Ms MARTIN - 2000-03-02
On 18 February the Chief Minister was interviewed on A Current Affair on mandatory sentencing. The interview went to air on 22 February. I seek leave to table an extract from that interview.
Leave granted.
Ms MARTIN: The interviewer asked the Chief Minister: ‘What’s changed in the 3 years since this system has been in place?’ The Chief Minister responded: ‘I could tell you there are statistics coming out today which show property crime is down by 14% and car stealing by 23%, but I refuse to put out statistics because I don’t believe them anyway’. Despite clearly stating he would not put out these statistics, within a week they were appearing in taxpayer-funded advertisements authorised by the Chief Minister. Yet again the Chief Minister has deceived Territorians.
Will the Chief Minister admit that nobody can now believe a word he says on any issue?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is a very odd opposition leader. I am continually bemused by statements she has made in this House. She said sometime ago on ABC Radiothat her intention was not to be a good opposition leader. Well, she’s certainly achieving that aim, from my perspective, because what is the allegation here? Is the allegation against the Chief Minister that somehow it is wrong and misleading to simply state facts that have been produced by the ABS? And the fact is that property crime in the Northern Territory from 1995-1998 has fallen by 14%. The other fact is that, ABS figures, from 1995 to 1998 car stealing has dropped 23%.
In the context of my concern about statistics being waved around, it has never seemed to be a problem. The Leader of the Opposition always calls for statistics – ‘government, give us statistics’. But you certainly don’t seem to have any problem finding statistics yourselves, because you’re quoting them every day of the week. Every day of the week you’re quoting statistics with regard to mandatory sentencing. You’re quoting the wildest statistics with regard to jobs in the Northern Territory. So, it’s hardly an allegation against government that government is somehow hiding statistics.
My concern about statistics relating to mandatory sentencing is simply this, mandatory sentencing is not the only initiative or program that we have in the Northern Territory to deal with law and order. Therefore, does it not logically follow to any fair-thinking person that to suggest a statistic could be centred on mandatory sentencing alone would be a very difficult statistic to get? What you can do is look at, say, a simple fact. And the simple fact that I would point to is the ABS figures from 1995 to 1998. What I have continually said to those who seek information is that when you consider mandatory sentencing in the Northern Territory, consider the fact that it is one part of a holistic strategy of government to deal with a whole range of issues in law and order. In response to that, the opposition leader only then points to hot-spot policing. Law and order issues don’t involve only hot-spot policing, in the same way they don’t involve only mandatory sentencing. Law and order issues involve everything from better parenting for a child soon after its born. Law and order issues involve good child care in the Northern Territory. Law and order issues involve school-based constables, where the Northern Territory has led the rest of Australia. Law and order issues involve Aboriginal community-based police officers. Suddenly the Queensland government is parading itself as having thought of this initiative, but it has been in place in the Northern Territory for 10 years or more.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The intent of the question was for the Chief Minister to explain how on the one hand he says he doesn’t believe the statistics and on the other hand he authorises an ad a few days later ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! You are basically re-asking the question. The Chief Minister is aware of the question. As I have indicated before, I have no capacity to direct a minister in how he or she answers a question.
Mr BURKE: Am I answering this question or not? Are you the only dumb person in this place? Mr Speaker, I am referring to the member for Nhulunbuy, of course, not to you.
Law and order issues involve things like Operation Surf. Law and order issues involve our domestic violence strategy. Law and order issues involve things like Living with Alcohol, a program of $6m to $8m in the Northern Territory that has been running 9 or 10 years, with money channelled into a whole range of departments - Corrections, Health, Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Education – that deal with issues involving alcohol which in themselves lead to law and order issues. Therefore, when one then looks at the issue of mandatory sentencing, where does that fit? I have said where it fits. It sends a very clear message to persistent criminals, who break into people’s homes, that home invasion and other property crimes are not on, and ‘if you persist in that you will end up in goal or in a detention centre’. It sends a very real message to the community that this government is serious about those sorts of crimes and ‘on your behalf we will deal with them’. It sends a very real message to the police who know that they can get out there and they can catch these criminals and they can see some decent result for their efforts. Frankly, I believe those 3 issues alone are the main reasons we’re seeing a greater appearance of people prepared to report property crimes - because they know they will get some results.
If you then look at the whole range of those multidimensional strategies in terms of how we deal directly and indirectly in the Northern Territory with law and order, if people want a result, the result is the simple ABS facts which were enunciated in that article. 14% drop in property crime and a 23% drop in car stealing in 1995-1998.
