Mrs BRAHAM - 1994-11-23
Does the minister recall the Juvenile Crime Workshop held in Alice Springs last year? Is he aware that a letter was sent out to certain organisations by the Leader of the Opposition in relation to the follow-up Juvenile Crime Workshop that was held earlier this year in Alice Springs? Is he aware that, in that letter, the Leader of the Opposition accused the Department of Correctional Services of failing to act on the recommendations of the 1993 workshop? Can the minister confirm whether the Leader of the Opposition is correct or, once again, is spreading untruths to Territorians?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. Let me say that I am disappointed in the performance not only of the Leader of the Opposition but also of the member for Arnhem. In relation to correctional services, the Leader of the Opposition has had a chequered career in terms of writing letters. I am very disappointed because those who work with juvenile delinquents need all the support possible from politicians. It isgalling when they have to attempt to maintain morale in such an emotional area as juvenile crime. These public servants spend their lives working in probation and parole, particularly with children in juvenile justice, but the opposition criticises them constantly.
The Leader of the Opposition's letter was disgraceful. Not only did he and the opposition's correctional services spokesman deliberately misrepresent the facts of the matter, they had the gall to send the letter, dated 15 September 1994, to the Department of Correctional Services, telling officers, and in particular the individual who was involved directly in the Juvenile Crime Workshop, that they were not doing their job. The Leader of
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the Opposition stated that his spokesman, the member for Arnhem, criticised the lack of follow-up action in respect of the previous workshop. What a slap in the face to those individuals! Not only did he insult departmental staff with his accusations, but he embarked deliberately on a campaign of misinformation about the recommendations from the 1993 workshop. The letter stated that only 5 of the previous year's recommendations had been acted on. That is wrong.
To set the record straight, as I have done before in this House, 19 recommendations came out of the 1993 workshop. As I said previously - although obviously, as usual, members opposite did not listen to the debate at all - 5 of those recommendations had been implemented already, 12 recommendations had been implemented partly or needed ongoing work, 1 had been supported partly and 1had not been supported. That does not mean that 5 recommendations had been acted on. It means that 17 recommendations had been acted on, with 5 implemented fully already. Not only was the Leader of the Opposition wrong but he was wrong deliberately because, if he had listened to the debate or read the Parliamentary Record, he would have known exactly what had been said previously.
The opposition went one step further, with the member for Arnhem writing a letter on this subject to me which I received in my office on 12 September. Without giving me or the department any opportunity to reply, the Leader of the Opposition sent this letter out in a deliberate attempt to undermine the good work the workshops are doing and despite ...
Mr Lanhupuy interjecting.
Mr POOLE: I would not interject if I were the member for Arnhem. He had no real personal role in the matter and was only the Leader of the Opposition's messenger. The member for Arnhem and I both know the difficulties that he has with departmental briefings, but I will not get into that now. Even though the member for Arnhem is at fault, in many ways he was only the messenger.
Mr Stirling: What is that supposed to mean?
Mr POOLE: If you do not know, ask him. The Leader of the Opposition demonstrated in his inflammatory remarks during previous debates in this House that he is the perpetrator of the myth that nothing is done in relation to these workshops. That is pathetic.
Members opposite should spend less time knocking positive initiatives in support of public servants instead of wasting taxpayers' money by sending out leaflets containing lies at every opportunity. Next time, the Leader of the Opposition should be honest and at least wait for a response before shooting his mouth off.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. Let me say that I am disappointed in the performance not only of the Leader of the Opposition but also of the member for Arnhem. In relation to correctional services, the Leader of the Opposition has had a chequered career in terms of writing letters. I am very disappointed because those who work with juvenile delinquents need all the support possible from politicians. It isgalling when they have to attempt to maintain morale in such an emotional area as juvenile crime. These public servants spend their lives working in probation and parole, particularly with children in juvenile justice, but the opposition criticises them constantly.
The Leader of the Opposition's letter was disgraceful. Not only did he and the opposition's correctional services spokesman deliberately misrepresent the facts of the matter, they had the gall to send the letter, dated 15 September 1994, to the Department of Correctional Services, telling officers, and in particular the individual who was involved directly in the Juvenile Crime Workshop, that they were not doing their job. The Leader of
Page 304
the Opposition stated that his spokesman, the member for Arnhem, criticised the lack of follow-up action in respect of the previous workshop. What a slap in the face to those individuals! Not only did he insult departmental staff with his accusations, but he embarked deliberately on a campaign of misinformation about the recommendations from the 1993 workshop. The letter stated that only 5 of the previous year's recommendations had been acted on. That is wrong.
To set the record straight, as I have done before in this House, 19 recommendations came out of the 1993 workshop. As I said previously - although obviously, as usual, members opposite did not listen to the debate at all - 5 of those recommendations had been implemented already, 12 recommendations had been implemented partly or needed ongoing work, 1 had been supported partly and 1had not been supported. That does not mean that 5 recommendations had been acted on. It means that 17 recommendations had been acted on, with 5 implemented fully already. Not only was the Leader of the Opposition wrong but he was wrong deliberately because, if he had listened to the debate or read the Parliamentary Record, he would have known exactly what had been said previously.
The opposition went one step further, with the member for Arnhem writing a letter on this subject to me which I received in my office on 12 September. Without giving me or the department any opportunity to reply, the Leader of the Opposition sent this letter out in a deliberate attempt to undermine the good work the workshops are doing and despite ...
Mr Lanhupuy interjecting.
Mr POOLE: I would not interject if I were the member for Arnhem. He had no real personal role in the matter and was only the Leader of the Opposition's messenger. The member for Arnhem and I both know the difficulties that he has with departmental briefings, but I will not get into that now. Even though the member for Arnhem is at fault, in many ways he was only the messenger.
Mr Stirling: What is that supposed to mean?
Mr POOLE: If you do not know, ask him. The Leader of the Opposition demonstrated in his inflammatory remarks during previous debates in this House that he is the perpetrator of the myth that nothing is done in relation to these workshops. That is pathetic.
Members opposite should spend less time knocking positive initiatives in support of public servants instead of wasting taxpayers' money by sending out leaflets containing lies at every opportunity. Next time, the Leader of the Opposition should be honest and at least wait for a response before shooting his mouth off.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016