2015-06-16
Crime and Violence
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
People are shocked at the extent of escalating violence in the Northern Territory. There has recently been a drive-by shooting, a number of home invasions, 11 breakouts from juvenile detention facilities since August last year, and two people breaking back into the detention facilities. Violent crime is impacting on people’s lives every day. Your government has failed Territorians.
Chief Minister, your government is so focused on its own internal disputes it has lost control of law and order. How can Territorians trust you to protect them when they are witnessing this level of violence and disorder on our streets?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. Assaults in the Northern Territory are down by 5.8%, especially serious assaults. However, no doubt a range of offenders in the Northern Territory are causing concern within our community. Much of that has to do with serious drugs in the Northern Territory. There has been conversation around ice and methamphetamines and the current escalating use in the Northern Territory. That is why several months ago we set up the parliamentary committee to look at methamphetamine use, which is chaired by the member for Blain.
We have formed a partnership with the federal government with a task force at the national level. We are working with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to ensure we reduce the supply of ice and methamphetamines coming from across borders. About 80% of it comes from other jurisdictions. Today I was joined by the Attorney-General in announcing we will soon bring legislation to the Chamber to declare roads in the Northern Territory as drug supply routes, specifically the Victoria, Barkly and Stuart Highways. Once the legislation is passed police will have the ability to declare one of those arterial routes as a major drug supply route for a period of up to 14 days, allowing police a greater level of search and seizure power to reduce the amount of ice, methamphetamines and illegal drugs, which cause so much harm to the community, families and individuals.
Assault numbers are continuing to come down, but there have been a number of breakouts from Don Dale by some of the juveniles there. I found it interesting this morning, listening to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition talk about how she would support a Labor policy allowing those juveniles to be taken out of prison and the juvenile justice system and released back into the community.
The member for Nhulunbuy, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, spoke earlier today about sending people from gaols back into the community. These people are seriously offending in our community. Levels of crime, whether that is property break-in, domestic violence or serious assaults – numbers of assaults are down in the Northern Territory, they are at the lowest level since the 1990s, but to see Labor and the Deputy Opposition Leader talking about releasing prisoners into the community is a disgrace and a sure sign …
Ms Walker: You are a liar. You are the only disgrace in here.
Mr GILES: … that they do not stand for strength.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. Withdraw that, member for Nhulunbuy.
Ms WALKER: I withdraw.
Mr GILES: It is a sure sign that Labor is weak on law and order.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
MVR – Wilson Security Access to Private Information
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to CHIEF MINISTER
Last week Territorians were outraged to hear that personal and private details held by the Motor Vehicle Registry would be released to Wilson Security, a private sector company, by order of a magistrate. What is the government doing to address the concerns of Territorians about access to their private information?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. Congratulations to the NT News which put that story out, because that was the first time I saw this story and became aware of the information. My colleagues and I were highly offended that thousands of Territorians could potentially have their details released to a private company – 8500 Territorians’ private details.
Upon learning of this information, the Minister for Transport, the Minister for Health and I, with our colleagues, discussed what we could do to stop this from occurring. We appreciate the decision of the Local Court in ordering the Motor Vehicle Registry to release those personal details to Wilson Parking, which is the private operator of the car park at the Royal Darwin Hospital. However, as you would have just heard at the start of Question Time, the Minister for Transport has given notice that there will legislative change coming into the Chamber this week on urgency, passing through all stages of the bill process to ensure we limit the ability for information to be passed to Wilson Security.
We have done this because we are standing up for Territorians and protecting the rights and personal details of Territorians being provided to private companies.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: I hear the noise opposite, so I can only assume Labor will support our legislation, the urgency of it and the amendments to ensure Territorians’ rights and privacy are being upheld as a matter of utmost importance this week in parliament.
To the legislative draftspeople who have been working tirelessly, thank you very much for meeting the needs and demands of the Ministers for Transport and Health, as well as me and everybody on this side of the Chamber. To those 8500 Territorians who would potentially have their information released to a national private company, your details will be protected.
As soon as we found out about this issue - and I have said congratulations to the NT News - we moved to get the legislation ready, which will go through this week. I congratulate Labor; clearly you are trying to plagiarise our legislation again, member for Johnston. It is not the first time you have tried to plagiarise, and I am sure it will not be the last.
