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The head of the Northern Territory police force's media unit has said she is "in the dark" about reports that Commissioner Jamie Chalker has been asked to resign from his post.
- The NT Police's media manager says there has been no notification from government regarding Commissioner Chalker's employment
- She says Commissioner Chalker is currently on pre-planned leave until April 19
- Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy is acting in the role, something a government spokesperson says is usual
Sources told the ABC on Saturday that Commissioner Chalker had been informed the Northern Territory government would ask him to take leave.
The commissioner's current contract ends in November 2023, and the government is required to give him six months' notice about whether it intends to renew it.
On Sunday, NT Police media manager Maggie McKeown said the commissioner had begun his pre-arranged leave on Friday afternoon and was due to return to work on April 19.
Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy is currently acting in the position.
"There's a lot of speculation in the media, [but] we've had nothing from government that alters that view. So, we can't answer any questions because we have nothing further," Ms McKeown said.
"We've had no official notification from government that that's changed. So, at the moment for us, it's business as usual, Commissioner Chalker is on leave."
Ms McKeown said she had spoken to Commissioner Chalker around 3:30pm on Friday, and had discussed plans for next week.
"This was planned leave, over Easter. There's nothing unusual. There's nothing expedited about this leave," she said.
"We're in the dark. We have nothing. If you've got any questions it's probably better to ask the minister.
"We're not hiding anything. We just don't have any information.
"We're reading stuff in the media. That's where we're picking up some of this stuff from. So we have nothing."
A Northern Territory government spokesperson said an internal broadcast had been sent to all NT Police officers overnight, stating that Commissioner Chalker was on leave and Deputy Commissioner Murphy was acting in the role.
"It is common practice for the deputy commissioner to act in the role while the commissioner is on leave. Michael Murphy has acted in the position previously," the spokesperson said.
When asked on Saturday, the spokesperson did not respond to questions about whether the commissioner had been asked to resign.
The Northern Territory police force has been under increasing scrutiny in recent months, with concern about rising crime in the territory and NT Police Association surveys revealing high levels of dissatisfaction among officers about resourcing.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Chalker rejected suggestions that he was about to step down, telling ABC Radio Alice Springs there was "absolutely no truth whatsoever" to rumours that he would shortly take up a new position.
He said he intended to remain in the role.
The ABC has attempted to contact Commissioner Chalker for comment.