2006-03-29
Health Minister – Continued Support from Chief Minister
Ms CARNEY to CHIEF MINISTER
Under your administration, hospital waiting lists have almost doubled; there has been unprecedented criticism from key stakeholder groups, such as AMANT and the Australian Nursing Federation; regional centres have suffered a reduction in services; two elections have now passed where you have promised an oncology unit, yet the ALP now needs help from the CLP to deliver it; and your government has massively increased bureaucratic staff numbers. Will you continue to support your Health Minister, who continues to fail to deliver improved health services to Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I have full confidence in the Territory’s Health Minister, as does everyone on this side of the House. This minister has overseen a growth in budget to our health services of 43%. When the Opposition Leader said we have seen a reduction in regional health services, it is rubbish - absolute rubbish. I am not backing away from the fact that delivering health services in the Northern Territory is a difficult task, as it is everywhere else in Australia. However, there are some particular difficulties delivering those services in the Territory. We are committed to delivering the best services we possibly can; we have increased nursing numbers, general health professional numbers. The nonsense we hear from the Opposition Leader that this is all to do with administration is absolute rubbish.
We have more nurses in our hospitals, more nurses in our clinics, more doctors in our hospitals, more health professionals right across the Territory, and we are continuing to do our very best. The dollars are speaking of that. We will continue to deliver those services effectively to Territorians across a very wide land mass,; one-sixth of Australia. I have the greatest confidence in a very hardworking Health Minister.
Darwin Convention Centre - Interest
Ms SACILOTTO to MINISTER for TOURISM
This week, concrete piling started on the Darwin convention centre. We know that, once completed, the convention centre will be a significant drawcard for Darwin. Can you please inform the House what sort of interest is being shown in this most important addition to the city?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am delighted to answer the question from the member for Port Darwin, who is particularly interested in a very major development in her electorate. I spent part of lunchtime at the waterfront, meeting six convention planners - who came from Brisbane and Sydney and are here working with the Northern Territory Convention Bureau and Ogden, who will be the operators of the convention centre when it is built in two years’ time - talking about Darwin as a convention site and the plans for the waterfront and the convention centre.
I met them at the waterfront and we looked at the model. I explained what was happening. We could look at the construction, the seawall and the convention centre pad. I can report to the House that there was a great deal of enthusiasm. When they saw the site of the convention centre, some who had never visited Darwin were delighted with what they were seeing - not only what they saw of the whole convention centre site, but the position of the site. The fact that you could watch storms rolling in during the Wet Season, they thought was a unique attraction. They did ask me: ‘If we are having dinners at the convention centre, can we be assured there will be a storm rolling in?’ I said I would do my best. It is certainly one of the great highlights of having a convention centre where it is positioned, that you can watch those storms rolling in during the Wet Season.
There is no doubt about the importance of the convention centre market to us; that is why we are building a convention centre. Alice Springs has definitely seen the benefits. I congratulate the Alice Springs Convention Centre;, they have a great 12 months coming up with a lot of bookings.
Each and every delegate coming to the Territory is worth $270 a night for us, because conventions are really about the economic flow-on. With the building of the convention centre, we have assessed an additional $190m of flow-on benefit to our community over a period of 20 years. That is for restaurants, retailers, hairdressers, tour operators, taxi drivers - across the whole board - which is why we are so committed to building the convention centre.
I am pleased to tell you that we already have one convention booked, which is the International Association of Women in Policing Conference. That is booked for 2008, with something like 700 delegates from 40 different countries. We are off to a flying start. Gauged by the reaction from these convention planners today, I believe our convention centre in Darwin will do very well.
