2012-10-25
Gas Task Force
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Have you convened a meeting of the Gas Task Force following the announcement by Pacific Aluminium that they are reviewing the mines operation? Last month you promised that you would deliver gas to Nhulunbuy. The mine is the life blood of the town, of the workers, of the small businesses and the traditional owners. What action have you taken to secure gas to Nhulunbuy?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for the question. Leader of the Opposition, this is a very important question and I acknowledge that this matter was in existence prior to the change of government. I acknowledge the initial work that was done in correspondence between the former Chief Minister and Pacific Aluminium. The work has now continued and the pace has quickened because of the tighter time frame we now have to operate under.
As I said - and correctly reported by the Opposition Leader - there was a decision to bring together a task force to focus specifically on all issues related to this very important matter; they are meeting regularly and I have regular updates. Only last Thursday, I met with the CEO of Pacific Aluminium, Sandeep Biswas, and we have had extensive correspondence quite regularly with the CEO of Pacific Aluminium and the manager at the plant, Duncan Hedditch.
The issue - as you probably understand and would be well briefed on, I am sure - is that the mine has increased its productivity, and I commend them for that. The problems is that the price of aluminium has dropped, which makes it a difficult proposition. On top of that, the cost of fuel oil, combined with the high Australian dollar, has made it a difficult case for Rio Tinto to consider its forward operation.
The only solution is for the supply of additional gas - there are two options: one is the supply of gas from our own reserves which, as members opposite and honourable members would understand, creates a problem of sovereign risk for the Northern Territory, which has to be weighed up very carefully. The solution lies with increasing other supply to allow a secure case to be put over a 10-year period so that pipeline could be built.
I am also pleased to advise the House that correspondence and conversation with Martin Ferguson, federally, has been very positive. I am going into this with an attitude that this can be solved. The risk has to be reduced as far as possible on our side of the equation. Our challenge is to ensure additional gas is brought in to solve this problem.
I am pleased to report also that ENI has increased its tempo in exploration at the Blacktip field and additional exploration in the Mereenie field with up to 20 different exploration holes being drilled, because there is now demand for gas supply.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION
Gas Task Force
Gas Task Force
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Did you convene a meeting of the Gas Task Force following the advice last week from Pacific Aluminium? Did they give you early advice of the announcement yesterday? Did you convene a meeting of the Gas Task Force specifically when you became aware of their decision to review the mine’s operation?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, as I said, I met with the CEO of Pacific Aluminium on Thursday and he advised me exactly what course of action would be unfolding today. There has been, from that point until today, a significant amount of work, and meetings have been arranged. There has been a regular ...
Ms Lawrie: Did you meet with the task force?
Mr MILLS: The task force meets on a regular basis ...
Ms Lawrie: Did you meet with it yesterday?
Mr MILLS: The answer is yes!
Wadeye - Update
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you update the House on the situation at Wadeye?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly, and acknowledge that you and the families you represent, particularly in the Wadeye area, are having a particularly difficult time at the moment.
I am pleased to advise that the swift response of the Northern Territory Police has resulted in a report, which I received this morning from Commissioner McRoberts, that all is quiet; they had a good night last night. However, the work needs to continue.
I can summarise the response of police and what has resulted from that. There is an increased presence of Northern Territory Police in Wadeye. Police have, and will, continue to supply additional police officers in the Wadeye community and district while community tensions are high and there is a heightened level of community safety concerns.
On 24 October 2012, 15 people were apprehended in Wadeye, 10 in relation to the violent disturbance, and five for outstanding warrants. Six offenders have been remanded in custody to appear in Darwin court on 25 October 2012.
Today, 25 October 2012, a further 10 offenders have been apprehended, two for the assault on the community store, and eight on outstanding warrants.
Police will continue to maintain a highly visible police presence in the community and maintain services in the community which will allow the timely and efficient response to any further incidences of this nature. There have been no reported incidents of property crime or violent crime in Wadeye in the last 24 hours, which is good news.
I spoke to the Police Commissioner again this morning. In addition to those 20 additional police officers operating in Wadeye, twice-daily briefings are being held involving the chief executive officers of the departments of Correctional Services, Regional Development and Indigenous Advancement, Chief Minister, Education and Children’s Services, Housing, Attorney-General and Justice, and the Office of Children and Families. They are all monitoring events on the ground. Department of Housing staff from the Big Rivers region have relocated back to Wadeye as a result of the various tenancy issues resulting from community unrest, such as swapping houses and the threat of damage to vacant dwellings.
