2003-02-26
Police Numbers
Mr BURKE to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
In January, you said that in your first year in government, 60 constables have graduated, 25 more have graduated in this financial year, and 29 more are due to graduate by June. You said: ‘That is already 114 new constables’. How do you explain that the public service figures released yesterday of 1314 is a drop of seven on the numbers of the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services as at 30 June 2001? How come all your wonderful recruiting program is not keeping up with attrition?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. I will go to the last part of the question first, about how come our recruiting program is not keeping up with attrition. The longer I am in this portfolio, the closer opportunity I have had to actually look at the recruiting practices of the Northern Territory Police, exactly how they recruit to establishment levels, and how they program those recruitment squads in.
If you go back to the McAulay Bowe Report in 1995, one of the key recommendations of the report at the time was to put in place a recruiting strategy that was ahead of attrition. When you track the numbers over the years, it is something that certainly never happened under the CLP. It is certainly something that we are going to get to the bottom of. They had a very clever knack regarding recruitment squads, whereby recruitment would drop off during the year when people would leave the force. There would be a recruitment squad some time in the beginning of the year and then there would be nothing for about eight months until about a month before the printing of the annual report, when there would be a big recruit squad. They have form on that rank deceit.
Since we have come to government, we have run more recruit squads through the police training college at Berrimah in the last 16 months than for many, many years. We have two squads in there at the moment - I believe the number is 65 police recruits currently being trained out of Berrimah. I had the great honour and privilege of going out and meeting those fine men and women from all parts of the Territory and of Australia - 65 who are in training right now.
The CLP cannot point to any point in the last four or five years where they had 65 recruits in the college at any one time. We made a commitment to 50 extra police at the end of our term. We will deliver on that commitment.
Yes, we are having an independent assessment of police numbers at the moment. That will be a very rigorous assessment. I am absolutely convinced there is going to be some very interesting information come out of that assessment regarding the dodgy practices of the previous government in police staffing and numbers. There certainly has been a lot of smoke and mirrors on these numbers over the years.
I do not have the numbers that the member is talking about in his question right here, right now. However, what I do know is there are 65 recruits currently at Berrimah, a recruit squad due to come out in May and another one in June - the highest number of police recruits that we have seen through that establishment for many, many years. When that final recruit squad comes through in June, the total number of police that we will have recruited since our term of office would have been 150. That is a huge number, an increase.
We will deliver on the 50. We are having an independent assessment and we have committed that, if that independent assessment comes up and states that we need more police on top of those 50, then we will. However, we will not be like the Leader of the Opposition and pluck a number out of the air to justify his trip to New York’s Fifth Avenue and the bright lights, and come back and get off the plane and say that ‘we are going to double the operational police force’.
It would be interesting to see how we would pay for that. We are certainly not going to double the operational police force in the Northern Territory. We will have this independent assessment conducted by Jim O’Sullivan, a very respected former Police Commissioner in Queensland. That will be a very rigorous assessment. The results of that assessment will be made public and, if it states we need additional police on top of the 50 that we have committed, we will do that.
Commonwealth Grants Commission – 2003 Update
Mr KIELY to TREASURER
The Commonwealth Grants Commission today released a 2003 update of general revenue grant relativities. Can you inform the House what this means for the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson because it is important for me to put on the record exactly what it means. It is a case of some misfortune, I suppose, in that the Commonwealth Grants Commission 2003 update is disappointing news for Territorians, particularly when it is viewed in the context of the ABS population figures released last week.
Figures contained in the update, when considered in conjunction with the recently revised population data coming forward, reveal that the Territory may only be entitled to an extra $13.6m in Commonwealth grants for the financial year 2003-04, compared to what was projected in the mid-year report projections, based on what the Commonwealth was projecting by way of GST pool and population grants.
Under the Commonwealth grants relativities released today, it was estimated the Territory would be entitled to a $31.4m greater share of financial assistance in health care grants. However, it has to be taken into consideration that, due to those revised population estimates released by the ABS last week, the Territory grants funding for 2002-03 was revised down. Following that adjustment, it is estimated that the Northern Territory will be left with $13.6m in additional funding for 2003-04 compared, as I said, to those projections in the mid-year report.
It is also important at this stage that the figure is an estimate only, because there is the potential for it to still be reduced further. There is the Treasurers’ Conference in March, the Commonwealth budget when it is handed down in May and, after the further revision of the ABS population figures in June, when they go back and pick up the December quarter 2002 population movements. So, in the context of that, not great news. And as I said in the House last week, we will be taking these concerns about the revised population estimates and the significant effect they have in the Territory, in contrast with other jurisdictions, both with the ABS and the Treasurers’ meeting in March.
