Mrs HICKEY - 1997-04-23
Members of the Assembly would have seen the headline in the NT News: `City Grog Blitz Won't Work: Police'. The police of the Northern Territory have sent a very clear message to the Chief Minister. Deputy Commissioner Dave Moore has made it clear that the current blitz on drunkenness is a short-term measure. He says that it is `no more effective than trying to cover a large wound with a band-aid'. He said: `We have to get together and provide long-term solutions'. Will the Chief Minister now accept that his short-term, publicity-seeking comments over the past few weeks are not real solutions but election stunts? Is it not about time he took the advice of the police force and the community and provided long-term solutions? Or is it in his political interest to have drunks in the Mall, in the parks and in the Todd River at election time?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, if nothing else the Leader of the Opposition is predictable. She probably listened to the Fred McCue program this morning. I am sure she would have heard what Deputy Commissioner Moore had to say. This is one comment he made:
It is very much a people issue and a part of the press conference I conducted yesterday, contrary to the
headlines in the media this morning ...
Mrs Hickey: Ah!
Mr STONE: You may `ah', but you would have heard him say it.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr STONE: Do me the courtesy of allowing me to complete my answer before you all become excited. You have been caught out yet again. I am sure ...
Ms Martin: Read the next bit.
Mr STONE: The member for Fannie Bay is asking for `the next bit', not because she knows what `the next bit' is, but because she has heard the member for Wanguri say things like that. She thinks it is probably a smart thing to say and therefore she must say it too. Deputy Commissioner Moore continued:
What we are doing here is no more than a short-term solution, and will not solve the problems in the long
term. Public drunkenness has been around as long as I can recall, as long as my time in the Northern
Territory.
Mr Bailey: As long as the CLP has been in power.
Page 2030
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri interjects yet again. If he would be quiet, we could have a sensible discussion about this matter this morning. Territorians are listening to this broadcast and I am sure they want to hear my answer. He continued:
We have ups and downs with public drunkenness and some of the better solutions that I have been involved in
are when the Aboriginal people themselves predominantly are assisting us in the strategies and the solutions to
do it, and I can cite some very good examples right across the Northern Territory.
In response to the interjection, that is what else he had to say.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri interjects yet again because he cannot help himself.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! I did not say a word. I am becoming sick to death of the Chief Minister imputing to me unparliamentary comments that I had nothing whatsoever to do with. It is quite clear that it is a strategy ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri will resume his seat. In fact, it was the member for Stuart who interjected, not the member for Wanguri.
Mr STONE: I do not accept your observation, Mr Speaker. He did interject, and then he turned and spoke to the member for Fannie Bay.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! I did not say a word to the member for Fannie Bay.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, members have a copy of what I said yesterday in answer to a question:
I make the final point that there is only so much the police can do. Going around picking up drunks and
sending them through the merry -go-round of sobering-up shelters and cells is not the ultimate answer. It
never has been.
Mr Toyne interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Stuart interjects ...
Mr Toyne: Yes, because I am pretty angry about this.
Mr STONE: You are pretty angry! We have seen your backyard. You ought to be angry - angry with yourself.
Page 2031
The solution lies in the communities, and that brings me again to members opposite.
Mr Stirling: You will not talk to them. You will not talk to the Larrakia about these initiatives.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I will come back to that interjection because it could not be farther from the truth. If you would be quiet, people listening to this broadcast could hear the answer I am trying to give. I said:
The solution lies in the communities, and that brings me again to members opposite. They largely represent
many of the communities that these people come from, and they have a very clear responsibility to work with
the leadership of those communities to try to resolve these problems. There is little point in shifting them
into town because that is simply transferring the problem.
Mr Ah Kit: You are the Chief Minister.
Mr STONE: Could the member for Arnhem be quiet?
Why then is the Leader of the Opposition so surprised by a particular point of view expressed by the Deputy Commissioner for Police when it is, in fact, the same view that I expressed yesterday in Question Time? Where is the surprise in this?
I will pick up the interjection earlier from the member for Nhulunbuy. He was referring to night patrols. On 3 separate occasions over the last 2 years, I have sat down with representatives of the Larrakia community, even to the point of putting money on the table to set up a night patrol. Dave Moore, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, referred to this in the radio interview this morning. Each time, we walked away from the meeting believing we were about to see some action because the government was putting up money and we seemed to have the goodwill and the cooperation of everybody involved, but nothing ever happened. At the end of the day, this responsibility comes back to the Aboriginal leadership. That is why I have called on the Labor Party members to get together with their colleagues in the ...
