2012-12-05
Madam Speaker Purick took the Chair at 10 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table the proposed sitting dates for 2013. The sitting schedule includes the introduction of the budget during the week commencing 30 April 2013, and Estimates Committee hearings being held over two weeks in June. Are there any questions?
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have given permission for the ABC, SBS and Sky News to film the opposition’s response to the mini-budget. I call on the Leader of the Opposition.
Continued from 4 December 2012.
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): The CLP mini-budget handed down yesterday was unnecessary, mean, and out of touch with the daily realities faced by Territory families. The CLP mini-budget hurts Territorians. It hits them where it hurts the most, doubling the cost of living. Chief Minister, you have betrayed Territorians in our cities, towns and remote areas, slashing jobs and vital programs and hiking up fees and charges. You have failed the test of leadership and compassion. You are out of touch with the reality of Territorians and have delivered a mean-spirited budget. The slash and burn nature of this mini-budget is unnecessary. The CLP is inflicting pain on Territorians to meet hundreds of millions of dollars of unfunded election commitments.
Your mini-budget is a disaster for Territory families. The CLP mini-budget hits every Territorian. It hits childcare, students at school, job seekers, apprentices and trainees. It hits young families, homebuyers, renters, public servants, businesses, seniors, local government, and renal patients in the bush. The CLP mini-budget puts prices up and services down for all Territorians. Under the cost of living burden rising from a CPI of 2.1% to 4.3%, households will suffer, businesses will go broke and families will pack up and leave.
On power and water bills Territorians have spoken loud and clear. Territorians know these bills will hurt them and that they are unnecessary. The power and water hike increases rents, rates, childcare and groceries. It increases costs in every facet of daily life. Add to that, vehicle registration costs which are up by $105, bus fares are up, every government fee and charge is up. The CLP promised to cut the cost of living but has increased almost every aspect of it.
It is extraordinary to hear the CLP justify increases in car registration based on levels down south. It is completely oblivious to the price of petrol in the Northern Territory How dare it suggest the cost of running a car is cheaper in the Territory than down south. The CLP claims car rego has not increased in 16 years other than by the CPI. Why should car rego go up by more than the CPI? And, get this: Territorians now have to pay $20 for the privilege of waiting in line at MVR to pay their registration.
The CLP does not understand how much pain this mini-budget will cause. It is out of touch with Territory families. Many Territory families will simply not be able to afford the cost of living increases in this CLP mini-budget. The mini-budget doubles inflation. The figure is right there in the mini-budget book: inflation increasing from 2.1% to 4.3% as a result of the utility price hikes.
People trying to buy their first home are hit extra hard by this mini-budget. Territorians in the process of buying a house now cannot and their dreams are shattered. The stamp duty concessions for first homeowners are gone. The First Home Owner Grant is only $12 000 for existing properties and the maximum value of eligible properties has been cut from $750 000 to $600 000. As a result, in Darwin and Palmerston there are now 1100 fewer properties available to first homeowners - 1100 fewer to claim the $25 000 assistance. How on earth does that help first homebuyers?
Seniors have been targeted cruelly by the Country Liberal Party. Power, water, rates, rents are all up and they can no longer travel on buses for free. The thought of senior Territorians having to swelter in their homes without air conditioning because they cannot afford it sickens me.
Businesses face a double whammy. Their costs increase and their customers have less money to spend. This mini-budget will send many businesses broke. We already know a small business will incur a $7800 power and water bill hike, but with every government charge going up they are being hit again and again and again. The Minister for Business has the gall to issue a media release saying the mini-budget will help business reduce costs because the government is increasing ecoBiz grants by $220 000.
There are individual businesses whose costs will increase by a greater amount than the entire cost of the program. You are completely out of touch. Yesterday, we could not even find the CLP mini-budget business release until we realised it was titled, quote:
Environmental Program Boosted.
That is how much you rate business.
The Country Liberal Party thinks Territory businesses are awash with cash and if they become a little more efficient these massive increases should not hurt too much - totally out of touch! Every business will be affected. Our big employers, retail and hospitality, will be decimated by this mini-budget. Many will close and jobs will be lost. You are hitting them from every angle.
The mini-budget says 600 public servants will go. That is 600 more people than you promised. Who could possibly believe it will not be more than 600? The Country Liberal Party has been completely deceptive on the job cuts plan, promising none before the election then started sacking in the first week. The CLP will still not be up front about which jobs will go. At least in Queensland and other states they were up front and said which jobs would go. There is no such accountability or honesty here. You are talking about the future of families and you cannot even be honest with them. You simply have no idea how much stress and tension your price rises and job cuts are causing, and not being upfront and honest hurts even more.
The mini-budget reveals the Country Liberal Party has made the decision to double the rate of inflation from 2.1% to 4.3%. This will put enormous pressure on public and private sector wage growth; however, the mini-budget is silent on this. If EBAs for our public servants - including nurses, teachers, doctors and police - do not involve pay rises of at least 4.3% they will get a real pay cut. The only way to pay for it will be pay cuts or more job cuts.
The numbers in this mini-budget prove the pain, price hikes and job cuts are simply not necessary. The mini-budget proves what we have been saying: our debt position is manageable and responsible. It takes about 8% of revenue to service the debt, something the Treasurer admitted yesterday was responsible and a good decision.
It is worth noting that, despite all the CLP talk, not one independent commentator or analyst agrees with it. The only people who agree are being paid $1000 a day to do so.
The facts are clear, Moody’s looked at our finances this year and reaffirmed our AA1 rating and a stable outlook - the second highest rating there is. The government’s debt is less of a burden than it was last time the CLP was in power. The debt to revenue ratios over the forward estimates and the interest to revenue ratios are manageable and responsible. The nett debt to revenue ratio rises from 63% to 73%, but it was more than 90% when the CLP was in office in the 1990s. This mini-budget, you claimed, was all about debt. Last week any debt was a terrible thing according to the CLP - debt was evil. Yet, in this mini-budget, you are committing to a nett debt of $4.4bn by 2015-16.
Last week the CLP was complaining about how much interest we pay. It said interest payments were a disaster. The mini-budget increases those payments. Interest payments increase by nearly $90m a year across the forward estimates. The interest to revenue levels stay around the same as previously. The CLP is pretending the price hikes, job cuts, and the health and education cuts are about debt. Rubbish! They are about getting Territorians to pay for the CLP’s unfunded election commitments.
