2002-08-22
Alleged Tapping of Prison Officers’ Phone Calls
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for JUSTICE
You would be aware of the news reports of results of the Ombudsman’s investigation into Correctional Services tabled earlier in this session. You also have access to the reports by the Commissioner of Correctional Services relating to this matter, his investigation of the issue, his response to the Ombudsman’s draft report, and his reaction to the Ombudsman’s recommendations. I am speaking specifically about complaint B, which is in three parts. However, in fact, in terms of the finding regarding complaint B, it is quite limited and, to my mind, unsubstantiated. In the interest of natural justice, can you confirm to this House that none of these reports have found that the previous CLP government or ministers were in any way involved in the tapping of prison officers’ telephone calls, as stated in the NT News on two occasions? What action have you taken or do you intend to take in relation to this issue?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Brennan for his question. First of all, I can outline the process that the Ombudsman followed in investigating this matter. The first thing he had done over the four years of this investigation was to produce an interim report and present that to my department for response, after which he then finalised the report that was tabled in this parliament during these sittings.
I can report that, when you look at the matter of complaint B, between the two reports that the Ombudsman produced there is an inconsistency regarding the matter of whether the minister of the day, Eric Poole, was directly informed or involved in this activity in the prison. The report of March 2002, the first of the two reports, specifies in relation to complaint B which is basically asking whether the tapes of recorded telephone conversations between prison officers regarding industrial relations matters pertaining to the ASCC were provided to the then Minister for Correctional Services, the Hon Eric Poole MLA. In answer to that question, his finding in the first report, and I will read it out:
- I cannot specifically sustain the complaint as originally made to me in respect to tapes or transcripts of tapes being made available to the minister.
To the extent that that deals specifically with that part of the question, it is inconsistent with the finding of the report of June 2002, which we tabled in this parliament, which states as a finding for complaint B:
- … it is my view that this complaint has been substantiated …
So it is a generic response to a series of questions that constituted complaint B:
- … and I am of the opinion that there was administrative action which was taken that was both unreasonable and appears to have been taken contrary to the law pursuant to section(1)(a) and (b) of the act.
I will incorporate both the section of the first and second reports that deal with these matters so that it is on record in Hansard.
[Editor’s note: See appendix at page 357.]
In terms of what we are going to do about this matter, the Ombudsman has found very clearly, in both of his reports, that there were provisions of the Commonwealth Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979, which were contravened by the activities that were shown to have occurred in the system at the time. Subsequently, I have asked my department to forward the reports to the Australian Federal Police. If the Australian Federal Police can now investigate these activities, and if they find that the Commonwealth act has been contravened in an illegal way, then obviously they can take action under their law.
I also report to the parliament what action we have taken to prevent a reoccurrence of what happened in 1996. In 1998, the current commissioner, on finding the legal requirements under the Commonwealth Telecommunications (Interception) Act 1979 had not been met, and that proper procedures and systems necessary to control and monitor the use of the system had not been developed and documented, directed the system be shut down and gave an undertaking that it would not be reactivated.
NT Correctional Services is now installing a Star~NET prisoner telephone system, similar to those used around Australia, which has a monitoring capacity for prisoner telephone calls. The new system has safeguards to ensure accountability, auditability and privacy of calls to legal representation and to the Ombudsman.
Legal advice has been obtained to confirm that the Star~NET telephone system complies with Commonwealth and Territory legislative requirements. The system is a stand alone network and is not linked to the normal business telephone network. The Commissioner of Correctional Services has sent the operational procedures for the system and the users manual to the Ombudsman for comment. It has also made an undertaking to the Ombudsman that the monitoring function will not be implemented until satisfactory procedural guidelines are in place to ensure the integrity and accountability of the system. The system’s audit functions will also be checked regularly to confirm that, in fact, no monitoring has taken place before all process issues are settled. The system will, certainly as a major benefit, improve prisoner communication with family members, which has been a long-standing problem in our prisons.
I can assure the member that we are working very hard now to make sure, in the term of this government, that we do not see a repetition of the events that occurred. I am quite happy to send over an excerpt of those two reports to you now.
Mr BURKE: Madam Speaker, could I ask a supplementary?
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, I will allow a supplementary.
Mr BURKE: It is an important subject. But to confirm on what you have said, minister. In the first report of the Ombudsman, the allegation against the CLP government and the minister was unsubstantiated, and in the second report there is no reference to the government or the minister. Is that the end result of your understanding of the matter?
Dr TOYNE: Well, to be absolutely clear, the excerpt I read out clearly says that the Ombudsman could find no sustainable evidence to say that the minister had been given the tapes that were taken from the phone tapping.
In the response to complaint B in the second report, it is a generic response to three separate questions. It does not deal specifically with the matter of whether the minister did or did not receive the tapes. I take that to mean that, if he has not refuted the first report’s findings, that you would probably say, at the very least, it is an open finding.
Government Procurement and Contracting Policies
Mr KIELY to CHIEF MINISTER
Can the Chief Minister advise the House on the government’s progress in implementing its election commitment to review government procurement and contracting policies?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, a very welcome question from the member for Sanderson. As I think this House is aware, for a long time now the Territory business community has been quite vocal about its concerns with the government procurement processes. You would have to say, over the last decade, it has been very loud and strong about its concern about government procurement processes.
