2013-10-08
CLP Management of the Territory
Ms LAWRIE to CHIEF MINISTER
Under your leadership the Territory is struggling from the bush to our towns. Unemployment has never been higher. Our schools are in crisis and families and businesses are struggling under the cost of living with our power price hikes hitting hard. Public servants are facing job losses with your attempt to remove permanency. Contracts your party signed in the bush are being ignored while you undertake endless reshuffles, sackings, chaotic administration and blatant jobs for CLP mates.
This is all done because the priority you have is to protect your back. How is it, Chief Minister, despite all this you maintain and continue to assert quote, ‘That it’s all going pretty well?’
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the current Leader of the Opposition for her question. I look forward to a change soon. Talk about leading with your chin. We say everything is working well in the Northern Territory and things are improving across the board.
I can look at every minister and every portfolio they are working in and see some proud reforms we are implementing: the prisoners moving into work, the Treasurer who is seeking to pay the $5.5bn Labor debt, and the Minister for Alcohol Rehabilitation, who is helping people to be rehabilitated for alcohol problems. These are fantastic outcomes. The Tourism minister has more airlines coming to the Territory and has plans for more hotel beds and more visitation nights; the Mines minister is getting more mines up and running; the Transport and Infrastructure minister has 36% of his capital infrastructure budget going to remote areas; and the Education minister is putting out his Indigenous education reform. There are major things happening in the Northern Territory and substantial reforms.
We also have the housing supply strategy occurring with affordable housing: 2000 new units being built in the next few years. There is land release in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Darwin and Palmerston. What is occurring is substantial, and you talk about what is happening in the bush. People in the bush were completely disenfranchised under your government. You put out a shire reform process which took away people’s voices. You ran a centralisation process that took away all decision-making and all investment and choice by local people in the bush.
That is why we are removing the shires. By 1 January next year we will have regional councils in place and no more shires. That is the focus we are moving towards. We are working to decentralise a range of services to give capacity back to the bush and give people back the voice they lost under your government and ensure there are more jobs in the bush than ever before. The fact is …
Mr McCarthy: They exercised their voice in Lingiari, mate.
Mr GILES: You want to talk about Lingiari?
Ms Walker: Yes, let us talk about Lingiari.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: They also exercised it in Solomon.
Your leader of opposition business would have lost his seat. No wonder he is trying to put the moves on the Leader of the Opposition because he knows he is in trouble and you know you are in trouble.
Madam Speaker, things are going substantially well in the Northern Territory. They cannot point to any key indicators that are going backwards. Let us look at house break-ins in Darwin and Palmerston: down 40% in Darwin and 58% in Palmerston. That is reflected across the Territory. Our law and order strategy is working, as is our economic strategy. We are retiring Labor debt. We are a successful government, and you are a failure of an opposition.
Police Response to Serious Incidents in Darwin CBD
Ms FINOCCHIARO to CHIEF MINISTER
Last weekend was a busy one for Darwin police with a number of serious incidents, including a fatal stabbing and a large fight at closing time outside a city nightclub. What can you tell us about the nature of these incidents and the police response to them?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. I am sure she has serious concerns about alcohol-fuelled violence across the Northern Territory, as I do. We have seen it in Darwin CBD in the last week. Our police have been kept extremely busy in recent days making several arrests in connection with various violent incidents around the CBD.
The most recent incident happened around 4 am on Sunday morning when a series of fights broke out as patrons were leaving a city nightclub. Mounted police and the dog unit were called in to break up the brawl and Mitchell Street was closed while officers restored calm. Five people were arrested. Two people have recently been killed in separate stabbings in the city late at night.
Alcohol is a common denominator in much of this violence, and I am deeply disturbed by the behaviour of people in our entertainment precinct. Police have been doing an excellent job in cleaning up the mess after these drunken nights out.
We already have lockouts to stop new patrons from entering licensed premises after 3 am. Anyone who leaves is also not allowed back in to those licensed premises. The last thing I want is for government to impose further restrictions on people who want to go out and have a good time, but a minority threatens to ruin that for everybody.
The latest quarterly crime statistics show the number of assaults in Mitchell Street have not become any worse but have not become any better on quarter-on-quarter figures.
We want to see improvements in this area. If antisocial behaviour continues the way it has we might have to consider other measures, some of them more drastic. However, we want to see Mitchell Street a safe place where families can enjoy a dinner out as well as a safe place for people to have a drink after work. As government – I am sure all of us in this Chamber – we ask that people behave responsibly otherwise the government will have to put more regulations in place. However, we encourage people to do the right thing.
We will continue to look at these issues. The Minister for Alcohol Policy has some significant concerns about this. We will send a clear message that we expect Territorians, when they go out, to have a good night, drink responsibly, and behave.
