2007-02-14
Nurses - Numbers in Public Hospitals
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
How many nurses are required to adequately staff public hospitals? How many nursing positions are provided by Northern Territory Health to our hospital system? When will you be releasing the Mantell Report into this matter on which you have been sitting for the last 18 months?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the first thing the member for Greatorex should be aware of is that I have not been Health minister for 18 months, and I certainly have not been sitting on a report for 18 months. In relation to his question, I am advised by the department that as of today, we employ 1134 FTE nurses. This is up 32 FTE from this time last year, and is approximately six short of the planned staffing FTE for this period. I am talking specifically about RDH.
To reiterate what I have said over the last week in relation to nursing numbers, this is a period in which there is a shortage from year to year. People relocate. There is a recruitment process. We have recruited over 60 nurses to RDH since the beginning of the year. Nursing recruitment occurs in a very competitive environment both nationally and internationally. I am confident that our recruitment process and program in most of the major journals and papers that I outlined yesterday is bearing fruit for the Northern Territory.
Employment Growth Rate
Mr BONSON to CHIEF MINISTER
Creating jobs and skilling Territorians is essential to maintaining our great NT lifestyle. Can the Chief Minister advise the House on what progress has been achieved in providing jobs for Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for the question. Unemployment, as you have probably seen, is at a record low in the Territory. The most recent figures say, and we have never seen a figure like this before, that we have 2% unemployment in the Territory. It is an extraordinary figure, certainly unmatched in our history.
While we always treat these figures cautiously, there is a clear trend of very low unemployment. Over the past 12 months in terms of job creation, we have created between 5000 and 6000 jobs in our economy, which is among the fastest rate of employment growth in Australia. Treasury forecasts show that employment is expected to grow at around 5% this year across all sectors of our economy.
Of those new jobs, more than 2000 have been apprentices and trainees, and we have made a commitment over four years for 10 000 Territorians to commence training over that period. We are well on the way to meet that target.
The total number of Territorians in work is around 102 000. If you add Defence forces to that, you have 110 000 Territorians working. The most recent ANZ Bank Job Advertisement Series shows that we have had a 5.4% increase in job advertisements. That is against a national decrease of 4.6% in job advertisements.
This is a remarkable achievement, given that it comes on top of a year of record growth last year. We have kept our focus on providing jobs, creating more jobs and improving our skills base. More Territorians than ever have jobs and a record number of Territorians are now in training. That is good news for Territorians and the long-term wellbeing of our Territory economy.
Nurses - Numbers in Public Hospitals
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
In the 2001 Labor Healthier Hospitals policy, you said that:
- Labor is committed to providing best practice medical care in our hospital system.
As at June last year, there were 62 nursing positions vacant and currently, more than 20% of nurses are working considerable overtime on a weekly basis. How is holding on to this damning report - on which you might not have sat for the last 18 months but the health ministry has - on the adequacy of the provision of nursing services, having 62 positions vacant and 20% of nurses working significant overtime, providing ‘best practice medical care in our hospital system’?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. First, it is a bit rich of the CLP to be pointing the finger at this government over nursing numbers. They were the government that stripped out 200 nurses from the system in the late 1990s. We are a government that is putting 200 …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Dr BURNS: You might not like to hear it, member for Greatorex, you asked the question.
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: You have your wad of paper. We are not sure of the sources, and I will come to that, as is the case many times with the opposition. We have put 270 nursing positions in our hospital. I will read it again, as of now, we employ 1134 FTE nurses - this is my advice from the department - which is up 32 FTE from this time last year. It is approximately six short, and I am advised that is at RDH, of the planned staffing FTE for this period.
So the assertion by the member for Greatorex that we are 60 or 80 short, I am not sure where he is getting those numbers. All I can tell him is that is the advice from the department to me on nursing numbers.
I looked at the report on government services. The member for Greatorex is very keen on reading reports. Maybe he conveniently missed this one, which deals with the number of nurses on page E11, and clearly showing the growth in nursing numbers within the Northern Territory. This is a Commonwealth government commissioned report.
The CLP are a bit rich to go on about doctors and nurses in the hospital. If the member for Greatorex were to look at doctor numbers there, he would see that during the period of his government, there was one of the lowest FTE in terms of doctors in our hospitals in Australia. Now it is one of the highest, along with nursing numbers. This is a Commonwealth government publication. I suggest the member for Greatorex slowly read it and digest the facts that are in there instead of listening to rumours.
Land – Availability and Release
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for PLANNING and LANDS
Can the minister kindly advise the Assembly on the availability of land in the Northern Territory and what is being done to release more land on to the market?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his question. He has been very active in looking at the development in Palmerston. Earlier this month, the Treasurer, the Minister for Local Government and Housing, and I hosted a forum with industry groups, such as the Real Estate Institute, HIA, the TCA, the Chamber of Commerce and the Property Council. It was a productive meeting, where government sat around with industry stakeholders and discussed ideas from the industry. Government was able to outline our current land release strategies. We had a lot of information to provide to industry at that forum. We also made a commitment to continue to meet regularly in a forum such as that, and the views of the industry were very well received by government.
Land release must be very carefully managed. Whilst it is one component of providing affordable housing, we also have to ensure that our land release does not devalue or undermine the value of people’s current investment, their property. At a time when interest rates are rising, the last thing home owners need is to be paying increased repayments on what would be a devaluing property if you flood the market. While property prices have risen sharply in recent years, Darwin is still the second most affordable capital city in Australia, second only to Canberra.
