2012-11-01
Budget Actions
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
During the election your slogan was, ‘It’s about you, the voters’, but really it is all about you, the CLP. It is about you axing the Arafura Games, raising power prices, sacking public servants, scrapping home ownership schemes, putting 2500 banned drinkers back on the streets and, ultimately, trying to fund your election commitments by taking a wrecking ball to the budget. When will you do something positive for Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. When there is a calamity or some kind or a disaster, as we have seen recently, there comes the time when you need to clean up the mess. That is what we are required to do.
The underlying question remains unanswered, or perhaps does not perturb you at all, but it sits in the back of the minds of Territorians: what would have been the case if you were re-elected as the government? How would you have dealt with payment of the public service? How would you have managed the growing debt? How would you have protected the future of the Northern Territory from a change in interest rates? How would you have managed to accommodate the opportunities that are clearly there for the Northern Territory if there is a reassessment of our credit rating? You blithely walk on and pretend these issues do not exist.
There is so much we know on this side about the way you operated. Territorians have a sense of what they have been spared by changing the government. It is a real government which takes a real interest in the future of the Northern Territory. It is about the future of the Northern Territory. Heaven help us if we had the Labor government in power today managing the affairs and breaking promises because it would not have been able to pay its bills.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113, Relevance. Is there anything positive you will do for Territorians?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Please be seated.
Mr MILLS: It is very difficult, I assume, for you to see this; however, there is something called tough love where you have to make the right decisions. You just wait and see.
Members interjecting.
Mr MILLS: Yes, you can laugh and mock. Your character is to pay it up today - put it on the credit card and worry about it tomorrow. We are not that type of people. We manage our affairs in the best interests of our children and the children after them.
The legacy left will be an eminently positive one because we know what we are doing, have the courage to make the right decisions, and will take the Territory somewhere and put us in a position where we can take the opportunities presented to us, and they are enormous. You painted us into a corner. You have ratcheted up on the credit card and there is very little room to move. We are ensuring we will leave a real legacy people look back on. I do not think they pay much attention to the last legacy.
Fiscal Imbalance –
Government Action to Reduce
Government Action to Reduce
Mrs PRICE to CHIEF MINISTER
Now you have received the RMB progress report, what steps will you take to reduce the fiscal imbalance this year?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Stuart for her very important question. I hope those few members of the Northern Territory community who sit on the other side, who are desperately trying to defend their sad legacy, will listen to this because the Territory will note what is to come and know it is in their best interests.
Before I begin, I table the Renewable Management Board Progress Report. It is there for all to see, even the former Treasurer.
While this government has spoken directly about the need for fiscal restraint and a plan to bring the budget into balance by the end of this term – 2016 - it is apparent, from the preliminary work of the Renewable Management Board, that the starting point for the 2012-13 budget and the 2012-13 deficit is much worse than we were led to expect. In the last week I have spoken about the real fiscal deficit ...
Members interjecting.
Mr MILLS: This is not about you, former Treasurer. These matters need to be properly understood. In the last week, we have spoken about the real fiscal deficit which could exceed $900m this year. I am informed the pressure on this year’s budget comes from right across the departments.
The House has already heard of the previous government’s decision to employ workers in additional positions without any budget. I am advised instructions were given in the last months of the former government to ignore budget constraints and recruit over 90 additional staff and incur substantial increases in operational costs just in one agency. The understated staffing and substantial operational costs together result in an estimated black hole of $35m in one agency budget alone.
Another example is in Correctional Services, which is experiencing high growth in prisoner numbers driven by the approach of the previous government and the failure of the fundamental premise of the system, which is to change behaviour. An additional expenditure need of over $25m in total to 2015-16 in Alice Springs and Darwin has been identified by the agency.
It is not just a blowout in employment costs, it is reported general asset maintenance that could require large additional unbudgeted and yet to be assessed amounts in the forward estimates period to 2015-16.
One area we have had some numbers on is police infrastructure, which is reported to be in need of major repairs and maintenance across the Territory, including Berrimah headquarters. Major costs will be involved to remedy this if it is confirmed by further investigation, but the shortfall in repairs and maintenance assessed by the agency across the forward estimates period is stated as $48m.
The mini-budget to be handed down on 4 December 2012 will outline the real state of the Territory finances and what is achievable in keeping a lid on the growth of the previous government’s debt.
Renewal Management Board –
Progress Report
Progress Report
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
I welcome the Chief Minister tabling the Renewal Management Board Progress Report. Chief Minister, you received this progress report and, quite frankly, it is not worth the paper it is printed on. It has a disclaimer on the front page:
- The views expressed in this report are those of the RMB and not necessarily those of the government.
