2006-06-13
Aboriginal Customary Law
Ms CARNEY to CHIEF MINISTER
Should I become Chief Minister, I would immediately make it mandatory to report domestic violence, remove customary law from the consideration of courts when sentencing violent Aboriginal men, remove violent men from their communities while they wait to be dealt with by the courts, cease doing business with Aboriginal organisations where men who hold public office …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! This is Question Time, not an opportunity for the Leader of the Opposition to make a policy announcement. It is Question Time to ask questions of ministers, not make policy announcements as to what the Leader of the Opposition may or may not do if she ever becomes Chief Minister.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please get to the question.
Ms CARNEY: Yes, Mr Acting Speaker. I will cease doing business with Aboriginal organisations where men who hold public office have been convicted of crimes of sexual or physical violence. I would also prioritise the removal of Aboriginal children at risk. I would implement these reforms. However, since you are the Chief Minister and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, will you?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, when the Opposition Leader puts out a policy statement like that, if she is saying it is an alternative, she should be basing it on fact. This government has taken a lot of action in those areas that have just been identified by the Opposition Leader. It is very interesting that a member of the Country Liberal Party is saying: ‘If I were back in power I would do …’ yet, if you compare that with when they were in power, they were very poor on acting on many of those issues.
A number of the areas that the Opposition Leader identified rely on very effective police action and having effective and properly resourced police. Under the CLP, that was not the case. Under this government, in five years, police resources have increased by 55%. What that means is that there are police who are taking on those tasks. In an important area like domestic violence - wherever it is happening across the Territory - we are having a greater ability to take much more effective action to support women who are the victims of that domestic violence and take their cases to court. That is because we have effective police resources in place to do that. I praise those Domestic Violence Units within our police force – Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin – who are doing that very effective work.
It is all very well for the Opposition Leader to say: ‘If I were Chief Minister I would …’. It is very important to remember that, when the CLP was in government they did not take that action; they did not put the proper resources in place to even take that action. We are dealing here with very serious issues right across the Territory, which this government takes very seriously, and we will continue to take seriously.
Nuclear Power – Federal Government Decision
Mr KNIGHT to CHIEF MINISTER
The federal government has decided to look at the possibility of Australia going nuclear some time in the future. Could you please let the House know what the Territory government thinks about the prospect of Australia becoming a nuclear power for our future energy needs?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, what was it? Just a couple of weeks ago, the Prime Minister said that Australia is going to have a nuclear power debate. A lot of the discussion, since that announcement was made, has been nuclear versus coal power. There has been a lot of discussion about that. However, any true Territorian would be saying: ‘Nuclear, coal? Gas!’ That is what this is about. Our Western Australian colleagues are also saying that, when you are looking at energy sources, gas is where we should be focusing our attention. Gas is clean, it is green, it is abundant. If you have a national discussion about gas as an energy source, then there will not be the community concern we have already seen about such a public discussion. That would not be there if you were talking about gas.
There you have a picture: rather than the one that the present federal government did some research on in the late 1990s, which dotted nuclear power stations around Australia, including in Darwin - no wonder they did not release that. They asked: ‘Where can we put a nuclear power station? Darwin is a good place’.
Instead of having nuclear power facilities spread around Australia, what about gas pipelines? I say let us go the gas pipelines - a gas pipeline from Darwin, going south through to Moomba, and one coming from somewhere like Karratha, from the North-West Shelf, south-east into the grid as well. We have plenty of gas in Australia. Currently, we use about one …
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: Listen to those across the House putting down gas! Here we are, on the edge of the Timor Sea, with 22 trillion cubic feet of gas known about at this stage, and who is putting it down? The CLP! The CLP is putting it down. Terrific! Great visionaries on that side of the House - great visionaries. We have plenty of gas. We currently use in Australia about one trillion cubic feet of gas, and that represents less than 1% of current known reserves. Between the known gas areas, particularly the North-West Shelf and the Timor Sea, there is a lot of gas. We can talk about domestic gas, LNG and the other aspects of what you can do with gas.
