Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

More than a year ago, alcohol bans in the Northern Territory lapsed and brought crime and terror to the streets of towns like my hometown of Alice Springs. The footage has been seen far and wide across the country—brawls, assaults, reckless driving, break-ins and attacks—and two weeks ago we found out that, in a clear conflict of interest, Labor's Deputy Chief Minister, Chansey Paech, advocated for the end of alcohol bans while he held shares in Metcash, a wholesale distribution company that supplies alcohol throughout Central Australia.

With absolutely no regard for the entirely foreseeable consequences and problems it would cause in communities, Chansey Paech used his position to fight for a decision that he would benefit from. The Deputy Chief Minister seems to believe he is untouchable. He believes he doesn't need to be accountable for his actions. He refuses to take responsibility for his actions and has treated the people of the Northern Territory with nothing but contempt. He purchased those shares just two months prior to arguing to lift the alcohol restrictions he actively fought for the restrictions to be removed. He is morally bankrupt. His actions contributed to the absolute destruction that we have seen on the streets of Alice Springs and across the Northern Territory. I don't care how much the shares cost or how much they're worth—it is his responsibility to the people of the Northern Territory and to our most marginalised. He failed them. He should accept responsibility and resign.