Health Minister Steve Edgington has refused to say whether the Finocchiaro Government will fund the second half of the controversial NT Health Acacia IT system which has cost $320 million so far, instead hand-balling the issue to bureaucrats who told a parliamentary committee it was being shelved pending new funding approvals, while the head of the responsible department reportedly told a parliamentary inquiry last week they had no estimates for how much it would cost to complete the system.
A day after the Chief Minister lost her cool on radio over a scheduled protest against the appointment of NT Administrator David Connolly on Friday, Speaker Robyn Lambley has shut the rally down citing security concerns for “the dignitaries involved”, but the Governor-General’s office said last night neither it or the AFP raised any concerns, with event organisers now looking for a new venue while pondering legal action against the government.
Scott Bowman’s role as vice-chancellor and president of Charles Darwin University has ended, the university has confirmed, amid the growing accreditation scandal that has affected hundreds of TAFE students, Territory businesses and others, with the full scope of the damage still being assessed.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro erupted on radio Monday morning in frustration to the public outrage over the appointment and scheduled swearing-in of David Connolly as Administrator this Friday, following the cross-bench and Opposition’s move to boycott the ceremony because of Mr Connolly’s past racist and sexist public comments, with Ms Finocchiaro arguing that “people should have some respect” for the new Administrator.
WIN Network has moved to acquire Nine Entertainment’s Darwin television station, heralded by WIN as expanding its presence into the Northern Territory through the “vibrant” Darwin market, which comes just over a year after Nine suddenly axed its Darwin news bulletin and sacked staff.
NT public doctors have rejected a four-year pay offer from the Finocchiaro Government which was less than the increase given to public servant generally and police officers, with 82 per cent of those who voted, voting against it, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation has said.
Territory police officers want to know why the entire NT Police top brass is currently under investigation by the Australian Federal Police, the union representing the cops has said, while questions about perceived conflicts of interest in the investigation have been ignored by all involved.
Education and Training Minister Jo Hersey has called on the Australian Skills Quality Authority to explain how the national regulator re-registered Charles Darwin University’s TAFE program last September without picking up on the massive accreditation failures that has now led to hundreds of students needing to resit their qualifications, amid continued calls for Scott Bowman’s resignation.
Jake Danby, the step-nephew of Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby, who bragged to friends and family about killing an Aboriginal man in a hit-and-run, had his sentence increased on Friday to two years home detention following an appeal of the original sentence.
A federal inquiry into Charles Darwin University’s governance practices and general “competency” should be ordered immediately and vice-chancellor Scott Bowman’s “head must roll”, an independent MLA has said, in the wake of revelations nearly 400 CDU TAFE students and others were graduated without proper qualifications.
CLP backbencher Tanzil Rahman needs to publicly explain the bullying allegations that were levelled against him by two female parliamentary staffers, independent MLAs and the Opposition have said, which follows the Chief Minister’s attempts to keep the “sensitive HR matter” secret, which she claimed was “out of respect for all parties”, despite the matter already being resolved.
A 47-year-old Darwin man has been arrested by the AFP following a months-long investigation into allegations he exploited his position as a federal public servant to defraud the National Disability Insurance Scheme by directing vulnerable individuals to an NDIS provider he co-owns.