It is of some concern that attendance levels at the school are still very low; however, an education task force has been established to engage with families, get the kids back to school, and start to restore some order in the community on that front. It is very important those kids attend school.
Underneath all of this there is some quite heartening community activity where people are working behind the scenes to resolve some of the underlying family tensions. I do not want to talk much about that, but that element is critical, where people who understand the nature of the conflict, who understand the relationships between people are working in a coordinated way to develop pathways to resolve this underlying issue.
Pacific Aluminium –
Review of Mine Operation
Review of Mine Operation
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you clarify to the House if you received advice last week from Pacific Aluminium that they would announce they would be reviewing the mine’s operation? Can you advise the House on which day you convened a meeting of the Gas Task Force after meeting with Pacific Aluminium last week?
ANSWER
I understand what this is about. We have been working in good faith. There has been open dialogue between all players. There are conversations on a regular basis; however, if you require us to all sit together in a single room to be able to work through this, I can tell you they have not all sat together in a single room. However, no stone has been unturned in resolving and putting in place a plan of action to deal with this issue.
In relation to face-to-face, sit-down-in-one-room meetings with minutes you can check on, no. It is a task force with delegated responsibilities, which is actively working on a range of options and it is being worked on. I have no concern about the level of communication and commitment, and the contribution of all stakeholders and those who have been delegated with the responsibility to sort this business out. We are working on this project. I remain resolved that we can sort this out.
Housing –
Real Housing for Growth Initiative
Real Housing for Growth Initiative
Mr STYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
Can you inform the House what the Real Housing for Growth initiative is and what it is expected to achieve?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for Sanderson for his question and ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! It is a technical standing order. It is anticipating debate in the House. There is a statement on this. Of course, he will give his answer. I am only raising it because the Leader of Government Business tried to shut down one of the opposition members last night in the adjournment debate regarding the urgency motion on tourism. The tourism shadow spokesperson was pointing out it gives no time for any consultation with tourism operators anywhere in the Territory to deal with it on urgency.
You wanted to use that technicality to shut us down last night. I am pointing out the technicality exists now; however, we would love to hear the answer from the Chief Minister.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! She is referring to Standing Order 68. The statement to which she refers is not on the Notice Paper, which is one of the requirements of Standing Order 68. It is not on the Notice Paper, therefore not in breach of Standing Order 68.
Mr MILLS: There is no substantive issue here if the Opposition Leader were to be circumspect in that - but, Opposition Leader, you asked me this question yesterday. You wanted clarification yesterday and I gave you some clarification. Obviously you are concerned with technicalities rather than a solution to a very real problem.
I fully support that it is an incumbent responsibility of government to help those who are in need. We should help people who need that little bit of an extra hand and want to realise the great Australian dream. So our measure, which is real housing for growth, targets the capacity of people to buy new assets. That increases the supply. Your measures have just increased demand.
Recreational Fishing – Negotiations with
Tiwi Land Council
Tiwi Land Council
You have promised Territory amateur fishermen that under your government they will have access, without permits, to fish all Territory waters. Two of your ministers, the members for Namatjira and Braitling, had a secret meeting with the Tiwi Land Council a fortnight ago. Following that meeting the Tiwi Land Council has banned recreational fishing on the northern shores and your government has stopped reimbursing the cost of permits for fishing around the islands. Why have you broken your promise to Territorians?
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for the question. I have indicated that the Fisheries minister was immediately sent to Tiwi to continue to engage in respectful discussion and negotiation. I am hopeful that by negotiation in good faith we can resolve this issue. That is exactly what we intend to do, and I can provide further updates in time on the progress of these matters, but as you could fully appreciate, these are challenging matters.
We will engage in good faith to resolve what is a challenging issue. I believe we have the capacity because we have the genuine ability to engage in negotiations in good faith to sort these matters out in the best interest of all Territorians.
Land Release –
Failure of Previous Government
Failure of Previous Government
How has the failure to release sufficient land affected the cost of housing in the Territory?
Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for Arafura. It is a very important question. We recognise that the failure to plan properly has impacted on the lives of Territorians, no matter where they live. Spending time with my good friend on the Tiwi Islands, it is no different than if I were in Borroloola, Maningrida, Moulden, or even Alice Springs.
