EXCLUSIVE: The crucial ‘pipeline’ of NT Government infrastructure works that keep businesses operating in the Northern Territory has slowed to a trickle, industry and government sources have confirmed, with the slowdown leading to uncertainty and fear of impending “mass layoffs” while construction and civil works companies currently consider their options in an unprecedented situation.
Litchfield ratepayers will face a four per cent increase in rates and waste charges next financial year under the council’s draft 2026–27 budget, which also sets aside $8.5 million for capital works.
Targeted spawning closures, tighter vessel limits, stronger compliance enforcement and the construction of new habitat in barren sea areas should form part of the Northern Territory’s next golden snapper recovery plan, the Amateur Fishermen’s Association of the Northern Territory said.
Tourism Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has returned from a previously unannounced “China tourism mission” to the city of Guangzhou, which she said was necessary to build relationships in person and attract more Chinese tourists to the Northern Territory.
Alice Springs Town Council says Jacana Energy only contacted it this week to discuss electricity price increases for local government from July, while the Local Government Association NT said some remote councils are considering cutting family, health and youth programs amid the planned price increase, as Darwin Council also ponders cuts to services.
A $70 million federal loan will underpin a new 14-storey CDU student accommodation building for 350 students across from the university’s city Danala campus, with land provided by the NT Government, with construction now expected to start two years after the campus opened and seven years since it was first announced.
The number of NT public servants stating they were bullied or sexually harassed at work has increased significantly since 2023 along with a consistent fear to report, while the number of physical assaults on public servants has nearly doubled in two years, according to the latest NT Government People Matter Survey, which was quietly released by the government last week.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government is spending $82.1 million on two large-scale battery storage projects it says will improve energy security and grid stability in Alice Springs and Katherine.
Hurting NT tourism operators affected by floods will be able to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to repair or replace damaged business equipment and infrastructure, the Finocchiaro CLP Government has announced, in response to calls for urgent financial assistance and a tourism bailout package ahead of the predicted slow upcoming tourism season.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has announced the Northern Territory’s latest ‘Investment Committee’ that will provide “independent advice on [government] investment opportunities” to help grow the stagnant economy, which appears to be the latest iteration of the previous Labor government’s Infrastructure Development Fund that was shut down amid scandal in 2019.
Jetstar will temporarily suspend its Darwin to Gold Coast service from May to October as part of Qantas Group’s cost-cutting measures due to rising global jet fuel prices driven by the Middle East conflict.
A private consultancy company started by one of the Territory’s most senior public servants has recently employed another senior bureaucrat, with both heavily involved in establishing the NT Government’s private investment attraction and gas regulation policies over the past five years, raising questions about the potential for confidential government information to be used for private gain.
