2010-08-19
Violent Crime - Increase
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
Taking into account increased reporting of domestic violence, there is still a shocking increase in the rate of violent assault in our streets, as any Territorian will confirm. Why is it violent crime has increased by 115% in the Territory in the past decade, while increasing by just 2% in South Australia? Why has South Australia managed to stabilise violent crime whilst it has surged in the Northern Territory during the same time?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, alcohol-induced antisocial behaviour, specifically violence and domestic violence, is a blight on our society. We have had this debate over and over and over again. The vast majority of all assaults in the Northern Territory are a result of alcohol-induced domestic violence.
It is a particular reflection, tragically, of significant over-reporting of assaults on Indigenous women by Indigenous men in alcohol-fuelled domestic violence.
It is too simplistic by half for the Leader of the Opposition to look at South Australia, which has a totally different social demographic profile to the Northern Territory, to make an explicit comparison. He will be looking at Tasmania next.
The average age of people in the Northern Territory is 31 years. We all know the statistics for domestic violence are way too high. The vast majority of domestic violence is alcohol-related, and that is why we, as a government, introduced the mandatory reporting of domestic violence. This is why we have introduced Domestic Violence Units in our police force. These work proactively in applying for restraining orders, work proactively with women who are repeat victims encouraging them to report, and also proactively target repeat offenders.
The Leader of the Opposition can throw some simplistic analogies around, but I point to our record in reducing alcohol consumption in Alice Springs as an example. There is a 21% reduction in alcohol-fuelled violence in Alice Springs.
The Leader of the Opposition leads a political party which has a public policy of extending trading hours in Alice Springs to pour more alcohol onto the tragic cases of domestic violence in Alice Springs. Their only policy response is more grog …
Mr CONLAN: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would like the Chief Minister to stop misleading the House. The CLP does not have a policy of pouring more alcohol onto the situation.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, there is no point of order. Resume your seat!
Mr Mills: What about our compulsory rehabilitation? You have forgotten that.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr HENDERSON: This is a complex, difficult issue. The demography of the Territory is totally different to South Australia …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Mr HENDERSON: … we will not be pouring grog onto the problem.
World Trade Expo, Shanghai -
Territory Week
Territory Week
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
I understand you are celebrating Territory Week at the World Trade Expo in Shanghai next week. Can you please outline to the House your agenda while in China?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for his question. The World Expo in Shanghai is a wonderful opportunity to promote the Northern Territory for investment, the tourism opportunities for the Northern Territory, and also education in the Northern Territory.
The World Expo this year is the biggest the world has ever seen. Extraordinarily, over 70 million people are expected to visit over the next six months. To date, 4.1 million people have visited the Australian pavilion alone, which is over 50 000 people a day. We are very pleased to be a silver sponsor in the Australian pavilion. It is extraordinary to think nearly the entire population of Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area will visit our pavilion in just over two days.
The Territory will be on show to the world next week at the pavilion, and I will be travelling there with a delegation of Territorians to drive home the message that the Territory is a land of opportunity and we are open for business.
The delegation will include George Roussos, president of the Chamber of Commerce; Daryl Guppy, president of the Australia-China Business Council; Professor Barney Glover, the Vice-Chancellor of CDU; many members of our Chinese community; and the Darwin basketball representative team which will be playing competitive games against Shanghai University.
During the week, I will host a gala event to which Chinese businessmen and government officials have been invited, launch an Indigenous Art and Craft Exhibition, host a minerals investment attraction event, host a showcase event on tourism and education opportunities, and have meetings with significant Chinese government officials along the way.
It is a great opportunity to build on our relationship with China, which certainly has taken a great leap forward with His Excellency, the Vice President visiting Darwin just recently. I point out our focus on China, and looking at the opportunities with China, to the Coalition which, in a policy released in the last week of the campaign, has said they would be very wary, as an incoming government federally, of investment from China.
I ask for serious debate on this issue. Is this just the old scare campaign of ‘Reds under the beds’? What are the significant concerns? Chinese investment in the Northern Territory means jobs are created. Chinese companies have to abide by corporations law, and all the laws of Australia. Our position is totally different to our opponent’s on welcoming investment from China.
Alice Springs – Increase in Violence
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
The Northern Territory government has introduced a raft of restrictions on the supply and consumption of alcohol in Alice Springs since 2006. Those restrictions were designed to reduce the shocking level of violence which is a blight on the town; indeed, the whole of the Territory. Since the introduction of those restrictions, the rate of offences against the person has jumped by 50%. By any stretch of the imagination, the alcohol restrictions have failed to curb violence in Alice Springs. Nothing you seem to put in place produces any real results. Can you explain why violence has increased by 50% in Alice Springs in the last four years?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, serious violent assault offences are down by 21% in Alice Springs. The opposition would impose an extension of trading hours in Alice Springs. The consumption of cask wine is down by 85% in Alice Springs and the overall pure alcohol consumption rates, if I am right, are down by 18% in Alice Springs since we imposed these restrictions. There are fewer serious presentations to Alice Springs Hospital in regard to serious violent offences in Alice Springs, and reduction in supply has seen a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in Alice Springs.
