2003-10-08
Member for Sanderson - Inappropriate Comments on Electricity Outages
Mr DUNHAM to CHIEF MINISTER
The member for Sanderson, Mr Len Kiely, has now identified himself as the mystery government MP hiding behind the blackout joke. His belated confession only comes after being confronted with media evidence on tape. Have you counselled the member for Sanderson for his insensitive jibe to Territorians to open their windows if the power goes off, and why did your office try to conceal his identity?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we have the man with the conspiracy theories. When we consider the pressure cooker of Question Time, sometimes comments are made that are not appropriate. I do not think there would be anyone who honestly can sit in here and say they have not at one stage – maybe the new member for Katherine has not yet, but all the rest of us have made comments that we wish we had not made. The member for Sanderson has been very clear, and has apologised.
We take power blackouts very seriously. We have put more funds into repairs and maintenance for our power system to ensure that we can minimise blackouts and the inconvenience, particularly at this time of year when it is hot and it is very difficult if the power does go out.
Let us not pretend that no one in here has not made a comment that they wish they had not made. I am sure the member for Sanderson has made a very effective apology for what he said in here. As far as I am concerned, that is the end of the matter.
Development of Export Opportunities
Ms LAWRIE to MINISTER for ASIAN RELATIONS and TRADE
Could you please inform the House of what the government is doing to help Territory businesses develop export opportunities?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for her question. It is a very timely question given that my colleague, the minister for information technology, recently hosted possibly the largest single delegation ever of Territory business people overseas, which was the first significant delegation to attend the IT Expo in Singapore last week. We had a great report from my colleague earlier this morning.
This is built on the back of our government’s international trade strategy, Building Stronger Territory Trade, which I launched last year. Again, as I have said, one of the great surprises of coming to government and assuming ministerial office is that you expect a body of work to be up and running, and the bureaucracy and the public service working in a strategic and targeted way. It really was quite a surprise to come to government and find that there was no definitive trade strategy with specific performance objectives and targets actually committed to in the old Department of Asian Relations and Trade.
The first thing we did was develop a strategy. The key target that we have identified in that strategy is to increase the number of Territory companies that are exporting by 25% by 2007, and also increase the volume and value of non-mineral, oil and gas-related trade by 40% over that same period. We have set some key targets, and that was done in partnership with the business community.
To support that strategy, in the budget this year, we released the new Trade Support Scheme, with $330 000 available for businesses in the Northern Territory to help them build their export opportunities into the region. That will grow to $500 000 over the next couple of years. This is a marked increase on the $80 000, which was the trade support scheme the previous government had, which was known as the Export Market Assistance Scheme. Therefore, a real and significant boost, not only in having a strategy to target, but real money to assist Territory business to actually develop marketing and export plans and get them into the region - a real and significant increase.
This scheme is open to all business in the Territory - regional and indigenous businesses. Grants are available in the range of $7500 to $50 000 - almost the entire scheme as it was under the previous government - and they are available on a dollar-for-dollar basis. To the end of September, 32 applications seeking a total of $220 000 in financial assistance have been received. The applications fall in a range of industries, including ICT, tourism, mining equipment, fresh produce, livestock and automobile parts. Five of those 32 applications have been approved to date, with a government commitment of $31 000 in grants. From their respective applications, these five companies estimate that their expected export outcomes over the next six months will be in excess of $1.5m; and that is just five out of the 32.
I have examples of a couple of applications that have been granted. One was to a company with a CEO that we would all know, James Taylor, a Director of Aerosail. Mr Taylor is currently negotiating for a contract worth more than $110 000 following a trade trip to Hawaii. Mr Taylor said he received a fast decision on his request for financial assistance under the new scheme, giving him greater certainty in committing his company to direct export marketing costs.
Another person - certainly known to many members on this side of the House, particularly my colleague, the member for Barkly - Mr Damien Loizou, Director of Earth Dreaming Aboriginal Corporation established at Ali Curung. Who would have thought that Ali Curung would be exporting, but they certainly are. Damien’s company produces a range of swim and sportswear featuring traditional Aboriginal Dreamtime stories. Following a marketing visit to France and Holland, his company is now negotiating sales contracts in excess of $50 000. From Ali Curung to the boutique shops in Paris, we are on a roll.
This trade scheme is really helping Territory exporters from Ali Curung to Darwin, everywhere between and down to Alice Springs. I am confident, as interest grows and business becomes more familiar with the export support under this scheme, that strong application will continue.
I particularly commend officers in my department who are working very hard and proactively with these companies. I met one of the officers on the plane to Alice Springs the other day. He is down there once every two to three weeks, working with companies in Alice Springs to get them up and running. Those officers in the department are doing a great job. There is $330 000 available this year, compared to only $80 000 under our predecessors.
