2013-10-15
Member for Arnhem –
Jawoyn Association Funding
Jawoyn Association Funding
Mr McCARTHY to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
Last night Four Corners aired serious fraud allegations at Preston Lee and alleged that the member for Arnhem covered them up - an alleged crime and an alleged cover-up. It also aired concerns about the member for Arnhem’s government fuel card use and the need to repay Jawoyn funds for CLP campaigning. Previously you said there was a police investigation. Can you confirm the status of the investigation and conduct a judicial inquiry into the Jawoyn scandal? Will you suspend the member for Arnhem until the investigation is finalised?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his question. This matter has been raised in the Chamber, and publicly, over the last 12 months. There has been much commentary around it. I said last week the operation of the Jawoyn Association is not a matter for the government. ORIC is the governing body which oversees the administration of Aboriginal organisations.
I watched the television show last night and what was presented. I also saw commentary by Warren Mundine, who is now Chairman of the Indigenous Advisory Council in Canberra, where he reflected on his thoughts about the need to change governance arrangements. To look at those may be warranted.
In regard to what contributions the Jawoyn Association may or may not have made to any candidate on any side of the Chamber, it is a matter for their administration and governance and should be taken up with ORIC, the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations. If you have a problem with that, I believe you should investigate it in that regard.
I understand the member for Arnhem has agreed to repay some money, which I think is around $8000. She will do that and we will wait to see what happens in regard to ORIC …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The member for Barkly asked a very direct question. Can you confirm the police investigation at this time?
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister is answering the question. There is no point of order.
Mr GILES: The police, as I understand, looked over it. There was not a formal investigation to my knowledge. They were asked to do a few things, but I will have a further look at it.
I understand the member for Arnhem has agreed to repay that money to the Jawoyn Association. She has my and our government’s full support and confidence. She is a very good local member and I look forward to her continuing to represent her electorate the way we all want her to.
Alcohol-fuelled Violence –
Mitchell Street Police Action
Mitchell Street Police Action
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you please tell the Assembly about the recent efforts by police to combat alcohol-fuelled violence on Mitchell Street?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. When the member for Daly is here, he quite often goes out for dinner with his lovely wife, who is in the gallery today. The member for Daly, like all of us in this Chamber and in the Territory, wants to ensure we have a safe environment where we can go out, enjoy a good meal or a beer after work, or whatever. We want to ensure the minority which causes trouble on occasion is given a clear message: it is not about causing trouble, it is about having a good night.
I assure Territorians, especially parents, that the government and the police take this issue very seriously. For this reason, over the weekend the police conducted a high-visibility operation called Operation Omaha, which saw more than 50 police officers working in the CBD each night on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Licensing inspectors were also out working closely with police on the nights. I joined some of the hard-working officers on the beat on Friday night and was pleased to see the strong police presence in the city.
The operation resulted in a relatively quiet weekend in the city, with 183 checks conducted by police of licensed premises in the CBD. Six arrests were made in the city over the weekend in total: three were drink drivers; three were connected to licensed premises, two of which were for assaults and one for a person who refused to leave a licensed premise when asked to do so. In all, 28 people were taken to the watch house.
Police operations like this one send a very clear message to the community about what is acceptable behaviour in Mitchell Street and what is not. I and my government make no apologies for being tough on law and order in Mitchell Street.
The public has a reasonable expectation that government and police will respond to issues of community concern as they arise. The community pays taxes and they want police to be able to provide policing in Mitchell Street. This is the core business of the police force.
However, these high-visibility targeted operations are only part of the response. Police are out in the CBD every other weekend with regular patrols, with assistance from mounted police and the Dog Squad.
Police already have a raft of powers available to them. The government hopes to add to these powers with the alcohol protection orders which will be introduced into parliament this week.
Publicans also take this issue very seriously, and I know publicans cop a lot of blame. They have been working with the government and police on ways to further enhance the safety of patrons in the CBD. I am advised the Liquor Accord is being reviewed to see how licensees can strengthen that on a collective basis for the broader benefit of the community.