This mini-budget is also about fattening up Power and Water as a utility to sell it off. Debt was a ruse. This mini-budget proves it and Territorians know it. They simply do not believe you and you have lost their trust.
The cuts to services in this budget are savage and mean. Health and education services have been targeted for cuts. Cutting renal service expansion is a disgrace. Many people - mainly Indigenous - requiring renal services face a shorter life as a result of this mini-budget. The mini-budget reduces the hours of operation of the Palmerston GP Super Clinic, although we have no further information. Adjusting nursing staffing models means fewer nurses. This mini-budget provides fewer nurses for our hospitals.
To hear the Minister for Health proudly state he had put a stop to the medi-hotel in Gove is sickening. He is proud he has stopped accommodation for patients with chronic illnesses and stopped pregnant women having somewhere to stay. He dismisses these people as long-grassers.
Cutting the education budget by 10% and pretending it will not affect education outcomes is ludicrous. We have already heard schools are being forced to reduce the number of teachers. Cutting teachers is cutting frontline services. The Minister for Education has been refusing requests from teachers to meet. We now know why. The teachers union has said the mini-budget will see teaching returned to rows of students, monitors, and one teacher to large classes with no support for special needs in mainstream and stressed out support staff everywhere. The CLP still claims frontline services will not be affected. It is treating teachers and Territorians with contempt.
How can the CLP claim firefighters are not frontline staff? Yet, that is who they are getting rid of at Humpty Doo. Madam Speaker, as you so eloquently put it, ‘Have you lost your collective minds?’
We have also heard via whistleblowers that this is not the only cut to firefighting services. It is claimed the CLP is decommissioning the rescue tender from Palmerston. That is six positions. These people cut people from cars but apparently that is not a frontline service. Of course, the CLP tried to hide this cut. Where is the media release announcing that?
The family and parent support services budget has been slashed from $53m to $40m. As NGOs providing child protection services made it clear on the news last night, this will lead to more child abuse and neglect.
The local government budget has been slashed from $72m to $59m. The CLP said local government was struggling to be financially sustainable so it rips out more funding.
The Department of Infrastructure has had 20% of its jobs cut. These are the engineers who help build the Territory.
Indigenous employment programs have been slashed. Tertiary funding has been slashed. Young Territorians will miss out on the wonderful, highly-skilled job opportunities our growing economy is providing.
On the front page of the 100-day plan the CLP promised to immediately remove drunks from our streets but what has it done? It scrapped the Banned Drinker Register and the SMART Court, which could order people into rehabilitation and treatment. This has been replaced with nothing. It is scrapping the first response unit and replacing it with nothing. The so-called habitual drunks legislation is in tatters. All this mini-budget announces is that the Attorney-General has flicked it to the Minister for Health. The CLP has very quickly turned Darwin into a drinker’s paradise. The drunks are well and truly on tap.
It has been clearly established that the cost of alcohol abuse runs into hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2007, the cost of alcohol abuse to the community was $670m. That would be close to $1bn now. The CLP’s complete lack of policy in this area will cost future budgets hundreds of millions of dollars.
This mini-budget announces the CLP will sell off government employee housing to pay for its unfunded promises. I quote the Minister for Housing:
Where? Of course, no information. The government is planning to rake in millions of dollars selling off public housing, and there are so many other cuts right across government that shadow ministers will drill down into.
The price of fireworks and gun registration is up. You are hitting Territorians everywhere. Could you be any less Territorian?
This budget is horrific. When the Treasurer announced the power and water bill hikes she said she hoped Territorians would forget about it within two years. They will not. You and the Chief Minister have lost the trust of the people of the Northern Territory. They know you were not honest with them. They know you are causing unnecessary pain and they will not forget. You have lost their trust. You have no compassion. This budget lacks any consideration or thought for how people will be affected by it.
The people who designed this budget do not even live in the Territory. They are being put up in luxury hotels, being paid $1000 per day before they head back down south. They could not care less how much their cuts hurt Territorians. Perhaps the most concerning aspect of this mini-budget was revealed on the ABC news last night when the Treasurer conceded this was just the start. She said there is more pain to come.
Madam Speaker, I condemn this mini-budget in the strongest possible terms. Territorians want us to fight this government and we will. That is our commitment; a commitment we will not tear up.
Debate adjourned.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 17) passing through all stages this sittings period.
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills titled Bail Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 13) and Domestic and Family Violence Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 14):
(a) being presented and read a first time together and one motion being put in regard to, respectively, the second readings, the committee’s report stage, and the third readings of the bills together
Hearing these matters cognate is to deal with the same issue emanating from both bills.
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that Government Business, Orders of the Day relating to the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 17) be called on forthwith.
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, before you start, I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 9 Kormilda College students accompanied by their teachers. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to you and hope you enjoy your visit to Parliament House.
Continued from 4 December 2012.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, this bill puts in place a package of measures announced as part of the government’s 2012-13 mini-budget by proposing amendments to the Stamp Duty Act, First Home Owners Grant Act and Motor Vehicles (Fees and Charges) Regulations.
The Northern Territory is one of the lowest taxing jurisdictions in Australia. In the current challenging fiscal environment, the government needs to move Territory taxes to a level closer to the state average. The measures in the bill will improve the Territory’s overall fiscal position and assist in achieving the government’s goal of balancing the budget during its first term.
The measures better target the Territory’s homebuyer assistance schemes and increase motor vehicle registration fees. The government is committed to ensuring Territorians have access to a range of housing options. In keeping with this commitment, the bill proposes measures to better target the assistance provided to both first homebuyers and other homebuyers.
In the past, rather than improving housing affordability, untargeted homeowner assistance has often contributed to higher property prices. This brings into question whether assistance is being wasted and if it can be delivered more effectively.
The measures will allow improved access to new homes for low- and middle-income families and also provides a strong foundation from which the affordable new home market can expand. This is because the bill increases the first homeowner grant for both established and newly constructed homes.
The original intent of the grant was to support first homebuyers by offsetting the effect of the GST on the acquisition of a home. However, aside from temporary increases initiated by the Commonwealth, the grant has not increased since set at $7000 in 2000.
The First Home Owner Grant will now increase to $25 000 for new home transactions commencing on or after 4 December 2012. A new home is one which has not been previously lived in or sold as a place of residence. To provide regional first homebuyers with greater assistance, a First Home Owner Grant of $25 000 will also be available for established homes in regional areas. This includes homes in Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs but not Litchfield or Wagait, which are closer to Darwin.
