Firebugs, lightning burn 15,000 square kilometres
There were a number of deliberate ignitions, mainly on roadsides, however over the past week the majority of fires are the result of lightning strikes, according to Chief Fire Control Officer Tony Fuller. “On Friday we had at least 14 new fires as a result of lightning,” he says.
Big water bombers still on the ground
Big water bombers still cannot be used in Alice Springs which is again surrounded by wildfires ... Preparations for the use of large fire bombers … are locked in a Catch 22 situation: The NT is part of a national system for the use of such aircraft but “they are ineffective given the location”: Tony Fuller, of Bushfires NT.
101 homes unaccounted for
How much does it cost to build a three-bedroom home ... That makes it $214,500 per house, around $1500 a square meter. So, when the NT Government forks out $30m of taxpayer’s money, awarding a three year period contract to a local company (Pedersen NT, in this case) then we can expect to get 139 homes, with a bit left over, right? Wrong.
Where self-help is a way of life
Trevor Shiell ... The community approached the [Fijian] government and got a negative response because the government had no money. Dreketi was a subsistence area of the country, so they decided to build a junior secondary school themselves ... Within a year they had a junior secondary school for 320 kids. No help from government, thank you, and they took pride and ownership of it.
A puzzle in the night sky
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will not comment on multiple observations by several people of a brightly lit object in the controlled airspace of Alice Springs, over a period of several months ... The sightings are always to the east of Alice Springs, at various heights in the night sky and usually still visible when all the stars are already gone from view at dawn.
Voice – yes or no? Two days to go.
... by head of population, we have about 10 times the nation’s Indigenous population, several Indigenous languages are alive and well, and Aboriginal people have freehold possession of half the “state’s” land. Our two Senators are Aboriginal but on opposite sides. The NT was the birthplace of the Uluru Statement from the Heart ... the Alice Springs News major pieces on the Voice collected here reflect the passions and conflicts of this controversial period in our public life.
Town blows $14m on pokies, not counting Alice’s biggest gambling place
Gamblers playing the pokies in Alice Springs clubs and pubs lost almost $14m in 2022-23. This doesn’t include the poker machines in Lasseters Casino whose data “cannot be provided due to commercial-in-confidence,” according to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade. That is clearly a huge multiple of the disclosed figure.
Offers of jobs, not jail for young joy riders
Young car joyriders likened the adrenalin rush from car theft to the effects of drug or alcohol use. Some noted, yet often disregarded, fears of death or injury as the result of a car accident. And the prospect of gaining, or losing, a job is a stronger motivator than incarceration for joyriders.
A woman of culture, a leader who saw and honoured everyone, warmed hearts, lifted spirits
Dr M K Turner OAM, a woman with profound influence in the complex society of Central Australia, and respected and loved by it, was laid to rest in a state funeral ... More than 1000 mourners were at the Old Telegraph Station, Atherreyurre by its Arrernte name, to hear the eulogy presented by family members Jenny Kroker and Janet Turner ...
Tourism: Need to turn figures from target to real
It’s enough to make your heart beat faster: Dollars and visitor numbers graphs shooting skywards, heading for $5.3 billion (yes – with a “b”) in earnings from 2.7 million visitors. Wow. Before your blood pressure too goes through the roof, note that the numbers are demand targets, as operators were told by the Department of Tourism last week, in an update of what’s snappily called the T2030 Strategy.
