2013-08-29
Frontline Workers Upset
with CLP Government
with CLP Government
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
This week we have seen firefighters turning their back on the CLP government in the parliament, police saying you have breached their trust on resources, teachers protesting this afternoon at the death of education under the CLP, and yesterday you laughed at 73 nurses from Royal Darwin Hospital Emergency Department when they complained about the crisis your government is causing there. Why are our frontline workers so upset with you?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the Leader of the Opposition for her question. I do not believe people are upset with us. They are upset about the way you are stirring people up with a range of different issues.
It is important to reflect on the point that nobody was laughing at nurses yesterday. We recognise the issue around double bunking at the hospital, the demand pressures on Royal Darwin Hospital and the circumstances behind them, our reaction to some of those growth pressures, and the reason we intend to build Palmerston hospital in the rural area.
We have identified a site which will occupy 45 ha of land as opposed to the 3 ha of land …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a direct question: why are frontline workers so upset with you?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I was getting to the point that frontline workers are not upset. In regard to firefighters, it is an issue we have been working on since I have been Chief Minister.
On 18 July 2013, I wrote to Station Officer Tom Lawler in response to his claims of personal hardship as a result of suffering from chronic lymphatic leukaemia. In that correspondence he stated his belief this cancer had been caused by his occupation and duties carried out as a firefighter. Unfortunately, Tom’s claim for compensation has been disputed, so he requested consideration be granted for unlimited sick leave, which is not in my power, or that I consider the adoption of presumptive legislation for employees of NTFRS, as has occurred in other jurisdictions.
Preliminary research undertaken reflects the Northern Territory is, or will be, one of the last jurisdictions to address the matter of presumptive legislation as it applies to firefighters diagnosed with cancer.
I properly directed the issue to the Minister for Business to progress as a priority, in consultation with the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Advisory Council. NT WorkSafe will shortly be preparing a brief for the Minister for Business on the feasibility of adopting presumptive legislation into the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. Variances exist across different jurisdictions …
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, as part of this issue, the previous Labor government had eleven-and-a-half years to consider this. In September 2011, the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee reported on the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fair Protection for Firefighters) Bill 2011. This could have been addressed by the previous government.
Upon being advised of the issue, we have committed to doing a full review and looking at changes to the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. Once that review is completed and changes identified to meet the needs, we will make those announcements.
Eaton Housing Stock Plans
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for HOUSING
The member for Solomon, Natasha Griggs, promised Territorians she would save the suburb of Eaton so the vacant military housing stock can be made available to ordinary Territory families. Does the Giles government support the member for Solomon’s commitment? How does this commitment differ from Labor’s plans for Eaton?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She understands the pressures on housing in the Northern Territory.
The member for Solomon has been dogged on this issue. She campaigned hard on it during the 2010 election. She knocked on doors in Canberra to achieve a win for Territory families. She even went to the extent of drafting, moving and, finally, getting a private members’ bill passed by a large majority of the House of Representatives. It was a red letter day for Territory families. I quote from Tony Abbott:
- Because of the member for Solomon the 396 Defence houses at Winnellie will be excised from the base and will be available as part of the ordinary housing stock of Darwin under a Tony Abbott led Coalition government.
Labor’s plans regarding Eaton are quite different. They would prefer to bulldoze these decent houses - one of which I lived in, in the 1980s, which was done up around that time - or, in one of the deals, hand some of the houses, if not all, to Territory Housing. When the numbers were crunched, it would cost quite a bit of money to move houses from a perfectly good area and relocate them onto a greenfield site. It would have been well above the cost of building new houses.
Labor does not understand the pressures on housing. They do not understand the policies they introduced and how that led to an increase in prices. We have some of the highest costs of living in the Northern Territory due directly to previous policies of the Labor government.
The Coalition is promising to excise Eaton and make some of that housing available for Territory Housing and some available to Defence Housing, because many people still like to live on bases around the country. A number of houses would be available for Defence Housing, a number available for Territory Housing, and a number could be sold off to ordinary Territorians at reasonable prices to ease the cost of living in Darwin.
Nurses’ Petition Regarding Emergency Department
Mr VATSKALIS to CHIEF MINISTER
Yesterday, you were presented with a petition from 75 nurses who work in the emergency department about the dangerous …
Mrs Lambley: Seventy-three.
Mr VATSKALIS: Seventy-three, thank you … about the dangerous conditions around the practice of double bunking and you laughed at them. Last night I received an e-mail and will read it out:
- I have just finished seeing Channel Nine’s report on emergency department nurses. I have just finished crying. I just resigned because of my working conditions; however, my signature was on that list. He laughed at me.
I replied asking the nurse not to resign, saying her work was very important despite the conditions she worked under.
