OPINION: The recently announced decision to investigate a senior detective for allegedly perverting the course of justice in the Zach Rolfe criminal investigation is a good first step, writes former officer Carey Joy, but more independent investigations into senior officers involved are needed to restore confidence in the NT Police.
Opinion: Seeing the constitutional recognition of Indigenous people in democratic terms, it offers a practical way of working through profound questions, and deepens our reasoning about the consequences of the past, writes Professor Duncan Ivison.
Abortion is a stain on our Australian society and what we need instead is love, compassion and a voice that protects the unborn in our Constitution, writes Gerry Wood.
NT Police Association president Nathan Finn has said Police Minister Kate Worden should be ashamed of herself for the banning of spit hoods, the bail and weapons review, the raising of the age of criminal responsibility, as part of his speech at the union’s conference, and also criticised the government over other issues including the lifting of alcohol restrictions for Aboriginal communities. Read the full speech here.
Over the last 50 years, we have taken people out of gainful self-help activity into idleness and deteriorating social outcomes; while the jails and hospitals are full, the schools are empty and the ‘gap’ is widening, writes former chairman of the NT Grants Commission and coordinator general of Remote Services, Bob Beadman.
The AFL needs to stand up and be the organisation they clearly think they should be, by getting firmly behind all the people of the centre with genuine investment that would bring real foundational change to the lives of those they love to boast about supporting, writes Alice Springs Town Council councillor Steve Brown.
Many people are angry about what is happening in the NT at the moment, but maybe we need to stop and ask a few questions. writes Richard Trudgen. Like why is this happening? Why are these young people doing this? What is the driving force behind their actions? And do we really want to know the answers?
Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour has proposed an Aboriginal community-controlled Family Responsibility Commission that could quarantine payments for parents who don’t look after their children, writes Michelle Grattan.
After adopting a public health model for knife crime reduction in 2005, Glasgow experienced a significant reduction in knife crime, violent incidents and murder, and it is a method that should be used in the NT, writes the Member for Blain Mark Turner.
OPINION: As the dust clears on new reports that Jamie Chalker will not return to the role of Police Commissioner, former NT Police Sergeant Ross Martin writes that Chalker’s actions over the years should be judged by the same criteria which led to his own dismissal, arguing the top cop is not fit to hold the important and respected position. This article was written before reports that Chalker is not returning to the role, which have yet to be confirmed by government, and provides insights on why the government may have asked for his resignation.
UPDATED: Darwin’s main arterial road, Tiger Brennan Drive, will become a tollway to help pay for Labor’s fight against youth crime, and will also be re-named Michael Gunner Way in honour of the Northern Territory’s second longest serving Labor chief minister, leaked documents reveal … in one of two April Fool’s Day stories by the NT Independent.
APRIL FOOL’S: Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker’s executive contract has been extended by the Fyles Government for another four years, with Mr Chalker calling the re-appointment an even larger “shot in the arm” to police morale than his original appointment was back in 2019.
