2013-05-14
Budget 2013-14 - Debt Level Increase
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
You promised to cut debt, but the budget the Treasurer is about to announce increases nett debt by over $1.1bn. According to the budget papers you are about to hand down this financial year, nett debt is $3.2bn. Next year you are increasing debt to $4.41bn. That is an increase of 35%. Why are you increasing debt by record amounts when you have promised to cut it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. As you know, we are not going to go into any deliberations about the budget that will be presented at 11.05 am ...
Ms Lawrie: But it is budget day.
Mr GILES: You can wait until the budget comes down at 11.05 am. I am very interested in seeing where you got your rubbery figures from. One of the important points to note is that as we framed this budget our key consideration was how we could reduce your debt legacy of $5.5bn. It is a key theme of the conversation on this side of the Chamber – the $1.2bn deficit you framed for us. In conjunction with the previous new era in corrections that saw $550m for the new prison, a new era in corrections which has seen prison populations increase to 131% of capacity, an absolutely shameful point ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance, 113. The question is: why is the government increasing debt by 35%: $1.1bn?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, please be seated, there is no point of order.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, we will not be answering questions about the budget which is about to be presented. You were anticipating, in the forward estimates, a $5.5bn debt. I guarantee our debt will not be more than $5.5bn; it will be less. You left us with the legacy of $5.5bn worth of debt. You set us up with a $1.2bn deficit because we had to incorporate your new era in corrections, a prison that supported a system which sees capacity in our gaols at 131%. You talk about how you were supporting Territorians, but all you were doing was locking them up.
Look at SIHIP; I will go back to that old chestnut. This program was supposed to deliver bedrooms and houses for kids across the Northern Territory but there was a reduction in the bedroom numbers. You had $1.8bn and you reduced bedroom numbers. The only place you were housing people in the Northern Territory was in gaol, and you left us with a $5.5bn debt.
If you want to understand what is going to happen in our budget, wait until 11.05 am when the Treasurer hands it down. I guarantee you we will not have a $5.5bn debt.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
Budget 2013-14 - Debt Level Increase
Budget 2013-14 - Debt Level Increase
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Today the Territory budget is announced to the entire community. What do you have to hide? Will you not, in Question Time today, deal with any questions on …
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That is not a supplementary question; that is a new question. It is not relevant to the previous question and I ask that it be ruled out of order.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it must be very relevant to your first question.
Ms LAWRIE: Quite specifically you are ruling out answering about your increase to debt of $1.1bn in the coming financial year because you do not want to debate the budget that you are delivering to the public today. What do you have to hide? Why are you hiding? Why are you breaking that promise of being transparent and accountable?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a supplementary question.
Budget 2013-14 -
Challenges and Priorities
Challenges and Priorities
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
The budget will be delivered by the Treasurer at 11.05 am. What challenges did this government encounter in framing the budget and what are the government’s key economic priorities?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. This goes to the first question by the Opposition Leader, member for Daly.
One of the key challenges was the former Labor government. I have given many interviews where I have spoken about whether we are different to other jurisdictions. As a Country Liberal government we are no different to other Coalition and Liberal governments around this nation that have come in after a long period of Labor government. The situation is always the same: debt and deficit. That is exactly the position we had. Before the last election, you framed a $1.2bn deficit for this coming financial year with $5.5bn worth of debt. That was a challenge.
We had to ensure we invested in the Northern Territory, continued to build infrastructure and support local development and business while reducing the debt burden left by you, which was $5.5bn with a $1.2bn deficit forecast. That was a challenge. The biggest challenge is what Labor has left us. How do we continue to support the non-government sector? How do we support small business? How do we invest in minor works? How do we support the regions, developing economies, building roads and supporting change in the shire structure? These are challenges we have while we have your debt over our head - 100%. The budget was the same as the debt level, a significant challenge for us.
We are turning around the biggest projected deficit in the history of the Northern Territory. It is a titanic disaster just waiting to happen, an iceberg of debt spending that was hidden away ready to wreck our Territory. It is a tough for the Northern Territory government to work out how it can continue to provide financial impetus. We wanted to pay down our debt as quickly as we could but we cannot pay it down immediately because it hurts people. We have to continue to invest while reducing our debt and setting the right priorities for the future of the Northern Territory.
We are investing in business. We are ensuring the private sector creates job opportunities and we are setting the framework so development can happen. We are putting out water licences so we can support the horticultural industry and sending our Primary Industries minister to Indonesia to try to sell cattle after your Labor mates ruined the cattle industry through the live cattle ban. These are the things we are doing to support the Northern Territory.
In answer to your question, member for Daly, the biggest challenge is the Opposition Leader and her former budget with $5.5bn worth of debt and a $1.2bn deficit as was forecast.
