OPINION: One of the most disturbing themes from Estimates hearings is what we learned about accountability, writes independent MLA Justine Davis. When we have a minister explain how laws are developed say, ‘The formal framework I adhere to is the one that Territorians elected us to do, which is to restore the Territory lifestyle’, we should all be worried.
A massive 99 per cent of the Territory’s firefighters have voted to reject the government’s latest enterprise agreement offer, the union representing firies has said, stating the government’s tactics to “strong-arm” workers to accept the deal has also been rejected.
Timor-Leste’s national carrier, Aero Dili, has launched its first-ever direct service to Australia, with the first flight touching down in Darwin on Sunday morning.
UPDATED: Deputy Opposition Leader Dheran Young was suddenly sacked as deputy Thursday night and replaced with recently elected Member for Nightcliff Ed Smelt, in a move Labor Leader Selena Uibo said would give Mr Young more time out bush to “support his constituents post-flood”.
Corporate and Digital Development Minister Josh Burgoyne avoided answering questions about his department at Estimates, including about the failed Acacia IT project and the internal investigation into the suicide death of an employee, by choosing to make a speech for the full allocated time rather than open himself and the chief executive to public examination.
NT Health Department acting chief executive Susan Bowden has refused to explain how men armed with a machete and a nulla-nulla entered Tennant Creek Hospital to allegedly assault a patient last week, while the Australian Medical Association has raised safety concerns and NT WorkSafe has pledged to inquire into the incident after the department failed to notify the workplace regulator.
Approximately 5,000 Jacana Energy customers across the Territory are experiencing significant billing delays attributed to a major issue with the rollout of smart meters, the company revealed at Estimates hearings, while it is owed tens of millions in unpaid bills.
A Labor adviser charged taxpayers $4,400 for a one-night trip to Nhulunbuy for vague “various stakeholder meetings”, including a mysterious $2,900 charge listed under “other” expenses, according to newly released internal travel records, while the CLP has inexplicably not disclosed its staffers’ travel costs.
The NT Government is investing $2 million in upgrades to the historic Kahlin Oval in the Larrakeyah suburb of Darwin, including clubhouse structural roof repairs, dedicated female change rooms, improved disability access, and “enhanced security” in an effort to boost the growth of women’s and junior cricket in the city.
Three men carrying a machete and a nulla-nulla assaulted a patient inside Tennant Creek Hospital on the same night another man was stabbed to death in the town as part of ongoing fighting, details of which were kept hidden from the public by NT Police.
A 23-year-old woman is in hospital after being stabbed in the head and chest while she slept at a Zuccoli residence around 3:35am, NT Police said.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government will extend alcohol prohibitions in outstations, Aboriginal communities and town camps beyond their January expiry date that were first introduced as an emergency measure by the Fyles Labor government after the controversial decision to allow alcohol back into communities in 2022.
