Ms LAWRIE - 2003-05-29
Minister, this government has been clear about its commitment to overcome the CLP-created Berrimah Line. Can you please advise the House about the funding in this …
Members interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: People spoke about the Berrimah Line for years, you just were not listening.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Drysdale, order! Please repeat just the question.
Ms LAWRIE: Can the minister please advise the House about the funding in this year’s budget to open an office of the Department of Justice in Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for what is a very important question for Central Australia. There is no doubt in the minds of people in Central Australia that the Martin government is looking after them to a degree that was unprecedented by our predecessors. Today, I am delighted to confirm that we are putting $250 000 into the establishment of a greatly expanded office for the sections of the Department of Justice in Alice Springs. For the first time, we will bring a really powerful focus to the work of several of the areas of my department in Alice Springs and the Centralian region.
The first area is the Office of Crime Prevention, which will now be represented directly in Alice Springs through a position to be established there. That will be an important support for the Regional Crime Prevention Councils currently operating in Central Australia, along with future councils in that part of the Northern Territory, including the Barkly.
The Alice in 10 group will be endowed with a $200 000 grant to increase the work on their crime prevention strategies and help establish dry areas in some of the town camps in Alice Springs, an ambition that has been around for many years now on the part of the town campers.
We will be strengthening indigenous input into crime prevention through additional positions that will allow bush trips to remote communities to work at the other end of the puzzle. Many of the problems that we are trying to get on top of in Alice Springs require work, not only in Alice Springs, but in the home communities of people who have come into town.
We are increasing capacity to the community corrections arm of our Correctional Services so that we can better reintegrate prisoners into the community at the end of their sentence periods.
We have allocated $150 000 to establish a Community Justice Centre in Alice Springs, along the same lines as the one that will be opening very shortly in Darwin. Again, it attacks the Berrimah Line; it is not a case of always trialling here in Darwin and then moving out. This will occurring concurrently in Alice Springs.
We will also be expanding the presence and activities of Consumer Affairs in Alice Springs. In a question that you put yesterday, Madam Speaker, about unlicensed motor dealers in the remote communities, we have busted a few of them already and, with this additional capacity in Alice Springs, we will get after a few more and clean up that area of illegal activity.
This is great news for Alice Springs. It is another sign that our government is deploying resources and activities below the Berrimah Line. We are building up the equity of Central Australia with the rest of the Territory. It will go from strength to strength.
Members interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: People spoke about the Berrimah Line for years, you just were not listening.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Drysdale, order! Please repeat just the question.
Ms LAWRIE: Can the minister please advise the House about the funding in this year’s budget to open an office of the Department of Justice in Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Karama for what is a very important question for Central Australia. There is no doubt in the minds of people in Central Australia that the Martin government is looking after them to a degree that was unprecedented by our predecessors. Today, I am delighted to confirm that we are putting $250 000 into the establishment of a greatly expanded office for the sections of the Department of Justice in Alice Springs. For the first time, we will bring a really powerful focus to the work of several of the areas of my department in Alice Springs and the Centralian region.
The first area is the Office of Crime Prevention, which will now be represented directly in Alice Springs through a position to be established there. That will be an important support for the Regional Crime Prevention Councils currently operating in Central Australia, along with future councils in that part of the Northern Territory, including the Barkly.
The Alice in 10 group will be endowed with a $200 000 grant to increase the work on their crime prevention strategies and help establish dry areas in some of the town camps in Alice Springs, an ambition that has been around for many years now on the part of the town campers.
We will be strengthening indigenous input into crime prevention through additional positions that will allow bush trips to remote communities to work at the other end of the puzzle. Many of the problems that we are trying to get on top of in Alice Springs require work, not only in Alice Springs, but in the home communities of people who have come into town.
We are increasing capacity to the community corrections arm of our Correctional Services so that we can better reintegrate prisoners into the community at the end of their sentence periods.
We have allocated $150 000 to establish a Community Justice Centre in Alice Springs, along the same lines as the one that will be opening very shortly in Darwin. Again, it attacks the Berrimah Line; it is not a case of always trialling here in Darwin and then moving out. This will occurring concurrently in Alice Springs.
We will also be expanding the presence and activities of Consumer Affairs in Alice Springs. In a question that you put yesterday, Madam Speaker, about unlicensed motor dealers in the remote communities, we have busted a few of them already and, with this additional capacity in Alice Springs, we will get after a few more and clean up that area of illegal activity.
This is great news for Alice Springs. It is another sign that our government is deploying resources and activities below the Berrimah Line. We are building up the equity of Central Australia with the rest of the Territory. It will go from strength to strength.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016