EXCLUSIVE: The publicly-funded Darwin Waterfront Corporation hired board member Andrew Kirkman’s wife for a key role that was not advertised late last year and that came with an undisclosed hefty pay packet, the NT Independent can reveal, raising questions about undeclared conflicts of interest at the corporation and a cosy culture of political appointments and nepotism.

Darwin Private Hospital will close its maternity and birthing services in two months with the Health Minister Steve Edgington saying he had hoped Healthscope, the company which owns the hospital, would give expectant families at least nine months notice to allow them to properly plan their births.

UPDATED: The Finocchiaro CLP Government will spend more than $8 million to build a motocross track at Hidden Valley, despite the project’s cost blowing out to five times the original estimate provided by Labor, stating it could not end a contract out of fear of “wasting millions”, so will “redirect” $6.5 million to fully fund the project.

A senior NT public servant on an executive contract dishonestly claimed sick days while he was gambling at a casino, on fishing trips and golfing, which amounted to “corrupt conduct” the ICAC has found after a four-year long investigation, but chose not to name the executive or the government department involved.

The independence of the Northern Territory Auditor-General’s office has been identified as “the most vulnerable to executive influence” of any jurisdiction in the country, according to an independent review of the AG’s office, with the current public sector watchdog calling for funding pressures and internal system problems to be addressed by the Finocchiaro Government to ensure its crucial independence continues.

An NT delegation led by Minister for Trade, Business and Asian Relations Robyn Cahill is on its way to Indonesia to strengthen the Territory’s economic partnership by engaging with the Indonesian government and local business representatives, the CLP Government said. SEE THE COST

Charles Darwin University has cut departmental budgets and will see up to 20 staff positions terminated, in accordance with a pre-Christmas prophecy from vice-chancellor Scott Bowman, who told staff in late November the university’s “finances lie in ruins” and a “bloodbath” of staff cuts was on the cards before skipping town for early and extended leave.

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has declared 2025 the “Year of Action”, laying out her government’s vision for the next 11 months, including its plans for economic growth, cutting crime and repairing the budget, suggesting that while her government was still investigating what measures from the Langoulant review into government spending it would adopt, the millions spent on consultancy companies was “unacceptable”.