2005-02-16
Underground Power in Northern Suburbs
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
The previous government provided the basis for your current project to underground power in Darwin’s Northern Suburbs. This 1998 pilot project benchmarked the process and cost per lot for the work. The price per lot came in at $8201; your estimate for the current work is $9000 per lot. Can you confirm that the costs of the works have blown out to $16 000 per lot? Can you also confirm that funds are within the current and next year’s budget to allow for the orderly continuation of the work?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I recognise that, as Chief Minister, I can have questions that roam across government. This question is specifically about the undergrounding power project and should, properly, be referred to the Minister for Essential Services, which I will do shortly.
Mr Dunham: This is you here! I have your photo.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, order! The Chief Minister has the floor.
Ms MARTIN: The Opposition Leader referred to the previous government and their pilot program of undergrounding in one street in Nightcliff in 1998 - it was a sham. It was a political exercise they never intended to go on with. We are very proud of the fact we came to government committing to underground power. Okay, it is going to take quite a while, at this stage probably 20 years, we always said that.
It is important to understand what those costs are. However, we are proud of this project. It will mean a more reliable power supply to people in the Northern Suburbs, and that is something that goes to the heart of our lifestyle. How can you have a lifestyle that is the great lifestyle of the Territory when, because of trees overhanging powerlines, we do have those outages - it is a fact of life. We recognise that and are undergrounding power throughout the Northern Suburbs. We are looking forward to when that all happens. For the details of that, I will appropriately pass to the Minister for Essential Services.
Dr BURNS (Essential Services): Madam Speaker, I thank the Opposition Leader for his question. There is no doubt that costs of this project have escalated, particularly over the last 12 months. There are a number of reasons for that, and they were touched on in this House last night. One of them is the cost of labour - and everyone knows that labour costs have risen substantially over the last 12 months. The other is in terms of components and some of the parts. There have been substantial increases in costs. However, I will lay it on the record that this government is committed to undergrounding power in Nightcliff. We will not waiver from that commitment, no matter how much the opposition tries to bag it and put it down.
Mr Dunham: Nightcliff! What about all the other suburbs?
Dr BURNS: We will do what it takes to fulfil our commitments to the residents of Nightcliff and beyond.
Mr Dunham: Nightcliff. What about the other 8000 residences?
Dr BURNS: You can try and put it down, member for Drysdale, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to this particular project. It will not only provide benefits for the residents in the aesthetics of that area in Nightcliff, but it will also reduce power outages. That is something this government is also committed to.
Mr BURKE: A supplementary question, Madam Speaker?
Madam SPEAKER: No, it has been answered satisfactorily.
Cane Toads – Initiatives
Ms LAWRIE to MINISTER for PARKS and WILDLIFE
The arrival of cane toads is of concern to the residents of Karama and Malak. Can you update the Assembly on new initiatives aimed at slowing the spread and reducing the impact of cane toads in the Top End?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for her question. I know she has had a viable interest in the issue of cane toads and chaired a committee of this parliament into this particular issue.
Mr Dunham: You did not adopt any of the recommendations.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please cease a moment. Member for Drysdale, I do not know what is wrong with you today, but cease.
Mr Dunham: I am emotional regarding cane toads, Madam Speaker, and …
Madam SPEAKER: I am emotional about people interjecting too often; just remember that.
Dr BURNS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Today, it was my pleasure to announce $422 000 of extra funding over the next 18 months to the community group Frogwatch, which has taken a very active role in trying to combat the spread of cane toads. Recently, Parks and Wildlife have funded Frogwatch to test what they call ‘super traps’, which have proved to be very effective in reducing cane toad numbers, up to 90% in some areas. It is proposed that Frogwatch be funded over the next 18 months, particularly with community support, to carry out what is known as ‘toad musters’, where they will thin out the toads as they advance towards Darwin and, hopefully, lessen the impact on our environment and our lifestyle.
This is in line with other commitments which this government has made over the last year in relation to cane toads, to a total of over $1.1m. Members will recall that we invested $300 000 in biological research with CSIRO to try to find a vector that may profoundly affect the cane toad, similar to the calicivirus and myxomatosis with rabbits. We have also invested $300 000 in the Island Ark project, where threatened species are moved to island habitats, plus $80 000 for the trialling of traps, including a competition for a backyard trap. On top of that, $422 000 over 18 months of new money to combat the toad, utilising a very well-known and respected community group, Frogwatch, which is very active. I might add that we are laying $422 000 on the table, and today I have sent a letter to my federal counterpart to ask that they match that dollar for dollar, which I believe is only fair.
