The Middle Arm industrial precinct could end up costing the NT Government $5.5 billion in capital outlays and a further $140 million in annual operating expenditure for the next 50 years, which would affect its ability to fund health and education, a new report by an energy economist for the Environment Centre NT has found, while a federal Labor MP revealed her government’s $1.5 billion equity investment in the project is a long way from being finalised.
An NT mine operator which runs the Warrego mine rehabilitation project near Tennant Creek has been placed into external administration, according to ASIC records.
Darwin Council is using money collected from a public car parking levy to help finance its joint venture with a private developer to build the new Darwin civic centre, in potential breach of the legally-mandated Car Parking Contribution Plan, that will see each public car parking space at the new development cost three times more than previously planned, and which will provide 202 public parking spaces instead of the 1800 pledged.
Tourism Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has refused to comment on an internal “briefing” she received last week into allegations of mismanaged conflicts of interest and possible misuse of public resources at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation, after previously claiming she would “make some decisions” about the matter.
A Katherine woman was jolted awake early Sunday morning to an unknown male in her bedroom while her house was being robbed by a group of three, NT Police said, which led to a stolen vehicle pursuit being abandoned after the driver allegedly swerved at a police vehicle on the opposite side of the road.
Five female youths were arrested over the weekend in connection with vehicle theft and aggravated robbery incidents in Nightcliff and Yarrawonga, including one stolen car driven by three girls crashing into a fence “at slow speed”, NT Police said.
Corrections Minister Gerard Maley has angered NT Police officers after falsely claiming on radio Friday morning that there were no corrections prisoners currently at the Alice Springs watch house, with the union representing police calling for him to come clean with the public and deal with the situation so police can do their jobs effectively.
Access to East Arm via Berrimah Road south will be restored next week after being shut since November 2023, the NT Government has claimed in a stakeholder briefing, as the long-delayed and over-budget Tiger Brennan Drive overpass project inches closer to completion.
A renewable energy report hidden by the former Labor government has revealed the cost of meeting the Territory’s 50 per cent renewable electricity targets by 2030 was roughly $280 million and would come with moderate electricity price increases, but also with lower operating costs, which contradicts the Finocchiaro CLP Government’s claims it would cost 20 times as much.
The validity of the Mataranka water allocation plan is being challenged in the NT Supreme Court by the Environment Centre NT, represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, with the advocacy group claiming the Water Minister lacked vital hydrological and ecological data to make an informed decision.
Darwin-based tech start-up Raindrop is poised to revolutionise the insurance industry with its innovative AI-powered platform designed to simplify complex insurance policy jargon, after being laughed at by industry for its owner’s choice of city to run the tech company out of.
Tourism Minister Marie-Clare Boothby has refused to comment on whether she recently approved a new contract for Darwin Waterfront Corporation chief executive Alastair Shields, including when she approved it and how much the new contract is costing taxpayers for his part-time, two-day-a-week gig that last cost $116,000 a year, while the Minister is still waiting for a “briefing” from government officials about concerns of misconduct at the corporation.