One of the core duties of government is to plan for the future of its community. If our economy and population are to grow sustainably there must be sufficient land available for the development of housing and infrastructure; it is pretty basic. The land must be there. Fortunately we are blessed with a lot of land in the Northern Territory that is ready to support businesses to either set up in the Territory or grow their operations so Territorians can have somewhere to call home.
Effective land use planning must be underpinned by comprehensive, dynamic strategies to meet future demand. When the rate of population growth outstrips the rate of land release and progress on new infill developments, it has a direct effect on Territorians - on Territory families. They are forced to compete for appropriate housing in a market where demand outstrips supply, creating a seller’s market for property and driving up rental prices. And haven’t we seen that over the past five plus years under the former government!
Maintaining balance in the market requires a long-term outlook that understands the impact of major projects and other economic growth figures. The former government knew INPEX was coming but just talked about INPEX and did not plan for it. We will be different, we will be different and we will set to work as you will see. Watch and see.
Government has a deep responsibility in this space, it holds most of the greenfield development land in the Territory and its decisions about how much, when and by who flow directly into the opportunities available to Territorians. Land prices stabilise when there is direct and fierce competition between developers. Without competition, prices ratchet up quickly and Territorians pay for that in monthly mortgage repayments going on for many years. Some, sadly, make the decision they cannot afford that and have to leave the Northern Territory.
We want to reverse that. We cannot do it overnight but we can do it and we will change the direction and the attitude in the Northern Territory and begin to make progress on this most important area.
Mt Todd Gold Mine –
Environmental Impact Statement
Mr WOOD to MINISTER FOR LANDS, PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
With proposals to reopen and expand the Mt Todd mine, will an environmental impact statement be required by your department and, if so, has that process started?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson. The answer is yes but can I take that on notice because I want to give you accurate information and I need to consult with my Mines minister. I will take that on notice and get back to you.
Anti-Social Behaviour –
Public Drinking
Public Drinking
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
On the front page of your 100-day action plan you promised to immediately remove drunks from the streets. Why have you broken that promise?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Oppositon, out of courtesy, for the question. You see, you would well know that when you change direction, change policy direction which is the decision to do so, it will result in the removal of drunks from the street. That is our objective ...
Ms Lawrie: Immediately.
Mr MILLS: But it is also based on the premise that the former scheme under Labor did that. It did nothing of the kind, in fact it cost us. We immediately commenced the implementation of a new system that will affect real change and bear us out. You will see real results in this field because we are immediately recognising that the scheme which you conned us about, which we had to pay for, was not working. The next step was then to put in 120 extra police and direct efforts to the front line. The efforts have been directed to the front line, the advertising commenced immediately and then we had that extra pressure on the front line.
We are changing direction and that direction will result in a change right across the Northern Territory. It starts with removing a scheme that did not work, that we were told was working - the evidence proves it was not working – and increasing frontline policing where it should be.
The response to the advertising for additional police has been very strong. We will see not only strengthened front lines’ focus but we will see additional police on the front line. We will also see increased penalties for those who are engaged in antisocial behaviour, particularly violence. Then we implement schemes that will affect real change for those who most need help and those who have a problem with alcohol.
Housing Crisis – Impact on Education
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for EDUCATION
The housing crisis in Darwin has brought significant impacts and wide-reaching consequences of the lives of Territorians. Can you explain the impact of this on the education system?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale. Yes, indeed, the housing crisis has impacted on the Department of Education and Children’s Services and its ability to recruit teachers. Recruiting teachers within the Northern Territory is an extremely challenging job despite the housing problems. The department has to look afield, interstate, as well as within the Territory, to find suitable applicants for the many positions that became available each year. These positions are not just teachers, they are principals and also in the children’s services section of the department.
The problems they encounter are not unlike the problems other professional groups, other workers, encounter when they come to the Northern Territory. There is a lack of affordable housing; rentals are high. The former government was very tardy in its release of land and how it implemented its housing loan schemes. They missed the mark, and did not effectively create more supply - they created more demand.
So, teachers, like many other professions and groups of workers, have been caught in the firing line. They have been caught in this situation that has unfolded over the last decade through the mismanagement of the former government, in that housing is extremely expensive and really out of the reach of the average worker.
