Member for Barkly Steve Edgington has been referred to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee after Minister for Remote Housing and Town Camps Chansey Paech accused him of lying about the Territory Labor Government’s investment in remote housing across the Barkly.

In a lively exchange during Sittings on Wednesday, Mr Paech said Mr Edgington had been claiming credit for the remote housing program in a series of social media posts, implying new housing across the Barkly had been delivered by the Barkly Regional Deal.

“Remote Territorians in the electorate of Barkly absolutely deserve the truth [and] as legislators, we are here to tell the truth.”

Mr Paech brought the motion during Question Time citing Mr Edgington’s social media posts, however Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro argued that the motion did not meet any of the standards of Privilege.

During the exchange Mr Edgington interjected with “It is not a lie…”, prompting Mr Paech to press the issue, saying the Member for Barkly’s interjection has misled Parliament.

The motion was deferred to later that evening and passed later 15-7.

The Parliamentary Privileges Committee investigates complaints of breach of privilege referred by the Assembly.

This article appeared in Tennant & District Times, 29 October 2021.