Budget 2013-14 - Education Cuts
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Madam Speaker, I am glad the Chief Minister has recognised we will be discussing and asking questions about the budget today, given that dorothy dixer.
Your Education budget fact sheet starts by saying Budget 2013-14 invests in education; however, the budget papers show you are slashing the Education budget ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I missed who the question was to.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister.
Ms LAWRIE: You have put up inflation by 3.9%. To cope with your increases in inflation, the Education budget would need to increase by $30m. However, page 189 of Budget Paper No 3 shows you are ripping nearly $17m out of the Education budget. That is $47m less, in real terms, for Education in your budget. Why are you stripping out investment in education when you are pretending in your fact sheet that you are increasing education?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, once again the Opposition Leader is leading with her chin talking about a 3.9% increase in inflation. I am sure you forecasted last time that it would be 4.2%. We brought inflation back by 0.3%. Well done! You are laying the groundwork once again …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That was the CLP mini-budget. It was running at 2.1% on the radar.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order, please be seated. Chief Minister.
Mr GILES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The Northern Territory continues to invest more in education than any other jurisdiction. I anticipate there will be a question about the National Education Reform Agreement, or Gonski review, at some point.
The average cost per student spent in the Northern Territory based on the 2010 My School data is $15 893 per student. Nationally, the average is $9782. That is some $6000 more per student we spend in the Northern Territory.
To pre-empt a possible question that may come later, I will go to some of the Gonski conversation. The Gonski review recommended assessing the average cost of high performing schools to determine …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance, 113. The question did not go to Gonski at all. It went to the reduction in your budget of $17m, which is a reduction of $47m in real terms because of the inflation running under you at 3.9%: your budgets, your cuts, nothing to do with Gonski. Why are you ripping funding out of education?
Mr GILES: I am talking exactly about education and I will go back to that point about us spending $15 893 on average per student. The reform proposed under what was the Gonski review, but Gonski has walked away and now it is the National Education Reform Agreement …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance, 113. Answer the question! There was nothing about Gonski or the National Education Reform Agreement. This is about the Territory budget.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, the Chief Minister is answering the question in a way that I believe is appropriate. He is talking about education in regard to your question. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Where we have an average spend of $15 893, the proposal under the Gonski, or NERA, idea by the federal government is for us to reduce the new student amount to $9271 from 2014. The federal government wants us to reduce our spending on education. They also want a reduction on remote schools. We will not complete cutting it to underfund. That is what Gonski and NERA are proposing.
We continue to fund more than any other jurisdiction per student. You talk about education when you had the worst NAPLAN results in the country. You should be ashamed. You should hide your head for talking about this. Educational statistics - talk about educational outcomes. In the 2012 NAPLAN figures, 28% of Indigenous Year 5 students reached the national benchmark for reading.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! How on earth do you expect NAPLAN to improve when you are ripping funding out of education?
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated. That is not a point of order! Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Only 21% of Indigenous kids in the Northern Territory met the national benchmark for Year 9 writing, including urban and remote?
You have no credit talking about education and education budgets when you could not deliver the outcomes needed for kids in the Northern Territory.
Budget 2013-14 - Debt
Ms LEE to TREASURER
The budget you will deliver at 11 am will be your first budget. How important is it to address Labor’s debt, and at the same time invest in the future of the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. It is not only my first budget; it is the first budget of the Country Liberal government in 13 years. You have to ask what has happened in the preceding 13 years.
We have a projected debt of $5.5bn. The member for Arnhem asked me about that debt. There are numerous risks associated with excessive debt, particularly the sort of debt the previous Treasurer racked up by borrowing to meet the operational expenses of government. That is not good fiscal management; it is appalling fiscal management. The debt accrued by the previous government leaves a legacy for future generations. Future generations of Territorians have to pay for the excesses of the former government.
In addition to that, the excessive debt the former government racked up sends major negative signals to investors and possible investors in the Northern Territory. This was recognised by the Moody’s rating agency, which has put us on a negative outlook. Our credit rating has moved from AA1 stable to AA1 negative. I am …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Your budget shows you are increasing debt by $1.1bn …
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down! There is no point of order.
Mr TOLLNER: I was framing this budget and I could see that in the future, to pay for this debt, we are looking at interest payments of $1.1m every day. I was trying to frame this budget, there was worry everywhere, and I had Tom Jones in my head constantly singing, ‘Why, why, why, De-liar?’ …
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, please keep to your script.
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, $5.5bn worth of debt. When you come into the job as Treasurer of the Northern Territory after 13 years of Labor government, you have to start thinking about serious measures to reduce debt. That is what this …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Then why are you, Dave Tollner, increasing debt by $1.1bn next financial year?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point order.
