Trade Trainees and award earners

Congratulations to all awardees and supervisors for your care, guidance and empathy. Trades are critically crucial to the future of the NT. Thank you for pursuing this line of skills development to award earners and all who are growing their knowledge in the trade area.

Mandorah Jetty rebuild

The people living at Mandorah, Waigait, and Beleun deserve the renovation and rebuilding of a facility for which they have waited so long. This growing and expansive area has had to make do for many years, and the construction of new facilities will alleviate the discomfit they and visitors have endured for so many years.

Fearless swimmers and surfers

Those seeking to surf and swim in the waters off the coast of Darwin and other places north are fearless. They brave the threats posed by stingers, sharks, and crocodiles and must be aware of ocean currents’ vagaries. I think they are courageous people.

Nepalese Festival

This has been a beautiful festival, and it is more validated because Nepalese people are peace-loving, giving, caring for others, selfless, and empathetic. They set an excellent example of peace, oneness and togetherness that, sadly, is not the approach emulated by those from so many other countries on Earth.

The Emergency we confront

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Without a doubt, the everlasting worry that occupies my mind is the danger of what might happen if and when China decides to the military force against Taiwan.

I have been worried about this for a long time. That concern has been deepened by my reading of Professor Hugh White’s quarterly essay “Sleepwalk To War” published last year. I’ve read his essay and taken account of his responses to what he wrote.

I am concerned that what Professor White has written could come to pass in terms of its most awful prediction. China is bristling about Taiwan and feels increasingly aggravated by Taiwan’s independence.  Regional emergency is more likely by the day.

Vehicle theft ignored?

If this was the police response to the break-in and vehicle theft, I have just had my faith in our constabulary severely dented. I hope our police hierarchy will inquire into the matter and take action against the offending officer/officers if deliberate neglect is confirmed.

CDU city campus without accomodation

The great shame is putting the cart before the horse once more. Indeed, it would have made more sense to have student accommodation ready for when the new university campus opens. The ‘Vision for Darwin’ statement intimated that accommodation would be provided in a way that synchronised the completion of the city campus in alignment with accommodation to house the incoming hundreds of students. The campus will be finished before any accommodation is constructed – so where will students live in the interim for two or three years?

Community home construction

I am glad that upgraded and  new accommodations are being provided within communities. But did you know that housing projects for communities are not new – that housing associations pledged to building and construction have been in place in various communities since the 1970s? I wonder, too, how much our authorities know about the history of past building initiatives, including awareness of why so many homes have a very short life span.

Controlled bush burns

Smoke from planned burns is inconvenient but far better than ravaging bushfires that destroy property and put lives at extreme risk. The NT’s controlled burning program to reduce fuel loads is eminently sensible and reassuring to home and property owners. 

Australian defence capability

I cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel for Australia’s defence capbilities. The ADF has been downplayed and neglected for far to long. On our own, we are at the mercy of any hostile power seeking to wage war, for there is so little in our defence arsenal. In defence terms, we are an American dependency. Without their defence support, we are nothing.

RSV Virus

Without a doubt, the Federal Government should subsidise the cost of this vaccine. All babies and young children must be protected from this horrible, debilitating, and life-threatening virus. Federal tardiness on this issue should be countered, in the short term at least, by the NT Government covering the costs of immunisation for the vulnerable. “Chance” should not be played with young lives that are confronting this virus.

Boat Ramp at East Point?

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There is sense and stupidity. Building yet another jump-off point for anglers in an area that does not deserve this construction interference, followed by endless processions of vehicles with boats on boat trailers, would be crass. Leave well alone and let fishers be happy with the abundance of facilities they already have.

Katherine hairdressing shop is closing for good.

Crime in the NT is out of control. Everyone everywhere, be they homeowners or business proprietors, is at the mercy of criminals, many of them very young, the majority of them under 20 years of age. Nothing will stop this ongoing upturn of criminal behaviour against people and property. Saying things are improving and crime is less telling and frequent is untrue. It’s so bad and getting worse. The NT after dark IS out of control.

Contempt for Andrews and Burke

I have nothing but a deep dislike for Kevin Andrews, now retired from political life, and Tony Burke, still in parliament, for presenting the motion to rescind the Perron legislation in 1997. In shaping the cancelling legislation, these men brought great and almost everlasting harm to the Northern Territory.  Their action amounted to bruising and bullying behaviour.

