CLP *slush fund* Foundation 51 had direct line to NT Chief Minister Adam Giles, FOI documents reveal (ABC)

View Comments ABC Foundation 51 director Graeme Lewis is also a member of the CLP's management committee.

The director of Foundation 51 asked Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles to look over a press release refuting claims the company was a Country Liberal Party (CLP) slush fund, the ABC has learnt.

Emails obtained under freedom of information legislation also showed Mr Giles wrote to Foundation 51 director Graeme Lewis about concerns of a possible conflict of interest.

Foundation 51 had been at the centre of a political storm since May, when a series of leaked emails raised questions about whether the company, set up in 2009, was receiving donations on behalf of the CLP.

In the past, Mr Giles denied any influence from Foundation 51 on the parliamentary wing of the CLP and pointed out that the two groups were separate entities.

But the new emails revealed Foundation 51 director Graeme Lewis was in direct contact with the Chief Minister about the group's activities.

The Australian Electoral Commission is investigating whether Foundation 51 should be considered an "associated entity", which would require it to declare any donations.

Mr Lewis has always denied any wrongdoing.

Foundation 51 ran press release past Giles

On May 7 the Northern Territory Opposition used Parliament to label Foundation 51 a CLP "slush fund".

On May 11, Mr Lewis sent Mr Giles draft press release, describing the allegations against Foundation 51 as a "vicious campaign of innuendo, mistruth, denigration and slander".

Mr Lewis said to Mr Giles: "If your people think this sort of press release might help not hinder, then it can fly."

On May 13, a Foundation 51 press release, with substantial changes to the draft version, was sent by Mr Lewis to media outlets.

One of the changes included the omission of a line which said: "Foundation 51 has progressed from its original structure ... which envisaged ... a close alliance with the Country Liberals Party."

On the same day, Labor used Parliament to accuse Mr Lewis of a having a conflict of interest and demanded that Mr Giles remove him from his Cabinet-appointed role as chairman of the government's Land Development Corporation (LDC).

On May 22, Mr Lewis wrote to the Chief Minister saying CLP president Ross Connolly had briefed him on Mr Giles's "concerns re the Land Development Advisory Board, and my position there".

Mr Lewis said he accepted Mr Giles's concerns, but added: "I can assure you that nothing that I do or have done with so-called developers would ever have conflicted with LDC issues, F51, or the Party itself."

He went on to say: "The real issue is that, given all that is happening in the CLP, even before this last fiasco, it's clear that my time is up. And as I have said to you before, it is likely that Foundation 51 has also reached its use-by date."

Mr Giles wrote back to Mr Lewis on May 25, saying: "You offer a wealth of knowledge and expertise to government but I want to ensure there is no real or perceived conflict of interest with any dealing you may or may not have."

Earlier this month, Mr Lewis confirmed that he had resigned from his role as chairman of the LDC.

PUP defections 'pleased' Graeme Lewis

Mr Lewis' May 22 email also makes clear his frustration with two former CLP members Eli Melky and Braedon Earley, who quit the organisation to join the Palmer United Party.

"The Party, which used to be family, is now nothing like it was, and 40 years on, I will be pleased to find other ways to make the NT a better place," Mr Lewis told Mr Giles.

"Your recent press releases re Northern Development have been bloody spectacular, and there are plenty of better things for me to do than being f---ed over by the Earleys and Melkeys of this rotten world."

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