It is interesting that the Prime Minister, in raising the issue of nuclear power, is talking about what we do with uranium, rather than have that whole thing of just dig it up and ship it out. He is saying that we have to look at the process of enrichment as well. However, that also applies to gas. It is an issue we have been raising in the national media for a long time, and I have taken to the Prime Minister and the Resources minister, Ian Macfarlane; that we should be doing more with gas than we are currently doing, and looking at value-adding to gas in those downstreaming areas. You can talk about gas to liquids technology, methanol, and the whole petrochemical industry. There is capacity in Australia to do much more with the gas we currently have - and it does make sense.
Therefore, in this debate we are having, where is gas? We need more loud voices to say gas is a very green energy source, it is abundant, and it certainly would have much stronger community support than talking about nuclear reactors dotted around the countryside.
Violence against Women and Children –Housing Overcrowding
Ms CARNEY to CHIEF MINISTER
Mr Acting Speaker, I will get back to another, arguably much more important, national debate. You have said that overcrowding in houses causes people to be violent and abuse children. As you know, many families are large and experience overcrowding. It is not for me to speculate on why you hold the view that overcrowding is a cause of violence and sexual abuse. Instead, could you explain to this parliament why you hold this view? Do you seriously assert that more housing will reduce incidences of violence against women and children?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, how can you have an Opposition Leader in the Territory who says that overcrowding in housing is not an issue? We know that in our Aboriginal communities we probably have $1bn-worth of housing outstanding right now. That is leading to a situation where, in many communities, you will have 17 to 20 people in each house. It is a fact of life that, in a community’s ability to function, you cannot function effectively when there are 17 to 20 people in a house ...
Mrs Braham: It is not that simple, Chief Minister. Just do not blame housing for what is happening out there.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order, member for Braitling!
Ms MARTIN: Mr Acting Speaker, in this whole issue we are talking about and have seen discussed nationally over the last six weeks, it is a complex one, and it certainly does not have a ‘one shot in the locker’ answer. Housing is an important component in dealing with the issues that face Aboriginal communities ...
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! My question was very specific. I refer the Chief Minister to two quotes she made, one on a national radio station and another in responding to the budget, in which the Chief Minister asserts that …
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, what is your point of order?
Ms CARNEY: My point of order, Mr Acting Speaker, is that the question was about why it is the Chief Minister holds the view that overcrowding causes violence and sexual abuse,. I ask that you direct her to answer it.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: We know that the Chief Minister has the latitude to answer the question as she desires. There is no point of order. Please continue, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: Mr Acting Speaker, housing is a very important component of dealing with the issues that face our communities, and overcrowding is a fact of life. It is unacceptable and one that we are talking to the federal government about. When you have a federal government that is saying: ‘Yes, we must take action’, they cannot turn their backs on the fact that we have an outstanding requirement for housing in the bush. That is a fact of life. If the Opposition Leader wants to say that, somehow or other, I am saying that overcrowding in houses is the cause of domestic violence and child sexual abuse …
Ms Carney: You did. Twice you said that.
Ms MARTIN: It is a contributing factor …
Ms Carney: Says who? Tell the big families out there. Rubbish! You are making it up as you go along.
Ms MARTIN: It is a part of the complex reasons why we have the situations we do.
We will put in place effective policing. We have greater numbers of police around the Territory than we did five years ago. We have increased resources to our child protection area - and that is by four times in the last three years; we have quadrupled the budget for child protection. We now have workers in the bush talking to those key people in our communities - whether it is the nurses at the clinic, the teachers at the school and the police - to make sure that we are getting better information. We have seen the reporting on child sexual abuse increase. There is a sadness in that. However, we are uncovering and taking the lid off it, and it is important that we do that. In all those areas, we have increased resources.