In 2001, when we came to government …
Mrs Braham interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling, order!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! The minister is on her feet.
Ms LAWRIE: In 2001, when we came to government, only about 250 dwellings were being built annually. Our strong financial management, our tax cuts and our land release policies mean that this figure has now quadrupled to 1000 annually. In Palmerston, there are currently five development lease areas, with around 500 titles still to be sold. We know the Lyons development at Lee Point has about 700 blocks, with the Muirhead development to follow with about 1100 blocks.
The next government land release in Palmerston will be the Bellamack subdivision. This area is expected to be released later this year, and we expect it to yield about 650 lots.
In Alice Springs, four blocks still remain unsold in the first stage of Larapinta and 25 blocks are still for sale at North Edge Estate, a private subdivision. The next development area at Larapinta was passed in at auction and is now available for sale at the reserve price of $1m. This area will provide a further 39 blocks, with six reserved for first home buyers. Government will continue to proceed with care in releasing its land, while ensuring that people’s investments are secure.
Nurses - Numbers in Public Hospitals
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
The Northern Territory nursing workload review of 2005 sets out that the Northern Territory hospital system is considerably under-allocated in respect of nursing staff. In fact, if Mantell’s findings are added to the 62 positions vacant in June last year, our hospital system was short of 144 nurses. How does having a hospital system short of 144 nurses provide, and I quote your mantra, ‘best practice medical care in our hospital system’? Madam Speaker, I seek leave to table this report so the minister can read it in his own good time.
Leave granted.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am now advised that the report to which the member for Greatorex is referring is out of date, and not suitable or applicable.
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: Just settle down, member for Greatorex. Best practice. Do not get too agitated. Here you are again, quoting from an out-of-date, redundant report. Like a lot of the CLP’s policies and attitudes, it is redundant.
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: You asked a question about overtime. I do not accept any of the figures that you put, by the way. I do not accept them - just like that. That is it!
In terms of your argument about overtime, and I quote the advice from the department, ‘the overtime rate in 2006 for nurses across all hospitals was 15% …’, that is of February, ‘… and in 2007 in all hospitals, 13%’. You quoted 20%. I do not know where you sourced that figure. You are quoting 50 and 80 and all these figures that are not real.
Get real, get into the debate about hospitals; acknowledge what you did as a government, stripping out 200 nurses. That is a pretty good starting point, member for Greatorex.
Artificial Reef Network in Darwin Harbour
Mr WARREN to MINISTER for PRIMARY INDUSTRY and FISHERIES
We all know that fishing is the lure of the Territory and makes a very important contribution to our great lifestyle. Given the important contribution that artificial reefs make to recreational fishing in and around Darwin Harbour, what opportunities exist for the expansion of our artificial reef network?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for his question. As we all know, the member for Goyder’s electorate surrounds most of the harbour, as does mine, and he has quite an interest in this question. He is correct; fishing is the lure of the Territory.
The Darwin Harbour is the number one destination for anglers in the Territory, and there is more fishing in the harbour than anywhere else in the Northern Territory. Around three-quarters of anglers in Darwin Harbour are local residents. It is important to maintain a fishing system that will attract fish, and artificial reefs will provide even more opportunities for Territory anglers to catch golden snapper and jewfish. These wrecks will also provide some great structures for the Spanish mackerel to school and hunt.
I must admit, I do get some enjoyment out of fishing in the harbour. Gone are the days of fishing off the jetty in South Australia for the little old whiting, garfish and tommy ruff. I enjoy getting out there.
I have asked my department, as a matter of priority, to expand the artificial reef network. This will obviously make fishing even better for Territorians. We are planning for the expansion of the artificial reef network in and around the Darwin Harbour so that when suitable infrastructure does become available, we can act quickly. As many of you remember, a couple of years ago, we sank the Kay-Lee, a decommissioned fishing vessel, as part of the Lee Point artificial reef complex. The Lee Point complex is located just a short distance from the Nightcliff boat ramp and it is easily accessible by small boats.
Generally, when suitable infrastructure does become available at short notice, we will have all the necessary approvals in place so that we can act quickly to ensure that the artificial reef network can be structured to take advantage of these opportunities when they arise. I have instructed my newly-appointed Director of Fisheries to make the expansion of our artificial reef network a priority so that fishing in the Territory can only get better.
Local Government Reform - –Timetable to Comment on Proposed Boundaries
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Your strategic plan for new local government shows a timetable, which is not very big, which says there will be community feedback on the boundaries map between 30 January and 30 March. It is only just this week that a clear and precise indicative boundary map has been released on your website. This timetable and map are not really very public documents, and there has been no announcement by you or your department where people can make comment on the boundaries.
How will people make comment? Who will show them the boundary changes? Will you extend the timetable so that the community, that is all people in the Northern Territory, can comment and not be rushed into doing so by having a timetable which is between 30 January and 30 March?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I am not too certain about the time frame you describe with March as the deadline in regards to the boundaries. Okay, that is your position.
Mr Wood: It is your map.
Mr McADAM: I am telling you what I know. As a result of discussions in Alice Springs last week with the inaugural advisory body, my understanding is that in respect of the timetable surrounding the boundaries, we are talking about May as being the deadline. That is my understanding of it and, as far as I am concerned, that is the position: it is May.
You also asked about the consultation process. Obviously, there will be a roll-out of information that will occur, and that will be done by the development coordinator positions across the Northern Territory. They have been appointed to each of the proposed regional shires. They will then kick into place in the context of transitional committees, which will actually operate on the ground within the shire councils. That will be the process of how we bring about this reform.
