2013-11-27
Teacher Numbers Cuts
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Educators are protesting today to send you an important message: stop the education budget cuts that will adversely affect every child across every school.
Educators, parents, school councils, students and even your own colleagues are speaking out against the cuts because they value the importance of a good education regardless of where you live, and they know that more one-on-one contact time between teachers and students delivers better outcomes. NAPLAN results have improved across Years 3 and 5, but we face so much more need across Years 7 and 9, exactly where you are slashing into middle schools with your cuts. Will you listen today to your community and stop the education cuts which threaten our children’s bright future?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. There is no doubt that on this side of the Chamber we are firmly committed to education in the Northern Territory and to supporting teachers, principals, school councils and students to improve educational outcomes. We are so committed that three reviews are being conducted in remote Indigenous education and middle and secondary years to identify ways we can make improvements to lift the standards of educational outcomes so we can ensure we get better support services provided to those teachers and schools, including infrastructure, so they have better outcomes into the future.
I answered a similar question yesterday in regard to education. I spoke about how the development of Australia’s north and of the Northern Territory will have to be based on a certain number of foundations. One of those is ensuring we have a well-skilled sector of graduates coming out of CDU, secondary classes and primary classes.
We know there is a huge number of teachers who operate at a fantastic level providing the best educational opportunities to students right across the Northern Territory. We want to see opportunities to improve that sector so they get better outcomes into the future. We remain firmly committed.
I say to the Opposition Leader, the rally today – it is very good that people have the opportunity to have their say and voice any concerns they have. These concerns, protests and rallies are no different to the circumstances you went through when you were Education minister at a time when there were a number of rallies when you tried to make changes in this frame. This is part of making decisions to make improvements into the future.
I am firmly committed to the work the Minister for Education is doing on an Indigenous education review to see how we can make improvements, reflecting on whether or not the middle schools model is working, which you implemented, and seeing how we can make refinements and improvements, and the same with the secondary school review. We want to see improvements. We know there are hard-working people in the sector and we want better outcomes into the future. We will continue to operate in this frame.
Gove Visit by Chief Minister
Ms FINOCCHIARO to CHIEF MINISTER
You said you were going to Gove later this week. What are your expectations of the meeting that is planned and what information might be available to Gove residents?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She has some serious concerns about what will happen there.
The situation today is little different than yesterday; we are still awaiting an outcome from Rio Tinto’s board meeting, whenever that is. We expect that to be later this week, either tomorrow or Friday, although we are not certain of the date.
At that point in time, we expect Rio Tinto to present itself to the Gove community and explain its decision and what its response will be to the Gove community and the broader region, identify what some of those issues will be on an individual basis for people who work at the refinery and what that means for small business, traditional owners and the wider community sector.
We have been building our contingency plan should that decision be made in the negative, identifying ways we will be able to respond. We will, as a government, come on the back of what Rio Tinto will propose to do should that decision be made. There was a number of meetings held with Rio Tinto yesterday. As I said yesterday, we are preparing for the worst. That will operate in a three-staged approach, without getting into detail at this stage because we do not want to jump ahead of any decision that may come out.
Our preparations will be around a communication response, making sure people are well informed about what is happening and identifying access opportunities for people to access support services should they need them, as well as what our response will be in the immediate future and our longer-term approach in the rebuilding phase. They are the three elements we will be practising through this approach. There is a very detailed plan we are still working on, but the finalisation of that plan will revolve around what Rio Tinto decides what its responses will be, because it will lead the response and we will come in behind that.
I had an opportunity to speak with federal ministers last night about ensuring there is a federal government response. We have pulled together our committee across government through senior CEOs of relevant agencies to develop that response. I understand the Australian government is pulling together a committee of response in the same frame, sometime this morning. Then we will be able to identify what we can do jointly and individually, and how we dovetail in with what Rio Tinto plans to do.
