Ms MARTIN - 2001-06-06
Yesterday, you presented a statement on law and order in this House that did not once mention drugs and their huge impact on the lives of Territorians, especially those who are the victims of drug-related crime.
You attacked the opposition for not passing information regarding reputed drug houses to the police. We have, and frequently. Even one of your ministers was able to list the address of a well-known drug house on Lee Point Road. With drug houses flourishing throughout the suburbs of Darwin known even to your own ministers, why do the CLP deserve to be re-elected for another four years?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the CLP deserves to be re-elected because we tell the truth to Territorians. What we do not do ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister has the floor.
Mr BURKE: I apologise to those Territorians trying to listen to this broadcast but the opposition is not the slightest bit interested in hearing the answers.
The one thing the CLP government does not do, and will never do, is try and invent a problem for cheap political gain in order to gain a few votes. The classic is the charade trying to be run by the Labor Party where they are trying to suggest that somehow in the Northern Territory we have a drug problem, because of illicit drugs, on par with the southern capitals of Australia. And, if the figures that they trot out for the southern capitals of Australia are correct, ipso facto, according to their argument, the same problem must exist in the Northern Territory. Ooh! Check that, absolutely.
Also, when we look at the kinds of figures that are being trotted out by organisations such as the Australian Institute of Criminology and others, and some of that statistical information is interesting, it is worth looking behind some of the information on drug abuse and drug related crime. I picked up one this morning that was dated February of this year, a research paper released by the Australian Institute of Criminology, Drug Use Amongst Police Detainees: Some Comparative Data. That not only looked at drug use amongst detainees in Australia, but they also looked at drug use amongst detainees in other capital cities all over the world. It is interesting, for example, in relation to some of these figures, and I quote in part:
More than 45% of detainees in Bankstown and 38% in Parramatta tested positive to opiates, while in the United States the highest rates of opiate use were significantly lower, at 20% in Chicago, 16% in Washington DC and 15% in New York City.
That is an interesting statistic on its own because most people would say that the rise in drug use in our large capital cities in Australia is on a par with the kinds of drug use and drug-related crime in large American cities. No comparison between those particular areas, and the institute goes on to say:
What’s interesting about these results is not just the variations between countries, but the variations across countries and even cities. Drug markets are highly localised and this research will help target specific areas with appropriate drug prevention strategies.
That is the essence of the CLP argument and that is that drug ...
Members interjecting.
Mr BURKE: ... markets are highly ... What are you cackling about now? What’s the latest chuckle?
The essence of this government’s argument is essentially that drug markets are highly localised and the market in the Northern Territory, in order to produce a flourishing illicit drug market, is simply not there. It is not there and that is the factor. We do have drug-related crime in the Northern Territory, no one would deny that, but I have consistently said that the drug-related ...
Members interjecting.
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, it is almost impossible to give a constructive and responsible answer when I have the children on the other side of this House cackling and laughing. It really makes a joke out of this Chamber and makes a joke out of Question Time. I have two options: I can just sit down and treat them as the children that they are, or I can try and work through this clutter and get an answer for the Territorians who are listening to this broadcast. What do you prefer? Because I am easy either way.
We have .... Ooh, nasty look, isn’t it? Ooh, nasty look. What is the ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: A sign of insolence it would be called at school.
That is the essence of the CLP argument, that we do have drug-related crime in the Northern Territory. But when we talk about drugs, their relationship to crime, their relationship to antisocial activity, the use of illicit drugs pales in comparison to drugs such as alcohol. That is why all of the programs in the Northern Territory have been centred on the major problem in the Northern Territory, which is alcohol.
The opposition is trying to invent a situation in the Northern Territory that does not exist. They are trying to roll out figures that say because drug-related crimes in these numbers exist in Sydney and Melbourne, therefore the same situations exist in the Northern Territory. They point to a few newspaper headlines and say, ‘There is the crux of it’. They point to one or two anecdotal pieces of evidence that drug houses exist, and say, ‘There is all the evidence’.
Well, if that is the case, if their logic is true, if they truly believe that is the situation, then they will fully support the programs that are being put in place in those cities by Labor governments in Victoria and New South Wales. Those Labor governments have recognised that methadone programs fail. Those Labor governments are now putting in free heroin injecting rooms and shooting galleries to deal with the rising problem in Victoria and New South Wales. Therefore, if the problem exists in the Northern Territory, as they suggest - you be honest with Territorians and say you will introduce a methadone maintenance program in the Northern Territory immediately you are elected and you will introduce shooting galleries, free injecting rooms in the Northern Territory immediately you are elected.