This also recognises that outside of greater Darwin, including Palmerston, first homebuyers are much less likely to be buying a newly constructed home or building a new home.
From 4 December 2012, a greater First Home Owner Grant of $12 000 will also be available to first homebuyers of established homes in Darwin, Palmerston, Litchfield and Wagait. The increases in the First Home Owner Grant will be funded by the stamp duty first homeowner concession ceasing from 4 December 2012. Savings from this decision will also be channelled towards improving the Territory’s fiscal position.
The delivery of first homebuyer assistance through a single grant scheme will promote administrative consistency and reduce the red tape applicants currently face in dealing with two legislative regimes. Furthermore, a higher First Home Owner Grant amount will ensure first homebuyers receive available funds at one point in time, providing the opportunity for the grant to be readily used as part of a home deposit.
The government is committed to better targeted and fiscally responsible spending of the public purse. Consistent with this, the bill focuses eligibility for the First Home Owner Grant on those who are more in need of assistance. The maximum value of a home eligible for a First Home Owner Grant will be reduced from the current $750 000 threshold to a maximum home value of $600 000. This is still higher than the current greater Darwin median house price of about $568 000 according to Real Estate Institute figures.
Territorians buying or building a new home which is not their first home will also benefit from the measures contained in the bill. From 4 December 2012, the stamp duty Principal Place of Residence Rebate will double from $3500 to $7000, but will be retargeted to purchasers of new homes or vacant land on which a new home will be built. This means Territorians buying or building a new home which will be their principal place of residence will not be required to pay stamp duty on about the first $231 000 of the home’s value.
This recognises the importance of supporting the construction and supply of new homes in the Territory. Also, by limiting this assistance to the purchase or construction of new homes, the unwanted effect of over-inflating the property market will be minimised. The risk of potential distortions of the property market will be further mitigated by commencing the increases to the First Home Owner Grant and Principal Place of Residence Rebate from the mini-budget announcement date of 4 December 2012.
Aside from an automatic yearly increase in line with the Consumer Price Index, motor vehicle registration fees for light vehicles were last increased 16 years ago. Northern Territory registration fees are currently among the lowest of all of the states and territories across all categories. The bill proposes to increase motor vehicle registration fees in the Motor Vehicles (Fees and Charges) Regulations from 1 January 2013.
Under the measures proposed by the bill, the total registration costs for light vehicles will remain slightly lower than the average of the other states. Annual registration fee increases will vary from $11 for a motorcycle, $67 for a small vehicle, and $105 for a large four-wheel-drive vehicle. Although there will be concern about the size of these increases, the overall change in the cost of registering a vehicle in the Territory will range from about 4% to 18%.
I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement to accompany the bill.
Debate adjourned.
Bills presented and read a first time.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.
The Bail Amendment Bill 2012 and the Domestic and Family Violence Amendment Bill 2012 are presented together because they both remedy a problem with respect to police being able to enforce orders or conditions made prohibiting persons from consuming alcohol and other drugs in bail agreements and domestic violence orders by testing for compliance.
The purpose of the Bail Amendment Bill 2012 is to amend the Bail Act to make it clear police or a court, when granting bail, can impose bail conditions which seek to ensure compliance with other conditions. An expressed power for police and courts to make bail conditions requiring an accused person to submit to testing to ensure compliance with a bail condition prohibiting them from consuming alcohol and other drugs will also be inserted into the Bail Act.
Amendments to the Bail Act are necessary as a number of magistrates have been refusing to order tests and conditions which would oblige a person to undergo compliance testing such as a breath analysis which seeks to ensure they are complying with a condition they not consume alcohol. The refusal to make these orders arose following a decision of a single judge in the New South Wales Supreme Court in Lawson v Dunlevy [2012] NSWSC 48. That decision considered New South Wales provisions which govern the matters upon which bail conditions can be imposed. The New South Wales provisions are drafted in a similar way to the relevant provisions of the Territory’s Bail Act.
A further minor amendment will be made to section 27(1)(h) of the Bail Act to ensure a police officer or court, when granting bail, can impose a condition preventing an accused from misusing drugs which have been prescribed to them. In the condition prohibiting drugs or alcohol, the phrase ‘non-prescription drugs’ is replaced with, ‘a drug (other than as prescribed for the person by a health practitioner)’.
The purpose of the Domestic and Family Violence Amendment Bill 2012 is to amend the Domestic and Family Violence Act so it is clear police or a court, when making a domestic violence order, can make an ancillary order which aims to ensure compliance with other orders.
Amendments to the Domestic and Family Violence Act are necessary as police have not been ordering domestic violence orders which oblige a person to undergo tests for alcohol or drug use as a result of ambiguity as to the lawfulness of such orders. This ambiguity also arose as a result of the decision in the New South Wales Supreme Court in relation to bail conditions.
Amendments to section 21 of the Domestic and Family Violence Act will ensure police and courts can make such ancillary orders to ensure compliance with another domestic violence order.
The ability of police to monitor that an accused is complying with the domestic violence order or bail conditions is essential to ensuring there is no further risk of offending or acts of domestic violence occurring due to alcohol consumption or drug abuse, and risks to safety of other persons and the public are minimised. These amendments will put beyond doubt the ability of courts and police to make domestic violence orders and bail conditions which seek to ensure compliance with other orders and conditions.
As members of the Assembly are aware, misuse of alcohol and drugs plays a significant role in the commission of criminal offences in the Northern Territory. These amendments will assist police in determining whether a person subject to bail conditions or a domestic violence order is consuming alcohol or drugs despite a court order not to do so.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bills to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statements.
Debate adjourned.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of the bill is to amend the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, Law Officers Act, Magistrates Act and the Supreme Court Act to raise the retirement age for the Master of the Supreme Court, the Solicitor-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and magistrates from 65 to 70 years. There has, in recent times, been a trend in the general workforce to either increasing mandatory retirement ages or doing away with them altogether. While the Supreme Court justices in the Northern Territory are currently appointed to the age of 70, a number of other statutory offices, namely the Master of the Supreme Court, the Solicitor General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and magistrates, are appointed to the age of 65.
