2013-08-22
Palmerston Hospital
Mr VATSKALIS to MINISTER for HEALTH
You cancelled the Palmerston hospital because you said the site was too small. The site is roughly the same size as the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and the Cairns Base Hospital. These hospitals have hundreds more beds than required in Palmerston. You scrapped the hospital to play politics and you refused Commonwealth funding to put politics before the people of Palmerston. Why did you scrap the hospital? Why did you put politics before the people of Palmerston and the rural area?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Casuarina for his question. I know he is a former Health minister and is concerned about the provision of health services in the Northern Territory. Therefore, he should know the site the former Labor government chose for the new Palmerston hospital was too small. I spoke in parliament yesterday about the fact the size of the land they chose is equivalent to about two-thirds of the size of the current Royal Darwin Hospital. Clearly, that is not big enough to cater for the health needs of the people of the greater Darwin area into the future.
It would have limited the capacity of this new hospital to deliver the services in this rapidly growing part of Australia. The former Labor government did not have vision about where the site should be properly located or understanding about the population growth and subsequent health needs of the Darwin area into the future. We are committed to a new Palmerston hospital and we never stepped away from that. We stepped away from the narrow-minded, limited view of what the new, very expensive facility of Palmerston hospital should look like.
We make no apology for putting this project on hold and ensuring we get it right, which is exactly what we will do. We are undertaking a scoping study that should be finished in a matter of months. It will assist us to identify a more suitable, bigger site that will cater for the needs of the people of Darwin in acute medical services and relevant hospital services, equivalent to those provided by the Royal Darwin Hospital. The scoping study will assist us in finding that site, and, for the first time in the history of the Northern Territory, provide a proper gauge as to what the health needs of the greater Darwin area will look like into the future.
Yes, the former Labor government produced volumes of documents, but they were very site specific and did not look into the broader issues and needs within this space. At this stage, the only stumbling block is the federal Minister for Health and Ageing, minister Plibersek, holding out on transferring the $38m she committed to the paediatric wing of the Royal Darwin Hospital, allowing us to use it to develop a modern wing for paediatric services within the new Palmerston hospital. We will spend $11m upgrading the paediatric unit of the Royal Darwin Hospital, but we need this extra $38m ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Special Economic Zone –
Prime Minister’s Announcement
Prime Minister’s Announcement
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
On his last visit to Darwin, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised to create the special economic zone in the Northern Territory where businesses will pay 10% less tax than elsewhere. His colleagues did not know he was going to announce this, and you and others have described it as a thought bubble. Can you advise the House of the dangers of Kevin Rudd’s thought bubble, and are there any other approaches to policy announcements?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. It is a very important question about the future of the Northern Territory and northern Australia. The Country Liberal government and I are very passionate about how we will develop northern Australia.
The Deputy Chief Minister, many of my colleagues and I have worked with the federal Coalition in a policy development framework, coming up with ideas about how to develop northern Australia. It was about 18 months ago that Mr Tollner and I met with shadow ministers Andrew Robb, Barnaby Joyce and others, to develop framework ideas about what we can do in developing policy for northern Australia.
In June this year, the Coalition launched its Developing Northern Australia policy document, which thoroughly outlines how Tony Abbott, if elected Prime Minister, will, in the next 12 months, develop a further paper with more consultation about what developing northern Australia means, the infrastructure requirements, what some of those opportunities are and how you can leverage infrastructure opportunities, whether through infrastructure bonds, corporate tax breaks, the sales taxation system, income tax or otherwise.
There are many initiatives discussed in it, and I encourage anybody who is interested in the Northern Territory and northern Australia to look through it, opposed to the flimsy media release document released by Kevin Rudd, thought up on a 747 on the way to Darwin. That is why it is just a thought bubble and why some of his colleagues reflected on it as being a thought bubble The Resources minister, Gary Gray, said he knew they were going to make announcements about Kununurra and the Ord expansion, but did not know anything about developing northern Australia.
Senior minister, Bill Shorten, who was not informed either, said:
- I actually don’t expect to be told every policy, on every issue.