Chief Minister, why did you laugh at the nurses? Why are you making nurses cry? Why are you making nurses resign? Will you now instruct your minister to end the policy of double bunking in the emergency department?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Casuarina for his question. I do not accept the premise of that question. There was no laughing at anyone. We were not belittling the people who signed the petition, we were laughing at the Leader of the Opposition because we know the situation at Royal Darwin Hospital and the whole health system. The Leader of the Opposition could only identify 73 people who could see the pressures on Royal Darwin Hospital you left us.
This is a policy of the former Labor government and we are trying to deal with it. You promised to build a new hospital in Palmerston to relieve some of these issues. The federal Labor government removed the certification to three aged-care centres which is putting more pressure on the hospital.
Yes, we are trying to clean up the mess …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: No one was laughing at those people and we are not belittling those signatures. If I am allowed the opportunity, without the interjections, to continue my answer I will point out that the humour is the Leader of the Opposition leading with her chin to solve the problem you created. We will solve the problem. We will build Palmerston hospital. We are doing our scoping study …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a direct question. Will he end double bunking in the ED at RDH?
Mr GILES: We are doing everything we can to relieve pressure on Royal Darwin Hospital.
Ms Fyles: The medi-hotel!
Mr GILES: Hang on, the member for Nightcliff is proposing we put patients in the medi-hotel …
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: You just screamed that out. I am sure the medi-hotel was not designed to house patients or to run ED. That is not what it was designed for. You just interjected with that. If that is what you are proposing I suggest you put it into policy.
There are pressures at RDH. We are still administering RDH through a policy you put into practice and we are trying to reduce the pressures. When we reduce the pressures, the Minister for Health will provide a response as to how we are managing the hospital pressures. If your solution is to put patients in the medi-hotel, as you screamed out again, please put it in writing and we will be happy to consider it.
NT Tourism Sector Damage
Mrs PRICE to MINISTER for TOURISM and MAJOR EVENTS
The Leader of the Opposition’s comments about hating tourists is irresponsible and shameful. Can the minister advise of the damage this does to the Territory’s great tourism sector, and should she apologise?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Stuart for her question. Whichever way you spin it, whichever way you want to put it, you said it on Darwin radio on 25 July when responding to a question: ‘The worst thing about the Northern Territory – what is it, Leader of the Opposition?’ ‘Tourists!’ You said it! When the announcer said, ‘You cannot say that, Delia’, you tried to qualify it by saying, ‘Well, just a bunch of southerners’.
This morning she went on radio to say it was just a joke. It might be a joke to you, Leader of the Opposition, and it might even be a joke to the carefree world of breakfast radio, but it is not a joke to the 14 000 Territorians employed through the tourism industry. It is not a joke to the Northern Territory government, for which the tourism industry brings in $1.4bn. It is a huge part of our economy. Those so-called southerners, so-called tourists you hate and are the worst part of the Northern Territory, contribute $1.4bn to the Northern Territory economy and help employ 14 000 Territorians. It is remarkable.
Is it any wonder? Let us look at the past. In the departure lounge you have the member for Casuarina, the man we should be bowing to and showing respect, the previous Tourism minister. His great tourism concept was to ban scenic flights over Katherine Gorge. That is what he wanted to do. He is really proud of his other great achievement, the failed Jetstar hub. How good was that? Those are two wonderful achievements by the previous minister for Tourism.
We have the former minister for Tourism, who was so effective she lost her seat. We have the genius of the backbench, the member for Johnston. His contribution to a 5400-word statement on tourism which took an hour to deliver was 12 minutes of personal insults. There was nothing about digital marketing, hotels, aviation, or our brand shifting position. There was nothing except 12 minutes of insults levelled at me, the member for Katherine, and the entire government.
We have the genius of the Labor backbench, the member for Casuarina and the Leader of the Opposition, who hates tourists …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. People would be interested in initiatives in tourism rather than three minutes of personal insults.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order Madam Speaker, I agree with the Leader of the Opposition: relevance. The question was about how much the Leader of the Opposition hates tourists. The minister should get back to that.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CONLAN: Thank you very much, Leader of Government Business. We are articulating how much she hates tourism and how much of opposition is completely bereft of ideas when it comes to tourism.
Mr Vowles interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: The member for Johnston is still at it. All he has is personal insults.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I do not hate tourists. It was a joke. I am sorry he cannot take a joke.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Sit down. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CONLAN: It may have been a joke to you and the carefree world of breakfast radio, but it is not a joke to the 300-plus operators in the Northern Territory or the 14 000 tourism workers who are employed directly and indirectly through tourism. It is certainly not a joke to us, when tourism brings in $1.4bn to the Northern Territory economy.
You should apologise. You hate tourists, you said it.
