City of Darwin staff did not provide enough detail about staffing costs and contracted service provider expenses to councillors to justify the recent 5.5 per cent rates increase for 2026-27, a lone councillor has said while calling for better transparency on operational expenditure at council.
Two fuel stations in the Greater Darwin area are facing nearly $20,000 in fines each for allegedly charging motorists more for fuel at the bowser than advertised, following compliance checks by NT Consumer Affairs, but it remains unclear why the national corporation that owns them was not hit with higher fines the government implemented earlier this year.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro on Monday ruled out referring the now $850 million Labor-led ship lift project for a proper investigation, after a parliamentary inquiry late last year found the deal to build the facility for the Paspaley Group lacked transparency, any trace of public accountability and was carried out with questionable public benefit involving multiple unexplained contract variations.
The $1.6 billion Arafura Rare Earths Nolans Project north of Alice Springs has been declared the Northern Territory’s first “significant project” under the Territory Coordinator Act, that the Chief Minister says will see the project given “the full attention of the government” to assist it move through “all of the risk processes and systems”, which follows last week’s final investment decision.
The Environment Centre NT is seeking a Federal Court judicial review of federal Environment Minister Murray Watt’s decision not to assess Top End Pastoral Company’s plans to clear almost 3,000ha at Claravale Station, the organisation said.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government is sending a delegation to Taiwan this week as part of a “proactive investor engagement program” led by Asian Relations Minister Robyn Cahill that will involve “targeted meetings” with businesses interested in potentially developing “AI-ready data centres” in the Territory.
Core Lithium has announced it has restarted mining at its Finniss mine south of Darwin after operations were paused in January 2024, citing a 75 per cent fall in lithium prices.
A senior NT Government bureaucrat has claimed the US Embassy in Canberra requested Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro “consider creative ways” for the Northern Territory to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday on July 4 this year, such as holding fireworks displays, but instructed all department heads that any celebration must be covered “from within existing resources”, a leaked internal email has revealed.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has named two controversial picks to lead the newly established Integrity and Ethics Commissioner agency, with former Ombudsman Peter Shoyer appointed commissioner and former police commissioner Reece Kershaw appointed chief executive of the new anti-corruption body that will replace the ICAC amid unresolved questions about the potential for political interference. Mr Kershaw is close friends with current NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole.
The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair is celebrating its 20-year anniversary and will feature more than 80 Indigenous-owned art centres from Australia’s remote regions, organisers say.
An ICAC review into the hiring and promotion practices of an NT Government department that commenced the same month its chief executive was controversially appointed has revealed “several recurring gaps…that present improper conduct risks” with recruitment, including that conflicts of interest were not adequately managed, that applicants’ qualifications were inconsistently verified, and that advertised positions took on average 67 days to fill.
The number of new home builds in the Territory plummeted last year to near-record lows, a new report has found, with the NT delivering 69 per cent fewer homes than required with only 449 homes delivered last year.