A review of retirement ages for similar positions throughout Australia has been undertaken. In Australia, the mandatory age for justices ranges between 70 and 72. For the Master’s position, the Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction with a retirement age under 70. In most cases, the Solicitor-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions are appointed for a fixed term otherwise the range is from 65 to 72. For magistrates the range is 65 to 72, with four of the seven jurisdictions having a retirement age of 65.
With regard to magistrates, it should be noted that short-term relieving magistrate appointments can be made for up to 70-year-olds and former magistrates have been engaged on numerous occasions in the past as relieving magistrates. There is no reason to doubt officers who hold the position in question would ordinarily be able to continue to perform the functions required of them at a high level until the age of 70. This is recognised in the current age limit of 70 for Supreme Court judges. Indeed, office holders having reached the age of 65 are in a better position to contribute given their wealth of experience.
The Justice Legislation Amendment (Age of Retirement) Bill 2012 provides for a person to be appointed as the Solicitor-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Master of the Supreme Court or a magistrate up to the time they turn 70 years of age. Additionally, the legislation will provide that persons currently in the position of Solicitor-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Master of the Supreme Court or magistrate continue in those positions until they reach the age of 70 years.
I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to make amendments to the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 to ensure when a person has been charged with an offence where the alleged victim is under 16, a close relative of the defendant - their spouse, de facto partner, parent or child - will not be able to make an application under section 18 of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 that they be excused from giving evidence. Section 12 of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation Act) 2011 provides that every person is competent and compellable to give evidence.
There are a limited number of exceptions to this general rule contained in the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation Act) 2011. Section 18 contains one of those exceptions. In summary, that provision provides that a close relative of a defendant is not compellable to give evidence for the prosecution if a court is satisfied there is a likelihood that harm may result to the person if they give evidence and the gravity of the risk of harm outweighs the desirability of having the evidence given. Section 19 provides that, for certain offences, section 18 does not apply. Currently this includes section 19(b):
My department advises me this is an absurdity; that close relatives of an offender under 16 should not be able to make an application to be excused from giving evidence under section 18. I agree. The relevant Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory provisions upon which section 19(b) is based operate in such a way as to exclude, for a limited number of offences, close relatives of a defendant where the offence relates to an alleged victim under the age of 16, to be able to make an application to be excluded from giving evidence.
It is apparent the reference to ‘an offender’ in section 19(b) is a drafting error and the intention was to refer to the alleged victim. If a court is asked to consider the meaning of section 19(b) before the commencement of any amendments arising from this bill, the court may be able to consider this drafting error in construing the true intention of section 19(b).
There are good reasons why a close relative of a defendant who has been charged with an offence involving a child should not be excused from giving evidence. In matters involving children it is often only a spouse, partner, or close relative of a defendant who will be able to give evidence necessary to obtain a finding of guilt. Under section 19 of the current Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act there is no apparent policy purpose behind what offences with respect to children were or were not included.
For example, a close relative of somebody charged with an offence under the Care and Protection of Children Act in relation to the employment of children was not able to make an application under section 18 to be excused from giving evidence. However, a close relative of somebody charged with a serious offence under the Summary Offences Act or the Misuse of Drugs Act in relation to children could make an application not to give evidence.
Amendment to section 19 proposed in this bill will mean in all matters in which a person has been charged with an offence where an alleged victim is under 16, their close relatives will not be able to make an application under section 18 that they be excused from giving evidence. That was the position at common law before the commencement of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 and the passage of this bill will see that situation restored.
In addition to the drafting error contained in section 19(b), a number of the provisions of the Care and Protection of Children Act referred to in section 19(a) of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 no longer exist. Specifically, these are now repealed sections 228, 240 and 246. These provisions were repealed by the Education and Care Services (National Uniform Legislation) Act which was introduced after the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act.
The need to make consequential amendments to the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 was not picked up at the time of passage of the Education and Care Services (National Uniform Legislation) Act. In the event a court is asked to consider an application by someone to whom the repealed provisions may have applied, section 15(1) of the Interpretation Act will be relevant. That provides that, where an act re-enacts provisions of a former act, reference to the provisions repealed shall be construed as a reference to the provisions re-enacted.
I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr HIGGINS (Daly): Madam Speaker, I respond to the Treasurer’s mini-budget. Reading the media releases, it is quite clear it is planning for prosperity into the future. It seems to be a start not a stop. I will highlight some of the areas which affect me and some of the points made.
The previous government consistently spent beyond its means, leading to this mini-budget. If re-elected, it would have needed to make the same cuts. The government, in this mini-budget, is trying to refocus expenditure priorities back to frontline services.
If I can focus on lands, planning and the environment, the media release yesterday highlighted a natural beauty about our Territory closely related to tourism. I own a tourism industry business at Daly River and see the protection of the environment as a key part of our going forward. The establishment of the Environment Protection Authority will ensure this. It was pleasing to see we have allocated $800 000 ongoing annually to establish and operate the Northern Territory Planning Commission, and $500 000 ongoing in 2013 to establish an independent board for the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority. I spoke on this in the House recently saying it was a success, especially relating to my involvement on the Daly River Management Advisory Committee.
Land release to increase the supply of affordable houses - the community of Nauiyu has no land on which it can build houses. They have two blocks left and no plans for land release. I am hoping the planning authority and the Environment Protection Authority will see an end to some of that.
I also notice in the media release investigation into flood mitigation measures at Rapid Creek, which reminded me of the Daly River. Every year we have flooding at the Daly and it is always a concern, especially for the people living at the lower part of the Daly. Over the last 10 to 15 years I have resided at the Daly there has been a gradual decrease in the amount of money being spent on monitoring that flooding. That causes much concern to the people at the Daly. I hope in the future we address that problem, as a government, to make it easier.
In regard to capital works, $1m was allocated for a canteen at Taminmin College. I was there two or three weeks ago when classes were out and there was a massive line up at the existing canteen. This $1m will be well-accepted by the people there. It has been an issue for many years and I am glad to see we are addressing the problem.
As you know, there was a freeze on the live export trade some 18 months ago. I am glad to see the Mills government is trying to do some work in that area by increasing funding to the rangelands monitoring program. That will be increased by about $0.5m a year.
This is good for the environment, is direct funding into the environment, and goes much further than the previous government which gave much lip service to the environment. I commend the government for doing that. The money will enable three new rangelands monitoring offices to be established, and it is another $100 000 to support the Pastoral Land Board operations.
