The NT’s acting Chief Judge was forced to issue an extraordinary “correction” earlier this week after an email from the courts’ deputy registrar stated there would be no new Local Court judges appointed “in the foreseeable future” necessitating cancelled court lists in an already over-stretched system, which kicked off allegations in legal circles that the CLP Government had rejected the appointment of new judges on the grounds that their alleged politics did not align with the ruling party’s.
Former NT Police assistant commissioner Janelle Tonkin has taken aim at the NT Police Force’s toxic culture, after her official police picture was altered with AI to make it sexually suggestive and shared amongst an unknown number of officers, saying the police force has “real work to do” to make it safe and respectful for women and minorities.
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”.
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.
Labor’s Yiwarr McGrath has defeated independent candidate Andrew Blamey to win the Mulka by-election Saturday night, bringing the party’s total number of MLAs in NT Parliament to six after the 2024 election wipeout saw it reduced to just four bush members, but the new member enters a divided Labor parliamentary caucus.
NT Department of Children and Families chief executive Brent Warren has left the role suddenly, less than a year after being appointed by Minister Robyn Cahill with no explanation provided, which comes amid massive turmoil and controversy in the department.
The NT News’ coverage of gas development in the Beetaloo Sub-basin was the focus of national scrutiny Monday night as Media Watch criticised the newspaper’s reporting as “cheerleading for gas companies and the government” that has repeatedly failed to provide the whole picture, while noting the paper takes in untold amounts of advertising money from industry and the CLP Government. All of it has raised questions over whose interests the newspaper is serving.
The Labor Opposition Leader’s office paid Michael Gunner’s brother-in-law more than an MLA earns to help develop policy for the party shortly before he took an oil and gas lobbyist role earlier this year, the NT Independent can reveal, while the Opposition Leader has refused to explain if proper procurement processes were followed for the secret consultant job paid for by taxpayers.
St John Ambulance NT contributed to the deaths of two elderly Darwin residents due to massive delays in ambulance services arriving when they fell in separate incidents, with both waiting on the floor for more than five hours for medical assistance despite being prioritised, the Coroner has found.
CLP Minister Steve Edgington has publicly said he will not run for One Nation at the next federal election in the Territory when asked on Wednesday, but the NT Independent can reveal he engaged in talks with a senior party figure about leaving the Finocchiaro CLP Government to have a tilt with Pauline Hanson’s party. Mr Edgington’s advances are likely to destabilise leadership and relationships within Cabinet two years into the CLP’s term, a party source said.
Voluntary assisted dying legislation passed Parliament last night, three decades after it was first legalised, but amendments to remove restrictive clauses including the 12-month prognosis timeframe and the doctor gag clause were blocked by the CLP majority.
The Country Liberal Party has not nominated a candidate for the upcoming Mulka by-election which it dismissed Thursday as a “disruption” that will now be a contest between Labor’s candidate Yiwarr McGrath and surprise independent candidate Andrew Blamey.