Licensees were very supportive of the police operations over the weekend and are looking forward to further police operations. Government, police, publicans and, importantly, patrons, all have a role to play in ensuring our city is safe.
I encourage those in the minority who cause trouble for others to pull your heads in and allow every other Territorian who likes to go out and have a good time to be able to have that in a safe and peaceful environment.
Power and Water - Price Increases
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
This week is Anti-Poverty Week and NTCOSS has released a report that shows the price of utilities in Darwin has risen faster than in all other capital cities, bar Adelaide, not as a result, as you claim, of the carbon tax, but of your tariff increases. NTCOSS has also criticised you plan to split up Power and Water, raising real concerns about further price hikes. Territorians are already struggling under your utility tariff hikes. Only last week the opposition exposed plans in Power and Water to increase power network price charges by 58%. Why do you persist with power price hikes and a path to privatisation that will make the cost of living here unbearable? What specific measures are you taking to ease the burden on families and businesses across the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. This is a question for the Treasurer as the shareholding minister.
Going to the second part of the question, there is a report, which has been on a publicly available website for the last month, where Power and Water recommend an increase to network charges. That report will go to the Utilities Commission.
We have made it clear what our electricity tariffs will be. We have committed to the price rise that was already done and adjusted in March of this year. We have said there will be a 5% increase on 1 January next year and a 5% increase on 1 January the year after. The recommended report for a 58% increase will not be going through. We said that last week.
The issue of the 58% raised by the opposition last week has put a level of fear into the community which is completely unwarranted and unheralded. It is something that will not be accepted by this government. The increases we have already announced will be set in stone. I said last week and I repeat: the only change to power prices will be if the carbon tax is withdrawn in Canberra …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question. What is he doing to help Territory families with the cost of living?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: To the member for Nightcliff, I am lobbying the Prime Minister to remove the carbon tax, and I ask opposition to lobby Labor in Canberra to support removing the carbon tax. That will see power prices come down. The argument is fairly simple in that regard.
If you want to talk further about some cost of living issues, look at the situation around housing supply in the Northern Territory, the greater Darwin area and other areas across the Territory. The work we have done with the Planning Commission through the Minister for Housing in ensuring we have our affordable housing program and release land across the Northern Territory is increasing supply and will have a positive impact on reducing market forces in the escalation in the cost of housing.
We have a range of new initiatives that will be announced soon, particularly around affordable housing, that the Minister for Housing is very excited about it. They are some of the major areas where we can have a reduction in the cost of living pressures in the Northern Territory.
As I said, in relation to what we are doing about reducing power prices in the Northern Territory, we are lobbying the Liberal Coalition in Canberra to pass the carbon tax legislation. We are calling on the Labor opposition to talk to their federal Labor colleagues to allow the passage of the legislation to repeal the carbon tax which will see power prices come down in the Northern Territory. The only thing that stands between reductions in power prices in the Northern Territory is the Labor opposition in Canberra which will not support the removal of the carbon tax.
Road Safety and Open Speed Limits
Ms LEE to MINISTER for TRANSPORT
Can the minister explain to the House how the government is increasing road safety and why he is bringing back open speed limits?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. The Country Liberal Party took the matter of open speed limits to the last election. This issue relates specifically to many people in rural and remote areas. If you look at the election results, people in Alice Springs and in the bush, the people this really affects, who use our highways every day, voted overwhelmingly to support the Country Liberals in looking at an evidence-based review on open speed limits.
Ms Walker: Not in the bush they didn’t.
Mr STYLES: The member for Nhulunbuy needs to look at the results of the election.
We have had a number of assessments and audits done on these roads and …
Ms Walker: Where are they?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STYLES: These are living documents. I hear the interjection, ‘Where are they?’ This is an ongoing process and as we have gone along we have determined from the evidence available …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Could he please table these reports?
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Tabling reports is not linked to Standing Order 113. Minister, you have the call.