You cannot have your logic both ways. But they are a joke, they are a charade, because when they are put on notice, Mr Henderson says in an ABC broadcast when asked about heroin injecting rooms and their applicability in the Northern Territory, he says - this is the man who said in this House yesterday the same rates as exist in those other states - in that interview, 11 May 2000, ‘Look, I certainly would not support that. I do not think we have the volume of people on these drugs and I certainly think if you did offer the comprehensive detox rehabilitation maintenance programs, we do not need those facilities’.
They are a joke.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr BURKE: They try to promote an argument that we have the same problem as exists in other states but they are not game to tell Territorians that, if elected, they will do exactly what they are doing in those states. They will introduce a methadone maintenance program immediately and they will introduce shooting galleries into the Northern Territory immediately upon being elected.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker. If the Chief Minister wants to continue making these allegations he must produce some sort of evidence.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy, sit down. There is no point of order.
Mr BURKE: Whilst I am on my feet ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, order! Will the Chief Minister resume his seat. I warn the member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr Palmer: He should withdraw the allegations he made against my colleague.
Mr SPEAKER: I am sorry I did not hear. There was so much noise I could not hear what was said.
Mr Stirling: I could not hear myself, Mr Speaker, with the yelling coming from over there.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am not aware of what was said. The Chief Minister.
Mr BURKE: Whilst I am on my feet, let me say this: the Leader of the Opposition also said yesterday that we are stepping away from mandatory sentencing. How she could suggest that in the ministerial statement I gave is beyond me but let me say unequivocally to Territorians, this government will never step away from mandatory sentencing whilst I am Chief Minister and nor any other Chief Minister in this House. If re-elected mandatory sentencing will stay in the Northern Territory interminably. If re-elected we will look at more options with mandatory sentencing and we believe Territorians will support that.
Let Territorians not forget this: if elected, the Leader of the Opposition will immediately disband and get rid of mandatory sentencing and she will replace it with this: Labor says serious crimes means serious time. How do they achieve that - serious crime means serious time? The first thing they would do is get rid of mandatory sentencing and then in the second-reading speech they will suggest to the courts that serious crime means serious time and therefore harsh penalties will be imposed.
You dills! The reason we introduced mandatory sentencing is that was precisely what was not happening in our courts. That is precisely what will not happen in our courts in the future and it is only mandatory sentencing that keeps some sort of discipline so that the victims of crime in the Northern Territory feel some retribution, that those people who trash homes, who steal furniture, who trash valuable possessions will be punished and they will be punished by mandatory sentencing. If they keep offending they will continue to go to gaol.
You attacked the opposition for not passing information regarding reputed drug houses to the police. We have, and frequently. Even one of your ministers was able to list the address of a well-known drug house on Lee Point Road. With drug houses flourishing throughout the suburbs of Darwin known even to your own ministers, why do the CLP deserve to be re-elected for another four years?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the CLP deserves to be re-elected because we tell the truth to Territorians. What we do not do ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister has the floor.
Mr BURKE: I apologise to those Territorians trying to listen to this broadcast but the opposition is not the slightest bit interested in hearing the answers.
The one thing the CLP government does not do, and will never do, is try and invent a problem for cheap political gain in order to gain a few votes. The classic is the charade trying to be run by the Labor Party where they are trying to suggest that somehow in the Northern Territory we have a drug problem, because of illicit drugs, on par with the southern capitals of Australia. And, if the figures that they trot out for the southern capitals of Australia are correct, ipso facto, according to their argument, the same problem must exist in the Northern Territory. Ooh! Check that, absolutely.
Also, when we look at the kinds of figures that are being trotted out by organisations such as the Australian Institute of Criminology and others, and some of that statistical information is interesting, it is worth looking behind some of the information on drug abuse and drug related crime. I picked up one this morning that was dated February of this year, a research paper released by the Australian Institute of Criminology, Drug Use Amongst Police Detainees: Some Comparative Data. That not only looked at drug use amongst detainees in Australia, but they also looked at drug use amongst detainees in other capital cities all over the world. It is interesting, for example, in relation to some of these figures, and I quote in part:
More than 45% of detainees in Bankstown and 38% in Parramatta tested positive to opiates, while in the United States the highest rates of opiate use were significantly lower, at 20% in Chicago, 16% in Washington DC and 15% in New York City.
That is an interesting statistic on its own because most people would say that the rise in drug use in our large capital cities in Australia is on a par with the kinds of drug use and drug-related crime in large American cities. No comparison between those particular areas, and the institute goes on to say:
What’s interesting about these results is not just the variations between countries, but the variations across countries and even cities. Drug markets are highly localised and this research will help target specific areas with appropriate drug prevention strategies.
That is the essence of the CLP argument and that is that drug ...
Members interjecting.
Mr BURKE: ... markets are highly ... What are you cackling about now? What’s the latest chuckle?