Firefighters’ Compensation
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
Firefighters turned their backs on the Country Liberal Party when the member for Fong Lim said you will not be supporting the legislation they requested. You claimed you would wait for the outcome of a comprehensive review into workers compensation but you have not even started yet. Why will you not support our legislation now and support our firefighters and their battle with cancer?
ANSWER
I have answered this question, in part, in the first or second question. We are undertaking a comprehensive review looking at a range of issues, not just firefighters.
You have pinpointed a small element of something that can affect firefighters. We are looking at different people in a range of areas. That is why your legislative approach is not suitable to addressing a wide range of people in different occupation categories. We are looking at it in a broader context, especially in response to the findings of the Senate report which I table, Madam Speaker.
Tennant Creek - Antisocial Behaviour
Mr McCARTHY to CHIEF MINISTER
Gove has a version of the Banned Drinker Register and you have guaranteed to keep it; we thank you for that. Tennant Creek does not have one; you scrapped it. Gove and Tennant Creek have similar populations but the number of assaults in Tennant Creek is seven times higher than Gove. The number of alcohol-related assaults is eight times higher, and domestic violence was nine times higher in the past 12 months. The Country Liberal Party has been in government for 12 months.
Since the BDR was scrapped on 26 August 2012, domestic violence has doubled in Tennant Creek. Will you come to Tennant Creek next week? I will offer you a lift. Will you meet with you constituents who want the Banned Drinker Register back in Tennant Creek?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I welcome the member for Barkly back into the Chamber. I hope you have had a couple of good days campaigning, member for Barkly. You could have spent a couple of days in the Chamber talking about a proposal for an alcohol management plan for Tennant Creek - perhaps Tuesday and Wednesday. You could have spoken about some of the solutions you are proposing for the economic situation in Tennant Creek.
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113. The Chief Minister has to answer the question instead of waffle. Will he come to Tennant Creek next week, will he talk to the people of Tennant Creek, and will he reinstate the Banned Drinker Register?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, the Chief Minister has three minutes to reply to the question. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I refer to the Hansard of 21 August 2013 from the member for Barkly - last week. He said - I will paraphrase the first part then read in context - we will look at this issue very closely …
Mr McCarthy: Answer the question.
Mr GILES: Quote:
- I discovered something positive out of that bad statistic. The Tennant Creek police in Barkly had a new focus on domestic violence. They were going out hard to stop domestic violence and were policing that aspect of crime in our community and our families and were making inroads.
I have also said that to provide solutions to crime and antisocial issues you have to have a strong economic base to balance it with social issues. One thing we do not have in Tennant Creek is a strong economic direction or base rather than what is currently happening in the local economy. We have to drive forward to get greater economic growth and capacity around Tennant Creek and the Barkly region. As we have intensive approaches with policing and social interventions, we have to drive economic growth. That is one of the things we are focused on …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113. The question was very direct. We know the Chief Minister is not interesting in meeting with the people of Gove, but the question here is will he meet with people in Tennant Creek? Will he answer it?
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister is answering the question how he sees fit.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I choose to go to Tennant Creek just the same way as I choose to go anywhere in the Territory: when I feel good and ready. Whether I go to Tennant Creek or somewhere else, I will make that decision. I said in this Chamber before we are very concerned about the situation in Tennant Creek. We are opening an office of the Chief Minister’s department. Steve Edgington has been appointed to the position there. One of his first tasks will be to identify the broad issues in Tennant Creek then start to define a strategic approach to address some of those issues, particularly around law and order and social intervention, and then we will plan the future for economic prosperity.
There have been eleven-and-a-half years of a Labor member in Tennant Creek and the Barkly and no economic growth.
Henbury Station Carbon Farming
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
In 2011 Henbury Station was purchased by R M Williams Agricultural Holdings with $9m of federal funding to establish carbon farming projects. Can you update the House on the current situation with this pastoral property?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we all know Labor hates the pastoral industry and a better example could not exist.
Henbury Station, as we all know, was a productive pastoral property south of Alice Springs. It was sold in 2011 to R M Williams Agricultural Holdings Company for a total consideration of $13.5m made up of $9m of taxpayers’ money - federal money unwisely donated by the federal Labor government - and $4.5m worth of R M Williams Agricultural Holdings shares. However, the farm was sold and destocked for the purpose of carbon farming. The deal was dressed up as a carbon farming project to help federal Labor sell the carbon tax and the carbon farming initiative. The kicker is carbon farming is a non-pastoral use that was never approved by the Pastoral Land Board.
This project, supported by NT Labor and funded by federal Labor, was illegal. It was unlawful because there was never a pastoral land permit issued. In fact, an application for a pastoral land permit was never lodged. Even if there was, it is unsure whether it would have satisfied the requirements of the Native Title Act in any case.
