NT Independent

Acacia overseers lacked reliable information and failed to make hard decisions: Consultant

The $355 million Acacia digital health program did not have a proper implementation plan produced until two years after the project started which was not effectively adopted, a consultant who worked on the project has revealed, arguing the system was treated merely as an IT project, rather than a system intended to change how healthcare works, adding those in charge were not prepared to make hard decisions. The consultant said perhaps the most important question of all was why money kept being spent without an understanding of whether value was being achieved.

CLP to relocate up to 150 people from Darwin housing shelter to Batchelor

The Finocchiaro CLP Government will relocate residents of the Batten Road YiSSA transitional housing facility to Batchelor as part of a costly plan that will see a new repurposed demountable facility built that will also accommodate remote flood evacuees, but the decision has irked Batchelor residents and its local council who say the government did not consult with anyone there before announcing the “bad idea”.

Opinion: How the troubled $355m Acacia health program failed

The Acacia IT project was intended to transform healthcare, not simply replace ageing systems, but failed to follow its master plan, maintain clinical involvement, test whether continued spending was delivering value, and mistook extensive governance structures for effective oversight, writes project consultant André Snoxall.

Stolen RAAF vehicle tracked to Wadeye: Police

Three males have been arrested in Wadeye in connection to the theft of a security vehicle from RAAF Base Darwin on Monday, NT Police said, with the vehicle allegedly used in connection with further criminal offences.

Police investigating death in Malak

A 28-year-old woman died in a Malak residence Wednesday morning, NT Police said, with her 26-year-old partner arrested at the scene for an alleged earlier assault on the woman hours before she was found unresponsive.

‘A department in chaos’: Silence continues over Children and Families CEO’s shock exit

The shock departure of Department of Children and Families chief executive Brent Warren comes amid delays in court proceedings due to confusion in the department over controversial new child removal laws, while Minister Robyn Cahill’s office has refused to answer questions or explain why Mr Warren suddenly left the role last week, less than a year after she appointed him.

Teen girl among four arrested over Nightcliff attack

Four people, including a teenage girl, have been arrested over an alleged attack on a man who is in a critical condition with skull fractures after a street fight in Nightcliff on Monday involving about 30 people, some armed with weapons including poles, rocks and axes, NT Police said.

New Darwin Private Hospital operator named but no timeline on maternity services return

Calvary Health Care has been designated the new operator of Healthscope as part of a national arrangement that will see it take over Darwin Private Hospital as well as others across the country, but the CLP Government cannot say when private maternity services will return to Darwin.

Man wounded by spear during violent Wadeye unrest: police

A man suffered serious injuries after allegedly being hit in the back with a three-pronged spear during a “large disturbance” involving about 100 people in Wadeye, NT Police said, which follows the recent arrest of 13 people stemming from a series of alleged violent acts and property offences in the community since the start of August.