Territorians will pay for a high-priced Melbourne lawyer to defend senior government executive Andrew Kirkman’s actions at an upcoming Federal Circuit Court hearing in Darwin, after another court found he threatened to blackmail a female staffer and inflicted a mental health injury on her while engaging in “aggressive” and “threatening” behaviour in 2021.
The Opposition says it will be demanding answers from Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro when Parliament resumes Tuesday morning, calling for the release of the full Operation Apollo report and for her to explain why a so-called “educational tool” for the public service has been kept secret, while Ms Finocchiaro said on Monday she was still waiting for advice from the ICAC before tabling the report in Parliament. That and other issues are expected to dominate this week of parliamentary sittings.
The Environment Centre NT has said the Finocchiaro Government’s tough on crime rhetoric clearly does not apply to big business, in response to the announcement it has negotiated a settlement with the owners of Claravale Farm over illegal land clearing, which still allows them to farm the area of land they admitted they cleared without a permit.
A 24-year-old male was arrested this morning after allegedly breaking into an Alice Springs home and assaulting a disabled man, then indecently assaulting a sleeping woman in the same home, NT Police said.
A new travel connection has been established between the Northern Territory and Malaysia following AirAsia Malaysia’s announcement of its non-stop service from Darwin to Kuala Lumpur, that was made possible with an undisclosed amount of taxpayer funds.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has pledged to release the ICAC’s full Operation Apollo report in Parliament on Tuesday, which will provide the public with its first look at the details around suspended police commissioner Michael Murphy’s improper conduct and the extent of the investigation.
A 44-year-old Alawa man is in custody after he allegedly aimed a crossbow at police on Friday night, during a reported domestic violence disturbance, NT Police said.
A 25-year-old man died after the ute he was a passenger in rolled over near Berry Springs this morning, NT Police said.
The NT’s land councils are demanding the Finocchiaro Government scrap its Territory Coordinator Bill, claiming it excludes Aboriginal people from decisions about their traditional lands and hinders their ability to protect their heritage, while a dissenting report to Parliament by an MLA states the bill is “not in the best interest of the Northern Territory”.
EXCLUSIVE: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro maintained yesterday that she was not aware Acting Police Commissioner Martin Dole was on the same tainted hiring panel as Michael Murphy until Monday, but the NT Independent can reveal she was informed of the matter on Saturday, during a discussion with the NT Police Association concerning her appointment of Mr Dole to the top job and likely knew about it before then.
The NT Health Department has appointed an inaugural chief paramedic officer, which comes after a government-ordered review of St John Ambulance NT found multiple failures and poor decisions resulted in harm to patients and significant risk to staff, while also raising concerns patients had died from treatments.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has finally ordered an independent inquiry into executive appointments in the NT Police, despite claiming two days ago that she had no concerns about cronyism in the police force, with all executives appointed by disgraced commissioner Michael Murphy remaining in their roles while the inquiry is carried out.
