2014-02-11
Power and Water Prices
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
To kick off the new year you hit Territorians with another 5% increase in power bills. Further price hikes will hit families and businesses in July with a CPI increase of about 4%, and then, under your watch, they will be hit with another 5% next January.
This is hundreds of dollars more on the household bill when people are already struggling to meet the cost of living. Worse still, your decision to split Power and Water and hike up the network price, to put profits before people, will see a further potential 43% increase on the network charges, adding hundreds more to household bills. With your additional price hikes on power bills, Territorians with large households are facing around another $1000 hit under your watch. They are hurting, Chief Minister. When will you understand they simply cannot cope with any more power price hikes? Your network charge will cost $1.1bn …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Karama, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. I do not accept anything in that statement by the Leader of the Opposition. Clearly, she is trying to lead the media by saying the prices are going up in ways they are not. I do not accept anything the Leader of the Opposition has said in regard to power and water prices.
We have said that power prices will go up by 5% as at 1 January next year. That has been said a number of times and you are trying to lead with some of your interjections. As I said, we do not accept the premise of your question. I do not think there was a question there.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He does not want to tell Territorians.
Rio Tinto Plans for Gove
Ms FINOCCHIARO to CHIEF MINISTER
Could you please give the Assembly an update on Rio Tinto’s plans for the town of Gove and efforts to build a new economic future for that region?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She is very interested in the future of Nhulunbuy and the region. On the fourth of this month, Rio Tinto announced the first phase of its assistance package for the people of Nhulunbuy. The Territory government was pleased to see Rio Tinto finally offering some details about its transition support. We look forward to heavier lifting from Rio Tinto to support the region as the refinery winds down.
Rio Tinto’s assistance includes utilities subsidies for businesses, rent reductions for tenants of Rio Tinto commercial properties and mortgage subsidies for people experiencing financial distress and hardship. These are measures I have been lobbying Rio Tinto to confirm and announce to the people of Nhulunbuy for some time. The Territory government is actively engaged with the Nhulunbuy community as we work to secure a new economic future for the region.
We have established a dedicated, on the ground presence in Gove to engage with individuals and the broader community to help prepare and plan for the months and years ahead. We have swung the weight of the Northern Territory public service behind the community and committed to Gove’s role as a regional service hub. I visited Nhulunbuy on a range of occasions since Rio’s announcement was made, most recently three weeks ago. I have been heartened by the feedback we are receiving from the community in them recognising the hard work and the efforts we have been making.
I have asked our economic panel, Mr Doug McTaggart and Ian Smith to prepare an economic development plan for the town and the surrounding region. They have already been there - last week - to have a look.
These gentlemen bring a vast wealth of experience to the community and will help guide a response to optimise the benefits for the town’s economic future. These two gentlemen met with the community and other taskforce members last week. They are looking at new industries which might be pursued as well as existing ones which might be expanded.
We take the town of Nhulunbuy and the region within East Arnhem as very important. It has always been and will continue to be a service hub.
We have been seeking to provide an economic response as best we can, but people ask, ‘What is the best thing we could do for the region?’ The best thing we could do is seal the Central Arnhem Road, but our initial estimates of that are around $433m-plus. Clearly, the federal government does not have that money. We do not have that money. We have all succumbed to inheriting Labor debt, which is a challenge, but I ask what, for eleven-and-a-half years, the former Territory Labor government did in planning for alternate industries and opportunities.
I also ask what the member for Lingiari - who has been there for 25 years - has done in 25 years to diversify the economy out in Gove? What has he done in the region? Absolutely nothing. All we have now is the whinging, whining, carping member for Nhulunbuy who has nothing positive to say about her own community. She just said it is a road to nowhere. She called her own community ‘nowhere’.
