2008-06-11
Darwin Convention Centre – Opening Cost
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
Yesterday, you shamelessly announced that you were spending $500 000 of public money on a party which is an event plainly designed to promote you and the Labor government. You have teachers on strike, a school disrupted by bomb threats and gang activity, ambulances parked in ambulance bays because there are not enough hospital beds, young thugs roaming the streets and citizens viciously assaulted in public. In your eagerness to win the next election, have you completely lost your bearings?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the Leader of the Opposition’s question. The convention centre is a magnificent new asset to the Territory’s tourism industry. It is the jewel in the crown of Darwin’s tourism industry. This has been a convention centre that the tourism industry has called for in the Top End for many years. This is a government that has achieved not only a convention centre for the tourism industry, but the convention centre has been at the heart, at the apex, of delivering a $900m investment to the old Darwin waterfront precinct - a signal that this government is open for business. It is a public/private partnership with the business community, leveraging $900m worth of investment directly into Darwin and the Northern Territory’s economy.
The success of this is already evident, even before the convention centre is officially opened. Twenty-three conventions have already booked. Over 11 000 delegates will to come to Darwin who would not have come before. As Chief Minister, I want the people of Darwin to be ambassadors for our convention centre - every single Territorian to be an ambassador for our tourism industry.
I believe it is vitally important, given that taxpayers have invested in the convention centre, that the people of Darwin and the Northern Territory get an opportunity to come and explore, and see firsthand what has been delivered, because there are no better ambassadors for the Northern Territory than Territorians. We also want to celebrate the fact that this convention centre was built by Territorians - it was built by hundreds of Territory workers. Over $90m has been invested directly into Territory businesses, which have brought this project in ahead of time and on budget. Therefore, I believe it is entirely appropriate that this community gets an opportunity, over five days next week, to come and see for themselves this wonderful new facility. It is not without precedent; we had a community celebration for the Alice Springs to Darwin rail link. There have been community celebrations associated with any number of events over the years in the Northern Territory. This has been budgeted for within the overall scope of the project. I say to the Leader of the Opposition: you can promote tourism and deliver record funding to core areas of services in the Northern Territory.
Since we came to government, we have seen more than 100 extra doctors and 340 extra nurses in our health workforce right across the Northern Territory, and an increase in the budget of 89% since 2001. We have seen 150 extra teachers employed and deployed right across the Northern Territory since we came to government. Of course, we have seen an additional 200 police recruited to our police force, and another 60 in the budget I announced just a few weeks ago.
Madam Speaker, you can have investment in infrastructure, partnerships with business, and record investment in services right across the Northern Territory. This is a can-do government. We are open for business and investment. I am asking all Territorians to be ambassadors for our great tourism industry in the Northern Territory. I believe that we will see many thousands of Territorians come down and visit the fantastic new convention centre in Darwin over the five days next week.
Population Figures -
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Ms SACILOTTO to CHIEF MINISTER
A strong sign of economic success is an increase in population. Last week, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on the Territory’s population for 2007. Can you inform the House of what they found?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Port Darwin for her question, because it was great news last week when the ABS released their latest population figures that showed the Territory’s population in 2007 increased by 2.4%, which is an extraordinary rise and something that everybody in the Territory will certainly welcome. We now have a population of 217 559 Territorians, and it has probably gone up a few since those figures were released last week. Our population increased last year by 5040 Territorians. I know we generated over 5000 new jobs in the Territory economy last year. We can certainly see that growth all around us with new buildings, new properties being developed, and new businesses emerging in the Territory economy.
If we actually look at a comparative with the other states, the national average growth rate is 1.6%, so there is a very significant increase in the Northern Territory. This is a very strong figure. It is only just short of what was achieved in the early 1990s with the whole transformation of a large build-up of military personnel to the Northern Territory. We have not experienced population growth like these figures since that time. The 2.4% figure puts us at almost equal growth to Western Australia. Everybody is used to looking at what is happening in Western Australia with population growth. We are just below Western Australia in regard to that population growth.
What is important is to look at the nature of the population growth rather than just the numbers by themselves. Last year, 859 more people moved to the Territory than left. The 859 more people is certainly a record for many years. That positive interstate migration figure is a strong sign of the success that we have had as a government in promoting the Northern Territory around Australia as the best place to live, work and raise a family. The message is getting out. Certainly, any of us who travel nationally, when you mention you are from the Northern Territory, people say: ‘Gee, what is going on up there? We read so much about what is happening in the Northern Territory’. People are coming here for work and the lifestyle, they are certainly staying here, and that is good news for our economy.
It is also a great place for business to invest. One of the great benefits, I keep saying, of the convention centre is that we will have industry and business people come here on conventions, never having thought previously about investing in the Northern Territory, seeking a commercial opportunity in the Northern Territory. They are going to take one look at our capital city and want to be in this marketplace. We are very proud to be a proactive government, a pro-business government, and that we have the lowest-taxing jurisdiction for small business in Australia. We will certainly be continuing to promote that.