Mr Toyne interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... land councils - if the member for Stuart would be quiet - and work with them to try to encourage them to release some of the money the councils have in their coffers. Millions of dollars of taxpayers' money are sitting in the NLC and CLC accounts. With that, we could start together to work up some night patrols.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Barkly, the Leader of the Opposition, may interject, but we know how she deals with this whole issue of drunks. We all remember the headline that appeared in the Centralian Advocate in December last year: `Fracas Outside Hickey Home'.
Page 2032
The story was carried also in the Tennant and District Times: `Drunks Attack Security Guard'. This was the report that was filed:
A security guard feared for his life when he was attacked by a drunken mob at politician Maggie Hickey's
home in Tennant Creek. Gary Schmidt, 27, and policeman Mick Adams were attacked and $1000-worth of damage was
done to security company vehicles. Mr Schmidt said Mrs Hickey called him in to remove about 10 drinkers
from her fence. He said: `I asked them to move because they were on private property, but they
refused. After a further attempt at getting them to move, I said I would call the police, and walked back
to my vehicle. A couple followed me back, yelling at me and, as I tried to get into the car to call for
assistance, they became aggressive and pushed the door against me and then took a swing'.
The report continues to recount the very unfortunate incident:
A neighbour of Mrs Hickey, Norm Bracken, said the drinkers had been gathering nearby in large groups for
about 3 weeks. `They cause a great disturbance', he said. `When the police are called, they disappear into
Mrs Hickey's backyard. I have had enough'. He said he had complained to Mrs Hickey's husband,
John ... Mr Turnbull said during the school holidays his officers had asked drinkers to move off the school
grounds which are across from Mrs Hickey's home. `Then they all started gathering around Maggie's home and,
though we have chased them off a number of times, they keep coming back'.
Leader of the Opposition, you have no credibility. You are not there trying to resolve the issue. You are encouraging them. You invite them into your backyard. She'll be right! You have to be a great deal more constructive in your approach on this. Then again, I suppose you are having to buy the house next door ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: We read in the newspaper that the Leader of the Opposition's role models and heroes are Joan Kirner and Carmen Lawrence. If they are her role models, I would have to say she is having a bad week. One bankrupted Victoria and the other has been charged with perjury.
Mr Toyne: She is more popular now than she was ...
Mr STONE: She is more popular than ever, says the member for Stuart!
We all recognise that this is a serious problem, and one that affects our whole community. Hand-wringing, bleeding-heart Labor supporters may write letters to newspapers and ring up talkback radio, and Fred McCue may invite an itinerant to speak on his program - although it is rather like asking someone who has committed a crime how they feel
Page 2033
about being prosecuted and sent to jail and whether they are outraged that it should be happening to them ...
Mr Bailey: Ask the member for Karama how often he has been thrown out of Sweetheart's at the casino.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: ... asleep on the floor at the casino.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: Those are the sort of standards that apply on your side. Ask the member for ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: ... if he has a driver's licence.
Mr STONE: This is the member for Wanguri who is interjecting, in case there is any mistake about it. This is him. That was you, right?
Mr Bailey: Yes.
Mr STONE: Good.
Mr Bailey: Double standards apply on your side.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri cannot ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister will resume his seat. The member for Wanguri is warned. He will not be warned again.
Mr STONE: We are all grappling with this issue, but I want Territorians to know that our streets are the cleanest that they have been for a long time, in all urban areas. If the Labor Party believes that I, the Northern Territory government or the police will roll over on this and let these drunks come back and take over our parks, our gardens and our shopping centres again, they will be disappointed. On top of that, in the time ahead - the member for Wanguri shakes his head, but we know he is soft on crime like the rest of his colleagues over there - work gangs comprised of low-security and minimum-security prisoners will be seen in
Page 2034
those public areas, picking up every bit of broken glass, every green can and every piece of rubbish that has been left there. We are taking back our towns and cities. We will clean them up, and we will not cop this sort of behaviour again.