In addition, I was successful in getting the toad as a threatening process put on the agenda at the Commonwealth level, and there is some high level work going on within that ministerial council. This has been a very active government in trying to combat the cane toads, which is in stark contrast to the current opposition and what they did over 27 years, which was next to nothing. In fact, some of them were so blind that they did not even realise that the cane toad was in the Northern Territory. I refer to the member for Greatorex. He put out a media release on 21 November 2002, which I am more than willing to table it, member for Greatorex:
- Since coming to government, several environmental issues have occurred in the Territory which have caused major concern …
One of the dot points there is the spread of cane toads. Well, member for Greatorex, as you should know, the cane toads were in the Territory long before this Labor government came to power and your party did very little to it. In a radio interview with ABC Alice Springs in November 2002, he would not acknowledge that cane toads were a problem while the CLP were in power:
- We did not have them because it was not a Territory problem at this stage and it was never considered that they would come this far this quickly. The incursions have only occurred in the last 12 to 18 months and I believe the parliamentary committee could have at least looked at it in greater detail …
Member for Greatorex, as the interviewer pointed out in this interview, she said she was in Borroloola five or six or years ago and they were hopping all around the place.
Madam Speaker, this is a government that is working with the community to try to minimise the effects of cane toads, in stark contrast to the previous government.
Power and Water Corporation –
Billing Problems
Billing Problems
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
You must be aware that the billing blunder within the Power and Water Corporation is causing hardship to many of the customers of this government-owned corporation. There are many questions we could ask with regard to this blunder not the least being why the bills are being sent from South Australia, as well as the explanatory notes as to how this might, at some time in the future, be fixed. However, I want to ask you, what are your plans to help those numerous Territorians, already grappling with the hardship caused by your government, who will be presented with bigger than anticipated bills because they will be back-billed for Power and Water’s muck-up?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is again a question to me specifically about the Power and Water Corporation and its billing processes. That question should appropriately go to the Minister for Essential Services. This is an idiotic approach from the opposition. I am very proud to be Chief Minister …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition members, order!
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I am proud to be Chief Minister. I am proud of my team of seven ministers who do their jobs well. The whole approach of Question Time is to address questions to ministers about issues of which they have carriage. I am not avoiding the question. The minister who has the detail of this and carriage of the response is the Minister for Essential Services, and I quite properly refer the question to him.
Dr BURNS (Essential Services): Madam Speaker, the changeover to the new billing system has had problems. When you consider the tens of thousands of bills that are sent out per annum, it is quite staggering. With any changeover from a database to a new system, there will inevitably be bugs and problems. I have been keeping a very close eye on this. I am assured that Power and Water are working very effectively to address those problems.
A number of power customers have approached me on specific issues, which I have followed up on. I have also followed up with customers about subsequent bills. These issues are being worked out. There have been problems. This is a much more effective and global system being implemented and it will be more efficient. With any system, there will always be some glitches. However, I can assure the House that I am monitoring the situation very carefully. Uppermost in my mind is the accuracy of bills and their timeliness. I am assured that, if someone has not received a bill in a timely manner, they are given an extension of time to pay.
NT Economy - Housing Industry
Association Analysis
Association Analysis
Mrs AAGAARD to TREASURER
Are you aware of a recent Housing Industry Association analysis of the outlook for the economy? How does this analysis compare with other respected organisations’ assessment of the Territory economy?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her question. I am certainly aware of what the Housing Industry Association has had to say about the Territory economy, because they headlined their latest statement with: ‘A solid outlook ahead for the Northern Territory economy’. That line sums up their position. They say that retail spending is strong, the housing sector is looking good, and the population growth profile is improving. In their report, they have detailed their belief that the housing sector will remain strong, with good activity level predictions in both new housing and total investment.
They also see the non-residential housing sector as picking up under the impetus, interestingly enough, of the Darwin waterfront, a project that we are now clear that our opposite number would scrap, to the detriment of Darwin.
Mr Dunham: We would do it properly, mate.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, I do not want to have to keep reminding you.
Mr Elferink: We would do the environmental impact statement properly.
Madam SPEAKER: And you, member for Macdonnell; we do have little duos here.
Mr STIRLING: Thank you, Madam Speaker. This commentary from the Housing Industry Association matches very closely what we have been seeing from Access Economics, and from Moody’s, quite recently. In their December quarter, Access Economics update in their five-year outlook compared our economy to Posh Spice and David Beckham, and the words I quote here: ‘… beautiful, but temperamental and prone to the occasional bout of infidelity’. So I think that is something we need to keep a close eye on.
Mr Dunham: Hello - flamboyant, superficial, no talent.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, last time. I am warning you, you are on a warning.
Mr STIRLING: They predict continuing good news on the housing front as well, solid gains in retail trade, and future stronger employment growth. They were also positive about future population growth. They have described the engineering construction sector as ‘turbo-charged’. That report came out in the same week that Moody’s reconfirmed the credit rating for the Northern Territory as AA2, and they had positive comments about the government’s management of the economy, which is always good to see.
That means there are three organisations out there, all reputable in their own right, with very similar positive analyses of the Territory economy. If you add them all up, they do point to a strengthening economy moving ahead.