To say we have done nothing, achieved nothing, is not right. There has been a significant reduction. There is, of course, so much more to do, and that is why my colleague, the Minister for Alcohol Policy, is working so hard, and we will be bringing forward, in the very near future, a further significant reform agenda in this area. That is why we have more police than ever before. That is why we have mandatory reporting. I indicate the difference between the government and the opposition on this issue.
The opposition has a policy of extending supply, extending opening hours for the supply of alcohol, in Alice Springs. Nothing could be more recklessly irresponsible in a town which suffers so much from alcohol-induced antisocial behaviour and violence than to extend supply, pour more grog on the problem and make it easier for people to access alcohol. It is a recklessly irresponsible policy and they have no credibility in this debate …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I draw honourable members’ attention to the question. He has put a qualifier on the type of violence but, in fact, I am asking about the 50% increase in violence in the same period. He has not answered that question.
Madam SPEAKER: Just resume your seat, Leader of the Opposition.
Mr Mills: We need an explanation.
Madam SPEAKER: Have you finished your answer, Chief Minister?
Mr HENDERSON: I have finished my response.
Federal Coalition Budget Costings
Ms SCRYMGOUR to TREASURER
The federal Coalition has released its budget costings. Can you outline to the House the holes in these costings and the missing promises for Solomon that show why Territorians should not risk a Coalition government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for the very important question. Here we have the costings of the Coalition election policy, which were put to an accountancy firm, not Treasury as they should have been, but to an accountancy firm. As Tony Abbott says: ‘You can only believe it if it is writing’. You can only believe it if it is in writing, according to Tony Abbott because, otherwise, it is not the gospel truth. We went through the Coalition election policy …
Mr Mills: Be consistent.
Ms LAWRIE: The Leader of the Opposition does not want to hear it, but I am sure Territorians are interested.
Mr Mills: It is hard to hear you through your hypocrisy.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition!
Ms Scrymgour: You wrote the manual for it.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Arafura! Order!
Ms LAWRIE: We are simply going on what is written because Tony Abbott said you cannot believe it unless it is in writing. So, we are going on the written policy which was submitted by the Coalition to the accounting firm for analysis.
Looking for the promises for the electorate of Solomon, because the local CLP candidate has been making quite a few promises during the election campaign, the only one we could find - the only commitment in writing - in the costings is $1m for the cane toad cleanup. So, that is it - $1m for the cane toad cleanup. Nothing to deal with the RAAF houses, nothing to deal with the sewage plant …
Mr Tollner: Everything else is cost-neutral, you drongo! Wake up to yourself! You are the Treasurer, for goodness sake.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim!
Ms LAWRIE: … no commitment in writing around the RAAF houses, the sewerage, and the PET scanner is missing in action completely. In the commitment, there is nothing on the BMX track - no commitment.
The PET scanner, which is a cancer scanner, is a really interesting case in point because it does not appear at all in the written commitments in the costings. To make a promise, anyway, that is only part of the delivery - $3m for what is actually a $10m project - the opposition has form on this. They have form. In previous elections, they went out, made promises which are only half of what it would actually take to deliver, and then do not deliver it at all.
We know the member for Fong Lim has form on this - a whole lot of promises are made but …
Mr Giles: Kevin’s promised money for the poor.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Braitling!
Mr Tollner: $350m for the port.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim!
Mr Giles: Then they promised $50 and they have not even delivered two.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling!
Ms LAWRIE: … only part of the money required to actually deliver. We did get a flag pole from the member for Fong Lim - we did get flag poles in schools. No Tiger Brennan Drive - it took Damian Hale to deliver that. The oncology centre - Damian Hale delivered that. So, how can you believe them? They promise something, it is not in the costings, yet there is $25m ripped out of the Territory in the opposition’s savings. You have a question to answer. What are you ripping $25m out of the Territory for?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Treasurer, your time has expired. Resume your seat!
Alcohol Restrictions
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
Your government has flagged – flagged but failed to disclose - plans to introduce alcohol restrictions in Darwin and Palmerston - big response, big issue, however, you have just flagged you are going to do something. Will you rule out basing alcohol restrictions in the Top End on the failed alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the NT News for the campaign it is running now because it has recognised it is a significant issue in regard to reducing alcohol-induced violence across the Northern Territory. The only policy the Leader of the Opposition and the opposition has in regard to this issue is to extend trading hours and see more grog.
When I talk about Alice Springs and the success of the measures in Alice Springs, since the introduction of the management plan in 2008, serious assaults have dropped by 21%. That is a whole heap of grief and trauma which was occurring in Alice Springs that is now not occurring in Alice Springs and it is not a statistical anomaly; it is a significant reduction in serious assaults. Of course, there is still a long way to go.
The Menzies report - not the Northern Territory government; I assume the Leader of the Opposition respects Menzies, a great research institution in the Territory - shows there has been an 18% drop in pure alcohol sales in Alice Springs. That is the equivalent of 50 000 fewer cans of full-strength beer being drunk a week – a reduction of 50 000 cans of beer drunk each week in Alice Springs since the reforms. Since 2006, there has been an 85% drop in the sales of cask wine, the equivalent of 330 4 L wine casks being drunk a day.
