A two-hour hearing into the potential misuse of taxpayer money and other misconduct at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation has been quickly scheduled for Tuesday by a CLP-dominated parliamentary committee, following a referral from the Opposition last week, but the committee has yet to seek internal documents from the corporation as evidence to inform its investigation, the NT Independent understands.
UPDATED: The cause of death of a 24-year-old Yuendumu man who died while being arrested by NT Police officers on Tuesday afternoon at an Alice Springs supermarket is still unknown following an initial autopsy, police said Wednesday afternoon, while political leaders have called for the community to remain calm as the investigation continues.
The Finocchiaro Government has rejected a presumption in favour of NT public servants working from home, as well as the removal of a cap on the amount of days they can spend working from home, the Community and Public Sector Union has said, while Public Service Minister Jo Hersey said the government would not reduce the existing flexible work arrangements, but would not say what its work from home policy was.
Former ICAC Michael Riches “had a thing for pretty girls in the office” an investigation into his conduct as the NT’s anti-corruption watchdog has revealed, according to one former staffer, while 15 people described Mr Riches’s leadership style as “erratic, controlling, and awkward socially”, with one describing his office as “the most horrible place I’ve ever worked”.
Rental affordability is continuing to worsen across the Northern Territory, a new report by the NT Council of Social Service has found, with the body warning the rising cost of living in the NT is “concerning”.
CLP backbencher Tanzil Rahman has been selected to attend the McKinnon Institute’s Advanced Political Leadership program that aims to enhance and develop “high quality political leadership”, particularly for MLAs who are “potential ministers in the short to medium term”.
UPDATED: A 24-year-old Aboriginal man who was restrained by NT Police at the Coles supermarket in Alice Springs on Tuesday following an alleged altercation with a security guard has died, NT Police said, with the death now being investigated as a death in custody.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has moved to alter the duties of the NT’s fiscal watchdog, but failed to consult with him about the changes, raising questions over what else the government intends to alter involving the Auditor-General’s powers and responsibilities, while failing to address critical risks to the office’s independence and funding shortfalls raised earlier this year.
A man who allegedly drove a car onto curb in the Alice Springs CBD in an attempt to hit a woman, and who almost hit other pedestrians on a footpath before he crashed, has been charged, NT Police said.
China has criticised the Federal Government’s plan to return the Darwin Port to Australia ownership, stressing that Chinese company Landbridge, which is currently managing the strategically important northern port, should not suffer the consequences of this decision.
Members of the Coomalie Community Government Council have been officially sacked by the Local Government Minister over “serious and sustained deficiencies in the council’s governance and operations”.
The CLP Government has scrapped the currently in-progress State Square Art Gallery project in the Darwin CBD, suggesting a massive cost blowout, and will now put the future use of the site and “state-of-the-art” building to a public expression of interest process in hopes someone might want to do something with it.
