The NT tourist industry

The NT overflows with bountiful sightseeing and experiential opportunities. May the tourism and hospitality industry have a great year supporting an abundance of visitors who will have unforgettable and positive experiences that last a lifetime.

The new government 

The NT Government is doing its best for all Territorians. The Finnochario Team faces huge challenges and has made a valiant start in all areas needing reform and renewal. Through the efforts of both government and its departments, I hope that 2025 will be a year of revamping and redirection for us all.

NT Government cabinet papers from 1994

Be it good or otherwise, nostalgic reflection and memories of what transpired all those years ago are, for me, a great reminder of the past. One also considers what has transpired in the intervening years from 1994. Thank you for this story and the opportunity it has offered me—a youngish person who came to the NT with his family in 1975 — to think 

Casuarina not a safe shopping precinct

I am sure Casuarina’s non-response to questions about public behaviour and customer safety was not deliberately overlooked. Instead, distractions caused by those who make shopping in that precinct a real challenge would have occurred. That happens very regularly. 

Paddy Peckover Passes

Thank you Paddy for your contribution to the NT. You were a great man, a person with many skills, a carer about everyone and a stand-out citizen. You brought enrichment to the NT and we are the poorer for your passing. 

Cometh the monsoon 

I love the rain and the monsoon; they are refreshing and invigorating. However, part of me is apprehensive from November 1 until April 30 the following year. That is because I am very nervous and apprehensive about cyclones. We came to the NT in July 1975, and I remember a taxi ride around Darwin while waiting for our connecting plane to Numbulwar. The devastation and the realisation about what Tracy had done were with me and have never left the back of my mind. 

Litchfield Shire 

Thank you, Minister Edgington, for this wise decision. Lumping everything developmental into Palmerston and detracting from the statue and status of the Litchfield Council would have been a poor alternative, in my opinion. Let the whole Top End grow, not just bits here and there.

Sacred sites proliferating

It seems to me that the sudden awareness of sacred sites is all about holding up project development—playing into the hands of environmentalists and others. Over decades in the NT, I have seen sacred sites pop up everywhere, and their proliferation seems to be increasing.

The challenge to government

Sadly, good government in the Northern Territory is more historical than contemporary. As a Territorian since 1975, I feel the low point in political decline was the ousting – while he was overseas on key government business – of then Chief Minister Terry Mills, who had led the CLP to its 2012 win after several Labor terms of government. The impact of that implosion has lasted for many years, and our new CLP Government faces a real challenge in sustaining the party’s rebuilding beyond the August 2024 election  win.

Benefits for Aboriginal people

Many exceptions are made to benefit our Aboriginal people concerning issues of living, education costs, grant availability to assist in business ventures, and scholarships relating to secondary and tertiary education students— exclusive and based on indigeneity. This is often justified, but some may be miffed by the exclusivity applied.