The Building Compliance Taskforce established by the previous Labor government in 2022 to urgently inspect uncertified government buildings and bring them up to code did not carry out its objectives, the NT Independent can reveal, which follows bricks falling from a wall during last month’s cyclone at Royal Darwin Hospital, which was identified three years ago as one of the key public buildings not meeting compliance standards.
New political donation disclosures have revealed who funded local councillors’ election campaigns with a few surprises, including one mayoral candidate raking in more than $50,000 in donations – including money from a Chinese business executive connected to the Landbridge Group – while the other Darwin mayoral candidate claimed no donations at all; meanwhile a disgraced former Labor powerbroker appeared more times than any other donor on different lists and one councillor had a former chief minister’s father kick in for his successful run.
The developer behind the proposed 11-storey hotel at the Darwin Convention Centre has announced it will not proceed with the project following strong opposition from Larrakia elders, but the CLP Government has committed to proceeding with a “high-level concept” at the same site anyway.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has passed legislative amendments to block the public’s right to access documents that would reveal the reasoning behind ministerial decisions, which it said was necessary to protect former Labor mines minister and current Tamboran Resources executive Nicole Manison’s emails from being made public as part of an ongoing court case.
The Territory’s politicians have once again been gifted a pay rise amid record debt, with their salaries now increased by $5,000 – which follows last year’s generous $8,200 pay rise – which works out to an eight per cent increase, while the government is currently offering public servants an annual three per cent pay increase.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government racked up an $886 million net operating deficit in the 2024-25 financial year, while also borrowing $1.4 billion, according to a new audit report by the Auditor-General, which shows the big-spending CLP helped raise the Territory’s debt level to $12 billion.
UPDATED: The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s legislation to roll the ICAC and Ombudsman offices into a new Integrity and Ethics Commission has been roundly rejected by multiple national and international integrity experts as weakening independent oversight and creating potential “political interference” in the new commission, with the Centre for Public Integrity recommending the bill be withdrawn and sent back for review to ensure the NT’s “broken integrity system” is fixed properly.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has refused to explain how disgraced former NT Government senior executive Andrew Kirkman obtained a government-marked vehicle, which he was seen driving and which was parked outside his house last week, more than seven months after announcing his departure from the public service.
Two companies linked to Michael Buckley and his co-accused have had their government contractor accreditation pulled, which will prevent both businesses from receiving government works and may affect subcontractors, as Mr Buckley faces federal corruption charges relating to the alleged rorting of Department of Defence building contracts valued at $71 million.
Proven liar and NT Police Commander Shaun Gill told a local radio station a male teen was arrested after allegedly throwing a gas bottle at a person in Darwin overnight and threatening people with an “edged weapon”, but that did not align with facts presented in a police press release, which is not the first time Mr Gill has misled the public.
M+J Builders co-director Jessica Buckley’s claims that she is an Indigenous woman from the Bundaberg region in Queensland have recently been called into question, the NT Independent understands, which comes as the NT Indigenous Business Network suspended the company’s membership on Tuesday, but which it said was due only to the federal corruption charges against her husband and co-director Michael Buckley.
A Darwin businessman and vice-president of Master Builders NT has been identified as one of three people facing charges in a federal corruption investigation involving the alleged rorting of Department of Defence contracts valued at up to $71 million, with business records revealing connections to a Commonwealth employee and his wife, who are also believed to be facing charges.