Aboriginal people already in the Assembly

We have substantive numbers of Aboriginal people who are elected members of our NT Legislative Assembly. Study and appreciate the Assembly seating plan, and you will become aware of the very even distribution of members by their cultural backgrounds. Our Assembly excellently blends elected persons based on race and gender. In other words, the Assembly is well-balanced. We do not need to introduce schisms into the governance model already in place.

Fragility of NT Airline services

Tiger came, and Tiger went.

I recall Rex talking about the NT at one stage, but that never happened. 

Bonza came with rejoicing and fanfare and appears to have folded.

Over the years, airlines have commenced routes to the Territory, which are short-term in 80% of the cases.

Qantas and Virgin services are inconsistent and subject to change. 

It seems that ‘uncertainty’ is a theme underpinning airline services into and from the Territory.

Richardson Park

What a pity that the same retrospective care was not applied to the Anzac Oval in Alice Springs. Our government seems to be restoring history in one location (Richardson Park) and destroying heritage (Anzac Oval) in another.

Street Art in Darwin

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How wonderful it is to have all these uplifting, invigorating, imagination-inspiring, and significant artworks in our city and surroundings. It makes a trip to Darwin an essential experience. We are blessed by this visually enriching annual project.

Cyclone Tracy Memorial at Bundilla Park

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We arrived in Darwin en route to a remote area teaching appointment in July 1975, six months after Cyclone Tracy. I remember the first visuals of  Darwin that I had ever experienced. The twisted steel poles adjacent to Casuarina Senior College remind me of Tracey’s brute force and savagery. The proposed modern artistic sculpture at quite an outlandish price – with input from our ratepayer contributions to the Council – does little for me because of the vagueness of its links to that cyclonic catastrophe.

Fireworks at Mindil off the radar?

A late application for the required permit(s) with the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority should be possible. Could an application not be made with and through support from the Larrakia Nation? Meeting the needs of this special event would surely secure the necessary approvals. The waterfront venue will be a poor alternative.

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This story confirms how the conferral of land rights and entitlements is locking the general community out of once-accessible areas and locations. Non-Indigenous Australians are losing entitlement and access to many places they could, without restriction, once visit. Metaphorically  – and actually – Indigenous Australians are the country’s landlords, with the rest of us being tagged as tenants, with decreasing rights of access without permitted permission.

Peter Costello and our national debt

Let us never forget the tremendous good and positive impact Peter Costello had as our treasurer during the Howard years of government. He oversaw the bulldozing of Australia’s debt at the time and placed our country firmly back on the road to financial prosperity. Fast-forward to 2024, and consider the debt accumulation our country now confronts. It’s as if financial accountability and the consignment of national debt to history never happened. It did – but it will never be zeroed again.

Inducements to visit the NT by road

People should come to the Territory to see and experience what we offer. It is rather disappointing that inducements have to be offered. Sadly, the reputation we have built of the NT as unsafe and insecure does not help entice visitors.

Moving Holtz to Palmerston?

This excision must not be allowed to happen. The development rightfully belongs within the Litchfield Shire, and it is not right for it to be covered by another local government area. Development within Litchfield must allow for the protection of the Shire’s developmental and management entitlements.

Excluding roller doors from security upgrade support

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This is silly and arrant nonsense. Excluding a contribution under this scheme for installing external roller doors, the best and most effective deterrent to thwart those with criminal intent wanting to break in is not the way to go.  This exclusion is wrong and should be reversed.

NAAJA Appointment

The truth is often hidden about appointments to key organisational positions. The expectations and requirements that Indigenous Australians must meet are far less rigorous and investigative than those required of non-Indigenous Australians.

Fireworks at Mindil

I would hate to think the government ‘imagined’ this problem to create a solution and continue the fireworks display at Mindil Beach. I wonder in part because we are only 72 days from an election, and could public affirmation of the solution found, reflect positively at the ballot box?

New Vehicles

I am happy with my 14-year-old Toyota Camry.  It is well-maintained and regularly serviced. It is somewhat easy that, being an older car, it is far less attractive to thieves than all the new, modern, upmarket vehicles.