Child Protection Unit - Review
Ms CARTER to MINISTER for HEALTH and COMMUNITY SERVICES
Minister, you recently announced that you are going to do a review of the Child Protection Unit that sits within your department. Given the important nature of the things that unit looks at, such as child abuse, why are you not going to make that report public?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am a bit curious about this question. I have never indicated that the report would not be public. In fact, I am very happy to make that report public. There is no report at this stage, of course; the work started about two months ago. When these reports are finalised, I would be very happy to provide them to the House, and also provide a personal briefing to the member for Port Darwin.
Postcards from the Outback Series
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for TOURISM
I understand that Channel Nine is producing a local series of Postcards from the Outback. Could the minister please advise what involvement the Northern Territory Tourist Commission has in this project and what benefits will flow to the tourism industry?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. I am pleased to confirm that filming for a locally produced series of Postcards has commenced, and it is estimated that this series will be launched in March or April 2004. Channel Nine is the copyright owner of the Postcards concept, and it has been very successful in other states, giving people a range of things to see and do.
The Tourist Commission is supporting this new inter-Territory series, to be known as Postcards from the Outback, by making a cash contribution of $72 000, with further in-kind support. The series will involve six half-hour programs, shot in various locations across the Territory, showcasing Territory tourism product to consumers. The series will be broadcast in prime time, and it is anticipated that our interstate new ads - the croc and camel ads - will be shown during some of the program breaks.
Channel Nine is investing significantly in this project, and has purchased two new cameras and upgraded its Darwin editing suite especially for this series. This will support other TV development in the Northern Territory.
The Tourist Commission is working with Channel Nine to secure agreements from interstate stations to broadcast Postcards from the Outback this series, although this will obviously be a commercial decision. However, given the incredible beauty of the Northern Territory, the diversity of tourism product, the wonderful people here and the interest in the Northern Territory, I am sure that there will be a lot of interest interstate in this particular series.
It is great news for the tourism industry. It is a proven concept interstate that has been highly successful. The target audience for the series matches the target audiences of the Territory tourism industry. It will not only stimulate intra-territory tourism but, if the series is broadcast interstate - which I am sure all of us hope that it is - it will be a great opportunity to showcase the Northern Territory and tourism. It is another example of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission working very actively to leverage support in the private sector and to showcase the Territory.
Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Children
Ms CARTER to MINISTER for HEALTH and COMMUNITY SERVICES
Is it not true that there has been a 59% increase in the cases of sexually transmitted infections in children reported between 2001 and 2002 to your department while you have been minister?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I do not have those figures in the House today. I am happy to get that information back on notice. HIV, AIDS and STDs has been identified as one of the areas of priority. As you recall, earlier in the year, when we announced the Bansemer Review, that was one of the priority areas for the government. The high levels of STDs in the Northern Territory is a significant concern and something which the government is working towards.
In relation to the specific question you have asked me, I do not have those figures here. I will be happy to bring the answer on notice.
Labour Market Training Analysis
Mr KIELY to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
The government has invested a considerable amount of money on training for Territorians. Can the minister please inform the House whether a labour market analysis has ever been prepared to assist government in directing where its training dollars should be spent?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. Sadly, until recently the answer to that question was: ‘No’. There was never a fully-fledged labour market analysis undertaken in the Northern Territory. The sting in that is that, prior to 2001, we had a government that spent many millions of dollars every year on training, without any strategic view of what the emerging needs in the workplace and the work force across the Territory would be. Money was going out on virtually ad hoc information. There was no strategic working of what the key drivers of the economy would be, the emerging industries into the future, what the skills shortage should be, and what training should be being put in place.
That haphazard and ad hoc approach, we saw time after time in here, and it reflected right across economic activity in the Northern Territory for the boom and bust cyclical activity that we had. When private investment waned, we saw, through the 1990s, the Territory propped and significantly underpinned by Commonwealth Defence expenditure. It was a great thing but, as soon as that finished, we went down the slippery slide very quickly. That just about gutted the construction industry, because there was no counter-cyclical mechanism and no recognition by our predecessors that they had to act in a forthright way to try to level out those booms and busts. It was made virtually impossible for them because of the huge levels of debt and the current deficits that they ran. They had no scope to bounce back and do what governments do; that is, try to level out the level of activity.
Of course, the other sad point about this was that it meant, when major projects were on, people came in from interstate. I remember an answer in Question Time and a statement being made by one of the members of the time, saying: ‘Yes, of course, people will come in from interstate and some of them will stay’. That was the approach taken. It denied the proper training and skills delivery that should have been going to our young local people who would be there to take on jobs in the future.
We have changed that. We have spent considerable dollars to get a focus on what skills are needed in the work force into the future. However, we needed to develop a comprehensive labour market analysis to get to that point. We will be releasing that in the near future. It will contain quite broad information, sourced through local Territory, Commonwealth government agencies, industry research and community knowledge. It will be supplemented in an ongoing fashion by a series of studies into community specific and industry specific needs on labour force issues. It will be the first time in the history of the Territory that we have been able to draw all of this information together.
The significance is that it will guide the Department of Employment, Education and Training on which way the government funds and develops training programs into the future. We know, under the old Northern Territory Employment and Training Authority that they never utilised, understood the term ‘employment’, and acted on it. We do. We deliberately created a Department of Employment, Education and Training to pick up what we saw was a vital missing link.