Having said that, should a negative decision be made either tomorrow or Friday, or into the future, I expect that the Rio Tinto board and CEO will go to Gove immediately and explain what that decision means and how they will respond. Then we will be able to dovetail into that suite of services and measures with an immediate approach.
Rio Tinto Possible Refinery Closure – Impacts
Ms WALKER to CHIEF MINISTER
The town of Nhulunbuy and the region is in deep shock and a deepening crisis as a result of the very real threat of the refinery closure. You said yesterday you are travelling to Nhulunbuy on Friday, and you have reaffirmed that this morning. With thousands of jobs under threat and livelihoods in limbo, thanks to your government’s incompetence, residents have many questions they are seeking answers to. What is the result of your government’s social and economic impact analysis? Does it, indeed, exist? Will you lobby the Commonwealth for a structural adjustment package in the worst case of closure? Will you reveal to the people of Nhulunbuy this back-up plan you keep referring to? Will you be addressing this public meeting to answer these questions and hear people’s concerns first hand? When and where will it be held in Nhulunbuy on Friday?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I have probably answered most of that in my previous answer. I am not an employee of Qantas so although I can guarantee I will be on the plane on Friday, I cannot guarantee I will be sitting in 1E as you asked yesterday. We will see how that goes. I will be there on Friday. I will allow Rio Tinto to run its approach and we will be able to respond to anything that might come on top of what Rio Tinto says.
In response to parts of your questions and your insinuations, let me be clear, the government never did a deal with Rio Tinto. Whether it was the former Chief Minister or me, there were offers provided and none of them were accepted by Rio Tito. Its statement to its employees in Gove yesterday reaffirmed the point that it had not accepted an offer. I will say that again: there was never an offer agreed to by Rio Tinto, member for Nhulunbuy.
Throughout the whole process, all we have had is a politicisation of the issue around Rio Tinto. It has been offered gas on four separate occasions and coal on another occasion. On none of those occasions have they ever taken that up ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Will you lobby the Commonwealth for a structural adjustment package in the worst case of closure?
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has three minutes. He is getting to the question.
Mr GILES: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. A package will come out from federal and Territory governments. We are working out what Rio will do and its response should it make a negative decision. I did say that in my first answer.
It is important to reflect on what has happened over the last 12 months. This is the number one issue I have worked on since being Chief Minister. The most effort has gone into this issue, but we come into this Chamber and all we get are negatives from the member for Nhulunbuy. She does not want to be part of the solution so while we are …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Will you release the social and economic impact analysis?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order, sit down!
Mr GILES: That is a very good point. It is incorrect but a very good point about what I was trying to say. If you want to be part of the solution for the residents of the region, work with us and we will give you all the access, opportunity and information you need. You just come in here and throw barbs all the time and do not want to be a part of it. We will either run the response ourselves or you can be part of the solution. The choice is yours, member for Nhulunbuy.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. There was a very specific question. Will the Chief Minister address the public meeting and when and where will that meeting be? If he would let me know I would like to be there, because I would like to be part of the solution.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr GILES: I have said I will be in Gove. No doubt you know where the meeting will be and at what time better than I do, to be honest. For all the grandstanding the member for Nhulunbuy likes to do in this Chamber, a simple phone call to my office and I might be able to tell you when and where it is. You can sit up the front and be part of the solution rather than being antagonistic, sitting down the back throwing barbs. If you really care about the people in Nhulunbuy …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Where and when is this meeting? I do not know, nobody can tell me. You must know.
Mr GILES: Give me a call, member for Nhulunbuy. I will find out the answer. I expected that you might have done that before Question Time today, before your grandstanding. I will say again, if you want to be part of the solution come and be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired
Stella Maris
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
In regard to the article, once again in the news, about the secret Stella Maris scam deal cooked up by the former Labor government for its union mates, can you shed any more light on what Unions NT’s plans were for this public asset?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale. I certainly appreciate the question. This was one of the first pieces of work to come across my desk when I took over the ministry for Lands and Planning. On first look it was a little smelly and the more that we uncovered the smellier it got. The media revelations that surfaced yesterday would be of great concern to the majority of Territorians who expect transparency, with government decisions that are made in the best interests of the community. That the former Territory Labor government hatched a secret deal to give its Unions NT mates a rent free, long-term lease for a $3m Darwin CBD property on the final day before the caretaker period of the last election stinks of political nepotism. This dodgy deal has a smell that does not pass the common person’s test for honesty and due process.
