A federal inquiry into Charles Darwin University’s governance practices and general “competency” should be ordered immediately and vice-chancellor Scott Bowman’s “head must roll”, an independent MLA has said, in the wake of revelations nearly 400 CDU TAFE students and others were graduated without proper qualifications.
Seven girls and women have been arrested in Alice Springs for allegedly bashing a 16-year-old female last Friday which NT Police did not make public until today, while a video of the brutal attack shows the victim being being hit in the head with a scooter, bashed with a metal baseball bat, her head kicked and stomped on, and her assailants trying to smash her head into a bitumen road. Police have also alleged the group “forcibly removed her clothes” following the beating.
A 47-year-old Darwin man has been arrested by the AFP following a months-long investigation into allegations he exploited his position as a federal public servant to defraud the National Disability Insurance Scheme by directing vulnerable individuals to an NDIS provider he co-owns.
There is “no evidence to substantiate” Darwin Mayor Peter Styles’ claims that he returned his mayoral campaign donation list in person before the deadline for disclosures lapsed, the NT Electoral Commission has said, following an internal review.
A growing scandal at Charles Darwin University that saw it graduate an estimated 130 carpentry apprenticeship students without the proper qualifications is now estimated to affect “an additional 250 students” who may have to resit their qualifications in other areas, with the number expected to rise to potentially thousands of students, the NT Independent understands.
Bullying allegations against CLP MLA Tanzil Rahman made by two female parliamentary staffers have “been resolved” as part of a “sensitive HR matter”, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has claimed, but questions remain over how the situation was handled and what the Chief Minister knew about the allegations.
One person was taken to hospital with cuts to his back and three others were arrested after a machete fight through the Alice Springs CBD on Friday afternoon, NT Police said, while other offenders remain at large.
The byelection to select the next Member for Nightcliff will be held on March 7, with the Greens and Labor announcing their candidates out of the gate, while the CLP is yet to put a candidate forward.
EXCLUSIVE: The NT Police top brass is currently under investigation by a senior member of the Australian Federal Police, the NT Independent can reveal, who was recently sworn in to conduct a probe into “allegations against a number of people up on the top floor”.
Former Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw has been hired by St John Ambulance NT in a new undisclosed role, following the appointment of a new chief executive, while both the NT branch and St John Ambulance Australia declined to respond to an allegation that a preferred CEO candidate was put forward by the federal body and rejected by the NT organisation.
UPDATED: The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption has disclosed the findings of its investigation into allegations NT WorkSafe’s electrical inspectors unit misused statutory powers, failed to manage conflicts of interest and failed to disclose secondary employment with commercial electrical companies the workplace regulator may have investigated.
Darwin’s property and juvenile crime police unit, Strike Force Trident, is being moved from the Casuarina Police Station to be absorbed by the Crime and Intelligence Command at the Peter McCauley Centre, the police union has said, a move the man who established the unit said could see members siphoned off to other parts of the agency due to political pressures, leading to a potential increase in property crime.
