A woman charged with child abduction in relation to the disappearance of five-year-old Grace Hughes has faced court, as police continue to search for the Darwin girl.
Key points:
Juliet Oldroyd, 50, has faced court in Darwin charged with child abduction
Police allege the charges relate to the disappearance of Grace Hughes, 5, who was last seen on August 7
Ms Oldroyd was represented in court by her husband
Juliet Oldroyd, 50, was charged yesterday with one count of abducting a child under 16 and one count of attempting to abduct a child under 16.
She was interviewed at a property in Anula last week, with police saying she was later arrested for allegedly refusing to provide information about Grace and her mother’s whereabouts.
Police allege Grace was taken without permission by her mother Laura Hinks, also known as Laura Bolt, during a supervised parental visit on the afternoon of August 7.
During her first court appearance today, Ms Oldroyd told Judge Thomasin Opie she would not be seeking legal aid, but had no current representation other than her husband, Craig Oldroyd.
Laura Hinks and her daughter Grace Hughes remain missing. (Supplied: NT Police)
Mr Oldroyd told the court he did not have any legal qualifications, but later told media outside court that he had contacted an “international human rights lawyer”.
The accused was supported in court by a group of people who stood and applauded after she was escorted back to the cells when the case was adjourned.
Judge Opie had to instruct members of the public in the courtroom to sit down and “show courtesy to allow the court to proceed uninterrupted.”
Juliet Oldroyd’s husband Craig Oldroyd said he will act on behalf of his wife in court. (ABC News: Melissa Mackay)
Search for Grace continues
Police are appealing for public information to find Grace. (Supplied: NT Police)
Police said in a statement yesterday they were using “all resources necessary” to find Grace, who has now been missing for more than a week.
They also said Grace and her mother may have traveled interstate.
Anyone with information on the pair’s whereabouts are being urged to contact police.
Ms Oldroyd’s matter will return to court on August 22.
The inquest into the death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker, who was shot by a Northern Territory police officer in 2019, will no longer begin in his home community of Yuendumu.
Key points:
Family have requested the inquest into the death of Kumanjayi Walker no longer begin in his community
He died after being fatally shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe in 2019, who was found not guilty of all charges
The NT Coroner will examine his death for three months from September 5
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
Kumanjayi Walker died after he was shot by Constable Zachary Rolfe during an attempted arrest in Yuendumu in November 2019.
Constable Rolfe was found not guilty of murder after a five-week Supreme Court trial earlier this year.
Northern Territory Coroner, Libby Armitage, will preside over a three-month inquest into his death, which had earlier been flagged to start in the remote community, about 300 kilometers from Alice Springs.
Family and supporters of Kumanjayi Walker requested the inquest no longer begin in Yuendumu. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
‘Change in circumstances’ in Yuendumu
Legal representatives of Mr Walker’s family and community today told the Coroner it would no longer be “appropriate” for the inquest to start in Yuendumu.
Representatives for the Lane, Walker and Robertson families, who cared for Mr Walker, said a “change in circumstances” in Yuendumu meant their feelings towards the inquest being held in community had changed.
Representing the NT Police Force, Dr Ian Freckleton told the coroner local police were aware of an “incident” in the community, which had led to heightened tensions.
The lawyer representing the Yuendumu Parumpurru (Justice) Committee told the coroner his clients “greatly appreciate” the efforts made to hold the beginning of proceedings in the community, but that the inquest should commence at Alice Springs.
Counsel Assisting the coroner, Dr Peggy Dwyer, noted “considerable” logistics, including accommodation and court facilities, had been organized for the inquest to sit in Yuendumu for two days and that the coroner will be required to visit the community at some stage throughout the inquiry
“I will have discussions with the family and community as we progress, to see how that [visit] can be done in a way that is sensitive and most respectful to the family and community,” Dr Dwyer said.
Dr Dwyer suggested the coroner may use that opportunity to engage informally with members of the Yuendumu community and hear their stories.
“There is increasing emphasis on the Coroner’s Courts in the Northern Territory and in other jurisdictions around Australia, of the need to make every effort to make coronial proceedings inclusive to families and the community and to respect Aboriginal culture,” Dr Dwyer said.
