By ERWIN CHLANDA Four months after Parliament dealt with $121.5m in unpaid fines just $5.5m has been recovered, about 4%. There are currently “around” 206,000 outstanding fines and infringements, according to a statement in November by Minister for Corporate and Digital Development Joshua Burgoyne. Of this amount, more than $104 million is owed to the […]

By DAVID HANCOCK from his new book Decades in Darwin In 1997, the Northern Territory government commenced a regime of mandatory imprisonment for a range of property offences, including theft, criminal damage, unlawful entry, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, robbery and receiving stolen property. Urged on by a vocal local media, the CLP government, […]

Opinion by historian ALEX NELSON The transfer of Tourism Central Australia into the purpose-built premises of the Alice Springs Public Library is a done deal between the town council and NT Government, but (as Charlie Carter asks) there is as yet no indication of where the library will be temporarily housed and its final destination. There […]

LETTER TO THE ALICE SPRINGS NEWS Shooters in the NT recently received a letter from the police saying that as part of the Territory’s implementation of the National Firearms Register (NFR), shooters would be asked to complete a form requiring “basic information about the licence holder and details of any firearms owned, such as serial […]

By ERWIN CHLANDA “It was common ground between the prosecution and the defence during the course of the bail application that XR was not the person in possession of the metal fridge handle which caused the injury to the infant, and was not the person who caused that injury.” That was part of a four […]

By ERWIN CHLANDA The town’s focus in 2025 will be on a fight for survival of the travel industry and the nearly 400 members of Tourism Central Australia will need to join forces. That was the unanimous view of the 150 people who attended the organisation’s AGM yesterday evening. The trade’s doyen, Brendan Heenan, who […]

By ERWIN CHLANDA Patrick Bedford, now the longest serving – five years – chairperson of Tourism Central Australia, will be calling for “new thinking” when he is addressing the Tourism Towards 2030 conference tomorrow. He told the Alice Springs News that for too long the region has been portrayed in the media and online platforms as […]

By PADDY WEIR The first event of the year for the Alice Springs Offroad Race Club (ASORRC) might have been a bit lighter on entries than the club had hoped – eight Offroad cars – yet the enthusiasm of the competitors, their crew and spectators more than made up. This was a test and tune event, […]

By ERWIN CHLANDA Six young women became fully qualified primary school teachers while living and working in their outback communities. They completed their four-year Bachelor of Education degree online in a teaching initiative of Curtin University and the WA Department of Education. A similar program is offered in the NT, facilitated by Charles Darwin University […]

By ERWIN CHLANDA Alice Springs Airport had a run of five consecutive days of 40 °C or above this month, February 8 to 12, according to the Bureau of Metereology (BOM). There was also a run of 15 days in the second half of January, from the 19th to February 2. The most recent long […]