Mr TOYNE - 1998-10-13
Can the minister explain why members of the Nguiu community had to borrow money to build their own police station and holding cells, following a death in custody, and ongoing criticism of the existing facility? Why did he allow this to occur and is this the beginning of the government moving the responsibilities for such facilities to communities?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, one of the reasons the people of Nguiu raised a commercial loan so they could build the police station was because they wanted to go into a commercial investment on which they could get a return. They made an approach to government in relation to such a proposition and as a consequence ...
Mr Bailey interjecting
Mr REED: Do you want the answer or not? Your colleague has goofed in asking this question and does not appreciate the circumstances surrounding the matter.
The fact is the residents of the community saw an opportunity by which they could make an investment on which they could get a return. Ironically this is something that members opposite, and certainly on this side of the House from time to time, say that the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory should be encouraged to do. In this case the government has agreed and cooperated with the people of Nguiu to take a commercial loan, to build a facility and to lease it back over a long period of time on a commercial basis to the Northern Territory police force. I would have thought that members opposite would be encouraging of this opportunity.
They would not know a commercial opportunity if it hit them in the face. Thankfully, the Tiwi Land Council is a little brighter than those who represent them opposite, and they did see an opportunity and pursued it and took advantage of it. The honourable member for Victoria River, the Minister for Housing and Local Government represented me at the opening of the police station, and I understood that it was a pretty proud day. Indeed, I suspect that the member for Arafura might have been there. Did they tell him they were going to ask this question? Did they ask him whether these people wanted to go into a commercial arrangement to get a good return on a police station?
Are they aware that there are other communities working along these lines? The community at Daly River for example now believes that commercial investment in a health clinic might be an opportunity for them to both make an investment in their own community, and to obtain a return on it. I would say that the Aboriginal people out there are a little more astute. They can see the commercial opportunity. These people opposite have no imagination. They know not where they go and they would not be able to take the opportunity because they have no initiative, they are not innovative and now they are decrying the fact that Aboriginal people don’t know what is going on.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, one of the reasons the people of Nguiu raised a commercial loan so they could build the police station was because they wanted to go into a commercial investment on which they could get a return. They made an approach to government in relation to such a proposition and as a consequence ...
Mr Bailey interjecting
Mr REED: Do you want the answer or not? Your colleague has goofed in asking this question and does not appreciate the circumstances surrounding the matter.
The fact is the residents of the community saw an opportunity by which they could make an investment on which they could get a return. Ironically this is something that members opposite, and certainly on this side of the House from time to time, say that the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory should be encouraged to do. In this case the government has agreed and cooperated with the people of Nguiu to take a commercial loan, to build a facility and to lease it back over a long period of time on a commercial basis to the Northern Territory police force. I would have thought that members opposite would be encouraging of this opportunity.
They would not know a commercial opportunity if it hit them in the face. Thankfully, the Tiwi Land Council is a little brighter than those who represent them opposite, and they did see an opportunity and pursued it and took advantage of it. The honourable member for Victoria River, the Minister for Housing and Local Government represented me at the opening of the police station, and I understood that it was a pretty proud day. Indeed, I suspect that the member for Arafura might have been there. Did they tell him they were going to ask this question? Did they ask him whether these people wanted to go into a commercial arrangement to get a good return on a police station?
Are they aware that there are other communities working along these lines? The community at Daly River for example now believes that commercial investment in a health clinic might be an opportunity for them to both make an investment in their own community, and to obtain a return on it. I would say that the Aboriginal people out there are a little more astute. They can see the commercial opportunity. These people opposite have no imagination. They know not where they go and they would not be able to take the opportunity because they have no initiative, they are not innovative and now they are decrying the fact that Aboriginal people don’t know what is going on.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016