2010-10-21
REDIRECTION OF QUESTIONS
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, in the absence of the Treasurer and Deputy Chief Minister, I will be taking questions related to the Justice and Attorney-General portfolios, and the Chief Minister will be taking questions on the remainder.
Child Protection Services - Implementation of Recommendations of Report
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
The Board of Inquiry into Child Protection has made a raft of priority recommendations to cure the crisis which has engulfed child protection services in the Territory. Yesterday, you refused to commit to implementing the recommendations within the inquiry’s suggested time lines. I will give you another chance today. Will you commit to implementing all the urgent recommendations within the six-month time frame demanded by the inquiry, and will you also commit to returning to this parliament in April next year with a detailed report on how each and every urgent recommendation has been implemented?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the answer to the question is yes, and yes.
National Broadband Network – Importance of Roll-out
Ms WALKER to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you update the House on why it is so important to the Northern Territory that the National Broadband Network is rolled out as soon as possible?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. She knows firsthand the importance of broadband into our regional and remote communities, with the roll-out of the fibre-optic cable across Arnhem Land to Nhulunbuy last year which has transformed access to the Internet for those communities with access to the broader world at broadband speeds. Nowhere in Australia stands to gain more from the broadband network than the Northern Territory.
With the NBN, every home, every business, every school, every doctor’s surgery will have access to faster, affordable Internet access. It is not just faster; if we talk about productivity for small business, a business in Darwin currently pays $18 000 a year for the same service that costs $2000 a year in Sydney. That is what it means for productivity and savings to business. Small businesses want the NBN and they want it now. They do not want the opposition’s and the Coalition’s cheaper alternative.
We have a very clear policy difference between the government and the opposition. The opposition has different positions on a range of issues. The member for Fong Lim is a climate change denier, and the Leader of the Opposition supports, acknowledges and accepts climate change. The member for Fong Lim supports a uranium mine 20 km south of Alice Springs; we know the Leader of the Opposition does not support a uranium mine 20 km south of Alice Springs. Also, I quote the member for Fong Lim from a debate in this House earlier this year:
- … only the most extreme of socialists would welcome this nonsense policy by the Rudd government, picked up by the Gillard government. This is a crazy plan.
Mr BOHLIN: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance – it was about the NBN, not about the members on this side of the House.
Mr HENDERSON: Come in spinner; this is what the member for Fong Lim said about the NBN. I repeat:
- … only the most extreme of socialists would welcome this nonsense policy by the Rudd government, picked up by the Gillard government. This is a crazy plan.
I would like to know the policy of the Leader of the Opposition. Is he in direct contradiction to the member for Fong Lim, or does he support the NBN that is so widely supported by business in the Northern Territory?
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Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of former Deputy Clerk, Captain David Horton. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome. He obviously cannot stay away.
Members: Hear, hear!
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School Attendance – Enrolment Figures
Mr CHANDLER to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING
Yesterday, I asked how many children of compulsory school age are not enrolled in schools in the Northern Territory. In another classic example of the culture of cover-up that characterises this government, you refused to answer a straightforward question. I now know why. The annual report of the Education department says there are an estimated 2000 students of compulsory school age who are not enrolled in remote schools. That is at least 2000. Add the students who are not enrolled in other schools in the Territory and that figure will be even higher.
Exactly how many children of compulsory school age are not enrolled in the Northern Territory, and by how much has that figure grown since the Little Children are Sacred report was handed down?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I do not believe I can be blamed for greeting any assertions made by the opposition, such as the member for Brennan has made, with some scepticism. I have been in this House long enough to know how they play with reports and bowl up spin. They talk about government being the kings of spin …
Mr Conlan: No, a culture of cover up. A culture of cover up.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Dr BURNS: With attendance and enrolment statistics in the Northern Territory, there have been small increases over the last 12 months, including attendance of Indigenous students.
As I said yesterday, that is why I will be introducing our attendance strategy in the next week or so. I acknowledge, in our very remote areas, there is a big challenge with attendance. Some of those schools have around 60% to 70% attendance, and that is just not good enough. That is why we will be releasing our attendance strategy to engage with communities, to convince parents and students of the value of education. Moreover, we will be looking at other strategies, which will become evident when we release our attendance strategy.
I point to the SEAM trial in the Katherine region, where Centrelink payments are withheld from those parents who do not send their kids to school, or who do not enrol their children. There were 100 letters of show cause sent out, probably about four weeks ago now, and they quickly brought a response of 50% from those families now sending their kids to school.
Attendance is a challenge, but this is a government that is prepared to engage with Indigenous communities and turn that situation around.
