2014-11-27
CLP Government – Territorians’ Trust
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
This has been the worst year for the Territory, under the worst government ever. It will go down in history as the year the CLP government completely lost the trust of Territorians by selling our public assets without a mandate. Your sale of TIO has left Territorians vulnerable with no guarantee of an insurance safety net.
Your port lease, a sale by another name, will result in higher commercial rates for freight that will escalate the cost of living. I seek leave to table a quote from an LNP Queensland member of parliament:
- Leases are a ‘dishonest, sneaky way’ to undertake asset sales.
Leave granted.
Your crippling Power and Water tariffs will rise again on 1 January. How do you expect to restore the trust of Territorians when you still refuse to hear that you have no mandate to sell, or sneakily lease, our public assets?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. What an opportunity. Let us look around the room today. I look at my colleague, the Attorney-General, who will talk about the crime stats being the lowest since the 1990s when the CLP was last in government. I look to my right and see the minister for Lands and Planning, who has the largest land release program in the Territory’s history, with 6500 blocks of land and more than $130m from this year’s budget. He is the only Education minister to take Indigenous education head on and try to drive it. The Minister for Infrastructure, behind me, has the biggest infrastructure and roads budget in the Territory’s history. The Minister for Community Services has injected life back into homelands and outstations with $5200 per property. This never happened under Labor.
The Minister for Health and for Alcohol Rehabilitation is going ahead with the Palmerston Regional Hospital and alcohol mandatory treatment. It is the first time anyone has had the guts or the courage to bring in alcohol mandatory treatment and drive reform for people who have chronic alcohol abuse and misuse issues. The Minister for Tourism has the largest increase in tourism numbers in the Territory’s history. I will not go into sport. I look at the member for Katherine, the minister for Primary Industry – the biggest live cattle trade ever through our port. He has re-established and diversified our pastoral industry with two hydrocarbon licences issued this year, one for oil and one for gas, the first in 38 years. Tell me if that is a bad year. I ask you to re-evaluate where you are looking at things.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Chief Minister has talked about everything but the question. How do you expect to restore the trust Territorians had when you have no mandate to sell public assets?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: Territorians say now they have an agenda and know where they are heading – developing northern Australia. They understand asset sales are part of business. They understand building assets is part of business. That is what we do as a government each and every day. They understand that back in the days when the Fokker Friendship was still flying into the airport and they wanted to expand it for 747s, they had to extend the runway. That is asset reinjection and development.
They know that bigger ships will turn up at our port and we need bigger quay line, port infrastructure and cruise ships, and we need to invest in infrastructure. That is what it is all about.
I hope you give me another question on assets; I am really looking forward to the answer.
Crime Statistics on Property Offences
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you please outline for the Assembly what the most recent crime statistics reveal about property offences since the Country Liberals came to government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. I referred to the Attorney-General answering a crime question today, but you have asked me one and I will acknowledge the hard work the Attorney-General, as minister for Corrections, is doing with the Sentenced to a Job program, reforming the lives of criminals and trying to get them back on the straight and narrow. Well done, minister.
You are quite right in asking about crime figures in the Northern Territory. The people on the other side would suggest, like Henny Penny, that the sky is falling in and it is all doom and gloom. They do not hear the message. Territorians know the Territory is the safest it has been since the 1990s.
Our tough law and order approach, backed by the efforts to achieve a 10% crime reduction strategy promised at the last election, has seen home break-ins across the Territory drop by a staggering 30%. You try to tell me Territorians are not feeling safer. Commercial break-ins and property damage were down 21% in the September 2014 quarter, compared to the same time two years ago when we came to government. This is why people are feeling safer.
Let me talk about a range of other areas, particularly property offences and the decreases across the regions. Darwin is down 19%, Palmerston is down 13%, and Alice Springs is down 28%. The member for Barkly has to be happy with Tennant Creek, because it is down 38%.
The member for Nhulunbuy must be happy, because property offences are down by 19%. You tell me that people are worried about the last 12 months. They will say to you they are now feeling safer because we are getting tougher on law and order. There is more policing, alcohol mandatory treatment, and tougher end sentencing, plus we are rehabilitating criminals who find themselves in gaol.
Alcohol-related assaults, Territory-wide, are down 18%. Katherine is down by 19%. Alice Springs is down by a whopping 31%.
Alcohol-related assaults in Tennant Creek – the member for Barkly should be giving us all a pat on the back – are down by, wait for it, 50%.
It has been a good 12 months, member for Barkly, my oath, particularly if you live in the Barkly.
Foundation 51 – Call for Inquiry
Ms FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
This year will go down in history as the year of the CLP dodgy deal. There have been serious questions that you have refused to answer about water allocations, land deals, and the dodgiest of all, Foundation 51. The activities of this CLP slush fund cast a cloud over your government and our justice system.