Mr STYLES: I continue and say that out of the audits and assessments came a reduction in speed limits on the Arnhem Highway. We looked at the evidence available, and on certain sections of the Arnhem Highway we have had to reduce the speed limit.
We have reduced speed limits around roadhouses based on the evidence that has come before Cabinet that says we should do this in the interests of safety and looking after people.
We will have a trial on a section of road which is 36 km south of Barrow Creek down to the Tanami Road turnoff on the Stuart Highway. This section of the road has had no fatalities in relation to speed limits. On that section of road, which is considered to be a low crash risk section of road, we have had a number of fatalities related to seatbelts, alcohol and fatigue. Sadly, across the Territory we have an issue as we do right across our national highway networks in Australia.
This is not for people to say they can go down there and drive as fast as they like. The Police Commissioner will be targeting …
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 255: documents relating to public affairs.
- A document relating to public affairs quoted from by a Minister, unless stated by the Minister to be of a confidential nature, or such as should more properly be obtained by Address, shall, if required by any Member, be laid on the Table.
I am making a request under that clause.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, are you referring to and reading from confidential documents?
Mr STYLES: These are Cabinet documents and are living documents …
Madam SPEAKER: If they are confidential Cabinet documents they do not have to be tabled. Minister, you have the call.
Mr STYLES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is not about driving at excessive speeds. The Police Commissioner has said he will be targeting manifestly excessive speeds by conditions of road …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Power and Water – Price Increases
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER referred to TREASURER
In this House, you ruled out price rises on power beyond saying they were set in stone, except, of course, we know they are not: an additional 5% each January for the next two years; CPI each July for the next two years, a not insignificant tariff increase of 16%.
Price rises are not set in stone. I will table the Pricing Orders, which expire on 31 December 2013 for domestic and small business customers. Further, large businesses, the customers on contestable contracts, had explicit exemptions in their current power deals which allow for the network charge increases to be passed on to consumers in that way.
Do you explicitly rule out passing this tariff increase on to the large network users – shopping centres, hospitals, schools – as well as domestic and small businesses?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, you need to seek leave to table that document.
Ms LAWRIE: I see leave to table the Pricing Orders which expire on 31 December 2013.
Leave granted.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we answered this question last week. We have answered it already today, and we will answer it again.
The price increases are set in stone. They went up by 20% for power prices and they will go up by 5% on 1 January next year and 5% in January the year after.
The scaremongering by the opposition last week led to an event that is unheard of in the Northern Territory. That was when the Utilities Commissioner issued a media release to say the prices will not be going up. You never hear of the Utilities Commissioner, but now a media release has been issued to debunk what Labor was saying.
We will go back to the previous point, which is that the only way to see a reduction in power prices is by the removal of the carbon tax in Canberra, something Labor does not support. Labor is standing in the way of price reductions in the Northern Territory for electricity consumers …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. If the Utilities Commissioner makes a decision, do you stand by your comments, Chief Minister?
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: As I said in answer to the previous question on the same matter, this is a matter for the shareholding minister, the Treasurer. He will be able to provide more detail in explicit terms about Power and Water, particularly about power prices. I say once again, if you want to see a reduction in power prices, support the removal of the carbon tax in Canberra.
Mr TOLLNER (Treasurer): Thank you, Chief Minister. Madam Speaker, there is not a lot more I can add to what the Chief Minister said, as he summed it up pretty well.
I put on record my disgust at the actions of the Leader of the Opposition last week. She was answered five times in Question Time, very succinctly, saying power prices will not rise beyond what has already been set in stone. She managed to confuse the daylights out of the media to the point where we saw stories that night on the television news, in the newspapers, and we heard on radio, about 58% power increases for Territorians. What happened from that was widespread and undue concern created by the Leader of the Opposition, and Territorians worrying about massive power increases. Why? Because the Leader of the Opposition wanted to make a spectacle. Shame!
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Children in Care – Independent Monitoring
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for CHILDREN and FAMILIES
Can you inform the House about initiatives to ensure the monitoring and oversight of children in care is independently and competently carried out?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. I take this portfolio responsibility with a gravity I hope the opposition would understand and appreciate in how they conduct themselves in this House.