Sourcing quality teachers, as I said, is a challenge. I am hearing that within the Darwin rural area, Taminmin High, Humpty Doo Primary and Berry Springs schools have all recently experienced significant difficulties in recruiting teachers to their schools because of the shortage of suitable housing. Just this week, I was contacted by a young teacher, a woman who came to the Territory last year with her partner. She is very happy in the Territory, she is working in a school she loves. It is very important for most teachers that they build a good relationship with the children in their classrooms, with the families, with the community, with the school.
She contacted my office quite despairingly. She was very sad that she and her partner had decided to leave Darwin because of the high cost of rental accommodation in Darwin. She said she was paying around $500 a week and it just was not sustainable. She felt guilty, she was sad, and she felt she owed me an explanation as to why she thought she was letting down the Territory.
The very poor planning of the former government, very poor land release, housing schemes that have failed essentially to create demand, impacts on the education of our children in the Northern Territory.
Banned Drinker Register - Scrapping
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
When I speak to small business owners like Tim Copping from Captains Seafood they ask why anybody would scrap the Banned Drinker Register before bringing in their own plans. Your Attorney-General has admitted that the Katherine rehab facility is at least 12 months away. Other than the old boys club and failed CLP candidates, why are 2500 problem drunks the only people you have rewarded since the election?
ANSWER
Thank you Madam Speaker. I believe you have had the answer you do not seek. I acknowledge your question and, with courtesy, I thank you for it. It is based on the notion that your scheme was working. It was not working ...
Mr Henderson: It was so. Speak to Tim Copping; he said it was.
Mr MILLS: The numbers speak for themselves. Your eyes have now magically opened and, all of a sudden, you are seeing people who are causing a problem on the streets. Everyone is noticing it now but, prior to this, they were not there because this scheme was magically working. However, you could not measure whether it was working or not because the crime statistics were concealed from view so we just had to take your word for it.
Now, you have a period of change, and that change is important and necessary because we have to change the direction of this whole policy implementation to effect proper change.
You see, the idea and the false premise you have based your whole approach on is that you have chased alcohol as being the problem itself. All the measures around the control of alcohol leave the person who has a very real problem with alcohol largely untouched or untroubled by those types of approaches.
We are going in a new direction, and that starts with getting rid of a scheme that does not work. You heard the address in here yesterday, if you had ears to hear. There is evidence aplenty that it did not work and you are going to hold on to this faded dream that it was something that really worked, and you will grow this view that it was just so wonderful in the last 12 months …
Ms Lawrie: Ten thousand fewer incidents.
Mr MILLS: Have a look at the figures. At a quiet time, go through the figures. I will not tell anyone whether you people are admitting that this thing was, in fact, not working ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Ten thousand fewer antisocial behaviour incidents, a reduction in alcohol-fuelled assault from Darwin, Palmerston, Alice Springs and Katherine ...
Mr MILLS: It is not a point of order.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr MILLS: I find it really curious when we were talking about debt yesterday, and we had all these frivolous points of order which revealed the sensitivity of this former government to its appalling failures they are trying to block from view - frivolous points of order and false assertions across the Chamber. Now it is their great scheme which they are going to hold on to and purport actually worked.
Frivolous points of order are just to conceal the fact that Territorians can see quite plainly the approach was wrong and did not work. They want a new direction. They will get it from us.
Housing Rents –
Impact on Child Protection Staff Retention
Impact on Child Protection Staff Retention
Ms LEE to MINISTER for EDUCATION
Can you inform the House on the impact rising rent prices are having on the ability to attract and retain frontline child protection staff?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, thank you to the new member for Arnhem. Yes, child protection, as we all know, is one of the most challenging areas of government. The former government should have been well aware that recruiting staff to child protection is extraordinarily difficult. The former government had enormous difficulty trying to fill positions which they created - the many positions they created which they did not apply funding to; but that is a different matter.
They went far afield. They went overseas; they took groups of staff on extensive recruitment drives to various places around the world, costing an enormous amount of money when, in fact, they should have been looking in their own back yard as to what the problem was in recruitment. Probably, one of the main deterrents for people coming to the Northern Territory, particularly to work in child protection, is a lack of affordable housing.
This former government has sat on its hands for over a decade, wedged firmly behind them, saying, ‘Why can we not recruit staff to child protection’, when the answer was right in front of them. The answer is very simple: these people will not come to the Northern Territory to work, particularly in child protection - because it is not a high-paying field - when the cost of rental accommodation is, in some instances, astronomical. As the members for Arnhem said, it averages $700 per week for new renters, which is a big chunk out of anyone’s wages. These people may be professional people, at a P1, P2, or even P3 level, but $700 out of a child protection worker’s pay packet each week is a great deal to pay.