The growth of 5040 was made up of 2842 of natural increase and 1339 overseas migration. We have more people from overseas choosing to make the Territory their home when they migrate to Australia. Compare the population growth that is occurring now under this government - under the confidence that business has in the Northern Territory economy to invest and to generate jobs - with what we inherited in 2001 when there was zero percent growth in the Northern Territory. People were leaving the Northern Territory in droves. Compare that to where we are now. It is a very significant achievement and, under my government, we will continue to build on it.
Violent Assault – Increased Threat
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
Territorians have been horrified by a spate of vicious public assaults on innocent citizens. Today, tragically, Mr Warren John Mount, better known as Shadow, has been laid to rest. You have repeatedly claimed that the rising levels of violent assault are the result of increased reporting of domestic violence. Will you now admit that the threat of violent assault is a real and growing concern for many Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the Leader of the Opposition’s question. The death of Mr Mount was an absolute outrage to all Territorians and Australians. It was a vicious and absolutely senseless attack that ended his life, and those issues are before the court. I congratulate Northern Territory Police for very quickly arresting and seeing those people charged. However, we have to be careful as those issues are before the court.
I attended the funeral of Mr Mount this morning. It was a very deeply moving and difficult funeral for everybody who was there, and a senseless end to a life that was otherwise full of great character that made a great contribution to the Rugby League community of the Northern Territory. However, let us recognise that these types of senseless attacks, unfortunately, happen not only in the Northern Territory, but across Australia and the world. You only have to pick up any newspaper to read of these things. They are senseless, they are not to be tolerated or condoned, and the full force of the law should come down on people who behave in such a way and perpetrate such vicious and senseless attacks.
What we are doing in the Northern Territory is on a multitude of levels. There is no single policy initiative that is going to lead to an elimination of these types of senseless attacks. As I said, they occur in all societies. In regard to what is happening in the Northern Territory, I again quote from advice that I have received from the Police Commissioner in regard to overall assaults across the Northern Territory. Between 1 October 2007 and 31 March 2008, there were 2679 assault offences. Of that figure, 52% where attributed to domestic and family violence. So, over half of all figures of all assaults reported to police in the Northern Territory are related to domestic and family violence.
Over time, since this government has committed additional police resources, and since the establishment of the violent crime reduction strategy and the domestic and personal violence protection units in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, more women are reporting assaults to police, and police are following those up. Very tragically, advice from police is that most victims of domestic violence are indigenous women and most offenders are indigenous men. That is the reality of the profile of those figures across the Northern Territory.
In regard to domestic violence, we introduced legislation that allowed police to actually issue domestic violence restraining orders. Between 1 October 2007 and 31 March 2008, the police issued 1175 restraining orders, a 2% increase on 2006-07. Police are out there, proactively, where they were not before, issuing these domestic violence restraining orders to protect women across the Territory. There were 974 offences recorded for failing to comply with a domestic violence restraining order, a 20% increase on 2006-07.
The Leader of the Opposition can pull these figures any which way he wants. The reality is, unprovoked acts of violence are reprehensible; they are not to be tolerated. The full weight of the law will come down on people who behave like that and who are charged by police, as has happened in the case of Mr Mount. We also know that virtually all of these assaults - when you get back to the reports – are attributed to excessive alcohol abuse. There is a layer of strategies this government is putting in place to try to deal with those issues.
As the speaker at the service today, Mick Palmer, the President of Rugby League, said, this issue is not just an issue for governments, the courts or the police. This is an issue confronting our whole society, where we, as parents, as adults, as leaders in our community - whether they be in sporting fields or whatever fields of endeavour - have a responsibility to our young people to instruct them about what is appropriate behaviour; what are activities that are meaningful to be engaged in; and how we can get our young men positively engaged across our whole community, our whole society, and not disengaged and prone to being trapped into alcohol and drug abuse and perpetrating acts of violence like the ones we have tragically seen.
This is an issue for the whole of the society of the Northern Territory. We are doing our bit as government. I - and I am sure every member of this House - joins me in offering our condolences to the family of Mr Mount and all of his many hundreds of friends throughout the Rugby League community of the Northern Territory.
Retail Sector Growth
Mr BURKE to TREASURER
Can the Treasurer advise the House on the Territory’s strong retail sector growth and the implications it has for the economy?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his question because, whilst in population growth we are second to Western Australia, in retail growth we are leading Australia according to the most recent figures released. Retail trade in the Territory grew by 10.3% in the year to April, compared to 7.2% nationally.
