A day after serious allegations were levelled at the Darwin Turf Club for alleged building non-compliance issues with its Silk’s Club bar, new documents have surfaced that raise questions over the safety of the controversial $12 million publicly-funded grandstand.
The Darwin Turf Club’s newly constructed Silks Club is alleged to be “unsafe and not suitable to occupy”, according to a whistleblower who has lodged a formal complaint with Northern Territory authorities over several alleged building non-compliance issues that “could put lives at risk”.
The details of a secret deal Chief Minister Michael Gunner signed while in China last year will remain secret until after the election at the earliest, following a decision by Mr Gunner’s department to block the release of public information.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner needs to explain to Territorians how a senior public servant in his department accepted a gift of travel without disclosing it from a private company that is seeking taxpayer money for a development, the Territory’s opposition parties say.
EXCLUSIVE: The Northern Territory’s second-most senior public servant Andy Cowan had a trip to Disney World paid for by a private company seeking government funds to build an interpretive centre at Jabiru which appears to not have been disclosed, the NT Independent can reveal.
NT Police will be closing the Darwin watch house and moving other resources around in an effort to prioritise protecting the borders as AFP personnel pull out of the Northern Territory on Friday, according to an internal police memo obtained by the NT Independent.
A new analysis of NT Public Service executive contracts shows the Northern Territory has more “senior executive services” staff than Tasmania and the ACT combined, despite a quarter of the population.
NT Administrator Vicki O’Halloran racked up nearly $100,000 in travel expenses in less than two years, including a massive trip to London under the pretence of celebrating an assistant receiving an award, that cost taxpayers 14 times more for her than the public servant being honoured.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner says he heard “something” about NT Children’s Commissioner Colleen Gwynne being investigated by the NT Police but didn’t make any inquiries to verify it before her contract was renewed for a further five years in May.
ANALYSIS: The serious abuse of office charge laid against NT Children’s Commissioner Colleen Gwynne has exposed troubling integrity issues in the NT’s public institutions and raised some uncomfortable questions for the Gunner Government ahead of the Territory election next month, writes Christopher Walsh
Children’s Commissioner Colleen Gwynne has responded to the abuse of office charge leveled at her by the NT Police, calling it a “misconceived charge” in a media statement from her lawyer.
The Gunner Government has awarded a $55 million contract to build the new Darwin youth detention centre to Halikos Group – the company that objected to the facility being built in its original location because it infringed on free land they were given by the government.