As I said to you yesterday, member for Nelson, I acknowledge that we are about to embark on a very big, challenging exercise. It is very important that we do put in place all these processes and that people are aware of them. The advice I have is that people are able to access the website in respect of information flowing. I have asked the department to ensure there is a database in place which effectively brings every small community out there, including the shire councils, into the information flow.
I acknowledge that it is very early days. I believe that the processes are there, by the advisory body, by the transitional bodies, and by the placement of community development coordinators. I have only just received some information about a very comprehensive consultation process across the Northern Territory commencing next month.
Nurses – Pay Rates
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
Your government has offered nurses a pay rise of 3% which, with the current Territory rate of inflation, amounts to a pay cut of 2%. Considering we had 62 positions vacant in June last year, a shortage in allocation of 82 positions in 2005, over 20% of nursing staff working considerable overtime every week, and a significant attrition rate …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Dr LIM: I will repeat that for the deaf members across the Chamber. … over 20% of nursing staff working considerable overtime every week and a significant attrition rate, how is offering a pay cut of 2% going to encourage nurses to stay with NT Health or encourage nurses to join NT Health from interstate?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we are a government that values our nursing workforce. That is why we built it by 270 FTEs; we did not strip 200 out. As everyone in this place is aware, there is currently an enterprise bargaining agreement going on between government and nurses. That is exactly what it is; it is a bargaining agreement and that process is going on.
Government has made an undertaking to nurses and, indeed, to all our public servants that they will be amongst the best paid in Australia. As I understand it, they are currently third in Australia in terms of pay, and they will be up there at the end of the enterprise bargaining agreement, still amongst the best paid in Australia because we value them.
The nursing workforce has particular value to the Northern Territory because of the fantastic work they do, particularly in our remote areas, and the very special work they do and responsibilities they take on.
The member for Greatorex can get lost in his figures, and he has made assertions with his figures which are contrary to the advice that I have had from the department and contrary, to a large extent, to this report on government services published by the Commonwealth government.
We are a government that has increased our nursing and medical workforce. We have also invested 65% extra into our health service across the board. It is a significant investment that is recognised by the Commonwealth, a per capita expenditure rate. It should be recognised by the opposition. The member for Greatorex should be a bit more constructive in terms of enterprise bargaining agreements than what he has been in the past.
We saw what he did at the last election in 2005 around the teachers EBA. He put his fingers into it, he interfered, he made promises. I do not believe that was appropriate and I do not believe what he is doing here is appropriate, either.
Darwin – Future of the City
Ms SACILOTTO to CHIEF MINISTER
Last year, you launched the initiative Creating Darwin’s Future: A Tropical Harbour City. Can you please advise the House on the progress of this exciting initiative that supports our great Territory lifestyle?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Port Darwin for her question. It is not only about the CBD and the electorate of Port Darwin, but the very heart of this exercise is centred on the city. It is an exciting project. Community consultation that we have had since I launched it last October has resulted in a lot of input. For example, our website had had 5000 visits. There are 26 000 hits on the same website and for all members who have been at shopping centres and marketplaces with the display, there has been much interest from our community.
As well, a lot of controversy has been generated, a lot of commentary, but that is what this exercise is about. It is about engaging the community of Darwin and Palmerston and the regional area about what the future of this capital city is. We should be very proactive about the fact that we want to have Darwin as the best tropical harbour city in the world. I think we can do it. We are halfway there. As we build for the future, we can really nail that we are the best tropical harbour city in the world. Some of the controversial issues that have been raised will be dealt with by a planning forum held by the minister for planning in April, and there is no doubt about what some of the controversial issues are: building heights are one; building densities are another; the style we are building and whether it is tropical; and aesthetics. They are the kinds of issues, and others, that will be dealt with by a planning forum that is going to be held in April in Darwin.
There is general agreement on that we would like to see a greener city, we would like to see more shade, whether that be built or not, more parklands, more activities, and certainly more for tourists. The idea of a Defence of Darwin museum and an Aboriginal cultural centre are two that have come up, and other ideas are emerging as well.
There is much agreement about how the future of Darwin should develop, and there is a bundle of controversial issues, and it is very exciting that they are being talked about. They are probably the fodder of back yard barbecues, which is fantastic for the future of Darwin.
We have more consultations happening over the next few months. I will be meeting with key industry and community groups in areas like World War II heritage, the environment and development. The displays will again be going around shopping centres in the Darwin and rural area as well as the marketplaces.
It is an exciting project. I have already invited Nicholas Rothwell to the forum. I would be pleased to see him. Let us see all the ideas on the extent of high rise, how high a high rise should be and what constitutes ‘tropical’. Today, talking to the media, there was a general feeling that we have some really ugly buildings here, but you could name one building and you would have two very contrary points of view even on one high rise. There are many around town that some love and some equally hate, so the issue of aesthetics is a real trick. What we want is better tropical design, greater liveability and for Darwin to be the best tropical harbour city in the world.
Nurses – Proposed Industrial Action
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH referred to MINISTER for PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
The minister says he values nurses, yet he offers them a 2% pay cut and changes to nursing shift arrangements, and 90% of nurses have said no. Nurses are now planning industrial action against your government.
What action are you going to take to prevent this industrial action? What will you do to ensure that the government representative rejoins the negotiating table to work sensibly through this matter?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. As I outlined before, there is an enterprise bargaining process being undertaken on the government’s behalf by the Commissioner for Public Employment. Like any employer bargaining with an employee through a collective agreement, there is negotiation and a whole range of processes. There is a bit of brinkmanship that goes on as well. I am sure that this particular negotiation will come to completion, and I am confident that it will be a satisfactory conclusion.