I was very pleased to be able to announce these strong growth figures alongside well-known Darwin retailer, Mrs Lucy Dohnt, who manages shops in the mall. She was saying that they have experienced the strongest retail season to date. Where they would have seen a slight drop-off previously in what we call the Wet Season, Mrs Dohnt was saying there was no discernible drop-off - very strong retail figures were occurring in her trade. She is very excited about the future retail trade in our city, particularly backed up by these very strong retail figures we are seeing coming through.
Our retail sector is doing extremely well. When you combine retail trade growth with our population growth of 2.4%, and the forecast gross state growth of 6.6% for next year, you start to get a sense of the strength of our Territory economy. In fact, if you add those figures to the expenditure of our record infrastructure by government of $870m, with the ongoing major project at the waterfront, the $1bn housing program that will roll across regional and remote Northern Territory, the $1bn-worth of essential services in energy and water, you get an even stronger sense of the Territory’s economy being well placed to deliver essential services for Territory families across the next few years. I guess it is no surprise that Access Economics is predicting the Territory will have the strongest growing economy in the nation through the next five years.
Madam Speaker, this does not happen by accident. Strong financial management is at the core of where we have arrived at as a government regarding a strong economy. We are certainly seeing that reflected in the surpluses that we are predicting to have through future years and the fact that we have delivered surplus budgets consistently. That is in stark contrast to the picture we inherited. I hope we do not listen to the economic vandal, the Leader of the Opposition, and the bizarre pledges that he makes. I think the last costings we had of some of his bizarre pledges were around the $700m mark; that he was going to partially fund through sacking public servants who are at the core of our service provision. Whilst we have the economic vandal opposite, we are seeing an incredibly strong economy under the Labor Henderson government - an economy that is going from strength to strength right across the economic indicators, and is assisted by strong financial management by this government.
Casuarina Senior College –
Suspension of Students
Suspension of Students
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
Your government was repeatedly warned that your government’s haste in pushing through the middle schooling changes would result in considerable problems at Casuarina Senior College. Yesterday, it was confirmed that more than 50 students from Casuarina have been expelled this year. Now you have had a chance to be briefed, can you tell the House how many students have been expelled; how many suspensions or expulsions were for bomb threats; how many were for gang-related activity; how many were for violence; how many were for the possession of drugs; and how many were for the possession of weapons?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. He persists on going through with this. I am advised, as of 20 May, the number of suspensions in Territory schools is down about 10% compared to the last financial year. Having said that - and I am sure the Leader of the Opposition, being a former principal of a school would – we support school communities and principals in addressing behavioural issues across all our schools. We cannot have students disrupting other students who want to learn.
A comprehensive code of behaviour was launched by the previous Education minister and the Chief Minister last year to ensure students’ learning will not be disrupted. The Safe Schools NT Code of Behaviour, which I can provide to the Leader of the Opposition if he has not read it, outlines the right of all people to be treated with respect and dignity, the rights of students to learn, the rights of teachers to teach …
Mr Mills: Bearing arms.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: … and the right of everyone to be safe. All schools have the student wellbeing behaviour management policies that clearly detail behavioural expectations for students …
Mr Mills: Bombs.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Well, you asked the question, I will get to it.
Mr Mills: With due respect, I have asked the question but I am not getting an answer.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Resume your seat, Leader of the Opposition.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: I am answering it.
Mr Mills: No, that is nothing to do with the question I asked.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Madam Speaker, the policies clearly detail behavioural expectations for students and the consequences for not adhering to the school rules ...
Mr Mills: Like carrying bombs or knives.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Suspension is one strategy that schools can use for serious breaches. As well as having this, we have backed it up with a number of behavioural officers in school and appointed 23 school counsellors that simply were not there under the CLP government. We know that there is disruption; there has been fighting in some of the schools. That has been happening across schools. It is not a new issue. You went to school. We all went to school. There were fights in schools …
Mr Mills: I have received e-mails today that would frighten you, if you have not seen them.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: The problem is that we inherited an education system that simply was not resourced …
Mr Mills: Oh, come one!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: We deal with it by putting in place resourcing, principals and schools to be able to implement comprehensive policies that deal with this issue, as well as putting the additional school counsellors and wellbeing officers in place to deal with this issue. This will certainly go some way to dealing with it.
The Leader of the Opposition talked about our middle schools. Well, we are proud of our new middle schools structure, and the new facilities that we have provided with it, including the state-of-the-art Darwin Middle School, and the opportunity that it is providing for students in the early, middle and senior secondary years ...
Mr Mills: Any state-of-the-art outcomes?
Ms SCRYMGOUR: This is a bloke who has, and has had, no policy on student behaviour ...
Members interjecting.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: I ask the question of the Leader of the Opposition: is this the same man who condones the disruption of the learning environment in our schools? Of course, principals, when they have problems - and read the Code of Conduct – will suspend students if their behaviour falls within those categories. Of course, principals will act. We have to look after the safety of our teachers as well as other students who are in the schools. Is the Leader of the Opposition proposing that we should not take the action, or that principals should not do it …
Mr Mills: We want to know the nature of the problems.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: … but that we should just sit on our hands and not do it? I fully support the principals. We have some fantastic principals in our senior and secondary schools who are doing the work. They have to protect, and also look after and manage their teaching staff and other kids so that we do have a fantastic learning environment.