You do not even want to claim it; it is unbelievable. This is the work of your political hacks. They confirm the numbers in the PEFO published in August. You have had two months of trawling and there is no change to the fiscal position of the Territory in this document. This is political hacks and rantings of …
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is not the time for a statement from the Leader of the Opposition. Is there a question in this?
Ms LAWRIE: I have one minute.
Madam SPEAKER: No point of order. Leader of the Opposition.
Ms LAWRIE: They do not like the Marine Supply Base. Moody’s has rated the Territory AA1 with a stable outlook. What has changed?
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired. Leader of the Opposition, please be seated. Chief Minister.
ANSWER
I did not hear a question, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! He interrupted with a point of order and it was not a point of order.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
GST Revenue - Risks
Ms FINOCCHIARO to TREASURER
Can the Treasurer outline to the House the risks for the Territory to its GST revenue, particularly if GST grows more slowly than Treasury projections?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. The Northern Territory is heavily reliant on Commonwealth funding and 60% of our revenue comes from GST, with just 20% comprised of tied Commonwealth grants. The GST revenue we receive is extremely important to our survival.
To put this in perspective, other jurisdictions receive around 25% of their income from GST revenues. Any negative variation in GST will put great pressure on the Territory budget, as we have seen over the last four years. Risks to that revenue are several, including the size and composition of our population, our share of the national population, the size of the GST pool and, more significantly, any change to the distribution methodology to divide GST between the states and territories.
This last one, particularly, is critical now. There is a GST Review Panel in place which the former government had negotiations with. The Chief Minister and I have met with different members of the GST Review Panel over the last 10 weeks. It is a highly competitive environment we share. The four large states - Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia - strongly lobbied the review panel to cut the smaller jurisdictions loose, and that includes the GST.
We cannot afford this to happen. I have written to the panel to reaffirm the previous government’s submission to ensure we get our fair share. The static nature we are experiencing in the pool of GST revenue being collected by the Commonwealth is a big risk for us also. As Australians bunker down they are spending less, the GST pool is smaller than it was, and it is not growing.
The point is, the previous government kept spending as if GST revenue would keep growing and rolling on at the pre-global financial crisis rate whereas, in reality, it has changed. The rate of spending increased at a far more rapid rate than the GST was rolling in. GST revenue to the Territory was not growing as fast as it was being spent by the former government, and we know we are in a dire financial situation thanks to it.
Power, Water and Sewerage – Increased Tariffs
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
On 16 August, Moody’s credit rating agency rated the Territory AA1 with a stable outlook. The figures in the budget are confirmed in the PEFO and by your hack political Renewal Management Board. Your Treasurer, on Territory FM on 29 September, said the Territory’s financial circumstances, ‘Isn’t that dire’. Why are you hurting Territorians with planned hikes in power, water, and sewerage prices going straight to the core issue of the cost of living for Territory families and small businesses?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Opposition Leader for the question. There are about three different elements to your question. The accusations you are railing in your first attempt at a question were trying to shoot the messenger rather than listening to the message. If you are going to make reference to a group of men who have collectively over - it may be a concern to some of you where gender is a major issue. It is the message provided by those who have, collectively, 150 years of service to the Northern Territory, 50 years of collective experience in finance and Treasury, and academic teaching in engineering, both domestic and international. They have doctorates, technical training and qualifications, including qualifications in economics and finance from Australian institutions and overseas institutions, including Duke, Harvard, and Stanford University in the USA. They are members of a range of professional organisations. When you go to Moody’s now ....
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. Why are you hiking up power prices when Moody’s rated us with a stable outlook, and your own Treasurer, on 29 September, said our financial circumstances ‘isn’t that dire?’
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, can you get to the point please.
Mr MILLS: You would know the answer to the question. Nonetheless, when an assessment is made of the economic prospects of the Northern Territory, anyone can see we have great potential and opportunity. The question to be answered by those who are managing the affairs of the Northern Territory is: are you living within your means, are you making use of the resources you have to ensure you have the capacity to take opportunity as it is provided?
There is opportunity. Yes, we are very fortunate. However, we are unfortunate in the sense we have had an administration racked by fiscal ill-discipline. It took its eye off the ball and racked up debt on the credit card and made commitments without making any serious long-term plan of how to deal with it. Even the Labor administration in Tasmania has taken this seriously and managed to forecast a plan to get out of debt. Even your colleagues in Canberra have had the resolve of foresight to lead in the best interest of the future of the nation ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Did you see the New South Wales Auditor-General found New South Wales ...
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order.
Mr MILLS: Your federal counterparts have had the foresight to recognise their responsibility to provide national leadership and acknowledge that debt has to be repaid ...
