Territory Story

Welcome to the first in our weekly series where we shoot the breeze with the editor of the NT Independent and discuss some of the stories making the news during the week.

Vidoula Uckiah lives in Darwin, Australia. Born in Amsterdam, Vidoula’s roots can be traced back to Mauritius. As a young girl, Vidoula decided she wanted to become a lawyer. Little did she realise at the time that it would take her 20 years, three universities in three different countries to realise her dream. This is a story of how tenacity, grit and courage fulfilled an ambition.

Majé Saba is a radio announcer who lives In Wollongong, News South Wales. Originally from Sydney, Majé was born into a wealthy Lebanese Australian family. However rather than follow an easy path into the family business, Majé chose the road less travelled and pursued his dream of becoming a radio announcer. Majé shares his story with humour and self deprecation, including his perception of the Nor...

Wissam (or Sam as he’s known) is an Australian living in Dubai. In fact he’s lived in Dubai for so long, his three children were born there. Wissam talks about life in Dubai under Covid-19. He also answers questions about religion and politics, providing an interesting perspective on the Middle East as an expatriate Australian. This is Wissam’s story.

Neil is a true blue Territorian. Born and raised in Alice Springs, he’s lived in the red centre his entire life with the exception of a short stint in Adelaide to attend university. Neil epitomises what’s it is to be a Territorian. He’s a hard worker, innovative (he even when to Singapore to hire workers for his engineering business), he’s compassionate (listen to his comments about indigenous Aus...

Happy Mothers’ Day to all the mums out there. Leon and Peter roll the dice on this episode by inviting their respective mothers onto the podcast for an interview with lots of angst for the hosts. Each take turns interviewing the other’s mother about their son and the mums make some interesting and sometimes embarrassing revelations...

David Malone has been on the podcast before (episode 9). As CEO of the Master Builders Association, Dave has been thinking about what a post Covid-19 economic recovery would look like for the Northern Territory and has put together a plan he hopes the Northern Territory Government will consider. We discuss the elements of this plan.

Christopher Walsh is originally from Halifax, Canada; probably as far away from Darwin as you could get. After meeting a girl from Darwin in Calgary, Canada, Chris came to Darwin in 2014 so she could show him her home town. As a journalist he thought it would be interesting to drop in and have a chat with the NT News. An hour and a half later, he was offered a job. Fast forward six years and Chris...

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka to middle class parents, Nilesh had a happy upbringing. When he finished school his parents encouraged him to study abroad. Nilesh choose Melbourne, Australia. After completing first year, disaster struck. The family business at home ran into difficulty and his parents were no longer able to support him. Forced to choose between returning home or finding a way to support...

Danial Kelly has led an incredibly diverse life. From humble origins as a farmer’s son in Swan Hill, Victoria, he finished school in Geelong and was the first in his family to go to university. But after finishing first year, he bombed out and sort of drifted for a few years. Perhaps sensing he needed some direction, his mother bought him a trip to Bali for his 21st birthday. That was a game chang...

Nick Gowen is a Partner and commercial litigation lawyer with Burke Warren MacKay and Serritella, an impressive law firm in Chicago, USA. Like Ward Keller, Burke Warren is also a member of LAWYERS ASSOCIATED WORLDWIDE, an association of 100 law firms around the world. Nick was born in Illinois, grew up there and lives there with his wife and two children. He’s a true blue Chicagoan...and a die har...

Melanie Gray is a local singer/songwriter based in Darwin, Australia . She came to the Territory as a child and has spent her life here. She loves everything about the Territory from the tropical weather to the lifestyle. She says there’s no other place like it. On this very unique episode, we hear Melanie sing three of her own songs as she weaves her music into her story. It is a beautiful story...

Matt is Editor of the Northern Territory News. Hailing from South Australia, Matt and his wife made their way up to Darwin seven years ago. Matt talks about life for Territorians under Covid-19 and Territory politics.

Antonia Torr has led a remarkable life. Born in Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England, she was whisked away to South Africa at 18 months and spent the next 15 years growing up in South Africa, Botswana and Tanzania. At the age of 16 she arrived in Perth, Western Australia which was supposed to be for good. But circumstances changed and less than a year later she was completing her matriculation in...

On this episode, Peter introduces Leon to his friends, Julie Steele and her partner, Don. They are both small business owners and real estate agents in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. With everything going on in the US, Julie and Don give us the lay of the land in Vegas and some interesting observations on how the casino and entertainment sectors are fairing. They also talk politics and the difficulties b...

Sarah is a lawyer with Ledingham Chalmers in Aberdeen, Scotland. Ledingham Chalmers is a member of LAWYERS ASSOCIATED WORLDWIDE (LAW) an association of a hundred law firms around the world. Sarah shares her story growing up in Scotland, living and working in Aberdeen. She also shares what’s happening in Scotland with Covid-19.

Q is back. In his capacity as CEO of the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory, Quentin gives us the latest developments in the real estate sector including where tenants stand with landlords in terms of lease negotiations under Covid-19. This is essential information for real estate agents, property managers, landlords and tenants.

Every now and then Steven Roberts falls back into his home town accent and you could swear you’re talking to John, Paul, George or Ringo. Hailing from a village just outside a Liverpool, Steven left the UK after getting a degree in information technology from the University of Sheffield and made his way to Australia to backpack. He landed in Kings Cross, Sydney, eventually making his way up to Cai...

Originally from Colombia in South America, Ben came to Darwin in 2015 to learn English after he flunked his English exam in the fourth year of finance degree in Colombia. His idea was to stay for a short time, learn the language and go back to Colombia. But like so many others, he fell in love with the Territory and decided to study for a business degree at Charles Darwin University (CDU). During...

We now take a trip across the globe to Oslo, Norway, and speak with Niels Kiær. Niels is a lawyer with law firm, Rime. We ask Niels about how Covid-19 has affected Norway and how the country has responded to it. We learn about Norway’s economy and its sovereign wealth fund which is the richest in the world.

Cruz was born in India, grew up in Oman, worked in the Middle East before migrating to Australia and arriving in Darwin. He is the owner and manager of Creative Down Under (CDU), a local marketing company. Cruz has two endearing qualities that combined form a powerful force for spreading good in the community - he’s both creative and has a positive mindset. With this instinct, Cruz has set up #uNi...

Kaliopi Hourdas is an employment lawyer at Ward Keller. In this episode, Kaliopi participates in a question and answer session on issues currently facing employers and employees in a Covid-19 environment. She answers questions like: ‘Can an employee be stood down?’ ‘Can an employee work from home?’ and more. Here’s a link to access to the written questions and answers: https://www.wardkeller.com.a...

One area of law that has exploded in queries since the Covid-19 shutdown has been migration. What happens to workers on temporary work visas? In this episode we speak with Anke Nagel and Rachael Adolphe, both experienced migration agents, about the questions being asked by this unprotected but important part of our population.

Ron is a lawyer in Xiamen, China. Ron’s firm, Sphere-Logic, is a member of Lawyers Associated Worldwide (LAW). While Covid-19 wreaks havoc around the world, life is slowing going back to normal for China. Ron gives us local insight into how the virus came to Xiamen and how he and his family coped with the enforced isolation. It’s a fascinating story into how cultural differences play out in an int...

Darren Lynch is an owner of Wharf One restaurant in Darwin. When the Australian Government announced on 23 March 2020 that all restaurant were to close their doors to dine in patrons, Darren had to stand down 70% of his staff. In typical Territory fashion he and his partner, Pina, put their thinking caps on and came up with an idea - Bella Pasta! Wharf One restaurant is now cranking out up to 200k...