Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published work | + 61 484 008 119 | abunch@aap.com.au
Archive for March, 2022
Watchdog to examine Rolfe prosecution call
The Northern Territory anti-corruption commissioner will investigate the decision to prosecute Constable Zachary Rolfe over Kumanjayi Walker’s shooting death. March 29, 2022 The Northern Territory anti-corruption watchdog will investigate the decision to prosecute a policeman for murder after he fatally shot an Aboriginal teenager. Chief Minister Michael Gunner says he supports the probe into improper conduct […]
Aboriginal teen’s inquest to seek ‘truth’
An inquest in Alice Springs will examine police conduct on the day Indigenous teenager Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot by an officer as he resisted arrest. March 29, 2022 A coroner says she wants to understand why police shot an Aboriginal teenager, three weeks after a court cleared the Northern Territory officer who killed him […]
Singapore Air’s Top End flights take off
The first Singapore Airlines passenger flight into the Top End for more than two decades is set to land in Darwin as tourists begin returning to Australia. March 29, 2022 Singapore Airlines is restarting passenger flights to the Top End for the first time in more than two decades as international tourism begins ramping up […]
Burnside joins NT anti-vax mandate case
Prominent barrister and civil liberties advocate Julian Burnside has joined the fight against the Northern Territory’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. March 28, 2022 High-profile barrister and civil liberties advocate Julian Burnside has joined four workers fighting against the Northern Territory government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Gurindji woman Marii Oblelscuk, Ray Phillips, Conan Hammet and John Anstess are challenging […]
NT traditional owners fight Santos project
Northern Territory traditional owners have commenced legal action to stop Santos’ massive Barossa offshore gas project being completed. March 27, 2022 Traditional land owners have commenced legal action to stop two South Korean banks financing a massive gas project in the Northern Territory. The group, from the Tiwi Islands and Larrakia country, insist they didn’t […]
Origin Energy questioned over Russian link
Origin Energy denies any wrongdoing over its links to a Russian billionaire and says it will comply with any directions from the Australian government. March 25, 2022 A gas company exploring the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin has denied any wrongdoing over its links to a Russian billionaire on Australia’s sanctions list. Origin Energy says it […]
Kakadu land handback not just symbolic
The return of nearly half of Kakadu National Park to traditional owners is expected to create hundreds of business opportunities for Aboriginal people. March 24, 2022 The return of nearly half of Kakadu National Park to traditional owners isn’t just symbolic, it’s set to create hundreds of business opportunities for Aboriginal people. The massive land […]
Top End Never Never country handed back
The homestead depicted in Jeannie Gunn’s groundbreaking novel We of the Never Never has been handed back to traditional owners in the Northern Territory. March 24, 2022 Jeannie Gunn’s groundbreaking novel We of the Never Never painted a picture of Australian frontier life at Elsey Station in the North Territory outback. Fast forward more than […]
NT prisoner leaps wall, escapes custody
A prisoner has leapt over a wall in Alice Springs to escape police custody, the Northern Territory police say. March 23, 2022 Northern Territory police are searching for a prisoner who leapt over a wall to escape custody after leaving an Alice Springs courthouse. Keenan Mitchell, 23, was handcuffed when he ran and jumped the gated […]
Rolfe case claims ‘sadden’ NT police chief
The Northern Territory’s police commissioner has explained how the decision was made to charge Constable Zachary Rolfe with Kumanjayi Walker’s murder. March 23, 2022 The Northern Territory police commissioner has explained how the decision to prosecute a constable acquitted of murdering an Aboriginal teenager was made amid continuing calls for an inquiry into the investigation. […]
Aust north open to attack: US Admiral
US Indo-Pacific commander Adml John Aquilino says Australia’s north is under threat amid the most concerning security challenge in the region in recent years. March 23, 2022 Australia’s vast north is open to attack amid the most concerning security challenge the United States’ top military commander in the region has seen in recent years. US […]
Gas frackers, cattle incompatible: inquiry
A Senate inquiry has heard the cattle industry and traditional owners cannot co-exist with gas fracking companies in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. March 22, 2022 The Northern Territory cattle industry cannot co-exist with gas fracking companies in the Beetaloo Basin, a cattle baron has told a Senate inquiry. Many traditional owners don’t want gas producers on their […]
