NT Independent

Probe into NT public servant death still under wraps as toxic culture questions mount

The Department of Corporate and Digital Development will not provide an update on its seven-month-old investigation into the death of employee Shaun Joyce, whose family alleged bullying and harassment contributed to his death, which follows the department head not directly answering questions about the workplace culture during a Parliamentary public hearing into the failed $320 million Acacia IT project earlier this year.

St John given $10m ‘support package’ amid system failures, contract talks

The Finocchiaro CLP Government has announced a $10 million “support package” for St John Ambulance to recruit more paramedics amid a crisis situation with the ambulance provider, which comes while the government has pledged to expedite negotiations on a new five-year service contract that expired in January.

Two men facing charges over fatal motorcycle crash

A 25-year-old man is facing several charges in relation to a fatal motorcycle crash last October that killed an 18-year-old female passenger after two motorcycles collided with a pig at Lambells Lagoon, NT Police said Thursday.

Personal duress alarms for health workers amid escalating violence at hospitals

The Finocchiaro CLP Government has responded to calls for safer hospitals by pledging to provide 150 health care staff at Darwin and Palmerston Hospitals with personal duress alarms and $500,000 to fix the air conditioner at RDH, but has not said if it considered supplying pepper spray to the staff as well, amid ongoing violent incidents at the hospitals.

Councils left in the dark on power pricing as services put at risk: LGANT

Alice Springs Town Council says Jacana Energy only contacted it this week to discuss electricity price increases for local government from July, while the Local Government Association NT said some remote councils are considering cutting family, health and youth programs amid the planned price increase, as Darwin Council also ponders cuts to services.

New 14-storey CDU student accommodation moving ahead in Darwin CBD with NAIF loan

A $70 million federal loan will underpin a new 14-storey CDU student accommodation building for 350 students across from the university’s city Danala campus, with land provided by the NT Government, with construction now expected to start two years after the campus opened and seven years since it was first announced.

Sexual harassment, bullying claims increased in public service last year, latest workplace survey shows

The number of NT public servants stating they were bullied or sexually harassed at work has increased significantly since 2023 along with a consistent fear to report, while the number of physical assaults on public servants has nearly doubled in two years, according to the latest NT Government People Matter Survey, which was quietly released by the government last week.