Last week, Crikey received a curious query from a Victorian reader peeved at a recent call to Telstra’s triple-0 emergency service. It seems that emergency service call centres must say “thank you Telstra!” to every single call.
National emergency response
Introducing the first Northern Territory-based Federal Court judge
In a part of the country where customary law is still strong, payback can involve punishment – but can also carry rewards. Just ask Northern Territory QC, John Reeves. He is currently holidaying on the Greek islands, but tomorrow will be elevated to the Federal Court bench, writes legal commentator Gwen Byrnie.
Revealed: NT intervention checks only 10% of children
Documents obtained by Crikey indicate that the Child Health Check component of the National Emergency Response is largely incompetent, probably unethical, definitely underfunded and absolutely ignores the long term.
NT grog special: a bottle short of a Brough
There’s a joke going around Alice Springs and Darwin that the local bottle shops will soon start advertising grog sales of “one short of a Brough”. That is, grog specials will be marketed in packages of $99. That’s because, come Saturday, anyone who buys takeaway p-ss retailing for over $100 will have to produce photo ID.
Absolute power in the NT…
Under the NT intervention legislation rammed through parliament, the Howard Government has armed itself with far-reaching powers to become directly involved in the operations of community service providers working in prescribed areas.
Blood moons and eclipses are exciting the superstitious
Never mind a “bad moon rising” tonight, when the full moon will be swallowed by a bloody looking total eclipse lasting several hours, writes Luke Skystalker.
Rivers of Grog: Mal Brough’s wedge too far
Why the ministerial backflip on the rivers of grog? A Canberra insider explains.
No signs of benchmarks in NT intervention
It’s timely, four weeks after the Government announced its “national emergency response” to sexual abuse of Aboriginal children, to ask: how will we know what difference the initiative has made? writes health journalist Melissa Sweet.
Funding the latest weapon in PM’s emergency
Much of what we are seeing in the Northern Territory is mediated by television images of diggers taking up positions in central Australian communities as part of the government’s “intervention and stabilisation” strategy.
Howard’s war: the recruitment drive begins
Richard Farmer wrote in Tuesday’s Crikey how the government is attempting to recruit its own own to CleanUp Aboriginal Australia. Today, Crikey has the email.