The former government - the opposition now, thank goodness for that - failed to keep in mind that we have been in government for eight weeks and four days. They were in government for 11 years and they failed to release land in a timely fashion; they were very tardy in how they went about creating housing for the future of Territorians. An example that has been put forward today is how it has impacted, and continues to impact, on the child protection industry in the Northern Territory, one of the most important areas of government business, and they failed to look after these people’s best interests.
Full-Strength Beer –
Reintroduction into Communities
Reintroduction into Communities
Ms FYLES to MINISTER for CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
In the Little Children are Sacred report it says:
- There is a strong association between substance abuse, particularly alcohol, and the sexual abuse of our children.
A remote area paediatrician said also in the report:
- The right for children to be safe and healthy is far greater than the right to drink yourself into oblivion.
Why are you ignoring the vulnerable by having an election to reintroduce full-strength beer to communities?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the new member for Nightcliff for her question. Child protection is very closely linked to alcohol consumption, particularly in the Northern Territory - that is no secret - and this government is committed to alcohol reform from top to bottom.
What we have seen over the last 10 years, particularly in the case of Alice Springs which was used as a guinea pig for alcohol reform by the opposition, the former government, is a great many different initiatives put in place which have not hit the mark - they have not worked.
My colleagues, the members for Greatorex, Stuart, Namatjira, and Braitling, are the experts because we have been subjected to the failed alcohol reforms of the former government for many years. The new member for Nightcliff - and I will go easy on her – said, ‘Goodness me, what is going on here?’ The answer to your question, member for Nightcliff, is within your group over there, because you have failed as a group to protect children; you have failed to implement alcohol reforms that have worked
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! It goes to relevance. The question was: why is she having an election to return grog to the communities after the Little Children are Sacred report pointed out that would be the worst thing to do for children? So, the issue is relevance. Why is she proposing an election to return grog to the communities?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, could you get to the point?
Mrs LAMBLEY: The decision to return or introduce alcohol to remote Aboriginal communities or any remote communities in the Northern Territory will be the decision of the communities.
Housing Schemes – Effect on Budget
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for HOUSING
Could you inform the parliament what impact the existing housing schemes are having on the Territory and the government’s budget position, and what alternatives are being considered?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. The simple answer to this question is that the impact of the previous government’s affordable housing schemes did two things: one was push the prices of housing up and forced many Territorians to leave. That is the simple answer to the question ...
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr CHANDLER: It is true. There is no better measure of the failed scheme this previous government introduced than the fact they had to expand the parameters of that scheme because the prices of housing continued to go through the roof. This scheme was put in place to deal with affordable housing. No better measure exists than for our previous government to say, ‘We have to increase the parameters because the cost of housing has gone up’.
Yesterday in this House, I tabled a graph which indicates very clearly that the scheme the former government had did not increase the pool of housing in the Northern Territory, all it did was churn existing stock, and that stock continued to go up. This chart here shows - this green line is the purchase of established dwellings; down here, right at the very bottom, purchase of new dwellings. The blue line is construction of new dwellings
If you want to reduce the cost of living and make houses more affordable in the Northern Territory, this should be reversed. The previous government’s scheme, did nothing. All it has done is force more Territorians to leave.
Ms Lawrie: It is an inconvenient truth, is it?
Mr CHANDLER: The Opposition Leader will continually whine on about many of the processes we will introduce over the next few years.
What they will not recognise is that they lost the plot - and ‘lost the plot’ is probably a very good description because we need many more plots of land. The only way we will have cheaper housing is to have more land released on the market.
When you have businesses that talk to you on a daily basis that cannot afford ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! There were seven new suburbs.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please be seated.
Mr CHANDLER: Again, Madam Speaker, no point of order. The reality is no sooner does the previous government become the opposition it finds all these remarkable ways of solving problems and pointing fingers at us after eight weeks of being in government. Eight weeks, and they had 12 years to muck it up.
We will get this right and make housing more affordable in the Northern Territory.
Full-Strength Beer –
Reintroduction into Communities
Reintroduction into Communities
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
Since 1979, over 90 communities have requested to be declared dry communities. Will you overrule the wishes of families by running elections in these communities to reintroduce full-strength beer?
ANSWER
No, quite the opposite.
