2004-02-25
Undoolya Street – Proposed Rezoning of Land
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
Yesterday, you told this House that there was legal advice relating to the matter of rezoning in the Undoolya Street area. You then told the House that you did not seek that legal advice. Minister, who did seek that legal advice? Why was the advice sought in this particular matter necessary? Will you table a copy of that advice?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I welcome the question from the Leader of the Opposition. The first answer is, I did not request legal advice on this matter. As the Leader of the Opposition may be aware, through public proceedings in the DCA, lawyers have been involved for one of the proponents in the matter, and that matter is ongoing.
The legal advice that came as part of my brief was as a result of some of the correspondence between the lawyers acting for this particular person and myself and the department, and I will not table this document because the matter is ongoing. It is a legal matter that is ongoing.
Skills Shortages – Training Initiatives
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
Can the minister please inform the House of initiatives the Martin Labor government has put into place to ensure the Territory has skilled workers in sectors of industry traditionally subject to shortages?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Millner for his question and his interest in training in general. We, as a government, believe that the best way to fix skill shortages in the Northern Territory is to train our own local product, young Territorians.
There is an ageing population in Australia across all work force groups, and the Northern Territory is no different. We are going to battle to have enough workers in the future. The only place in Australia where there are young people coming on is, in fact, the Northern Territory. That is why we have to be out there training our young people to take their place in the workplace into the future.
It is no secret, with the baby boomers and the ageing of the Australian population, it is a basic fact that seems to have slipped past the Country Liberal Party all the years they were in government. This issue of training and training our own, marks a stark contrast …
Mr Dunham interjecting.
Mr STIRLING: … between the government represented by the member for Drysdale here, and us. Following the successful pre-vocational training programs in the automotive, electrical and aviation sectors, we have allocated $1.2m over the next three years to better prepare young Territorians for apprenticeships and traineeships in these skill shortage areas.
As a result of substantial government investment, for the first time we do not have to send aviation apprentices interstate for training because we have the capacity sitting out there. They ran a great pre-vocational course last year. DEET is consulting with a range of training advisory councils on possible pre-vocational programs throughout 2004. Again, the emphasis will be on those skill shortage areas, or in areas with high employment potential.
The initial round of the Northern Territory Employment Incentive Scheme was implemented on 1 February. Under this scheme, close to $1m has been made available to private sector employers to employ additional apprentices and trainees in small business, skill shortage trade areas and local community councils.
In the next few months, eligible employers from right across the Territory will be able to access incentives of $7700, that is a $4400 initial payment and $3300 on completion of the apprenticeship, in those identified skill shortage trade apprenticeships. If we need more or we receive applications beyond that, we will fund it. That is the commitment we make.
In 2004, we increased the hourly rate we pay RTOs to deliver training in the building and construction, automotive, electrical and engineering industry sectors. They are the traditional hard-to-fill areas. Not only is it a means of compensating for the additional costs involved in training in those trade areas, it is also a strategy to improve the quality and the responsiveness of training in sectors of industry so essential to our future economic growth. I am pleased that, by increasing the hourly rate and cooperative negotiations, we have been, as a result, able to increase the annual hours, curriculum and funding dedicated to training in these industry sectors.
In 2003, we provided funding totalling $110 000 to support the advanced welding courses that saw 25 local tradespeople graduating at the international ASMI IX standard, and a further $310 000 was provided to the Charles Darwin University to upgrade the training facilities and equipment to ensure there was a safe training environment for those welding skills courses to take place.
That is how we will continue to skill our work force in the areas of those major skill shortages, understanding the needs of the workforce, understanding what those shortages are and tackling them with more focus, more funding and more policy.
Undoolya Street – Proposed Rezoning of Land
Mr MALEY to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
A highly respected independent town planner, and former member of this House, was quoted on Channel 9 last night, saying:
- There are no known cases where a rezoning application made by a bystander has proceeded to public exhibition without the consent of the owner of the land.
And further:
- Bystander applications that do not have the consent of the affected landowners should not be allowed to proceed.
We know that your government was told that before the application was exhibited.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, remember we said short questions.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Just the question.
Mr MALEY: I was just about to ask the question, Madam Speaker. Perhaps I can read it back.
