There is urgent need for a reconsideration of alcohol regulation policy approaches in the NT with the looming change to grog restrictions in the Territory, and First Nations people need to be more fully consulted, argue Elizabeth Crawford Spencer and Andrew Lockyer.
With a gathering of lawyers, judges and experts from all over Australia in Darwin, Close Don Dale Now member John Lawrence, writes the Fyles Government is breaching its duty of care, together with the requirements of various international legal conventions, in imprisoning traumatised children as young as ten, in a jail that eleven years ago a Corrections Commissioner said was “only fit for a bulldozer”.
OPINION: As Territorians await a coronial inquiry into the circumstances around the death of Kumanjayi Walker and details of the flawed police procedures that led to Constable Zach Rolfe being in that house in Yuendumu, one thing is certain: the NT Police cover-up is an internal arse-covering exercise of epic proportions, writes former NT Police tactical unit boss Carey Joy.
OPINION: The only way any form of justice for Kumanjayi Walker will be achieved is for all of us to look beyond the distraction the NT Police executive has created and start demanding answers for how this tragic incident unfolded and how the decisions made by those in positions of power led to it, writes former NT Police tactical unit boss Carey Joy.
Litchfield Council’s massive rate increase for the large gas companies Conoco Phillips and Inpex is unjust, unfair, and just greedy, writes Gerry Wood.
If Natasha Fyles as the new Chief Minister wants community support and faith in government returned, she must act in the best interests of our communities, be honest and pull out the bull whip and crack problematic bureaucrats off, writes Daniel Tapp.
OPINION: A massive overhaul of the NT Police system is urgently needed, writes former NT Police officer Carey Joy. With so much damage done operationally and to morale already, he continues, the Gunner Government needs to take drastic action, or there needs to be a federal intervention or Royal Commission before another officer kills themselves.
Retired NT lawyer and academic Geoff James is critical of the extraordinary two years of power given to the chief health officer under the proposed amendments to the Public and Environmental Health Act, and instead argues for a pandemic response advisory panel that actually excludes the CHO, and gives the Health Minister the ultimate authority for decisions.
OPINION: Sergeant Mark Casey, a 25-year NT Police veteran, writes that he is concerned about the authoritarian approach to management of police by Commissioner Jamie Chalker, and that now is the time for a confidence vote to restore the NT Police’s core values in the aftermath of the Zach Rolfe matter.
Alice Springs Town Council councillor Steve Brown argues that mandated training and various codes of behaviour, along with a direction for councillors not to criticise council, or its officers, constitutes anti-democratic behaviour under the ICAC charter.
We know that exposing the Gunner Government and other powerful people has made the NT Independent a controversial brand for some. But you can safely align yourself with a powerful force for social good, and help improve your Northern Territory at the same time.
Does anyone know anything about NT Land Corporation? When was it set up, and why? Who appoints the board members? Why aren’t the deals done by NT Land Corporation made public? And does it publish annual reports? These are some of the questions Katherine’s Daniel Tapp says need to be answered by the government.
