NT Independent

Reason for Darwin rates increase not provided: Councillor

City of Darwin staff did not provide enough detail about staffing costs and contracted service provider expenses to councillors to justify the recent 5.5 per cent rates increase for 2026-27, a lone councillor has said while calling for better transparency on operational expenditure at council.

‘You can’t let a department investigate itself’: Governance expert calls for external Acacia probe

A governance expert has called for an independent external investigation into the troubled Acacia IT project implementation team, that family members of deceased employee Shaun Joyce allege contributed to his death, warning that internal reviews lack transparency with unanswered questions remaining about whether the actions of the department’s chief executive Catherine Weber formed part of the investigation.

Ongoing Telstra outage affecting parts of NT, crews coming from 1,000 kms away

Telstra has reported a significant outage due to a fibre break along the Stuart Highway, affecting communities in the NT, WA, and South Australia, that will see crews travelling more than 1,000 kms to fix, the company said.

Two fuel stations issued infringement notices for alleged over-charging by Consumer Affairs

Two fuel stations in the Greater Darwin area are facing nearly $20,000 in fines each for allegedly charging motorists more for fuel at the bowser than advertised, following compliance checks by NT Consumer Affairs, but it remains unclear why the national corporation that owns them was not hit with higher fines the government implemented earlier this year.

Conflict of interest issues in Integrity and Ethics Commissioner office raised at Estimates

The recently appointed Integrity and Ethics Commissioner says he sees nothing that would preclude newly appointed chief executive and former NT Police commissioner Reece Kershaw from being involved in sensitive investigations into NT Police and other corruption probes, while suggesting any potential conflicts of interest raised would be kept secret.

RDH ward opens a year late after 30 per cent cost blowout

A new ward at Royal Darwin Hospital has been completed a year later than the government had originally planned, alongside a 30 per cent budget blowout.

Three men now charged with murder over Casuarina bus interchange attack

Three men allegedly involved in a “vicious attack” at the Casuarina bus interchange in March that led to a 48-year-old man dying two months later from his injuries have now been charged with murder, NT Police said Tuesday.

Aboriginal corporation charged for vehicle rollover injuries, death of worker

NT WorkSafe has charged a Central Australian Aboriginal corporation in relation to two rollover incidents on unsealed roads that led to injuries for two workers and the death of a third, with the corporation facing a combined maximum penalty of $4.5 million if found guilty of all charges.

Manhunt for court runner ends with dog squad takedown, eight others also arrested

The NT Police operation to locate 44-year-old Brandt Graham, who allegedly jumped the dock at Darwin Local Court on Friday and evaded police for four days, ended in Gunn Tuesday afternoon in a short foot pursuit with the dog unit, while eight others believed to be in his “support network” have also been arrested, police said.

Pair on the run after alleged e-scooter knifepoint robbery

A man was allegedly hit in the face, threatened with a knife and robbed while stopped on his e-scooter to make a phone call near Casuarina Beach early Monday morning, NT Police said.