The Northern Territory will have a wide-ranging inquiry into political donations after the government failed to vote down a surprise motion.
The Country Liberals government planned to vote against independent Gerry Wood's call for an inquiry to look at two decades of political donations, driven partly by demands this year from the Labor opposition for an inquiry into the CLP-aligned research organisation Foundation 51.
But only three government members were in the chamber for the vote on Wednesday night and none spoke up, despite being prompted twice by the Speaker.
The motion passed with the support of the Labor opposition and the three Palmer United Party members, who defected from the CLP this year.
"Certain donors come up time and time again. We have developers, the (Australian Hotels Association), and various gambling companies mentioned on both sides," Mr Wood said.
He said the inquiry should not be a witch hunt, but should examine donation trends to see how they shaped policy.
"Do constant donations from land or property developers over a number of years have any bearing on the government's decision on where development should occur? Can unions, through their donations or through lack of donations, influence government policy? Are there methods where people can donate and remain anonymous and that donation somehow finds its way into the corpus of any political party?"
He said he did not want the NT to end up like NSW, and suggested an anti-corruption body like the ICAC could be established if the inquiry deemed it necessary.
On Wednesday night, Attorney-General John Elferink failed to gag debate and overturn the motion, but on Thursday Chief Minister Adam Giles indicated the inquiry would go ahead, although it would take time to set it up.
He suggested it would begin by examining a Labor Party-affiliated organisation. "We will have to consider how it should be conducted, and perhaps we should start with Harold Nelson Holdings as a first point of call," Mr Giles said
Opposition Leader Delia Lawrie said she was sure her party would stand up to scrutiny.
"I'm really confident with what I know of the Labor Party; they run a clean, tight ship," she said.
PUP member Alison Anderson said she and her colleagues Larisa Lee and Francis Xavier Kurrupuwu wanted the inquiry to reveal who paid for the CLP's election campaign.
"This is about the integrity of parties, and Territorians need to know," she said.
"An inquiry would be one way of putting this to bed."
She was the first to raise questions over Foundation 51's donating practices this year, which created a firestorm resulting in a Darwin magistrate stepping down from his directorship of the company and from the CLP.
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