He is a senior Cabinet minister, and no one backed him up. The member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon said:
- No one’s told me anything. I’m not happy.
This is in the Northern Territory. You would think someone would have been informed about this.
Kevin Rudd’s idea is nothing more than a souffl of an idea that has fallen as flat as a pancake. It is a thought bubble that is untried, untested and unconsulted. He did not talk to the Northern Territory government about our vision and how we want to lead this approach. It is something that is true to our hearts in how we will advance northern Australia.
It is interesting when you look through the policy document. This is how untrustworthy Kevin Rudd is. In the back of his document it says:
- The actions outlined on a Northern Special Economic Zone and to implement 20 Year Growth Plans do not have a direct cost to the budget over the forward estimates.
That is because it does not start until 2018!
He is an untrustworthy Labor Prime Minister who does not deserve to be elected to lead this country.
Macdonnell Shire –
Community Swimming Pools
Community Swimming Pools
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Macdonnell Shire announced today that, due to your government’s increased power and water costs, it is no longer able to operate its three community swimming pools in Santa Teresa, Areyonga and Kintore. Remote rural swimming pools result in improved health outcomes in communities, particularly for children. Research shows that the children are healthier since the pools have opened.
Communities have embraced the No School, No Pool policy with school principals reporting a marked increase in school attendance and an overall improvement in children’s behaviour.
Are you aware of any other shires on the verge of shutting down community swimming pools due to your government’s short-sighted price hikes, and will you guarantee to provide the Macdonnell Shire with the assistance required to continue operation of its community pools?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. As a minister, I have responded to the Macdonnell Shire and have approached the Chief Minister to request we have a chat about this issue. The communities of Areyonga, Kintore and Santa Teresa are in my electorate, and a reply has gone to the Macdonnell Shire.
What the member for Nhulunbuy does not know, is the federal government had committed to building the swimming pools on these communities, but did not give them money for the future. The Northern Territory government is now being held responsible and accountable for something the federal government should be doing.
This government is about listening. Like we said at the beginning, we will listen to these people. I have responded to the Macdonnell Shire and it is very unfortunate that you are ill informed, member for Nhulunbuy. This government is dealing with it. They have a response and I will be talking to the Chief Minister.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked the minister what she was doing. To say there is a reply - we in this House, the public and these communities need to know what is in that reply. Is she going to save these pools?
Madam SPEAKER: I understand the minister is finished.
Affordable Housing
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for HOUSING
Providing affordable housing is a priority for the Giles government. Can you advise the House how the government will make homes and rental properties more affordable, and how does this government’s responsible action differ from that of the former Labor government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her very important question.
Firstly, the Country Liberals have a simple and smart recipe for housing affordability, and that is about releasing land and getting building under way. That is what is important and what will work. It is simple and smart. As more houses and rentals go on the market, the heat goes out of rising prices. That is how it works.
We have identified more than 70 sites throughout the Territory, room for more than 2700 homes. Land has already been developed, and will come to the market quickly. It has sewerage, power, and the sites are serviced. Developers, investors and builders are excited. The phones are ringing off the hook.
It should be put into context that the previous Labor government was building about 1250 homes per year, when Treasury and the industry were telling them they needed about 1700 homes per year. That is 1800 homes short. We were 1800 homes behind the eight ball when we came into government. That is room for more than 5400 people who would have had a roof over their heads had you guys not dropped the ball. Labor was reckless and irresponsible. Territorians suffered then, and they do now.
After only eight months, 21 government lots in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs have been identified. Developers and builders turned up in droves to the information sessions. In Darwin alone, 90 developers attended. They were excited, and they still are. Thirty solid development proposals have been received that involve more than 2000 homes. Developers are happy with this initiative. Their investment is secure with a 10-year head lease guaranteed by this government.
We are proud of what we have done, but the previous government left us behind the wave. The strategies we are putting in place will punch through the wave and get us in front, where a responsible government needs be in a growing …
Mr McCarthy: You cannot give me a lot number. I will get back to you on that.
