China has criticised the Federal Government’s plan to return the Darwin Port to Australia ownership, stressing that Chinese company Landbridge, which is currently managing the strategically important northern port, should not suffer the consequences of this decision.
The CLP Government has scrapped the currently in-progress State Square Art Gallery project in the Darwin CBD, suggesting a massive cost blowout, and will now put the future use of the site and “state-of-the-art” building to a public expression of interest process in hopes someone might want to do something with it.
Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne said he has not been provided a legal briefing that recommended prosecution against Empire Energy and has not asked to see it, while his department has since decided the company did nothing wrong in relation to one of the alleged offences, but will not provide any details of what it is the company was involved in.
The applicants of a Federal Court action seeking details of a secret deal Darwin Council signed with a developer to build a 21-storey civic centre-private office tower say they have dropped the original case because a court date would be too late to stop construction, but said they are still looking at a claim to stop millions of dollars in car park levies being spent on the building and instead returned to developers and property owners who have paid the fees.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has defended hiring former low-level bureaucrat and one-time gas lobbyist Stuart Knowles as the Territory Coordinator, claiming on radio that he was hand-selected for the role without going through a public recruitment process because of his “vast experience” in the government and private industry and for his record of delivering “major projects”, but his work background suggests neither claim is accurate, the NT Independent can reveal.
Delays and cancellations to low-tide ferry services at Cullen Bay due to seasonal weather and sedimentation build up has prompted an urgent maintenance dredging this month.
UPDATED: Treasurer Bill Yan has handed down the Finocchiaro CLP Government’s first budget this morning that will see more big spending and increased debt, with next year’s deficit alone estimated to be $1.31 billion and the Territory’s net debt projected to blow out from its current $10.5 billion figure to $14 billion within three years.
A Freedom of Information application seeking a departmental brief provided to former environment minister Kate Worden last year that recommended prosecution of Empire Energy was rejected on legal privilege grounds, a government letter shows, while the department appears to have attempted to cover up one of the three alleged offences referred to in the document.
Latest highlights include APA Group proposing to construct Beetaloo’s Sturt Plateau pipeline, Exact Contracting Pty Ltd being awarded $68 million for Stage 3 upgrades of the Carpentaria Highway, and a record cruise season bringing an economic boost. Also making resource news is Energy Resources Australia withdrawing its court challenge on the Jabiluka Lease.
The Darwin ship lift project has been referred to a government committee to be investigated after years of cost blowouts and delays, with the Finocchiaro CLP Government already flagging the project will still move ahead and anticipated it will now cost “hundreds of millions of dollars” more to build.
EXCLUSIVE: The animal abuse investigation into Territory Coordinator Stuart Knowles was suddenly terminated by current Mining and Energy CEO Alister Trier while he was CEO of Primary Industries, the NT Independent can reveal, raising concerns about the perceived favour and the potential for coercion of the most powerful public servant in the Northern Territory.
Slow population growth and the lack of skilled labor are key factors contributing to toned-down property market growth, despite the Darwin property market posting the strongest performance among all capitals for April, new data shows.
