The Finocchiaro Government has been “pathetic” and “appalling” by introducing overtly racist policies, the Northern Land Council chair has said, adding government spending on Indigenous disadvantage should be audited, while all four land councils have called for an independent inquiry into structural racism in NT Police, an independent body to investigate police misconduct, and a better policing model for remote communities.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s failure to disclose her husband’s directorship in a company linked to the Darwin Waterfront Corporation for two years, while at the same time publicly demanding other politicians follow the rules, is the type of double standard that destroys the public’s trust in its elected officials, an independent MLA says.
NT Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has attacked the acting CEO of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency for criticising the inhumane conditions inside the Palmerston watch house and calling for the Federal Government to suspend funding police in remote communities until the NT Government meets with Aboriginal leaders to discuss ongoing crime issues, labelling the calls “irresponsible” and “absurd”.
Four teens have been arrested and another is on the run after a night of chaos through Darwin’s northern suburbs, that started with a car-jacking at knife point, followed by a ram raid of a bottle shop and police later having to abandon a high-speed chase down Tiger Brennan Drive after the teens “attempted to ram” a police vehicle, NT Police said.
Retired and other former NT firefighters say they are missing out on decades-worth of back-paid overtime because the government is imposing a six-year statute of limitations on payouts, following a Fair Work Commission ruling in their favour last year, a limitation the former firefighters say is not being imposed on still-serving firefighters and other NT public servants. But the government says its actions are compliant with the FWC decision.
A group of four youths are on the run after throwing rocks at an 84-year-old man and his vehicle after he refused to give them a lift Tuesday morning, NT Police said, ultimately stealing his Hilux and assaulting him.
A group of Peppimenarti residents are continuing their legal action against the Northern Territory government for alleged breaches of the Racial Discrimination Act by failing to provide policing in their community comparable to the level provided to non-Indigenous NT residents, and the group’s lawyer said the decision not to build a police station in the community was “compounding the error”.
The NT Government’s move to scrap middle schools in favour of new “comprehensive” high schools will start in Darwin and Palmerston by next year, the Education Minister has pledged, with Alice Springs scheduled to come on line in 2027, while the changes come amid an ongoing teacher shortage.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro must explain why she breached the Disclosure of Interests Act by keeping her husband Sam Burke’s directorship in a company connected to the Darwin Waterfront secret for two years – while she was criticising the previous Labor government for its failures to properly disclose – and simply resign, the Opposition says.
UPDATED: An 18-year-old woman was airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital on Sunday afternoon after being stabbed in the head with a spear, NT Police said, with the alleged 21-year-old male offender who is known to her arrested after initially going on the run.
The tragic death of a 4-year-old girl who was reportedly killed by a falling palm tree in a Darwin northern suburb on Saturday afternoon is still under investigation by NT Police, who issued a statement on Monday to correct that the girl was four and not seven as initially reported.
A new partnership between the Australian Border Force and ranger groups led by Indigenous communities to address “shared border protection challenges” in the NT has been raised in response to a rise in illegal fishing activities off the Territory coast, but the rangers are seeking more enforcement powers to help curb the issue.