Mr TOLLNER: This is the lady who was set to put the Northern Territory into $5.5bn worth of debt with interest repayments in the order of $1.1m every day. This woman has no credibility and should not be listened to. We have inherited this dreadful situation as a government, and our greatest focus is how we deal with Labor’s debt legacy: how we pay down debt and do not ruin our economy at the same time. That is what our budget will focus on.
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, your time has expired.
Budget 2013-14 -
Infrastructure Budget Cuts
Infrastructure Budget Cuts
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Your budget papers show you have slashed the Infrastructure budget and intend to keep slashing it. To quote from page one of Budget Paper No 4:
- … total infrastructure payments are expected to be $64m less than 2012-13 and will continue to decrease over the forward estimates …
There have already been 3600 full-time jobs slashed in the Territory under the CLP government’s decisions. How many more jobs will be lost as a result of this slash to the Infrastructure budget?
ANSWER
I do not accept the premise of the question. I will not comment on what is in the budget papers or what is not, I will leave that to the Treasurer.
The Infrastructure budget will be framed in a way that ensures we continue to invest in the Northern Territory and build our infrastructure to support growth in the economy. In previous years when the Infrastructure budget was at higher levels much of that was because of the stimulus money put in under the Building the Education Revolution under the previous Prime Minister …
The BER money that came into the Northern Territory was received well. It built infrastructure and put some support services in place, but it built on the federal government’s debt level so much that - we are waiting to see the federal budget tonight - the books in the federal parliament are nearly as bad as the books in the Territory parliament.
There are two elements to this and one thing in common; the one thing in common is Labor. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer in Canberra …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance, 113. I know the Chief Minister prefers to work in Canberra, but he is in Darwin, and we are talking about the Northern Territory budget. We are talking about your $64m slash to the Infrastructure budget and how many jobs will be lost …
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point of order. Please be seated.
Mr GILES: We were talking about the Infrastructure budget, why more money came down in previous years and why the Infrastructure budget will be framed the way it is today. The important element to note is the amount of debt the federal government has put Australia in to give us that money. They were not just giving us money out of the coffers, they were borrowing money. The same way you borrowed money to pay wages.
We came in as a government with a $100m legacy of items not funded by your previous government: You had to borrow money to pay the wages of animal welfare officers and child protection workers as they were unfunded.
We are picking up your mess and trying to reduce your deficit of $1.2bn and your debt of $5.5bn. An Infrastructure budget will be released today by the Treasurer, in conjunction with the Infrastructure minister, which sets forth a platform on how we can build our economy through infrastructure, support small business and get the Territory back as one, whilst continuing to develop the regions. That is what it is all about. If you want to talk about the previous budgets, look at Canberra’s budget tonight and see how big their debt and deficit is and reflect upon yourself, because that is how you left the Northern Territory.
Budget 2013-14 - Economic Development
Ms LEE to TREASURER
After 11 years of Labor the Territory economy needs significant investment by government. What are the major parts of the economy that were the focus of your attention when framing the budget?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. You are right, member for Arnhem, we had more than a decade of Labor government and debt. Now we have to kick-start our economy and get it moving again. Guess what? The cupboard is bare.
Today is a very uncomfortable day for the Leader of the Opposition because her legacy is laid bare for all Territorians to see. It is a shameful day for the Leader of the Opposition. She is constantly interjecting and trying to steal the show because it is all about cover up. Today’s budget speech will lay bare the mismanagement and waste of the former Treasurer.
On this side of the House we are keen to see the economy continue to grow, and we will drive economic development in the Northern Territory into the future. We are not about a one-business economy. I pay tribute to the member for Blain and his policy announcements of the three-hub economy, because we are keen to grow agriculture, mining and tourism, and to see these things happen in the Northern Territory.
Growing the regions is important for the Northern Territory because, ultimately, Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek, and Alice Springs are service centres for the regions. Growing economic development in the regions, allowing business to establish private enterprise and employ people impacts positively on all those regional centres including the capital of Darwin.
We are pouring money into overseas marketing for tourism. We are putting money into developing small business and training Territorians to meet the job demand that will come in the future. The Chief Minister has announced an economic development advisory panel which will help guide this. We have experts in the areas of macroeconomics, financial investment and industry engagement.
We are a government committed to growing the economy and assisting small- and medium-size businesses. We are about cutting red tape, slashing waste and making government services more efficient.
Overlaying all this, we have to work on the debt legacy left to us by the former government. I sit up at night asking why. It is just not on. What a shameful effort the previous government …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, Treasurer.
