NT Independent

‘It is beyond ridiculous’: Cyclone Tracy ‘memorial’ FOI investigation not finished after 22 months

Darwin Council is still withholding records on the controversial Cyclone Tracy memorial’s design selection two years after an FOI application was filed, citing a non-existent provision of the Information Act to justify its refusal, while the Information Commissioner has yet to resolve a cyclone survivor’s complaint after 22 months.

Seabreeze Festival cancelled for 2027

The Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival will not go ahead in 2027, with organisers citing rising costs, increasing volunteer workloads and indifference from the NT Government as major issues, but said they hope to continue it as a biennial event, which could see it return in 2028.

Police say man was stabbed before crashing car in Alice Springs

A man who crashed a car on the median strip of Larapinta Drive in Alice Springs on Sunday morning trapping himself in the vehicle is believed to have been “assaulted with an edged weapon” before getting in the car, NT Police said.

Everyday Territory leaders, it’s time to step up

Democracy is supposed to be one person, one vote, but major party donors buy media, buy influence, buy politicians, and buy votes, writes Phil Scott. Politics as usual works for corporations, not us. How confident are you that the same parties that created our problems will solve them and that doing the same thing will have a different result next time?

‘Restoring the rural lifestyle’: CLP blocks motion calling for NT data centre moratorium

The CLP Government has rejected a motion in Parliament calling for a moratorium on data centres until a public inquiry can investigate their impact, with a Labor MLA warning the CLP is not listening to Territorians at their own peril, specifically in the rural area where the CLP is contradicting its “rural lifestyle” rhetoric by backing a major proposed data centre without consulting residents about its impacts.

CLP to force private hospital operator to provide maternity services after allowing services to end last year

The Finocchiaro CLP Government will follow other states’ lead by mandating that the Darwin Private Hospital operator provide maternity services by law, but the move comes 16 months after the services stopped because the government failed to act on advice that it legislate for it at the time. An obstetrician has also warned it will now take at least two years for the services to return.

OC spray to be made available for teens as trial becomes permanent

Sixteen-year-olds will be able to carry and use pepper spray because having access to it could be “the difference between life and death”, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has claimed, following what she hailed as a “99 per cent success rate” of the CLP Government’s public pepper spray trial, with use and carry laws to be made permanent.

CLP offering $250 for Alice Springs residents affected by storm, while federal funding finally activated

UPDATED: Roughly 1,800 Alice Springs properties remain without power 48 hours after a massive storm tore through town on Monday, with the Finocchiaro CLP Government offering residents a “one-off $250 prepaid card” to replace spoiled food – if their power remains out for at least another 24 hours – but it was announced later that significant federal disaster funding has now been made available.

Labor not sure if it supports Davis’ gambling legislation reforms

More in-fighting in Territory Labor has led to mixed messaging about whether the Opposition will support independent MLA Justine Davis’ gambling reform bill that will be introduced to Parliament this week, which proposes strengthened conflicts of interest rules for NT wagering commission members, banning inducements to problem gamblers and introducing stronger penalties for operators that fail to meet their obligations.

‘Significant and widespread damage’: Massive storm hits Alice Springs knocking out power, ripping roofs off homes

At least 9,000 properties in Alice Springs were without power late last night as crews from across the Territory rushed to the region for restoration and clean-up efforts following a severe windstorm Monday afternoon that ripped through the town and outlying communities damaging property, pulling roofs off homes in some instances, and downing trees, with Power and Water warning the power outages could last for days.