The Northern Territory news Tue 22 Dec 2009
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2009-12-22
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
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/215572
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/711144
4 Northern Territory News, Tuesday, December 22, 2009 www.ntnews.com.au P U B : N T N E W S D A T E : 2 2 -D E C -2 0 0 9 P A G E : 4 C O L O R : C M Y K e r 2 5 0 6 1 4 er 260203 NEWS Open 8am - 5pm Phone: 8947 0054 9 Sadgrove Cres, Winnellie Wishing you a Merry Christmas ! Plus many more specials! XL Banana PrawnsXL Banana Prawns $705KG BOX LGE Vanamei Cooked Prawns N.Z. Premium Oysters $555KG BOX $10510 BOX Cooked Lobsters DOZ $25 e r2 6 0 2 0 5 NT Library wins prize for work THE NT Library has received a commendation in the Institute of Public Administration Australia awards. Its work was acknowledged in the institutes Prime Ministers Award for Excellence in Public Sector Management. Assistant director Cate Richmond said the commendation was for the Libraries and Knowledge Centres Program. She said the program was developed following pleas from indigenous communities who wanted help in preserving their cultural heritage. Fourth plane to come as bush patient numbers rise A NEW contract for Top End aeromedical services goes to tender today. It will be for 10 years with the option of a five-year extension. The work is done at the moment by Pearl Aviation. Health Minister Kon Vatskalis said the demand for aeromedical services including emergency evacuations and transfers between hospitals had risen because of a growing population in the bush. He said a fully staffed medical aircraft would remain stationed in Katherine during the tender process and transition to the new contract. Mr Vatskalis said an additional plane would be added to the aero medical service meaning there will be two fixed-wing aircraft based in Darwin, one in Katherine and one in Nhulunbuy. Pearl Aviation has cancelled night flights from Katherine because of the danger of wallabies on the runway. Mr Vatskalis said the town and surrounding regions would continue to be covered by night evacuation services. There are about 2000 Top End aeromedical flights a year, carrying 3000 patients. 2000 remote jobs MORE than 2000 real jobs have been created on remote Territory communities in the past 18 months. They were all converted to properly paid work from Commonwealth Development Employment Projects. The jobs include night patrol and childcare. Govt knew of pedophile ByNIGELADLAM Blind eye turned to public servant molester: claimTHE Territory Government turned a blind eye to allegations that one of its senior public servants was a pedophile, it has been alleged. Carl Francis Walker, 65, died in Royal Darwin Hospital recently after falling ill in Berrimah prison. He was serving seven years for molesting Indonesian children. Walker, who filmed himself abusing young boys, ran an Indonesian language course for the Territory Government. He often accompanied official delegations to Indonesia in the 1990s and maintained a flat in Kupang, where he lured children and sexually assaulted them. Interpreter Luciana Ferrero said many NT public servants knew Walker was a pedophile or at least had suspicions. She said the Indonesian Embassy and Unicef investigated him in the early 1990s. But he was well protected by a gaggle of self-serving people who thought Carl was wonderful. He knew how to flatter their fragile egos and make them feel important, while he was hiding behind a debonair facade. Many knew or suspected him ... but he was influential. Ms Ferrero said she was accused of slandering Walker when she worked for the Government on contract and said he was a pedophile. She said those who did nothing to stop him should feel some guilt and shame for having looked the other way while he was destroying the lives of young Indonesian children, taking advantage of poverty and ignorance. Ms Ferrero, who now lives in Bali, told the Northern Territory News that Walker destroyed the career of another public servant by falsely accusing him of being a pedophile. Her former husband, Darwinbased engineer Mike Nicholls, said Walker brought boys back to Darwin. He said he twice saw him on Kupang-Darwin flights with Indonesian children aged about nine to 12. A senior public servant told the NT News that nobody suspected Walker was a pedophile. He would say he had family matters to attend to in Kupang and disappear. We didnt realise until he was arrested that he had a strange interpretation of family matters. STORMY TERRITORY: A storm rolls out off Darwins Dripstone Cliffs and along Casuarina Beach last week. Alice is now on alert. Picture: BRAD FLEET Gale force winds set to hit Alice CENTRALIANS were yesterday urged to batten down the hatches in preparation for storms expected this weekend. The weather bureau said that gale force winds and rain would hit Alice Springs. Rob Romaldi of the NT Emergency Service said winds of up to 100km/h and heavy rain were expected. He said residents should secure loose objects and make sure gutters were clean. The worst conditions are forecast in the southwest. But Alice Springs could see fairly heavy rainfall, Mr Romaldi said. The weather bureau said Centralians could be hit by up to 100mm of rain, with the heaviest falls at Yulara and Watarraka. Its important that residents dont become complacent, Mr Romaldi warned.