Dr Dwyer noted not everyone in the Yuendumu community was of the view the inquest should no longer start there, but that those who were directly involved in the inquest had made the request.
Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot in 2019.(Supplied)
Inquest to be live streamed
Opening today’s hearing with an acknowledgment of country, Ms Armitage welcomed members of Mr Walker’s family who were listening via an online live stream.
The court heard a website will be developed to ensure the entirety of the coronial inquiry can be accessed online, as well as resources in language for community members who don’t speak English.
“I acknowledge this court is not likely to ever feel comfortable for the family or witnesses,” Dr Dwyer said.
“But every effort will be made to make this more open and inclusive.”
Dr Dwyer said videos explaining the coronial process have been filmed and the coroner’s opening address, as well as the Counsel Assisting’s opening address, will be translated and made available on the website.
She also encouraged members of the community to reach out to herself and her colleagues with any questions.
The inquest is scheduled to run for three months, beginning on September 5 in Alice Springs.
In other communities Kathryn Drummond had worked in, domestic violence shelters were a haven for women and children in crisis.
Key points:
A women’s safe house has never been funded for Timber Creek and surrounding communities
Police and health services have to transport victims out of the region, traveling six hours at a time
Other residents say they resort to taking domestic violence victims into their own homes
In Timber Creek, where she treated a woman from a nearby community who had been beaten by her partner earlier this year, a terrible thought crossed her mind.
“I started becoming very uncomfortable, knowing there was potential that I may have to return this woman to the environment that I had just gone and picked her up from,” Ms Drummond said.
“I had long conversations with the police about… what is this going to look like? Is this a safe option?”
“And I don’t think it was a safe option.
“It was virtually the only option for her.”
Tasked with keeping vulnerable Indigenous patients safe from harm, Ms Drummond and her team at the Katherine West Health Board clinic in Timber Creek instead find themselves at the coalface of a glaring service gap.
Ms Drummond says health staff have to sit up all night with domestic violence victims.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
In more than a dozen remote communities across the territory, government-funded women’s safe houses provide families with refuge in a jurisdiction with the nation’s worst rates of domestic violence.
But the regional service hub of Timber Creek missed out, leaving vulnerable women in a vast stretch of outback linking Katherine to the East Kimberley hundreds of kilometers from dedicated help.
Overnight safe houses
When Lorraine Jones first began as an Indigenous liaison officer with the local police force in the 1990s, she would deal with domestic violence incidents by day and take the victims into her own home by night.
Lorraine Jones began as an Aboriginal community police officer in 1996.(Supplied: Lorraine Jones)
“With all the victims that were coming through from communities, I used to put them up in my house before they got transported out to Katherine, or until they were safe,” the Ngaliwurru and Nungali woman said.
Decades on, her family says little has changed.
On the outskirts of Timber Creek in Myatt — a small Indigenous community skirted by rolling hills and bursts of canary yellow flowers — some of the demountable homes have been turned into overnight safe houses.
Ms Jones’ sister, Deborah, recalls spending anxious nights with victims here.
She worries it exposes younger generations to cycles of violence and places further strains on the small community.
“As a mother, as well, you know, you try and explain to the children who the victim is, where they’ve come from,” she said.
“The kids would ask, question, what are they doing here in their house?
“Plus, they don’t have any food with them. Don’t they have any money, those victims that come to your house.”
Lorraine and Deborah Jones in the community of Myatt, outside Timber Creek.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Lorraine Jones worked as a community liaison officer in the 1990s.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Several Timber Creek residents the ABC spoke with for this story said they had also resorted to taking women into their own homes.
Locals say the long-standing issue is evidence their calls for more resources continue to fall on deaf ears.
“We’ve been asking for a very long time to get a shelter,” Ms Jones said.
“Not only myself, but during my time in the police force as well.
“We’ve been pushing. We haven’t got any help.”
Timber Creek sits about three hours driving west of Katherine.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
‘The rest of the day is gone’
Years after Ms Jones took off her police badge, serving members say the domestic violence situation in the Timber Creek region has become worse.
Provisional police statistics show the region’s officers responded to roughly 11 incidents in the 2018/19 financial year.
But that figure more than doubled to about 24 the following year, ballooned to 41 over 2020/21 then dropped slightly to 33 in the most recent period.