The NT: From first to last

We came to the NT in 1975, worked remotely in education and came to Darwin (via Numbulwar, Angurugu and Nhulunbuy) in 1987. I attest that personally and professionally, the NT was the place to be and was indeed suitable for me.  But alas, from the end of the 1980s onward, the quality of life, including safety and security, has steadily declined. Far from recommending the NT as a place to live and work – my take in the years before the beginning of the 1990s – it would be one of the last places I would recommend to newcomers.

Ospreys versus Taipans

This policy is one of sense and sensibility. By comparasion,  Australian Government’s decision to ground and scrap – literally – the Taipan helicopters after the Queensland accident – attributable to night goggle error rather than helicopter malfunction – was an irrational reaction.

Proposed Katherine Aquatic Centre

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Politics aside, I sincerely hope this project is completed on time and within budget. From my experience, I know that towns and communities outside Darwin and Palmerston do it tough. Facilities like this are needed to help people feel more comfortable within their communities. A program like this also means a lot for water sports and, of course, the teaching of swimming.

Middle Arm inquiry

I hope this inquiry is based on questions and responses embedded in rationalism, without emotion getting in the way of fair discussion. It seems that too often, enquiries are encumbered by predisposed points of view that may well overlook the realities of the situation and environment. That would be most unfortunate.

Tennant Creek rebooted

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 I hope this enterprise comes to fruition for economic development in the NT and to reboot what has been flagging prospects in the Tennant Creek and Barkley areas. The NT economy has been flagging for a long time in so many ways and in so many areas. Any way of lifting this place from its economic doldrums should be pursued.

Tiger Brennan and its flyover

This major work will enhance access and boost safety on the ever-busier road network. Tiger Brennan and its adjuncts have substantially improved traffic movements between Darwin, Palmerston, East Arm, and the expanding industrial area. Well done to Louise McCormack who was the far sighted and enlightened engineer who stood behind the Tiger Brennan development.

Fishing in the NT

There is a real danger that the NT will be fished out in many places. Tens of thousands of anglers, both recreational and commercial, are posing an ever-increasing challenge to the survival of fish stocks. I wonder sometimes whether a moratorium on fishing needs to be imposed for 12 months, to allow for replenishment.

Greek Community rates bill set aside

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These events support what our City Council wants—celebrating Darwin’s multiculturalism. It should not matter that the Greek Community,  through its facilities, supports other ethnic and cultural groups. For the community to do so enhances the notion of all cultures being ‘together as one’ within our community. I am very glad that the Kalyminian Community has won this case.

Sadadeen Primary School’s piglet

These sorts of activities may sound strange, but they can transform school spirit and bond children. During my years in education, my schools had different mascots to encourage positive attitudes and atmosphere. They worked well in helping achieve this outcome.

WiFi in remote communities – free

Until the early 1980’s, as Principal of Angurugu School on Groote Eylandt, two way VJY radio transmission was the only communication tool available. There were no landline phones, and using a public phone required a 20-kilometre trip to Alyangula and a queue waiting at the public phone box. Calls were also time-limited.  Haven’t we come a long way since then.

Crime grips Katherine

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The NT is crime-saturated. Katherine, a town I have known and visited quite regularly since the late 1970s, is only a shell of the decent and respectful place it once was. Nighttime activities, along with CBD and suburban streets, have been taken over by criminal activity perpetrated by those with malevolent intent. Katherine is becoming a town requiring residents to live in constant fear.

NT Training Awards

Congratulations to all who are recognised by these prestigious awards and those who are undertaking training leading to trades and industry careers. We need young people like you who are dedicated and focused on outcomes that will bring personal and societal benefit.

Fire and emergncy services training

This story is reassuring and gives confidence that our fire and emergency services personnel – and volunteers supporting them – will be there to protect us from fires during this dry season.

The election draws nigh

The closer we get to the August 24 polling date, the more exciting issues—everything from the pros and cons of gill net fishing to the state of our roads to curtailing crime and a myriad of other concerns—will rise before voters’ eyes. We are in for the most significant election since 2016.

RDH ED issues

The number of people presenting at the RDH ED with illnesses and injuries that are self inflicted – fighting, alcohol consumption, drug usage – has reachd epidemic proportions. Staff offering treatment are often hindered by aggressive behaviour, including physical assaults. Recently, RDH ordered that all equipment be permanently affixed because items taken to hand could be used as weapons. From experience and observation, the ED at RDH is often in a state of chaos because of unruly patients.