The Labor Party did its polling before Christmas and the message was delivered loud and clear: on issues like this, Territorians have had enough. They will not cop it from the soft underbelly of the Labor Party which is soft on crime and is not prepared to take a stand. Members opposite could be very helpful in this regard. They could be encouraging their mates in the land councils to work with the government to set up night patrols. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what the deputy commissioner had to say. It is only one part of the strategy. Why won't members opposite wake up and get behind the campaign?
Page 2035
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, if nothing else the Leader of the Opposition is predictable. She probably listened to the Fred McCue program this morning. I am sure she would have heard what Deputy Commissioner Moore had to say. This is one comment he made:
It is very much a people issue and a part of the press conference I conducted yesterday, contrary to the
headlines in the media this morning ...
Mrs Hickey: Ah!
Mr STONE: You may `ah', but you would have heard him say it.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr STONE: Do me the courtesy of allowing me to complete my answer before you all become excited. You have been caught out yet again. I am sure ...
Ms Martin: Read the next bit.
Mr STONE: The member for Fannie Bay is asking for `the next bit', not because she knows what `the next bit' is, but because she has heard the member for Wanguri say things like that. She thinks it is probably a smart thing to say and therefore she must say it too. Deputy Commissioner Moore continued:
What we are doing here is no more than a short-term solution, and will not solve the problems in the long
term. Public drunkenness has been around as long as I can recall, as long as my time in the Northern
Territory.
Mr Bailey: As long as the CLP has been in power.
Page 2030
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri interjects yet again. If he would be quiet, we could have a sensible discussion about this matter this morning. Territorians are listening to this broadcast and I am sure they want to hear my answer. He continued:
We have ups and downs with public drunkenness and some of the better solutions that I have been involved in
are when the Aboriginal people themselves predominantly are assisting us in the strategies and the solutions to
do it, and I can cite some very good examples right across the Northern Territory.
In response to the interjection, that is what else he had to say.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri interjects yet again because he cannot help himself.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! I did not say a word. I am becoming sick to death of the Chief Minister imputing to me unparliamentary comments that I had nothing whatsoever to do with. It is quite clear that it is a strategy ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri will resume his seat. In fact, it was the member for Stuart who interjected, not the member for Wanguri.
Mr STONE: I do not accept your observation, Mr Speaker. He did interject, and then he turned and spoke to the member for Fannie Bay.
Mr BAILEY: A point of order, Mr Speaker! I did not say a word to the member for Fannie Bay.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, members have a copy of what I said yesterday in answer to a question:
I make the final point that there is only so much the police can do. Going around picking up drunks and
sending them through the merry -go-round of sobering-up shelters and cells is not the ultimate answer. It
never has been.
Mr Toyne interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Stuart interjects ...
Mr Toyne: Yes, because I am pretty angry about this.
Mr STONE: You are pretty angry! We have seen your backyard. You ought to be angry - angry with yourself.
Page 2031
The solution lies in the communities, and that brings me again to members opposite.
Mr Stirling: You will not talk to them. You will not talk to the Larrakia about these initiatives.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: I will come back to that interjection because it could not be farther from the truth. If you would be quiet, people listening to this broadcast could hear the answer I am trying to give. I said:
The solution lies in the communities, and that brings me again to members opposite. They largely represent
many of the communities that these people come from, and they have a very clear responsibility to work with
the leadership of those communities to try to resolve these problems. There is little point in shifting them
into town because that is simply transferring the problem.
Mr Ah Kit: You are the Chief Minister.
Mr STONE: Could the member for Arnhem be quiet?
Why then is the Leader of the Opposition so surprised by a particular point of view expressed by the Deputy Commissioner for Police when it is, in fact, the same view that I expressed yesterday in Question Time? Where is the surprise in this?
I will pick up the interjection earlier from the member for Nhulunbuy. He was referring to night patrols. On 3 separate occasions over the last 2 years, I have sat down with representatives of the Larrakia community, even to the point of putting money on the table to set up a night patrol. Dave Moore, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, referred to this in the radio interview this morning. Each time, we walked away from the meeting believing we were about to see some action because the government was putting up money and we seemed to have the goodwill and the cooperation of everybody involved, but nothing ever happened. At the end of the day, this responsibility comes back to the Aboriginal leadership. That is why I have called on the Labor Party members to get together with their colleagues in the ...
Mr Toyne interjecting.
Mr STONE: ... land councils - if the member for Stuart would be quiet - and work with them to try to encourage them to release some of the money the councils have in their coffers. Millions of dollars of taxpayers' money are sitting in the NLC and CLC accounts. With that, we could start together to work up some night patrols.
