2009-10-12
Housing Crisis
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
We have a housing crisis. We have, as you would know, families living in tents, or cars, or other people’s lounge rooms. Rents have skyrocketed and building a home is out of reach for most first homebuyers. Instead of delivering the 1700 additional dwellings that your own Treasury forecast required us to build each year to meet population growth in the Darwin area, your government has delivered just 1000. On the face of this damning evidence, do you admit that you have failed Territorians by creating and failing to address the housing crisis?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. This is an important question, and one the government acknowledges. There are many people in the Northern Territory experiencing housing stress at the moment. This is an issue that has been brought on by extraordinary economic growth, extraordinary population growth that has put pressure on house prices and rents in the Northern Territory. What are we doing in response to that? We are embarking on the largest land release program that the Northern Territory has ever seen.
Mr Elferink: Why are you just embarking now? It should have been started years ago.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, if the member for Port Darwin would like to hear the answer to a very important question, I suggest that he listens instead of talking over the top.
There will be four new suburbs at Palmerston East which will house 15 000 people …
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: That work is already under way. If you go to Palmerston, you can see the new suburb of Bellamack emerging before your eyes - 670 blocks at Bellamack, 15% reserved for first homebuyers; 48 lots have already been released, 48 lots were released on 19 September, and the developers are saying that they will have 151 lots released before the end of the year.
As well as releasing land, my colleague, the Housing Minister, is working with the Australian government, on a stimulus package to get emergency housing out there – the stimulus package that the opposition opposed; that the CLP voted against in the Senate.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr HENDERSON: As we saw today, already, as a result of stage one of that funding, 84 more residences are now being inhabited across the Northern Territory than were before, another 84 before the end of the year; and with significant impact next year, with hundreds of other homes coming on line as a result of the Commonwealth’s stimulus package.
My colleague, the Housing Minister, is working with the non-government sector on proposals for emergency housing and emergency funding. I agree with the Leader of the Opposition that there are significant numbers of Territorians experiencing housing stress. We have a plan to deal with that. We are also working in partnership with the Australian government.
Population Growth Statistics
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
In September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on the population growth statistics for the March quarter. Can you please advise what this means for the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is good news for the Territory. Population growth is good news for the Territory. The Leader of the Opposition and I were at a forum with the Chamber of Commerce at SKYCITY Casino on Friday talking about the issues of housing stress. As I said at that particular forum, if this had been an issue for debate seven or eight years ago, the issue then was that people in the Northern Territory were leaving in droves. There was no economic growth in the Northern Territory. Jobs growth had collapsed, and more people were leaving the Territory than were coming to the Territory. It was the major issue of those times.
The Territory has 2.2% population growth across the board, the third highest in Australia. It also shows the fourth straight quarter of positive interstate migration. Why is this significant? It is significant because this is the first time this has occurred since 1983. The first time since then that we have had four consecutive quarters of interstate migration. Since 1990, there have been 53 quarters of negative interstate migration, compared to 23 positive figures, five of which were attributable to the move north by the military. So, for all of those years, apart from the odd occasion, apart from the relocation of the army to Palmerston, there was negative nett interstate migration growth.
There have been seven quarters of growth in the last two and a quarter years that can be attributed to the strength of the economy and the lifestyle appeal of the Northern Territory - the single largest increase in interstate nett migration since 1983.
We are also showing sustained natural increase, again, putting resource pressures in our remote communities. We are growing our own: 2805 in the year up to the March quarter 2009, and also overseas migration. We have never really attracted our share of overseas migrants. We know how important they are, not only for population growth, or in adding diversity to our community, but the skills that overseas migrants bring to the Territory. The figures show that, as at March 2009, the nett overseas migration figures stand at a growth of 1211 people choosing to make the Northern Territory their home. These are significant results, adding to a growing economy and growing job numbers in the Northern Territory.
Housing – Rent Increases
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
The June ANZ Housing Snapshot shows that, since 2004, there has been a major shortfall in the number of dwellings constructed to meet demand in Darwin each and every year. We are now thousands of homes short of what is needed. People renting have paid dearly for your abject failure. According to the Real Estate Institute of Australia, the average rent for a three-bedroom home in Darwin in 2004 was $260 per week; it is now $520 every week. How can you justify allowing working families to face rent increases of 100% on a three-bedroom home in the space of just five years?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the importance of this question from the Leader of the Opposition. As I said at the outset, I acknowledge that there is a growing population, an expanding economy in the Northern Territory, and the attractiveness of the Northern Territory for people to come and live and work, is creating housing pressures in the Northern Territory. And, as I explained in my earlier answer, a massive land release program is currently under way; planning for the new city of Weddell is currently under way; and we are working with the Australian government on emergency housing, a measure that the opposition opposed.
