Two parking levies that Darwin Council intends to use to build its new civic centre-private office tower with developer DCOH should be scrapped, the Property Council NT has said, because councils have collected and used them largely at their own discretion without transparent governance controls.
A Federal Court application has been lodged seeking to force Darwin Council to hand over documents relating to the deal it struck with developer DCOH to build the controversial 21-storey civic centre-private office tower, along with details of how it is using ratepayer money on the project.
The Middle Arm industrial precinct could end up costing the NT Government $5.5 billion in capital outlays and a further $140 million in annual operating expenditure for the next 50 years, which would affect its ability to fund health and education, a new report by an energy economist for the Environment Centre NT has found, while a federal Labor MP revealed her government’s $1.5 billion equity investment in the project is a long way from being finalised.
A ute allegedly stolen by a group of teenagers drove at cars and pedestrians in the Alice Springs city centre before the vehicle smashed into a tree after police used tyre spikes to stop it, a source has told the NT Independent, however NT Police deny the claims.
Darwin Council is using money collected from a public car parking levy to help finance its joint venture with a private developer to build the new Darwin civic centre, in potential breach of the legally-mandated Car Parking Contribution Plan, that will see each public car parking space at the new development cost three times more than previously planned, and which will provide 202 public parking spaces instead of the 1800 pledged.
A renewable energy report hidden by the former Labor government has revealed the cost of meeting the Territory’s 50 per cent renewable electricity targets by 2030 was roughly $280 million and would come with moderate electricity price increases, but also with lower operating costs, which contradicts the Finocchiaro CLP Government’s claims it would cost 20 times as much.
Former Labor minister Matthew Bonson has been appointed chief executive officer of the controversial Anindilyakwa Land Council, which is currently under investigation by the National Anti-Crime Commission, the organisation has announced.
Darwin Council committed at least 16 “significant” failures of governance under two different pieces of legislation when sealing its secret deal with developer DCOH to build a 21-storey hybrid civic centre-officer tower, lawyers acting for nearby residents have said, with council now asked to hand over hidden documents relating to the development to help inform a potential Federal Court challenge to prevent the building being constructed.
A man and teenage girl were stabbed in the chest at the Casuarina bus exchange yesterday afternoon, NT Police said.
The Finocchiaro Government has abandoned the Northern Territory’s 2030 renewable electricity target, now criticising the plan as unrealistic and costly despite supporting it in opposition, while a specialist energy analyst who modelled the expense of meeting the target said the government is blatantly lying about the cost and inflating it tenfold.
A firefighter who was found guilty of assaulting his son in front of colleagues while on duty was to return to work to lead a team, including some officers who witnessed the assault, but was temporarily stood down again by the NT Fire service just days before resuming his role, sources have told the NT Independent.
Disgraced former NT Police detective Wayne Newell has been sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of using a carriage service to harass as part of a strange case that the NT Police top brass attempted to keep out of the public spotlight.