The one that we really find outside our budget capacity is housing. It is a factor in this. The Opposition Leader can stand here and say all she likes that it is not a factor. It is a contributing factor. I will still be taking it up to the federal government saying: ‘You have a responsibility to assist in this important part of dealing with the issues facing our communities’ which is - the Opposition Leader can close her ears to this, do not listen - housing.
Territory Population and the Economy
Mr BONSON to TREASURER
Population growth is critical to the future economic development of the Territory. Can the Treasurer advise the House of the Territory’s current population position? Are we experiencing growth? What impact is this having on our economy?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for his question. In 2005, the Territory had a nett positive result for interstate migration - in other words, more people came to live in the Territory from other states and territories of Australia than left - in fact, 477. You might scoff and say that is not a very big figure. It is not a very big figure but it is the first time in 10 years that that has occurred. You have to go back to the mid-1990s, to Kim Beazley’s foresight and vision as Minister for Defence, when he made the decision with the federal government to move the military to the north. That was the only time in recent years that we did have that nett positive interstate migration.
If you want to find a year when growth was positive - for instance, as a result of normal growth - you have to go back another decade, to the 1980s. Overall, our population is growing at 1.8% per annum, second only to Queensland. Our population is 204 453 people. In 2005, we received a nett additional 418 people as a result of overseas migration; 477 people as a result of positive interstate migration; and our population increased by 2714 people as a result of natural increase.
Why is it so important to us? It is because population provides the base for economic expansion. It increases our labour pool, it means an increased domestic market and, of course, both have an escalator effect within the economy overall. It broadens the economic base of the Territory, which is critical to the future. We are building on the Territory’s future and delivering on this very important aspect of Territory growth.
Violence in Aboriginal Communities
Ms CARNEY to CHIEF MINISTER
The Lateline interview with Dr Nanette Rogers drew attention to the extent of violence against women and children in Aboriginal communities. You embarrassed yourself, your party and the Northern Territory with your handling of events after that interview, and you were roundly criticised by the national media, and deservedly so. Your recent media release hailing your so-called 20-year plan, curiously, does not mention the word ‘violence’. What practical and immediate measures are you going to undertake to address the culture of violence in many indigenous communities, to protect women and children who are being assaulted every day, and to stop violent Aboriginal men hiding behind customary law when they are sentenced?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, to address the final part of the question, I refer the Opposition Leader to the interview that our Chief Justice, Brian Martin, did on ABC radio last week, where he was talking about the relationship between customary law and sentencing and says it is an absolutely minor factor. If the Opposition Leader wants to imply that, somehow or other, customary law is being used by the courts to allow Aboriginal men to escape proper punishment for a crime they have committed, then I refer the Opposition Leader to the Chief Justice. Maybe she would like to read the transcript of that interview. He was very clear.
Reflecting on the interview that was on Lateline with Nanette Rogers, it was interesting responding to the national media about those issues – and the interview I did with John Laws showed to me how clearly that that interview had skewed what was happening – that the national audience had no idea that the cases that Dr Nanette Rogers had talked about had actually been investigated and taken to court, and that the perpetrators were spending serious amounts of time in gaol because of those offences. There was no understanding in our national media that that was the case. There was no understanding in the national media that, because of the increased resources we had put into child protection, policing, and health in the bush, that we were in a much better position to be able to identify those cases and to actually make the prosecutions and have effective punishments.
It has been an interesting but skewed national debate about a very serious issue in the Territory. However, the perception that, somehow, the Territory had these child abuse cases - which every state faces, which are serious and must be taken very seriously - and we did nothing, was an interesting one coming from the mouth of a Crown prosecutor. I found it very interesting, and to have …
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker! I urge you to counsel the Chief Minister to withdraw her remark. Dr Nanette Rogers neither said nor implied any such thing.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Please continue, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: Mr Acting Speaker, to clarify, the transcript of the interview showed very clearly that there was no discussion of that. It was just a discussion of these cases that have happened, with no context given, about where the prosecutions or the punishments were. That was the image that was given of the Territory to the national media. The question I had to answer was: how could you not do anything about that? I said: ‘They are all cases that have gone through the court system’ - .all cases. One of the perpetrators was going to be locked up for 25 years. None of that was mentioned. The interview I did with John Laws really highlighted that.