Nursing and Administrative Staff Ratios
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
On 16 February, you told parliament that you had increased the number of nurses by 100 but, according to government records since 2002, you have also employed 151 additional administration staff and 20 more executive staff. Can you explain to Territorians why there are nearly two additional administrative staff for every new nurse on the ward?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can explain that very easily. The OCPE staffing categories actually count quite a number of staff in delivery positions in Health as administrative positions. I can report that, of the extra positions that have been put on in Health - that is something in the order of 500 in the time that the budget has been expanding - we have had over 50 extra doctors, 49 other health professionals, 218 nurses, 22 technical officers and 30 Aboriginal Health Workers. On the purely administrative side of public servants working behind desks doing administrative tasks, it is something in the order of 26 positions. We are talking about a very low percentage of the new positions being in administrative functions; in fact, 5% or less.
The reason for that is very simple; we cannot afford to have administrative positions. We have to get service delivery positions out to meet the demand that we are facing ...
Dr Lim: So you have 150 extra.
Dr TOYNE: That is exactly what we have done, member for Greatorex. We have put a lot of people out there who are delivering health services directly to Territorians. As a result of that, we have a more extensive, safer and better quality service out there than we had four years ago.
Cyclone Larry - Assistance in Aftermath
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you update the House on what efforts the Northern Territory government has made to assist the people of North Queensland following the devastation of Cyclone Larry?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his question. We have all watched, with great sympathy over the last couple of weeks as we have seen the impact of Cyclone Larry on Innisfail and the region. We understand about cyclones; the devastation and disruption to life and the economic loss. We recognise with Cyclone Larry that there were no deaths actually attributable to the cyclone, which is extraordinary luck.
As we have watched over the last week-and-a-half, we have realised that the cost of the clean-up and redevelopment after Cyclone Larry is just escalating by day. When the cyclone first happened, I rang Premier Beattie and offered our sympathy, but also what help we could be. I told him we have expertise with Power and Water workers and in dealing with the impacts of a tropical cyclone and restoring basic services. We currently have three people in Innisfail - Iain Burns, Mick Hutton and Phil Rout from Emergency Services.
However, as the size of the problem keeps on being identified, I thought we could do more. Today, I rang Peter Cosgrove who is coordinating the clean-up and redevelopment of Innisfail, and said: ‘We have some people there, do you need extra assistance?’ He said: ‘I will see whether we need particularly workers in the power area’. They have only restored something like 10% of Innisfail’s power, so there is a lot of work to do there. He said: ‘I recognise your expertise and I will get back to you this afternoon’.
While we have made a small contribution at this stage, I would like to make a greater contribution. The size of the dollars associated with just restoring Innisfail back to working order means that we all have to dig a bit deeper. Therefore, on behalf of the Northern Territory, $250 000 of taxpayers’ money will go towards Innisfail. I am saying to Territorians, dig deep as well. We know what cyclones are like. There is the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal - the number for that is 1800 150 411 - or you can go to a Commonwealth Bank and donate. Every little bit will help with what is an escalating, massive cost of restoring Innisfail to normal service levels. We will make a contribution on behalf of taxpayers, but I ask Territorians to dig deep for our tropical brothers and sisters in Innisfail.
Department of Health – Employee Expenses
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
The minister’s explanation about his 100 nurses does not ring true. Your department’s wages bill went up by $37m last year. Look at your annual report. You can blame the OCPE for mislabelling odd jobs in the department. If we were to assume all those nurses were employed at the highest level, then it would have cost no more than $13m. Where has the other $24m in employee expenses been allocated?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the member for Greatorex seems to be helping me make the argument back to him. Many of the jobs that we have put on in the category of medical practitioners and clinicians at the senior clinical level. I would image that people such as our new anaesthetists, new intensivists, new paediatricians and the oncologists that we announced only yesterday in this House are far more expensive than nurses.
If you want to see the staff positions, we can certainly show you exactly which positions have been added. I will go through a few of them here. We have over 186 more nurses in the hospital, and 20 are in Community Health Services. The non-nursing staffing numbers in hospitals have gone up. We can see $6.1m of additional staffing going into the Royal Darwin Hospital Emergency Department. We have gone from 27 people in that department before the expansions we put in to 62 staff working there now. That is an addition of 30.5 staff positions into that area of the hospital alone.