This is ludicrous. The government remains committed to assisting Nhulunbuy.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Rio Tinto – Support Package for Public Servants in Nhulunbuy
Ms WALKER to CHIEF MINISTER
Last November you said, in relation to the closure of the Rio Tinto refinery at Nhulunbuy, ‘We have, for a long period of time, had a plan in place should the negative decision be made’. That was on 26 November on ABC. It has been almost three months since Rio Tinto announced it would curtail the refinery trashing 1400 direct jobs. Last week, Rio Tinto released details of its support package. The people of Nhulunbuy want to know what your plan is. Why will you not tell us the details of what you will invest in Nhulunbuy, and the region, to support service delivery? Why can you not at least give public servants the reassurance they will have a job beyond 31 March this year? It is time to put some action in place. We have heard no detailed commitments. Stop hiding behind public servants and tell us if you have any real and concrete plans to deliver?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can understand why the member for Nhulunbuy might not be au fait with what is going on. While the people of the region were suffering over Christmas she was not even in town, exercising her holidays, not caring about the people in the region …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 67: offensive or unbecoming words. This is a real question abound what you will do; what concrete plans do you have for Nhulunbuy and the region? You have not even secured the jobs of public servants.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, be seated, it is the wrong standing order; it is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: We have already put in place a range of …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 62: offensive or unbecoming words. The Chief Minister dares to chide me for having taken annual leave. I ask: did the Chief Minister take annual leave, an opportunity to rest, go home and recharge the batteries? I ask him to withdraw that comment, it is highly offensive.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker, a personal explanation is always available to the member if she feels aggrieved.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, have we not hit a sore point? People in Nhulunbuy are suffering; we know that, we hear it from the member for Nhulunbuy all the time, but they are not suffering enough for the member for Nhulunbuy to stay there and support them. No, we had our public servants there. We had people supporting people in the region …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 62: offensive or unbecoming words. I find it offensive the Chief Minister refers to the member for Nhulunbuy as not working to support her people.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 62: offensive or unbecoming words. I can tell the Chief Minister the community support centre driven by the Northern Territory government closed for Christmas and New Year …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy, please be seated. It is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I was there three weeks ago, you were not.
Ms Fyles: You cannot talk about your plans; all you can talk about are members’ holidays
Mr GILES: It is not about whether people take holidays or not. Almighty you stand, and parade that you are helping all these people. You were not even there. We kept working …
Mr McCARTHY: A point or order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 67: digression and tedious. We are now a minute in and he refuses to answer the question, what will he do for the people of Nhulunbuy?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, if you could just get to the point of the question, please.
Mr GILES: It is very hard to get to the point with all these interjections, I must say.
Ms Walker: Because all you want to do is launch personal attacks …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr GILES: If the member for Nhulunbuy would like to know exactly what the government is doing, we are more than happy to have a chat to her about it.
Ms Walker: I know what you are doing – nothing.
Mr GILES: You have come in here asking what we are doing and now you say you know. We are doing a range of things there to support the community. If you want to know what is going on, come and have a chat and we are more than happy to give you a briefing.
The period over Christmas when the member for Nhulunbuy went missing from the community of East Arnhem region is no different …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 62: offensive or unbecoming words. It is offensive the Chief Minister constantly refers to the member for Nhulunbuy as being missing.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I express my concern with the continual use of points of order to interrupt the Chief Minister. It is not appropriate what they are doing, and points of order used in this fashion are deliberately disruptive as a tactic in this House.
Mr GILES: While the member for Nhulunbuy went missing over the Christmas period, for the people of Nhulunbuy who need support from their local member, we sit back and think: it is no different from before because for the last five years she did not say anything about Gove, Nhulunbuy, the mine, its indiscretions where there could be a closure; but, then again, she is not alone. The member for Casuarina, the former Mining minister, has not said anything either. This is the man who approved the extension of the lease agreement, without putting any requirements on the refinery staying open.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question: what are the Chief Minister and the government doing for the people of Nhulunbuy?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, if you could get to the point.
Mr GILES: I wonder whether the member for Nightcliff has been to Nhulunbuy to see what we are doing. I will go back to the member for Casuarina; he has sat back silently too, missing, like the member for Nhulunbuy. Why did you not put any conditions on the 2011 lease extension agreement? What was happening while the lobbying was going on in 2011? What documents recommended you put conditions on that lease extension? It is a very good question; I encourage you to answer it, member for Casuarina.
While the member for Nhulunbuy is missing, the member for Casuarina is missing, and the Leader of the Opposition is missing because she has no comments about when she was the Deputy Chief Minister and allowed this to continue. If the member for Nhulunbuy would like to get some more information about what we are doing and our comprehensive assistance package for the people of the region, I would be happy to help her rather than see her come in here grandstanding after she has been missing for local residents.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Buffaloes to Vietnam
Ms LEE to CHIEF MINISTER
Could you inform the House about the recent shipment of buffaloes that left Darwin for Vietnam?
Ms Walker: Do you think buffaloes are the next great economic opportunity for Nhulunbuy?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we can hear the carping and whining coming from the member for Nhulunbuy all over again. This is the same thing. She talks about what we are doing in Gove and the region, the wild buffaloes are an opportunity to support trade, to sit down with Gularrwuy Yunupingu and many of the senior traditional owners and talk about what you would do to support industry and the region. All you do is throw stones again. No wonder you went missing.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, if you could address your comments through the Chair, please.
