The proposed Darwin civic centre should convey a powerful sense of place, honour its surroundings, with a design that evokes the memories of one of Australia’s most significant – even if now intangible – places in which it will sit, but what Darwin Council is offering does none of that, writes Dr Peter Forrest.
ANALYSIS: The Chief Minister’s handling of the ongoing Murphy scandal undermines the confidence every Territorian needs to have in its highest elected official and in its police commissioner, raising serious questions about her lack of action. The cover-up is always worse than the crime, as this debacle proves again.
EDITORIAL: Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s response to the ICAC’s findings that a “senior public officer” engaged in improper conduct is now bordering on what the ICAC’s delegate found the public officer engaged in, namely “negligence and incompetence”.
The development of a public document that records reported crimes and includes any court outcome, the monetary costs of repairs, along with other details, might help those criticising the government’s response to crime appreciate the alternative position to the one they hold, writes Henry Gray.
In a democracy, government should not cut funding to organisations just because they oppose the policies or decisions of that government, writes lawyer Greg Barns, particularly in a place like the Northern Territory, where there is no upper house to keep a check on executive government.
Conducting hazard reduction burns during the Wet is a strange phenomenon, maybe even paranormal, writes Gerry Wood.
Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis needs to tell ratepayers the details of the deal he struck with a developer over his proposed high rise civic centre-cum-private office development, and he needs to address the legality of how he is using $40 million of car parking money to create a relatively small amount of public car parks, writes Dr Don Fuller.
The most disturbing and depressing aspect of the performance by the Attorney-General and the DPP is not that it provides further evidence that our court “system” is in collapse but worse – writes barrister John Lawrence – it also shows the community that the leaders within our system choose not to admit the truth, face up to it and demand its rectification.
The inclusion of the Nuclear Waste Prohibition Act in the Territory Coordinator bill could reflect a desire for administrative flexibility to manage projects or decisions that intersect with reactor wastes to be stored in the Northern Territory, writes Justin Tutty.
When their dog Princess Evie died last year, Anitra Jackson and her partner Dean used the tragedy to campaign for new regulations for the pet boarding industry in the Northern Territory, to ensure the safety and well-being of all pets being cared for.
As an election promise the CLP said it would phase out gill nets because it was scared of losing votes, but now it is in government it needs to show courage by reversing its decision on the ban which would mean the end of wild caught barramundi and threadfin salmon in restaurants, writes Gerry Wood.
Tropical houses rose slowly after World War II and proved to be one of life’s great mysteries to boffins in Canberra, and while under threat from their earliest days, they made Darwin unique amongst the capital cities until Cyclone Tracy exposed their fragility, writes elevated house aficionado Steven Andrews.