The private sector is doing its bit as well. For July 2009, there were 101 residential building approvals worth $39m. That is 1051 approvals this year, from the private sector, worth $406m, directly into housing. There has been a 1.9% trend drop from June 2009, and a 74% increase in private residential building approvals in the 12 months to July 2009. If we look at dwelling commencements, for the June quarter 2009, 64.9% total commencements, seasonally adjusted.
I acknowledge that there is significant housing stress for many people in our community because of an expanding economy, and a growing population. That is what the Territory government has delivered, as opposed to year after year of nett negative interstate migration when the CLP was last in government. People were leaving the Territory in droves, and there was 0% growth in the economy. That has turned around. It is creating pressures for many Territorians but, with the measures I have outlined, we are going to make significant inroads into that.
ANZ Rural and Regional Quarterly Report – Territory Economy
Ms SCRYMGOUR to CHIEF MINISTER
On 23 September, the ANZ Bank said that the Northern Territory’s economy leads the nation. Their comments arose from an analysis across Australia in the ANZ’s Rural and Regional Quarterly Report. Does this analysis coincide with our own assessment of the Territory economy?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. The media release from the ANZ dated 23 September – which I am happy to table - says, very clearly: ‘NT’s economy leads the nation’. That is something we should be proud of, at a time when the nation has been embroiled in the global financial crisis, a crisis around the world that has seen millions of people thrown out of work. The economies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and many countries around the world, are going into freefall. Here in the Northern Territory we have managed to maintain, despite the global financial crisis, a growing economy in the Territory, and that has been acknowledged by the ANZ Bank.
That means that people continue to be employed in the Northern Territory where, elsewhere in Australia and around the world, people have been thrown on the scrapheap of unemployment.
If we look at what the release actually says, and I will quote, so this is not me as the Chief Minister - I know the opposition like to talk about spin, but these are the facts presented by the ANZ Bank …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: … listen, you might acknowledge the truth of what is happening here:
- While many parts of Australia are feeling the impact of the economic downturn, the Northern Territory is extremely well placed. When you consider the number of jobs in the NT is still growing very strongly while the rest of Australia has come to a standstill, it is easy to see why consumers are still spending and retail sales are up.
That feeds into our own economic analysis; that feeds into why, in the budget this year, we contributed $1.3bn to infrastructure across the Northern Territory to support and maintain 2500 jobs in our economy at a time when the private sector was contracting. We will continue to work to grow the economy. The opposition has no plans for the future of the Northern Territory.
Housing Crisis - Outer Darwin Area
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
I would be interested to hear about your plans because, a month ago, the Territory opposition put forward a plan for transitional housing as a means of easing the housing crisis that has gripped the outer Darwin area. Rather than support the opposition’s plan, which would at least put 60 families in housing before the Wet Season, you have done nothing. What is your emergency housing plan and how much will it cost? How many houses will be provided under your plan and when? Where will your housing be located? How much will you charge in rent and who will manage it? Will you guarantee that your plan will deliver emergency housing for more than 60 families before the Wet Season? Do you have plans?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the importance of the Leader of the Opposition’s question. At the time, when the Leader of the Opposition floated his thoughts about the land in Palmerston …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: … and the ex-Bechtel site, and he rang goodness knows how many thousand people at dinner time across the northern suburbs of Darwin explaining his plan. At the time, I said all ideas are welcome and, of course, we investigated this idea. What the Leader of the Opposition did not say is that this land is privately owned. When we spoke …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: … to the owner of the privately-owned land the Leader of the Opposition’s plan was going to take place on, he said that he would be prepared to consider it, but only for 12 to 18 months as he had private use for that land, to develop that land for future use. When we did some preliminary costings about expanded headworks that would be needed for that plan, I think it came in at a cost of around $7m …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: … $7m for the taxpayer to invest in private land …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Could you table that advice for us, please, Chief Minister?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order, resume your seat.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am not going to go into discussions about conversations I have had with the Leader of the Opposition about this. I explained this to him shortly afterwards. The issue there, and we did investigate it, it was an idea, and I said: ‘This is a serious issue, let us investigate this possibility’. It came to down to: is this the best expenditure of $7m-worth of taxpayers’ money providing a significant ongoing financial benefit to the private owner of this land? The land would only be available for around 18 months; it would take four months to stand a camp up and put the infrastructure in; another four months to pull it down. It was not a cost-effective plan. However, I acknowledge it was an idea from the Leader of the Opposition.
So, what are we doing, Madam Speaker? As I have explained before, in conjunction with Commonwealth government, 84 residences have already been brought online for emergency accommodation in the Northern Territory …
A member: Where?
Mr HENDERSON: … with another 84 before the end of this year.
My colleague, the Housing Minister, has meet with the non-government sector, and has asked …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you, Madam Speaker; … the non-government sector to come forward with proposals for emergency housing. I believe it closes on 20 October this year. We will work with the non-government sector to get even further emergency housing on top of the 84 homes which have already been brought online. The other 84 will be brought online before Christmas, so that is 168, plus whatever the non-government sector comes up with.
