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In Brief
- David Connolly is being sworn in as the Northern Territory’s administrator on Friday.
- The ceremony follows months of backlash over a series of widely criticised social media posts.
An Aboriginal Elder is standing firm, stating that a last-minute apology for “racist” social media posts issued by a territory’s soon-to-be administrator does not alter the situation.
Northern Territory MP Yingiya Guyula has expressed skepticism regarding the sincerity of David Connolly’s apology. Guyula has called on Connolly to decline his forthcoming appointment before the swearing-in ceremony.
The controversy centers around Connolly, a cattleman, as he prepares to assume the role of Northern Territory’s administrator—a position comparable to that of a state governor. His appointment has been shrouded in controversy, receiving backlash over several months.
There have been increasing demands for the nomination of Connolly, made in late 2025 by the Northern Territory’s Country Liberal Party government, to be either revoked, postponed, or thoroughly reviewed due to his contentious posts on social media platform X.
Among the contentious posts are critiques of what Connolly termed as Indigenous privilege, a perceived derision of Welcome to Country ceremonies, and a re-post that referred to Prime Minister Albanese in derogatory terms.
Connolly issued an apology late on Wednesday, saying he deeply regretted his posts that were deleted but had recently re-emerged in the media.
He said in a statement he was genuinely sorry and did not mean to cause offence with the posts that were “no reflection of my personal core values”.
Guyula said it would take more than a last-minute apology for people to believe Connolly was genuinely sorry.
“He has a clear record that everyone can see of being offensive,” he said in a statement to AAP.
“He was the wrong choice for the position.
“He should turn the role down. This would show he can see the damage his views have caused.”
Guyula was among dozens of politicians, advocates and community groups who signed a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requesting he “urgently rescind” the vice-regal appointment to restore public confidence.
The NT MP also issued a personal plea to Albanese to withdraw his support for Connolly.
“He should not be sworn in and Elders on Country have the right to say he’s not welcome until he’s proven that he no longer has these racist opinions about our people,” Guyula said in the statement.
“The apology doesn’t change anything at this time.”
Guyula said if Connolly wanted to work towards a genuine apology, he could start by sitting with Elders respectfully and learning about their culture, “rather than make judgements from the outside”.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn welcomed the “full apology” after arriving in Darwin for the ceremony, saying she had spoken to Connolly to remind him of the “restraint required” in his upcoming $377,000 per-year gig.
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