Mr GILES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today was another exciting day like yesterday, being on the Tiwi Islands with the member for Arafura, witnessing the signing of a deal between Mitsui, Australia’s fourth largest export company, and the Tiwi Islands to export wood chip overseas. It was a fantastic day. Then early this morning the member for Katherine, the minister for Primary Industry, and I were at the port at East Arm Wharf watching the loading of the first shipment of buffalo to Vietnam. Two-hundred-and-twenty-two buffalo were loaded this morning to go to Vietnam, through SEALS export company to be imported by Animex through the Haiphong Province in the north of Vietnam. That is fantastic. It was supposed to be 600 but due to the Wet Season the road conditions were too bad to get the cattle out. In a week to a fortnight, another 600 will go out. We have already accepted an order for 1500 more to go in April.
This is the start of a brand new industry and a fantastic outcome that will add economic benefit to the Northern Territory. The most exciting thing for the member for Arnhem, which she and I have spoken about, is the opportunity it presents for local Aboriginal people in her electorate to export wild harvest catch and buffalo behind the wire. It is talking about real jobs in remote and regional areas. That is what we are all about, creating jobs for local people. It is what we saw yesterday in Arafura; it will make a massive difference.
It was good being there with the member for Katherine today, talking about primary industry. There was a range of support for us, but there was no support for former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Joe Ludwig, the former Agriculture minister. They would not have been invited by us, because they would be opponents to a live buffalo trade, like they and Labor were to the live cattle trade. I remember former Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, standing in Nhulunbuy with nothing to say; the member for Nhulunbuy had nothing to say that day either. He simply nodded his head when Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister, ceased the live cattle trade – completely stopped an industry. Today we reflect on recommencing the live cattle trade. We had a fantastic opportunity yesterday in commencing the wood chip industry and we started the buffalo industry today. Be there in two weeks and have a look. Great job, minister for Primary Industry.
Bush Secondary Schools
Ms FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
Under your watch, Territory schools are in crisis. You refuse to come clean on how your cuts to education are impacting our classrooms. You have scrapped bush secondary education programs leaving students with no options …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question is out of order. It is not in order with Standing Order 112(2)(a), (b), (c), or (d): arguments, inferences, imputations and epithets.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Member for Nightcliff.
Ms FYLES: Territorians are asking me to ask these questions of you, Chief Minister. You scrapped programs. You want to scrap secondary education in the bush. Large urban schools do not have enough teachers to cover enrolments, and teachers say they are drowning. I have an e-mail from a Territory school teacher which states teachers are drowning. When will you admit to Territorians you got it wrong? Our Territory schools are in crisis. When will you stop your savage education cuts?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we look at our achievements over the last 15-16 months. We look at what we have done about alcohol policy and the reduction in the consumption of pure alcohol. We look at what has happened with alcohol rehabilitation and the reforms we have made in the performance measure for alcohol rehabilitation. We look at what has happened …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. He was asked about the crisis in Territory schools, not alcohol policy. We would like him to talk about Territory schools.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down, it is not a point of order. The Chief Minister has three minutes to answer the question.
Mr GILES: Look at the economy. We have the second highest economy in the nation, the highest construction figures, retail – economic indicators all around the Territory are reflected on the rest of Australia. We are leading the nation. Look at what is happening with crime. We have the lowest crime figures since statistics were first collected in 1999, the lowest crime statistics on record.
Alice Springs, as an example, was a war zone two years ago under Labor. Now, the peacefulness, the tranquillity, a beautiful community …
Ms MANISON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was about education and teacher cuts. I would like the Chief Minister to answer the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call. If you could get to the point, please.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I will use my three minutes. Thank you very much for the interjection. We have worked on alcohol, we are working on rehabilitation, crime, economics, and now we have our attention on education. We focused on that last year. We have three reviews under way.
I will go to one of the components of the question: secondary education in the bush. The education system in the bush, under Labor, was designed by that famous Labor man, Bob Collins. The review was titled Learning Lessons. We know our NAPLAN results are the worst in the country. We know the educational outcomes. We know kids’ ability in numeracy and literacy. On this side of the Chamber, we care. The reason they keep screaming - for those in the gallery - is because they know this hurts. Bruce Wilson undertook a review into remote Indigenous education in the Northern Territory and his findings show - I do not have the graph in front of me …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked a very direct question: when will he admit Territory schools are in crisis and stop the savage education cuts?
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down; it is not a point of order. The Chief Minister is answering the question.
Mr GILES: Secondary education in the bush is in crises, which is why we are trying to fix it. The draft review by Bruce Wilson showed that Indigenous remote and very remote schools in the Northern Territory, compared to similar remote and very remote schools in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, we were a mile behind those schools.