River project to boost Darwin water supply
A proposed water storage project on the Adelaide River could secure Darwin’s water security for the next 50 years, the Northern Territory government says. March 22, 2022 A Northern Territory storage project could secure Darwin’s water security for the next 50 years. The proposed Adelaide River project is expected to boost Darwin’s water supply by up to […]
Group of men bash, stomp on NT bartender
Police are calling for witnesses after a bartender had his head stomped on in an attack by a group of men outside an Alice Springs pub. March 22, 2022 A group of men have joined in the bashing of an Alice Springs bartender after he threw out a drunk patron who had threatened people with […]
Federal funds for Aboriginal talks missing
Millions of dollars promised in the last federal budget for Northern Territory traditional owner talks about oil and gas production have not been received. March 22, 2022 Millions of dollars promised by the Morrison government for Northern Territory traditional owner talks about Beetaloo Basin oil and gas production have not been received, a Senate inquiry has […]
NT gas field Senate hearing begins
The first Senate environment and communications committee hearing into oil and gas exploration in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin has begun in Darwin. March 22, 2022 Oil and gas production in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin could help Australia meet its energy needs and provide export income, a Senate inquiry has been told. The basin […]
What the jury didn’t hear in NT cop’s trial
A Northern Territory policeman acquitted of an Indigenous man’s murder allegedly assaulted another Aboriginal man and used excessive force with three others. March 22, 2022 A Northern Territory policeman cleared of murdering teenager Kumanjayi Walker allegedly assaulted an Aboriginal man and used excessive force with three others. Constable Zachary Rolfe also lied under oath, according […]
Skilled migration rules relaxed for NT
The Commonwealth has relaxed migration rules to help Northern Territory employers fill critical skilled worker shortages. March 21, 2022 Relaxed migration rules are set to help Northern Territory employers fill critical skilled worker shortages, the federal government says. The designated area migration agreement will be updated to increase the number of migrant workers who can travel […]
Federal govt and NT battle over Kakadu
Parks Australia is immune from prosecution after an Aboriginal sacred site in Kakadu was allegedly illegally disturbed, the Commonwealth Attorney-General says. March 21, 2022 The Commonwealth is immune from criminal prosecution after allegedly illegally disturbing an Aboriginal sacred site at a former movie set in Kakadu National Park, a court has been told. The Northern […]
Darwin scooter assault, woman attacked
Two teenagers have been charged after a woman was allegedly knocked off an electronic scooter, assaulted and robbed in Darwin. March 21, 2022 A 62-year-old woman who was allegedly knocked off an electronic scooter, assaulted and robbed by two teenagers in Darwin chased after one of her attackers as he fled. A 14-year-old boy allegedly […]
Indigenous suicide rate ‘national tragedy’
The Commonwealth and the Northern Territory government will spend $43 million to help prevent suicide, with a focus on Indigenous communities. March 21, 2022 Ingidenous people are dying of suicide at more than double the rate of the non-Indigenous Australians and it is a national tragedy, the federal government says. The Commonwealth and the Northern […]
Commonwealth and NT battle over Kakadu
A court battle between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory over a criminal charge for illegally disturbing a Kakadu Aboriginal sacred site has started. March 21, 2022 A court battle between the Northern Territory government and the Commonwealth over claims Parks Australia illegally disturbed an Aboriginal sacred site in Kakadu National Park has started in Darwin. […]
Murder charge after NT home intruder shot
Police have charged a man with murder after an alleged intruder was fatally shot at a home in the Northern Territory on Thursday morning. March 19, 2022 A man has been charged with murder after an alleged intruder was fatally shot at a home near Katherine in the Northern Territory. The 38-year-old resident of the […]
Man saved from burning ute, Alice Springs
A police officer has pulled a man from a burning ute in Alice Springs after he suffered a medical episode on his way to work. March 18, 2022 A man has been pulled from a burning ute in Alice Springs after he suffered a medical episode on his way to work and ran off the […]