A 17-year-old on bail who allegedly stabbed his 16-year-old partner repeatedly in the legs and back in a remote community has been arrested and charged, NT Police said, while also calling for the public’s help with information about an unrelated indecent assault of multiple people in Darwin’s party district over the weekend.
An 18-year-old male was charged with drug and firearm-related offences by the NT Police on Friday, after a raid of his Katherine home yielded illegal drugs, firearms, ammunition and fireworks.
NT Corrections officers have delivered a resounding no-confidence vote in Commissioner Matthew Varley over moves to bring in private guards to deal with pressures in the corrections system, but the Minister has hit back at the union, saying the government will not be “strong-armed” into sacking Mr Varley, which comes amid resurfaced comments that show the CLP did not support outsourcing corrections duties while in opposition.
EXCLUSIVE: The publicly-funded Darwin Waterfront Corporation hired board member Andrew Kirkman’s wife for a key role that was not advertised late last year and that came with an undisclosed hefty pay packet, the NT Independent can reveal, raising questions about undeclared conflicts of interest at the corporation and a cosy culture of political appointments and nepotism.
A CLP backbencher has accused Senator Malarndirri McCarthy’s staffer of attempting to “physically intimidate” an unnamed CLP MLA while Parliament was sitting last week, claiming the staffer followed up the “harassment” by making “unfounded accusations”.
Darwin Private Hospital will close its maternity and birthing services in two months with the Health Minister Steve Edgington saying he had hoped Healthscope, the company which owns the hospital, would give expectant families at least nine months notice to allow them to properly plan their births.
UPDATED: The Finocchiaro CLP Government will spend more than $8 million to build a motocross track at Hidden Valley, despite the project’s cost blowing out to five times the original estimate provided by Labor, stating it could not end a contract out of fear of “wasting millions”, so will “redirect” $6.5 million to fully fund the project.
Darwin-based construction company Kalidonis NT Pty Ltd is appealing convictions and fines imposed by the Darwin Local Court following the death of 50-year-old worker Paul Leach.
A senior NT public servant on an executive contract dishonestly claimed sick days while he was gambling at a casino, on fishing trips and golfing, which amounted to “corrupt conduct” the ICAC has found after a four-year long investigation, but chose not to name the executive or the government department involved.
The Finocchiaro Government will employ an executive on close to $250,000 a year to oversee the renovation of prisons and the construction of a new prison and work camps.
The independence of the Northern Territory Auditor-General’s office has been identified as “the most vulnerable to executive influence” of any jurisdiction in the country, according to an independent review of the AG’s office, with the current public sector watchdog calling for funding pressures and internal system problems to be addressed by the Finocchiaro Government to ensure its crucial independence continues.
A man is in Royal Darwin Hospital with a cut to his forehead from allegedly being attacked with an “edged weapon” after the windows of his parked car were smashed by three offenders who are still on the run, NT Police said.