It is an issue we are taking very seriously. I have talked about the increased resources we are putting in place. We have a lot more to do as a Territory community. We have a lot more to do as government. Aboriginal Territorians have a lot more to do. We all have to work together to overcome, as every jurisdiction has to overcome, issues of child sexual abuse, domestic violence and violence in communities. We all do. Whether it is in Darwin, Sydney or in a remote community in the Northern Territory, these are major issues and ones we must confront every day.
Wadeye Community – Gang Violence
Mr KNIGHT to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
The community of Wadeye has been the subject of significant media attention over the past few weeks, largely due to unacceptable fighting. Can the minister inform the House what measures the government is taking to address these issues?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. Wadeye is in his electorate and he is very concerned about these issues, and we have discussed them at length. The gang-related violence that we have seen recently in Wadeye is totally unacceptable. Let me say that very clearly. It is unacceptable to the government but, most importantly, it is unacceptable to the vast majority of the residents at Wadeye who are totally outraged by the behaviour that has been going on in the community. People have a right to feel safe in their own community.
I visited Wadeye a day or two after the latest bouts of gang-related violence, and the message that came home very loudly and clearly to me, as Police minister was, not only did the community want to see an additional police presence and increased resources, but they very much acknowledged that police had done a very significant job in arresting and charging people on multiple counts of offences. However, the concerns from the community are that the court process took a significant amount of time to work through. The feeling in the community was that police would arrest and charge and then nothing would happen for months and months whilst the legal system swung into action.
On returning I spoke to my colleague, the Justice minister. We went to work with our agencies to devise an approach to expedite those court hearings in Wadeye. I am pleased to say that, today and tomorrow, and further if necessary, hearings are being held and people who have been charged are being brought before the courts.
As well as doing that, Police and Justice are working on a task force, looking at legislation to further disrupt gang activity, not only in Wadeye but across the Territory. We are looking at new offences to tackle the situation there, and more police resources. In the short term, we have four additional Tactical Response Group police based at Wadeye. Since those extra police have been there, there has been a significant decline in incidents in the community. We are increasing the number of police officers at Wadeye to eight. Two demountable houses will be sent out there over the next month. A permanent duplex is being constructed and, hopefully, that will be completed by the end of the year. Community Corrections will also employ an additional Probation and Parole Officer, and an Aboriginal Community Corrections officer to be permanently stationed at Wadeye, as well as the existing regional Probation and Parole Officer currently based there.
We are certainly looking at introducing legislation, hopefully in the August sittings, that will cut criminal gang activity off before it escalates. The main powers that we are seeking to give police will be to disrupt groups at their source, to target individual members of gangs, to prevent groups from recruiting others, or gaining wealth or power and, more broadly, preventing criminal groups from becoming involved in other activity - for example, the liquor industry and drug-related activity. Police are going to be able to stop, search and seize from people who are engaged in these activities without a warrant. This is just one aspect of the plan we are looking at.
People in the Wadeye community were certainly looking to additional police resources, expedited court proceedings and tougher action against these gangs causing so much disruption in that community. This is a government that will be working on all of those three fronts to the benefit of, not only the people of Wadeye but the rest of the Northern Territory, along with the work that David Coles is doing there as the government coordinator. The government has heard the message from the people of Wadeye and we are putting those actions in place.
Larrakeyah Sewage Outfall – Diversion to Ludmilla Treatment Plant
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Under Power and Water’s Darwin Sewerage Strategy developed between 1994 and 1996, it was proposed that raw sewage be diverted from the Larrakeyah outfall to the Ludmilla Treatment Plant. In 1999, the previous government announced the first stage of that diversion in their capital works budget. Considering that is seven years ago, and there are now more and more people living in the Darwin CBD, Larrakeyah and Cullen Bay areas, why has your government not continued with the Darwin Sewerage Strategy? When would your government commit to building a sewer main from Larrakeyah to Ludmilla so that pumping untreated sewage into the harbour is a thing of the past? What are you doing to stop plastic and other materials entering the harbour through the Larrakeyah outfall?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I agree that pumping untreated raw sewage into our harbour is unacceptable. It is a practice that Power and Water have a strategy to cease within the next five years.
