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.
Changes to the NT Residential Tenancies Act will see rent bidding banned and termination notice periods extended, as well as lease break fees outlawed and changes to give special considerations to victims of domestic violence, the government said while passing new legislation in Parliament on Wednesday.
Today’s national news includes the Australian government proposing new laws to detain potentially dangerous migrants, Australia’s 7-11 chain sold for $1 billion, ICTSI to finish $235 million VICT terminal expansion this year, and Volkswagen Australia to launch a new line of e-vehicles.
Barkly Region Alcohol and Drug Abuse Advisory Group chairperson Elliot McAdam has said the organisation is considering legal action against the Fyles Government because it failed to build a new residential rehabilitation facility for Tennant Creek that was promised more than five years ago, it has been reported.
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.
Electric scooter and bike hire company Beam has commenced operations in Darwin, and the company said it will have employees on the street in high traffic areas monitoring the safety of people’s riding with a three-strike policy for those caught riding dangerously or breaking the law.
The Fyles Government has introduced “tough” new alcohol laws in Parliament to be passed on urgency, that will see Darwin bottle shops prevented from opening until noon on weekdays, security guards armed with capsicum spray and the banned drinker register expanded, amongst other changes, which the Opposition said should have been done sooner.
Territory Families Minister Ngaree Ah Kit says she will be “looking very closely” at having youth workers on the streets of Alice Springs 24-hours-a-day, something the Police Minister said two weeks ago would definitely happen.
Northern Territory traditional owners presented a hand-painted map of the Roper River to Federal Parliament along with a petition on Tuesday – with the group hosted by NT Labor Senator Malarndirri McCarthy – as part of a campaign to protect the river and oppose the Fyles Government’s recently released water plan that manipulated the data used to underpin it.
Today’s national news includes Minister for Defense Industry Pat Conroy saying that AUKUS is a response to the arms race, not fuel for it; the majority of voters disapprove of PM Albanese’s performance; monthly retail sales dropping 0.2 per cent in October; and single-use vape imports to be banned starting 2024.
