2002-10-15
Bali Incident – Motion of Condolence
Mr BURKE to LEADER of GOVERNMENT BUSINESS
Traditionally, Question Time is the time for members to ask questions of government. Certainly, we in opposition treasure that opportunity. Today, however, the most important issue facing us is the tragic events of last weekend in which many Australians and other nationals lost their lives or were injured in the events in Bali. Given these grave circumstances, we consider it appropriate to give up the privilege of Question Time and proceed immediately with a joint Motion of Condolence. I ask the Chief Minister if you will agree to this, and that the parliamentary broadcast be continued to accommodate the broadcast of the first two speeches, being yourself and myself.
ANSWER
I hope I am not speaking too prematurely on behalf of the Chief Minister, Madam Speaker. I appreciate the genuine sentiment that the Leader of the Opposition has brought into the House in relation to Question Time. He is aware, however, that Question Time is broadcast to Territorians. There are a couple of questions off the top, the answers to which the government believes include important information to go out to the Territory via Question Time broadcasts.
Whilst I accept what the Leader of the Opposition is saying, the government would want to proceed with its top three or four questions that provide accurate and timely advice in relation to the events of last weekend and what has occurred since. It is appropriate that Territorians have the opportunity to hear that information via Question Time. At the end of those three or four questions, we would be happy to go straight to the motion and the broadcasting of the first two speakers. I would have thought there would be ample time for that to occur within the time set for Question Time.
Mr BURKE: Madam Speaker, I heard what the Leader of Government Business said. There was an opportunity for it this morning in a Ministerial Report for which broadcast media were here. I would have thought that those sentiments could have been expressed as part of the Chief Minister or other ministers’ contributions to the joint motion. However, if that is the will of government, the government controls the Chamber and I just hope that we can move on to the joint motion as soon as possible.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, may I make the suggestion that perhaps if Question Time is not held today that it is held for two hours tomorrow.
Madam SPEAKER: I am in the hands of the Assembly. Leader of Government Business, do you wish to pursue Question Time?
Mr STIRLING: Madam Speaker, I think the Leader of the Opposition, maybe somewhat reluctantly, agrees that this is the process, if the government takes the first three questions by way of getting that information out to the listening public and then proceed immediately to the Condolence Motion so that there is an opportunity for broadcast of the contributions of the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
Bali Incident - Update on Territory Response and Security Measures
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Could the Chief Minister please bring the House and Territorians up to date with the latest on the Territory’s response to the tragic bombings in Bali, and any subsequent security measures in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this is an important question. I gave a reasonably detailed report on the tragic events of the last 48 hours this morning, but there is an update and it is very important that this is shared with this House and Territorians.
There are 20 Australians now confirmed dead in the aftermath of the bombing in Bali although the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade expect that to rise over the next few days. Still unaccounted for are a further 160 Australians in Bali, and we know at this stage that well over 100 Australians have been injured. This is a very significant tragedy for Australians both in terms of the injured and the loss of life.
We know how effectively our hospital has worked to deal with 61 victims of the Bali bombings. I have just returned from visiting staff at the hospital. I said to them, on behalf of this parliament and Territorians, that we are enormously proud of the job they have done. They have worked unstintingly over the last 48 hours and have shown enormous professionalism, medical expertise and dedication. Talking to staff, who have been working so hard, who have dealt with horrific injuries that they have never had to deal with on that scale before, you could see the exhaustion on their faces. Tears very quickly came to the eyes of many with whom I spoke.
The impact of what they have dealt with over the last 48 hours will stay with them for some considerable time. If you listen to the professional advice about how this compares, the number of critically injured people who came into our hospital in such a short timeframe - for example, the first flight brought in 14 critically injured people, and they came through the doors of Accident and Emergency in just 30 minutes. It is assessed that probably no other hospital would have to deal with that kind of number, followed by further arrivals at two hour intervals, nobody else would have had to have dealt with that kind of pressure, that kind of intensity. Yet our hospital staff - and that is from those who worked on the switchboard to those in administration, those who were there as part of teams of up to nine people around each injured person - they did the most extraordinary job.
Compliments are coming from around Australia, compliments are coming from those who watched how they worked, that this was an incredibly expert response, and one that I am sure saved lives here in the Territory. There is no doubt, from when I talked to some of the staff, the things that are going to stay with them are that smell of burning flesh - you can appreciate how devastating an impact that would have - and people who were so horribly injured that they weren’t even moaning, they were just so badly injured.