We have increased RDH beds by 52, so that means additional medical and nursing staff around those. If you go through Alice Springs, you should be familiar with the ICU/HDU high dependency area there. We have put $1m of additional staffing into the Alice Springs Emergency Department, including high level clinical leadership positions.
One of the main initiatives that we have taken to ensure that the quality and safety issues are being taken care of throughout our health delivery is to ensure that there is good, strong clinical leadership right through the different service delivery areas of the department. That includes the departments within our main hospitals. It includes the delivery of such things as renal services and palliative care services. There are senior clinical positions that have been put into those. These are not fat cat public servants sitting behind desks, they are clinicians making sure that Territorians have a high level, safe, quality service in the area that they have particular expertise in. Those people do not come cheaply ...
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Minister for Health was reading from a document. I wonder if he would be good enough to table that document?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, is it a document of a personal nature?
Dr TOYNE: I was not reading from it, I was simply …
Madam SPEAKER: You do not have to table it. I am asking you if is it a document you are willing to table? It is up to you what you do.
Dr TOYNE: I am quite happy to table it, Madam Speaker. It is simply a list of our health achievements. Do you want me to read it out? I will give you a bit of a read.
Quality hospital care – for the first time all five hospitals are now accredited. This is in the document that I am reading from. More hospital beds – 53 - from 567 to 620,. More nurses – over 100 extra nurses in our health system; 86 in the hospitals, 20.5 in Community Health Services. More hospital staff – we have gone from 2233 in the time we came to government to 2522, an extra 289 staff ...
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Dr TOYNE: You wanted to know about it. The better emergency department …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please pause.
Ms CARNEY: I am raising a point of order and would like to be heard if it is all right with you.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms CARNEY: Madam Speaker, I ask whether the minister is now reading from the same document from which he was reading earlier. We could be …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Government members.
Ms CARNEY: He said that he would table a document. He indicated that he would table that document. It appears – we could be wrong – as though he is now reading from a separate document. We want the original document from which he was reading.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. Minister, can we just clarify: are you going to table a document?
Dr TOYNE: Yes, I am quite happy to table this one.
Madam SPEAKER: You can table it at the end of your answer.
Dr TOYNE: Yes, I will.
Mr Stirling: Finish it today.
Dr TOYNE: Yes, by the end of Question Time, Syd.
Better emergency department - $6.1m into the Royal Darwin Hospital Emergency Department; $1m additional into the Alice Springs Hospital Emergency Department; the expansion of Hospital in the Home to seven days a week in Darwin, catering for 17 patients at any given time.
I could go on, there are pages of this. I can tell you that every single …
Ms Carney: Well, why is that everyone at Royal Darwin Hospital is so unhappy? Why is it that the AMA is miserable about you, if that is all true?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition?
Dr TOYNE: They do not like to hear good news, that lot. Every single dot point in this document has expanded the safety, quality and extent of our health service in the Northern Territory. I am proud of that and of our government for doing that. The opposition can play negatives all they like, but the inescapable truth is that our health service is infinitely better than …
Ms Carney: It is Territorians who are complaining, you fool.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, Leader of the Opposition!
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member well knows not to make those sorts of remarks. I urge her to withdraw the remark she just made.
Madam SPEAKER: I ask you to withdraw, Leader of the Opposition.
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw the word ‘fool’, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you. Minister, have you completed your answer?
Dr TOYNE: There is so much more good news, but I will leave it at that for the moment, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: And can you please table the document?
Annual Treasurers’ Meeting
Mr KIELY to TREASURER
The annual Treasurers’ meeting is held this Friday. Can the Treasurer advise the House on the issues of this meeting, and the position the Treasurer will be taking to the meeting, not only on behalf of the good citizens of Sanderson, but also on behalf of all Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. It is always an important day on all Treasurers’ calendars including, of course, the federal Treasurer. It is held this Friday, and tomorrow there will be a small states meeting of Treasurers, followed by an all states meeting of Treasurers, which will mean I am leaving at 12.30 am tomorrow to reach those meetings. I apologise in advance to the House, Madam Speaker, for not being here tomorrow.
