Variety NT’s Tania Sellers says the organisers want to get 500 vehicles in convoy in the Australia Day Ute Run to celebrate the event’s 25th anniversary.
Serious crash south of Alice Springs under investigation
NT Police are seeking the public’s assistance as it continues to investigate the circumstances of a vehicle rollover on the Stuart Highway south of Stuarts Well on Wednesday afternoon, that allegedly started with a failure to pay for fuel and ended with one man ejected from his vehicle and another arrested.
‘No offence but you are free to take it’: Federal pollies demand apology from Connolly as further public comments revealed
Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarandirri McCarthy and two federal MPs have labelled incoming NT Administrator David Connolly’s social media comments “reprehensible and offensive” and called for a public apology, while a national media outlet has reported further racially-charged commentary during a 2024 speech in which Mr Connolly also said that while he does not “offer offence, you are free to take it”.
Officer given breathalyser after colliding with motorcycle in Palmerston
Police are investigating after an unmarked police vehicle collided with the rear of a motorcycle in Palmerston on Monday morning, sending the motorcyclist to hospital, while an officer was subjected to a breathalyser, NT Police said.
Plans to repurpose vacant commercial buildings in CBD into hostels, student housing moving ahead
A government-backed initiative that aims to get vacant commercial buildings in the Darwin CBD repurposed for student accommodation or to serve as hostels, has been given a two-year timeframe by the CLP Government, but it remains unclear how popular the plan is with local developers and landowners.
Connolly breaks silence on social media comments as Opposition calls for review of appointment
The NT Opposition has called for the appointment of David Connolly as the next Administrator to be “put on hold and reviewed”, writing to the Governor-General over the weekend to seek “further advice” following revelations of his offensive social media comments, while Mr Connolly issued a statement on Monday claiming that he did not mean to “cause offence”, but stopped short of apologising to Indigenous Territorians for his repeated online ridicule.
CLP Govt continue to hide cost of Corrections master plan
The Finocchiaro Government has spent $8.1 million converting part of Holtze Prison into a standalone women’s section, but has still not disclosed the overall cost of its five-year prison master plan, as inmate numbers continue to rise to just 50 prisoners below the capacity the government said it would be able to house by 2028.
New NT Administrator’s racist social media posts revealed
EXCLUSIVE: The CLP’s new NT Administrator David Connolly wrote on a social media post about Aboriginal people that “you cannot convince me they are doing good for the country” and in another post claimed that based on a dictionary definition “I am Indigenous to Australia”, while also mocking Welcome to Country ceremonies, a cache of now deleted X posts obtained by the NT Independent reveal.
Excavator incident injures worker at new civic centre construction site
NT WorkSafe has issued a safety alert following an incident at the Darwin Civic Centre construction site, where an excavator bucket injured a 50-year-old worker last week, while the City and contractor DCOH said they are cooperating with authorities.
Nearly 40,000 Territorians could be fined for failing to vote in local elections
The NT Electoral Commission has this week started sending failure to vote notices to 38,553 Territorians who “appear not to have voted” in the 2025 local government elections, that saw the lowest voter turnout on record at only 55.8 per cent.
NT Health failed to meet critical hospital KPIs, remote clinics also struggling new data shows
Severe performance failures in the NT’s healthcare system have been labelled “deeply disappointing”, with the failure to meet national service delivery targets raising serious concerns about the state of healthcare in the Territory.
Two men arrested with more than $250k worth of stolen goods
Two men have been arrested at an industrial yard in Woolner for their alleged role in dozens of thefts and burglaries across the Darwin and Palmerston region since last November, with NT Police recovering “a large quantity” of stolen property they want to reunite with owners. SEE THE PICTURES