2013-08-21
Power and Water Corporation –
Valuation of Assets
Valuation of Assets
Mr McCARTHY to CHIEF MINISTER
Last week, whistleblowers revealed your plans to split Power and Water into four separate entities. Splitting Power and Water is the first step towards privatisation, which guarantees more of your price hikes. One of these entities would be power generation. Your government is currently requesting a tender entitled Perform Valuation of Generation Assets. Obviously, a valuation of generation assets will help you sell them.
Why is the CLP valuing the generation assets of Power and Water? Will you rule out selling or leasing any part of networks and generation in this term of the CLP government?
________________
Distinguished Visitor
Ms Maggie Hickey
Ms Maggie Hickey
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please pause. I acknowledge in the gallery Maggie Hickey, a former member of the Northern Territory parliament and Leader of the Opposition. Welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
________________
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I know economic principles are not very high on the scale for the former Labor government. Of course we value our assets to see what they are worth so they can sit on the balance sheet. I do not know where to go with this question. This is a silly question.
Yesterday, I ruled out selling Power and Water and will do it again today. We are not selling Power and Water, but we will continue to value all the assets owned by the Territory government ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The question was very specific: will you rule out selling or leasing any parts of networks and generation in this term of the CLP government?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, I have already answered the question. Yesterday, it was very interesting. On reflection, what a rabble Labor was during Question Time yesterday.
They have asked us why we value assets. It is about getting the balance sheet right. Perhaps if you valued assets properly and followed economic principles you may not have got into the position where there is a $5.5bn debt legacy we have to take care of and try to fix. If you understood how economics works, if you had a good Treasurer who understood the books, maybe we would not be in this position where we have a huge deficit we inherited and that $5.5bn debt. To answer the question, we will continue to value our assets.
Drunks Picked up by Police
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for POLICE, FIRE and EMERGENCY SERVICES
The head of the NT Police Association, Vince Kelly, this morning confirmed that police are avoiding taking drunks into protective custody. Your own deputy, Dave Tollner, confirmed earlier this year that police are taking drunks to hospital instead of police cells. Not a single person in the Territory believes your claims that public drunkenness is down. Why are you crowding our hospital emergency departments with drunks?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, that is a completely misleading question. If you want to get a briefing, I am happy to tell you how many people have been picked up by police, how many are being dropped home, how many are being taken to sobering-up shelters, and how many are going to hospital if they are crook. You will probably find it is between one to four per day; sometimes in some hospitals it is fewer than one per day. That is because people have a lot of illness.
You will find the number of people police are picking up is down across the board, in some places by 55%. The number of alcohol-related antisocial behaviour incidents in the Northern Territory is substantially down ...
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: The assault level … I can tell you the figures. The average per day of people who cannot go into protective custody because of a serious illness who are being dropped at hospital, a sobering-up shelter, or taken home: from the Darwin Metropolitan Command is 0.86 people per day; from the Northern Command it is 0.91 people per day; and from the Southern Command it is 2.23 people per day. This idea that there are drunks flooding the hospital is completely misleading. They are police figures.
The variation in protective custody episodes for Darwin Metropolitan Command is down 14.54%. for Northern Command is down 22.23%. and Southern Command is down 49.6% ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Would the Chief Minister kindly table that document?
Mr GILES: No, I do not table briefing notes I write for myself, Opposition Leader.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, he has declined to table his notes. They are his own notes. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Could he provide a version of that which does not have his own notes to the opposition?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, in total, protective custodies are down 29.91%.
However, I advise Labor if they want to find out more about this to read the Hansard of estimates. I know you all got tired and went home early and may have missed some of it, but this was discussed at estimates when you all went home too tired and could not do the work.
Repeating those figures: a 29.91% decrease in protective custodies; in the Southern Command a 49.6% decrease. I will go through those hospital numbers again, because you keep saying people are going to hospital. In the Darwin Metropolitan Command, 0.86 of a person is going to the hospital; from the Northern Command 0.91 of a person, and in the Southern Command 2.23 people.
This idea that all these people who are drunk are going to the hospital is completely false. You are trying to mislead parliament in making these assertions in the statement before your question. If you want to have a real look at some of the reasons the hospitals are being clogged up, have a look at what is happening with the federal government on aged care, and how the aged care people are blocking beds, and the asylum seekers who are blocking over 1000 beds a year in the hospital.
Tiger Brennan Drive Duplication – Announcement by Federal Member for Solomon
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for TRANSPORT
In the federal Labor government’s budget announced this year there was no funding for previously announced upgrades to the federally owned Stuart, Victoria, or Barkly Highways, and the vital duplication of Tiger Brennan Drive would not have any funds provided by Kevin Rudd’s government until 2016-17. Can you please inform the House what Natasha Griggs, the member for Solomon, and the federal Coalition have today announced they would do to fast-track this much-needed project for the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her question. I know the good member is very interested in Tiger Brennan Drive because she travels on it every day and understands it is important and essential infrastructure in the Northern Territory that supports us in improving our productivity, the development of Northern Australia - something Labor does not support - and the way we go about our lifestyle and get around through access points.
