Darwin Port could be leased later in 2015

The Darwin Port could be long-term leased as soon as the second half of this year, a privatisation inquiry has heard.

The Senate economics references committee travelled to Darwin on Monday to hold an inquiry into the privatisation of public assets.

Chief Minister Adam Giles has said the sale of the Territory Insurance Office and the potential lease of Darwin's port were eligible for a 15 per cent kickback from the Commonwealth if profits were reinvested in new infrastructure.

Committee chair, ALP Senator Sam Dastyari, said Mr Giles had been dishonest with the public, since the legislation had not yet passed the Senate.

But the inquiry heard that NT Treasury is preparing the next budget on the basis that it will receive $45 million from the Commonwealth for the sale of TIO and is earmarking projects to receive those funds.

Independent MLA Gerry Wood said he didn't want to see the NT government being "sweetened" into making potentially the wrong decision regarding the port's long-term lease, which he said was effectively a sale.

He was wary of Mr Giles' announcement of a five-week NT parliamentary inquiry into leasing options for the port, saying it wasn't long enough to properly consult with stakeholders.

"I do get the feeling there's a bit of a rush here, and perhaps the government has been doing some work in the last few months and we might be just at the end of something that's already a fait accompli; I hope it's not that," he said.

The inquiry heard that foreign companies were among the 30 expressing an interest in leasing the port. NT Senator Nova Peris said Territorians should be concerned.

"Once that's taken over we'll never get that back," she told reporters.

"There's times when as Australians we should pull the shutters down and concentrate on making Australia a better place, a more affordable place to live."

Meanwhile, Mr Wood deplored the politicisation of the hearing, with Chief Minister Giles refusing to attend, and Senator Dastyari calling him a coward and a liar.

"It shouldn't be a political issue, it should be about privatisation on its merits," Mr Wood said.

Mr Dastyari denied the hearings had been overshadowed by political games.

"It's very clear the NT government would like there to be no debate... it's unfortunate we have to go through processes like today to get answers about what's going on," he said.

The committee will report back to parliament on March 20.