Dr LIM - 2007-04-19
Let me read this article to you, printed in today’s NT News. It reads:
The amount of $80m into this small community of Alice Springs will mean a difference between businesses succeeding and failing. For the sake of the future of Alice Springs, will you now commit to securing the $80m on offer?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. However, the issue is predominantly between Tangentyere Council and your federal colleague, the minister for Indigenous Affairs in Canberra, Mal Brough. I have been on the record time and time again applauding the dollars allocated by the federal government for town camps in Alice Springs. We have had different allocation numbers. There was initially $30m. Mal Brough recommitted $10m from a Connecting Neighbours program that had been committed two years previously. That is fine. Then there was another $10m that came from the Aboriginal Benefits Account, and that is fine too. We committed $10m as well.
I certainly congratulate the minister for having committed another $50m, which is terrific and timely. What this government and the community of Alice Springs wants to see is that money spent moving town camps from the situation they are in now to being parts of suburban Alice Springs - to having good housing, street lights, curbs, guttering and roads and good safety. That is what we want to see in Alice Springs.
I do not believe that you understand what the issue at hand is. The issue at hand is the nature of subleases. Unfortunately, the federal minister started off by saying that the lease holders of the town camp had to hand their land across to freehold. That has enormous difficulties and we are not going to touch it. What we are talking about now …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: You asked the question, let me explain where we are. We are talking about subleases, about length of subleases, and we are having productive conversations. However, I would say that it is difficult when you are dealing with a federal minister who changes his position week by week. We want an outcome. I want to see that money spent. The Minister for Central Australia and the Minister for Housing want to see that money spent. Every single member of this House wants to see that money spent. What you are trying to do is play politics over it. That truly is pathetic.
- At a rally of 300 people yesterday, NT Minister for Central Australia Elliot McAdam said Canberra’s demand that leases be signed away within a month or $50m town camp funding will be withheld was a ‘ransom demand’.
The amount of $80m into this small community of Alice Springs will mean a difference between businesses succeeding and failing. For the sake of the future of Alice Springs, will you now commit to securing the $80m on offer?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. However, the issue is predominantly between Tangentyere Council and your federal colleague, the minister for Indigenous Affairs in Canberra, Mal Brough. I have been on the record time and time again applauding the dollars allocated by the federal government for town camps in Alice Springs. We have had different allocation numbers. There was initially $30m. Mal Brough recommitted $10m from a Connecting Neighbours program that had been committed two years previously. That is fine. Then there was another $10m that came from the Aboriginal Benefits Account, and that is fine too. We committed $10m as well.
I certainly congratulate the minister for having committed another $50m, which is terrific and timely. What this government and the community of Alice Springs wants to see is that money spent moving town camps from the situation they are in now to being parts of suburban Alice Springs - to having good housing, street lights, curbs, guttering and roads and good safety. That is what we want to see in Alice Springs.
I do not believe that you understand what the issue at hand is. The issue at hand is the nature of subleases. Unfortunately, the federal minister started off by saying that the lease holders of the town camp had to hand their land across to freehold. That has enormous difficulties and we are not going to touch it. What we are talking about now …
Dr Lim interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: You asked the question, let me explain where we are. We are talking about subleases, about length of subleases, and we are having productive conversations. However, I would say that it is difficult when you are dealing with a federal minister who changes his position week by week. We want an outcome. I want to see that money spent. The Minister for Central Australia and the Minister for Housing want to see that money spent. Every single member of this House wants to see that money spent. What you are trying to do is play politics over it. That truly is pathetic.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016