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I am glad he listened to our media this morning about this legislation …
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down! It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: It is apparent they do not care. They did not even move urgency. They are happy to let this sit on the Notice Paper for months. We will have it fixed this week, unlike Labor.
Juvenile Detention Breakouts
Ms FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
There have been 11 breakouts from juvenile detention in less than 12 months. This is a crisis and the safety of Territorians is being put at risk due to your failures. In successive budgets your government has cut services to youth. Your government has been inward looking, focused on internal disputes, while juvenile crime has become worse and our juvenile detention centres are in crisis. You have failed Territorians.
This morning the head of the department of Corrections blamed staff for the most recent breakout. Do you also blame the staff, or do you accept it is the incompetence of your minister?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank all staff who work in our juvenile detention centres across the Northern Territory. They have a pretty tough job. They deal with some of the worse criminals in the Territory. They are dealing with criminals with troubled lives and troubled histories, which led them to the detention centres they find themselves in today.
That does not mean we will act like the member for Nhulunbuy, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, who wants to release everybody back into the community. We will not do that. We will take a tough approach on law and order.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked a very direct question. Does the Chief Minister also blame the staff or does he accept that it is his incompetent minister?
Mr GILES: I was talking about the member for Nhulunbuy, who wants to release the juveniles and the adult prisoners back onto the streets.
We have to take ourselves back to the eleven-and-a-half years of not only financial but social failure in the Northern Territory, when Labor was in government. I have been talking about the health system in hospitals. When you put into contrast the difference in where our spending would go - we are putting $40m into improving the amenity and upkeep of Royal Darwin Hospital, building Palmerston Regional Hospital with $150m, and we are soon to go out with an expression of interest to build a car park, something that Labor is plagiarising again.
Labor’s approach in government was to spend $1.8bn building a new prison. We are about building hospital beds. Labor members were about building prison beds, and now we hear they want to let everybody back out onto the street. That is the difference between the Labor opposition and the Country Liberals government. That is a disgrace, Labor.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question. Does the Chief Minister blame the staff or does he accept that it is the incompetence of his minister?
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Nightcliff.
Mr GILES: In case people did not hear the message, the CLP is investing $150m-plus into building more hospital beds. Labor’s approach was building prison beds, and now its new policy under its new leader is to release the prisoners into the community.
I do not want to see juveniles in gaol, but when they commit a crime they should do the time. That is the difference between tough on crime and Labor being soft on crime ...
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. As the minister is refusing to answer the question, we assume he blames the staff and the incompetent minister.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down! It is not a point of order.
Ice – Government Action
Mr BARRETT to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you please outline what the government is doing to stop the spread of dangerous drugs like ice?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his question and his leadership through the parliamentary committee looking at the drug element in the Northern Territory. To those with have family members who are using and may be addicted to drugs, our thoughts are with you. We are putting in place a range of measures to ensure we provide a higher level of protection for you, your family member and the broader community.
There is no doubt the drug ice is a growing threat in our community. Users often become violent and aggressive, with many resorting to property crime and organised crime to support their addiction. It is often said to me, under advice from police, that property crime increases as drug use increases.
Earlier this year government established a parliamentary inquiry into methamphetamine use to better understand the drug’s impacts and how we can more effectively respond to the growing problem. It will report in September and I look forward to the member for Blain’s final report. In addition, as part of our role in COAG, the government agreed to establish a joint law enforcement ice strike force with the federal government. We are working in partnership with the new Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and as I announced earlier today the next step government is taking puts the heat on drug traffickers, especially ice traffickers. I announced that we are drafting and looking forward to introducing new laws to tackle these traffickers head on to stop the spread of dangerous drugs in the Northern Territory.
Under the new laws, once passed, Northern Territory Police will have more powers to search for drugs in cars and declare specific roads as drug transit routes. This replicates other jurisdictions, like South Australia, which has similar legislation. Currently police have enhanced search and seizure powers to intercept alcohol and kava destined for Indigenous communities, but these new laws will expand so they can be used to target suspected drug traffickers.
I started answering this question by passing on my thoughts and prayers, and those of the government, to families with chronic addicts. We are doing a great deal to try to reduce the impact of those drugs, but today we have announced we are trying to reduce supply as 80% comes from interstate. We want it to be 0%, but we are taking all measures possible to reduce it in our community.
