Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE - 2016-06-27
It has been a huge four years for the Northern Territory. It has taken a government with an enormous amount of vision and drive to take us to where we are today. I must congratulate you as Chief Minister on all the work you have done, along with your team, to get us to where we are, out of the mire that was left by the opposition after the eleven-and-a-half years it had in government.
Would you please tell the House what your vision is for the Northern Territory for the next four years and beyond?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question. It goes to the heart of everything we are doing. Since I became Chief Minister we have been working hard to do two things. The most important was building an economic plan for the Northern Territory, making sure we have a plan to retain and build the Territory lifestyle.
It is important to ensure we erode the Berrimah line so we become one Northern Territory rather than two divided Territories – the top half and the bottom half. We have also been working to bridge the divide between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Northern Territory. The divide between regional and remote, urban or otherwise has been a great challenge, and it has generated a great sense of despair for all Territorians. It is reflected in the statistics of disadvantage.
Working to remove the Berrimah line and build the bridge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Northern Territory has been important. In doing that we have sought to put infrastructure in place to connect people. There is a big focus on roads and bridges.
I gave an answer earlier about $545m in this budget for roads and bridges. A lot of it will be spent in urban areas, but much of it in regional and remote parts. The work cannot all be done in one year. The Territory is about 150 years behind the rest of the country when it comes to infrastructure. We will continue to build that infrastructure to connect communities, people and businesses.
We should not, in 2016, have communities that are cut off for three months of the year and have to helicopter food in. This is why we are putting so much money into roads and bridges. We will continue to do so.
We want to ensure northern Australia continues to have an economic plan to ensure the Northern Territory is not forever reliant on federal government GST receipts, and that we can start providing for our own and have more and more jobs in the private sector. That is why the economic development strategy and its diversification is so important.
We cannot just keep saying, ‘Give us more money, Canberra’, and spend it. We have to be able to live within our means and plan effectively, which is what we have been doing.
Investment in things such as the Palmerston hospital is making sure we have a plan for health for our future; redeveloping RDH is also about that. The 188 schools in the Northern Territory are getting $164m worth of infrastructure this year, which is $850 000 per school, on average. Most importantly, we want to see growth in private sector jobs, supported by a vibrant public service. In the last four years we have done a great job, and the next four years are ahead of us.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Would you please tell the House what your vision is for the Northern Territory for the next four years and beyond?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question. It goes to the heart of everything we are doing. Since I became Chief Minister we have been working hard to do two things. The most important was building an economic plan for the Northern Territory, making sure we have a plan to retain and build the Territory lifestyle.
It is important to ensure we erode the Berrimah line so we become one Northern Territory rather than two divided Territories – the top half and the bottom half. We have also been working to bridge the divide between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Northern Territory. The divide between regional and remote, urban or otherwise has been a great challenge, and it has generated a great sense of despair for all Territorians. It is reflected in the statistics of disadvantage.
Working to remove the Berrimah line and build the bridge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Northern Territory has been important. In doing that we have sought to put infrastructure in place to connect people. There is a big focus on roads and bridges.
I gave an answer earlier about $545m in this budget for roads and bridges. A lot of it will be spent in urban areas, but much of it in regional and remote parts. The work cannot all be done in one year. The Territory is about 150 years behind the rest of the country when it comes to infrastructure. We will continue to build that infrastructure to connect communities, people and businesses.
We should not, in 2016, have communities that are cut off for three months of the year and have to helicopter food in. This is why we are putting so much money into roads and bridges. We will continue to do so.
We want to ensure northern Australia continues to have an economic plan to ensure the Northern Territory is not forever reliant on federal government GST receipts, and that we can start providing for our own and have more and more jobs in the private sector. That is why the economic development strategy and its diversification is so important.
We cannot just keep saying, ‘Give us more money, Canberra’, and spend it. We have to be able to live within our means and plan effectively, which is what we have been doing.
Investment in things such as the Palmerston hospital is making sure we have a plan for health for our future; redeveloping RDH is also about that. The 188 schools in the Northern Territory are getting $164m worth of infrastructure this year, which is $850 000 per school, on average. Most importantly, we want to see growth in private sector jobs, supported by a vibrant public service. In the last four years we have done a great job, and the next four years are ahead of us.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Written Question Paper.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016