Katherine: 2011

2011年7月3日星期日

Traditional owners celebrate native title wins

在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中，找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件，或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
在 ServiceModel 客户端配置部分中，找不到引用协定“TranslatorService.LanguageService”的默认终结点元素。这可能是因为未找到应用程序的配置文件，或者是因为客户端元素中找不到与此协定匹配的终结点元素。
By Lucy McNally

Updated June 2, 2011 14:24:00

Traditional owners are preparing for a ceremony at Victoria River Downs in the Northern Territory today to celebrate a Federal Court decision set to speed up the process for settling native title claims.

Lawyers say the decision will pave the way for a simplified native title claim process.

Until this week there had only been 15 determinations on native title claims, which first began to be lodged in the Northern Territory in the late 1990s.

Two days ago, the Federal Court ruled six Indigenous groups held rights to over 16,000 square kilometres of land between the Victoria River District and the West Australian border.

Today, it will deliver another six determinations covering 15,000 sq kms of land at a ceremony at Pigeon Hole, about 380 kilometres south-west of Katherine and close to the Victoria Downs cattle station.

The recent court determinations were made by consent, with both the Territory Government and pastoral lease holders agreeing claimant Indigenous groups had rights.

Barrister Raelene Webb says to have so many determinations reached at once is a major step.

"The law of native title is now fairly settled," she said.

"Consent determinations over pastoral leases will now be achieved fairly readily."

There are still around 100 claims of native title yet to be settled in the Territory.

Tags: community-and-society, indigenous, land-rights, laws, nt, katherine-0850

First posted June 2, 2011 12:29:00

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Passengers call loved ones during plane emergency

Updated March 30, 2011 15:49:00

A woman who was on a light plane that was forced to carry out an emergency landing at Katherine, 300 kilometres south of Darwin, says she feels lucky to be alive.

Louise Patel was on a Chart Air flight yesterday travelling from Ngukurr to Katherine when the pilot informed passengers the landing gear would not come down.

The pilot was forced to circle for 45 minutes.

During that time passengers were allowed to make phone calls to loved ones.

"My brother Anthony down in Sydney, he took the message and said, 'Right, I'll say a prayer for you'.

"So I was happy I contacted them."

The plane eventually landed safely.

"It was really just a big relief when we did land," she said.

"It was the best, smoothest landing that I think we've ever had.

"The fireys were right along beside us as we were taxiing, just in case."

Chart Air says a false indication in the cockpit led to the issue.

Tags: air-and-space-accidents, australia, nt, darwin-0800, katherine-0850, ngukurr-0852

First posted March 29, 2011 17:18:00

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Aboriginal men march for health week

Posted June 7, 2011 16:34:00

Hundreds of Aboriginal men from all over the country have marched down the main street of Katherine to promote men's health.

About 300 men came from the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland for a week-long summit on men's health.

Traffic came to a stop in downtown Katherine this morning as the men and Aboriginal health workers marched down the main street.

They were led by young men performing traditional dance and were supported by women lining the footpath.

They are trying to improve the lives of men and their families by combating alcohol abuse, smoking and domestic violence.

Tags: indigenous, mens-health, people, nt, katherine-0850

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Community braces for flooding as river peaks

Updated April 5, 2011 12:53:00

Parts of a remote Northern Territory community are expected to be flooded on Wednesday morning when the Daly River peaks.

Fourteen people have already been evacuated from the community of Nauiyu, 300 kilometres south-west of Darwin.

Emergency Services expects the river to peak at 13.7 metres at 10am tomorrow.

Commander Dave Proctor says the community's oval, some access roads and one or two houses may be inundated.

"River heights continue to rise and counter disaster planning is well underway," he said.

Liz Bott, who manages the community's arts centre, says everyone is calm.

"We haven't had any rain today and we're justing hoping there is no further rain up in the catchment," she said.

The weather bureau is forecasting isolated showers and storms for the district tonight.

But the floods are not expected to be as bad as those that devastated the community six weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Emergency Services says the Katherine River is receding.

The owner of a tavern on the Arnhem highway near the Adelaide River crossing says people should avoid trying cross the river.

Peter Shappert says there was about 600 millimetres of water over the highway this morning.