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Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I acknowledge in the gallery, and welcome, the Palmerston and rural area Tai Chi group to Parliament House this morning. I hope you enjoy your day here.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Tourism Minister – Absence from Tourism Awards Night
Tourism Minister – Absence from Tourism Awards Night
Mr VOWLES to CHIEF MINISTER
I know you had a very busy weekend in Alice Springs. Friday night saw the hosting of the Central Australian Tourism Awards gala dinner at Alice Springs Turf Club. Your Tourism minister could not be bothered putting in an apology, nor did he attend the awards. Please tell tourism operators in the Centre if you support the non-attendance and no response of your Tourism minister as he was ‘having a couple of days off’.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I welcome the fourth question in more than 12 months from the member for Johnston. It is a challenging environment to stand in this Chamber and ask a question, but he had the courage today to ask his fourth question. He was number two in the order; he must be going up in the pecking order. He must be one of the Leader of the Opposition’s numbers, ‘Here you are member for Johnston, you voted for me you can have question number two’. The member for Fannie Bay has not asked a question yet ...
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. We do not need a comic, we need the question answered.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. Sit down.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, the member for Fannie Bay has not asked a question yet. We will see how far down the order he comes. Surely he will get to education soon. Education is so important that Labor has organised a protest today but has not asked a question yet.
Was the member for Johnston at the function on Friday night? He is shadow minister. Was the shadow minister at the function? No, we live in glass houses so we can throw stones. He has …
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked a specific question and would like the Chief Minister to answer it please.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, the Tourism minister has my full confidence. He opened the conference on Friday morning and gave out cheques to support tourism operators into the digital economy and move forward. He was there. I do not believe you were at the conference or the dinner, shadow minister. However, you got your question up. It is a challenge for ministers, and I will be serious on this.
The member for Greatorex, like many of us in this Chamber, travels a lot in his job. The member for Greatorex, like many on this side, is away for the next two weeks, then has two more weeks of travel promoting the Territory in a tourism capacity. It was the last night he had to spend with his wife and two children and he wanted to stay home. He let the organisers know he was not going to the dinner.
Oh, shame! He wanted to spend time with his wife and two children! You were not there, but you can live in the glass house and throw stones.
Let us reflect on some of the good work by this government and the Tourism minister: more airlines, more tourists, more spend, more marketing campaigns, Do the NT campaign. All over the country, people are talking about the Territory. Look at South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and you will see the occupancy rates in hotels reducing in hotels. What do you see in the Northern Territory? They are increasing. Is it any wonder that last night the Tourism minister and I were at a dinner promoting a new hotel in Darwin – Elan – with Gwelo Developments in the Soho Building on Woods Street – a fantastic new development.
People are lining up to build new hotels because of the work the Tourism minister has done. You start throwing stones about him not attending a dinner when he opened the conference, when he gave out cash awards to tourism operators to help develop their businesses, and you were not even there? Mate! See if you can come up with a question number five.
Federal Government –
Benefits of Coalition to Territorians
Benefits of Coalition to Territorians
Ms ANDERSON to CHIEF MINISTER
On 7 September, voters threw out Kevin Rudd’s disastrous Labor government and elected Tony Abbott as Prime Minister. Could the Chief Minister outline the benefits a Coalition federal government will bring to the Northern Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Namatjira for her question. She has a good working relationship with the Prime Minister, and has had for many years. We will continue to have that good relationship, as all colleagues on this side of the Chamber do.
The member for Namatjira was so excited when Warren Truss visited Alice Springs and announced a $33m upgrade of the Outback Way, which runs right through the member for Namatjira’s electorate – $11m each year for three years.
We will be putting in our bid to ensure most of that money stays in the Territory rather than WA and Queensland. That is part of the investment we want, and that is why the member for Namatjira is so excited by a new government in Canberra.
Madam Speaker, I can see around the Chamber we have the members for Drysdale, Blain, Brennan, Daly and you, as member for Goyder, all very interested in the Palmerston and Litchfield regional hospital.
Peter Dutton, the new Health minister, was at the proposed site on the Litchfield boundary near Palmerston and we announced we would put in $150m to build the new regional hospital. This was something Labor, in government, promised for many years and never delivered. The hard work of the Health minister, working with Peter Dutton, the opposition spokesperson, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott, about what we can do to support the growth of Darwin in a regional capacity – $150m has gone forward, $110m from the Coalition, $40m from us, and that will see real growth for health and hospital services in the regional area. That includes a full emergency department, emergency specialists, children’s ward, and a low security day surgery as part of stage one of that service.
A scoping study is being done which will go to full consultation. These are the things you can do when you have good relations with the Prime Minister. It is something you could not do when you had Rudd and Gillard; you could not deliver these things for Palmerston.
You had a tiny site. The site we have chosen is 15 times larger and we will deliver health outcomes for the regional area in the future. These are the things we can do.
It does not stop there. Tiger Brennan Drive is something that would not be delivered under Rudd or Gillard in the next term of government – out beyond forward estimates – 2016-17 is where they were looking. This financial year, we will see money start to flow into the next stage, not the one we are doing now but the next stage – the full duplication between Woolner and Berrimah Roads. We are working here; you drove up debt, did not deliver on infrastructure, and did not deliver on your promises or commitments. This government will continue delivering for the Northern Territory.