Power and Water Corporation –
Billing Problems
Billing Problems
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for ESSENTIAL SERVICES
My question is to the Minister for Power and Water, seeing the Chief Minister has no idea about this.
Minister, you said in your last answer that you have kept a very close watch on the situation with the problems with power billing with Power and Water. If you have kept a very close watch on it, you would have a clear understanding of the effect on the cash flow of Power and Water of this problem. What is the dollar effect at the moment on Power and Water’s liquid assets with the problems with bulk billing? How has that affected the cash flow? How will that be rectified by your government?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I do not have any information on the …
Mr Burke: So you do not know what the effects are, you are not keeping a close eye on it. If you kept a close watch on it you would.
Dr BURNS: As it has been reported to me during my regular meetings with the CEO and the executive of Power and Water, the problems with billing that the Opposition Leader is referring to are relatively minor. That did not prompt me to ask questions about their cash flow.
To clarify a couple of issues in terms of previous questions, there are approximately 65 000 customers, if we are talking about the billing system of Power and Water and, on average, 2000 invoices are issued every working day. That is significant. The advice I have received is that the problems have been relatively small in the absolute numbers that are involved. I will repeat what I have said before, I am watching the situation very closely. If the member for Brennan has other information, let him bring it forward.
NT Cancer Council – Funding for
Breastcare Nurse
Breastcare Nurse
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for HEALTH
My question is to the Minister for Health on behalf of the member for Braitling. Now that the Australian government has drastically reduced funding to the NT Cancer Council for the position of a breastcare nurse covering Darwin and Alice Springs, what action and financial support will the Northern Territory government take to ensure this vital service is continued?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for relaying the question to me. Yes, it is absolutely true that the Australian government has reshaped its funded programs from the existing program supporting women with breast cancer, which provided a total of $272 500 per annum to the Northern Territory Cancer Council over a three year period. They have now retracted that program and brought out a new program supporting women diagnosed with breast cancer who live in rural areas. The nett effect of that to the Northern Territory Cancer Council is a reduction of $117 500 for the three-year funded arrangement.
On 9 February, I received a submission from the NT Cancer Council requesting the NT government to step in and make good the loss of funding that was left by the Commonwealth decision. I have done two things about that. The first is that I have asked my department to work through a process with the NT Cancer Council to see if we can help with the funding. We are certainly not precluding doing that. The second is that I am contacting the federal Minister for Health, Tony Abbott, to find out what basis they have for removing so much funding from a very vital program within the Northern Territory.
One thing I can say here and now is that the breastcare nurse service will be maintained at the current levels, regardless of what solution we come up with. That is an absolute undertaking and I will make sure that happens.
Darwin City Waterfront Project –
Cost of Environmental Clean-up
Cost of Environmental Clean-up
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
You have confirmed in this parliament that government will undertake to remediate any environmental clean-up necessary for the waterfront development to proceed at taxpayers’ expense. Your best guess is that those expenses are more than $10m, and government will undertake those works through the life of the waterfront development. Surely a responsible government would demonstrate responsible environmental credentials by ensuring that any environmental concerns were dealt with before a project of this size proceeded, rather than asking Territorians to believe that costs will be contained over the 15 years of the project.
Can you provide a guarantee that the substantial environmental issues of the waterfront site will be dealt with before any construction proceeds?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to talk about the waterfront. It really is a great project for Darwin and the Territory. It is a 25 ha site. We are looking at development over a 10- to 15-year period. As I said in the House last week, we estimate that the environmental clean-up costs will be something like $10m over the life of that project. We are saying in an up-front way that that is the cost. As this project proceeds stage by stage, we are dealing with the environmental issues stage by stage. If the Opposition Leader would like a briefing on how environmental processes in 2005 actually take place in these projects I will offer it to him. He continues to ask questions about the environmental management, and has not requested a briefing nor asked to get across the issues. We have an independent environmental auditor …
Mr Burke: I am not interested in being misled.
Ms MARTIN: … who has been involved in the process …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Leader of the Opposition cannot accuse the Chief Minister of misleading this House unless he does so by way of substantive motion. I ask him to withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: I will ignore it at the moment. However, Leader of the Opposition, you understand what the point of order is about.
Ms MARTIN: We have an independent environmental auditor. In this House last week I went through the whole statutory process of environmental management which we are following in detail. It is being carefully monitored by the government and the independent auditor.
This question, once again, goes to the opposition trying to damage and pull down what is a great project for the Territory. It is a terrific project and I have not heard one word from the Opposition Leader - the man who really is cast in yesterday’s mould - not one positive word about this project.
Mr BURKE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! On a number of occasions, the Chief Minister has referred to ‘yesterday’s man’. Madam Speaker, under Standing Order 166, that is a slight against a member of another parliament, namely Mr Beazley.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Northern Territory First Home Buyers
Mr BONSON to TREASURER
What information does the Housing Industry Association tell Territorians about first home buyers? How do first home buyer numbers in the Territory compare to the rest of Australia?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for his question. Issues around first home buyers are important, and the HIA report states quite categorically:
- First home buyer numbers largely enjoyed a strong upward march in 2004, contrary to the situation just about anywhere else in the country.