However, she is right in saying in the federal budget this year Kevin Rudd did not announce any new money for network roads, the Stuart, Victoria, and Barkly Highways. He has very small amounts for the off-network roads. We have been asking for Tiger Brennan Drive, particularly between Woolner Road and Berrimah Road, to be duplicated, as soon as possible, but they announced that money will not come down until 2016-17, long after the next electoral cycle of the federal government.
It was very good to stand today with Julie Bishop, the Deputy Opposition Leader from the Coalition, and Natasha Griggs, the fantastic local member of Solomon, announcing that $70m will become available this financial year to start the extra work on Tiger Brennan Drive.
That is essential money for essential infrastructure, and something Labor would not do locally or federally. It was not even in the budget to come on until 2016-17. The work would not start until January 2017 at the earliest. That is the practice of Labor, promise something and then do not deliver.
I remember in the 2012 election trying to help the Labor mates over here, and the comrades from Canberra turned up and promised to do it this financial year during the Territory election campaign. They lost the election then, all of a sudden, it is not in the budget until 2016-17 and will not be delivered at all until after an electoral cycle.
That is the way Labor works; you cannot trust Labor. Have a look at the NDIS! It starts in 2018 after the forward estimates so no one can work the money through the budget. They do not understand budgets and do not value assets. When does all the money come in for Gonski? At the back end in 2018-19 beyond the forward estimates so no one can access it.
The announcement today by Julie Bishop and Natasha Griggs supports the people of Solomon, the people coming from Palmerston and the rural area, and we will see work start this financial year. If Luke Gosling had any muscle he would congratulate Natasha Griggs for getting the job done.
Cost of Living
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
This is a copy of a chart produced by Treasury, and I will table the Treasury document. It shows that Darwin has, by far, the highest inflation in the country. The cost of living is increasing at the fastest rate in the country, after you promised to cut it. You betrayed Territorians. As the build-up starts and power bills grow, Territorians will experience your betrayal every time they turn on an air conditioner.
The carbon price put up bills by an average $135 per year, compensated by payments from the Commonwealth government. You added $2000 per year, yet you blame the carbon tax. When will you stop betraying Territorians and accept your responsibility for increasing the cost of living in the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the opposition gets more and more irrelevant every day. Come here with something decent to talk about. We answered these questions yesterday. We have the fastest growing economy, the fastest growing growth predictions, the fastest dwelling constructions, and the fastest approvals for dwelling constructions. We have the economy that all jurisdictions in the nation want to see. All jurisdictions in the country want to be part of the Northern Territory, to see what is going on here, and want they to invest here.
We have a 3.1% CPI rate forecast. What is part of that 3.1%? I sound like a broken record because I answered this question yesterday. Carbon tax makes up 0.7% of our CPI, and 0.8% of the power price rises is due to the carbon tax.
There is only one message I send to Territorians: if you want a growing economy and a government that delivers on results, you cannot trust Labor because you cannot trust Labor. They are all of the same colour: Territory Labor, federal Labor - the little lap dogs who do whatever Kevin Rudd or Julia Gillard tells them to do in their role as Prime Minister. I remember when Julia Gillard said, ‘There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead’. We have heard Tony Abbott mention that many times. Tony Abbott, the man you can trust, said he is going to get rid of the carbon tax. Labor brought the carbon tax in. The biggest cost of living pressure increase is the carbon tax: 0.7% of the CPI.
Stop leading with you chin. You need to come here with better questions and better policies so we can start debating something sensible. You want to start debating things that are sensible.
I am happy to take three minutes trying to entertain the spectators by answering a stupid Labor question. You are the people who own the carbon tax; it is your tax. You are driving wage inflation. You are driving the cost of housing and the production of goods. When the carbon tax is applied to heavy fuel for all the trucks, ships and trains that run on diesel to delivers our goods, the price of delivering goods goes up so everything goes up. Building a house costs more because of the carbon tax ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I refer you back to relevance to the question. Why do you blame others for breaking your promise to cut the cost of living: $2000 a year for households, $4000 and above for businesses. That is all added to freight, to costs at the shop, to the cost of living …
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, please be seated. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I have answered it.
Alcohol Mandatory Treatment - Update
Mr HIGGINS to MINISTER for ALCOHOL REHABILITATION
The government’s new alcohol mandatory treatment system was launched on 1 July. Can you update the House on the first 52 days of this important system and outline some of the benefits of those who suffer chronic alcohol addiction?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, this morning I impart very good news about the roll-out of alcohol mandatory treatment across the Northern Territory. Never before in the Northern Territory has there been such an emphasis on treatment. The former Labor government focused on supply. For the first time in the history of the Northern Territory, we have approached it from a balanced perspective. We have approached the very serious problem of alcohol abuse …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113, relevance. She is misleading the parliament. We had an alcohol tribunal ...