If you are asking questions about the particular process outside of operational issues, I defer to my colleague, the Minister for Public Employment.
Mr HENDERSON (Public Employment): Madam Speaker, in contributing to this answer, I concur with my colleague, the Health minister: it is totally inappropriate for the shadow minister to be getting involved in what is an enterprise bargaining agreement between the employer, in this case the Commissioner for Public Employment, and the union.
We are going through this process in good faith. Yes, it is a difficult issue, but can I say that when the member for Greatorex talks about a pay cut, this offer that has been rejected would have delivered a salary increase of 11.34% over an 18 month period, and would have maintained nurses at the level of the third best paid in Australia. I accept that the offer has been voted down and we will engage, through the Commissioner for Public Employment, with the union again to try to reach a negotiated settlement.
This is a commitment from a Labor government that is committed to the principle of enterprise bargains and bargaining in good faith as opposed to the opposition, which supports WorkChoices and AWAs, and driving wages and conditions to the floor and the lowest common denominator. Under the CLP, they would not even have one. It would be: ‘Here’s the contract. Sign here, and if you do not sign it, someone else will’. We will bargain in good faith, and we will conclude an agreement.
I remind the member for Greatorex to go back to just prior to the 2001 election and read some of the comments from the ANF in regards to the then CLP approach to collective bargaining agreements. I do not have those here, but I have them in my office. It was not very pretty reading at all. It just goes to show that on that side of the Chamber, they have one view; when they are on this side they have another.
The member for Greatorex should butt out. It has nothing to do with him. This is an enterprise agreement that will be completed. We value our nurses, we want them amongst the best paid, and we will conclude an agreement.
Northern Territory Economy - Retail Sector
Mr KNIGHT to TREASURER
We know that Territorians had a very good Christmas. Can the Treasurer advise the House whether Territory retailers also had a good Christmas? Treasurer, how strong is the Territory retail industry?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. It is true that Territory retailers did have a good Christmas. It is even more spectacular if you compare it against the Australian standard. Territory retail turnover grew by 9.3% throughout 2006, and 5.8% in the rest of Australia. The Territory was outperformed only by Western Australia. That figure of 9.3% in 2006 is about double our colleagues in South Australia.
Month-to-month from December 2005 to December 2006, there was a 12.5% trend turnover increase, a very strong outcome given we were coming off a reasonably high base in 2005 for a start. In training volume and value terms, the Territory cracked the $2bn mark in 2006 with $2.14bn spent, a 6.2% annual increase.
It is instructive and informative to look beyond the raw percentage figures to have a quick look at the composition of what Territorians are spending their money on. Recreation spending alone increased by 40%, up past $7m in value. Food was up 21.8% and reflects the increase in population. Household goods increased by 12%.
The composition of those figures beyond the bare percentage figures show that Territorian consumers are have a very confident mindset because they are comfortable about spending on leisure, recreation and pleasure goods as well as improving their household environment. It shows a group of consumers who are not only happy with how they are going right now, but confident and optimistic about their future. That is how you get that high level of spend in recreational and pleasure pursuits. Therefore, while the figures are good in themselves, the background to those figures is also very instructive and presents an optimistic outlook.
Alice Springs - Community Day Patrol
Mrs BRAHAM to MINISTER for FAMILY and COMMUNITY SERVICES
I seek clarification of what is happening to the Community Day Patrol in Alice Springs. It is my understanding the Commonwealth funds the Night Patrol and the Youth Patrol, but the Northern Territory government, at the end of last year, funded the Community Day Patrol. I would like to know whether it is still operational because I have not seen it. Have you done any evaluation on it? Is it going to continue?
I know you have talked about ACPOs taking over but, if we take them away from the jobs they are doing, that creates a hole that we cannot afford. Would you please tell me was it $300 000-odd you gave them? Is it still operational? If so, where? Can you give us an evaluation of it? Could we perhaps get a better service for the dollars?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her very genuine interest in the Community Day Patrol in Alice Springs. Last year, I announced that my Department of Family and Community Services had done an intensive evaluation of the Day Patrol service. As a result of that evaluation, we entered into negotiations with Tangentyere to change the nature of the service that existed in Alice Springs. Essentially, the evaluation found that rather than the service being a transport service to town camps, it really needed to be a patrol service in the true sense of the word and be out in the public areas of Alice Springs. Some intensive negotiations did occur from about mid-last year to rework the service in its entirety.
I am very pleased to say that as a result of successful negotiations with Tangentyere, my department is funding the Day Patrol service. It is $373 000 annually. We will renegotiate that funding mid-year, and we are already commencing discussions about the recurrent nature of that funding.
The Community Day Patrol was developed in consultation through that evaluation with stakeholders in Alice Springs. They included Northern Territory Police, the Alice Springs Hospital, Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation and, of course, the service provider, Tangentyere Council.
The review of the Day Patrol identified that the scope had to change and deal with alcohol-related issues in the public arena. As a result, we are very confident that the community patrol really has developed into quite a different service from what it was. Part of the agreement was recruitment of staff, and staff are being remunerated at a more senior level to reflect the more complex aspects of the work they are now undertaking.
I thank Tangentyere for the good faith in which the negotiations occurred. Often it is not easy for a service deliverer to be told the way you have been delivering a service needs to change, but we both, the government and Tangentyere, went into those negotiations in good faith and I believe we have come up with a good result.