Supplementary Question
School Attendance – Enrolment Figures
School Attendance – Enrolment Figures
Mr CHANDLER: It is staggering that you cannot provide an answer to how many kids are not enrolled in school. Have you thought of comparing welfare payments with schools for children enrolled to calculate the actual number of kids not enrolled in Territory schools? Just how incompetent are you? It is all here; you had 10 years.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I will say it again: I have seen this opposition time and time again get up here and wave around bits of paper and reports and make assertions based on false mathematics …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Dr BURNS: … and I remain to be convinced of what the member for Brennan is saying.
National Broadband Network – Implications for Bush
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS and TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Can you please update the House on what the National Broadband Network means for Territorians in the bush?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. The NBN will allow us to deliver our e-Health and e-Business services in the bush in a way no other government has been able to do before.
As a bush member, like the member for Arafura and other bush members on this side of the House, we understand how the NBN will open up opportunities for remote Territorians in the digital economy - to use the Internet for new business opportunities that have never existed for people in the bush before. The NBN will also allow Territorians in the bush to establish Internet cafs providing people with access to families via video conferencing or webcam. It will also allow people in the bush access to Internet banking, to read the NT News, watch parliament live in action, or even share information on Facebook with their friends.
Labor believes the digital divide between the towns and the bush which the members opposite support is not good enough, and Labor, with our colleagues in Canberra, is delivering the NBN to fix it. The Henderson government welcomes the NBN and the opportunities it brings, enabling delivery of health and education outcomes and business opportunities for the first time to people in the bush, with a more reliable service and cheaper access.
School Attendance – Prosecutions for Non-Enrolment
Mr CHANDLER to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING
By any reasonable definition, the failure to send a child to school is a form of serious neglect. Those who cannot read and write fill our gaols, clog our welfare queues, and die before their time - no school, no future. How many parents have been charged under the Education Act for failing to enrol their children in school?
ANSWER
The answer to that is simple, Madam Speaker: very few, either in the 27 years of the CLP, or this government.
Territory Wildlife Park - Sea Eagle Exhibit
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT and HERITAGE
I had egg on my face when you told this House yesterday that the sea eagle at Taronga Zoo was blind. Today, I contacted Mr Matthew Kettle who looks after the bird at the zoo, who said the bird is definitely not blind - not remotely blind. In fact, he said the bird is quite capable of flying and has been taken out to parks and ovals in the area with no problem. He seems to have a problem flying in built-up areas around the zoo, and Matthew thinks this may be caused by a neurological problem.
The zoo offered it to our wildlife park because they believed it would be quite happy in the surrounds of the park, and because it had a calm temperament, something the previous sea eagle at the park did not have.
Could you please advise who told you this bird was blind when it is clearly not the case? Is it true the park management said they did not have money in their budget to bring it to Darwin? Will you now take up my offer to bring the bird to the Territory Wildlife Park where it could be looked after by dedicated park staff, shown off to the public as the star attraction, and I can wipe the egg off my face?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I am going to give the sea eagle a name. It will be called Eddie the Eagle. Jokes aside, I did not mean to put egg on your face. As I said yesterday during my answer, we normally do not pay for these birds from other places, we do it by exchanges and there is a nil cost. Saying that we cannot afford to get the bird here within our budget is not true. We normally do exchanges with other zoos. That is just one point of clarification.
In regard to the sea eagle, that was the advice I received; also regarding the signs of neurological damage with that particular …
Mr Wood: That is the man who actually looks after it.
Mr HAMPTON: All right. As I said, that was the advice I received - neurological damage, member for Nelson, and it is not fit for …
Mr Bohlin: It flies, it survives.
Mr HAMPTON: Well, if I can answer the question. The bird is not fit for display at Taronga Zoo. There are dangers for these types of birds in what the member for Nelson is requesting. It is not fit for display at Taronga Zoo. In terms of the Territory Wildlife Park …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HAMPTON: Everyone is going to have a say over there, Madam Speaker. As I said to the member for Nelson yesterday, I am quite happy to work with him in bringing Eddie the Eagle to the Territory, but it is not fit for display at the Taronga Zoo, and it is not fit for display at the Territory Wildlife Park. I am quite happy to work with the member for Nelson.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Opposition members!
National Broadband Network – Benefits for Territory Businesses
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for BUSINESS and EMPLOYMENT
The roll-out of the National Broadband Network will provide world-class Internet services to all Territorians. How will this roll-out benefit businesses in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the implementation of the National Broadband Network in the Northern Territory will have significant and lasting benefits to small business operations. The recently released 2010 Pacnet Broadband Barometer report shows that Australian SMEs are increasingly relying on the Internet to do business. The report also shows, nationally, that businesses believe the NBN will provide better access to information; increase global competitiveness; increase productivity; lower costs for Internet access; enable deployment of more applications; enable sole traders to work from home; and the option for employees also to work from home which leads to greater greening benefits and lower carbon emissions.
E-commerce can improve customer service in many ways: it expands your marketplace if you have a worldwide client base. Customers no longer want a static site to simply provide information. They want to browse catalogues, they want to be able to view and update their account details, they want to order goods, and they want to look at services online.