Teachers’ Jobs - Security
Mr GUNNER to CHIEF MINISTER
Former Chief Minister, Terry Mills, said teachers are the backbone of our education system and as such they deserve employment security. He wrote to teachers and said if they were on the front line of education and earning less than $110 000 per annum their jobs were safe. In bold upper case letters he wrote:
- I GUARANTEE IT.
Will you honour your predecessor’s pledge and guarantee the job of every teacher in our classrooms is safe?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for the question. The former Chief Minster was right; no permanent staff will be sacked. That is what was written and we will give that commitment today.
Ms Fyles: No, he said every teacher.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, it is important …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: A frontline teacher is a teacher on a permanent contract. They will not be sacked.
It is important to say more resources in Education do not equal better outcomes. There is no research which shows smaller class sizes make a difference in any year levels except early years. This is recognised by the Productivity Commission, the Grattan Institute and the Queensland Commission of Audit. Major reports from around Australia and the world talk about it.
In fact, the top performing countries in the OECD all have class sizes well above the Australian averages – well over 30 students per class. It is the quality of the teaching and the willingness of the students to engage which makes a difference to the educational outcomes. The size of the class does not matter.
In the Northern Territory, the maximum class size allowable, as per the enterprise agreement, is 27 students per class in our middle and senior secondary schools. In 2012, to achieve this class size we had a staffing formula which provided one teacher for every 14 students in senior secondary and one for every 17 students in middle schools. This was amongst the most generous teacher staffing formula in the country. When you take our poor performance and spread of students into account, our average class size, when last measured in 2011, was 10.5 students per class in our middle and senior secondary schools, the lowest in the country.
To compare, Queensland has a maximum class size of 25 students per secondary class ...
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance: 113. The question was not about Queensland class sizes.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The Chief Minister is answering the question.
Mr GILES: To compare, Queensland has a maximum class size of 25 students per senior secondary class and manages to meet this ratio by staffing schools at a ratio of one teacher …
Mr GUNNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance: 113. The question did not touch upon class sizes in other states. It was very specific: will you honour your predecessor’s pledge and guarantee the job of every teacher in our classrooms is safe?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: I do not have much time to continue, but international and national research shows smaller class sizes do not matter. It is the quality of the education and the commitment of the students to participate and attend that matters. That is how it goes.
In the Northern Territory our secondary teachers are required to engage in face-to-face teaching up to a maximum of 21 hours and 20 minutes per week. This is around the national average ...
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, I believe your time has expired. There might be something wrong with the clock.
Lingiari – Federal Election Results
Ms LEE to CHIEF MINISTER
On 7 September voters resoundingly rejected Kevin Rudd’s untrustworthy Labor government and elected a Coalition federal government. Could you please update the Assembly on the results in the Territory’s two federal seats, particularly what trends can be identified in the bush seat of Lingiari?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arnhem for her question. She is very interested in this because she does a lot of hard work in her electorate travelling from Ngukurr to Raminiging, Numbulwar, Milingimbi and Groote Eylandt. It is a fantastic electorate and I really appreciate the hard work the member for Arnhem does. She knows better than most of the profound neglect of the bush by the former Territory Labor government, the former federal Labor government, and the member for Lingiari.
Voter dissatisfaction with the member for Lingiari’s tired representation saw a 2.8% swing against him in the last Territory election. The Country Liberals have now turned Lingiari from one of the safest Labor seats in the country to one of the most marginal. It was the best federal result this side of politics has ever seen since Lingiari was separated from the whole of the Territory.
In fact, if you combine the results of the two seats of Solomon and Lingiari you will see the Country Liberals won the Northern Territory in the federal election. It is very hard to correlate federal results to Territory election results, because if we did they would be on different issues. If we correlated them, the member for Fannie Bay would have lost his seat. Perhaps that is why he is sensitive; he does not understand the difference between federal elections and Territory elections. However, he has the jitters; he knows they are in trouble.
We saw, as a result of the federal election, some jitters on the other side of the Chamber. They played a game of soccer and got a four-all draw; like kissing your sister: close, but no cigar. We wish the member for Fannie Bay the best of luck. He is walking around the Chamber trying to do the numbers as best he can, just doing the count ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. He is trying to draw a correlation he says he cannot draw. What about Namatjira, Arafura and Arnhem?
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: Madam Speaker, we are not drawing that conclusion but if you did, which obviously you are, the member for Fannie Bay is jittery. Leader of the Opposition, for you to talk about relevance is quite ironic. There has been much talk about the bush and what is happening in the bush.
I can tell you of the work every member and minister in this Chamber is doing to support the bush, to fix the shires, to work with community health centres, to get tourism out in the bush, to develop mines – three mines in the Roper region in the member for Arnhem’s electorate – farming, water licences, horticulture and agricultural development. The Territory is about developing all the regions. In the future you will see the recognition when people start getting better school attendance, less alcohol consumption, and getting jobs. This is the reform we want and where we are driving. If you do not support that vision get off the boat, because you do not stand for anything on your side of the Chamber. You do not have any policies.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, your time has expired.