Mr MALEY: I have read the quote from Channel 9 last night, we know that the government had that information before it was exhibited. Why was the application allowed to proceed? Why will you not answer the question?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I would like to welcome the question from the member opposite. It is becoming very repetitive. I think I had eight questions on this yesterday, and I cannot say this any more directly than I can. I have received legal advice from within the department, that all the processes followed were appropriate, which includes the form on which the application was received and, in regard to the landowners who were notified from the registrar within the Lands Department. My advice is that all the landowners that were on the registrar with the Lands Department were written to as part of the process and the process was followed.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, members of the opposition settle down. We need to hear the answers to these.
Mineral Exploration Licences
Mr McADAM to MINISTER for MINES and ENERGY
Following your recent visit to Tennant Creek, you would be aware of the increased mining and exploration activity in that region. Can you please advise how many new exploration licences have been issued by the Martin Labor government, and outline what the government is doing to facilitate mineral exploration in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It is a very important question because the news sounds fantastic. I am very excited. We have reached a significant milestone by our government. This week, we granted the exploration licence number 700. It is fantastic news for the mining industry and an indication of the outcome we can achieve from negotiation, not litigation. We reap the rewards. We have debated this issue with native title holders and the industry and, as you can see, we have issued 700 licences for exploration. This industry will pump $26.5m in to the Territory economy. Last week, I was in Tennant Creek where there were a number of representatives from mining industries advising people in Tennant Creek how to beef up there businesses to supply the mining industry in Tennant Creek and the area.
This is happening elsewhere, in Nhulunbuy, with Alcan, and other areas. For your information, the people who are going to operate Bootu Creek advise that when they start operating the mine they will need at least 30 people to work in the mine. They will need people to supply food, fuel, to repair cars and transport, even before the mine commences operation.
I will show you a map detailing the exploration licences we have issued. That is the mines that our government has issued. This does not include the area for oil and gas, that is only mining exploration. Let us compare it with the CLP, the number of licences. In 2 years, we have issued 700 mining licences. In the three years before the election, the CLP managed to issue only 201. In 2 years, we have issued three times more the number of licences than the previous government. I am very pleased to be the Minister of Mines. I will continue to support the mining industry, and I will work with the mining industry, all interested parties and native title holders to make sure that more licences are issued in the Northern Territory.
Certificates of Occupancy
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
Last week, when I asked you a question regarding certificates of occupancy, you said there will be a meeting on 23 February, last Monday, with industry groups, which you would attend. Could you tell the House what were the results of that meeting and when consultation will occur with homeowners and businesses so they know what is going on as well and have input into this important issue.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. It is a very important issue and there has been quite a lot of misinformation about it. As I said in the House last week, my aim is to get the people who are involved - the technical people who are involved in the industry - around the table to talk through the issue because there is litigation and legal issues underneath.
On Monday, I was very pleased to attend the meeting at Cavenagh House with representatives from the Institute of Engineers, the Property Council, the Housing Industry of Australia, the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory, the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors, Territory Construction Association, Local Government Association of the NT, conveyancers and the Law Society. It was a very productive meeting. We talked through the issues. We identified the way forward here. Basically, the way forward is to look at some models for houses pre-1993, when the legislation changed, and possibly investigate the feasibility of having a certificate of classification for those buildings. That is what happens elsewhere in Australia.
Some other issues were identified in terms of insurance and lending institutions. I gave an undertaking to all the industry players who were there that nothing would change in terms of the issuing of certificates of occupancy until we had reached a draft policy on this that had general agreement around the table. And that is what will happen. Then it is very appropriate that we put that draft policy out for public comment because it does involve those who are buying and selling homes. I will give the undertaking to the member for Nelson, and to the public generally, that there will be full consultation on this. It is a difficult technical issue, but as minister I am absolutely committed to working through it.
Undoolya Street – Proposed Rezoning of Land
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
The Chief Minister has said publicly, on two occasions, most recently on Channel 9 last night, that it would be very unlikely that the land, the subject of this application, would be rezoned, or down-zoned. Do you agree with the Chief Minister in that the land should not be down-zoned?
ANSWER
I am not aware of the comments that you are attributing, Leader of the Opposition, to our Chief Minister. I know the Chief Minister has made some comments in terms of down-zoning. Apart from that, there is a process on foot with the Development Consent Authority in relation to this particular matter. I will be following those processes. The report from the DCA is making its way to me. I will be making my decision based on the recommendations of the DCA and taking into account all the comments, both from the proponents of the future development and the residents.