Mr CHANDLER: I will give you a list of lot numbers, member for Barkly, even in Tennant Creek where you sat on your hands for years. In 2009 a town plan was developed for Tennant Creek and this former minister did not announce anything until August 2012.
We are a responsible government. We will take us from the position of being behind the wave. We will punch through the wave and get in front where we should be.
Takeaway Alcohol Permits - Nhulunbuy
Ms WALKER to CHIEF MINISTER
In 2008, at the request of traditional owners and in close consultation with community stakeholders including the police, a system for takeaway alcohol permits was introduced in Nhulunbuy. Since then, the number of assaults has reduced by 35% and property offences are down by 28%. Do you guarantee that the takeaway alcohol permit system will remain in place in Nhulunbuy?
ANSWER
Yes, Madam Speaker.
Affordable Housing
Mr KURRUPUWU to MINISTER for HOUSING
The Country Liberals went to last year’s election with a commitment to deliver 2000 new affordable homes across the Territory during its first term. Can you provide the House with an update on progress of the government’s effort?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for the important question. This government, unlike the last government, has a real plan to get on with it. We have been speaking with developers and working on proposals which will see us deliver those 2000 affordable homes across the Northern Territory.
These are homes for nurses, teachers and essential workers who we desperately need to keep in the Territory in a growing economy. These 2000 homes are above what we are doing in the private sector.
We are looking at brownfield sites, infill, and at suburbs across the greater Darwin area, and in Katherine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and other places.
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. If the minister will not give me the lot numbers, give me the phone number that is ringing off the hook!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, that is not a point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Thank you, Madam Speaker. We are currently in final negotiations with 14 shortlisted developers. That is not sitting on your backside doing nothing, member for Barkly.
Part of the Real Housing for Growth Project is 14 new housing projects across the Territory. This will involve the first of 500 new homes for eligible tenants, which will be rented out at 30% below the market rate. This is real assistance for our key workers. This will include 150 new homes in Darwin, 170 new homes in Palmerston, 60 at Coolalinga, 150 in Alice Springs and a further 50 in Tennant Creek and Katherine.
Unlike the rhetoric, the spin and the empty talk Labor is so famous for, this government is providing real solutions that have a practical benefit in the lives of Territorians.
We are a responsible government and, after coming into this House and learning the fiscal position the previous government left us in, we have found some innovative ways of delivering on some of our promises. We can do this through innovation from our wonderful developers, and through public private partnerships and looking at visionary ideas the former government was too gutless to tackle. We will tackle this and get in front of the wave you guys left us so far behind.
Tindall Aquifer Water Extraction Licence
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
In awarding a huge water extraction licence to the CLP candidate for Lingiari, the CLP has ignored potential adverse impacts on the environment, dismissed the legitimate interests of other landholders, dismissed the legitimate concerns of credible organisations such as AFANT and the Power and Water Corporation, ignored the rights of Indigenous Territorians and refused to release correspondence from CLP elected members under FOI.
Why did you give water worth millions of dollars to your mate, the CLP candidate for Lingiari?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question. Before I answer, I will give her a little gratuitous advice. You are a smart young lady and I am sure you have a bright future in politics, but, for goodness sake, have some independent thought and do not be driven by the politics of those around you, because they are leading you up the garden path.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. A question was asked. The member was seeking an answer from the minister, not a lecture.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, continue.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: No doubt you are one of the ones giving advice, but you are leading the member for Nightcliff up the garden path. The premise of the member for Nightcliff’s question is false. She has suggested time and time again that the CLP issues water licences. That is not correct. Allow me to correct the record.
This is a copy of the Water Act. I will gift wrap a copy for you, member for Nightcliff, and have it delivered to your office so you can read it.
To clear the record, the Water Controller issues water licences in the Northern Territory, not the CLP. How many times do I have to explain that to you? The Water Controller takes his advice from professionals and scientists within the Department of Land Resource Management who provide him with the most contemporary information upon which he makes a decision. There is a procedure in place where people can lodge objections, and give their views and opinions of it.