We will direct money to training in a strategic manner that will strengthen the future work force, and deliver skills, job training and job readiness to our young people. That work force report will be released in the near future. It will transform employment and training planning into the future in the Northern Territory.
Incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Children
Ms CARTER to MINISTER for HEALTH and COMMUNITY SERVICES
You have just said that you cannot give the statistics and the figures with regard to sexually transmitted infections for children aged zero to 15 years. Yet, a month or so ago on radio, you were quite happy to say that Charlie King and I were wrong when we talked about the statistics that we were using. I put it to you that these statistics are freely available from your department, the Northern Territory government, and the library at Royal Darwin Hospital, which is where I got them from …
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Questions should be sharp and to the point. This is like a statement. I urge the honourable member to get on with the question.
Madam SPEAKER: We do not need to have great statements for questions. We really need to hear the question, member for Port Darwin.
Ms CARTER: From documents like this, you can draw up graphs like this - and I am happy to table them - that demonstrate the 59% increase in sexually transmitted infections in children. It is an important issue, it should be pursued. Minister, why cannot you acknowledge this situation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. She has obviously misunderstood what I said in the previous question which was, in fact …
Mrs Carter: You told me I was wrong on radio a month ago.
Madam SPEAKER: The minister has the floor.
Mrs AAGAARD: Madam Speaker, what I said was that I do not have the statistics here in the House, and that I am very happy to bring them here. I do not have them at this stage. When I do, I am happy to provide them to the House. I should not take whatever the member for Port Darwin says as fact.
Members interjecting.
Ms Carter: I am happy to table them, Madam Speaker.
Mrs AAGAARD: Certainly, there have been a series of claims which the member for Port Darwin has raised in this House which have clearly been very spurious …
Ms Carter: I am happy to table the information.
Madam SPEAKER: You have to seek leave to do that, but let us give the minister …
Mrs Carter: I seek leave, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: The minister is on the floor; she is speaking. She is answering your question.
Mr Dunham: Oh, no, she is not!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Drysdale, do not contradict me. The minister is on the floor answering her question. Give her a chance.
Mrs AAGAARD: Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I said, I am quite happy to bring these statistics to the House. Not surprisingly, I do not carry this kind of information with me when I am in the House. I cannot bring every single issue, statistic and table that covers the entire department. This is a very large portfolio with a large number of different kinds of things that we capture in statistics. As I said, I am very happy to bring this to the House.
I have also indicated - and it is fairly clear - that, in fact, we do have very high rates of STDs. I have already indicated that, as a government, we have acknowledged that the area of HIV, AIDS, STDs, is a priority which was also recognised in the Bansemer Review.
We are also putting extra funding into this area over the next three years, indicating that obviously this government recognises that there is a problem in STDs, AIDS and HIV …
Members interjecting.
Mrs AAGAARD: Madam Speaker, the member for Port Darwin is simply making up figures here. This is a priority for government …
Ms CARTER: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Resume your seat, the minister is answering the question. You have no right to stand and call point of order.
Mrs AAGAARD: Madam Speaker, I will be happy to bring back those facts to the House.
Employment Opportunities – LNG Plant
Mr WOOD to TREASURER
Recently I was approached by a carpenter, a local constituent, who could not get a job with Bechtel at the LNG plant. I also refer to a letter in the NT News of 3 October from a Dianne Marshall with the headline, ‘Tradies miss out on jobs.’ In your press release of 11 September headed, ‘Wickham Point jobs yet to show up in labour force figures’, you state:
- All of these projects will mean more jobs for Territorians and a better economic climate for business.
Could you please say how many NT tradesmen are being employed by Bechtel on the LNG plant and how many are from interstate?
Mr Dunham: The only jobs are making stickers for their computers, Gerry.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! Member for Drysdale, you know you are not to refer to members by their name and you know the question has been asked. Keep it up, you are on a warning.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. I also saw that letter in the NT News and there have been a couple of others similar to it, or around that vein, where local people have said: ‘What’s going on? We have put our name in. We are one of the 1500 people in the pool. We have not heard back, but know people who have got jobs. Why not me?’ Well, those sorts of situations, I guess, are always going to arise for one reason or another. I cannot simply state, on the floor - and would not know - the reasons why a particular individual gained employment and another one who applied around about the same time did not, with the same levels of experience, same skills and background and all of those sorts of things. It is very much a question for the employer.
I can advise the member for Nelson, in relation to the progress of Bechtel as of earlier this week, there were between 200 or 220 jobs all up in every aspect of the project with Bechtel. Of that overall number - and this includes project management right down to on-site - 65% of those have been recruited locally. That is not a bad outcome at this stage of the project. If you take a project of the magnitude that this LNG plant is, the moving nature of it and site preparation through foundations to construction stage, then different stages, different skills, different mixes are required on-site at any one time. In fact, if you take the number just on-site, and all the office people, the project management, and the senior levels out of it, that NT figure jumps to around 73%, so that is even higher.