I believe that says it all. Those figures in the HIA report show that first home buyers rose, as a proportion of the total home buyers in the Territory, to 25.6% up from 15.3% earlier in 2004. That is an 11.3% strengthening of the overall buying market. It says, even considering the volatility of Territory figures, there is a clear upward trend within that.
That is good news, Madam Speaker, both for the Territory and, of course, for first home buyers, and it is principally the result of two things. In the first place, the government’s significant changes to stamp duty since coming to office: we increased the threshold from $80 000 to $125 000 for first home buyers, and we also introduced a principal place of residence reduction in stamp duty of $1500 for other home buyers. That has resulted in savings for first home buyers of around $3500 each. It has also helped almost 2800 people in the Territory, and has put around $10m back into the pockets of Territorians that would otherwise have flowed in revenue to the government.
The second factor contributing to that surge in new home buyers is, quite clearly, the government’s hugely successful HomeNorth Scheme which has absolutely exceeded expectations. In the first six months of the scheme, 259 loans have been funded and approved, with another 82 approved in principle, and I believe that that number has probably shifted upwards as the funding has come through and been approved. That whole HomeNorth Scheme is designed to boost the Territory lifestyle and allow more Territorians to enjoy a part of it. Our commitment to first home buyers is an absolutely integral part of our plans to keep the Territory moving ahead.
Darwin City Waterfront Project –
Environmental Issues
Environmental Issues
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
You have stated in this House that there has been extensive assessment of environmental issues at the waterfront development site. Can you confirm that one of the major reports, the Remedial Action Plan, which is now part of documentation that is being assessed by Development Consent Authority, carries a very strong disclaimer which says:
- No party (including the NT government or developers appointed to develop the site) may rely on this document;
It also says:
- In the event that the NT government makes the report available to any third party, the NT government will ensure that the third party acknowledges and accepts these conditions.
Chief Minister, do you agree with URS, the consultants you commissioned, that their report is unreliable?
ANSWER
No, Madam Speaker, and their report certainly is not unreliable. Again, we have a question that is trying to undermine a great project for the Territory. I say again, we are doing all appropriate environmental management through the remediation action plans that will apply to all sectors of the site. If the opposition was so keen to understand this process, they would have asked for a briefing. They would have been knocking at my door, they would have been making telephone calls to say, ‘Let me, Chief Minister, get across this’.
We have expert people working in government, with the private sector, to move this great project ahead. If the opposition is so careless about this project, so negative about this project that they do not want to have a briefing, and continually come in here, and we saw it last week, a question about environmental management. They did not ask for a briefing. They simply asked the questions we are having repeated in here. I gave a very detailed response to all proper statutory and regulatory processes will be followed, and gave the cost of those over the years. We have the independent environmental auditor.
Madam Speaker, the environment is an important issue. We are dealing with a disused industrial site, 25 ha of that at the waterfront. We will clean it up to contemporary standards, the standards that are required under our laws. There is no question about it. The doubts being expressed from the opposition is more undermining of the project, underpinning what they really want to do with this, and that is to scrap it.
When Territorians are rejoicing that this government has the vision and the foresight, the job creation and business opportunities, to recognise that we go ahead with a project like the waterfront, all we have is carping and negativity from that side of the House.
If you ask legitimate questions and they are answered, which I did effectively last week, and then you do not seek a briefing and continue to ask the questions, it shows that you are not listening and you are not really concerned about the answer. This opposition is simply grandstanding.
Firearms – Inspection of Storage Facilities
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
A requirement under section 10, Part 3 of the Firearms Act is that the commissioner is not to grant a shooter’s licence unless satisfied that the applicant is able to meet the storage and safety requirements under the act. Is it not true that there was once a dedicated officer who inspected safe storage facilities for guns? There is now no such dedicated person; the job is now given to a General Duties police officer. Are you aware that these changes have meant that shooters have to wait up to six or eight weeks for an inspection whereas, under the old system, it would be a matter of days, or even the same day? Minister, like Bob, can you fix it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. In respect of which officers are dedicated to what tasks within the police service, that is purely an issue for the Police Commissioner and his commissioned officers. He does not have to seek my approval for where he dedicates his staff. This issue has not been brought to my attention. To my knowledge, I have not received any complaints to my office. I undertake to get back to the honourable member with an answer to his question. The deployment of police resources is an operational issue for the Police Commissioner.
The Firearms Section does a fantastic job. There is a good, solid working relationship between the police and the Shooters Council in the Northern Territory, both of whom work very professionally towards managing guns in our community. I have every confidence in the Shooters Council and the police. This issue has not been raised, and I will get back to the honourable member.