Police Numbers – Election Promise
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
At the last election the CLP promised 120 extra police officers. The CLP has spent three years promising 120 extra police, yet in estimates we learnt the last three years has only seen 15 extra police recruited in the Territory. Given the violence on our streets over the last few weeks, the 68% increase in house break-ins in Darwin, the 64% increase in break-ins in Palmerston and the 10% increase in assaults in Darwin, how can Territorians trust your government when three years in you have failed to fulfil your fundamental promise to increase police numbers?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, let me tell you about trust. Trust is not asking a question while providing false figures. Trust is not about leading the Northern Territory for eleven-and-a-half years and blowing the budget out of proportion, leaving a deficit of over $1bn and a $5.5bn projected debt. Trust is not about asking about police numbers when you have not committed to putting any more police on the beat to date.
Let me tell you how we respond with trust on the Country Liberals side. We have worked to repay the $5.5bn Labor debt legacy to less than half of what it was less than three years ago. We have committed to delivering a surplus, and I would not be surprised if a surplus is not delivered in the next financial year, not an operational surplus but a full financial surplus. You need to hear that because it is so important.
Fixing Labor’s debt and deficit legacy allows us to commit a full $8.7m in the current budget, which has just gone through estimates, to fulfil our commitment of 120 extra police on the beat, which includes 20 officers based in Alice Springs and 100 across other parts of the Northern Territory. I understand recruitment programs are currently in place - I am getting the nod from the Police minister. An accelerated recruitment campaign - more Territorians are applying for police recruitment than ever before. We are committed to delivering 120 additional police officers.
There is one point of difference where you can measure the level of trust. We went to the election committing 120 extra police - fully-funded, being recruited right now. You went to the election not promising any extra police officers, but delivering a $5.5bn debt legacy and over $1bn in deficit. That is where the point of different is, and that is the level of trust.
More police on the beat, more money in the coffers, less debt for government and for Territorians. What did you have? Financial ruin, no extra police and crime spiralling out of control.
Ice – Government Response
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
Can you please update the House on the government’s response to the ice epidemic?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. The government has recently established a parliamentary committee, as the Chief Minister has advised.
Because of the impacts and level of ice use in the community, as well as the effectiveness of government’s response to the drug and the effect it is having on our community, the Northern Territory parliamentary committee inquiring into ice has received over 30 submissions from a range of organisations. The submissions will be assessed ahead of next month’s public hearings. The committee’s final report is due by September this year. The issue of illicit drug use and supply is of growing concern in the Territory and police are tackling this issue head on. The Northern Territory police have seized over 650 g of methamphetamines, which is already more than half of the amount seized last year.
The use of these drugs and the effect they are having on Territory families are of serious concern for this government. That is why we have established the parliamentary inquiry on methamphetamines to look at our responses and what we could do better, building upon existing strategies to tackle methamphetamine production, importation and supply. Northern Territory Police is working collaboratively with the Australian Border Force, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission to establish the Northern Territory joint law enforcement, Strike Force Nemesis. This group will prioritise investigations relating to establish methamphetamine networks, targeting money laundering, and will conduct criminal assets confiscation operations linked to meth use and networks.
Utilising the ACC’s coercive powers to enhance national knowledge and intelligence holding in relation to meth enablers, Strike Force Nemesis will provide leadership and support to joint agency investigations, operations and intelligence collection initiatives aimed at serious organised crime linked to methamphetamine manufacture, importation and distribution. Strike Force Nemesis has conducted a preliminary proactive joint operation in Adelaide River, where checks were conducted on trucks and vehicles travelling along the Stuart Highway. A number of drug seizes were made and potential illegal immigrants were detained. Further proactive joint operations are planned in incoming weeks.
To compliment this task force a range of amendments strengthening drug and firearm legislations are under way. These include increasing border protection, interception operations, and increased defences for firearm and drug-related offenses.
People may not be aware of why we continue to see more ice being sent to Australia. On a recent trip overseas, I learnt that in the United States, $20 000 to $40 000 can get you 1 kg of ice. In Australia that much costs about $220 000, so the ice manufacturers of the world are chasing the dollar in Australia.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Bees Creek Development – Lowther Road
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
On 29 April this year, during a debate about a Bees Creek subdivision, you said in parliament:
- In my mind, a block of 4000 m2, equivalent of about an acre, is still a pretty big block. In my mind it is Rural Residential.