Earlier this year the road flooded and the pub doubled as a school for stranded students.

Mr Shappert says he does not think that will have to happen this time.

"It's been pretty wet here," he said.

"Most people out this way are pretty over it.

"We just want the dry here so we can do stuff.

"We're just lucky that this week it is school holidays, so hopefully by the time the new week starts the roads will all be back open for them."

Tags: floods, australia, nt, daly-river-0822, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

First posted April 5, 2011 09:37:00

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New evidence sees murder accused walk free

Posted June 7, 2011 16:36:00

A man charged with murder has walked free from the Northern Territory Supreme Court after the prosecution admitted new evidence had come to light.

Jordan Thompson, 18, was standing trial accused of murdering former teacher Michael Condrick, 50, in Katherine last June.

Mr Condrick had been stabbed in the throat and Mr Thompson had pleaded not guilty to murder.

The court had previously heard Mr Condrick was known to have paid young men for sex after meeting them during his time as a teacher in remote Aboriginal communities.

After two weeks of sittings in front of a jury, Crown Prosecutor Matthew Nathan today told the Supreme Court the Director of Public Prosecutions did not intend to continue prosecuting the accused after new evidence came to light yesterday.

The trial was stopped.

Justice Jenny Blokland told the jury that new forensic material had been discovered which was "in conflict with other evidence submitted" and presented potential ramifications for the trial.

She said it was still unclear why the new evidence was not available earlier.

Mr Thompson was told that after spending a year in custody he was now able to leave court a free man.

Justice Blokland thanked the accused for his cooperation and said potential injustice had been avoided.

Yesterday Justice Blokland warned members of the jury that an "issue" had arisen which was "something that entirely concerns fault on the part of the police".

Tags: courts-and-trials, police, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

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Bush patients can wait a day for medivac

Posted May 18, 2011 16:05:00

Northern Territory Health groups say bush patients are forced to wait up to 25 hours for air evacuations and lives will be lost if changes are not made.

CareFlight runs the aeromedical services for the Territory Government.

Katherine West Health Board spokesman Sean Heffernan says in the latest incident, a man was forced to wait 18 hours for an evacuation.

He says that is despite a letter from Health Minister Kon Vatskalis guaranteeing quality services.

"We got a letter only last Wednesday from Minister Vatskalis saying that patients will be picked up by CareFlight," he said.

"Basically, the following night we found that that letter wasn't able to stand up, so that was quite disappointing to us."

Dr Louise Harwood, also from the health board, says lives will be lost if the situation does not get better.

"We would have people evacuated from our region probably most days, and maybe most weeks there would be at least one situation where that delay was longer than we would think is acceptable," she said.

Luke Bowen, from the Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association, agrees the service is not doing well enough.

He says there are not enough planes doing the work.

"We have a service currently in place that is often struggling to keep one plane in the air, let alone three, which is part of the contract," he said.

"We have a situation, a crazy situation, where planes have to go to Alice Springs to be serviced and they spend more time in the garage than they often do flying."

Tags: states-and-territories, healthcare-facilities, health-administration, nt, katherine-0850

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Dead policeman's family want king-hit campaign

Posted June 17, 2011 13:13:00

The family of a Northern Territory police officer who was killed after being punched in a nightclub say they are happy a man has been found guilty of his manslaughter.

Sergeant Brett Meredith, 39, was off duty when he was king-hit by Michael Martyn, 40, causing him to hit his head on a Katherine nightclub floor in the early hours of New Year's Day last year.

He died later in hospital.

A Supreme Court jury took just over two hours to deliver a unanimous verdict yesterday after a two-and-a-half-week trial.

Sergeant Meredith's widow Amee says it has been a long ordeal for the family, including their three children, all under seven years old.

"It has been 18 months for us now," she said.

"We've sat through this and, at the end of the day, there are no winners here.

"Justice has prevailed ... but it doesn't mean Brett is coming home.

"It's more a finalisation of things for us."

Ms Meredith says she and her dead husband's mother will now turn their attention to a national campaign about the dangers of king-hits and raising awareness that one punch can kill.

"He was a good boy and he didn't deserve to die like that," she said.

"Nobody does, nobody does.

