Darwin Council committed at least 16 “significant” failures of governance under two different pieces of legislation when sealing its secret deal with developer DCOH to build a 21-storey hybrid civic centre-officer tower, lawyers acting for nearby residents have said, with council now asked to hand over hidden documents relating to the development to help inform a potential Federal Court challenge to prevent the building being constructed.
UPDATED: A 34-year-old male school employee in Darwin has been charged with sexual intercourse with a young person, who attended the school where the man worked, NT Police said Friday. The school at the centre of the alleged offending has now been identified.
EXCLUSIVE: Darwin Waterfront Corporation chief executive Alastair Shields advocated for his mate Andrew Kirkman’s sister Jodie Ryan to be given more than $44,000 of taxpayer money to continue sitting on the waterfront board after she resigned as the NT’s head public servant, a new secret memo has revealed, raising further questions about undisclosed conflicts of interest at the DWC and the possible misuse of public resources.
Palmerston’s NT PGA Championship is back as part of the PGA Tour of Australasia and will be televised for the first time, while the Finocchiaro Government is taking credit for the broadcast but has not disclosed the costs to taxpayers.
The Darwin RSL’s plans for old Admiralty House in the city have been approved by the government, with the veteran’s group saying they hope to open its new social club there in four months.
The CLP Finocchiaro Government will unveil its surprise plans to review and change the NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act this week in Parliament, but the government is already facing criticism from the Central Land Council for failing to properly consult with traditional owners over the sudden changes, which they say threatens their rights and interests.
Despite strong growth prospects and high demand, the NT’s property sector continues to face challenges from low construction activity and high rental costs, even as new affordable housing schemes have been implemented, according to a new report.
Former NT Police constable Zach Rolfe has taken up the Chief Minister’s challenge to substantiate that five senior officers who misled a coronial inquest about racist awards in the NT Police’s TRG unit committed a crime, completing an 82-page investigation report that he distributed to the Chief Minister, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Acting Police Commissioner on Tuesday, highlighting the ICAC’s failure to properly investigate the officers’ conduct.
EXCLUSIVE: Tourism Minister and Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby’s chief of staff worked for Alastair Shields at the Darwin Waterfront Corporation for more than a decade before being seconded to Ms Boothby’s office last August, the NT Independent can reveal, raising questions about the Minister’s office’s ability to objectively review a “briefing” the Minister requested into concerns of improper conduct at the taxpayer-funded corporation.
NT WorkSafe executive director Peggy Cheong has resigned her role after nearly two-and-a-half years leading the workplace regulator.
The government and the NT Police executive need to take urgent action to protect police officers following a series of threatening incidents involving vehicles being used to ram police cars and driving directly at officers, the union representing NT Police officers said, adding they fear it is “only a matter of time before an officer is killed”.
Business and Asian Relations Minister Robyn Cahill has travelled to Singapore as part of a Territory trade delegation to “strengthen ties and promote investment opportunities”, but her office would not say who exactly she is meeting with in the Asian city-state.