You have put on exhibition amendments to the NT Planning Scheme which would allow 4000 m2 blocks to be developed on rural living land zoned at Lowther Road, minimum 2 ha. This proposal is in clear contravention of the NT Planning Scheme and the Litchfield land use objectives, as well as the views of the majority of local residents.
As you have now made a statement in this house supporting 4000 m2 blocks as Rural Residential, and your intention to preside over the decision which would allow 4000 m2 blocks, have you not prejudged this decision and could you be seen to be biased?
If that is the case, step aside from making any decision in that regard and hand it over to the Minister for Environment, Mr Gary Higgins, to remove any possible perception of bias.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for the question. That subdivision has been put out for re-exhibition because it was of a controversial nature. I am waiting to receive community feedback regarding that. No decision has been or will be made until after that exhibition period is closed.
I made some comments about 4000 m2 blocks, which equates to about an acre. I do not think acre blocks are common in urban areas. Some people hold the view that we are creating some type of new city there because of this gentleman’s application to subdivide down to one acre.
In Darwin there are some one-acre blocks, but I would not say they are the norm. I would not suggest because a subdivision has one-acre blocks on it that it will be the next city in our region. Member for Nelson, I will keep you well and truly informed about what is going on at Lowther Road. I know it is an area you are interested in ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was could you be seen to be biased? You have already made a statement in parliament that you support this sized block, and that is what you need to make a decision on.
Mr TOLLNER: No, I cannot be seen to be biased because the information I received from the department was that those consultations had been taken care of through some changes made to the proposal by the proponent. Given that most people’s concerns had been met, it was quite okay to approve that.
I was on the verge of doing that when I became aware there was still considerable concern and many people had not seen the proposed changes to it. I put it out for re-exhibition. Again, I am keen to get community feedback on what is happening there. Once that process is completed I look forward to being in a position where I can make an informed decision.
Travel – Government Process
Mr KURRUPUWU to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you outline what is being done to tighten the process around government travel and ensure best value for money is achieved?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question about government travel. I can inform the House about the travel process in the Northern Territory and how it works.
There is a long history around how travel has worked in the Northern Territory. Much of it has been undertaken by paper-based processes. When we first came to government in August 2012 there was a range of departments, members of parliament, and people who booked travel within government which were all directly related to local travel agents in the Northern Territory.
In trying to find cost savings, efficiencies and improved services we have changed the process around travel management practices within government. Approximately 12 months ago we moved to a corporate travel management system, where we use two companies, which are Flight Centre management and Qantas business travel. About 90% of travel in government is undertaken through them. About half of the people on this side of the Chamber use corporate travel and the others use local travel agents.
The decision has been made that from 1 July all government travel will be undertaken through corporate travel, through one of those two corporate travel agents. In September this year there will be a tender process so that one corporate travel agent will be providing services from 1 January 2016.
Through the Department of Business we are very keen to work with travel agents in the Northern Territory to see if we can assist them in forming their own corporate travel management company to tender some of the work government undertakes.
For the last financial year, of the remaining approximate 10% of travel that has not been undertaken through corporate travel, slightly over $5m has gone through 14 different local travel agents throughout the Northern Territory, five of whom received over $200 000, one received over $1m and one received over $3m. The rest is well below $100 000 of travel on an overage basis. We have made some significant changes. That means from 1 January next year everything will be done through a corporate travel agency service.
A review of travel is being undertaken in this financial year backdated to 1 July. KPMG has been appointed to undertake that review, which will provide information about whether we have been receiving value for money and where we can tighten up our processes, especially when moving forward with the corporate travel agent side of things.
Travel – Department Funds
Ms MANISON to MINISTER for EDUCATION
As you know, funding is provided to ministers for travel overseas, interstate and intrastate which is managed through the Department of the Chief Minister. Funding is also provided to educate and develop our students, teachers and schools through the Department of Education. Can you please tell this House why you used funds, which were provided for the purpose of educating students and for use in schools, for your overseas travel?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, for the record, there are different types of travel we take as members in opposition. When we were in opposition we had certain qualifications to travel, and when we took over government sometimes we travel as a minister. Sometimes we are requested to join, in this case, the Department of Education.