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated. There is no point of order. Sit down.
Ms LAWRIE: … that referred people to treatment …
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, sit down! You are on a warning.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Leader of the Opposition made a scurrilous accusation which can only be proved by substantive motion or she must be asked to withdraw it.
Ms Lawrie: The Speaker has approved ‘misleading’ previously.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition accused the minister of misleading this House, the most serious allegation you can make in this House. She has not withdrawn it.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, withdraw that statement of misleading, please.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw. It was allowed yesterday.
Mrs LAMBLEY: Madam Speaker, I interpret the very defensive behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition in relation to the failure of her alcohol policies as a sign that ours, for the first time in the history of the Northern Territory, just might work to change people’s lives.
For the first time, we have a health treatment model available for people who are chronically afflicted with alcohol abuse. Over the last 52 days since we started the roll-out, the beginning of our alcohol mandatory treatment policy, 36 people have been assessed and are now in treatment within our alcohol mandatory treatment centres. They are going through the assessment and treatment processes.
Thirty-six people in 52 days is what we envisaged. This is the roll-out. We are right on target. We knew that within the first three months there would be a gradual take-up of alcohol mandatory treatment, and having 36 people undergoing assessment and treatment within this program is well on target ...
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113, relevance. Can the minister advise if there are 36 people receiving treatment or 18, as you said in your statement today?
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Sit down.
Mrs LAMBLEY: The opposition obviously takes exception to the good news about alcohol mandatory treatment in the Northern Territory. They could only concentrate on supply. Their vision and perspective of how to treat this very serious problem in the Northern Territory was lacking and narrow.
We are catering for people who are very sick, debilitated, and disabled by their alcohol addiction. For the first time in the history of the Northern Territory, we can mandate these people into a treatment program which will change their lives. There is absolutely no doubt.
On 27 June, we put through legislation unprecedented in the history of Australia. This means people, for the first time, who have a serious alcohol problem can be managed through a health system and assisted to change their lives, get off the grog, and contribute to our community.
Madam Speaker, this government is very proud of what we are doing in this space.
Power and Water Bills – Funding for
Non-Government Organisations
Non-Government Organisations
Mr VATSKALIS to MINISTER for HEALTH
I hope she gets the figures right this time. Every year the government provides funding to non-government organisations such as Anglicare to assist people who cannot pay their Power and Water bills. Last financial year, after your price hikes, they ran out very quickly. What have you done, as minister, to ensure this will not happen again? What advice have you received as to whether they are coping this year?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Casuarina for his question. This government spends in the range of $160m a year investing in the non-government sector to provide very important health and community care services. We depend on the non-government sector to complement what we do within this important area of government responsibility.
I take exception to the member for Casuarina asserting we are trying to strip them back or minimise the importance of the contribution they make to health services in the Northern Territory. The $160m is a huge amount of money; it is more than the total budgets of most of the government departments represented by ministers here today. It is a huge amount of money and we are committed to continuing funding in this sector.
When we came to government 12 months ago we were confronted with a huge, inevitable debt and a climbing deficit; we had to make some very serious decisions on where we could save money …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. What have you done to support Anglicare and their voucher system?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mrs LAMBLEY: To support Anglicare and their voucher system we are continuing their funding; there is a simple answer to a simple question.
When we came to government we had to implement austerity measures; we had to tighten our belts, something the former Labor government knew nothing about. The only thing they were good at was spending, spending, spending. That is what they did in all areas of government, including investment in the non-government sector.
During the last quarter of the calendar year, we advised the non-government sector it would have a slight decrease in its estimated or forecast funding. Most of those non-government organisations took that on the chin; they realised that, as a part of government they were dependent on, they were required to be a part of these saving measures. It was difficult for them, but we have worked with them since and I believe we have the cooperation and the understanding of the non-government sector.
Madam Speaker, we rely on this sector very heavily. There are hundreds of organisations such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service and St John Ambulance in the non-government sector which provide essential services throughout the Northern Territory. We do not intend to starve them; our commitment to them is consistent and will remain consistent.
Veolia’s Autoclave at Berrimah
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LANDS, PLANNING and the ENVIRONMENT
It is my understanding Veolia is building a new autoclave or incinerator on a property at Berrimah. Neighbouring businesses have already complained about problems associated with odours and fallout from Veolia’s existing incinerator which was used to replace the incinerator at East Arm port.