Budget 2013-14 –
State Final Demand Figures
State Final Demand Figures
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Clearly, the Treasurer has not read his state final demand figures which he will be handing down in this budget. I hope you have because you sat around the Cabinet table at Budget Cabinet.
Page 3 of your Economy budget paper shows you inherited state final demand which increased to 26% this year under Labor. That is our domestic economy growing at 26%. However, your next year forecast for state final demand is minus 15% and will stay negative across the next four years. It has gone from 26% growth - record growth under Labor - to minus 15% and negative across the next four years under the CLP. You are strangling our domestic economy and Territory businesses. These state final demand figures mean businesses will close their doors and private sector jobs will be slashed. What have you to say compared to that clown next to you …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, Opposition Leader.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I ask that the Opposition Leader withdraw that word.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw ‘clown’. Buffoon will suffice.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I draw your attention to Standing Order 112(2).
Ms Lawrie: I withdraw. He has his paperwork from Chandler now.
Madam SPEAKER: The Opposition Leader has withdrawn. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, as I said before, we are not going into the budget.
You talk about what you left us; I will tell you something you left us: a lack of land release, housing, and housing affordability. These are the things you left behind. We have already seen announcements through the paper that $20m is going into land release at Bellamack through subdivision. The Housing minister is identifying sites for redevelopment to ensure we have an increase in housing. What you left behind was a legacy of insufficient housing for growth in the Northern Territory.
These are core concerns we are addressing through our budget by ensuring we have land available, have properties that can be developed, and can support small business outside of government.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. I know they want to ignore the fact the budget paper shows state final demand will be minus 15% in the coming financial year as a result of the decisions the CLP is making to strangle businesses right across the Territory. How do you take state final demand positive growth at 26%, at a record high under Labor, and strangle business at minus 15% under the CLP?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Whilst we appreciate the right of members to call points of order, I ask that the speeches being delivered by the Leader of the Opposition be truncated much more quickly than they currently are.
Madam SPEAKER: I remind honourable members that when there are points of order the clock stops, so it limits the number of questions either side, or the Independent, can ask.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, please be seated, thank you. Chief Minister.
Mr GILES: Wait for the budget to be handed down.
Teacher to Student Ratios in Schools
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for EDUCATION
You recently announced changes to teacher/student ratios in senior and middle schools. Using Taminmin College as an example, could you say how that change will affect the number of subjects taught and the number of teachers employed at the college? Before you announced the changes, were any discussions held with the college principal, teachers and the school council about these changes?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It will be up to individual schools to decide what subjects they teach. That I have a focus on the early years of education is not a surprise. Prior to getting into politics, I spent many years as the chairperson of a primary school. I have been involved for many years in education, working with teachers and understanding what some of the needs are. Everything I have read about education says we need a strong foundation. As the old adage goes, a house is only as strong as its foundations. We have improved the ratios in the early years of education.
Let us put something on the record now: two thirds of students in the Northern Territory are in the primary school education system, including preschool. We have more primary schools in the Northern Territory than we have any other schools in the system. This is about focusing on the early years because if we can build a strong foundation, who benefits in the future? The middle and senior year systems.
Member for Nelson, when it comes down to what schools want to teach, it will be up to the councils, the principals and the schools to decide.
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question also asked if any discussions were held with the principals, teachers and school council before this decision was made.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, when the decision was made, one of the first calls, when we were deciding on changing the teacher ratios, was to the unions to start to discuss our intentions. Instead of waiting for that meeting, which was scheduled for 11 am, they chose to talk to the media about there being no consultation. A decision was made on day one to go in a certain direction. The next phone call was made to the unions to discuss that decision.
If I was to make calls every time someone put an idea to me or we considered something, we would be on the phone for probably 20 minutes of every day. You are constantly flooded with ideas or people bringing forward suggestions which we are considering all the time. A decision was made on how we are going to change and where we want to focus into the future. The next call was to the unions to openly discuss what we were trying to achieve.
The document I hold here is called the Teacher Responsibilities Guide, which the former government put together. It is a great document which talks about the responsibilities of teaching. This document was put together in collaboration with the unions and nothing we propose is in breach of this agreement.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Budget 2013-14 - Labor Commitments
Mr KURRUPUWU to TREASURER
Territorians know about the $5.5bn debt Labor has left us. Can you inform the House about the extent of Labor’s unfunded commitments and the impact they have had on framing your budget?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. Coming into this job and looking at the debt legacy - the projected $5.5bn debt, the $1.1m we are paying in interest every day - one would expect the government of the day would have realised these things were a problem and would have stopped making commitments they could not fund. Even when the former Treasurer knew the cupboard was bare, she made more spending commitments she could not possibly fund.