AFL – Western Bulldogs
Mr KIELY to MINISTER for SPORT and RECREATION
The Bulldogs AFL team has adopted the Territory as their second home. Can the minister tell Territorians what we can do to further support the Bulldogs in the Territory?
ANSWER
I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. Madam Speaker, knowing that you are a passionate Melbourne supporter, I thank you for your kind permission this afternoon to allow me to don the somewhat unparliamentary attire of a Western Bulldogs scarf.
I am proud to stand here today as we enter the second year of our agreement with the AFL and, importantly, the second year of our growing relationship with the Western Bulldogs. We have been lucky enough to witness a fantastic game with the AFL’s Aboriginal All Stars as they battled it out with the Bulldogs on 5 February.
It was heartening to see …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr AH KIT: Did someone rattle a bucket over there? It was heartening to see that, despite the All Stars …
Mr Elferink: They want your good side, Jack.
Mr AH KIT: I am better looking than most of you!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Members of the opposition!
Mr AH KIT: Madam Speaker, it was heartening to see that, despite the All Stars’ local popularity for obvious reasons, there were many supporters in the crowd barracking for the Bulldogs, not least the supporters of the Ngukurr Bulldogs from my own electorate.
It is terrific how Territorians have embraced the Bulldogs as their own and, even if people have another team as their first supporting preference, Territorians are getting behind the Bulldogs in return for their loyalty to the Northern Territory. I know that the Bulldogs have recognised this and are eager to see this relationship grow. The Bulldogs logo is: ‘Together, passionate, forever’. That is certainly how they have approached making friends in the Territory.
Territorians love their footy. We follow local teams with passion, and some hero worship their AFL teams. I now urge Territorians to support the Territory’s own, the Western Bulldogs, as our adopted side. Members will have noticed that our very own Chief Minister, by her own sad admission, a die-hard Sydney Swans supporter, has recently become the No 1 supporter of the Territory-based LeasePlan Western Bulldogs Long Distance 7 membership club. Not only has the Chief Minister lent her support to the Bulldogs, but the Treasurer, my colleague, the honourable Syd Stirling, a Bombers man to his bootstraps, and I, a dyed-in-the-wool Port Adelaide supporter, have also signed on the dotted line to support the Doggies as our adopted Territory side.
I believe it is important that we recognise the work done by the players and officials from the Western Bulldogs in the Territory. Every time these players visit, they run remote and local community camps. We have also seen them again relocate a premiership game to Darwin this year against Carlton on 18 June, and they will make public appearances, including visits to our hospitals and schools, as a part of their activities.
In further support of the Bulldogs, I have membership application forms here that I will table, and call on all members of this House, and those people listening in today, to really get behind the Bulldogs and join the supporters club. I hope to get 100% membership of members in this House. I am not asking members to abandon their usual teams, but I am asking that we give the Doggies a fair go, for they are certainly giving the Territory a fair go in bringing the AFL premiership games to the Territory.
Territorians need to show how willing we are to be in this partnership. It is now up to all of us to take the next step and get behind the Bulldogs as our home team so we can ensure this relationship continues to grow. Let us entrench them as the Territory’s side, and encourage the AFL to hold more and more fixtures in the Territory over the coming years. This was always a bold initiative and is one that contributes significantly towards this government’s commitment to building on the Territory’s great lifestyle. Go the Doggies!
Madam SPEAKER: And minister, I was pleased to see the member for Araluen obviously indicating that she would be happy to support that.
Ms Carney: I am happy to discuss it with him later on, Madam Speaker.
Antisocial Behaviour
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
I will show you this graph, which is compiled from the 2004 Police Annual Report. In the CLP’s last year of government, 13 779 people were apprehended for being drunk on our streets. In your last full year of government, 19 457 people were arrested for being drunk on our streets. This is an increase of 5678 in three years. You have lost control and your programs are not working. Territorians are sick and tired of being harassed and having to put up with gross and drunken behaviour on our streets. Will you now accept that your policies have failed?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, in fact, it is the opposite. I believe that with the effort, the dollars and the resources we are putting towards this problem on our streets, which has been there for many decades, we are starting to see some turnaround in the problem that has been there for many, many years.
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: Just to stop the opposition from being hysterical, we have a strategy which is resourced throughout the Territory. It is called …
Mr Elferink: Which is taken out of housing funds.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Macdonnell, order!
Ms MARTIN: We have a policy that, for the first time, is being resourced properly, and it is working throughout the Territory in our major centres. It is called Community Harmony. It is about calling on a number of different strategies to tackle the problem that we do have in our streets of antisocial behaviour – no doubt about it. This government, in stark contrast to the previous government, recognised it was there and, instead of offering the only solution of monstering and stomping …
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: The only solution from a previous government was to monster and stomp, no action, no carefully thought out strategies, a range of them. We are doing something and we are starting to have an effect. And I am not pretending …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Members of the opposition!