I thank the former minister for her efforts in this area because she leaves me with a strong legacy to build upon. One of those items I seek to build upon is the removal of the Children’s Commissioner from a committee status under the current legislation. I am proud and happy to announce today we will establish the Office of the Children’s Commissioner under its own and separate legislation. I am proud to bring that legislation to this House.
I will add a little more. One of the great tragedies of the relentless attacks by this opposition on the good and hard-working folk in the child protection field is they are, unfortunately, a little shell-shocked. I will unequivocally say to the people working in this field so they understand it: I will back the staff in child protection, despite the outrageous criticisms they receive from members opposite. Moreover, if they act in good faith, I will support them. Even if they take risks acting in good faith, I will support them. If they make honest and genuine mistakes, I will support them.
I will support the staff despite the horrendous attacks we will continue to see from the members opposite. The message to the staff is: unless you are grossly negligent and criminal in your conduct, you will have the support of this government, because this government believes the staff in those areas will have to continue to work under very difficult circumstances.
That includes the fact those staff are lied to by the people they have to work with. Often, where they have to intervene, the parents lie to staff. So those staff make genuine mistakes because they are lied to and have to operate in fields which are difficult. I will back them. I will back them every time. I will certainly back them over the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow minister who would attack them for political gain and no other purpose.
The members opposite have proven themselves to be utterly disgraceful in this case, and I will protect my staff against them.
Teacher Numbers – Cuts
Mr GUNNER: to MINISTER for EDUCATION
On 14 May 2013, budget day, you said you were committed to growing the economy so you must invest in the education of all schoolchildren who will be carrying the Territory forward. Yet, last week you admitted you were cutting teacher numbers to try to improve the budget. Not in anyone’s world but your own does investing in the education of all schoolchildren mean cutting teacher numbers. Can you please explain how cutting teacher numbers from our schools next year as a budget savings measure helps our schoolchildren carry the Territory forward?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member for Fannie Bay. It is a difficult one, but the rationale and truth behind this are in these figures in a graph I will happily show you. This green line shows you …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Can the minister please table the chart?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, are you prepared to table the document?
Mr CHANDLER: Unfortunately, it has personal notes written on it, Madam Speaker. However, I will read to you from this chart. I will also read to you some of the figures and what people need to understand about the former government that tried to set up education in the Northern Territory to fail.
What this chart clearly shows on that green line, which is this line here, is the growth of students in the Northern Territory ...
Ms Fyles: We cannot see it. Table it.
Mr CHANDLER: It is the lower of the lines. What you clearly see is a red line at the very top. That shows you the growth in staff within the Education department. What that basically says is that under the former government in the last five years we had 173 …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. My question was about cutting teacher numbers, not department staff. How is cutting teacher numbers taking Territory students forward?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The minster has three minutes and he is answering the question.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, I am trying to put this into context to show where we are as a government and that we cannot continue to do things the way the former government did. The addition of more than $200m they invested in education saw our educational outcomes go backwards. If we were to continue to do things the way they did, we would continue to go backwards. That is madness!
The Department of Education employed 790 employees in the last five years when we had an increase in student numbers of 173. There were 173 extra students across the Northern Territory, yet the Education department grew by a massive 790 employees in that time.
As I said last week in this House, had that investment paid off and we had seen a dramatic increase and improvement in our education outcomes, I would be thinking and saying to you guys, well done …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. How does cutting teacher numbers from our schools improve educational outcomes? It is a direct question, answer it!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, it is not a point of order!
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, the question could be put back: how is employing 790 extra employees when we only saw student numbers grow by 173, and no improvement outcomes seen, acceptable in today’s terms? It is not.
We support education. We know we live by education in the Northern Territory, and we will grow it by growing a strong economy in the Northern Territory, which will include education. At the same time, we need to understand we had a bloated education system with 790 employees employed in the last five years. We are left to manage it, and that is the sheer reality of this.