I welcome all ideas into this space, because it is a significant issue. We did look at the Leader of the Opposition’s plan. We did have it costed; we did speak to the landowner involved, and took the decision that it did not stack up.
I acknowledge and appreciate the suggestion from the Leader of the Opposition.
SIHIP – Life of Housing
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for HOUSING
SIHIP is meant to build houses on Aboriginal communities and those houses are to be owned and maintained by NT Housing. If it is the case that these houses are meant to last at least 30 years, and NT Housing will have the job of maintaining these houses, do you have a watertight guarantee from the alliances which are building these houses that they will be made of materials that will last 30 years without major, annual maintenance? If these houses do not last that long, who will pay to rebuild them: the taxpayer or the alliances?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, that is a very sensible question from the member for Nelson. The fundamental difference with Indigenous housing from April 2008 going forward was that the Northern Territory government, through Territory Housing, would be looking after these properties and having direct ownership of them. That was the fundamental difference.
In the past, money had been handed over by the Commonwealth government to Indigenous community housing organisations and, basically, left at that. There was a great deal of poor workmanship, and poor materials were used. The fundamental difference is that ownership and that responsibility …
A member interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: … the Territory government now has. Through SIHIP, we are very aware, in the design of the houses and the materials which are used, that we are going to have to maintain those houses.
In the design work that was done, one of the first exercises they did was to gather all the relevant information about the previous housing designs and previous materials that were used to look at what they needed to use going forward. Everyone has their opinion about designs. In the end, it will be a decision of the Northern Territory government, with the Commonwealth, on these designs. Some people will not like them, but you cannot satisfy everyone.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr KNIGHT: We are aware of the effects of overcrowding on these houses. Many houses built in the past have not stood up to the test of time. Through SIHIP, we have greater control of the workmanship that goes into the installation of those houses. The alliance partners are there for the five years. There is a 100% defects handover. That has changed from before, where we had contractors who would walk away with 95% of the money and not even come back to fix the defects for 5%.
Member for Nelson, it is an extremely important question. The houses are to last for at least 30 or 40 years, and much longer. This program is fundamentally different to any other program before.
Housing Crisis - Affordability
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
Your government remains committed to spending $330m on a new prison near Darwin. In the meantime, you are also spending tens of millions of dollars on temporary accommodation at the soon to be bulldozed Berrimah prison. Why should convicted criminals enjoy better housing standards than young families who, through no fault of their own, cannot afford accommodation in Darwin?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. It is like comparing chalk and cheese, absolutely …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: The member for Fong Lim does not listen to the answers and continues to get it wrong. I have outlined how many new homes have been built and the amount of money the private sector is putting into new homes across the Territory, also acknowledging that we have a large number of Territorians under financial stress in regard to housing at the moment.
We are already committed to the largest land release schedule the Northern Territory has ever seen - $108m is in the budget this year bringing forward headworks to these subdivisions.
The reality of the prison, and we have had this debate in this Chamber, uphill and down dale on many occasions now, is that, given the growing rate of prisoner numbers we need a new prison in the Northern Territory. In the agreement that we have with the member for Nelson, I have agreed, to look at prison farms. The Corrections minister is working hard on the notion of prisoner work camps, looking at many solutions to this particular issue. It is not a debate for Question Time today. To try to draw a parallel between the two is disingenuous.
I acknowledge that numbers of Territorians are suffering housing stress at the moment. We have a record land release scheduled. I will advise the House, given the level of interest on the other side, that we have a number of Territory government and Australian government initiatives to bring forward housing stock. Under our Buildstart product which we announced earlier this year, there have been 292 approvals, bringing forward new units of accommodation in the Northern Territory, and 152 are pending. Under the Australian government’s First Home Owners Boost scheme, between October 2008 and 31 August 2009, there have been 1147 grants paid to the Territory. That is 1147 people buying into their first home.
I acknowledge that we have a significant problem here. I also state that we are working as hard and as fast as we can on land release, and increasing the supply of housing into the market, not only in the Top End, but across the Northern Territory.
Employment Statistics
Ms WALKER to TREASURER
Can you update the House on the latest employment data for the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nhulunbuy for her question. Last Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics released their Labour Force figures for September. We know that a year ago the global financial crisis hit. I am pleased to say that, during this period of global downturn, in the Northern Territory we have created some 4000 jobs; extra jobs have been created during a period of global financial crisis.
The Territory has the highest annual employment growth in our nation at 3.5%. The Henderson government has acted in a number of ways to help protect the livelihood of Territory families from the economic downturn we are seeing globally.
Most importantly, we took the tough decision to go into temporary deficit to ensure that our budget is around protecting the jobs that we have and, importantly, creating more jobs. This enabled us to maintain our spending and implement our record $1.3bn infrastructure program to ensure that we maintain and create jobs - $1.3bn to grow our Territory. We continued our training programs to get more Territorians job ready and able to take up the opportunities.
