Private email chain released by NT government amid political interference claims

The Northern Territory attorney-general's department has taken the extraordinary step of releasing emails between the NT's top judge and bureaucrats, as it faces allegations of political interference.

The allegations were first made public after an email was leaked from Chief Justice Michael Grant accusing the department of blocking a statement from being sent to The Australian newspaper.

On Tuesday, Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe referred Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby to the NT's corruption watchdog over the matter.

On Thursday a department spokesperson said the newly released emails proved the department "never intended to intervene" with the court's media processes and the matter "did not involve the attorney-general".

The emails detail a conversation between Chief Justice Michael Grant and the acting department chief executive Leonique Swart, on October 8.

In an initial email from Chief Justice Grant, he said he was "extremely disturbed that you have purported to interfere with the court's independence and operations".

He called on Ms Swart to "confirm without delay" she would stop the alleged interference.

In her reply, Ms Swart denied any level of interference.

She wrote there "have been a number of misunderstandings" and that she "did not intend to veto the court" by declining to approve a correction in a court media statement to The Australian.

The emails were sent after a report in The Australian about the sentencing of Darwin hit-and-run driver Jake Danby, which linked the case to a separate hit-and-run trial in the NT Supreme Court.

The attorney-general's department also released the email chain detailing the statement to be sent to The Australian, which was asking for a correction to its article for linking the two matters.

The email chain does not indicate any overt interference from the department.

Both the attorney-general's department and the court's media officer have said the chief justice's original email was the result of a misunderstanding that had since been resolved.

NT Opposition Leader backs ICAC referral

Prior to the emails being released, NT Opposition Leader Selena Uibo said she backed Senator Thorpe raising the issue.

"I would never say I agree necessarily with Senator Thorpe, but I think I agree with the issue being a concern for Territorians," Ms Uibo told Mix 104.9 on Thursday.

"If there is any blurred line or crossover, that needs to be addressed, and we haven't heard any of that come from the attorney-general."

In raising her referral to the NT ICAC, Senator Thorpe also took issue with the attorney-general's disclosure of her relationship to Danby, who is her sister's stepson.

Danby's sentence drew widespread criticism and has been appealed by the NT Director of Public Prosecutions.

When Ms Boothby was questioned at a press conference about whether Danby's sentence was adequate, she did not disclose that she was related to him.

It was after media reporting that Ms Boothby confirmed Danby was part of her extended family.