"That is what we want to get out there, that one punch can kill, as quick as seconds, and you're gone."

At the conclusion of the trial, Justice Peter Barr asked the jury to consider whether Martyn was aware there was a risk death would result from the punch, and if so, was it "unjustifiable to take that risk".

After the verdict Justice Barr said given the seriousness of the charge, he was obliged to remand Martyn in custody.

Martyn will be sentenced next month.

Tags: courts-and-trials, murder-and-manslaughter, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

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Singapore fighter jets train over Top End

Posted April 12, 2011 16:27:00

The Defence Department says six Singaporean fighter jets started training exercises over Northern Territory skies today.

The Republic of Singapore's F-15 Eagles flew low and performed ground attack exercises near the RAAF base at Tindal, near Katherine.

The department says there will be an increase in noise around the area for the next month as operations continue.

Tags: defence-and-national-security, security-alliances, australia, nt, katherine-0850

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CareFlight wins aeromedical service contract

Posted June 16, 2011 18:06:00

CareFlight has been awarded the contract to operate aeromedical services in the Top End for the next 10 years.

The Northern Territory Government contract is worth $25 million a year.

CareFlight has been providing the Top End's aeromedical services for almost a year.

Under the new contract, it will have two aircraft in Darwin: one in Gove and a fourth plane as a backup.

There will also be a helicopter operating out of Darwin.

A plane will be based in Katherine for low-priority patients and will fly during the day only.

It is the same number of aircraft in the same locations as CareFlight currently operates.

The situation has been criticised as causing delays in the transport of patients in remote areas of the top part of the territory.

CareFlight says under the new contract it will have more modern aircraft and will supply its own doctors.

The new service will be up and running by 2013.

Tags: medical-procedures, regional, programs-and-initiatives, nt, darwin-0800, katherine-0850, nhulunbuy-0880

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Union attacks plan to employ 'unqualified' teachers

Updated June 29, 2011 11:06:00

The Northern Territory Education Union has slammed the Territory Government over its plans to employ people who are not qualified teachers to teach in Territory schools.

Teach for Australia is a program that began in Victoria last year and will now be introduced in the Territory.

Under it, anyone who has graduated from university in any field can apply for a position as a teacher.

The Teacher's Registration Board recently ruled there was nothing in the Education Act to prevent people who have not had formal teaching qualifications from teaching.

In Victoria, people who take part in the program receive fortnightly visits by university tutors to check on their progress.

Matthew Cranitch from the NT branch of the Australian Education Union says there is no way that will happen in the Territory, given the remoteness of many schools.

"They will literally be thrown in the deep end," he said.

"These schools, these remote schools, they are very hard to staff for a reason."

Mr Cranitch described the plan as a bandaid fix.

The union says Katherine High School and Barkly College are two schools where the program may begin next year.

Education Minister Chris Burns will not say which schools are being considered, but insists it is not about a teacher shortage.

"It is all about attracting the brightest graduates, people who are very committed, as an alternative pathway to teaching in the Northern Territory and I think it's a positive thing," he said.

"I don't really feel the union should be opposing it. I want to enter into constructive discussions with the union."

Mr Burns says he believes the program is a good idea.

"This is not a blanket permission by the Teacher's Registration Board for bulk graduates for Teach For Australia to come to the Northern Territory," he said.

"The important thing to emphasise here is there is less than 1 per cent vacancies in the Territory.

"We are attracting quality teachers here."

Tags: education-associations, schools, programs-and-initiatives, nt, alice-springs-0870, darwin-0800, katherine-0850, tennant-creek-0860

First posted June 29, 2011 10:29:00

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Stunning cattle before slaughter a 'basic requirement'

Updated June 7, 2011 11:05:00

Australian cattle producers, industry leaders and stakeholders will meet in the Northern Territory today for the first time since ABC TV's Four Corners exposed the cruelty and abuse in Indonesian abattoirs last week.

The Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association has welcomed calls for the mandatory stunning of cattle to be introduced in Indonesian abattoirs.

The association's Luke Bowen says the gathering in Katherine will talk about finding ways to improve the industry.

Mr Bowen says producers are refusing to sign contracts to send their cattle to the facilities unless there are guarantees the animals are stunned.