Despite some encouraging signs of a national recovery, we still have a long way to go. Just last week, the federal Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry, warned that the federal Treasury still believe that unemployment has not yet peaked in our nation. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth on their stimulus package. We are delighted that they have not bowed to opposition calls to wind up that stimulus. We support the stimulus for a very simple reason, and almost every single independent commentator and expert agrees with this - it has saved jobs. It is also delivering legacy infrastructure, roads, and education. The Territory is certainly the best place in Australia if you want a job, and we plan to keep it that way.
Housing Crisis – Non-Government Sector Participation
Ms PURICK to MINISTER for HOUSING
On the day the opposition announced its plan to create desperately needed transitional housing, you claimed the government had plans well under way to deal with the problem. One week later, after our announcement, you called welfare agencies into your office and offered them $1m to come up with a plan to ease the social housing crisis in the Territory. If you already had a plan, why did you need to fund the welfare agencies to the tune of $1m to come up with a plan? Is it not the case that you have no idea, much less any plan, on how to deal with the housing crisis created by your failed policies?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, just to clarify the situation, the CLP’s plan to solve the housing crisis in the Northern Territory is to drop out 60 dwellings to solve the housing crisis, to the tune of over $70m over a period of 12 months. Although novel, it is certainly not a very viable solution.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr KNIGHT: I am just wondering who they are targeting here. We have 3000 people on our waiting list.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Honourable members, I remind you of Standing Order 51:
- No Member may converse aloud or make any noise or disturbance, which in the opinion of the Speaker is designed to interrupt or has the effect of interrupting a Member speaking.
The member for Goyder has asked the Minister for Housing a question, we would like to hear what the minister has to say.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, we have 3000 people on our waiting list …
A member: That is a disgrace.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr KNIGHT: … which is - we are actually one of the lowest in the country.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting!
Mr KNIGHT: The member for Fong Lim thinks it is a big joke, he is in here, chucking insults everywhere. We have one of the lowest waiting times in Australia. Sadly, in Western Australia, 400 extra families are going on the waiting list every single month. This is a national situation. We are doing a lot to address that.
Mr Westra Van Holthe interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Katherine, I ask you to withdraw that comment, please.
Mr WESTRA Van HOLTHE: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Mr Giles interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling, I ask you to cease interjecting. Minister, you have the call.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, as the Chief Minister alluded to, we have 84 homes come back on line, with another 84 to be there before Christmas. That is 160 homes that were not previously available are now available. I did call in the non-government sector because I was curious about who they were targeting at the Bellamack village. We have priority housing waivers - people with the most complex problems, who have the greatest need. That is not who the CLP were targeting here. This government is targeting those people with the greatest need, who have the most complex needs, who have the most dire need. They are the people who need support services around them. That is why I called in the non-government organisations.
I spoke to them about this proposal for the Bellamack village and they did not think it was very workable, because you have people with complex needs in an environment which is uncontrolled. What I spoke to them about was expanding services on their existing facilities and they thought that was a much better idea. I look forward to the proposals coming back.
We have had some coming in already and they look very ...
Mr Mills: So that means you did not have a plan. You just admitted it. You have no idea.
Ms Lawrie: $64m in Budget 2009-10 for housing!
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! The Minister for Housing has the call.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, we have the Housing the Territory strategy which incorporates public housing. We have spent more on public housing than the CLP.
You talk about the problems of public housing, here is a graph.
Members interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: For the member for Fong Lim, who thinks everything is a joke in this parliament, this is the sell-off of the CLP – 1326 homes in the last five years of your reign in the Territory. You reckon those 1300 homes would have eased the …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr KNIGHT: They sold 1300 homes. That would do a lot for the homeless people in the Territory.
Ms PURICK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Can I ask the member for Daly if he could table that document?
Mr KNIGHT: I certainly can, Madam Speaker. This is about the third or fourth time I have actually provided this to the House.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, you are on a warning!
Mr KNIGHT: One thousand, three hundred and twenty-six homes you sold off in the last five years of your government …
Mr Mills: You need to tell the whole story.
Mr KNIGHT: .. that is why we are in this situation.
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I am pulled up often for not directing my comments through the Chair. I do apologise, and I was interjecting, but the minister was talking directly to me. I would ask you to direct the minister to direct his comments through the Chair.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister could you direct your comments through the Chair, and could you please come to the point of this answer fairly quickly.
Mr KNIGHT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The fact is that you have contributed …
Members interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, we cannot keep selling off public housing. We have to reinvest it. That is what this government is doing …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr KNIGHT: … we are getting stock back online. We have utilised the Rudd government’s stimulus money to get hundreds and hundreds of bedrooms online in the Territory over the next 12 months. In the short term, I will be working with the non-government sector, and any other different sector, where we can get some bedrooms and some roofs over people’s heads. This is a national problem, but we have to solve our local problem through this government.