There were a number of off-hand trips I undertook. One was to Wellington, New Zealand, for a fact finding mission to look at the open education centre we were building one at the time. We wanted to look at a state-of-the-art, world’s best practice in long-distance education. They push their lessons throughout many of the Samoan Islands across the South Pacific, as well as New Zealand.
It was the same as going to China at the invitation of the Department of Education. That trip was organised by CDU, on contract from the Department of Education; I was invited to join that party, including 10 …
Ms Walker: You asked to go.
Mr CHANDLER: I will pick up on the interjection from the member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr CHANDLER: No, I did not ask to go. I was invited to go for the sole purpose of opening a few doors for the people travelling, including about 10 principals on their study tour program, which I believe was started under the former Labor government. We did not start that initiative; you did. It was to provide services and open doors for the principals. At the time I was Deputy Chief Minister to Adam Giles and holding that position opened some amazing doors in China ...
Ms Fyles: You should have used ministerial travel.
Mr CHANDLER: That could have been arranged. At the end of the day, member for Nightcliff, it is taxpayers’ money. Whether it is the Department of Education or the Chief Minister’s department, our travel is at taxpayers’ expense.
Ms Fyles: Exactly, and you should be accountable for it.
Mr CHANDLER: We are accountable. What in the world, by doing it this way, makes it not accountable? Of course it is open and accountable. This is on the back of a record Education budget this year. We are opening doors around the world to improve educational outcomes not only through our teachers and principals, but for our students.
Public Transport Security
Mr CONLAN to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
Can you please update the House on what the government is doing to increase security on buses throughout the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. This government is making the Territory a safer place for people to work and live. We want Territorians to feel comfortable and safe on our public transport system. To do that our transit officers need to be equipped with the right tools to protect the vast majority of travellers.
In 2014 the Department of Transport undertook a comprehensive risk-based assessment of security on the public transport network. As part of the safety audit, the clear recommendations included the provision of a seven-day presence of platform security guards targeting antisocial behaviour, which was established.
Darwin bus network interchanges and the bus stops at Woolworths on Cavenagh Street were identified within the report. Government has allocated $1m ongoing to support the initiatives in the safety and security review, including security at all of these interchanges. The funding also allowed for the recruitment of two additional transit officers and an additional vehicle to undertake patrols. The safety audit report also outlined improving communication and security response times in emergency situations. This has resulted in the commissioning of a digital two-way radio system in buses, interchanges and transport safety vehicles. The digital two-way radio system improves scope for emergency responses to driver requests through a duress button, which activates real-time location of vehicles to the bus operators and transit security.
The system provides uninterrupted communication capabilities between the base and the driver. Broader radio reception areas and elimination of black spots allow clear communication with transit safety police and bus operators, subsequently reducing the risk to drivers and passengers in emergency situations. The new radios are now fitted to all buses and are operating efficiently.
This government condemns all acts of violence against workers providing services to Territorians. Driver and passenger safety on public bus networks is a key priority of this government. This is clearly illustrated as government undertook a comprehensive, strategic review of the Darwin bus network, which resulted in 25 recommendations approved by the government for implementation. To date, 22 of the 25 recommendations have been implemented. The remaining three have commenced and will be completed later this year. A community awareness campaign called Respect Your Drivers will commence in the coming months.
This government is looking at doing all it can to bring down crime in our community and provide the resources and tools for our transit safety officers and bus drivers to be safe in their business. Unlike the rhetoric we hear from the other side, this government is working. Earlier a number of statistics about police were read out. I am proud of our police force and that we will have 120 additional police officers. If you want to read out those statistics, get it right. Crime is on the way down in the Northern Territory, unlike when Labor was in power.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Travel – Department Funds
Ms MANISON to MINISTER for EDUCATION
We understand that a number of schools, especially secondary schools, are operating in deficit this year as a result of your failed implementation of global school budgeting. How do you justify yourself to those students, parents and staff, when you spend thousands of dollars from the Education budget funds on your own overseas travel?