Let me leave you with this one statistic. There are 47 secondary education facilities in the Northern Territory. Last year, eight students completed their Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training. This figure is reflective of a schooling system in crisis, and we as a government have a commitment to fix it. You whinge and want to be Dr Know all the time. We will continue on this platform of reform …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Indigenous Education Review – Draft Report Feedback
Mr HIGGINS to MINISTER for EDUCATION
Last week, the draft report of the government’s review into Indigenous education was released for public consultation. Can the minister update the House on some of the feedback received from the major stakeholders?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly, who is deeply interested in remote education. The draft review, released last Friday, painted a bleak picture of Indigenous education in the Territory, especially in our remote communities. In those communities, Year 3 students are already two years behind, which is evidence of a failed system. By the time they reach Year 9 they are five years behind. Last year, when we should have had 500 children pass Year 12, we had eight. If that is not a clear representation of a failed system, I do not know what is. It is a damning report by any measure.
The review was also very critical of secondary education in remote communities. That was the flagship of the former Labor government. Author, Bruce Wilson, noted the declining numbers of NTCET completions from the 47 schools offering the program. Sadly, just four students completed their education in 2011, under Labor, and 18 in 2012. It is clear those good intentions have not yielded acceptable results. Students in the bush are being cheated of an education, and it is time something was done.
Bruce Wilson has spent the last couple of weeks meeting with land councils, training boards, Aboriginal organisations and other educational groups to get their feedback on his findings. These groups are supportive of the need for change because they know what is happening now is not providing the results. Every group was supportive, with two notable exceptions. The commentary from the Australian Labor Party - those opposite - and its mates from the Australian Education Union, quite frankly, disgust me.
The government commissioned an independent review into an area which should be above politics. As we have seen in the education debate over the past twelve months, the opposition and the unions will continue to drag it down to their level. I was most disturbed by the comment from the AEU’s Matthew Cranitch, where he likened the idea of boarding schools in regionals centres - as a recommendation of the review - to another Stolen Generation. I look to my right and I can see five members of parliament who went to boarding schools. Are you calling them part of the Stolen Generation? It is comments like that which make me wonder what some people’s motives are.
We have an independent review which has said education in the bush has been failing Indigenous students for more than a decade. Those opposite, and their union mates, want to persist with what has been happening. I am not sure if it is arrogance, pride or just plain stubbornness, but to put any of that ahead of the welfare of children is deplorable.
Delia, you are a mother. How would you feel if your children did not have access to a high-quality education system? I want the opposition to drop the politics …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Elizabeth River Dam Plans
Mr VOWLES to CHIEF MINISTER
You were not in the Territory, so you may not be aware that in the 1990s the previous CLP government’s plan to dam the Elizabeth River was a massive failure. This plan played a big part in your mates losing government in 2001. Now you are trying to dredge the stupidity again by planning to dam the Elizabeth River. It will fail. Even the member for Goyder is publicly campaigning against it. How out of touch are you to think you can resurrect a failed plan from the 1990s to dam one of our greatest rivers? How can you get it so wrong?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, with the winter Olympics being on it is good to reflect on what that means for the people of the Labor Party. We see these leadership contentions all the time; we are not sure who will be the leader of the Labor Party. The Leader of the Opposition put out a statement yesterday saying that she …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was about damming the Elizabeth River, not the winter Olympics.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, if you could answer the question as it was put.
Mr GILES: Can I spend my three minutes answering the question, Madam Speaker?
Madam SPEAKER: Not if you digress considerably, which you were.
Mr GILES: We look at who the real leader is on the other side. Everyone has their hand up, but the member for ‘Jingili Johnston’ - the member for Johnston - is at the back of the pack.
The winter Olympics are on; I was sitting up watching it late last night and I thought the member for Johnston is the Steven Bradbury of this parliament. You might come through the back; everyone might fall over and you might be the man, member for Johnston. You might be …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please withdraw those comments.
Mr GILES: I withdraw those comments, and I think if all seven fell down he still could not get across the line.
Ms MANISON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. This is a question about damming, could you please answer the question?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, if you could get to the point of the question.
Mr GILES: Member for Wanguri, this is not a question about damming, it is about planning. This is different. We are planning. We have our Planning Commission and we are planning for the future, ensuring we have land availability, housing stock and the ability to provide solutions to Territorians so they may get a house. We are not afraid to ask questions about visionary things that may or may not happen in the future. We are not afraid to consult, as the Minister for Education just said when he spoke about the Bruce Wilson Indigenous education review. That is what it is about, members for Wanguri and Johnston. You want to try to stir up some damming story in the newspaper to try to create some …
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I want to ensure the Chief Minister gets back to answering the question, considering there is a lot of noise coming from his side of this House about this.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Johnston, it is sufficient to say it is a point of order. Chief Minister, if you can get to the point please.