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Arafura Games – Deferral
Mr VOWLES to CHIEF MINISTER
You axed a great Territory icon. The Arafura Games is part of the bedrock of our strong sporting and cultural relations with the Asia-Pacific region. When you axed the games, did you consult with any of the competing nations, businesses, multicultural groups, sporting organisations, athletes or volunteers?
Did you have the decency to pick up the phone and talk to anyone about this despicable decision, or was it all about you and your unfunded election commitments?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the answer is: yes, of course I did. We also assessed what you phrase as bedrock. You had not laid any foundations and expected the new administration to build on something very scant with a poorly laid foundation.
Yes, this idea was produced 20 years ago and it was a solid foundation and a legacy left to the former administration to build on.
Question back to you: how many trips did you make overseas representing the minister to ensure you had lined up competitors? We have been here for just over nine weeks and have discovered a review was conducted under your administration which identified the need for a massive increase in funding. Was that funding provided? No, it was not. It was significantly less. Something like $5.5m was recommended, and you gave them just over $1m. You are now asking these big, bold questions of us. The problem is you did not do your work.
Finally, you dare, just for political jollies, to characterise this as an ‘axing’. It is not! This started with the Country Liberals recognising our strategic location within the region, and we will do it properly. It will be deferred and reconsidered, and it will come back bigger and better than ever before.
Weddell – Planning for
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS, PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
Is it true your government intends to scrap the new city of Weddell even though a large amount of the preliminary planning for this city has already been completed and the concept of Weddell is shown in the CLP’s own 1990 and 2010 Darwin regional plans?
If it is true Weddell has been scrapped, is that because your government will allow land in the Noonamah locality to be cut up into hundreds of little blocks, or are you developing new plans for Weddell which include the damming of the Elizabeth River?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, Weddell was planned many years ago under the former Country Liberals. It sits there on our long-term greater Darwin plan which was copied by the former government. Weddell is still there. You are saying if we defer something or change the priorities it constitutes an axing, or we are going to remove it or do something else.
All we are doing is getting our priorities right, and that is ensuring we get our planning considerations in the right balance. If we put our focus on Weddell I cannot see how, in the short term - which is our immediate problem with the great opportunity we have where we need key workers to be accommodated, apprentices to have a place to stay - that will be solved by Weddell. It will be solved by a more immediate and challenging problem which the former government did not have the courage to face: properly planned, sustainable, urban renewal - how to relook at urban space so we can provide affordable housing for key workers. That is our highest priority.
To extrapolate from that that we are going to get rid of any plans for Weddell is completely false. This party has demonstrated, over its time in government in the Northern Territory, that it has long-term plans but is working it through.
This really backs up to rural blocks - that has to be open for discussion. I am sure you will have your say on that and I do not mind a variety of voices. We have put in an independent planning commission so all voices can be heard.
Ms Lawrie: Not independent, your mate.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: I will leave you be on that. You should not be making these allegations. Seriously, I am warning you, do not go there!
We have put a planning commission in place so the community can have some confidence restored in its capacity to work through challenging issues. There will be local people who do not want any change. Broadly, everyone wants change but they do not want it to happen to them. We will put a planning commission in place so, as a community, we can work through some of these really challenging issues. People on blocks need to consider how we solve the problem with our young ones who are going off to university and want to be a part of the Northern Territory’s future. That is an important discussion.
Do not judge the outcome by the character or previous record of someone else. The community has to be involved in this. Weddell is still there. Our priority is to ensure there is a place where people on lower incomes - key workers - can live in the Northern Territory.
Non-Financial Public Sector Deficit
Ms LEE to TREASURER
Can you explain to the House why we need to look at the deficit in the non-financial public sector rather than confining ourselves to the general government sector?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. It is a good question because the former government and the Leader of the Opposition like to hide behind the general government sector which does not include accounting for the terrible state of the finances within the Power and Water Corporation. It is very important that the people of the Northern Territory understand just how this mechanism works - the non-financial public sector.
It is an important question because we need to look at the figures which include Power and Water because that is where the problem is - that is where 40% of the fiscal imbalance lies - rather than concentrating on the lower figures the Leader of the Opposition would prefer to use because they conceal her mismanagement and inability to properly ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Every government in Australia deals with the government sector deficit numbers.
Mrs LAMBLEY: I listened to the opposition claim the members of the Renewal Management Board were hacks. The only hacks I am seeing at the moment are the people across the other side of the room because they have seriously threatened the future of the Northern Territory’s financial situation.
In normal times, the state of the budget can be assessed by reference to the general government sector. This sector is generally reliant on untied revenue such as tax, and goods and services tax revenue. It also includes agencies such as Health and Education. The non-financial public sector is a broader sector as it includes both general government and public non-financial corporations which, in the Territory, include the Power and Water Corporation and the Darwin Port Corporation. They are meant to fully rely on their own revenue sources to operate. This has not been occurring under the watch of the former government.
