A Northern Territory Indigenous corporation has settled a legal challenge in the Federal Court with its former chief executive, who was sacked after he blew the whistle on financial irregularities. The Mabunji Aboriginal Resource Indigenous Corporation Board in Borroloola, in the Territory’s Gulf of Carpentaria country, sacked Michael Gravener in 2015. Former CEO Mr Gravener argued he was sacked after he raised concerns about how money allocated by governments to alleviate disadvantage in Borroloola’s remote Indigenous communities was being spent. He had only been employed at the corporation for nine weeks. Mabunji challenged Mr Gravener’s Federal Court case, but ultimately dropped its defence. Instead they offered Mr Gravener a settlement on the condition that he did not speak further about the case. The corporation’s current chief executive said the settlement would not affect the services it provided to Borroloola Indigenous communities, including housing maintenance and aged care, because its insurers would pay.
