Read the NT Independent’s award winning coverage of Territory news from the second half of 2022, the biggest stories, many broken exclusively by the NT Independent. All the scandal, incompetence, crime, corruption and analysis.
Labor’s dirty secret revealed: Inside the Kent Rowe child rape scandal
It was all lies, some fifth-floor staffers and Labor politicians were quietly telling people when news broke in April 2021 that a 38-year-old man charged with historical child sex offences was Kent Rowe, the party’s long-serving secretary and sacred member of the Labor Red Tribe. So party members kept quiet and refrained from gossiping, even those in the party who were the best at it.
Mayor driving council car when charged over drugs, mayor, CEO says it’s a personal matter
The Barkly Regional Council mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin was driving a council vehicle when he was pulled over and charged by NT Police for driving under the influence of drugs, the chief executive officer Emma Bradbury has confirmed. The mayor did not respond to a list of questions from the NT Independent.
New powers for civilians to search for, and seize alcohol, considered under legislative review
The Territory Government is considering giving power to transit officers, public housing safety officers, park rangers, council rangers, and contracted licensed security officers to search people and seize alcohol as part of the Liquor Act 2019 review.
Councillor said he probably wouldn’t be leaving if the mayor resigned after drugs charges
A quarter of the Barkly Regional Council resigned in two days last week, with one councillor saying he probably would not have resigned if mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin had resigned from his position once he was charged with drug offences, while the mayor said the departures were not a vote of no confidence in either him or the chief executive officer.
Beetaloo basin aquifer annual refill rate was doubled by NT Government, but no explanation was given for why
EXCLUSIVE: The NT Government’s recently announced water allocation figures have been called into question by scientists after it inexplicably doubled the estimated annual re-filling rate provided by a hydrologist for one aquifer, then created its figure for another aquifer which it attributed to his model despite the consultant not providing an estimate for the recharge.
‘Staved off a crisis’: Teachers vote to accept government’s three per cent pay rise offer
The Territory’s teachers have voted in favour of the Fyles Government’s latest pay rise offer, ending industrial action that has gone on for months and effectively bringing in a new enterprise bargaining agreement that the union says was not “brilliant”, but necessary to “stave off a crisis”.
‘No business case’: Ship lift project referred for investigation amid ballooning costs, contractor collapsing
The Opposition has referred the ship lift project for investigation by a parliamentary committee after massive cost blow-outs and last week’s announcement that the lead contractor has entered administration, raising further questions about the ongoing viability of the project.
Three AFL games again for the NT, the government put no cost on the deal
There will be three AFL games played in the Territory next season, two in Darwin and one in Alice Springs, while the NT Government has not said how much it will be paying to bring the teams here, however, official figures showed taxpayers shelled out $800,000 per game in 2018.
China’s missiles could reach Northern Territory, ‘two-thirds’ of Australia, report warns
China’s intermediate-range ballistic missiles stationed at artificial reefs and atolls in the South China Sea have the potential to reach two-thirds of Australia, a new report to the Federal Government has warned, with the NT a possible target due to its military installations.
Territory records more than 30,000 reports of child abuse in one year
The number of reports of Territory kids who were allegedly abused or neglected surged to more than 30,500 last financial year, a new report from the Children’s Commissioner shows. It also said that Aboriginal children make up 91 per cent of kids in care and an overwhelming 95 per cent of minors in juvenile detention centres.
The facts: Fertiliser, explosives, paper, plastics and chemicals production promoted for Middle Arm
The Territory Government is still promoting the production of fertilisers, explosives, paper, plastics and chemicals – energy-intensive industries – at the proposed Middle Arm industrial precinct to investors, despite the Chief Minister repeatedly saying there will be no petrochemicals produced at the site, official records show.
‘Baffling’: Police Association calls Chalker out for comments about the ongoing inquest
Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker’s latest comments about the Kumanjayi Walker coronial inquest have been described as “completely inappropriate” and “baffling” by Northern Territory Police Association president Paul McCue.