Rock Throwing and Laser Pointing
at Cars – Government’s View
at Cars – Government’s View
Mr WARREN to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Can you please update the House on the government’s strong views about those idiots who think that throwing rocks or pointing lasers at cars is an amusing game?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for his question. As I said, it is not a prank, it is not a laugh; it is a very serious thing to hurl a missile at a vehicle with passengers in it. It puts lives at risk and is very reckless behaviour.
Unfortunately, this sort of behaviour is not just unique to the Northern Territory. Other jurisdictions are also encountering problems - and it is a growing problem. Most people would be aware of the incident in New South Wales where a rock was hurled from an overpass across a freeway and profoundly injured a young woman. In the Darwin/Palmerston region, a rock was hurled at a bus and injured the eyesight of a young man with a promising cricket career. It is a problem and it does have very serious consequences, as do laser pointers. These are weapons that are prescribed under the Weapons Control Act; they can potentially blind people. We have seen incidents down south where these have been pointed at aircraft; a potentially catastrophic situation, because they can blind the pilot. Aircraft are covered by law, and that is why we have introduced laws into the parliament about pointing lasers at cars. That particular debate is before the House and we will debate those elements.
In relation to what has been brought into the House, as I said today, it will make it easier to bring these culprits before the courts. I believe it will also facilitate convictions in these particular cases. Also, very importantly, we have an undertaking from Northern Territory Police that they will target this sort of offence and, given the new laws, there is more prospect of conviction.
This is a government that is serious about these sorts of offences. We are sending a very clear message to those offenders that we are prepared to change the laws to bring them before the courts and put them where they should be, if they are found guilty - which is in gaol.
Mereenie Loop Road
Mrs BRAHAM to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE and TRANSPORT
As you know, there has been dispute with the Central Land Council over the sealing of the Mereenie Loop Road. David Ross from the Central Land Council said it is because government will not accept the CLC sacred site procedures. At the moment, there are contractors on-site. They will soon finish the section they are doing, and they will take their equipment and their team away. I want to understand, is it because you will not accept the sacred site procedures the CLC are requesting? Is it a question of compensation, how much, which the government has not budgeted for? Or, is it a question of the government just not wanting to finish this particular section of road? Will you give us an honest, accurate answer of what is going on, who is to blame, and how you are going to resolve it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. I am not going to buy into any blame game, because I am more interested …
Mr Mills: Because you are at fault.
Ms Carney: Okay, Kevin.
Mr Mills: You cannot blame the CLP.
Mrs Miller: You cannot blame the CLP for this one.
Ms LAWRIE: The Leader of the Opposition wants to joke about the Mereenie Loop Road …
Mrs Miller: No, we are not joking, it should have been finished years ago.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: For the people of Central Australia this is a very important question, because Mereenie Loop Road and, particularly, finishing the seal of the inner loop is a matter of significant importance. It is a fantastic tourism pull out there, and it also provides, obviously, a very good sealed road for people in the communities of the region.
The investment to date is some $26m on sealing. The inner loop has been a great investment in our roads, and the ongoing Red Centre Way project is an investment, we believe, in the future of Alice Springs tourism and, indeed, the region. We believe it will promote tourism across the West MacDonnell Ranges, past Ellery, Ormiston and Redbank Gorges. It invests in local companies; we have seen them benefiting. It is a project that has involved the training of local people in the civil construction skills.
I am absolutely committed, as roads minister, to finishing the sealing of what we call the inner loop - no doubt about it. There are very sensitive negotiations going on at the moment between, the Northern Territory government and the CLC. I, for one, am very hopeful of a positive resolution to those sensitive negotiations. I am not going to jeopardise those discussions by going into the details, but what I will say …
Mr Mills: Slippery.
Ms LAWRIE: Leader of the Opposition, you have no idea how to negotiate with representatives of land councils. If you think that by spouting off the sensitivities and negotiations of government are slippery, then you are a bigger fool than I thought you were already.
Ms Carney: Do not be so rude.
Mr Mills interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: I confirm, the government is absolutely committed to completing the seal of the Mereenie inner loop - no doubt about it. When we finalise …
Ms Carney: What is the difference between the inner loop and the bigger loop?
Ms LAWRIE: When we finalise those negotiations with the CLC, which I believe are heading in a positive way, we will proceed with the sealing. We have not completed the sealing project that is under way at the moment, that will be completed in the middle of this year. I am very hopeful …
Ms Carney: That is the inner loop the middle of this year.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: … of continuing that enormous civil project with going out on the Red Centre Way.