The businesses offering these online facilities then have an access marketing research tool as well. To include these facilities in a website, businesses need access to higher bandwidths which the current systems in the Northern Territory do not have. The speeds and bandwidths that will be available through the NBN will also allow better delivery of video conferencing.
The Pacnet Broadband Barometer reported that 22% of SME employees are planning on using video conferencing as a tool in 2011, compared to 9% now. Enabling small businesses to access video conferencing and webinars, as opposed to seminars, through the NBN will go a long way to reducing the tyranny of distance for regional businesses. The roll-out of the new competitive link will also enable regional businesses to lower costs.
The member for Fong Lim said the SMEs in these reports wanting the NBN are extreme socialists. He is saying that everyone who supports the NBN is an extreme socialist.
There is a clear choice - the ALP’s future, or the technology of the past with the CLP. This is the clear difference between …
Members interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I am wondering why the minister is displaying a superseded model of a mobile phone as ALP technology? The …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, there is no point of order.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, order!
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Tabled Paper
Pairing Arrangement – Member for Karama and Member for Fong Lim
Pairing Arrangement – Member for Karama and Member for Fong Lim
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I received a replacement document in relation to pairs; it replaces the one from earlier in the day. This is for the member for Karama with the member for Fong Lim for today. It is signed by the government and opposition Whips. I table that.
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School Attendance Figures
Mr CHANDLER to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING
I refer to your last answer in which you accused the opposition of making up figures relating to school attendance. I have a copy of the 2009-10 Department of Education and Training Annual Report. You do not even have to read all 190 pages; you only have to go to page 11 where it says:
- The 200 Teachers initiative aims to assist with educating up to an estimated 2000 students of compulsory school age, who may not have been enrolled in remote NT schools.
Have you read your own report, minister?
ANSWER
No question, Madam Speaker.
National Broadband Network – Health Services
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for HEALTH
The National Broadband Network will bring major improvements in the delivery of health services in the bush. Can you please update the House on what this will mean for Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. It is a very important question, considering the Northern Territory is 1.5 million square kilometres, with 200 000 people, mainly in the urban centres, with a significant number in communities far away from the medical facilities in the urban centres.
E-Health is an essential tool in our health system. To maximise its effectiveness, we have to use a suitable and effective network like the National Broadband Network. We now have the ability to provide records to any of the 90 clinics, medical practitioners, and hospitals by the press of a button. The information stored in our records electronically can be transmitted from one end of the Territory to the other.
Last week, I was very encouraged to hear the Medical Director of the Palmerston Super Clinic is to introduce e-records in his clinic. He can see how quick and efficient it can be, and how he can find information immediately and have everything at his fingertips.
Some members opposite have visited the oncology unit, and I believe they were impressed, as I was, when they saw the bank of televisions and computers, and the teleconferencing facility of the unit. They can diagnose and recommend treatment from Adelaide just by looking at the person and providing information via teleconferencing. You can only do that with a fast, modern and efficient network like the National Broadband Network.
The Prime Minister has announced a $400m package to support telehealth through Medicare rebates for online consultations. That means someone in Yuendumu can have an online consultation with an expert in Sydney, and they would receive a Medicare rebate. The quality of the picture and the transmission of data is very high because of the National Broadband Network, not a conglomeration of landlines, satellite dishes and Wi-Fi, but simple optical fibre which can connect the nation like a new superhighway.
In past years, we have built highways to connect the nation, we have built railway lines to connect the nation; now, building the modern nation, the Australia of the 21st century will be heavily reliant on the National Broadband Network.
Pastoral Land Sale – Delay in Signing Documents
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT and HERITAGE
Recently, Argadargada Pastoral Company was sold and your department was required to secure your signature on documents under the Pastoral Land Act. After continual advice that the signature was imminent by the end of the week, expected any day, it took around 10 weeks to have your signature on these documents. The delay in this process meant the sale could not be finalised and the new owners could not carry out a second muster, which had serious ramifications including young weaned cows being unproductive and unsaleable.
Why did it take you so long to sign the documents? Also, why is the Pastoral Land Act under NRETAS instead of the Department of Resources, which would have a better understanding of pastoral matters?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. The Pastoral Land Act requires consent for various activities such as subdivisions and, as you have quite rightly said, transfer of leases such as in this case with Argadargada. I met with Luke Bowen and the new owner some time ago and discussed the transfer of the lease. In all cases, the view of the Pastoral Land Board is required before I can make a decision, and I seek the advice of my department on the various issues around that transfer of lease and the sale.
We try to make the process as efficient as possible, but it is also important there are no shortcuts. If there are delays, I am happy to look into it. If you have some ideas, we are currently reviewing the Pastoral Land Act. However, I will not be taking shortcuts. I met with Luke Bowen yesterday and discussed this issue at length. I understand the issues they have had with the transfer and the time it took, but I acted appropriately and within the guidelines of the act.