I do not think the previous government’s procurement processes were trusted, fair, transparent and open. While in opposition, and coming into government, we listened to the community, particularly to the business community, and promised to address the problems. I take this opportunity to report on how we are delivering on that promise.
Earlier this year, I committed the government, in our economic development strategy, called Building a Better Territory, to undertake a formal review of current government procurement practices. A procurement review steering committee has been established to manage this review. I have also established a Procurement Reference Group, which is within Treasury, to manage the implementation of new procurement processes and address a number of issues that require immediate attention. Along with that, there are a number of related policy reviews and reforms that are under way, and I will quickly go through those.
Local content, and how we deal with that, is probably one of the key issues that our business community has. Local content guidelines are being reviewed so that they become an effective policy. That effective policy is all about maximising the opportunities for Territory business, and the returns to the whole community from government purchasing. This is not a small amount. For this financial year, we are talking about $750m of what will be out there in procurement expenditure. It is very important, it is a real stimulator and growth, and building capacity, for our local industry. We have to get local content policy right, and it previously has not been so.
We are committed to releasing an enhanced local content policy by the end of this year. It is being developed in consultation with business, the unions and, importantly, with reference to the Territory’s national obligations. We will do it well and get it right, and look at how we can use local content effective policy within procurement to really maximise the benefits for local Territory businesses.
A second issue is security of payment for subcontractors. It has been an issue, particularly for the building and construction industry. What we in government are doing is reviewing options to improve the security of payment to subcontractors who are working on both government and private sector projects. We are in the final stages of producing a discussion paper on that issue of security of payment for subcontractors. The discussion paper will be released in the next few weeks.
Another very strong commitment when we came into government is the issue of builders’ registration and licensing. Most Australian states and territories have a regulation framework for the building and construction industry. The Territory industry agrees with this government - unlike the last government who had the cloth ears approach - that such a framework is needed in the Territory. We are well advanced in preparing a discussion paper for distribution to industry and unions for comment, as we move to introduce a builders’ registration and licensing scheme.
In conjunction with that, we are looking at contractor accreditation - the CAL scheme. It is a private company and, as we know, it assesses, evaluates, and accredits contractors. It is important, in conjunction with that, to review CAL as well. That is well under way. You would have to say that, in the longer term, when we introduce builders’ licensing, after we have had discussions with the community, it may have implications for the way CAL functions. These two - the builders’ licensing and registration and CAL - are working together.
Another issue is insurance requirements when contracting with government. I am also pleased to advise that we have commenced a review of the level of insurance required by government for those who are bidding for government jobs. That review is well under way. The objective of it is to find a mechanism that readily determines the level of insurance cover sought is in line with the degree of risk being assumed by each party doing its services to government. That again is a balance we need to find, but we are working on that.
A final issue is to do with the structures, resourcing and training within government to be able to run that procurement process. It is important that we are making sure that those within government have the skills, the support, and the mentoring they need to do a very important job. That has not been the case. Over the last three or four years, we have seen procurement run down to about a quarter the size it used to be. There has certainly not been the training and the support available, and it must be there. We must be able to be confident - and so must business - that we have the expertise within government to properly ensure that procurement is being done appropriately. We are going to deal objectively and fairly with business. We are going to make sure that local content is working and that we are getting best value for the dollars that are in the procurement bucket.
Overall, we are looking at procurement in a comprehensive way. We are looking to grow the confidence of business in dealing with government, and to support local industry in its growth and capacity, and make sure that the way government does procurement is transparent, efficient and effective. I believe that we are going to get it right. Industry and business is working well with government on this, as well as the unions. We will be tackling this whole raft of very important issues over the next six months.
Budget 2002-03 – Verification of Public Service Numbers
Mr MILLS to TREASURER
Yesterday you wrote to all public servants regarding your budget. However, yesterday you were also confused as to how many public servants your government actually employs. Surely you can tell us how many letters you sent out to public servants to help verify the current numbers or, at the very least, confirm to this House that the numbers you have printed in your budget books are correct?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the fact that sometimes the other side of the House takes a couple of goes to learn something. We saw that in the Opposition Leader’s response to the budget yesterday, which was totally wrong. Yesterday in this place we dealt with this issue, and I will deal with it again. It is an important issue about how we count the number of public servants. As a legacy from when you mob were in, there is no confident way that we have, at this stage, of counting how many public servants we have. I have asked our new Public Service Commissioner, John Kirwan, to get that in place so that we can, on a monthly basis, see how many public servants we have and how we measure that against full-time equivalents. That is happening. Stop doing conspiracy theories …
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: Stop doing conspiracy theories. We have had your leader say you have knocked off 600. You forgot to count PowerWater.
Mr BURKE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Chief Minister is misleading this House by suggesting there was no accurate way of counting public servants in the past. The figures were published monthly by the Commissioner for Public Service.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Chief Minister, you must address the question.
Ms MARTIN: What we need to do is to have confidence in the numbers that are being counted, and there certainly have been great differences in how those numbers were counted. We are going to get it right. Let me put on the record here, that when we restructured the public sector in November last year, I said - and I stand here and repeat it - there would be a reduction in executive management, and we have seen that across the public sector. I also said, that with the amalgamations of agencies, in some cases there would be a duplication of positions, and in time we would see a reduction of those numbers. We have seen that happening. I cannot give you the figures yet. However, unlike the previous administration who, early in the 1990s, knocked off 1500 public servants - knocked them off through the ERC process, and then knocked them off again through Planning for Growth, and did it in an absolutely ham-fisted way. When we restructured the public sector, we did it well and effectively.
