The sacked Northern Territory minister Robyn Lambley has launched an explosive tirade against the chief minister, Adam Giles, during a no-confidence debate in parliament on Tuesday.
As Giles endured a succession of attacks from MPs labelling him “untrustworthy” and “toxic”, Lambley said she would be abstaining from the vote because she could not support the government.
But despite being removed from government for plotting against Giles, she said she could not vote with the opposition, whose ranks were “equally volatile”.
“The political instability in our government remains unresolved, it is not over,” she said. “Delia Lawrie, leader of the opposition, is just as unpopular with her colleagues as our leader, Adam Giles, is with his.”
While she would “always” have faith in the Country Liberal party (CLP), Lambley said: “I do not have faith in the leadership of Adam Giles. I do not have faith in Adam Giles. Adam Giles was voted out of the position of chief minister … just 22 days ago. Nine members of his team decided they no longer have faith in his leadership.”
She called on Giles to resign as leader. “I believe Adam Giles needs to step down from his position and give us all an opportunity to rebuild before we lose everything,” said Lambley.
In the bitter stoush for leadership, Giles threatened to bring down the government before he would resign from the top job, Lambley said.
She said perhaps she and other parliamentary wing members who voted against Giles made the wrong decision in deciding not to go to what they believed would be an unwinnable election.
She said Giles’s “arrogance and general dishonesty” was eroding any confidence the party had in him, and she could not support a government that kept Giles and the treasurer, Dave Tollner, in the leadership.
“My intent is not to tear down this government … but to be a voice of truth and reason,” she said.
Lambley finished by “putting on the record” that Giles had also sacked two of her employees and the time he sacked her from the cabinet. “Adam Giles sacked my adviser, a gay gentleman with a wealth of experience … and a disabled woman I specifically employed when I was minister of disability services,” she said.
The motion of no confidence was introduced by Lawrie who said the CLP government had made the Territory a “national joke” and had derailed the journey to statehood.
She accused the government and Giles of being arrogant, dysfunctional, incompetent and out of touch, and pointed to numerous scandals and contentious issues including the privatisation of Territory Insurance Office, the potential lease of Darwin port, and the alleged CLP slush fund, Foundation 51. The reinstatement of Tollner as the treasurer and his appointment as the minister for major developments showed “an absolute and fundamental lack of judgment”.
Despite denying the motion speech was an election manifesto, Lawrie said if Labor won an election it would establish an independent commission against corruption.
John Elferink, a government minister, said the administration was proud of its achievements and accused Lawrie of cherry-picking statistics in some of her allegations.
He said Labor’s history of achievements were “rare oases in a desert of non-functionality”.
The majority of CLP members left the chamber during Lawrie’s speech, as well as during a speech by the Labor MP Michael Gunner, and the independent Gerry Wood who remarked “it would be an interesting vote” if the nine members who did not support Giles and the independents abstained on Tuesday. Wood also thanked Lambley for “one of the most honest speeches given in this parliament”. He said he would abstain because “it should be a motion of no confidence in all of us”.
“I am not responsible for bringing this government down. The government is responsible, it should say it is not fit to govern the Territory.”
The attacks continued after lunch, with the member for Arnhem, Larissa Lee, accusing Giles of being a liar, putting a “wedge between people” and running a “toxic” leadership.
Lee is a former CLP member who left the party with two other MPs last year after accusing it of failing people in the bush.
“You came along from the Blue Mountains with your little shovel and decided you wanted to be the top dog of the NT,” Lee said to Giles.
She also used highly charged and offensive language against the chief minister and was asked to withdraw statements more than once.
“From the first day I met this man my instincts were telling me that he is not trustworthy,” said Lee.
“He changed his portfolios at a whim, rewarding those who were yes men and yes women, and punishing those who disagreed with him, even publicly abusing them” Lee told the parliament.
“His lack of communication and isolating people and strictly controlling all information has made your party less effective.”
Labor MP Nicole Manison said the government was “irretrievable.”
“It has been very clear.. that there are some deep problems within the government and they are not going to be fixed, it’s gone too far,” she said.
By mid afternoon Elferink was the only member of the government to speak against the motion.
“How does one sleep at night knowing they’ve cut resources to youth services, education and child protection with minimal consultation,” asked Labor MP Lauren Moss, who also spoke of the 14 cabinet reshuffles since the CLP took power.
“Two chief ministers - nearly three, five deputy chief ministers - nearly six, three police ministers, five treasurers, five education ministers, five housing ministers, five sport ministers, five business ministers, and a partridge in a pear tree,” said Moss.
“It’s kind of like an episode of the Walking Dead where we’re all waiting to see who will be resurrected next and when.”
