The Northern Territory news Fri 14 Dec 2012
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2012-12-14
This publication contains may contain links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Darwin
application/pdf
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Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/243531
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/602617
www.ntnews.com.au Friday, December 14, 2012. NT NEWS. 7 P U B : NTNE-WS-DA-TE:14-DGE:7 CO-LO-R: C-M Y-K ntnews.com.aul l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l NEWS Miner in disputes seeks permits By ALISON BEVEGE A MINING company facing 11 charges over the damage of a sacred site has applied for three more exploration licences. The applications are for areas near Borroloola: one at Calvert Hills and the other two at Tawallah Range. It is not known what minerals the company wants to search for as managing director Fanie van Jaarsveld could not reply to the NT News before publication. Members of the public have until January 12 to have their say on the Department of Mines and Energy proposal to grant the new licences. OM Manganese appeared in Darwin Magistrates Court yesterday over seven counts of damaging and four counts of desecrating the Two Women Sitting Down sacred site at the Bootu Creek manganese mine, 170km north of Tennant Creek. The company is fighting the charges and the case continues. OM Manganese has also been embroiled in a dispute with the Territory Revenue Office this year after it tried to minimise royalty payments to the Government. Mining companies only pay royalties in the NT when they make a profit. Instead of selling the manganese on the open market, OM Manganese sold the ore to an overseas arm of its own company in a move called transfer pricing. But the Territory Revenue Office rejected the transfer price and suggested a different price which would force it to pay more royalties. The Territory Revenue Office refused to say whether the dispute had been resolved citing secrecy provisions. Public submissions must be lodged in writing. Call 8999 5322 for details. Councils plan war on street light charges By CONOR BYRNE and KATIE WEISS TERRITORY councils are considering taking legal action following the announcement of a new charge to repair and maintain street lights. All local governments will teleconference today to discuss the issue after it was announced Power and Water would add an entirely new charge for fixing street lights from July 1. The charge will cost: Darwin council $800,000; Alice Springs council 340,000; and Palmerston council $330,000. The Utility Commission set the charges and wrote to the street light owners about the costs in October. The new charge comes on top of the utility price hikes to be introduced from January 1. The NT Government said it was forced to raise prices in a bid to get rid off Power and Waters massive $1.2 billion debt. The organisation does not own any street lights but covered maintenance costs in the past. Most of the 22,000 street lights in the Territory are owned by councils and Government departments. Darwin council does not own any street lights. But the new charge will in crease its total bill to an estimated $2.5 million. Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim has brought up the issue with Chief Minister Terry Mills. Council chief executive Brendan Dowd said the council could take the issue further. Were considering obtaining legal advice on the matter, he said. Alice Springs councils total bill will increase by an estimated $1.1 million next year. Council chief executive Rex Mooney said an in-house solicitor was looking closely at the matter. Council is questioning the validity of this proposed new annual fee, as it was previously included within the fixed fee structure, he said. Alice Springs councillor Steve Brown said Power and Water directly sent the bill to the council accounting office without consulting local government members. Jennys being priced out of Territory Volunteer Jenny Smith says she will have to leave Darwin after the Government raises power, water and sewerage prices Picture: KATRINA BRIDGEFORD By ALISON BEVEGE JENNY Smith says she is leaving the Territory. The 21-year-old job seeker spends most of her time volunteering for the Salvation Army Life Centre. Before the Power and Water price rises were announced she was thinking of joining the police. A few of my friends are coppers, she said. But Ms Smith thinks the prospect of electricity hikes of 30 per cent will push up the cost of living too much for herself and her partner, a bus driver. Were leaving Darwin, she said. Its just too pricey. The couple is thinking of going to Brisbane next year where the climate is better and the living is cheaper. Ill just get a job there, she said. Even if I dont get a job I will just go to uni. Ms Smith pays $305 a fortnight for rent and board but that will likely rise after January 1 when the Power and Water price hikes kick in.