Mr CONLAN - 2009-11-24
Madam Speaker, I let it be known that the rise in violent crime and assaults in Alice Springs, the Chief Minister ….
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex …
Mr CONLAN: … considers to be tedious.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex …
Mr CONLAN: I want everyone in the gallery from Alice to know that ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, do you have a question?
Mr CONLAN: I certainly do. Madam Speaker, no one can forget the spectacle of the member for Johnston, who was Police minister, then was Health Minister. Now, he has lost his Health Minister portfolio due to the inept ability to do it.
Dr Burns: You are a …
Mr CONLAN: Nevertheless, the then Police minister - come on, Bungles, I know it brings back bad memories …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: It is all right. It is okay ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex! Either ask a question or resume your seat.
Mr CONLAN: I am getting to my question, Madam Speaker, as I develop my argument for this question …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That is quite an insolent response to your request for him to ask the question …
Mr CONLAN: Madam Speaker, a point of order has to be done at the Dispatch Box too, by the way.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of Government Business, please go to the Dispatch Box so we can hear your point of order.
Mr Conlan: Go on, Bungles.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, cease interjecting while the Leader of Government Business has the call!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, this is Question Time. The member for Greatorex is here to ask a question, not to grandstand. You directed him to ask a question, and he quite insolently ignored what you had to say to him. Madam Speaker, I call on him to keep on asking questions instead of grandstanding.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, Leader of Government Business.
Member for Greatorex, I ask you to ask the question, and remind you there are general courtesies towards the Chair which are expected. If you do not ask the question very quickly, I will ask you to resume your seat.
Mr CONLAN: Madam Speaker, I apologise if I was being insolent towards the Chair.
No one is going to forget the spectacle here with the member for Johnston when he was Police minister assuring the people of Alice Springs the police communications system was working well, when those of us in Alice Springs knew that it was not. We all knew very well that it was not. This was a couple of years ago in the last parliament. Since then, the problems have continued ...
A member interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: Okay, the question is coming.
At Estimates on 17 June - there is a bit of a preamble here, Chief Minister, to develop an argument ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: All right, Madam Speaker.
On 17 June 2008, the Police Commissioner indicated the communications system would not be transferred to Darwin because: ‘I do not want to take jobs away from Alice Springs’. Why, then, is the telephone system being transferred to Darwin? Don’t people of Alice Springs deserve to be in contact with their very own police officers locally instead of being transferred to Darwin? Could you please answer the question?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, that is an extremely long question. I will not be allowing questions that long in future.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the question from the member for Greatorex. Regarding the changes to standing orders about short questions and short answers which the member for Port Darwin was so passionate about, and which we are going to be debating later this afternoon, obviously they are having their last attempt today at long questions.
In regard to this issue, yes, absolutely - it was very much the intent of the Police Commissioner to maintain taking calls from Alice Springs here in Alice Springs. The reality was that, police, try as hard as they might with advertising and recruitment campaigns, found it virtually impossible to recruit police auxiliaries in Alice Springs, to the point that the staffing of the call centre at Alice Springs Police Station was becoming extremely problematic. This was not because there was a lack of commitment by the Police Commissioner to employ staff in Alice Springs. The reality, as with any other employer I talk to, is that he found it nearly impossible to recruit police auxiliaries to carry out that particular duty in Alice Springs.
In order to provide the best possible service, the Acting Commissioner has determined that there were real problems in terms of punctuality of responding to calls here because of the lack of police auxiliaries and the capacity to recruit them, and that the calls would be answered in Darwin in a timelier manner. This is purely a recruitment issue. I can say that the Police Commissioner did everything he could to recruit staff to the positions in Alice Springs.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex …
Mr CONLAN: … considers to be tedious.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex …
Mr CONLAN: I want everyone in the gallery from Alice to know that ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, do you have a question?
Mr CONLAN: I certainly do. Madam Speaker, no one can forget the spectacle of the member for Johnston, who was Police minister, then was Health Minister. Now, he has lost his Health Minister portfolio due to the inept ability to do it.
Dr Burns: You are a …
Mr CONLAN: Nevertheless, the then Police minister - come on, Bungles, I know it brings back bad memories …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: It is all right. It is okay ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex! Either ask a question or resume your seat.
Mr CONLAN: I am getting to my question, Madam Speaker, as I develop my argument for this question …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That is quite an insolent response to your request for him to ask the question …
Mr CONLAN: Madam Speaker, a point of order has to be done at the Dispatch Box too, by the way.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of Government Business, please go to the Dispatch Box so we can hear your point of order.
Mr Conlan: Go on, Bungles.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, cease interjecting while the Leader of Government Business has the call!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, this is Question Time. The member for Greatorex is here to ask a question, not to grandstand. You directed him to ask a question, and he quite insolently ignored what you had to say to him. Madam Speaker, I call on him to keep on asking questions instead of grandstanding.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, Leader of Government Business.
Member for Greatorex, I ask you to ask the question, and remind you there are general courtesies towards the Chair which are expected. If you do not ask the question very quickly, I will ask you to resume your seat.
Mr CONLAN: Madam Speaker, I apologise if I was being insolent towards the Chair.
No one is going to forget the spectacle here with the member for Johnston when he was Police minister assuring the people of Alice Springs the police communications system was working well, when those of us in Alice Springs knew that it was not. We all knew very well that it was not. This was a couple of years ago in the last parliament. Since then, the problems have continued ...
A member interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: Okay, the question is coming.
At Estimates on 17 June - there is a bit of a preamble here, Chief Minister, to develop an argument ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: All right, Madam Speaker.
On 17 June 2008, the Police Commissioner indicated the communications system would not be transferred to Darwin because: ‘I do not want to take jobs away from Alice Springs’. Why, then, is the telephone system being transferred to Darwin? Don’t people of Alice Springs deserve to be in contact with their very own police officers locally instead of being transferred to Darwin? Could you please answer the question?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, that is an extremely long question. I will not be allowing questions that long in future.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the question from the member for Greatorex. Regarding the changes to standing orders about short questions and short answers which the member for Port Darwin was so passionate about, and which we are going to be debating later this afternoon, obviously they are having their last attempt today at long questions.
In regard to this issue, yes, absolutely - it was very much the intent of the Police Commissioner to maintain taking calls from Alice Springs here in Alice Springs. The reality was that, police, try as hard as they might with advertising and recruitment campaigns, found it virtually impossible to recruit police auxiliaries in Alice Springs, to the point that the staffing of the call centre at Alice Springs Police Station was becoming extremely problematic. This was not because there was a lack of commitment by the Police Commissioner to employ staff in Alice Springs. The reality, as with any other employer I talk to, is that he found it nearly impossible to recruit police auxiliaries to carry out that particular duty in Alice Springs.
In order to provide the best possible service, the Acting Commissioner has determined that there were real problems in terms of punctuality of responding to calls here because of the lack of police auxiliaries and the capacity to recruit them, and that the calls would be answered in Darwin in a timelier manner. This is purely a recruitment issue. I can say that the Police Commissioner did everything he could to recruit staff to the positions in Alice Springs.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016