The property is zoned ‘light industry’ and, under the planning scheme, this is a zone which specifically prohibits the treatment of waste materials. How can this new incinerator operate from these premises, and how does the existing incinerator legally operate? Has the Environment Protection Authority been involved in this process and, if so, what are they doing about it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, we should put this into context for the member for Nelson. We have a former government which spoke very strongly in the area of environmental protection, but they let a toxic incinerator operate at the East Arm port year after year. It took a Country Liberals government - in fact, the current Chief Minister was the person who turned it off in November last year because he had the courage to do the right thing …
Ms Lawrie: Are you going to answer the question?
Mr CHANDLER: I will answer the question, but it needs to be told that you guys spoke very highly about the environment, but did little to protect it because you allowed an incinerator which let toxic waste flow into the environment unchecked. At least we have gone one step further and undertaken some detailed tests in the area to ensure there are no ongoing concerns in regard to the environment.
To confirm, there is no incinerator operating at East Arm port today. It was turned off by the Chief Minister. The incinerator that was operating at the port was operated by the Darwin Port Corporation and was closed in November last year. Veolia is authorised to collect, transport and treat listed waste under the environmental protection licence which was amended and reissued on 30 January 2013 to incorporate treatment of listed waste received in the Northern Territory and to quarantine waste by autoclave at 5 Denison Court, Berrimah.
Veolia uses an autoclave which uses steam and pressure to treat waste. During the early stages of operation of the autoclave, some odour complaints were received. Veolia undertook management actions to resolve these complaints and the NTEPA has received an application for environmental protection approval to relocate the activities, including the autoclaving of quarantine waste at 5 Denison Court to 13 Beaton Road, Berrimah, where the land is zoned light industry.
Light industry is permitted in the zone provided it does not impact on the amenity of the locality by reasons of emission of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, vapour, steam, soot, ash, dust, waste, etcetera. Veolia has lodged an application for compliance checks seeking confirmation that the use is permitted in the zone.
Prior to determining whether the proposed use is permitted, advice from the EPA is being sought as to the potential impacts. Should it be demonstrated that it does not have the potential to impact on the amenity of the locality, a development permit will be required, otherwise it is permitted. The NTEPA has advised the environmental impacts associated with the autoclave operation are not considered significant enough to require assessment by an environmental impact statement.
The environmental impact will be considered by the NTEPA in its review of the application from Veolia. The NTEPA is consulting with the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment to determine whether the proposed activity fits within the requirements of the Planning Act. We are doing something unlike ...
Madam SPEAKER: Your time has expired, minister.
Education Staffing Cuts
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
Yesterday, your conservative colleague, Premier Colin Barnett, admitted that schools in Western Australia could be closed to save money on the same day as 500 education staff were told they would lose their jobs. When will you advise teachers of the staffing cuts foreshadowed under your new student/teacher formula, which schools will be hit and how many more jobs will be lost? Or will you wimp out again and hide the extent of job cuts until after the federal election?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I am not sure what the member for Fannie Bay is talking about. I am not sure whether he is talking about the budget or some other harebrained idea Labor has come up with.
What I can talk to you about is the Gonski model proposed by Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, if that is what is being referred to. Under the Gonski model, it is proposed …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We are talking about the Country Liberal Party …
Madam SPEAKER: What is your standing order?
Mr GUNNER: Standing Order 113: relevance. We are talking about the new student/teacher formula, otherwise known as the effective enrolment formula, and how many jobs will be lost under that?
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, these guys must have been asleep during estimates because this was spoken about completely at estimates. We are putting another 60 teachers into early childhood teaching to ensure kids get a good start in life, so to …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Principals are still waiting on the advice. I do not understand how it could have been discussed at estimates if principals still do not know.
Madam SPEAKER: Please be seated, there is no point of order.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Can the Chief Minister at least get one sentence into his answer before they start calling relevance; it is hardly fair and not appropriate in …
Madam SPEAKER: Please sit down, member for Port Darwin.
Mr GILES: What many people do not know about the Gonski model proposed by Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard was that where they said it was a 2:1 offer; we put one in, they put two in …
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Karama, cease interjecting!
Mr GILES: We were asked to put in $106m and they would put in $193m ...
Ms Lawrie: How many teachers are going?
Ms Fyles: Nightcliff Middle School 19:11.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Nightcliff.
Mr GILES: Wrong!
Ms Lawrie: Casuarina Senior College.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, I remind you that you are on a warning. Cease interjecting!
Mr GILES: Under that model it was not quite 2:1, but the Commonwealth set a model up called the School Resourcing Standard, or the SRS, which made an assessment about how much money is spent in the Northern Territory. They made the wrong assessment in that model, then they were asking us to put in an extra $106m. It meant we would have to put in $652m as part of the Gonski approach - $652m over the forward estimates - then into 2018-19 beyond the forward estimates, as they like to do the modelling, back ending the deal so it cannot be seen on the books.
This was a bad option for the Northern Territory, so we spent much time negotiating a better model, a better financial outcome. We got to just over $300m the Northern Territory would have to put in. That $300m was too much. When we have a $5.5bn debt we cannot put in an extra $300m; it is not possible.