The Commonwealth Grants Commission estimates for GST revenue, budget balancing assistance and health care grants, according to an AAP report circulating about lunch time, say that grants will increase by $118.3m in 2003-04 compared to 2002-03. However, those increases do not reflect those revised population estimates in 2002-03 or 2003-04. The Territory estimates that, taking that population revision into account, these estimates - excluding the health care grants because it is not known exactly what size those health care grants will be - the Territory could be looking in 2002-03 to 2003-04, at about $95.7m. The $13.6m that I was talking about in the reduction reflects that comparison with projections as contained in our mid-year report based, of course, on previous projections provided by the Commonwealth.
Crime Statistics – Confidence
Mr DUNHAM to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
How can the Labor government have any confidence in the crime statistics when, according to today’s NT News, many business people are not reporting crimes to police? Secondly, since this reluctance by business to report crimes confirms that they have no faith in your government, what measures are going to be put in place to restore that confidence?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is wonderful to get a question from the opposition. I have been waiting for about three sittings now. It is common to all statistical records, right round this country and in any similarly developed country around the world, for there to be a level of unreported offences within the system. Generally, that is estimated - certainly in Australia - that around 30% to a third of the total crime in the community will not be reported. There are a lot of reasons for that. One of the reasons is that the victim of the crime might decide that the crime is too trivial to go to the trouble and the time that it takes to go through the reporting process. Another reason might be that they manage to do a restorative process on the spot. For example, if you have a shoplifter, you take the goods back off them. It might not be worth that business’ trouble to report that crime formally. That is built in to all statistical collection around this country and elsewhere.
In terms of the recent Palmerston business survey - which was a very rough and ready survey, I might say. In fact, when you look at the percentage return, you are looking at about 80 returns of which, from memory, about 40% said they had unreported crime, so you are down to about 35 occasions when crime was not reported out of the total business community.
I want to make sure this is very clear on the public record, because the member for Blain was making much of the figure of 300 businesses being contacted. Sure, they were e-mailed, they received 80 returns and of those, 40% said that there was some crime being committed that had affected their business. So, we are talking about quite small numbers and, when you get down to the breakdown of the types of incidents that they were talking about, quite a number of those were, in turn, quite trivial crimes.
Members interjecting.
Dr TOYNE: Let the opposition be very careful about making these claims about an out of control impact of crime on businesses when the actual numbers they are talking about are quite small.
In the actual Palmerston business situation, we have advised earlier in this House that the police have been conducting successful operations around the greater Darwin and Palmerston area. Task Force Ranger was established in July 2002. Since July last year, it has cleared up 300 offences including 80 break-ins, arrested a total of 77 people, and summonsed 19 of them. Task Force Ranger also targeted five offenders who were responsible for 26 break-ins of business premises in the greater Darwin area, including Palmerston. Those offences, committed between late September and mid-December 2002, resulted in property valued at $703 000 being stolen and $289 000 of damage to the property. I am very pleased to report that, following these successful police operations, those five offenders have now been arrested and property valued at $100 000 recovered.
Operation Spitfire, which ran from 16 December 2002 to 31 January 2003, targeted the traditional increase in juvenile related crime over the Christmas school break. It was well received by members of the public and very successful alongside project Ranger.
We are very aware that crime levels remain at an unacceptably high level around the Territory. That is the very reason why we are giving such a major focus to this in the work of our government. We are going to get crime down. We are going to work with the community to do that, and we want to keep ….
Members interjecting.
Dr TOYNE: We would suggest to the opposition that they keep debate about crime issues to the facts and accurate, and do not try to mislead the Territory public.
Asian Engagement Plan
Ms LAWRIE to MINISTER for ASIAN RELATIONS and TRADE
The government’s Asian Engagement Plan was launched today. Could you please advise the House on the purpose and benefits of the plan, and its link to generating jobs in the Northern Territory.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. Yes, I was very pleased to launch our Asian Engagement Plan to Territorians at lunchtime today, at a time for government and the people of the Northern Territory to really build on the very strong relationships we have in our Asian region. Our future lies very much entwined with the Asian region. If we all reflect for a moment that, within four hours flying time of a radius out of Darwin, we have in our region 500 million people, an enormous amount of the world’s population. If you fly that similar radius south from Darwin for four hours, discounting Brisbane and Sydney, you pick up a population of less than …
Mr Dunham: Why don’t you bring on a debate and we can talk about this?
Mr HENDERSON: … a million people. I will pick up the comments from the member for Drysdale. He seems to forget that this is the General Business Day of the parliament and he has the opportunity, if he wants, to bring on a debate about Asian engagement. Well, you could have done it, you had an opportunity. However, all we have are snide comments, and I would have thought there would have been bipartisan support for this. I really thought that there would be bipartisan support for our engagement with a very important part of our future.