Mrs Hickey interjecting.
Mr STONE: The member for Barkly, the Leader of the Opposition, may interject, but we know how she deals with this whole issue of drunks. We all remember the headline that appeared in the Centralian Advocate in December last year: `Fracas Outside Hickey Home'.
Page 2032
The story was carried also in the Tennant and District Times: `Drunks Attack Security Guard'. This was the report that was filed:
A security guard feared for his life when he was attacked by a drunken mob at politician Maggie Hickey's
home in Tennant Creek. Gary Schmidt, 27, and policeman Mick Adams were attacked and $1000-worth of damage was
done to security company vehicles. Mr Schmidt said Mrs Hickey called him in to remove about 10 drinkers
from her fence. He said: `I asked them to move because they were on private property, but they
refused. After a further attempt at getting them to move, I said I would call the police, and walked back
to my vehicle. A couple followed me back, yelling at me and, as I tried to get into the car to call for
assistance, they became aggressive and pushed the door against me and then took a swing'.
The report continues to recount the very unfortunate incident:
A neighbour of Mrs Hickey, Norm Bracken, said the drinkers had been gathering nearby in large groups for
about 3 weeks. `They cause a great disturbance', he said. `When the police are called, they disappear into
Mrs Hickey's backyard. I have had enough'. He said he had complained to Mrs Hickey's husband,
John ... Mr Turnbull said during the school holidays his officers had asked drinkers to move off the school
grounds which are across from Mrs Hickey's home. `Then they all started gathering around Maggie's home and,
though we have chased them off a number of times, they keep coming back'.
Leader of the Opposition, you have no credibility. You are not there trying to resolve the issue. You are encouraging them. You invite them into your backyard. She'll be right! You have to be a great deal more constructive in your approach on this. Then again, I suppose you are having to buy the house next door ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: We read in the newspaper that the Leader of the Opposition's role models and heroes are Joan Kirner and Carmen Lawrence. If they are her role models, I would have to say she is having a bad week. One bankrupted Victoria and the other has been charged with perjury.
Mr Toyne: She is more popular now than she was ...
Mr STONE: She is more popular than ever, says the member for Stuart!
We all recognise that this is a serious problem, and one that affects our whole community. Hand-wringing, bleeding-heart Labor supporters may write letters to newspapers and ring up talkback radio, and Fred McCue may invite an itinerant to speak on his program - although it is rather like asking someone who has committed a crime how they feel
Page 2033
about being prosecuted and sent to jail and whether they are outraged that it should be happening to them ...
Mr Bailey: Ask the member for Karama how often he has been thrown out of Sweetheart's at the casino.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: ... asleep on the floor at the casino.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: Those are the sort of standards that apply on your side. Ask the member for ...
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Bailey: ... if he has a driver's licence.
Mr STONE: This is the member for Wanguri who is interjecting, in case there is any mistake about it. This is him. That was you, right?
Mr Bailey: Yes.
Mr STONE: Good.
Mr Bailey: Double standards apply on your side.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: The member for Wanguri cannot ...
Mr Bailey interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister will resume his seat. The member for Wanguri is warned. He will not be warned again.
Mr STONE: We are all grappling with this issue, but I want Territorians to know that our streets are the cleanest that they have been for a long time, in all urban areas. If the Labor Party believes that I, the Northern Territory government or the police will roll over on this and let these drunks come back and take over our parks, our gardens and our shopping centres again, they will be disappointed. On top of that, in the time ahead - the member for Wanguri shakes his head, but we know he is soft on crime like the rest of his colleagues over there - work gangs comprised of low-security and minimum-security prisoners will be seen in
Page 2034
those public areas, picking up every bit of broken glass, every green can and every piece of rubbish that has been left there. We are taking back our towns and cities. We will clean them up, and we will not cop this sort of behaviour again.
The Labor Party did its polling before Christmas and the message was delivered loud and clear: on issues like this, Territorians have had enough. They will not cop it from the soft underbelly of the Labor Party which is soft on crime and is not prepared to take a stand. Members opposite could be very helpful in this regard. They could be encouraging their mates in the land councils to work with the government to set up night patrols. There was absolutely nothing wrong with what the deputy commissioner had to say. It is only one part of the strategy. Why won't members opposite wake up and get behind the campaign?
Page 2035
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016