In the Territory’s case, the Power and Water Corporation, the most significant entity in the public non-financial corporation sector, relies heavily on taxpayers’ support. We are propping up Power and Water Corporation every day, which is why this government is intent on fixing the problem and ensuring Territorians do not continue to bail out this corporation. The former government knew this corporation was in serious trouble. It was advised of that time and time again by the former board of the corporation and it chose not to act. This is a terrible state of affairs we have landed with. We do not enjoy it. The people of the Northern Territory do not enjoy having to go through these savings and possible tariff increases. The only one to blame is the former Treasurer.
Public Servants –
Sackings and Appointments
Sackings and Appointments
Ms WALKER to CHIEF MINISTER
So far you have sacked about 170 public servants while hiring your hand-picked mates for highly paid plum jobs. Many of the people you have sacked now face a bleak Christmas. When will you admit it is all about you paying for plum jobs for your mates and unfunded election commitments?
ANSWER
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I see you have workshopped this. It is the same thrust.
Ms Lawrie: How much are you paying them?
Mr MILLS: That is a completely different question. I said I would provide the answer to that.
This is about the future of the Northern Territory, make no mistake about it. We are not doing this for fun; we are doing it because it has to be done. It is as simple as that
A member: Would rather not do it.
Mr MILLS: Absolutely. If we were a shallow political outfit which says, ‘Could we find another way to increase our credit limit?’, says yes to everyone who comes along, and has a strong emphasis on making the government look good today and trying to get out as quickly as possible before something starts to slip and people recognise we are having difficulty living within our means - change has come and commitments have been made. We honour those commitments. There are contract positions ...
Ms Lawrie: Katherine Hospital, Port Keats.
Mr MILLS: ... that does not constitute a sacking ...
Ms Lawrie: Yes, it does.
Mr MILLS: If money has been made available ...
Ms Lawrie: Yes, it does.
Mr MILLS: Rant on if you like, but it is annoying.
Ms Lawrie: They have no job. It is a sacking.
Mr MILLS: If Commonwealth money comes into Treasury which provides, through the agencies, delivery of a service, and positions are filled around those funding programs and streams and the funding concludes - it is wrapped up in a contract - you have to make decisions. You cannot continue on. It would be sweet as anything to reach for the credit card and say, ‘Look no one is getting too upset here, we will ratchet it up and won’t worry about the children. Don’t worry about the debt for next year or the year after and the children’s children. Don’t worry about it, hopefully it will work out’. We cannot take that approach.
It is a serious government and I take offence to the assertion we are driven by finding friends so they can do something for us we enjoy. We are making hard decisions and getting the best possible advice. I suggest if you are going to characterise these people who have provided quality and long-term excellent service to the Northern Territory in the way you have, you will find yourself in a small group. I have enough manners not to mention some of the names of characters employed by the former government without any advertising on $1m contracts.
I will not mention their names. I will not characterise their service, but the same things you have accused me of without the characterisation I will provide, you have done precisely the same. You have no shame.
Fiscal Imbalance
Mr KURRUPUWU to TREASURER
Can the Treasurer outline to the House how the fiscal imbalance has tracked this year and why it is such a concern to Territorians?
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his important question because the Territory’s financial position deteriorated alarmingly over the space of a few short months in 2012. At the time of the 2012-13 budget released in May this year, the fiscal balance for the non-financial public sector was estimated to be $767m for this financial year. Just a few months later this figure changed.
If we took the imbalance between revenue and expenditure over the four years of the budget, the forward estimates would be $2.9bn. We were set to spend $2.9bn more than we earned over the next four years, which is alarming to say the least. By the time the pre-election fiscal outlook was published in August just before the election, that fiscal imbalance had climbed to $867m for 2012-13. That is an increase of $100m in the space of a few months. A mere three months later, the sum of the imbalances in the budget and forward years totalled $3.1bn.
You can see what I am describing. Things have deteriorated rapidly in relation to the fiscal imbalance and the sum of the imbalances for the forward years. That is a deterioration of $181m in the space of three months. What was that spent on? Where did that go?
That is what we are finding out thanks to the Renewal Management Board and the fine work it has undertaken. It has routed out these anomalies, these rapid deteriorations in the financial situation of the Northern Territory. This over-expenditure, or spending beyond our means, is not sustainable. This is the point we have been trying to make for the last 10 weeks. We cannot continue on this trajectory. A government groaning under the weight of such a significant imbalance between earnings and spending is hugely impeded in pursuing its policy agenda. If all our money is going towards paying off debt, paying off these huge interest bills - $750 000 escalating to probably $1m in the very near future, per day, every day - we cannot spend money on education, health services, childcare services and all the other things people value in the Northern Territory. It is impossible.
