Mr BALCH - 1999-10-12
Last week, the minister visited my electorate to talk to residents and see first-hand the trouble spots around the suburb of Wagaman, where the community is concerned about antisocial behaviour of juveniles. Following that visit, can he inform the House what approach he is taking on this issue?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, together with the member for Jingili and the member for Casuarina I did visit the northern suburbs last week. We took the opportunity to meet some residents who were concerned about the behaviour of some young kids in that neighbourhood, and to have a look at the situation on the ground. It was a very productive exercise.
A public meeting was called that evening and 60 or so residents attended. I wasn’t able to attend but the local member, the member for Jingili, again demonstrated his commitment. He was in attendance, as were 2 or 3 aldermen of Darwin City Council. As one of the outcomes of that meeting, the member for Jingili has established a community group to continue to monitor the situation in that neighbourhood and take a more pro-active role. At a meeting with the Lord Mayor and 2 aldermen last night the member for Jingili …
Ms Martin: You’ve got Neighbourhood Watch!
Mr REED: Well, you’re not interested. You’ve been on holidays. Your biggest priority since the last sittings was to go on holiday. You haven’t been here. That’s why you don’t know what’s been going on. So now you’re rested, all you can do is let your mouth run off on no matters of any sense. It’s no good …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: Her biggest priority was to go on holiday. She can tell us about her holiday in the adjournment debate tonight. In the meantime, let us put on the record for the benefit of the residents something that’s happened …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: People have been working while you have been away. While you have been lying on the beach or attending the School of Deceit or wherever you’ve been, people have been here on the job. They’re a bit more concerned about what has really been happening. If you want to find out what your mob have been doing while you’ve been away, at the School of Deceit or whatever has been occupying you for the last couple of weeks, have a talk to the member for Wanguri. Ask the member for Wanguri what involvement he had in this process. He was a big help to you, I’ve got to say. To demonstrate that, in relation to this very important issue which the Leader of the Opposition treats so flippantly, so mirthfully, let’s have a look at what her lot had to say.
In a lengthy radio interview, the member for Wanguri included these comments in relation to laneways in the northern suburbs. He said: ‘So I asked the council what is their policy, if I was to write a letter’. He is so unenergetic he might have been on holidays himself at the time. First of all, he has to ask the council what its policy is and then he has to determine if he should write a letter. Then he says that in these particular laneways residents want lighting as a preventive safety measure. Now, did he write the letter? Did he get around to writing the letter to the council?
Mr Henderson: Yes, it has gone through now.
Mr REED: Did you find out what their policy is? Did you do anything else? No. So there you go – a direct contrast. The fellow over here has said: ‘I might find out what council’s policy is and I might write a letter’. He does nothing. He goes back to sleep with the other 7 dwarfs. On the other hand we have the member for Jingili, who attends public meetings.
I will get back now to the meeting that we had with Darwin City Council last night and the positive outcome from that. Members would be aware - those who haven’t been on holidays, the Opposition Leader excluded - that police have put in place more patrols in the northern suburbs in some areas that have been experiencing particular problems. Indeed the bicycle patrols by police and the ...
A member interjecting.
Mr REED: Well, all you can do is rabbit on. I know what your problem is. You can’t do anything constructive, but you can come in here and rabbit on every month or so when the sittings are on and make a big noise, so it looks like you are doing something. But people are seeing through your inaction. You have to be a bit more pro-active in the future.
From the point of view of where we go from here, we have increased police patrols - bicycle patrols, motorbike patrols, trailbikes. In addition to the activities that the police are pursuing, it was the view of many of the residents in the area that we visited last week that some of the laneways through the residential subdivisions should be closed. They voiced those concerns very strongly. Police also indicate that the laneways make it very difficult for policing in those residential areas because they provide very effective and quick escape routes for the kids who are creating the problem. That leaves police in a vehicle to go a couple of kilometres around the block to try to catch them and, of course, by then they are long gone.
So a number of issues that are being pursued. The council last night agreed to close off at least 2 of the laneways, and I thank them for their cooperation. Unhesitatingly, they agreed to a meeting with the member for Jingili and myself. They agreed to implement the closure of a couple of laneways until the end of January. That, I believe, will assist the police. There is a range of other initiatives ...
Mr Henderson interjecting.
Mr REED: It’s a pity you don’t pay attention and do something instead of wondering what the council’s policy is.Go and find out. Have a talk to them. Have you met with the council? Have you met with any of the aldermen? Have you expressed your point of view to relation to ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: Well, what’s going on? What have you achieved, then? Can you get some results? No! Well, next time she goes on holidays, go with her. You’re not effective here even when you’re on the job.
There are a number of initiatives that the residents of the neighbourhood want pursued. They would like to see something done at the park where some of these kids congregate, particularly in relation to lighting and a reduction in the foliage which enables people to be concealed. As one family explained to me, they don’t allow their young children to play in the park because they can’t be supervised from home, from the yard, because of the denseness of the vegetation.