Banned Drinker Register
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for ALCOHOL POLICY referred to ATTORNEY-GENERAL and MINISTER for JUSTICE
Your government has now scrapped the requirement for ID to purchase takeaway alcohol. Is there still a Banned Drinker Register? If so, how many people are on the register? Will banned drinkers be breaking the law if they purchase alcohol, and how will licensees identify who is banned if no ID is required?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I suggest the Attorney-General might be better placed to answer this question.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I thank the honourable member for his questions. Yes, there is still a Banned Drinker Register. It is in a state of hiatus because we have stopped the requirement for people to produce identification. We have not yet pulled apart the legislation because there are still components of it that may be useful at some point in the future.
However, it does give me an opportunity to point out that in the year prior to the introduction of the Banned Drinker Register, the organ that was supposed to keep so many drunks off the streets, 20 354 drunks were apprehended in the Northern Territory. In the year after its operation commenced, 19 988 drunks were apprehended in the Northern Territory for protective custody. To place that on the record, that means the difference between the two years was 366 fewer drunks in the first year of operation.
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The questions were specific, and one was: Will banned drinkers be breaking the law if they purchase alcohol?
Mr ELFERINK: They were not, under the Banned Drinker Register. This is the problem with the way the Banned Drinker Register worked. If you were on the Banned Drinker Register and purchased alcohol and got drunk and were picked up again, you got another banned drinker notice. That is why this register failed.
One individual was arrested 117 times whilst he was on the Banned Drinker Register. That is why we pulled the plug on it. This is an $18m program the previous government rolled out and for the …
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister answered that question. The other part of the question is: If licensees identify a banned drinker are they required to not supply alcohol to that person, regardless of whether they have ID?
Mr ELFERINK: It is the discretion of any licensee to serve alcohol. That is how the law works. Whether or not that person is on the Banned Drinker Register, it is the discretion of the licensee to determine who he sells liquor to. In fact, we expect it in the Liquor Act, particularly with intoxicated patrons.
However, what I am driving at, and what I would like honourable members to remember, is for each of the 366 fewer apprehensions from when it did work and did not work the cost for each apprehension saved under their program was $50 000, not a good use of taxpayers’ money.
Housing Problems in the Territory
Mrs PRICE to MINISTER for INFRASTRUCTURE
The price and availability of housing is preventing Territorians from owning their homes. Is the minister aware of any delays or failures to invest in infrastructure that may be contributing to the housing problem in the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Stuart and, being a good Centralian, I will answer this in the context of Central Australia. The great Australian dream is to own your own home and that dream should be available to all Territorians. As a government, we need to be building the infrastructure and either developing or making the land available to developers to create house blocks for people to buy their dream home for themselves and their families.
Under the previous Labor government the supply of house blocks slowed to a trickle with the result being that house prices went through the roof, as my colleague the Minister for Housing has recently said. Houses in the Northern Territory have become unaffordable and that is not a result of there being no potential land to develop. As the Chief Minister said, it is because the previous government was unable to get their act together and release land in a timely fashion.
In Alice Springs, for example, there is a huge parcel of land south of the gap - a greenfields site, Leader of the Opposition - known as Kilgariff. You much lauded that during your term of government. Despite money being provided in Budget 2011-12 18 months ago, that site is still largely a greenfields site. Services and the road have been built to the boundary but it stops there. There has been inertia over the planning decisions being made about how that can go forward, with numerous plans put forward but government not making a decision.
The previous government had been unable to finalise a design and a plan, so the contractors sit idle, house blocks go undeveloped, and Territorians see the availability and affordability of their own home slip further out of their reach. Unfortunately, in this case it is not a lack of money that has prevented the infrastructure, because the money is there. It is because the previous government was in a cycle of inertia and failed to act.
We know that the previous government turned its back on Central Australia. We have heard the former Chief Minister carping about Alice Springs already today, but the fact is it turned its back and Kilgariff is a perfect example of that. There is money set aside in the budget without the work actually being done ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! How is the expenditure of $10m on the infrastructure and $3.5m in Budget 2012-13 turning your back?
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order.
Mr GILES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I suggest that if we cannot get our standing order numbers correct we may have to move towards naming. This is becoming ridiculous with the Leader of the Opposition wanting to jump in all the time. But the point is that there is a greenfield site there, Kilgariff. The road goes to the block. There are potentially thousands of blocks of land there. Presentation is going back to June of 2008. Here we are six years later and nothing has happened. It is now our job to clean up your mess - your inertia, your mess. We will do the job you could not do. Thank you, member for Stuart, for your question.