Under pressure over a clear conflict of interest, Foundation 51 director, Graeme Lewis, resigned from his position as Chair of the Land Development Corporation Advisory Board. Following revelations on questionable donations …
Members interjecting.
Ms FYLES: … to the CLP, Foundation 51 director, Peter Maley, resigned …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Nightcliff, please pause. Honourable members, I remind you of Standing Order 51:
- No Member may converse aloud or make any noise or disturbance, which in the opinion of the Speaker is designed to interrupt or has the effect of interrupting a Member speaking.
I know it is the last day of sittings for the year, but a little bit of silence is in order, please.
Ms FYLES: Following revelations about questionable donations to the CLP, Foundation 51 director, Peter Maley, resigned from the office of magistrate.
Chief Minister, will you end the year on the right note by finally taking steps to have an inquiry into Foundation 51 for serious breaches of our law?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question.
We need an inquiry to look at how we have achieved such success in two years, how we have moved to an operational surplus to be a full three years ahead of budget in the Northern Territory, while diversifying the pastoral industry, fixing tourism, addressing drunks, achieving more housing and land release than ever before, helping criminals and helping people in homelands. All of this has been going on, and we get negativity on the other side. We hear the stuff about assets today because you do not understand it. I will educate a few people who may be listening.
Today we will introduce some legislation to bring more investment into the port. People may not remember that when CDU first started Labor was opposed to it. We support CDU; it was a great investment by a previous Country Liberals government, but Labor opposed it.
Some may remember the Darwin to Alice Springs railway line. It was very happily opened by Clare Martin, but opposed by Labor.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I asked a very direct question about an inquiry into Foundation 51.
Mr GILES: Do you remember building the Sheraton in Alice Springs? Labor opposed it. When we sold it they opposed that too.
Ms Fyles: What are you hiding?
Ms Lawrie: You are avoiding the question.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, can I get a bit of peace from over there?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: Building the resort at Uluru was opposed by Labor, as was selling it.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I know the Chief Minister wants to talk about resorts because he needs a holiday, but Territorians want to know when he will hold an inquiry into Foundation 51.
Mr GILES: Uluru is one of our greatest tourist attractions. It was built, developed, supported, disposed of and allowed to free up by the Country Liberals – all opposed by Labor. I think back to the times when Uluru and the resort were being built, and I think about the alternate tourism opportunities then. All I can remember is Mike and Mal – Ask the Leyland Brothers. That is the opposition’s proposal.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! With 30 seconds to go, we do not need an historical lesson on the Leyland brothers. Answer the question. When will we have an inquiry?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: ‘Ask the Leyland brothers, Mike and Mal’ is the proposal for tourism from the Labor opposition. That would have to be their only tourism policy, maybe created in the TARDIS under the old Doctor Who regime, which is now being cut by the ABC. Mike and Mal should represent previous days in tourism policy, not today’s events.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: No, the Chief Minister has concluded.
Alcohol Supply and Consumption
Mr KURRUPUWU to MINISTER for ALCOHOL REHABILITATION
Assault rates have plunged under the Country Liberals suite of alcohol measures, including alcohol mandatory treatment, Alcohol Protection Orders and temporary beat locations. Can you update the Assembly on the trend in alcohol consumption and supply in the Territory since the Country Liberals came to government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. The greatest challenge facing the Northern Territory is still the rivers of grog. Eleven years of Labor saw alcohol consumption in the Northern Territory peak in 2005. Eleven years was squandered by Labor, which did not have a clue as to how to stem the rivers of grog.
In two years of the CLP we have reached the lowest rates of alcohol consumption per capita in the Northern Territory since 2001. If you do not call that success I do not know what is. Alcohol is the scourge of our communities in the Northern Territory. It is one of the biggest reasons for medical problems, health problems and social problems, not to mention the terrible crime surges we have had in the past. Getting on top of this problem has been a priority of this government, and we have done it.
In 2013, just six months into government, we were already getting on top of it. We saw Territory-wide alcohol consumption per capita drop by 2%. It was down 1% in Darwin, 6% in Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek, and 14% in Nhulunbuy. If that does not put a smile on the member for Nhulunbuy’s face today then I do not know what will, because that is fantastic. It is a great result and is about putting in place policies that work. Yesterday in parliament the sad and sorry opposition was still chanting the merits of the failed Banned Drinker Register. It failed unequivocally and they will never accept it. Instead of the Banned Drinker Register we have put in a range of strategies which have worked. The empirical evidence is there for all to see.
Alcohol Protection Orders, alcohol mandatory treatment and the temporary beat locations have made an astounding difference to communities, such as Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. We are on top of it. We did not sit on our hands and say the Banned Drinker Register is working despite every piece of evidence to the contrary. Those two mechanisms and a range of other legislative changes to get on top of crime and the grog problem have been extremely effective.
