UPDATED: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro appeared on Thursday to walk back from her $3 million election pledge to give long-serving NT Police officers a bonus to keep experienced cops on the beat, after being questioned about it in Parliament, but later said she was still “committed” to a bonus although it is unclear how it will work, how much it will cost and how much police officers will receive.
NT Parliament erupted into a public mud-slinging match on Wednesday afternoon, with politicians from both major political parties throwing their past indiscretions and scandals at one another during debate about “improving integrity in Parliament”.
The CLP Government will table a new bill to provide NT Police with “express powers” to access private property without a search warrant for offenders who breach parole or domestic violence orders.
Hip-hop artists Hilltop Hoods will feature at this year’s Bass in the Grass outdoor concert, with the government announcing the initial 18 acts in the line-up which includes international artists.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government misled the public with taxpayer-funded radio ads promoting its Territory Coordinator position, the Auditor-General has found, which were carried out to promote “party political” ends and included misleading statements in breach of legislation.
The CLP Government has scrapped the $1.30 minimum floor price for alcohol despite calls from NT health organisations and community leaders to keep the measure in place, which they said has been effective in helping to reduce alcohol-related harms across the Territory.
The CLP Government’s new lobbyist register will not require ministers to publicly disclose who they meet with and will exempt major lobbyists, including gas companies fracking the Beetaloo Basin and other corporate firms that donate to political parties, from needing to be on the register, which a national public integrity body says is “just not right”.
The CLP Government will invest $36 million annually to fund domestic, family, and sexual violence support services, the Minister has announced, adding the funding will go beyond the five-year election commitment to further support those affected across the Territory, as rates of domestic violence continue to soar.
The Finocchiaro Government will cut a total of $200,000 in funding per year to the Environment Centre NT and the Arid Lands Environment Centre over the group’s legal challenges to government decisions on fracking and water allocations, with the Top End group calling the government a “puppet for big business” that is “running scared from scrutiny and accountability”.
Independent candidate for Solomon Phil Scott launched his federal election campaign in Darwin on Monday night, flanked by more than 200 supporters, calling his nomination “an alternative for voters” who are sick of party politics as usual.
Third party merit reviews will be removed from legislation covering petroleum, planning and water by the Finocchiaro Government, which has been praised by NT Farmers but criticised by the Environment Centre NT as government bowing to big business, adding the reviews are a key part of establishing transparency and accountability in government decision-making.
The Finocchiaro Government has scrapped the proposed treaty with Indigenous Territorians saying it will focus on local government reform instead, with independent MLA and Yolŋu traditional owner Yiŋiya Guyula saying the move was “saddening” and “ignorant”, the ABC has reported.