Public Housing Gardening Competition
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for HOUSING
This government is determined to develop a strong and inclusive society. Can you please explain how the Public Housing Gardening Competition supports Territory Housing tenants?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. It is good to lighten things up with a great story about the Public Housing Gardening Competition. The member for Drysdale has been very active in this space. It must be close to half a dozen of her constituents who have received awards from the competition.
First, I have to dispel the rumour this competition was cancelled, because it was not. The opposition was running scuttlebutt that we were going to can, cancel or shut it down. I am unsure where it started but it was somewhere over there. I can assure you and the member for Drysdale that nothing is further from the truth. The competition is alive and well.
Many tenants, of course, invest a lot of …
Members interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: Can you believe this rabble around a Public Housing Gardening Competition? It is a Public Housing Gardening Competition; that is all it is. It is a wonderful little initiative. I thought the opposition might like to hear some great news about it.
Many tenants invest a lot of time and energy into creating their beautiful, vibrant gardens. These six constituents in the member for Drysdale’s electorate have done just that. Great work! It provides many benefits to the community, which is a great place to express their creativity. It beautifies the amenity of our streets and suburbs, so it is fantastic.
In judging categories, we have the Best House Garden, the Best Unit Garden, the Best Recently Developed Garden and the Best Communal Garden – some great categories. Judges will be looking at the presentation and design of these gardens as well as sustainable environment issues such as water consumption, use of native flora and natural methods of pest control. Winners of each category receive a $300 home improvement voucher in recognition of their efforts. It is terrific and a great incentive for people to improve their gardens for all of us in the community.
The competition is open to all Territory Housing tenants in Nhulunbuy, Darwin, Casuarina, Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. It is right across the NT. Entry forms are being mailed to all urban tenants and can be posted or handed back to the local Territory Housing offices ...
Ms Walker: Why not Maningrida? Why not Galiwinku?
Mr CONLAN: Beg your pardon?
Ms Walker: Why not Gapuwiyak?
Mr CONLAN: Sorry, what is that?
Ms Walker: Why not Gapuwiyak? Why not Galiwinku?
Mr CONLAN: It is an urban housing garden competition, member for Nhulunbuy. I am unsure if you understand the difference between urban and remote housing, but this is an urban housing gardening competition.
Tenants have until Friday 25 October …
Ms Walker: I have seen some beautiful gardens at our Territory Housing in the bush.
Mr CONLAN: It is an urban housing competition, U-R-B-A-N, urban.
Tenants have until Friday, 25 October to submit their entries. For more information …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr CONLAN: They still do not like it. It is an urban housing gardening competition, for crying out loud! It is a wonderful concept and we are maintaining it.
For further information about the Public Housing Gardening Competition, please visit the website which is www.housing.nt.gov.au.
Badminton – Sale of Sports House
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for SPORT, RECREATION and RACING
You said in your sports statement that Sports House will be sold, meaning the home of badminton for 30 years will no longer exist. The NT Badminton Association has been trying hard but has not been about to find a suitable replacement venue. Considering that Sports House site, when rezoned to medium residential – which is being proposed – will be worth millions of dollars to the government, could some of the money from the sale of the block go towards a purpose-built venue for badminton, judo and table tennis at Marrara? Will you meet with the NT Badminton Association? They have tried to meet with you a number of times to discuss the matter, but so far to no avail.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. First of all, my department has met with NT Badminton on a number of occasions. There are some concerns around …
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was whether the minister will meet with NT Badminton?
Mr CONLAN: I am not going to be browbeaten by the member for Nelson about meeting with various stakeholders. We have met with a number of stakeholders with regard to this …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question. The NT Badminton Association is very keen to meet with the minister, but he is refusing.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, the minister has three minutes and he is answering it.
Mr CONLAN: That is misleading. Under no circumstances have I refused to meet with the NT Badminton Association, so that is not true.
Let us get back to what is happening. Sports House is a building that is at the end of its life. We have to find out what we can do to house the various sporting organisations that are in there. One of those is badminton.
