Peter Maley

Last updated

Peter John Maley (born 2 August 1969) is a controversial former Australian politician, barrister, solicitor and magistrate. He was the member for Goyder in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2005, primarily as a member of the Country Liberal Party, but also for a short period as an independent member.

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
YearsTermElectoral divisionParty
2001 –2005 9th Goyder Country Liberal
2005Changed allegiance to: Independent

Maley studied law at the University College of the Northern Territory obtaining a bachelor of laws with honours from the University of Queensland, worked at Philip and Mitaros, then became a police prosecutor, later lecturing in law part-time at the Northern Territory University. He went into private practice with the firm Withnall, Maley & Co. He was elected to parliament in 2001 and served on the CLP front-bench. In 2005 he was attacked by party leader Denis Burke for spending too much time on outside work. On 19 May 2005 Maley was dismissed by Burke from the party's parliamentary wing, which was the same day that details of a Domestic Violence Order brought by his wife were plastered across the front page of the Northern Territory News. The order was later dropped. [1]

Maley returned to private practice as a Barrister and Solicitor in his own practice Maley's Barristers and Solicitors after the 2005 election. [2]

On 16 September 2013 the Attorney-General for the Northern Territory, John Elferink announced three new appointments to the Northern Territory Court of Summary Jurisdiction. One of the Appointees was Maley. At the time, the Australian Labor Party's Gerry McCarthy stated that it was a "job for the boys" as it was another example of a former CLP politician being given a high profile and important job. [3] Mr Elferink said "Mr Maley has over 19 years of experience as a legal practitioner, working across a broad range of legal disciplines.

Since being appointed a magistrate Maley continued to be involved in the Country Liberal Party by:

- By campaigning for the Country Liberal Party by handing out how-to-vote cards for the CLP during the Blain by-election in March 2014. [4]

- Being a director Foundation 51, which The Australian newspaper referred to as a CLP-aligned research company that contributed significantly to the 2014 Blain by-election campaign and the Australian Labor Party called a slush fund. [5] Maley issued a statement on 8 May 2014 saying he would have no further involvement with Foundation 51.

- Allegedly, Maley tried to bribe and intimidate Ms Larisa Lee. Ms Lee has told Northern Parliament Parliament that on 23 February 2014 Ms Lee had a telephone conversation with Maley regarding her currently deliberations about becoming an independent member of parliament. Lee indicated that Maley suggested that something very good was coming her way soon, that she would have her own cheque book and that if she became an independent the Country Liberals government would attack her. In response the allegations Maley denied acting inappropriately and stated: “I had a conversation with Ms Lee. I repudiate entirely the characterisation of the conversation referred to. I emphatically deny any suggestion that I may have acted unethically or inappropriately at any time either personally or on behalf of the Country Liberal Party,” [6]

- The Country Liberal Party government deciding to grant large water licences to Maley, to which Environment Centre NT chief executive Stuart Blanch suggested was water cronyism. Minister for Land Resource Management Willem Westra Van Holthe rejected any such allegation of cronyism. [7]

- Maley suggesting he is a member of a political party while being questioned on stage at an event for the Darwin Festival in August 2014. [8]

Prior to his appointment as Magistrate, Maley made a $5,000 donation to the re-election campaign of Attorney-General John Elferink, who put forth Mr Maley's nomination as magistrate. [9]

Northern Territory Bar Association has raised concerns about the Maley's conduct since his judicial appointment with their president, Mr John Lawrence SC, stating: “The established rules of judicial conduct require magistrates to cease involvement in politics after their appointment. It appears that Mr Maley has not done that...the public must have complete confidence in the independence of Territory magistrates. That confidence has been undermined by Mr Maley’s conduct which suggests an ongoing and close connection between Mr Maley and the Government". [10]

Related Research Articles

Country Liberal Party Northern Territory political party

The Country Liberal Party (CLP), officially the Country Liberals , is a liberal conservative political party in Australia founded in 1974, which operates solely in the Northern Territory, however due to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands forming part of the Division of Lingiari they also vote for the Country Liberal Party.

Denis Gabriel Burke is a former Australian politician. A former Australian Army officer, he served as a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1994 to 2005. He spent two years as Chief Minister after succeeding Shane Stone, but oversaw the CLP's defeat at the 2001 election, ending 27 years of continuous CLP government in the Northern Territory. Burke later served as Opposition Leader from 2001 to 2003 before being toppled, but was re-elected as leader in 2005. He subsequently took the party to its largest-ever defeat at the 2005 election, culminating in the shock loss of his own seat.

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Parliament of the Northern Territory, Australia. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member electorates for four-year terms. The voting method for the Assembly is the full-preferential voting system, having previously been optional preferential voting. Elections are on the fourth Saturday in August of the fourth year after the previous election, but can be earlier in the event of a no confidence vote in the Government. The most recent election for the Legislative Assembly was the 2020 election held on 22 August 2020. The next election is scheduled for 24 August 2024.

