Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Archive for December, 2021
Four NT COVID-19 cases, testing blitz
The Northern Territory has detected four COVID-19 cases as a cluster linked to three crowded Katherine households grows. December 10, 2021 The Northern Territory has detected four COVID-19 cases as a cluster linked to three crowded households continues to grow. A woman in her 40s and her primary-school-aged daughter who live with nine other people […]
NT plan to end quarantine, three new cases
The Northern Territory has recorded three new COVID-19 cases and detailed a plan to end quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers. December 9, 2021 The Northern Territory has detected three more COVID-19 cases as Chief Minister Michael Gunner released a plan to end quarantine requirements for travellers. The new infections include a teenage girl from Katherine, […]
F-35A fighters jet into new Top End base
Four Royal Australian Airforce F-35A supersonic fighter jets have touched down at their new base in the Northern Territory. December 9, 2021 The first of a new squadron of F-35A Lightning II supersonic fighter jets have touched down in the Northern Territory. The Joint Strike Fighters replace the Royal Australian Airforce’s F/A-18A/B Classic Hornet fleet, which flew […]
Police investigate Northern Territory ICAC
The Northern Territory police are investigating historic matters involving the territory’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption. December 9, 2021 The Northern Territory police have launched an investigation into the anti-corruption watchdog. It’s understood the investigation is looking into how and why the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption’s office awarded several supply contracts. “NT Police are investigating an […]
Mothballs to power spacecraft into orbit
Australian scientists will use naphthalene to power a satellite carrying an air traffic management system into space. December 9, 2021 A smell we all remember from our grandmother’s wardrobe could be the newest thing in space technology. Australian scientists are testing whether mothball chemicals can power satellite rocket thruster systems. The innovative propulsion process heats […]
Top End lands aircraft manufacturing deal
A modern version of the classic Albatross amphibious plane will be built in the Northern Territory. December 8, 2021 The Northern Territory is set to join the global aircraft manufacturing industry as a military classic is revived for the modern export market. An updated version of the Albatross G-111 – an amphibious plane that can […]
NT appoints interim treaty commissioner
The Northern Territory government has appointed barrister Tony McAvoy as interim Indigenous treaty commissioner, replacing Mick Dodson who stepped down. December 8, 2021 The Northern Territory has appointed an interim Indigenous treaty commissioner after Mick Dodson resigned amid abuse allegations. Wirdi man and barrister Tony McAvoy SC was sworn in as the NT’s acting treaty commissioner […]
NT records two more COVID-19 cases
The Northern Territory has detected two more COVID-19 cases after another infant girl and the mother of an infected child were diagnosed with the virus. December 8, 2021 Another infant has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Northern Territory as a community outbreak grew by two infections. The other new case is the mother of a […]
COVID here to stay: NT chief minister
Northern Territorians have been told to prepare for life with COVID-19 because it can no longer be eliminated from the community. December 7, 2021 Chief Minister Michael Gunner has warned Northern Territorians that COVID-19 cannot be defeated and they should prepare for life with the virus. A revised suppression strategy will focus on how fast […]
NT toddler tests positive for COVID-19
A three-year-old girl has tested positive for COVID-19 in the Northern Territory as health restrictions are extended in Katherine. December 6, 2021 A three-year-old Northern Territory girl with COVID-19 has been transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital. It is not known if she is symptomatic or the move was precautionary. The toddler’s case was announced earlier […]
NT records first COVID-19 death
The Northern Territory has recorded its first COVID-19 death with an unvaccinated 77-year-old woman from Binjari Aboriginal community succumbing to the virus. December 3, 2021 The Northern Territory has recorded its first death from COVID-19 as police start an investigation into the border breach that ignited the current outbreak. The unvaccinated 77-year-old Aboriginal woman from […]
Tassie devil whiskers reveal gourmet past
Australian scientists are using the whiskers of Tasmanian devils to peer into the endangered marsupial’s mysterious nocturnal life. December 2, 2021 Australian scientists are peering behind closed burrow doors into the secret nocturnal lives of Tasmanian devils by studying their whiskers. Chemical clues and imprints in the endangered marsupial’s long, wiry whiskers can reveal what […]
Report slams NT youth detention conditions
Inmates at the Northern Territory’s two youth detention centres are locked in their cells for more than 23 hours a day, the NT Children’s Commissioner says. December 2, 2021 A significant increase in prisoner numbers and staff shortages at the Northern Territory’s two youth detention centres have critically impacted the ability to provide basic services […]
Virus found in outback NT desert community
The COVID-19 pandemic has reached another remote Northern Territory community, with an infection detected in Lajamanu, 900km northwest of Alice Springs. December 2, 2021 The pandemic has reached another remote Northern Territory Indigenous community, with a COVID-19 infection confirmed in the Tanami Desert. The new case is a 45-year-old fully-vaccinated man from Lajamanu, about 900km […]
Virus arrives in outback NT community
The COVID-19 pandemic has reached another remote Northern Territory community, with an infection detected in Lajamanu, 900km northwest of Alice Springs. December 2, 2021 The pandemic has reached another remote Northern Territory Aboriginal community, with a COVID-19 infection detected in Lajamanu. The new case is a 45-year-old fully-vaccinated man, bringing the current cluster to 60 cases. “This […]
Death threats against NT chief’s family
Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner says death threats have been made against his family by COVID-19 vaccine protesters. December 1, 2021 Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner has fought back tears as he detailed death threats made against his family by anti-vaccination protesters. Police have launched multiple investigations following a number of incidents in […]
NT overhauls abortion laws, more choice
Northern Territory women now have more choice about when and how they terminate a pregnancy after abortion laws were overhauled. December 1, 2021 The Northern Territory has overhauled its abortion laws to give women more choice about when and how they terminate a pregnancy. The legislation, which passed unanimously late on Tuesday, empowers a single […]
NT cases grow, quarantine runaways found
The Northern Territory has detected one new COVID-19 infection linked to an Aboriginal community, with three teens who fled quarantine found by police. December 1, 2021 The Northern Territory has detected one new COVID-19 infection after an infant from an Aboriginal community was diagnosed with the virus. Two flight crew quarantined at The Centre for National Resilience […]
Trio breaks out of NT quarantine facility
Northern Territory Police have taken three people who allegedly escaped from The Centre for National Resilience quarantine facility into custody. December 1, 2021 Three people who allegedly absconded from a Northern Territory COVID-19 quarantine facility near Darwin have been found and arrested. Police say the trio jumped the fence at The Centre for National Resilience […]
Scientists developing ‘exercise’ in a pill
Scientists say it may be possible to get the benefits of exercise in a pill after they identified molecular signals linked to physical activity. December 1, 2021 Australian scientists are attempting to make a pill containing many of the benefits of exercise. But it won’t be medicine for lazy couch potatoes. The futuristic therapy is […]
Bushfires, climate impact Aussie birds
More than 200 Australian bird types are closer to extinction than a decade ago due to climate change, bushfires and loss of habitat, researchers say. December 1, 2021 A worrying number of Australia’s birds are nearer to extinction than they were a decade ago due to climate change and bushfires, researchers say. Habitat loss and […]