The essence of this government’s argument is essentially that drug markets are highly localised and the market in the Northern Territory, in order to produce a flourishing illicit drug market, is simply not there. It is not there and that is the factor. We do have drug-related crime in the Northern Territory, no one would deny that, but I have consistently said that the drug-related ...
Members interjecting.
Mr BURKE: Mr Speaker, it is almost impossible to give a constructive and responsible answer when I have the children on the other side of this House cackling and laughing. It really makes a joke out of this Chamber and makes a joke out of Question Time. I have two options: I can just sit down and treat them as the children that they are, or I can try and work through this clutter and get an answer for the Territorians who are listening to this broadcast. What do you prefer? Because I am easy either way.
We have .... Ooh, nasty look, isn’t it? Ooh, nasty look. What is the ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr BURKE: A sign of insolence it would be called at school.
That is the essence of the CLP argument, that we do have drug-related crime in the Northern Territory. But when we talk about drugs, their relationship to crime, their relationship to antisocial activity, the use of illicit drugs pales in comparison to drugs such as alcohol. That is why all of the programs in the Northern Territory have been centred on the major problem in the Northern Territory, which is alcohol.
The opposition is trying to invent a situation in the Northern Territory that does not exist. They are trying to roll out figures that say because drug-related crimes in these numbers exist in Sydney and Melbourne, therefore the same situations exist in the Northern Territory. They point to a few newspaper headlines and say, ‘There is the crux of it’. They point to one or two anecdotal pieces of evidence that drug houses exist, and say, ‘There is all the evidence’.
Well, if that is the case, if their logic is true, if they truly believe that is the situation, then they will fully support the programs that are being put in place in those cities by Labor governments in Victoria and New South Wales. Those Labor governments have recognised that methadone programs fail. Those Labor governments are now putting in free heroin injecting rooms and shooting galleries to deal with the rising problem in Victoria and New South Wales. Therefore, if the problem exists in the Northern Territory, as they suggest - you be honest with Territorians and say you will introduce a methadone maintenance program in the Northern Territory immediately you are elected and you will introduce shooting galleries, free injecting rooms in the Northern Territory immediately you are elected.
You cannot have your logic both ways. But they are a joke, they are a charade, because when they are put on notice, Mr Henderson says in an ABC broadcast when asked about heroin injecting rooms and their applicability in the Northern Territory, he says - this is the man who said in this House yesterday the same rates as exist in those other states - in that interview, 11 May 2000, ‘Look, I certainly would not support that. I do not think we have the volume of people on these drugs and I certainly think if you did offer the comprehensive detox rehabilitation maintenance programs, we do not need those facilities’.
They are a joke.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr BURKE: They try to promote an argument that we have the same problem as exists in other states but they are not game to tell Territorians that, if elected, they will do exactly what they are doing in those states. They will introduce a methadone maintenance program immediately and they will introduce shooting galleries into the Northern Territory immediately upon being elected.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker. If the Chief Minister wants to continue making these allegations he must produce some sort of evidence.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Nhulunbuy, sit down. There is no point of order.
Mr BURKE: Whilst I am on my feet ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order, order! Will the Chief Minister resume his seat. I warn the member for Nhulunbuy.
Mr Palmer: He should withdraw the allegations he made against my colleague.
Mr SPEAKER: I am sorry I did not hear. There was so much noise I could not hear what was said.
Mr Stirling: I could not hear myself, Mr Speaker, with the yelling coming from over there.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am not aware of what was said. The Chief Minister.
Mr BURKE: Whilst I am on my feet, let me say this: the Leader of the Opposition also said yesterday that we are stepping away from mandatory sentencing. How she could suggest that in the ministerial statement I gave is beyond me but let me say unequivocally to Territorians, this government will never step away from mandatory sentencing whilst I am Chief Minister and nor any other Chief Minister in this House. If re-elected mandatory sentencing will stay in the Northern Territory interminably. If re-elected we will look at more options with mandatory sentencing and we believe Territorians will support that.
Let Territorians not forget this: if elected, the Leader of the Opposition will immediately disband and get rid of mandatory sentencing and she will replace it with this: Labor says serious crimes means serious time. How do they achieve that - serious crime means serious time? The first thing they would do is get rid of mandatory sentencing and then in the second-reading speech they will suggest to the courts that serious crime means serious time and therefore harsh penalties will be imposed.
You dills! The reason we introduced mandatory sentencing is that was precisely what was not happening in our courts. That is precisely what will not happen in our courts in the future and it is only mandatory sentencing that keeps some sort of discipline so that the victims of crime in the Northern Territory feel some retribution, that those people who trash homes, who steal furniture, who trash valuable possessions will be punished and they will be punished by mandatory sentencing. If they keep offending they will continue to go to gaol.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016