Thanks to the former government, that is why we are in the space we are in; that is why we are having to make savings - to put things in ...
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, minister.
Anti-Discrimination Commission – Axing of Staff
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER referred to ATTORNEY-GENERAL and MINISTER for JUSTICE
In your previous answer, you said temporary contracts ceasing were Commonwealth government-funded contracts and that is not a sacking even though people no longer have a job. I have been advised that the Anti-Discrimination Commission has 12 staff. Of those 12 staff, two are in permanent positions, 10 are on contract. I have been advised the 10 contract staff have been told they no longer have jobs. How will we have a functioning Anti-Discrimination Commission with only two staff? You have taken the axe to the organisation which is there to defend and protect Territorians who have been discriminated against. You have taken the axe to the commission which was put in place under previous CLP governments and maintained and strengthened under Labor.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, there is so much I would like to say on this. You seem to miss the essential point. For the specifics of the question regarding the office, I will refer to the Attorney-General.
It would only be the member for Wanguri who recalls this, but I am sure you have all been indoctrinated since 2001. In 2001, you employed Percy Allan. I sat in this Chamber and we were confronted with a shock-horror $80m black hole.
We have discovered since you, as Treasurer, told us what our shortfall was just before the election it had grown by $100m in three months. There is a real problem. We have seen a modest population growth and the structures grow out of control and do not make sense. To make sense of the allegation you have made across the Chamber, I refer to the Attorney-General.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has been lied to. The budget for the Anti-Discrimination Commission is in the order of $970 000. It will continue to operate at ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Is the Attorney-General saying that 10 contract staff have their jobs? They have not been told they do not have their jobs?
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order.
Mr ELFERINK: The budget, I understand, for the Anti-Discrimination Commission is in the order of $970 000. Yes, we require it to live within that budget and have signalled that. In recent years, it has overextended its budgetary expenditure, but there will be no cut to that budget. Therefore, what you are pedalling is dishonest. You will have to tell the person who told you that they are incorrect or call them a liar because it is not true.
We will leave it to the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner - when a new one is appointed - to manage the budget in accordance with its management principles.
The budget will remain unchanged and the lies being pedalled in relation to this, particularly by people who are informing your side of politics and what I have read in the newspaper about this, are simply not true. It is a lie; it is misinformation designed to cause political damage and you are feeding off the side of that.
Budget Deficit
Mr HIGGINS to TREASURER
Why is the Treasury budget $180m worse off over the next four years when I note the projected revenues in the pre-election fiscal outlook have grown by $228m over that period?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. I note the opposition is not referring to the Renewal Management Board Progress Report and I wonder why. Is there something in here it does not want to talk about? I will answer the member for Daly’s question. The opposition has had plenty of time.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I have asked a question on it. I referred to it in Question Time. Did you miss that?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mrs LAMBLEY: The answer to the question asked by the member for Daly illustrates, once again, how irresponsible the former government was when it came to spending beyond its means.
In the 2012-13 budget the estimates used for the Territory and the Australian population were based on the 2006 Census. A few weeks after the 2012-13 budget was released, the ABS issued updated estimated residential population figures based on the 2011 Census. The figures increased estimates of the Territory’s population to 232 365 estimated resident population, while for Australia there was a substantial decrease. For the Territory that meant an increase in population and a corresponding increase in GST revenue.
A tiny change in population can mean a sizable effect in the Territory’s share of GST revenue. For 2012-13, this will add $88m to the Territory government’s coffers and higher GST will flow through for the forward years. This is a good story, thanks to the very small population growth we saw in the recent ABS figures.
The point is that despite this additional unexpected flow of funds we still find ourselves in a position worse than in May to the tune of $181m over four years. Where has this money gone? Why did the former government not account for this overspending? Spend, spend, spend, that is all it was good at, thus we find ourselves in the situation we are in today.
Thank goodness for our population growth, otherwise things could have been much worse to the tune of $228m over the period.
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113, relevance. The figures only changed when they got into the hands of the CLP hand-picked razor gang.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated, there is no point of order.
Mrs LAMBLEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member for Barkly is misleading parliament and I ask him to withdraw that comment.
Madam SPEAKER: I do not recall him misleading parliament. He was just making commentary on your answer.
Mrs LAMBLEY: He is questioning statistics found in the ABS figures, statistics and figures in the pre-election fiscal outlook. They are in the publications you were referring to at the time.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! By way of suggestion, the former Speaker, your predecessor, wisely determined to throw members out for frivolous points of order because they had become excessive. Perhaps you want to turn your mind to that policy in this House.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you for your counsel, member for Port Darwin.