Full-Strength Beer –
Reintroduction into Communities
Reintroduction into Communities
MS FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER
How will you protect the most vulnerable in our community, the children, who cannot vote in your election to reintroduce full-strength beer into their communities. How will they be heard?
ANSWER
Is this based on the assumption that parents do not care for their children? The parents who we would be inviting to be part of a very important decision? Unlike the Labor party, who knows best and would prefer to take a paternalistic approach and decide for Aboriginal people and do not allow them into a conversation, we will take a different approach because we value people. We would allow people, if they wish, to have that conversation. A meeting I had at Maningrida two weeks ago ...
Ms Walker: No, you said a vote.
I would, because I value people. In a meeting I had at Maningrida two weeks ago - a very special meeting - they wanted someone to treat them with respect, which we will. And having established that, work together and not rush. That is the approach we will take.
I have been to communities where the mothers want to start talking about this. They have very genuine concerns and fears because of their memories. Those messages and conversations must be allowed to occur.
There are others who have different views, but the whole community needs to be allowed in on this conversation. That is the different approach that the Country Liberals will take, by recognising that they are all Territorians and they are all able to be involved in decision-making, unlike the Labor Party who knows best, runs over the top, takes a paternalist approach and removes the lifeblood of a community, including parents. They should be allowed to be involved in that conversation and we will permit it.
Housing – Increasing Cost
Mr STYLES to MINISTER for TOURISM and MAJOR EVENTS
Can you inform the House of how the increasing cost of housing and rising rents are impacting on tourism in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for showing some interest in tourism. It is Day 3 of the first parliamentary sittings and the shadow minister for Tourism is yet to ask a question on something he said yesterday in this House, ‘I have to say I am concerned about tourism, it is our highest priority in the Northern Territory’. Well, hardly a high priority, shadow minister for Tourism, you have not even asked a question and you have nine minutes to go. I hope you can get on with it and ask a question...
However, the reason we are very concerned about tourism and housing is simple. We take tourism very seriously - it is part of our three-hub economy. We take it seriously, we take the region seriously, that is why we are re-regionalising the Northern Territory by putting ...
Members interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: Can I hear John Paul Young at the back - Yesterday’s Hero. John Paul Young is here - yesterday’s hero, there he is...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Wanguri.
Mr CONLAN: ... the greatest failure the Northern Territory has ever seen, led by the greatest Opposition Leader the Northern Territory is about to see. Yesterday’s hero up the back with a number one hit from 1977.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order members!
Mr CONLAN: We take it seriously. It is a major part of the Northern Territory economy. I wish the shadow minister for Tourism would ask a question. He now has about eight minutes. When I finish he might have about five minutes. I hope you get up and are prepared to engage in this debate seriously. We take it seriously and, unlike the previous government ...
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I query relevance. Could you ask the member to answer the question?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, if you could get to the point please?
Mr CONLAN: I am, as I am developing my argument with the three minutes I have.
The previous government governed for one particular electorate - the electorate of Nelson. We do not govern for ...
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! This should not be a difficult question to answer. It is a dixer from his side. Please call him on relevance.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, if you could get to the point please?
Mr CONLAN: I am, Madam Speaker. We are not governing for the Northern “Gerritory”, we are governing for the Northern “Terrytory”. We care about all of the Northern Territory. It is about re-regionalising the Northern Territory, putting tourism back where it belongs, and making it once again the power house industry it was. That, in turn, will help housing in the Northern Territory.
Housing in the Territory
Mr HIGGINS to MINISTER for HOUSING
Can you inform the House on the status of housing in the Territory and, importantly, any relationship with this and the budget?
ANSWER
Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you, member for Daly. Thousands of Territorians have moved interstate over the past few years because the cost of buying or renting a home was simply out of reach. The population drain of Territorians has impacted heavily on small businesses and they have struggled to recruit and retain good staff.
The schemes of the previous government did not increase the pool of new affordable houses - we have already discussed this. Historically, 93% of the buyers using the previous government’s shared equity schemes bought existing dwellings rather than new supply. This means the schemes have not materially changed supply and demand dynamics. The schemes were complex to administer and had a high impact on the government’s nett debt and fiscal balance in the short term and medium term. They also tied up the government’s equity for long periods of time - up to 38 years. I do not remember reading any of that in the previous paraphernalia.