We are now waiting for the statistics for 2014. We feel very confident on this side of the Chamber that there will be a further reduction in alcohol consumption per capita in 2014.
Schools – Funding and Budget Policy
Ms MANISON to MINISTER for EDUCATION
You asked Territorians to trust you with our children’s education, but under the CLP Territory schools have endured two years of savage cuts. Under the new global school budget policy, principals and school councils have to make even more cuts for the 2015 school year. Schools have to cut teacher and support staff numbers and programs for 2015 to meet their budget shortfalls. This is despite the fact you promised:
- No school will be worse off in 2015 as a result of the introduction of global school budgets, in fact many schools will be better off as they’re finally funded for the needs of their students.
Why will you not honour your promise that no school will be worse off?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member for Wanguri. I respect the member for Wanguri for being among the best behaved in this Chamber in the last 12 months. In fact, the member for Wanguri has only had two warnings. It is great that she is now the opposition’s spokesperson for education, because it sets a good example for everybody. Unlike Henny Penny and Johnny Cash over there, we have somebody …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, withdraw that comment.
Mr CHANDLER: I withdraw that comment about Johnny Cash, but not about Henny Penny. This is the philosophy of the other side of the House. They do not have any policies when it comes to education, other than a failed mechanism they had …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Honour your promise that our schools will not be worse off in 2015.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr CHANDLER: The difference between this side of the House and that side is that we trust schools. Global budgeting is about putting trust back into schools. They do not trust schools; they want everything centrally funded. They want everything controlled by big brother, but it is wrong. The information they have is wrong again.
Why do we not have every school across the Northern Territory knocking on my door saying, ‘We do not have the money we had’?
The global budgets have been out for a long time. I can talk about the consultation which has gone on for months and months ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr CHANDLER: … COGSO and school councils have been involved …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please pause. Members for Wanguri and Nightcliff, cease interjecting now.
Mr CHANDLER: The difference is we had 11 years of Labor and there was money spent on education; there is no doubt about that. Let us look at some of the facts. There were 178 more students in five years ...
Members interjecting.
__________________
SUSPENSION OF MEMBER
Members for Wanguri and Nightcliff
SUSPENSION OF MEMBER
Members for Wanguri and Nightcliff
Madam SPEAKER: Please pause, minister. I asked you both to seek interjecting and neither of you did. Leave the Chamber.
__________________
Mr CHANDLER: That is three members now; I will have to change my statistics.
We had 11 years of a Labor government. In the last five of those years there were 178 more students in the Northern Territory. At the same time, the Department of Education grew by 780 employees. Let us look at some of the positives. Thirty per cent of the staff in education were on contracts under Labor. We gave 380 teachers permanency. Under Labor, contracted teachers’ last pay day was the last day of school ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. With 30 seconds left to go, why will you not honour your promise that no school will be worse off?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, please be seated.
Mr CHANDLER: Under the Labor government, contracted teachers’ pay finished on the last day of school. We made the decision to pay teachers through the holidays because the majority of these teachers will come back. Unlike Labor, we pay our teachers through the holidays, as they should be paid, because we value teachers as well as education.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. This is not about holiday pay; this is about no school being worse off in 2015.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down.
Mr CHANDLER: I have answered the question.
Law and Order Legislation
Introduced by CLP Government
Introduced by CLP Government
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to ATTORNEY-GENERAL and JUSTICE
The people of Drysdale want our government to be tough on crime. Since forming government over two years ago, you have been strident in introducing tough law and order legislation to parliament. Can you please inform the House of your efforts in this area?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I know from regular conversations with the member for Drysdale that she consistently raises issues of crime, and law and order, throughout the Northern Territory. I congratulate her for her passion in this area.
Since coming to government – and being part of the worst government in the Territory’s history, according to the members opposite – we have introduced the Pillars of Justice philosophy, a criminal justice system that is continuous from the point of arrest to beyond parole. We have introduced legislation that sees the indefinite detention of sex offenders, those who represent a risk to the community, beyond the expiration of their sentence. We recently have restrained a person under this legislation whose victims are aged from 6 to 80 years of age, and I am glad we have that person under restraint.
We have introduced mandatory sentencing for assaults on workers, because workers have a right to go about their business in the workplace unmolested, and those people who assault workers should go to gaol. We have introduced mandatory sentencing for violent offenders, which was opposed by that bunch opposite. We went to the last election with one-punch legislation and they opposed it. We were 18 months ahead of the rest of the country in introduction to this legislation. We have the toughest legislation in the country for criminal property forfeiture. We have been to the High Court, fighting those organisations and people who seek to limit our powers to take drug offenders’ houses off them. Those drug offenders were unsuccessful. We have also introduced the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act. We have the strongest and best domestic violence reduction policy strategy in the country, and it will become a benchmark for this nation.