Homelands and Outstations –
Annual Cost of Housing
Annual Cost of Housing
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for INDIGENOUS ADVANCEMENT
Your government has promised $5200 per occupied house on homelands and outstations. The CTC’s final report showed 2425 dwellings in homelands. What do you expect the annual cost of the program to be, and what is the money to be used for? When will the program start, and will it be annual? Who will receive the money and who will decide which houses are eligible? What will the definition be of the term ‘occupied’ and who will monitor the distribution of this money?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. We are in the consultation process; we have gone out as a subcommittee and looked at outstations. It is about us as the Country Liberal Party listening to people.
Ms Walker: That body of work has already been done by this side.
Ms ANDERSON: That was the CTC. The member for Nelson does not run this Chamber any longer. He had the perfect opportunity, for two years when he governed you, to ensure these things were done.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Namatjira, direct your comments through the Chair please.
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance. A series of question needs to be answered and they are not being answered.
Ms ANDERSON: Madam Speaker, I am putting the story together. You had the perfect opportunity. You did not do anything about it in two years. You gave these people the power to do nothing. We are listening to people.
This government is about hearing the voices of the most vulnerable. We will talk to Aboriginal people on homelands. They are the people who put you across there; that is why you are sitting across there and why you do not have the power.
My agency is putting the information together. We will listen. If you want a briefing, see me.
Nightcliff Police Station
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
In the lead up to the election, you promised the people of Nightcliff the police station would be open 24/7. Can you please explain to the people of Nightcliff if you are axing their local Police Beat?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question. Perhaps it is hard to believe, but we will honour our commitments. Wait for the mini-budget!
Capital Works Program – Effect on Budget
Mr STYLES to TREASURER
Can you outline to the House the effect on the budget of the capital works program continuing at historically high levels?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. It is really interesting to see the Commonwealth government, the federal Labor government reining in its expenditure. It recognises it needs to come into a surplus in the near future. It is implementing austerity measures and all we are hearing from the other side of the room is barking about why this government is doing the same.
It would be interesting to ask the opposition why it is okay for the federal Labor government to do it but not the government of the Northern Territory. There is a theme emerging which is that the other side of the room did not understand basic economics. That is why we are in the position we are in.
I thank the member for Sanderson. The Leader of the Opposition, the former Treasurer, will no doubt argue you need to spend your way out of recession - spend, spend, spend is the Labor motto – and the global financial crisis needed a pump priming response.
There is some argument to the fact governments need to step in and stimulate the economy. I recognise that, particularly through the global financial crisis, which is when we saw the spending of the federal government and the big spending of the former Labor government in the Northern Territory.
This happened in Australia where injections of large amounts of cash were applied to capital works for schools, roads, social housing projects, etcetera. This was the Nation Building and Jobs Plan, or the stimulus plan, which the Territory benefited considerably from through this investment from 2009 to 2011-12.
Most of that Commonwealth capital stimulus has now worked its way through our books and the capital works program remains at historically high levels. Total infrastructure payments grew under the Labor government from $357m in 2001-02, to $885m in 2008-09 - just before the global financial crisis. That averages at $544m per annum over that eight-year period.
The GFC hit and the infrastructure payments doubled to $1.5bn in 2009-10 - a record spend at the time - rising to $1.7bn the next year. The level continued in 2011-12 at $1.6bn, although much of the stimulus package had worked its way through by then, boosted by SIHIP. Big spending which continued unabated despite the end of the global financial crisis is more evidence of the mismanagement of the former government.
Child Protection External Reporting and Monitoring Committee – Axing of
Ms FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER referred to MINISTER for CHILDREN and FAMILIES
You have axed the independent reporting and monitoring committee as an oversight to child protection in the Northern Territory. How is this cost saving measure in child protection protecting Territory children? How is the removal of scrutiny being open and accountable as a government as you promised?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for the question. It is a question better answered by my deputy.
Mrs LAMBLEY: (Children and Families): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question. The dismissal of the Child Protection External Monitoring and Reporting Committee was not about saving money. I made the decision, if we were fortunate enough to win government, that the committee was ineffective. It was a toothless tiger, as I described in parliament last night. It was never given the full functions to perform a monitoring role by the former government.
It was put in place as a faade, as a superficial means by which the previous government could say, ‘Look over here. We have an external monitoring and reporting committee reviewing our business’ when, in fact, it never did that. It did not have the implements or tools to do it. The former government did not supply it with the means to do it. It never had the intention of providing that committee with the ability to be an independent monitor.
When it comes to cost saving, that was not part of the equation. There have probably been some minor costs involved in peddling that committee around the countryside and introducing those distinguished people to people throughout the Northern Territory who have a stake in child protection. However, the cost savings of that committee were very small, almost insignificant.
