CLP knocks back bid to refer Tanzil Rahman bullying claims to parliamentary inquiry

A Northern Territory government backbencher accused of bullying has faced a bid for a parliamentary inquiry into his alleged conduct, as well as an extraordinary berating from the NT Speaker.

The ABC revealed last month that Fong Lim MLA Tanzil Rahman had been the subject of bullying claims made by two Department of Legislative Assembly staffers while he was heading up consultations into the NT's future voluntary assisted dying legislation.

At the time, NT Speaker Robyn Lambley said the allegations were of a "very serious nature" and the ABC reported they involved Dr Rahman's allegedly rude behaviour towards the two women.

Last night, the Labor opposition put forward a motion to refer the Member for Fong Lim to the parliamentary privileges committee to scrutinise the allegations made against him last year.

It was voted down by the Country Liberal Party (CLP) government's majority in the chamber.

Dr Rahman did not respond to repeated requests for comment at the time, but released a short statement earlier this week, three weeks after the claims were published, saying he was considering legal action.

"I value my integrity and am deeply offended by allegations of professional misconduct," he said in the statement.

"I am proud of my work as chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee and remain committed to seeing strong voluntary assisted dying legislation progress smoothly in the interest of all Territorians."

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has previously described the claims as a "sensitive HR-type matter" that was "dealt with appropriately", but has not explained how it was resolved.

Speaker slams threats of litigation

In parliament today, Ms Lambley berated Dr Rahman for his response to the allegations, urging him to apologise to the staffers and withdraw his legal threats.

Responding to a question from Shadow Attorney-General Chansey Paech in parliament this afternoon, Ms Lambley addressed the Member for Fong Lim directly.

"You could have acknowledged that your conduct caused distress, you could have expressed genuine remorse," she said.

Ms Lambley went on to question the nature of Dr Rahman's remarks, saying they were both unclear and below the standards expected of an MLA.

"Who exactly are you intending to sue? Are you intending to sue your colleagues? Department of Legislative Assembly staff? The media? Or indeed me, I've made comments about this whole situation," she said.

"This institution deserves better than to have its members answer allegations of harm with threats of litigation."

Ms Lambley concluded by demanding Dr Rahman take accountability.

"The path available to you is not complicated: withdraw the legal threats [and] apologise genuinely and directly to the staff that were harmed — that is not weakness, that is leadership," she said.

"It's not too late to do the right thing, but time and good will are not unlimited."

In a speech to the parliament last night, Mr Paech said Dr Rahman's statement was "not worth the paper it is written on because it does not confirm or deny [the claims]".

"That is what Territorians deserve to know," he said.

"We have heard serious allegations in this parliament and in the media about alleged bullying by the Member for Fong Lim of hardworking Legislative Assembly staff.

"The statement he put out [this week] says nothing about those allegations."

Calls for 'safe, respectful' parliament denied

The NT government refused to commit to a behaviour code for parliamentarians, after amending a motion that sought to safeguard MLAs and staffers from bullying behaviour.

The motion, moved by independent Justine Davis today, initially called on the government to implement the code following what she described as bullying, harassment and intimidation in parliament.

In her address to the chamber, Ms Davis made several references to Ms Finocchiaro repeatedly describing the opposition and crossbench members as "gutter-trash", as well as Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley allegedly calling Opposition Leader Selena Uibo "a loser" multiple times during a speech about the Stolen Generations.

"While a member of this chamber is talking about one of the most harmful and shameful episodes in our history and how it impacted her and her family, the deputy leader of our government is calling across the chamber: 'You're a loser,'" she said.

Mr Maley has been contacted for comment about Ms Davis's statements.

Ms Davis noted a number of reviews into bullying and workplace culture had been commissioned in other Australian jurisdictions, including the federal government's Foster Review and Jenkins Review, as well as the Broderick Review in New South Wales.

She also criticised the behaviour as detracting from the integrity and efficiency of parliamentary processes.

Mr Maley was the only other member of parliament to speak to the motion, but did not address the remarks made about his own behaviour.

"Everyone deserves a safe, respectful, professional environment, and that extends across all industries," he said.

The government passed an amended version of the motion that noted the importance of safe workplaces, but removed any mention of a behaviour code or legislative change.

Dr Rahman was contacted by the ABC, but declined to make any further comment.