The service covers public places and the central business district, as I said, in contrast to the old Day Patrol, which really did just focus on town camps. Tangentyere is now employing five full-time patrollers and the service operates five days a week from 5.30 am until 2 pm. The Commonwealth-funded Night Patrol service operates from 5 pm until 1 am. There is a coordinator and a full-time referral officer based at Tangentyere. The service works cooperatively with the Alice Springs Town Council Rangers and the Northern Territory Police.
Tangentyere Council reports that during January of this year, the service had 6728 client contacts. That equates to 299 contacts a day. The most common intervention was to transport people to a safe environment. The data collected does not include the age of the individuals assisted, but the service is predominantly focused on adults; however, this would not preclude contact with younger people. A more detailed review of the service is not possible until it has been operational for a longer period of time. This more detailed review will occur in the lead-up to the negotiations for the service agreement in the middle of this year.
Education - NTCE Results in Remote Areas
Ms McCarthy to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
It is well known that the Martin government was the first to deliver Year 12 results to indigenous students in remote communities. Can you please advice the House how Year 12 students in our remote areas fared in 2006?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I genuinely thank the member for Arnhem for this question. She is passionate about indigenous education in bush communities, as we all are. We are heading in the right direction, but we do have a long way to go.
As the member for Arnhem rightly pointed out, this government took NTCE studies to remote schools in 2002. It is beyond belief that prior to that, students in remote communities studying for their NTCE had to travel to Darwin and Alice Springs. This meant that for many indigenous Territorians those educational outcomes had not been achieved. Our belief in the capacity of indigenous students was matched with the efforts of three young people …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: The member for Greatorex will have the opportunity in debate on education later to put on the record the track record of the previous government, because it was nothing short of appalling.
Three young people in Kalkarindji achieved their NTCE in 2004. In 2005, we saw the number of NTCE recipients in remote communities jump to 25, and in 2006 we were up from 25 to 30 who graduated with a Year 12 certificate. They were from five communities.
My congratulations go to students from Maningrida, where 11 students graduated with their NTCE; seven at Yirrkala; two at Shepherdson College at Galiwinku, at Kalkarindji, another two; through the Northern Territory Open Education Centre, another two; and, for the first time in history, Ramingining with two students.
The member for Arnhem was saying to me in the lobby before coming into Question Time that she has visited the school at Ramingining and on the back of those two students who gained their NTCE last year, a significant number of students have re-enrolled. That is students who did not do their secondary schooling and have come back into the classroom. There is one young lady with a baby in the classroom studying this year. So success breeds success.
As Education minister, I acknowledge we have a long way to go, but 30 students graduating this year from five communities is certainly a long way from where we were just three or four years ago. This government will put our track record on indigenous education on the table against the former CLP government any day of the week.
These results also reflect our $10m investment in secondary schools in remote communities, including $2.2m at Maningrida; $2.5m at Shepherdson College; and $2.5m at Wadeye, and I am looking forward to visiting Wadeye in a few weeks to see the new secondary facility. My colleague, the member for Daly, is keeping me informed about the great things happening out there. There was $1m each for Kalkarindji, Papunya and Minyerri.
We will continue to support remote secondary students with a pool of 20 specialist teachers in the bush, regional directors who have been appointed for the first time in many years to oversee education in our remote communities, and regional learning agents as we create a leading edge distance education service.
My congratulations not only to the students, but very importantly, to all those dedicated teachers who are working very hard with those communities to achieve these results. There is much more to do, but it is great to hear, member for Arnhem, that story from Ramingining. It gives us all hope.
Health - Elective Surgery Waiting Lists
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
As you know, annual reports are meant to be helpful and informative. The Royal Darwin Hospital Management Board Annual Report for 2004-05 provided a table that showed how the waiting the list for elective surgery has been increasing. The board’s annual report for 2005-06, deemed yesterday, does not contain that information. What are you trying to hide? What the minister should be telling us is: what are the current elective surgery waiting lists for each of the hospitals across the Northern Territory, including Royal Darwin Hospital?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. Government is not trying to hide any fact at all in terms of elective surgery waiting times. There is a Commonwealth report that reports right across Australia. It is called The State of Our Public Hospitals and it is published by the Coalition government in Canberra. All jurisdictions feed into that. There is also the Report on Government Services; this book that I am suggesting the member for Greatorex read has exhaustive tables on elective surgery.
We are not trying to hide anything, member for Greatorex, in terms of elective surgery. What I will acknowledge, and I have acknowledged publicly, is that hospitals across Australia face problems with elective surgery waiting lists. To that extent, we are no different from other jurisdictions. In fact, given the workload on our public hospitals and the degree of morbidity in the community that we are servicing, we are doing very well, but we can do better. As minister, I am focused on doing better.
There are many elements that drive waiting lists in our public hospitals. One of them has to be staffing and, as I said before, we have increased our nursing staff by 270 since we came to government. We have increased the number of doctors by 100. We are looking at other aspects. There are a number of people in our public hospitals who would be better off outside our public hospitals in frail and aged care which is a Commonwealth responsibility. That is something we need to explore.
We are looking at opening more theatres in Royal Darwin Hospital. We are employing more surgeons. There are many things we are doing to address the issue of bed block, which is a perennial issue in hospitals across the nation, but particularly pertinent for us in the Territory given the fact that our hospitals have such a heavy workload.
