By ERWIN CHLANDA Transparency is a very one-sided proposition for the Central Land Council (CLC): It wants the news media to publish its positions but it won't give answers to questions the media put to them. That's certainly the experience of the Alice Springs News with this secretive organisatio…

By ERWIN CHLANDA Landcare NT won’t be joining the “activists and economic vandals” as Joshua Burgoyne calls them. The Environment Minister isn’t talking about his government that will give an annual gift – no water rates to be paid – of 40 billion litres of Territory water a year, for 30 years, to…

By NEILL RETALLICK Two Australians. Born thousands of miles apart into very different circumstances, the only tenuous connection being their humble beginnings and strong desire to contribute to their communities. Many people have fought to improve rights for Indigenous Australians, but few have do…

By MIKE GILLAM Another fire was raging in the river and concerned groups of locals gathered on the Wills Terrace causeway to watch in horror and hurt as several trees were engulfed in flames. I was taking photographs to record this latest outrage when the screech of a galah demanded my attention. …

By ALEX NELSON During most of the 2000s I worked at the Olive Pink Botanic Garden, and two decades ago gained an insight into just how zealous keen birdwatchers and twitchers can be when news spread of sightings of an obscure little bird, the grey honeyeater (above, photo by Mike Gillam), at the b…

The Central Desert Regional Council has sent “to the legal team” questions from the Alice Springs News about car expenses for its President, Adrian Dixon (pictured). No answers were given by Regional Manager Shiju Thomas. The President is entitled to have one car but usually has two: “The Presiden…

Letter to the Editor Treasurer Jim Chalmers, in his Budget speech stated: “And we’re easing pressure on the housing market by banning foreign investors from buying established homes, and cracking down on foreign land banking as well." Foreign investors have been prohibited from buying established …

By ERWIN CHLANDA Pine Gap isn't the Centre's only chip in the current global defence poker game. The pot includes two antennae on the ground, each some three kilometres long, north-west and north-east of Alice Springs (pictured). And Canada is having the better hand than Donald Trump. The faciliti…

By ERWIN CHLANDA The Territory Education Department maintains statistics on racial grounds, comparing the school attendance rate of Aboriginal children with that of Non-Aboriginal children. The difference is around 30% in favour of the latter – a margin that in most other fields would spark public…

By MIKE GILLAM More frequently than I’d care to admit, I go out bush looking for specific wildlife behaviour and in the process stumble onto quarry of greater significance. On this occasion, in the company of Linguist and Musicologist Myfany Turpin, we travelled to Artarre (Tara) Community 243 km …

By ERWIN CHLANDA The debt exceeding $11 billion and growing, costing the taxpayer "a million bucks a day" in interest. The number of people in prison at an all time high. Crime exceeding the courts' capacity to deal with it. The "national" Aboriginal art gallery still a dog's breakfast. Who would …

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Senator Jacqui Lambie’s suggestion that Australia should close Pine Gap in response to President Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Australian steel exports to the US, highlights the importance of Australian sovereignty. However, Senator Lambie’s commendably strong response to t…

By ERWIN CHLANDA The NT’s four Aboriginal land councils are calling for the Territory Coordinator Bill to be dumped. The Bill excludes Aboriginal people from involvement in development decisions on their traditional lands and prevents them from protecting their land and culture, says a media state…

By PADDY WEIR The heat didn't beat the Alice Springs Off Road Race Club (ASORRC) on the weekend: They ran the ran their the prologue of the NT Titles Round 1 at 5pm on Saturday, a lot later than usual, and this was followed by two separate 31km laps. Shane Greening set the pace coming

By Dr FIONA WALSH Why do we continue to allow and accept the deaths of animals on our roads? I recognise that global warming, wildfires and floods accelerated by profiteers are beyond the immediate control of many of us. They too hurt many native animals. This was one of only two living kangaroos …

By ERWIN CHLANDA The entire executive board of the NT Police Association (NTPA) is calling upon Police Commissioner Michael Murphy to tender his resignation. This follows his outing himself as the senior executive public officer found by ICAC to have displayed unsatisfactory conduct in relation to…