When we talk about cutting Labor waste - the media release on that reminded me of my role as chairman of the tourist association in Katherine and how upset people in Katherine were at the time funding for the regional tourist association was cut. I received a phone call from the then Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, advising me of that. Paul and I have known each other for many years, which is why I received the phone call. However, I was very disappointed that money was, straightaway, redirected into the establishment of an office of the Chief Minister in Katherine. I am glad to see that office has been closed and there will be a saving of $400 000 this year and $900 000 ongoing. I hope some of that money goes back into tourism.
We have seen the establishment of a tourism commission. When I was first involved in tourism the commission was already established but it was removed by the previous Labor government. Tourism, since then, has gone backwards. If you look at the numbers now you will find an increase in tourists to Darwin, but outside Darwin the numbers have drastically decreased.
I have a big interest in environmental issues. It was good to see we will double funding for the environmental program ecoBiz NT. That increase is from $220 000 to $440 000, and I hope many people benefit from that initiative. Business and industry grants will also receive $1m in 2012-13, and ongoing of $858 000 in additional funds. Again, I commend that.
I have heard the discussion around the Humpty Doo fire service but I will restrict my comments to Bushfires NT, which does a great job. It is based in Batchelor. There is also the Bushfires Council, chaired by Paul Blore. I have known Paul for many years. He managed Lucy Downs, which is behind the Daly, or the mango farm where I live. He was manager there about 12 years ago. Paul spoke to me about Bushfires NT funding and I am pleased we are able to do something in that area.
Most of the specific actions in the rural area are concentrated around fishing. While they may be directed more at people in Darwin, most of the initiatives which have been listed fall in the electorate of Daly. While they do not affect the constituents too much they have an impact on tourism.
The $4.5m for fishing infrastructure at Dundee is well and truly overdue. The buy-back of commercial licences for Finke Bay and Chambers Bay is also a very good initiative amateur fishermen will be very pleased about.
The comprehensive study of potential new areas to support a new boat ramp at Shady Camp - that is in my electorate and I am pleased to see we have allocated some money for that.
Remote schools are receiving additional funding in this budget and the Back to School bonus increasing from $75 to $150 per student is much appreciated ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, if I could interrupt to welcome some students. I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 9 Kormilda College students, accompanied by their teachers. On behalf of all members, I extend a warm welcome to you and hope you enjoy your visit to Parliament House.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr HIGGINS: The community of Woodycupaldiya does not have a teacher at the moment yet there are 29 children there. I was very pleased to see the remote retention bonus for teachers, and we are going to find a pathway forward through that.
The other issue I applaud is allowing remote communities the choice of either non-government or government schools. In the Daly, again, I can draw on that. We have a Catholic school in the community, which is very well run, and a government school at Wooliana. It is interesting to note over the years the shift of people from one school to another - back and forth. It means people appreciate the choice of being able to move from one to the other.
With regard to health, in a media release we said:
I noticed in the newspaper today the completely misleading statement which said $5000 will be given to every Indigenous householder to renovate their houses. I found that insulting and misleading. The promise made by the Country Liberals was $5200 for each home, not occupant, and it is not just to renovate their houses and is not being paid to them. I found that offensive.
The boost for the homelands is in addition to existing budget allocations for outstation services.
If I could go back to that for a moment, the homelands and funding for these houses was one of the key election promises made by the Country Liberals in the bush areas. The second major promise made by the Country Liberals in the bush was local government reform. I was pleased to see the minister issue a media release stating what he said in the House last week: we have 21 members of a stakeholder group drawn from across the Territory and these people are to advise government on what options are available.
The Minister for Local Government announced funding of $6.2m over four years to develop and implement local government reform. It is pleasing we are moving forward in that area. The functions and responsibilities of shires and councils was a key item in the election commitments of the Country Liberals and I am really pleased with that.
There is some concern about the long-term sustainability of the shires. That, of course, is a worry in our budget. The two people on that committee representing the Daly electorate are Tobias Nganbe from Wadeye and Harold Wilson from Peppimenarti. I wish them luck.
During the election the issue of boat registration was quite misleading to many constituents, as was the statement we were going to dam the Daly. I sat on the Daly River Management Advisory Committee and I thought that was outrageous. I am glad to see we have ruled out boat registration and, hopefully, that will put an end to the rubbish coming from the opposition.
The registration sticker issue was quite good. One of the problems in the bush is we go to police stations to register our vehicles and get yellow slips. The issue of sticky labels is not something in the forefront of our mind, but I am sure people in the city will become used to it.
The focus on the Centre is very good. For many years bush seats south of the Berrimah Line have been completely ignored. When we talk about the Centre we talk about CCTV in Katherine. I can tell you from my time as chairman of the tourist association that was always a big issue in Katherine and I am glad to see something is being done about it.
The other issue is sentencing. The emphasis will be more on correction rather than locking people up. I know someone who works hard at the Don Dale Centre who said it is really good to see we are not just giving people television and video games. That was also a very good decision.
With regard to the victims of crime levy, I can …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, it is 12 noon. Do you want to reserve your comments for a later time?
Mr HIGGINS: Yes, if I could.
Debate suspended.
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Speaker, I present a petition from 569 petitioners praying that bushland in the East Point, Ludmilla Creek and Kulaluk lease area not be destroyed. The petition bears the Clerk’s certificate that it conforms with the requirements of standing orders. I move that the petition be read.
Motion agreed to; petition read:
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I present a petition from 225 petitioners relating to power and water price increases. The petition bears the Clerk’s certificate that it conforms with the requirements of standing orders. The petition is similar to Petition No 6 presented on 29 November 2012. I move that the petition be read.
Motion agreed to; petition read:
MOTION
Note Paper - Mini-Budget 2012-13
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr HIGGINS (Daly): Madam Speaker, I left off with the Attorney-General’s media release. I notice we are going to increase the victims of crime levy. I was around when this levy was first introduced years ago. It has been an ongoing problem that this levy does not fund compensation to the victims of crime. I am pleased to see we are addressing that.
The other thing in his statement was $650 000 ongoing to support the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. That area is constantly after more funding and I am glad to see we have done that.
I was around when the domestic violence legal service was introduced which, from memory, was free to many people. I am glad we are continuing funding that with $165 000 ongoing.
With regard to health, as people keep talking about old people it is good to see an increase in cardiac services. I have stated before that I am an insulin-dependent diabetic, which does have some consequences for cardiac, so I am glad to see that.