Power and Water –
Breaking up Commercial Monopoly Functions
Breaking up Commercial Monopoly Functions
Mr WOOD to TREASURER
You said in your media release on 27 September that by breaking up Power and Water’s commercial monopoly functions by promoting and encouraging private suppliers into the market will make PWC’s operations more efficient, transparent, and provide greater accountability for financial performance to Territory taxpayers.
Will these proposed changes mean cheaper electricity for the average Territorian, or will it mean under new competition proposals the big electricity consumers snapped up by PWC’s competitors will be the winners and get cheaper electricity, leaving PWC with the scraps; that is, the domestic consumer who will receive no benefit at all? If these reforms are to bring great benefits to PWC and TO us, are you willing to test those claims before the PAC, the Auditor-General, or an independent public inquiry before you make these changes?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for his important question. Member for Nelson, you need to understand the context in which these changes are occurring. The Territory government is staring down the barrel of a potential $5.5bn debt. Our credit rating from Moody’s rating agency has been put on a negative outlook. The biggest reason Moody’s cite for putting the Territory credit rating on a negative outlook is the inefficient and debt-laden Power and Water Corporation.
There is no doubt changes need to be made to the Power and Water Corporation to ensure it is sustainable into the future, can continue to provide essential services to Territorians, and runs a very efficient service. In that regard, some changes have been made. We are going through the Power and Water Corporation trying to cut out waste and increase efficiencies.
Member for Nelson, because we are staring down the barrel of this $5.5bn debt and driving economic growth, and we are keen to see private investment in the Northern Territory – the Territory government no longer has the ability to invest in greater utility upgrades and to meet the demands of the growing economy. That is the problem with staring down the barrel of a $5.5bn debt. Even if we wanted to keep the Power and Water Corporation in a monopoly situation, we would have to make the call to stop private investment in the Northern Territory, and that would be negative to us all.
We want to move to a market-based system. We want to encourage competition in the Territory electricity market and are doing that for two reasons. One is we want the private sector to invest in future upgrades to our utility sector. The second is to ensure competition, through its very nature, puts as much downward pressure as possible on tariffs.
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would like to refer the minister back to the crux of the question: will these proposed changes mean cheaper electricity for the average Territorian?
Mr TOLLNER: I can inform the member for Nelson these changes will lead to the cheapest power available for Territorians. It might not necessarily mean cheaper power, but it will be the lowest tariff possible through the competitive nature of utilities businesses in the Northern Territory. As I say, there are two reasons: one is we want to put as much downward pressure as we can on tariffs in the Territory, and two, we want to see the private sector step up to the plate and invest in this sector.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Teacher Numbers – Cuts in the Bush
Mr McCARTHY to MINISTER for EDUCATION
Delivering budget cuts at the expense of education is definitely your Chief Minister’s approach. However, every parent, student and teacher knows that fewer teachers is never the answer. It is alarming to hear there will be 52 teaching positions gone in the bush, and I wonder how many small bush schools the minister has visited. Have you told your regional colleagues that in every electorate teachers will be gone from bush schools? How do you justify that cuts in education will improve student attendance, engagement, participation and outcomes? How do you intend to deliver on behaviour management and support with these cuts?
Ms Fyles interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Who asked the question? Was it someone from the back or …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: The member for Barkly asked a good question. We all care about education in the Northern Territory, but this week we have the member for Barkly asking a question. Last week, how many asked questions in regard to education? I will get back to the point. This government has inherited a debt. We just heard the Treasurer talk about debt, and right across government there had to be savings found because, at the end of the day, if we hit that $5.5bn worth of debt that is $100m in 100 days we would have to pay in interest. I would much prefer to be talking to a principal of a school, handing them a cheque for $1m …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a specific question about 52 teachers lost from bush schools and how you will ensure the programs required will run …
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. The minister is answering the question. He has three minutes.
Mr CHANDLER: On that point, during the last sittings I guaranteed there would be no more than 35 teachers lost across the Northern Territory next year. In thousands of positions, 35 teachers is – let us face it, if we were in a better fiscal position we would love to see every teacher stay. We would like to see more teachers in the Northern Territory but someone has to take responsibility for the debt you guys left us. If we did not have this debt on our shoulders – $1m a day – we could be handing the principal of Woodroffe Primary School a cheque for $1m. The following day we could go to your electorate, member for Drysdale, to Gray Primary School. Imagine being able to hand the principal $1m saying, ‘Spend it within your school’. Do you know what we are doing with it? We are paying interest on the debt you left us …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It goes to 52 positions lost across schools.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, it is not a point of order.
Ms Lawrie: He is not answering the question.
Madam SPEAKER: He is. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, I said during the last sittings there will be 35 fewer teachers across the Northern Territory. It needs to be said that in the last five years – let us get some facts on the table – the total number of students increased from 33 326 to 33 806. That is an increase of 480 students across the Northern Territory in the last five years. At the same time, under the former Labor government we had an increase of 488 staff. While our teacher numbers grew by 488, our student numbers grew by 480. We had far more staff put on, sometimes in positions which were not ongoing and not funded forever, much of it coming from the federal government with no promise to continue. We are now left with a situation where we need to manage by living within our means.
