Mr CONLAN - 2011-03-29
My question is to the Chief Minister, or should I say ‘no show’ Hendo …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, no. Call him the Chief Minister and withdraw that comment, thank you.
Mr CONLAN: I withdraw ‘no show’.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr CONLAN: Today, you attacked the business community for running a television advertising campaign to pressure your government to do something about the chronic violence and other law and order issues around Alice Springs …
A member: No, he did not.
Mr CONLAN: Yes, he did. In an extraordinary outburst last week, you said the business community should be giving money to the Clontarf school attendance program; then, in a breathtaking case of hypocrisy, your government began a television campaign promoting a series of workshops to deal with crime.
This appalling act of cynicism and hypocrisy is without precedent in the Northern Territory. The question is: why are you hard on business but soft on crime?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is all right, I will not call him names; that is all pretty childish. What I can say …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Put that down, member for Greatorex.
Mr HENDERSON: … is the member for Greatorex is very childish. He had an opportunity, half-an-hour today, to talk about what his solutions would be regarding the issues facing Alice Springs. An empty vessel ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: An empty vessel, absolutely nothing. His head has never been violated by an original thought.
Yes, I am proud of the Clontarf Academy. The total commitment to the Clontarf Academy in Alice Springs is just over $1m every year, to give young Indigenous boys the opportunity to complete Year 12 and to move into the workforce. That is a very big commitment, and it is working. I was making the point that, of the business community in Alice Springs, there are very few actually contributing to an academy that requires, under the terms of its foundation, a third of the funding to come from the business community. I am imploring the business community to get behind this initiative, and the Girls in the Centre program, because nothing will change in Alice Springs until we deal with the grog and improve education.
The Clontarf Foundation is working. Last year, we had 22 young men graduate with a Year 12 qualification; 18 of those are now in a job. This year, we will have 40 kids graduate. Five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago in Alice Springs there were none. There was no one in the public system getting to Year 12 in Alice Springs. This is transformational. This is what leadership is about. It is about finding solutions to problems, not just pouring more alcohol onto the problems in Alice Springs, as the opposition would do if it was in government.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, no. Call him the Chief Minister and withdraw that comment, thank you.
Mr CONLAN: I withdraw ‘no show’.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr CONLAN: Today, you attacked the business community for running a television advertising campaign to pressure your government to do something about the chronic violence and other law and order issues around Alice Springs …
A member: No, he did not.
Mr CONLAN: Yes, he did. In an extraordinary outburst last week, you said the business community should be giving money to the Clontarf school attendance program; then, in a breathtaking case of hypocrisy, your government began a television campaign promoting a series of workshops to deal with crime.
This appalling act of cynicism and hypocrisy is without precedent in the Northern Territory. The question is: why are you hard on business but soft on crime?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, it is all right, I will not call him names; that is all pretty childish. What I can say …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Put that down, member for Greatorex.
Mr HENDERSON: … is the member for Greatorex is very childish. He had an opportunity, half-an-hour today, to talk about what his solutions would be regarding the issues facing Alice Springs. An empty vessel ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: An empty vessel, absolutely nothing. His head has never been violated by an original thought.
Yes, I am proud of the Clontarf Academy. The total commitment to the Clontarf Academy in Alice Springs is just over $1m every year, to give young Indigenous boys the opportunity to complete Year 12 and to move into the workforce. That is a very big commitment, and it is working. I was making the point that, of the business community in Alice Springs, there are very few actually contributing to an academy that requires, under the terms of its foundation, a third of the funding to come from the business community. I am imploring the business community to get behind this initiative, and the Girls in the Centre program, because nothing will change in Alice Springs until we deal with the grog and improve education.
The Clontarf Foundation is working. Last year, we had 22 young men graduate with a Year 12 qualification; 18 of those are now in a job. This year, we will have 40 kids graduate. Five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago in Alice Springs there were none. There was no one in the public system getting to Year 12 in Alice Springs. This is transformational. This is what leadership is about. It is about finding solutions to problems, not just pouring more alcohol onto the problems in Alice Springs, as the opposition would do if it was in government.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016