NT

The CLP Government will deliver on its promise to introduce Declan’s Law in the first sittings of Parliament, commencing next Tuesday. Under Declan’s Law, Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said there would be a presumption against bail for youth and adult serious violent offenders, regardless of whether a weapon is involved.  

For most people travelling is a means to an end – getting somewhere. For us in the vastness of outback Australia it’s an end in itself, an adventure, a buzz, something you brag about to your mates ... the five star hotel on rails, The Ghan, named after the Afghans who were doing it on camels ... may well have the formula for rescuing our ailing tourism industry.

Planting is underway across much of Australia’s cotton growing regions with some crops already out of the ground in warmer climates, some growers holding back for warmer weather while some in tropical areas won’t be planting until rain begins to fall. Cotton Australia General Manager Michael Murray said the signs for this season are positive with Australia’s 1500 cotton growers, 90 per cent of them family farmers...

Corryong College students Seb Rowlinson, Layne Klippel and Zoe McKimmie were three of nine young people who were accepted to participate in the recent Kimberley Cultural Extension Trip program. Seb reports on the trip ... "We hopped into the utes and hit the road, headed for El Questro Station. After a three-hour drive ..."

The art gallery should be “South of the Gap” was the main message of protesters at the foot of Anzac Hill … but a spokesman for Chief Minister Lea Finocchiaro confirmed … this is not what they are going to get. One speaker at the protest said: “We won’t budge”. The crowd of 60, young and old, had entered this major women’s sacred site through a pre-existing hole in the fence.

Featuring Floodlights and James Range Band - 10 days of live music and workshops through remote communities in the Northern Territory ... Celebrated  live music and workshop program  Guts Touring  is back for another year, unveiling the two bands who will be performing throughout the Northern Territory for their 2024 program.

The trouncing of Labor may be rivalled by the rise of the Greens when the 2024 election goes down in history. In The Centre, Asta Hill got close to sitting CLP member Joshua Burgoyne, 2261 to 1937 votes on preferences in Braitling. The Parliament has its first Green member, Kat McNamara, who beat former Chief Minister Natasha Fyles in Nightcliff by 36 votes after preferences ...

The more than half a billion dollars which the just launched Aboriginal Investment NT will be extracting from Canberra bureaucrats over five years should be spent mostly on infrastructure “on the ground, in communities,” says Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour ... “The AINT will ensure the money is spent in the right areas and in line with Aboriginal aspirations,” says Ms Scrymgour. And it may well be time for the Aboriginal land councils “to let go”.

The new Chief Minister wasted no time getting down to what she called “the number one issue”: Law and order. Only hours after her impressive election win, Lia Finocchiaro met with Police Commissioner Michael Murphy in what may have been a tense encounter.

Territory Insurance Office “We’re for Territorians” hiked the premium of a long-time customer in the Alice Springs rural residential area by about 40 per cent, from $2382 to $3206, a difference of $824. That’s even taking into account a no claim bonus of 30 per cent.

As Australia recovers from its most significant avian disease incident in 50 years, attention has turned towards preparing for the next possible avian influenza outbreak – a more virulent strain that has caused deaths in poultry and wild birds and mammals across the globe ... Australia is the only continent currently free of the new strain, H5 HPAI. Vigilance will be key to monitoring and understanding the spread of H5 HPAI if it were to arrive on our shores.

Education and community awareness, removal of problem animals and exclusion areas are significantly more effective in reducing saltwater crocodile attacks in the Northern Territory than a widespread culling program to reduce crocodile numbers, according to a new study. The study outlined why culling the reptiles to reduce density was not a cost-effective, or efficient solution, in reducing crocodile attacks.  

Alex Nelson .... historically leaders of political parties whose electorates are based outside of Darwin always result in failure ... In Lia Finocchiaro, we have yet another Chief Minister whose electorate of Spillett is a part of Palmerston, leading a new government with 16 members at latest count.

SunCable has achieved another major regulatory milestone, receiving approval from the Commonwealth Government for the Australian component of its flagship project, Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) ... "SunCable will now focus its efforts on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a Final Investment Decision targeted by 2027" ... SunCable will be investing further in communities in the Northern Territory, Singapore and Indonesia to progress the next phase.

Calls to declare productive agricultural plant as a Weed of National Significance (WoNS) are misinformed and risk jeopardising an important livestock feed source, according to the National Farmers’ Federation. NFF Sustainable Development and Climate Change Committee Chair Mr Angus Atkinson said buffel grass was a vital resource for livestock operations and was carefully managed by producers to support grazing operations.

Don Fuller. In my view Blair McFarland’s policies are short on policy suggestions – besides they need more funding for the Basics Card. It is dependence on government to provide failing solutions again! There is no mention of the essential importance of education and the need for employment to reduce the devastating impact of a welfare-based society and how these vital areas can be improved.

The Territory Election kicked off on Monday with the opening of the early voting centre at Civic Hall. In addition to this, mobile polling in various communities has commenced, with NT Electoral Commission staff already having visited places like Arlparra, Ti Tree, Alpurrurulam, and more throughout the week.

Out now! Available here!

Professor Rolf Gerritsen. Later this month we Territorians will vote in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly election. Recent opinion polls indicate a tightening contest as the Labor Government rallies under the surprisingly effective Ms Lawler ... here are my 10, Lichtman-adapted variables.

Locals and visitors in town experienced an exciting long weekend filled with festivities during the annual Desert Harmony Festival. The four-day event featured a diverse range of activities that catered to everyone, from Drag Storytime with Constantina Bush for the little ones to captivating musical performances by talented Barkly artists throughout the weekend.