Territory Day

The chance to celebrate our territory’s growing maturity provides us with a wonderful opportunity to reflect on everything that is positive and good about “our place.” I, along with many others, hope that one day, Territory Day will become an acknowledged public holiday.

Appreciating Graham Sawyer

While the jury is still out on how I will vote as a Wanguri elector, I rejoice that Graham Sawyer is standing in the seat because he is a past local government leader and profoundly understands and appreciates the Territory’s history.  He has made a significant contribution to the NT and, several years ago, earned a Pride of Australia medal for his contributions to toad management, frog watch, and the environment in general. Mr Sawyer is a vital and ongoing contributor to the Territory, and the voting outcome in Wanguri may reflect genuine appreciation.

Booting Boulter residents in order to make money

They should not be kicked out if there are no issues about tenants’ keeping and maintaining their homes. People’s attachment to their homes should be taken into account. Booting people for the sake of making money discounts the humanity that should be part of decisions of this nature; keeping people in the dark about intentions, too, is totally wrong and disrespectful.

Ordinance at the Waterfront

This was a timely and providential find. It isn’t very good to contemplate what may have happened if the munition had been triggered without awareness. Eighty-plus years on, there are still periodic discoveries of unexploded bombs dropped on our city and surrounds in 1942. The mind boggles. Thank you to those who discovered this ordinance and assured that calm was maintained until the bomb was safely defused.

Tennant Creek Westpac closure

While Westpac in Tennant Creek did not act according to the protocols of branch closure, I can understand the frustration that staff confronted because of dysfunctional behaviour, damage and vandalism directed toward the facility. The community had a right to proper notification of intention, but the community also needs to consider why the closing decision was made in haste.

Flora’s Temper new restaraunt in Nightcliff

Flora’s Temper will be an excellent addition to the food and feasting opportunities provided for Nightcliffians, Darwinians, and the many tourists and visitors who will undoubtedly patronise this new eatery and appreciate its delicious, tastebud-tempting offerings. We are indeed blessed by the variety of eating establishments in our city and suburbs.

Magnesium mining to revitalise Rum Jungle

Should this project go ahead – and prospects are looking bright – it will be a wonderful filip for the mining and economic development of the NT. With recent mine closures and operational delay—Gove will cease bauxite mining in 2030, and Groote Eylandt manganese is curtailed because of cyclone damage—things have been looking grim. New mining ventures will be uplifting for the Territory.

Party political election promises

I am so over the moon, basking in the delights that promises of savings and living concessions are being offered by both parties should they win the election. We go to the polls in 58 days, and regardless of which party wins, consideration of living costs will bring sweet relief.

Pitch Black is coming

At least we have been notified of the Pitch Black dates, so that is something! For the past three weeks, we have been subject to jets flying back and forth across the top of the skies, all without a word of what the current exercise – they are still flying about at odd times and irregular intervals – is about. Let us be made aware of ALL exercises being undertaken.

Territory tourism decline

Airfare costs, the ever-ongoing spike in fuel prices, exorbitant accommodation prices and the continuing growth of the Territory’s crime epidemic all play a part in creating reluctance on the part of travellers to visit the Northern Territory. As a territory resident since 1975, there is no way I would be trying to entice people to come here, especially when crime is evermore engulfing business operators and homeowners.  No wonder people regard the NT as a ‘no go’ area.

Henly-on-Todd cancelled

This iconic event usually transforms Alice Springs into a bustling and anticipation-filled city as people prepare for the Henly-on-Todd. Locals will be desperately disappointed by its cancellation, which comes at a time when tourism was just starting to turn up in the Red Center. This cancellation must not happen in 2025.

Public Housing responsibility shift

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So much of what is happening on the issue of public housing seems to be a game called “responsibility shunting.” For monetary consideration, the government is persuading housing organisations to assume enormous responsibilities for maintaining and upkeep of what has been public housing. Some tenants look after their homes and surroundings, but many—I would say at least 50%—let their houses go to wrack and ruin. Drive around our older suburbs, and you will see what I mean. Shifting management responsibility will not improve the attitude of tenants who accelerate the wear and tear on their premises through a lack of responsibility and care.

OH&S and safey in constructing the shiplift

Occupational health and safety (OH&S) is something that NT pursues with great vigour. OH&S ensures things are done correctly, with construction firms playing by the book when it comes to avoiding unsafe practices.