We would expect that that figure will reduce over time as the highly skilled operatives, particularly in the metal trades areas, come in from interstate. The Northern Territory simply does not have the mix of skills in the numbers present that are going to be required to see this job through. We will see that fly-in effect from leaving other projects and coming to work on this project through to its completion. So you would not expect what is a terrific figure - 73% of all workers on site earlier this week - recruited from the Territory. We would not expect that to stand up over time, but it is a good result at this stage of the project.
Don Dale Juvenile Detention Facility
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for JUSTICE and ATTORNEY-GENERAL
What plans does the government have for the Don Dale Juvenile Detention facility?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, my thanks to the member for the question. The Northern Territory Correctional Services has three juvenile detention centres operating in the Northern Territory: the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre, which is the principal facility; the Wildman River Wilderness Work Camp; and the Alice Springs Juvenile Holding Facility.
The Don Dale Centre, adjacent to Berrimah Prison, has a design capacity for 24 detainees of both genders, with a total capacity of 40 detainees. The Wildman River Wilderness Work Camp is used, as needed, as a work program component to the Don Dale Centre, and operates when numbers at Don Dale Centre become high, and when there are suitable inmates to go to the Wildman River facility.
Alice Springs Juvenile Holding Facility operates as a short-term secure holding centre. We are currently developing plans to extend the periods of time that juveniles can be held in Alice Springs - possibly for up to a month at a time, certainly for the remand period.
The Department of Justice has conducted a review of juvenile detention facilities, culminating in a commitment to develop a new medium security open environment facility adjacent to the existing Don Dale Centre. The Don Dale Centre will remain as the principle juvenile facility, and the new area will ensure that Don Dale Centre continues to operate to best practice.
The new open environment area will offer a range of programs currently on offer at the Wildman River Work Camp: horticulture, plant propagation and life skills amongst them. This will offer a greater number of detainees access to a broader range of programs, as many of the detainees are not eligible to be relocated to the camp. The focus will be on training and rehabilitation. In addition, the new area will increase the overall holding capacity of Don Dale Centre and offer future flexibility in juvenile detention accommodation, including separation of the prisoners on the basis of gender, security classification and whether remanded or sentenced. The area will also include a sports field, garden beds, a kitchen, workshop and an education centre, as well as airconditioned accommodation for an extra 16 low to medium security detainees. It is expected work will begin on the new area early next year and be completed by the middle of the year.
Future options are to be considered for the use of the Wildman River Work Camp - and I know the member for Nelson has an interest in this area - as the Correctional Services Rehab and Reintegration Facility, offering work programs such as horticulture to adult prisoners. Limited horticulture activity is currently available in Darwin Correctional Centre and, of course, Alice Springs Correctional Centre has a much wider range of horticultural programs.
At this point, I would like to deal with some comments that were made by the member for Araluen yesterday in the House. She came charging in here and announced with shock and horror, based on some information she had, that all the horticultural programs at Alice Springs had closed down. I can confirm to members that I went to the Alice Springs Gaol some two-and-a-half weeks ago, and I was up to armpits in, not only vegetables, but a very good looking flock of chooks that are producing all the eggs that are used in the prison kitchen. I can assure you that the crying wolf exercise here - the latest of the loose-with-the-detail - has gone, yet again, seriously wrong. I do not think you can believe a thing that the member for Araluen says, either in this House or outside it. I would suggest to her that she should get her facts straight before she starts opening her mouth.
Plagiarism Policies – NT Educational Institutions
Mr MILLS to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
The NTU policy on plagiarism refers to the unacknowledged use of material written by others and includes the use of material from any book, journal, article or previous essay, and leads to automatic fail and disciplinary action by the university. With Year 12 exams soon to commence, what is the Education Department’s policy on plagiarism, and do you agree that the practice is reprehensible?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, from time to time, these matters do arise in universities. I believe it was as recent as - no, that was a research question on Four Corners. Certainly, earlier this year there was an interstate university - I cannot recall which one - where there was a serious case of plagiarism being dealt with by the senior management of the university. Of course, it is something that all educational authorities take very seriously, including the Department of Education in the Northern Territory.
Whilst I am not able to spell out the exact outcome of a clear case of cheating, if you like, or plagiarism in sitting for finals, I am sure that the penalty would fit the crime in that sense if a case were so proven. It is a simple matter of someone upstairs just checking what the department’s procedural lines are, and the outcomes of a proven offence at a senior level examination. I would be happy to give the member an answer later in Question Time.
School Attendance Officers
Ms LAWRIE to MINISTER for EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION and TRAINING
Could you please update the House on the progress of implementing Labor’s promise to employ attendance officers within our education system?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is a delight to speak about this commitment we made prior to the election now that it is occurring, because the employment so far of these attendance officers is having a marked effect out there in the system, with more children now going to school and being engaged for the first time, and numbers being re-engaged with the education system. I advised the House last session of the incredible work of the two officers in place at the moment, both at Palmerston and Alice Springs. Despite having started just as recently as Term 2, both have had an impact on the number of students back in our schools.
