NT Independent

‘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.

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.

WIN Network to bring back Nine Darwin news bulletin

The on-again, off-again relationship between Nine Darwin’s news bulletin and Territorians is back on again, with current owner WIN Network announcing the return of a local 30-minute news bulletin in Darwin.

Suspicious death of teen girl in remote community under investigation

NT Police is investigating a “suspicious death” in the remote community of Alpurrurulam near the Queensland border involving a teen girl who attended the local clinic early Monday morning after reportedly being physically assaulted.

Overpass officially named after business leader Luke Bowen

The Tiger Brennan Drive and Berrimah Road overpass has been officially renamed the Luke Bowen Bridge, honouring the late agricultural leader on Monday, who professionals and loved ones remembered as a man who built bridges across business and the wider Territory.

NT campsites ranked for highest risk of venomous snake encounters

Campsites in the Finke River area west of Alice Springs have been identified as having the “highest snake risk” of all the NT’s campsites, a new study has revealed, with death adders, crowned snakes and hooded-curl snakes all found at the five campsites in the area, but Palmerston also made an appearance on the list for a high frequency of sightings, including brown snakes.

New police recruit charged after carrying fake Glock at police station

A recent NT Police constable recruit undergoing on-the-job training has been charged with weapons offences, after he was observed carrying an imitation Glock gun at the Darwin Police Station, NT Police said, which led to a raid of the officer’s home.

NT Govt major network outage finally restored, cause still unknown

UPDATED: NT Government departments including hospitals, police, courts and schools were impacted by a system-wide network failure resulting in a lack of phone and internet services for more than 12 hours Thursday, with government officials unable to get the system functioning again until close to 4pm.

Calls mount for NT Government to take action on gambling industry

High-profile federal politicians and community health groups have backed independent NT MLA Justine Davis’ move to introduce reforms to the Territory’s gambling regulations, that she says currently put industry profits over people through an NT-based regulator with weak conflict of interest controls and lax regulations that cause harm across the country.

‘We have an obligation’: Mayor says he will ‘open doors’ for local businesses on China trip

Darwin Lord Mayor Peter Styles says council has an “obligation” to private Darwin businesses to “open doors for them” in China, which is why it’s necessary for him, council chief executive Simone Saunders and two other staffers to charge ratepayers an undisclosed amount for a trade mission to Guangzhou in December that he also confusingly said on Tuesday is “not necessarily [about] trade”. Potential conflicts of interest with Mr Styles’ personal business interests, which were raised last week, have still not been addressed.