Oncology Unit - Access by Interstate and Overseas Patients
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for HEALTH
My question relates to the new oncology unit being constructed at RDH. When your department estimated numbers of people expected to use the new oncology unit in Darwin, did they include potential patients from the Kununurra region, Mt Isa and Timor-Leste? If not, should not your government be promoting this oncology unit as widely as possible in the region to keep the running costs low by making it available to as many people as possible?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. We estimate there will be 300 patients to be treated in the first year, and they are all Territorians. The priority for the oncology unit is for Territory people to be treated first. Only when we satisfy the needs of the Territory will it be expanded to Western Australia, Queensland, Timor-Leste, or even Indonesia.
Currently, we have services provided to other state’s residents. For example, the Western Australian government has bought six beds which they have provided to Royal Darwin Hospital so we can accommodate people from Kununurra or the Kimberleys, if there are accidents or they are in need of evacuation very quickly to a hospital facility.
As I said before, this is Australian taxpayers’ money. The first priority is people from the Territory and, if there are vacancies, if there are available beds, then we can bring people from elsewhere.
Housing Demand for the Future
Ms PURICK to MINISTER for HOUSING redirected to MINISTER for PLANNING and LANDS
Your own leader estimates the Territory will need 1700 new dwellings every year to meet the anticipated housing demand. At a forum organised by the Chamber of Commerce last Friday, it was estimated that that figure is now 2000 new dwellings required. Given your comments in today’s NT News, is it your plan to meet housing demand by placing people in caravan parks rather than in real housing?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am the minister for public housing. I am not too sure what the member is referring to with the figure of 2000. I do not believe you really understand the Administrative Arrangements Orders, Deputy Leader of the Opposition. The question needs to be directed to the Minister for Planning and Lands.
Ms LAWRIE (Planning and Lands): Madam Speaker, the minister is correct. He deals with public housing stock. As Minister for Planning and Lands, I ensure that I am catering for the entire numbers of housing required for the public and private sector. As you have heard the Chief Minister in previous answers, we have the most expansive land release in the nation. We have $108m in Budget 2009-10 to support turning off new land. We are working very closely with Defence Housing for the new subdivision and suburb of Muirhead, and we have seen the success of Lyons in terms of turning off land; getting a better grade of private sector buy into that is critical. That is the work I am doing as Planning and Lands Minister in terms of Darwin.
If you also want to look at Darwin, you cannot avoid what we have been doing in the CBD with unit development. If you want to look at unit developments, there is a very important public debate going on around urban policy and planning for housing needs across our nation, and we are front and centre in that debate. You should not just be creating new suburbs. You should also be providing for some intensification, or densification, whichever terminology you prefer, in existing urban areas where there is infrastructure to support that. Clearly, Darwin CBD is right in that picture. Since January 2006, we have put the equivalent of an entire new suburb into our CBD - 1400 residential units. Have a look at the cranes on the skyline: more are being built - and if you listen to the debate around growing our CBD, more will be built.
Bellamack yields some 670 lots; Muirhead will yield with about 1000 lots. Within Bellamack, there are multiple dwellings and single residential, as well as complexes of unit developments, which is what we call medium density. Johnston, which is going to the marketplace with an auction at the end of this month, has some 850 lots. Work is under way at Mitchell and Zuccoli. In total, we will have something like 4700 lots yielding in what we call the Palmerston East suburbs. As I have said, Lyons has been a good development, and Muirhead will be equally welcomed.
As Planning and Lands Minister, I have looked at further in-fill opportunity sites which have gone out to the public at Berrimah North, what I call Boulter Road. We have been in discussions with the private landowners there. We estimate we will be able to yield about 450 dwellings at Boulter Road north. We are working very closely with Professor Barney Glover and his board regarding the Palmerston CDU campus. They will be turning off a new extension to the subdivision at the back of Driver, yielding some 500 lots which they expect to be on sale next year.
We also have lots turning off in Alice Springs. We have ensured we have worked with traditional owners to strike those important ILUAs to turn off residential subdivisions; Larapinta stage 1 and stage 2; the Mt Johns Valley sign-off has gone through the Development Consent Authority with first lots for sale off the plan next month. We are planning to develop at AZRI, and that is in public consultation phase at the moment.
For the year to July 2009, there have been 1051 residential building approvals. We have fast-tracked land available under the Buildstart incentive – a $14 000 reason for investors to get into the marketplace now to construct and provide those all-important rental properties – single residential properties and unit developments.
As you heard from the Chief Minister, the First Home Owners Boost scheme has been very popular, as well.