I had the pleasure of meeting with the Alice Springs Attendance Officer, Anita Kruger, an outstanding young indigenous woman. To date, she has engaged 99 students back into the education system. She is working closely with the Aboriginal Islander Education Workers and the Home Liaison Officers in those schools in which those students have enrolled, to keep them there. We have to ensure that, once we have them back in the system, they do establish a consistent attendance pattern. I can say that we have 99 more students in the system in Alice Springs that we simply would not have had without the efforts of one Anita Kruger.
At the start of Term 4, Monday this week, we have appointed another attendance officer, this time for Sanderson High. It is still being finalised through the system, so I am unable to advise the House of that person’s name. They will be there within a week or two. Other advertising is under way - for the member for Katherine - for an Attendance Officer in Katherine. In my meetings with teachers, they are looking forward to that. They see a number of young people in and around the streets of Katherine. When you see them: ‘Why aren’t they at school?’ is the first question. Well, the Attendance Officer will be doing more than simply asking the question of why they are not at school. They will be engaging with the families and with these young people to see them back in school. It is a position badly needed in Katherine.
A fifth position is to be advertised soon for Wadeye which, again, has about 800 school-aged students. A little over half of that number are enrolled, but a number less than that again are attending that school. We will be working with Catholic Education there to look at what that will mean in terms of resources because, if we get them all coming in to school, we simply would not be able to cope straight away. It does suggest there is an enormous amount of work to be done.
That decision with Wadeye, in particular, is consistent with the whole-of-government approach that we are taking, and in line with our efforts across the board to engage and re-engage, particularly indigenous students in the communities, with the education system. However, not exclusively so, Sanderson and those urban ones will be working with all kids.
Three further positions have now been brought on line for Attendance Officers: one in Nhulunbuy, one in Tennant Creek, and there will be an eighth position location to be determined. We originally had those positions staggered to come on over a period of time. I have asked the department to fast-track that, to have the whole eight in place by day one of Term 1 next year.
I am proud of the efforts so far. I have seen the results already. We have some sorting out to do in relation to the role of the Attendance Officer and who gets the student back into the school - the role of the AROs, the AIEWs, the Home Liaison Officers, where they exist - because you cannot expect the Attendance Officer, once they have them into school and done that initial engagement with the family, to continue to be the primary source of contact between those other agencies that might be needed to assist with families with dysfunctional factors around them. We do need a bit of a sorting out operation here in relation to duties, roles and responsibilities between all of these different people who are employed in one capacity or another in these schools. I am pleased with the early work undertaken. I will be pleased to see the whole eight of these attendance officers in place by day one, first term next year.
Plagiarism – Chief Minister’s Personal View
Mr ELFERINK to CHIEF MINISTER
Having heard the minister for Education’s comments regarding the issue of plagiarism and, as a former journalist yourself, what is your personal opinion of this particular black art?
Madam SPEAKER: Would you please rephrase that question?
Mr ELFERINK: Having heard the comments from the minister for Education, being a former journalist yourself, what is your personal opinion of the black art of plagiarism?
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Question Time is an opportunity for members opposite to ask questions of ministers on portfolio areas, not personal opinions on some hypothetical subject. I would ask you to rule the question out of order.
Ms Martin: I could not even hear what it was.
Madam SPEAKER: If you do look at standing orders …
Mr ELFERINK: I will rephrase the question, if you like, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Okay. That is what I asked you to do.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Speaker, arising out of matters that were raised in this House yesterday, Chief Minister , you have heard the comments by the minister for Education in relation to plagiarism. As a …
Ms Martin: What matters are you talking about?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, listen to the question.
Mr ELFERINK: What is your personal opinion on the issue of plagiarism?
Madam SPEAKER: You cannot ask for a personal opinion, and expression of opinion.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Learn your standing orders.
Madam SPEAKER: Just ask your question simply. I know what you are getting at, but just say it - ask it.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Speaker, what I would like to hear from the Chief Minister is the government’s position on the issue of plagiarism.
Mr HENDERSON: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The opportunity is for members to ask ministers questions about their portfolios and areas of government responsibility. The question of plagiarism, in its broadest sense, is not a portfolio issue for any of the members of this government. It does not relate to any department.
Madam SPEAKER: As the Chief Minister and leader of government, the Chief Minister could answer this question.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to reiterate what the Education minister said, because he received a question from the shadow spokesperson for Education about plagiarism in an educational context. However, the question from the member for Macdonnell initially made no sense at all, and we are struggling to find out what, in fact, he is trying to achieve by this question.
If this is part of some strategy from the opposition, it is a very dense strategy, to put it kindly. Let us put on the table what the opposition wants to achieve through this questioning, which is absolutely quite fair to raise. It is the issue of the statement on horticulture last night by the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries in the parliament. That is the plan that is happening here. I am happy to stand up and talk about it. You do not have to obfuscate. You do not have to create questions that do not mean anything. What we can do is talk about the issue.