Every month we will be producing those figures for the public sector. What we are concentrating on is an effective and well supported public sector, with real opportunities for career and skills development for our public servants. I am proud to stand in here and say that is our commitment to our public service.
Budget 2002-03 – Opposition Leader’s Reply to Budget
Dr BURNS to TREASURER
How do you rate the Opposition Leader’s reply to your budget?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Before you reply, Chief Minister, I would suggest that we have shorter answers today, so if we could get on with the answer.
Ms Martin: Madam Speaker, have I taken …
Madam SPEAKER: We have had three questions in 20 minutes.
ANSWER
I think I will blame the Minister for Justice for that, Madam Speaker.
Mr BURKE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question is out of order because it asks an opinion from the minister.
Madam SPEAKER: I will rule the question in order, mainly because most questions ask for an opinion.
Ms MARTIN: Thank you, Madam Speaker. We listened to the Opposition Leader yesterday reply to what was an excellent budget presented on Tuesday; a budget that has been well received by the business community, and the community generally, and really applauded.
Initially I thought the response from the Opposition Leader was lost and confused. On second thoughts, it was simply ignorant. I can demonstrate that ignorance, because really and truly, if the Opposition Leader was taking it seriously in his reply to the budget, he would have said …
A member interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: He came in here and virtually accused Treasury of conspiracy with figures, of corrupting figures. Some very serious charges about these budget books were laid yesterday, and yet we came in to a Question Time following that, and not a question following it up. Talk about great team work! Not even a question from the Opposition Leader, saying: ‘I presented this critical analysis of the detail of the budget’, and not a question to follow it up. Not a question, because basically, he was wrong, wrong, wrong. Lost and confused and ignorant, he was wrong, wrong, wrong.
Mr Burke: Yes, you lied, lied, lied.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, withdraw that remark.
Mr BURKE: Well, Madam Speaker, it is getting hard to sit here and cop this sort of stuff.
Madam SPEAKER: Just withdraw.
Mr BURKE: I withdraw.
Ms MARTIN: Well, let me just deal with it. I am not standing here saying wrong, wrong, wrong, for no reason. Let us look at just a few instances - and I will keep my response short - of what was wrong in what the Opposition Leader said yesterday. He accused us, the government, of selling government assets. He went to Budget Paper No 2 and held it up and said: ‘This is outrageous. Look at this, net worth declining over years’. He was on the wrong page of the budget. He does not understand the difference between the general government sector and the non-financial public sector. He does not understand it. He stood here, declaring to all the world, that we had it wrong and, in fact, he was on the wrong page. He then went on to declare that the budget papers - this is part of the Treasury conspiracy - the budget paper …
Mr Burke: Tell me the right page. What page is the right page?
Ms MARTIN: I think it is about page 80 actually. Go and look at the right chart.
Mr Burke: Of which book?
Ms MARTIN: Budget Paper No 2. You will be fine. We have offered you a briefing and you refused to take it. Then you went on to say …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, direct your remarks to me.
Ms MARTIN: Sorry, Madam Speaker. Then he went on to say the budget papers had lost $1bn. Lost $1bn! Now, either he cannot read or understand the budget papers, but under accrual accounting it is very obvious, and the detail is there to read if you actually open the books and read the papers.
We have a budget of just over $2bn. Yes, we do. The previous cash accounting counted in those inter-agency transfers. They are not about expenditure, they are net-net. So, when you do accrual, you look at the actual expenditure. We have not lost $1bn. Don’t you feel any sense of embarrassment? Madam Speaker, doesn’t the Opposition Leader feel any sense of embarrassment?
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: You accused the Treasury of losing $1bn. He then went on to say that we had understated Commonwealth revenues. He said we are going to get more. Based on what? It is like young Denis runs along to the bank manager, he has just got his first job and he says: ‘I am just a tally clerk, but I am going to be the managing director. Can you give me a loan for a house based on a managing director’s salary?’.
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We are talking about bank managers. You did ask the Chief Minister to keep answers short and to the point.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, I am afraid answers to questions have been extremely long today. Look, nearly 25 minutes and we are not finished the fourth question. Come on, Chief Minister, on with it.
Ms MARTIN: Madam Speaker, it is a serious issue. We listened to a load of rubbish in here yesterday; a load of rubbish when the Opposition Leader said we should be inflating Commonwealth revenues. It is no wonder the CLP got us into such debt. Then he claimed there was no new capital works expenditure. $176m of that $333m cash is new works, yet the Opposition Leader said: ‘No new works. You are just doing what the CLP put in place.’ What a load of rubbish! Parap Primary, Nhulunbuy High, renal unit, hospice; the list goes on and on and on. That is just a start of the rubbish we heard yesterday. It is a great budget, it is delivering for today, it is investing for our future and, basically, they had nothing to say.