For the first time, government in the Northern Territory has developed a very comprehensive and strategic plan for engagement with our region. It does complement the trade strategy that we released just before Christmas, and provides a focus for engagement in our region. Now is the time to re-emphasise that focus, particularly in the very difficult global times that we are facing at the moment, and the sometimes rocky bilateral relationship that the Commonwealth has with countries in the Asian region. I give credit to past governments in the Northern Territory, who were many years ahead of their counterparts in southern states in developing those relationships, and they will stand the test of time. Now is the time to build on them, not retreat back behind a fortress Australia-type policy.
That is why, next week, the Chief Minister is off to Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia to build on opportunities for the AustralAsia trade routes, and I am off to the Philippines in a couple of weeks time to build on trading relationships with the Philippines.
Our priorities are engagement with Asia. The plan gives us six key areas that we will focus in: regional petroleum and mining support, real opportunities for our mining service and supply industries in the Northern Territory, not only to win business from the massive mining operations in the Northern Territory, not only the offshore operations …
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: … but to focus on opportunities in eastern Indonesia. It is a pity that members opposite are not more interested in this. It just goes to show that they are looking backwards at past glories, and not looking forward to the future of the Northern Territory.
The agribusiness sector offers huge opportunities in our trading relationship with Asia, not only in terms of further developing our live cattle industry, but also our fisheries, and other agricultural industries out of the Katherine/Daly region. Regarding the rapid building of trade volumes, I do not need to say any more in terms of the importance of the AustralAsia Railway route, there is a real focus on that.
Also very important is increasing student numbers in the Territory. What is really going to develop in terms of relationships over the years of those people-to-people connections. Over the last three or four years, we have dropped the ball a bit in student exchanges. It is time to pick that up again. I give the NTU great credit, as well as Antoine Barnaart at the NTU, under the new interim Vice-Chancellor. There is a real focus and emphasis on this area, and I have just heard today that tomorrow the NTU will be welcoming 40 students from six countries in the Asian region. There are real opportunities there.
Developing our aviation links is very important, and also our services sector. There are huge opportunities in terms of health and education, and also in the legal community. It is a policy for the future. It is going to give focus to government relationships in the region and, at the end of the day, it is all about relationships, but more so it is all about jobs. It is all about the future of the Northern Territory. I would urge members opposite to be a little supportive, rather than sitting back with snide comments.
Government Contracts - Process
Mr DUNHAM to MINISTER for BUSINESS, INDUSTRY and RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
I hope the answer is a tad shorter and a bit more concise than the last one. My question relates to government contracts. Last week, we heard of a case where an interstate, non-compliant, more expensive contractor was successful over a local, compliant, cheaper one. I now have advice that one local contractor is competing for work against a competitor who has been provided with a government phone. This favoured status significantly advantages this competitor. Will the minister undertake to have the matter independently investigated?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for his question. It was a bit vague, and I am happy to talk to him outside of this particular Question Time. Regarding getting details, I cannot undertake to have an investigation without some specific detail about some vague question about somebody who has a mobile phone that they should not have. I am happy …
Mr Dunham: All I want to know is if you will investigate it. There is no point giving it to him if you are not going to investigate it.
Mr HENDERSON: If the member would like to hear the answer to the question, I suggest he keeps quiet, otherwise I might be tempted to sit down. The offer is there; I am happy to take the specific issues on board.
I go back to the comments that the Leader of the Opposition made in debate in this House last week, that, yes, there are issues with government procurements in the Northern Territory. The volume and value of government procurements runs to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year, with many thousands of individual transactions. It is, as I said at the time, in debate. The Leader of the Opposition acknowledged that, if he had his time again he would have paid more attention to that area.
It is causing angst in the business community. It has certainly come through time and time again in discussions I have with business people making representations to my office, and at the Business Round Table. We have conducted a comprehensive audit of a review into government procurement that the previous government did in 1999. When we came to government and looked at what happened to that: do we need to go out and have another review? The business community said: ‘No, you do not need to have a review, all you need to do is implement the recommendations of the 1999 review’, that was chaired by Bob Truman, if my memory serves me correctly.
So we went back and had an audit and, as the Chief Minister said, it came back that about 5% of those recommendations - and I think there were over 40 of them - had been implemented in full. What we have undertaken - there is a submission coming to Cabinet in March - is a significant implementation of those recommendations.
It is a significant issue. It is one that we will deliver on in improved accountability for Territorians. Our commitment is that Territory government expenditure should support local business wherever possible, but local business has to be competitive and provide a quality product.
Regarding the specific company that the member for Drysdale was talking about, I am happy to talk to him about that. There are processes where company people can make representation to government; they can go to the Ombudsman. However, I am happy to talk to him about it and, if an independent investigation - whatever that means - into this specific issue is warranted, then I will do it. I will certainly take his issue on board.