‘They have no moral currency’: Territory Labor shamed for supporting convicted child rapist
The NT Independent revealed that former Labor deputy chief minister Syd Stirling’s wife and backroom senior figure Jamie Gallacher, who is married to a Supreme Court Justice, supported convicted child rapist Kent Rowe in reference letters to the court to help him receive a lighter sentence because he had successfully assisted the party win the last two elections.
Senior Labor figures helped child rapist Kent Rowe get a lighter sentence, court documents reveal
EXCLUSIVE: Senior Territory Labor figures, including a former deputy chief minister and the partner of a Supreme Court Justice, expressed their support for convicted paedophile Kent Rowe to the courts ahead of sentencing earlier this month because of his “successful” contributions to the party, the NT Independent can reveal.
Top cops deleted recordings of Rolfe investigation meetings, shut down coronial probe due to facts; inquest hears
Another senior coronial investigator for the NT Police has told an inquest that former assistant commissioner Nick Anticich shut down the coronial investigation into the death of Kumanjayi Walker because its findings conflicted with the criminal investigation into Constable Zach Rolfe.
NT regains the right to make euthanasia laws after a historic senate vote
The ACT and Northern Territory are free to legislate on euthanasia after a 25-year ban.
‘The government does not have control of this town’: Tourism boss calls for federal help in Alice Springs
The Fyles Government has lost control of Alice Springs and should realise the problems are beyond them and call for federal government help, the head of Central Australia Tourism has said after police told residents to stay out of the CBD for the second time in two weeks.
‘Most biased investigation’: Former coronial investigator says NT Police’s handling of Rolfe investigation compromised
The senior investigator in charge of the coronial investigation into Constable Zach Rolfe’s actions in Yuendumu has told an inquest that the NT Police’s criminal investigation was the most biased investigation against a suspect he had seen in his long and distinguished career with the NT Police force.
Controversial anti-discrimination laws passed in late-night parliamentary sitting
The Fyles Government has used its numbers in Parliament to pass sweeping changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act that it says will protect “the most vulnerable” Territorians but that critics say will hamper free speech.
READ the full story here.
Labor’s proposed anti-discrimination amendments about personal agendas, not Territorians: Lambley
Proposed “radical and dangerous” changes to the NT’s Anti-Discrimination Act are being brought about to further the NT Attorney-General’s agenda and are not in the best interests of Territorians, an independent MLA says.
‘It is horrific’: Dead man exhumed from the wrong grave after hospital morgue mix-up
EXCLUSIVE: A man’s body has had to be exhumed after he was buried in the grave of another man, following body identification failures by a Northern Territory hospital and a funeral home, for $18,000, the NT Independent can reveal.
Old plane the Fyles Government claims will drive the NT’s economy to be trucked to the old hangar at Darwin airport
An amphibious aircraft company the Fyles Government invested $10 million in that they claim will be a key driver of the NT’s economy in the coming years will truck up a 60-year-old plane from Victoria to house at an old hangar at the Darwin Airport, raising questions about the previously proposed Darwin Aerospace Manufacturing Precinct.
Mystery over what sparked a Kakadu search and rescue, local says it was caused by a hunting accident
Parks Australia says it is investigating a mysterious incident that it won’t provide details of, which sparked a search and rescue operation in Kakadu National Park on Sunday, while one source has told the NT Independent the incident involved an accidental shooting during an illegal safari hunt.
Concerns Darwin gallery cost blow-out could impact National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs as debt grows
The NT Government has committed more than $300 million to art galleries and museum projects across the Territory, with an independent MLA raising concerns that the recent cost blow-out of the Darwin city art gallery could result in a shortfall for the long-delayed National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs.
‘Harbouring a depraved criminal’: Questions over what Labor knew about Kent Rowe’s rape crimes, as party refuses to condemn former powerbroker
Territory Labor has refused to publicly condemn the actions of former party powerbroker Kent Rowe after he was sentenced Wednesday to five years in jail for the repeated rape of a female relative while she was a child, with calls for the party to explain who knew about his crimes and when.