He says stunning is seen as a "basic requirement".

"Support in our industry is overwhelming for the use of stunning prior to slaughter," he said.

The association says it will be easier to maintain higher standards if the number of Indonesian abattoirs slaughtering Australian cattle is reduced from 100 to 25.

Mr Bowen says there will be a reduction in the numbers of cattle sent to Indonesia until the 25 abattoirs can adjust to the increased load.

"An approach to control the system as much as possible is needed, so that we get a focus on the abattoirs which are doing things right and can prove they are meeting the standards that we as Australians, and as producers, accept," he said.

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), which proposed cutting the number of Indonesian abattoirs that process Australian cattle, concedes that not all cattle would be stunned before slaughter at the accredited facilities.

MLA chairman Don Heatley says stun guns are not mandatory under international standards but the industry wants to encourage their use.

"There are five [abattoirs] that are already using very high-quality standards," he said.

He said he hoped another five slaughter houses would be accredited by the end of the year.

A senior Islamic Law professor says poor treatment of animals is contrary to Islamic law and Indonesian abattoirs have no reason to subject cattle to cruelty.

Professor Jamila Hussain from the University of Technology in Sydney says under Islamic law, animals are to be killed as quickly and painlessly as possible, and young animals should not be killed in front of their mothers.

She says many Australian Muslims are extremely upset about the perception that animal cruelty is part of Islamic culture.

"Animals need to be treated kindly and considerately," Professor Hussain said.

"If they are going to be killed, they should be killed with a minimum of fear and ill treatment.

"What is going on in Indonesia in those abattoirs is not Islamic and it most certainly needs to be dealt with."

Meanwhile, a mothballed abattoir in the Northern Territory is close to reopening after major renovations.

The Bachelor meatworks, south of Darwin, is expected to reopen within two months and will process up to 350 cattle or camels a day.

Operator Ivan Coulter says he does not see the abattoir as an alternative to the live export industry to Indonesia.

"Most of our market at the moment will be to the Middle East," he said.

"But we have had inquires since we've been talking of maybe selling into Malaysia, which may be linked with the Indonesians.

"We were talking prior to the problems in Indonesia."

Tags: international-aid-and-trade, animal-welfare, beef-cattle, nt, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

First posted June 7, 2011 10:40:00

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22,000 take part in Top End war games

The largest joint military exercise undertaken by the Australian Defence Force and US forces begins in the Top End next month.

More than 22,000 Australian and American military personnel will take part in Exercise Talisman Sabre, a two-week training event which is held in Australia every two years.

Talisman Sabre will be held across six areas in the Northern Territory and northern Queensland.

Maritime forces will take part in exercises in the Coral, Timor and Arafura seas.

One of the facilities to be used is the RAAF base at Katherine, south of Darwin.

Tags: defence-forces, security-alliances, nt, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

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Jury shown security pictures of fatal punch

Posted June 2, 2011 18:08:00

A Northern Territory Supreme Court jury has been shown footage of the punch that fatally injured an off-duty policeman in a Katherine nightclub last January.

Michael Martyn, 40, is on trial for the manslaughter of Sergeant Brett Meredith, who died after hitting his head on the concrete floor.

The footage shows that in the lead-up to the attack other people repeatedly tried to keep the two men apart.

The court has been told many people had been drinking heavily and that the off-duty officer had a blood alcohol reading four times the legal driving limit.

Sergeant Meredith's family wiped away tears as the security camera footage was played to the court.

It shows the officer lying on a Katherine nightclub floor with his arms flung out.

The prosecution alleges the officer only fell because he was king-hit by Mr Martyn, who has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge.

The footage shows Sergeant Meredith had been in the club for less than an hour early on New Year's Day last year when he was hit.

The defence says the images show several other people in the nightclub had repeatedly tried to keep the two men apart.

It does not dispute that Mr Martyn hit the off-duty officer but says it was in self-defence.

The trial continues.

Tags: courts-and-trials, police, murder-and-manslaughter, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

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Katherine mobile police station tender called

Updated May 18, 2011 11:18:00

Katherine looks set to get a new mobile police station.

Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs already have station vans which give police more flexibility to move around.