Mrs Braham: Can I have a supplementary question?
Ms Carney: Yes, what is the inner loop?
Madam SPEAKER: There are no supplementary questions, member for Braitling.
High Schools – Student Expulsions
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
The opposition have been told that discipline problems in Darwin high schools are not confined to Casuarina Senior College. Can you tell the House how many students attending Darwin, Sanderson and Palmerston High Schools have been expelled this year? Also, how many have been suspended from each of those schools?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. It is good to have such an interest in education, because it is very important in fixing our education system. Yesterday, you said 63 in Casuarina. I need to get that clear. I was thinking that, when the Leader of the Opposition talked about 63, well, his sources gave him the wrong amount ...
Mr Mills: Well, what was it then?
Ms Carney: There were 51.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: His first question …
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Mills: That was the first question, you never answered it. How many was it then?
Ms SCRYMGOUR: His first question said 50, and he is right, it was around 50 over the year.
Mr Mills: I said more than 50. How many was it?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order; Madam Speaker! The Leader of the Opposition is consistently interrupting the Education minister when she is trying to provide a response.
Mrs Miller: It is very difficult when we are trying to get the truth - very difficult.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, I remind you of Standing Order 51. Resume your seat, minister:
- No Member may converse aloud or make any noise or disturbance which in the opinion of the Speaker is designed to interrupt or has the effect of interrupting a Member speaking.
The minister has the call.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: Madam Speaker, there have been 51 suspensions over the year and, out of that 51, 12 were for fighting. None of these have been gang-related. Every school - and I will reiterate this for the Leader of the Opposition - has a zero tolerance approach to violence and disruption in the school. Regarding Taminmin, the principal, again, because of issues within the school, has acted. The same with Palmerston and Sanderson. When students go to school and fight and get involved in activities that go against the code of conduct, of course, principals will take action.
Some of those actions will be suspensions. If you look at the figures of those suspensions, they could go from one week, depending on the severity of the behaviour that has breached the code, to four weeks. That is up to principals to implement; they have the code of conduct. They are the ones who manage and ensure our school environments are free from violence.
We fully support those principals taking that action to ensure that the school environment is not violent. They deal with it accordingly. That is why we have put in the resources regarding counselling to assist the school to work with those students with challenging behaviours. That way, principals can then provide a learning environment for every other student in the school.
Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour –
Crackdown
Crackdown
Ms McCARTHY to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Can you update the House on progress the government is making in its crackdown on youth crime and antisocial behaviour?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. There is no doubt that this government has addressed this issue of youth crime and closing the revolving door, if you like, on juvenile diversion and limiting it to two times for a youth. We know of those reports of some youths accessing juvenile diversion up to a dozen times in an effort to avoid the courts, and that is unacceptable. We have closed that revolving door on repeated juvenile diversion. We also realise the importance of trying to get young people back on the straight and narrow, whether it is through juvenile diversion or intercepting them before they get to that stage. That is what the changes to the Youth Justice Act were all about. It was about identifying those families and youths who were at risk and taking action - an intensive approach to that - and making parents begin to take responsibility.
There was also a clear call from the community for youth camps and similar activities. As a government, we responded to that. Hamilton Downs has received funding for this sort of activity. The first group of 12 young people were escorted to Hamilton Downs to attend the government’s youth camp earlier this year. Another seven have started the camp this week. In the Top End, there have been 18 who have attended these camps with promising results. These camps are part of our strategy to address this whole issue of youth crime. We do not want juveniles to end up in Don Dale, but they will end up there if they continually break the law and come before the courts. We are trying to take a proactive approach and head them off at the pass, so to speak.
It is important to note that these camps are no picnic. I am informed that, at the first camp at Hamilton Downs, the kids got up at 6 am and then had an eight-hour trek out into that country around Hamilton Downs. That is no mean feat. It required teamwork, navigation and decision-making challenges. This is challenging these kids who need some help. The very clear message I get back from the community is that this is the sort of thing the community wants - to give the kids a chance. They want to support them, they do not want to see them go wrong, but want to see them get back on track and become good citizens. They were back with the lights out by 8.30 pm - no exceptions.
In the financial year 2008-09, this government has invested $2.5m to establish permanent youth camp programs and a family responsibility system that will start on 1 July. It is a tough, but constructive, package. It is one that this government is proud of. We want to see results for the community and for those kids who are on the wrong track.
WorkSafe Regulations –
Additional Construction Costs
Additional Construction Costs
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
The Housing Industry Association claims your WorkSafe regulations are adding $40 000 to the price of the construction of a single-storey dwelling in the Territory. While there is a need for safety in the workplace, this ridiculous overregulation means that houses are becoming even more expensive and deepening the housing crisis. Are you horrified that regulations you have imposed have increased the price of building a home in Darwin by $40 000?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. I certainly have not been approached by the Housing Industry Association on that particular matter. They have not made representation to me with those sorts of numbers. This government is proud of the work that we did last year to update our Occupational Health and Safety legislation in the Northern Territory that had not been significantly amended for 20 years. We certainly stand beside every worker and every workplace in the Northern Territory about having a safe workplace. It is fundamental to the rights of all of us to go to work and be safe.