Was this more to do with an election war chest, I wonder? I am wondering if the former minister has been hung out to dry, because I want to know if this has the hands of the Leader of the Opposition all over it.
Kon, this is your chance to tell us. Has the former Minister for Lands and Planning been hung out to dry because of people involved in this, like the Leader of the Opposition?
The historic Stella Maris site was gifted to Unions NT on a 10-year lease with an option for a further 10 years for no rent. The valuation of the prime CBD property was worth $3m, rising to $6m at the time the lease expires. The Stella Maris site has an estimated annual rent value of over $150 000, which the former Labor government, on the eve of the caretaker period, quietly gave to union mates for a $442 paperwork fee.
The Lands and Planning department had advised directly against this action. According to news reports, the department advised the Labor Cabinet the site should be advertised for public expressions of interest – really important. This did not happen and, instead, the former Planning minister and now Deputy Opposition Leader, Gerry McCarthy, was pleased to sign over a $3m revenue source to union mates for $450. He had the document and walked it over to the Unions NT office in Wood Street to be signed the day before the caretaker period came into existence.
Was this an election war chest? Were there more people involved? Kon, this is your chance, come clean. Leader of the Opposition, this is your chance to stand up and not let the former Minister for Lands and Planning hang out to dry on this one. This stinks. This is nepotism at its finest and it should have gone out to public interest ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Gonski Funding – Changes
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for EDUCATION
You said, following a meeting with federal Education minister Christopher Pyne earlier this month, that a federal funding deal for Territory schools should be announced very soon. You also said you were absolutely confident the new government would match the Gonski funding which was offered before the September election. Now the federal government has announced it will renegotiate signed agreements with all states and territories. All you had was a nod and a wink.
With your Coalition Canberra mates ripping up funding deals with other states, the Territory is being left out in the cold. We now face no extra funding from the Commonwealth and funding cuts from your government. When will you stand up for Territory students and deliver more funding to provide crucial individual attention in our classrooms?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, what an excellent question. Let’s talk about a nod and a wink. Why do we not talk about Bill Shorten, whilst he was the Minister for Education prior to the last federal election, ripping $1.2bn out of the forward estimates for Education? You talk about a nod and a wink, that money was promised to Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The new government came in to find a $1.2bn black hole in Education.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked a very direct question. When will you stand up for Territory students and teachers?
Madam SPEAKER: The minister is getting to the question.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, that is the crux of the question. Yes, I went to Canberra and had some very fruitful meetings with minister Pyne. We have had fruitful meetings with Senator Scullion and a number of ministers, all targeted on focused education in the Northern Territory and where we have to take education in the Northern Territory.
I found out only yesterday that the former federal Minister for Education had taken $1.2bn out of the forward estimates to deal with education. That was the money promised to Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Gone!
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question: when will you stand up for Territory students and deliver for our education system?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minister, have you finished?
Mr CHANDLER: I am standing up for education, Madam Speaker.
We found out only yesterday that $1.2bn is not in the forward estimates under the federal budget, and this is through the PEFO produced by the federal government before the last election. It is likely that through those discussions we will have some funds come into the Northern Territory. We will be talking with the federal government to unpack what that money involves and what it can be spent on, but it will be spent on much-needed infrastructure and targeted spending on improving education results in the Northern Territory.
The new federal government is very supportive of education in the Northern Territory. We have a commitment from the federal government, but what needs to be on the record are the promises made by the former Labor federal government – minister Bill Shorten took $1.2bn out of the forward estimates. We can talk all we want about how Labor says they stand up for education, the truth is they were taking $1.2bn out of the forward estimates for education. How is that supporting education in the Northern Territory? Ask your Labor mates in Canberra. Thank you.