The Darwin Sewerage Strategy has not been stopped; it is still in place. We have seen significant expenditure over the last few years of this government - up to $13m has been spent on expediting that strategy. All sewerage network upgrades from Dinah Beach to the Ludmilla Treatment Plant that will allow closure of the Larrakeyah outfall have been completed. A final diversion tunnel or pump station and upgrade of the Ludmilla Waste Water Treatment Plant is required. That is in their statement of corporate intent. We are looking at a $40m upgrade. There is a lot of engineering and pre-engineering work that has been commenced, and we are working towards that.
For the member for Nelson to say that the strategy was put in place and has been ceased by this government is wrong. It is in place, it is active, and $13m has been expended towards progressing that strategy. In discussions that I have had with the CEO of Power and Water today, it is the aspiration and the target of Power and Water to see the Larrakeyah outfall closed within five years. If we can expedite that, then we will. However, it is not an easy task, there is significant engineering work to do. We are talking about laying pipes under the CBD, and one can only imagine how difficult that is as an engineering exercise. However, $40m will be allocated over the next five years towards this task.
In regard to people putting inappropriate material into sewers, that is something that I believe Power and Water as a corporation, myself as minister, and all of us as members, should be saying to people to only use the sewers for what they are put there for. Putting inappropriate material into our sewerage system does not help anybody, and I am calling on all people to observe that. Do not flush things down the toilet that should not be put there; use other disposal methods.
The strategy is in place. The funding has been appropriated towards that over the last few years. It is going to take $40m to fix the problem, and that money will be spent over the next five years.
Radiation Oncology Service
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for HEALTH
The Northern Territory government is committed to building a high-quality, safe and sustainable radiation oncology service in Darwin. Can the minister update the Assembly on the measures the Northern Territory government has been working on towards making this important commitment reality?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I start by making our commitment to the oncology unit very clear. We remain committed to delivering a safe and sustainable quality radiation oncologist service for Darwin. We remain committed today, as we have every single day since that promise was made. The work is progressing very well at the moment. To remind members of the history of this, following our election commitment, we commissioned and received expert advice. That Frommer report has now been released publicly. It spells out all of the complexities that we have had to deal with in working this project up. The Frommer report basically said that there are some very difficult issues to deal with if we are going to establish this service in Darwin. We took that on board.
Members interjecting.
Dr TOYNE: Mr Acting Speaker, I am finding it hard to hear myself, let alone anyone else.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I remind members of Standing Order 51, which states no interruption.
Mr Mills: No interruption at all?
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Well, I find your levity out of place on this particular subject, member for Blain.
Dr TOYNE: The second thing we did was go out and find a private sector partner, or a partner that can actually run the service in Darwin should it be established here. That was based on the expert advice that it was going to be very difficult to establish a free-standing service here; it really needed to be run off a larger oncology radiation unit.
The third thing was that we twice approached the federal government – once in November 2004 and, secondly, in February of this year – to say: ‘Come on, you have to come in and help us’. When we made the initial promise, we made it very clear that we would need support from the federal government to make this service available to people in Darwin and the rest of the Northern Territory. We now, finally, have an offer on the table from the federal government. That offer needs further negotiation, but we now have confirmation from the federal Health minister that $13m is on the table, and that that is a commitment to the capital part of the project.
We are now in very intense negotiations with the federal department of Health. The starting point for those negotiations has been the estimated five-year cost of the project, which we put both to the federal department and in our public announcements about this project. It is a $48.139m five-year cost on the existing estimates, mostly that have come from the Frommer report. We now have the feds to agree with that as the starting point of the negotiations.