NAPLAN Results
Mr CHANDLER to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING
The Territory has by far the worst NAPLAN results in Australia. Is it not likely the thousands of students not enrolled in Territory schools are almost certainly illiterate and innumerate? Is it not a fact that having thousands of illiterate school kids not enrolled is masking the full extent of the Territory’s crisis in education?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I have now been asked a question. This government welcomes NAPLAN testing. It gives us a baseline, a set of figures with which we can work. We know we have issues with literacy and numeracy across the Territory. However, this is a government with a plan. We have a Literacy and Numeracy Task Force and we are working very hard on this literacy and numeracy issue. I have convened two meetings of principals, one in Alice Springs and one in Darwin, and we will discuss the implementation of the literacy and numeracy work which has to be done, and I commend the work of principals.
We have funding against our initiatives; over $120m for our literacy and numeracy push into early childhood - we have a plan for quality in teaching. What did we have when the Opposition Leader was shadow education minister - and I hope you do better, member for Brennan - when he released his policy, there was not one mention of Indigenous students or kids in the bush - not one mention! I say shame on the CLP, because it only reflects what they did in their 27 years in power; not one student from the bush graduated from Year 12 - not one. What an embarrassment.
You are talking about how many kids may or may not be enrolled. That number is an estimate. I am all about getting kids into school, getting them educated, and getting them fit to enter into our economy and our society. That is the aim of the Bath report.
You can stay on the sidelines, you can quibble, you can play with numbers; however, this government, from its inception, has focused on Indigenous education and education for kids in the bush. When you were in power, you could not have cared less. It was out of sight, out of mind, and it is still the same. When your leader released his education policy there was not one mention of Indigenous kids. What a bunch of hypocrites!
National Broadband Network –
Benefiting NT Students
Benefiting NT Students
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING
Given the challenges of distance and remoteness in providing education services, can you please explain how the National Broadband Network will advantage Northern Territory students?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. This type of education, particularly distance learning, is very important to the Territory. Currently, there are around 1500 students engaged in distance learning across the Territory. When I was Alice Springs recently, it was my pleasure to visit the Alice Springs School of the Air and see some very exciting innovations in distance education. There is a partnership between the Alice Springs School of the Air and Corella Creek School, with a big surge in the number of kids coming to school right across the grades, community engagement and involvement.
There is much that can be done in this particular area. The National Broadband Network will provide the wherewithal to do it because it will provide high-speed, high definition, digital service to many remote areas in Australia and the Territory: video conferencing in homes and workplaces, and interactive distance learning between students and their teachers. There is already some work going on, even within Darwin, about Japanese classes being delivered out of Katherine; German and Indonesian from Darwin High School; language and culture from hub schools; and music education in remote schools.
This will allow students to do an expanded range of subjects, flexibility in their study and learning, and, most importantly, professional development and learning. As a government, we are very focused on equality and a teaching agenda. Today, I made an announcement about an appointment to CDU that is central to developing further quality in our teaching, and leadership in our principals.
We have a plan for education in the Territory. The opposition is just middling around the edges …
Mr CONLAN: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister was asked a very direct question. He is now debating the answer. I ask you to direct him towards relevance, or sit down.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minster, have you finished your answer? Thank you.
Attendance at Remote Schools
Mr CHANDLER to MINISTER for EDUCATION and TRAINING
The Territory has the worst school attendance rates in Australia. The annual report of the Education department states attendance rates at very remote schools are just 65%. It is from your report.
Dr Burns: Can you repeat that, member for Brennan?
Mr CHANDLER: Sure. The annual report of the Education department states attendance rates at very remote schools are just 65%. Is it a fact that thousands of school kids who are not enrolled vastly inflates attendance rates at remote schools? Is it not the case that attendance rates would be catastrophically closer to 50% for very remote schools if those not enrolled were included in this calculation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the member for Brennan is correct. The attendance rate in our very remote schools is around 65%, and that is unsatisfactory; it is not good enough. That is why, as I said earlier, we will be releasing our attendance strategy within the next week or so, which is a very comprehensive strategy. It looks to engage with Aboriginal communities, particularly with parents and students. That is why I have convened a meeting of principals - the first one is in Darwin in approximately two weeks, and then one in Alice Springs - to discuss the issues of literacy and numeracy, and attendance, so we can move forward together to tackle this very important problem.
We are a government dedicated to turning this situation around. It does not have a simple genesis …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance: the question was in relation to enrolment, not attendance.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, have you finished the answer? If you can come to the point.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, I addressed the issue of enrolment. The opposition has a predilection for almost navel gazing around the figures, around those students who may not be enrolled. It is acknowledged that there is a lack of engagement in our remote communities with the education system, whether it is enrolment or attendance. That is why, at one level, we have the SEAM trial – which I am very keen to roll-out across the Territory - with Centrelink payments being linked to school attendance. That is just one strategy. As a community, we have to convince those parents and students of the worth of education. It is a big job, but I am up for it.