Madam Speaker, I will say it once again. The opposition seems to be committed to not giving the residents in the Tiwi area a fair go and a fair say in developments that are occurring in their area. That is the bottom line for you, and residents all over Darwin can take note of that.
New Fuel Terminal and Effect on Naval Operations
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
What does last week’s announcement by Vopak of the new $50m fuel terminal at the port mean for naval operations in Darwin Harbour?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. It is an important question. It is one to do with our future and, of course, a very important relationship for the Territory with our defence forces. This government remains fully committed to supporting the Navy’s operations in Darwin Harbour. We have heard an announcement over the last week in regard to changes for re-fuelling in Darwin Harbour.
The defence forces are an important part of our community - I do not have to tell anyone here that – and, given our strategic location, we will always welcome the responsibility of working with Defence for our joint future.
The Navy and this government jointly share the challenge of guiding our infrastructure development to satisfy the needs of Darwin, the Territory, and Defence, of course. That is why I wrote to Defence very early on in the development of the Darwin City Waterfront to ensure that they understand what this government is planning for our future. It is an issue that the federal minister, Robert Hill, and I have addressed on a number of occasions when we have met.
As well, the most senior members of the Territory’s public service have also discussed with equivalents in Defence how the Darwin City Waterfront Project will unfold, and that has been done very systematically, sensibly, and properly.
In turn, the Navy has set out their operational and logistical requirements for Darwin Harbour, and I am pleased to say that the Darwin City Waterfront Project team has rightly anticipated those needs and, as a result, there are essentially no problems meeting the operational needs of Navy within the development of the Darwin City Waterfront. In fact, these matters have been embodied in the bid document recently distributed to the three short-listed consortia.
Similarly, there is no substantive change to the Navy’s capacity to refuel their ships. Those activities will continue as normal. However, the development of East Arm Port, and particularly the bulk fuel facility, as well as the impending development of the Darwin City Waterfront, now presents the opportunity to shift incompatible industrial activities from Darwin, quite logically, to East Arm. The Vopak announcement of last week will see a brand new fuel terminal established at East Arm - worth $50m. It is a state of the art facility. Construction will begin pretty shortly and it will be operational in the second half of next year.
This investment was a necessary first step in facilitating the shift of refuelling away from the city side of the harbour. This new arrangement will require some change on the part of the Navy in how it secures fuel supplies for the Navy fuel installation at Stokes Hill. Our officials have examined a wealth of options to meet this logistical requirement, from transporting the fuel from the new Darwin fuel terminal through to Stokes Hill, through to the option of fuel barges refuelling directly. Fuel barges are used in Sydney and many parts of the world.
It is now the case that the Territory and Defence officials need to consider these options and recommend the most appropriate solutions. Members should also note that the Navy’s fuel demands are quite modest in comparison with the wider community, and transporting fuel would involve considerably fewer truck movements than are currently seen around the city, transporting fuel back to Stokes Hill from the port.
It is this government’s view that the Vopak deal and the Darwin City Waterfront Project require some change to how the Navy operates in Darwin Harbour. However, it does not – and I stress: does not – involve any diminution in the services and support we can offer them.
Indeed, in the future, Darwin Harbour will offer further refuelling capacity, increasing our ability to manage and service even larger fleets. As well, the city will increase its attractiveness to visiting personnel. Once completed, the new waterfront will present Navy personnel with a new face to Darwin and offer many more activities and interests. As such, I believe the Vopak announcement puts in place the essential first link in an important chain, and one that allows Darwin to continue to service the Navy like few other places in Australia.
Undoolya Street – Proposed Rezoning of Land
Mr MALEY to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
Minister, after having 24 hours to examine the unsigned application form that I tabled yesterday, in today’s NT News, in an article prepared by Paul Dyer, you stated that an unsigned, undated application prepared by a bystander upon the advice of the minister was valid.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr HENDERSON: Standing Orders 112 and 114, repetitive questions. Madam Speaker, we have had this question over and over again. It has been fully answered by the minister and I would urge you to rule it out of order.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: I have discussed this matter with the opposition and said to them that their questions should deal with different aspects, even though it is about the same subject, but we would like you to perhaps combine some of your questions so it is not so tedious.
Mr MALEY: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order, it is probably inappropriate for the Leader of Government Business to make any comment until he hears the question and then perhaps he can …
Madam SPEAKER: We would like to hear the question. Good point! Could we have the question?
