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Territory News
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Traditional owners hail land claim after 45-year wait
After four decades of advocacy, traditional owners are celebrating the return of their Country, but say it has been a long time coming. In 1980, the Central Land Council lodged a land claim on behalf of Wakaya and Alyawarre traditional owners in the Northern Territory's Barkly region. In November, after years of negotiation, legal proceedings and consultations, the Australian Parliament passed legislation to enable the governor-general to sign the deed of grant for the area covering more than 400,000 hectares. On Wednesday, traditional owners including Eileen Bonney, the most senior surviving claimant, celebrated the official handback of their Country. "I'm…
Men charged over major kava seizure in remote community
A huge haul of kava has been seized in a remote community where police have arrested and charged two men with supplying the intoxicant. The seizure of 235kg of the alcohol substitute was made on Tuesday at Galiwinku on Elcho Island, 550km northeast of Darwin, following reports kava was being distributed in the area. More than $15,400 in cash was also seized and two men, aged 28 and 35, were arrested following a police search of a property. The pair have been charged with possessing and supplying a commercial amount of kava and were remanded in custody after appearing…
‘Needs to stop’: fatal stabbing triggers hard bail laws
A much-loved store owner's fatal stabbing has inspired what are being billed as Australia's toughest bail laws. But there are calls for more to be done to prevent another tragedy in the Northern Territory, with the opposition branding the provisions a bandaid solution. The NT government brought in the reforms on Wednesday, barely a week after 71-year-old Linford Feick was allegedly stabbed to death in Darwin by a teenager who was on bail for "serious matters". Phillip Randel Maurice Parry, 18, was charged with murder after Mr Feick, a grandfather of seven, confronted the alleged thief and was killed at…
Findings loom on Indigenous teen fatally shot by police
A coroner will return to the outback to hand down her findings into the death of an Indigenous teenager shot by a police officer during a botched arrest. Warlpiri-Luritja man Kumanjayi Walker died after being shot three times at close range by then-constable Zachary Rolfe during a botched arrest at a home in the Northern Territory community of Yuendumu in November 2019. In March 2022, an NT Supreme Court jury acquitted Mr Rolfe of murdering the 19-year-old. NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage in November closed her long-running inquest to consider more than 5000 pages of transcripts and 1990 pages of written…
Santos gets final tick for flagship Barossa gas project
After years of delays and fervent opposition from environment groups, Santos has cleared the final hurdle for its multibillion-dollar Barossa gas project. First gas on the $5.8 billion mega-project, about 285km north-northwest off the coast of Darwin, is expected in coming months after offshore oil and gas regulator NOPSEMA gave the project its final regulatory approval on Tuesday. The Adelaide-based company will now be able to hook up a floating production storage and offloading vessel, allowing gas to be transported from the project's six wells to processing facilities. Pipeline work on the controversial project was halted in late 2022 after a court…
Grief and anger grip community after shopkeeper’s death
Grief and anger continue to ripple through a tight-knit community where a supermarket owner was stabbed to death. Floral tributes have been placed outside the Darwin supermarket, where Linford Feick was killed while confronting an alleged shoplifter. The 18-year-old accused, who authorities said was out on bail for "serious matters" at the time, handed himself in to Northern Territory police on Thursday morning and was charged with murder. Community members and local leaders came together in Nightcliff on Thursday night to remember the 71-year-old, leaving cards and flowers at a twilight vigil. Deputy opposition leader Dheran Young was one of…
NT:Timelessness of culture celebrated in light and stories
Ancient stories, songlines and landscapes are the centrepiece of a 10-day festival lighting up Australia's outback. Parrtjima, held in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), celebrates Aboriginal culture and art under the vast central Australian skies. Timelessness is the theme for this year's Parrtjima festival, which curator Rhoda Roberts said draws attention to the continuation and strength of Aboriginal culture and stories, particularly those of the local Arrente people. "Sadly in the 21st century people often only see the deficit, but man we're telling stories that our ancestors told," Roberts told AAP. "They're the same stories just expressed in different ways. That's timelessness."…
Urgent bail reform after store owner’s fatal stabbing
A store owner's fatal stabbing has triggered urgent reforms, with a political leader vowing to adopt Australia's toughest bail laws. The Northern Territory parliament will reconvene on Wednesday to pass bail legislation after a teenager was arrested following the stabbing. The 18-year-old, who was out on bail, handed himself in after the death of 71-year-old store owner Linford Feick in Darwin. The teenager - who turned 18 just days ago - is in custody but has not been charged. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said urgent action was required after the tragedy occurred barely two years following Declan Laverty's death. NT…
‘Arrogance’: Indigenous ire at sacred sites amendments
Fast-tracked amendments to sacred sites legislation have been slammed by traditional owners and the authority which safeguards them. The Northern Territory government has introduced changes to the Sacred Sites Act it says will provide "simpler and streamlined" approval processes for development. Certificates issued by the territory's independent Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority would be transferable under the amendments. NT Environment Minister Joshua Burgoyne says the changes are designed make the process more "accessible, efficient, and protective of sacred sites". The authority, which is responsible for overseeing the safeguarding of NT sacred sites, has raised concerns about the lack of consultation and…
Explosion in croc numbers triggers feral feast fallout
Northern Australia's massive crocodile population is munching its way through huge numbers of feral pigs, with the apex predator's changing diet having a significant impact on the environment. Since they were protected in 1971, croc numbers in the Top End have exploded 25-fold from one every five kilometres of river to more than five per kilometre. In terms of biomass, or the collective bulk, of the largest and some would argue most misunderstood reptile on the planet, that represents a whopping increase from less than 10kg per kilometre to 400kg. Researchers have studied data from eight Northern Territory river systems…