Adelaide River Railway Heritage Precinct
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for HERITAGE
The Adelaide River Railway Heritage Precinct has been named as one of the country’s 23 endangered heritage sites by the Australian Council of National Trusts. Is it true that the agreement negotiated with the railway authorities, which would have avoided most of the heritage precinct, has been violated, and much of the heritage track has now been taken up and will need to be removed. Will you, as minister, request ADrail, as the National Trust has asked, that work stop immediately and a new route determined which is protective of the fragile structures of the precinct and which allows the heritage rail to Snake Creek to proceed in safety?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question and my answer is certainly not. I am not going to ask ADrail to stop their work and I give you the reasons why. The laying of the railway track in the Adelaide River Station Precinct was approved. It was assessed first by the Heritage Advisory Council, according to the Burra Charter, which is a nationally and internationally recognised set of standards that assess this kind of development and try to find out if they actually can be put in a heritage place like Adelaide River. It was approved and the member for Daly, in October 2000, signed the agreement - and well done - because I find that laying a railway track in the middle of a railway yard in front of a railway station is an appropriate use, instead of actually laying it on top of a pioneer cemetery, as it was requested to be done.
The other thing is that, this morning when I found out that the Australian Council of National Trusts declared the Adelaide River Railway Station an endangered heritage place, I personally rang the national President, Mr Simon Molesworthy, and complained to him that he never picked up the phone to ring and question me about the Adelaide River Precinct. He acknowledged that. I also gave him some other information about the Friends of the Adelaide River Railway Heritage Precinct, and their dream of a tourist train, without having done any costing and never acquiring an operating steam engine like the Pine Creek people did, and never having any carriages. It is a pie in the sky dream. They have nothing in place.
Mr Baldwin: Oh, I don’t know about that.
Mr VATSKALIS: Pie in the sky, and the member for Daly knows that very well.
Mr Baldwin: How do other railways of this kind start? That is a bit derogatory. It is not a pie in the sky.
Mr VATSKALIS: He also attended a meeting in Adelaide River station recently, together with those people, complaining about the railway line passing through the railway station - the railway line that he signed to pass through Adelaide River Railway Station.
No, I am not going to ask ADrail to stop their work because it has been found that laying a railway line in a railway yard in front of a railway station is an acceptable use. It will not affect the railway station and, certainly, this government is committed to protect and preserve the Adelaide River Station and the railway bridge at Adelaide River.
Budget 2002-03 – Verification of Public Service Numbers
Mr MILLS to TREASURER
In reply to the question I asked previously with regard to public service numbers, you indicated that we cannot trust the numbers that you have printed in your own budget books, and that you have asked the Public Service Commissioner to provide you with a new set of public service numbers. We know that all permanent and part-time employees get a pay packet every fortnight based on numbers that the Public Service Commissioner has, and can provide at the push of a button. The CLP used to provide these figures once every month. Why are you hiding these figures, and when will we get these numbers?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I made it very clear in the last answer, and I will be very brief. The way you count figures – there are different ways of doing it. Are we talking about casual, part-time, or full-time? We have to sort out an effective way of doing our full-time equivalents. I am not prevaricating on this, we have the estimates in the budget. What I said is that I have asked the Public Service Commissioner to actually be able to produce effective and reliable figures. We will be making them available by the month. So, before you start going into high level conspiracies, settle down, we will get the figures counted. We will be open, transparent and accountable, something the previous government always found very difficult to achieve.
Crime Victims Assistance Fund
Ms LAWRIE to MINISTER for JUSTICE
The Labor government’s six-point plan on protection, punishment and prevention of crime contains detailed and concrete commitments for putting the needs of victims first. Minister, can you please inform the Assembly of the progress that has been made to put in place practical initiatives that meet the needs of victims, and the funding for these initiatives contained in the budget?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is a good question from the member for Karama. I will be very brief, even though it is a very important topic.
This government is very committed to supporting victims of crime, and we want to make sure that they feel absolutely no lack of effort from us. $4m has been put into the Crime Victims Assistance Fund, that is up $1m from the original budgeted level that we inherited. That still would not cover the current cost of that scheme, which we have estimated would come in at $5.5m for the previous financial year.
We are moving through legislative reform to reform the actual process of delivering compensation so that we get the maximum amount of compensation to victims, and we do not swallow up money in the process by which we are delivering it. A discussion paper and draft bill will be made available in the October sittings, and that will look at other options for supporting victims in our community, such as rehabilitation and counselling, and moving to an administrative rather than judicial process for delivering compensation. We believe that that may provide us with a more flexible way of providing support.
There is $300 000 for community justice centres in this budget that will allow us to offer victims an additional method by which they can seek redress for the results of offences against them. The clean-up assistance scheme is $50 000 a year. That is where victims often need the most support within a very short time after the offence has been committed, wanting to get houses cleaned up and relocked so that they can be protected from further intrusion. That is where that fund will come in.
The Director of Public Prosecutions is on unprecedented base funding now, to the point that they can provide extended support for prosecutions and appeals to victims. The Victim Support Unit attached to the DPP is also carrying out expanded services to victims now. We support victims and we are, in a very practical way, delivering programs that will do just that.
Budget 2002-03 – Current Staffing Levels
Mr MALEY to MINISTER for BUSINESS, INDUSTRY and RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
In Budget Paper No 3, it says that your department’s staffing is currently 659. How many of these people do you intend to get rid of, given that at page 160 of the same budget paper, it reveals payment to your employees is being cut from $43m in 2001-02, to $41m in 2002-03, a cut of 4.5%?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his question and I will try not to injure him in my response.
There are no plans. I do not know how many times the opposition needs to be told that. Coming into government, we made a succinct and specific promise to public servants that there would be no forced redundancies, and we have kept that promise. Ever since the election - and, again, it does the opposition no credit to keep rumourmongering that we are going to sack hundreds and thousands of public servants. This is absolutely not the case.