Home Warranty Insurance Legislation
Mr WOOD to CHIEF MINISTER
In the August sittings, you said legislation for home warranty insurance would be brought into this House by the end of the year. Could you advise if that is definitely going to happen? Have you consulted with the industry and the community? Could you advise what has happened to the householders affected by the collapse of Carey Builders?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I know he is passionate about this particular issue. Yes, I still intend to bring legislation forward this year. That still has to go through Cabinet. I give a commitment that it is my intention to bring this in but, of course, I cannot preempt the Cabinet process. I have acknowledged in the past that we were waiting for the results of the Senate inquiry into home builders insurance right across Australia. A number of insurance companies had exited the market for commercial reasons and there have been problems with schemes in other states.
We have been engaging local industry regarding the construct of this scheme. We need to put in place a scheme that does not hinder and tie up legitimate builders in red tape, but we need a scheme that dodgy builders cannot avoid to protect Territory home builders.
In regard to the status of the clients of the Carey company, I do not have that information at hand, but I am happy to provide it to the member for Nelson later.
Department of Health and Families – Recent Senior Appointments
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for HEALTH
Attracting quality, experienced health practitioners and managers to the Territory enhances the range of services for Territorians and is a good strategy for building and growing our workforce. Can you please update the House on recent senior appointments in the Department of Health and Families now bringing this expertise to the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to inform the House of the success we are having of growing expertise and knowledge within our workforce. I am pleased to announce that we had a number of highly-qualified staff recruited recently, starting with Mr Jeff Moffet, who commenced last month as the Chief Executive Officer for the department of Health. He comes from Western Australia where he was the CEO of the Country Health Services, responsible for over 70 hospitals, plus mental health, aged care and rural health services. He has a wealth of experience in Indigenous and remote health, and management reform, plus he has a solid relationship with the non-government sector.
Mr Mike Melino is the new General Manager of the Alice Springs Hospital. He came from South Australia, where he worked with Aboriginal Health Services, including the APY Lands. He held the role of Hospital Chief Executive and Area Manager. I was pleased to meet Mike in Alice Springs on day three of his recruitment, and he was already on top of the priorities for the hospital.
I welcome Professor Jeremy Oates as Medical Coordinator of Integrated Maternity Services. That position is critical to leading essential reform and strengthening all maternity services. He has extensive experience nationally and internationally as a practitioner and leader in his field, with professorial appointments and leading major national quality and standards reform.
Another area of high priority in Central Australia is the Ear, Nose and Throat Services. The Alice Springs Hospital has received intensive support through the Australian government intervention and Closing the Gap programs to enhance our ongoing Ear, Nose and Throat Services. I am pleased to announce we have succeeded in recruiting Dr Jacques de Haan from South Africa as a full-time ENT surgeon. He has worked in remote and rural areas, and was the only ENT surgeon in Malawi for 14 million people.
I welcome people at the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre. Dr Siddhartha Baxi commenced work last month as a Radiation Oncologist. He joined our new Medical Oncologist, Dr Nayaran Karanth, and John Shakeshaft from the United Kingdom.
It is important we recruit the best in the field, and we go far to find the best people. We advertised in Australia and overseas, and I am very pleased to secure these important appointments.
Crocodile-Free Zone
Mr CHANDLER to MINISTER for PARKS and WILDLIFE
The Coroner’s report into the tragic death of a young girl found that, despite the purchase of 20 new crocodile traps, funding was not approved to increase staff numbers of the crocodile management team who set, monitor and check those traps, as well as respond to calls from the public about crocodiles in those traps, or damage to those traps. Belatedly, today, you have announced an additional two employees to help manage crocodile numbers. What that limited commitment means is that the 50 km crocodile-free zone promised on the front page of the Northern Territory News and used quite well in the local media will never be delivered. Will you take this opportunity to warn people that there is no possibility of a 50 km crocodile-free zone anywhere along the Top End coastline?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his question. Only this morning, we debated amendments to the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, where this government is bringing in some of the biggest reforms in how we manage our crocodile population, particularly in the Darwin Harbour and the rural area, with the human population. In that debate, the member for Brennan said that those types of headlines were not something any of this government’s ministers have said; that there will be a croc-free zone. It is a reckless thing to say.
What I have consistently said is that we need to manage our population of crocodiles considering the growth of the human population in those areas. In my contribution to the debate today, I said that my responsibility as a minister is to look at the legislation. When I became minister, I saw gaps in the legislation, which we fixed today, by trying to deter people from messing around with croc traps. That legislation is now in; those penalties apply from today.
I do not accept those media headlines. What we have said consistently is that it is a 50 km management zone. I am pleased to announce today that we have $190 000 going to the croc team to manage that 50 km zone.
