Darwin Council will spend more than double the money on a new civic centre than it said it would spend two years ago, as part of a new public-private development deal announced with developer DCOH.
Darwin to host high-level defence meetings with US, Japan this week
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani will join Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles in Darwin this weekend for the 14th Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting to enhance military cooperation and address tensions in the Indo-Pacific.
Calls for illegal foreign fishing vessel crackdown after men discovered on Croker Island
Federal officials will be visiting the Territory to ensure there is “a clear understanding of the demand pressures and the environment” around the protection of the NT’s borders, the Chief Minister has said, while the head of a land council called on the Australian Border Force to “do their job properly” after four foreign nationals arrived by fishing boat to Peacock Island this week.
CDU fails to get medical school accreditation
Charles Darwin University has failed to get accreditation for its medical school and has been forced to write to applicants to tell them they cannot study there next year, vice-chancellor Scott Bowman has said.
ICAC Michael Riches puts home up for sale, as well as pop star memorabilia
Anti-corruption commissioner Michael Riches has put his $1.2 million Stuart Park home up for auction at the end of the month amid a drawn-out investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards female staff members, the NT Independent can reveal, with the listing featuring a controversial taxpayer-funded security camera system he was accused of using to harass his wife.
NT Government’s Middle Arm business case rejected by Infrastructure Australia: FOI docs
Infrastructure Australia rejected the Northern Territory Government’s business case for the proposed Middle Arm industrial precinct, documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws show, while the NT Environmental Protection Agency has extended its deadline by two years for the government to submit an environment impact statement, pushing the project start date back to at least 2026.
‘It’s a joke’: $10m amphibious airplane project grounded, Chief Minister says
Millions of Territory taxpayer dollars have been wasted on the proposal to manufacture amphibious aircraft in the Northern Territory, with the Chief Minister announcing the project is currently in limbo as the government attempts to claw back millions from Amphibious Aerospace Industries, which is allegedly only operating out of the United States currently.
Research facility staffer charged over deaths of dozens of cattle
A 55-year-old former government employee at a research facility south of Alice Springs has been charged with animal cruelty offences after 71 cattle were found deceased or dying at the facility in 2023, NT Police said.
Chief Minister calls on Darwin Council to open Cyclone Tracy memorial unveiling to the public
Darwin Council should open the Cyclone Tracy 50th anniversary memorial sculpture unveiling to the general public and listen to the public’s criticism of the controversial design, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has said, while the Prime Minister, federal Infrastructure Minister, and federal Member for Solomon will not comment on the exclusion of Cyclone Tracy survivors from the event, or the Mayor’s latest denial that it is not a memorial for one of Australia’s most destructive natural disasters.
Missing offender, NAAJA employee arrested in hotel following police manhunt
A 36-year-old woman is facing perverting the course of justice charges for her alleged involvement in helping a 20-year-old offender who reportedly cut off his ankle monitoring device last week evade police, with The Australian reporting the woman is a NAAJA employee who was in a “relationship” with the offender.
Car rego fees frozen, free drivers’ licences part of CLP’s cost of living relief plan
The Finocchiaro Government has frozen car registration fees and will give Territorians a free driver’s licence for a year, as part of its plan to ease the cost-of-living crisis, but the costs to the Territory’s budget have not been disclosed.
$200k worth of damage at new Holtze youth prison in first week: Government
Six youth detainees at the new Holtze Youth Detention Centre have allegedly caused $200,000 worth of damage at the facility, in what the government called a “deliberate act of vandalism”, that saw teens allegedly smash wash basins, tear metal intercom panels and light and power sockets from the walls, leaving the rooms unusable and live wires exposed in the first week the facility was opened.