Dr LIM - 2003-04-29
I am sure the Chief Minister has heard the quote: ‘Statistics, damn statistics and damn lies’. The Chief Minister keeps quoting statistics, yet the litany of crimes in Alice Springs continues to rise. Alice Springs businessman, Peter Kittle who has lived in this town all his life, in this issue of the Centralian Advocate last week, , says that crime in Alice Springs in the last 18 months - which coincides with your term in office, Chief Minister - is higher than ever. Mr Kittle averages $6000 of damage to his property every month, and yet he has given up reporting his property damage to police. Your Justice minister has claimed that these reports are, and I quote: ‘Misconceptions’. Do you agree with him, that these reports are false?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the reports in the Centralian Advocate - a fine newspaper - last week were, very sadly, inaccurate. There is a retraction today. Journalists are only human. I can say this from many years as a journalist; that you are only human, and sometimes mistakes are made - and mistakes were made in the reporting of those figures.
Again, it is interesting that the member for Greatorex says: ‘You are just quoting figures for us’. Well, the figures are an indication of what is happening in our determination to deal with crime, not only in the Central Australian region but right across the Territory.
Dr Lim: People have given up.
Ms MARTIN: I say again - when you hear the member for Greatorex saying: ‘People have given up’, I believe people gave up on the Country Liberal Party because you did nothing. That is where the ‘given up’ has come.
Over the last 21 months in government, we have seen - and we can have the members of the opposition saying that figures do not indicate anything. Figures are an indication. How else do you judge whether your strategies are effective? We believe our strategies are working. We are working with the communities right across the Territory, in partnership, to tackle crime and the causes of crime, and to give support to those who, unfortunately, are the victims of crime.
Again, we can compare the figures of the last 12 months of the CLP with the last 12 months of the Labor government. The figures, right across the board, are showing that crime in areas against the person and against property are coming down. We will continue with our determination to have that happen even more effectively.
We are hearing the rhetoric from the CLP. These issues – it is very good to have parliament in Alice Springs because, for the first time, I have had a question about Alice Springs from the opposition. For the first time, I have had a question - the very first time. So, it is good to have brought the Leader of the Opposition and the other members here so that they actually recognise that Central Australia exists.
I welcome these questions today. I say to the people of Central Australia: we are committed to this region; we are committed to working with you to build this region, both economically and socially. We are listening. We are here, and we will make sure that, in partnership with you, we grow this superb region of the Territory and tackle the problems that are of concern, like the levels of crime and antisocial behaviour.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, the reports in the Centralian Advocate - a fine newspaper - last week were, very sadly, inaccurate. There is a retraction today. Journalists are only human. I can say this from many years as a journalist; that you are only human, and sometimes mistakes are made - and mistakes were made in the reporting of those figures.
Again, it is interesting that the member for Greatorex says: ‘You are just quoting figures for us’. Well, the figures are an indication of what is happening in our determination to deal with crime, not only in the Central Australian region but right across the Territory.
Dr Lim: People have given up.
Ms MARTIN: I say again - when you hear the member for Greatorex saying: ‘People have given up’, I believe people gave up on the Country Liberal Party because you did nothing. That is where the ‘given up’ has come.
Over the last 21 months in government, we have seen - and we can have the members of the opposition saying that figures do not indicate anything. Figures are an indication. How else do you judge whether your strategies are effective? We believe our strategies are working. We are working with the communities right across the Territory, in partnership, to tackle crime and the causes of crime, and to give support to those who, unfortunately, are the victims of crime.
Again, we can compare the figures of the last 12 months of the CLP with the last 12 months of the Labor government. The figures, right across the board, are showing that crime in areas against the person and against property are coming down. We will continue with our determination to have that happen even more effectively.
We are hearing the rhetoric from the CLP. These issues – it is very good to have parliament in Alice Springs because, for the first time, I have had a question about Alice Springs from the opposition. For the first time, I have had a question - the very first time. So, it is good to have brought the Leader of the Opposition and the other members here so that they actually recognise that Central Australia exists.
I welcome these questions today. I say to the people of Central Australia: we are committed to this region; we are committed to working with you to build this region, both economically and socially. We are listening. We are here, and we will make sure that, in partnership with you, we grow this superb region of the Territory and tackle the problems that are of concern, like the levels of crime and antisocial behaviour.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016