We are addressing that through our Rapid Admission Unit which has been established at Royal Darwin Hospital in which government has invested $7.8m. It is based on a very innovative plan by our clinicians. There are nine beds already there. I have inspected it, and there have been very positive outcomes, member for Greatorex. Waiting times to be admitted have been slashed to one-third of what they were before, with another 15 beds to come in the 2007-08 year at a timing determined by the logistics of it and the clinicians. The surgical patients are now going through there and then there will be the physicians …
Mr MILLS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I understand that the honourable member has a fair bit of scope to wander with his comments, but I trusted he was going to come back to answer the question as to why the embarrassing information was not contained within this annual report. That is my point of order, Madam Speaker, and I am waiting patiently while he wanders.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. The minister is answering the question. It is up to the minister how he answers the questions, not for me to direct him in the manner in which he should answer the question. He is answering the question.
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, with respect, he is not answering the question that has been asked.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain, the minister is answering the question. As you are aware, there is much latitude in the answering of questions.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, obviously the opposition does not want to hear the actions that this government is taking on these issues in our health system. I am sorry it bores the member for Blain, but they are very important strategies that I am talking about here.
I have already acknowledged that there is no hidden information. It is published nationally. That information goes to the Commonwealth and is published in a number of sources. Amongst the pile of papers that the member for Greatorex has, maybe he should add this and the State of Our Hospitals report.
National Basketball League –
Perth Wildcats Darwin Match
Perth Wildcats Darwin Match
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for SPORT and RECREATION
The Territory lifestyle is the best in Australia. The annual Perth Wildcats National Basketball League game has become an anticipated part of our sporting calendar in our great Territory lifestyle. Can the minister please inform the House on the success of this match?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question, and what a game it was! The Perth Wildcats actually claim Darwin to be their home away from home because this is the fourth year they have come here. This game was the first in a three-year agreement they signed with the Northern Territory government to come back every year for three years to play in Darwin. People in the Territory really appreciate a good game. They appreciate a very important sport.
It was fantastic to be there with another thousand Territorians to enjoy a very good match. Unfortunately, the Perth Wildcats did not win; the Cairns Taipans did. After four years, losing one match is not bad. It was a great success, and that is only part of what this government is doing for Territorians.
The CLP never brought this kind of class action to the Territory, and it is not only basketball. This year, we are going to have women’s cricket, Australia versus New Zealand. We are going to have the qualifier for the Emerging Nations Cricket. We are going to have NRL matches, two in Darwin in 2007 and 2009 and one in Alice Springs in 2008. We have football, the V8s, netball and many more to come.
It was not only a great time for sport in the Territory, it was a good day for the Leukaemia Foundation. My very short haircut is not a fashion statement; it was to help the Leukaemia Foundation raise some money. I am very pleased to say that all the people were very generous, donated money and the Leukaemia Foundation raised $2000 on the day.
Darwin has become a home away from home for the Perth Wildcats, and I thank Andrew Vlahov and his team for coming to Darwin not only because they played the game, but because they spent time in our community. They visited the children’s ward at Royal Darwin Hospital, the Darwin High School, they performed a clinic for kids, they had a coaches’ clinic, they had a players’ clinic, and a community visit to Batchelor. They also attended the local league sign-on day and I thank them for that.
Members: Hear, hear!
Royal Darwin Hospital – Ministerial Direction
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
Earlier this week, we learnt that patients taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital Emergency Department were kept in the back of St John Ambulances. Ambulances are being used by the Royal Darwin Hospital Emergency Department as holding bays, sitting in parking bays. The former minister for Health, the former member for Stuart, gave a ministerial direction that an escalation plan would be implemented when there are more patients than could be accommodated in the Emergency Department of the Royal Darwin Hospital by opening up wards where patients can have access to reticulated suction facilities and oxygen supply. Are you aware that bureaucrats at Health House have countermanded that instruction? What are you going to do to ensure that the ministerial instruction is carried out?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge that Royal Darwin Hospital, particularly over the last week, has been under a great deal of pressure. There has been no closure of beds; all available beds are being used. There may have been momentarily someone examined in an ambulance, but that is not unusual; it is not the drama that the member for Greatorex is trying to allude to here.
In fact, I spoke personally with Dr Len Notaras, someone everyone in this House admires, to apprise myself of the situation. He assured me that whilst there were pressures, everyone was being attended to and the hospital was running very smoothly. He said that even if we had an extra bus load of doctors or nurses, it would not really alter the situation at Royal Darwin Hospital.
There are logistical issues about admitting people to the hospital. He also talked about the Rapid Admission Unit and, once again, he was very complimentary about the positive effect that it is having on the flow of patients through the hospital. In fact, he alluded to the fact that many of these issues come back to patient flow and when the extra 15 beds are implemented in the Rapid Admission Unit, it will alleviate many of these problems. This is a $7.8m initiative by this government in consultation and partnership with clinicians. I hope that the member for Greatorex will applaud it.
Aboriginal Community Police Officers - Darwin
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
Can you update the House on the role of Aboriginal Community Police Officers in tackling antisocial behaviour in Darwin?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I welcome the question from the member for Macdonnell. Aboriginal Community Police Officers are a very important part of our police force. I was a bit ashamed to hear the Leader of the Opposition, the member for Araluen, denigrate community police officers in some of the comments she made in the media today. She was implying that they were worthless and, basically asked what good they are in our police force. She was also incorrect when she asserted, and she should know better as a lawyer, that they did not have powers of arrest. Wrong!
Ms Carney: Limited powers of arrest.