We have introduced the Northern Territory’s public sex offender website, which we will roll out next year. There is $2m committed to youth boot camps. These camps have been operated and will continue to be. We have turned our sentenced prisoners into taxpayers who pay rent for their cells, and they will continue to do so until such time as they stop being criminals and become citizens.
Electronic monitoring, which we spoke about yesterday, is also a part of what we have done. Yesterday we introduced paperless arrests to ensure police can be more effective, which was opposed by those opposite. We have dealt with corruption issues in the public service. We have seen a number of people go to court and a number of separations from the public service.
Today’s headlines screamed about the fines recovery process, which we are now clawing back from the disarray left by Labor. Next year there will be pre-trial disclosure so the prosecution system can be far more effective in the Northern Territory than it currently is. So much for being part of the worst government in the Territory’s history.
Schools – Global Budgeting
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for EDUCATION
You promised schools would be no worse off due to global budgeting, but schools will need more staff to handle the extra administrative load. I know one school – which cannot be named for obvious reasons – is now down at least two positions. Is that school not worse off?
Yesterday you still did not clearly answer the question. Will the recently announced teacher pay increases be fully funded by Treasury in the 2015 global school budgets? In other words, will schools have to use some of their 2015 global budget to help pay for the wage increases that were not factored into that budget? On that question, can we have a yes or a no?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the member for Nelson. There are a couple of areas we need to get right. Global school budgeting is about shifting control from the Department of Education to our schools. That is where the decisions should be made; it is where the understanding of the school community and its needs are well known. I have already answered the question in regard to the final 3%.
Ms Lawrie: No you have not.
Mr CHANDLER: Yes I have, Leader of the Opposition.
In the global budgets which have gone out, we acknowledge there is a 3% shortfall. We acknowledged that from the word go. Let us unpack this. When the global budgets were put together we did not have, and still do not have, an agreement.
Ms Lawrie: Will you top it up?
Mr CHANDLER: Yes, I have already said that. You obviously do not listen, Leader of the Opposition. Education has had discussions with Treasury and this government because we know the October 2015 increase of 3% is not factored into the global budget at the moment. There will be a top up in the next financial year.
Ms Lawrie: When?
Mr CHANDLER: When it is needed. That is how it should work. They do not have to pay the teachers the 3% until October. No wonder the Territory was in the state it was in if this was the quality of our Treasurer.
They do not need the money now …
Ms Lawrie: They need the advice now.
Mr CHANDLER: They have the information that there will be a 3% top up.
Ms Lawrie: Put it in writing to them.
Mr CHANDLER: It is in Hansard; it is public. Is everyone listening? Teachers, do not fear. The only fear should be of the opposition. The only policy they have when it comes to education is fearmongering. We were here the same time last year, remember? Schools were going to close; hundreds of teachers were going to lose their jobs, and what did we see? The sky was going to fall in.
Global budgeting is about putting control back into the schools, because we trust schools to make the decisions best suited to their community, not someone sitting in the Mitchell Centre. Sorry, and no disrespect to the Department of Education, but the principals, school councils and teachers in those schools know what the services are.
Member for Nelson, I have given you the commitment that the 3% top up will be there, but it will be part of the 2015-16 financial year. The pay rise is not due until October; the 3% top up will be there.
Ms Lawrie: So they will miss the 3%?
Mr CHANDLER: No!
___________________________
VISITORS
Nightcliff Primary School
VISITORS
Nightcliff Primary School
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of a Year 6 class from Nightcliff Primary School, accompanied by Mr K – I am too scared to say your surname, Kokkinomagoulos – and Jo Glennon. On behalf of honourable members, welcome to Parliament House. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
___________________________
Road Safety
Mr KURRUPUWU to MINISTER for TRANSPORT
Can you please advise what steps the government has taken in the area of road safety? With the busy Christmas period approaching, how can we get people to heed the message?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. He is very concerned because he lives on an island where there are far too many accidents. This will be an issue on this side of the House. For those listening to this, there will be many celebrations over Christmas. Much to the disgust of the doomsayers, naysayers and Henny Pennies over there who think the sky is falling in, there is much to celebrate. I have listened this morning to so much worth celebrating and we have not even finished yet. I hope we get some more questions in relation to how badly we are supposedly doing.
I am a compassionate guy; I feel for the opposition. Listening to the positive message from this side, it is no wonder they are depressed.
On a serious note, we need to look at the take-home message for the festive season. It is for all of us to drive or ride with care and not put others at risk. It is a very serious issue around who will be your Sober Bob. Who will take you home when you have been out celebrating all of the great things in Territory and what a great place it is to be?