However, it gets worse. The pastoral industry is of the belief that in order to subvert the lawful process of the Pastoral Land Board, the former Northern Territory government began cooking up a deal to change the tenure of the land ...
Members interjecting.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Well, isn’t that interesting? That is under investigation ...
Members interjecting.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Industry believes moves were made by NT Labor to change the tenure to a special lease. I will investigate that to find out whether the former Labor government was complicit in some form of dodgy deal with the federal Labor government that would see productive pastoral land tied up forever and a day in non-productive uses. We will go down that path and find out how complicit you are.
The worse thing is this affects real people. Sally Williams and Ross Morton are caught up in this deal and, because of the shonky, shady deal done between the former NT government and federal Labor, these guys have lost $4.5m worth of shares from R M Williams because it went down the gurgler.
Madam Speaker, how can carbon farming under those circumstances work if it cannot even get off the ground with $9m worth of federal funding thrown at it - taxpayers’ money? The question needs to be asked.
Justices of the Peace – Funding and Role
Mr WOOD to ATTORNEY-GENERAL and MINISTER for JUSTICE
I am sure you know Justices of the Peace perform an important function in our judicial system. I am reliably informed you have cut funding for the NT Justices Association which paid for rent and power at their Berrimah office. As well, the Australasian Council of Justices’ Association Conference is to be held in Darwin on 5 October, a conference held in Darwin every nine years. You cut a request for funding for that conference by half, to $5000. Why have you cut the funding? Will you reinstate the funding considering the important voluntary role Justices of the Peace play in upholding the law and performing other functions in the Territory? Does the government have plans to downgrade the importance of JPs in the Territory instead of using them in an expanding role such as presently being trialled in Queensland?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member his question. I have now received two questions in the last 12 months from the member for Nelson, and none from the opposition.
The Chief Magistrate of the Northern Territory essentially downgraded the functions of Justices of the Peace when they had a role inside our court system. As we are all aware, the Chief Magistrate has since resigned and is moving to the federal jurisdiction in Parramatta. We wish her well and thank her for her service to the people of the Northern Territory.
The funding of Justices of the Peace reflects their overall contribution to the community. I will give you, and them, this commitment now: if the new Chief Magistrate, when he or she is appointed, chooses to reappoint them to functions inside the court system and inside the courthouse, then their funding will reflect their contribution to the community. I also thank Justices of the Peace, particularly Mr Sprigg et al, for their good service to the people of the Northern Territory, much of which is for nothing. They have served the people of the Northern Territory well. If the new Chief Magistrate has a role for them, then their funding will reflect the role the Chief Magistrate gives them.
Special Needs Students – Funding Cuts
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
The CLP gave $1m to four mates to write a Renewal Management Board report that you have never released. At least 11 former CLP members and candidates have been given jobs with a six-figure salary; you took six of your colleagues on a trip to a concert in Kununurra; the member for Daly spent taxpayers’ money to take his wife to London; the member for Fong Lim travels the world by private jet; the CLP candidate for Lingiari was gifted millions of dollars worth of water; and your Sports minister gave $300 000 to his own golf club.
Will you immediately instruct your Minister for Education to reverse his decision to cut $280 000 in grants to students with special needs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. I am presuming this is an education question. You seemed to have alluded to that all week without really being able to explain your point. When it comes to how we have approached the budget, we have had to keep in the back of our mind the $5.5bn debt we inherited from Labor and the more than $1bn deficit partly because of the prison. We have put together an Education budget with an extra $40m more than what Labor provided in the last Education budget.
We have been challenged by issues such as Gonski which, initially, asked the Northern Territory government to be a two for one offer. It was …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was not about Gonski, it was asking if you would immediately instructed the Education minister to reverse his decision to cut $280 000 in grants to students with special needs.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call. He is answering the question.
Mr GILES: Initially it was marketed as a two for one deal - $200m versus $100m. When it came down it was $193m versus $106m, which was not quite two for one. When you put in place the formula the Commonwealth government offered us, assuming where are income level was on Education, we would have to provide $652m for the Gonski deal of $106m.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Will he immediately instruct his Education minister …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, please pause. Honourable members, it is fine to jump up for a point of order, but you must get the attention of the Speaker first. Member for Nightcliff.
Ms FYLES: Will he answer the question? Will they reinstate the special grants funds?
Mr GILES: In regard to the Gonski formula, we have looked at the school resource standing model which the Commonwealth gave the Northern Territory government, which detailed what the federal government thought each school in the Northern Territory should get. Part of that formula identified schools like Darwin Middle School would have a reduction of $12m over the forward estimates with the Gonski formula model, which would have been substantial cuts.
We then put into the context the union agreement signed by the former Labor government. That stipulated the amount of interface between teachers and students, and recommended between 75% and 80% teacher to student interface when teachers …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was will he immediately instruct his Education minister to reverse his decision to cut $280 000 in grants to special needs students?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call. He is answering the question.