2005 Northern Territory general election

A general election was held in the Northern Territory, Australia, on 18 June 2005. The centre-left Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Clare Martin, won a second term with a landslide victory, winning six of the ten seats held by the opposition Country Liberal Party in the 25-member Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, bringing their total to 19. It was the second largest victory in any Northern Territory election. The only larger majority in the history of the Territory was in the first election, in 1974. In that contest, the CLP won 17 of the 19 seats in the chamber, and faced only two independents as opposition.

Johan Wessel Elferink is an Australian politician. He is a former member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for the Country Liberal Party.

Electoral division of Port Darwin Electoral division of the Northern Territory, Australia

Port Darwin is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory of Australia. It was first created in 1974, and is an entirely urban electorate, covering only 5 km² and taking in the Darwin central business district, as well as the suburb of Larrakeyah and part of Stuart Park. There were 5,699 people enrolled in the electorate as of August 2020.

Electoral division of Blain

Blain is an electoral division of the Legislative Assembly in Australia's Northern Territory. It was first created in 1997 and is named after Adair Blain, the second member for the federal Northern Territory electorate, and the only Australian sitting federal MP to ever become a prisoner of war. Blain is an urban electorate, covering 4 km² and taking in Palmerston suburbs of Bellamack and Woodroffe, and most of the suburb of Rosebery and a small section of the suburb of Moulden. There were 5,695 people enrolled within the electorate as of August 2020.

Alison Nampitjinpa Anderson is an Australian politician.

Terence Kennedy Mills is an Australian politician who is the founder and leader of the Territory Alliance. He served as Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2012 to 2013 as a member of the Country Liberal Party (CLP).

John Edward Reeves is an Australian politician, lawyer and judge. He was a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1983 to 1984, a prominent barrister in Darwin afterwards, the author of the controversial 1999 Reeves Report on Aboriginal land rights in Australia. He was appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia in November 2007.

Parliament of the Northern Territory

The Parliament of the Northern Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Northern Territory of Australia. It consists of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and the Administrator of the Northern Territory, who represents the Governor-General. It is one of three unicameral parliaments in Australia, along with those of Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. The Legislative Assembly replaced the previous Legislative Council in 1974. It sits in Parliament House, Darwin.

Kezia Dorcas Tibisay Purick is an Australian politician. She is an independent member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having held her seat of Goyder since the 2008 election. Prior to entering Parliament, Purick was the CEO of the NT Minerals Council for 16 years. Originally elected as a member of the Country Liberal Party, she became an independent in 2015.

2016 Northern Territory general election

The 2016 Northern Territory general election was held on Saturday 27 August 2016 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament.

Lia Finocchiaro Australian politician (born 1984)

Lia Emele Finocchiaro is an Australian politician. She has been a Country Liberal Party member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for the seat of Spillett since her election in 2016. She became Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Territory after the resignation of Gary Higgins on 1 February 2020. She was previously the member for Drysdale from 2012 to 2016.

A by-election for the seat of Blain in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was held on 12 April 2014. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Country Liberal Party (CLP) member and former Northern Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills. Mills resigned in reaction to being removed as CLP leader and Chief Minister in March 2013 in a party room coup by Adam Giles. The CLP margin in the Palmerston-based seat was 13.2 points.

Nathan Barrett is a former Australian politician who represented the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly seat of Blain from 2014 to 2016.

Paul Andrew Kirby is an Australian politician. He has been the Labor member for Port Darwin in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2016.

2020 Northern Territory general election

The 2020 Northern Territory general election was held on 22 August 2020 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament.

Gerard Maley is an Australian politician who serves as MP for the Country Liberal Party in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly and Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Mark Turner (politician) Australian politician

Mark Paul Michael Turner is an Australian politician and former Northern Territory Police negotiator. He was elected as the Labor member for the electoral division of Blain in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2020 Northern Territory election.

References

  1. ↑ Colvin, Mark (2005). "NT CLP leader sacks one of his backbenchers". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  2. ↑ Green, Antony (2005). "Retiring MPs". 2005 Northern Territory Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Hind, Rick (2005). "Former Country Liberals politician made magistrate". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Toohey, Paul. "Northern Territory Bar Association call for investigation into Darwin magistrate Peter Maley". Northern Territory News. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Vanovac, Neda. "CLP-linked research foundation under fire". The Australian. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Smee, Ben; O'Brien, Connor. "CLP figure and NT magistrate hit with bribery allegations by Larisa Lee in Parliament". Northern Territory News. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  7. ↑ AAP. "The NT needs to catch up to other states and establish a corruption commission to address how water is allocated, the Environment Centre says". SBS. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  8. ↑ James Purtill; Xavier La Canna. "Darwin magistrate Peter Maley's festival performance adds to controversy over perception of judicial independence". ABC.
  9. ↑ Toohey, Paul. "Northern Territory Bar Association call for investigation into Darwin magistrate Peter Maley". Northern Territory News. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  10. ↑ Northern Territory Bar Association. "Media Release - 7.8.14" (PDF).
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Terry McCarthy 		Member for Goyder
2001–2005		Succeeded by
Ted Warren
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.