The Northern Territory news Tue 3 Jan 2017
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2017-01-03
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Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/265992
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/455291
18 OPINION TUESDAY JANUARY 3 2017 NTNE01Z01MA - V1 No defence against apathy The age old saying Youve got to be in it to win it is never more important than right now for Territory businesses wanting to cash in on the Federal Governments huge defence spending. The NT Chamber of Commerce is urging Territory businesses to take part in a study being undertaken by the Department of Defence and the Centre for Defence Industry Capability. And for good reason. A similar survey was undertaken about eight years ago and the Territory response was poor and a lot of business opportunity was missed. At a time when the Northern Territory economy is sluggish it is critical for Territory defence industry businesses to take part in the NT-wide survey, which is finding out what local businesses have to offer defence, and its prime contractors. The Department of Defence and the Centre for Defence Industry Capability are assessing defence industry capabilities as part of an initiative to produce the Defence Industry Capability Plan. The Plan will guide Defence investment over the next 10 years, so its critically important that the Territorys capability and capacity is accurately captured. Be warned. You risk missing out on critical defence work if you dont take part in efforts to help you grab a bigger slice of work in the industry. If Territory businesses want to increase their chances of being considered federally for defence work they need to take part in the survey. Time and time again Territory businesses lose out to larger interstate companies. We dont want Territory business to be under represented for important defence work and we dont want Canberra to blame apathy for cutting us out. January 31 is cut off time. Get cracking. ... and another thing Territorians like to try their luck but judging by our page one pic some dont really know their limitations. Despite copious warnings by police not to drive through floodwaters brought by recent rain, these plucky fellas thought they would give it a go. As you can see their trip did not end well but it could have been a lot worse. Last week, two tourists were lucky to escape floodwaters at Hugh River with their lives. There is a reason for the warnings and they should be followed. 10 YEARS AGO: Australias first indigenous language feature film, which is set in the NT, has picked up another award. The Aboriginal comedy, Ten Canoes, co-directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr, was awarded 2006 Film of the Year by the Australian Catholic Film Office. 20 YEARS AGO: Darwin is to be the testing ground for the worlds largest twin-engined airliner. Two Boeing 777s are to undergo hot weather tests in the Territory before they are accepted by their buyers British Airways and United Airlines. 25 YEARS AGO: More than 500 Darwin ratepayers faced prosecution for not paying their rates. Acting Lord Mayor John Antella said the council would mail payment demand letters. 28 OPINION MONDAY APRIL 4 2016 NTNE01Z01MA - V1 MONDAY APRIL 4 2016 OPINION 29 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA ON AUSTRALIA SLIPPING TO 60TH IN THE WORLD FOR AVERAGE PEAK INTERNET SPEED, DESPITE NBN ROLL OUT Only the Liberals would think that it is better to use an outdated hybrid system then when that is finished go back and complete it to the original standard! Adriaan de Leeuw If it was a requirement for Coal Mines to have good internet wed all have Fibre-optic Broadband by now. No question. Brett Hopkinson Bring back the original plan and roll out complete fibre network. Faster and cheaper then this dinosaur network the pm is forcing on us. Hell 3rd world countries have superior network to us. Ray Choppa The NBN has been a national joke since the last election. Unfortunately most people are only starting to see it just now. Cameron Paull So many people have complained that its not worth the money or trouble. What is then. Seriously. Looking at getting internet for house and confused. Denise Scully I have had nothing but problems that took months to fix each time and it all stemmed from a dodgy installation to start with. No Broadband Never. Paul Veneman Labor originally said it was going to all be fibre optic. They promised something they couldnt deliver. Chris Brawn ON NO ASYLUM SEEKER CHILDREN BEING IN AUSTRALIAN DETENTION So where are they? Is this because we only have men seeking asylum now, leaving their woman and children behind? Shylee Riley Still plenty on Nauru though, so it seems this is but a step in the right direction. Katie Louise How many Australian children are homeless right now, with no support from government? Brett Bird Amazing. Fancy that. Keeping people locked up for years, they grow older and turn into adults. Wayne Burner Lets bring the 50+ children on Nauru to Australia, then get them out of detention, then maybe pat ourselves on the back? While this government oversees children at harm they have nothing to