Marrara Basketball Stadium
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for TRANSPORT and INFRASTRUCTURE
The basketball stadium at Marrara is getting close to completion. I congratulate the government and the previous government on this important sporting facility. Could you please say how much the building has cost so far? Is the cost within budget and is it on time? Was the first design drawn up by your department structurally unsound and dearer, than a subsequent design drawn up by a private company? If so, how much did this add to the cost of the project?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his inquiry with regards to the basketball and netball stadium at Marrara. The stadium will be ready for the Arafura Games; the completion day is 17 April. With regards to the design, my department, like any other business in the Territory does, had a look at the roof, the foundation and other aspects of the building because we had to look at it being constructed more efficiently - and why not cheaper? We employed an outside engineer who did the evaluation. The engineering consultancy cost us $12 000 in redesigning the roof and the foundation, but it saved us $300 000 in costs.
However, we found out that the price of the project had increased from $4.17m to $4.589m. That increase was due to the requirements of the Australian National Netball Association which wants to apply national standards to the building. It was a design required by the National Netball Association; it was no fault of the designer or anything else, or not blowing out the budget. So, it might be a bit over the budget but it will be a sports facility that complies with national standards.
Ethnic Affairs Sponsorship Grants
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for ETHNIC AFFAIRS
Recently, the minister advertised for applicants for the second round of Ethnic Affairs sponsorship grants. Can the minister advise the House on who were the successful applicants?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. Earlier today I was very pleased to announce the successful applicants for funding under the Ethnic Affairs Sponsorship Program. There were 22 applicants and they received in excess of $170 000. During the first round in August, I announced 35 successful applicants, who received in excess of $350 000. I have said that this government has increased this sponsorship program by $250 000 to approximately $700 000, and that includes the linguistic and cultural awards.
The government supports, celebrates and promotes the unique Territory lifestyle, and multiculturalism is a vital component of that lifestyle. We do not see the multicultural communities, organisations, associations, or the people as a place where we go to have nice food or have a nice party. We see it as a vital component of our community, and also, as a vital component to an opening to Asia or to Europe. I have said before, if you go out in our community, to Coconut Grove to see who is the most successful Asian importer, it is a person of Chinese background from East Timor. If you go to Winnellie to find out who is the most successful importer of building material, marbles or tiles, you will find out it is a migrant from Greece.
People who are coming from a different country to the Territory are our best ambassadors in Asia and Europe. These are the people who are going to help us to actually spread the Territory commerce through Asia and Europe. These are the people who will assist us because they know the language, the customs and the habits, and we will work very closely with them to promote the Territory in Asia, Europe, America and the world.
I have to say that we do not only give money for celebrations like the Greek Glenti, but we give money to community organisations to bring experts to the Territory to either teach language or dances, or to instruct in things like the lion, and to have the blessing of the lion during Chinese New Year. Also, we provide funding for the lion, in this example, to travel to other places, like Alice Springs – we provided $4500. Unfortunately, nowhere in the poster that the member for Greatorex published so widely in Alice Springs was there any reference to the government. He did a very good promotion. He promoted the lion very, very well, and many premises were blessed there. Was your office blessed, Madam Speaker? I wonder why. The Central Australian office was blessed. My office in Casuarina was blessed.
We provided funding, not only to ethnic organisations, but to non-ethnic organisations that are dealing with ethnic issues. For example, Anglicare were provided money because they are dealing with women’s health issues. We will continue to do so because we promote and support multiculturalism in the Territory.
Government’s Use of Spokesmen
Ms CARNEY to CHIEF MINISTER
Since your government was elected, it has become the practice that comments from you and your ministers are made by faceless and nameless spokesmen and minders. Do these spokesmen speak with the full authority of you and your government?
Ms MARTIN: I am sorry, I missed the last sentence.
Madam SPEAKER: Would you like to repeat the question, please?
Ms CARNEY: Do these spokesmen speak with the full authority of you and your government?
ANSWER
As I understand the question, the member for Araluen is saying - I thank her for this rather unusual question, this is a parliament of great diversity - that increasingly, comments on behalf of government are made by nameless and faceless spokespersons. The problem with the question is that it is not accurate, because this government proudly speaks to the issues of concern, and proudly talks about our initiatives. Interestingly enough, I do not know whether there is actually any kind of group discussion among the opposition, because we sat here last night in the parliament - and the Hansard is fascinating reading - and heard the member for Macdonnell say that I have taken over the government, that everything that is said by government is said by the ‘culture of Clare’. They were your words. This question is totally inconsistent with the words we heard last night.
It does not make sense. The ministers of this government proudly speak, our names are there and we are accountable.
Ms Carney: You made a mess of that. That was a shocking answer – that was a shocker!