When we looked at our legislation, which was done in consultation with industry over a significant period of time, it was a very thorough process. At the end of the day, the legislation we brought before this House last year was supported by industry in the Northern Territory.
For the Leader of the Opposition to come in here and make a statement that one of the representative bodies has said $40 000 on a house, I would like to see the evidence of that, because I have not been provided with it. But, at the end of the day, how do you put a price on safety? How do you put a price on somebody’s life? How do you put a price on having to go to the wife and kids at home and say that dad is not going to come home from work today? You cannot put a price on that.
We certainly stand behind the legislation we put in place. We benchmarked our legislation against legislation right across Australia. We went through a very thorough process right across Australia. I can confidently say that our legislation, which was very demonstrably the weakest OHS legislation, by a long way, against the rest of Australia, that we are now in the middle of the pack. As a government, we aim to have our regulatory environment in and around the middle of the pack, given that we are a small jurisdiction. That is where our regulations, our legislation and our penalty regime sits.
What is also happening is a debate about nationally consistent OHS legislation. This is on the COAG agenda. Business, quite rightly I believe, calls for harmonious regulatory environment across all areas of regulation across Australia, and I believe that is appropriate. Many businesses do work across different states. That is an issue that is on the table that the states are working through at the moment which has been called for by the business community right across Australia.
I certainly support, very strongly, the legislation we put in place. I do not have the exact figures in front of me, but the costs to business, with the profile of injured workers in the Northern Territory through workers’ compensation premiums, amounts to thousands and thousands of dollars for every business. If you do not have a safe work environment and workers are being paid compensation, the premiums to business also go through the roof, and those premiums get passed through back to the consumer, so it is not a one-way argument.
The legislation we introduced is contemporary. It was supported by business, it was negotiated with business; it is in the middle of a pack. I like to think even the Leader of the Opposition would say that every worker has the right in the Northern Territory to a safe workplace.
Child Abuse and Neglect –
Government Response
Government Response
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for CHILD PROTECTION
Can you please update the House on what the Territory government is doing to improve responses to allegations of child abuse and neglect in remote communities?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Macdonnell for her question. I am pleased to report that my department has been working very closely with the Australian government to develop innovative responses to the investigation of allegations of child abuse and neglect in our remote communities. As I have said, we have to deliver safer families for all Territorians and, in particular, we have to deliver out bush. We are doing this through our own Closing the Gap package and in partnership with the Australian government.
The first initiative I want to mention now is the mobile child protection team. The mobile team commenced on 28 April 2008. The team will conduct child protection investigations right across our remote communities, in partnership with the existing Family and Community Services’ officers. It is not just our remote communities, these teams will also be working with a lot of town camps around our urban centres.
Training was accelerated. With the urgency for that two staff in the first two weeks, it meant team members commenced their first investigations in May 2008. The mobile team consists of 12 staff - a manager and an administration officer, and 10 additional child protection workers - which was a promise under Closing the Gap. The difficulties recruiting staff to work in this challenging area are well known, so it has been fantastic to be able to get the calibre of staff that we have into our mobile child protection teams that work with the police to go into a lot of our remote communities.
I applaud the efforts of the Department of Family and Community Services because, if you look everywhere else on the eastern seaboard, this is the one area where those other state governments have a lot of problems in trying to recruit experienced staff in this area. Now that we have the staff, we need to keep them here, because they have a very important job to do. We have only just started the next stage of the work that came out of the intervention. It is very important that we maintain the work that needs to be done so that we can do more than just the health checks where the teams went in, did the immediate checks, and then withdrew.
Part of this challenge with the task force is to ensure that they go in very proactively and work through the other side of this initiative, which is to establish the child safety units - which were started off by my predecessor - replicating the success that we have had in Maningrida with the Aboriginal community workers. I am pleased to say that Daly River, Numbulwar, Galiwinku, Beswick, Ti Tree, Mutitjulu, Hermannsburg, Yuendumu and, in the member for Macdonnell’s electorate, Papunya, have had coordinators appointed. All coordinators have been appointed for both Top End and Central Australia, and workers are expected to commence in the next couple of months.
Whilst we are getting the forensic child protection workers in, we are also balancing that with the Aboriginal community workers that have also been trained in the forensic side and the whole issue of child safety. That is fantastic, Madam Speaker. It has been a great initiative which came out of Closing the Gap. Our government is on target and on track. It just goes to show, if you have a comprehensive policy such as Closing the Gap, and you back that up with the resources and the financial resourcing as well, we can deliver. It has certainly been well received in a lot of the communities. I will be talking to all of those local members where these remote Aboriginal community workers will go in, so that we establish these child safety units in all of these areas.