Why did you not follow the usual travel process for your overseas ministerial travel, and instead fund it from the Department of Education?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, no wonder the previous government was in so much debt. They already think schools are in deficit. Not one school in the Northern Territory is without money in the bank. They have more money in the bank than they have ever seen before, especially from when they were under the Labor government.
Name a school that does not have money in the bank at the moment and is in deficit. You are absolutely wrong. As I said before, the trip we undertook was at the invite of the Department of Education. I do not know what you guys did in government when you were ministers, but we do not have time to sit on the Internet to find out which hotel we will stay at or which airline we will fly with. Other people deal with those things.
I have just worked it out; the previous failed Labor government had many advisers. Where are those advisers today?
Mr Tollner: In the opposition.
Mr CHANDLER: No wonder they have the same ideas.
Ms MANISON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. My question was pretty clear. It went to your overseas ministerial trip. Why did you not follow usual process instead of ripping money out of schools to fund your overseas ministerial trips?
Mr CHANDLER: Again, I think there is a lack of understanding of budgets on that side of the Chamber. This was a fully-funded operational part of Education’s program. It was available and they invited me to come along. At that point my understanding is that the Department of Education handed it over to CDU, which was in partnership for this entire trip because of the relationships it was building with universities in China. They organised it. I had no idea where we staying, who we were flying with or where we were going at that stage.
Ms Manison: Are you serious?
Ms Walker: Why would you go on a trip if you did not even know where you were going?
Mr CHANDLER: I was provided with an invitation to go along and reach some outcomes, because we are an outcome-focused government. In that trip alone we were able to sign off, if memory serves me right, on an MOU with the Anhui Normal University. This MOU was started under the previous Labor government, but they never had it signed off. Part of this trip to China ensured the MOU with the university was signed off.
In addition, I can report that there will be 20 young Chinese students joining the Beat Festival later this year. They are coming all the way from China to be part of Beat Festival celebrations to share some of their experiences and talent with Territorians. This is another outcome of that trip, out of many outcomes. The best thing for me was the one-on-one time I had with principals, which was excellent ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you time has expired.
Public Housing – Antisocial Behaviour
Mr BARRETT to MINISTER for HOUSING
What is the government doing to reduce antisocial behaviour in public housing?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, firstly, I send my condolences to the Brett family at Waterloo Station for their loss.
That was a good question from the member for Blain. He is worried about his constituents.
The Giles government is committed to ensuring safe public housing and strong communities for Territorians. We want tenants to look after their property, pay their rent and be a positive influence in the community. This government has already seen positive results in the area of antisocial behaviour in public housing. We are working hard to develop a policy to ensure further reductions in antisocial behaviour. We will be tough on those who continue to trash their homes, disturb the peace and are violent in the houses.
Public housing is for people who need it most. We want to ensure those who live there respect the property. Unfortunately there are still tenants who are not getting the message that antisocial behaviour is unacceptable. We are putting some tenants on notice; they persist in damaging their properties, acting aggressively and being a general nuisance despite our best efforts. When tenants receive a strike they tend to recognise that their actions are unacceptable and take measures to correct their behaviour.
A strengthened three-strike policy will give the department the ability to identify problem tenants. I will soon begin consultation with stakeholders. The new strengthened three-strike policy will form a part of the Giles government’s Public Housing Safety Strategy, which includes Public Housing Safety Officers and interagency partnerships.
Travel Entitlements – Chief Minister
Ms ANDERSON to CHIEF MINISTER
You revealed to the Sunday Territorian that you no longer live in your electorate of Braitling because of your circumstances now and that you live in Darwin, which we already knew. For every day you are away from your electorate of Braitling you get $350 a day. Have you informed the appropriate agencies, such as the Legislative Assembly, that you no longer live in the electorate of Braitling? Are you not claiming the $350 a day?
Madam SPEAKER: The question is in order, Chief Minister, as it goes to the big issue of public policy in regard to the government and the Chief Minister. If you wish to answer it you can.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am happy to answer the grub.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, withdraw that.
Mr GILES: I withdraw.