Some of them had been dressed inappropriately in terms of what had happened to their burns so they had to be given enough morphine to be able to cope with removing those dressings and wrapped in glad wrap. There are a lot of things that the staff at our hospital have had to deal with, and they have done so in the most professional and expert way. When I was there, the only thing I was left to say was: ‘We are enormously proud of you’, and I believe that we all are.
Our thanks as a parliament to all staff, to the volunteers who worked with Police and Emergency Services, to all the community organisations, to the defence forces, and also to our wider community which has also made a great contribution.
With many of the injured now moving to other states, to other hospitals, to other burns units or returning home, there are other issues that we now have to deal with, Madam Speaker.
Bali has very limited facilities in dealing with the number of dead from Saturday night’s bombing, and the Commonwealth is working in conjunction with the Balinese authorities to work out how the dead will be dealt with in terms of identification, where the bodies can be stored until that identification has been done. We, as a Territory, have offered to assist wherever we can. The issue of identification is particularly difficult because of the horrific nature of the impact of the bombings and the subsequent fires. We already have experts in the field of disaster victim identification on the ground in Bali. Offers of assistance have gone from the Territory and every other state, and our police are certainly ready to help wherever they can.
On another related incident of security, and this is one of key concern to Territorians now, we know that we have been on a heightened security alert since 11 September last year. October 12 will add another layer to that, but in terms of the risk that we currently have, it is described as CT Special Risk, Counter Terrorism Special Risk, and we have seen some of the results of that heightened security state at our airports and other facilities. If you put that together with what happened in the last 24 hours with the shooting of a public servant in Adelaide, I would like to inform the House of what the Territory government is doing in response to both of those events.
We are reviewing local security issues, particularly in response to the shooting in Adelaide. At my request, the CEO of my department, Paul Tyrrell, the Commissioner of Public Employment, John Kirwan, and Police Commissioner Paul White have met and discussed the matter of public sector-wide security standards. A small security task group has been established to review current security arrangements in public buildings. While we value the access of Territorians to government buildings in the Territory and don’t want to change that, we need to assess what the risk is. This small security task group will assess the risk to public sector facilities, offices and staff, consider measures in place in other jurisdictions, how we compare with those, identify and recommend any measures considered necessary to address the risks that have been assessed and, in relation to general security issues, Emergency Services in the Territory and the Police Commissioner are continually reviewing the security levels and risk assessment for the Territory.
Madam Speaker, I can tell members of this House that in terms of security, all measures are being assessed. In relation to the shooting of a senior public servant in Adelaide over the last 24 hours, we are reviewing public sector security and that small task force has been put together.
These are horrible things to have happened, Madam Speaker, but we are reviewing security and trying to find that important balance - not to be alarmist, but to make sure that Territorians can go about their jobs, Territorians can live in our community with confidence in the security that we have.
Bali Incident – Relief Effort
Dr BURNS to CHIEF MINISTER
Could the Chief Minister please brief the House on the response of community groups and individuals to assist the relief effort following the Bali bombings?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, another important question because I am proud, and I am sure everyone here is proud, of the community spirit that is shown by Territorians. Over the last 48 hours, we have had a typical Territorian response to what has happened.
I take the opportunity in the House to thank those who have made substantial offers of assistance over the last 48 hours. Talking to a whole range of people, from those at the hospital to those with non-government organisations, the offers of support have been truly Territorian. Almost immediately, members of the public began phoning many non-government organisations and the hospital, and the health system generally, offering their homes for survivors and their friends and their families.
We had a hotline number at the hospital if anyone would like to ring and find out whether one of their family or friends was injured and at the hospital. We found pretty quickly that that number was swamped by people ringing it to say: ‘Can we help?’. They simply had to be told in the end: ‘We cannot cope with this kind of offer of help through this line, so just wait and we will deal with it another way’, which has been done through the Red Cross. Territorians are enormously generous and, certainly, offering homes to support family and friends of victims was something that we take for granted in the Territory.
The Red Cross blood transfusion service has been overwhelmed with offers. Yesterday, they logged 1000 calls and by 10.30 this morning they had logged another 400. Red Cross advise that supplies of blood are holding at the moment, but the demand will be ongoing. So they ask for Territorians to be patient when calling them; the offers will be taken up if they are needed. I join Red Cross in thanking Territorians for their response. There are three ways of contacting Red Cross, and we will be making those numbers available.