Mr GILES: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you for the interjection.
We looked at the document signed by the former Labor government and the union. It did not just talk about the amount of interface between teachers and students - between 75% and 80% and, in some areas, around 60% at the moment. What had also been agreed between the union and the former Labor government was there should be a student/teacher ratio of 27:1. We do not reach reach 27:1 in our formula to calculate the budget …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question is very specific around cutting grants to students. I am one of hundreds of parents in the Territory who is extremely anxious about this.
Madam SPEAKER: Get to your standing order, member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr GILES: When you look at the student/teacher, ratio the agreement between the education union and the former Labor government was 27:1. We are putting more teachers into primary education on a reduced teacher/student ratio …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Debt Level
Mr KURRUPUWU to TREASURER
The Country Liberals inherited a $5.5bn debt after 11 years of Labor. Can you outline why such a high debt level is unsustainable, and is there any difference between how Territory Labor and federal Labor manage money?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his good question. In short, the answer is no. However, let me put some meat on the bones. The previous Labor government enacted legislation called the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act. That was to govern the way they did business and handle money. It is a shame, but the previous government breached their own act.
There are four basic tenets contained within FITA, two of which relate directly to debt. One says current fiscal management principles are that funding for current services is to be provided by the current generation. They clearly failed that one. The other tenant is current fiscal management principles are financial risks faced by the Territory are prudently managed, having regard to economic circumstances, including the maintenance of Territory debt at prudent levels.
Madam Speaker, I put to you, and everyone in this Chamber, projected debt of $5.5bn and a revenue to debt ratio of 98% is not prudent fiscal management.
Immediately after delivering the budget there were budget replies, and the member for Casuarina belled the cat about the previous government. He said, ‘Yes we went into debt. We had to employ teachers, nurses, and a whole range of things.’ Basically, he was saying the government …
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The member is misleading parliament. I did not say that, and I challenge him to bring the Hansard here ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Casuarina, what is your point of order?
Mr VATSKALIS: Standing Order 113: relevance, Madam Speaker. The member misquoted me with the intention of misleading parliament. I did not say anything like that and challenge him to bring the Hansard here.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down, member for Fong Lim! Wait! Member for Casuarina, you know the process. If you feel you have been misrepresented you can make a personal statement at a later stage.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! There was a direct allegation the Treasurer has misled the parliament. I ask that be withdrawn or other action taken.
Madam SPEAKER: I did not hear the allegation. Member for Casuarina, if you said that please withdraw the statement.
Mr VATSKALIS: Thank you, Madam Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, a quick read of the Hansard will point out exactly what the member for Casuarina said. Fundamentally, he was saying they were borrowing to pay recurrent costs; that is, this generation was not paying for the services this generation uses - a clear breach of the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act. They could not live within their own rules let alone anyone else’s.
I was also asked about the comparison between the previous government and federal Labor. Federal Labor inherited a budget surplus. They inherited $60bn sitting in a Future Fund, $20bn sitting in a Higher Education Endowment Fund, and another $20bn in a Telecommunications Fund. Where are we six years after federal Labor? We have a $30bn budget deficit!
Madam Speaker, I put it to you and everybody in this Chamber there is no difference in Labor whether in the Northern Territory or in the federal parliament …
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, minister. Sit down.
Member for Namatjira – Alleged Dumping as Minister for Local Government
Ms WALKER to CHIEF MINISTER
All the talk at the mobile polling in the Daly is Gary Higgins, member for Daly, has told people the member for Stuart, Mrs Price, will become the new Minister for Local Government. Apart from the member for Daly, who else have you told you are dumping the member for Namatjira, Ms Anderson? Have you had the courage to tell her yourself she is being dumped or are you, in the words of member for Namatjira, just a ‘little boy’?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for the question. It is all fiction; it is a scurrilous rumour, and there is no truth to any of it.
Child Protection System
Ms FYLES to CHIEF MINISTER referred to MINISTER for CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
One hundred and ninety-three child protection workers are gone under your government. Child abuse reports are up but your investigations are down. You have axed independent scrutiny, caseload ratios are increasing, and morale in the Department of Children and Families is at an all-time low. Vacant positions are not being filled. What will you do to restore the child protection system your minister has destroyed?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, if you want to ask a question on child protection why not ask the Child Protection minister? I can answer any question about how we are cleaning up Labor mess and the challenges in child protection from when you were in government. You cannot click your fingers and change a whole system in everyone’s portfolio in a 12-month time frame. There are significant changes in all this. I will hand the question over to the minister for Child Protection to respond.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a direct question to the Chief Minister about what he will do about child protection because his minister is failing.
Madam SPEAKER: He has the latitude to pass it to the Minister for Children and Families as it is her portfolio.
