ANALYSIS: The latest ICAC investigation report into the TRG officers who swore false statements to the court provides us with perhaps the best example yet of how those in positions of power in the Territory set up a supposedly independent investigation to appear independent, while secretly ensuring its predetermined outcomes fall in their favour.
Under fire CDU vice-chancellor Scott Bowman’s daughter was hired this month by his direct subordinate for a role at the university, amid deep financial losses and expected sackings.
The Office of the ICAC has closed its investigation into five TRG officers lying to the court in sworn statements about racist award certificates with no adverse findings because of promises made by Commissioner Michael Riches before he collected any evidence, which later led to evidence that contradicts the officers not being admissible, a new investigation report shows.
The Finocchiaro Government has named former INPEX NT general manager Stuart Knowles as the interim Territory Coordinator, on the same day it publicly released its proposed legislation that would give the position and the Chief Minister sweeping powers to exempt certain projects from environmental and other regulatory processes.
Empire Energy’s pilot project to frack gas in the Beetaloo Basin has been given environmental approval, the company has said, while an environmental group estimated the approval would allow the company to use 410 million litres of water, the equivalent of 164 Olympic swimming pools and produce 72 pools worth of fracking wastewater over the life of the project.
A 14-year-old boy who broke into a Wagaman home in broad daylight Thursday to steal credit cards and go on a shopping spree while already out on bail, allegedly assaulted two officers as they tried to arrest him and was promptly given bail again by a judge, NT Police said.
Fourteen constables and two senior officers will be sent to Alice Springs until the end of the school holidays in January in response to an increase in crime, Commander James Gray-Spence has said, a move that involves “high visibility” policing which Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro seemingly ordered for the Territory after she came to power.
Solar installation company Mpriza Group Pty Ltd and its manager, Nicholas Zikos, have been fined after pleading guilty in Darwin Local Court to multiple work health and safety breaches, some of which were brought after the company “inadvertently” sent evidence of its own wrongdoing to NT WorkSafe.
Darwin Council will spend more than double the money on a new civic centre than it said it would spend two years ago, as part of a new public-private development deal announced with developer DCOH.
Darwin Alderman Rebecca Want de Rowe has publicly criticised the Supreme Court jury’s conviction of her paedophile husband Kent Rowe, stating on social media recently that he is “innocent” despite being found guilty in 2022 of the repeated and remorseless sexual abuse of a young female family member over many years.
Truancy officers have started patrols this month in the NT and will be issuing $370 fines to parents who fail to send their kids to school, as part of the CLP Finocchiaro Government’s crime reduction plan, which the government said could also see families referred to the Federal Government for income management or prosecuted.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani will join Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles in Darwin this weekend for the 14th Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting to enhance military cooperation and address tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