be proud of. Adam Davies The problem is everyone has to realise the country areas should have been done last of all. The cities should have been done first. Chris Roksandic ON HOUSE BREAK-INS By all means come in! My house is your house! But once youre inside where no one can see you, you figure out whats going to happen you little THIEF!!! Teddie A break in is done by an uninvited person. Thus one must assume that they are there for NO GOOD REASON! There is an awful lot of furniture for such a person to fall over. Or one could teach this fool a lesson and dump their unconscious body elsewhere. The constabulary and the justice system are ineffectual. PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOURS. We really have no choice now. So thief caught, hell get four months in ac comfort. Meanwhile cafe outta pocket by thousands with no hope of compo. ON MANY OTHER THINGS PB of Nightcliff. If you want S plates for senior drivers, may I suggest RDD for repeated drunk driver, LFW for lead footed wanker and BDM for brain dead moron. Dave, FBay Heaven help if the Feds cede part of the Federal fundraising to the states and territories. First we havent got the population to raise sufficient funds and we would incur a bloated public service full of ex-spurts! Craig Emerson gets a radio talk introduction, being announced as Scott. Lots of apologies. It is about time the PM delivered on tax strategy. Im not for or against alcohol laws on indigenous communi ties. But it does seem strange that only the government knows whats good for them in communities. Do these people vote so shouldnt they get full voters rights to make some of their own decisions enforcing these laws across the board, I bet you wouldnt be in Government long. Harold Holtze Do not go to that opposite corner, not far away. The Fish are not biting. Will we ever see the AFL footy show at a decent time slot? Nine Darwin delayed last week and not even on this week. Re: article about problems with telstra. Funny how it was quickly fixed after NT News got involved. I was having so much trouble getting telstra to fix my problems that finally I told them I was off to the telco ombudsman. A miracle suddenly occurred. Everything Id been trying to sort out for months was suddenly sorted in 2 weeks and follow up calls. Amazing! Sue, Palmerston Different taxes for different states. A ridiculous fight everytime. Labor is fully funded in its proposals. Deliver health according to individual need. But states see the shortfall in health funding. They are asking for the Abbottcuts to be reinstated. This fight well worth winning IT comes with the Territory. We love our home and we believe its worth fighting for. Our lifestyle and our natural environment are the envy of the world. This is the frontier the place where the blue ocean meets the ochre bush. Where Asia meets Australia. Tourists from Australia and the world are queuing up to come here, to visit Uluru and Kakadu and our amazing cities and towns. Asia is booming and people in China, Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam all want some of what weve got. Theyre buying Territory beef in cities powered by Territory gas. Step off the plane at Darwin airport and breathe in that first hit of tropical air. Cast a line into the saltwater at Gove. Sleep under the stars in the centre and youll feel it, too. That special something about living and working in the NT that city dwellers will never understand. Were proud of where we live. And so we should be. But there are drawbacks to living in paradise. It comes at a cost. As a Territory were nowhere near as healthy as we should be. Most people in Darwin die before the age of 67. In the bush, theyre living 10 years less. A baby born today in Darwin has a life expectancy of 81.2 and in the bush 73.8. Those figures highlight a stark gap to Australias major cities, but they also assume things will improve drastically over the next 80 years. Were not prepared to sit on our hands and hope. Some of the problems we face are caused by remoteness. Both the distance from Darwin to east coast cities and the isolation of our many bush communities, which struggle at times with basic services. Its long been viewed as a reality of living here. But its not something we should accept. Our children deserve the same opportunities as children in Sydney or Melbourne. Arent we a part of the lucky country, too? Thats where the Fair Go campaign begins. With a desire to make sure those of us outside the major cities one in every three Australians has a voice in Canberra. We are determined to ensure we receive a fair slice of the pie. And between now and the federal election, we will make sure our politicians do more than just kiss babies. They must do more than just pay lip service to our childrens future. complex for those over 65, for the past 25 years but I have the misfortune to have the Darwin council garbage collection contractors. After lodging complaints with the council and the Housing Commission over the past three months the number of bins for approximately 18 units has shrunk from eight to four, and is inadequate. My collections are normally Monday and Thursday. On Thursday, about 6am I put out my