The Mines and Energy Department said Empire Energy’s gas well that was the subject of a legal briefing to the environment minister recommending prosecution or potential prosecution for breaches was built in compliance with regulations but the department won’t say exactly what was alleged to have occurred or how the situation went from legal advice to a minister to a finding that regulations were not breached.
The Finocchiaro Government has spent $7.5 million buying 30,000-hectares to expand Litchfield National Park by 20 per cent, which will include a hunting reserve of an unspecified size, but the Chief Minister has said there has been no planning about how much it will cost the taxpayer to develop or manage the area.
A 30-year-old domestic violence suspect in Alice Springs was “unintentionally” hit by an unmarked police car Wednesday night after allegedly assaulting a woman and bystander, while later being tasered after escaping custody at the hospital where he was being assessed, NT Police said.
A government briefing recommending potential prosecution against Empire Energy for breaching the company’s environmental management plan concerning a gas well in the Beetaloo Basin was suddenly dropped, the Environment Department’s chief executive has said, after an unnamed person in the Mining and Energy Department decided there was no breach of the Petroleum Act.
A trade delegation led by Asian Relations Minister Robyn Cahill will explore bilateral trade and investment opportunities in Malaysia, coinciding with the launch of AirAsia Malaysia’s new non-stop Kuala Lumpur-Darwin route on Friday.
The Finocchiaro CLP Government is looking to fill a new role called the “Territory Procurement Champion” who will replace the Buy Local Industry Advocate, ahead of undisclosed planned reforms to government procurement processes to be rolled out later this year.
New signs on public buses warning that people “with dirty or stained clothes” will be “refused travel” is the latest move by the Finocchiaro CLP Government to target Indigenous Territorians, community and legal groups have said, “particularly those who are poor, homeless or otherwise marginalised”.
The Northern Territory has the lowest renewable energy production of any Australian state or territory, according to a new national report, that follows the CLP Government’s decision to scrap its promised 2030 renewable energy target.
Attorney General Marie-Clare Boothby has called for expressions of interest for “independent” roles on the NT Legal Aid Commission after three members of the last board resigned in frustration when the CLP Government rejected their independent recommendation for a new director, overruling them to appoint a person with ties to the CLP.
A senior government executive who told Parliament’s Budget Estimates Committee she was not involved in recommending the Environment Minister approve the controversial Mataranka water allocation plan due to a conflict of interest, was forced to change her story when an internal document signed by her was presented that showed she was involved, with other questionable conflicts of interest raised.
Proposed reforms to vehicle inspection regulations in the NT were rushed and will pose financial and safety risks to Territorians, the Motor Trade Association has warned, including the potential for people to be “ripped off by dodgy private vehicle sellers”.
Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro’s plan to arm bus and public housing officers with guns to target “anti-social behaviour” has been criticised by numerous peak organisations as dangerous to the public, with one national body calling for the Federal Government to intervene before “further damage is done”.