We will continue to be innovative. We are the only government with a Buildstart scheme. We are the only government in Australia that responded to the economic crisis by saying, let us give investors a reason to invest while interest rates are low - Buildstart is proving its worth. We will continue to turn off land, continue to invest in the headworks to support the land turning off, and we will continue to build the community infrastructure to support that land turnoff - the schools, the road corridors and the transport systems.
Infrastructure Program –
Benefit to Territorians
Benefit to Territorians
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE
Can you please update the House on the roll-out of the Henderson government’s infrastructure program, and how that is going to benefit Territorians and jobs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for his question. Our record $1.3bn infrastructure spend in the 2009-10 Budget was designed to protect Territory jobs during the global financial crisis. We are spending that across the Territory to support and create some 2500 jobs. Under this record spend, we are delivering rebuilds in Territory schools, we are spending $322m on Territory roads - a record - and we are fast-tracking land release, spending on the infrastructure headworks as I mentioned.
Rebuilding our schools: we are delivering on the Rudd government’s Building the Education Revolution, with construction worth $40m under way across 30 schools - the first, at Umbakumba, is to be completed this month. In addition, 98 schools are receiving minor upgrades worth $10.8m, delivering improvements to schools such as additional shade, new paint jobs, and important jobs for the Territory tradies.
In that record $322m roads program, we are focusing $19m on our community, beef, and mining roads. I recently hosted the federal Infrastructure minister Albanese on a trip to the Douglas Daly region to see firsthand the challenges across our unsealed roads network. I will continue to work with the minister and the Commonwealth to deliver more funding into our roads.
You can see early successes. Under the Howard government, we were getting $200m in roads funding; we are now receiving $425m under a collaborative working relationship between the Territory Labor government and the federal Labor government. Obviously, the great example of a major road construct is our Territory icon project, the Tiger Brennan Drive extension, a $110m project, 7.5 km of extension, delivered by a local company, supporting something like 200 jobs on the ground.
I flew over that site with minister Albanese to show him the real results of the Territory working with Canberra. He was extremely impressed at the rate at which that project is proceeding. The good news for members of the Chamber and for the public is that there will be an open day at the Tiger Brennan Drive. People will be able to go to the extension area and see the work under way; see firsthand what the commitment from Labor is delivering for Territorians. That is an open day this Saturday, with free bus tours and a chance to win helicopter tours.
I regularly meet with industry bodies. I have met with the Roads Australia Forum, attended by the Civil Contractors Federation. They are all saying they are the busiest they have ever been, and they welcome our government’s commitment to infrastructure.
Smoking Restrictions in Licensed Premises Outdoor Areas
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for HEALTH
Your department is looking at restricting smoking in hotels by January 2009. One of these restrictions will be that smoking will only be allowed in an outdoor area which will have to be divided into non-smoking and smoking. It also seems that no food will be available to smokers in the outdoor area, even if the smokers wish to serve themselves. Why do you intend to prohibit drinkers who smoke from eating and, does that not go against promoting a meal when drinking alcohol or the responsible serving of alcohol?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. The reality is that smoking is a really bad habit. It is a legal product we can buy. Unfortunately, we see the effects on human health every day, especially in Indigenous communities. This government was the first Territory government to say no more smoking inside clubs and pubs – to come into effect from 2 January 2010. As from 2 January 2011 ...
Members interjecting.
Mr VATSKALIS: It is not a joke; smoking causes serious health problems. You can see it every day, all around us. We are going to ban smoking in outside areas. As of 2 January 2011, there will be a requirement for every outdoor area to have a 50% smoking area and a 50% non-smoking area. I have put in place a task force looking at how to apply the requirements and the guidelines, and to work together with the industry in order to accelerate the application.
The problem is not only the smokers. The problem is in the side-stream smoking, and people have been exposed to side-stream smoking. We have had many cases where service personnel were exposed, became sick, sued their employer and won enormous compensation cases. We are trying to make the smoking areas as unattractive as possible, because that will then lead people to wonder whether it is really worth smoking. At the moment, smokers feel they are out there on their own, no one likes them, and they are unloved. We are trying to make it as unattractive as possible to encourage people to give up smoking so we do not have the problems we have.
In addition to that, it is not going to be a serviced area. People working in the industry are not going to go there to serve dinners, or even to collect the dirty glasses or dirty ashtrays, so they are not exposed to side-stream smoking. Our intention is to make the smoking area as unattractive as possible, encourage the people to stop smoking if they want to utilise a well serviced area.
Regional Development Strategy
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
You recently launched the second Regional Development Strategy in Alice Springs. Can you outline for the Assembly how the government is working to grow our most important regional economies?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her question. I know how passionate and committed she is to making sure that the economic and employment opportunities flow through to the people of Arafura.
