The terms of reference for an internal government investigation into the death of Acacia health IT system developer Shaun Joyce have been kept secret by the government, with the Department of Corporate and Digital Development refusing to say whether it is examining the issue of identified departmental bullying more broadly or looking into further possible suicides connected to the project.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has passed legislative amendments to block the public’s right to access documents that would reveal the reasoning behind ministerial decisions, which it said was necessary to protect former Labor mines minister and current Tamboran Resources executive Nicole Manison’s emails from being made public as part of an ongoing court case.
The Territory’s politicians have once again been gifted a pay rise amid record debt, with their salaries now increased by $5,000 – which follows last year’s generous $8,200 pay rise – which works out to an eight per cent increase, while the government is currently offering public servants an annual three per cent pay increase.
Private security services in Darwin and Palmerston have been doubled with more patrols and extended patrol hours ahead of Christmas, as part of the NT Government’s “upgraded safety blitz”, which it said will crackdown on antisocial behaviour and alcohol-fuelled violence.
NT WorkSafe has formally charged the MacDonnell Regional Council following the drowning death of a two-year-old child at a Kintore early learning centre in December 2020.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government racked up an $886 million net operating deficit in the 2024-25 financial year, while also borrowing $1.4 billion, according to a new audit report by the Auditor-General, which shows the big-spending CLP helped raise the Territory’s debt level to $12 billion.
The Territory’s Young Australian of the Year Jaiden Dickenson has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault stemming from a domestic violence incident, less than three weeks after he was given the award for his work helping to reduce rates of youth reoffending, The Australian has reported.
Royal Darwin Hospital was identified as one of many government-owned buildings that was not properly certified upon construction, that the current CLP Government was apparently unaware of, raising questions about whether promised certification works were carried out over the last three years, which follows bricks falling from an external wall and through a roof last weekend during Cyclone Fina.
UPDATED: The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s legislation to roll the ICAC and Ombudsman offices into a new Integrity and Ethics Commission has been roundly rejected by multiple national and international integrity experts as weakening independent oversight and creating potential “political interference” in the new commission, with the Centre for Public Integrity recommending the bill be withdrawn and sent back for review to ensure the NT’s “broken integrity system” is fixed properly.
An 18-year-old Alice Springs male, who allegedly breached a suspended sentence before barricading himself in a Todd Mall restaurant with a “blunt weapon” after police attempted to arrest him on Wednesday, later allegedly assaulted an officer, NT Police said.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government will extend police-issued Banned Drinker Orders from seven to 28 days, following a review of the Banned Drinkers Register, but has not committed to other recommendations made by its BDR taskforce that would affect bottle shop operators, including increasing penalties for operators who repeatedly fail to comply with the BDR.
Two men have been arrested in Katherine after allegedly stealing more than $141,000 worth of fuel using a stolen fob taken from a business last year, NT Police said.