EBA Negotiations – Progress
Ms LEE to MINISTER for PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
Can the minister please inform the House about the progress of the EBA negotiations and what unions have said about the current pay offer that is on the table?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question, because I know she cares very much about education, and education in the bush.
As the Minister for Public Employment, we determined very early in the piece, as a Cabinet, to go to the public servants of the Northern Territory and treat them with a sense of dignity and respect. We did not go through this charade of offering 1% and them demanding 5%. We offered our upper limit in the first instance.
The electrical trades EBA, which was the first discussed in this space. It was taken by the union to its members and they accepted it, because they knew it was a fair and reasonable offer. Subsequent to that, there was slightly more union activity. When it was described to the general public service, which initially rejected but, ultimately, accepted the offer, they looked at the offer, saw what it was about, which was their entitlements and their pay, and they finally, voted for the offer. That has gone through reasonably smoothly.
Here we have an interesting anomaly in the conversation with the teachers’ union, because the teachers’ union is trying to link operational issues …
Ms Manison: And you promised teachers their jobs were safe!
Mr ELFERINK: Goodness, gracious me. Were you like this in class? Did you spend a lot of time in the naughty corner?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, please continue.
Mr ELFERINK: We are trying to say to teachers that there is an offer on the table. They, by and large, even through their union, have accepted that offer, because we are talking about entitlements and pay. What the union is working very hard to do is draw conditions into this debate and other things like operational issues inside the classroom. Operational issues are a matter for government and the department. What we are saying to teachers is: let us focus on the pay and entitlements because there is no way the EBA can be used as a vehicle to deal with operational issues inside the department. Whilst this anomalous situation is pursued by the teachers’ union you will consistently see the average teacher losing $95 out of their pay. That is something I do not want to see. I want to see our teachers well paid so they can deliver the services for our kids in the Northern Territory.
Whether the teachers’ union likes it or not, this is not primarily, from a government’s perspective, about the teachers and the teachers’ union; it is about the kids of the Northern Territory and making absolutely sure they can get the best possible education, despite the howls from the members opposite …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Badminton Association – Relocation
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS, PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
I am standing up for sport. As you know, your government is kicking the Darwin badminton club out of its home at Sports House so government can sell the land for a high density housing complex. Considering you have many other parcels of land you have earmarked for housing development, why can you not delay the sale of this land until a permanent home can be built for the club at Marrara?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for the question. I will answer the first part of the question from a Lands and Planning point of view, but will hand over to minister Tollner who is taking questions in regard to Sport and Recreation at the moment, in regard to badminton ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question is related to delaying the sale of land. It is not an argument about badminton; it is about whether the government will delay the sale of land so a permanent home could be found at Marrara.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: I will not apologise, member for Nelson, for getting on with the job and trying to find some solutions to the cost of housing in the Northern Territory. This is something this government has taken seriously and has nominated a number of sites, not only in the greater Darwin area, but across the Northern Territory so we can start to work with developers and infill, and start to look at densification in certain areas.
That site was identified. I know the minister for Sport and Recreation has worked damned hard with a number of these associations in trying to find alternative solutions for them. I also know badminton has been offered a number of solutions, yet they have chosen not to take any of those offers. There are a number of different associations there and work has been done to find them good solutions for their sports.
I will get back to the Lands and Planning side of things. As I said about Kurringal when I was the Housing minister, it is timely that these older structures across the Northern Territory are demolished and redeveloped.
The old Wirrana site is a great example of what the former government had done. It was well past its use-by date and today it is a wonderful new development. The same thing should happen to Kurringal and to buildings like the old Sports House. The asbestos problems in there, the air-conditioning problems – the economic life of the building is finished. That site has been earmarked for redevelopment because the former government left the cost of housing in the Northern Territory well beyond the average person, member for Nelson.