That is a whole heap of misery which is not occurring in Alice Springs today but was occurring a few years ago. The Leader of the Opposition calls it a failure. Well, his policy is to increase trading hours and to let people have more access to grog ...
Mr Mills: Compulsory rehabilitation for the problem.
Mr HENDERSON: … we would see consumption go up. What a ridiculous assertion ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: We have a long way to go as a community in dealing with the issues of alcohol-induced violence and, specifically, alcohol-induced domestic violence. Extending trading hours will not help.
Enforcement of Order Against
Alleged Perpetrator of Child Abuse
Alleged Perpetrator of Child Abuse
Ms ANDERSON to CHIEF MINISTER:
I have been informed an alleged perpetrator of child abuse has been ordered to stay at least 5 km away from the alleged victim. The remote community in which both parties live measures 2 km by 2 km. Under these circumstances how is this order enforced?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, child abuse is totally, totally unacceptable in the Northern Territory and everyone has absolute abhorrence for child abuse. The child should always be the first person in everyone’s thoughts of protection. We all have a responsibility, if we believe a child is at risk, to report.
I am not aware of the specifics of the member for Macdonnell’s particular case but I give an absolute commitment: member for Macdonnell, you provide me the names of the communities, the names of the people and we will have the issue resolved.
As the minister for Police in the Northern Territory, I remind all members, if there is any belief a child is at risk of sexual abuse, or abuse of any kind, it is mandatory to report it. Member for Macdonnell, I will certainly speak to you after Question Time, take the issue on board and get back to you.
Business Confidence
in the Northern Territory
in the Northern Territory
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for BUSINESS and EMPLOYMENT
Territorians know confidence is a very important element of our economy. Can you advise on any information you have which indicates the confidence of business in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the Sensis Business Index is published every quarter; it is a survey of some 2000 businesses across Australia, and in the Northern Territory they survey some 150 businesses. As the member for Nhulunbuy said, it is a measure of confidence in the business community and a measure of confidence that the business community has in the government. Last quarter, the Northern Territory had the strongest and the highest business confidence in the nation. Coupled with that, businesses in the Northern Territory have the highest confidence of any state or territory government in the nation. That is a great result for the business community; it is a great result for the community.
With confidence in the business community we have job creation. We have capital expenditure …
Members interjecting
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr KNIGHT: The member for Fong Lim does not like to see the business community getting good results. He needs to talk to these people. I talk to them and they are confident in where the economy is going and what the government is doing. What they are saying is the programs the Northern Territory government has are supporting them. The direction, the budget allocations we had, especially in this last year, the highest infrastructure budget ever in the Northern Territory, supported those businesses in the worst economic downturn since the war. This is a great result for the business community. They are saying they have consistent work and they see those conditions which exist at the moment are not going to change. This is a great result for the business community and a great endorsement of the government programs.
Alcohol Courts – Alleged Failure
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
In the Attorney-General’s media release on 31 July …
Ms Lawrie: Why don’t you ask me the question then?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: If you were not so rude as to interrupt and followed through you would understand. Hold on!
In the member’s media release on 31 July 2010 titled ‘New Report on Alcohol Consumption Welcome’, the Attorney-General listed the failed Alcohol Courts as one of the measures Labor has successfully used to combat alcohol abuse in the Territory.
During 2009, how many Territorians were taken into protective custody, and how many people successfully completed a treatment program ordered by an Alcohol Court?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. The number of people taken into protective custody will be available in the Police annual report, as they are available every year. I do not have those details with me of the specifics of how many people are treated by the Alcohol Court. What I will say is we have a comprehensive agenda being further developed by the Minister for Alcohol Policy.
If we look at Alice Springs, in the last few years we have banned 4 L and 5 L cask wine. A person is only permitted to purchase one 2 L cask of wine or one bottle of fortified wine a day, and only between 6 pm and 9 pm. That has seen a reduction of 85% in the sales of cask wine in Alice Springs in one year. That is an enormous reform which has seen a significant reduction in serious violence – a 21% reduction in violence.
The ID system introduced in June 2008 has seen an extraordinary number of people who had already purchased their limit for the day turned away from purchasing more grog. All takeaway venues are required to have camera surveillance, and we have begun the process to buy back three takeaway liquor licences in Alice Springs.
This is a multifaceted issue; there is no silver bullet to reduce alcohol-related harm; we need to have this debate as a community. The Alcohol Courts are one part of a suite of measures which have been developed and will build on, as a government, to reduce alcohol-related harm in the Territory - unlike the opposition which has a policy in Alice Springs of increasing the availability of alcohol. This will directly lead to more harm, more assaults, and more desperate people being taken into desperate situations in Alice Springs.