The schemes also had a negative impact on affordability driving up house and unit prices by increasing those in the purchasing pool and their borrowing capacity.
The fact is, we can assist those in need, help people enter the market, and do so in a way that will see new housing introduced. This will result in a removal of the pressures placed on the market by previous policies.
The government’s Real Housing for Growth plan - if the Opposition Leader would care to listen - will see the construction of 2000 affordable and industry homes across the Territory over the next four years. The challenge we have been confronted with - and I have had many conversations with the Treasurer about this - is we need to invest and it can and does help those in need and does not put up the prices of houses.
What we are seeking to do with the Real Housing for Growth plan is to make the government’s contribution go further, while enabling developers to target support where it is most needed. We will enable developers and investors to build, own, and manage new housing by government head-leasing properties for up to 15 years. Our plan will be targeted at essential workers and our children in the Territory by increasing the pool of affordable houses. In the coming weeks, as the Chief Minister has already set out, we will announce a comprehensive housing strategy overall.
It has to start with land release; something the previous government failed to ...
Ms Lawrie: Where?
Mr CHANDLER: What do you mean ‘where’?
Ms Lawrie: Where are you going to release the land?
Mr CHANDLER: How often, Leader of the Opposition, have you flown into this place, or flown into Alice Spring and seen a land shortage in the centre of Australia?
Ms Lawrie: Where are you going to release the land?
Mr CHANDLER: If the Leader of the Opposition cannot see drunks just outside this parliament there is no way she is going to see all the land. It is everywhere; start to look.
Ms Lawrie: Name the area.
Mr CHANDLER: Yes, it is expensive but, yes, it can be done. You have to be a little intuitive.
Katherine Rehabilitation Facility –
Capacity
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
There are 2500 problem drunks. Your Katherine rehabilitation facility will have capacity for 400 people. What will you do with the other 2100 problem drunks?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the first thing, as I indicated a number of times, is that we are taking a different approach. We will start to see a change - unlike the former approach which did not hold people responsible or care enough to intervene at the point where people have the capacity to, hopefully, make a better decision and perhaps take a different course which may have them involved in the community rather than constantly being recipients of programs.
You are stuck in a view in which you think people are not responsible, that programs are put in place based on substance and holding people exempt from responsibility. It is not the approach we will be taking. No, we are not the Labor Party. We will shift our focus and have a policy that fixes on people themselves and builds their capacity by, first, reminding them there are community standards then, second, giving them the capacity to make a different decision and take a different course.
The result will be ...
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113, relevance. What will you do with the other 2100 problem drunks?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, if you could get to the point.
Mr MILLS: Yes, the point is you are stuck on the number. Your thinking is based on the idea that there was a scheme that was working and that those, 25 ... How many?
Mr Henderson: 2500.
Mr MILLS: Yes, 2500 were somehow receiving some kind of program that was fixing a problem. It was not. Yet the crime statistics are quite plain. It was not working. We will take a different approach and that number will receive a different approach we will hopefully see ...
Mr Gunner: Immediately?
Mr MILLS: Yes we are changing direction immediately.
Banned Drinker Register –
Effects of Scrapping
Effects of Scrapping
Mr VATSKALIS to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
Police used to have the power to ban drink-drivers, domestic violence offenders and people who committed alcohol-related crime from purchasing takeaway alcohol. Why have you taken that power away from the police? Can you table the advice from the Police Commissioner on the effect of scrapping the Banned Drinker Register?
Mr MILLS: Sorry, I missed the thrust of your question. You want me to table some advice from the Police Commissioner for your satisfaction?
ANSWER
Right. Be careful what you ask for.
Madam Speaker, I will not verbal the Police Commissioner here, but if given the choice between a scheme that did not work and being given extra resources (like 120 extra police), and being given a direction, a policy focus that will really bear an effect on the problem in real terms, what do you reckon his choice would have been? Real tools: 120 extra police and that is the best thing we could do; strengthen law and order, and strengthen our focus on those who are causing us a problem and then giving a stronger direction and greater resources to the police force - a far better tool than a scheme that did not work.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Questions Paper.
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We did not commence Question Time until 10.05am; that is five minutes short and two questions short. He is gagging the House, Madam Speaker. That is two questions short of the full Question Time.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016