contribution but they overfilled the bins and spilt on the ground. This Saturday it appears the Thursday collection had been cancelled, so my contribution was spilt emptied on to the ground. Can somebody please advise who is in actual charge, and I do not mean some junior clerks who will get the blame, but those who close a blind eye. Darwin is supposed to be an exemplary city, with councillors flying all around the globe advertising how expert they are, and sitting on millions in reserve for more trips. How do you get results? Politicians are not quite useless but almost, and it is not their portfolio. The Housing Commission passes the buck, and the DCC treats me with ignorance. We were better off when we were managed by Canberra, with an Administrator and the same public servants, as the people now in charge are hopeless. I love Darwin and the Territory and used to pride myself on living here on and off for the past 60 years, but it takes an all-round education and perspicacity to govern, which I am afraid the present setup does not have. It is not their fault. They try, but are unable. John Hinton, Larrakeyah The good life HOW special we felt when our two Burdekin ducks returned to show us their three babies. They had down still on their heads and mum or dad were always on guard watching over their babies. They looked so proud. Of course they had some bread and grain. Never allowed to get too close, but they know they are never threatened. Every time they have their baby ones they bring them to see us. Last year they had five. Then we watch them when their babies are old enough chase them away in the sky. I guess they say time to be on your own and make your way in this world. We wonder if, when other Burdekins visit from time to time, they were the babies. What a wonderful part of nature they have allowed us to see and share with their family. R of Berrimah Fool for thought LOVED your April Fools Day jokes in Fridays NT News: North Korea to purchase Darwin Airport; yeah, right, it seems the airport is owned by the Federal Government/Australian Defence Force and is definitely not for sale, not even to Donald Trump. Speaking of The Donald, the other hilarious story was about him wanting to demolish Government House and put up a Trump Tower in its place. Good one, guys! Even if he knew where Darwin was, he wouldnt throw in a few hundred million for a hotel, otherwise surely he wouldve bought the port! Baru Jack, Larrakeyah A bad bet I AM just wondering, is the big house going broke? It surely seems like it is. The place is dead, the machines just gobble up your coin like there was no yesterday. Is there a poor box? I might just slip $50 into it, poor me. Man in the jungle, Batchelor ... it takes an all-round education and perspicacity to govern, which I am afraid the present set up does not have. It is not their fault they try but are unable. SEE BELOW 10 YEARS AGO: Billionaire computer mogul Bill Gates has chosen Alice Springs to announce a $105 million grant to find a vaccine for pneumonia. Gates hopes the grant will help create a cheap vaccine to combat strains of the disease common in Third World countries. 20 YEARS AGO: A new $750,000 bridge to be opened today should allow all weather access to Litchfield National Park. The bridge, at the upper Finniss River crossing, is to be officially opened by Tourism Minister Barry Coulter. 25 YEARS AGO: A site off Lakeside Drive, Alawa, is set to become Australias first childrens garden in a joint project by Darwin council and Rotary Club to promote nature study. The council agreed to set aside the area off Lakeside Drive for the garden. NO I would have to think about it before joining. THILINA HEDDIARACHICHI, NIGHTCLIFF YES I just signed up to a yoga class. CATHY WHITE, NIGHTCLIFF YES Im a member of iFitness, I like to train with weights. ANGELA PERCIVAL, COCONUT GROVE Speak Up: Are you a member of a Territorian gym? NO But I do teach some classes in Fernwood. I like to teach boxing and Pilates. LISA SVARA, RAPID CREEK LETTER OF THE DAY Its time to try smarter justice AT a time of justifiable public interest and concern about the effectiveness of public spending, Australian Red Cross is launching a report calling on a new way to do justice a way that redirects finite taxpayers funds into a more effective and humane system. Known as justice reinvestment, at its heart is a system that channels funds spent on imprisonment into crime prevention and community safety. Its more effective, more humane and it works. The report highlights the growing costs (about $3.5b a year) and inhumane effects of the climbing imprisonment rates in a time of falling or steady crime rates. It also highlights the failure to address the causes of crime or make our communities safer. We are calling for State and Territory Governments to adopt five recommendations to improve the criminal justice system in line with the justice reinvestment approach to achieve lower incarceration rates, reduced prison costs and stronger, safer communities. We also recommend that all governments commit to a significant reduction in the appallingly high incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Please read the report at