Last week, the Alice Springs Convention Centre hosted the Fourth Indigenous Economic Development Forum, which focused on ways to build, support and strengthen Indigenous business partnerships. It was a hugely successful event, with more than 300 delegates, including Chief Clarence Louie, a First Nations Chief from Canada, in attendance. There were also over 20 Indigenous businesses participating in the business expo. I also acknowledge that my colleagues, the Chief Minister, the Minister for Local Government, and the Minister for Indigenous Policy attended parts of the forum.
I was very proud to open the forum, and took the opportunity to launch the government’s Indigenous Economic Development Strategy 2009-12. This strategy builds on the 2005 NT Indigenous Economic Development Strategy and has, at its heart, the aim of creating jobs in the Territory’s regional economies. The strategy sets real and achievable targets that require commitment and cooperation from all levels of government, from the private sector, and from Territorians themselves.
The strategy’s goals are to see, by 2012, 3000 more Indigenous Territorians commence employment; 10% of Indigenous employment in our public sector; and, 200 new Indigenous businesses. The strategy aims to achieve these goals through improving numeracy and literacy, and offering students real pathways to employment; also developing and delivering work readiness programs; supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs; and, the development of Indigenous enterprises on Aboriginal land. By doing that, we need to work with traditional owners, land councils, and other organisations to negotiate secure leases for the development of local businesses. It is also about promoting joint ventures and commercial partnerships.
The participation of Indigenous Territorians in our economy is crucial to our future growth and prosperity. I look forward to reporting on the progress of achieving these goals set out in the strategy.
National Rental Affordability Scheme
Ms PURICK to MINISTER for HOUSING
Last month, the opposition revealed that the Northern Territory had missed out for a second time on grants issued under the Commonwealth’s National Rental Affordability Scheme. When asked why we had missed out, you told the media, ‘My understanding is they did not meet the criteria - not exactly sure why’. Given the appalling lack of availability of affordable rental accommodation in the Territory, why did you not know that no grants under the Commonwealth scheme had been awarded to the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, in round two, the Territory had two applications – one was outside Gove; and the other one was in Bees Creek in the rural area. One of the criteria is having access to public transport, having an affordable housing rental scheme, so those people must have an income of a level to be able to support the rent, which was 80% of the market rent - so access to public transport and other criteria are part of the application process. At Bees Creek there were also zoning issues. Having a more intensive development in the rural area was not something that would have been easy to get through the planning scheme.
We are very keen to get an NRAS project up. We are working with several developers at the moment. I had a conversation with the minister, Tanya Plibersek, only a few weeks ago about the Northern Territory gaining one of these proposals. I think if a development comes forward which meets the criteria, it will get up. It is certainly something that will go to easing housing rental affordability.
Those two proposals clearly did not meet the criteria, and they were not able to be successful. We are hopeful in future rounds. We are in round three at the moment. My department is working very closely with the developers to find some appropriate projects which will be successful.
Health Services and Nurse Numbers
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for HEALTH
Can you update the House on how this government is delivering better health services with more nurses in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, our government has made a commitment to all Territorians - we are going to provide the best possible health services, equivalent to the ones down south. You cannot provide a good health service unless you have appropriately qualified personnel. You cannot run hospitals and clinics without nurses, and I am very pleased to say that, today, we employ more nurses in the Territory than ever before.
When we came to government in 2001, there were 1322 nurses, after years of neglect by the CLP government - they even removed 200 nurses from the system – 200 nurses.
Members interjecting.
Mr VATSKALIS: It is reported in the Health Department annual report.
In 2001, there were 1322 nurses. I am very pleased to say that, by the end of September 2009, we have 1949 nurses – 627 nurses more; a 50% increase since 2001. These nurses are working throughout the Territory in hospitals, in clinics, in remote communities and urban communities. Next year, we are going to employ an extra 100 graduate nurses. The nurses who have been trained here are going to work in our hospitals. The stability within the nursing profession around the Territory is at the highest level – 80% at the Royal Darwin Hospital - and the turnover is at the lowest level.
We were very pleased this week to welcome Ms Jo Seiler, the new Director of Nursing at Royal Darwin Hospital. She comes to us with years of experience in nursing positions, and in management in South Australia and Victoria, and has demonstrated strong clinical governance and leadership skills.
We have made a commitment that we are going to provide the best possible health service in the Territory, and we will make that come true by employing more nurses than ever in the Territory.
National Rental Affordability Scheme
Ms PURICK to MINISTER for HOUSING
My question is in regard to the National Rental Affordability Scheme again. At the same media conference you said, in future your government, ‘… will try to work with the private sector to get better applications in the future’. Is this not an admission you failed dismally to work with industry in the first place to ensure the Territory received a slice of the grant available under the National Rental Affordability Scheme? Is it not the case that you have failed Territorians, despite the desperate shortage of affordable rental housing in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is very much targeted towards the private sector, and private sector developers putting applications into the Commonwealth government. We only had two proposals come forward. These were clearly outside of any area of me being able to rein it in from the Commonwealth, trying to get it over the line. They were clearly well outside the criteria.