A little closer to home, at the Daly, there is additional funding of $330 000 for consideration of Gone Too Soon: A Report into Youth Suicide in the Northern Territory. This is a big issue for many people at the Daly and I am glad to see that has been increased. This report, I acknowledge, was tabled by the Labor Party in March 2012.
There is $2m to review the Patient Assistance Travel Scheme. This issue is also very relevant to the people at the Daly who travel to Darwin and back, and interstate. It is good to see we are considering those people who live a long way from the health service.
This is a small issue, but the increase in the number of taxis - I often have to stay in Darwin, like the member for Barkly - he might live here, I am not too sure; he claims to live in Tennant Creek. Anyway, I use taxis regularly and it is good to see the number of taxis has been increased. I commend the Treasurer for that.
With regard to the first homebuyer scheme, I am glad to see we are doing something. My son is about to buy his first house and I am glad he will receive some assistance.
Parks and Wildlife affects tourism and I am pleased to see - I was in a meeting yesterday with Parks people - we are increasing the funding for Parks and Wildlife by $2.6m. This increase will support park ranger positions in remote areas, which includes Indigenous trainee rangers and Indigenous support staff. From an Indigenous employment point of view it is a very good thing to do.
With regard to my involvement in Landcare Australia, it is good to see funding for Land for Wildlife in the Top End run by Greening Australia, which has much to do with Landcare Australia, will continue. That is a great thing to do.
The last item of specific interest to me is related to primary industries but more to the fishing area. We have $50 000 in 2012-13 and $20 000 ongoing for the Amateur Fishermen’s Association and the NT Seafood Council for more boat safety awareness and education programs. On the Daly, this is one of the biggest problems we have with tourists. They are quite aware of the boating regulations; they all need licences and their boats are registered. The issue we constantly have is with Territorians who are not aware of the rules and rights of people on the river. This causes continuous angst and I am glad we are putting more funding into education programs.
There is $220 000 ongoing for the recreational fishing development plan, and $30 000 ongoing for establishment and support of the recreational fishing advisory committee. Again, these are key issues to tourism, especially in places like the Daly. The funding for the buy-back of commercial fishing licences at Finke and Chambers Bays is another great initiative.
Madam Speaker, I am very happy with the mini-budget. It is a mini-budget; it is the beginning not the end. Thank you.
Ms ANDERSON (Indigenous Advancement): Madam Speaker, I support my colleague, the Treasurer and Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, on the mini-budget released yesterday. It was fantastic to see the direction the Country Liberals are going in with the Northern Territory and its people.
Before I get to my speech, I will talk about how good the Country Liberal Party is and how it is delivering on the commitments it made to the people of the Northern Territory prior to the last election.
We are committed to moving all Territorians forward. We are not about separatism; we are not separating the rural area from the town area, the bush from the northern suburbs, we are about leading all Territorians forward. We believe we have a great opportunity. The Territory is a young place and a lucky place. We have so many opportunities to move all Territorians forward. This is the focus of the Terry Mills Liberal government. We will look at education. We are looking at economic development and the three-hub economy. The three-hub economy will drive all Territorians forward. We heard many good things about the Territory in the mini-budget yesterday - fantastic stuff to drive the Northern Territory considering what we came into with those guys on the other side, the guys Aboriginal people thought did not deserve to govern the Northern Territory because they were always about separating the Territory.
The people Labor thought believed in them and loved them put them on the opposite side. That is why Labor is sitting on the opposite side yelling and interjecting saying, ‘This is not working, that is not working, what are you doing about it?’ The people believed in the honesty and integrity of Terry Mills and the Country Liberal Party. You are sitting over there because Aboriginal people want to see results in education, health, housing, homelands and child protection. This is about moving all Territorians forward so we are not stuck in a zoo not having anything done for one part of the Northern Territory. We are honest. This is a sincere and honest relationship to move Territorians forward.
The Treasurer’s statement highlighted how we will emerge from the financial mess we inherited. I am pleased we have a way forward and are at last able to own the solutions to the many problems created by Labor.
I pause to consider what we do here and why, and 100 days in it is worth taking a moment to assess. I have contributed to the development of Indigenous communities for a long time now, particularly during my years as a former Commissioner of ATSIC. Furthermore, my previous ministerial experiences gave me another chance to contribute meaningfully to the fabric of Northern Territory life. For this opportunity I owe enormous gratitude to my electorate.
One thing this experience has given me is that I strongly believe it is not productive to succumb to despair over the last government’s financial legacy. It is done and my work now is about governing to the best of my ability using all the lessons of my years and my life stories to push through. What matters today is content, real government, not what we see in the media and what the opposition tries to portray.
We will work as partners with the community in this journey going forward to ensure the best possible outcome for all Territorians and for social harmony across the country. I am pleased we have a way forward which means working together with regional communities and that we have a government which respects and trusts Aboriginal Territorians and the need to listen to our people. This mini-budget reflects the way forward.
I will now address some important parts of the mini-budget, including the cancellation of future forums, the disbandment of the position of Coordinator-General and the NT Indigenous Advisory Council, and our policy regarding homelands and outstations.
The future forums were a local implementation plan commitment made by the previous Northern Territory government. The level of effort and cost in arranging the future forums often outweighed the level of community attendance, engagement and outcomes. Some communities were not supportive of a future forum event. Furthermore, they were not well-connected with other government employment programs such as the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
While only saving $100 000, it is still $100 000 we can allocate towards deficit reduction or frontline service delivery. Both these things are significantly more important than maintaining a commitment that is not useful and unsupported by the community.
I will now move to the NT Indigenous Advisory Council. Listening and responding to the views and issues of Aboriginal people across the Territory is central to this government. In previous years, an Indigenous Advisory Council comprising up to 16 members would come together from time to time to give advice to the previous government on Indigenous affairs. Bringing this group of people together for a meeting was an expensive exercise, as was maintaining the backroom support for the council and, like the former chair the now member for Stuart, they were never consulted properly; they were token faces in the wilderness.
The government appreciated the experience and commitment of the members of the council; however, it is time to implement a new approach to listening and responding to the issues facing Aboriginal Territorians.
I outlined this new approach within weeks of the election by visiting many parts of remote Northern Territory. Amongst other places, I visited my home areas of Papunya, Docker River, Santa Teresa and Alpara. I have also visited the Tiwi Islands, Tennant Creek, and have plans to visit Arnhem Land.