The Who’s Your Sober Bob? campaign is supported by AFL star Steven Motlop and 2014 Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris, along with representatives of the Northern Territory emergency services, St John Ambulance and the Australian Hotels Association. This campaign is about planning. We know about planning on this side as we do plenty of planning, unlike the other side. People need to plan who will take them home and how they can have a great time, celebrating the great things in the Territory.
This person does not necessarily have to be Bob; it could be a bus driver, a taxi driver, a mother, brother, aunt or uncle – someone who has not been drinking and is not affected by any other drug.
Pubs, clubs and outlets throughout the Territory support this campaign, as do our emergency services, because we want to prevent alcohol-related deaths and injuries at Christmas time. The consequences of not making the right decision or not planning ahead can not only be fatal to you, your families and your loved ones, but can also have dire impact on someone else’s life and their family.
I thank the Australian Hotels Association and their members, RADD – Recording Artists, Actors & Athletes Against Drink Driving – the emergency services and St John Ambulance for their support.
The one important question we all have to ask ourselves this festive season is: who is your Sober Bob? There is a range of checklists. We have to make sure our cars are registered and in good nick, that we wear a seat belt, drive responsibly and that the person behind the wheel is sober.
Palmerston Regional Hospital – Progress
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for HEALTH
You came to government telling Territorians, ‘Trust us, we will deliver Labor’s new Palmerston hospital project’. It is two years later and Territorians have had to put up with the Royal Darwin Hospital in crisis with bed block, the double-bunking of patients, long wait times and still no hospital in Palmerston. You are privatising nearly everything to do with the Palmerston hospital, but you expect Territorians to believe it will still be a public hospital. With your track record of bungling, how can Territorians believe you when you say you will deliver Labor’s Palmerston hospital, and that it will be open for business in 2018?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. In the words of the Chief Minister, I do not accept the premise of that question. ‘Trust me, I will deliver Labor’s Palmerston Regional Hospital’ – I have never said that in my life and I stand here proudly saying that.
We are getting on with building the CLP’s Palmerston Regional Hospital. You might remember 18 months ago that we identified a new 45 ha site, unlike the minuscule little block at the back of Palmerston which Labor identified. Since then we have been working extremely hard; we have barely lifted our heads over the last 12 months to take a breath, because we know how important this new hospital is, not just for people in the Palmerston and the rural area, but right across the greater Darwin area.
This hospital will be a wonderful level 3 hospital. It will have 79 beds in the first place and will take pressure off the Royal Darwin Hospital.
Keep in mind the former Labor government sat on this for 11 years. It was not until the eleventh hour of their final term in office that they decided to do some work on developing simply a concept for the Palmerston Regional Hospital. They did not do anything else apart from commissioning some people to work up the designs. We have progressed it in two years far more than they did in 11 years – another example of the hand-sitting of the former Labor government.
We got on with it and, despite the criticisms from the former Labor government – now the opposition, I am happy to say – we are still getting on with it. Last week we issued an advertisement asking for an expression of interest for the design, build, operation and maintenance of the Palmerston Regional Hospital ...
Ms Walker: Sounds like a private hospital to me. How much will it cost Palmerston people to go there?
Mrs LAMBLEY: Despite what the member for Nhulunbuy is chanting as I speak, it will be a public hospital. Have no doubt that it will be public. They do not understand these new arrangements when it comes to providing hospital services throughout the country, but it is the latest trend; you privatise the design, build, operation and maintenance of hospitals into the future. It is past tense for governments to be fully responsible for the whole realm of that process.
It will be privately designed, built, operated and maintained, but it will be a public hospital. We are well on time. The time schedules are public and have been for many months now. We are on track to have the construction of the new hospital in 2016.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Schools – Growing Enrolment Trends
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for EDUCATION
A number of schools have growing enrolment trends, putting pressure on existing infrastructure. What has the government been doing to ensure these schools are ready for their students in the New Year?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She visits me to talk about education, not only in her electorate of Drysdale in Palmerston, but also other schools across the Northern Territory.
On coming to government there was one clear agenda we had, which was to ensure we were seen as a government that planned well. This includes school infrastructure. At the time, we commissioned John Glasby to look at the trends, the population and where the epicentre of growth will be in the different regions. That report demonstrated where we needed some infrastructure, which is what we are working on. We have been working on a range of infrastructure over the last 12 months to ensure they are ready for schools to start in 2015.
I take this opportunity to talk about three schools. Darwin Middle School’s $1.06m for a double classroom will accommodate 54 additional students and will be used for physical education and outdoor learning subjects. Durack School is in the member for Drysdale’s electorate. A $1m expansion of the preschool there allows for another 44 places. Adding to that, it frees up additional space in the primary school which had been used for preschool use. There will be $1.5m for Larrakeyah Primary School for two new classrooms and a flexible learning area. Classrooms can accommodate up to 54 students. These are flexible learning areas that cater for the growing needs. It does not stop there, but that is what we have ready for 2015.