The legacy items they committed to which they did not fund were: the operational funding of the Alice Springs Hospital Emergency Department; various medi-hotels, some of which we, fortunately, had the ability to cancel before they were built; costs associated with police housing and overtime; and demand pressures in health, childcare and out-of-home care services. There was ongoing operational funding for the East Point Defence of Darwin Experience - $200 000 a year that was never included in any budget - funding for the Katherine Regional Cultural Precinct - $0.5m a year that was never funded; $670 000 a year for the Alice Springs Juvenile Detention Centre was never funded in a budget; and $1.2m for the Lake Leanyer Recreation Park. You would have thought the member for Karama would fund the Lake Leanyer Recreation Park, but no, that did not appear in any budget.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance, 113. I do not know the standing order for misleading parliament. All those items were funded within the appropriation budget.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, withdraw that comment!
Ms LAWRIE: I change ‘misleading’ to furphies. Is furphies okay?
Madam SPEAKER: Just withdraw.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! She is using points of order to grandstand. She either has a point of order or she does not.
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, I appreciate the former Treasurer is a little sensitive to this sort of stuff. It is a dreadful, shameful day for the former Treasurer because her mismanagement is laid bare for all Territorians to see. She is scampering as hard has she can to say, ‘Oh, I was fiscally responsible. Oh, goodness me.’ But the fact is, $5.5m was never included in a budget for the 100-bed medi-hotel at Royal Darwin Hospital, and the $5.67m was never put in the budget to fund the Alice Springs Emergency Department.
All of these compounded amount to more than $100m that was never in the budget in the forward estimates. The last Treasurer was a fraud …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired. Opposition Leader.
Commonwealth Funding
for Health Services
for Health Services
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Madam Speaker, the member knows he cannot make that accusation unless by way of substantive motion, but I will let that one go to get on with Question Time.
Your budget paper formally hands back funding to the Commonwealth government for the Palmerston hospital. You have scrapped it and the children’s wing at Royal Darwin Hospital. Why are you handing back $100m in capital funding from the Commonwealth which is meant to improve health services for Territorians? How on earth can you defend that as a Chief Minister of the Territory, unless you are more worried about Canberra’s fiscal position because you want to be in Canberra, not here?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, clearly the Opposition Leader is continuing to try to build a smoke and mirrors campaign to hide from her fiscal incompetence when she was the Treasurer under the previous government. As I have said before, we will not be answering budget questions before the budget comes down. Clearly, the Opposition Leader is misleading in her statements and I will wait until the budget comes down at 11.05 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, withdraw ‘misleading’ please.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I withdraw misleading and say that the Opposition Leader continues to sprinkle her confetti and fairy dust all over the place, making things up. She is completely incorrect, but we will wait until the budget.
Power and Water Corporation –
Commercial Sustainability
Commercial Sustainability
Mr HIGGINS to TREASURER
The former fiscally incompetent Treasurer left Territorians with a massive debt, millions of dollars of unfunded commitments and the Power and Water Corporation on its knees. How important is it to improve the commercial sustainability of the Power and Water Corporation and what responsible actions are required?
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: What is your point or order, and ensure it is not frivolous.
Ms LAWRIE: I am pointing out that the former Treasurer is the member for Araluen. I do not know if he wants to have a crack at his own.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down, Opposition Leader. Treasurer, you have the call.
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. The only person who is under any illusion as to who he is talking about is the former Labor Treasurer, the member for Karama.
The Power and Water Corporation, is a very important utility to Territorians. It supplies our power and water, and provides us with sewerage services across the Northern Territory.
The state the Power and Water Corporation was left in was utterly deplorable. The former Labor Treasurer of the Northern Territory government allowed Power and Water to deteriorate to such an extent that it jeopardised the future of power and water services in the Northern Territory. That is a fact.
Labor introduced the Government Owned Corporations Act in 2001 and quickly changed the Power and Water Authority to the Power and Water Corporation as part of that act. The act says the Power and Water Corporation should operate at least as efficiently as any comparable business. The former government did the opposite and Power and Water became a bloated, inefficient organisation that was only sustained through taxpayer subsidies. It is appalling that the Power and Water Corporation is selling power for less than it is producing it.
Ms Lawrie: It still is, you clown.
Mr TOLLNER: That is right, it still is. We cannot get out of your trouble in just one day, Opposition Leader. Your short time as Treasurer has left a legacy of problems for the Northern Territory that will go on for decades.