We will not apologise for getting on and redeveloping these sites as soon as possible so we can reduce the pressure of housing prices in the Darwin area.
Education Staff Cuts
Ms FYLES to the MINISTER for EDUCATION
The Australian Education Union reports that in the past month alone they had 105 teachers sign up to their union as new members because they are losing their jobs at the end of this year. One hundred and five members joined because in a couple of weeks they will not have a job – frontline teachers in our classrooms.
How do you maintain that there is a nett loss of only 35 jobs when at least 105 teachers have stated they will be unemployed due to your decision to slash education funding? Why do you not recognise and value teachers, including those on contracts, and reverse your decision to slash education in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, that question unveils a couple of interesting points. One of those points was 105 new members of the union. It is a fantastic time to be driving a new membership program. The same thing happens at every negotiation. It happened when you guys were in government four years ago. Some of the things you are asking for today - I can show you the claim from the 2007 union collective agreement.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question. When will he stand up and stop slashing education; 105 teachers have stated they will be unemployed.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. The minister has three minutes to answer.
Mr CHANDLER: Let us unpack that interjection. The model used by the former Labor government in 2012 led to a loss of 50 teachers across the Northern Territory. Where did we see the government …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Fifty teachers in 2012 were sacked by you - your budget cut …
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down!
Mr CHANDLER: The point is that the model the Labor government had put up – we had come into government, there were no major changes, we took on the way the former government operated in the first instance – now we are looking at reforming education across the Northern Territory — but that led to a nett loss of 50 teachers across the Northern Territory. There was no union outcry. No one stood up. It was done in such a way that nobody really knew what happened. Today we have been honest and upfront with Territorians and said that there will be a nett loss of 35 teachers.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The minister talks about being upfront with Territorians – 105 teachers gone …
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: In the briefings that have been given to members opposite and the union, the figures have come direct from the departments. They stir the pot. A number that might be about 35 becomes 150. They said we are stripping $251m out of Education next year. Wrong. These guys continually get it wrong. They stir the waters, and no wonder people are upset because they are not getting the truth. They are not getting the truth from that side of the House and you are not getting truth from the unions.
We have been upfront and honest from the word go. The pot is stirred by that side. We want to reform education in the Northern Territory, focus on what will work and get rid of things that are not. The best solution you guys can come up with is to continue to do things the way you always did it
I will be damned if I am the minister and I allow us to continue with the results here in the Northern Territory. We have to support teachers to get into the classrooms and provide a decent education for our students. We need to improve the student outcomes in the Northern Territory. If we continue to do things the way you did, we will not go anywhere.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Contract teachers – when will you value them?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: That is a very good point. One thing the union told us in opposition was there were too many people on contracts in the Department of Education – 30%. In the last 12 months we have converted over 300 contract positions to permanent positions. There are 300 more teachers with permanent jobs today, under our policies. We have reduced a 30% contract base to 14% …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
EBA Offer to Teachers
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
Teachers will have the opportunity to participate in a ballot to accept the most recent EBA offer. What would they get by signing up to the latest offer?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the average teacher will receive $95.00 more in their pay …
Ms Fyles: Bigger class sizes, less support.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: I am sick of the interjections from the members opposite. Here is the explanation of what is happening in the Northern Territory.
This is the Labor Party’s policy. Ladies and gentlemen, that is how much more money we are spending under the Labor Party’s expenditure in the past, and it is up 46%. Ladies and gentlemen of the Northern Territory, that is how many more staff were put on under the Labor Party …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, could you put the cardboard down.
Mr ELFERINK: There are the results. This Labor Party believes you can walk into this House and continue to argue that this is the appropriate policy process. It is not. You guys seem to think – you always said it in parliament – that it is always about spending more and more will come. It has not happened and this government has the courage to say we have to do things differently, because if we keep doing more of the same, we will continue getting the same poor results.