Mr GILES: He has just proved the point: if seven fell down he still could not cross the line. This is about planning, looking at opportunities, having strategic new designs and how to build liveable cities into the future. We are not afraid to have the debate. That does not mean these things will happen, but it is a part of our approach to having structured plans into the future, particularly for long-term land release to ensure we have the housing supply and capacity to match the pressures we see in the Northern Territory.
On the issue of housing supply, there is no doubt that when we came into government the demand outstripped the supply quite substantially. Both the minister for Lands and Planning and the Minister for Housing have been working tirelessly, looking at options to speed up the supply of housing. The Minister for Housing, with the Real Housing for Growth initiatives, is providing low-cost options for Territorians to try to get better opportunities.
We are seeing, according to the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory, a stabilisation of prices where the enormous growth factors are not there as they were before.
The challenge is to ensure we receive rents at the same point where there is a balancing out in the cost equation. Have no doubt, the Country Liberals are here to reduce the cost of living as well as financial pressure for Territorians.
Economic Growth
Ms ANDERSON to TREASURER
Is it true that the Northern Territory continues to lead the nation in economic growth in 2014?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. She is a great advocate of driving economic growth in the Northern Territory and in her electorate of Namatjira.
Before addressing the state of economic growth in 2014, it is worthwhile reminding ourselves of the impressive economic growth rates we saw in 2013 under the Country Liberals government. In 2012-13, the NT economy grew by 5.6%. This was much higher than anticipated in the May 2013 budget. It was due, in a large part, to the policies of this Giles Country Liberals government. It was higher because we saw new opportunities created, new mines and the pastoral industry get up and running, which increased consumer confidence. We saw higher household consumption and a larger than expected trade surplus.
In its December 2013 Business Outlook publication, Deloitte Access Economics forecast the Territory will grow by 4.9% this financial year. Deloitte is forecasting the Territory will grow, as I said, at 4.7% between 2013-14 and 2017-18.
This is the highest growth rate of all jurisdictions in Australia, and we are the envy of the nation.
Mr McCarthy: Stop the cuts then! Stop cuts to teachers.
Mr TOLLNER: Here we go, an interjection. You talk about stopping cuts. The fact of the matter is we were left in diabolical circumstances as far as government finances are concerned.
This year, we are spending $1.1bn more than we get in income and these guys on the other side seem to think it is fine.
As a government, we are driving economic growth, supporting private industry and, at the same time, reducing government spending where we have to so we can start living within our means.
Deloitte Access Economics expects future growth in the Territory to be driven by international exports, private housing investment, private sector consumption, private equipment investment and retail. It is enormously good news issued by Deloitte, and it is an endorsement of this government’s approach to sound economic management, delivering a stronger economy in the Territory.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Local Government
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LOCAL GOVERNMENT and REGIONS
Could you please say if it is your intention to expand the Darwin Rates Act to cover unincorporated land such as Marrakai, or perhaps Dundee and the Douglas Daly? If so, have you told the residents, or even discussed it with them? If you are to introduce this system of breaking, instead of amalgamating the land with other councils, will this not be a case of taxation without representation, or the Boston Tea Party revisited?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question because it gives me the opportunity - at the moment there is a lot of rumour and speculation about this sort of stuff. But at this stage, the government has no plans to do anything.
What we are doing, member for Nelson, is consulting with stakeholders. We are talking to people, trying to work out the best way of making local government financially viable into the future. As the member for Nelson knows, local government in the bush, outside of those municipal councils, has not been financially sustainable since self-government.
The previous government set up a system of toxic shires. We know they were not financially sustainable. There was any number of reports drawing attention to the fact that local government in the Territory was not financially sustainable, so we are asking questions and investigating ways we can put a foundation underneath local government so people in the bush, in particular, can have their say, make a difference in their communities and deliver those services they need so much.
There is a range of things government is looking at, but we are consulting. We are not doing anything without talking to all stakeholders. We are talking to as many people as possible. We are dealing with LGANT and a range of other organisations, and when firm decisions are made we will announce them more broadly.