The government’s new Cabinet subcommittee will travel to all parts of the Territory to meet directly with Aboriginal people. The advice and perspectives coming to the government will be broad based and grounded within the daily lives of Aboriginal Territorians. This represents a step forward in ensuring policies and programs targeting Aboriginal people work better, are practical and achieve intended results.
I speak now of the stand-alone position of the Northern Territory Coordinator-General for Remote Services which was disbanded with effect from 8 October 2012. There will be no reduction in the focus on remote areas as a result of this decision. In fact, the capacity to monitor and respond to issues in the bush has been heightened by appointing the Territory’s most senior public servant in Indigenous advancement to the role of Coordinator-General.
The national Coordinator-General for Remote Indigenous Services, Mr Brian Gleeson, will continue to provide independent oversight of remote service delivery under the national partnership agreement. I have met with him twice. In addition, the Cabinet subcommittee created in part to replace the Indigenous Advisory Council, will also focus on better coordinating all levels of government activity right across remote Territory communities. The decision to disband the stand-alone position will therefore not only free vital resources to deliver frontline services, it will also mean better-connected responses to issues being tackled in the bush.
I have said before and repeat in this House: the disbanding of the position had nothing to do with the report. While the report was not particularly original and was inaccurate as shown by the list of amendments we had to post on the web, it demonstrated the money spent on this position, some $250 000 per year, was not well spent.
In my travels around the remote areas of the Northern Territory I have seen and heard what people in remote areas need. One of the issues we wanted to address, and we promised to give special attention to during our campaign, was homelands and outstations. I may be the first minister to have grown up on an outstation, the first minister probably in any western democracy to have grown up in one of the most wonderful places on earth. It is very different from the average city lawyer who becomes a minister.
We are remote in all Australia - 24% of Indigenous people live in remote or very remote areas in the Territory, the proportion being 81%. When I speak of remoteness, I mean not just remote from Darwin or Alice Springs, but remote from each other. There are 527 homelands and outstations funded by my department. The Northern Territory government acknowledges the contribution homelands and outstations make to the economic, social and cultural life of the Northern Territory.
I will speak more on the practicalities regarding homelands, but I first want to make a more general point. Indigenous people help by being connected to the land, but we help other Australians too through our knowledge, our ceremonies, our stories, and the practice of our traditions. We give human meaning to the patches of dirt and rock, to the creatures that live there, and to the sun and the sky. I hope this living meaning is valued by other Australians who have already acknowledged it by returning the land in question to Indigenous people. It was never our intention to lock up our land and walk away from it. Our desire was always to live on the land and keep the meaning alive by staying connected.
Homelands give life and meaning to large areas of this country, and I hope all Australians might sense the deep meaning of that even if they cannot experience it themselves. I hope they can look at the lives of people in the homelands and appreciate something of what the land gives us and what we give the land. The homelands make Australia a richer place, culturally and spiritually, in history and individual imagination. In short, they make it a better place. Presently, about 10 000 people live on homelands, a figure which constitutes about one quarter of the total remote Indigenous population of the Territory. With the right policies much can be done for the residents of these homelands and, therefore, for the health, wellbeing and social harmony of the wider community.
On behalf of the government, I reaffirm the integral role of homelands in the Territory. I commit us to providing the residents of the homelands with the same services as other Territorians, within reason, and accepting in many cases they are starting from a lower base. Our goal is to work together with Aboriginal communities for the best possible results for the homelands.
The existing housing management and maintenance grant program provides $7.3m per annum for homelands, outstations and urban community living areas. These grants are funded by the Australian and Northern Territory governments through the National Affordable Housing Agreement. This funding is provided to shire councils and outstation resource centres to manage houses and provide residential support.
In 2012-13, the Territory government will provide $15m in municipal and essential services funding administered by my department. The Commonwealth has contributed an additional $5m. In addition, through the Stronger Futures program, the Commonwealth government will be providing $20m per annum for the next nine years. This funding is allocated to shire councils and outstation resource centres for housing management and maintenance on homelands, outstations, and town camps. As promised before the recent election, the Country Liberals are committed to providing long-term certainty for residents of outstations and homelands regarding the level of support available from the Northern Territory and Australian governments. Therefore, in meeting these promises, Terry Mills’ government, through my department, has agreed to an additional appropriation of $14m over four years - 2012-13 to 2015-16 - for the purpose of improving housing priorities in homelands and outstations.
This funding is crucial to support people to stay on country. Service providers will be able to access up to $5200 per eligible dwelling to be spent on housing repairs and maintenance not already covered under the current housing management and maintenance program. We expect the number of dwellings in 2012-13 eligible for the $5200 additional maintenance payment, together with some administrative setup costs, will result in the $2m allowed for in the Treasurer’s statement. We anticipate the number of dwellings eligible will increase over time. The eligibility criteria announced during the campaign includes that the dwellings must be the regular place of residence without any other government assisted residence, the resident must participate in the economy of the homeland and the children must attend school regularly.
By focusing on existing homelands used as principal places of residence, we will bring back financial certainty and provide long-term clarity for residents and service providers. We will also ensure buildings are gradually improved or replaced through an agency asset management plan. With the right ideas we can have good housing in the homelands. We can have assets and financial future for our children.
Our emphasis will be on housing, but there is much more to be done. We will be looking at development opportunities ensuring residents get the full benefit of every relevant government program. There are opportunities in many of the 500 homelands. The jobs are there in land management and ecotourism, coastal security, growing vegetables, even in new industries most of us are still coming to grips with such as carbon trading in response to climate change. We will ensure residents receive full government support.
As I hope I have made clear by now, we do not see homelands as a hermitage or retreats; places cut off from the rest of the world. We see them as entirely unique places in what they have to offer, but also connected to the rest of the world. Should economic independence be possible it will only make them stronger.
We are aware it could be more expensive to have people living in hundreds of small communities scattered across the Territory rather than restricted to a few dozen towns and that homelands could never offer the health services of, say, Darwin. However, shifts in technology mean homeland life does not have to be as rough as we once thought. The benefits of the homelands are potentially enormous in health, wellbeing and social harmony for all Australians. A new homelands policy will be a whole-of-government approach in fitting with our belief homelands make life better for the 10 000 Indigenous people who live there, and for all Australians as a whole. By working together with Aboriginal communities this government can begin to move forward and achieve an unprecedented level of social cohesion across Australia.
In closing, Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the Treasurer, for helping the people in the bush even when we are in difficult budgetary circumstances.
