Australian politics
LOVE – new portraits by Therese Ritchie
Bob Gosford September 24, 2017
Portraits by Therese Ritchie, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Vimy Lane, Parap 28th September through 7 October 2017. Presented by the Darwin Pride Festival.
Love – portraits by Therese Ritchie. A Darwin Pride Festival 2017 presentation.
Bob Gosford September 24, 2017
How the portraits came about is simple, but its alchemy is difficult to explain. Overall it involves listening to each subject as they talk about aspects of their sexuality. Usually by the end of the conversation, we will have collated a list of relevant words and phrases. It is not a chronological list but definitely an elegant description of a life. There is always one word or phrase that resonates very deeply with the subject and that is what they take to the next level through merging the words with the physical form—in this case their bodies.
In defence of the Ludmilla, Kulaluk, Nightcliff foreshore: saving Darwin’s secret gardens
Bob Gosford September 20, 2017
"If the take the mangroves, we Saltwater People will have nothing left of our traditional way of life which has been handed down to us by our old people," Joy White, Public Officer, Bagot community, Darwin.
Dear Abby – I have two extra SSM survey envelopes. What do I do?
Bob Gosford September 16, 2017 5 Comments
On Thursday last I went to my post office to check my mail and noted, with some surprise that there were three SSM postal survey envelopes inside. One was addressed to me, the others to a married couple—I’ll call them the Smiths—who had been previous tenants of my post box. Over the past few years […]
Mining in the NT – the Gunner government made a good start but …
Bob Gosford September 14, 2017
There are a number of legacy mine sites which pose a risk to the environment and/or public safety. Most of these sites ceased operations before 2005 and predated the requirement for operators to lodge a rehabilitation security bond and have either inadequate or non existent securities. The estimated level of historical mining liabilities in the NT is $1 billion.
What’s a mine worth in the NT? This much …
Bob Gosford September 13, 2017
The mining security bond will be utilised by government, if required, to prevent, minimise or rectify environmental harm caused by mining activities on or off the mining site or for completion of rehabilitation. Mining securities are calculated based on the amount of disturbance likely to be caused by the authorised mining activities.
Glencore, “open and transparent” government and the little EDO (NT) that could
Bob Gosford September 13, 2017 1 Comment
In the Territory these amounts have previously been confidential, but we know it is important for Territorians to know the mining industry is being held accountable. With that in mind, we are moving in line with other jurisdictions to make security amounts available to the public: NT Minister Ken Vowles
A perfect storm. An insider’s view of failure of climate change policy in Australia
Bob Gosford September 8, 2017
This is a guest post by lawyer and climate policy specialist Peter Shaw. It seems like a lifetime ago and I suppose it was. The year was 1989 and full of hope I joined the Australian Gas Light Company (AGL). In those distant, salad days AGL only sold gas (we will skate over a questionable […]
Failed state, failed party. The Country Liberal Party’s “long march” back to electoral credibility
Bob Gosford September 8, 2017 3 Comments
The CLP's 2016 election campaign was a shambles. Loughnane and Mitchell describe a"rudderless" and dramatically underfunded campaign. The Northern Myth understands that, notwithstanding the repeated assurances during the campaign that the CLP had a campaign war chest of $1 million, it was only after the election that the party's campaign debt of around $500,000 was revealed.
NT Police naming and shaming of juveniles on social media – lazy policing or overreach?
Bob Gosford September 7, 2017
There are many reasons why naming and shaming youth offenders is not a good idea, particularly where they are only alleged offenders. Social media is unforgiving and unforgetting. The image of a child aged 11 years has a long future ahead of it. In addition to addressing any alleged offending, they now have to deal with the stigma. No amount of new schools or new names will be able to reintegrate them into the community.