All government agencies have had to secure savings since we came to office, specifically in terms of our deficit reduction strategy, to bring the budget back into surplus in 2004-05.
Mr REED: A point of order, Madam Speaker. The question was very specific, nothing to do with forced redundancies: last year he had X amount and this year he has X amount less for salaries. How many people are not going to have a job?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. You know the minister can address the answer to the question as he feels fit. Minister, make it relevant to the question.
Mr HENDERSON: Madam Speaker, I can give an absolute, categorical assurance, again, for the people who are suffering from deafness opposite, that there will be no forced redundancies.
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: I will say it again: there will be no forced redundancies. Unlike the CLP, who went to the infamous ERC cuts, when public servants came to work – and I was a public servant at the time and the instruction was: ‘There is your chart, see if you can find your number on it. If you cannot find your number on it, start planning your future’. That is the way they treated public servants.
We will continue to work with our public service to deliver services for Territorians. This is a great budget. There are no forced redundancies. If this is the only issue that they can pick up on in the budget, to scare public servants that there is some conspiracy to sack and get rid of public servants, well, they have not provided one shred of evidence to that effect, and cannot point to a single public servant who has lost their job as a result of forced redundancy.
Mr Elferink: I can point to 65 vacant positions in one department alone.
Mr HENDERSON: Forced redundancies – not one.
Budget 2003-03 – Improvement of Health of Indigenous Children
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for HEALTH and COMMUNITY SERVICES
Minister, can you advise what steps your department is taking to improve the health of indigenous children in remote areas?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, what an excellent question. I know that the member for Arafura is particularly interested in indigenous health, and that she will be very happy with the things that I am going to be talking about.
Children throughout the Northern Territory are something which are a priority for us. We have a lot of things in this excellent budget, which the Treasurer has brought down, for children: child-care subsidies, extra things like that; and extra officers for child protection. However, particularly in the indigenous area we have a very special initiative. We have allocated $2.2m this financial year to employ multi-disciplinary teams of health professionals to maximise child health outcomes in remote areas. There will be 25 staff employed additional to the 75 nursing positions we are creating over the term of this government. These teams will be located at centres throughout the Territory, including Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Nhulunbuy. The teams of health professionals will be specialists in the area of child health. They will concentrate their efforts in remote communities, bringing skills in hearing, nutrition, skin disease and other childhood infections, speech pathology and the like.
Only last week, the Australian Medical Journal reported that 50% of children in remote areas of the Northern Territory are partially deaf due to chronic ear infections. Two weeks ago, I visited the community of Ramingining. I was very surprised and, I must say, very saddened to learn that staff at the health centre …
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister’s question is almost a direct lift from her speech last night and I think she is being repetitive. For members who are interested they could go to page 60 of last night’s Hansard and get almost the same answer.
Madam SPEAKER: I wish members of the opposition would stop raising these points of order regarding answers. You know that as long as answers are relevant to the question …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, thank you.
Mrs AAGAARD: Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I said before, I was very surprised and saddened to learn that staff at the health centre had just completed the first systematic screening of school children in 10 years. Staff informed me that, of the 115 children screened, 95 required follow-up treatment. That is 83% of children requiring some form of medical treatment. I must say, it is horrific to think that, in the 10 years before this screening was undertaken, children would have passed through the school system without having been screened once. Among the health problems detected at Ramingining were two cases of early renal disease, one of rheumatic heart disease, six children with heart murmurs, several cases of trachoma, and numerous children with skin infections and worms, both of which are implicated in adult chronic disease. 48% of the children were also anaemic.
The fact that this screening was not undertaken in 10 years was not the fault of the current, or even past, staff of the centre. It is simply that they lacked the resources to do it. In fact, I have to say how impressed I was with the professionalism and dedication of the health staff and their determination to prioritise child health in what can only be described as very difficult circumstances.
One of the major issues confronting remote health centres, as this House knows, is the recruitment and retention of skilled staff. At Ramingining, we are now fortunate to have three highly skilled and dedicated nurses who will now have the resources to undertake these sorts of screening programs and receive excellent back-up. I am also pleased to be able to inform the House that in this year’s budget, $140 000 has been allocated to the Ramingining clinic to undertake much needed renovations to improve their working conditions. Again, these renovations are very much long overdue.
With the additional resources provided by the specialist child teams, our staff in remote communities will now have the support and resources they need to properly monitor the health of our indigenous children. Early detection of disease can allow for preventative treatment that can head off some of the long-term consequences that are at the heart of poor morbidity and mortality rates we are witnessing today.
NT Pensioner Concession Scheme
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for SENIOR TERRITORIANS
Madam Speaker, I ask this question on behalf of yourself, as member for Braitling, and I thank you for your assurance that the content of this question will not affect you for many years to come.
Current government policy provides for a pensioner couple to travel interstate every two years. The subsidy is 50% of the cost of an air fare to an interstate capital city. A pensioner couple in Alice Springs wish to visit their family in Darwin, but because the travel is intrastate, not interstate, they are not eligible for the subsidy. I realise there is a review of the NT Pensioner Concession Scheme. In the interests of equity, will the Chief Minister give a commitment to change the policy to allow pensioners to travel within the Territory under the scheme, and not disadvantage those Territorians who have chosen to retire in the Territory by denying them the opportunity to visit their families who live in the Territory.
