NT Independent

Texas hangover: Minister refuses to comment on Texas data centre ban while in state on trade mission

Trade and Business Minister Robyn Cahill, who pitched the Northern Territory as the “data centre capital of the globe”, was in Texas last month on a trade mission when the state’s Republican Governor ordered a sudden moratorium on data centres, citing the need to investigate environmental impacts and ordering no further government incentives because “Texans must come first”, but Ms Cahill’s office has refused to say what she learned on the taxpayer-funded trip.

‘Low confidence in leadership’: Batchelor Institute staff express concerns in survey

Roughly 70 per cent of employees at the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education feel motivated to do their best work, but only 46 per cent think communication is satisfactory, according to a new staff survey, with staff reportedly split between feeling there are positive and supportive teams and broader concerns about toxicity, lack of psychological safety and the lack of merit-based appointments, the last of which was the subject of a recommendation made by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption in 2023.

RFDS granted aeromedical retrieval services contract for Top End but extra costs kept hidden

The Royal Flying Doctor Service has been awarded a 10-year, $625 million contract to provide aeromedical retrieval and inter-hospital transfer services in the Top End, Big Rivers, and East Arnhem regions, but the government has refused to explain why the contract was awarded so late and how much taxpayers will pay Careflight while it continues the service until next July.

Elderly Territorians face increased hospital harm as aged care quality deteriorates: AMA

The NT’s aged care system poses increased risks of hospital harm for elderly residents, a new report by the Australian Medical Association has warned, adding the Territory is the only jurisdiction that has seen the total number of residential aged care places remain unchanged for the past six years while home care packages have decreased from a decade ago.

NT Police has invested in mental health. But is it working?

OPINION: Four years after former NT Police sergeant Paul Milne warned about psychological injury, stigma and a system reliant on officers asking for help, he writes that the recent coronial findings into Senior Constable Michael Deutrom’s death, along with years of reviews, strategies and investment, raise questions about whether officers are any safer.

Cost of Lord Mayor’s trade mission to China and Vietnam kept secret

Self-described “international trade and development consultant” Peter Styles will lead a nine-day, ratepayer-funded international trade delegation to China and Vietnam later this year in his role as Darwin Lord Mayor, which he says will strengthen international partnerships, promote Darwin as a globally-connected tropical capital, and create opportunities for strategic collaboration across Asia, but council will not say how much the trip is expected to cost.

Five Thai embassy officials to be dragged into Gosling assault matter, court hears

The prosecution’s case against Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling for the alleged assault of the Administrator could see five foreign officials from the Thai embassy dragged into the legal fight, which the defence argued could clear Mr Gosling, but the officials may invoke “diplomatic immunity”, the court heard Wednesday afternoon.

Another murky recruitment process raises more questions about Attorney-General’s Department

The Attorney-General and head public servant were provided a shortlist of candidates for the top executive position in the Attorney-General’s Department back in April, but took no action to interview any of the candidates before quietly appointing the acting executive to the permanent role last week while failing to explain why the proper recruitment process was initiated but not followed for the key position.

Woman, teen charged as worker faces OC spray probe

A woman faces an assault charge for allegedly spitting in a shop worker’s face on Friday and a 17-year-old girl has been charged with physically assaulting the same worker, while the employee in turn is being investigated over her use of OC spray, including spraying it into a vehicle carrying the alleged offenders while two young children were sitting inside, with police not disclosing the children’s ages.

DPP hands Gosling case to interstate prosecutor after Commonwealth DPP rejection

A Sydney-based lawyer who was involved in the Eddie Obeid corruption case has been engaged by the NT DPP to prosecute Federal MP Luke Gosling’s criminal assault matter after Commonwealth prosecutors rejected the case last month, amid the acting NT DPP’s move to avoid a “perceived conflict of interest” in the matter.