An NT prisons contract awarded to a private security company the Corrections Minister’s adviser previously worked for was handled independently of his office, the Minister has said, but he has refused to say how much it will cost taxpayers, while a privacy law expert said it was only in “extreme circumstances” that governments should hide the cost of contracts, with this contract not meeting the threshold.

The Finocchiaro CLP Government will lobby the Federal Labor Government this week to secure a commitment on the Darwin Port amid solvency issues with Chinese-owned company Landbridge, but the Chief Minister would not say if leasing the nationally strategic asset to China in 2015 was a mistake made by her previous CLP government.

The Finocchiaro Government is extending the life of three gas turbine electricity generators that supply Darwin and Katherine, but the government has refused to say if it will still meet its 2030 renewable energy target, while the Utilities Commission has said it cannot tell if the government’s plan is the appropriate solution, it has been reported.

Faced with massively declining student enrolment numbers, budget deficits, staff sackings, departmental funding cuts and a massive bill for a Darwin city campus it can’t afford, Charles Darwin University vice-chancellor Scott Bowman announced on Friday that CDU will “establish a London-based study centre” with the aim of “exploring transnational education” to save the beleaguered university.

The first lots of the Holtze land release will hit the market soon, offering first-home buyers property starting at $189,000.

EXCLUSIVE: The NT’s Director of Public Prosecutions created new jobs in his office that were ultimately filled by his son and daughter-in-law, but Lloyd Babb says he was not involved in recruitment for the positions that weren’t publicly advertised and claims he declared a conflict of interest upon learning that his family members just happened to apply for the mysterious jobs.

A decision on whether to approve the 21-storey Darwin Council civic and commercial office tower hybrid development has been deferred by the Development Consent Authority, with the agency asking the proponents to explain how the building fits in to the historic precinct in which it would sit and how expanses of blank walls and reflective glare would be minimised.

The CLP Government has announced the latest round of a grant program which provides up to $3 million to co-fund projects that improve exploration efforts, assist in discovering and developing resources, and add to “geoscientific knowledge gaps”, across the Territory.