The other component with Gonski was they were going to build a bureaucracy of between 1000 and 2000 bureaucrats in Canberra who would make every school in the Northern Territory, the most independent jurisdiction in the country, report on a weekly basis, and then tell the schools how to run their business. These are the most independent schools in the country, with Victoria following closely behind us. It was terrible.
Looking at the funding model from Canberra, they made an assessment about what schools deserved. When you go through the list of schools and what they deserved, Darwin High School was recommended to have a $12.861m reduction; Anula Primary School, a reduction of $10m; Berry Springs Primary School a $705 000 reduction, Katherine School of the Air a $3m reduction ...
Ms Lawrie: You are misleading parliament on the …
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired. Opposition Leader …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Wait! Opposition Leader, withdraw that statement, please, in regard to misleading parliament.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw. They are not the figures …
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! During that last response and previous ones …
Madam SPEAKER: What is your standing order, member for Fong Lim?
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, the interjections coming from the Opposition Leader and the nasal screeching is beyond the pale.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down. There is no point of order.
Alcohol Mandatory Treatment –
Positive Outcomes
Ms LEE to MINISTER for ALCOHOL REHABILITATION
It is early days, but can you provide the House with examples of the positive outcomes being achieved by the alcohol mandatory treatment system for individuals suffering chronic alcohol abuse and for other Territorians?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. Just 52 days into our alcohol mandatory treatment program across the Northern Territory we are seeing some great results. We are hearing some really good news, particularly at a very individual level, of people making changes in their lives.
It was good to know the former Labor government supported mandatory alcohol rehabilitation, despite the complaints and criticisms from the opposite side of the Chamber. The former Chief Ministers, Paul Henderson and Clare Martin, and the current Leader of the Opposition are on the public record supporting mandatory alcohol treatment. It is good to have them on side despite their complaints and the ongoing barrage of criticisms.
The first person to come into alcohol mandatory treatment was a woman in Alice Springs ...
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113. Can the minister please advise where Brewdini is today?
_____________________
Suspension of Member
Member for Fannie Bay
Member for Fannie Bay
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fannie Bay, leave the Chamber for one hour, pursuant to Standing Order 240A.
_____________________
Mrs LAMBLEY: Madam Speaker, I will share with the Chamber today a good news story about the first person to come into alcohol mandatory treatment in the Northern Territory, a woman in Alice Springs. This woman has been troubled by alcohol abuse for many years, and is very well known to the system through CAAAPU, the local provider of residential alcohol rehabilitation in Alice Springs. She came to our notice through three protective custody orders within a couple of weeks of the roll-out of this treatment program. She was obviously known to the police and picked up within a couple of weeks from 1 July, our roll-out.
This woman, once in treatment, shared with the people at CAAAPU looking after her that she realised she required treatment and had always tried to run away from treatment; she was not inclined to seek it voluntarily. She communicated with the staff that she was happy to undergo treatment. She realised it was going to be a good thing for her and she is working very cooperatively with the staff of CAAAPU, with the alcohol management treatment program, to change her life. That is a positive story. That is the first person to come into mandatory treatment and is a good sign of things to come.
The second person taken into mandatory treatment was taken into the facility in Darwin, the Darwin Alcohol Mandatory Treatment Centre. On 31 July he was brought in through protective custody. Within the first month of treatment he too was very open to treatment. He was allowed to go back to his community and undergo sorry business with his family as part of the flexible tribunal system.
These are good stories, Madam Speaker. Alcohol mandatory treatment is working in the Northern Territory.
Alcohol Abuse – Government Plans to Address Issues
Mr KURRUPUWU to CHIEF MINISTER
The scourge of alcohol abuse is widespread across the Territory and is particularly high in our Indigenous population. Can you advise the House how seriously you take this issue, and outline some of the plans to address it?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura. I know he is very passionate about supporting his people, particularly from the Tiwi Islands, and on the mainland, in ensuring they have appropriate support services to address their chronic alcohol issues where they are prevalent in that small population.
Everyone in this Chamber has an understanding of the scourge of alcohol on a small part of our population which has a terrible detrimental effect on people’s health as individuals, their children, their families and their communities.
When we came to government we were resolute that we were going to address this problem. The Minister for Alcohol Rehabilitation is doing a fantastic job putting in place a nation-leading initiative to try to help resolve some of these issues people have.
It is very interesting when you look at how some of our changes have occurred over a period of time. When we came into government we removed the Banned Drinker Register. The Banned Drinker Register was stopping people buying takeaway alcohol; it was not stopping people from going into a pub and drinking or from breaking into premises and obtaining it.
That was when we saw the levels of crime with commercial and residential property break-ins go through the roof. You can see in the crime figures that came out on Friday that property crime has reduced substantially.
