A CLP minister was forced to resign in 2016 after breaching the ministerial code of conduct following calls by Territory Labor for his sacking in relation to a private shares scandal, with parliamentary records showing Labor asking “what’s the point of a code of conduct” if no action is taken when it is violated.

Current Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has come under intense pressure to resign, following revelations she breached the ministerial code of conduct by not immediately divesting her personal shares in Woodside Energy, a gas giant with an interest in the Middle Arm industrial precinct.

Leading national integrity expert Geoffrey Watson, a director of the Centre for Public Integrity and former counsel assisting the NSW ICAC, told the NT Independent on Monday that Ms Fyles was in “clear breach” of the ministerial code of conduct and called on Parliament and Cabinet to review the matter.

However, no action has been taken to date despite the code of conduct specifically stating all ministers must divest their shares in any company that may present a conflict of interest. Ms Fyles obtained the shares in a merger between BHP’s petroleum division and Woodside in June of last year.

Back in 2016, Territory Labor, then official opposition, was so incensed a CLP minister had sought to personally invest in a Vietnamese company he had been meeting with on behalf of government, they called for him to be sacked for breaching the ministerial code of conduct – which they referred to as “serious and grave” allegations – while also claiming he brought the Territory into disrepute and “further damaged business confidence” by his selfish actions.

“We believe this minister must resign, and if he will not resign, the Chief Minister should sack him,” then-opposition leader Michael Gunner told Parliament during a censure motion on February 11, 2016.

“What is the point of a code of conduct when you see behaviour like this go completely undisciplined by a CLP government and Chief Minister?”

Three days later, Willem Westra van Holthe resigned as deputy chief minister, just six months out from the 2016 general election, while claiming he had done nothing wrong.

“The deputy chief minister has breached the ministerial code of conduct,” Mr Gunner told Parliament, according to Hansard records. Ms Fyles was then opposition whip.

“These are serious and grave allegations. The code of conduct the deputy chief minister should be living by provides a very commonsense guide to individual responsibility, Cabinet confidentiality and conflicts of interest. The minister has breached all these codes in his actions and words.

“A minister’s actions are held to a higher level of scrutiny.”

Ms Fyles, who succeeded Mr Gunner as Chief Minister in May of last year, has refused to comment on her own breach of the ministerial code of conduct since it was first raised with her last Wednesday night, 12 hours or so before she finally moved to divest the Woodside shares.

A day earlier, Ms Fyles said she was keeping the shares in hopes “they might grow for the kids”, while not addressing how she managed the inherent conflict of interest in the Cabinet room, where she leads decisions on Middle Arm and the Territory’s gas industry.

Last Thursday, after intense pressure, Ms Fyles said she was moving to divest what she claimed were 169 shares in the gas giant, in an effort to “end this distraction”, but accepted no responsibility for the breach of rules.

Mr Westra van Holthe made similar comments when he resigned as deputy chief minister on a Sunday afternoon in February 2016, after coming under similar pressure for breaching the ministerial code of conduct.

“After much thought and soul-searching I have decided it is in the best interests of the Country Liberal Party, the government and Territorians more broadly that I resign from my ministerial responsibilities, including that of deputy chief minister,” he told reporters.

He added that the negative attention and “navel-gazing” was a distraction from his government’s business.

“The integrity of the CLP government is of paramount importance,” he said.

CLP matter provides guidance for Fyles; preserving integrity of Parliament crucial: MLA

Former Labor and current independent MLA Mark Turner said the Westra van Holthe shares scandal should provide guidance for Ms Fyles, while calling for Labor’s Cabinet to properly address her breach to preserve the integrity of Parliament.

“We saw the furore from the Labor Party over Willem Westra van Holthe and his alleged attempts to purchase shares in a Vietnamese dragon fruit company,” he said.

“He ultimately resigned over the matter. It is incumbent on the Chief Minister and now Cabinet to explain to the community why it is one rule for them and another for everyone else.”

“To ignore such blatant ethical violations is to undermine the very foundations of our governmental institutions and to erode the trust the public places in us.”

During the censure motion in Parliament, three days before he resigned, then-treasurer Dave Tollner defended Mr Westra van Holthe, using the same lines Ms Fyles currently uses in Parliament.

“…You will have to find something else, because there is nothing to see here – nothing has occurred,” Mr Tollner said at the time.

“He is doing a fantastic job and that is at the heart of what galls Labor most. They want to see this government fail. They want to see industries fall over. They want to see the economy tank. They want to scare away investors. Every opportunity you get, you talk the Territory down.”

Ms Fyles has routinely used similar language, including while defending her actions during the current shares scandal.

The day before she claimed to be divesting the Woodside shares, she took aim at her critics, while stating she was keeping the shares.

“The fact that this is being spoken about is a sign of desperation from people who are hell bent on trying to keep the Territory down,” she said.

“Opponents of the Territory’s future like [independent ACT Senator] David Pocock, who’s happy to trash our Territory if he thinks that will help him win votes in his territory, will do anything and stop at nothing to try to stop us from building the Territory’s future.

“I have a message for Pocock and others: you will have to try a lot harder than this to stop me. Nothing will stop me from realising the Territory’s future and creating clean, green jobs.”

The next day she moved to divest the shares. Mr Pocock had called for Ms Fyles’ shares to be examined as part of the upcoming Senate inquiry into the Middle Arm industrial precinct that is being funded with $1.5 billion in federal money.

Ms Fyles’ office has repeatedly refused to comment on her breach of the ministerial code of conduct, including when asked by the NT Independent on Tuesday. She has not appeared at any press conferences since divesting the shares on Thursday.

She may have also violated the NT Legislative Assembly (Disclosure of Interests) Act by not publicly disclosing her shares in BHP, whose petroleum arm merged with Woodside last year giving Ms Fyles the gas shares. She did not disclose the BHP shares between 2017 and 2020, official government records show.

Territory Labor was first elected in 2016 to “restore integrity to government”.