ANSWER
I thought it was a tad long, Madam Speaker, a tad long. It is an excellent question. The travel scheme for pensioners is a good one for senior Territorians, but we felt it needed reviewing. There were a number of issues that were raised, and one that we took to the election was to make sure that it was being used as effectively as possible, not only for seniors going outside the Territory to visit relatives, but to be able to be used, as you got older and you did not want to travel so much, to get your family to come and visit you. We thought it should be used that way. We then decided that a better thing to do was to review the whole the scheme and see if we can make it meet the needs of senior Territorians. We want to build our senior Territorian population.
I find it a bit disconcerting that organisations like NT COTA and my own Seniors Advisory Council will accept members from the age of 50. That bundles a lot of us in here straight into the seniors. However, that put aside, we are reviewing the scheme. We want to make it as equitable as possible, meeting the needs of seniors, as they change in terms of where they see home and how they can visit relatives. That review will be completed next month, and I think we will be moving on it very quickly after that.
Madam SPEAKER: I don’t think I got the answer I wanted.
Budget 2002-03 - Cash Expenditure
Mr REED to TREASURER
In the interest of making the budget clearer to this House and to Territorians, would the Treasurer undertake to provide the actual cash expenditure for 2001-02, calculated on the same basis as the figures in the mini-budget, so that direct comparisons can be made? Will she further provide the staffing figures by agency so that Territorians can know how many people are actually being paid every fortnight in the Territory Public Service? Further, I seek leave to table a draft table with two columns blank to make it easier for the Chief Minister and Treasurer to provide the information by just filling in the blank columns.
Leave granted.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I refer the member for Katherine to Budget Paper No 3 and the figures against each agency of what the estimates are for staff. It is there. Like the Opposition Leader, you seem to have trouble in reading these budget papers, which have more detail in them than we have ever seen before. I was distressed to hear the Opposition Leader’s response to the budget, because it indicated he had not even opened the budget papers at the important parts like Budget Paper No 3. It was distressing to hear the member for Macdonnell last night standing in here declaring to all who would listen that we had the payroll tax figures wrong. He just did not understand it. He declared that we distorted the figures by $44m. He could not find it.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Chief Minister is well aware that I said there could be any number of reasons for this occurring. Her short-cutting was that she did not put those reasons in the budget paper.
Madam SPEAKER: I do not think that is a point of order.
Ms MARTIN: I would like to refer the member for Macdonnell to Budget Paper No 6, which explains very carefully about payroll - government payroll and private payroll - and how you do the numbers. It was not a complex calculation; it was a very straightforward one. I say to the member for Katherine, in the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement there will be cash figures - not against estimates, against actuals, as you know from being Treasurer - and accrual for both years. They will be there very clearly as the final accounting for the year 2001-02 in the Treasurer’s Annual Financial Statement, as you well know. The estimates of the public sector figures are in Budget Paper No 3.
Poor Driver Practices
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for TRANSPORT and INFRASTRUCTURE
Is the minister aware of concerns from the trucking industry regarding poor driver practices on Territory roads? If so, what is he doing about it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. Yes, I am aware of the concerns of the trucking association. We are meeting with the association very regularly. Recently, they expressed concern to me about some truck drivers who overload their trucks. Also, they are timing driving from Alice Springs to Darwin to coincide with the weekend because, in previous years, there were no Motor Vehicle Registry inspectors actually in the weighbridges to inspect some of the trucks on the highway. I have spoken to the people at MVR, and have assured them I will seek money from the budget to be allocated specifically for this purpose. I am very pleased to announce we have allocated funding now to hire an extra inspector, and also enough money to have people at the weighbridges after hours and during the weekends.
Not all truck drivers disobey the law of the Territory. Some of them cut corners, and I want to let people know that we are going to get these people and they are going to pay for the damage they do to our road network, and also because it poses a serious threat to other drivers on the highway.
Budget 2002-03 – Education Budget
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
I refer to the fact the Treasurer has made much in the House today of the inability of the opposition - in fact, the ignorance of the opposition - in understanding this budget. You would be aware, I hope, of a media release by the federal Education Minister where a preliminary analysis by the federal Department of Education, Science and Training, which has done a preliminary analysis of your budget, have said:
- The Northern Territory budget papers indicate government school funding in 2002-03 of $339.3m, a claimed increase of 11.4% on the estimated outcome for 2001-02. A preliminary analysis by the federal Department of Education, Science and Training has shown that the Northern Territory government has actually increased funding to its government schools by 5.6%.
They go on to say that, if you had even matched the Commonwealth funding, you would have put an additional $4m into your schools.
Minister, has the federal Department of Education, Science and Training the same ignorance as the opposition?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. In relation to what the Department of Education, Science and Training has put out, I do profess absolute ignorance. I have not seen the press release, it has not been brought to my attention. In any case, I would need to check the figures therein, that he is quoting.