We took the responsible action of coming into government and raising tariffs, but that is not enough. The Power and Water Corporation has a weighted average cost of capital of around 6.8%. They are currently sitting on 3%. When we were bequeathed this situation, before the tariff increases, it was around 1%. For much of the tenure of the former Treasurer it fell below 0%. Anyone in business knows what that means. It means the company is going backwards and heading to the wall.
We are committed to fixing the Power and Water Corporation. We are doing everything we can to improve its efficiency to ensure it operates at least as efficiently as any comparable business ...
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, your time has expired.
Budget 2013-14 –
Child Protection Funding
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Your budget papers show you are slashing child protection funding. Page 253 of Budget Paper No 3 shows you are making a budget cut of nearly $9m to the Office of Children and Families. Why are you ripping $9m out of the child protection budget?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Opposition Leader for the question. The real question would be: why, when we took government, were there 90 unfunded staff working for the Office of Children and Families?
The Treasurer spoke about the unfunded legacy items; that is one of them. There were 90 staff in the Office of Children and Families who did not have any salaries against them. The former government was borrowing money to pay salaries. Any businessperson will tell you that is a very bad way of doing business. That is how it was. We have had to find the money to pay those staff.
I have said that we will not be answering questions on the budget until 11.05 am when the Treasurer releases it. You have a little less than 20 minutes. I suggest you wait until then.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! What do you have to hide? Why are you trying to hide the truth from Territorians?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, there is no point of order! The Chief Minister has finished.
Budget 2013-14 –
Pensioner Travel Concession Scheme
Pensioner Travel Concession Scheme
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for HEALTH
I was approached by a travel agent yesterday who threw her hands up in dismay because she has no idea what the government is doing with the pensioner travel concession scheme. She is not the only one. I have been contacted by many constituents as well. Have the details of the new travel scheme finally been sorted out? If so, when will they be published so pensioners and travel agents know what they are?
ANWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. The travel agents of the Northern Territory have been informed of the changes we have made to the Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme. I had that confirmed earlier this morning. My office has received a number of calls from fairly unhappy travel agents saying they are not happy we have made this a very tight scheme in which mismanagement or misuse of those funds cannot occur into the future.
The Health website has very clear information about how this scheme will operate. I feel confident the Department of Health has provided adequate information throughout the community. If people have a problem with accessing it, I am sure they could contact the Department of Health and have a discussion with various people within that section.
For the member for Nelson and other people who are concerned, I feel that perhaps they are not looking in the right place to access information.
Budget 2013-14 –
Home Ownership Strategy
Home Ownership Strategy
Ms FINOCCHIARO to TREASURER
Territorians want a sustainable land release strategy and better targeted housing assistance products that will help them buy their own homes while reducing pressure on the rental market by encouraging supply growth. Did you consider this when framing the budget? What challenges need to be overcome to meet the aspirations of Territorians wanting to buy a home?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for this important question and acknowledge her significant interest in this area.
Not only did the former failed Labor Treasurer leave us with a debt legacy creeping up to $5.5bn and interest repayments of $1.1m every day, the former government did nothing to speed up land release and assist people to build and buy their own homes. For much of Labor’s tenure - right until the end - the Territory was in accommodation crisis with the most excessive costs in Australia: the highest housing costs, the highest rental costs, the highest everything. The former Labor government failed on every front to do with housing.
The member for Drysdale asked me what this government is doing in relation to housing. Budget 2013-14 will show that under the Real Housing for Growth plan, we will stimulate construction for affordable housing, which is what Territorians are crying out for. The Real Housing for Growth plan will allow government to partner with private developers to facilitate the construction of a number of affordable homes over the next four years. I congratulate the Minister for Housing for the efforts he has made over the last few months to get that money out the door and have land made available. We already have the biggest land release program in the last 10 or 15 years in the …
Ms Lawrie: It is Labor’s. The only land you are releasing is Labor’s land.
Mr TOLLNER: Labor did it? That is right. For more than a decade we had a housing crisis. Now, all of a sudden, Labor did something. Goodness me, grow up lady! You failed Territorians. We have a housing crisis in the Northern Territory and you are suggesting you fixed it? You caused it. You failed to release land. You failed to do anything to stimulate the construction industry. You let Territorians down. We now have the most expensive houses in the country.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Have you seen the price of land escalate in Palmerston over the last six months?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, there is no point of order.
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, the truth hurts. This is a bad day for the Opposition Leader. More than a decade of failure is catching up with you today and your legacy is laid bare for all Territorians to see.