Superintendent Kirk Pennuto oversees officers in the remote NT from Katherine.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Superintendent Kirk Pennuto, who oversees police operations from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Western Australian border from Katherine, said the callouts are also generally becoming more serious, with more offenses typically flowing from each incident.
“Most of the communities that are not dissimilar to Timber Creek would have access to a service such as a safe house,” he said.
“Certainly, the statistical data, broadly, would suggest that one would be of value in that region, as it has been — as they are — in other regions.”
Superintendent Pennuto says domestic violence incidents in the region have recently increased.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Superintendent Pennuto says the severity of the incidents is also getting worse.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
The service gap is having a domino effect across the sprawling region.
Police occasionally have to leave the community for entire working days as they escort victims to a shelter three hours away in Katherine.
“From a policing perspective, the moment you get that incident, you can be sure the rest of that day is gone,” the superintendent said.
“A lot of the stuff you would like to be doing in a proactive sense in trying to engage with that community and trying to prevent these things from happening going forward, you tend to just be responding and reacting to these things.”
The town of Timber Creek sits near the WA/NT border.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Nurses also embark on the 580 kilometer round trip, and the removal of staff from the area can see outreach services in surrounding outstations and communities be delayed or dumped.
On other occasions, Ms Drummond said, health workers have spent the night sitting up with victims in the clinic until the threat has passed.
“So it tends to be we curl the patient up in our emergency room on one of our stretchers,” she said.
Timber Creek police sometimes embark on a six-hour round trip to Katherine.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Millions spent while region goes without
The federal government said it had invested more than $40 million into 16 remote women’s safe houses across the territory over two Indigenous partnership agreements since 2012.
But it said the Northern Territory government chooses where they go.
A spokesman from the NT department tasked with domestic violence prevention said that decision is based on rates of violence, staffing and funding.
They added that Timber Creek receives funding for a domestic violence coordinator in addition to outreach services in Katherine, which are supported by a women’s refuge in Kununurra, hundreds of kilometers away
The local council’s assessment is more blunt.
Senior Victoria Daly Regional Council, Brian Pedwell, says the issue is bounced between tiers of government like a handball.
“You can only write so many letters, you know, to all these ministers, but it doesn’t really hit them in the core,” he said.
Neither Mr Pedwell nor his deputy, Timber Creek resident Shirley Garlett, are sure why Timber Creek never received a shelter.
Brian Pedwell says it’s unclear why Timber Creek never received the service.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
The Northern Territory’s domestic violence minister, Kate Worden, herself a domestic violence survivor, says she would build one straight away — if she had more federal funding.
“To all of the women in Timber Creek that require services: yes we will continue to look at it,” she said.
“We will make sure that we continue to talk to the Commonwealth government about making sure the Northern Territory has adequate funding going forward to provide services to women where they need them the most.”
The minister will soon formalize a request for additional Commonwealth funding, an issue thrust into the spotlight following the alleged domestic and family violence deaths of two Indigenous women and an infant in the last month alone.
A spokeswoman for federal Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said all domestic violence funding requests from states and territories would be considered once they are received.
According to Shirley Garlett, locals feel like they are flogging a dead horse.(ABC News: Jesse Thompson)
Ms Garlett said in the background of the bureaucracy, a serious problem rages on.
“It’s an issue because we’re losing people,” she said.
“People are dying, committing suicide and we can stop that if we have, you know, if we have the right place. If we have the right structure.”
The clinic services a large area west of Katherine.(ABC News: Dane Hirst)
He flew in his single-engine Gipsy Moth on moonless nights or in torrential rain, often unlicensed, and at least once in his pajamas, with only a magnetic compass for navigation.
His name was Clyde Fenton – the tall, bespectacled doctor who, in the 1930s, clocked up 3000 hours and a quarter of a million miles, tending to the sick and injured across the Northern Territory.
This year marks 40 years since Dr Fenton’s death, and his legacy as one of Australia’s “original” flying doctors continues to live on.
Dr Fenton working on his plane from the open cockpit at the hangar near Katherine in about 1937. (Supplied: Library & Archives NT)
Every flight an adventure for larrikin of the sky
It was 1934 when Dr Fenton arrived in Katherine to establish an aerial medical service and it wasn’t long before his services became relied upon.
