Mr HIGGINS - 2014-03-19
Can you update the House on the government’s plans for a new Supreme Court in Alice Springs as part of the town’s new justice precinct?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly and the Attorney-General - minister for Corrections - for his involvement in this exciting initiative in Central Australia. We are all excited, not just about the new Supreme Court, but what it means for the local economy. We will soon be leasing two new Supreme Court rooms in the town’s developing justice precinct, something initialised by the member for Araluen.
We recognise the Alice Springs community requires additional court rooms, not to meet growing demand, but to meet demand which has been there for a long period of time and outdated facilities. We now have the opportunity to balance this need by stimulating private sector developers to supply these facilities in the town. The existing Supreme Court building will be repurposed for exclusive use by the Magistrates Court. The Supreme Court will then be moved elsewhere, doubling in size from one court to two with state-of-the-art facilities. Instead of the government building a new Supreme Court, we want to facilitate private sector development and get the private economy moving, rather than just government economy. We have decided to rent the space for the new courts from a developer via a long-term lease.
It is anticipated the promise of a long-term foundation tenant will encourage a private developer to proceed with the significant new building project in the Alice Springs justice precinct. The government anticipates the court could share a larger private building with other tenants, facilitating the provision of additional development in Central Australia. We have been in talks with the legal fraternity about their needs at this new facility and we think there might be opportunity to partner up with those guys. I am pleased to inform the Assembly the project will go out to tender next week, providing new stimulus to the local economy.
It is more evidence of our commitment to all areas of the Northern Territory, in this example Central Australia, in sharp contrast to the former Labor government’s fly-in fly-out approach to Central Australia, where the only economic stimulus was responding to crime and law and order. We are seeing stimulation right through the private sector from many different areas. We look forward to rebuilding our tourism sector, ensuring we work with the business sector and ensure it is not run only by government, but working in many different areas. This comes on the back of one of the new developments the government was working with last week: the start of an $8.6m housing development on Larapinta Drive, which will see the construction of 25 new units. This is a further sign the private sector economy is starting to take over from where the government economy was left languishing, driving everything in the past.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Daly and the Attorney-General - minister for Corrections - for his involvement in this exciting initiative in Central Australia. We are all excited, not just about the new Supreme Court, but what it means for the local economy. We will soon be leasing two new Supreme Court rooms in the town’s developing justice precinct, something initialised by the member for Araluen.
We recognise the Alice Springs community requires additional court rooms, not to meet growing demand, but to meet demand which has been there for a long period of time and outdated facilities. We now have the opportunity to balance this need by stimulating private sector developers to supply these facilities in the town. The existing Supreme Court building will be repurposed for exclusive use by the Magistrates Court. The Supreme Court will then be moved elsewhere, doubling in size from one court to two with state-of-the-art facilities. Instead of the government building a new Supreme Court, we want to facilitate private sector development and get the private economy moving, rather than just government economy. We have decided to rent the space for the new courts from a developer via a long-term lease.
It is anticipated the promise of a long-term foundation tenant will encourage a private developer to proceed with the significant new building project in the Alice Springs justice precinct. The government anticipates the court could share a larger private building with other tenants, facilitating the provision of additional development in Central Australia. We have been in talks with the legal fraternity about their needs at this new facility and we think there might be opportunity to partner up with those guys. I am pleased to inform the Assembly the project will go out to tender next week, providing new stimulus to the local economy.
It is more evidence of our commitment to all areas of the Northern Territory, in this example Central Australia, in sharp contrast to the former Labor government’s fly-in fly-out approach to Central Australia, where the only economic stimulus was responding to crime and law and order. We are seeing stimulation right through the private sector from many different areas. We look forward to rebuilding our tourism sector, ensuring we work with the business sector and ensure it is not run only by government, but working in many different areas. This comes on the back of one of the new developments the government was working with last week: the start of an $8.6m housing development on Larapinta Drive, which will see the construction of 25 new units. This is a further sign the private sector economy is starting to take over from where the government economy was left languishing, driving everything in the past.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016