Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro today announced eight assistant ministers, meaning that all government members are now ministers or assistant ministers, and Independent MLA Robyn Lambley has been endorsed as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
NT Independent takes home another NT Media Award for excellence in reporting
The NT Independent has won another NT Media Award, this time for Best Text News Coverage, beating out the ABC and The Australian, marking the fifth gong for the online newspaper since starting in March 2020.
‘I just hear hypocrisy’: Criticism of CLP’s flip-flopping on scrutiny committee
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro will not re-establish a legislation scrutiny committee despite calling it “the dismantlement of transparency” and “closing down democracy” when it was scrapped by the Gunner Labor Government, a position former independent MLA Gerry Wood has labelled hypocrisy.
Government says it will ‘fix’ Legal Aid NT funding shortfall but will not give details
The Finocchiaro Government has now said it is working to “fix” Legal Aid NT’s funding shortfall, a week after the issue became public, but has not said what it will do, while the agency itself will not say what the government is doing, or whether it will still dramatically reduce its representation of people in criminal matters.
On-the-spot fines for public drinking in prohibited areas
Public drinking will be criminalised with police given new powers to issue on-the-spot fines, as well as arrest and charge people for consuming alcohol in prohibited places, under so-called ‘nuisance drinker’ laws, the Alcohol Policy Minister Steve Edgington has said, but a peak alcohol body has said it would be better to treat the issue with a therapeutic, rather than punitive approach.
New ram raid offence carries same maximum penalty as property damage
The CLP Government’s new ram raiding law will carry the same maximum penalty as the offence of damage to property, which already covers ram raids.
Police to be given powers to use weapons metal detectors in schools
Police will be given the power to use hand-held metal detectors to search for weapons in schools, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said, while principals will “very likely” be able to reject their use while new Greens MLA Kat McNamara said the move was turning schools in airport security checkpoints and asked the Chief Minister to rule out police using the wands in primary schools.
‘Another devastating blow to a legal system already in collapse’: NT Legal Aid announces service cuts
Inadequate funding has been blamed for NT Legal Aid not taking on new adult clients in criminal matters from October 21 and imposing a range of other service cuts.
Two youths steal woman’s electric scooter
A woman’s electric scooter was stolen late at night in Alice Springs by two male youths who blocked her path, hit her on the wrist and pulled it away from her, NT Police said.
‘This is a fiasco we are observing’: MLA questions acting ICAC appointing replacement investigator
An independent MLA has questioned why acting Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Naomi Loudon selected the person to assume responsibility for Operator Jupiter rather using ICAC legislation to have the Administrator independently appoint a temporary commissioner.
Police arrest man whose parole was revoked
NT Police say they have arrested a man whose parole they revoked last week, a man who had been sentenced in 2013 to a non-parole period of nine years in prison for his part in an infamous gang rape at gunpoint of two European backpackers in Alice Springs.
Former top traffic cop to contest charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice
The Territory’s former top traffic cop will contest a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice relating to a traffic matter.