Whether it was a drover with an infected tooth, a woman having difficulty in childbirth or a child with a burst appendix, he would be in the air as soon as the call for help came through.
“In that vast, mysterious, and lonely land, every flight was an adventure,” he wrote in his 1947 autobiography.
But the harsh and remote lands of the Northern Territory ask more of people than most places.
Dr Fenton once went to the rescue of a toddler at Dunmarra who had been charged by a wild buffalo.
Not only did he tend to the child, he also went out and shot the buffalo which had been holding the homestead hostage all morning. He was gifted the horns as a thank you gift.
Another time, in 1940, Dr Fenton was at 2000 feet when a four-foot brown snake slithered along the cockpit floor toward the rudder pedals.
Dr Fenton with former NT administrator Reg Leydin’s wife in Darwin, launching his new plane “Robin” in 1937. (Supplied: Library & Archives NT)
“Not daring to keep his feet on the controls, Dr Fenton almost stood on the pilot’s seat and flew the plane by the joystick alone,” the Argus reported.
He made a rudderless landing near Maranboy and leapt from the plane before it fully came to a stop, swiftly dispatching the snake with a hammer.
Dr Fenton was the kind of person who took risks to save lives. And with bush aviation in the 1930s, the risks were substantial.
A crash course in flying
Bad weather, a spluttering engine, a fuel gauge pushing its limits: these things happened a lot to Dr Fenton, who survived an extraordinary number of plane crashes in his time as a flying doctor.
The first was in 1934 near Victoria River Downs – Dr Fenton was trapped upside down in the plane and his passenger described his eventual exit from the wreckage as “like toothpaste coming out of a tube that had been trodden on”.
Walking from the crash site to the station, the pair encountered a hostile buffalo and waded through croc-filled rivers.
Dr Fenton at the site of a crashed airplane.(Supplied: Library & Archives NT)
Dr Fenton had many close calls during his time out bush, including one in September 1937 that had the whole of the Northern Territory on edge.
While flying to a person in strife in the Gulf, somewhere near Tanumbirini Station, strong winds shook his little Moth and forced him to land in the scrub.
Several days later, Dr Fenton was still sitting beside an almost-dry waterhole feeding on the raw meat of a half-starved cow he had found bogged, hoping the bandages he used to form an SOS sign would catch someone’s attention.
Search parties frantically looked for the beloved doctor, and eight days later he was found, unharmed apart from a little sunburn.
A picture captured of Dr Fenton’s flying doctor biplane flying through a wet season storm.(Supplied: Library & Archives NT)
Grounded in Hong Kong and a hero’s welcome home
Dr Fenton had a reputation as being a bit of a maverick.
When he wasn’t on the job, he was known to land his plane outside the pub in Katherine’s main street for a beer, or sometimes for a laugh he would take the plane up over the town and flour bomb people.
On May 14, 1935, newspapers reported the flying doctor was fined £20 for “endangering public safety” by swooping low over Darwin’s Star open-air picture theater several times, including once between “the front of the circle and the screen”.
And then there was the time in 1936 he flew his tiny single-engine plane to China upon receiving news of his sister’s death in childbirth there.
Dr Fenton’s mother was stranded, so he constructed an extra fuel tank and took off in a monsoon, teaching himself to fly with his knees while he executed a daring mid-air refueling over the water.
The first Government aerial ambulance used by Dr Fenton, who previously flew his own plans as part of his Top End aerial medical service. (Supplied: CDU Nursing Museum)
He had no official permits or papers but managed to talk his way through Koepang and Bangkok, the latter by handing over an aircraft manual in English when asked for an airworthiness certificate.
Eventually, an official in Hong Kong grounded him.
Dr Fenton somehow took off anyway, only to be arrested in Swatow, China, then released because of his “filial piety”.
On the way back he was grounded again by the same Hong Kong official, who not having learned his lesson, gave the doctor permission to test his plane. And Dr Fenton was off again, arriving back in Darwin to a hero’s welcome.
CareFlight ball dedicated to Dr Fenton this year
Upon the outbreak of war, Dr Fenton served as a pilot in the RAAF, responsible for delivering food, mail and personnel from the Batchelor Airstrip to isolated bases and signal units across Arnhem Land and beyond.