Nothing is off the table, member for Nelson. In fact, everything is on the table when it comes to finding NT Badminton a spot to play. There are a number of areas around Darwin that can house badminton and we are looking at those. Our department is working overtime with the NT Badminton Association. I agree they are very concerned. There are a couple of hundred members who are very concerned about the future of the sport of badminton. So am I and so is the department.
We are doing everything we can to ensure they find an appropriate facility down the track. We are looking at, potentially, extending the life of that dilapidated building at Sports House. Let us face it, we are not closing it down because we do not like badminton or the sporting organisations. The place has run the course of its life. It is in serious breach of occupational health and safety standards.
At the end of the day, we are doing everything we possibly can to ensure that badminton, Sub Aqua and everyone else has the appropriate facility to undertake their sport. We will be doing everything we can, and we will continue to do it.
However, I will not be browbeaten, I will hold a gun to my head because you do not like the way we have handled it. We have been in consultation with NT Badminton and they seem pretty happy with the way things are. Of course, they are concerned about the future of the sport. They are not happy about that aspect of it. However, if you are not happy, bad luck!
At the end of the day, we are doing everything we can to ensure NT Badminton has an appropriate facility to play their sport, and that is all we can do at the moment.
Teacher Numbers – Reduction in Funding by National Partnership Agreement
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for EDUCATION
You are cutting teacher numbers in our bush schools, causing chaos and dismay which will lead to worse educational outcomes for our students. We know your actions are all about budget cuts. Why are you cutting teacher numbers in the bush when the Commonwealth government has funded 200 teachers in bush schools through a national partnership agreement with funding for 10 years?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. Education is something we are passionate about on this side of the House. I am sure people on that side of the House are also passionate about it. However, it is absolute madness to continue to do things the way they were done under the previous administration in the Northern Territory.
I now have a clean copy of the graph I spoke about before without personal notes on it, which I am happy to table. It clearly shows where the former government grew the education department by around 790 employees at the same time our student numbers went up by 173. There was something clearly wrong with that.
On top of that, a lot of the money that backed some of these positions was through federally funded partnerships which, in some cases, have ceased. The reality is there are many partnerships that come and go at different times. There are many positives we are looking at in education, and this is where we need to focus ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was very specific about 200 teachers funded by the Commonwealth for bush schools under the national partnership agreement ...
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point of order. You do not give a speech with a point of order. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, I know education is a sensitive issue for the Labor Party because they ride high on the fact they have done so much for education. However, the truth is our educational results were going backwards in the Northern Territory.
Let us talk about teachers for one moment. Under the former Labor government, around 30% of our teachers were under contracts. The Country Liberals government has reduced that to 14%. We have taken 30% of the people who were under contracts and have reduced that to permanent employees.
When you want to talk about morale and doing good things for teachers and providing them a long-term future in the Northern Territory, how about looking at a previous government that had 30% of its teachers on contracts and, 12 months later, the Country Liberal government has reduced that to 14%. Nothing provides a teacher with more certainty than permanent employment, not contracts.
The reality is we have much to do in education. That is why we are looking at reviewing the way we deliver education in our bush communities.
How can you tell me we have had wonderful improvements in education when that is clearly not the truth? It is time we reviewed how education is delivered in the bush and it is time we do it better.
Water Reserve – Greater Darwin Region
Mr KURRUPUWU to MINISTER for ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Can you please update the House on the current state of the greater Darwin region’s water reserve?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. It is very important.
The Northern Territory, the Top End particularly, despite the fact it has up to 1.5 m rainfall every year, does not have an endless supply of water. We also need to see that in the context that people in the greater Darwin region use about three times more water than people in similar locations across other parts of Australia, such as Townsville and Cairns. In fact, we use twice the amount of water compared to our southern major city counterparts.
The Northern Territory government is seriously looking at the future supply of water. We currently have about 63% of water in the Darwin River Dam which, on occasion, gets down to about 40%. This has not posed a serious problem for us in the past but, given the projected population growth of the Top End, one day this will pose problems for us, given we have very high water consumption in the Northern Territory.
