The Northern Territory news Fri 13 Aug 2021
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2021-08-13
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.
News Corp Australia
Darwin
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/846513
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/846580
FRIDAY AUGUST 13 2021 NEWS 11 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA BARNABY COPS A SPRAY DEPUTY Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has rejected suggestions he should pull Nationals MP George Christensen into line, saying he didnt want to start prodding the bear. Speaking to the ABC on Thursday, Mr Joyce said although he did not agree with Mr Christensen's controversial views, he would not start giving reasons for a by-election. I know how Georges mind works, Mr Joyce said. If you start prodding the bear, youre gonna (sic) make the situation worse. Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese slammed Mr Joyce for his inaction, labelling his handling of the situation a disgrace on Twitter. This is Barnaby Joyce Scott Morrisons Deputy PM admitting they wont stop the spread of misinformation because it may hurt them politically, Mr Albanese tweeted. Gap between rich, poor expanding THE gap between the richest and poorest Aussies is widening, with the poor more likely to die early, be physically inactive, obese and die by suicide. And if the gulf is not reduced, Australias average future life expectancy will be affected, researchers have warned in a report released on Thursday. The dramatic difference in preventable deaths between the top and bottom 20 per cent of income earners has been laid bare in Australias Health Tracker by Socioeconomic Status 2021, released by Victoria Universitys Mitchell Institute. The report card compared the richest 20 per cent of Australians to the poorest 20 per cent, finding the poorest were 1.5 times more likely to die early. They were also 70 per cent more likely to be physically inactive, almost three times more like ly to smoke, 57 per cent more likely to be obese and twice as likely to have diabetes. The poorest were also 80 per cent more likely to die by suicide, twice as likely to be jobless if they had mental illness and more than twice as likely to have heart disease. During 2014-18, there was estimated to be at least 18,000 more premature deaths in the most socio-economically disadvantaged communities, than in the most advantaged. MELISSA IARIA Barnaby Joyce Mataranka Springs as photographed by @sproulefamilycircus TIME is running out to cast your vote in our Peoples Choice award for the best holiday destination captured by snappers in the Airport Development Groups (ADG) $25,000 Travel Gateway competition. We have a picture gallery of some of the very best holiday destinations in the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region. This picture above is just a sample of the beautiful and breathtaking images you will find. This aerial image was taken of the popular Mataranka Springs by @sproulefamilycircus. The springs have long been a favourite destination for Top Enders and are a jewel in our tourism destinations. The picture chosen in the Peoples Choice award will receive $5000 in travel vouchers. A panel of judges has already made their decision about who they think captured the best travel image on the ADG Travel gateway website. More than 3000 spectacular images were received. The new ADG travel website (www.travelgateway.com.au) helps people experience the North of Australia and all it offers. Incredible destinations like Kakadu, Kings Canyon, Uluru, Litchfield, Robin Falls, Broome, Purnululu National Park, El Questro National Park and Arnhem Land are just a few of the destinations that feature in the photo gallery for readers to pick a Peoples Choice. Find the Peoples Choice gallery at ntnews.com.au and vote for your favourite photo to help determine the winner. GARY SHIPWAY TIME FOR PEOPLE TO DECIDE LPG market burns out LPG bowsers could soon disappear from Darwin petrol stations entirely, potentially leaving hundreds of Top End LPG vehicle owners with worthless, unusable vehicles. Once touted as the key to reducing our dependence on petrol while lowering emissions and backed by generous government incentives LPG vehicles have now been all but abandoned in Australia as car manufacturers and consumers turn their focus to hybrid, diesel and electric alternatives. All Darwin-based petrol stations contacted told the NT News their LPG bowsers had either already been ripped out or would likely be decommissioned soon because of a drop in demand and rising maintenance costs. For Darwin motorist Daniel Ross, the writing was on wall when he recently sold his LPG car for way less than market value, after years of relying on LPG vehicles to get him around the Top End. Id still have that car now if it wasnt so hard to fuel up, he said. Introduced in 2006, the Howard governments LPG incentive scheme, offering a rebate to customers who converted their cars to run on liquid gas, had strong uptake in its early years. As time went on, the once-soaring demand began to dwindle and the incentive was eventually switched off in 2014 after years of low uptake. For years, Danny Maxwells automotive repair shop in Winnellie boomed as customers sometimes one every day rushed in to take advantage of the government-supported LPG conversion. We converted hundreds of cars over the years, he said. But we dont do that anymore weve pulled out of that industry because theres nothing to be done, and its been that way for five years. Mr Maxwell said he sympathised with the couple of hundred of LPG car owners in Darwin who had spent thousands on conversions or a factory-fitted LPG vehicle only for it to become effectively worthless in its current state. I feel sad for owners of these vehicles, which theyre now stuck with, he said. They own the car, they dont want to buy another car, but if they cant get fuel it becomes tricky. Mr Maxwell said the federal government played a part in killing the industry it once helped build and needed to step in to assist those who had been burnt. If (the federal government) pulls the rug out from underneath you, then they should have something in place that buys the cars from the people, he said. A spokesman for federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the commonwealth had supported the industry by tax credits to businesses to counteract fuel excises. Decisions about what fuels are sold at specific locations are a matter for fuel retailers, he said. LEE ROBINSON LPG bowsers have dried up