The member for Nhulunbuy interjected yesterday about NAILSMA and I asked her how many water scientists are in NAILSMA. She could not answer. I do not know that there are any water scientists in AFANT. Those people are entitled, under the act, to have their view, but the Water Controller will make a decision based on the best available contemporary science we have. Rethink this, member for Nightcliff, rewrite your questions and approach this from a different angle, because the premise around your question is wrong.
Katherine Region Resource Development
Ms LEE to MINISTER for MINES and ENERGY
Can you update the House on resource developments in the Katherine region and outline what impediments exist that the Country Liberals government is working to overcome?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her important question. It is pertinent that we have some students from Katherine in the gallery this morning, because the future of Katherine is with them.
The young people in the gallery will need housing in the future. Thank goodness we now have a government that is willing to do something about housing in Katherine and the regions. Lord knows the former government did nothing.
We know Katherine is a major hub in the Northern Territory. It is a hub for mining, pastoral activities and transport, and is a key critical part of the Northern Territory. This is the only government that is moving to rectify the land release and housing issues that have dogged Katherine for many years.
I am not the minister for Lands and Planning, but he might be able to correct me. From go to whoa, identifying a piece of land that might be suitable for release for housing through to getting lot numbers, as the member for Barkly wants to know, takes about five years. That is if you need to go through all the clearance processes that exist in the Northern Territory.
Katherine does not fall into that category. We have an area of land in Katherine, identified by the minister for Lands and Planning and his dedicated team, which is almost ready to be turned off tomorrow. The native title clearance is already done. It is readily identified as land that can be turned off for housing in Katherine. What happened under the former government? Nothing.
It took us how long? We came into government in August last year, then six or seven months later, guess what? We have managed to identify room in Katherine for around 500 dwellings. That is a government in action. We needed to do that because Katherine is the centre of the universe for mining at the moment, and I can tell you right now …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Could the minister get to the point of the answer? He cannot address his own dorothy dixer.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: We will need housing in our community to accommodate the growth of population. The former government allowed Katherine to stagnate and did nothing to grow the capacity of our town.
Mr McCarthy: There are 39 lots in Katherine East; 20 of them are still not under construction. I was there the other day.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Let us talk about lots. The only land release you did in Tennant Creek was the land prepared by the CLP about 15 years ago. Lead with your chin, member for Barkly. It was sitting there while you were sitting on your hands in government. I was in Tennant Creek driving around the subdivision ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Tindall Aquifer Water Extraction Licence
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
If your department’s new modelling of the consumptive pool for the Tindall Aquifer was accurate, why did the government not leave the recommendation about water licence allocations to the Mataranka Water Advisory Committee as required in its terms of reference, thereby removing any doubts about political interference?
Why did the government not give out water licences according to clause 20 of the background documents, clearly recommending the Water Controller issue entitlements for new licences or increases in licences of up to 1000 ML each time, with a proviso that return applicants would have to demonstrate they had made full use of previous water allocation, something that was not done in the case of Stylo Station, a fact stated by your own departmental water planner?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. The documents the member for Nelson is referring to, particularly the draft water plan - I emphasise it was a draft water plan for Mataranka - suggested that 1000 ML staged increases in water licensing should be adhered to.
However, government policy changes and in examining that we realised, through the department and the science that sits behind it, that 1000 ML does little towards growing the productive capacity of land anywhere. Think about it; 1000 ML if, let us say, you plant mangoes at 8 ML a hectare, means you can plant about 120 ha. It is very little in the big scheme of things. It was considered that 1000 ML incremental increases in water licensing for the Mataranka District was outdated, and not the basis upon which we should issue water licences.
In answering the member for Nelson’s question, this government is committed to ensuring we grow the capacity of our productive land in the Northern Territory. I am delighted to be a part of that, and I wonder whether these questions would be asked if the context were different. In referring to the context, what I am talking about is the fact that the former government did not bother licensing water.
I heard the calls and complaints when this licence was issued, and I asked the Water Controller, ‘Why is everyone up in arms about the issue of a water licence?’