LNG – Alternative Fuel
Mr WOOD to CHIEF MINISTER
With the rising price of fuel, especially diesel, the cost of operating trucks and other heavy equipment, so essential for the economy of the NT, is becoming more and more expensive. It is now possible to run trucks and even rail locomotives using LNG. I show a picture here of the Kenworth trucks which are now on LNG. Isuzu is doing the same thing. Ford has a car running on LNG, and Wesfarmers have recently built an LNG plant in Perth to supply remote power plants with fuel, as well as the transport industry. If you are fair dinkum about the benefits of bringing LNG to the Darwin region, what are you doing to ensure some of the LNG produced in the NT remains here and can be used as an alternative fuel to reduce the cost of transport, the cost of power in remote areas, and also reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. It is great to see that he is a fan of the LNG industry. He spends most of his time campaigning against it, speaking to lobby groups and other interests who are trying to derail the LNG plant. The first person who is on the speakers’ list is the member for Nelson. He is there with all guns blazing at every opportunity he gets. But it is good to see that he might be becoming a convert to an industry that is going to become increasingly important globally as a main source of power generation and fuel. It is good to see that he has finally come on board and, hopefully, the next time he gets an invitation to speak at one of these groups which are campaigning against us, he will say: ‘No, I support it now’.
Going to his question, the issue of rising fuel prices is, obviously, of great concern to me, as Chief Minister, and to the government. It is a global phenomenon. As I get out on my walk every morning, I listen to the news, and the financial news from overseas. The price of crude oil just continues to go northwards - it has come back a bit overnight. It does impact on jurisdictions like the Northern Territory a great deal more because of the distances that we all have to travel here, and because virtually all of the goods that we consume are freighted in from somewhere else. So, the impact is greater up here.
As Chief Minister, I would certainly support any approach from industry regarding diversifying the fuel source that is available to Territory motorists. This is certainly something that is emerging. There is a lot of debate, even overnight, with the Prime Minister in Japan looking at hybrid cars. I believe one of the things that we, as human beings, are always very good at is adapting to the challenges that are placed. I am sure the motor vehicle industry is certainly going to move very quickly in redesigning motor vehicles and engines to take account of cheaper fuel sources that are available. There will be commercial opportunities which will eventuate in the marketplace as a result of the rising cost of oil.
So, yes, as Chief Minister, I am open to approaches from industry. This will be an emerging debate. We, obviously, have our own motor vehicle fleet through NT Fleet. We are certainly doing some policy work there about how to reduce the costs of the Northern Territory government’s motor vehicle fleet, and the fuel that we consume. However, I do point out, as well, that we are doing our bit with a 1.1 per litre fuel subsidy that is still on the books in the Northern Territory ...
Mr Mills: Put in by the CLP.
Mr HENDERSON: Yes, I will agree, it was put in by the CLP many years ago. It is still there. It is only Queensland and the Northern Territory that actually have a fuel subsidy on the books. When you are paying $1.60 per litre, and even more than that in our regions, it is hardly noticeable, but it is there. Rising fuel prices are of significant concern in regard to not only household budgets, but also the cost to business in the Northern Territory. As Chief Minister, I am open to any innovations and approaches from business and industry in regard to what we can do to reduce the cost of fuel in the Northern Territory.
Public Transport Network –
Improvements to Safety
Improvements to Safety
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE and TRANSPORT
Can the minister update the House on the government’s efforts to improve safety on the public transport network?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his question. The Henderson government is committed to improving public safety across the board and, as Transport minister, I am very committed to ensuring that the people who get to work by travelling on our public transport system can do so safely. It is particularly appropriate following the last question. I believe a very significant response to the cost of living, in the price that families are paying at the petrol pump, is to have a clean, safe and efficient transport system to give people the option of getting to work, getting out of that car. It is not an option for everyone, I admit. There are those of us who are parents of many children who have to do a series of drop-offs in the morning at various schools and preschools to get to work. There are others, of course, who do have the option: single travellers who can and should be getting on their public transport system for getting to work and leaving that family car or motorbike at home and saving themselves the cost of that fuel.
To have a safe public transport system is critical to getting people to use that system. The cornerstone of our strategy is to employ what we call transit officers and get them on to our public transport system. We first introduced Transport Safety Officers in 2006. We ran them through the system to see how that would work. We did an independent review of that, because we were initially hearing some very positive feedback from our public transport drivers about how those Transport Safety Officers had made the system a lot safer for both the drivers and the passengers. The independent review came back with options, including adopting the Western Australia model of transit officers who have significant higher powers of enforcement.
