Parliamentary committee dismisses allegations against Darwin Waterfront Corporation
The Darwin Waterfront Corporation (DWC) has been cleared of wrongdoing by a Northern Territory parliamentary committee after the Territory Labor leader raised misuse of public money allegations.
Opposition Leader Selena Uibo referred the "serious" allegations to the Public Accounts Committee last month.
The allegations included the creation of a made-up unadvertised role that would see DWC's deputy chief executive, Sam Burke, receive a temporary $60,000 higher duties salary increase.
The higher duties allowance allegedly continued for up to six years, long after the temporary role ended.
Ms Uibo used parliamentary privilege last month to air the claims, which were made in a series of news reports by the NT Independent.
Ms Uibo also referred allegations of funds being moved between two public bodies, the DWC and AustralAsia Railway Corporation (AARC).
Mr Burke, who is married to NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, is the AARC chief executive and was appointed the DWC general manager in 2016.
He was then appointed DWC's deputy chief executive in 2020, at the same salary level, in a four-year contract that was renewed in late 2023.
Chair of the railway corporation is Alastair Shields, who is also DWC's chief executive.
The AARC is a separate statutory body that manages the railway between Darwin and Tarcoola in South Australia, which is co-located with the DWC.
The DWC told the committee Mr Burke was paid a $42,000 salary for higher duties between the two organisations, for five separate stints between 2018 and 2020.
"Because none of the periods of higher duties exceeded six months, they were not required by NT [public service] guidelines to be advertised," the DWC submission read.
DWC chair Patrick Bellot said Mr Burke's salary was cost-shared with the AARC and DWC.
"The auditor-general has never raised any concern regarding these transactions in our unqualified annual audit reports."
Mr Bellot said both organisations had their own separate annual audits.
Mr Shields told the committee the two organisations had become "enmeshed" due to the sharing of resources and staff since the DWC's establishment in 2006.
"We've shared board members, staff, office accommodation, resources from the very beginning," he said.
Prior to the committee's hearing, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Marie-Clare Boothby, who has responsibility over the DWC, said the allegations would be "put to bed" by the process.
Afterwards, she issued a statement welcoming the committee's unanimous dismissal of the allegations.
"I am drawing the line in the sand on this matter," she said.
The five-member Public Accounts Committee has a government majority of three members.
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