Leave granted.
Ms MARTIN: The interviewer asked the Chief Minister: ‘What’s changed in the 3 years since this system has been in place?’ The Chief Minister responded: ‘I could tell you there are statistics coming out today which show property crime is down by 14% and car stealing by 23%, but I refuse to put out statistics because I don’t believe them anyway’. Despite clearly stating he would not put out these statistics, within a week they were appearing in taxpayer-funded advertisements authorised by the Chief Minister. Yet again the Chief Minister has deceived Territorians.
Will the Chief Minister admit that nobody can now believe a word he says on any issue?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is a very odd opposition leader. I am continually bemused by statements she has made in this House. She said sometime ago on ABC Radiothat her intention was not to be a good opposition leader. Well, she’s certainly achieving that aim, from my perspective, because what is the allegation here? Is the allegation against the Chief Minister that somehow it is wrong and misleading to simply state facts that have been produced by the ABS? And the fact is that property crime in the Northern Territory from 1995-1998 has fallen by 14%. The other fact is that, ABS figures, from 1995 to 1998 car stealing has dropped 23%.
In the context of my concern about statistics being waved around, it has never seemed to be a problem. The Leader of the Opposition always calls for statistics – ‘government, give us statistics’. But you certainly don’t seem to have any problem finding statistics yourselves, because you’re quoting them every day of the week. Every day of the week you’re quoting statistics with regard to mandatory sentencing. You’re quoting the wildest statistics with regard to jobs in the Northern Territory. So, it’s hardly an allegation against government that government is somehow hiding statistics.
My concern about statistics relating to mandatory sentencing is simply this, mandatory sentencing is not the only initiative or program that we have in the Northern Territory to deal with law and order. Therefore, does it not logically follow to any fair-thinking person that to suggest a statistic could be centred on mandatory sentencing alone would be a very difficult statistic to get? What you can do is look at, say, a simple fact. And the simple fact that I would point to is the ABS figures from 1995 to 1998. What I have continually said to those who seek information is that when you consider mandatory sentencing in the Northern Territory, consider the fact that it is one part of a holistic strategy of government to deal with a whole range of issues in law and order. In response to that, the opposition leader only then points to hot-spot policing. Law and order issues don’t involve only hot-spot policing, in the same way they don’t involve only mandatory sentencing. Law and order issues involve everything from better parenting for a child soon after its born. Law and order issues involve good child care in the Northern Territory. Law and order issues involve school-based constables, where the Northern Territory has led the rest of Australia. Law and order issues involve Aboriginal community-based police officers. Suddenly the Queensland government is parading itself as having thought of this initiative, but it has been in place in the Northern Territory for 10 years or more.
Mr STIRLING: A point of order, Mr Speaker! The intent of the question was for the Chief Minister to explain how on the one hand he says he doesn’t believe the statistics and on the other hand he authorises an ad a few days later ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! You are basically re-asking the question. The Chief Minister is aware of the question. As I have indicated before, I have no capacity to direct a minister in how he or she answers a question.
Mr BURKE: Am I answering this question or not? Are you the only dumb person in this place? Mr Speaker, I am referring to the member for Nhulunbuy, of course, not to you.
Law and order issues involve things like Operation Surf. Law and order issues involve our domestic violence strategy. Law and order issues involve things like Living with Alcohol, a program of $6m to $8m in the Northern Territory that has been running 9 or 10 years, with money channelled into a whole range of departments - Corrections, Health, Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Education – that deal with issues involving alcohol which in themselves lead to law and order issues. Therefore, when one then looks at the issue of mandatory sentencing, where does that fit? I have said where it fits. It sends a very clear message to persistent criminals, who break into people’s homes, that home invasion and other property crimes are not on, and ‘if you persist in that you will end up in goal or in a detention centre’. It sends a very real message to the community that this government is serious about those sorts of crimes and ‘on your behalf we will deal with them’. It sends a very real message to the police who know that they can get out there and they can catch these criminals and they can see some decent result for their efforts. Frankly, I believe those 3 issues alone are the main reasons we’re seeing a greater appearance of people prepared to report property crimes - because they know they will get some results.
If you then look at the whole range of those multidimensional strategies in terms of how we deal directly and indirectly in the Northern Territory with law and order, if people want a result, the result is the simple ABS facts which were enunciated in that article. 14% drop in property crime and a 23% drop in car stealing in 1995-1998.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016