National Broadband Network –
Benefits to the Territory
Benefits to the Territory
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS and TECHNOLOGY POLICY
Today we saw the release of figures which showed Territory small businesses have recorded the strongest sales, employment, wages and profitability in Australia. How will the roll-out of the National Broadband Network boost investment and employment in the Territory now, and how will it underpin employment and economic growth in the future? Are you aware of any alternative policies?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for his very important question. As we heard from my colleague, the minister for Business today, Territory small businesses have recorded the strongest sales, employment, wages and profitability anywhere in Australia, and we have lifted business confidence in this government to the highest anywhere in the country.
A very important part in keeping Territory businesses on top is what we see being rolled-out before our very eyes – the NBN infrastructure across the Northern Territory. $75m of new NBN related infrastructure and investment is already being rolled-out across the Territory and it is bringing employment and many jobs for Territorians.
NBN and related investment in the Territory is estimated to top $1bn over the next eight years alone. This Labor government investment in the Territory is a massive boost to our local economy and jobs; and the opposition’s policy is to cancel that investment in the Territory. If they are to win the election on Saturday what we will see before our very eyes is a Tony Abbott government coming into the Territory and stopping this entire infrastructure being rolled-out.
What does that mean for Territory business? Well, it would only get worse. As we know, at the moment it costs a business in Darwin around $18 000 if they want to connect to broadband. If you compare that to a business in Sydney, where it costs $2000, it costs nine times more in Darwin than in Sydney to get broadband connection.
We, on this side of the House, believe that cost penalty on Territory businesses is unacceptable. What also happens is that flows on to customers and to Territory families, and that drives up the cost to our businesses in the Territory as well.
That is why this Henderson government supports the NBN. The NBN will fix the situation by putting Territory businesses on an equal footing with every other business in Australia. The NBN is a massive boost to the Territory economy, to Territory businesses. The opposition on that side of the House should hang their heads in shame for supporting Tony Abbott’s anti-Territory broadband policy.
Aboriginal Interpreter in Child Abuse Case
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for CHILD PROTECTION
Yesterday, you assured me an appropriate interpreter was used to interview the alleged victim in a child abuse case in question. I have been informed, after Question Time yesterday, by the mother, that this interpreter was non-Indigenous, and speaks Pitjantjatjara; the child speaks Luritja. Could you table the request form used to obtain this interpreter from Aboriginal Interpreter Services, and documentation verifying the identity of this interpreter?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, first of all, I will not and I cannot devolve the identity of the child. The information I provided yesterday to the member for Macdonnell was information provided to me by the police who conducted the interviews in Alice Springs. It is the policy and the practice that every time they interview a person who does not speak English, or has English as a second or third language, an appropriate interpreter is engaged, is employed, is involved.
If you have any further information, member for Macdonnell, I will be very happy to receive it and go back and question the people who provided me the information. If the mother says so, I have no reason not to believe you, but I will certainly go back and question. Give me the facts and the dates and everything else, and I am prepared to challenge the advice I received from the police.
Alcohol Restrictions – Availability of Details
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
Recently, the Justice minister told reporters she would not release details of proposed alcohol restrictions because she did not want alcohol to be exploited during an election campaign, as though this is a political issue. It is actually a social problem. Given last night’s report on the ABC’s Lateline program, which showed your government’s grog reforms in Alice Springs have been an abject failure, can you be up-front with Territorians for a change and outline the details of your proposed grog bans before Saturday’s federal election?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is not an issue of principle; it is about Saturday’s election …
Mr Mills interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: You have form! You have real form, Leader of the Opposition.
In regard to Alice Springs, the Menzies report showed the government reforms were making a difference. We would all like to see a much quicker difference. We would all like to see a further significant reduction in alcohol-fuelled violence ...
Mr Mills: A difference in what way? A good or bad difference?
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, he has asked a question, please let me answer it.
The Menzies report was an independent, objective analysis and review of the reforms by a very highly-respected and regarded research institution. We will use an evidence-based approach to alcohol reforms. It is good that the media - whether it is the ABC or the NT News - engages in a community debate around what we need to do to reduce alcohol-related violence in the Northern Territory.
In regard to the reforms which are being worked through, once that has been through the due process of government in the policy decisions, the funding decisions, the structural issues, the communication with industry and other Territorians associated with that, we will release the policy.
The last time I looked, alcohol policy was really the responsibility of state and territory governments in licensing regimes. In regard to licensing regimes, the one thing we recognise is there needs to be a reduction in supply, not only in Alice Springs, but across the Territory. We have had significant reforms on Groote Eylandt which have made a significant difference there - a huge difference. Significant reforms have made a big difference in Nhulunbuy. Other parts of the Territory have been more problematic.
There is no silver bullet solution to this, but the one thing we do know is further extended trading hours and more opportunity to access alcohol does not lead to a reduction in violence. I am sure if the Leader of the Opposition was to pose the question to the Menzies School of Health Research, and ask an independent research body who are experts in this field, if more alcohol equals less violence, I know what the answer would be.
E-Health – Federal Opposition Plan
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for HEALTH
Tony Abbott’s plan is to scrap E-Health and provide Australians with a cheap and nasty broadband network. Can you please tell the House the impact …
Mr Mills: Is this not about the election, Paul?