He stayed on for a short time as a quarantine officer in the Northern Territory after the war, and in 1949 he married and moved to Melbourne, where he died in 1982.
His legacy lives on across the Top End, with a primary school and an airstrip named after him, and a dedicated wing at the Katherine Museum.
Katherine Museum chief executive, Lauren Reed, said the local community rallied to have one of the flying doctor’s original Gipsy Moth plans returned home and put on display.
“He was quite an iconic person and provided such a vital service, not just to Katherine but to all the regions and communities,” Ms Reed said.
Dr Fenton’s aerial ambulance eventually grew into the Northern Territory Aerial Medical Service.
The service has been succeeded by CareFlight NT, and the organization’s Hangar Ball is being dedicated to Dr Fenton this year.
CareFlight Fundraising Manager Jo Rutherford, who has been researching the territory’s “original” flying doctor for the event, said Dr Fenton paved the way for remote medical care in the north.
“He showed that aeromedical service was essential in the Top End and he was courageous in showing it could be delivered everywhere,” she said.
“He was a pioneer who worked to provide access to medical care wherever people lived.”
Northern Territory Police officers “do not have confidence” in Commissioner Jamie Chalker, have low morale and are lacking resources, according to a damning union survey.
Key points:
1,044 NT Police Association members took part in the survey – about 65 per cent of union membership
79.7 per cent of surveyed members said they did not have confidence in Commissioner Jamie Chalker
The survey was conducted after multiple police regions requested a vote of no confidence in the Commissioner
The NT Police Association (NTPA), a union which represents officers, undertook a survey of its members after calls for a vote of no confidence in Commissioner Chalker.
1,044 officers took part in the survey out of 1,608 who were eligible, which the union said was the highest number of participants ever.
79.7 per cent said they did not have confidence in the commissioner.
The survey comes as concerns grow about crime in the Northern Territory, which has become a major issue in the upcoming by-election in the seat of Fannie Bay.
There has also been another jump in domestic violence cases.
Paul McCue said the results would be discussed at the union’s annual conference next week. (ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough)
Police force ‘in complete crisis’, union claims
In an internal email from union president Paul McCue, seen by the ABC, the key issues identified by the survey included low morale, pay freeze concerns and a lack of resources.
“92.6 per cent of respondents said they do not think there are enough police in the NT to do what is being asked of them,” Mr McCue wrote.
79.4 per cent of respondents rated current morale in the NT Police Force as low, or very low [and] 87.9 per cent of respondents said they were dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with the current pay freeze offer from the Commissioner and Government.”
In a media statement released this morning, Mr McCue said the results showed the police force was “in complete crisis”.
“Our members do not have confidence in the commissioner, they overwhelmingly reject the government’s … pay freeze,” he said.
“They think morale is at an all-time low, and there clearly needs to be an urgent review into staffing which is completely insufficient to undertake the roles our members are being forced to do.”
Yuendumu shooting among reasons for confidence vote
Survey questions seen by the ABC asked respondents to give reasons why they had no confidence in Mr Chalker’s leadership.
Among the multiple-choice options was “the management and communication relating to the Yuendumu critical incident.”
NT Police Constable Zachary Rolfe was charged, and later found not guilty, of murder after shooting Yuendumu man Kumanjayi Walker during an attempted arrest in 2019.
In March, Commissioner Chalker “completely rejected” allegations of any political interference regarding the matter.
Zachary Rolfe was found not guilty of all charges in March.(ABC News: Che Chorley)
Other reasons officers could give for a lack of confidence included “does not understand the challenges of NT policing”, “the application of the disciplinary and complaints process” and a “failure to retain police”.
Commissioner ‘aware of confidence sentiment’
In a statement this morning, Commissioner Chalker said he had been notified of the survey results on Thursday night.
“We have been aware of the confidence sentiment for some time,” he said.
The Commissioner said he intended to discuss the results at the NT Police Association’s annual conference in Darwin next week, after further details had been provided to the union’s members over coming days.
Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker says he’ll directly address the issues at next week’s conference. (ABC NewsTiffany Parker)
“We remain committed to working with our people and the NTPA to continue to advance the NT Police Force and the health and wellbeing of all of our members,” he said.
“We look forward to discussing the issues raised in the survey and talking directly to the conference next week.”