There are a number of critical issues to be addressed, both in small states/all states and, of course, at the Treasurers Conference on Friday. First and foremost will be the funding arrangements to take us through financial year 2006-07.
The Grants Commission has recognised an increase in the cost of delivery of services in the Territory and has, therefore, recommended an increase in what is termed the relativities – the relative share of each state against each state. That recommendation forms the basis of how much money the Territory will get. That increase accounts for an additional $26m. Our growth in population, up from a predicted 1.1% to 1.7% - third best in Australia - will account for a further increase. That is because funding arrangements at their heart are per capita based. More people means more funds, because more people means more services, means more costs. The additional numbers over the predicted amounts will also come through something of an increased size of the pool – more GST collected by the federal government than predicted in their forward estimates.
I disagree with the opposition when they always refer to this as a windfall, because it is our right, it is the right of every Territorian and the Territory government of the day to receive that money. It is what was agreed to by our predecessors in 1999 when the states and territories signed up to the GST. It is not a windfall; it recognises the needs of all Territorians. Every time I hear the term ‘windfall’, it is akin to kicking Territorians because what is the problem in receiving our due and proper share? You wonder whether they suggest that we should give it back.
My role in Canberra is to ensure that that allocation and those recommendations by the Grants Commission do, in fact, become a reality. I will be doing my best to make sure it does not get run over by New South Wales or Victoria. In that case, I am - as has every Territory Treasurer who has attended these conferences - joined by the other smaller state Treasurers and Queensland, and sometimes Western Australia - sometimes Western Australia think they are a big state and join with New South Wales and Queensland, depending on their share. However, we always leave the tent open for them to come in if they wish.
Importantly, the future method for determining the grants allocations is also under review. The 2010 review was agreed to a couple of years ago. However, we need to ensure that any such review of Grants Commissions and relativities and how they are done is done properly. The smaller states and territories agreed to review the way the decisions were made but, importantly, not the principles underlying the whole system. Of course, those principles are horizontal fiscal equalisation, the glue that blinds the states and territories of Australia into the wonderful federation that it is.
Taxation will also be on the agenda. We set down a timetable of the intergovernmental agreement which we forwarded to Treasurer Costello in about April last year. It was a timetable for implementing further taxation cuts. Although the opposition wants us to freeze taxes, we provided a year ago and we are still waiting for a response from the federal Treasurer. We expect to get a response on Friday at the Treasurers Conference.
We are also interested in the Commonwealth tax reform. We will be having a say on what is happening there. Finally, Treasurers will look at the reform agenda established by Premiers, Chief Ministers and the Prime Minister at COAG.
I will be there, Madam Speaker, as every Treasurer of the Northern Territory has been, defending the Territory’s rightful and proper share in the allocations that we get as strongly as I can.
Patient Assistance Travel Scheme
Mrs BRAHAM to MINISTER for HEALTH
The Patient Assistance Travel Scheme is one of the best schemes we have in the department. Women with breast cancer who live in remote localities can access the PATS for treatment. They can travel to Darwin, or Alice Springs or Adelaide. However, if a woman wants to attend a screening clinic to have a mammogram, she cannot access the PATS. That means a woman in Lake Nash, Kulgera or Elliott has to pay her own way to go to Darwin or Alice Springs to have this mammogram. Do you not think it is a little unfair that you do not assist women who want to make sure that they do not have breast cancer. Is it not better to have a preventive measure like that? Will you support them in their wish to utilise the PATS?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the member for Braitling has raised a legitimate issue. When we looked at the coverage that we are getting of the screening of the at-risk age groups of women, we are certainly lower than the national standard, for the obvious reason, I would suggest, that it is that much harder for us to get women to screening sessions when they are put on as time blocked sessions through our main urban centres. Equally, we are looking at the way the PATS operates. We are trying to remove the less efficient outcomes of, say, when a charter flight arrives at a community and returns either empty or with several intended passengers not showing up on that day. We are looking at ways of grouping clients together so we can pick up a full load of clients to come in for health services.