Also, by not criminalising it, people can now buy grog while, at the same time, we are helping people who have chronic problems. We have seen a reduction in the number of protective custodies, and I will go through some figures. I alluded to some earlier, but I will go through some more. This is data from 1 July last year to 31 May this year. These are the reasons people say we are not seeing as many drunk people on the streets at the moment, which is having a much better outcome …
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: I explained, Madam Speaker. This is 31 May data: Darwin Metro Command in that period of time for the 2011-12 financial year had 7670 people taken to the watch house, and in the last financial year it was 6482, which is a reduction of 15.49%; Northern Command, 4918 to 3842, a reduction of 21.89%; and Southern Command, 5786 compared to the last financial year of 2783, a reduction of 51.9%. That is a substantial difference to people’s lives.
Under the previous government, people would be picked up on the street and thrown into a police cell every night, which is a reflection of those 2011-12 figures; 19 045 people were chucked into a cell overnight. That figure dropped to 13 116 as opposed to the data I just presented. That is, overall for the Northern Territory, a 31% change.
There is a substantial difference of us not throwing people into goals. This is part of the change we want to see: fewer Aboriginal people in goal for being drunk, but going through rehabilitation.
Madam Speaker, I congratulate the Minister for Alcohol Rehabilitation for her tenacious efforts in trying to help Territorians, something Labor completely forgot about ...
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Public Servants – Job Security
Ms MANISON to CHIEF MINISTER
Under your government’s savage job cuts, hundreds of public servants have already lost their jobs; a total of 600 job losses have been foreshadowed. Public servants were too intimidated to speak out and morale is at an all-time low. Your EBA negotiations with our hard-working public servants have broken down because you are further reducing job security and are trying to make it easier for your government to sack public servants. Why are you attacking the job security of Northern Territory public servants?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, talk about attacking job security! This is the Labor Party aspirant - the other one has just been kicked out - talking about job security. We should be getting questions on transport and start talking about rear vision mirrors because you had better start looking behind you, Leader of the Opposition. You have to start looking behind you. You talk ...
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113. Enough carbon emissions, get on with answering the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, you were given the call because you quoted standing orders, but those comments are not necessary and are uncalled for. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, if we want to talk about job security we should talk about the Leader of the Opposition’s job security. It is really under question. The member for Fannie Bay is sitting alongside, jockeying for position …
Members interjecting.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113, relevance. A serious question has been asked of the Chief Minister about public servant’s jobs. The Chief Minister is turning this into a joke. He needs to answer the question that has been asked of him.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: We are talking about job security. Let us get to the point of the unions because we are coming up to an election campaign and I believe time changes, people learn more about politics. People understand that, as you lead up to an election, unions will get people to strike. All the EBAs are coming up now, around the time of the federal election. The CPSU starts causing concerns. the MUA - all the unions are trying to cause trouble at a federal election. Every time the CPSU tries to play this game it is stopping Territory public servants getting an extra $80 in their pay packet every fortnight. The CPSU, for their union tactics in a political environment, is stopping people getting $80 extra pay every fortnight. It is disgraceful.
This might have worked three, seven, or 12 years ago, but now Australians and Territorians are smarter. They know what is happening with these union bully-boy tactics, ‘Oh, there is an election on. The union needs to strike. EBA time.’ We know what game you play. It is crazy. You need to …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. Why is he attacking the job security of Territory public servants?
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Nightcliff. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: We joke on this side about having a union for politicians. If there was a union for politicians I would be sending them to the Leader of the Opposition’s office to help her with job security.
However, the funniest part about all this is the union is playing games in the middle of an election environment with the federal election on, but the unions are the same people who tell Labor what to do. The unions will be the people tapping Delia on the shoulder to say, ‘Your time is over’. That is exactly what is happening. If you want to talk about job security; start talking about job security for the member for Karama ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The question was very specific of Northern Territory public servants, the EBA, and the fact that the government, within the EBA, is going to change redundancy positions which will make it easier for them to sack Territory public servants. He still has not answered that question.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call if you wish to continue.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, it is funny how that standing order was irrelevance and the Leader of the Opposition stood up. What an oxymoron. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Alcohol Mandatory Treatment –
Stakeholder Opinions
Mr HIGGINS to MINISTER for ALCOHOL REHABILITATION
Can you outline to the House what key stakeholders are saying about the government’s mandatory alcohol treatment system?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the alcohol mandatory treatment program we have rolled out has been highly controversial. However, it has the support of the opposition; they agree with alcohol mandatory treatment. It has met with the approval and acceptance of stakeholders throughout the Northern Territory …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The treatment regime does not have the support of the opposition. It is incorrect to say that on the Parliamentary Record ...
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Sit down. Minister, you have the call.