Dr BURNS: You said they did not have powers of arrest. Are you going to go out and correct it?
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, order!
Dr BURNS: I am still waiting for you to correct or distance yourself from those racist comments that were made yesterday at your rally.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms Carney: Get on with your job. If you are not, move over.
Dr BURNS: I am getting on with the job.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Leader of the Opposition!
Mr Mills: You can speak!
Dr BURNS: I beg your pardon, member for Blain?
Mr Mills: You can speak on that matter, can’t you?
Dr BURNS: About racist comments?
Mr Mills: Exactly, exactly.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order, member for Blain!
Dr BURNS: I ask the member for Blain what he is alluding to. He is making an assertion and allegation which is very serious.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, I have to say I could not hear what the member for Blain said.
Dr BURNS: I ask that he withdraw it, Madam Speaker, because he is asserting that I am a racist.
Ms Carney: What?
Dr BURNS: He just did.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Blain, is this the case?
Mr MILLS: No, not at all, Madam Speaker. The honourable member was making assertions with regard to comments that had been made in the media yesterday and I said: ‘You can talk’. That is all I said.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain, resume your seat.
Mr MILLS: I can give further explanation if required.
Madam SPEAKER: If you wish to make a personal explanation, you can talk to me later. Leader of the Opposition, were you making allegations in relation to the minister?
Ms CARNEY: Certainly not, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Okay. Resume your seat. Minister, please continue.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, in the greater Darwin area, there are approximately 22 Aboriginal Community Police Officers. Nine are stationed at Darwin, six at Casuarina, and seven at Palmerston. The Greater Darwin Regional Command has implemented a number of strategies to address social order issues that can have a negative impact on members of our community. These APCOs have been assigned to the Social Order Units. They monitor and patrol identified hot spot locations within the greater Darwin area and generally deal with issues of drunkenness and antisocial behaviour with a focus on intoxicated people and alcohol consumption in public places in contravention of the Summary Offences Act.
Since 1 July 2006, Aboriginal Community Police Officers operating in the greater Darwin region have taken 6620 people to the watch-house, and a further 6249 people to a sobering-up shelter. Currently, members of the Social Order Units are targeting defined areas within the Darwin and Palmerston areas and the central business districts.
They also liaise with Territory Housing regarding problem residents, including those living in high density Housing Commission estates, and pay special attention to new restricted premises. They also liaise with the Larrakia Nation.
Madam Speaker, ACPOs are a vital part of our police force and the intelligence-led policing approach. I am very pleased to acknowledge the pivotal role that they play in our police force and community.
Taminmin High School –
Status as a Public Cyclone Shelter
Status as a Public Cyclone Shelter
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES referred to MINISTER for PLANNING AND LANDS
For many years, Taminmin High School has been a cyclone shelter for Humpty Doo residents. Just before the beginning of the official Wet Season, Northern Territory Emergency Services, after a structural review was carried out, said that the shelter did not provide adequate screening from flying debris. The Northern Territory Emergency Services’ Assistant Director is quoted as saying there was not enough time before the start of this year’s cyclone season to upgrade Taminmin.
Why was the structural review carried out at the beginning of the cyclone season instead of during the Dry Season? Why has someone decided after all these years that Taminmin is now not good enough to be a shelter? Why hasn’t the government put in place the debris screens? After all, it just asked for tenders to upgrade Darwin and Palmerston cyclone shelters. Are not Humpty Doo people deserving of protection from cyclones?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. It is a very good question, however, it really lies within the portfolio area of my colleague, the member for Karama. I call on her to answer the question.
Ms LAWRIE (Planning and Lands): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. Structural issues come under my portfolio of Planning and Infrastructure so I am happy to answer his question.
Within the greater Darwin region, there are seven designated public cyclone shelters with a capacity for 8500 people. Following last cyclone season, the department and Emergency Services undertook an investigation into current designated cyclone shelters to identify any works that were required to ensure they were fully operational for the current season.
The review identified concerns with cyclone shelters, with some requiring immediate minor work. Taminmin High, however, was considered unsuitable for further use as the basic building structure is not designed or built to withstand Category 4 cyclones, and there is no debris penetration protection for the roof and glass doors.
The issue of the screens is only one small issue in terms of Taminmin High, member for Nelson. There are far more significant structural issues at Taminmin High which deem it unsafe to be a cyclone shelter. It would be absolutely foolish of the government to say to the people that Taminmin High is a cyclone shelter when, structurally, we have assessed it as being unsafe. We will not direct people to Taminmin High. It is not a safe shelter, but we are absolutely committed to fix it so that it is. In school break in the middle of the year when the students are not there, $500 000 will be spent upgrading that facility so it can be a cyclone shelter next cyclone season.
Harmony Day Celebrations in Schools
Mr KIELY to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
Can the minister advise if Harmony Day will be celebrated in Territory schools this year, and what plans are in place to make this happen? Are there any alternative approaches to celebrating the Territory’s diversity?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. Harmony Day, particularly in our schools, is a really uplifting day where we celebrate the great diversity and multicultural nature of the Northern Territory. Indigenous and non-indigenous kids from Argentina to Zambia come together and we celebrate the wonderful multicultural world that we live in, particularly in the Northern Territory.
I am delighted to say that Harmony Day will once again be a feature of the school year. This year, it will be on 21 March and, as in past years, I am expecting all of our schools to focus and work hard on specific projects to celebrate Harmony Day.
