Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s surprise move to declare Boxing Day a public holiday has received mixed reactions, with unions expressing their gratitude while the business community, already struggling from the coronavirus pandemic, said it could result in more closures and less shifts on the day.
The RSL’s controversial plan to build a club on the Esplanade appears to finally be dead, after Darwin City Council passed a motion at its meeting last night to turn the carpark at the centre of the proposal into green space.
The NT Government awarded 17 tenders in the past week to a total of $53.3 million, including almost $1 million for the design of a Tennant Creek arts and culture centre, and $86,000 to design and document security upgrades at Alice Springs Correctional Facility. See the full list here.
An alderman’s push for Darwin City Council to green over the disputed Bicentennial Park carpark set to be debated at Tuesday’s council meeting could mean the end of the RSL’s proposed Esplanade project.
Australia Post’s NT manager has rubbished claims the postal service is sitting on “stockpiles” of packages waiting to be distributed across the Darwin region, as Territorians flood the company with complaints over long delays receiving shipments.
The Gunner Government has been accused of weakening the independent oversight of the liquor commission and sending a dangerous message to investors, after rushing through changes to liquor licence laws.
The company that owns Dan Murphy’s has moved its proposed Darwin store to address concerns raised by opponents that its initial site was too close to nearby Indigenous communities and on a major arterial road.
The Gunner Government has pledged to introduce urgent legislation to Parliament this week that would fast-track approval for a Dan Murphy’s liquor store in Darwin – four years after they passed laws to ban it.
The Environment Centre NT has thrown its support behind the Gunner Government’s $30 million 35MW Battery Energy Storage System, billed to cut electricity costs and deliver on its 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.
The Northern Territory – with Queensland and Western Australia – will be exposed to the most significant economic losses due to a rapidly changing climate, with some places in the NT charted to become uninhabitable, a new Deloitte Economics report has found.
The NT Government has released 14 requests for tender in the past week, including one for a prescribed burning program for a year, and one for a market analysis into potential accommodation developments in Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek. See the full summary.
The Darwin City Council has come under fire for its management of a divisive proposal for The Esplanade at a monthly public forum, with a small gallery accusing elected members of confusing messaging, deceit and outright lying.