Already in the pipeline, we have committed $20m for a new special needs school in Palmerston. There is $30m for a new special needs school in Casuarina, $44m for a new school in Zuccoli – all committed. We need to plan for the future. Let us face it; we are a pro-development government. We know the place will grow. There are major things on the horizon for the Northern Territory, not just here in the Top End but across the Northern Territory. A real and effective government gets on and plans for that growth. That is what is happening at the moment; we have a number of facilities ready for the 2015 year in schools where the pressure is being felt. We are planning now for new schools. Unlike the previous government, which waited for things to break before they fixed them, we are planning for future growth in the Northern Territory. The education space in the Northern Territory needs a focus on infrastructure and what happens in classrooms.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Child Protection
Ms MOSS to MINISTER for CHILDREN and FAMILIES
You have seriously breached the trust placed in you to care for our most vulnerable Territorians: children in need of your care and protection. On your watch there are now more than 900 children under the care of your department, more than ever before. The 2013-14 Children’s Commissioner’s Annual Report shows reviews of 1160 cases in your department have not commenced or are overdue. Your government has not had the decency to formally respond to recommendations tabled in 2012 aimed at preventing and reducing youth suicides.
How can you continue to betray the trust of vulnerable Territorians by refusing to properly support a child protection system in crisis?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I do not know how it is criticism of this government to say we have taken more children into care than ever before. Unfortunately, Children and Families has to take children into care when their parents neglect, abuse or, in some instances, sexually abuse them.
I take issue with the media release put out by a member last week, where she referred to a child of 12 as a young woman in a sexual relationship. She is not a young woman; she is a child. That matter will be going to court, because we will be alleging the man having sex with that child was raping her. That is about protecting people, not suggesting this person is a young woman. What an outrage! When I read that media release the fury in my heart rose. To hear the member then say we are neglecting these children is a demonstrable …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. There are 1160 cases in the department.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. The minister is answering the question.
Mr ELFERINK: This is a demonstrable abandonment of where you have to lay the blame, member for Casuarina. You have to lay the blame with parents who neglect their children – parents you make excuses for. We do not back away …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask that the minister direct his comments through the Chair.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Barkly.
Mr ELFERINK: The member for Casuarina would make excuses for parents who neglect their children. We do not step away from that. If anybody reads the reports to which she is referring, they will clearly see in those as well as the annual report that the number of notifications has gone up because police have been extremely active in this area. That has led to an increased number of investigations, but, fortunately, not necessarily a large increase in substantiations over time. To play politics with these children in the way …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The report shows a review of 1160 cases …
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr ELFERINK: The problem is that the Leader of the Opposition does not understand these children are not a political football, because that is what she is trying to do. This is using these children to try to embarrass government. I am not embarrassed that we are taking strident steps.
Today, I am proud to introduce a bill for permanent protection orders for kids who will be placed with families which will continue to care for them and love them in the future. I will not be an apologist to local interest groups when the interests of children are, and always will be, paramount in my mind. I will not play politics, which is what is happening across the floor.
Cyclone Tracy 40th Anniversary
Mrs FINOCCHIARO to CHIEF MINISTER
In my role as parliamentary secretary you have tasked me to ensure there are meaningful and respectful events for the 40th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy. I am proud to say the Giles government is investing in a significant program of events to help commemorate the 40th anniversary this year. Can you please tell the Assembly what is planned over the coming weeks and provide some details of the new Cyclone Tracy exhibition which has just opened at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. As Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister, she has had a tremendous role in looking after some of the events for the 40th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy. The City of Darwin -- the council – has been doing the majority of the work in this area, but we have been working cooperatively in making sure we commemorate the 40th anniversary.
The government has invested $100 000 into an exhibit which was officially opened last week at the museum. The previous exhibit there was 20 years old and we had an opportunity to renew that.
It is good to see a number of new and exciting additions to the refreshed exhibition, including interactive stations and a never before displayed 8 m railway tower signal which was bent over during Cyclone Tracy. We have put that there for many to see.
As part of our wider program of events, Territorians have been fascinated to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Cyclone Tracy collection put aside at the Northern Territory Archives Centre.
The white glove tours have been impressive and popular. I remember launching that at the archives centre and looking through some of the historical photographs and documents which have been collected in the 40-year history.
Next Wednesday I will be attending an all faiths service at the Christ Church Cathedral at 5.45 pm, remembering the Cyclone Tracy event 40 years ago, and I encourage all Territorians to attend that service. I will then hold a public reception at Parliament House, and I invite the general public to come along.
The 40th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy reception will be an opportunity to reflect on the resilience of Territorians – and of Darwin – and how Darwin has developed over the last 40 years, against all efforts of the Labor party which stood in the way of everything.