Budget 2013-14 - Domestic Revenue
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Page 35 of Budget Paper No 2 measures domestic revenue. How much you are taking from Territory families in taxes and charges? It shows you have increased this by $84m, up from $55m to $139m. You have nearly tripled the amount you are stripping out of the pockets of Territorians in just one year. Why are you so hell-bent on taking money out of the pockets of hardworking Territorians to line your pockets?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her poor question. As she knows, I will not be answering questions about the budget. I will say one thing; we went to the election last year with a commitment to put 120 extra police on the streets of the Northern Territory. We are funding that. That is one thing I will give the Opposition Leader about our funding commitments within this budget: 120 extra police to get law and order back on track in the Northern Territory.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I cannot go without pointing out that every police officer being recruited now is being paid by the Commonwealth under the agreement the former Labor government struck.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Please be seated.
National Disability Insurance Scheme
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
On Saturday, you signed up to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Can you inform the House why you did this and how it benefits Territorians with a disability and their families?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. Disability care will be implemented in the Northern Territory from 1 July 2019, with transition to the full scheme commencing in 2016-17. The Commonwealth government has announced an increase to the Medicare levy to help pay for the additional costs of the DisabilityCare scheme. The DisabilityCare Australia model is based around the principles of choice and control. The scheme will provide long-term, high-quality support for people who have a permanent disability, which will ensure they receive support that is reasonable and necessary to meet their needs. This could include an individual plan and an individually-funded package. People who qualify will have a permanent disability that significantly affects their communication, mobility, self-care or self-management. These people, their families and carers will have control over the care and support they receive based on need and will be able to choose their service provider. The scheme will also focus on early intervention for people where there is good evidence that it will deliver substantially improved outcomes, or lessen the decline in functioning.
Delivering the full National Disability Insurance Scheme in the Northern Territory will require $99m to be spent on disability care and support in 2019-20. This will require additional Northern Territory government expenditure for this sector. Part of this additional investment will be met through the Northern Territory government’s allocation of the Medicare levy, and the Northern Territory government will meet the balance through its budgetary processes.
The Barkly region launch is scheduled to commence on 1 July 2014, but the Northern Territory and the Commonwealth need to agree on the size of the client population, which is being negotiated at the moment. The Barkly launch will mean that people with a disability in the region will be able to access the type of care and support that would be available under the full scheme. People currently receiving care and support will continue under these arrangements until they transition to the DisabilityCare Australia arrangements. The experience of the Barkly trial will provide valuable learning for delivering the full scheme in the Northern Territory and in remote and regional areas of Australia.
For a period of time we were negotiating with the Prime Minister and her office about the model for the Northern Territory. It is based around the model of service agreement for New South Wales, for which the Barkly region will be a really good trial site. The model of funding used will be very positive. If the member for Barkly wants a briefing on that, I am happy to give him one.
There have been good deliberations with the Prime Minister to date, but I am concerned that the program does not start until 2019. In the negotiations behind the scenes, that is the best outcome I could achieve. The transition starts in 2016-17, so we are still talking about six years before full implementation. I would have liked to have seen it earlier, but the Barkly trial will see some really positive outcomes in service and modelling in the future.
Budget 2013-14 - Police Resources
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
You previously spoke about the Police budget. Page 43 of Budget Paper No 3 shows that Commonwealth funding for your Police budget increased from $7m to $23m. That is an increase of $14m under the agreement the previous Labor government struck with the Commonwealth government. This is the same amount you have increased the general Police budget by. You have not increased the Territory government’s investment in police. You have increased the Police budget by exactly the same amount the Commonwealth funded for police officers for the detention centre, under the agreement signed by the previous Labor government. Why have you not increased police resources as you promised?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I will not accept the premise of the Opposition Leader’s question or answer questions about the budget. You might like to talk about border control and why we need to have detention centres in the Northern Territory; there is a failed Labor government promise from Canberra. I know you like to talk about Canberra. Why do we need detention centres? It is not because of the Coalition, because we ended the need for detention centres in Australia.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He is the Police minister, and he was at Budget Cabinet. Surely he knows what is in the Police budget. Surely you made the decision to not put one extra cent into the Police budget.
Mr GILES: As the Treasurer knows, we have something in this Chamber called the budget process where the budget is announced, and then we have estimates where you can ask any question you like. Tomorrow, after you have read the budget papers, you can ask the Treasurer or any of the portfolio ministers any question you like. The old stunt of trying to ask questions before the budget is announced - we are not playing your game.
We have been working on the game of paying back your debt.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! You are increasing debt by $1.1bn this coming financial year.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, these are not points of order; these are statements deliberately designed to cause trouble. If they continue, I ask that the Opposition Leader be removed from this Chamber.
In answer to her question, I do not think it is very brave of you talking about detention centres. There are 20 000 people in detention in Australia. Go to Canberra and talk about why we need detention centres in the first place. Talk about leading with your chin. I will leave the budgetary questions until the budget is out.