Mr MALEY: Madam Speaker, in today’s NT News, in an article written by Paul Dyer, the minister had stated that an unsigned, undated application prepared by a bystander on the advice of the minister was valid.
My question is, will the same latitude be given to all land developers and their applications in the future, or will you now concede that that is an invalid application, unsigned and undated.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the member for Goyder was not quoting from the article because that quote does not appear anywhere in the article. Once again, the member for Goyder is using his oily, silky skills as a lawyer to try to misrepresent what I said in the paper. I will repeat what I have been saying all along - the application was accepted. What the member for Goyder has not included in the document that he has tabled is a covering letter by the applicant that is signed. At the bottom of the form there is no signature, but there is a signature on the covering letter, which the member for Goyder conveniently has not tabled. I am advised through the legal advice from the department that it is acceptable under the act. I cannot say anymore than that, Madam Speaker.
AFL Challenge Cup at Traeger Park
Mr McADAM to MINISTER for SPORT and RECREATION
Next month, Alice Springs will play host to its first AFL Cup challenge match at Traeger Park. Can you please advise the House on preparations and resources allocated to the upgrade of Traeger Park instrumental to this match taking place?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I welcome the most sensible question from the member for Barkly, given that there are not many being asked today. As I have previously informed the House, the government made an election commitment of $5m to upgrade facilities at Traeger Park. This commitment has been facilitated in partnership with the Alice Springs Town Council, who have developed a comprehensive master plan as the blueprint for development of the park. A project control group was put together to ensure that interests of all stakeholders were represented during the upgrade.
Two major steps have already been taken to fulfil this promise. In 2002-03 financial year, $800 000 was well spent on stage 1, the upgrade of hockey facilities, attracting at least two national matches since that time. I am also informed that the Northern Territory Primary School Hockey Championships will be held at Traeger Park in May this year, a great venue for Territory hockey and tournament organisers, School Sport. This was followed up in the current financial year with a $2.5m commitment to upgrade the high voltage infrastructure, install lighting to the main oval and commence work on improvements to spectator facilities. These works will not only increase the lighting level for day and night play, but will enable television coverage. The electrical contracts were let late last year to PRA Electrical, a local Territory-based company. I am advised the floodlighting upgrade project is well advanced.
The balance of this financial year’s commitment will see work carried out on stage 1 of the grandstand upgrade. The Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment are, I believe, consulting on the design as we speak, again, in partnership with the Alice Springs Town Council. The towers have been erected and testing of the lights has commenced. Many residents will have seen them lit up here and there over the last couple of weeks. Completion is expected by the end of the month.
The Alice Springs Town Council will be hosting its annual Sportsfest at Traeger Park next week for all users of the ground. Many residents are expected to be there. I have accepted the kind invitation from the Mayor, Ms Fran Kilgariff, to officially turn on the lights that night. More importantly, the lights will be ready for the forthcoming 4 March AFL Challenge football match. Of course, this is not the first AFL game to be held in Alice Springs, with a great game being played in 1997 between the Adelaide Crows and the Bombers. Central Australians voted with their feet on this occasion, with approximately half the population of Alice Springs attending. This support has been a major stimulus for government to support them in return and provide them with a facility capable of hosting such games on a regular basis. The upcoming pre-season AFL-sanctioned game is a reality only because of the commitment of this government to improve major sporting facilities for all Territorians throughout the Territory.
As I previously informed the House, the AFL has demonstrated great faith in the Northern Territory by entering into a three year agreement, which has seen top level AFL football become an annual fixture in Central Australia. This is a fantastic start to 2004 for Central Australian sports fans. Of course, improved facilities will be of continued benefit to such events as this weekend’s Imparja Cricket Cup and the Masters Games.
The Imparja Cup has come a long way from an original concept game of Alice Springs versus Tennant Creek in 1994. This year, the competition will boast 28 teams, which will travel from every state and territory to compete in two divisions. In addition, this year will also see the introduction of a women’s and schoolboy’s competition. This number easily surpasses the 17 teams which played last year. I am looking forward to attending the Imparja Cup this weekend.
This is an achievement that the Martin Labor government is proud of and will reap both economic and social benefits for the Territory and Territorians over many years to come.
Madam SPEAKER: And, of course, minister, you will invite the best in the AFL, surely, won’t you – the Demons?
Mr AH KIT: We are working on it, Madam Speaker.