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Ten dollars on cheap and nasty. Can you please tell the House the impact that this will have on Territorians and health services?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. It is a very important question for Territorians, considering about 40% of all Territorians live in remote communities, in remote areas, and in order to access services that people down south take for granted, they have to travel, in some cases, thousands of kilometres.
In the past few weeks during the election campaign Tony Abbott was saying he is going to scrap E-Health. Not only that, but he is going to replace the efficient, modern and reliable broadband network suggested by the Labor government with a cheap and nasty one. Mind you, he will put a tower in every neighbourhood in order to access this information. In order to utilise E-Health, we need a system that is reliable, that is fast, that is modern, and that is not what Tony Abbott is going to give us.
We have made gains; we have made advances with eRecords. Our eRecords system is so good the Queensland government is talking to us to apply it to their jurisdiction, and the Liberal government of Western Australia wants to copy it for their jurisdiction as well. This is the only system in Australia where people can go far away from their home community, and if they go to a clinic, a participating GP, or a hospital, the doctors can access their records, tests and medication through the network, through the Internet, because that is what it is for. We have made significant gains in health, especially for people living in remote communities, and especially Indigenous Territorians.
We are about to embark on an extension of the E-Health system, with $16.4m that will deliver upgraded IT links with the Territory growth towns and eLearning framework and Territory Health Network. We cannot do that unless we have a really fast broadband network, not something which will come down from the Dark Ages, something that is going to cost $6m, a cheap and nasty service, but something which will be sufficient, quick, and big enough to cater for the transfer of information in and out.
We will be able to do examinations via the Internet. We will be able to have doctors in other states and other cities provide opinions to people living in, let us say, Yirrkala or Nhulunbuy without the need for these people to travel to main cities. In addition to that, people away in hospital will be able to talk to their families. It is important that our E-Health program is expanded to cover all Territorians.
The question here is, as Territorians, are the members opposite supporting Tony Abbott’s program, his plan to scrap E-Health, so vital for Northern Territorians, or are they going to take us back to the Dark Ages by dismissing 200 nurses like they did before and by scrapping e-Health and eRecords?
Australian Labor Party – Preference Arrangement with The Greens
Mr TOLLNER to CHIEF MINISTER
Last week, you were repeatedly asked about the secret deal and the preference swap made between Labor and The Greens. Your response to these questions was along the line that you were not aware of those details because the deal was done on a federal level. This advertisement was recently placed in the NT News by the Australian Fishing Trade Association, an apolitical organisation, from what I can understand, and for the benefit of radio listeners, the advertisement is headlined:
- Fishing may never be the same again if The Greens or Labor get into power!
Have you had the opportunity to get detail on this secret deal and will you now warn Territorian fishers of the danger of voting for either the Greens or federal Labor?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, your time has expired.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we have missed the member for Fong Lim over the last couple of days and his sometimes colourful and entertaining contributions. They never have much substance to them but certainly can be entertaining ...
Mr Tollner: Tell us about the deal.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr HENDERSON: This group is about as apolitical as the young Liberals. This mob is about as apolitical as the young Liberals and the other mob which has been running around on the smoking issues about the greengrocers or whatever. They are just fronts for the Liberals trying to make mischief.
I guarantee that 30% of the coastline of the Northern Territory will not be closed to recreational fishing. That might have been a twinkle in Senator Scullion’s eyes when he was introducing for the exclusion zones and was howled down at the AFANT meeting when he was in the Howard government.
We will have the issue of Blue Mud Bay resolved with the land councils. Those negotiations are going very well and recreational fishers have nothing to fear from this grubby, little scare campaign by the front of the Liberal parties and the Greens being elected to be the federal government of the day is not going to happen. Recreational fishers will continue to enjoy the access they currently have. Do not believe those advertisements in the paper; they are as apolitical as the young Liberals are.
Crocodile Management Activities
and Monitoring Program
and Monitoring Program
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for NATURAL RESOURCES, ENVIRONMENT and HERITAGE
During estimates I asked you about the allocation of the contracts for the NRETAS crocodile management activities and monitoring program for saltwater crocodiles. Your response was that you wanted to feel what interest there was in the private sector and that you have not made your decision. Can you explain why your department shows one select tender for an expression of interest which, in your words, was ‘feeling what interest was in the private sector’? I have been advised the one select tender has now declined to tender. What is going on? What is your department intending to do now?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, regarding the expressions of interest, what I was doing when I announced that was making a genuine effort to explore what options there were in the private sector for management of the extra management zone for crocodile management. Seeking the expressions of interest was a genuine attempt, but it was also an assessment or a process which was done by an assessment panel; not by me as the minister.
I kept at arm’s length of that process and an assessment panel assessed each of the expressions of interest against the established criteria. Those criteria were specific in how the private sector could best contribute their skills in the expanded management area.
The panel determined that six of the applicants did not meet the criteria to the standards or the time lines which would be required to fulfil a contract. Therefore, those applicants were deemed unsuitable to proceed to tender. There was one applicant who was deemed to have sufficient experience and expertise to meet the requirements to manage one component of the expressions of interest: the part of managing crocodile traps within the Darwin Harbour.