Earlier in the year, we announced the Crocwise strategy, where we provided 20 extra traps, bringing the total to 60 traps in the Darwin Harbour area. We have provided a new boat for the croc teams to use, particularly when they are going out at night to catch those crocs. The Crocwise education campaign has reached over 10 000 Territory kids.
This government has done a great deal to address the problems. I am aware of the issues in the Coroner’s report, and I believe today’s announcement goes a long way to address the Coroner’s report. I reassure Territorians that this government is doing all it can to minimise crocodile-related fatalities.
Ngukurr - Future Forum
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Can you outline to the Assembly progress of the Future Forum being planned for each of our Territory growth towns, connecting these towns to our growth economy?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. On this side of the House, with the 20 growth towns across the Territory, we want to see improvement in the way of life across the regions in regard to infrastructure and employment, and address the issues of getting our children to school so they then have a job to go to. As a government, we are committed to seeing an improvement for the next generation of children of the Northern Territory.
To do this, we also want to ensure that it is done in collaboration with the growth towns. One of the things our government does not want to do is impose how these towns are going to grow. We need to do it with the people who live in these towns, in consultation, in participation and communication with the people who live there and the way they wish to grow the towns.
When everyone went to the polls on election day, I went to Ngukurr with the Regional Economic Development team from my agency to work with the people there. We held the first Future Forum in the Northern Territory. We spent time with the township of Ngukurr; we took agencies as well …
Mr Elferink: How many staffers went with you on election day to Ngukurr?
Ms McCARTHY: You see, the opposition do not care. They do not want to know about how to develop these towns, not just for Aboriginal people, but for all people. This side of the House recognises that we have to work together. This side of the House recognises we also have to get business strongly involved with these growth towns.
On the day Australians went to the polls, many Territorians went to Ngukurr, including businesses. We were able to work by coordinating business and agencies with the Yugul Mangi people in Ngukurr.
I give credit to organisations like the New Future Alliance, The Smith Family, Westpac Bank, Traditional Credit Union, Charles Darwin University, Apprenticeships Australia, Tourism NT, Outback Stores and the Northern Land Council, just to name a few.
This was the first of 20 Future Forums we are holding across the Northern Territory. I commend the people of Ngukurr for having such visionary, breathtaking drive to want to grow their town their way, in consultation and partnership with the Northern Territory government and the federal government.
October Business Month
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for BUSINESS and EMPLOYMENT
Can you please update the House on what the Northern Territory government is doing to support our local small and medium businesses?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, small businesses make up 99.8% of all active trading businesses in the Northern Territory. On this side of the House, we know that supporting small business is vital to competing at the national and international level.
One of the key activities this government supports is October Business Month, which is designed to provide small businesses with the tools they need to remain competitive in their particular field. That might be in workplace relations, information, or knowledge of e-business.
The Henderson government understands the needs of business. Over the last month, I attended all regional launches: Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Katherine, Darwin, and the member for Nhulunbuy’s electorate. These functions were well attended. There have been 85 events in total which have been designed from feedback from these businesses, so they gain much from it.
I would like to update the House on how those events are going. This month, so far, 49 events have occurred, with a total of 3286 people attending. In Darwin, we have already had 25 events, attended by 2756 people. In Katherine, there have been five events, with 175 people attending. Tennant Creek has had four events, with 70 people attending. Alice Springs had 11 events, with 239 people attending. In Nhulunbuy, there have been four events, with 46 people attending.
All the events have been wide-ranging. In Nhulunbuy, we had e-commerce, the social networking seminar by Steve Davis, which was very informative. We also had the Top Gun guys from Afterburner.
Business has confidence in this government. We consistently have the highest business confidence in the nation, and these events support that. We are the lowest-taxing jurisdiction in the nation for business with fewer than 100 employees, and we ensure that 78% of all our contracts over $50 000 go to Territory businesses.
Crocodile Management - Privatisation
Mr CHANDLER to MINISTER for PARKS and WILDLIFE
Does today’s announcement of the two new croc rangers mean your plans to privatise croc management in the Top End is dead in the water?
ANSWER
Not at all. Madam Speaker, today’s announcement means we are dealing with a couple of issues which are very important for public safety. One relates to the Coroner’s report. We are putting extra resources into Parks and Wildlife to have more rangers managing the extra croc traps.
The other issue is that we are looking at how we can best manage crocodiles over the next 10 or 20 years, which is important. It is a significant issue, and we need to look at all safety issues with the monitoring and management of crocodiles, and economic benefits, particularly for communities in the Top End as part of our growth towns policy.
That it is not the end of it. We will be looking at how we strategically plan for the next 10 or 20 years and how we manage the crocodile population. We will continue to go down that path.