It is also worth noting that about half the water consumption out of Darwin River occurs through evaporation. These are major things we are considering in our forward plans around water planning for the greater Darwin region. However, there is no cause to be alarmed. The Northern Territory government is moving down the path of asking people to conserve water and be very careful with it.
On the back of a very successful Alice Water Smart program we will be introducing a Darwin Water Smart program and will be asking Territorians to start looking at how they can reduce their water consumption and help us have a sustainable water supply into the future. Bearing in mind that by people making simple reductions in water it could save the Northern Territory government millions upon millions of dollars in forward expenditure and we could, potentially, delay the building of further dams. I am talking about the re-augmentation of Manton Dam, the possibility of Warrai Dam, the possibility of the Adelaide River off-stream water storage facility, all big ticket infrastructure items that will cost the Northern Territory huge amounts of money.
The Darwin Water Smart initiative will be asking people in the Top End of the Territory to start thinking about their water usage and how they can assist to make our water supply more sustainable into the future.
Water Allocation Licences – Policy Changes
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Documents released under FOI confirm the Controller of Water visited licence holders in the Mataranka area on 12 March to inform them of his intention to review the draft water plan for the Tindall Limestone Aquifer. FOI documents also reveal your department solicited 10-year licences from all licence holders in the region. This is an extraordinary step considering the government had just granted a huge water licence to CLP candidate Tina MacFarlane and abandoned the government’s policy on strategic Indigenous reserves.
Did you or the controller also consult the Ngukurr community, traditional owners in the Mataranka region and NAILSMA about these policy changes? If not, why not?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question implies some form of corruption on the part of the Water Controller. I ask that be ruled out of order because there is no evidence to support such an outrageous attack on this public servant.
Ms FYLES: Speaking to the point of order, it was a very direct question relating to documents released under freedom of information.
Mr ELFERINK: No, the question implied quite specifically that the Water Controller would have had to engage in some sort of collusion with the minister to achieve a certain result. I resent the implication in the absence of any evidence. It is typical of the way these people work.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, could you repeat the question please?
Ms FYLES: Documents released under FOI confirm the Controller of Water visited licence holders – fact, we have those documents – in the Mataranka area on 12 March to inform them of his intention to review the draft water plan for the Tindall Limestone Aquifer. FOI documents also reveal your department solicited 10-year licences from all licence holders in that region – fact, we have those documents. That is an extraordinary step considering you had just given a huge water licence to Tina MacFarlane and abandoned the strategic Indigenous reserves.
Did you or the Water Controller consult the Ngukurr community, traditional owners in the Mataranka region and NAILSMA about these policy changes and, if not, why not?
Madam SPEAKER: The question is fine. Minister, you have the call.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question. Once again, before I answer the question, I am going to ask the member for Nightcliff to avail herself of what has been offered previously by me: that is, a briefing on this ...
Ms Fyles: No, I am not having a briefing to cover up your work.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: So, you do not want to get the facts? Right oh!
That is what I would have expected from the member for Nightcliff because not once has she sought a briefing or any substantive information on any matters to do with water in the Northern Territory. I would have thought that being the shadow minister …
Mrs Lambley: Shameful!
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: It is shameful. I pick up on the interjection by the member for Araluen ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. An attack on the shadow minister has no bearing on the question. Did you or the Water Controller also consult the Ngukurr community, traditional owners in Mataranka region and NAILSMA about these policy changes? If not, why not?
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down. Opposition Leader, the minister has three minutes to answer the question and he is doing so. Minister, you have the call.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. That the shadow minister has not bothered to get a briefing is absolutely shameful. The member from Nelson has taken a briefing, maybe even the member for Casuarina, I do not know. There are other members on this side who have taken briefings on water around the Northern Territory. Do you know why? They want to understand what is happening. Rather than stand on the sidelines and snipe the way the opposition is doing, there are some responsible members of parliament who want to understand what is happening ...
