Treasurer Bill Yan delivered his second budget Tuesday morning that contains no “lollies or sweets”, with the Finocchiaro CLP Government overseeing a record net debt that will now top $11.35 billion this year and grow to $12.56 billion in 2026-27 – less than previously estimated due to better than expected revenue streams and less spending on infrastructure projects – while Mr Yan said the government is “living within our means” despite no substantive plans to reduce the debt.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has announced the Northern Territory’s latest ‘Investment Committee’ that will provide “independent advice on [government] investment opportunities” to help grow the stagnant economy, which appears to be the latest iteration of the previous Labor government’s Infrastructure Development Fund that was shut down amid scandal in 2019.
One of the most respected CLP chief ministers in the NT’s history has publicly criticised the current CLP Government and Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby for “absurd” and inaccurate claims around how the Territory’s first euthanasia laws came to be, while accusing the government of being “inept” over its handling of the current proposed legislation.
Speaker Robyn Lambley has taken CLP backbencher Tanzil Rahman to task in an extraordinary public scolding in Parliament, telling him that threatening defamation action over allegations he bullied two female parliamentary staffers is a direct attempt “to silence people who have every right to speak”, the latest blow in the growing scandal the Chief Minister has tried to ignore.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government used its numbers in Parliament to block backbencher Tanzil Rahman from being investigated by a parliamentary committee over allegations he bullied female staff members, after Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro repeatedly refused to say what action she has taken on the matter and Mr Rahman’s failure to refute the allegations or apologise in a statement over the weekend.
A Labor candidate who sought endorsements from reviled former chief ministers Michael Gunner and Natasha Fyles appears likely to win the Nightcliff by-election with help from the CLP after preferences, according to updated figures on Monday afternoon.
CLP backbencher Tanzil Rahman broke weeks of silence Sunday over bullying allegations in an unusual statement from his electorate office rather than through the CLP’s highly-paid spin doctors, stating he was “deeply offended” by the allegations and “actively considering my legal options”.
A rocket launching company the previous Labor government invested more than $5 million of public funds into has gone into liquidation, with the Chief Minister mocking Labor again for their poor investment decisions, but refusing to answer questions about whether she would now call a public inquiry into how Labor wasted millions of taxpayer money investing in doomed private business enterprises.
David Connolly was sworn in as the next Administrator of the Northern Territory Friday morning in a red carpet ceremony, starting his tenure by saying he wanted to thank the Larrakia people and “pay respects to them all, past and present”, while outside a Larrakia elder was arrested at what was a peaceful protest of more than a hundred people, which descended into brief chaos after the arrest.
A new video showing NT Administrator David Connolly manhandling anti-fracking activist and current independent Nightcliff candidate Phil Scott at a business conference in 2023, leading to a violent shove and water allegedly thrown in Mr Scott’s face, has been described as “deeply disturbing” and conduct unbecoming of an Administrator. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.
NT Administrator David Connolly has issued an apology for his past social media posts, which he claimed again he did not intend to cause offence with, but stopped short of addressing other comments he has made and positions he has taken against Indigenous Territorians, with the apology coming on the eve of his swearing-in.
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.