Unfortunately, I know Territory parents care more about teachers in one particular area – their kids. So they should because I do. It bothers me that I see every day, when I read these documents in my office, no improvement, in spite of the increased expenditure. Let us use the money smarter, let us use it better, and we can look internationally as well as nationally for examples of how to do it better.
We hear the argument that class sizes have to become smaller in the intermediate and senior years. That is not supported by the evidence. In some schools we have a teacher to student ratio as low as 5:1 and we do not have the kids turning up to class. We have to do that better, and we are not. I say to the teachers and the teachers union, for goodness sake …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question went to the amount of pay teachers will receive. We know you are sacking 105 teachers …
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Mr ELFERINK: I say to the teachers union and the teachers the same thing I said before in this House: sign up. If the issue is not the EBA and the amount of money, sign up to the EBA and work with government in the three reviews we are running so we can make our education system the finest in this country. That is not occurring. The results are not there to be seen and we, as a government, are committed to increasing those results so Territory kids can hold their heads high and hold their results up high as being equal to or better than the rest of the country. What we are currently doing and what is currently argued for is not working ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Education Staff Cuts
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for EDUCATION
You seem to be in deep denial about job losses. How can you ignore the fact that 450 teachers are facing an uncertain future because they no longer have a job in the school where they have been working with their students? They have been labelled as ‘displaced’. They do not know where their next job will be. The Australian Education Union has a dispute with your government in the Fair Work Commission to truly identify the extent of displacement and what fair work processes will occur to ensure reasonable placement of these teachers into jobs.
It is not okay to tell a senior specialist teacher to go into a primary school, an early childhood classroom. That is it not their expertise and it does a disservice to teachers, students and Territorians. Exactly how many teachers are displaced and what will you do to ensure they have a job that makes sure students benefit from their expertise?
Applause from the gallery
Madam SPEAKER: Visitors in the gallery, there is no clapping in this Chamber. It is not a football field, it is a parliament.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, at least on this side of the House we have a vision for education, unlike you in the time you were in government. You just saw the Attorney-General hold up a chart showing the amount of money that has been spent on education in the last few years without real benefits to our students.
What we expect from our students and our teachers, in particular, is an amazing journey. In our classrooms they have to deal with some of the social impacts that are, basically, forced upon them because of social problems. That is where government should be focusing, on some of the social impacts that have a cause and an effect in our classrooms today.
Look at our administrative processes in the Northern Territory, from classrooms to principals, back to the department and then, of course, on to …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked a very direct question about displaced teachers and how the minister will ensure they have jobs that benefit our students.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call, if you could get to the point.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, this is all about employment in the Northern Territory and working with our teachers to ensure we can provide the outcomes we desperately need. There are some fantastic results, but the further you go across the Territory the more evident it is that the results drop significantly. The reality is that it is the bolt-ons that have gone on in education for too long – the bolt-ons that are not adding anything but further cost to the Department of Education and to education in general.
For the record, around $15 700 is spent in the Northern Territory on each child. Conversely, across the other states it is about $9700. Already, we are spending a third more than any other government in the country on education. The other side of the Chamber invested $200m-odd in the last five years in education. When our student numbers went up by 178 we employed 790 employees – many of them on short-term contracts, on partnerships with the federal government that are coming to an end. What do you do with these people?
I will go back to what I said before. When we inherited this government, 30% of our teachers were on contracts ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The minister has not addressed the issue of displaced teachers. There are 450 who do not know where their job will be next year.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, please be seated. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, I am trying to unpack this very clearly for the Opposition Leader. When we inherited this government, one of the things the unions and the teachers were telling us was that over 30% of the workforce was on contracts. That is reduced today to 14%. That is over 320 more teachers who had contracts this time last year that today have permanent employment ...
