🔴 UPDATE: 12:15pm, 26 August 2026
Luke Gosling has temporarily stood aside as Anthony Albanese's special envoy. The decision was Gosling's own, announced in a statement on Wednesday, after the Prime Minister spent weeks refusing every demand to stand him down.
"However, due to the ongoing media attention and the distraction this is causing to the business of government, I have decided to temporarily stand aside as Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans' Affairs and Northern Australia until these matters have been heard," he said.
He blamed the coverage rather than the charges, and repeated his denial. "I categorically deny all the allegations made against me," he said. "I will rigorously defend myself against these charges in court."
Gosling is staying put as the Member for Solomon: "I am more committed than ever to my role serving the people of Darwin and Palmerston."
Northern Territory Police have hit federal Labor MP Luke Gosling with a fresh criminal charge for allegedly breaching the bail conditions tied to his alleged assaults on NT Administrator David Connolly. They're the exact restrictions Gosling himself asked the court to relax.
Officers served the summons on Tuesday for one count of breach of bail, alleging a breach on 14 August. Gosling is due back in the Darwin Local Court on 30 September.
Barely two weeks before the alleged breach, Judge Stephen Geary granted Gosling's request to alter his bail. Geary made the politician stand while the conditions were read out, and delivered an unmistakable warning: "You need to comply with that bail."
Gosling rejects the assault allegations and insists he will fight this fresh charge. He clings to his title as Anthony Albanese's Special Envoy for Defence, Veterans' Affairs and Northern Australia, and News24 reports the Prime Minister refuses to stand him down, with his office saying only that a legal process is underway.
Gosling said strict bail would wreck his job. Police say he broke the softer deal in a fortnight
We reported the 31 July hearing. The day after his arrest, Gosling went to court asking for looser bail so he could keep attending public events, and his barrister Marty Aust argued that without the change, Gosling's ability to do the job he was elected to do would be severely hampered.
Prosecutors fought it, telling the court Connolly had concerns for his safety and had been withdrawing from public events since 18 July because he expected Gosling might be there.
Geary called the allegations "very serious", said Gosling was entitled to the presumption of innocence, and granted the variation with strings attached. The conditions require:
- Gosling's office must give the Administrator's office at least 48 hours' notice before any official event he attends
- Gosling must stay at least 15 metres away from Connolly at all times
- Gosling must keep 50 metres clear of Government House, where Connolly lives
The case so far:
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 18 July | Police allege Gosling assaulted Administrator David Connolly twice at a Darwin festival |
| 30 July | Arrested at home, charged with two counts of assault, released on bail |
| 31 July | The court loosens his bail at his request and Judge Geary warns him to comply |
| 14 August | The alleged breach. Both men attend day two of the Darwin Test |
| 25 August | Police serve a summons for one count of breach of bail |
| 30 September | Back in the Darwin Local Court for the assault charges and the breach matter |
News24 says the alleged breach happened at the cricket
News24 reports the charge relates to Gosling's attendance at the Test match between Australia and Bangladesh at Darwin's Marrara Stadium, the city's first Test in 22 years. Both Gosling and Connolly attended day two on 14 August, with Connolly seen at an NT Cricket function in the corporate hospitality area while Gosling posted photos of himself in the grandstand.
His own Instagram post from the ground puts him there at lunch on day two: "Score check at lunch is 2/181."
Police haven't said publicly what Gosling is alleged to have done at the ground, and his office says police haven't told them either.
Gosling's statement covers where he stood, not the 48 hour warning rule
"Neither Mr Gosling or his office has been made aware of the nature of the alleged breach and have been provided no information from Police other than a summons," a spokesperson said in a statement to News24.
"On Friday, August 14, Mr Gosling did not attend any events at the same time as the Administrator."
The office says Gosling is discussing the matter with his legal team, will defend the charge, and won't comment further while the matter is before the court.
That carefully worded statement addresses only whether the two men attended the same event, and it says nothing about the advance warning requirement. The bail terms order Gosling's office to give 48 hours' notice before any official event he attends. Neither police nor Gosling's camp has said whether that notice was given before the cricket match, and authorities haven't said which specific condition Gosling is alleged to have breached.
Mark Butler dismisses Gosling as a powerless backbencher and Albanese still keeps him as envoy
After the fresh charge, Health Minister Mark Butler told News24's Andrew Clennell that Gosling was essentially "just a backbencher" and that his special envoy roles carried no power.
Back in July the government hid behind the presumption of innocence. Now that Gosling faces a second charge, the excuse is that the job itself is meaningless. By Butler's own logic, stripping Gosling of the title would cost him nothing, yet Albanese stubbornly refuses to act.
Labor's own MPs aren't all holding the line. Josh Burns conceded on News24's Sunday Agenda that it's a "fair question" whether the government has a standards problem while Gosling keeps the role.
"I think we have to hold ourselves to high standards. I think people also need to have the presumption of innocence and that there needs to be a fair process," Burns said.
It's the pattern we covered when Tanya Plibersek demanded the Sydney Swans enforce standards Albanese won't apply inside his own government.
Angus Taylor and James Paterson want Gosling stood down today
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the original assault charges were a test of the Prime Minister's leadership, and the fresh charge has hardened his demand.
"Now that Mr Gosling has also been charged with allegedly breaching his bail, the case for the Prime Minister to act is even stronger," Taylor said. "These allegations are matters for the courts, but Anthony Albanese has a decision to make about who serves in his government. He should stand Mr Gosling down today."
Liberal senator James Paterson said Albanese's "judgement has been exposed again".
"He should have immediately stood Luke Gosling aside as a special envoy when he was first charged with assault," Paterson said. "Now police allege Mr Gosling has breached bail. Surely this is enough for the Prime Minister to admit he got it wrong and immediately stand down his special envoy until this matter is resolved."
On 30 September the Darwin Local Court takes up both matters: the preliminary examination of the two assault charges, which carry up to 14 years in prison under the NT Criminal Code, and the breach of bail charge. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is running the case. Gosling has entered no plea, no court has found anything against him, and he denies every allegation.
The court can't decide either charge before 30 September, but Albanese can act today. So far his choice is that Gosling keeps the job.