Undoolya Street – Proposed Rezoning of Land
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
Last night on television, you told Territorians that you had informed your Cabinet colleagues of your actions regarding the rezoning of the Undoolya Street area.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition well knows he can only ask questions of ministers for portfolios for which they have direct current responsibility.
Madam SPEAKER: He is quite right. If you are asking the Minister for Mines and Energy it has to be a question about his portfolio. Otherwise you will have to give it to the current minister responsible for that.
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, I would have thought that the minister would have had carriage of the words that he uttered before the Northern Territory community last night. Obviously not, so I will direct my question now to the Chief Minister.
Chief Minister, last night on television, your former Planning minister told Territorians that he had informed his Cabinet colleagues of his actions regarding the rezoning of the Undoolya Street area. When did he tell you? What did he tell you? Do you support his actions?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, yes, the former Planning minister did inform his Cabinet colleagues. One of the principles this government has, and one that was being loudly trumpeted in the liquor debate here yesterday, about the right of every Territorian to be able to have their input into important aspects of our community. For example, yesterday, with liquor licences, we had a very strong debate in here about how everyone had that entitlement.
We also believe that applies to planning and the issue of the environment in which we live. As a government, we support our community having a say about some of the very difficult issues that we face - one issue totally squibbed out by the previous government. It is a difficult issue, I am not pretending it is not. The interface between R3, R2 and R1 across the city of Darwin, in many different areas, is a difficult issue, but totally wimped out by the previous government. We are determined to deal with it. We will find a balance, and the former minister and the current minister have the full support of their Cabinet colleagues. That is the end of the question.
Let me reiterate. We are supporting our community debate about what is appropriate planning. We are supporting our community’s right to say: ‘Is this appropriate to have R3 against R1?’ A fact of life in the Planning Act and in our town plans, something that has been there for the best part of 30 years. We are supporting our community’s right to have a say, to have their view, the discussion in front of the Development Consent Authority and to have everyone’s input. Yes, we are supporting it and, yes, the minister, when he was the Planning minister, had his Cabinet colleagues’ full support.
Health Information Network
Mr KIELY to MINISTER for HEALTH
Last week, you and the Minister for Family and Community Services released a Building Healthier Communities five-year framework. Creating a powerful information health network is one of the subjects of the framework. Can you please advise the House of some of the initiatives which harness new information and communications technology?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. We have two projects under way in the Department of Health and Community Services which highlight the potential benefits of using the new information and communication technologies to build a better health service for Territorians.
The first is an Electronic Prescribing Trial, which will start in a few weeks time in a 30-bed medical ward in the Royal Darwin Hospital. In this trial, a wireless network will be established to allow bedside electronic computing. It is hoped the trial will show that electronic prescribing will improve patient safety by reducing medication errors and providing immediate access to critical information regarding patients. The new system should reduce inadvertent errors which may arise from illegible handwriting - an age-old problem with doctors, as we all know - improve dose accuracy, and ensure advice about drug allergies and drug disease interactions is easily accessible. The bedside computers will also provide immediate access to a drug reference database, including prescribing guidelines and decision support. RDH is one of the first hospitals in Australia to trial electronic prescribing. I am looking forward to the evaluation of the results.
The second project involves implementation of a Renal Case Management System in Central Australia, which is currently on track to go live late in April. The Renal Case Management System will be a database of clients with renal disease. This database will be used to generate notices to patients to ensure ongoing care and early intervention. It will also provide clinicians with information to support their care decisions, and ensure those decisions are based on the current best practice guidelines. The implementation of the Renal Case Management System will help to delay the onset of end-stage renal disease by ensuring more active follow-up of patients, and more active early interventions. In doing so, it will help to reduce the costs associated with dialysis and, importantly, the anxiety and social dislocation suffered by many patients on being separated from family and kin when they attend dialysis in Alice Springs.
Allegations of Ministerial Misconduct
Mr MILLS to CHIEF MINISTER
As a matter of policy, if a minister in your government supervised an unlawful and illegal process, and brought about unnecessary and substantial costs to landowners, would you sack that person …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 112 - this is an entirely hypothetical issue and it should be ruled out of order.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, it does say questions should not contain hypothetical matter. Leader of the Opposition, could you rephrase your question?
Mr MILLS: It is simply a matter of a question regarding the Chief Minister’s policy.
Madam SPEAKER: All right, then ask it in that way.
