Dearly beloved, we are gathered together in the sight of God, (Lia Finocchiaro and her CLP apostles), for a special Christmas in October edition of Clown Town to celebrate the Crisis of the Pageant of the Damned. Let’s again wallow in the misdeeds, malfeasance and asinine behaviour of our elected leaders and explore that sweet corruption-incompetence nexus that makes us all feel at home in the Great God-Fearing Territory Lifestyle.
The war on Christmas escalated quickly Thursday afternoon when Major Events Minister Marie-Clare Boothby decreed that the CLP Government will take over control of the Darwin Christmas Pageant next year, after Darwin Council moved to ban a Christian group from attending this year’s parade, which Ms Boothby described as “un-Australian”. The government’s decision had the Mayor accusing it of “politicising” the event.
Gold Coast will play only one AFL game in Darwin next season, while Melbourne will continue with its one game in Alice Springs, the newly released league fixture shows, but the Finocchiaro Government has not acknowledged the loss of the game or said how the change affects the total it is paying the Queensland team to come to the Territory.
Five people have been arrested with one person still on the run after four allegedly stolen vehicles fled police in convoy from Darwin to the Daly River district, with police alleging offenders threw metal objects at vehicles and attempted to ram police cars, NT Police said.
A Darwin teenager has been charged with numerous offences after police executed a search warrant and allege he was “collecting documents likely to facilitate [a] terrorist act, as well as schematics for 3-D printed guns”.
Six Katherine Hospital staff members were allegedly kicked, punched, bitten, spat on and chased around the Emergency Department on Sunday in a violent scene, while two staff members were allegedly hit over the head with a set of baby scales by a patient before they were “taken down by a team of nursing staff”, which follows repeated safety warnings the Health Department ignored, the union representing nurses has said.
Darwin Council has denied a request from the March for Jesus group to participate in the upcoming Darwin Christmas Pageant, saying the group’s behaviour last year was “overbearing, intimidating and confronting” but the Australian Christian Lobby said the group was simply Christians sharing the “glad tidings and good news of Jesus as they walk alongside other Darwinians, celebrating the birth of Jesus”.
A stolen ute was allegedly driven through house fences, performed burnouts and forced pedestrians to flee its path in Wadeye before colliding with a police vehicle, causing minor injuries to the officers inside, and crashing into the police station compound fence, NT Police said.
Bree Ahrens has been appointed the new executive director of the Environment Centre NT, the organisation has announced.
A 39-year-old man who allegedly dumped his partner at the Palmerston hospital last month with two stab wounds to her chest and fleeing after telling healthcare staff she was “unwell” has been charged with murder, the NT Police said.
A breach of bail charge against Federal Member for Solomon Luke Gosling involving the alleged assault of Administrator David Connolly has been withdrawn by the prosecution, with Mr Gosling’s lawyer stating the legal move is a “significant one”.
Royal Darwin Hospital has formally apologised after private medical information about several pregnant patients was leaked on an Instagram account with over 28,000 followers, with the NT Health Minister calling the incident a “serious breach of trust and a betrayal that should never have happened”.
