Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby has been referred to the anti-corruption watchdog by a federal senator after allegations were raised in a national law journal about the CLP Government blocking the NT Supreme Court from issuing media statements and an alleged new policy that all its communications need to be approved by the Attorney-General’s Department’s chief executive.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government’s pick to run the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority went to university with the Chief Minister’s husband and remains close friends with him, the NT Independent can reveal, with the appointment made amid sweeping changes to the Sacred Sites Act and the government’s move to push through the proposed Darwin Waterfront hotel project despite traditional owners’ objections.
The NT’s environmental regulator is investigating after Inpex admitted to under-reporting toxic emissions from its Ichthys LNG plant, with errors in the way “some emissions” from the plant have been calculated and reported since 2018, including volatile organic compounds such as benzene, a leukaemia-causing chemical, which a doctor says could cause serious health problems.
Darwin and Palmerston bus drivers, represented by the Transport Workers’ Union, have warned that further industrial action could occur if a fair offer is not made by private bus operator CDC, following Monday’s strike action that shut down bus services in the Greater Darwin area.
Two security guards, one suffering suspected fractures, were taken to Royal Darwin Hospital after being attacked by up to 20 people in Parap on Saturday afternoon with bottles and sticks, NT Police said.
Sixteen youths in Katherine have been arrested and charged as part of NT Police Task Force Cerberus for 40 offences related to burglaries, stolen vehicles, and bail breaches as part of a three-day operation targeting property-related crime in the Katherine CBD, NT Police said.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government passed changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act through Parliament Thursday night that nobody but the government is happy with, following months of fierce debate and controversy, with everyone from the crossbench to the LGBTQI community to the Australian Christian Lobby criticising the amendments.
Auditors have warned the Darwin Basketball Association is at risk of going under for the third year in a row, this time due to a more than $600,000 cash shortfall for the year, with the association blaming Basketball NT for its situation but claiming it is confident in its solvency partly based on the $9,000 it pulled in from a weekly bingo night at the Casuarina Club, a figure the auditors have also called into question.
A government armoury in Katherine has been robbed for the second time in three months, after four unknown people broke into the building in the industrial area in Katherine East on Saturday morning, stealing an undisclosed quantity of ammunition and damaging emergency services vehicles, NT Police said.
Test results from early 2024 show barriers underneath the military fuel tanks at East Arm to prevent leaks were ineffective, the Environment Centre NT has said, which was confirmed by the Department of Lands, Planning and Environment in a letter sent three weeks after Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne approved the tanks for use and they began to be filled with jet fuel.
Racing Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has caused confusion over her government’s claims it is reviewing potential conflicts of interest concerning the Racing and Wagering Commission raised in a Four Corners investigation last week, telling Parliament on Tuesday its review is “business as usual” while the board is doing its job “really well”, despite allegations of a cosy relationship with the $50 billion online gambling industry and the commission’s failures to effectively regulate it.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government has scrapped nearly a decade-long plan to build the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery of Australia in Alice Springs following an unusual fight with the Federal Government, but no savings are expected to be found after Treasurer Bill Yan indicated the NT Government’s contribution would still be spent on something in the town.