Union Conference to be held next week
Mr McCue said in the email to union members that the results and “any further action to be considered” would be discussed at next week’s annual conference.
“From the outset, I have been upfront about providing the results of this survey to not only the membership, but also the Commissioner of Police and Government,” he wrote.
“Which ensures as much openness and transparency around the results as possible.”
Mr McCue also said Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, Police Minister Kate Worden and Shadow Police Minister Lia Finocchiaro had been notified of the results.
Northern Territory police have renewed a call for information in the search for a mother and daughter from Darwin who have been missing for several days.
Key points:
NT Police are searching for 34-year-old Laura Hinks and her five-year-old daughter Grace Hughes
The pair were last seen on Sunday afternoon during a parental visit
Police believe the pair may have left the Darwin area
Laura Hinks, 34, and her daughter Grace Hughes, 5, were last seen during a parental visit around 1pm on Sunday, according to NT Police.
Ms Hinks took her daughter from an address on Hidden Valley Road in Berrimah at this time.
“We are investigating all possibilities, all leads, including the possibility they have left the Darwin area,” Senior Detective Sergeant Jon Beer said.
“Our team is working around the clock to locate them and make sure they are safe.
Police say Ms Hinks was previously living in the Palmerston suburb of Moulden.(Supplied: NT Police)
“We continue to appeal to the public for any information on their whereabouts.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Beer said Ms Hinks’ last known address was in the Palmerston suburb of Moulden but that she no longer appeared to be living there.
Grace is described as having a fair complexion, brown hair and brown eyes.
She was last seen wearing a short-sleeved white dress, white socks and black sneakers.
Ms Hughes is described as having a slim build with a fair complexion and dark hair and dark eyes.
She was last seen wearing a white and green floral-patterned ankle-length dress or skirt with a white/cream long-sleeved shirt over the top.
NT Police have asked anyone with information on the whereabouts of the pair to contact them on 131 444.
Pressure is growing on the Northern Territory government to take action on stubbornly high fuel prices, with calls for a fresh inquiry to quiz retailers on the reasons behind the rates.
Key points:
Drivers in Darwin were paying $1.95 a liter on Tuesday, while the average price in NSW was $1.67
The opposition wants fuel companies and retailers to explain their prices in parliament
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles says she’s written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Drivers in Darwin were paying around $1.95 a liter for petrol on Tuesday, despite the wholesale price sitting close to the average of interstate capitals of $1.59.
The average price per liter in New South Wales was $1.67, almost 30 cents a liter cheaper than the Northern Territory.
Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro has called for a new parliamentary inquiry, which she said could potentially recommend a cap on profits or prices.
“Territories are paying [up to] 40 cents a liter more for their fuel compared to any other jurisdictions in the nation,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
“The power of an inquiry means that we can call fuel retailers and fuel companies to sit at the table and they have to explain to the public and the parliament why it is that territories are paying so much.”
Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro (left) says retailers should explain their prices to parliament.(ABC News: Matt Garrick)
Petrol prices this year rose higher in the Northern Territory than in any other jurisdiction, according to the latest official data.
“Automotive fuel” was up by 6.2 per cent, well above the capital city average of 4.2 per cent.
The Northern Territory opposition is also proposing legislation that would force retailers to publish their profit margins.
In a statement, Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said the government “stood ready to take further action” if apparent profit margins remained high “without a reasonable explanation”.
Ms Fyles said she had written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and to fuel companies on the issue but did not say what she had told, or asked, them.
‘There would be higher’ at similar prices in Sydney or Melbourne
FuelTrac general manager Geoff Trotter said the Northern Territory was not without options that are already available, pointing to laws dating back to 1949 that can empower a Consumer Affairs Commissioner to set a maximum fuel price.
Such a step can be taken during a natural disaster or “to effectively ensure that consumers benefit from the operation of a competitive market within all or a part of the territory”.
Former chief minister Michael Gunner previously threatened to create a profit cap when petrol stations were making similar margins of around 35 cents a liter in 2020.
Mr Trotter said residents in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory were all suffering through high fuel prices because they attracted less attention than larger capital cities.
“The only thing that has worked in the years I’ve been in the game is when the chief ministers have threatened to invoke that emergency price-setting legislation,” he said.