The group you are talking about is a legitimate focal point, along with other client groups for those reforms. We are reviewing and reforming PATS.
We believe, as you do, that it is a very valuable scheme and one that, given the dispersion of the Territory population, we are particularly dependent on to effectively connect our clients to the services that we provide.
I will look at it and get back to you on what we may be able to do or what impact the reforms will have on that particular group.
Department of Health - Cost of
Administration Staff
Administration Staff
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
The minister’s figures do not seem to add up. I said that, if all the nurses were employed at the highest level, their salaries would come to about $13m. The minister rattled off a whole series of figures. Your additional 171 bureaucrats would be costing the Health Department over $15m a year to employ. Is it not the case that, if that $15m were to be transferred to either nurses or doctors, we would not have waiting lists the size we do now? Is it not the case that the reason you have not delivered a radiation oncology unit is because of the cost of employing these 171 extra bureaucrats?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I have made it very clear there is something of the order of 25 or 26 extra bureaucrats, as the member for Greatorex wants to call them. These are health administrators who support health programs from an administrative position. The other 520 or so of the additional positions that have gone into the health system are service delivery positions. I hope he understands that answer clearly now.
In terms of any connection to the oncology unit, the answer is absolutely not. There is absolutely no connection between those. On the issue of the oncology unit, I gave members an update on that yesterday. I have outlined the process that we are following. We are now awaiting word from the federal government as to whether they can partner with us to get that oncology unit going. At that point, we will make a decision about the oncology unit, which will have absolutely nothing to do with the member for Greatorex’s mythologies about this mysterious tribe of health administrators that are somewhere out in the system. We do not know where they are. We have done our audit of the Health jobs. We know exactly how many administrative positions have been put on. There are certainly none of the numbers that you are talking about.
Bulk Minerals Export Trade Through
East Arm Wharf
East Arm Wharf
Mr KNIGHT to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE and TRANSPORT
Can you advise the House on new developments at Darwin’s East Arm Wharf that will promote the growth of the Territory’s bulk minerals export trade?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. One of the two mining companies that will bulk export through the Port of Darwin is in the electorate of Daly.
The export of bulk materials is the way forward for our port. We certainly still want to build our container traffic, and there is no doubt about that. However, because of the railway line, development of infrastructure at the port now mean that there are two considerable bulk exporting proposals that will come to fruition very soon. Of course, I am talking about the export of around 600 000 tonnes of manganese per year from Bootu Creek through the port. The life of that export will be over 10 years, so it is a significant amount of bulk material through the Port of Darwin for that particular development.
As a government, we have invested around $20m in bulk loading facilities at the port to accommodate this development and the Frances Creek development that I will detail soon. Most of that is in relation to bulk loading onto the boat, and also a rail dumping facility. That is a very significant investment of $20m.
With Bootu Creek, the first rail shipment is due in April, and the first shipment from the port will be in May. That development is very close and that will be significant for the Port of Darwin. Regarding Frances Creek and Territory Iron, over 1 000 000 tonnes per year will be exported which will be associated with that particular development, which is expected to start in early 2007.
Madam Speaker, on top of the $20m that I mentioned, government has also invested $2.86m towards the construction of conveyers from the train unloading facility to Territory Iron’s iron stacker. Government will provide the funding for that, but there will be a repayment by Territory Iron via a levy of $1 per tonne of the ore, so we expect to recoup that investment.
Once again, government is playing a pivotal role in providing infrastructure for the development of the Port of Darwin and exports through that port. This is a government that has delivered record infrastructure programs over the past three to four years. We have also done that through three surplus budgets, and I am very proud to be the Infrastructure minister in a government that is providing so much infrastructure and economic development for our great Northern Territory.