Industry EBAs
Mr McCARTHY to CHIEF MINISTER
Territory workers are fed up with your continual attacks and arrogance. You are in dispute with workers on the front line – firefighters, teachers, paramedics, port workers, bus drivers …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question is in breach of Standing Order 112(2) referring to imputations and ironical expressions.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr McCARTHY: … in dispute with firefighters, teachers, paramedics, port workers and bus drivers. You refuse to recognise their pay offers and do not understand that you are not keeping pace with the escalating cost of living under the CLP, running at 4.4%. You are offering 3%. The cost of living is increasing by 4.4% under the CLP. While the cost of living escalates, you expect them to take a pay cut in real terms. When will you realise that Territory workers cannot continue to afford your government’s plan and will you end these disputes?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we have a question from a parrot of the union membership. There is no doubt we are negotiating EBAs in a range of fields, with firefighters, for example, who are requesting a 23% pay increase in their first year. These are things we negotiate as government. We are in negotiation with the teachers. We have put out a flat offer of a 3% per annum increase through the EBA process, and those negotiations will continue to occur. We are quite happy with the way negotiations are going. We do not have a concern in that frame. It is just part of government, as an employer, negotiating with your workers about changes to workplace conditions. We will continue to undertake those negotiations as we see fit.
State of the Territory Economy
Mr KURRUPUWU to TREASURER
Can the minister update the House on the state of the Territory economy and outline the factors affecting economic growth going forward?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. The work happening on the Tiwi Islands is remarkable and is driven largely by the member for Arafura, who has a strong commitment to driving economic development in his electorate. I am sure there will be much more to be said about exactly what is going on, but I congratulate the member for Arafura for his vision and determination in driving economic growth in his electorate.
This Giles Country Liberals government is extraordinarily proud of the way we have been strengthening the Northern Territory’s economy. The Northern Territory has finished first in three indicators in the latest CommSec State of the States report, released in January this year: economic growth, construction work done and unemployment. Economic activity in the Top End is 41% above its normal or decade average level of output. Retail trade was also strong, quoting CommSec, ‘courtesy of low unemployment’.
If you listen to the opposition, you would swear we are all going to hell in a hand basket and unemployment is rife with people losing jobs everywhere, but we have the strongest employment growth rate in the nation. There are plenty of jobs for Territorians, more jobs than Territorians can fill, which is why soon we will be going interstate, talking to those people who lost jobs in the manufacturing and other industries, trying to encourage other Australians to come to the Northern Territory, take up residence here, and help us with our great desire to grow the economy, build a better lifestyle and provide prosperity for all Territorians.
International exports are expected to grow by 4.6% in 2013-14 and by 18.7% in 2014-15, with export growth to average 9% per annum through to 2017-18. Private sector consumption growth is expected to grow by 3.7% between now and 2017-18, while private housing investment is expected to grow at an average of 10.2% through to 2017-18.
Retail is expected to grow at a rate of 3.3% per year through that same time. Private equipment investment will grow by an average of 8% in that period. I can reel off these indicators, but the fact is our economy is doing well. Good on the Giles government.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Palmerston Regional Hospital – Construction Date
Ms MANISON to CHIEF MINISTER
There are increasing reports that Royal Darwin Hospital is again in crisis. We are hearing from patients and staff about double-bunking in the Emergency Department, bed block in overcrowded wards, and treatment wait times in the ED are escalating. There is little chance of relief at RDH in the near future with the government not using the medi-hotel for its intended purpose and blowing out the time frame for Palmerston hospital by years.
Can you give us a date for building commencement of the Palmerston hospital, not the roads or services, but the hospital building? When will construction start?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, on the first day of parliament for 2014 it seems everyone gets a guernsey - a big scattergun approach on questions. That is unless you are leadership aspirant, like the member for Fannie Bay, but getting to the point of the question about the hospital - another crisis we seem to have, asked about in another question from the member for Wanguri. The question is when will Palmerston hospital be built? I can give you one of two answers. One is, if Labor was in government it would never have been built, because for eleven-and-a-half years you promised it and never built it. However, we are in government now - the Country Liberal government - and are doing the planning, scoping and committing to shovels in the ground in 2014.
I have said many times before, I do not know if the member for Wanguri researches her questions or is just handed something because she is not the member for Fannie Bay …
Ms MANISON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question about when construction of the hospital will start, not the headworks.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister is getting to the question.
Mr GILES: The member for Wanguri wants a hospital built without headworks. That is apparently what she is asking for.
We are having enormous consultation on the design of the hospital and facilities. We are looking at a planning approach for what will be on the surrounds of the hospital and looking at the transport management approach with the Minister for Transport. We are talking with the minister for Lands and Planning about the next stages and how they can be incorporated. We will then go back to the community to make sure we bring it along with us. That is the approach we are taking. We have committed to shovels in the ground this year. We do not give a time line on a massive construction project of a new hospital at this stage, because we are still going through the planning phase. Until we know exactly what the plan will look like and engage someone to do the construction, we do not know the time frame and when it will be completed.
We can assure people it is starting this year, unlike Labor, which never started it. All Labor managed to do - we go to the question about headworks - was put up a temporary fence and a sign. They are the only two things they could do. They could not even get to the headworks.