“[Petrol companies] can do absolutely whatever they like.
“If they were charging the prices they are charging in Darwin … in Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane, there would be absolute uproar. It would be on the news, there would be politicians being asked all these embarrassing questions.”
High fuel and airfare costs in Alice Springs are making the region less attractive to live in, the town’s Mayor, Matt Paterson, says.(ABC News: Xavier Martin)
Costs driving tourists, residents of Alice Springs
Petrol prices are even more expensive in remote parts of the territory, with Alice Springs motorists still paying more than $2 a liter to fill up.
The town’s Mayor, Matt Paterson, said the cost was combining with other factors to drive people away from living in the region.
“Everything is so expensive that it’s sending people to breaking point,” Cr Paterson said.
“Air fares, petrol prices, house prices — it’s just horrendous at the moment.”
Cr Paterson said that “no one can justify” why fuel prices were so much higher in Alice Springs, but expected Territory Labor would not support the opposition’s call for an inquiry.
“I just want people to know we are getting the raw end of the stick, continuously,” he said.
Federal Labor’s Luke Gosling says the fuel excise cut won’t be renewed, arguing it would be fiscally irresponsible.(ABC News: Che Chorley)
Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling said the Commonwealth needed to ensure the ACCC “has got the teeth to enforce fairness and transparency.”
“But that may end up being also a role for the Northern Territory government, to ensure that there is that sort of transparency from fuel retailers,” Mr Gosling said.
“The fuel retailers should stop gouging territorians and people in other places in the country where they are clearly at the moment.”
Mr Gosling said the fuel excise tax was unlikely to be extended beyond September, citing the state of the federal budget.
The Northern Territory Chief Minister is under renewed pressure to allow the anti-corruption watchdog to access secret cabinet documents that were the subject of a “serious allegation”.
Key points:
The ICAC was told a cabinet submission was allegedly inappropriately edited by a public officer
Michael Gunner declined a request to give the material to the ICAC, citing cabinet privilege
The Opposition says Natasha Fyles should overturn Mr Gunner’s earlier decision
In a report tabled in parliament last month, Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Michael Riches, said he initiated an investigation after receiving a claim that a cabinet submission had been “edited” by a public officer “so as to be misleading to the true state of affairs”.
However, because current legislation prevents the ICAC from accessing cabinet-related material, Mr Riches said he “invited” then chief minister Michael Gunner to consider handing over the relevant documents.
Mr Gunner declined the request, which Mr Riches said was his legal right, but he added that doing so prevented further investigation.
Opposition leader Lia Finocchiaro has accused the Chief Minister of trying to avoid scrutiny. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
The Opposition has been calling for Ms Fyles, who took over from Mr Gunner in May, to handover the material, given she later agreed to grant the ICAC access to other cabinet-related documents that were the subject of a different allegation.
But during an interview on ABC Radio Darwin on Tuesday, Ms Fyles deflected repeated questions about whether she would overturn Mr Gunner’s earlier rejection of the ICAC request.
Instead, she said it was her understanding that the ICAC’s requests to Mr Gunner and herself related to “the same issue”, although she said she did not know the specifics of the allegation.
“This was at arm’s length, which is why I sound vague on it, because we allowed [the] cabinet office to talk to the ICAC so the ICAC could ascertain within cabinet privilege what he needed, but at the same time, respecting that process of cabinet privilege,” she said.
Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro said the Chief Minister was trying to avoid scrutiny.
“Any leader with integrity would make sure the ICAC Commissioner has the information he needs,” she said.
“And the fact that Natasha Fyles can’t even answer simple questions around provision of that information shows that she’s completely hands-off and running from scrutiny.”
ICAC boss reveals new details
Following questions from the ABC, Mr Riches confirmed his requests to Mr Gunner and Ms Fyles for cabinet-related material related to “two entirely separate matters”.
He said the investigation into the matter he raised with Mr Gunner “remains closed” but that he would be “pleased” if the government were to contact him about it.
“The government has my request. It has made its decision,” Mr Riches said.
“If the government wishes to reconsider its position, I would be pleased to hear from them.
ICAC Commissioner Michael Riches said he was anonymously provided with what “appeared” to be cabinet documents. (Supplied)
“But I will not make the request a second time.”