Ms ANDERSON (Child Protection): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister. This is utter nonsense. What we found in OCF when we came to government was children hidden under bureaucracy and paper. The primary responsibility of OCF is to ensure frontline practitioners are working with families and children. We are ensuring the focus is on children.
Let me tell you, we have had to move all the papers around to find the child. They left the agency in an utter mess and the culprit is sitting across there asking the question. She worked inside the minister’s office. She was hiding it all from the public, that culprit, the one standing up.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Minister Anderson is the Minister for Children and Families. What is she doing for her department when 193 staff have gone and there are no case plans for children?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The minister is answering the question.
Ms ANDERSON: Madam Speaker, the culprit who worked inside the agency, the chihuahua who continues to niggle at the heel and bites people.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Namatjira, please pause. Refer to the member by her electorate name please. She is the member for Nightcliff, not the culprit.
Ms ANDERSON: The member for Nightcliff has no idea what she is talking about. That is why there were no outcomes in OCF. She was appalling working for the minister on that agency. There were no results; we are starting to see results. We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was very specific: 193 child protection staff have gone, and what is being done to restore the child protection system you are destroying?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Ms ANDERSON: All the processes we have in place - we have the Signs of Safety training and are recruiting to positions that were empty when she was there. When the member for Nightcliff worked for the minister, neither of them did anything for child protection. You were never interested in child protection, neither was your minister. You were interested in the politics …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance, in relation to answering the question rather than simply attacking. Also, could you ask her to desist from talking across the Chamber and pointing her finger. She needs to address through the Chair.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please address your comments through the Chair. Continue.
Ms ANDERSON: I would like to pick up on the interjection the member for Nhulunbuy has made inside this Chamber: give the house you live in to a teacher at Nhulunbuy.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Namatjira, your comments should be addressed through the Chair.
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I ask her to explain, apart from losing 193 staff …
Madam SPEAKER: The minister has finished her answer, member for Fannie Bay.
Live Cattle Export Trade
Ms LEE to MINISER for PRIMARY INDUSTRY and FISHERIES
Can you advise the House on the state of the Territory’s live export trade since Labor almost ruined it? What challenges have you encountered in your efforts to improve the sector since becoming a minister?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her very important question. As I said before, we all know the Labor Party hates the pastoral sector and has done everything in its power to destroy and damage the pastoral industry in the Northern Territory.
A truer example does not exist other than the live cattle suspension in 2011. That was a knee-jerk reaction by a weak Labor government in response to a minority group which happened to take control of the media for a night.
It was the most shameful expression of public policy this country has ever seen. Not only did they have a weak-kneed policy, they effectively interfered with the food security of one of our closest neighbours, Indonesia.
The biggest kicker in this is the damage to the diplomatic relationship caused as a result of the live cattle ban. Where was the Northern Territory government when that happened? It was standing behind the federal minister saying it was the circuit breaker it had to have. What it needed was some strength and leadership from the federal Labor Party to support the pastoral industry in the face of some challenges.
What challenges have we had since that time? We have had the challenge of no apology from federal Labor to Indonesia. I wrote to the Prime Minister a few months ago, before he went to Indonesia, and suggested very strongly that he needed to pack an apology with him, take it to Indonesia and try to repair that relationship. Nothing! Zilch! Nada! I did not even get a response from the Prime Minister; he did not apologise.
Where has Warren Snowdon been in all this? All the pastoral industry in the Northern Territory is in his electorate. I have not heard on single word from Warren Snowdon supporting the pastoral industry in the wake of the live cattle suspension in 2011. For two years, he has been silent; not a single word.
They are the type of challenges we are facing in the pastoral section, based on a lame-duck decision made by the federal Labor Party and supported by the Northern Territory government.
On the flip side, we have the Coalition which, if it comes into government, will go to Indonesia and apologise. Tony Abbott said he will do that and Indonesia will be his first overseas port of call if he is elected Prime Minister. That is the sign of a party which is interested in the primary industry sector of the Northern Territory, in the pastoral sector, not prone to knee-jerk reactions, and keen to re-establish relations with the Indonesian government.
That is unlike the NT Labor Party; all they can do is whinge, bitch, and moan about what is going on. They have no substance and are not interested in the pastoral sector. They never have been and never will …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Public Servants – Contracts Ended
Ms MANISON to MINISTER for PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT
Conservative governments have form on promising not to sack public servants then cutting them once elected. Even you handed out this flier to public servants just days before you started cutting jobs.
Tony Abbott will be the CLP on steroids. He will take an axe to Territory public servants straightaway, just as you did. You deceived public servants so why should they trust Tony Abbott and the CLP again?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I do not accept the premise of the question to start with ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Put them down, members!