The Transport Workers Union went very effectively into lobbying mode over that. As Transport minister, I responded to their concerns and views. We have adopted the Western Australia model. Last month, we saw the passage of the Criminal Code Amendment (Assaults on Drivers of Commercial Passenger Vehicles) Bill, which increases penalties for those idiots who want to thump any of our drivers, whether it is the public system or the private system. That also protects taxi drivers. We have increased the penalty from one to five years.
Earlier today, we passed legislation that provided a range of powers for our transit officers to take a hands-on role in their duties. Those powers will come into force on 14 July this year. Transit officers undergo extensive training, because their powers are very similar to police powers, in their powers of restraint and removal from the system. I say ‘the system’ because it covers whether someone is on a bus or at a bus station or bus stop. We have pumped an additional $750 000 into the public transport system to support these safety initiatives. We are increasing the number of transit officers up to six. They will be given new vehicles. We have a dedicated specialist manager to run this security section who has law enforcement experience. We have recruited the new officers, they are receiving their training, and we will be equipping them with the skills to use their powers.
The police force has been front and centre of all of this work. They are working very closely with my Transport department and the Department of Justice to ensure we get these new powers and the system right. I thank the officers from the police force and the Department of Justice who have worked so closely with us in getting this up and running.
We will continue to target any antisocial behaviour anywhere as it occurs. We will ensure that our public transport system is the cleanest, safest and most effective system we can have. We have state-of-the-art buses in our transport system. They are new Mercedes Benz buses, fully airconditioned. They have CCTV cameras on them. We have CCTV cameras at our bus interchanges …
Mr Wood: Can we get a few more in the rural area? The cost of fuel is getting a bit high now.
Ms LAWRIE: We have just placed a whole lot of new buses out to the rural area. The rural area of Darwin is the only area that has safety belts on their school routes. We are providing a safe, clean and efficient public transport service.
Euro 2008 – Winner’s Party Funding
Mr CONLAN to MINISTER for SPORT and RECREATION
Given that the Chief Minister is going to spend $500 000 on a party to celebrate the opening of the convention centre, can you advise what arrangements are in place for the Euro 2008 winner’s party, and how much you have actually allocated for that party?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Greatorex for his question. Many of us sports fans, including me, are enjoying the opportunity to watch the Euro Soccer League. The reality is that we will decide when the winner comes on what type of appropriate response this parliament makes ...
Members interjecting.
Mr BONSON: Let us just say that we enjoy the soccer and we wish the winners the best. Greece will not be winning this time around because, unfortunately, they did not qualify.
Alcohol Management Plans –
Effect on Community
Effect on Community
Ms ANDERSON to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Can the minister inform the House whether local alcohol management plans and carefully targeted alcohol restrictions are having a positive effect in communities across the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Macdonnell for her question. There is no doubt that the abuse of alcohol is a major challenge for the Northern Territory - I have said that time and time again - to our health system, to our justice system, to family integrity and, as identified in the Little Children are Sacred Report, having an impact on Aboriginal communities right across the Northern Territory.
We have seen, and we have spoken in this parliament about the positive impact of alcohol restrictions and the licensing permit system in Groote Eylandt, resulting in a significant decrease in antisocial behaviour and crime, and a significant increase in people in full-time employment and attendance at such employment. We alluded earlier today to the exciting development at Dugong Beach and how that has opened up opportunities for many people on Groote Eylandt.
The member for Nhulunbuy and that region have been working on a permit system for some time. It has been a lot more complicated because, I suppose, of many reasons at Nhulunbuy - and we all acknowledge that. However, an electronic ID system has been implemented. It has had an almost immediate positive effect. In fact, the administrator of Gove said on radio recently that now they have a cleaner, safer and quieter town, and that is a very positive thing.
Alice Springs is a dry town, and has been for some time, with alcohol restrictions and implementation of an electronic ID system. It is very important to note that there has been a drop in pure alcohol sales in the quantities as measured by pure alcohol from the December quarter 2005 to the December quarter 2007; it is approximately 17%. Probably the most profound decrease has been cask wine which, of course, was a drink of choice and was targeted through the restrictions. By my calculations, there has been somewhere around a 90% reduction in cask sales as measured by pure alcohol.
These are targeted restrictions. We are trying to work closely with the community and, in Alice Springs, with the town council. The early results are positive. Alice Springs police pointed out that there has been a steep decline in the number of homicides this year in the Alice Springs region. In fact, Superintendent Parnell said: ‘This is good news for us’, and he said that these low homicide levels are: ‘… historically the lowest period we have probably ever had as far as I can remember’. So the police are acknowledging that homicides are down and, I believe, due in large part to alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs.
We acknowledge that there is more to do, Madam Speaker. We will be looking at this issue of alcohol and antisocial behaviour in quite a number of ways in coming times. This is a government that has taken steps regarding alcohol and its effects on our community, and we are prepared to take more steps.
Ms LAWRIE (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016