![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2e2c563a2c883f4262123a6f31f663ad728622cdd079d5da02f3e6a34b3716fd.png\")
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Updated July 30, 2026 \u2014 11:14am,first published 10:19am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling has been charged with two counts of assault on Northern Territory Administrator David Connolly at a community festival in Darwin this month.<\/p>\n Northern Territory police said the federal member for Solomon, 54, was arrested on Wednesday morning over an incident allegedly involving the administrator at a public event on July 18.<\/p>\n In a statement on Thursday, police said Gosling was bailed to appear before Darwin Local Court on September 1.<\/p>\n Police said the investigation began last week and Gosling was arrest on Thursday morning and taken into custody at Palmerston Police Station.<\/p>\n The alleged incident was previously reported to have occurred during the NT Thailand Grand Festival in Darwin, where both men took part in official proceedings. Gosling posted photos from the event on his social media that day.<\/p>\n In a statement released before he was charged, Gosling said: \u201cThe Northern Territory Police have released a statement on this matter. I am co-operating fully with their inquiries.\u201d<\/p>\n Gosling, who has held the Darwin-based seat since 2016, has previously rejected the allegations, describing them as \u201cridiculous\u201d and saying he had \u201cno dealings\u201d with Connolly beyond congratulating him on his appointment as administrator last year.<\/p>\n After the allegations emerged, a spokesman for Connolly said that \u201can incident occurred during His Honour the Administrator\u2019s official attendance at a community event\u201d, but declined further comment while police investigated.<\/p>\n The administrator is the King\u2019s representative in the Northern Territory, performing a role equivalent to a state governor.<\/p>\n The NT News reported that Gosling was represented by barrister Marty Aust, who was seen arriving at Palmerston Watchhouse about 10.15am on Thursday.<\/p>\n Aust raised concerns about the handling of the matter, warning there was a risk of \u201cpoliticisation\u201d surrounding the case.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I can say is that the charge is completely and utterly denied and will be contested,\u201d Aust told reporters outside the station, according to the NT News.<\/p>\n Gosling reportedly ignored waiting reporters after his release, got into the passenger seat of a Toyota Prado waiting outside the station, and the car then drove away and entered a nearby McDonald\u2019s drive-thru.<\/p>\n Under the Northern Territory Criminal Code, assaulting the administrator while carrying out official duties carries a maximum penalty of 14 years\u2019 imprisonment. Under section 44 of the Constitution, a federal MP may be disqualified if convicted and under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for an offence punishable by at least one year\u2019s imprisonment.<\/p>\n Related Article Connolly\u2019s appointment last year was marked by the emergence of controversial comments he\u2019d previously posted on social media<\/a> about women\u2019s sport, the prime minister and race. This prompted condemnation from Territory Labor figures, including Gosling, who described the comments at the time as \u201creprehensible and offensive\u201d.<\/p>\n Gosling was appointed as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s special envoy for defence, veterans\u2019 affairs and northern Australia following last year\u2019s election. He served for 13 years in the Australian Defence Force\u2019s parachute infantry, commandos and defence cooperation programs.<\/p>\n A spokesman for Albanese declined to comment, citing an ongoing legal process.<\/p>\n Shadow defence spokesman James Paterson said the allegations were \u201cincredibly serious\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence, an arrest for assault requires him to immediately stand down from his duties,\u201d he posted on X. \u201cThe PM must act today.\u201d<\/p>\n Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Federal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/9c097d92a7e053a48ca5e1fa4fa4059507454d8d.jpeg\")
Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/db433fce54efce18c2c19de6b2ef3eeda29c2cac.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769252890_159_2e2c563a2c883f4262123a6f31f663ad728622cdd079d5da02f3e6a34b3716fd.png\")
Rob Harris<\/a> is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated July 30, 2026 \u2014 11:14am,first published 10:19am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":832568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-832567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/832568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}