Mr ELFERINK: No public servant earning under $110 000 has been sacked, no matter how often you tell that bald-faced misrepresentation to the people of the Northern Territory.
We have inherited a projected debt of $5.5bn. If we do not do what is necessary in the immediate future to deal with a projected debt of $5.5bn, there will be no public servants into the future because all the Territory’s income will go to paying interest.
No public servant was sacked; contracts came to an end. By their very nature, those contracts have a temporary basis and were funded by the federal Labor government through the processes of getting the Territory government to employ them. When the federal Labor government removes that money from the Northern Territory, we cannot continue to pay for those contracts, unless we are a registered charity, which we are not. Let us put those furphies to bed once and for all.
Let us talk about the history of the Northern Territory Labor Party and how they dealt with people. Remember Margaret Banks? Remember the way she was abused and cast out in the most wretched fashion?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: This Labor Party consistently names …
Members interjecting.
Ms Walker interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, it is fortunate the three school groups have left this Chamber because, as I said recently, they will go home to two adults, if not more. Standing Order 51:
- No Member may converse aloud or make any noise or disturbance, which in the opinion of the Speaker is designed to interrupt or has the effect of interrupting a Member speaking.
I would like to hear the answer from the Attorney-General. I ask you to please desist from interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: This Labor opposition consistently names public servants in this House and makes allegations of corruption against them. The Water Controller was recently accused of corruption by the member for Nightcliff; his good reputation tarnished and sullied in this place based on nothing other than some spurious assertion and conspiracy theory. The former Labor government will, if they ever return to government, go on a head-hunting tour that you, and every other person, have not seen the likes of before.
They are a disgrace. The fact they name public servants and accuse them of corrupt activity without evidence to support it only goes to demonstrate the quality of their desperation. The public service has much to be worried about. Even with the Labor Party in opposition, if you do not agree with them you will be named in this House …
Ms Walker interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Put it down, member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr ELFERINK: … and accused of corruption.
Water Advisory Committees – Scrapping
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Something highlighted in relation to the Mataranka water licensing controversy is the Mataranka Water Advisory Committee was not asked for recommendations on water licences, which is one its functions.
At the same time, the Daly River Management Advisory Committee has been scrapped. The board I am a member of, the Howard East Water Advisory Committee, has not met since your government came to office. The Berry Springs Water Advisory Committee has also not met. These advisory committees play an important part in management and decision-making processes when planning for water use in different parts of the Territory because they include the local community. Is your government intending to scrap all water advisory committees and, if so, why? What will you replace them with?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his question. The answer to your question of whether we plan to scrap water advisory committees, member for Nelson, is no. The water advisory committees are set up under the Water Act, section 23, which says the minister may, in writing, establish and nominate a water advisory committee, which we do as matter of course.
The role of water advisory committees is very important. The member for Nelson highlighted local input. We see the role of water advisory committees is a robust one and one we want to keep going. I cannot give you any definitive explanations around why particular water advisory committees have not met over a period of time, but can give you some details on the Mataranka committee. Because the draft water allocation plan for Mataranka, as it sat under the stewardship of the former government, was so weak and missing very important constituent parts the department reworked it.
It is now including consideration being given to mining and industrial activities as well as the future water supply of Ngukurr. The member for Nightcliff went to great pains to point out somehow we will drain all the water from the Roper River and that will affect the water supply of Ngukurr. However, it is interesting to note that under the former government the draft allocation plan for Mataranka made no mention of Ngukurr and security of its water supply. We have taken that back and added things to it because we believe, as a government, they are important. We care about Ngukurr and what will happen there with water. That is why it will be included in the next draft management plan for Mataranka so the water committee can look at it. We are giving water committees the best and most contemporary information and science we possibly can. That is the role of the department.
We will continue down this path of giving the advisory committees the best information we possibly can in the context of a pro-development government. We want to see agricultural developments happen in the Northern Territory. For the members opposite again, just as one plus one equals two, water plus land equals development.
NT Tourism Industry Damage
Mr HIGGINS to MINISTER for TOURISM and MAJOR EVENTS
The Territory is on the right track to experience growth and resurgence in our tourism industry after a decade of neglect. However, a lack of investment in our accommodation sector is holding back our potential. Can the minister explain how the unstable, chaotic, carbon tax hungry federal Labor government has hurt the NT tourism industry?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his important question. I have to take up an issue with the member for Katherine. You are right that the opposition hates the pastoral industry, but I believe they may hate the tourism industry more.
What you heard today articulated how much the Leader of the Opposition dislikes the tourism industry …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The standing order for misleading. I said I liked them. I said it was a joke, do not mislead.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CONLAN: Thank you, Madam Speaker. You said it and you will have to wear it.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please pause. Leader of Government Business, I have given the call back to the minister for Tourism. Minister, you have the call
Mr CONLAN: The Leader of the Opposition said the worst thing about the Northern Territory is tourists; they are just a bunch of southerners.