Ms MARTIN: If the opposition is genuinely interested in the answer, then I would expect at least a little courtesy of listening to the answer.
We have a range of strategies, and we will be debating those this afternoon in this House. Both I and the minister responsible, the Minister for Community Development, will be proudly talking about them. However, I have never claimed in any public statement that we could quickly turn this problem around, that has taken years to develop, quickly.
Mr Stirling: Unaddressed.
Ms MARTIN: It was totally unaddressed for years. We have the Opposition Leader waving statistics and graphs, saying, ‘This is simply an indictment on you that you are doing nothing, the problem is getting worse’. That is an indication that we are tackling the problem, because we had a previous government which under-resourced the police, there were not adequate police on ground. We have now adequately resourced the community patrols …
Mr Elferink: And you are pulling it out of housing stocks, aren’t you?
Ms MARTIN: … and the problem is being dealt with much more effectively.
Madam SPEAKER: I warn the member for Macdonnell, you are interrupting far too often.
Ms MARTIN: That graph is actually something that we should say is an indication of a problem being addressed, because it shows that now we are addressing a problem that the CLP simply turned their back on and said, ‘Too hard for us. All we can suggest is you monster and stomp’. Well, we are committed to making our streets safe, we are committed to the Territory’s lifestyle, and we will continue to address unacceptable behaviour, much of which is drunken behaviour, on the streets, wherever those streets are in the Territory.
Tourism in Schools Program
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for TOURISM
Yesterday, the Tourism in Schools Program was launched. How will this initiative keep the Territory tourism industry moving ahead?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, yesterday morning I went to Darwin High to talk to a group of students who are doing Year 12 Business and Tourism. I was joined by Katrina Cooke, who is a marketing person from Intercontinental Group. We were talking to the students, in a new program, Tourism in Schools, about career opportunities in the tourism industry. Why are we doing this? Because tourism is our second-biggest industry. It contributes enormously to our economy – just over $1bn a year – and is 15% of our work force, 7000 directly and another 8000 indirectly employed in tourism. We want more Territorians involved in the industry because, what better for tourists than to come to the Territory and actually talk to, be guided by, and have their tourism experience enhanced by working with Territorians.
This is a new program from the Tourist Commission. It was inspired by research completed at Charles Darwin University. We hope to have 24 schools around the Territory involved. Currently, 17 are involved in Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek. Already, we have 25 tourism operators signed up to talk to students - particularly Year 11 and 12 students in our schools - about the excitement of working in tourism. Often it is the fun of working in tourism, but certainly about the career paths in tourism. It is a very cost-effective program, costing $57 000, and it will run until September 2006.
I thank those tourism operators who are going to talk to our students about the industry. It is a great industry for the Territory. This government supports it strongly with additional marketing money over three years of $27.5m; it is critical to our future. This is another element of growing tourism and growing jobs for Territorians.
Alleged Secret Dossier
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
On ABC radio this morning, in response to your secret dossier on Territorians, you stated that you do not collect talkback radio calls. From the information I have, I know that you do collect radio calls. Would you like to correct your answer in that regard? Why do you have the independent Speaker of this Assembly noted in your secret dossier as a member of the CLP?
Madam SPEAKER: Never! I think you have it wrong there, Chief Minister!
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, can I ask the Leader of the Opposition to table the documents he has?
Mr Burke: I have it all upstairs, the press have it. I tabled it to the press.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, I am being asked a question about documentation. I have not seen that documentation. To properly deal with it, I say to the Opposition Leader, table the documentation.
Mr BURKE: Madam Speaker, I am happy to table the documentation. I simply say to Territorians that I am sure I have only got the tip of the iceberg. I will certainly table everything I have, which is about 3000 names, however, I am sure there are many more.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Can I place on public record that certainly the Speaker of the Northern Territory parliament is not a member of the CLP.
Larrimah Progress Association
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for JUSTICE AND ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Madam Speaker, I am not a member of the CLP either, otherwise I would have problems in my electorate.
Is it true that the formation of the Larrimah Development Association was formed on the advice of your department? If so, why did they give that advice? Has the existing Larrimah Progress Association ever held or advertised AGMs, and has there been an audit of that association? Is your government only recognising the Larrimah Progress Association even though you recommended the start-up of the Larrimah Development Association?
ANSWER
Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I am not a member of the CLP either.
In answer to the question from the member for Nelson, the formation of the Larrimah Development Association Incorporated was coordinated by Graham Cole, a solicitor in Katherine. No advice or communication was entered into by Business Affairs staff with persons associated with this entity other than advice of a standard nature which would ensure correct procedure.
Business Affairs are advised that the LPA last held an AGM in April 2003, and this was advertised on the community noticeboard. The audited 2003 financial statements were received at Business Affairs in March 2004. The 2004 AGM and audited financial statements are now overdue. The last advice to Business Affairs was that the LPA membership was comprised primarily of the Roth family, and yes, the LPA is an incorporated association registered under the Associations Act.
