The Finocchiaro Government has released expressions of interest for a company to operate the barge service from Darwin to Wadeye after barge owner Auriga’s decision to move out of regional logistics in the Northern Territory.

Santos’ Darwin LNG facility has been leaking methane since 2006, but the public was never notified of the leak, raising allegations of gas industry cover-ups and regulatory failures, documents obtained by the Environment Centre NT show, with two NT politicians calling for immediate action to address the failures.

More than 30 Darwin food and hospitality businesses were blitzed by inspectors from the ATO and the Fair Work Ombudsman this week, after the businesses were reported for underpaying staff, underreporting income and evading liquor taxes.

The Finocchiaro Government is seeking expressions of interest from a proponent to use the State Square art gallery, which is not due to be finished until mid next year, specifying the “innovative” proposal must be financially sustainable with minimal or no dependence on taxpayer support.

The Department of Logistics and Infrastructure has been fined and convicted for breaching the conditions of an Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority certificate, which led to damage of a sacred site in a remote Central Australian community, and follows a costly, years-long court battle in which it attempted to defend its actions.

The Darwin Entertainment Centre is now officially called the AANT Centre after a 10-year partnership agreement with the Automobile Association of the Northern Territory, but AANT has declined to disclose how much it paid for the naming rights.

Costings for two different versions of the new Darwin Council civic centre were given to council but never made public in the months before it put out an expression of interest for the building, that led to a partnership with developer DCOH to build the controversial 21-storey hybrid civic centre-private office tower.

A vital Territory aquifer is drying at an accelerating rate and taking longer to recover from Dry seasons, a new study by Griffith University has found, raising concerns about the impact fracking operations in the Beetaloo Basin will have on the water source and additional extraction.

The cost of Darwin’s long-delayed ship lift has surged to at least $820 million, a parliamentary committee has found, which will see taxpayers cover the costs for Paspaley Pearls Group to operate, as per an agreement signed in 2021.

NT WorkSafe has appointed Grant Hastie as its new executive director, effective August 25, following a national recruitment process.