They contribute to 14 000 jobs indirect and direct, and a $1.4bn industry. It does not stop there, because a former minister unilaterally banned scenic flights over Katherine and the failed Jetstar hub. The genius of the Labor backbench, the member for Johnston, contributed 12 minutes of abuse to a 5400-word statement yesterday in the House. I am unsure who is worse for the tourism industry. Is it the Northern Territory Labor Party or the federal government? Tourism accommodation reported hotel profits have dropped by 12% as a result of the carbon tax.
Virgin Australia’s CEO, John Borghetti, commented that the carbon tax was the worst thing to affect his airline. The total carbon tax bill to Virgin Australia was $24.4m for the reported six month period. Their profit for that period was only $23m. Tourism is a highly priced, sensitive and competitive market, and the last thing we need in the Northern Territory, or tourism in this country, is another tax, particularly a carbon tax. The Rudd/Gillard or Rudd/Rudd government, whatever it might be in Canberra, has increased the tourism bureaucracy by 248% yet decreased the tourism spend by $6m. What Labor has done is exactly what the tourism industry does not need - more bureaucracy and less money.
On the other side, this government has increased the total tourism spend by $8m, bringing the appropriation to $54m. A $30m marketing campaign will be rolled out in September this year and February 2014.
It is fantastic news, and exactly what the tourism industry needs. The last thing we need is the carbon tax and the Leader of the Opposition saying she hates tourists.
Ms Lawrie: I will amend it. It is you we hate!
Teacher Cuts
Mr VOWLES to CHIEF MINISTER
Your Minister for Education tabled a document in estimates which showed in May 2012 there were 84 teachers at Casuarina Senior College in my electorate. Earlier this week, documents leaked from the department of Education show from next year there will be 68 teachers at Casuarina Senior College. That is a cut of 26 in the first year of the Country Liberal Party at just one school.
It is not true that Tony Abbott winning makes it easier for you to sack more teachers at CSC and every other school in the Northern Territory. Will you, Chief Minister, guarantee your Education minister fronts the rally this afternoon?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, those figures are completely wrong. I have not seen the document but know they are wrong. I suggest the member for Johnston spend as much time as possible preparing his questions in a much better way. It is not as if he speaks much in parliament; he does have time on his hands.
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a direct question. Will his Education minister front the rally this afternoon?
Madam SPEAKER: No, that was not the direct question. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, if the member for Johnston really wanted to understand what might be happening at some of the schools he might have referred to the Gonski funding models which mention what will happen if federal Labor introduces the Gonski model. Casuarina Senior College, recommended by federal Labor, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, will have a reduction of $1.822m over the forward estimates under the Gonski program.
This is not the Northern Territory government’s model; this is the model from Canberra. What other schools might we look at? Moil Primary School, one that will …
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I know it is embarrassing that …
Madam SPEAKER: Get to the point of order.
Mr VOWLES: The point of order is he is not answering the question I asked. I am looking forward to hearing his answer.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has the call.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker, the question made a raft of assertions then posed a quite separate question. It is impossible for the Chief Minister to answer the question without addressing the raft of assertions made.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has the call.
Mr GILES: It is opportune we finish on this question with these guys leading from the chin. I will run through a few more schools. The member for Nightcliff might be interested to know Kevin Rudd was proposing Nightcliff Primary School have a reduction of $3.469m …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113. It was about the loss of teachers at Casuarina Senior College, and will you front the rally or stay in here like a little boy and hide?
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down, Opposition Leader.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, to reaffirm, Casuarina Senior College, under Kevin Rudd and Gonski, will lose $1.822m. It is not just Nightcliff Primary School, Nightcliff Middle School will lose $3.268m, Alawa Primary School will lose $8.392m, and Taminimin, $15.105m is proposed to be cut under Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard and Gonski …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was not about what might happen under Gonski, but what is happening right now under the CLP and the teachers who have lost their jobs.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I have answered that question. Those figures are …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. Before you start, member for Fannie Bay, I will read Standing Order 113:
- An answer shall be succinct, conscience and directly relevant to the question.
It does not go to relevance automatically. What is your point of order?
Mr GUNNER: The answer is not directly relevant to the question which goes to teacher cuts at Casuarina Senior College and the documents the ….
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down! The Chief Minister has the call. He will answer it in the time available.
Mr GILES: Ludmilla Primary School will lose $7.413m, but really importantly, the member for Johnston should be standing up for his own electorate. He has a school in his electorate. Jingili Primary School will lose $4.721m under Kevin Rudd and Gonski. Start standing up for Jingili Primary School, stand up for your electorate, and understand what is going on in education.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016