Mrs LAMBLEY: All stakeholders we have consulted on this issue have been in support, philosophically, with mandatory treatment for people with severe alcohol abuse, apart from NAAJA. They are the only ones on the public record opposing, ideologically, alcohol mandatory treatment. There is widespread support across the community for what we are doing, without question.
Alcohol mandatory treatment is being considered and rolled out throughout the country. In New South Wales, they have an involuntary treatment program for people suffering from severe and acute alcoholism …
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Again I heard the Leader of the Opposition running this line and calling out that members are misleading this House. Unless she wishes to proceed by way of substantive motion, she cannot utter those words and she should be made to withdraw. I respectfully remind you, Madam Speaker, that she is on a warning.
Madam SPEAKER: I do not need your reminding, thank you, member for Port Darwin. I did not hear those calls. Opposition Leader, I warn you not to use misleading terms in this parliament against any member or anyone. Minister, you have the call. Opposition Leader, cease interjecting.
Mrs LAMBLEY: The truth of the matter is the specialists in this area of the provision of residential alcohol rehabilitation services support what we are doing because they understand fully what we are doing. Other experts within the alcohol field are not so supportive, but the specialists in the area support us.
A classic example of this is CAAAPU in Alice Springs. It has been courageous in coming out publicly, against the approval of its peers to some extent, to support what we are doing.
Eileen Hoosan has been the most courageous spokesperson expressing support for what we are doing. She is the Chairperson of CAAAPU in Alice Springs. She said in a recent media interview:
- We shouldn’t be taking the position that one way is good and another is bad - there is no one size fits all approach to the alcohol reform.
CAAAPU’s approach is not the only way, but it is one way we can deliver culturally appropriate programs to deal with the scourge of alcohol abuse.
Eileen Hoosan has been on the public record many times speaking about what we are doing. She can see from the ground that this will change people’s lives. She is concerned about her people dying from alcohol abuse.
Madam Speaker, never before has a treatment program for alcoholism like this been rolled out in the Territory. It is going to be a success as we work through the problems we encounter.
Power and Water – Staff Reduction
Mr McCARTHY to CHIEF MINISTER
Whistleblowers have told us of your plan to cut Power and Water staff to 450, which will mean more and longer blackouts; you understand that. Your claim that Power and Water staffing is up to the board is wrong. We know it is up to government. You said you will not sack public servants. Guarantee us that no Power and Water staff will be sacked.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, there was a question earlier about asset sales and privatisation of Power and Water. The former Labor government made it a government-owned corporation. It was not us, it was you guys. When you look at privatisation of power and water assets around the country, it is interesting to look at who does the privatisation.
In Queensland, it was a person called Anna Bligh, a Labor Premier. As we go down the Australian coastline to New South Wales, who privatised Power and Water in New South Wales? Morris Iemma ...
Ms FYLES A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a direct question: will any Power and Water staff be sacked?
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: When we get to New South Wales, Morris Iemma was from the Labor Party. When you look at the privatisation of power and water in Victoria you have to ask who the Premier was and what colour his stripes were. Labor once again!
You have this philosophical divide between big Labor and little Labor, which seems to do whatever big Labor says. They stand here and condemn their own party people ...
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The Chief Minister has guaranteed Power and Water will not be privatised. We want to know if he will guarantee no staff will be sacked.
Madam SPEAKER: The Chief Minister is answering the question.
Mr GILES: The biggest one of all is outlined in a paper called the Energy White Paper issued by senior federal Labor politician and minister, Martin Ferguson. Martin Ferguson wrote the Energy White Paper and expressed the concern that jurisdictions were not privatising their power and water quickly enough. Talk about speaking with a forked tongue! What do these people stand for? Their philosophical party position is to privatise power and water.
We say we are not going to do it and you keep asking questions. Your own people are telling you to privatise yourself.
I have said we are not selling Power and Water. Whatever operational requirements the management structure puts in place is up to them. We do not get into who works for whom and so forth; we run the political side of things. If there are operational requirements by management, management make those decisions ...
Ms Lawrie interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, cease interjecting!
Mr GILES: … we do not do that. While we have the continual drawl of the Opposition Leader …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The Chief Minister has not answered the question. He thinks he is still in opposition. He thinks he is there performing. They are all laughing. We have asked a serious question and we want a serious answer.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, they are laughing at the member for Nhulunbuy, the most irrelevant person - could not even talk about gas to Gove for five years, but we have had one question now ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 62: offensive. He continues to refer to members of parliament as irrelevant. It is offensive. They are asking serious questions on behalf of Territorians.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, it is irrelevant because I reflect back to the last question from the member for Wanguri about unions. You are stirring this up for the Electrical Trade Union. That is all you are doing in the middle of an election campaign. We can see through it; it is as transparent as glass. We know what you are up to.
Get in here and ask some serious policy questions. Debate real issues and we will have debate. I walk in here with notes about every issue in case someone asks a serious question. There was not one serious question about detail today. Wake up to yourself; you are irrelevant.
