Four more years of spin
COMMENT by ERWIN CHLANDA “Media out!” That was the impertinent instruction from Dale Wakefield’s minder when I arrived at Labor’s “after party” in the Todd Tavern soon after polling booths closed in...
View ArticleA touch of light: cartwheeling galahs
By MIKE GILLAM All photos © Mike Gillam Ahhh, the sound of baby galahs crying for food, aaarga aaarga aaaarga followed by the rapid swallow and gurgle as a parent obliges and offers up a nutritious...
View ArticleWakefield concedes in Braitling
By ERWIN CHLANDA Dale Wakefield (Labor) has conceded defeat in the keenly contested seat of Braitling which she won from CLP Chief Minister Adam Giles by 27 votes in 2016. She held the difficult...
View ArticleNew step towards sustainable food for Alice
Building a network of community gardens will continue with a new one at the Centralian Middle School in Gillen, assisted by the Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC). CEO Jimmy Cocking says in a media...
View ArticleZachary Rolfe: live-streaming to Yuendumu to be curtailed?
By KIERAN FINNANE The Local Court in Alice Springs has heard from the prosecutor in the case against Zachary Rolfe – the police officer pleading not guilty to the charge of murder of Kumanjayi Walker...
View ArticleRush to co-opt members a bid to stack the Town Council?
By ERWIN CHLANDA Mayor Jamie de Brenni and Cr Jacinta Price have given notice of a motion at Monday’s town council meeting to “co-opt” two prominent Country Liberal Party figures, Jenny Mostran and...
View ArticleGlen Auricht swing voter in council plot
By ERWIN CHLANDA Former councillors Marli Banks and Matt Paterson are incensed about a move, foreshadowed for Monday’s meeting, they see as a plot to block their return to the town council. Mayor Jamie...
View ArticleParadise an hour away
COMMENT by ERWIN CHLANDA Where is it? I’d have to shoot you if I told you. Let’s says it’s an hour from Alice, give or take. Head off an hour before sunset and on your way you’ll be treated to the...
View ArticleBungalow days matter
By JOHN P McD SMITH Serious concerns for the destitute Aboriginal children of mixed descent who existed on the fringe of stations, mining camps and various isolated regions in the Northern Territory...
View ArticleGrowing desert peas and ptilotus in nature’s way
By GEOFF MIERS Having a garden that regenerates itself annually with little to no effort is the ultimate achievement a gardener can attain, and it’s not so hard to do here in Central Australia despite...
View ArticleCoronavirus doesn’t daunt Alice creative community
By JEN STANDISH-WHITE With grateful thanks to the welcoming support of the Alice Springs News, Centred on Arts is back, and we are eager once again to highlight the tangible expression that our...
View ArticleOngoing discrimination at the library
By KIERAN FINNANE A Youth Hub is one of the Town Council’s key projects for 2020-21 with a $400,000+ budget. At the end of June CEO Robert Jennings said it could possibly open in the coming month...
View ArticleWhen five are not enough, and when they are
By ERWIN CHLANDA The Town Council deferred dealing with a motion by councillors Jamie de Brenni and Jacinta Price that would have “co-opted” fellow CLP luminaries Jenny Mostran and Brendan Heenan as...
View ArticleA touch of light: How quickly hundreds become tens of thousands
By MIKE GILLAM All photos © Mike Gillam. “There’s too many of them.” Now if only we could apply this refrain to the human species. I for one grew up with the mantra of zero population growth and took...
View ArticleZachary Rolfe: police give evidence about firearms training
By KIERAN FINNANE “Edged weapon equals gun”: two police officers gave evidence in the Alice Springs Local Court today that that is their training. When they are confronted by someone armed with an...
View ArticleZachary Rolfe: body-worn video of shooting shown in court
By KIERAN FINNANE In repeated replays and different versions the Alice Springs Local Court today watched and heard the dying minutes in the life of Kumanjayi Walker. The evidence came from three...
View ArticleRenewable energy: Town Council takes another step
By ERWIN CHLANDA The Town Council supported unanimously a motion by Cr Jimmy Cocking on Monday to “investigate potential options for managing waste associated with the renewable energy industry” and to...
View ArticleLambley leading in Araluen, Yan in Namatjira, postal votes now to be counted
By ERWIN CHLANDA On the count as of late on Wednesday this week, Robyn Lambley (Territory Alliance) would retain her seat of Araluen by 17 votes, defeating former Alice Springs Mayor Damien Ryan. And...
View ArticleZachary Rolfe could have made different choices, experts tell court
By KIERAN FINNANE It is uncontested that Constable Zachary Rolfe fired three shots at Kumanjayi Walker in the evening of 9 November last year at the remote community of Yuendumu, north-west of Alice...
View ArticleTown Council: Intent and execution
OpEd by ELI MELKY The public backlash in response to the story in this newspaper on Thursday last week regarding co-opting of councillors was not surprising, however what followed was surprising. By...
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