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Members, settle down.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: I am not going to keep calling order when you know full well that you should not be interjecting the way you are.
Power Prices
Mr McADAM to MINISTER for ESSENTIAL SERVICES
Can the minister inform the House whether power prices for Territory households have risen under the Labor government, and how this impacts on the cost of living in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his question. I welcome his question. The short answer is no, power prices have not risen - we are talking about domestic power prices here …
Mr Dunham: Oh, yes! That is a fine line to make. Not power prices, domestic!
Dr BURNS: Thank you, member for Drysdale.
This government gave an election commitment that domestic power prices would not rise and neither, member for Drysdale, have commercial power prices risen, as you should well know.
Over the past 18 months, the average price of domestic power in Australia has risen by 6.16%, and the average price of commercial power has risen by 1.73%. Yet, under this government’s commitment - we gave a commitment to freeze power prices - the price of domestic power in the Northern Territory has remained unchanged. At the same time, there has been no movement in the price of commercial power. Even a basic CPI rise in the price of power in the Northern Territory over the last 18 months would have meant an increase of $9.85 per quarter in the average domestic power bill - so what is that? About $40 per annum - and an increase of $10.59 per quarter in the average power bill for businesses, which is in the same order.
I believe that we have stuck by our election commitments. Certainly, domestic power has not increased, and there has been a saving to households in the Northern Territory. Also in business, because there has not been a rise, there has been a saving to business. In South Australia, they had a 7.64% rise, so those rises I quoted before would have been even greater. There are real savings being delivered to Territory households and business by this government.
However, I hope members opposite know what I am coming to here; that I am aware of claims made by some opposite alleging that power prices have risen under this government. I can assure the House that these allegations have no foundation in truth - they are fabrications. It is interesting, because the very person who has made these allegations, the member for Greatorex, almost in the same breath alleged that cane toads were the result of Labor coming to power. The public should be very careful of any utterance made by the member for Greatorex.
I would like to read what he said to Fred McCue on Friday, 31 January 2003:
- Since they have been in government, power prices have gone through the roof. This is what this government is doing, taxing Territorians.
He comes at it again. Fred says:
- Power prices have gone through the roof?
Fred pays his own electricity bill, I wonder whether the member for Greatorex does, because Fred says:
- Power prices have gone through the roof?
The member for Greatorex:
- Well, the power prices have certainly gone up over the last 20 months.
No way, no way. Here are the domestic rates: Melbourne 14.56%, Sydney close to 10%, all the way down to the Northern Territory, and I have taken the liberty of drawing a green, big, fat zero there just to make the point. Here is the commercial tariff: yes, there have been some decreases in Canberra, but another big, fat zero in increases in the Northern Territory.
The public need to be very careful when they hear the member for Greatorex getting on the airwaves and making all sorts of extravagant claims, whether they be about cane toads or about increases in power prices. It just shows that here is an opposition that is desperate. They do not care about the truth, they just scrabble around, throw it up in the air and hope some of it sticks and some of its believable. So, if power prices have gone through the roof, that roof must be at ground level.
Disciplinary Action against Staff Member in the Office of the Chief Minister
Mr MALEY to CHIEF MINISTER
In late December last year, a senior member of your staff, Charlie Phillips, acting on your behalf, gave a pledge of $10 000 to a charity function, and then inadvertently failed to hang up the telephone receiver properly and went on to defame and personally insult a well respected Darwin business family. It was reported in the Northern Territory News, and I can table the particular article to remind you, since you were on holidays. Chief Minister, it has been nearly seven weeks since that event. Would you tell Territorians today what you have done to discipline Mr Phillips and, if you have done, or propose to do nothing, why you have condoned such outrageous conduct? I seek leave to tender that newspaper article.
Leave granted.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the issue of support of a community event was one we were proud to support, and we did. I believe, from all reports, it was an excellent community event in the Darwin River area, with hundreds of people attending. I was there next morning and there were still lots of people there, so obviously it was a good event.
Unfortunate things happen from time to time, and the ministerial officer involved wished it had not happened. He has had discussions subsequently to apologise, and that is where the matter ends. I am confident that that is it. The whole issue was really about $10 000 support; that was done. It was a good fundraiser and people had a good time. If the member for Goyder thinks an apology is not adequate, then I am sorry for him because, in these circumstances, as far as I am concerned, and as far as the parties are concerned, I accept an apology, and I am sure all parties did.
Restorative Justice Program – High School Trials
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Can the minister inform the House about the restorative justice program currently being trialled in a number of high schools in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is, indeed, a good question from the member for Arafura. It is a very important project for us. The restorative justice project, known as Real Justice NT, is a behaviour management tool for schools and part of this government’s broad-ranging crime prevention programs, coordinated by the Office of Crime Prevention who, I repeat, do an excellent job, despite the comments of the Leader of the Opposition the other day.