Labor Leadership
Mr HIGGINS to CHIEF MINISTER
The recent federal election result was a reflection of the Labor government’s leadership failures. Could you outline the impact of this instability has had on the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly for his question. I know he is quite concerned about the previous federal Labor government, a government that would not commit to providing resources to the much-needed improvements and upgrade of the road to Wadeye and upgrades between Palumpa and Wadeye. A decision was made by the former Transport and Infrastructure minister, Anthony Albanese, not to put the resources in needed to fix it. It is like our issue with the open speed limits. We are trying to introduce open speed limits, but have a road which has deteriorated because Labor never invested in it at the federal or Territory level.
Labor led a failed government which was unstable and could not be trusted at the federal level. Now Territory Labor is in the same position, following in the same footsteps as Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. The Opposition Leader recently dishonestly claimed she had the full support of her team. Clearly, she does not have that when wannabe leader, the member for Fannie Bay, is trying to get the numbers coming in at a 4:4 draw ...
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It is about the federal election and federal Labor.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Chief Minister.
Mr GILES: It is interesting to look at the last question asked by the opposition. I am sure the member for Fannie Bay is shadow minister for education but the member for Barkly asked the question. This shows how unstable they are. They do not know what is going on. They come here with a misleading question about 52 teachers and they are completely wrong. This is how you try to detract from your instability and failures. You led the worst educational outcomes in Australia’s history in the Northern Territory. Your eleven-and-a-half years had the worst education outcomes ever. You set performance targets across reading, writing and numeracy in Year 3 at 30% ...
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The Chief Minister well knows we introduced secondary schooling in the bush, something the CLP ignored.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Chief Minister, you have the call.
Mr GILES: If there is anyone more irrelevant than the Leader of the Opposition it is the member for Nhulunbuy, but come in spinner.
The worst educational outcomes – you set targets of school attendance at around 15% in some areas. In Wadeye there are kids who have never been enrolled in school. It is not even about school attendance in some areas, it is about enrolment. These are the challenges we are facing.
You talk about teacher numbers; it is about getting the best investment outcome for the resources put into the education system. We have the best government-teacher ratios and significant investments out of Stronger Futures going into education. All the special programs and education standards were going down and you were lowering your targets every year. You should be embarrassed about the service of education.
The Australian Education Union should be complimenting us for trying to fix it rather than what you did. They should be bagging you out for getting the worst outcomes in the country. It is no wonder you have instability in your ranks, you are not cut out for the job. Let us see if the member for Fannie Bay is.
Teacher Numbers – Contracts
Mr GUNNER to MINISTER for EDUCATION
While you were overseas, under your new education policy contracted teachers were told they will not have their contracts renewed next year, and graduating teachers were told to not bother applying in the NT but to go interstate. Once these homegrown teachers are lost they will not be back. The youngest, most vulnerable teachers who do not have permanency are being targeted first. Can you tell the House exactly how many contracted teachers there are now in Territory schools and how many contracted teachers will not have their contracts renewed in 2014?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is a really good question. The current opposition spokesman for education would be open to a briefing on this I am sure. In discussions I had with the former federal Labor government, I found many of those contract positions were not funded ongoing. In fact, no promise was made by the former Labor government that those positions would continue. People who have contracts today will have them honoured until they end because federal money was coming in. There was no promise whatsoever from the previous federal government to honour the commitment.
The difference with the new Coalition government is when it comes to Gonski, they will put up the same amount of money, dollar for dollar, to what was promised under the Labor government. However, the model put forward by the previous Labor government would have hamstrung us. After many years …
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question: how many contract positions in our schools will go next year?
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: I suggest the member for Nightcliff listen to the answer. I have already said that contracts will be honoured until they end.
What needs to be put into perspective is that many of these positions were from funds which are not ongoing and were never promised to be ongoing. They were not promised by the former federal Labor government.
With all the additional revenue and staffing that went into education in the Northern Territory, the sad reality is educational outcomes in the Northern Territory did not improve under a Labor government. What does that leave us with? Do we continue to do things the way they always did? No, we do not; that is the first sign of madness. We have to look at ways we can do it better with the resources we have and find better ways to improve educational outcomes in the Northern Territory.
Why do you think we are looking at remote Indigenous education at the moment? In the 11 years you were in government you did not look at Indigenous education once. When was it ever looked at? When was a review undertaken on the best way to spend the money and utilise resources? No, you just threw more money into it …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. The minister still has not said how many contract teachers will lose their positions from our schools in the next calendar year.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, I call on the current Opposition Leader to seek a briefing on that. I have already answered the question ...
Ms Lawrie: No, you have not answered the question.
Mr CHANDLER: You are not listening to the answer, just like the member for Nightcliff.
The reality is we would like to have all the resources in the world and throw as much money as we can at it, because that is what you want to do – print more money with no responsibility to pay it back. The reality is …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Carbon Tax Scrapping – Cutting the Cost of Territorians’ Power Bills
Mr KURRUPUWU to TREASURER
Our new Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has promised to scrap the carbon tax which will cut the cost of Territory power bills. Can you advise the Assembly what impediments stand in the way of Territorians having this reduction to their power bills?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for his question. The member for Arafura has been quite dogged on the carbon tax issue. He has raised it with me a number of times. He is very concerned about his constituents on the Tiwi Islands and the impact the carbon tax has on them, to the point that at the last sittings he turned up with his own motion on the matter. Good on you, member for Arafura, you are doing a damned good job.