Alice Springs - Childcare Waiting Times
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for CHILD PROTECTION
In light of information brought to this House by the member for Braitling, waiting times for childcare placement in Alice Springs are now running at a disappointing 12 months. Will you relieve the burden of working mothers in Alice Springs by asking your colleagues in Canberra for help to reduce the use of these childcare placements for children under care and protection orders?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am on the record stating that my department has been asking for assistance from other jurisdictions. My department is actively recruiting people, and will recruit more people than we promised in last year’s budget. We know we have a serious problem, and we are trying to get any help we can at the moment in order to address this situation.
It is difficult to place children; it is difficult to find carers. The government is considering how to make it more attractive for people to become carers, either by providing more training or better remuneration. It is something I already have online. My department is considering all these options, and we will have further announcements in the near future.
RAAF Base Houses - Disposal
Mr TOLLNER to MINISTER for PUBLIC and AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Can you outline to the House information you have been able to elicit from your discussions with the federal minister for Defence personnel, Warren Snowdon, and others in the Gillard government, including senior bureaucrats, in relation to their plans to dispose of the Darwin RAAF Base houses. What are their time lines? Have contracts been let to move the houses? Where will the houses be moved to? Have you explained the acute housing and accommodation crisis in the NT? Have you expressed your displeasure to the Gillard government about this wanton waste of taxpayer assets and, if not, why not?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fong Lim for his question. The facts are plain: the Department of Defence will not relinquish land upon which those 400 houses sit. When Natasha Griggs made her commitments during the last federal election, she was really promising something, I believe, she could not deliver. Nonetheless, the election has been and gone.
There are 400 houses there. I am advised that approximately 102 of those are currently vacant. I am also advised that 40 to 50 of the houses, in toto, will require demolition. The initial advice coming from the department is that, due to the ageing condition of the houses - some were built in the 1960s - the structural condition, with some containing asbestos, there needs to be much work done to ascertain their state. Indeed, many of them may not be fit for any further use ...
Mr Elferink: Oh, rubbish! Absolute tripe!
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: You are a building certifier, are you?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call.
Dr BURNS: So many experts.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: He is a lawyer and a building certifier. We are going to do this properly …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! The minister has the call. Order!
Dr BURNS: We are going to do this properly, in collaboration and cooperation with the Commonwealth. I have discussed the matter with the minister for Defence support, Warren Snowdon. We have agreed to the very approach I mentioned: we will ascertain the condition of these houses, their fitness, what needs to be done, exactly how many of them need to be demolished, and we will come up with a program and a plan to deal with those houses. It may well be that some of them are sold, as happened with Larrakeyah. I understand there have been a number of houses sold to a local company and they will be setting those houses up elsewhere.
I come back to where I started. The original promise made by Natasha Griggs was a promise she could never keep. It is plain to me - and the member for Fong Lim actually knows this - the Defence Department will not relinquish that land. We need to find out what to do with those houses away from that particular base.
Public Transport Services - Improvements
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for TRANSPORT
Thousands of Territorians rely on our public transport network every day. Can you please update the House on recent Territory government investments to improve our public transport services?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am proud, as is our government, of the improvements we are delivering in public transport for the Territory and Territory families. I will start with the green initiatives. I thank the member for Fannie Bay for launching our new Euro 5 standard bus prior to the Darwin Cup Carnival.
In relation to some statistics, Budget 2010-11 invested $650 000 in transport improvements in Alice Springs, which included the Jay Creek bus service. I am advised 40 children are now using that bus to travel to school. The member for Macdonnell participated in that with government, and I thank her for that. It is a way of moving forward positively and working together. Forty kids a day attending school in Alice Springs, and $650 000 investment in public transport in Alice Springs, should be commended.
We have also delivered a new special needs student bus service, with an onboard transit carer for students living with disabilities in Alice Springs. In August 2010, we expanded the Alice Springs bus network, $320 000 boost to services in town, including from the hospital – great news for Alice Springs. I believe there are 15 services to the hospital now.
For the first time, we are now operating in North East Arnhem Land. I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for launching this great service on 6 September. This provides Territory families in Nhulunbuy, Yirrkala, Wallaby Beach and Ski Beach with an affordable opportunity to catch a bus to see the doctor or a health provider, go shopping, visit family, or go to work.
I thank YBE (2) Pty Ltd for operating the service, and the Australian government and Rio Tinto Alcan Gove for working together on a truly transformational initiative to which the government has contributed $180 000 but, more importantly, the goodwill and the can-do attitude of working with the community, working with the business community, building capacity to deliver public transport in Northeast Arnhem Land for the first time.
We have also delivered another 2008 election commitment, with the $3.2m expansion and improvement to bus services in Darwin and Palmerston starting earlier this month. These represent new express orbital services operating together with regular services. This investment also includes new services around Palmerston, into the airport precinct, and into the rural area.