Our commitment to child protection is about putting a proper monitor in place, someone who is truly independent. We are considering the options in the board of inquiry report from two years ago. We are looking at, perhaps, installing the Children’s Commissioner into that role once again, or perhaps installing the new Ombudsman into that role.
We believe we, as a government, need to be monitored. We need to be held accountable for the decisions we make around child protection. We are hiding nothing. Ten weeks into government we are open and transparent.
I offered last night, and will present a statement to parliament outlining how we intend to implement the recommendations of the board of inquiry report. We have nothing to hide. I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question.
New Prison - Cost
Mr STYLES to MINISTER for CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
For years the previous government stated the contract for the prison was $495m. What is the real cost?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I spoke in this House during Question Time last week about the contracts which exist between the Northern Territory government and the provider. I reiterated the construction cost of the prison would be in the order of $495m. I understand the Auditor-General has wound that up to $521m.
However, one of the components of that contract I found objectionable was extra spending had to be kept secret because of the arrangements entered into by the former government.
Ms Lawrie: How is it a secret? It was published in October last year.
Mr ELFERINK: Fortunately, SeNTinel, the provider, has given information to the government which enables me, in the public interest, to talk about ...
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I am having difficulty hearing the reply. The constant sniping from the Leader of the Opposition makes it difficult to hear the member for Port Darwin.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fong Lim. Could you keep your comments down please, Leader of the Opposition?
Mr ELFERINK: There were other components to the arrangements I can now speak to because of the release, effectively, given me by the contractual arrangements. The cost of the prison, if you include those components of procurement and non-construction elements, will be $621m. The figure in the paper the Leader of the Opposition is waving around is the construction cost. It does not include the other components, which were kept from us ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The nett present cost of SeNTinel’s winning proposal is $798m. It is all contained in here. You received a briefing on it.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please be seated. Minister, you have the call.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Speaker, I am no longer bound by the secrecy clause thanks to SeNTinel for its understanding of the public interest in relation to this matter. It is a fine firm and has been working hard for the people of the Northern Territory. It understands there is a public interest component to this discussion.
These extra costs have to be borne by the taxpayer and demonstrate the former government did not disclose the full and true cost of the new prison to the people of the Northern Territory.
Coordinator-General – Axing of
Ms WALKER to CHIEF MINISTER
Your government axed the independent Coordinator-General for Remote Services whose job was to put services and spending addressing Indigenous disadvantage under the spotlight. That independent scrutiny has been replaced with the agency CEO working with your razor gang in NT House. It is about you and your priorities. When will you confess to Territorians the Indigenous services you will dump to pay for your unfunded election commitments?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this theme certainly has been worked on. I thank the member for her question. What you are missing is our objective is to deliver quality services where they count the most. That is our primary focus and what we are determined to do. We are to ensure our core business is being delivered - serving the best interest of Territorians no matter where they live.
Regarding the previous question asked by the opposition, it is the protection of children. In this case, it is delivering quality services to those who are in remote communities. We have been elected to make decisions - and decisions we make. In the end, people will judge us on the result of those decisions. We enter this in good faith. We make decisions because there has been a change of government. We have, therefore, the responsibility to make the decisions which, ultimately, we will be judged by. We have the confidence to know we make the best decisions we can. Our objective is not in the interest of the organisation, but in what the organisation is there to do - to provide quality services for the recipients - those Territorians who live in remote areas in this case.
Papunya Medical Clinic - Update
Mrs PRICE to MINISTER for REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
I understand there are problems with the new medical clinic planned for Papunya. Could you please provide us with an update?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Stuart for bringing this question to the House. Every day I am inside this House, I will remind ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Ms Anderson: What is your point of order? Sit down.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Namatjira, you are on a warning!
Ms LAWRIE: Under the standing orders, this is a question to the Health minister. Surely, it is the responsibility of the Health minister?
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker. The question was to the Minister for Regional Development. The last time I checked, Papunya was in the regions.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Ms ANDERSON: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Every minute I stand in this House I will remind you sitting across there who put you there. I remember the front page of the Northern Territory News when you, Opposition Leader, went across there in your glory, thinking you were going to win ...
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: Relevance. I am interested to hear about Papunya.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please continue.
Ms ANDERSON: Thank you, Madam Speaker. That just showed the world you thought you were going to be Chief Minister. You did not see the Aboriginals coming behind you - silent but deadly - to get rid of you and put you where you are now ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please direct your comments through the Chair.
Ms ANDERSON: Madam Speaker, the opposition promised a medical clinic for Papunya. I was sitting with the opposition at that time. It is absolutely disgraceful that you come into the House and try to be defenders of Aboriginal people when you have punished this community severely.