The member for Arafura highlights that Tony Abbott has promised to scrap the carbon tax, something he has talked about for a long time. I do not believe there is a person in Australia who follows politics who does not understand that Tony Abbott now has a strong mandate to scrap the carbon tax. Looking at some of the figures from Treasury about what that means, they inform me that about 0.7 of 1% will come off the CPI when the carbon tax is scrapped. That is a significant amount.
It is interesting when you look at the election of Tony Abbott, the newly elected senators, particularly those from the Palmer United Party, have said they recognise Tony Abbott has a strong mandate to scrap the carbon tax. When they step forward in the senate on 1 July next year we will be ready to step up to the plate and oppose that.
The member for Arafura asked what impediments stand in the way of Territorians getting this scrapped. There is one impediment: Labor in the senate. A number of federal Labor members have said they will oppose Tony Abbott’s efforts to scrap the carbon tax. The Palmer United Party and the other senators come in on 1 July next year. It is our strong view the carbon tax needs to be scrapped right now.
In that regard, I call on federal Labor to review its decision to oppose scrapping the carbon tax. I also call on the Opposition Leader, who has supported the carbon tax so strongly and fiercely over the years, to step up to the plate and recognise Tony Abbott has a strong mandate to scrap the carbon tax and start pleading with her federal colleagues to get out of the way and let the people’s choice take rein and allow Tony Abbott to scrap this jobs destroying tax.
Teacher Numbers – Cuts
Mr VOWLES to MINISTER for EDUCATION
Casuarina Senior College, in my electorate, now has teachers listed as ‘unattached’. They do not know if they have a job next year and the school is losing about 12 teachers. We know 140 school support positions are being cut from the Education department. These positions provide vital programs such as behaviour management, ICT learning and sport. Every role provides support to our school students.
Minister, please explain to Territory parents how cutting 140 school support positions will improve the quality of education.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question. We go back to the position we were put in by the previous Labor government, and this is right across government in every department. We have to look at ways we can operate without placing the Territory further into debt. Were savings measures made? Yes, savings measures were made across department.
Were they easy decisions to make? No, they were not. The problem is we have a debt situation in the Northern Territory which we need to deal with. However, the answer is not to continue to throw money the way you guys did for so long. After 11 years of Labor and seeing the education outcomes in the Northern Territory, I cannot say I am overly pleased with the results of doing things the way you guys did while in government.
What do we do? Do we do what you did? That is, when there was an increase of over 480 students in the last five years, do we increase the staffing levels by 488? Did it make a difference? Did it improve education outcomes in the Northern Territory? No, it did not.
Let us go back a step. If we were in a better fiscal position, imagine, with the vision we have on this side – this Country Liberals government – what we could do for the Northern Territory, not just in Education, but across the Northern Territory.
As I indicated before, imagine not having to pay $1m a day interest on a debt you left us.
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I asked the minister to explain to Territory parents how cutting 140 school support positions will improve the quality of education.
Madam SPEAKER: That is not a point of order. The minister is answering the question. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, do we have a spokesman for education on the Labor side today? Do we have a person I could engage in real discussions with, not in this theatrical Chamber, but where we can talk about education outcomes in the Northern Territory, or will I be speaking to a different person every week? We are happy. We are hopeful of improving education in the Northern Territory. How can we do it? Not by doing things the way you did. We need to do things differently. We need to look at reviewing education in the bush and how we deliver education in our urban environments. How do we do it?
I have already told you, and it is on the record, we will not lose more than 35 teachers in the Northern Territory next year. However, imagine if we did not have to make any savings across government what our position would be? It would be completely different to where we are today, but we have to take responsibility for the debt you left us. We need to make the hard decisions. It is easy to say, ‘Let us put another few hundred million into education. Don’t worry about where the money will come from and how it will be paid back.’ That is irresponsible. What kind of legacy does that leave our children? It puts them into debt. It is stealing from their future. If we do not get it right, if we cannot live within our means, what do we expect our children to do? Sad, really sad!
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Community Services Portfolio and Remote Community Infrastructure
Ms LEE to MINISTER for COMMUNITY SERVICES
Minister, I congratulate you on your appointment to this important portfolio. Can you outline to the House what this portfolio covers and what plans you have? Also, can you outline to the House what the Giles government is doing for remote NT community infrastructure?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the member for Arnhem, for her question. First, I thank the Chief Minister for his confidence in me on my appointment to his Cabinet as the Minister for Community Services, Statehood, Women’s Policy, and Parks and Wildlife. I also wish to thank my colleagues and supporters for their messages of congratulations. I am deeply honoured to have been appointed and look forward to working hard for all Territorians.