‘A matter of great shame’: Labor heavyweight Kent Rowe sentenced for raping a child
Former Territory Labor powerbroker Kent Rowe has been sentenced to five years in prison for repeatedly raping a child over six years. The sentence, handed down by Chief Justice Michael Grant in the Supreme Court Wednesday morning, will be suspended after two and a half years.
Taxpayers to pick up NT hospitality industry’s $200k UK trip to recruit bar staff
A group of Darwin publicans and government officials will fly to the UK in February to recruit a hundred or so bartenders, chefs and wait staff from British pubs, the Fyles Government has announced, at a cost to taxpayers of $200,000.
State Square and Civic Park redevelopment could hit $225m, Govt refuses to explain
EXCLUSIVE: The Fyles Government has refused to say what it will cost to build the new Darwin city art gallery, which in June was projected to cost $50 million, but appears to have now blown out to about $80 million, as part of the Civic and State Square redevelopment, which has also seen major cost blowouts.
‘Stop the excuses’: CLP calls out Fyles over contradictory Middle Arm petrochemical claims
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles’ misleading claims that the Middle Arm Industrial Precinct will not include a petrochemical plant despite the NT Government’s website showing the precinct will include “low-emission petrochemicals production” along with carbon capture and storage and advanced manufacturing.
‘Unreasonable interference’: Govt blocks release of travel docs for a senior public servant, new MLA
The Fyles Government has refused to release the travel costs of a senior public servant who once charged taxpayers to go to Disney World – and a former fifth-floor staffer – because it claims that showing taxpayers where the pair travelled for 10 months would be an “unreasonable interference with the operations” of the Chief Minister’s department.
Govt hired an unregistered engineering company to fix the fire hydrant system at TIO Stadium, the same company that designed it
EXCLUSIVE: The NT Government’s latest attempt to have TIO Stadium certified has been bungled again after documents show the company it re-hired to fix problems with the fire hydrant system it designed does not have a proper licence to carry out the works, the NT Independent can reveal.
Here are the crimes in the youth justice court the government has blocked from the public
Eighteen young offenders are fronting Darwin’s youth court Monday charged with 28 violent robbery offences between them – with one offender alone also facing 13 serious breaches of bail charges – according to a youth criminal justice court list obtained by the NT Independent.
The coroner rejects calls for other senior officers’ phones to be checked for racist comments
Coroner Elisabeth Armitage has rejected calls to seek possible further examples of “systemic racism” in the NT Police force by obtaining a “random sample of cell phones and records” of senior members of the NT Police.
The government hired the company that engineered the TIO Stadium fire system to ‘investigate’ its own work
The NT Government secretly hired the company that engineered and certified the troubled fire hydrant system at TIO Stadium to “investigate” their own project’s alleged failings amid public safety concerns, according to government documents sent to media, government officials and law enforcement agencies.
‘At least we do not have paedophiles’: Lambley’s comment in Parliament ‘offends’ Labor
Independent MLA Robyn Lambley was forced to withdraw a comment in Parliament about convicted child rapist and former Labor secretary Kent Rowe after Labor Speaker Mark Monaghan ruled the comment “offensive” despite Ms Lambley sharing proven facts.
Labor MLA accuses NT Police top brass of spying on members
Labor MLA Mark Turner has used parliamentary privilege to suggest the NT Police executive is secretly recording police officers and staff at stations and in their patrol cars, adding that if proven “the attrition rates would further climb”.
Gunner was hired to lead Andrew Forrest’s renewable energy company’s northern office, despite a ‘shocking’ climate legacy
Former chief minister Michael Gunner has announced he will be taking a new role as the head of billionaire Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s renewable energy company’s northern office, despite what the Environment Centre NT called Mr Gunner’s “legacy of climate-wrecking projects” across the Northern Territory during his tenure as leader.
Fyles scraps public service pay freeze in a surprise announcement
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has scrapped the government’s public service wage freeze policy, offering public servants a “compounding pay rise” of two per cent, claiming the “economic situation has changed significantly”.