The question was completely inaccurate. It did not say any such thing in the Sunday Territorian, for your information. As you know, I live in my electorate of Braitling and I spend a lot of time in Darwin for the job. In fact, the member for Namatjira lives in my electorate of Braitling in Alice Springs, so she knows the electorate quite well. Member for Namatjira, you visited my house many times before deciding to walk away from government and the opportunity to provide solutions for Territorians, especially Indigenous Territorians who could benefit greatly from good policies of this government. Instead of talking about changes to programs such as RJCP and bringing back CDEP, creating the office of Aboriginal Affairs, putting in place the Tourism Infrastructure Development Fund designed to support regional and urban Territorians - instead of being part of the policy solution and providing real outcomes, you want to act like a grub and try to slur people when they are …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, withdraw please.
Mr GILES: I withdraw. Those people are trying to provide good governance for the Northern Territory.
Does it cost money for me to be in Darwin on a more regular basis than being home in my electorate? Yes. Has it cost my former relationship? Yes. Is it easy? No.
I am working in a government that has decreased our debt of $5.5bn by more than half. We have the highest job growth in the nation, the second-lowest unemployment rate, the highest labour force participation rate of around 75%, the largest land release strategy in the Northern Territory’s history and the lowest assault levels since the 1990s …
Ms ANDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked a specific question – you get $350 a day for every day you are not living in Braitling.
Madam SPEAKER: No, member for Namatjira, it is not a point of order. Sit down.
Mr GILES: You can talk about the Remuneration Tribunal Determination hearing at any point in time because everybody is entitled to travel as part of their job. My job demands it more than many other people’s. I understand it is a government-paid expense, but who is delivering outcomes? Who is putting the 120 police on the streets in the Northern Territory? Who did not do that; who did not want to be part of the solution? Who has delivered the lowest assault level since the 1990s in the Northern Territory? Who has provided the largest Education budget, the highest level of school attendance and the best results in the Territory’s history, specifically for Indigenous Territorians, member for Namatjira?
Ms LEE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Who pays the bills?
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down, member for Arnhem.
Mr GILES: You also have a travel allowance while you are in parliament. If you want to talk about government expenditure, talk about your car accident in your former employment, as well as what happened with TIO and who paid your travel bills.
Sentenced to a Job – Results
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
Can you please inform us of the great results the Sentenced to a Job program is achieving?
Ms Fyles: You mean the 11 breakouts and two break-ins.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the first thing I hear from the member for Nightcliff is negativity and smarminess, which is what we come to expect from an opposition - little more than a rabble when you listen to them.
The members opposite, at every opportunity, want to release prisoners from the corrections system back into the community. We heard the member for Nhulunbuy this morning complaining and bemoaning the fact that:
- … Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the March quarter, which shows that for the first time the Northern Territory’s imprisonment rate has passed 900 people per 100 000; the national rate is 194 people per 100 000. Western Australia has the second-highest imprisonment rate …
She went on to say it is an outrage we have that many people in prison. I have a suggestion for the member for Nhulunbuy, if she does not want people to go to prison perhaps she should suggest they do not commit crimes against fellow Territorians. I also point out to the member for Nhulunbuy that one of the great drivers of our imprisonment rate is a welfare system that she thoroughly supports, and now she wants to lower the number of people in the custodial environment.
How will you do that; who will you release; will you name them; is it the wife beaters or the other assault merchants? Maybe it is merely the people who break into our houses and steal our cars. Who will you release? That is my question to the member opposite. They will then say, ‘We will not release anybody, but it is wrong to have so many people in custody’. Those opposite are a joke.
They built and gave us the $1.8bn prison for a growth in prison numbers which they expected to be greater than it is today. They knew those prison numbers would go up and they built a prison to accommodate it. Now they say we spend too much money on corrections. We are paying your bills. That is why we spend so much money on corrections, because we are paying off the debt legacy you have given us.
We have extracted from prisoners $285 742 in rent. We are the government that collects rent from prisoners. In relation to how much money they pay back to victims of crime, we have collected $90 287 from these prisoners. The biggest contribution has gone to the federal government in the form of income tax, which we estimate is in the order of about $500 000 to $600 000. Prisoners pay.
Travel – Education Minister’s Trip to China
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for EDUCATION
Following your China trip you flew over Darwin and returned home via Perth. Can you tell us what meetings you attended in Perth?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I believe you are right; we passed through Perth, but that was the return journey. I was required to be back to Darwin at a certain time. They were the flights available. Yes, I too thought it was absurd. I have done it before, where you fly from Asia to Perth or Sydney, only to turn around and fly back to Darwin. I am not sure but I do not think other flights were available. Those flights were booked for us to get back.