I am lucky to have portfolios where I have significant personal interest and experience, having been an advocate in those areas throughout my career. I am excited about making a real difference in the areas of women’s and men’s policy, and working with the fantastic Parks and Wildlife staff to ensure the Territory’s best assets are kept that way and that our parks are jointly managed with my people. However, today I want to talk about my portfolio of Community Services.
Community Services covers the Department of Community Services and the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority. I am proud to be appointed as the first minister for the newly created Department of Community Services. The department has a number of key service delivery and policy areas …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 225. Could the minister please table the document she is reading from? Dave taught me that one, Bess.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, it is not a point of order and you are on a warning. I will not tolerate the misuse of standing orders and the frivolous nature of some points of order.
Mrs PRICE: Madam Speaker, they are my personal notes.
Community Services covers the Department of Community Services and the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority. The department has a number of key service delivery and policy areas, including the Remote Infrastructure Program Office which covers the Indigenous Essential Service Branch. This branch coordinates funding, planning and policy advice for the delivery of power, water and sewerage services to 72 identified remote Indigenous communities, such as construction of a new gas power station in Wadeye.
The Infrastructure Branch looks after over 430 projects across the Northern Territory at a value of $478m. Last year this branch managed upgrades to water supplies at Wurrumiyanga, Wadeye, Galiwinku, Angurugu and Umbakumba at a cost of $29m. This branch is also currently coordinating two infrastructure projects, being a three-year $20m asbestos removal program from community buildings as well as a $10.6m Ilpeye Ilpeye town camp subdivision.
Land Tenure Branch – for the NT to take hold of economic development and for my people to get real local jobs, we need to use the land which exists within the communities to build and develop our communities. The branch secures land tenure for all NT government infrastructure across the Northern Territory so services critical for those communities can be provided ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Departments – Changes
Mr WOOD to CHIEF MINISTER
Since your government commenced operation last year it has had a department for Indigenous development, a department for regional development, and a department for Indigenous advancement, all of which appear to have been replaced by the Department of Community Services and the Department of Local Government and Regions.
I thank the Minister for Community Services for giving some explanation of the role of the Department of Community Services. Is it not really a rebadged version of the department of Indigenous Advancement? Do you not wonder why people and public servants are confused and wonder where the government is going with all these changes of departments?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I can tell you how confused they were when we had the Council of Territory Cooperation running around in circles with nothing being achieved. They were very confused over that period of time.
Member for Nelson, people now have confidence that things are changing. The regime we have brought in is every minister having the opportunity to deliver services to all Territorians, because we are all equal, or all one. The Minister for Housing is delivering outcomes for Territorians in urban areas, in remote areas, for black, for white, for everybody else. That is what it is about.
Look at alcohol abuse, the chronic issues around alcohol, and the failure of you guys on the other side, when in government, to do anything for chronic alcoholics for years and years. We now have mandatory alcohol rehabilitation to service all Territorians. We have our commitment to the Pillars of Justice, where we are getting people from gaol into jobs. That is focusing on all Territorians. Alcohol management plans – alcohol policy is for all Territorians. Infrastructure is for all Territorians ...
Ms FYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. It was a very direct question.
Madam SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. Sit down.
Mr GILES: It is completely relevant. Every minister has responsibility for all Territorians. With economic development, we are ensuring we can grow economies, invest in infrastructure to offer jobs and get people off the cycle of welfare. This is the way we should lead. Some people have said we need an Aboriginal Affairs department like they have in Canberra.
Good luck to my federal colleague, Senator Nigel Scullion, who will do a great job as minister for Indigenous Affairs. However, on a national scale, he is working on a population of around 2% to 3% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders across the nation. Here, Aboriginal people make up 30% or more of the Territory. It is part of who we are and everyone has a job to do.
I was reflecting on the 1996 announcement by John Howard, when Prime Minister, to move Health out of ATSIC – I was having a chat to the member for Namatjira yesterday – and into OATSIH. At that time, significant changes were made to Indigenous health, and it ensured the federal Health department had a significant focus on Indigenous health, not just ATSIC ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: Listen to my answer, member for Nelson. The most successful thing, in my opinion, to occur in Indigenous affairs has been Indigenous health because it is part of a mainstream department. That is what we have to do in the Northern Territory. We cannot have one minister look after one particular thing. Everybody in the ministry is sharing the workload, working on economic development, health, housing, and education. That is what it is about. That is why I talk to the Minister for Education about the urgent need for a remote Indigenous education review to ensure the rubber is hitting the road.
What we saw under the previous government was failures everywhere in education. They are attacking us on teacher numbers, but reflect on the results of when you were in government. It is disgraceful and you should be embarrassed of those outcomes ...
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, your time has expired.