Oncology Unit - Promises
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
The ALP Northern Territory Branch promised Territorians, in both the 2001 and 2005 elections, a radiation oncology unit. Did not your government state that you would open in 2002-03, stating that, ‘Territorians need access’? Why is it then, when the federal government delivered on its promise to set up a trauma centre at the Royal Darwin Hospital last week, you took it upon yourself to churlishly criticise the member for Solomon for not delivering an oncology unit - a unit your government has been promising for over five years. Minister, are you aware that, according to the member for Casuarina, who had flyers sent out to his electorate …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This is Question Time. It is an opportunity for members to ask specific questions rather than make statements. This has been going on for nearly two minutes now. I urge you to ask the member to get to his question so we can get on with Question Time?
Dr LIM: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker, this is a question about the oncology unit, which the member for Casuarina wrote in his flyer, has now been either finalised or under way. He put down – see? - ‘setting up a radiation oncology unit at RDH’. Just before the election ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Greatorex, could you please just ask the question fairly quickly.
Dr LIM: I have asked the question, and I am asking the question again. Minister, why cannot you and your government simply be honest and tell Territorians you have no intention of paying for an oncology unit?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the member for Greatorex can huff and puff all he likes trying to build up his theories. The fact is that I have shared, both with Territorians and this parliament, exactly every step we have taken towards trying to fulfil the aim of a safe and sustainable …
Dr Lim: The member for Casuarina is misleading Territorians then, is it?
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member for Greatorex well knows that he cannot accuse any member of this House of misleading unless he does so by way of substantive motion. I urge you that you request him to withdraw.
Dr Lim: When did you start changing the order, the rules?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, member for Greatorex, I ask you to withdraw.
Dr LIM: Is there a new rule now about misleading parliament?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, you implied that the member for Casuarina had misled the parliament.
Dr LIM: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker. This is a fact. This flyer was released by the member for Casuarina prior to the election. Am I being told now …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, I have asked you to simply withdraw what you said previously.
Dr LIM: All I said was, ‘was the member for Casuarina misleading Territorians’? If you want me to withdraw that, I will withdraw that, then ask the question. Is the member for Casuarina …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, please resume your seat. Minister continue.
Dr TOYNE: I have almost forgotten where I had got to, Madam Speaker, with all this going on.
Dr Lim: Well, that is the problem with you all the time. You do not know where you are.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr TOYNE: Madam Speaker, we are doing what a responsible government should do on this issue, and that is to ensure that, if we are going to offer a service to Territorians who are suffering from cancer and will depend very heavily on the safety and sustainability of a radiation oncology unit, that that unit will be exactly that. This has not been an easy task. It has not been easy to put together a model that would actually work up here with the number of patients it would be catering for.
We have said, right from the outset, that the Commonwealth government would need to be a partner with us on it.
Ms Carney: You did not!
Dr TOYNE: This was right from the start in the 2001 election. It was stated very clearly that we would certainly need an input from the federal government to make this facility viable. We are now at a point where we are seeking a partnership. I reminded Dave Tollner of this. We would really like to see a positive response from the federal government on this issue. We would be delighted if the federal government helped us to make this project viable at Royal Darwin Hospital.
We are ready, with a potential partner as a result of our expressions of interest process, to set up a jointly-managed and supported service in the Northern Territory as per our promise. We hope that we will hear quickly from the federal government as to what they can do to come in alongside us.
Wave Hill Walk-off – Heritage Preservation
Ms McCARTHY to MINISTER for LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Can the minister inform the House of efforts to preserve heritage associated with the famous walk-off from Wave Hill Station in the 1960s?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. As I remarked in the February sittings, August this year will see the 40th anniversary of one of the most important events in modern Territory history: , the Wave Hill walk-off and strike. I am pleased to inform the House that this government will be making a major contribution towards the celebration of this important anniversary, as well as assisting the people of Kalkarindji and Daguragu in bringing their story to the world; in particular, the increasing number of tourists travelling the Buchanan Highway.
