UPDATED: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro is currently in Canberra to plead with the Federal Government for more money to help with flood recovery efforts across the Territory, while her Education Minister spread “speculation” on social media Monday morning that the NT Government will have to pay for 50 ADF personnel from RAAF Base Tindal to assist with cleaning up the Katherine area – which was later confirmed as false.
EDITORIAL: The Tanzil Rahman affair is turning into one of the more bizarre political scandals in recent NT political memory, made all the more absurd by Rahman’s refusal to provide any substantive comment for weeks concerning allegations he bullied female parliamentary staffers, letting the Chief Minister do the talking, whose handling of the matter has once again raised questions about her judgement, leadership and overall credibility.
Alice Springs corrections officers’ plan to walk off the job next Friday over stalled pay negotiations with the government will force prisons into full lockdown, with the Corrections Department raising concerns about community safety.
Northern Territory Police say an officer who shared a photo of a half-naked distressed Aboriginal woman with colleagues in a group chat will not face a criminal investigation, partly because he had received an internal punishment of 12 months’ good behaviour, while the agency has refused to say whether the woman was asked if she wanted the matter investigated.
The boil water order for the Greater Darwin region has been lifted, with NT Health confirming test results show the water is free from “any harmful bacteria”, but a boil water alert will remain for Katherine and Jilkminggan.
Speaker Robyn Lambley has taken CLP backbencher Tanzil Rahman to task in an extraordinary public scolding in Parliament, telling him that threatening defamation action over allegations he bullied two female parliamentary staffers is a direct attempt “to silence people who have every right to speak”, the latest blow in the growing scandal the Chief Minister has tried to ignore.
UPDATED: Three hours after stating it would take up to five days to get the second pump at the Darwin River Dam pump station restored, Power and Water announced it has managed to get the second pump connected to a generator, with water usage reductions no longer needed, while the boil water alert remains in place.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government used its numbers in Parliament to block backbencher Tanzil Rahman from being investigated by a parliamentary committee over allegations he bullied female staff members, after Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro repeatedly refused to say what action she has taken on the matter and Mr Rahman’s failure to refute the allegations or apologise in a statement over the weekend.
UPDATED: NT Health has issued a boil water alert for Darwin and Palmerston after Power and Water asked residents to immediately reduce their water usage following the Darwin River Dam pump station shutting down around 4:30pm Monday due to ongoing heavy rains in the region and flash flooding, in what the operator has labelled an “unprecedented situation” which could take up to two days to get back on line.
The Local Government Minister and the Katherine Town Council will not say why an investigation was launched into the council last year, but the NT Independent understands it probed elected members’ understanding of their roles and the now former chief executive’s performance.
UPDATED: An allegedly intoxicated man who reportedly attempted to assault people as he left the Mindil Beach Casino early Monday morning was later arrested in Durack after an officer found an unregistered gun in his car, NT Police said, later clarifying the firearm is an air gun and not a standard Glock as it was originally called in the supplied picture.
A Labor candidate who sought endorsements from reviled former chief ministers Michael Gunner and Natasha Fyles appears likely to win the Nightcliff by-election with help from the CLP after preferences, according to updated figures on Monday afternoon.