They are the sorts of things that have been and, of course, will be conveyed to the council by the member for Jingili and his community group. I commend them for their pro-active stance. It’s a pity that the Labor members couldn’t be as pro-active as they have been. It’s a demonstration that, working together, we can find some solutions to these problems that have been appearing in the northern suburbs.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, together with the member for Jingili and the member for Casuarina I did visit the northern suburbs last week. We took the opportunity to meet some residents who were concerned about the behaviour of some young kids in that neighbourhood, and to have a look at the situation on the ground. It was a very productive exercise.
A public meeting was called that evening and 60 or so residents attended. I wasn’t able to attend but the local member, the member for Jingili, again demonstrated his commitment. He was in attendance, as were 2 or 3 aldermen of Darwin City Council. As one of the outcomes of that meeting, the member for Jingili has established a community group to continue to monitor the situation in that neighbourhood and take a more pro-active role. At a meeting with the Lord Mayor and 2 aldermen last night the member for Jingili …
Ms Martin: You’ve got Neighbourhood Watch!
Mr REED: Well, you’re not interested. You’ve been on holidays. Your biggest priority since the last sittings was to go on holiday. You haven’t been here. That’s why you don’t know what’s been going on. So now you’re rested, all you can do is let your mouth run off on no matters of any sense. It’s no good …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: Her biggest priority was to go on holiday. She can tell us about her holiday in the adjournment debate tonight. In the meantime, let us put on the record for the benefit of the residents something that’s happened …
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr REED: People have been working while you have been away. While you have been lying on the beach or attending the School of Deceit or wherever you’ve been, people have been here on the job. They’re a bit more concerned about what has really been happening. If you want to find out what your mob have been doing while you’ve been away, at the School of Deceit or whatever has been occupying you for the last couple of weeks, have a talk to the member for Wanguri. Ask the member for Wanguri what involvement he had in this process. He was a big help to you, I’ve got to say. To demonstrate that, in relation to this very important issue which the Leader of the Opposition treats so flippantly, so mirthfully, let’s have a look at what her lot had to say.
In a lengthy radio interview, the member for Wanguri included these comments in relation to laneways in the northern suburbs. He said: ‘So I asked the council what is their policy, if I was to write a letter’. He is so unenergetic he might have been on holidays himself at the time. First of all, he has to ask the council what its policy is and then he has to determine if he should write a letter. Then he says that in these particular laneways residents want lighting as a preventive safety measure. Now, did he write the letter? Did he get around to writing the letter to the council?
Mr Henderson: Yes, it has gone through now.
Mr REED: Did you find out what their policy is? Did you do anything else? No. So there you go – a direct contrast. The fellow over here has said: ‘I might find out what council’s policy is and I might write a letter’. He does nothing. He goes back to sleep with the other 7 dwarfs. On the other hand we have the member for Jingili, who attends public meetings.
I will get back now to the meeting that we had with Darwin City Council last night and the positive outcome from that. Members would be aware - those who haven’t been on holidays, the Opposition Leader excluded - that police have put in place more patrols in the northern suburbs in some areas that have been experiencing particular problems. Indeed the bicycle patrols by police and the ...
A member interjecting.
Mr REED: Well, all you can do is rabbit on. I know what your problem is. You can’t do anything constructive, but you can come in here and rabbit on every month or so when the sittings are on and make a big noise, so it looks like you are doing something. But people are seeing through your inaction. You have to be a bit more pro-active in the future.
From the point of view of where we go from here, we have increased police patrols - bicycle patrols, motorbike patrols, trailbikes. In addition to the activities that the police are pursuing, it was the view of many of the residents in the area that we visited last week that some of the laneways through the residential subdivisions should be closed. They voiced those concerns very strongly. Police also indicate that the laneways make it very difficult for policing in those residential areas because they provide very effective and quick escape routes for the kids who are creating the problem. That leaves police in a vehicle to go a couple of kilometres around the block to try to catch them and, of course, by then they are long gone.
So a number of issues that are being pursued. The council last night agreed to close off at least 2 of the laneways, and I thank them for their cooperation. Unhesitatingly, they agreed to a meeting with the member for Jingili and myself. They agreed to implement the closure of a couple of laneways until the end of January. That, I believe, will assist the police. There is a range of other initiatives ...
Mr Henderson interjecting.
Mr REED: It’s a pity you don’t pay attention and do something instead of wondering what the council’s policy is.Go and find out. Have a talk to them. Have you met with the council? Have you met with any of the aldermen? Have you expressed your point of view to relation to ...
Members interjecting.
Mr REED: Well, what’s going on? What have you achieved, then? Can you get some results? No! Well, next time she goes on holidays, go with her. You’re not effective here even when you’re on the job.
There are a number of initiatives that the residents of the neighbourhood want pursued. They would like to see something done at the park where some of these kids congregate, particularly in relation to lighting and a reduction in the foliage which enables people to be concealed. As one family explained to me, they don’t allow their young children to play in the park because they can’t be supervised from home, from the yard, because of the denseness of the vegetation.
They are the sorts of things that have been and, of course, will be conveyed to the council by the member for Jingili and his community group. I commend them for their pro-active stance. It’s a pity that the Labor members couldn’t be as pro-active as they have been. It’s a demonstration that, working together, we can find some solutions to these problems that have been appearing in the northern suburbs.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016