Ms Walker: Because it went to a CLP mate.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: No, that has nothing to do with it. Do you know why the former government did not issue water licences? I arranged an investigation into it. They sat on 75 unanswered water applications dating back to about 2005. That is why there is such uproar. The people were saying, ‘What about me?’, and they had every right to ask.
The point to make is, the context in which we came into government was that we had a previous government that was not interested in development. It did not want water allocated because it was too afraid of upsetting its green mates, and we are now fixing the problem.
Groundwater Extraction Licences
Ms FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
In relation to the millions of dollars of water gifted to Tina MacFarlane, the CLP candidate for Lingiari, on 27 March this year, you stated:
- …there have been no political advances in this; it has not gone to Cabinet or to the ministerial level.
But an e-mail from the Chief Executive of the Department of Land Resource Management to Mr Westra van Holthe on 18 March stated:
The applicants were provided with the conditions applying to the licence, as considered by you at our meeting on Thursday 14 March 2013.
Leave granted.
Ms FYLES: Chief Minister, were you aware of this email when you informed the Assembly there was no ministerial involvement in the decision to allocate the licence, and will you now concede the minister was directly involved in the process to give the water to your CLP mate?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question and I thank the minister for his most recent answer. He is right, there were more than 70 applications seeking water extraction licences to support sustainable development in the Northern Territory. The fact remains that you did not do anything as the previous Labor government in this regard.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question. Was he aware of the minister’s involvement?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister you have the call.
Mr GILES: Where the previous Labor government did not do anything - look at yourselves, we have the member for Fannie Bay; the former minister, the member for Casuarina; the member for Barkly; the absent member for Karama, the former Deputy Chief Minister; the member for Nhulunbuy, who was in government; the member for Wanguri, who was an advisor to a minister; the member for Johnston, who was an advisor. You have your hands all over the previous government. You sat on your hands and did nothing about development in the Northern Territory.
Seventy water application licences - people want to be able to develop business …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question. Could he please answer, was he aware of the minister’s involvement?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. There were 75 outstanding applications since 2005 to be assessed to allow regional development in the Northern Territory to support jobs and growth.
You are the people who did nothing about development of jobs and growth in the regions. To talk about …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was quite straightforward. Was the Chief Minister aware of the minister’s involvement when he said the minister was not involved?
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has three minutes to answer the question. Keep going, Chief Minister.
Mr GILES: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. They are trying to get to the point of whether I knew about an e-mail. I do not get to see everybody’s e-mails from government. We probably send 1000 a day, so I have not seen any particular e-mail. What I can say is, I am not going to answer your question directly until I get a chance to read the e-mail, because I know how much Labor misleads and Labor lies in the process.
One good aspect to look at ...
Ms WALKER: A point of order Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please withdraw the reference to lying.
Mr GILES: Lying, I withdraw. I was not referring to any individual in this room, although there are plenty of them.
Ms WALKER: He knows he can only make that accusation by way of a substantive motion.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, Chief Minister.
Ms Walker: Did he withdraw, Madam Speaker?
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, he has withdrawn.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, Labor tells mistruths. An announcement was recently made about Tiger Brennan Drive and the federal Labor government said it would not put any money into the extension between Woolner Road and Berrimah Road ...
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was quite specific to the allocation of water and whether the Chief Minister was aware of the minister’s involvement when he said the minister was not involved.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. The road funding for Tiger Brennan …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. This is beyond the pale. A very direct question has been asked which requires an answer. Do not deflect through to roads funding, it has nothing to do with this question. Please direct him if you could, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has the call.
Mr GILES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The heart of the question goes to trust in Labor. Look at what the Labor candidate for Solomon is saying about Tiger Brennan Drive ...
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The heart of the question is, was the Chief Minister aware of the minister’s involvement when he said the minister was not involved.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has the call to answer the question how he sees fit.
Mr GILES: Let me make it clear for the incoming Leader of the Opposition, I was not aware of any e-mail. Ministers do not direct people to make political decisions. We get on with doing business and governing the Territory. That is how it operates.
Let me table a copy of the submission to the federal government for the extension of Tiger Brennan drive. I seek leave to table the e-mail from the Territory government to the federal government to do Tiger Brennan Drive ...