Real Justice NT targets students who have displayed disruptive and harmful behaviour such as bullying, and uses the conferencing approach to encourage them to take responsibility for their actions. Real Justice NT, in partnership with Relationships Australia, has been funded $100 000 through the NT Crime Prevention Grant Scheme, to deliver this program over three-and-a-half years from the present time.
Under the real justice project, conferences are held between the student concerned, his or her parents or guardians, other students who have been affected by the bullying or other behaviour, and their parents. Teachers who have been trained as restorative justice facilitators run the conferences, which aim to confront students with the consequences of their behaviour. The project is being run in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Palmerston High Schools. In Sanderson High School, the program is already in place, and additional funding is being provided to that school for ongoing professional development for staff to continue the program.
Restorative justice practices in schools have been recognised nationally and internationally as helping to keep schools and the wider community safer, with the practices to emphasise the importance of connecting behaviour with consequences; that is, demonstrating the impact of the person’s actions and their responsibilities to those around them. Restorative justice is not a soft option. The introduction of the pilot has been enthusiastically embraced and welcomed by the pilot schools and the school principals. I congratulate the principals and staff and all other people who have been involved in what looks to be a very promising initiative.
Swimming Pool Fence Registration Fees Revenue
Mr MALEY to CHIEF MINISTER
Since you slugged pool and spa owners with the introduction of your new pool tax in the form of an inspection fee, how much revenue have you raised from pool and spa owners in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Firstly, questions to do with pools should go to the relevant minister. I do not know whether the member for Goyder actually understands that. I am very happy to tackle any issue, but I am just saying that that is appropriate.
Let us look at the credibility of the member for Goyder, who has been in the media saying: ‘Oh, shock horror, there is an inspection fee’. Those sums currently exist, whether you live in Palmerston or Darwin. They exist, and for new pools, yes, there is a fee, there has always been a fee. However, to register existing pools there is no fee - no fee at all. We have to get that through the member for Goyder’s head, because no matter how many times we say it - the fact that he heard it in debate for hours in here, and it was said again and again - all you can imagine is that he is not very bright or he is just trying to make mischief. Now, I hope that it really is the first one, because I would hate to think that a member of this parliament is actually setting about to make mischief.
I cannot give you the answer to that question. I can take it on notice if it is dear to your heart. However, let me say that the new swimming pool legislation finally is something that brings us into line with the rest of Australia, and what it is all about is protecting our young Territorians. It is giving parents a little more chance to make sure that we do not have those horrific events that have shocked us all when it has happened - that you have a toddler who drowns in a pool in the Territory. We want to make it stop.
This legislation for pool fencing brings us into line with the rest of Australia. Let me say, very clearly, that those on this side of the House are very proud of that legislation - very, very proud. It is a real shame that the attitude from the other side of the House simply shows that they have not learnt and they are not going to change. They are still doing the same old posturing and rhetoric of the past.
Youth Initiatives – Nightcliff/Millner Area
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for HEALTH and COMMUNITY SERVICES
Can the minister provide the House with an update on youth initiatives for the Nightcliff/Millner area?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, an excellent question from the member for Millner, and one which I know that he has a real interest in as, indeed, do I as the member for Nightcliff. One of our election commitments related to the development of youth activities for the Nightcliff and Millner area. This is part of the government’s focus on activities for young people, an area which, sadly, has been severely neglected in the past. We have already put money into family and children’s services and into looking at children with problems, particularly in the Darwin area, with the Youth Night Patrol. We are working with the Department of Justice on youth diversionary programs in Borroloola. We are also working with the Alice in 10 Quality of Life project on a child and youth safety strategy for Alice Springs. Once again, we demonstrate we are governing for all Territorians, not just a few.
The commitment in the Nightcliff area is for kids aged 10 to 15, and is aimed at keeping kids occupied, particularly keeping them off the streets after school. It is a trial which covers Nightcliff, Rapid Creek, Millner and Coconut Grove, and after the first year of the trial, will be extended to other parts of Darwin.
Community consultations occurred with the aim to develop a service model that will provide access for as many young people as possible, to be flexible and to respond to a variety of needs, and to promote parent and family participation. The program has been called E-Cruz or Energy Cruz, and there is a fantastic new bus which is travelling around the area picking up kids from different schools. This name was actually chosen by the young people themselves. The program is being managed by the Red Cross and has been planned with input from young people, their parents, schools and local businesses. When the consultations took place last year, it was a proud moment that every school in the area actually had all students in the age group submit a survey form relating to this. The participation was fantastic, and a real credit to the people of this area.