What is still at issue is the recurrent costs. We are encouraged by the response of the federal department in regard to their willingness to look at the recurrent costs of the project, and the whole project, not just simply the bunkers and the linacs that would be the actual treatment centre for our cancer patients. We have to ensure that there is a total service provided to them. We are now much closer to coming to a mutually acceptable position with the federal government.
These estimated figures have to be fully tested before we can finally tie down what commitment would be needed from our government, what commitment would come from the federal government, and what the private provider is going to put into the service. We need to know what they will need regarding their total requirements to run the service for us. All of that work is going on. I can assure the House that, first of all, there is not a day goes by where this is not being worked on. Secondly, we are infinitely closer to a resolution to this than we have been at any of the earlier stages of this process. We will keep working to deliver our promise to Territorians.
Customary Law in Sentencing
Ms CARNEY to CHIEF MINISTER
Like your Attorney-General, you have said that customary law in sentencing can be used as an aggravating factor. This has apparently only occurred twice. Although I have previously asked the Attorney-General to advise if it has happened more than that, he has refused to do so. Customary law in all its guises is used regularly in the courts of the Northern Territory, and your own Labor Party President, Warren Mundine, has called for it to be removed. Why does a person’s race or culture mean that they get different treatment under the law? Do you favour the rights of violent Aboriginal men over those of Aboriginal women and children?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, the issue of customary law is one that has been raised in the current debate by the federal Indigenous Affairs minister, Mal Brough. I do not believe it was properly understood on the national level. It was raised in the context that, somehow or other, it could be used as a defence. Three years ago, we very clearly removed the last aspect of customary law as a defence in our jurisdiction. I will not be coy about the fact that there was a lot of anger directed towards me and this government in our community, for doing that.
Very properly, we made the decision, as someone who is a lawyer should understand, about what is taken into account in sentencing. That is very different from a defence; this is the sentencing. There are a range of things that are taken into account in our sentencing, and have been for a long time. We said that customary law was one of those aspects, and it should be properly tested as customary law. That is the first time and compares starkly with what the CLP did in government. It could either be a mitigating or an aggravating factor. That is a very logical and fair aspect of how to use customary law - as you use other things such as culture, a person’s socioeconomic circumstances; many different factors taken into account.
As the debate heats up over customary law, let us focus on where customary law is having an impact and if it is somehow distorting sentences as we might have seen in the past. I again refer the Opposition Leader to our Chief Justice, Brian Martin, and what he said about how customary law does impact on sentencing. He said very small.
While I am on my feet, I pay tribute to our Chief Justice. There has not been a Chief Justice in Australian history who has said, publicly, when interviewed in various aspects of the media, that he made a mistake. I say: ‘Good on you, Brian Martin’. That took a lot of guts. He is demonstrating from our Supreme Court, that the community view has been very clearly reflected in our Supreme Court. It is reflected in our laws and it is now being clearly reflected by our judges. The stand that has been taken by our Chief Justice is one that we should commend. Justices around the country should take a look at what Brian Martin has done, and also look at the very clear line he has made about punishments and the very small impact that he has said that customary law does have as a factor in any sentencing across the Territory.
Northern Territory Population and Economic Growth
Ms SACILOTTO to MINISTER for BUSINESS and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Treasurer has just outlined how the Territory population and economy is continuing to enjoy strong growth. Can the minister tell the House if Territory business is benefiting from this growth?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for Port Darwin for her question. We hear a lot of talk about economies. First and foremost, the economy is about people. A strongly performing economy as we have here in the Northern Territory is good for every Territorian. It is good for Territory business, allowing them to grow and expand. It is good for workers in the economy to see increased wages result from the increased economic activity, and it is good for employment as more jobs become available.
