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Territory News
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Native title ruling paves way for compensation
The dismissal of a commonwealth appeal in a landmark compensation case shows the "strength" of native title and may have implications for traditional owners across Australia. The High Court dismissed the appeal against a decision in the Federal Court, which found the Gumatj clan's Country in northeast Arnhem Land was not acquired "on just terms" before being leased to the Swiss-Australian mining consortium, Nabalco in 1968. The decision has cleared the way for significant compensation for Gumatj people. Gumatj leaders Djawa Yunupingu and Balupalu Yunupingu celebrated outside the High Court on Wednesday after hearing the judgment against the Commonwealth. "Justice…
FED:’Justice served’: High Court upholds landmark decision
Traditional owners say justice has been served for their people as the High Court dismissed a commonwealth appeal in a landmark compensation case. The Commonwealth lost the High Court battle over whether it may be liable for up to $700 million in compensation for bauxite mining at Gove in northeast Arnhem Land. Gumatj leaders Djawa Yunupingu and Balupalu Yunupingu celebrated outside the High Court on Wednesday after hearing the judgment against the Commonwealth. "Justice has been served for my people and the people of northeast Arnhem Land," Djawa Yunupingu said. Renowned land rights activist, the late Gumatj leader Dr Yunupingu…
FED:High Court dismisses commonwealth appeal in compo case
The High Court has dismissed a commonwealth appeal, which could mean massive compensation for traditional owners for mining without their consent. In May 2023, a decision by the full bench of the Federal Court paved the way for the Gumatj clan to receive up to $700 million in compensation for bauxite mining at Gove in northeast Arnhem Land. Renowned land rights activist, the late leader Yunupingu originally brought the case in 2019, alongside an application for native title on behalf of the Gumatj clan. Gumatj leaders Djawa Yunupingu and Balupalu Yunupingu were at the High Court on Wednesday to hear…
FED:High Court to decide on appeal to landmark compo case
The High Court will deliver its judgment on a commonwealth appeal against a decision potentially delivering massive compensation for traditional owners for mining without their consent. In May 2023, a decision by the full bench of the Federal Court paved the way for the Gumatj clan to receive up to $700 million in compensation for bauxite mining at Gove in northeast Arnhem Land. Renowned land rights activist, the late leader Yunupingu originally brought the case in 2019, alongside an application for native title on behalf of the Gumatj clan. The compensation case focused on the Commonwealth's decision to allow mining…
Top cop given his marching orders
The Northern Territory's top cop has been given his marching orders after a jobs for mates scandal uncovered by a corruption watchdog. NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy outed himself as the subject of an ICAC investigation. It found improper and unsatisfactory conduct against an unnamed public official who had mismanaged a conflict of interest in the recruitment of a senior officer. The ICAC report revealed that in early 2024, Mr Murphy had sat on a panel that hired one of their friends. NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said Mr Murphy's position had become untenable. "Today, I informed Commissioner Murphy he…
Call for NT’s top cop to quit over ICAC finding
Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy is under pressure to resign after admitting he was the unnamed bureaucrat whose conduct was branded "negligent and incompetent" in a scathing ICAC report. Mr Murphy's admission came a week after the NT's corruption watchdog announced a finding of improper and unsatisfactory conduct against an unnamed public official who had mismanaged a conflict of interest in the recruitment of a senior officer. "I found that the conduct involved negligence and incompetence … result(ing) in a substantial detriment to the public interest," Delegate for the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Patricia Kelly SC said in a…
Double mental health beds, coroner tells government
"Bed block" in the NT health system led to death of a Tiwi Island mother, a coroner has found, recommending that NT government urgently fund the doubling of mental health beds to address an ongoing crisis. Following days of sedation in the Royal Darwin Hospital emergency department and high-security Joan Ridley Unit, Pukumani Alimankinni, 47, stopped breathing while sleeping in a bean bag on August 8, 2021. On Friday, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage delivered her findings, following an inquest in April 2024. Ms Alimankinni died because her mental illness overshadowed her physical illnesses and nurses failed to conduct the required…
NT:Double mental health beds, coroner tells government
"Bed block" in the NT health system led to death of a Tiwi Island mother, a coroner has found, recommending that NT government urgently fund the doubling of mental health beds to address an ongoing crisis. Following days of sedation in the Royal Darwin Hospital emergency department and high-security Joan Ridley Unit, Pukumani Alimankinni, 47, stopped breathing while sleeping in a bean bag on August 8, 2021. On Friday, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage delivered her findings, following an inquest in April 2024. Ms Alimankinni died because her mental illness overshadowed her physical illnesses and nurses failed to conduct the required…
NT:Double mental health beds, coroner tells government
"Bed block" in the NT health system led to death of a Tiwi Island mother, a coroner has found, recommending that NT government urgently fund the doubling of mental health beds to address an ongoing crisis. Following days of sedation in the Royal Darwin Hospital emergency department and high-security Joan Ridley Unit, Pukumani Alimankinni, 47, stopped breathing while sleeping in a bean bag on August 8, 2021. On Friday, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage delivered her findings, following an inquest in April 2024. Ms Alimankinni died because her mental illness overshadowed her physical illnesses and nurses failed to conduct the required…
‘Inhumane’: overcrowded watch house conditions exposed
Inhumane, discriminatory and a violation of human rights - two women have described the conditions endured by inmates in a Northern Territory police station. Aboriginal women Deanna, 30, and Simone, 35, were held in the Alice Springs watch house for extended periods from January and late November respectively. Their experiences have been detailed in affidavits submitted to the Alice Springs Local Court in January and made public by Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory. They described hot, overcrowded and poorly ventilated cells crammed with up to 20 women at a time. There was often a shortage of mattresses to accommodate inmates…