The business community has been equally quick to offer practical assistance. For example, NEC who provide telephone and switchboard equipment for both Telstra and Optus has programmed extensions for international and interstate calls at no charge. ITS, a local Darwin company, Integrated Technical Services, have provided 10 prepaid mobile phones for patients to use so that they can phone their family and friends to assure them that they are getting well and to tell them that they are now back on Australian soil. There have been families and individuals offering fruit, and sending things like peaches and that kind of thing to hospital staff. One of the stories that the hospital staff treasure over the last 24 hours, is hot, locally made pizzas that turned up at the hospital and they had been sent by a woman in South Australia who said: ‘I just wanted to help, so I have ordered you some pizzas locally’. Numbers of different staff were so touched by someone from interstate saying: ‘Can I help? Some food might’, and with the combination of pizzas and chocolates, our medical staff got through. A Darwin businessman, based in Bali, has offered to make his staff available to search for missing Australians, which is a terrific offer.
While the immediate disaster is now over - the medical and logistical response really was of the first order - we are now looking at the need for longer term responses, and that need will be ongoing. We can anticipate that this will be felt in the welfare sector in terms of counselling and trauma management. The welfare sector is already mobilising its resources so that they can respond to the needs that they are predicting. In the interim, we have been advised that people could be experiencing a range of emotions following the Bali bombing. They can be physical like an upset stomach or sleep disturbance; they can be problems with thinking; for example, in not being able to make decisions like they used to or reliving those events over and over again; they can be emotional - feeling numb and worrying about others. There is a whole range of impacts that the trauma of these events do have on people.
As part of the recovery process, it is important that people do seek professional help. However, in the interim, talking to people, being listened to by people, and finding a good counsellor can also help. Government is working with the community and welfare groups in the Territory to set up a support system for people who are having problems as a result of what has happened in Bali. We will be announcing the details of that shortly.
Bali Incident - Security of Territory Utilities
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Can the minister advise the House of the security arrangements in place for the Territory’s electricity, water and gas pipeline?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, following the tragic events in Bali, the security of the assets of PowerWater have been heightened. PowerWater always have adequate security measures in place, and these are reviewed regularly. However, after events like 11 September, and certainly after Bali, the security alert has now been heightened.
We have put guards in some of the sites such as the Channel Island generation plant and the water supplies not only in Darwin but in other centres in the Territory. At the same time, we have heightened security at East Arm, and certainly at the wharf, because some of these wharves are used by the defence forces.
In general terms, I can advise that PowerWater has regular security patrols at all of its facilities and guards are based at power generation equipment. The last thing we need is something to happen to those assets. At the same time, I would like to tell all Territorians that we are not sitting here doing nothing. We have reviewed our security measures and we have heightened the security issues in all aspects of power generation and water supply facilities.
Bali Incident - Response by Multicultural Community
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for ETHNIC AFFAIRS
Can the minister advise the House of the response to the Bali bombing incident from the Northern Territory’s proud multicultural community?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the events in Bali have affected all our community in Australia and certainly in Darwin. In Darwin, in particular, we have a very multicultural society. I have already been advised that members of the Territory’s German community have approached my department and they suggested that they postpone the celebration of Oktoberfest. I do not think this will happen. We do not want to capitulate to the terrorists. We should continue with the celebration of Oktoberfest and other similar celebrations because they are celebrations of the multicultural character of the Northern Territory.
I have also had a phone call from the President of the Islamic Society, Dr Asad Mohsin who advised me that Territorians of Indonesian background called the Islamic community and expressed their deep concern and distress at the attack in Bali. They are very concerned about the senseless harm that was done to the lives of many Australians and other people in Bali, the Balinese people, especially because this act contradicts the peaceful teaching of the Qur’an.
The Islamic Society of the Northern Territory wholeheartedly endorses the position of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils. The council said yesterday that victims of the attacks are fellow Australians and we should stand together at this time. Australia is a peaceful country with people from all over the world, and we call upon our community and the broader community to stand together and work towards peace and harmony.
I am very proud to say that this is exactly what Territorians have done and continue to do despite the senseless aim of the Bali attack to destabilise our society and our region. Territorians are cohesive.
I would also like to commend the Police Ethnic Advisory Council group for the work it has done. As Dr Asad Mohsin told me, they did not have any incidents at the mosque or against any member of the Islamic community, and I am very proud of that.
Mr STIRLING (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016