This applicant was invited to submit a proposal for select tender to undertake that component of the original expressions of interest. The applicant declined to submit for this tender and the tender has now closed. The tender documents were very specific, involving the 50 km management zone of the Darwin Harbour. There were no unspecified or hidden additional duties and I am disappointed no tender was received. I am now considering the best way forward.
I can assure Territorians, particularly those living in the Top End, this government is serious about public safety and the issues of crocodile management in the Northern Territory. There are economic benefits in crocodiles, but they are very dangerous animals and this government, through its Crocwise strategy, has put in a significant effort and extra resources to ensure we reduce the risk of crocodile attacks and fatalities in the Northern Territory. We have committed $190 000 in this crocodile management part of the zone. Through Crocwise, we have allocated 20 new crocodile traps; we have the Crocwise education campaign which has reached over 10 000 kids in the Northern Territory, and we will continue to work with Crocwise and the campaign because much of it is about education.
Darwin Festival
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for ARTS and MUSEUMS
The Darwin Festival is under way once again and proving as popular as ever. Can you please outline to the House the government’s support for this important event on our cultural calendar?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for the question. The Darwin Festival is now one of the premier events in the great Territory cultural calendar, and the great calendar of our Dry Season. The Darwin Festival is supported by the Henderson government in excess of $800 000 - $800 000 invested in our vibrant performing and visual arts community which brings people from all over the Territory, especially performers. It is a great marker in multiculturalism, in performing arts, in our visual arts and the drawcard- the audiences - come from not only Darwin and the Territory but interstate and overseas.
The festival runs for 18 days, so there is plenty left to see and it has something for everyone. It kicked off last Thursday night with the free Santos concert at the Amphitheatre. As the Minister for Transport, I am proud to say free buses were available to support audiences to get to that wonderful concert. It is featuring, once again, great artists from all around the country. The fabulous Shellie Morris, who I have seen out bush, is just great. Australian band, The Cat Empire, was at the Festival Gardens, and John Butler Trio. There are some really good things happening.
I have not seen it, but I am aware of Gary Lang’s Goose Lagoon, and everyone knows the famous Chooky Dancers from Elcho Island and their new production Wrong Skin; that is definitely worth seeing.
I also recommend Behind the Wire, featuring art works from NT prisoners which starts this week, and I have to put in a plug for The Cook, the Queen and the Kelly from Tracks Dance Company which does some fabulous work out bush, an excellent performance.
This represents in excess of $800 000 from the government. It is a wonderful festival. I have been taking the opportunity - I spent three nights in the park; professional development for me - I was able to engage with the arts sector, with key players to seek advice, to do good research as the minister, and I encourage all members to take part, see some shows, support our vibrant and dynamic arts community in the Territory, celebrating our great Territory lifestyle. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about it.
Palmerston GP Super Clinic – Expected Opening and Hours of Operation
Mr CONLAN to CHIEF MINISTER referred to MINISTER for HEALTH
Yesterday in this House you stated:
- The Palmerston Super Clinic has been a project that has been delivered by the member for Solomon and yes, it will be a 24-hour clinic.
Can you clarify for the House today that you maintain the proposed GP Super Clinic at Palmerston will, in fact, be 24 hours when it opens in October? Can you tell the House exactly when the clinic will be operating 24 hours?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. One thing I can say with absolute certainty before flicking to my colleague, the Health Minister, for explicit detail, is if Labor is elected it will be a Super Clinic which will be open for 24 hours and we will deliver a Super Clinic for Darwin.
A vote for Tony Abbott means the super clinic will close. There is nothing more certain than that. If Tony Abbott is Prime Minister come Saturday night, the super clinic in Palmerston will close, bulkbilling will close, and the super clinic for Darwin will not go ahead. That is very clear. A vote for Tony Abbott will see the Palmerston Super Clinic close. That means longer waiting times in the emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital, and it would be an absolute tragedy for Palmerston residents. I will hand over to my college, the Health Minister, for more specific answers.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, one thing I have to assure you of is, if the Labor government is re-elected in Canberra, the super clinic will be open 24 hours a day. If the Liberal government is elected in Canberra, the clinic will be open zero hours a day. There will be no super clinic. There will be specialists services in the morning and the after-hours clinic will open from 6 pm to 8 pm. The clinic will be open 24 hours a day providing services needed to all Territorians.
Mr Mills: Hang on, from when?
Mr Tollner: When, Kon? The question, remember the question? You are not going to answer the question!
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Fong Lim! Order! Order!
World-Class Sporting Events
and Infrastructure
and Infrastructure
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for SPORT and RECREATION
Can you please inform the House how the Henderson government is continuing to invest in world-class sporting infrastructure and how that infrastructure is delivering world-class sporting events for Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for his very good question. I am pleased to inform the House of major cricket facility developments at our very own MCG, also known as Marrara Cricket Ground. Next week is the exciting Top End Twenty20 Challenge at TIO Stadium.
