Chief Justice Grant sent the email to the acting CEO of the department, Leonique Swart, as he believed the Supreme Court’s media officer was blocked from sending a statement to The Australian newspaper.<\/p>\n
The email was sent in the wake of media reporting on the sentencing of Darwin hit-and-run driver Jake Danby.<\/p>\n
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Jake Danby received a community corrections order after pleading guilty to hit-and-run driving causing death. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)<\/p>\n
Danby was given a 12-month community corrections order after hitting two Aboriginal pedestrians with his vehicle<\/a> \u2014 one of whom died \u2014 and fleeing the scene.<\/p>\n Both the Attorney-General’s Department and the court’s media officer said the chief justice’s email was the result of a misunderstanding that had since been resolved.<\/p>\n Neither NT Courts nor the Attorney-General’s Department have answered questions about how the matter was resolved.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby says she “had no involvement in these matters”. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)<\/p>\n Senator Thorpe said there needed to be “a thorough investigation” into what happened.<\/p>\n Senator Thorpe filed a report with the NT Independent Commissioner Against Corruption (ICAC) on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n In her report, she raised concern Ms Boothby was “undermining the independence of the judiciary and undermining the appropriate separation of powers”.<\/p>\n “Respect for the division of powers is integral to the proper functioning of the NT’s democratic institutions and fundamental right to due legal process,” she wrote.<\/p>\n Lidia Thorpe says the attorney-general should step down. (ABC: Patrick Stone)<\/p>\n “The alleged attempt by the attorney-general and\/or her department’s attempt to intervene is an abuse of authority and a clear failure to manage significant conflicts of interest.”<\/p>\n The ABC contacted Ms Boothby on Tuesday with questions about her response to Senator Thorpe’s referral, and whether the attorney-general had ever given directions to her department about the way it oversaw court media communications.<\/p>\n Her spokesperson said “the attorney-general has had no involvement in these matters” and referred the ABC to the department or Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Victorian senator calls for NT attorney-general\u00a0to step down<\/p>\n Senator Thorpe called for Ms Boothby to step down over the matter.<\/p>\n Marie-Claire Boothby confirmed Jake Danby was her sister’s stepson after the media revealed it. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)<\/p>\n The senator also took issue with the attorney-general’s disclosure of her relationship to Danby<\/a>, who is her sister’s stepson.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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