Police Commissioner Martin Dole told the former head of public prosecutions that Zach Rolfe should be charged with murder over the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker, but did not have a conflict of interest despite his childhood relationship with the victim’s family, a new ICAC report has found, which also concluded that police management’s failure to record major decisions in the case was “unfortunate” and “surprising” but did not amount to improper conduct.

Darwin Council will not say if it spent the $126,500 allocated for the annual city Christmas display, that this year involves failing lights, decorations from Christmases long, long ago, and the old Smith Street Christmas tree that appears was only lit for one night.

A team of scientists say the NT Government is being “misleading, inaccurate and potentially defamatory” by claiming their study that found a major aquifer was drying at an accelerated pace did not include enough years of data, a criticism that follows the government itself in 2022 inexplicably doubling the estimated annual re-filling rate provided for an aquifer by appearing to cut the data period in half.

Public servants have voted to accept the Finocchiaro CLP Government’s latest pay offer, ending drawn out negotiations over the 2025-2029 enterprise bargaining agreement.

Darwin Basketball Association members have voted for the association to be dissolved, and for Basketball NT to take over running the Darwin basketball competitions, Basketball Australia has said, which follows an independent report showing its proposed income streams could breach the sport’s National Integrity Framework while it was also being investigated by the peak body’s integrity unit.

The deaths of three Department of Corporate and Digital Development employees, including the suicide of Shaun Joyce that all occurred within a 12-month period, are currently under investigation by the Territory’s workplace regulator because of the alleged “psychosocial hazards” that may have contributed to the deaths, NT WorkSafe said.

The troubled Darwin Basketball Association’s financial situation worsened this year, with proposed income streams possibly breaching the sport’s national integrity rules, Basketball Australia has said, leaving the NT basketball fraternity to now vote on whether to dissolve the association.

Charles Darwin University vice-chancellor Scott Bowman’s contract has been renewed for another five years, but the university council will not say on what basis the decision was made, while the announcement was made two days before Mr Bowman revealed he had hired a friend and her wedding singer husband to run the university’s London campus without publicly advertising the roles.

The terms of reference for an internal government investigation into the death of Acacia health IT system developer Shaun Joyce have been kept secret by the government, with the Department of Corporate and Digital Development refusing to say whether it is examining the issue of identified departmental bullying more broadly or looking into further possible suicides connected to the project.

A person accused of a crime in the Northern Territory will no longer be able to access legal aid and those on bail facing criminal offences, including children as young as 10, will also no longer be covered, part of “drastic action” taken by Legal Aid NT director Catherine Voumard to save money outlined in a letter to lawyers.

The Department of Business says it is looking for “an appropriate course of action” to deal with the Darwin Basketball Association’s ongoing governance and financial failures, while the association incorrectly told members that media were forbidden under its constitution to attend its recent annual general meeting, where it produced financial statements showing its auditors once again raising questions over the group’s solvency.