It was great to be at our very own MCG with Michael Brown recently, the CE of Cricket Australia, to announce our $3m partnership with Cricket Australia to bring the cricket facilities at MCG to international cricket standards. These major upgrades include new hard wicket practice facilities, new turf training wickets, all-weather covered training facilities, change room upgrades to international cricket standard, and new office administration accommodation for Cricket NT. They are very important facilities to attract international and national teams to Darwin, but, just as important, these facilities are going to be there for local cricketers, particularly our junior cricketers.
Moving on to the Twenty20 Challenge in the Top End next weekend, I encourage all Territorians to get down to TIO Stadium. The challenge is from 27 to 31 August, and will feature the Victorian Bushrangers, fellow Big Bash finalists the South Australian Redbacks, and the Queensland Bulls in a six-match triangular series at TIO Stadium.
It is going to be great to see some Australian cricket stars including Callum Ferguson, Dirk Nannes, David Hussey, James Hopes and the NT’s own Kane Richardson. It will be an exciting time. We in the Territory love our cricket. We, of course, know about the fantastic Imparja Cup, and we hosted the Ford Ranger Cup in Alice Springs last year. This tournament and the $3m overhaul of the Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin reinforces this government’s commitment to cricket and the growing reputation of the Northern Territory as a hub for world-class cricket.
Palmerston GP Super Clinic –
Service Availability
Service Availability
Mr CONLAN to MINISTER for HEALTH
We have established you are unsure when the clinic will be operating 24 hours. You failed to answer the first question. It was very clear: when will it be operating 24 hours? Since you were unable to answer that question, we will try this one ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr CONLAN: When Kevin Rudd announced he would build a 24-hour GP Super Clinic in Palmerston, he detailed a number of allied health services which would be located in the complex, including chronic disease and complex care management services, outpatient services, dental services, and a greater range of allied health services including physiotherapy, dieticians, and podiatry. Can you detail exactly which of these services I have just listed will be based at the 24-hour clinic when it opens in October? When will dental services begin operating at the clinic?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It is really great when you hear members of the opposition telling us how good the clinic will be, because these are exactly the services we are going to provide. We are currently negotiating and finalising an agreement with Flinders University to provide these services at the super clinic. The problem is, should Abbott be elected on Saturday, I will not be inviting the members for Fong Lim and Greatorex …
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! While we all find it quite funny the minister could just go off on tangents, he is being completely irrelevant to the question …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, resume your seat! The minister has only just begun his answer.
Mr VATSKALIS: This is the reality. It is not going to happen if a Liberal government is elected in Canberra because they have made it clear: no super clinic for Palmerston, no super clinic for the northern suburbs. You better pray that the Gillard Labor government is elected so you can be invited to the opening.
Tourism Initiatives for Central Australia
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for TOURISM
You spoke the other day in this House of the great landscapes and opportunities for tourism in the Top End. Can you please inform the House of some of the positive initiatives happening in Central Australia and at Uluru with tourism and aviation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. The focus of the tourism campaigns on Central Australia has been terrific. In fact, we have recently seen the arrival of Virgin Blue into Yulara. I might add, in my discussions recently with the CEO of Virgin Blue, John Borghetti, we have also seen, with that flight into Yulara, a full Indigenous component of staffing on that plane, which is very much part of our government’s strategy of employment across all the areas I have in my portfolios.
In regard to Central Australia, we have also had positive campaigns and outcomes, with people like Russell Robertson, the former AFL star who was involved with the Get CeNTred Campaign, which saw a terrific influx of visitors from interstate into Central Australia.
In the UK, Tourism NT has partnered with Etihad to promote co-shared services that now see connecting flights from Manchester in the UK to Alice Springs and Uluru via Sydney. This campaign includes UK radio and street team promotions, extensive digital activity, branded Uluru taxis in Manchester, and a competition to win a trip for two to the Red Centre.
While we are in Central Australia, we cannot forget the Barkly region, can we? Recently, we saw the centenary of the Brunette Downs Races, which was a great success with over 3000 people attending.
Tourism NT has been very much a part of supporting our regional and remote areas in the Centre as well.
Tiger Brennan Drive Stage 3
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
I do not want to bore listeners, but I would like an answer to a question I asked the other day, but after the three minute answer, I am none the wiser. I am asking the question so there is openness and transparency in the awarding of the Tiger Brennan Stage 3 project, and because there have been concerns raised, and this project is a Tier 5 contract requiring Procedurement Board approval.
Who has been awarded the early involvement contract? What is the value of that contract? What is the contract for, and has the work commenced?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. We have talked about this before. I will go through it again. It is in three stages. I will explain once again. First of all, Early Contractor Involvement, or ECI, is a procurement model which has been used to gain the benefits of direct engagement between private industry and the government. Essentially, it is our best people and the best people of industry in the room working together.
The ECI procurement model in Stages 1 and 2 is delivered in two phases. The first phase, the preliminary design, is developed, any identified early works are constructed, and the pricing model is agreed upon. The second phase is the construction of the works. This part of the contract is delivered in a similar way to the design and construct contracts. Again, the ECI is about our public servants working in partnership with the private sector to deliver the project.