What we had yesterday afternoon in the parliament was a situation that, in a very important statement to the parliament on horticulture - one of our important industries that this government is determined to grow; there are great opportunities across the Territory - there were parts in the statement that were similar to a statement given three years ago. The figures were updated, but there were parts that were similar. That is unfortunate. I will give an assurance to the House that it will never happen again; the steps have been taken.
That is the end of the matter. The figures were updated, the statement was presenting where horticulture is going. The fact that some small parts were similar to a previous statement is not acceptable. We have dealt with it and it will not happen again. As far as I am concerned, that is the end of that.
Is that what this sequence of questions is about? I have confronted it because I do not obfuscate; I deal with issues. I have dealt with it; this government has dealt with it. It will not happen again.
Animal Control in Rural Area
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
Minister, 1000 people in the rural area have shown opposition to your government’s silly and over-bureaucratic rules on the keeping of horses, cows, buffaloes, donkeys - not chooks - and other beasts of burden in the rural area. Bearing in mind that there are adequate controls already – there is the Health Act, land clearing regulations, Water Act, Cruelty Act and the existing planning controls – will the minister tell rural people that the rules for keeping animals will stay as they are, or is he going to support his department’s new rules, which could mean that when horses have a foal, rural residents will have to put in a development application because they have more than the approved number of horses on their block?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question and for the petition presented by the member this morning. We will provide an answer within 12 sitting days as required. However, as I said before, what is before the people now is a proposal, it is not a definite. We are going through a process, and the member knows very well how these things are addressed, and how things are processed through the Development Consent Authority - they go out for public comments. I extended the period for public comments. We have now received hundreds of submissions. The Development Consent Authority will consider submissions and will provide their report to me. I have publicly stated before that this government will consider the public opinion. We are not going to implement what bureaucrats, or any bureaucrat, wants. What we want to do is consider public opinion because, after all, these are the people who have to live with these changes. Not me, not the bureaucrats, nor any other member here.
We are talking about the proposal; the same thing that happened when the CLP was in government. They went through the same process and sometimes even ignored the will of the people. This government will consider the will of the people and, in due course, you will find out that what we are going to put there will be what the people want, not what the bureaucrats want.
Palmerston Recreation Centre – Site Selection
Mr BONSON to MINISTER for LANDS and PLANNING
Madam Speaker, this is a question that the people of Palmerston and Darwin would really be interested in. Can the minister please inform the House on the progress in identifying the site for a proposed Palmerston recreation centre?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It is a very important question. I would like to advise the House that, a few hours ago I advised the Mayor of Palmerston, Mrs Annette Burke, that the government has agreed that part of the ‘Superblock’ will be used for the establishment of the Palmerston recreation centre. The ‘Superblock’, Lot 4734, is in the centre of the central business district and will provide a focal point for Palmerston. It is good news, particularly for young people, in Palmerston. That is a result of the partnership agreement signed by the Chief Minister and the Mayor of Palmerston.
It is very interesting to hear what the Leader of the Opposition, who has a very close relationship with the Mayor of Palmerston, did about the ‘Superblock’. The Mayor of Palmerston stated publicly in the media today that she first approached the government when Shane Stone was the Chief Minister. She wrote letter after letter for that Palmerston recreation centre, and the allocation of the ‘Superblock’. When Shane Stone was Chief Minister – nothing. When Denis Burke was Chief Minister – nothing. Now, when Clare Martin is Chief Minister – here is your recreation centre. We promised and we will deliver. That was the promise we gave to the people of Palmerston.
Nursing Board – Ministerial Appointment
Mr MALEY to MINISTER for HEALTH and COMMUNITY SERVICES
We have been informed that an independent interview panel made a recommendation to you to fill a vacancy on the nursing board. You rejected that recommendation and appointed an unsuccessful applicant, a person by the name of Lindsay Faulkner, a person well known to you. Minister, why did you override the recommendation of the independent interview panel and appoint a person who is known to you?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. This is a ministerial appointment and, as I recall in relation to this particular appointment, it was for a person who was a member of the clergy. In fact, I knew both of the applicants, and I am very happy with the person who has been chosen. I would have to say, as somebody who is well known throughout the churches in the Northern Territory, it is almost every single member of the clergy that I know.
Mr Maley: Was he recommended?
Mrs AAGAARD: Madam Speaker, both candidates were recommended to me.
Katherine Sporting Facilities
Ms SCRYMGOUR to MINISTER for SPORT and RECREATION
Development of regional sporting facilities is identified as a priority in the Katherine Regional Development Plan. Can the minister please advise the House on the government’s initiative in regards to the development of sporting facilities in Katherine?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question and her ongoing commitment to development of our regions. In June this year, I had the pleasure of approving a total grant of $150 000 over the next three years for upgrading of sporting facilities at the Katherine Showgrounds. This grant represents the maximum amount that can be approved for facility development grants with the government’s triennial funding program for sports grants. The showgrounds are used by the Katherine District Football League and a number of equestrian sports, as well as the Show Society.
