The husband of a territory chief minister is at the centre of allegations public funds have been misused at a popular waterfront precinct.
Conflict of interest allegations involving the Darwin Waterfront Corporation have been referred to the Northern Territory parliament's public accounts committee by Opposition Leader Selena Uibo.
The Country Liberal Party government and the waterfront corporation deny any wrongdoing.
Sam Burke, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchario's husband, has worked at the corporation since January 2016.
Ms Uibo told parliament the allegations were too serious and the public money involved too significant to be "swept under the rug".
"After months of dodging integrity questions, this government is now desperate to avoid scrutiny and is systematically shutting down accountability measures in parliament," the Labor leader said.
The government had handed the Darwin Waterfront an even bigger budget, while Tourism Minister and Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby refused to release a briefing she received on the allegations, Ms Uibo said.
"Territorians deserve transparency, not cover-ups."
The waterfront corporation is a statutory authority set up by the NT government to control one of the Top End's most popular recreational precincts, including a wave lagoon, beaches, parks, restaurants, bars and other attractions.
Ms Uibo said under parliamentary privilege that among the claims was the "alleged creation of a made-up, part-time job for Mr Sam Burke", the waterfront corporation's deputy chief executive.
She said the role was "reportedly unadvertised" and allegedly resulted in a $60,000 salary increase through a temporary higher duties allowance.
The opposition leader also referred to reports of public service rules being repeatedly breached, roles not advertised, promotions bypassing merit-based reviews and job evaluation processes ignored to benefit certain individuals.
The chief minister's office told AAP she would not be commenting, but Ms Boothby said "unsubstantiated online claims" about the waterfront corporation had already been reviewed.Â
"The review found no evidence of wrongdoing," she said in a statement, noting the claims related to a period when Labor was in power.
Ms Boothby implicitly defended waterfront corporation executives including Mr Burke, labelling the accusations "a disgraceful attempt by the leader of the opposition to tear down individual public servants for her own political gain".
The waterfront corporation's board released a statement on Thursday saying it "categorically denies any wrongdoing and welcomes the opportunity to respond to any matters raised by participating in any inquiry".
The board said it had been subject to annual audits by the NT auditor-general.
"These audits, conducted in accordance with the relevant NT laws and with reference to the Commonwealth corporations law, have consistently found no evidence to support any finding of financial or governance misconduct," it said.
The five-member public accounts committee will decide whether to accept Ms Uibo's referral and investigate the allegations.