EDITORIAL: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s defence of choosing David Connolly as Administrator this week has done nothing to calm rising tensions in the wider community and instead raised questions about what type of agenda she’s driving that was not fully disclosed to Territorians ahead of the last NT election.
The CLP Government’s rushed amendments to the Housing Act that will continue to see individual remote housing residents not consulted on rent increases has been panned by Aboriginal land councils and other bodies as an “assault on the fundamental rights of Territorians”, while the government claims it will consult with the groups before future rental rises.
UPDATED: A 47-year-old worker at Newmont’s Tanami gold mine in remote Central Australia has died, the company has confirmed, while investigations are underway.
Approximately 450 Daly River residents are being relocated to Darwin as part of emergency measures ordered by the government ahead of expected major flooding this weekend in the area.
Diesel prices are between 12 and 14 cents per litre higher in Palmerston than the lowest prices in Katherine, and while the NT government has the legislative power to investigate these margins and even set price caps, it is not doing anything, writes Daryl Frahm.
Hibiscus Shopping Centre in Darwin’s northern suburbs is being offered for sale for the first time in more than 40 years, the sales agent has said.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government will move to amend the NT’s Sentencing Act this week in Parliament to set a minimum, non-parole period of 25 years’ imprisonment for the murder of a current or former partner, which it claims will act as a “real deterrent” to the Territory’s ongoing domestic violence crisis.
Four people are facing charges in connection to “multiple disturbances” at a car yard in Coconut Grove, including one allegedly involving a gun, which NT Police said resulted in the seizure of weapons, a trafficable quantity of meth and $800 in counterfeit cash.
International test cricket will return to Darwin in August after more than two decades, featuring Australia against Bangladesh at Marrara Stadium, as part of a multi-match agreement between Cricket Australia, NT Cricket and the NT Government.
The NT CLP Government has announced the extension of the HomeGrown build grants program, which will now run through September 2027, which it said will offer long-term stability for families, builders, and investors, with 400 grants having been approved for first-time home buyers to put towards building or buying their first home amid a “difficult time” to enter the NT housing market.
Three-time national champs the Darwin Salties wheelchair basketball team has been forced to withdraw from the National Wheelchair Basketball League following financial troubles at the Darwin Basketball Association, that led to the association being dissolved late last year amid alleged integrity failures by senior figures.
China’s ambassador to Australia has warned that China “has an obligation to protect” Chinese companies’ interests overseas, indicating trade between the two nations “and that part of Australia” particularly will be affected if the Darwin Port is reclaimed by Australia, a day after the Prime Minister said commercial negotiations were continuing to overturn the 2015 lease by the NT Government that he said was not in Australia’s national interest.