In the same round of funding, I was also pleased to approve a facility grant of $16 000 for the Katherine Tennis Club. This year’s budget also included funding approval of $40 000 for resurfacing of the Katherine netball courts. These works have recently been put to public tender, and it is planned to have them completed before the Wet Season.
Also in this year’s budget, the government approved the inclusion of $500 000 on the capital works design list for works at the Katherine sports grounds. This is a multi-use sporting facility that the Katherine Town Council is keen to develop in partnership with our government. The former member for Katherine did nothing - I repeat, nothing - to advance these works, either in his period as a minister or during his period in opposition.
Officers of my department have been discussing with the Katherine Town Council the range of works that could be undertaken within the scope of the design list items. On 13 March this year, the CEO of Katherine Town Council wrote to officers of my Department of Sport and Recreation in regards to these works. Among other things, the CEO said:
- The Katherine Town Council has had much support and planning advice from your department this last 12 months and appreciates the input of Katherine and Darwin staff.
This is further proof that people of the Katherine region have been well served by the change of government in 2001. To progress this development, I met recently with the then Acting Mayor, Mrs Anne Shepherd; Alderman Mark Gage, who is also the Chair of the Sport and Recreation Committee; the Council CEO, Mr Terry Buss; Mr Pancho Jack, the Katherine Town Council Works Manager; Mr Bruce Lowth, the Acting Community Development Manager. I can advise the Assembly that the council is absolutely delighted with the cooperative approach and support from this government.
The redevelopment of sporting facilities in Katherine ties in well with objectives and strategies identified in the Katherine Regional Development Plan. So, too, does the development of youth facilities, an initiative that the government agreed to fund, with $200 000 as a priority in endorsing the Katherine Regional Development Plan as the framework for the region’s progress over the next 10 years. I am pleased to advise members of this progress.
I also encourage the current member for Katherine to overcome the negativity of the former member and realise that this government has a commitment to governing for all Territorians and developing all regions of the Northern Territory.
Katherine By-election
Mrs MILLER to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you tell Territory businesses why your Labor Party did not support a ‘buy local’ policy in the Katherine by-election? I refer to the Labor Party banners that were printed in Queensland, and also the production, not the filming, of your TV ads, which were also done in Queensland. Chief Minister, why did you not support local Territory business?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the work we have done on local content demonstrates very clearly our proud commitment to supporting and working with Territory businesses to make them as competitive as they can be. There is no doubt about it, while we would like every contract that is from government to go to – and this is separate to dealing with any issues about party and by-election, may I say …
Dr Lim: Did government pay for it, did it? Did government pay for the campaign?
Mr Burke: Certificate of exemption was it?
Ms MARTIN: Look, I am on my feet, I have been asked a question by the new member for Katherine and I am answering it, please.
We are building the capacity of Territory businesses to win as many of the contracts as they can, while working on a national scale because, while we cannot exclude businesses from other parts of Australia competing for tenders and work in the Territory, likewise, we want to encourage Territory businesses, where appropriate, to compete for work interstate.
The member for Katherine mentioned television ads. I was part of making a number of those television ads and I stood in the streets of Katherine with Simon Manzie, I believe it was. I remember it distinctly, it was about 38, and I was in a suit, standing on the median strip on the Stuart Highway in the middle of Katherine, filming our television commercials. We did a lot of the work locally. We also had some work done interstate. That is appropriate.
I believe rumour has it that the CLP had difficulty finding anybody to film their ads. My absolute sympathy for you.
The Labor Party used a lot of locals in producing our campaign for the Katherine by-election. For the plastic signs that were used, we could not get them produced in the Territory and we had to get them from outside. We would love to see the capacity in the Territory for more of the paraphernalia we use in elections to be produced here. Maybe time will tell.
Can I assure you that, I know where I stood and who shot the film and did the recordings. That was certainly done here, locally and, may I say, done very well.
Mr Baldwin: All in Queensland.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, I have spoken to you on a number of occasions.
Mining Industry – Government Support
Mr McADAM to MINISTER for BUSINESS, INDUSTRY and RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Can you please provide members with an update on what this government is doing to support the mining industry in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly and recognise my colleague’s great interest and support for the mining industry in his electorate. I will pick up on the theme of the previous question about support for local industry and what we are doing, which stands in stark contrast with the support that was provided by the previous administration and their capacity to play politics and actually put the mining industry at risk in the Northern Territory for blatant political ends.
As I previously advised honourable members, the government has allocated an additional $15.2m over the next four years for a new mineral and petroleum program, Building the Territory’s Resource Base. That exploration program is broken up into four areas:
1. By focussing on the Territory’s geological prospectivity by developing high quality, low cost new generation geoscientific data.
