The Northern Territory news Mon 18 Jan 2010
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2010-01-18
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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/10070/216786
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/708886
4 Northern Territory News, Monday, January 18, 2010 www.ntnews.com.au P U B : N T N E W S D A T E : 1 8 -J A N -2 0 1 0 P A G E : 4 C O L O R : C M Y K NEWS A trust fund has been created to support the family of Police Sergeant Brett Meredith, who died tragically after an incident on New Years Eve. The fund has been established by The Northern Territory Police Association with the assistance of the Police Credit Union. You can support Brett Merediths family by making a deposit to the fund, either electronically or at any Police Credit Union Branch. IN HONOUR OF SERGEANT BRETT MEREDITH Account details: Police Credit Union Account Name: NT Police Association Inc. ATF Brett Meredith BSB: 805005 Account Number 5116830 This advertisement donated by the Northern Territory News If any difficulties are encountered, please contact Julie Colbert at the NTPA Office on 08 8981 8840 or email admin@ntpa.com.au m g 2 9 0 6 2 8 Territory boozing, snoozing, driving ByANNIE SANSON ALTHOUGH the Northern Territorys 2009 road toll was the lowest in three decades, our drivers are the worst when it comes to obeying road-safety rules, a new survey has found. The research, conducted by the Social Research Centre, found NT motorists are not only the biggest drinkers but also the most likely to fall asleep behind the wheel. The survey of 1600 motorists revealed one in six drivers admitted falling asleep behind the wheel and, for one in 10, nodding off had resulted in a car crash. Northern Territory drivers were found to be the most likely to take a nap while driving, followed by South Australian motorists. The survey also found almost one in 10 Territorians gets behind the wheel after having a drink too many, despite more motorists believing there were more random breath-testing units on Australias roads. The second biggest boozers were motorists in Western Australia, followed by South Australians. Over the past three years, a tougher road safety regime has been intro duced to the Territory, in cluding lower s p e e d l i m i t s , harsher penal t i e s , d e m e r i t points and red light cameras but it could take decades to change driver behaviour, experts fear. NT Transport Minister Gerry McCarthy (pictured) said the road safety strategy was a combination of education and punitive measures, and although the 2009 road toll had been the lowest since records were first kept in 1980, there was still no room for complacency. This years road toll stands at one, after a 23-year-old died in a roll-over near Acacia Hills, with alcohol having been a definite factor in causing the crash. Darwins Indians walk the streets without fear SAFE HAVEN: Members of Darwins Indian community, Rajeev Sharma (left), Praveen Hampole, Sharm Bali, Mohit Gandhi and Birender Kaur Gandhi, feel safe and happy in the Top End. Picture: NICK WELSH ByBEN LANGFORD MEMBERS of Darwins fast-growing Indian community have been fielding calls from family members worried about the recent spate of bashings in Melbourne. Indian Cultural Society NT president Rajeev Sharma said Indian Territorians had had a lot of incoming calls from the old country. There is some level of concern among members who are new and recent arrivals to Darwin, he said. My wifes sister contacted us ... they think that Darwin is next door to Melbourne. Territory residents have had to explain how Darwin is actually a long way from Melbourne, where a series of attacks on people of Indian heritage has led to threats of reprisals from extremists in India. And Dr Sharma said they have been able to tell their families that there havent been any such attacks in Darwin. I think Darwin is definitely more multicultural, there is no doubt about it, he said. There are so many people of different colours and shades and shapes and sizes. There is a better cross-cultural representation in Darwin. Dr Sharma said the number of Indian immigrants settling in the Territory had grown recently. In the last couple of years the numbers here have increased quite significantly, he said. At community events ... the turnout is huge. He put this down to the regional migration incentive scheme, falling job prospects in southern cities, and greater employment opportunities including for health professionals, IT workers and teachers. While Indian media has been attacking Australia over the bashings, Dr Sharma saw positives in the situation for the Territory particularly for attracting Indian students to Charles Darwin University, where he works. I guess there will be positive spinoffs if Darwin is seen as a safe place, he said. No sign of refugee boatload A BOATLOAD of asylum seekers believed to have set off from Indonesian waters for Australia in October never arrived, the Afghani refugee community says. Brisbane-based Hassan Ghulam said worried relatives of 105 ethnic Hazaras believed to have left Indonesia on October 2 had started contacting him weeks ago. Hazara are a Persian-speaking ethnic group who live mainly in the central region of Afghanistan. A young gentleman, he had a brother on that boat, he contacted me (saying) that the boat departed Indonesia on October 2 with 105 Hazaras on it, Mr Ghulam said. He asked if I had heard anything on the arrivals because he had had no news for quite some time. Checks with the Department of Immigration and Customs and Border Protection had revealed nothing about the fate of the boat or those on board, Mr Ghulam said.