The Cyclone Tracy remembrance of 40 years is an opportunity to reflect on the 66 people who lost their lives, their families, friends, the livelihoods that changed from that point and the businesses that were lost. It is a chance to acknowledge those who helped rebuild the city and the Territory, and to thank those who moulded Darwin into the thriving metropolis – or urban city – that it is today.
The emotional impact still resonates for many people who went through Cyclone Tracy, and I am sure the church service and the function at Parliament House will provide opportunity to pay tribute to this pivotal moment in the Territory’s history and its landscape.
If people would like more information, log on to www.cyclonetracy.nt.gov.au. I look forward to seeing many people cast their minds back to what happened 40 years ago.
Cabinet Reshuffle
Mr VOWLES to CHIEF MINISTER
You have broken trust with Territorians in remote communities by failing to deliver on your big promises. Three members walked out of your government because of your breach of trust with the bush; one has returned, but you still are not delivering in the bush. Two ministers have been publically disgraced this year; one for swearing at a female colleague in the vilest terms, and another for homophobic slurs.
We know you are about to reshuffle the deck chairs to pay off members for supporting you in the TIO sell-out. Tell us, will you rule out the member for Fong Lim, big Dave Tollner, returning to Cabinet next week?
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is a clear breach of Standing Order 112. There are imputations, epithets and nearly every aspect of Standing Order 112 has been breached by this question.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Johnston, if it is a question about a reshuffle of the Northern Territory Cabinet, can you ask the question about that, without so much of a preamble?
Mr VOWLES: Chief Minister, will you rule out big Dave, the member for Fong Lim, returning to Cabinet in next week’s reshuffle?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Johnston for his question. There is one thing I will rule out – you are not getting a guernsey. The last day of sittings and that is your question. Let us stop and look around. There are 13 members on this side of the Chamber in government, plus the Speaker. On that side of the Chamber there are seven, and two of your mob have been kicked out. Two could not even be bothered turning up to parliament today.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please do not refer to people who have left the Chamber.
Mr GILES: One of those members has been the following: a CEO; leader of the Papunya community; an ATSIC regional councillor; an ATSIC commissioner; a member and minister of the Labor Party; an Independent member; a member and a minister for Indigenous affairs in the CLP – that was in both parties. She is now a member of the Palmer United Party, which can very proudly hold up Jacqui Lambie in Tasmania, or could until the other day. This member could not be bothered to turn up to parliament today, to stand up and advocate for the rights of Aboriginal people. This is the basis of your question when people in her electorate are still dying in third or fourth world conditions. You are supposed to be standing up for the people of Johnston.
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Will you rule out the member for Fong Lim returning to Cabinet next week?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, could you get to the point, please.
Mr GILES: That is one person on the other side of the Chamber. Let us look at your stocks; you were an adviser to the former member for Stuart, the former Minister for Parks and Wildlife and minister for Sport. You stand here and make complaints. You were part of a Cabinet under the former government. The member for Nightcliff is a former adviser for Education, which performed at its worst level in history. The member for Wanguri is a former adviser to the former Housing minister …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Will you rule out the member for Fong Lim returning to Cabinet in the reshuffle?
Mr GILES: The Hon Chris Burns was the Housing minister when we had the most poorly developed housing sector in the Territory’s history, to the point where we have had to put $135m into land release to ensure supply meets demand from a housing point of view.
The member for Fannie Bay is a former failed adviser to the former Chief Minister who oversaw the worst debt legacy in the Territory’s history. There is the Leader of the Opposition, who gave us a $5.5bn debt legacy. There is the member for Barkly, who gave away Territory assets, Stella Maris …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. An answer must be direct, concise and relevant. He has had nearly three minutes. Is Dave Tollner coming back into Cabinet or not?
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down. It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: Of course, then we have the member for Nhulunbuy, who was not good enough to make the ministerial ranks in government last time they were in. She has not provided a solid contribution in this House to date. I will rule out that anyone from that side of the Chamber will come to our side of the benches; they will never form part of government.
I congratulate the member for Johnston for such a pathetic question on the last day of sittings this.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Land Release Fast-Track
Mr BARRETT to MINISTER for LANDS, PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
This question looks back over how fantastic this year has been for the people of the Northern Territory. Can the minister outline to the Assembly what the Country Liberals have done to fast-track land release and ease Labor’s housing crisis?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, what an excellent question. I must apologise to the member for Blain for all of the letters he has to write to all new residents moving into his electorate on the back of record land release.
This year alone, $135m has gone into land release. The opposition talks about Palmerston east as if Palmerston was their idea. I do not think so. The former government – who was that, I wonder?
Mr Giles: They opposed us building Palmerston back in the day.
Mr Elferink: They opposed Cullen Bay.