Rest assured, while we are fixing something over here - another Labor mess - this is another thing we will do. Labor promised a hospital, but we will deliver it. I am looking forward to a question from the future Opposition Leader, the member for Fannie Bay.
Alcohol Protection Orders – Police Success
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER FOR POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
Can you inform the House about recent success by police in their efforts to stamp out crime, and what advice have you received about the impact of alcohol protection orders since they were introduced?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I note the member for Drysdale asked her question with a glowing smile, because she knows crime in Palmerston is going down. Crime in Palmerston is going down like it is going down in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs. Crime is going down everywhere.
Let me give the House an update about alcohol protection orders. These are part of the processes which prohibit people from drinking, unlike Labor’s Banned Drinker Register, which prohibited them from buying alcohol at takeaway shops. Alcohol protection orders were introduced just before Christmas as a new tool for police to tackle alcohol-fuelled crime, a scourge in our society. Under these orders, someone who is charged with a serious crime while under the influence of alcohol can be banned from buying, possessing or consuming alcohol for a period of three, six or twelve months. As of this morning …
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: They are not keen to listen, because we are fixing things, again, their mess. As of this morning, 500 people were on one of these orders; that is 500 people in less than two months. Police say it is the best tool they have ever had to tackle this kind of alcohol-fuelled offending.
The early statistics suggest these orders are already having a huge effect. In the first month of APOs operating, acts intended to cause injury fell by 15.8% compared to the previous month, which is January on December. When you compare the January results to the same month last year, for example, January 2014 to January 2013, there was a 19.8% reduction in acts intended to cause injury. Around the country, any police minister or police commissioner who achieves a 1% reduction in crime will be singing it from the rooftops. We have a 19.8% reduction in acts intended to cause injury, that is, domestic violence as a result of alcohol.
This is an impressive turnaround. It is early days, but this comes on top of our other successes. In the past 12 months in Darwin, house break-ins have almost halved and are down by 48%. Property damage has dropped by 25%. Let us look at Palmerston, where the member for Drysdale is from; house break-ins have also almost halved and are down by 47%. You tell me we are not fixing your crime mess. Commercial break-ins are down by 40%. In Alice Springs, Strike Force Vega has resulted in a four-year low for unlawful entry offences, an eight-year low for commercial break-ins and a seven-year low for property damage. The Country Liberals made an election commitment to drive down crime by 10% over our term and we are knocking that figure for six.
People are safer in the Northern Territory than they have ever been, back to the 1990s when the Country Liberals were last in government.
Power and Water – Privatisation
Mr WOOD to TREASURER
On 27 September last year, AAP reported that the NT government had approved the division of the Power and Water Corporation, but the government denies it is privatising the two new entities. Speaking on the ABC News in January this year, you said you would only consider this action with a mandate from the people at an election. If you were telling the truth about not privatising Power and Water, why did you say it would be considered at the next election? Surely if you do not support privatisation, it would not be on the agenda for the next election full stop. The straight question, which requires a succinct answer is, do you support the selling off of Power and Water, and if you intend to do so, would you have the courage to put it to a referendum? After all, essential services are owned by Territorians. Do they not reserve the right to have a say?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson. It seems he is caught up in the Labor spin machine these days and is very concerned about things.
Let me clarify, this Northern Territory government is interested in creating a competitive marketplace for our utilities businesses. This is because we want to put maximum downward pressure on Territorians power bills.
We are doing everything we can to try to ease the burden of high power costs for Territorians. It is a good question about the privatisation of assets, because this is something we need to think about in the future. I am not only talking about Power and Water, member for Nelson, somehow or other we need to fund the infrastructure we require into the future. Due to the debt legacy left by the previous Labor government, where we are staring down the barrel of $5.5bn worth of debt, the capacity of the Northern Territory government to fund future hospitals, future power stations, future bridges, roads …
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 67: digression. The answer should be succinct, concise and direct. Do you support the selling off of Power and Water? Yes or no?
Mr TOLLNER: This guy is on some sort of weird ride. I am explaining exactly what the pressures are for government. We have an obligation to provide essential services to Territorians. We know our economy is growing at a rapid rate. Where will future power generation come from? How do we fund necessary infrastructure into the future? These are questions we need to ponder, because we are in the business of government and when your hands are tied …
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: succinct, concise and directly relevant. The question was: do you support the selling off of Power and Water? Not this spiel which avoids answering the question.