A tender is open for a company to provide the mobile station for Katherine and applications close later this month.

The member for Katherine is pleased with the move.

The Country Liberals' Willem Westra Van Holthe says the town used to have a station van but it got redeployed.

"I remember the Katherine mobile police station sitting idle for many many months at a time," he said.

"When it was rolled out in response to some publicity about anti-social behaviour in Katherine the pro-active approach to policing really did work."

Tags: police, crime-prevention, nt, katherine-0850

First posted May 18, 2011 11:19:00

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2011年7月2日星期六

Police lock up fuel supplies after sniffing outbreak

Posted April 15, 2011 09:19:00

Police in an Arnhem Land community say they have locked up fuel supplies in response to reports petrol sniffers have been stealing unleaded fuel from the station.

In 2005 there were 47 registered petrol sniffers in the remote community of Ngukurr, about 250 kilometres east of Katherine.

The community has since worked to deal with the problem and the petrol station now sells Opal fuel, which does not give sniffers a high.

But police have confirmed there has been a new outbreak of sniffing in the community.

Road access to Ngukurr has been cut since December and police say they have been told standard fuel held in drums on the police station's property may have been stolen.

Police have increased security at the station.

A rehabilitation program in Ngukurr is treating about 10 people who have been identified as sniffers in the past month.

Tags: indigenous, petrol-sniffing, australia, nt, darwin-0800, katherine-0850, ngukurr-0852

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Commissioner considers breakaway land group

The Aboriginal Land Commissioner will assess an application from an Indigenous group which wants to form a new land council in the Katherine region.

In a statement, Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin says she is assessing an application from a group of Aboriginal people who want to start the Katherine Regional Land Council.

The group no longer wants to be represented by the Northern Land Council.

Their application has been referred to the Aboriginal Land Commissioner, Howard Olney, who will report back to the minister by the end of July.

Ms Macklin says she wants there to be a "rigorous and transparent" assessment of the proposal.

She says if she decides to support the bid, the matter will be referred to the Australian Electoral Commission.

Tags: community-and-society, indigenous, land-rights, aboriginal, nt, katherine-0850

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Monster croc pulled from NT trap

Updated May 4, 2011 16:37:00

Rangers are warning people to remain vigilant around Top End waterways after a huge saltwater crocodile was pulled from a trap near Katherine.

The 4.6-metre reptile is the largest of the 116 crocodiles caught by wildlife officers in the Northern Territory this year.

The monster croc was pulled out of a trap in the Katherine River, about 10 kilometres from the town of Katherine.

Ranger Joey Buckerfield says the crocodile was so heavy it took unusual measures to get him out of the trap.

"There were about six of us on the rope and we could not pull him out," he said.

"We ended up having to winch him out with the Toyota.

"A couple of times before we have had to winch them out or just pull them up steep embankments.

"This time he was just genuinely heavy - by our estimates between 600 kilograms and 700 kilograms."

Mr Buckerfield says a 3.4m saltwater crocodile was also caught about one kilometres downstream from the popular Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park.

"Even though the wet season has finished and the dry season is here, crocodiles still inhabit waterways and all the remnant waterholes of the river systems," he said.

"Anywhere you go where you are likely to encounter crocodiles, whether it be fishing, boating or camping, we just ask the public to be croc-wise."

Meanwhile, police have downgraded a search for a fisherman missing from Elcho Island, who they suspect may have fallen victim to a crocodile.

Tags: human-interest, animals, crocodile-attacks, nt, katherine-0850

First posted May 4, 2011 16:29:00

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Industry hit hard by live export ban

Updated June 8, 2011 14:11:00

The Northern Territory Cattlemen's Association says it is disappointed with the Federal Government's decision to temporarily suspend all live cattle exports to Indonesia, but says it may save the industry in the long term.

The Government plans to stop all exports to Indonesia for up to six months or until animal welfare safeguards are in place.

Association president Rohan Sullivan says it is better than an indefinite ban.

"I am disappointed that it has had to come to this," he said.

"But I do believe this may be the difference between being able to keep this trade or lose it altogether."

The government has been under intense pressure from its own backbench, independents and animal welfare groups since cases of animal cruelty in Indonesian abattoirs were exposed by the ABC last week.

