The Royal Flying Doctor Service has been awarded a 10-year, $625 million contract to provide aeromedical retrieval and inter-hospital transfer services in the Top End, Big Rivers, and East Arnhem regions, but the government has refused to explain why the contract was awarded so late and how much taxpayers will pay Careflight while it continues the service until next July.
The NT’s aged care system poses increased risks of hospital harm for elderly residents, a new report by the Australian Medical Association has warned, adding the Territory is the only jurisdiction that has seen the total number of residential aged care places remain unchanged for the past six years while home care packages have decreased from a decade ago.
A woman faces an assault charge for allegedly spitting in a shop worker’s face on Friday and a 17-year-old girl has been charged with physically assaulting the same worker, while the employee in turn is being investigated over her use of OC spray, including spraying it into a vehicle carrying the alleged offenders while two young children were sitting inside, with police not disclosing the children’s ages.
Two police vehicles were damaged during a riot involving up to 150 people in Wadeye and officers had to rescue a man who was hiding from the crowd, NT Police said, as violence in the remote community continues.
The Limmen Bight Marine Park has been extended by 185sq kms, an increase of 20 per cent, which the government says will help support the world’s largest dugong population while protecting marine habitats and promoting sustainable tourism.
A 47-year-old woman who was left at the hospital by her partner after he allegedly stabbed her twice in the chest and told healthcare workers she was feeling “unwell” has died as a result of her wounds 10 days after the incident, with her 39-year-old partner now facing charges, NT Police said.
Ghost bats have been discovered at Bullo River Station in the Victoria River District of the Northern Territory, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy has said.
UPDATED: A 14-year-old girl was tasered by police in the Darwin CBD Tuesday afternoon after she allegedly stabbed a police officer with a kitchen knife, injuring his upper arm and chest, NT Police said.
Federal Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says the Finocchiaro CLP Government is gaining a reputation as being “very difficult to work with” following a meeting on Friday that the Federal Labor Government scheduled to discuss why the NT was leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table in unclaimed flood disaster relief payments and why other money it has collected from the Commonwealth is not being spent on domestic violence prevention, remote housing and in other crucial areas.
UPDATED: A 42-year-old NT Police officer has been suspended on full pay after being charged with aggravated assault and served with a domestic violence order following an incident at a Palmerston home while the male officer was off-duty, NT Police said.
Alice Springs is set to receive a major infrastructure upgrade for a new four-way signalised intersection at Schwarz Crescent, connecting to Smith Street and the Stuart Highway, as part of a joint government tender, with the total cost not revealed.
Twenty-four Territory business and industry bodies will travel to Texas with Trade and Business Minister Robyn Cahill for an unspecified period of time and at an unknown cost to taxpayers to make their case to US-based companies for benefits from Beetaloo Sub-basin gas-related projects in the NT, the Minister says. The total cost to taxpayers for the Texas trip was not disclosed, however Ms Cahill’s office “estimated” it will cost $27,000 alone for her to attend the voyage.