NT Food Industry
Mr McADAM to MINISTER for PRIMARY INDUSTRY and FISHERIES
I am aware of the focus this government has placed on developing the Territory’s food industry and, in particular, identifying opportunities for additional value-adding and job creation. Are there any new initiatives to provide further encouragement for the development of our unique food industry?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. In my ministerial statement in June 2004 for the Northern Territory Food Industry, I highlighted the opportunities for the production of value-added products in the Territory and, consequently, the creation of a number of jobs. I also highlighted the importance of our fishing and aquaculture industries, the live export and pastoral industries, and the horticultural and agricultural industries in the Territory and their contribution to the growth of the Territory.
I highlighted that we are blessed with a significant number of people who come from other countries, and those people can become our ambassadors in the countries where they have come from. Most importantly, our diverse geography gives us the opportunity to produce a range of agricultural and horticultural products, especially out of season. Therefore we can corner the markets in Australia and overseas to which we are exporting.
The government and the industry have worked closely together to promote a taste for the Territory throughout the world. The government allocated a $30 000 grant last year to promote Tastes Down Under in the United States. Currently, the Northern Territory farmed barramundi industry is exporting 80 tonnes per year to the United States. There were two royal weddings at which barramundi from the Northern Territory was served - Brunei and Denmark. We are not only exporting food, but also expertise, such as Jimmy Shu and Athol Wark, two distinguished chefs from the Northern Territory. Jimmy is currently visiting the United States as a guest of the Johnson and Wales University as a distinguished visiting guest. The Johnson and Wales University is one of the best and largest universities for culinary arts in the world. Jimmy will be teaching their students how to cook Territory products and create some of the unique dishes that we tasted last year in the Territory.
Following this, Jimmy will visit Washington DC as a guest of the Australian Ambassador. He is going to cook for a number of members of the United States Congress, once again featuring Northern Territory products.
Athol Wark will be visiting the USA in April to study Advanced Training Methods in Cookery, also at the Johnson and Wales University. While he is in the US, Athol will be cooking for 100 guests at the US Botanic Gardens on the recommendation of the Australian Ambassador to the United States.
Madam Speaker, I know you are interested in Athol Wark. I have the same interest in both Athol and Jimmy Shu, and I believe we will have some developments very soon about their status in the world. Athol cooked for the Australian Ambassador last year, and certainly impressed many in the United States with the use of Territory products which he used to present unique dishes.
We are working very closely with several industries in the Territory. We are working with the camel industry in Central Australia to commission an expert to study opportunities for the utilisation and export of Halal camel meat. There has been significant interest in camel meat, which commands prices of around $48 per kilo. We have a problem because we do not have a multi-species abattoir. A study commissioned last year recommended a number of solutions for a multi-species abattoir, but until the price of exported beef comes down, I do not think many cattle will find their way to the abattoir. However, my department is very keen to see the development of local industry, such as the camel industry in Central Australia.
Parks Estate
Mr BURKE to CHIEF MINISTER
In relation to your offer to give away our Territory parks estate, I notice …
Ms Martin: Aren’t you tabling the documents that you made allegations about?
Mr BURKE: I will decide what I am doing myself. You order everyone else around; you are not ordering me around.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order, thank you. Could we have the question?
Mr BURKE: Chief Minister, this would be, I believe, the second booklet at least that has gone out to the public to try to explain what you are trying to do with handing over our Territory parks. However, I note that in the questions and answers, not one of the answers provided tells Territorians what the dollar value is of the parks estate that you are handing over.
I also note that, in one of your answers, you have said that the rent Territorians will have to pay for the parks, once you have given them away, will be calculated by the Australian Valuation Office. Surely you would not have given away our parks estate without knowing exactly what they are worth. Why do you refuse to tell Territorians the value of this extravagant gift?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it was interesting that last week in parliament the Opposition Leader claimed there was no information circulated to the community, nor to the opposition, about the legislation on Northern Territory parks and reserves, yet I am delighted that the Opposition Leader has this document. That is terrific, because it does go through and answer a whole number of questions that have been asked and may be asked about the package for our parks and reserves.
If we are going to look at inaccuracies, let me pick up a couple in the Opposition Leader’s question. He talks about a handover, a give-away. We are dealing with this issue this afternoon, so I will leave much of the detailed debate until then. We will also be dealing with Revival Bill legislation tomorrow.
However, let me look at the two sides of his mouth on this issue. If you were not in the parliament, you would probably call it hypocritical. When the Opposition Leader is talking to, say, a Darwin audience, he uses evocative words like ‘handover’ and ‘give-away’, and talks about what assets we are losing and what costs we will have, and we are giving these parks, he says, vastly inaccurately, to the land councils. Again, total inaccuracies.