Trade with 12 abattoirs was banned initially, but now all exports will be suspended until the welfare of cattle can be guaranteed.

Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig says he wants safeguards put in place as quickly as possible, but the suspension will stay in place until there are sufficient supply chain assurances about treatment of cattle.

Cattle Council of Australia chief executive David Inall says the ban will particularly hurt the Northern Territory.

"There are tens of thousands of cattle that are in the system in northern Australia moving towards ports," he said.

"This is going to be a huge dislocation in northern Australia.

"I was in a meeting yesterday at Katherine in the Northern Territory and, rest assured, there are a lot of very, very nervous producers up there."

Mr Sullivan says the suspension of trade means exporters are stuck with thousands of cattle waiting in depots south of Darwin.

"It is not a cheap exercise feeding 5,000 or 10,000 cattle for an indefinite period," he said.

"Something has got to be done for those cattle. Whether they can go back to their home properties, I don't think, in some cases, that is a realistic possibility."

Nationals Senate leader Barnaby Joyce is highly critical of the suspension.

"We have over-reached and that will have consequences," he said.

Cameron Hall from Livecorp, the marketing arm of the livestock export industry, says there will be a significant impact from the move.

"But the industry understands the reasons why," he said.

Mr Hall said industry representatives would be briefed by the government today.

Cattleman Garry Riggs from Lakefield Station, south of Katherine, says the suspension will hurt producers but is the best option they could have hoped for.

"I think it was the decision that was going to come and we had all braced ourselves for it," he said.

"If it helps get it back on track again and get it back sending cattle up there, well, yeah, we are all for it."

Meanwhile, a farmer producing hay for the live export industry says the suspension will hit Territory small businesses very hard.

Duncan Mckenzie runs a property outside Darwin and says he is laying off two staff this morning.

He says there are other industries where animal cruelty is much worse.

"How about those people go and put their cameras on a trawler," he said.

"They have ... cruelty to fish every day of the year.

"They are just dropped on the deck to die, run out of breath, suffocate ... something that you would never do to cattle."

Lyn White from Animals Australia is pleased with the suspension of exports but says it has not gone far enough.

"We will continue to be campaigning (so that) the trade should not open again," she said.

Tags: international-aid-and-trade, federal-government, beef-cattle, activism-and-lobbying, sea-transport, nt, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

First posted June 8, 2011 10:15:00

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Man paid former students for sex, court told

Updated May 24, 2011 17:56:00

A Northern Territory Supreme Court jury in Darwin has heard allegations that a Katherine man who was killed last year was paying former students for sex.

The 50-year-old man, who worked as a teacher in remote communities, was found dead in his home at Katherine in June last year.

An 18-year-old man is accused of slitting his throat and stealing items from his home.

He has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Defence counsel Jon Tippett QC told the jury the man gave young men and boys, who were often former students, money, drugs and alcohol in return for sex.

The court heard that on the night the man died, two men were at his house in Katherine and he had allegedly asked the pair to have sex with him.

The trial continues.

Tags: courts-and-trials, murder-and-manslaughter, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

First posted May 24, 2011 17:36:00

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RAAF memorial marks mystery death of pilot

Updated June 6, 2011 17:28:00

The 20th anniversary of the death of an Air Force pilot has been marked with a memorial service at the Tindal RAAF base in the Northern Territory.

Flying Officer Cameron Conroy from 75 Squadron crashed his F/A-18 during a routine training flight in 1991.

It was years before a jackeroo found the crash site near Weipa in far north Queensland.

The squadron's commanding officer Phil Arms says the death of Officer Conroy is still a bit of a mystery.

The F/A-18 jet, piloted by Officer Conroy, 26, took off from RAAF Tindal, outside Katherine, on June 5, 1991 for a routine training flight.

When Officer Conroy failed to respond to radio calls, his wingman flew alongside him.

"He was last seen to be slumped forward or incapacitated in the cockpit as the aircraft continued to fly," Squadron Leader Arms said.

"It is thought the pilot died from a lack of oxygen or contaminated air.

"As a result, Australia's F-18s were modified to regulate oxygen quality."

Officer Conroy's widow attended the memorial service at the base on the weekend.