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister you do not need to seek leave, you just table the documents.
What is your point of order, member for Nhulunbuy?
Ms WALKER: Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct and concise question about water allocation and what he knew. It was not about Tiger Brennan Drive.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minster has the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I will table those two documents. The Territory government remains committed to building Tiger Brennan Drive this financial year under a trustworthy Tony Abbott government, not an untrustworthy Labor Kevin Rudd or Delia Lawrie.
Land Release –
Planned Infrastructure
Planned Infrastructure
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE
Minister, as a result of the former Labor government’s incompetence and inability to plan for the future, insufficient land release was another mess the Country Liberals inherited a year ago. Can you update the House on what infrastructure work is under way or planned that will expedite land release so more Territorians have access to affordable housing?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for this very important question. Affordable housing is essential to the development of the Northern Territory and northern Australia.
Tony Abbott and the Coalition have been in touch with us on a regular basis to advance the developing the north policy. We have been working on this for some time and have had an intense interest in supplying affordable housing in conjunction with developing the north.
I also note that Mr Rudd had a ‘me too’ thought bubble just after Tony Abbott announced the developing the north policy. Everything we bring out on the Coalition side, Mr Rudd comes up with, ‘I will have one of those too’. Another thought bubble, as mentioned earlier by the Chief Minister.
Anyone who was paying attention to what was going on would have seen the development of oil and gas. The potential of the Northern Territory will require a lot of housing. I remember when we were in opposition, the whole team continually reminded the government about the necessity of land release for affordable housing. I cannot count how many times in opposition I reminded the then ALP government of the necessity for timely land release.
We saw over 2010-12, a reduction in the number of blocks released. I do not have the graphs in front of me, but I recall using them in opposition where we were going backwards with the blocks of land available for housing. We were well below the government’s recommended targets.
We take this very seriously on this side of the House. We are aware of the developments coming and my colleague, the member for Brennan, mentioned that, since coming into government, we have identified 70 blocks of land which will produce 2700 homes. This is not rocket science. It is about paying attention to the problems that exist in the community.
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The minister only has 45 seconds left and has not told us what he is going to do.
Madam SPEAKER: The minister has latitude to answer the question as he sees fit. Minister, you have the call.
Mr STYLES: Madam Speaker, the Department of Infrastructure is very proud to be involved in the rolling out of a range of issues. What does the Department of Infrastructure do? We support the other departments and my colleague, the Housing minister, to get these 70 blocks and 2700 homes on the way. We are well on the way to rolling them out. There are things like headworks in Johnston Stage 1 and 2, Zuccoli Stage 1 and 2, Bellamack commercial, Muirhead and the Kilgariff subdivision. There is a range of things coming out.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Ngukurr Water Supply
Mr McCARTHY to MINISTER for LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
A memo from your department’s water resources planner states that:
- Power and Water have indicated that they have concerns for an increase extraction which could lead to an increase of frequency and duration of salinity events affecting public water supply …
I seek leave to table a copy of that memo, Madam Speaker.
Leave granted.
Mr McCARTHY: Minister, why have you put the financial interests of a CLP candidate for Lingiari ahead of the basic needs of the residents of the remote town of Ngukurr?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his ridiculous question. One of the …
Mr McCarthy: Read the memo.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: I am sure there is a copy of that memo contained in the FOI documents provided to the ABC some time ago. The premise of the question is wrong. The problem with the member for Barkly is he has only taken a tiny portion of the information and sought to blow it completely out of proportion and context.
This all relates to the draft Mataranka water plan. Part of the reason that water plan is still in draft is because when we came into government we realised there were deficiencies in that draft water management plan.
One of the deficiencies was there was no mention of water supply for Ngukurr. That is why it is still a draft. When we saw what was done under the stewardship of the former government, we said it was not good enough. We have taken that draft water management plan back, and it will have provisions to consider the water supply of Ngukurr. We are taking a far more holistic approach to water management for the Mataranka …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask that the member for Barkly be instructed to stop interjecting? I can barely get a word in edgewise.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call, just continue.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. We are taking a far more holistic approach to water management for the Tindall Aquifer at Mataranka and the greater Roper River catchment area because it is important to us.