The E-Cruz will involve a variety of activities for young people including drama, bowling, beach volleyball and self defence classes; all positive things for young people. The Red Cross has sent a newsletter to all residents in the area and the program has already started earlier this month. Once again, another positive initiative from the government, which will continue to improve our Territory lifestyle.
Tiwi Islands Local Government Council
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LOCAL GOVERNMENT
When will you report to the Assembly on the review of the amalgamation of local government councils on the Tiwi Islands, so that it can be thoroughly scrutinised and debated in the Assembly before any permanent action is taken by your government? Will you give a complete financial report by an independent auditor to this House on how much the amalgamation has so far cost to implement; how much it costs to run the amalgamated council in its present format; and a comparison of how this compares with the cost of running the councils previous to amalgamation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I gave updates on the Tiwi Islands local government council amalgamation in the past, since I have had the portfolio. A review has just been conducted, but I go back a few months, just to let you know where things are at. We have to go back to when the former government introduced the Tiwi Islands Local Government Council, and that particular legislation that went with it to formulate it. That in itself was not too bad. I have said in the past that the problem came about in that the structures and mechanisms were not in place properly, and it was one big unholy rush to get it up and running; and that it is a great idea.
When I inherited it, I worked with the department and the people concerned on the Tiwi Islands, to ensure that we got it back on the rails. There were lots of problems with it in respect of the consultation not being done properly. There were concerns about order numbers and books, and having all the accounts being moved into a central position at the Nguiu Council. John Cleary has done a pretty good job since he has been up here as the new CEO of the Tiwi Islands Local Government Council.
We have been able to reach a situation now with the review that I announced last year, where they reported back to me last week. The review team consisted of Trish Angus, a senior indigenous person in the department; ATSIC Commissioner Kim Hill; Tony Tapsell, the CEO of LGANT; and Maurice Rioli, the former member for Arafura. They worked very hard in consulting all people concerned on the Tiwi Islands and there were ads in papers. They have undertaken that review; there are recommendations. I need to have a look through that. I will come back to the House and report on the recommendations.
In regards to the audited statements, if the member wants to wait until the next report of the auditor when that becomes available at the end of the current financial year, I would encourage him to make an appointment to have a chat with me and we can look at the accounts if he so desires.
I do not quite know, at this stage, where the member is coming from. Yes, it should be here for debate, and it should be subject to public scrutiny. That is fine, I can accept that. I want to go back - and I am trying to do that in March - to talk to the Tiwi Island people who have been involved and consulted on the Tiwi Islands Local Government Council with those recommendations, and to talk through some of the recommendations and problems that they have addressed to ensure that they are happy with the way we continue to move forward.
I do not think there is a wish or a desire by a majority of the Tiwi people to go back to what they had in the past and to revisit that, and to end up with the problems that were associated with that. Tiwi people are distinct; they are one people. They are very fine people. They are now starting to understand the concept of the local government council, and they are starting to embrace that. They want to move forward, with us working with them, to ensure that, as a region, they will develop into a very strong region that will be able to provide plans for their future, and to talk to government about service delivery.
Swimming Pool Fence Inspectors
Mr MALEY to CHIEF MINISTER
How many pool police currently operate in the Northern Territory …
Members interjecting.
Mr MALEY: I will say that again over the interjections, Madam Speaker. Chief Minister, how many pool police currently operate in the Northern Territory under your new pool legislation? Have they, as yet, exercised any of the powers you gave them to enter private dwellings without a warrant?
ANSWER
The first point, Madam Speaker, is that there are no pool police. The member for Goyder knows that very well. As in my answer to the previous question, we have a member in here who is setting about to create mischief. When you look at the context of how he is trying to create mischief, this is about saving kids lives. All we have from the member for Goyder is an attempt to play mischief and cheap politics about this very important issue, and so we have emotive phrases such as ‘pool police’ being used.
We have pool inspectors; we have 12 of them. We have very clearly defined mechanisms within the act about when they can enter a home and when they cannot; and those are being followed. So I say to the member for Goyder: stop playing mischief with this important issue. Stop being emotive because, remember, the bottom line is about saving our kids lives. I am not ashamed of being a bit emotional about that, because saving our kids lives should be the highest priority for this government and this parliament and, I hope, the opposition.
We have 12 pool inspectors and they follow the requirements of legislation when they are going about their jobs. They are very important jobs.
Remote Area Living Conditions for Public Sector Workers
Mr McADAM to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
Can the minister inform the House what the Martin government is doing to improve living conditions for public sector workers in remote areas, and improving their access to skills development?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly, because he represents, like me, an electorate that has workers in this category. Both of us, over the years, probably recognise that a lot of these workers in these areas of the public sector have not had the best of look-ins in professional development and time for training. However, we do value the work. There are around 1700 of these public sector employees based in remote and rural areas of the Territory. We want to recognise the critical, and often very difficult role, that they play in these communities.
