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.
Kingpin Darwin is set to launch a new, never-before-seen dart-throwing experience that’s being dubbed “Augmented Reality Bullseye Darts”, with the public invited to experience the new technology starting on Saturday, with a free gift for the first thousand players.
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.
Latest highlights include Tamboran’s drilling at Shenandoah South being billed as crucial to future investments at the Beetaloo sub-basin; People First Bank permanently shuts down its NT office; and Territory Wildlife Park gets new electric trains. Also making resource news is New Frontier Minerals prioritising drilling at Harts Range.
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”.
CLP Education Minister Jo Hersey says she will now disclose the gift of a free luxury jet flight to a boozy brunch paid for by a wealthy Katherine businesswoman, after breaching the Disclosures Act by failing to report the gift, with the Opposition calling for the Minister to be reprimanded for flouting NT disclosure laws on multiple occasions.
EXCLUSIVE: CLP Education Minister Jo Hersey took a luxury private jet between Katherine and Darwin to attend a boozy, “bottomless” high tea at the Hilton Garden Inn Darwin in early December, but she claims no taxpayer money was expended despite posting photos of the jaunt on her government-funded social media account, which comes as the Minister was also caught out misleading Territorians about her disclosable interests.
Jetstar will offer direct seasonal service between Darwin and the Gold Coast in late June, after receiving an undisclosed amount of taxpayer cash to operate the service.
The CLP Government and the Labor Opposition have not ruled out supporting independent MLA Justine Davis’s calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the rorting of a government Indigenous employment scheme that saw an estimated $60 million fraudulently obtained by up to 146 Territory contractors.