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Answer the question. What is happening to displaced teachers? People in the gallery want to know if displaced teachers in my electorate, who are desperately worried …
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, at this time of year, every year, no matter which government is in place, two things happen. One is the teacher ratios are put out to the principals, the second tranche is where all the support staff allocations are given to the schools ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Stella Maris
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for LANDS, PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
Are you aware of commercial implications of the granting of the Stella Maris lease to Unions NT and how the Labor Party has delivered a financial windfall to Unions NT?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is a very good question. This is another example of how the former Labor government, and Labor governments in general, work with their union mates. We want to know why the historic Stella Maris site was gifted to Unions NT on a 10-year lease with an option for another 10 years for no rent.
It must be asked: among the people sitting on the other side of the Chamber, including the Opposition Leader, who endorsed this action as part of the Cabinet? We know the department of Lands and Planning said, ‘Do not do it. Go out to an expression of interest.’ But, no, we gave a $3m prime real estate site in the CBD to unions.
What is the community benefit that Territorians can expect from this slimy deal? A quick look through the Unions NT Strategic Plan for 2012-13 outlines that they expected the deal to ‘increase and broaden the income base of Unions NT’.
But that is only one stream of income this dodgy Labor deal would enable its union mates to do. A second stream of income from this greasy deal that Unions NT flagged in its strategic plan was for the Stella Maris site near the waterfront precinct to develop a joint venture partner:
Example: a caf, restaurant, bar to use the site.
How would they entice such a hospitality business to apply to use a sublease for this site? Through a public call for expressions of interest, which is exactly what should have happened in the first place.
Visitors in the public in the gallery interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, please pause. I have warned you, there are no interjections. If there are continual interjections you will be removed from the gallery.
Mr CHANDLER: Territorians deserve so much better of their government than doing slimy deals like this. You should have called for expressions of interest in the first place.
I ask the question again of the former minister for Lands and Planning, Gerry, are you being hung out to dry?
Mr Barkly: Let’s talk about sacking teachers, Pete.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, you are on a warning!
Mr CHANDLER: Are you being hung out to dry by the Leader of the Opposition or other former Cabinet members? This is the kind of dodgy deal we can expect from Labor governments helping out their union mates.
Mr McCarthy: Desperado.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly!
Mr CHANDLER: It is not desperado, it is open and accountable public service. The department of Lands and Planning recommended to the government, ‘Do not do it. Go to an expression of interest’, but, no, we will not do it. To know how deep this goes, look at the union’s strategic plan – I will table it for others to see – where it says this deal was done well before the signature was on the paper, a shonky deal from a former shonky Labor government.
Education Staff Cuts
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for EDUCATION
The cuts to education are deep and broad. You are cutting teacher positions and crucial support staff positions that include librarians, home liaison officers, classroom support positions, administration support, bush principles and a host of others. You pretend these cuts will improve learning outcomes, despite experts and educators disagreeing with you. You have pretended to Territorians that only 35 teachers are losing their jobs, yet we know it will be in excess of 120 and a further 150 support staff. When will you stop lying to Territorians and release the figures?
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Move Proposed Motion of Censure
Move Proposed Motion of Censure
Ms FYLES (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of Standing Orders be suspended as to allow the opposition to censure the Chief Minister, the Treasurer and the Minister for Education for the disastrous cuts they are making to our education system. We condemn the Chief Minister, the Treasurer and the Minister for Education for:
failing Territorians in the most basic duty they have to deliver a sound education to Territorians through providing appropriate resources
Visitors in the public in the gallery interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Once, that is it. The galleries will be cleared, no more clapping, no interjections. They will be cleared and I mean it. Member for Nightcliff, please continue.
Ms FYLES: Thank you Madam Speaker.
scrapping GEMS at Dripstone Middle School, Sanderson Middle School, Nightcliff Middle School and Casuarina Senior College
failing our best and brightest students by reducing one-on-one teacher and student time and cutting classroom support staff
arbitrarily removing a school of music from Nightcliff Middle School and relocating to Sanderson Middle School without an explanation of costs or benefits
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, the government welcomes and accepts this censure motion. Could we also have the motion circulated in accordance with standing orders?
I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016