Mr TOLLNER: It is a ridiculous question, because it is not something we have looked at. How can you say, ‘Do you support the Parramatta Eels or the Canterbury Bulldogs?’ Goodness me, you do not even follow the sport, what would you know? Until you make an assessment, it is very difficult to answer. We should not be ruling out the sale of assets because, at the moment, as I said, our hands are tied behind our back. We are staring down the barrel of $5.5bn worth of Labor debt. Unlike Labor, we know money does not magically appear out of nowhere - like the Labor government made it appear. We cannot continue to go down the path of increasing debt.
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Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of a Year 5/6 class from Howard Springs Primary School accompanied by Naomi Rodriquez. On behalf of honourable members, welcome to Parliament House and I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Alice Springs – Crime
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
Assaults are up by 12% across the NT, sexual assaults are up by 7%. Your comments on radio that crime is no longer an issue in Alice Springs have been slammed by people who live there. In the very week you made those comments, there was, unfortunately, tragically, a murder and a stabbing in Alice Springs. Just after you made these comments, your friend and tourist operator, Rex Neindorf, told ABC radio:
- It is not completely cleaned up at all. Certainly, property crime has gone down, that’s because less people are going out stealing grog, but I would say that assaults and those sorts of things have not changed at all.
Sexual assault is up 7% across the Territory and violent assault is up by 12%.
When will you admit Alice Springs is hurting from an increase in alcohol-related violence, and it is affecting businesses and families?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for his question. If you want to be the Opposition Leader, you have to ask better questions than that.
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: I will answer this succinctly for the member for Nhulunbuy. Most serious assaults are domestic violence: people beating up their wives or partners when they are drunk, in the main. Around 75% of those, as I have said in this Chamber before, were not being prosecuted previously. We have now ordered all of those cases to be prosecuted to bring those offenders before the justice system and make sure we provide the best protection for those on the receiving end of assaults.
I answered the last question for the member for Drysdale about seeing the substantial reduction in crime across the Northern Territory, already meeting our 10% targets by a long way, but I also spoke about alcohol protection orders and how they are designed to make an impact on those offending with serious assaults, where the penalty is six months or more and alcohol has been a contributing factor in the crime.
There are more than 500 alcohol protection orders as of this morning, and we are already seeing a reduction in acts intended to cause injury –specifically what the member for Fannie Bay is talking about – by 19.8% in January this year compared to January last year. An almost 20% reduction in acts intended to cause injury is a substantial reduction and a real complement to the commencement of alcohol protection orders in that more women are being protected by the measures we put in place to help stop them being beaten by people who are violently drunk. It has been a challenge in the Northern Territory for many decades, and this is the first significant result in turning around serious assaults in the Northern Territory I have been able to find in the history books.
There are changes in statistics around acts intended to cause injury and all other criminal matters, but seeing an immediate 20% reduction and changes which are helping in the lives of battered women around the Territory – we will continue to do what we can to support reductions in crime and support women who are too often the victims of domestic violence.
Unsustainable Debt Level
Mr HIGGINS to TREASURER
You have already pointed out that the Country Liberals inheriting a $5.5bn debt after 11 years of Labor failures. Can you outline for us why such a high debt level is unsustainable?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is good to see a sensible question. Well done to the member for Daly. When you listen to the opposition and the member for Nelson, you would swear everything was roses as far as government finances are concerned.
The risks of excessive debt are several. Excessive debt restricts the fiscal capacity of governments to maintain an appropriate level of services for Territorians due to increased borrowing costs. It also results in a legacy of debt for future generations, something Labor did not care about. They broke their own Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act, an act they put in place to stop just this type of thing happening.
The former Territory Labor government left a debt to income ratio of 98%. This government has been tasked with addressing this serious issue while simultaneously driving economic growth across the Territory. The debt to revenue ratio will reduce to approximately 80%, which is a massive reduction of 18%. The problems with excessive debt and its deleterious effects can be witnessed in Europe, particularly southern parts of Europe, namely Italy, Greece and Spain which are crumbling under the mountains of debt created by fiscally irresponsible governments. In these countries the debt to income ratios exceeds 100%.
Stability and predictability are only attainable while the Territory’s finances are in balance and sustainable, which is why this government is so committed to getting back to living within our means. With a very quickly and rapidly growing economy, it does not take long for our capacity in essential services to be eaten up. Our services of health, education, roads, bridges, new power generation and new sources of water all need to be funded into the future, and when you have the sort of debt Labor created, delivering those services into the future becomes very difficult.
We know Labor did not want us to cut government spending. We know Labor did not want us to sell assets and raise taxes. Their answer is to go further into debt. This is the only thing remaining - for Labor to go future into debt …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you time has expired.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Ms Lawrie: Could not help but run out, Adam.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader!
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! She knows the rules.
Madam SPEAKER: I ask the member to withdraw
Ms Lawrie: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016