Can I say that schools, principals and the education union itself, are absolutely delighted with the education budget for this year. The secretary of the Australian Education Union said, two nights ago on TV: ‘Best budget for education in 10 years’. That, to me, is far more noteworthy than what the federal Department of Education, Science and Training may be saying. Nonetheless, I will seek to get a copy of that press release and see where they are coming from, because I find it disappointing that the Leader of the Opposition should pop up in here with this note seeking to create some division and difference between the federal department and our department in the Northern Territory. I can tell him that our relations, department to department, officer level to officer level, minister to minister, are 2000 times better than they ever were under my predecessor, the CLP minister for education, and the federal government then. I have stood publicly in the Northern Territory, and I have stood in this Assembly and commended federal minister Brendan Nelson for his attitude and cooperation with the Northern Territory government, and I look forward to continuing that relationship.
In relation to schools funding, I was at Leanyer School during the week and we announced the 21% increase in the base funding for schools. In the case of Leanyer School, the principal, Mr Henry Gray, was absolutely delighted to hear that. He had a grin from ear to ear that nothing would wipe. In the case of Leanyer - and the member for Wanguri was there - I think the figure meant something like $8589 extra to that school. It is per capita based, so every school council in the Northern Territory will benefit from that additional funding. It was bumped up by 21.3% this year – it had not been touched since 1993-94 - and ongoing from the next financial year in the sense that it will be indexed. That, more than anything else, pleased principal Henry Gray and, indeed, every other principal throughout the Northern Territory.
Mr Burke: Madam Speaker, I seek leave to table the press release.
Leave granted.
Delivery of Essential Services in Remote Areas
Dr BURNS to MINISTER for COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Responsibility for delivery of essential services in remote areas was taken away from various agencies recently and given to the Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs. What benefits are there for residents in remote communities through this handing over?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Johnston for his good question. It is great to deliver more good news from the Territory’s most successful budget. The ringing endorsement from Territorians must really upset the opposition. It would particularly upset the member for Katherine and former Treasurer.
Last year’s November mini-budget transferred responsibility for essential services to remote areas from the former Power and Water Authority, and the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment’s Transport Division to my Department of Community Development, Sport and Cultural Affairs.
Mr Dunham: Back to 1984.
Mr AH KIT: I will pick up on the interjection ‘Back to 1984’, because we have been addressing the budget since Tuesday, and we have had allegations from the Leader of the Opposition that the black hole was a furphy. I had a look at Hansard from last year, 29 May to 7 June and, on page 7631, when the then Treasurer was giving his report he stated:
- The increase in net debt next financial year is estimated to be $12m.
I want the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Opposition to go on record in this House and state, categorically, that Professor Percy Allan got it wrong and that he had told lies because, in one week, he found $107m deficit – one week. So, there you go. The black hole was not a furphy, and you got caught out. So do not come in here jumping up and down trying to con Territorians that we were peddling out a black hole just as a part of a mystery and a part of politics …
Mr Dunham: You were. You still are.
Mr AH KIT: You said it yesterday in your response, and I quote you:
- It should be clear to all now that the black hole was nothing but a political tactic.
Mr Burke: It was.
Mr AH KIT: Well, go on record in your adjournment. You go on record and say that Percy Allan, a prominent professor in finances throughout this country, was wrong and was a liar. Because that is not what you have done yet, and that is what you should do.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, have you finished your reply?
Mr AH KIT: No, I have not.
Madam SPEAKER: Well, will you please address the question.
Mr AH KIT: I am addressing the question, Madam Speaker, it is to do with the budget. It is definitely to do with the budget.
Madam SPEAKER: I thought it was to do with community development.
Mr AH KIT: What the opposition do not like is that this is a good news budget, and they are hurting. They are hurting and they are disorganised. They are disorganised, lazy, leaderless, dishevelled, and a bunch of rabblerousers. Your supporters want you to learn to be a good opposition, right? Because that makes for good governance in the Territory. That is what you people need to learn. Okay? There are a couple there who are pretty good on that side …
Members interjecting.
Mr AH KIT: You blokes need to get organised …
Members interjecting.
Mr AH KIT: Madam Speaker, if they want to be provocative, I cannot go on and provide the answer to Territorians, and I apologise on their behalf.
Mr Burke: Oh, he’s finished?
Mr AH KIT: Do you want me to answer the question? I have some more ammunition here.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Loss of Ministerial Files
Mr MALEY to MINISTER for BUSINESS, INDUSTRY and RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Minister, is it true that your office has recently lost a considerable number of confidential ministerial files? Secondly, have you ever asked your department to re-issue those files? Thirdly, if so, how did the files go missing, and how much has it cost in lost time and wages to have the files re-issued?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can honestly say to this Assembly I do not have a clue what the member opposite is on about. I will have to take that question on notice and respond back to the House at a later time.
What I can say is that my office and my department are certainly out there, working in the best interests of Territorians to grow and diversify and talk up this economy, and to talk up investment in the Territory, unlike the shadow minister opposite, who does nothing but peddle doom and gloom. I will get back to him on that particular issue.
We are two days out from the budget, a budget that appropriates nearly $3bn in the Northern Territory. We are two days out, and if we are talking about files that are running backwards and forwards between my office, I think we have done them over right royally.
Budget 2002-03 – Restoration of Funding to Aboriginal Ethnobiology Project
Mr McADAM to MINISTER for the ENVIRONMENT
Can the minister advise if the government has been able to provide funding to restore the Aboriginal ethnobiology project that was cut by the previous government, despite its enormous popularity and success in promoting Aboriginal culture, bush tucker and pharmacopoeia to the world?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. I am very pleased to announce that this government has put $50 000 to revitalise the ethnobiology project, an excellent project. I am really surprised that somebody in the previous government saw fit to cut short that project because it provides valuable information about bush tucker and bush medicine. We can actually draw information from the plants that Aboriginal people are so well aware of. I have some examples here, and also of some books that have been produced by the ethnobiology project. This information, unfortunately, disappears as the traditional owners age and die. I have to remind members that most of the modern medicine has derived from bush medicine in Europe and other areas of the world. One of them in particular, aspirin, is derived from the bark of the poplar tree, and a number of other medicines have actually been developed from plants or animals.
