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Letter to the Chief Minister

On Saturday 15 July 2023 I sent a letter to the Chief Minister. I sent a copy of that letter to all Members of the Legislative Assembly. I had planned on making a public statement about the matter today, but given the letter was disclosed to a media outlet over the weekend I have decided not to make a further statement but to publish the letter in full. The letter to the Chief Minister can be found on the ICAC website.

Launch of Integrity Advocates Program

Today I have launched the inaugural ICAC Integrity Advocates Program (IAP). The IAP is a new program to be delivered by my office to Northern Territory public officers. The program will provide participants with the opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of integrity in public administration, and to apply that learning through the implementation of an integrity project within their agency.

The IAP runs for 12 months and will comprise 2 phases, followed by a 3-day intensive workshop.

Phase 1 will run over 6 months and will commence in September 2023. During that time, participants will be required to attend a 2-hour seminar once per month and complete a number of assignments.

Phase 2 will run for 6 months commencing in March 2024. During this phase, the participant will implement an agreed integrity project in their agency. Project examples might include:

Developing and implementing an integrity training program targeting key integrity risks relevant to the public bodyEmbedding Code of Conduct and other ethical guides into daily decision makingImplementing culturally appropriate systems for supporting ethical decision making in a public bodyConducting a detailed review of a particular agency activity to identify risks and implement suitable controlsReviewing and improving conflict of interest identification, disclosure and management processes

Successful participants will receive an IAP certificate signed by the ICAC and will be highlighted in a media release about the program.

Six months after the completion of phase 2, participants will partake in a 3-day workshop. During that workshop, the integrity projects implemented will be considered in detail to determine the extent of success, barriers to implementation and lessons to be learned.

Projects regarded as success stories will be discussed in a published report.