Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro says her government has a duty to “act responsibly with taxpayers money” and “can’t continue to throw good money after bad” while referencing a major Darwin project that she said was “fantastic” in theory, but had massively blown its budget under the previous government and “can’t come at any cost” – but she was not talking about the Darwin Ship Lift project.
The government department in charge of the Darwin Ship Lift facility ignored advice from the Auditor General to order a cost-benefit analysis into the now $820 million project, stating it would do that when the project is complete, a new report has found, but nobody has been held accountable for the massive cost blowout, with the Finocchiaro CLP Government advised to continue with the project amid untested claims it cannot terminate the contract and has spent too much money to stop now.
The Northern Territory’s Chief Health Officer says he is now working with the Environment Protection Authority to assess Inpex’s historical under-reporting of toxic emissions from its Ichthys LNG facility in Darwin, while an “independent investigator” has also been tasked to verify all of the gas giant’s data.
Business and Asian Relations Minister Robyn Cahill will also fly to Bali this week for a conference, two days after Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley announced he was heading to Indonesia for livestock talks and to officially open a steakhouse in Seminyak, but it is unclear if the two ministers will cross paths while overseas.
Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley will lead a delegation of NT livestock representatives to Indonesia this week, which he said will strengthen international partnerships involving the NT’s livestock and agriculture, with the trip also timed to celebrate the opening of a new steakhouse in Seminyak featuring NT beef.
The NT jumped from eighth to fourth in overall economic standing, its best result since October 2016, the latest CommSec State of the States quarterly economic report shows, while Western Australia leads overall for the fifth consecutive quarter, topping four economic indicators.
While multiple unresolved integrity scandals hang over her head, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro introduced legislation to Parliament on Thursday to establish a new Ethics and Integrity Commission, which she said will “streamline integrity oversight”, but failed to seek any public input on the changes and chose not to refer the proposed bill to the Parliament’s scrutiny committee for bipartisan oversight.
Inpex reported an oil spill at its Ichthys facility on Darwin Harbour earlier this month, which was made public days after the Japanese gas giant admitted to under-reporting toxic emissions for years at the same facility, with calls for a public inquiry into the company’s failures.
Racing Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has defended the beleaguered Racing and Wagering Commission’s alleged conflicts of interest with the industry it regulates – that formed the focus of a recent Four Corners investigation – by suggesting it would be “amazing” if she could take two crossbench MLAs to the racetrack and lay a couple bets down with them to “see what happens”.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s pick to run the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority went to university with the Chief Minister’s husband and remains close friends with him, the NT Independent can reveal, with the appointment made amid sweeping changes to the Sacred Sites Act and the government’s move to push through the proposed Darwin Waterfront hotel project despite traditional owners’ objections.
The NT’s environmental regulator is investigating after Inpex admitted to under-reporting toxic emissions from its Ichthys LNG plant, with errors in the way “some emissions” from the plant have been calculated and reported since 2018, including volatile organic compounds such as benzene, a leukaemia-causing chemical, which a doctor says could cause serious health problems.
Darwin and Palmerston bus drivers, represented by the Transport Workers’ Union, have warned that further industrial action could occur if a fair offer is not made by private bus operator CDC, following Monday’s strike action that shut down bus services in the Greater Darwin area.