Mr MILLS: That is the way I asked it. Obviously, there is difficulty in hearing the way this question is actually being asked for reasons that those who would be listening would completely understand.
Chief Minister, as a matter of policy, if a minister in your government supervised an unlawful or illegal process, and brought about unnecessary and substantial costs to landowners, would you sack that person from your Cabinet - in this case, the member for Casuarina - and why haven’t you?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, that is the most absurd question that we have ever had in this House. It is absurd! You are asserting – no, you are not asserting, you are saying, hypothetically – if something was done that was unlawful and illegal. What are you talking about? Let us be specific here, otherwise it is a hypothetical question and it is totally out of order.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you do not have to answer the question.
Ms MARTIN: I do not think so. No.
Government Partnership with Small Business for Safer Communities
Mrs AAGAARD to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
The government has already formed strong partnerships with local communities to address crime and its causes. How is the government working with small business to build a safer and more secure Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. This government is delivering on its promise to build safer communities. Strong partnerships have been formed with communities and organisations right across the Territory to develop local solutions to local issues and concerns. The business community, particularly small business, plays an equally important part in preventing crime in our community. The success of policing strategies, such as Operation Ranger, targeting unlawful entries committed upon businesses in the Darwin area, is due to a more effective use of police intelligence, increased resources to police and, most importantly, the cooperation and support of the small business community.
Local business operators play an active part in our regional crime prevention councils. In January this year, the Katherine Crime Prevention Council, known as the Katherine Harmony Group, held a forum for local business operators, with the support of Matt Hollamby and David Price from the Northern Territory Police, and Sharon Hillen from the Katherine Town Council. Attended by over 30 small business operators, information was provided to attendees on Business Watch and the Clean Up Assistance Scheme. The Clean Up Assistance Scheme, another of our crime prevention initiatives, has recently been expanded to the Katherine region. Significantly, the group decided to develop a business-specific crime prevention strategy, and to regularly distribute a newsletter to all local businesses so the community is kept informed of current events and initiatives. The first of these newsletters was released last week.
In Tennant Creek, local business owners have welcomed the establishment of the Barkly Region Safer Communities, and are actively involved in community initiatives to tackle the causes of crime in that region.
Innovative business initiatives are also being supported through the Crime Prevention Grants Scheme. Darwin City Council has received $10 000 for the Casuarina Business Area Security Coordination Project, which facilitates a joint approach to security with the Casuarina Shopping Centre. The project seeks to protect property, reduce security costs and provide a consistent response to young people using the area.
I am also proud of our support for Shop Safe, an information package about retail safety awareness developed by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Services Union and now being distributed throughout the Territory. The package includes comprehensive advice on how to respond to violent crime within the workplace, what to do in the event of an armed robbery, height indicator stickers to assist in describing an offender, and description offender forms. Protecting small business outlets and young retail employees is a particular focus of the project, which has received over $20 000 under the Crime Prevention Grants Scheme.
Community crime prevention initiatives are an important part of this government’s approach to tackling crime and the causes of crime, and I welcome the ongoing involvement of small business in this very important work.
Mt Todd Mine Rehabilitation
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for MINES and ENERGY
Can you tell the House whether work has started on the rehabilitation of the Mt Todd mine site? If so, who is doing the work, what will be the total cost of rehabilitating the site, and who is paying for it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, Pegasus Gold Australia, as a mortgagor, took possession of the mine and sought to sell it as an ongoing concern to recoup the unpaid instalments. As you are aware, Pegasus had sold the mine to General Gold Resources and Multiplex, but only two payments out of three were received, the last one was not received. Pegasus represents the mine but refuse to take control of it. Previously, the company had a fire sale, where it sold different equipment from the mine. Aussiequip went into the mine and started stripping the machinery. It is a tragic situation, to see a fully functioning mine be completely stripped of equipment worth millions of dollars, a mine that could actually be operational again.
At the moment, nobody has bought the mine. I believe there are negotiations between interested parties for the purchase of the mine. At the moment, Pegasus Gold Australia has refused to take control of the mine and Aussiequip continues to strip the mine. My department has advised Aussiequip they have to comply with the regulations. My department is looking after the mine site environmental issues, such as the excess water, especially water that is contaminated with high pH. At this stage, I am not able to answer if somebody has bought the mine because negotiations are currently under way.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be place on the Written Question Paper.
[Editor’s Note: Question Time ceased due to Suspension of Standing Orders to move a Motion of Censure.]
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016