Beetaloo basin fracking companies’ water allocation will have to be approved by the federal government to assess it against its impact on the aquifier, after changes passed the Senate this week, a change which Tamboran Resources said would not affect its gas production plans.
A federal independent MP has called for a full investigation into Chief Minister Natasha Fyles’ office following revelations her senior political adviser’s consultancy firm is the registered lobbyist for Tamboran Resources, while the NT Independent can reveal more details about the extent of his firm’s influence in potentially securing federal funding for the controversial Middle Arm industrial precinct.
The NT Government awarded 35 contracts in the last week to a total of $24.6 million with the largest being awarded to Asbuild (NT) Pty Ltd for Installation and Commissioning of Modular Accommodation in Alice Springs Correctional Centre.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Natasha Fyles’ most senior political adviser’s consultancy firm is the registered lobbyist for a national gas company that the NT Government approved to frack the Beetaloo Basin and develop a massive Middle Arm LNG project, federal records show, raising further serious conflict of interest concerns involving the NT Government’s gas policies, the NT Independent can reveal.
Highlights this week include Tamboran starting stimulation activities in the Beetaloo Basin, Lucapa Diamond puts its Merlin project on hold, Rio Tinto starts recycling steel from its Gove refinery site, and Arafura Rare Earths receives financial support from the Export-Import Bank of Korea for its Nolans Project.
Australia’s first airport resort hotel will open to the public today, following the massive $30 million integration and expansion of the Novotel and Mercure hotels at the Darwin Airport.
In the last week the NT Government has released 16 tenders, including Design, Construct and Installation of Two Demountable Classrooms in Driver Primary School, Darwin Region.
Low-cost carrier Bonza Airlines has suddenly cancelled its Gold Coast to Darwin route for a month following delays in obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals for a replacement aircraft borrowed from Canadian partner Flair, with Territorians expressing their frustrations.
The Fyles Government failed to properly hire an ICAC Inspector before the last inspector’s term ended in September, so instead used an undisclosed amount of taxpayer money to strike a high-level hiring panel to recruit for the job, placed ads around the country for more than a month, and then decided to hire the same guy whose contract they let expire, the Chief Minister has revealed in Parliament.
A majority of grocery store liquor licenses are tied to the building which thwarted the Fyles Government’s license buy-back scheme, industry sources said, something the government did not know when it made its policy, while the government has refused to say what percentage of the Territory’s alcohol sales the three licenses bought back accounted for.
The southern part of Berrimah Rd leading to East Arm will be closed for up to a year as part of the next stage of the Tiger Brennan Drive overpass construction, a project that almost tripled in cost since it was first announced.
The Territory’s deficit this year will be more than double what the Fyles Government claimed in May, with net debt also expected to continue to increase to $10.2 billion in two years, according to the mid-year fiscal report tabled in Parliament Tuesday night.