I am very pleased to say that we are revitalising the project. Not only that, we are working very closely with educational institutions and the Commonwealth to seek extra funding to continue this project, because it is important not only for us as a mainstream community, but also for the Aboriginal community because they are given the opportunity to identify the plants, harvest them and provide a source of income.
If, in the future, one of those plants is found to contain chemicals that could be used in the fight against AIDS, that would be a significant benefit for society, but also a significant income to the Territory and the traditional owners as well. Currently, drug companies have investigated a number of plants in the Tiwi Islands and they believe that they have medicinal properties to fight some of the serious diseases in our world.
Budget 2002-03 – School-Based Constable Program
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT and TRAINING
You would be very much aware of the strong community support for the school-based constable program, which remains unchanged. On page 13 of the Building Our Community budget publication, support for the school-based constable program is listed at $1.09m. A rule of thumb is approximately $100 000 per constable. This amount would, therefore, provide 10 school-based constables with one support staff. The Chief Minister’s budget speech revealed the provision of 10 additional police officers with two support staff. Given there are currently 21 school-based constables, it appears from the budget papers that the 10 additional police come at the expense of the school-based constable program. Please clarify this matter for the many supporters of the school-based constable program.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, let me assure the Leader of the Opposition, parents, school communities, school-based constables and everyone else involved in the operation of the school-based constable program – the Leader of the Opposition is well aware that there has been a review afoot and community consultation in that process. The report today – I do not have it before me yet. In fact, I spoke to Assistant Commissioner Doug Smith this morning at the police annual conference and he said that it was about to be signed off at his end. I would expect to see it next week.
Can I assure the House and everyone involved with the school-based constable program that there is no intention to remove school-based constables. In fact, we are coming from a position as a government with a view to strengthening the program so that those schools, including remote schools and indigenous schools, do have an opportunity to participate in the program. That meant looking at all of the roles, functions and activities that school-based constables carry out, and whether there is a better way to deliver the DARE program. There are a lot of questions in that, and I do not want to pre-empt what the report says. I have not seen it. As I said, Doug Smith told me this morning that it is well on its way.
I would like to clear up this matter in relation to the press release that I now have from the Leader of the Opposition. A preliminary analysis by the federal Department of Education, Science and Training shows that, according to them, the NT government increased its funding to government schools by 5.6%. In the May budget, the Commonwealth increased funding for Northern Territory government schools by 6.9%, and we welcome that. Can I assure the Leader of the Opposition that when that money comes through the pipeline and is, in fact, received by the Northern Territory government, it will go in. It will go in to education, but these things take time.
Mr Burke interjecting.
Mr STIRLING: We have a former Chief Minister here who should understand these things. I do not doubt Brendan Nelson for a minute. If he says that this increase went through in the Commonwealth May budget, I do not doubt that, but I do doubt the fact that we have received it. Can I give that assurance: if that increase is there and does come through, it will go into government schools.
Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Question Paper.
SUPPLEMENTARY ANSWER
Teacher Numbers
Teacher Numbers
Mr STIRLING (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I have further information to a question requested by the member for Blain yesterday. He asked a question in relation to the number of teachers working in primary and secondary schools, and the number of relief teachers, comparing this year’s figures with last year. He also asked about the number of qualified teachers not currently teaching in classrooms.
Initially, I will compare the current numbers of teachers with those of August 2001. As of this morning, there were 1992 teaching positions, of which 1966 were filled. There are currently 26 teaching vacancies, 20 in primary schools, six in secondary schools. In August 2001, there were 1933 teaching positions; that is, 59 less positions than we currently have. I am not able to provide the member with the number of vacancies in August 2001, but I am advised that it was considerably less, perhaps around half.
The government has approved a number of strategies to improve the teacher staffing situation. I am optimistic that these measures will have a positive impact on the staffing situation, which is both a national and international problem, as the member knows.
Broken down into primary, secondary and office-based teachers, there are currently 1360 primary teachers employed, 489 secondary teachers, and 117 teachers in office-based situations, which is a total of 1966. Although it is difficult to quantify, many of the teachers who are based in offices spend time in the classroom. We have not included the Chief Executive Officer, the minister, Katherine Henderson, and I do not include yourself, because I do not imagine you and I are going to be lining up to go on the relief teaching roster.
The member for Blain asked about the number of teaching staff who are relief teachers and, as at this morning, there are 700 relief teachers on the department’s books, broken down into 353 primary relief teachers, 107 secondary relief teachers, and 177 who can do both. Schools engage relief teachers directly, so the department does not know on a day-to-day basis just how many are being utilised in schools. Relief teachers are used to cover absences of sick leave, for attendance at professional development activities, and for a range of other reasons, so the number engaged from day to day varies significantly. Relief teachers may be engaged by schools for a maximum of 21 days. Beyond that, they need to be employed on a temporary contract, and those would be reflected in the number of teachers that I have provided today.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016