EXCLUSIVE: Liberal Democrats candidate for Solomon Kylie Bonanni told senior Country Liberal Party figures in a letter last month that her “values are the complete opposite” of Senator Sam McMahon’s and that she is only running with her in the federal election to “pay the bills”.
Federal Opposition leader Anthony Albanese said a Labor government would build more electric vehicle charging stations, as well as hydrogen and biofuels refuelling infrastructure, using a $500 million fund, promising to make it easier and cheaper for people’s next car to be electric.
The Labor Government has passed new surrogacy laws that will establish a legal framework to regulate domestic surrogacy in the Northern Territory for the first time and outlaw surrogates making a profit.
NT WorkSafe said it has received seven reports in 11 weeks of machine operators coming in contact with high-voltage power lines, with the majority of the incidents bringing the overhead power lines down.
UPDATED: Natasha Fyles has been selected by her Labor parliamentary colleagues as the new Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, telling Territorians that she will “put my own mark” on the leadership after nearly six years of rule by Michael Gunner.
The Northern Territory’s next Chief Minister is expected to be chosen today, with the two most likely contenders Nicole Manison and Natasha Fyles squaring off in the Labor caucus room, following the shock resignation of Michael Gunner on Tuesday.
Human rights lawyers and Aboriginal justice groups have said the NT government’s new law putting a $15,300 cap on false imprisonment compensation would reduce government accountability in prisons, and it went against the government’s own commitment to the Convention against Torture which Australia ratified in 2017.
The Labor Government has rejected a motion to establish a parliamentary committee to review the Territory’s ongoing crime crisis, and gagged debate in Parliament on the issue, leading the Opposition to call Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison “Gunner 2.0”.
A prominent Darwin barrister has called the Territory’s “dysfunctional” justice system out in court, saying “this legal system isn’t working” and that under-resourcing has led to a system that no longer “adheres to due process”.
Nicole Manison has refused to publicly say whether she is putting her hand up to be the next Chief Minister, but guaranteed Territorians a new chief would be chosen on Friday morning to provide “stability”.
ANALYSIS: The scandal engulfing Michael Gunner in the days leading up to his resignation goes to the heart of the NT’s democracy, reaching not only into the highest political office in the Territory, but also directly into the highest office in the public service.
The NT Government has committed $6 million for the establishment of a youth hub and drop centre in Darwin’s Northern Suburbs to keep kids off the streets, but it still appears to be a long way from coming to fruition and the exact location is still in the air.