What was done under the former government was half-baked. We have taken it out of the oven and will rebuild it. We will bake a new cake with it, because the people of Ngukurr deserve to have consideration given to their water supply in the future, something the former government did not do.
Central Australian Government Initiatives
Mrs PRICE to MINISTER for CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
Centralians did it tough under 11 years of Labor. Can you update the House on some of the work the Country Liberals government is doing to repair the damage, and are there any impediments to the future growth of Alice Springs?
ANSWER
What a bunch of undergraduates we have over here. Not only do they not have their Opposition Leader in the House this morning, the other night they could only muster five people to vote in support of the division on their own censure motion. It is ridiculous.
Arguably, no other region has felt the brunt of Labor’s failure of the last 11 years like Central Australia. I say ‘arguably’ because there is a vast number of regions across the Northern Territory that felt the brunt of Labor’s failures, so it is a pretty close contest.
In the last 12 months, to clean up Labor’s mess, we have appointed an Assistant Commissioner to the Centre and an extra 20 police to the region. We have allocated $2.8m to upgrade Anzac Oval and $2m into the Alice Springs Youth Centre, and we have returned Tourism NT to the Centre.
The biggest impediment to fulfilling our potential future growth for the Centre is housing affordability. Lack of land means increased housing prices, mortgage prices and rents, which restricts growth. It is harder to attract and retain people to Central Australia, and this has a huge impact on local businesses; the flow-on effects are paramount.
We have put into action a plan for 2000 new homes across the Northern Territory. It is called our Real Housing for Growth policy. As a result, 167 new homes will go into Alice Springs and 20 into Tennant Creek. We will head lease 150 units to ease the pressure on the private market in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek ...
Members interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: I will say that again. We will head lease 150 units to ease the pressure on the private market in the Centre. That includes Alice Springs and …
Mr McCarthy interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly!
Mr CONLAN: … Tennant Creek. Member for Barkly, I thought you might be interested to hear this.
We are now fast-tracking our planning for the Kilgariff subdivision by assessing expressions of interest now, not in 2014 as planned by the former Labor government.
While we have identified ad nauseum the litany of failures the previous Labor government has left the Northern Territory, again, housing is one of them. It is part of the shemozzle that was the former Labor government.
Tindall Aquifer Water Extraction Licence - MacFarlanes
Ms FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
Your water mate scandal stinks of corruption. The member for Arnhem at least waited until she was in parliament before she started rorting the taxpayer funds, unlike Tina MacFarlane …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, withdraw those comments.
Ms FYLES: I will not withdraw, I …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff!
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Proposed Motion of Censure
Proposed Motion of Censure
Ms FYLES (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent this House from censuring the Chief Minister and the CLP government for:
gifting the CLP candidate for Lingiari, Tina MacFarlane, water rights worth millions of dollars
stripping Indigenous Territorians of their water rights and instead handing them to their own candidate …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Ms FYLES:
threatening the water supply to the Ngukurr community and saying that Cabinet and ministers had no involvement in the decision, but then refusing to release the correspondence between the CLP and the Water Controller
basing their decision to change the science on a phone call
Ignoring science and modelling that exposes the risk of environmental and ecological damage to Elsey National Park and its surrounding water systems
ignoring the rights of other water users of the Tindall Limestone Aquifer, including recreational fishers, traditional owners, and other pastoralists
giving the federal Coalition candidate water rights against the policy of the federal Coalition
refusing to revoke the water allocation grant until a proper and transparent process can be put in place that involves detailed community consultation ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, I ask that you withdraw those words that you referenced before you started your censure motion.
Ms FYLES: I withdraw and apologise.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, this is a censure motion and an attempt to bring down the Northern Territory government, something this House takes very seriously. We accept the censure motion, but I ask the Labor Party to keep in mind that when they vote for it, everyone needs to turn up.
Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016