My department is working with developers to get proposals up which match the criteria of NRAS. It is a great scheme; it is a very ambitious scheme. It is something the Rudd government put out there as part of a suite of ideas and initiatives to try to get more housing. When the Rudd government came in, in 2007, the first thing Rudd did was send his ministers out to homeless shelters. The reason he did that was because he visited a Mission Australia facility in Queensland, I believe. One thing that struck him was that he recognised a man there. This man was his son’s former teacher, a man of education, who had fallen through the gap and ended up in a homeless shelter for men.
When the Rudd government came in, they went straight into that homeless area, straight into the affordable housing, and of all the things they could have done with …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr KNIGHT: Of all the things that the Rudd government could have done, could have spent their money on, in an economic downturn that this generation has not seen, $6.4bn went into social housing across the nation. We are stimulating affordable rental accommodation. That is the commitment of the federal Labor government. We are looking at initiatives of our own, working with the Commonwealth, and we will attempt to work with the private sector. It is up to the private sector to come up with ideas. It is their money, it is their proposal. They have to fund several millions of dollars to get these projects up, so the risk is largely on them. We will work with them to try to get some proposals up. That is our commitment.
Territory Business Growth Programs
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for BUSINESS
The government has a strong record of supporting business to grow. Can you advise the Assembly of the programs delivered by the government to support business?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I was listening very carefully to what the Chief Minister had to say, and also the Treasurer, particularly in relation to the ANZ’s assessment of the Territory economy, particularly in relation to growth, employment and a whole range of very important indicators, and how the Territory is really, I suppose, the growth centre of Australia, economically speaking, of course.
Mr Bohlin interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Also, participating in October - well you might not want to know about it, member for Drysdale. You are continually interjecting in this place, and you are continually trying to pull down any goods news that might not fit your particular world view. You had better sit back and listen because this is very important.
Mr Bohlin interjecting.
Dr BURNS: You are obviously not listening to business, because business is telling us exactly the same thing. Business is telling the Sensis business survey that they certainly have confidence in our economy, and they are also saying to the Sensis business survey that this is a government that is giving them incredible support in their business.
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: The member for Braitling was actually at the October Business function in Alice Springs last week. He would have heard Christena Singh from the Sensis business survey say exactly these things.
But, actually, around Australia …
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I was not at this function that the member is talking about.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Dr BURNS: Well, I apologise. I thought you were – well, you should have been. I have not seen members of the opposition attending these functions. I must have been mistaken. There was another function that you won a prize at. I thought it was that one, but it was the Tourism one.
Ms Lawrie: Did he give it back?
Dr BURNS: No, he did not.
It is important that we recognise that there is a lot of growth going on in the Territory. As the Chief Minister alluded to, many of the problems and issues and challenges we have revolve around growth. As Christena Singh said at a number of functions in Darwin and Alice Springs, and the one I attended in Nhulunbuy, this government is recognised by small business and medium-sized business as being very supportive of the programs we offer to business to support them do business much better.
One very good example is the Territory Business Growth program. Under this program, NT businesses receive financial support from the government to engage expert business consultants to work directly with them to improve outcomes in all aspects of their business. In the last financial year, 123 Territory businesses availed themselves of this particular program, at a total cost of $500 000. Obviously, businesses are getting a lot of value out of these programs.
Another program that we have is the Industry Participation policy of this government. That supports local business for major projects, to become involved and get support. We look to entrepreneurs who are establishing projects with a value exceeding $5m to have an Industry Participation Plan, in other words, how they might engage with local business to provide goods and services to the project.
There are currently 30 Industry Participation Plans in the Territory; the value of the projects exceeds $1.4bn. That is certainly a big sum. We are currently in negotiation with INPEX about their project, which will be another fillip for industry and businesses within the Territory.
The Department of Business also offers the Territory Business Upskills program, particularly for small- and medium-sized businesses. There are a number of workshops to improve aspects of their business operations in particular. There were 76 workshops held last financial year, and 642 businesses availed themselves of those. We also have an industry development support program, where industry groups are supported to develop an industry plan. Very significantly, the Australian Industry Defence Network is very important to the Defence procurement industry in the Northern Territory; the International Business Council; and the Northern Territory Industry Capability Network which is providing support for the INPEX project.
This is a government that is very interested in small- to medium-sized businesses as well as larger projects. We are a government which is providing support for business, and I know it is very much appreciated. Much of the economic development and growth we are experiencing in the Northern Territory goes to these sorts of programs, and to the fact that we are a government which has provided a framework - the lowest-taxing jurisdiction for small and medium business in Australia. I am proud to be part of a government which is valued by small business, and is shown by objective surveys such as the Sensis survey. I look forward to more good news in the future. I am sure it is there, it is coming. We are a government that really can point to a record of support for business.
Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016