The latest Sensis Business Index again shows that the Territory continues to perform, outstripping the rest of the nation apart from Western Australia. Territory business confidence for the year ahead is 58%. Small- to medium-sized businesses have the highest profitability expectations, with 56% of small business owners expecting to turn more profits in the year ahead. Territory small and medium enterprises are recording the highest expectation nationally for sales growth of 51%. Territory businesses again recorded the strongest employment expectations for the year ahead, with 26% of businesses expecting to employ more staff to cope with increased demand. That is a very significant result. Over a quarter of our businesses across the Northern Territory are expecting to put on more staff this year. That is fantastic news for the economy and population figures.
In a lesser but important number, again, the Northern Territory showed the strongest increase in small to medium enterprises exporting. An additional 5% of companies from the Territory were exporting in the last quarter.
All of this does not happen in a vacuum. The national economy is growing very strongly, but the Territory government is doing its part as well. The budget that we have just handed down delivers stronger tax cuts, a massive infrastructure program and strategic investment. Our business tax cuts since we came to government have reached $74m, with a commitment to cut another $134m. That is over $200m by the end of this term that we will have put back into the bank accounts of small businesses across the Northern Territory, allowing them to invest in and expand their business, and employ more Territorians.
Very proudly, we are a government that now has the lowest taxing environment for small business across Australia. We have worked hard to get to that point as a government. What that has led to is more Territorians employed than ever before, strong population growth, strong business growth, strong investment growth and a strong economy. I am sure that it is something that every member of this House wants to see continue into the future.
Primary Industry Support Programs
Mrs BRAHAM to MINISTER for PRIMARY INDUSTRY and FISHERIES
Last week, you announced an industry support program for primary industry and fisheries. You listed six associations, all in the Top End. The one from Central Australia that has missed out is the Central Australian Camel Industry Association. You used the excuse of the number of camels being exported.
Were you aware that your figures you quoted were wrong? Were you told of the many Aboriginal communities that have invested heavily in infrastructure to supply the domestic market? I am sure the member for Macdonnell can tell you about what is happening at Docker River. Do you realise the number of camels that go to the South Australian abattoir each week? Are you aware of the Chief Minister’s and the minister for Business’s statements about encouraging economic development and employment in Aboriginal communities?
Why, then, did you not show some support to the camel industry in Central Australia but, rather, gave the Amateur Fishermen’s Association $170 000; the Agricultural Association of the Top End $120 000; the Horticultural Association $179 000; livestock exporters $53 000; buffalo $54 000; the Seafood Council $180 000 - nothing to Central Australia?
ANSWER
Mr Acting Speaker, I thank the member for her question. There are a number of associations which have been funded in the Top End. The reason we have not funded any association or organisation in Central Australia is because we did not receive an application.
With regards to the camel industry, I have to say that, in the past 10 years, both the CLP and Labor governments have supported the industry. Unfortunately, we spent $2m and we have managed to export 1600 camels, simply because there is no market for the camels – neither domestically nor internationally. It is an unfortunate series of events. The fact is that our camels are too far away from the consumption centres; there are no purpose-built boats to export live camels; there is no abattoir in the Territory to slaughter camels …
On the other hand, we understand the issue of camels as feral animals and the damage they can do to the environment. We will continue to support indigenous communities to obtain federal funds, that are available, in order to address the issue.
Marrara Football Stadium - Construction Update
I am sure most of us sat up last night to watch the great Socceroos win their first round match …
Mr NATT: … in Germany. Well done, team. However, closer to home, can you please update the House on the progress towards the construction of the football stadium at Marrara.
The Territory government is out there also kicking goals for football fanatics. Of course, we are referring to the fact that we have under way construction of the Darwin football stadium. We have announced that Sitzlers have the construction contract for the football stadium at Marrara …
Members interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: It is fantastic! I know that the opposition have been against this project from the start …
Members interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: I know they have consistently whinged, whined, harped and complained about it. However, I have to say that the football fraternity right throughout Darwin has been coming up and saying, ’Fantastic’.
Sitzlers were the ones we were hoping would get the tender, even though it was an arm’s length process from my agency. The feedback I have been getting from the football fraternity is that they are excited that it is a project that has gone to a local company such as Sitzlers. It is a project that is now worth more than $7m, with a commitment to build, of course, the two international standard soccer pitches.