If you look at the national housing program NPARIH, Papunya is now number one on the list as a priority because there is overcrowding in the community. You punished 366 people because of me. You put a health clinic out there without any coordination with Infrastructure so there was sewerage and water to the clinic. You promised a clinic without any coordination, any discussion with another agency called Infrastructure so it could look at the sewerage and water.
Today, we are talking to each other. I am talking to my colleague in Infrastructure to ensure we look at the sewerage and water so Papunya can get its clinic. You put a clinic there on the surface - absolutely shameful - and that is why you have the payback. That is why you are sitting there and you deserve to be there.
Homelands and Outstations –
Annual Cost of Housing
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for INDIGENOUS ADVANCEMENT
You refused to answer my previous question, a question I gave you yesterday so I could get an exact answer today. Why are you not willing to answer my questions? Why are you not willing to tell people in homelands and outstations about the details of the $5200? Is this open and transparent government?
ANSWER
He had the power for two years ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance.
Ms ANDERSON: This is relevant; he had the power for two years. He gave it to ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question was succinct and people need an answer. It was given to this minister yesterday. I had no indication she would not answer it. It is relevant and important. What are you hiding, minister?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, if you could answer the question.
Ms ANDERSON: I am not hiding anything. You are just upset because you had the power for two years and did not do anything ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance! People in homelands and outstations wish to know the answer to this question and the minister is refusing to answer.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, get to the point of the question.
Ms ANDERSON: I have the question from my office and you would have seen Table Office staff bring the envelope to me; I still have the envelope here. I do not take any notice of him giving me prior warning of his questions at Question Time.
As I said, you had the power for two years; you did not do anything.
Tourism NT –
CPSU Survey of Employees
CPSU Survey of Employees
Mr VOWLES to CHIEF MINISTER
A recent survey of Tourism staff conducted by the CPSU asked the question, ‘If you were offered a position in Alice Springs under the present conditions would you accept it?’ An enormous 92% said ‘no’. Is it not time to admit your Tourism minister’s bungle?
ANSWER
Curious question, Madam Speaker. We have been elected and we have to take our responsibilities seriously. We have made a decision. We said we would ask members working in Darwin what their views were. They said ‘no’. We have to work through that. It is like the alcohol question. ‘It would be best not to ask the question, let us just decide for them’. That is not the approach we will take.
Animal Welfare Branch - Expansion
Mr KURRUPUWU to MINISTER for LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Can the minister update the House on the recent extension of the Animal Welfare Branch in the Department of Local Government, and what impact that extension has had on the government budget decision?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, a very good question. He noted yesterday that I presented legislation into this House around animal welfare management.
In November 2011, in the NT government response to Recommendation 14 by the previous parliament’s Council of Territory Cooperation investigation into the Mataranka Station cattle issue, which the former government bungled, the government said:
- Significant additional resources have been allocated to the Animal Welfare Branch (Department of Housing, Local Government and Regional Services).
The then minister for Local Government, who was also minister for Tourism, Indigenous Development and FACS, got all those things wrong. She said during the second reading debate on animal welfare on 2 May 2012 - legislation which was never passed by the government, that is how much it cared about animal welfare - I quote from Hansard:
- Members are aware that government has previously committed significant additional resource allocation to the Animal Welfare Unit ...
Is that true? I can tell the House they put on an extra eight-and-a-half full-time equivalent positions created in the department to investigate and, if necessary, prosecute animal abuse and neglect claims.
The member asked what impact this had on the budget. It blew a huge hole in the budget because none of those supposed increased resources, as promised by the former minister for Local Government, the former member for Arnhem, were funded. Not a single dollar was provided for any of it. Those eight-and-a-half positions and associated operational costs totalled $891 552 and had to be absorbed by the department within the existing budget.
I will not go on with the other expenses, such as the $300 000 spent on prosecutions, or the $40 000 for animal welfare week - how to look after animals etcetera. I will not talk about any of that; I will reflect on our Treasurer’s comments about poor fiscal management.
One of the important things to note is the blowout in public service employees over a five-year period under the previous government. This graph almost looks like the man who climbs the ladder on the TV show you would know. Over that five-year period, the public service grew from 16 170 to 20 000. That is a 24% increase as opposed to a 16.3% increase in population growth in the Northern Territory.
The previous government was blowing out costs to a point where the new government does not have the money to do the job so it has to cut costs.
That is why we hold up our triple D credit rating - debt, deficit and Delia. That is what this government has to deal with - debt, deficit and Delia. I am trying to fix animal welfare.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated, minister. Your time has expired!
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The bully boys got their pathetic stunt in by holding up their little posters.
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