Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro says there has been no extra stress on Royal Darwin Hospital following the closure of maternity services at Darwin Private, which delivered 300 babies a year, less than one a day.

She told Katie Woolf the NT Government has tried to create a private alternative for maternity patients following the collapse of Healthscope, the operator of Darwin Private, with no update on a potential buyer.

Asked about the Ship Lift project costing $820 million with no business case conducted, Ms Finocchiaro says the Public Accounts Committee needs to run the ruler over the project for Territorians to understand the cost/benefit, adding that she wants to see the Defence Force using it and more local jobs.

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