Following an approach by the Daguragu Community Government Council, we are supporting the allocation of $25 000 for the restoration and improvement of the graves of those people buried at Jinbarrak, the site of the old Wave Hill camp on Wave Hill Station, and those people who passed away after the walk-off and were buried in Kalkarindji with little or no markings. The work includes the restoration of the grave of Mr Vincent Lingiari, the renowned Aboriginal leader who led the strike from Wave Hill.
At present, his grave, like so many others of his generation, consists of a cross made with star pickets, with a steel tag with ‘Vincent L’ marked on it. Out of respect for the work that he has done for the Gurindji people, and the example of strength he was to so many other Australians, it is important that his final resting place be commensurate with his achievements for indigenous people’s rights.
I am pleased to inform the House that my colleague, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, has also approved the allocation of $150 000 to construct a new truck parking area in Kalkarindji. The existing truck parking bay alongside the Buntine Highway will become the site of a cultural centre and visitors precinct. The council and the Gurindji people are developing a project that will commemorate the walk-off in a permanent way. The restoration of burial sites is a major part of this project and will be undertaken by the Gurindji people.
Other aspects of the project include the National Heritage listing of the walk-off route, something which the previous CLP government failed to action; the establishment of a memorial park on the main road into Kalkarindji; a monument to the walk-off participants within the park; a monument at the hand-back site; the renovation of the old power station to be a tourist information centre; and the development of a tourist enterprise centred on the walk-off and Gurindji culture.
The Wave Hill walk-off began as a campaign to secure fair wages and conditions for Aboriginal stockmen on Wave Hill Station. These actions led to the successful struggle for land rights for indigenous people. I am proud to be part of the Martin government which is supporting the Gurindji people’s efforts to secure their heritage and build a tourism enterprise at the same time.
Madam Speaker, I advise that the 40th anniversary occasion will happen on 18,, 19 and 20 August 2006. I urge all members of this House, and members of the community to attend to pay tribute to a truly great Australian and to a whole host of other heroes who were involved in that walk-off.
Darwin River Dam – Present Capacity
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Last year at a public meeting in the rural area, there was a lot of concern about water usage and whether there is enough water in Darwin River Dam to supply Darwin and the surrounds. At the same meeting last year, it was stated that the government was looking at building the Warri Dam upstream from Adelaide River in 2030. What is the present capacity of Darwin River Dam and does the government intend to raise the height of the wall at the Darwin River Dam? How far advanced is planning for the Warri Dam; that is, design, land acquisition, land rights, native title and sacred sites? Is the government looking at bringing forward the date of construction of that dam?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I point out that it has been raining pretty heavily just recently, member for Nelson and, as a result of that late Wet Season rain, Darwin River Dam’s current storage is at 86.6%, I have been told. At the beginning of the Wet Season, my advice from Power and Water was that if we had another poor or a dry Wet this year then, possibly, we could be looking at water restrictions in Darwin. However, as a result of a pretty normal Wet Season and a good late burst, we have the dam at 86.6% capacity compared to 80.9% for the same time last year.
A consultancy has been let to look at the feasibility of raising the walls for the height of the dam so we can capture more water. We are waiting on the results of that consultancy. Obviously, it is an engineering issue as well as a cost issue. The latest advice I have based on current demand and projections is that a new dam is unlikely to be required in Darwin for 15 to 20 years. Therefore, we are not greatly advanced on making those assessments. An interim potential solution - given the growing economy here in Darwin and the expanding population - is to raise the walls for the height of the dam. However, a new dam for Darwin is many years away; there is a lot of planning to be done. Thank goodness we have had a decent Wet this year and the dam is at 86.6% capacity.
