ntnews.com.aul l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l NEWS
Giles ‘never planned’ it
By NICOLE MILLS
Political Reporter
THE new Chief Minister
Adam Giles said he was ‘‘seriously concerned’’ that the
Government looked ‘‘like a
rabble’’ after he toppled predecessor Terry Mills less
than seven months into his
first term — and while he
was out of the country.
But Mr Giles said he never
planned for the news to
break before Mr Mills returned from Japan.
He said he asked his colleagues to keep the plan a
secret until Mr Mills was
back in the Territory.
‘‘It was planned there
would be a meeting called of
the Parliamentary wing on
Monday,’’ he said.
‘‘I feel for Terry. It would
have been a very long flight.’’
Mr Giles denied there had
been a ‘‘coup’’ and said he
was approached by his colleagues, who asked him to
take over the leadership.
‘‘There was no night of the
long knives,’’ he said.
‘‘I was approached by a
large number of my colleagues saying ‘Adam please
have a go. It’s just not working’.’’ But Mr Giles refused to
say how many of his colleagues approached him or
what the final numbers were.
‘‘I’m not going to go into
numbers but . . . it was quite
considerable,’’ he said.
He later told the ABC the
Mills Government had failed
to manage its communications strategy properly.
‘‘We were somewhat of a
joke,’’ he said.
Deputy Chief Minister
Dave Tollner, who challenged for the leadership in
2010 and has faced speculation of a second tilt ever since,
said his colleagues were
‘‘keen on Adam’’ as Chief
Minister. ‘‘I supported their
view,’’ he said. ‘‘I think he’ll
make a fine Chief Minister.’’
Mr Tollner denied he had
planned the leadership spill
and said his colleagues had
asked him to take over the
job as deputy.
‘‘I thought I’d lost the faith
of my colleagues after the
previous week,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m incredibly humbled.’’
The pair offered Mr Mills a
role in the reshuffled Cabinet
but he declined.
Fresh
attack
sparks
cringe
By NICOLE MILLS
INDIGENOUS politician Alison Anderson yesterday
said she meant no offence
when she called the new
Chief Minister Adam Giles a
‘‘little boy’’.
‘‘Yes, I did call him a boy
but he is a man and he is the
Chief Minister,’’ she said.
‘‘We’re brother and sister.’’
Ms Anderson went on to
say non-indigenous people
should not try to interpret
the words of Aborigines before launching personal attacks on Walkley Awardwinning NT News journalist
Paul Toohey and Crikey
scribe Bob Gosford.
Gosford last week wrote a
long article explaining what
he believed Ms Anderson
meant when she called Mr
Giles a ‘‘little boy’’.
‘‘For mine, Anderson used
‘boys’ and ‘little boys’ as dogwhistles to the broader Aboriginal community in the NT
to send a barely-encoded
message that the pretenders
to the Mills throne are no
more than boys, uncircumcised (or sub-incised) grown
men unworthy of consideration as men,’’ he wrote.
But yesterday Ms Anderson said: ‘‘People like Bob
The look says it all. Adam Giles watches on as Alison Anderson talks to the media yesterday
Gosford have to stop trying
to interpret what Aboriginal
people mean.
‘‘I did not mean anything
to Adam in the context of
Aboriginality. I meant little
boys as in when we’re dealing with our kids. I don’t
want anybody who’s not Ab-
original to try and act like an
Aboriginal, and try to interpret Aboriginality.’’
Mr Giles, who had just
made a speech about the ‘‘era
of reconciliation’’, cringed as
Ms Anderson spoke.
He interrupted and said:
‘‘We are trying to mend
fences and build bridges internally, and we know that
internal matters are not important for Territorians.’’
Mr Giles earlier described
Ms Anderson as a ‘‘friend’’.
‘‘We’re a family, we have
fights, that’s what happens,’’
he said.
Picture: JUSTIN SANSON
I don’t want anybody who’s not Aboriginal
to try and act like an Aboriginal, and try
to interpret Aboriginality
Leadership spill puts CLP in short-odds poll position
A BETTING agency has jumped
on the CLP’s leadership spill and
offered odds for the next Territory election — which is still years
away. Sportsbet have the CLP as
favourites to win a second term
www.ntnews.com.au
despite terrible results at the
Wanguri by-election and in the
latest Newspoll.
Spokesman Ben Hawes said the
Country Liberal Party were still
surprising favourites. ‘‘The CLP
has been opened at $1.62 to win
the next state election with the
Australian Labor Party the $2.20
outsider. If things like this continue to occur within the CLP,
Labor are a chance of victory.’’
E WHOL
TH
HALF PRICE THIS WEEKEND*
FOR ALL *Not
CHILDREN
AGED UP TO 15 YEARS!
valid with any other offer. Valid until 24/03/2013.
www.crocodyluspark.com.au
815 McMillans Road, Berrimah, NT
Phone 8922 4500
Open Daily 9am-5pm
Friday, March 15, 2013. NT NEWS.
5
PUB:
Territory not the indigenous
Chief Minister of the Northern
Territory.’’
But he admitted his appointment was a sign that times had
changed in Australia and there
were good opportunities available to indigenous people.
‘‘It is a very important time for
all Australians to reflect that an
indigenous Australian has got to
this point,’’ he said.
‘‘It is a sign that anyone can
make it in this game.’’
FAMILY!
30 per cent of the people,’’ he said.
‘‘The Federal Government may
operate in a different manner.
‘‘We are unique.’’
Mr Giles said there had been a
lot of media attention on his heritage but asked Territorians to
judge him on his performance,
not his background.
‘‘It is in fact that I am an indigenous Australian . . . but I have
never played on it,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m in this position now as the
Chief Minister of the Northern
E
AUSTRALIA’S first Aboriginal
head of government has scrapped
the Indigenous Advancement department and will not appoint a
minister for indigenous affairs.
Chief Minister Adam Giles said
creating a range of opportunities
for indigenous people was ‘‘everyone’s business’’.
‘‘In the Northern Territory
roughly 30 per cent of the population is indigenous. We don’t run a
Government for 70 per cent of the
people and have one Minister for
FUN FOR
Indigenous Affairs goes
WSNE5NT
GE:
15TE:
R:
LOK
MDA
CY
C