Tindall Aquifer – Release of Documents
Mr WOOD to MINISTER for LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
In relation to decisions about the Tindall aquifer water allocation, your department seems to have dismissed the advice of the department’s water planner, the Katherine water implementation officer, the CSIRO’s Northern Australian Sustainable Yields Project report, and the Draft Water Allocation Plan, because the Water Controller has said it has been superseded by new work. The water policy manager said the linked aquifer and river models have now been improved and they have had advice from the Bureau of Meteorology. Will you release the new work that has superseded the old work, the new aquifer and river models, and the Weather Bureau’s advice which was the basis for the decision by the Water Controller to grant a 5800 ML licence to Stylo Station and to increase the consumptive pool from 19 500 ML to 38 000 ML?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the member for Nelson asked the question of the minister for natural resources, but we do not have one. I will take the question, nonetheless, as the Minister for Land Resource Management.
First, I am proud to be a part of a government that is developing the Northern Territory ...
Ms Walker: Giving away water.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: I will give a little object lesson to the opposition. Just as one plus one equals two, land plus water equals development. You cannot have development of our agricultural sector without water being provided through a sensible, contemporary, science-based approach to water allocations. Much has been said about this ...
Ms Walker: NAILSMA does not agree with you.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: I pick up on the interjection by the member for Nhulunbuy. I wonder how many water scientists are within NAILSMA. Perhaps the member for Nhulunbuy could answer that, because the Department of Land Resource Management, with is Water Resources Section, is brimming with scientists who are consummate professionals in the work they do. They constantly strive to bring the most contemporary science to the water planning of the Northern Territory. That is what we are doing. That is my brief to them and that is what they are doing, in the context of a government that wants to see agricultural development. There is no doubt in my mind that is the place we are heading.
In answer to the question by the member for Nelson in which he alluded to some contemporary information used by the Water Controller to make the decision about the water licence application, unless there are some confidentiality issues that come into it, then I can see no reason why the information used to inform the decision of the Water Controller around the issue of that water licence cannot be released to the public. It is something I will take back to the Water Controller to get some definitive advice on.
We are an open and accountable government and we are not in the business of hiding what we are doing. In fact, I am happy to stand loud and proud. Stand me up on some sort of pulpit and I will tell people about this government’s plans to develop agriculture in the Northern Territory and the need for more water allocations.
Remembering that in the context of water allocations - do not forget this, people seem to - 80% of our water stays in the ground for the environment. Our consumptive pool of 20% is there for us to use ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Royal Darwin Hospital Issues
Ms LEE to MINISTER for HEALTH
The community has heard a lot of noise recently from the opposition and their Labor mates in Canberra about perceived difficulties facing Royal Darwin Hospital emergency department and the bed blocks. Can you outline for the House what the issues are affecting our hospitals?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. The Royal Darwin Hospital is, indeed, a great area of concern for us.
Many of the problems within the Royal Darwin Hospital were presided over by the former Labor government for 11 years. They looked at these problems for 11 years, getting worse and worse and, from what we can gather, very little was done to address some very critical issues of patient flows throughout the hospital and bed blocks, as the member for Arnhem alluded to.
The Chief Minister yesterday spoke about one contributing factor to the bed block in RDH: the increased number of asylum seekers based in Darwin. This is an issue that is fact; it is placing pressure on the system.
What did the former Labor government do about this? Nothing. From 2011-12 to 2012-13, there has been over a 30% increase in demand generated by asylum seekers on the Royal Darwin Hospital.
I note the federal government fully reimburses us for these costs but, at the end of the day, it places significant increased pressure on the Royal Darwin Hospital which the former Labor government did not plan for. They had no solution for it; they just wrote it up, took the money, and off they went.
The other area that is placing a lot of pressure on the Royal Darwin Hospital is the failure of the federal government to properly monitor and regulate aged-care facilities in Darwin. Three aged-care facilities were told by the federal government they could not take new patients into their facilities from about March to now, a six-month period. One of them has been allowed to take new patients now; the other two will not be able to take new people until October and January of next year.
So 59 people requiring nursing home placements are, potentially, putting much pressure on the Royal Darwin Hospital. If people are not sick, they do not require hospitalisation, they do not require acute care.
There are many problems within Royal Darwin Hospital. I spoke briefly about this yesterday in parliament. There are inadequate physical facilities which have been left to decline and were not properly addressed by the former Labor government. We have inherited a real mess, despite the unbelievable efforts of the staff of the Royal Darwin Hospital. They work hard, and are extremely committed. However, there are some significant systemic problems within how the planning for Royal Darwin Hospital has taken place over the last 11 years.
Madam Speaker, as a new government, we are on to it. We are committed to the new Palmerston hospital to take the pressure off ...
Madam SPEAKER: 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