Once again, the government, through the Office of Multicultural Affairs, will be providing grants to schools to help celebrate this special day. I urge all Territorians and local MLAs to get behind these plans and to support the wonderful multicultural society that we speak about with such great passion in this parliament. It is one of the main reasons why many people choose to live in the Northern Territory.
I must say, Madam Speaker, I was very sad to see on the National Nine News the actions and inactions of the Leader of the Opposition at the rally that she organised last night in regard to the speed limits.
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister should well know that it was a grassroots community campaign. The suggestion that we organised this rally is wrong. He knows it and he should withdraw it.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Minister, continue.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, I am very tempted to move a motion saying that the Leader of the Opposition has just misled the House with those comments, but I will not because I have more important things to talk about.
This was a rally that was sponsored by the Leader of the Opposition. A joint media release went out with that particular organisation. We know that members of the Leader of the Opposition’s staff have been at the football spreading petitions around. The Leader of the Opposition and her office were up to their ears in organising the rally that occurred outside of Parliament House yesterday.
On the National Nine News, I was very disappointed to see that rally degenerate into a One Nation-type rally whilst speakers belittled the lives of Asian participants who died in the Cannonball Run. One of them was heard very clearly describing them as just ‘one Jap’. Another claimed that the new speed laws were not justified because so many of the people who die on Territory roads were indigenous Territorians so these speed limits are not justified because it is only indigenous people dying on our roads, and ‘one Jap’. These comments were and are offensive to the very vast majority of Territorians.
The Leader of the Opposition is happy to score cheap political points, but not prepared to say anything, not prepared to show leadership when the rally that she and her office were up to their ears in organising degenerated into that type of attack on our indigenous people and on people from other countries. She is happy to score cheap political points, but not happy to show leadership.
She showed none when the comments were made, not one word on Channel 9 last night. The phones in my office from the tourism industry have been running hot about those comments, so offensive do people in the tourism industry find it. Channel 9 ran those comments last night. Did the Leader of the Opposition come out and condemn them? Nothing but silence from the Leader of the Opposition. Twenty-eight hours have now passed and she is yet to condemn these outrageous, offensive comments made at the rally that she sponsored yesterday.
The Opposition Leader does not know who she is or what she stands for. One minute she is making speeches about David Hicks’ liberty, the Terry O’Gorman of the County Liberal Party, and the next minute she is cheering on a One Nation-style rally outside this parliament.
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister has an obligation to speak the truth in this Chamber. He has made a number of – do you want to sit down?
Mr HENDERSON: Are you going to condemn them?
Ms CARNEY: Are you going to sit down? He has made a number of statements …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: The minister has lied, Madam Speaker.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I ask you to withdraw. I also ask you to resume your seat.
Ms CARNEY: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. If you wish to make a personal explanation, you can approach me after Question Time. Minister, please continue.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, on the one hand, she is out there making speeches about David Hicks’ liberty, and on the other hand there are these very offensive comments broadcast on prime time television on the Channel 9 news last night, and not one word of condemnation from the Leader of the Opposition. Last night you had a two hour opportunity ...
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: You had a two hour opportunity to come in here in the adjournment debate and say that you disassociated yourself and you condemned those comments, and you did not. I now invite the Leader of the Opposition, at the conclusion of Question Time, to stand up, seek leave of the Chair …
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! What is your point of order?
Ms CARNEY: Madam Speaker, the Labor Party scream loud about what they consider to be abuses of parliament …
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Karama.
Ms CARNEY: … by the former CLP administration. The minister is abusing the role and function of this place. If he has a motion to move, then he should bring it on, otherwise it is just juvenile and offensive point scoring and petty, petty politics.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order.
Ms CARNEY: Madam Speaker, everyone finds racist comments offensive, and I will stand on my record any day of the week. You should get real and do your job.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, resume you seat.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I repeat, there is no point of order. If you wish to make a personal explanation, I ask you to approach me after Question Time. Minister, you may continue.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Given that the Leader of the Opposition is so offended by my observations in regard to her lack of action, inaction, in condemning the most vile and offensive remarks that were made at a rally sponsored by the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, I invite the Leader of the Opposition, and I will be the first to applaud her, Madam Speaker …
Dr LIM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I ask you to rule on this. Here is a minister getting up here, well past Question Time while the television monitors are on, which is fine, slagging and making innuendo about the Leader of the Opposition. There is no opportunity for us to respond in a clear and open debate. If the minister wants to do this and accuse the CLP of being racist, then let the minister bring on a formal motion under which we can have equal time to debate the issue. Otherwise, I suggest the minister resumes his seat.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Member for Greatorex, there is no point of order. As I have said before, each member has the opportunity to make a personal explanation. If you are offended by the comments of the minister, you may approach me after Question Time and I certainly will afford you the opportunity to make a personal explanation; similarly for the Leader of the Opposition.
Minister, I am certain that your question must be nearly answered.
Mr HENDERSON: Very close, Madam Speaker, and thank you for your wise advice.
I invite the Leader of the Opposition to seek leave of this House to make a personal explanation and condemn the comments that were made and broadcast at the rally that she and her office sponsored yesterday, to very clearly state that those types of comments have no place in public debate in the Northern Territory. That is the invitation to the Leader of the Opposition. If she does not take that opportunity to condemn those comments, then obviously she supports them. That is the challenge, Madam Speaker.
Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Members interjecting.
Mr Stirling interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Deputy Chief Minister. Order!
Ms Carney: I have not heard you say too much about Len.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I ask you to withdraw.
Ms CARNEY: I apologise, Madam Speaker, he is being ridiculously provocative.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016