an extraordinary statement yesterday, Mr Giles claimed he was the target of a coup, orchestrated by senior police "in cahoots with some alleged politicians". Last night he pointed the finger at John Elferink.

Beneath the surface of the McRoberts affair is a bitter struggle for control of the Northern Territory Police Force. And the inescapable fact is the police crisis and the political one are inextricably linked.

At his hopeless press conference at 1am yesterday, Willem Westra van Holthe failed to give any sort of justification for the coup.

He spoke in motherhood statements, and the NT News asked if he was seriously going to spew political rubbish rather than explain the extraordinary events to Territorians. He couldn't say anything because there was no explanation. It was an opportunistic strike.

And the plan almost worked. If it wasn't carried out with the sort of incompetence that has become a hallmark of Lambley's time in public office.






Chief Minister Adam Giles and Robyn Lambley, who attempted to remove him from his positio
Chief Minister Adam Giles and Robyn Lambley, who attempted to remove him from his position.

   She flew to the Tiwi Islands to bring Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu on board. (Other dirty boong Pollie)

Then the rebels turned up on the doorstep of Blain MLA Nathan Barrett. The Territory's youngest MLA was the last to sign up.

The group met in Barrett's office for about three hours. At the conclusion, Westra van Holthe rang Giles and announced he was the new chief minister. Giles congratulated him. Then let fly.

The next morning he called the rebels' bluff, refused to go quietly and the coup came shuddering to a halt. Westra van Holthe could only give Administrator John Hardy nine names, short of the 13 ­required for a parliamentary majority.

The swearing-in had to be called off and the plotters forced to ­regroup.



According to an MLA who was in the party room yesterday, Giles, Dave Tollner, Kezia Purick and Bess Price all threatened to resign.

"I'm utterly disgusted," he said.

"There's four people who walked in, started swearing and threatening everyone. What are we going to do: burn the house down?"

The result is an embarrassment for the party, an unbelievable triumph for Giles.

The wing are stuck with a bloke they don't want. Giles is stuck with a weak deputy he had, hours earlier, said had no ­capacity, tenacity or ­professionalism.

Lambley and Elferink are just stuck. Their moment has passed, their influence gone.


And... what a shambles! It is not a Parliament .. it is a kids game of musical chairs!

AWWW.. Big deal the first Abbo Chief minister .. well doesn't he get full marks now? Send this bloody ape back to the trees and let the white  guy have a shot at doing a white man's job!

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/chief-minister-adam-giles-takes-no-mercy-on-coup-plotters/story-fnk0b1zt-1227211323276

THE story begins like a mystery novel. Two men, dressed in sombre frowns and crumpled suits like plainclothes coppers, walked into Parliament House on a dark and stormy night.

The former policemen announced they were now in charge of the NT Government. Three minutes later they walked out, having provided little by way of explanation. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Willem Westra van Holthe and John Elferink, the front men of the failed coup, along with Business Minister Peter Styles, all first tasted public service in the Northern Territory Police Force. An organisation, we've come to learn in recent weeks, as riven with politics and factions as the cabinet room where the three ex-cops now sit.

One fact of the political chaos of the past few days is inescapable. It is rooted in the complex web of relationships that pervade both NT politics and its constabulary.



THE next evening, another bloke hobbled down the steps of Parliament House. Adam Giles walked gingerly, owing partly to a recent knee operation. His right shoe was badly scuffed.

Inside an ugly CLP wing meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Giles, Dave Tollner, Bess Price and Kezia Purick had raged about the midnight coup.

Giles retained his leadership despite not holding a vote of the caucus. It was a matter of holding on at all costs, rather than reaching a party room consensus.

Giles ultimately called the plotters' bluff by threatening to burn the house down.

Westra van Holthe was not able to gain the 13 votes needed to demonstrate the confidence of the Parliament. And if the party didn't return to Giles, he'd have no choice but to force the rabble to the slaughterhouse of an early election.

Dirt was being flung from both corners of the caucus room. It's unclear whether Giles's scuffed boot was the result of head kicking. But when he emerged he was so battered and bruised you'd question whether he had the capacity to ­survive another fight.



ROBYN Lambley, dumped from cabinet and now effectively banished from the halls of power in Darwin, had been seething at Adam Giles for some time. She was close to Terry Mills – the only person Mills trusted to handle the Treasury portfolio despite her lack of experience, qualification and competence – and Alison Anderson, both casualties of the Giles reign in the CLP party room. During the past year, Lambley had also grown close to Westra van Holthe, the pair bonding as both dealt with the recent death of parents.

Lambley steadily lost her influence under Giles. She became a bit-part player in cabinet, kept on for two reasons. The first was geography: she still spent the lion's share of her time in Alice Springs, which was good PR for the government while Giles ran the show increasingly from his Darwin base. This week he said he hadn't been "home" to Alice for more than two months.

The second reason Lambley wasn't dumped earlier was the need to up the number of women in cabinet.



BOTH Conlan and Lambley are now in the gun of the party's administration, where Giles holds significant influence. Despite public claims the party is united, the rank-and-file have also been at war; with the Alice Springs branch pitted against the Darwin branch.

The NT News understands this could be a significant problem for Solomon MP Natasha Griggs, who many on the Darwin side of that fence wanted replaced before the 2013 election. Griggs fits more neatly with blue-blood Liberals than the powerful group of Giles and Indigenous Affairs Minister Nigel Scullion.

