Buffel grass declared a weed
Buffel grass has been declared a weed and a management plan will now be formalised towards reducing its impact in Central Australia, according to Environment Minister Kate Worden ... The Arid Lands Environment Centre says it welcomes "this historic decision" following "a decades long struggle to confront one of the greatest threats to the arid and semiarid lands."
Government drops Henley on Todd
The NT Government has reduced its minor subsidy for the iconic tourist attraction Henley on Todd to an extent where the event cannot take place this year, according to MLA for Braitling, Josh Burgoyne ... “The dry river boat races have been occurring in Alice Springs since the 1960s with locals and tourists racing against one another.”
Trivial convictions, logic defying light sentences
Bob Beadman ... on the one hand there is a view that the courts are too harsh. The social reformers, a few academics, and the unaffected in the suburbs of our major capital cities subscribe to this view, I suspect. And on the other hand, the victims of repeated break-ins, or home invasions, regularly by repeat offenders on bail, believe the courts are too lenient.
New car dealership as Kittles reported sold
“We probably came at the right time. We’ve been here seven weeks. Prior to us coming there was an extra reinforcement with the law. With this being in place we see everything good and settled. We’re quite happy with the way things are happening”:
Suresh Millar, North East Group.
All go for art gallery
NT company Sitzler has been awarded the tender to construct the National Aboriginal Art Gallery. Site preparation and first stage construction works are set to rollout in the coming weeks, according to a government media release.
Spreading illness down generations
Ted Sterle and Don Fuller. The explosion of type two diabetes, obesity, kidney disease and renal failure among remote and closed NT Aboriginal communities – at least 10 times the incidence among non-Aboriginal people – can be tracked to poor lifestyle choices not only within individuals: Such acquired changes can be passed on to the offspring down generations.
Bush buildings boom: Where does the balance go?
Araluen’s Independent Member has pressed the NT government to disclose the construction costs of dwellings in the bush after media statements last year indicated there may be a flood of $1.5m mansions across remote regions ... Ms Lambley, following a request by the [Alice Springs] News, submitted what’s called “written questions” to the Minister for Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, which happens to be Chief Minister Eva Lawler.
Buffel not declared a weed: Why not?
A campaigner and hands-on combatant of buffel for a quarter century, Alex Nelson, says the government’s initiative about the imported grass taking over much of The Centre is a time wasting exercise. “There is no reason for not declaring it a noxious weed. They have all the information they need. This is kicking the problem down the road.”
Goodbye to bottle shop cops?
Bottle shop cops may be replaced by unarmed officers from another department while the Mayor, an ardent supporter of the Point of Sale Intervention (POSI) provided by the police, declines to comment. He will also not discuss his claims that the recent curfew was a success.
Night drive
Mike Gillam. Travelling south, I leave Alice Springs before first light and I’m rewarded and indeed frustrated by a brilliant meteor plummeting to earth in the south west. The heavenly body is primarily bright green with an orange tail and I fail to capture it even though the camera sits on the seat beside me ready for such moments.