Calls for Chalker, DPP to explain tainted evidence at Rolfe murder trial
The NT Police Commissioner and the Crown prosecutor in the Zach Rolfe murder trial need to explain to the public why it appears they misled the Supreme Court by using evidence that was manipulated by investigators and relied on a witness that had earlier been found to be “pressured” to participate, a national legal expert says.
DPP and Police Commissioner knew witnesses in Rolfe murder trial were unreliable, used them anyway: Secret internal report
EXCLUSIVE: Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker and the DPP were aware the star witness at the murder trial of Constable Zach Rolfe had his integrity “compromised” by investigators, had involved himself in the investigation due to “pressure” exerted by unknown parties and was found not to understand the law around the use of force, but they put him on the stand at the jury trial anyway.
Fatal Failures: NT Police lied to Walker’s family about his condition, and refused to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, an internal report reveals
EXCLUSIVE: NT Police officers in Yuendumu lied to the family of Kumanjayi Walker about his condition the night he was fatally shot and refused to provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as he lay dying in a police station, a coronial report prepared by the NT Police and obtained by the NT Independent has revealed.
Fatal Failures: Shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker ‘most likely avoided’ if police had planned response, internal report shows
EXCLUSIVE: Kumanjayi Walker would “most likely” still be alive had NT Police followed proper training and policies in Yuendumu the night of November 9, 2019, a damning internal draft coronial report the Police Commissioner tried to suppress from the public, but obtained by the NT Independent, concluded.
Gunner was issued with a police warning for breaking CHO directions; never made public
A secret investigation by NT Police earlier this year resulted in former chief minister Michael Gunner dodging a $5,000 fine and instead being issued a warning for breaching the CHO’s directions, after a photo of him embracing an elderly woman without a mask was posted on social media, government documents show.
Two other officers involved in Zach Rolfe’s trial have also complained about his being reinstated
Two police officers who were involved in the failed murder trial and flawed investigation of Constable Zach Rolfe have complained to management about him returning to work, claiming they too would be “triggered” if they saw him in the workplace, the NT Independent understands.
Labor Minister charges taxpayers $362k for electorate office fit out
Labor Minister Lauren Moss charged taxpayers more than $360,000 to fit out her new electorate office after moving locations earlier this month, government documents show. The massive bill was more than enough to hire two cops for more than a year and $140,000 more than the Fyles Government committed to community suicide prevention programs this financial year.
Darwin shooter Ben Hoffmann sentenced to life, no chance of parole
Darwin shooter Benjamin Hoffman will spend the rest of his life in jail for killing four people in a drug-fuelled rampage through the city in 2019.
Tennant Creek mayor was using council car when caught allegedly driving on drugs: Sources
Barkly Regional Council Mayor Jeff McLaughlin was driving a council car when he was allegedly caught under the influence of drugs last week, sources have told the NT Independent, raising questions about his proposed “personal leave” and what benefits he will be entitled to.
NT Mayor charged for drug driving and possession of cannabis plants: Sources
A man NT Police charged for alleged drug driving and possession of cannabis plants at his home is a Northern Territory mayor, sources have confirmed to the NT Independent. Sources told the NT Independent on Monday evening that the man is Barkly Regional Council, Mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin.
Nearly $400,000 in stolen wages from NT workers recovered following an investigation
The Fair Work Ombudsman has exposed wage theft amounting to almost $400,000 committed by 48 fast food outlets, restaurants and cafes operating in Darwin and Palmerston, as a result of a Fair Work investigation that commenced in September 2021.
Fatal Failures: Sgt Julie Frost failed to control IRT at Yuendumu; endangered health staff, told officers to turn off videos
EXCLUSIVE: Yuendumu officer-in-charge Sergeant Julie Frost failed to take control of the Immediate Response Team she requested and allowed them on an unsupervised “mission” to arrest Kumanjayi Walker in contravention of her arrest plan in November 2019, a damning internal draft coronial report the Police Commissioner tried to suppress from the public, but obtained by the NT Independent, concluded.
