The ICAC's latest scalp was Police Commissioner Michael Murphy, who was found to have acted improperly by helping a close friend apply for a high-level job. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Sitting in a Darwin radio studio on Friday, first-term Northern Territory government minister Jinson Charls could have been forgiven for feeling like he'd drawn the short straw.
Mr Charls had been volunteered to front a weekly territory news round-up on commercial station Mix FM, alongside local media commentators and political opponents.
He quickly found himself being grilled on the NT government's response to an anti-corruption probe which found a high-level public sector executive had engaged in improper conduct.
Why was the NT government yet to act on the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption's (ICAC) findings after sitting on them for a week?
Jinson Charls was in the hot seat as the CLP government's representative on a weekly radio panel last week. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
Mr Charls was steadfast in defence of his boss, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro, over the perceived lack of action and instead set his sights on the ICAC.
"One of the common things that we are hearing is it's a toothless tiger,"
he said.
"If you have an institution that [has cost taxpayers] more than $35 million over the last few years — to have this investigation if there is no consequences, what's the benefit of having this particular institution?"
The subject of the investigation, who was initially kept anonymous by the ICAC, had on Thursday revealed himself to be NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy.
Michael Murphy has been directed to take leave after the NT government began the process to terminate his employment on Saturday. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)
He was found to have not properly declared a conflict of interest in helping his good friend get a high-level job — conduct the ICAC described as "negligent and incompetent".
The day after the Mix FM debate came proof that the ICAC findings would have consequences.
Late on Saturday night, following heated police union and media pressure, Ms Finocchiaro announced the government had lost faith in Commissioner Murphy and had begun the process of terminating his contract.
Why is ICAC being criticised?
Considering the extreme consequences for Commissioner Murphy flowing from the watchdog's investigation — codenamed Operation Apollo — where does the criticism of the ICAC as a "toothless tiger" hark from?
In this case, it partly came about because of the ICAC's decision to keep Commissioner Murphy's identity secret — which ICAC delegate Patricia Kelly SC said was for legal reasons due to a clause in the ICAC Act.
Before the commissioner's identity was revealed, Ms Finocchiaro spent days batting off questions about Operation Apollo, saying she was "bound by the ICAC Act" from giving further details.
Lia Finocchiaro initially would not provide specifics around the Operation Apollo findings, citing secrecy provisions in the ICAC Act. (ABC News: Jayden O'Neill)
She asserted that by keeping the investigation's main subject a secret, the ICAC had essentially turned the search for the person's identity into a "hunt".
"I believe it was really intended to be an exercise in public education around best practice around conflicts of interest but all it's done is create this hunt for whomever [it is]," she said.
NT police commissioner to be sacked
Photo shows A close-up shot of a policeman wearing badges
Ms Finocchiaro only moved to terminate Commissioner Murphy's contract two days after he'd publicly revealed himself to be the probe's subject.
Whether the ICAC had any idea that its findings — anonymised or not — would lead to the top cop's deposal, is hard to fully know.
The ICAC won't answer questions from the ABC or sit for an interview.
But independent MLA Justine Davis is among those who believe it should not be up to the corruption watchdog to make those decisions, saying the call must come from the NT government.
Justine Davis says the focus should be on the government's actions after the ICAC makes findings. (ABC News: Jayden O'Neill)
"ICAC is doing exactly what it was established to do — investigate, produce reports and make recommendations, then hand those findings over to the responsible CEO or minister for action," she said.
"If we believe the ICAC should be doing more, we should focus on strengthening it, not attacking it.
"The public deserves robust institutions and to be able to trust public servants and elected representatives to fulfil their responsibilities with integrity."
A rocky start
Since its establishment in 2018, the ICAC's time in the territory has been far from smooth, with a well-documented run of courtroom challenges and internal turmoil.
Executive resigns after ICAC finds sick leave was spent fishing, at casino
Photo shows The Star, Brisbane 2025-01-09 10:01:00
But more recently it has triggered significant action.
Over the past month, as well as Operation Apollo, a separate ICAC report titled Operation Tasman has led to the resignation of an unnamed senior public officer after findings of corrupt conduct.
While some of the calls to reform the NT's ICAC have merit, one thing must also be acknowledged — the so-called "toothless tiger" has finally proven it can have some bite.