Tags: air-force, air-and-space-accidents, katherine-0850, weipa-4874

First posted June 6, 2011 17:27:00

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Thor goes into battle for the NT

The Australian star of new Hollywood movie Thor has revealed he is doing his bit to promote tourism in the Northern Territory.

Chris Hemsworth spent two years living in the remote Indigenous community of Bulman, south-east of Katherine, as a young boy.

Now the actor, who plays the eponymous hero in Kenneth Branagh's new action adventure, says he always tells his friends in Hollywood to visit the Territory when they travel to Australia.

The former Home and Away star says all his earliest memories are of his time in Bulman.

"I want to try and get up to the Northern Territory next time and get back up that way," Hemsworth said.

"I have people, a lot of them, asking 'where should I go in Australia'?

"The first thing they think is Sydney and I say 'no, if you want to see something different and beautiful and diverse, head north'.

"So that is my bit."

Thor is based on the Marvel comic hero, who is drawn from legends of the Norse god of thunder.

Tags: arts-and-entertainment, feature-films, indigenous, travel-and-tourism, australia, nt, katherine-0850

First posted April 21, 2011 09:52:00

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New mobile dialysis bus to visit communities

Posted March 31, 2011 17:40:00

Northern Territory Renal Services says its mobile dialysis bus is now fully operational and will be a regular visitor to communities.

The service's director Greg Perry says the bus allows patients to be less dependent on regional hospital facilities.

But he says people should be aware the bus is not designed to provide long-term dialysis care.

He says the aim is to provide services for festivals and sorry business when patients have to be away from access to normal treatment.

"Many of them are in Darwin or Alice Springs, a major demographic centre, for their regular dialysis," he said.

"But this mobile service allows them to travel to their communities for local festivals and so on.

"So it's a way of just providing a little more flexibility to patients and their lifestyle. We call this quality of life."

Tags: liver-and-kidneys, australia, nt, alice-springs-0870, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

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Month of thunder looms in Top End skies

Updated May 23, 2011 11:14:00

An extra F/A-18 squadron has arrived at the Tindal air base outside Katherine in the Northern Territory as the Defence Force begins a month-long training exercise in the Top End.

Wing Commander Phil Arms, commanding officer of 75 Squadron, says the exercise is like a sports carnival for those involved.

He says most days there will be 40 to 50 jet aircraft in the skies over Darwin and Katherine.

Hundreds of people will take part in the exercise, dubbed Arnhem Thunder.

"It will involve a number of fast jet squadrons," Wing Commander Arms said.

"Essentially, we get all the jets together and we fight a fairly complex air war."

"We'll be doing what we call pre-plan strike missions, as well where we actually have targets we'll identify before we take-off.

"This is the level we always train to."

The exercise delivers plenty of noise but there will be some relief for residents of Darwin and Katherine.

Wing Commander Arms says take-offs will be concentrated between 8:00am and 9:00am and 2:00pm and 3:00pm.

He has some advice for locals.

"They should sit back and enjoy it and crack a can and love the fact that we've got free airspace here and we're a free country," he said.

"And this is what keeps it that way."

Tags: defence-forces, environmental-impact, darwin-0800, katherine-0850

First posted May 23, 2011 10:08:00

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Ngukurr locals plea for bigger health clinic

Posted April 13, 2011 13:00:00

Representatives of a remote Northern Territory Aboriginal community say they urgently need better health services.

But they say their calls for help are being ignored.

The health centre in Ngukurr, about 250 kilometres east of Katherine, was built in the mid-1970s to cater for about 300 people.

The local population has now risen above 1,500.

Community spokesman Bobby Nunggumajbarr says the clinic is too small and staff are leaving because they are under so much pressure.

''We need to see a bigger clinic to accommodate our children and people in our community,'' he said

Sunrise Health Service chief executive Graham Castine says the clinic recently treated about 130 patients in a single day.

''Everyone's tripping over each other and the consultations and stuff aren't the best they could be because of that,'' he said.

Mr Castine says the health centre is below par and government must invest in a new facility.

The Territory government says it is working with the Commonwealth to improve the community's health service.

Tags: healthcare-facilities, australia, nt, katherine-0850

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