I recently announced an extra $1.3m a year, from next year, allocated to new initiatives aimed at bringing up their living and working conditions. To be introduced from next financial year, around $1m is to improve remote area employees’ access to skills development opportunities. Most of us in those regions would recognise that for many of the AO2, AO3s in those base level, lower level public service positions across the bush areas, they never get the opportunity for professional development. They never get the opportunity to train in order to have a chance at the next job up above them and promotion.
We are also enhancing the freight allowance system, allowing staff to freight in up to 25% more groceries, and simplifying what is a little bureaucratic over-burdensome reimbursement system there. It, in fact, drove them mad in order to claim that money back. So, we are not only increasing it, but we are going to make it a much more simple process in order for them to get their money.
We are increasing accommodation allowances by 20%. This is for those employees travelling to town for exactly those skill development training opportunities that I was talking about. That is the first time that that assistance will have been increased since 1993, so it will be 10 years.
We will be reviewing the current classification system for determining which areas are defined as remote localities. To allow the increased freight and accommodation allowances to be introduced immediately and, of course, ongoing through next year, the government has provided an extra $158 000 this financial year to get that up and running straight away.
Improving conditions for staff not only, of course, helps the public service in what it does in delivering services, but it will make the Northern Territory public sector a more attractive employer for workers, and it will help to attract and retain good quality staff in these remote communities.
These initiatives are as a result of a review of the Northern Territory Public Sector Remote Locality Working Conditions, undertaken by representatives of different government agencies and the unions. During the course of that review, 41 separate workplaces throughout the Northern Territory were visited, and I want to thank everyone who participated in that review, who contributed and provided submissions.
A CEO’s committee, chaired by the Commissioner for Public Employment, will now be established to determine how that additional $1m for skills development will be used most effectively. It is a big number and we have to ensure value for dollar, and by bringing the CEOs together - and they know what their work forces are out in these remote and rural localities - they ought to be able to determine where that money is going to be best spent for best dollar value.
As I said, we want to ensure those employees previously unable to access that development training are given the opportunity to get into those courses outside the community that they live and work in. We will have to make sure that there is relief staff and other resources available for them to do that. However, if we are going to improve outcomes for remote communities, if we are going to improve outcomes in service delivery from government, it is critical that we strengthen our employees out there, and we strengthen the links between improved remote service delivery and workforce development itself.
ABS Figures - Territory Kids in Schools
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
According to the ABS figures released today, the total number of Territory kids in schools fell from 36 966 in 2001 to 36 674 in 2002, which is a drop of 292 students. This includes a drop in the number of indigenous students in both primary and secondary schools. Minister, is this a further concrete sign that our population is in decline since your government came to power?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it would be a brave call to draw a comparison between the indigenous figures in schools and what the state of the level of the population might be at any one stage. If the member for Blain was able to visit, as I have done over many years, Aboriginal communities - and much more recently as the Minister for Education. I do not know that you can actually always put a lot of store on what you see when you turn up there as the minister, because there is a long lead time. They know you are coming, and you get the absolute best picture on a location when you arrive there as the minister.
In my own electorate, in years past, I have seen more teachers in some of these Aboriginal schools than I have students. I have seen more students between the airport and the community council office or the school, than I saw within the school itself. So I would be very, very careful about drawing any analogy between what is happening with the Territory population based on what is going on in our rural schools.
This question of population has certainly been an issue since the ABS put their hand up last week. I was interested to see the head of ABS, as I thought she was bound to do, write a letter to the editor published in the NT News, saying very clearly how long they have been doing their job, and they stand by their findings. Nonetheless, from my personal experience and evidence I have - both anecdotal and on the ground in my electorate over the years - that said that the census had been taken out, it is a very, very problematic question. The more rural and the more remote the locality and the community that the census is carried out in, the less reliable the figures.
ABS themselves talk about the difficulties that they have in these remote localities. There is a long way to go on this question of population, but I would be very careful of drawing analogies, which the member for Blain seems to be doing.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that further questions be placed on the Question Paper.
SUPPLEMENTARY ANSWER
Disciplinary Action against Staff Member in the Office of the Chief Minister
Disciplinary Action against Staff Member in the Office of the Chief Minister
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I want to clarify one of the answers I gave to the member for Goyder about the question of one of my senior ministerial advisers and his conversation with someone who, I believe, is one of your constituents? Is he one of your constituents?
Mr Maley: Has a business and is actually one of your constituents, Clare.
Ms MARTIN: A business person, okay. Just to clarify, so we get this absolutely right. The senior ministerial officer involved rang the business person and offered to meet with him. The business person declined. So, when I said that there was an apology, there was not an apology because the offer was made to meet and the business person declined.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016