Dave Tollner, the former Northern Territory deputy chief minister who resigned after making homophobic comments to an employee, will be reappointed to the frontbench, Adam Giles has revealed.
Speaking to ABC radio in Darwin, the chief minister described Tollner as “one of the very good parliamentary performers” and said he would return to the frontbench soon. Last week Giles insisted there would be no reshuffle.
“[Tollner] is a very wise man who knows a lot about the territory and someone who’s got a lot to offer the territory, as do all members of parliament,” Giles said. “I’d like to think that we have our better performers on the frontbench delivering positive outcomes for Territorians.”
Tollner resigned from his post in August after it was revealed he had yelled homophobic insults at another MP’s employee, Joshua Higgins, who is the son of a Country Liberal party colleague.
The politician made no statement of regret at the time and said he should not be punished because something said in private was leaked to the media. Higgins’s father, Gary Higgins, later apologised for the story going public.
Tollner subsequently labelled the CLP a “nest of vipers” and accused his colleagues of “throwing knives in [his] back”.
“With such a lack of support I had no choice [but to resign],” he told Mix 104.9 radio. “Members of my own team were out there attacking me publicly.”
The Labor MLA Nicole Manison said the decision showed “chaos and instability” in the CLP government.
“It just says a lot about what [Giles] thinks of the views of Territorians. Territorians don’t want Dave Tollner back in cabinet. It also says a lot about what Adam Giles thinks of his own team if he’s not willing to promote somebody else.”
Manison said Tollner’s homophobic comments were a “disgraceful episode” and said the resignation was “political convenience” at the time.
Tollner did not deserve a second chance, Manison told Guardian Australia. “I think Adam Giles should listen to the views of Territorians who said very loudly and very clearly that Dave Tollner shouldn’t be in cabinet and shouldn’t be a minister.”
On Tuesday Giles told ABC radio his government had not been the best at communication but had done well in “delivery” this past year. “I think Christmas time is a time for us to draw breath while we get a few bits of work done before the sittings next year,” he said.
He dismissed suggestions that the controversial and widely opposed sale of the Territory Insurance Office – the last state-owned insurance company in the country – had threatened his leadership.
“I think that anyone who sits there and watches the news over the last week or two and you see the storms in Sydney and Brisbane and you start thinking – imagine if that hit Darwin and the impact it would have on TIO,” he said.
The privatisation would lead to higher premiums in flood-prone areas, it was confirmed before the sale.