Land for Housing Development
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS, PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
You have announced that you have found land suitable for housing development in various parts of the NT. I support any efforts by the government to attempt to provide affordable housing, but who will develop the land? Will it be the government or private enterprise? If it is private enterprise, how will the land be affordable considering the already high price of land in private developments such as those in Palmerston? If the land is not affordable, how will the government achieve its promise of affordable housing?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. The question should include: how did land become so expensive in the first place? We know the answer to that; for many years either the tap was turned off or land was drip-fed onto the market in the Northern Territory.
The Country Liberals have turned the tap on, and we recently nominated more than 80 sites across the Northern Territory for development. We have some wonderful entrepreneurial developers in the Northern Territory who are willing to work with government in what we classify as private public partnerships.
There are sites across the Northern Territory that are already appropriately zoned and services are ready to roll. With the assistance of government, and with government getting out of the way and allowing local developers to come in and work with what we have in a partnership, we can bring houses to the market a lot sooner than any government across the Northern Territory has.
Recently we sought expressions of interest. We had at least 30 applications of which - and this is testament to the local developers – 29 complied with the parameters. That is pretty good. Of those, 13 have been successful in getting through that stage of working with us. From that, we could have up to 780 homes constructed across the Northern Territory in very quick fashion. We are not talking about greenfield sites which take a lot of money and time to develop. We are talking about existing sites which the previous government failed to do anything with. Now we will work in that space very quickly because we have the land.
You only have to fly into this place to see how much land we have in the Northern Territory. That does not just include Darwin and Palmerston, it includes Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. There will be housing right across the Northern Territory through these sites which have been identified. I give credit to the department of Lands and Planning; there was a lot of good work done by that department under the previous government. The previous government just failed to do anything with it. The Cabinet failed to do anything with the good work Lands and Planning had undertaken.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! So the $300m in infrastructure investment to release land did not happen?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, sit down! It is not a point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, she will rattle on. We can all dream about what we could have done had we been in a better fiscal position. We have been able to do one thing in the fiscal position we are in. We are looking at things from a completely different point of view. I do not have a back pocket full of money, but we have some great entrepreneurial developers willing to work with a can-do government. It will happen and we will see a great increase in housing in the Northern Territory.
Budget 2013-14 - Education
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Before the election you promised to increase resources to schools. Your budget today cuts the education budget by $47m in real terms. Your budget formally cuts 130 teachers out of our classrooms. You have refused the Gonski investment, some $300m that would have come to our schools, particularly schools across the remote and regional parts of the Northern Territory. That money would employ teachers, not sack them as you are doing in the Education budget being handed down today. Why are you slashing education? Why are you cutting teachers from our classrooms?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. I will not be taking questions on the budget.
Telecommunication Services Expansion
Ms LEE to CHIEF MINISTER
Last month you reached an agreement with Telstra that will see telecommunication services expanded to more remote communities across the Territory. Can you advise the House on the benefits of such an agreement?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. It was a very proud day to stand with David Thodey from Telstra and announce a joint agreement between the Northern Territory government and Telstra to roll out improved services in the bush.
Mobile phone sites will be installed in eight locations, with fixed broadband services also made available in six communities. The bush was completely neglected under the former Labor government, particularly in telecommunications.
Telecommunications is important to improving education, medical servicing and economic development, and creating jobs. It has been something I have driven for a long time.
Providing mobile phone coverage in communities will enable residents to access smart phone services many of us take for granted. The initiative represents a major telecommunications expansion program that will bring vital services to the bush and improve the lives of over 8000 people living and working in these communities.
This government is committed to connecting communities and providing opportunities to some of the Territory’s most disadvantaged residents, and it provides significant communications technology to remote parts of Australia.
The installation of mobile phone towers and equipment will provide a 3G mobile service, while fixed broadband will enable people to have broadband services at their homes and businesses throughout their lands.
Telstra and the Northern Territory government are contributing over $2.8m each to deliver these services and infrastructure works at Ampilatwatja and Alparra, which will begin almost immediately. Work on the other sites is being scheduled for this Dry Season.
The communities to receive phone services include: Ampilatwatja; Alparra; Palumpa; Papunya; Peppimenarti; Mutitjulu; Barrow Creek; and Newcastle Waters. The communities to receive fixed broadband are: Wadeye; Elliott; Hermannsburg; Ngukurr; Numbulwar; and Mutitjulu.
I thank Telstra for their significant investment in the Territory, in particular CEO, David Thodey. I also thank my Cabinet and parliamentary colleagues for supporting me in this approach. This is a really good outcome for the Northern Territory and the bush. It is a sure sign the Country Liberals are the people and the party that stands up for the bush in the Northern Territory.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016