Book-up Practices –
Community Consultations
Community Consultations
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
There has been a lot of interest in the bush about proposed changes to book-up practices. Can you update the House on the consultation process?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is, indeed, a very important process that the member for Macdonnell has asked about. All members would be aware of the longstanding problems that we have had with rather unscrupulous practices within both remote and urban stores where, beyond simply allowing people to use their cards in store, they have, on some occasions, not only taken the card into custody, if you like, in the store, but also the PIN number of the customer so that they have absolute open access to the accounts of that customer to withdraw whatever amount of money that they decide they are owed.
That practice has attracted not only the attention of our own Consumer Affairs Commissioner, but also the major banks and the ACCC and ASIC. We held a forum in Alice Springs late last year, and we have now sent out a discussion paper putting some proposals for reforming the practices of stores in a way that they will not continue these unscrupulous practices.
We are very pleased with the response to the discussion paper: 36 written submissions and dozens of oral submissions. The views represent more than 200 groups and organisations around the Northern Territory. The majority of submissions, by far, favoured better regulation of such practices.
We will look at various options as to how we could regulate the activities of stores around these practices. The two most likely areas we will look at include the banks building into their EFTPOS agreements with the stores some code of practice or expectation of the code of practice. We can mandate a code of practice for stores which precludes the taking and use of the PIN number of these clients. We will now move forward on this.
Madam Speaker, we are leading the country on this. Everyone in the banking sector and the federal regulators are very interested in what we are doing here with this and other indigenous consumer affairs issues. I am very proud of the work of the commissioner and his commission.
Health Minister’s Management of
Health Department
Health Department
Dr LIM to MINISTER for HEALTH
At the first hint of trouble, you go into hiding. When the AMA criticised you for being asleep behind the wheel, you literally were invisible. Each time there was an issue, you trotted out your CEO to stand in front of the cameras - an unelected person at that - when you, the elected person, the Minister for Health, are invisible, missing in action. When are you going to take up your responsibility and manage the Department of Health as you should as the Minister for Health?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can only say that, if it is getting down to how many times I have done an interview, or how many people I have met with per week, according to the member for Greatorex’s view of how the job should be done, then we are getting to a pretty trivial level of questions …
Members interjecting.
Dr Lim: And the AMA said you were asleep.
Dr TOYNE: … on the Health portfolio …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr TOYNE: Madam Speaker, I can report that, since the conjecture began around the Royal Darwin Hospital, on which I delivered a report to this House yesterday, I have had meetings with critical care nurses at RDH. I have had two meetings with Paul Bauert regarding the issues that he feels we need to be talking through together. I have had contacts with the ANF. I have had probably a dozen media interviews at various stages of the debate that was taking place on the issues of bed block and the activity levels in the ED. I do not know that that really counts as a minister in hiding. It is a strange place to hide when you are sitting in front of a full media conference talking about the meetings that I have had with the AMA and the processes that we have going.
I was very pleased with the two meetings that I had with the AMA and with Didier Palmer from the Royal Darwin Hospital ED, and other clinicians. I believe we now have a joint agenda set up, which will now deal with the …
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We have listened to the Minister for Health for long enough, with the arrogant dribble coming out of his mouth …
Members interjecting.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Move Proposed Censure Motion
Move Proposed Censure Motion
Ms CARNEY: Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended that would prevent this House from censuring the Chief Minister and her government for failing to deal with the growing health crisis in the Northern Territory, after her Minister for Health has shown himself to be too tired, apathetic and subordinate to the health bureaucracy to be effective ….
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We will be taking this censure motion. I point out, there is 15 minutes worth of Question Time to go. I am aware that the Independents and other members may have wanted to use the opportunity …
Ms Carney: Well, you filibuster so much, you would have taken up the time, wouldn’t you?
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, if the opposition want to waste their own Question Time and bring on a censure, we will take the censure motion as a matter of priority and defend it vigorously.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! We will wait for the media cameras to be taken away.
[Editor’s Note: Question Time terminated because of censure motion.]
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016