Ms Walker: Did you attend any meetings?
Mr CHANDLER: No, a big plane flies in and lands at the airport. We had to leave one side because it is an international terminal, and we had to go to the other side of the airport because that was the domestic side to fly back to Darwin. I believe we had about an hour. Then we hopped on a smaller plane and flew back to Darwin. I was returning from overseas.
I have gone via Sydney in the past; that was the only time via Perth. On quite a few occasions we were able to fly straight to Darwin. My preference, by the way, is to come straight here rather than flying for four hours one way only to fly four hours back. It was just a transit; there were no meetings, nothing. I do not know if you can be more open than that.
As ministers, we do not work out where we are flying or where we are staying. Other people organise those things, member for Nhulunbuy.
Again, this trip was at the invite of the Department of Education and I chose to attend. Yes, it opened doors. Were there some fantastic outcomes? Yes, and there will continue to be fantastic outcomes. If I was asked to go again and repeat a similar tour, the answer would be yes. That is because of the value it had for those principals and the academics from CDU. The relationships have been strengthened, which were also strengthened when the former Labor government went to the same province. We could have picked any province in the world, but it made sense to go back to where you had gone and re-establish those links.
That is why it was important to go; we re-established those links. We got to meet people such as one of the Chinese ministers for Education. Did we go out to dinner? Yes. Did we go for a private walk afterwards? Yes, we did. We did all of the things we were told would build a solid relationship between us and them. Will it lead to improvements in those future relationships? Yes, it will. I encourage any future ministers to keep travelling to Asia. Whoever is in the future government, keep the link strong between Asia and the Northern Territory.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
Travel – Education Minister’s Trip to China
Travel – Education Minister’s Trip to China
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for EDUCATION
The Chief Executive of the Department of Education and the principals returned to Darwin from China via Singapore. Did you fly over Darwin to return via Perth because you could not get two business class tickets on a flight out of Singapore?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I have no idea. On the last trip, where we went north into Asia, we flew Jetstar. I was fortunate enough to get the front seats. They paid extra to get the front seats. I have been fortunate enough to fly business class. I have also flown economy and I have flown discount economy, depending on whatever fits the schedule. I do not know how busy you guys were when you were in government, but this is an extremely busy job. You need to take certain trips going certain ways …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question. Did you go via Perth so you could travel business class?
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Nightcliff.
Mr CHANDLER: I have no idea why that flight was different to the others. We had different schedules to keep. I did not stay in China for the entire time the rest of the delegation was there. I was there for the time I could allocate to that trip.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Prisoner Bus Transfer
Mr CONLAN to MINISTER for CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
Can you please inform the House of the recent cost-effective measures to transfer prisoners by way of bus or coach from Alice Springs to Darwin?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is a response to an article that appeared in the NT News some time ago. It was a front page article based on leaked information. The intent of the person who did the leaking was mischievous. Whatever the case, there was a rationale behind it.
I will start by making it clear there were no high-security prisoners on that bus. They were low-rated and medium-rated security prisoners. The medium-rated security prisoners were appropriately handcuffed and restrained during the journey. Low-rated security prisoners were not handcuffed. This is the same rating of prisoner we allow into pensioners homes to mow their front lawn. Our classification system exists for a reason.
I am happy to inform the House and the people of the Northern Territory that the trip from Alice Springs to Darwin was incident free. A number of options were examined in relation to how this trip could be conducted. We could have used two Coaster buses and one secure vehicle for the cost of $47 800. We could have organised two charter flights for 12 to 14 prisoners per flight for a cost of $57 000.
The bus company option was used. We hired the bus, put staff on overtime and organised flights for the staff to return to Alice Springs after the transfer of prisoners, at the reasonable sum of $19 000.
Running a prison system, like any element of government, costs money. However, I always encourage public service departments to go about their business, and I note the efforts being made by a number of my departments to find cost savings in an efficient manner.
Nobody was in danger; there was no risk to the community. The transfer of the prisoners was conducted in an orderly fashion and in good time. I congratulate the Corrections department for using common sense in the way it goes about its business.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions to be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016