Ms Lawrie: Answer the question.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Let me then go to nub of the question, seeing the Leader of the Opposition keeps harping on.
We have a very robust consultative process in place for water allocations across the Northern Territory. I have had a meeting with NAILSMA and have taken their views on board. We are not a government that will be held to ransom by pressure groups across the Northern Territory as your government was. We are committed to getting agricultural development happening in the Northern Territory. As I said in the past, if you add water to land, you can have development.
Under the policies of the former government, that was not going to happen. They would much rather see people warehousing water so it is hidden away for years, decades and generations so they did not give those people the opportunities to seek agricultural development.
Since I spoke the other night on the water statement, it has come to my attention that a large Indigenous organisation has applied for a water licence in the Top End. Indigenous people have the same rights to water as everybody else in the Northern Territory and I am glad to see one of those organisations is taking advantage of it.
Home Births and Midwifery Services
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for HEALTH
There has been much confusion over the parameters surrounding home births in the Territory in relation to worldwide standards of vaginal births for mothers who have previously had a caesarean. Can you please inform the House of the government’s position on this matter and provide an update on midwifery services in Darwin?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She has a genuine interest in this area. She has been approached by a group of her constituents regarding the midwifery services provided in the Northern Territory, and she has been following this debate very closely.
The safety of mothers and their newborns is the Territory government’s number one priority. The medical opinion of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is that home births, after a mother has previously had a caesarean, should not take place due to the potential risk it poses to mothers and their babies.
No jurisdiction in Australia provides publicly-funded home birthing services to mothers who have previously had caesareans due to these risks. These risks cannot be underestimated. I am following the expert medical advice adopted by all other jurisdictions in Australia. That is why we do not support home birth attempts by woman who have previously had a caesarean.
The medical opinion is that these attempts are too risky, and I believe the public expects us to be guided by the experts in setting public policy in this critical area.
Another issue home birth advocates have raised with me is that of privately practising midwives. The Northern Territory government is currently exploring ways to allow privately practising midwives to re-enter the Territory, something that was turned off under the former Labor government in 2004.
Our government recognises the important role privately practising midwives can play in our system. That is why we are fast-tracking development of this option, which we understand may involve amendments to the relevant legislation.
Additionally, the Country Liberals government is committed to integrating midwifery services in the Northern Territory. This was something the former Labor government promised for six years and never delivered. Presently, there are four public and one private maternity service provider in Darwin.
Our integrated model will increase choices for Territory women and will bring us into line with other jurisdictions where private practising midwifery care is part of their service delivery model.
Putting some perspective into this debate, in 2012, 1980 women gave birth at Royal Darwin Hospital, 601 in the Darwin Private Hospital, and there were 22 births through the Darwin Home Birth Group. The Northern Territory government remains committed to improving maternity services access and options for Territory women.
FrogWatch NT – Funding
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for PARKS and WILDLIFE
Last week I asked you to explain your government’s mean-spirited decision to remove all funding to FrogWatch. You said:
- Let me be clear, this government did not cut funding for FrogWatch. The contract was terminated by mutual agreement, effective 31 March 2013.
FrogWatch has said the NT government has stopped all funding to FrogWatch, which means Darwin is now exposed to a renewed threat of cane toads.
And:
- We did not, and do not, agree with the cut, but were given no choice.
Clearly, you misled this House, minister. When will you stop misleading …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
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 would prevent this House from censuring the Minister for Parks and Wildlife for misleading this House on government funding for Frogwatch.
Members interjecting.
Ms Lawrie: You misled the House. That is a serious thing. I know you like to lie all the time, but it is …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! There are two points of order. First, I ask that the Leader of the Opposition withdraws the accusation of lying made to members on this side of the House …
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw.
Mr ELFERINK: The second point of order is the member opposite knows that unless she proceeds by way of substantive motion, which I believe she is now attempting to do ...
Madam SPEAKER: It is done.
Mr ELFERINK: In which case, we accept this censure because they are opening themselves up for plain old sport.
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be place on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016