An opposition bid to debate the controversial appointment of a new territory administrator has been thwarted in parliament by a Speaker's ruling that members must show no disrespect for the man in the role.
David Connolly, the former Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association president, is due to be sworn in on February 27 as NT administrator, the equivalent of a state governor.
But his questionable social media posts on X, now deleted, recently emerged in the media, sparking calls for his sacking.
The posts included attacks on what he called Indigenous privilege, an apparent mocking of Welcome to Country ceremonies and a re-post describing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as an "arsehole".
On Tuesday Opposition Deputy Leader Dheran Young said the NT Speaker's message to members not to show disrespect to the administrator was a bid by the Country Liberal Party government to gag debate on the matter.
He gave notice in parliament of a motion calling for Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro to revoke Mr Connolly's appointment and take responsibility for a decision that undermined trust in democratic institutions.
But when he mentioned Mr Connolly's history of social media posts he was shut down by Speaker Robyn Lambley, who cited a standing order that members must not show disrespect for the administrator.
"We need to keep personal inferences that disrespect the administrator out of this chamber," she said.
A separate notice of motion by Opposition Leader Selena Uibo called on the chief minister to ask the governor-general to review the appointment process for the administrator.
The Speaker accepted that, as it did not name Mr Connolly or make any personal inferences about him.
Earlier, Mr Young said the opposition was concerned the chief minister had not vetted Mr Connolly before forwarding her recommendation to the Albanese government.
"The prime minister and his cabinet cannot step in on this matter because it would set a really dangerous precedent in the federal government intervening in matters that concern territorians," Mr Young told reporters.
On a visit to Darwin last week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on the NT government to defend its appointment, saying "it's not a decision I would have made".
In one post, Mr Connolly referred to Indigenous-lit bushfires on cattle stations, saying "if a white man did it he would be severely fined".
"After experiencing this you cannot convince me they are doing good for the country."
In another post, he referred to Welcome to Country ceremonies, writing, "Welcome to my house, that'll be $3000 thanks".
Mr Connolly has said he never intended to cause offence and would be "a fierce advocate for all Territorians".
"My former social media posts are exactly that and were done at a time when having the honour and privilege of being the administrator was not even in my wildest dreams," he said in a statement.