Teacher Numbers – Nhulunbuy Electorate
Ms WALKER to MINISTER for EDUCATION
Territory schools are currently in meltdown. Changes are being imposed without consultation or community engagement. Yirrkala School, I am advised, is losing four teacher positions and will likely lose the English as a Second Language teacher – extraordinary in a school where all students are ESL. The school for Laynhapuy Homelands will lose a further two teachers and the only IT position. Nhulunbuy High School is losing at least three teachers. Minister, how do any of these cuts improve education outcomes for students? Will you come to Yirrkala and explain to Yambirrpa School council why you are cutting these crucial positions.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question. Member for Nhulunbuy, and all members of the Labor Party, perhaps you should check your sources. Where are you getting this information from …
Ms Fyles: Our sources were at farewells when teachers were leaving the staffroom. Do you know what school council means?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr CHANDLER: No, you are listening to people from the inside giving you half measures and taking things out of context. Even the times you had briefings and leave thinking, ‘This is lovely, this is all good’ – you have had all your questions answered. Hardworking people from the Education department have put together those briefings and given you the answers. Look at the positives and the vision we have for the Open Education Centre in the Northern Territory …
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. My question was very specific to matters relating to my electorate and to Yirrkala schools. Madam Speaker, if you could direct him to answer the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: I am trying to answer the question the best I can. The Open Education Centre can give some amazing opportunities. At a recent meeting with a then opposition senator, today government, he was blown away with my ideas of how we can deliver through the NT Open Education Centre.
They were so excited during this meeting they indicated they would support it not only financially – why do we limit it to the Northern Territory? Why could we not have a vision of providing open education across Australia?
In recent meetings, the Timor-Leste Education minister was excited to hear the vision for NTOEC. You are rubbishing it and trying to drag things back to the way you did things with the same results. You will not let a new government get on with the job.
Ms WALKER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 113: relevance. I draw the minister back to the specific question about when he will come to Yirrkala and explain these cuts. He went to Taminmin and acquiesced. He went to Taminmin council and met with counsellors – I daresay with Judy Allgood’s support – and had five reinstated. When is he coming to Yambirrpa School Council?
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down member for Nhulunbuy. Minister, you have the call.
Mr CHANDLER: In the fullness of time, member for Nhulunbuy. As the Minister for Education, I have responsibility for hundreds of schools across the Northern Territory.
Ms Walker: Really! Out of sight out of mind. If it is not on the Stuart Highway it does not matter. Good on you! You can go to Scotland but not to Yirrkala. Come out on a jet.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy, you are on a warning.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, the member for Nhulunbuy is right. Have I been focused on other areas of my responsibility in the last few days? Yes, I have more than one responsibility. The environment is an important responsibility, as is Lands and Planning.
Unlike the former government, which mucked up many different areas, this government is willing to challenge convention, get on with the job, and try to make improvements in areas you failed in over the last 11 years.
Look at the results from the former Labor government over the last 11 years. They threw money at things with not a problem in the world, but did we see the improvements we should have under the former Labor government? No, we did not.
This government is willing to challenge convention, do the job, and improve education in the Northern Territory.
Darwin CBD - Access
Ms FINOCCHIARO to MINISTER for TRANSPORT
Labor left Darwin CBD with congested entry points due to their focus on trying to splash cash and win votes rather than on the issues to be dealt with. Will the minister advise the Assembly on how the Giles government is getting on with the job of improving access to the Darwin CBD? Are there any impediments to improvements being achieved?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Drysdale for her question. She has been a long-time supporter of this. In fact, I recall in her maiden speech she relayed how important this connection to Palmerston is, and rightly so. I reflect on the timing of Tiger Brennan and go back to when the member for Fong Lim, the current Treasurer, was federal member for Solomon and secured the money for Tiger Brennan. However, if memory serves me correctly, those opposite, when in government, procrastinated about getting the show on the road because they were too busy spending money on other things. It is with great pride I say the Giles government is getting on with the job. Along with so many other portfolios, we are facing debt legacies of about $5.5bn.
That brings about certain challenges for us, and it is a millstone around our neck. I listened to debate in the Chamber this morning and can say there is nothing more this government would like to do than spend money, that would be great. However, we will spend money that we have, not money that is going on the MasterCard.
I will inform the House of where we are going with this. We must build a future for the Northern Territory and a strong and prosperous economy. Tiger Brennan is part of that future; it is a major entry route into the city. Many people are choosing to live in our vibrant city and we need a north/south connection so people of Palmerston – and the jobs in Palmerston and that area – are catered for. The congestion on this route is an impediment to economic growth for Darwin and the development of a prosperous economy.
The Giles Country Liberals government is committed to the duplication of Tiger Brennan Drive between Dinah Beach Road and Woolner Road at a cost of $13m. This is a Northern Territory government funded project. People will have seen the works commence and progress well.
The Northern Territory government welcomes the federal Coalition government’s commitment to the people of Darwin and the commitment of $70m for the future duplication of Tiger Brennan Drive to Berrimah Road.
Ms Lawrie: How much in the first year? Is it $5m?
Mr STYLES: To those opposite interjecting, the previous federal Labor government pushed this funding out to 2016-17. We go back to the early 2000s when the member for Solomon got the commitment from the federal government, but the former Labor government failed to act on it.
I went to Canberra in June and spoke to the then federal member, Mr Albanese, who told us we did not have the paperwork in to get this money. For his information, and others, the paperwork was in. Everything was in order, and it is a failure of the previous Labor government to get the funding.
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