Giles himself told reporters there was such a mass exodus of members over Westra van Holthe's supposed ascension that the party may not have enough members left to be considered an official party.

"What we have seen as a result of last night is a party completely disintegrate in terms of different factions," Giles said on Tuesday.

"That's not a good place for any political party, whether that's Labor or the CLP. It's not good for stability."

Lambley and Conlan are now set to drift into the political wilderness. It is unclear whether they'll run from the CLP – or even from parliament altogether.



JOHN McRoberts was seen as close to Adam Giles. And the chief minister, now the most remarkable political survivor in Australian political history, seems to believe he was the ultimate target of officers who blew the whistle on their commissioner.

Hours before a wing meeting that would decide his fate, Giles raged: he said the political coup had been orchestrated by senior police "in cahoots with alleged politicians".

His position retained, Giles toned down his statements and has come under hostile fire from the Police Association for shouting such unsubstantiated rumours. When he fronted media at the height of the McRoberts affair, Giles said he had heard whispers but that "you don't act on rumours". At best – even if what he's alleging is true – the words betray a double standard.

All the more reason, especially now the police scandal has pervaded politics, to hold an independent judicial inquiry. It took Giles's darkest hour for him to find the clarity and courage to make that call.

There are too many questions to ask about everything, too many rumours.

Too many conflicting stories coming from otherwise unimpeachable sources.

There is also too much at stake. The public must regain its confidence in both the police force and the government.



"SO Terry is not the Chief Minister anymore?"

Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu didn't realise – until it was too late – he had just helped topple Terry Mills. One MP recalls the conversation as Francis and others made their way out of the party room in March, 2013.

"Francis thought he was voting for leader of the party, not Chief Minister," the MP said. "I thought to myself: God have mercy it will be a miracle if we make it through four years without collapsing".

He left the CLP and then rejoined last year. After Lambley flew to the Tiwi Islands, Kurrupuwu agreed to join the coup.

As the numbers were being re-crunched on Tuesday, Francis was unreachable. He'd turned his phone off, plugged out of NT politics and gone fishing.

If only the rest of the Territory was that lucky.


Look what this boong causes! Anyone want to invest in the NT now? really stable politics with a Boong at the helm still.

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/terry-mills-relieved-from-his-post-as-nt-commissioner-to-indonesia-and-asean/story-fnk0b1zt-1227223121279?sv=7e30165e1f5a2536b1235dc07b2e959b


FOR the second time in two years, Terry Mills has been sacked while overseas. 
 
The NT News reported ten days ago that Mr Mills would be relieved from his post as NT Commissioner to Indonesia and ASEAN.

He has now formally been called home.

Mr Mills has previously been issued two formal warnings over unauthorised statements made while in the diplomatic position.

The final straw is understood to have been a post on Twitter during the height of the recent bungled leadership coup.
Mr Mills — who was famously dumped as Chief Minister in favour of Adam Giles while in Japan — reposted a photograph of himself laughing.

The coup failed and Mr Mills again finds himself stranded on assignment in Asia and out of a job.





Just see what a bloody snake of a politician this "Mr Giles Mud-breed" is!
They boot him out and he comes back like the turd that won't flush and anybody that was instrumental in trying to get rid of him he bullies or fires.

I think if he isn't going to bugger off there needs a new election because it is just a circus and a joke having this bloody boong around !

[Br.IanVonTurpie]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/mills-hits-back-at-giles-for-sacking/story-fnk0b1zt-1227225976582


Recently deposed NT Commissioner to Indonesia and ASEAN Terry Mills has come out swinging against Adam Giles, who he says undermined him at every turn and had him sacked again as political revenge. 
 
Mr Mills was fired from his position on Friday and says he knew Mr Giles would come gunning for him after the recent cabinet shuffle saw the Chief Minister hand over the Asian Engagement portfolio.

"It was clear 24 hours later with him losing the portfolio that he's now free to have me terminated," Mr Mills said from Jakarta. "Of course he knew (about it). It beggars belief that he would not know."

Mr Giles' office directed calls to the Department for Asian Engagement and Trade yesterday. On Monday, he told reporters he only learned of Mr Mills' second sacking through media reports.

The department did not agree to interview requests.

No real reason was offered for the termination of the contract position, only that it "is an opportune time to review the costs and benefits of other models", according to a statement. Mr Mills was awarded the contract for the job last April.

"(The position) was to keep me out of sight and as out of mind as possible," Mr Mills said. "It became increasingly clear that my role was one that was not valued by the Chief Minister with whom I had the agreement with."

It is understood he was fired over retweeting a photo of himself laughing while Mr Giles went through a leadership challenge. Mr Mills said he regretted it, but that it was not a "hanging offence".

Labor leader Delia Lawrie said Mr Giles should explain to Territorians why taxpayers are on the hook for this failed experiment, which earlier reports indicated may have cost around $750,000 a year for salaries, office rentals and other expenses.

"You've got to ask why significant amounts of taxpayers' money went into that position," she said. "Appoint mates to jobs then go on some retribution when you have a falling out with your mates; that's not the way to run the Territory."

Mr Giles did not answer questions around the termination in Parliament.

All this from a cunning coon , that plays in the shadows and has no ethics at all!