This is why we have electronic press clippings. The previous government kept it and we keep it. You can find these things on the record. It is about being accountable. We have the Opposition Leader talking on Radio 8KIN in Alice Springs, so talking to predominantly an indigenous audience …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113 requires that the answer be relevant to the question. The question was quite simple.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. As I have said on numerous occasions, it is the discretion of the minister how the question is answered but, the minister should remember, a matter of relevance.
Mr Baldwin: Keep ducking and weaving, I think is the answer.
Ms MARTIN: I pick up the member for Daly’s point. There is no ducking and weaving from me. The man who is ducking and weaving is his Opposition Leader, the newly-cast Opposition Leader, whom I am not allowed to say is yesterday’s man, with yesterday’s story.
Let us go back to my story about what this Opposition Leader did. We have words being said to a Darwin audience, saying this is a giveaway, a handover, this is you being ripped off by the government. He goes on 8KIN and says, ‘We would not do a deal like it, it is not as generous as the Nitmiluk deal, we would not be treating Aboriginal Territorians so shoddily’. We have a very different argument being run according to which audience this man is talking to.
It is hypocrisy. He is running two different lines, both sides of his mouth, depending which audience he has. I have said very clearly that the details of the rent that will be paid …
Mr Baldwin: Ducking and weaving.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, order!
Ms MARTIN: … for those 17 parks that will change title, we will have those details available. Can I just say that no rent will be paid on most of these parks until 2010. This is a great deal for Territorians. We are building our parks estate. There are no fees, no permits. Instead of the possibility of not having those parks accessible if they went under land claim, we have a package here that means it is win-win all round, and I think it is terrific.
We have the opposition saying, spend a lot of money on litigation, probably between $50m and $100m, we say we have a better deal and we are doing it. I remind this House, and all those listening, that we have an Opposition Leader who is blatantly hypocritical and tells one story on this to one audience and another to another audience.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Can I just say, the member for Macdonnell and the member for Daly, you are making it very difficult for people to hear any answer that is coming. I will not say it again. Do not interrupt so much that people cannot hear the answer that is being given. Whether you agree with it or not is not the point.
ConocoPhillips LNG Plant
Mrs AAGAARD to MINISTER for BUSINESS and INDUSTRY
Can you please advise the House on how the construction of the $1.6bn ConocoPhillips LNG plant is benefiting local Territory businesses?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nightcliff for her good question. The LNG plant being constructed just on the other side of the harbour is a great story. We can all see this plant going up, and we can all see the workers in and around our community as they knock off work, getting around in their work clothes, and it has been a great success story.
Early projections were that approximately 25% of the work force was to be made up of Territorians, and construction is very nearly at 50%. In talking to Blair Murphy yesterday, he was hoping that the 50% mark would be complete this week. The Darwin economy is very much benefiting in a huge way from the construction activity on the other side of the harbour. There are around 1400 tradespeople employed at that site, about 50% of those from Darwin. The direct cash those people are earning on that project, very large wages, is going back into the economy and back into the pockets of small business.
Small business and business across the Territory are also benefiting directly. Since construction started in June 2003, there have been more than 4500 purchasing orders issued to more than 270 Territory companies, including, to name a few: Coleman’s Printing, Aussie Signs, Reece Plumbing, Nortrade, Blackwoods, Corporate Express - and the list goes on. Another 18 major subcontracts, worth around $240m, have been won by Territory-based businesses including Sunbuild, Thiess, Perkins Shipping, Universal Engineering – and the list goes on. It is great news.
Of the total 1700 people employed at Bechtel, around 630 are living in the camp at Yarrawonga. Another 1000 people, many of whom are Darwinians, are renting in the private market, all of that money is being injected back into the economy.
The construction side is not the end of the story. We have the offshore projects, and the estimate is that around $40m worth of local contracts will be delivered by the Bayu-Undan project. By the end of this project, these contracts will have involved pipe laying, support work, surveying, rock supply, barge crewing, catering, diving, pipe hauling, hydrostatic testing and supply of both fuel and personnel transport. Then there is the ongoing maintenance that will be required offshore. ConocoPhillips estimates that, for the 20-year life of the project, the annual operation expenditure for offshore operations to be around $85m per year. My department believes that around 80% of that is realistic local content target, as well as the $100m per year that will be generated on the onshore economy as a result of the LNG plant.
This is a great project. It was born, and final project go-ahead was commenced, at the time of this government’s watch. There were many doomsayers in the community saying that it would wreck the environment and the harbour and fishing would go up the spout. We even had quite alarming questions on notice in this parliament, with all sorts of allegations about the environmental impacts of this particular project. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Northern Territory economy is finally coming of age, with significant industrial development. We have the Alcan project well under way in Gove. Hopefully, there will be a final investment decision on the trans-Territory pipeline this year. This economy is going very well at the moment. Territory businesses are benefiting during the construction phase and will continue to benefit during the ongoing operational phase.
Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016