www.redcross.org.au/justice reinvest and talk to your local elected representatives. Sandra Cannon, Executive Director, Australian Red Cross, NT NO I used to be a member some time ago 10 years ago. BOB BRADY, FANNIE BAY Billy the Boston terrier cuts a fine figure dressed as a frog Picture: ELISE DERWIN PICK OF THE PICS No shortcuts IF it has even a skerrick of commitment to its own integrity, Inpex must follow through with its agreed commitment to fund over $90 million in environmental offsets. It has financially benefited from accessing enormous amounts of potable water for free, destroying Darwin Harbours mangroves and dredging the harbour, not to mention the hundreds of tonnes of greenhouse gases which will be released once it is operational. $30 million is a drop in the ocean for a $30 billion project, not to mention the missing funds intended to support indigenous fire management FAIR FOR THE GOLD COAST GO FAIR FOR TOWNSVILLE GO FOR DARWIN FAIR GO FOR GEELONG FAIR GO FAIR FOR CAIRNS GO FOR HOBART FAIR GO FOR THE TERRITORY THE Fair Go campaign is all about your voice. With a third of Aussies living in regional areas, speaking up as one will make for a loud conversation that Canberra can not ignore. Its a great way to offer support and solutions to our brothers and sisters nationwide. Join in now by sending a letter or text to the editor. Head to our NT News website or join the national conversation on Facebook or Twitter at www.facebook.com/FairGo4Us/ and twitter.com/FairGo4Us. Use hashtag #FairGo on all your posts and start spreading the word! under the radar a bit, with bigger names such as Michael Clarke, Darren Lehmann, Dennis Lillee and Brad Haddin providing stiff competition. But his story deserves to be read by anyone who has ever wondered whether life as an international sportsman is a stress-free ticket to fame, fortune and happiness ever after. Hogg is not the first to learn that it aint necessarily so, but he did it tougher than most and with himself mostly to blame, really. He was simply so addicted to cricket in general and so entranced by the idea of playing for Australia, which he did Happy Hogg back, G has a new hero SPORTS fans have embraced a new cult hero without fully understanding, perhaps, that cricketer George Bradley Hogg is the clown who cried and then learned to laugh again. What 71,162 of them saw at the MCG on Sunday, when the ageing spin bowler took three key wickets to ensure the Renegades beat the Stars in the biggest showdown of the Big Bash season, was persuasive evidence that for performance, profile and entertainment, he is among the most valuable players in the competition. Still. That he is a month away from his 46th birthday an age when few are still attempting physically demanding elite sport is the most obvious reason why his story is so remarkable. But the sad background is even more compelling. Hoggs painful descent into midlife despair and depression is recounted with a rare and brutal honesty in his book The Wrong Un (Nero publishing). More than a dozen cricket books have flooded the market recently and Hoggs has flown in seven Tests and 123 one-dayers that it dominated his life to an unhealthy degree. Thats all I wanted to do. Thats all I knew, he writes. It contributed to an acrimonious and costly end to a deeply unhappy first marriage, a premature and aimless retirement he did not want to enter into, a lengthy and sometimes embarrassing battle with the bottle, bitter arguments with his parents and eventually dark thoughts of swimming off into the Indian Ocean off Perth and not returning. The player with a wellearned reputation as a team jester a figure of fun, in the right sense found himself crying on the field during a Test match because he was so unhappy and angry about where his life was heading. He exiled himself from all cricket for three years, 10 months and 17 days. Helped immeasurably by meeting a new love, his current wife Cheryl, some straighttalking from his father and an invitation from old mates to become a fill-in player for their Country Week team, he made a tentative, extremely low-key comeback. To his pleasant surprise, his clever left-arm bowling had not deteriorated and his batting had improved because his entire mindset had. He also drew up a to-do list, which included stop feeling sorry for myself and always smile and be happy. He was soon back doing well in Grade cricket and was invited to play Big Bash for the Perth Scorchers, participating in two premierships in five years, becoming a gun for hire in the Indian Premier League and even enjoying a recall to the Australian T20 squad. Now he has transported his colourful style to Melbourne partly because he liked the idea of sampling life in the sports capital of the world. He is loving it and the compliment is being returned. He was given a huge ovation when the player introductions were made before the first match and was warmly received at the G. He has been a major contributor to the Renegades two victories, taking five in three matches at an average of 15 and an economy rate of 6.25. RON REED is a Herald Sun columnist RON REED He was simply so addicted to cricket ... that it dominated his life to an unhealthy degree