Crowds of tourists are scaling the world heritage-listed site against the wishes of the traditional owners
Tourists are travelling to Uluru to climb the rock, against the wishes of the traditional owners, to get in before the practice is banned in October.
Parks Australia said there were “certainly visitors travelling with the intention of climbing Uluru before the climb closure comes into effect”.
Continue reading...Government continues to defend civil claims from former inmates by arguing restraint of minors ‘reasonable’
The Northern Territory government is still fighting civil claims from Don Dale detainees by arguing the use of spit hoods on minors was “reasonable”, despite having since banned their use and agreeing to royal commission recommendations to outlaw the practice.
The government has also argued Don Dale officers were trying to keep a young Indigenous detainee “safe” when they left him for almost an hour with his hand handcuffed above his head to a basketball court fence.
Continue reading...Four men died and a woman was injured in this week’s shooting rampage in Darwin
Northern Territory police have charged the man suspected of a shooting rampage in Darwin with four counts of murder.
Four men died and a woman was injured after being shot in the leg on Tuesday night.
Continue reading...PhD student and taxi driver Hassan Baydoun was shot while taking a meal break in apparently random attack
Details of the victims of a mass shooting in Darwin have been revealed as Northern Territory police say they expect to soon lay charges against the alleged gunman.
One of the victims, a PhD student and taxi driver Hassan Baydoun, had never met the accused gunman, his cousin says.
Continue reading...Police say alleged gunman, who was on parole and wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, may have been looking for someone
The Northern Territory chief minister has announced a review of every person currently subject to electronic monitoring after a man wearing one of the bracelets allegedly killed four people in an hour-long rampage through Darwin on Tuesday.
The NT police chief, Reece Kershaw, said on Wednesday police believed the alleged gunman, a 45-year-old, was searching for someone who was interstate. Police said at least some of the victims may not have known the gunman.
Continue reading...First reports of a man firing shots came at motel just outside the city centre about 5.50pm
Witnesses of a shooting in Darwin that left four people dead and a woman injured have described scenes of panic after the gunman went on an hour-long rampage.
Northern Territory police arrested the suspected shooter, described as a Caucasian man aged 45, wearing high-vis workwear, on Tuesday night. He remained in hospital under police guard on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Northern Territory police say a 45-year-old suspect is in custody as witnesses report seeing gunman with a pump action shotgun open fire at motel
At least four people are dead and two injured in a mass shooting in Darwin’s city centre.
NT police have arrested the suspected shooter, described as a caucasian man about 45-years-old, wearing high-vis workwear.
Continue reading...The federal budget is done and the (unofficial) election campaign begins. All the day’s events, live
Penny Wong’s speech on Fraser Anning censure motion
Labor senator and Yawuru man Pat Dodson spoke powerfully about the “Killing times”, Australia’s massacre history, as part of today’s censure motion against Fraser Anning.
Our First Nations people have carried the consequence of murderous prejudice throughout our entwined history.
First Nations peoples in Australia know what it is like to be powerless in the face of hateful prejudice, fanned by the illusion of superiority; and the false courage created by a weapon in their hand and their victims are defenceless.
Continue reading...Instructions not to sell tickets were reportedly received before last year’s Naidoc Week AFL game
Box office staff at the Adelaide Oval were reportedly directed to stop selling tickets to Aboriginal people while fans gathered before last year’s Naidoc Week AFL match celebrating Indigenous culture.
The box office and Oval management said a supervisor “misinterpreted” an instruction from the police and security not to sell tickets to a specific group of people who were intoxicated and had been refused entry.
Continue reading...As the Northern Territory begins its big mop-up after Cyclone Trevor, local authorities have hosed down racism claims concerning evacuation efforts.
Trevor forced mass evacuations before it made landfall on Saturday morning as a category four system, with destructive winds gusting up to 250km/h.
Continue reading...Residents of Port Hedland and Karratha in Western Australia prepare for Cyclone Veronica, due to hit on Sunday morning
Cyclone Trevor has struck the Northern Territory as a category four system, hammering remote communities with destructive 250 km/h winds and torrential rain.
Continue reading...Australian government to investigate claims French-owned Ibis Styles in Alice Springs reserved poorest accommodation for Indigenous visitors
The international hotel giant Accor has launched an investigation into allegations that staff at one of its Australian hotels have been segregating Aboriginal guests in lower quality rooms.
The French multinational company said on Friday it was “extremely saddened and disappointed” at the revelations, which were reported by the ABC’s Background Briefing program.
Continue reading...Rare mud-dwelling fish, with sharp teeth and no eyes, is believed to be a worm goby, but is not dangerous
An Australian fisherman, who captured a rare, unsettling fish that resembled a creature from the sci-fi film Alien, says it was “not all that exciting” and he caught it with a beer in his hand.
Andrew Rose was fishing in the Northern Territory’s Kakadu national park when he snagged a 15cm-long worm goby – a rare, mud-dwelling fish with no eyes, a bony head and sharp teeth.
Continue reading...Indigenous affairs minister uses powers under the NT Lands Right Act to force the council to meet over an alleged conflict of interest
In an unprecedented move, Nigel Scullion has used his powers under the Northern Territory Land Rights Act to compel the Northern Land Council to meet to resolve a perceived conflict of interest involving some of its senior executives.
It’s the first time since the Land Rights Act was introduced in 1976 that a minister for Indigenous affairs has used his powers in this way.
Continue reading...Late monsoon and lack of strong cold fronts cited as main reasons behind back-to-back spells of abnormally hot weather
This week’s record-smashing heatwave is over for now in Australia’s south-east, but the reprieve will be short-lived as temperatures build up again in the coming days.
A perfect storm, or rather the lack of one, is partly to blame for the extreme temperatures, with neither the northern monsoons nor the southern cool fronts making their usual appearances.
Continue reading...Much of Australia will bake this week with meteorologists forecasting the hot conditions will last for days in some parts
Every state and territory will bake through a heatwave on Monday with meteorologists saying soaring temperatures will last for days in some parts.
The Bureau of Meteorology said hot days were expected in January but multiple days in a row of temperatures above 40C were unusual.
Continue reading...Law Council president Arthur Moses says legal profession would be very troubled if proposal is rushed for political purposes
The government has allowed Australia’s peak legal body just 36 hours to respond to its public child sex offender register proposal, a move the Law Council has labelled “absurd”.
Peter Dutton announced on Wednesday the government was considering establishing a register which could include the postcode, name and photo of child sex offenders. Reaction was mixed, but Dutton said the government would be asking for the views of a wide range of stakeholders, including child advocacy groups and legal representatives.
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