It has been successful. Stages 1 and 2 have been successful. We want the contractors to move into Stage 3. That is where we have moved to vary the contract. This is a process; a work in progress. This decision is made to realise costs and time savings by using the contractors who are already on-site and who are working together. I will not bore the House, but I did outline an extensive list of premier contractors from the Northern Territory who are involved.
At the moment, the probity process and independent auditors are working on Stage 3 and it will probably be about a month before negotiations with the head contractor, Macmahon, are finalised. In the meantime, member for Nelson, there is …
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I still do not have the answer to the question and he has spoken for two minutes. Who has been awarded the early involvement contract? What is the value, what is the contract for, and has the work commenced? Simple …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, can you come to the point, please?
Mr McCARTHY: As I said, in the process no one has been awarded the contract. There is a probity process going through. We are talking about Stage 3.
The member for Nelson has alerted the House, and he is right; there are works happening on the site of Stage 3, and they are fill works. There was excess fill left over from Stage 2. In relation to efficiencies, saving costs for taxpayers, that fill is being moved to Stage 3 in preparation. The answer is there has been no sign off, there has been no price; the price is being negotiated. This model delivers efficiencies. I am seriously looking at this model and all the information will come back and we will be able to share that when those final decisions are made ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Palmerston GP Super Clinic - Staffing
Mr CONLAN to MINISTER for HEALTH
We have established the government is not sure when it is going to be 24 hours, there will be no dental services there …
Members interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: Well, he could not answer the question, so …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr CONLAN: … I put this to the Health Minister. The member for Solomon continues to call the proposed facility a GP Super Clinic, but is it not the case the clinic will, in fact, be staffed by trainees from Charles Darwin University, under the arrangement from Flinders University, and supervised by staff from Royal Darwin Hospital or academics from CDU and Flinders University? In fact, there will not be any GPs to speak of?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, let us look at what the member says. He comes in here; he makes wild allegations and he knows they are not true. Yes, Flinders University will train doctors there; doctors who will graduate from the first ever medical school in the Northern Territory. Flinders University will have its own doctors and health professionals at the clinic. Flinders University will work with our government to provide the ancillary services. The member for Greatorex asked when is it going to open and all along we have said in the second half of 2010.
In fact, I believe the building is now completed. What we are waiting to do is the fit-out and the contract with Flinders.
The member for Greatorex also asked: ‘Is it going to be a dental services clinic’? Yes, there is already a dental services clinic in the existing clinic in Palmerston, and in the same way there is an after hours GP clinic, with real GPs, something we are not going to see if Abbott is elected on Saturday.
Alice Springs - White Christmas
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
Can you enlighten the House about plans to bring a white Christmas to the Red Centre?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, Alice Springs will again enjoy a white Christmas this year with the Northern Territory government grant of $60 000 supporting the installation of a temporary ice rink at the convention centre in the Red Centre, Alice Springs.
Last year, the then convention centre manager, Scott Babcock, came to me with a really quirky idea about installing a temporary ice rink over the traditionally quiet, but hot, Christmas school holiday period in Alice Springs. It was quirky and different, but it offered many of positives in giving alternative recreational opportunities to young people and families in Alice Springs. The ice rink was enormously popular with more than 10 000 skaters having a go, including me. I put the skates on, and was not all that successful in getting around once, but it was a great time and a great laugh.
There are also many special events, such as Blue Light Discos, subsidised school holiday activities, ice hockey games and a corporate function on ice.
The police school holiday program was enriched by the inclusion of the ice skating as one of the activities. In fact, Superintendent Michael White tells me it was by far the most popular activity offered, with around 1400 young people participating, many of them from disadvantaged backgrounds and some of the remote communities near Alice Springs.
There was an enormous amount of positive media coverage generated by the ice rink, and it was a nice change to see good news stories about Alice Springs, and this government’s absolute commitment to Alice Springs.
The convention centre offset the carbon emissions generated by the ice rink - around 27.97 tonnes were offset, and as responsible environmental operators, will be doing the same again this year.
The convention centre has a new General Manager, Karen Lock, and with Ian Solomon from the convention centre, she is planning more special events this year for Christmas. The ice rink is expected to be popular; it will be open from Christmas Day until the end of January 2011. I look forward to getting my skates on. Maybe the members for Greatorex and Braitling can join me – we can hold hands going around on ice.
I am looking forward to it, and I encourage everyone in the Territory to get to the Alice for Christmas and enjoy a white Christmas.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the written Question Paper.
Madam SPEAKER: We will wait for the cameras to be removed, and we will move back to the CTC statement.
ANSWER TO QUESTION
Aboriginal Interpreter in Child Abuse Case
Aboriginal Interpreter in Child Abuse Case
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, in her question, the member for Macdonnell asked if an interpreter was used, and who the interpreter was. I have received information today that an interpreter was involved, and that interpreter was Ms Rowena Wallace.
Ms Anderson: Who is a non-Indigenous Pitjantjatjara speaker. I just gave you that note; I wrote that note.
Mr VATSKALIS: Thank you very much for that.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016