I have a picture here of the stand. You can see the grandstand. I was talking to Steve Margetic of Sitzlers at the site at Marrara, and he was saying that the detailed plans they have for this grandstand will make it a spectacular grandstand building. This graphic does not quite do the grandstand justice. However, the football fraternity across the Territory is very excited. There are already ideas of, perhaps, getting Guus out to be at the opening. I know that the Russians are paying big money to get him, but he is the coach at the moment for Australia. If we can snag a Socceroo, it would be absolutely fantastic for our football-mad fraternity here.
I congratulate the football community for all the work they have put in. They have worked right through this process with officers from Sport and Recreation to go into the design and planning stage of the football stadium. Those two international football fields will be fantastic, due in time, of course, for the Arafura Games. We know that football is a fast growth sport right through the region, so it will certainly enhance our relationships. We will all have some late nights ahead with the football World Cup. What an exciting time for football in Australia.
Chief Minister – Comments about Violence against Women and Children
Ms CARNEY to CHIEF MINISTER
The day after the Lateline interview with Dr Nanette Rogers, you claimed that Dr Rogers said that violence against women and children was getting better. You knew that that was not what she said, and that things are getting worse, not better. Then, in an interview with John Laws on 17 May 2006, you said that the paper Dr Rogers delivered at the police conference indicated the ‘effective action’ your government was taking. She did no such thing and you have not read the paper she delivered. In the same interview, you also said that one of the cases that Dr Rogers referred to, involving a rape and drowning of a young girl, had previously not become public. That is also untrue. Chief Minister, why did you lie about those matters? Why do you not tell the truth about violence against women and children, or will you continue to lie?
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Mr Acting Speaker!
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order before the Chair.
Mr HENDERSON: Mr Acting Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition well knows that she can only accuse a member of this House of lying only by way of substantive motion. I request that you ask her to withdraw.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I ask you to withdraw that comment please, Leader of the Opposition.
Ms CARNEY: Mr Acting Speaker, I withdraw those comments.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Proposed Motion of Censure of Chief Minister
Proposed Motion of Censure of Chief Minister
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Acting Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent this House from censuring the Chief Minister for:
- 1. her atrocious response to the issues raised by …
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition! Are you accepting this censure, Leader of Government Business?
Ms Carney: You should hear what it is.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Speaking to your observation, we will consider whether we take on the censure after hearing the censure. However, in the meantime, I request that the cameras cease recording.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: I request that the cameras cease recording, please. Please continue, Leader of the Opposition.
Ms CARNEY: Mr Acting Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent this Assembly from censuring the Chief Minister for –
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: One moment please, Leader of the Opposition. Please stop recording.
Dr Lim: Oh, gag it! The public wants to know what the censure is about.
Members interjecting.
Mr ACTING SPEAKER: Please continue, Leader of the Opposition.
Ms CARNEY: Mr Acting Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended that would prevent this Assembly from censuring the Chief Minister for:
- 1. her atrocious response to the issues raised by Dr Nanette Rogers in her interview on Lateline in May regarding violence against women and children;
- 2. her lacklustre response to the issue of violence against women and children since coming to government;
- 3. lying to Territorians and Australians about a number of issues relating to violence in indigenous communities;
- 4. embarrassing herself, her party and the Northern Territory during the national debate about violence in indigenous communities;
5. failing to provide any solutions to address violence in indigenous communities;
- 6. refusing to attend the national summit called by the federal Indigenous Affairs minister; and
- 7. failing to remove customary law from the consideration of courts when sentencing violent Aboriginal men, thereby sanctioning their rights and preferring those rights over those of their victims, namely women and children.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Mr Acting Speaker, the government will accept this censure motion. It is the most serious motion that can be brought before the House. I advise this Assembly that we will be defending it with vigour.
[Editor’s Note: Question Time ceased for moving of Censure Motion.]
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016