Dr LIM - 2000-03-01
Residential tenancy legislation commences Territory wide from today. How is government assisting both landlords and tenants now that the legislation is in place?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, that is a very pertinent question from the member. It is a significant day today for landlords and tenants. It is today, 1 March 2000, that the new Residential Tenancy Act begins. As members would know, this is a process of consultation that’s been going on for a long time. After many years, including many discussions papers, workshops, and seminars, it is fantastic that today we can announce that fair and balanced legislation for tenants begins today.
The question that has been raised by the member is what are we doing to inform everybody in the Northern Territory about this commencement. Today many seminars will begin. There are ads in today’s paper, such as this one here, that will outline seminars to inform both tenants and landlords of the obligations that they will have under the new legislation. This is very, very good legislation that has come through this parliament after wide consultation. This is unlike the opposition’s attempt to introduce residential tenancy legislation on Territorians based on a New South Wales piece of legislation. It came to my notice through a newspaper article on 17 February this year. ‘Labor’s bid to help tenants’ was an article that was in the paper. The Leader of the Opposition said that she was going to introduce retail tenancy legislation for tenants. I thought, here we go again, the same as the …
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Both sides of the House.
Mr BALDWIN: As I said, this is the residential tenancy legislation ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition.
Mr BALDWIN: The question you have to ask yourself is: was there any consultation with Territorians about the introduction of this bill? I say the answer is ‘no’. There was definitely no consultation. Admittedly, on the day of the newspaper article some letters from the Labor Opposition Leader were delivered down the Mall to retailers, stating, ‘I will introduce ...’, but not asking for their opinion. This is their form of consultation. It became evident to me that no consultation had occurred when I received a letter just the other day from the Northern Territory Branch of the Property Council of Australia. I’m going to read this letter because it’s very important to show the level of consultation that the Leader of the Opposition has not engaged in. It’s about proposed retail legislation:
The Property Council of Australia, NT division, understands from recent press and radio reports that it’s the intention of Clare Martin to introduce a bill in parliament today governing retail tenancies. The Property Council have a standing committee known as the Retail Property Owners Group, the members of which represent the majority of retail centres throughout the Northern Territory. Centres represented by the members include Casuarina Shopping Centre, Woolworths Darwin, Darwin Central, Centrepoint Darwin, Paspaley Pearls Property, Northlakes, Malak ...
It goes on and on.
... Palm City Oasis, Yippirinya Shopping Centre ...
And so on.
A recent survey conducted by the Property Council of these centres has indicated that there are presently no disputes before the courts with any retailers ...
Mr Stirling: So what?
Mr BALDWIN: ‘So what’, the member for Nhulunbuy says.
Mr Stirling: So you don’t do anything about it?
Mr BALDWIN: So let me finish.
... no disputes before the courts with any retailers other than matters dealing with the collection of rental arrears. All centre owners have advised that they have not been consulted by the opposition in relation to the proposed legislation, but some have advised that circulars were delivered to their retailers last Thursday and Friday by Clare Martin’s office advising them ofthe proposal. As an industry representative group the Property Council is gravely concerned at the lack of consultation in regard to the proposal. It appears that not only has there been no consultation with property owners, but also little with retailers. It is the strong view of our members that such legislation is totally unwarranted and would impose further administrative costs on owners and retailers alike. The Northern Territory has not been burdened with the myriad of retail legislation regulations found in other states and like landlords and tenants, have a history in the Territory of amicably solving their own disputes.
The last sentence in the letter says:
We urge the government to overturn the opposition’s proposal.
Yours faithfully
George Cridland..
The Territory government will consult with businesses before any legislation on tenancy is imposed on them. But I can tell you one thing, what we won’t impose on them is Labor’s New South Wales legislation. It will be Northern Territory legislation that is good for Northern Territorians.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, that is a very pertinent question from the member. It is a significant day today for landlords and tenants. It is today, 1 March 2000, that the new Residential Tenancy Act begins. As members would know, this is a process of consultation that’s been going on for a long time. After many years, including many discussions papers, workshops, and seminars, it is fantastic that today we can announce that fair and balanced legislation for tenants begins today.
The question that has been raised by the member is what are we doing to inform everybody in the Northern Territory about this commencement. Today many seminars will begin. There are ads in today’s paper, such as this one here, that will outline seminars to inform both tenants and landlords of the obligations that they will have under the new legislation. This is very, very good legislation that has come through this parliament after wide consultation. This is unlike the opposition’s attempt to introduce residential tenancy legislation on Territorians based on a New South Wales piece of legislation. It came to my notice through a newspaper article on 17 February this year. ‘Labor’s bid to help tenants’ was an article that was in the paper. The Leader of the Opposition said that she was going to introduce retail tenancy legislation for tenants. I thought, here we go again, the same as the …
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Both sides of the House.
Mr BALDWIN: As I said, this is the residential tenancy legislation ...
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition.
Mr BALDWIN: The question you have to ask yourself is: was there any consultation with Territorians about the introduction of this bill? I say the answer is ‘no’. There was definitely no consultation. Admittedly, on the day of the newspaper article some letters from the Labor Opposition Leader were delivered down the Mall to retailers, stating, ‘I will introduce ...’, but not asking for their opinion. This is their form of consultation. It became evident to me that no consultation had occurred when I received a letter just the other day from the Northern Territory Branch of the Property Council of Australia. I’m going to read this letter because it’s very important to show the level of consultation that the Leader of the Opposition has not engaged in. It’s about proposed retail legislation:
The Property Council of Australia, NT division, understands from recent press and radio reports that it’s the intention of Clare Martin to introduce a bill in parliament today governing retail tenancies. The Property Council have a standing committee known as the Retail Property Owners Group, the members of which represent the majority of retail centres throughout the Northern Territory. Centres represented by the members include Casuarina Shopping Centre, Woolworths Darwin, Darwin Central, Centrepoint Darwin, Paspaley Pearls Property, Northlakes, Malak ...
It goes on and on.
... Palm City Oasis, Yippirinya Shopping Centre ...
And so on.
A recent survey conducted by the Property Council of these centres has indicated that there are presently no disputes before the courts with any retailers ...
Mr Stirling: So what?
Mr BALDWIN: ‘So what’, the member for Nhulunbuy says.
Mr Stirling: So you don’t do anything about it?
Mr BALDWIN: So let me finish.
... no disputes before the courts with any retailers other than matters dealing with the collection of rental arrears. All centre owners have advised that they have not been consulted by the opposition in relation to the proposed legislation, but some have advised that circulars were delivered to their retailers last Thursday and Friday by Clare Martin’s office advising them ofthe proposal. As an industry representative group the Property Council is gravely concerned at the lack of consultation in regard to the proposal. It appears that not only has there been no consultation with property owners, but also little with retailers. It is the strong view of our members that such legislation is totally unwarranted and would impose further administrative costs on owners and retailers alike. The Northern Territory has not been burdened with the myriad of retail legislation regulations found in other states and like landlords and tenants, have a history in the Territory of amicably solving their own disputes.
The last sentence in the letter says:
We urge the government to overturn the opposition’s proposal.
Yours faithfully
George Cridland..
The Territory government will consult with businesses before any legislation on tenancy is imposed on them. But I can tell you one thing, what we won’t impose on them is Labor’s New South Wales legislation. It will be Northern Territory legislation that is good for Northern Territorians.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016