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…

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. U…

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 temporar…

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…

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,…

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 i…

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,

Dr FIONA WALSH Why do we continue to allow and accept the deaths of animals on our roads? I recognise that global warming, wildfires and floods accelerated by profiteers are beyond the immediate control of many of us. They too hurt many native animals. But there is something we can all do. We can …

By ERWIN CHLANDA The entire executive board of the NT Police Association (NTPA) is calling upon Police Commissioner Michael Murphy to tender his resignation. This follows his outing himself as the senior executive public officer found by ICAC to have displayed unsatisfactory conduct in relation to…

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…

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. U…

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 temporar…

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…

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 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 i…

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 prog…

A chapter from the latest book by Territory photo journalist DAVE HANCOCK, Decades in Darwin. “Ladies and gentlemen, start your solar panels,” blares the PA. An Australian flag drops and the world’s quietest car race is underway. That was in Darwin, five-and-a-half days and 3,004km earlier. On Fri…

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 prog…

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

By ERWIN CHLANDA Exorbitant prices for groceries in outback stores are often the subject of outrage but are rarely dealt with a great deal of logic. I gave it a shot 31 years ago. Tracker Tilmouth (pictured) was applying his admirable activist's skills to the very same problems that are doing the …

By ERWIN CHLANDA “You can’t arrest your way out of these problems” is a widely recognised principle in dealing with crime. For example, Alice Springs Police Commander Craig Laidler mentioned it in 2020 in an interview with the Alice Springs News. Four years later, with a new government doing a lot…

COMMENT by FRANK BAARDA Spearheaded by the re-elected president of the United States of America we are seeing a shadow spreading over our planet: The politics of revenge, also known as Fascism. In Australia Trumpism is being emulated by the Opposition, including an ill-defined strategy headed by N…

By ERWIN CHLANDA The NT Government has removed the minimum floor price (MUP) for alcohol which has been in force since 2018, requiring a charge of no less than $1.30 per standard drink. Australian Medical Association (NT) president Robert Parker describes the decision as “a backward step in reduci…

By ERWIN CHLANDA “We will not spend another dollar on activists and economic vandals and their disruptive agendas." This is how Joshua Burgoyne (pictured), NT Minister for Lands, Planning and Environment, announced that his government has axed its $100,000 annual grant for the Arid Lands Environme…

By MARK SMITH Can Jacinta Price deliver a more efficient Australia? Peter Dutton thinks she can. As he surges ahead in the unreliable opinion polls Mr Dutton has hit the podcast circuit to flag that Trump is already having an international impact in his first few weeks in office. His decision to m…

By ERWIN CHLANDA All Territory Aboriginal persons facing criminal charges since August last year received high quality legal representation unless they chose not to use the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, or it had a conflict of interest. CEO Anthony Beven was responding to allegations…

By ERWIN CHLANDA If the government changes stripe, NT Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will be wheeling and dealing in billions of dollars, for example, $13.7b for miners’ green hydrogen (“now abandoned”) or $1b for quantum computers. At least that’s what she’s explained to Sky TV presenter Paul M…

A chapter from the latest book by Territory photo journalist DAVE HANCOCK, Decades in Darwin. “Ladies and gentlemen, start your solar panels,” blares the PA. An Australian flag drops and the world’s quietest car race is underway. That was in Darwin, five-and-a-half days and 3,004km earlier. On Fri…

By ERWIN CHLANDA Traditional owners will not reveal what they are going to do with royalties from the massive Beetaloo gas field. "Details of agreements with proponents are confidential," says the Northern Land Council on their behalf. We had asked for a summary of the expected income from the fie…

By ERWIN CHLANDA How many troubled children in Central Astralia fall under the umbrella of the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA)? Surely that was a known number upon which Anthony Albanese’s $250m “special grant” was based. Apparently not. His Minister for Indigenous Australians, the T…

By ERWIN CHLANDA Without people like Dave Hancock, media produced by Australian news persons who infrequently venture beyond the limits of big cities would have yawning and embarrassing cavities. The photo journalist, writer and publisher of six books, fixer and go-to across the vast outback, fill…

Ecologists Tim Henderson has captured incredible photographs in Newhaven, west of Alice Springs, of the endangered Red Goshawk, the first time it's been confirmed in the region for three decades. It was listed as endangered in 2023 and has gone extinct from most of eastern Australia. Researchers a…