I must thank the member for Port Darwin for highlighting our wonderful achievements in public transport through the bus timetables that are now 5 cm thick, there are so many new services to cover, and I must say …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired. Resume your seat.
Royal Darwin Hospital – Alleged Unlawful
Detention of Voluntary Patients
Detention of Voluntary Patients
Mr ELFERINK to CHIEF MINISTER referred to MINISTER for HEALTH
In April 2009, the Ombudsman of the Northern Territory led an investigation into the unjustified use of restraint and detention at Royal Darwin Hospital. This is volume one of that criticism. Last night, we discovered that Mr Eddie Cubillo of the Community Visitor Program continues to outline unlawful detention of voluntary patients at Royal Darwin Hospital. As the head of government in the Northern Territory, can you explain what you are going to do about a continual breaking of the law by the Northern Territory Health department, exposing the staff of the Territory Health department to potential legal action?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the opposition has obviously run out of questions. This is the MPI the member for Port Darwin wanted to bring on last night, so it is interesting. Much has been happening in the Northern Territory over the last few days, and the opposition not only missed the jump, but have also run out of questions.
To answer that question, I will hand it to the appropriate minister, the Health Minister.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I am surprised that the member for Port Darwin, who has put an MPI before the House, would be asking a question on the same subject. He probably does not want to debate the MPI; he wants to go home early tonight.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Conlan: Why are you asking all the NBN questions when you did a statement on it last sittings?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr VATSKALIS: Madam Speaker, I look forward to the debate later today. I am advised that when people come to the ward, they consent to a regime of treatment which includes some restrictions upon leaving, and that includes voluntary patients. There is no doubt, voluntary patients can withdraw their consent at any time. When this happens, the person is asked to stay until they have seen a doctor; however, they are allowed to leave immediately, having been asked to sign an appropriate release authority. No one is held against their will. A voluntary patient can leave any time.
When they want to leave for a short time to have a cigarette or go for a walk, there is always someone to accompany them for obvious reasons. This is completely appropriate. The department has sought legal opinion, and everything takes place according to the act. I understand there have been a couple of complaints, and my department has investigated these complaints. I am looking forward to the debate later today.
Marketing the Territory Using Technology
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for TOURISM
Can you please inform the House of how technology and innovation is playing a part in the way we market the Territory and communicate with our target audience?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to answer the question from the member for Arafura, especially regarding tourism. As I said in the House yesterday, we know tourism plays an incredibly important role in the economy of the Northern Territory, with $1.7bn and around 18 000 jobs across the Territory.
One of the leading areas for us with tourism is the use of the Internet and the digital age. At the international conference in Adelaide in recent months, Tourism NT was the first to use 3D to showcase the Northern Territory, on the back of cinema films which are in 3D. In keeping up with technology, Tourism NT was able to put on display the Rock, with the special 3D glasses. There has also been development of the NT iPhone application, which provides information about the Northern Territory in mobile form.
We are the first Australian destination to use YouTube to broadcast ourselves to the world, and we are still the most visited. We have our own Facebook site for the Northern Territory, and it has already secured around 16 000 fans. We have partnered with Yahoo, a major technology innovator, to showcase our destination to the world and facilitate real-time booking through these partners who bought in to the campaign.
Tourism NT is also rolling out an e-enabling project, which involves getting more operators with a website as a first step, and ensuring they are connected to real-time booking systems. Of course, this has to be linked to the National Broadband Network.
When our 20 growth towns are up and running on these sites, we will be able to link the rest of the country and the world, through tourism, to these growth towns. Unlike the members of the opposition who are in the Dark Ages, we are a government that is visionary, creative and bold.
Tiger Brennan Drive Extension – Road Safety Audit
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for CONSTRUCTION
Recently, your department engaged a road safety expert from down south to do an audit on the new Tiger Brennan Drive extension and overpass. Considering there have been some public concerns raised about the design, for example, the height of bridges, sharpness of bends, visibility of turn-offs and signage, will you release a copy of the audit so the public can be satisfied that all is well with the new road?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. As part of delivering a major road project such as Tiger Brennan Drive, safety reviews are conducted in key stages. We have to remember that this is a major project and the design and construction phase has taken many years.
The October design review recommends that several design modifications are required to ensure compliance with the new guidelines. The works will include extending the Stuart Highway to Tiger Brennan Drive outbound merge/diverge lane; closing Marjorie Street inbound to left-hand turns; and incorporating signage and barrier recommendations on the entry ramp curves.
The original project design was compliant with the design guidelines at the time of the commencement of the project, but these were superseded by the Austroads 2009 road design guidelines.
Safety is our priority. Of course, these will be ongoing works which will be available to the public - we will watch them. I travel regularly through this area of this great city and the city of Palmerston, and we will be able to watch these take place.
The cost of these works will be absorbed from within the existing project budget, and the project team remains confident that work on the Tiger Brennan Drive extension will be completed by the end of this year.
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016