Mr Riches also revealed new details about the matter he raised with Ms Fyles.
“In the second matter, I was actually provided with documents anonymously,” he told the ABC.
“Those documents appeared to be cabinet documents.
“Because the documents were likely cabinet documents I did not read them [other than the title of each document] and they were stored in a safe.”
Mr Riches said he subsequently wrote to Ms Fyles, who did not press a claim of privilege, which enabled him to view the documents under the ICAC Act.
He declined to say whether he is investigating the matter further.
Ms Fyles said the government is currently reviewing the ICAC Act, which will examine whether changes are needed in relation to cabinet privilege.
One of the Northern Territory’s largest councils has been charged over a near-drowning incident, after a weed harvester capsized on a lake, trapping a worker underneath.
Key points:
A City of Palmerston worker was injured after an amphibious weed harvester they were operating tipped and capsized in 2020
NT WorkSafe has charged the City of Palmerston with nine breaches of workplace health and safety laws
The maximum penalty for the combined breaches is a more than $7 million fine
The City of Palmerston — east of Darwin — has been charged by NT WorkSafe with nine counts of breaching the Northern Territory’s workplace health and safety laws and regulations in relation to the February 2020 incident, including four counts of failing to comply with its duty of care .
If found guilty of all charges, the council could be fined up to $7 million.
In a statement, NT WorkSafe said the council worker and a colleague had been taking it in turns using the amphibious weed harvester to clear and remove weeds from a lake in Durack, when the craft had tipped over and capsized.
The worker was briefly trapped underneath the harvester before escaping, but sustained injuries.
“NT WorkSafe will allege that the City of Palmerston failed to follow all the manufacturer’s safety recommendations, which were provided during the purchase of the craft,” WorkSafe NT said.
“One of the recommendation not followed, was when the City of Palmerston modified the craft by installing a crocodile cage, without first consulting with the manufacturer on how this modification would affect the craft’s stability and safety during operation.”
The case is due to come before Darwin Local Court on Monday, August 29.
A large steel container of unknown origin has been found floating in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Key points:
A large steel container has been found floating in the Gulf of Carpentaria
Container has been marked and flagged with maritime authorities
Marine debris is an ever-present issue on the Arnhem Land coast
The crew of the Wildcard fishing vessel spotted the object to the north-east of Groote Eylandt while looking for mackerel this week.
“It’s about 5 meters by 3 meters by 4 meters — it’s a sizeable chunk of steel,” the Wildcard’s Tiger Davey said.
“It must be a bit empty because it is floating just below the surface, bobbing in and out of the water.
The crew of the Wildcard investigated the floating container but could not open it.(Supplied: Bruce Davey)
“We were only passing about 300 meters off [the container] when we spotted it.
“If you weren’t paying attention or it was night time, it is highly unlikely that it would have been visible on radar or seen by somebody.”
The Wildcard pulled up beside the container, with a crew member diving into the water to inspect the object, but they were unable to open its hatch.
Mr Davey said it was not a regular shipping container.
“We think it’s a fuel pod or some sort of storage pod because it has some lifting lugs and a big hatch on the top,” he said.
“It has a hose coming off it, so I would say it’s off a boat and it’s been lost overboard or dropped.”
The container was too big for the Wildcard to tow to a safe location, so the crew tied a marker buoy to it and flagged it as a navigational hazard with maritime authorities.
Thousands of tonnes of rubbish wash up on remote Arnhem Land beaches every year.(ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Marine debris a major issue in Gulf
The Gulf of Carpentaria has a significant marine debris problem, with ghost nets, fishing equipment, and rubbish from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea regularly washing up on remote beaches.
“With the major shipping routes we have over the top end of Australia, [the container] could have come from anywhere,” Mr Davey said.
“The currents push everything into the Gulf and then the south-easterly winds push everything over to this side [near Groote Eylandt].
“Hence the huge issue with ghost nets and rubbish on this western side of the Gulf… we have quite a bit of flotsam and nets through this area.”
Maritime Safety NT has issued a marine navigation warning about the container.
“A coastal notice to mariners has been issued for the waters off North East Groote Eylandt after a large floating container was spotted in the area,” the Maritime Safety NT notice said.
“All vessels in the vicinity to keep a sharp lookout and navigate with extreme caution.”
