Mr McCARTHY - 2008-10-30
Last week, you spoke at length about the plan for Palmerston. Do you have a similar plan for Alice Springs?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his question because, despite the rhetoric of members opposite, the government is expending significant policy and financial capital and investment in Alice Springs. Alice Springs is an incredibly important part of the Territory - a fantastic community in the heart of our country. I am determined to have the heart of this nation a growing and vibrant town. I believe we all share those same aspirations.
The Alice Springs plan is a comprehensive social and economic strategy to move Alice Springs ahead. Alice Springs is vibrant, multicultural, innovative and, for the size of the town, it is a very artistic and incredibly creative community.
Business confidence in Alice Springs is high. My colleague, the Business minister, had his agency conduct a survey of virtually all businesses - it was about 400 businesses in Alice Springs, was it, Kon?
Mr Vatskalis: Yes.
Mr HENDERSON: Yes, 400-odd businesses in Alice Springs. That survey came back with over 80% of those businesses very confident about their future. You would not know about it, listening to members opposite, but over 80% of those businesses are very high in confidence.
Investment in the town is strong, particularly investment from people already in Alice Springs running a business, reinvesting back in that business. That is set to continue. The resilience of Alice Springs and its people cannot be underestimated.
We absolutely acknowledge – and on this side of the House we have two members from Alice Springs, both ministers in government - that Alice Springs does have its issues and its problems. That requires a steely determination and commitment, from both government and the community, to actually get on top and deal with those issues. It is not just an issue for government; these are issues for the whole community.
That is why the plan for Alice, Moving Alice Ahead, has prioritised the massive consumption of alcohol as being at the heart of all the social issues and problems facing Alice Springs. That is why we have prioritised the responsible Alcohol Management Framework as one of the key strategic priorities of government to try to deal with those issues of excessive alcohol consumption and the associated damage that does to individuals, families, children, the community, and the economy of Alice Springs. We have introduced a range of measures to reduce supply, harm, and demand. The early implications are that the plan is starting to work in that the total amount of pure alcohol consumption is going down. My colleague, the Licensing minister, has been absolutely insistent that we apply some rigour and integrity in regard to the evaluation of those measures. That evaluation is being undertaken as I speak.
At the heart of that dysfunction is a disconnection for the economy and the labour market. The reason for the disconnection for the economy and the labour market is a failure of education for Indigenous people in Central Australia in a significant way. There are some innovations starting to turn things around in Alice Springs in regard to education. I am absolutely passionate about the Clontarf Football Academy. I was the Education minister who saw the initial investment there in Alice Springs. It is starting to make some very significant changes and inroads in the attendance of young Indigenous boys in Alice Springs. Attendance that used to be around the 30% mark is now between 80% and 90% for those kids. It has been a huge turnaround.
The academic results of those kids is starting to improve, and the future is looking bright for over 100 Indigenous students who otherwise would have just fallen away and dropped out of the system - they are engaged, they are at school, they are doing well. It is an initiative that I will continue to support absolutely 100% as Chief Minister for the Northern Territory.
We have primary school education projects running. The Indigenous Education strategy and the Youth Employment strategy are all aimed at improving school attendance, school retention, and employment outcomes for the long term. There is a whole range of other projects that are going ahead in Alice Springs that I do not have the time to mention in a short answer. However, the economy is strong, investor confidence is high, the demand for new housing is strong.
We do have social issues in and around the excessive consumption of alcohol. We are working to address those, and working to improve Indigenous education outcomes in Alice Springs. The early runs are positive and on the board.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Barkly for his question because, despite the rhetoric of members opposite, the government is expending significant policy and financial capital and investment in Alice Springs. Alice Springs is an incredibly important part of the Territory - a fantastic community in the heart of our country. I am determined to have the heart of this nation a growing and vibrant town. I believe we all share those same aspirations.
The Alice Springs plan is a comprehensive social and economic strategy to move Alice Springs ahead. Alice Springs is vibrant, multicultural, innovative and, for the size of the town, it is a very artistic and incredibly creative community.
Business confidence in Alice Springs is high. My colleague, the Business minister, had his agency conduct a survey of virtually all businesses - it was about 400 businesses in Alice Springs, was it, Kon?
Mr Vatskalis: Yes.
Mr HENDERSON: Yes, 400-odd businesses in Alice Springs. That survey came back with over 80% of those businesses very confident about their future. You would not know about it, listening to members opposite, but over 80% of those businesses are very high in confidence.
Investment in the town is strong, particularly investment from people already in Alice Springs running a business, reinvesting back in that business. That is set to continue. The resilience of Alice Springs and its people cannot be underestimated.
We absolutely acknowledge – and on this side of the House we have two members from Alice Springs, both ministers in government - that Alice Springs does have its issues and its problems. That requires a steely determination and commitment, from both government and the community, to actually get on top and deal with those issues. It is not just an issue for government; these are issues for the whole community.
That is why the plan for Alice, Moving Alice Ahead, has prioritised the massive consumption of alcohol as being at the heart of all the social issues and problems facing Alice Springs. That is why we have prioritised the responsible Alcohol Management Framework as one of the key strategic priorities of government to try to deal with those issues of excessive alcohol consumption and the associated damage that does to individuals, families, children, the community, and the economy of Alice Springs. We have introduced a range of measures to reduce supply, harm, and demand. The early implications are that the plan is starting to work in that the total amount of pure alcohol consumption is going down. My colleague, the Licensing minister, has been absolutely insistent that we apply some rigour and integrity in regard to the evaluation of those measures. That evaluation is being undertaken as I speak.
At the heart of that dysfunction is a disconnection for the economy and the labour market. The reason for the disconnection for the economy and the labour market is a failure of education for Indigenous people in Central Australia in a significant way. There are some innovations starting to turn things around in Alice Springs in regard to education. I am absolutely passionate about the Clontarf Football Academy. I was the Education minister who saw the initial investment there in Alice Springs. It is starting to make some very significant changes and inroads in the attendance of young Indigenous boys in Alice Springs. Attendance that used to be around the 30% mark is now between 80% and 90% for those kids. It has been a huge turnaround.
The academic results of those kids is starting to improve, and the future is looking bright for over 100 Indigenous students who otherwise would have just fallen away and dropped out of the system - they are engaged, they are at school, they are doing well. It is an initiative that I will continue to support absolutely 100% as Chief Minister for the Northern Territory.
We have primary school education projects running. The Indigenous Education strategy and the Youth Employment strategy are all aimed at improving school attendance, school retention, and employment outcomes for the long term. There is a whole range of other projects that are going ahead in Alice Springs that I do not have the time to mention in a short answer. However, the economy is strong, investor confidence is high, the demand for new housing is strong.
We do have social issues in and around the excessive consumption of alcohol. We are working to address those, and working to improve Indigenous education outcomes in Alice Springs. The early runs are positive and on the board.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016