Mr CHANDLER: They probably did. No wonder they are in opposition, because they oppose everything. We are three years ahead in the land release program. We are finding areas across the Northern Territory that we can release far sooner than creating a greenfield development like Weddell. Weddell will still be there.
I need to go over a couple of things quickly: there are 2100 new homes in Palmerston; 3000 homes in Berrimah Farm; 200 homes in Katherine East; 47 homes in Alice Springs on top of the 33 already released; and 23 homes in Tennant Creek. This is what is possible on the land that has been released …
Ms Lawrie: Good release by Labor.
Mr CHANDLER: The member for Karama keeps interjecting and saying, ‘all under Labor’. You have not been in government for over two years. I do not know if you are over that part of it yet, but you must be on the Treasury benches before you can make these decisions and do the job.
These are just to name a few. So far in 2014, with five weeks to go, we have issued titles for 671 dwellings, tracking for an improvement on last year’s 677. Labor’s legacy was an average of 410 titles per year over the last five years it was in government. The facts speak volumes. It does not matter what rhetoric you put out. There were 410 titles, on average, every year in the last five years of Labor. We are up to 671 this year. We still have five weeks to go and I reckon we can pump out a few more before the end of the year. Titles are important so people can build their homes and move into them.
At the moment, that is 520 more Territorians who have homes because of the measures this government has taken to turn around Labor’s housing crisis. Labor left this place in a mess. They had turned the tap off when it came to land release. We turned the tap on. Not only have we turned it on, we have done the plumbing and we have bigger pipes in there now. There is a lot more going through the tunnel right now.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Prison Occupancy
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for CORRECTIONAL SERVICES
Is it true that the new prison is not yet operational because of faults in the buildings? Can you also say, if prisoners are being housed there, how many are being housed and whether a certificate of occupancy has been approved?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the answer to the first question is no. The last of the prisoners are being moved either this afternoon or tomorrow. On the certificate of occupancy, I will go out on a limb and presume that it has been done; unless you have some evidence to the contrary, which I am happy to hear.
As for the number of problems, yes, unfortunately, because of the contractual arrangements bequeathed to this government by the former Labor government, there have been some issues with panels. Those issues have been sorted, which means the prison is fully operational. I was there the other day and am quite satisfied that the people I saw getting around in green, yellow and other coloured T-shirts were prisoners.
Giles Government Update
Mr BARRETT to CHIEF MINISTER
I am still excited about what has happened this year, so I will throw another question to the Chief Minister. Can you please update the House on some more things which have happened this year in the fantastic Giles government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his great question. If ever there has been a loaded question here, that is it, asking me to talk about the sunshine and all the good times. You know what we could do? I have given a few examples already today of good things achieved by this government since 2012. It is very interesting; I was just having a chat with the Attorney-General, reflecting on the commentary from the other side of the Chamber – and on this side of the Chamber – listening to the buoyancy, the vibrancy, the excitement and the energy that is still with us at the end of November 2014.
It has been a big year. I have been through many of the achievements made by everybody. Whether on this side or that side, we have all achieved massive reform for electorates across the Northern Territory.
But, look over there, the land of the long-drawn faces on that side of the Chamber. We know two people have been kicked out and two could not be bothered turning up to work today. It is a bit hard. The member for Arnhem asked a question the other day about how on earth she would get information on a Monday, because she does not work on a Monday. Clearly she does not work on a Thursday either.
Look at the performance of the opposite side! The member for Barkly got into trouble for giving away public assets with the Stella Maris deal. It has not been a good year for the member for Barkly, particularly when we have been performing so well in Barkly. Crime has gone down by 50% in Tennant Creek …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. You would think you had a good list of things to speak about. Where are the bold deliveries of your government?
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, sit down.
Mr GILES: I do not like to reflect on the question, but I am sure it was fairly wide and open. I could speak about a range of things. The poor member for Fannie Bay has gone backwards this year, demoted again by the Leader of the Opposition, and he still does not have the courage to challenge.
They are now talking about the member for Nhulunbuy taking over the leadership. Please, is it Christmas already, Madam Speaker? Anyone who wants to see the contributions from the member for Johnston this year can read the Hansard. It makes for good Christmas reading.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is exactly why you have this cartoon.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, you are on a warning.
Mr GILES: It is interesting to look across the Chamber. It reached a pinnacle yesterday when we were talking about who the shadow Treasurer was. Nobody knew who the shadow Treasurer was, and that was a firm indication of the performance of Labor over the last 12 months. You are talking about very important financial matters and nobody in the Territory, let alone in this Chamber, knows who the shadow Treasurer is.
For those who do not know, it is the bloke who gave away Stella Maris in a stinking, dirty, dodgy deal. It has been a great year and I am looking forward to 2015.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! In the spirit of Christmas, may we have one last question for the year?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not my call, member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016