Fatal Failures: Rolfe should not have been in the IRT, and ‘likely’ would not have been recruited if truthful in the application, report shows
EXCLUSIVE: Constable Zach Rolfe would not have been recruited into the police force if he had been honest about his military disciplinary history, and the impact of undisclosed medication he was taking for a “psychiatric condition” in the months before shooting and killing Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu will never be known, a draft coronial report prepared by the NT Police states.
NT teachers strike over government’s pay freeze policy
Top End public school teachers will be taking strike action today at 9 am at schools in the Greater Darwin region and a rally will be held at the Parap Village Market to protest the government’s proposed pay freeze, the union representing teachers said.
Labor’s Fannie Bay candidate and fifth-floor staffer Brent Potter’s business connections revealed
EXCLUSIVE: Screenshots of Labor candidate for Fannie Bay Brent Potter’s now deactivated LinkedIn page taken last month show he previously worked for the CEO of an aerospace company that he helped secure $10 million in public funds from the government, the NT Independent can reveal.
Fyles Government must explain $70m unpaid remote rent write-off: CLP
The Fyles Government secretly wrote off $70 million in back rent it was owed from public housing rentals in remote communities, in a decision the Opposition says needs to be explained and the consequences understood for other public housing tenants across the NT.
Analysis: Fyles is obligated to restore integrity by handing over Cabinet documents to ICAC
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles seems to have forgotten her duty to Territorians as our leader and has shown herself to be no better than her scandal-plagued predecessor and friend, both of whom have now blocked access to documents in their possession that may prove corruption at the highest levels of government, in the biggest public cover-up this corrupt jurisdiction has seen to date.
The highest fuel cost in the country continues to plague Darwin motorists
Territorians are being hit harder than interstate motorists when it comes to rising fuel costs, and as of Wednesday, paying 29 cents more per litre than Perth.
Natasha Fyles’ captain’s pick powerplay: Fifth-floor staffer named as Labor candidate
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles has selected her chief of staff’s brother-in-law as Labor’s candidate for the Fannie Bay by-election, with the party officially pre-selecting the current fifth-floor staffer. Ms Fyles’ email to Territory Labor’s administrative committee states she wanted her “senior adviser” Brent Potter to be preselected as the party’s candidate.
Gunner resigns from NT politics
Former chief minister Michael Gunner has resigned from Parliament, two months after his shock resignation as chief minister, sparking a by-election in the electorate of Fannie Bay.
Behind the scenes of the ICAC’s backroom deal to kill the Turf Club grandstand corruption report
ANALYSIS: As recently as last week, Brett Dixon, one of the main players in the ICAC’s massive Turf Club grandstand corruption report, was privately realising that his legal challenge against adverse findings made into his conduct was appearing doomed to fail.
Mayor Kon Vatskalis’s five-star Bali resort trip to sign sister city deal revealed
Darwin Mayor Kon Vatskalis and two city employees charged ratepayers more than $8,000 to fly to Bali last month for a five-day trip at a five-star resort as part of a sister cities deal with Denpasar that Mr Vatskalis claimed would see 1000 “skilled workers” brought to Darwin to fill job vacancies.
Police media unit lied about a video of Commissioner’s controversial speech to firefighting recruits, created ‘awkward situation’: FOI docs
EXCLUSIVE: Internal NT Police emails show one of Jamie Chalker’s media advisers lied to a senior fire services officer about the existence of a recording of a controversial speech the Commissioner made to fire recruits in April that resulted in calls for his resignation, the NT Independent can reveal.
Ignorant’ and a ‘complete lack of responsibility: MLA reaction to Alice Springs crime plan
The Fyles Government plan to help reduce crime in Alice Springs, including housing police and Territory Families, Housing and Communities staff in the one building, has been described as “ignorant” and showing a “complete lack of responsibility,” by independent MLA for Araluen Robyn Lambley.
NASA rocket launched 300km into space from Gumatj land, to investigate the structure and evolution of the cosmos
The first of three NASA rockets were launched 300km into space from the Arnhem Space Centre, carrying an X-ray quantum calorimeter, cooled to a freezing one-twentieth of a degree above absolute zero, to observe the Alpha Centauri A and B constellations to create new data on the structure and evolution of the cosmos.
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