- The following projects are already under way: digital compilation of open and closed file company exploration geochemical data over the Amadeus Basin and Pine Creek geological regions; in partnership with Geoscience Australia, an airborne gravity survey was flown in western Arnhem Land, incorporating new generation airborne technology; an airborne magnetic and radiometric survey of the Simpson Desert area - flying is scheduled to commence shortly; and, in partnership with the new CRC, the Landscape, Environment and Mineral Exploration CRC - by way of note, headed up by Dennis Gee, who was the former Director of our Geological Survey, Australia’s pre-eminent regolith research institution - commencement of a two-year Territory-wide regolith landscape framework of the NT is starting;
2. Ensuring that additional resources are available to continue the provision of valid land access for explorers and miners through the grant of exploration and mining titles - essentially, more public servants to actually process the titles before us;
3. Promoting acreage offshore and onshore for petroleum exploration and development; and
4. Providing additional resources to the Mining Services Division of the department to expand its nationally recognised program of community liaison, focussed on indigenous communities that are affected by mining or petroleum exploration and development.
I now turn to the titles issue. The previous government had a trench war mentality in dealing with minimal exploration leases that were applied for by the mining industry. The previous minister, as I have stated in this House, had just over 900 applications for mineral exploration leases around the table, piled onto his desk - blatant politics played at the time – and, virtually, exploration dried up in the Northern Territory, putting our mining industry, thousands of jobs, and contribution to the economy of the Northern Territory at risk. We are working very hard on that.
Initially, our focus was mainly on exploration tenements on land which may be affected by native title. We adopted a pragmatic process of negotiation and working with all stakeholders. Members can ask the question: ‘Was it successful?’ Well, yes it was. I would like to update honourable members with this map. Since this government came to office on 18 August 2001, the areas shaded in red are granted exploration licences - five times the total that were granted by the previous government after four years of their previous tenure. This is a huge result for the mining industry of the Northern Territory: 632 exploration licences over an area of 385 000 km2 of land, with a first year exploration spend of some $24.7m.
This is what this government is doing to grow business in the Northern Territory. I would hope that all members of this House will now see the advantages of actually working constructively with indigenous people in the mining industry, as opposed to playing politics. These licences are granted for a period of six years, and that exploration expenditure increases significantly over the life of that exploration period. That was to do with areas of land affected or potentially affected by native title.
We now move on to land that is currently scheduled as Aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. Again, the strategy there was to work with the mining industry, and all four land councils, to provide to the Commonwealth a schedule and a proposal of amendment to the act to facilitate the grant of licences and streamline processes. We have achieved that. Our submission is before the federal minister at the moment, with signatures from all four land councils on the documents, and a qualified letter of support from the Minerals Council. I accept that the Minerals Council wants us to go further, but we believe the first steps are very important. Any steps that we can make and achieve consensus on are significant, given the history of this subject over many years.
I would particularly to thank the people in my department in the titles and geological survey areas. They are great people to work with. They have the interests of the Northern Territory mining industry at heart. This government is working with all stakeholders to boost mining and exploration in the Northern Territory. This stands in stark contrast to outcomes achieved by the previous administration.
Plagiarism – Allegation Against Minister
Mr BALDWIN to MINISTER for PRIMARY INDUSTRY and FISHERIES
On ABC radio this morning, in defence of your actions yesterday, you said:
- I certainly flagged up some very important initiatives that this government has been involved in, in the debate there; things like the $6.2m reuse of effluent in from the Ilparpa Swamp.
Where in this ministerial statement, either in your words or in the words of minister Mick Palmer, did you mention the $6.2m Ilparpa Swamp initiative? Have you now added the charge of misleading the media to the charge of plagiarism?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the answer to that question is very simple. If the member had read Hansard, he would have seen in the close of debate that I mentioned the Ilparpa Swamp. That is what I said in the debate. End of question.
Members interjecting.
Mr Dunham: End of question! That is a bit arrogant, isn’t it?
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Question Paper.
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Read the Hansard.
Dr Lim: Did you plagiarise your PhD?
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I want him to withdraw that. He made an allegation that I had plagiarised my PhD.
Members interjecting.
Dr LIM: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker. I asked, ‘Did he.’ I did not say he did.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, I think you should withdraw that.
Dr LIM: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Mr Kiely: Yes, Doctor Death!
Dr LIM: I ask the member for Sanderson to now withdraw that remark, or he says that outside these doors and not hide in this House.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Sanderson, I did not hear what you said, but …
Mr KIELY: I cannot hear you, Madam Speaker.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, thank you.
Mr Stirling: You like to give; you do not like to take it. That is cowardice.
Mr DUNHAM: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I did hear him quite clearly from here and he is the same government member hiding again. Withdraw!
Madam SPEAKER: Excuse me, Question Time is over and we should be ceased. I am quite sure this would make a great bit of news tonight with that riffraff behaviour that just went on.
I did not hear, but member for Sanderson, if you said something that was unparliamentary, you should withdraw.
Members interjecting.
Mr KIELY: Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: You heard what I said.
Mr KIELY: No, I cannot hear you, Madam Speaker. That is what I am trying to tell you, that is what I am trying to say.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Could we have a little less interjection from everyone. Member for Sanderson, I did not hear what you said but an allegation has been made and you have been asked to withdraw.
Mr KIELY: I will withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Dr Lim interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, enough! You are causing too much nonsense.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016