Mr CONLAN (Tourism and Major Events): Madam Speaker, today I speak on the Treasurer’s mini-budget in a number of areas in my portfolios, Sport and Recreation being one of those. We will kick off with Tourism. We have Arts and Museums, and other things which need to be talked about.
This mini-budget is good news for the Northern Territory on a number of fronts. Having a mini-budget means there has been an election and a change of government. That in itself is good. It is good news there has been a change of government and the wrecking ball that was the previous Labor government has been brought to a halt. In fact, the wrecking ball has been wrecked and stopped in its tracks. Now we can get on with doing what is right for the Northern Territory and addressing some of the areas which have been neglected in spades.
This budget is not so much about cuts; it is about savings and reducing waste. Boy, there was so much waste by the previous government. I will highlight today, as my colleague the Minister for Indigenous Advancement indicated in her speech, that important things have been retained and investment will continue in the areas of growth, Indigenous advancement, education and health. The waste has been removed.
I will start with tourism. This government is clearly committed to tourism. It is a key plank of our three-hub economy and an integral part of our commitment to revive the Territory economy. Someone said to me the best way to generate wealth is to make, mine, grow or show. You make it, mine it, grow it or show it. This is about showing it because do we have a product! We have a world-class environment in the Northern Territory from Darwin to Alice Springs and everywhere in between. That was the Ted Egan song, ‘Up to the VRD and everywhere in between’. It is a wonderful product. Australia is a fantastic product and we have a wonderful slice of it in the Northern Territory. It needs to be revived and returned to that powerhouse industry it once was. I have said it before and will continue to say it was a powerhouse industry. Tourism operators who have been around long enough know the industry it was and crave to see it return.
We are serious about promoting the Northern Territory throughout Australia and the rest of the world. We need to get people to the Northern Territory. Despite the challenging fiscal environment - that was spoken of many times in this House over the last few sessions of parliament. We are in serious trouble when it comes to the financial outlook of the Northern Territory. Thank goodness the previous government’s spending has been brought to a halt and we can start saving money, reduce the waste, and return the Territory to a fiscal imbalance of zero.
Tourism will receive just over $48m - an additional $250 000 above the previous figure. We plan to invest much more in tourism over the coming years but, because of the state of the finances, we have added a modest $250 000. That is mainly to cover the costs associated with establishing the tourist commission. We have disbanded the previous advisory board, which was well-intentioned but, essentially, an instrument of the previous government to distance itself from any real decision-making or commitment to tourism. ‘We have an advisory board, look at us.’ It looked good on paper but there was no strength to it.
The commission is headed up by long-term Territorian and Chief Executive Officer of Airnorth, Michael Bridge. Bridgy is a wonderful bloke, a great Territorian, a shrewd operator and will bring a serious level of clout to Tourism NT. Tony Mayell - you can call Tony Mayell a long-term Territorian. He attended Tennant Creek Primary School all those years ago - about 1954 - and has spent every decade in the Territory. He has come and gone a number of times. He is a highly sought after guy. He is a big player in this field and has travelled the world. He has been involved in London and right across Australia. We recently brought him back from Tourism Tasmania because we saw him as a guy who could crash through many of the brick walls and stumbling blocks put in place by the previous government. Tony is a real gain and it is great to have him back on board. The other commissioners who make up Tourism NT are equally outstanding and have been chosen because of their enthusiasm and expertise. We have the right mix to push this industry forward.
The commission will also provide stability and allow a proactive plan of investment and marketing strategies to increase visitor numbers which fell under Labor. To be fair, it was not just the Labor government’s fault. There were many things at play but the previous Labor government failed to act on the opportunities which came its way despite the adversity of the GFC, etcetera. It did not capitalise on it and was a reflection on how it saw tourism in the NT.
The industry needs stability and consistency so the private sector has confidence to invest and provide quality products and services to our visitors. We need to embark on a strong tourism marketing program. It is all very well having strategic development and plans, but you have to get those to the marketplace. That area has not been emphasised over recent years and that is something this government is determined to do - ensure our product is in every single person’s face right across Australia and the world so they know what we have. It is all well and good having a great product, but if people do not see it they do not know about it.
We have talked about the statistics and figures before; we know about them. The tourism and hospitality sectors employ about 14 000 Territorians directly and indirectly. This equates to about 6% of all Territorians making a significant contribution to the sector. This year it is estimated to have generated about $1.7bn into the Northern Territory economy, with a total of 1.3m visits of which 666 000 were holiday visitors. They are pretty good numbers. They can be better, have been better, and we are determined to ensure they are better. Many people are relying on us to make it better. There was a decrease in international visitors of 14%.
I am quickly learning tourism can be quite complicated when you are talking about numbers, data and statistics. For example, international visitors are down but American visitors are up. Internal visitation is up but intrastate visitors are down. That is up, that is down, this is out and that is aside. It can be difficult to comprehend, particularly when you have statistics showing Europe is down, America is up, but international visitors have stagnated. What does that mean? It can be difficult to comprehend because it is based around much data. The best measure of tourism is at the coalface - with the operator. All operators will tell you they have been feeling the pinch for a number of years for a number of reasons. Times are tough but that is, as they say, when the tough get going. That is exactly what we are determined to do.
Major Events has also been placed with Tourism and I emphasise again that I get very excited when I meet various stakeholder groups, whether they be tourism or arts groups, sporting groups or parks and wildlife groups, and explain the way we have strategically aligned my portfolio set. It is all about leveraging tourism through sport and recreation and arts and museums. All our festivals should be there to generate the tourist dollar, all our sporting carnivals and our parks.
We have some of the best parks in the world. People would kill to have the parks we have. They are wonderful and we should be using all levers possible to generate visitor numbers into the Northern Territory. We can do that through our racing carnivals, our sporting events, our arts and museums and our major events.
Major Events, quite rightly, sits with Tourism and remains very well-supported by this government. We believe many of the Territory’s headline acts are a great driver of tourism and hospitality. These include the V8 Supercars, the Hottest 7s in the World, and BassintheGrass, as well as the Alice Springs Masters Games and the Finke Desert Race.
I will run through Sport and Recreation because we are time critical. We have secured the national rugby league match for Darwin next year between the Panthers and the Gold Coast Titans. That is very exciting and is now in the official NRL published fixture for next year. People looking through the fixture will see Darwin is listed. That will be played at TIO Stadium on 6 July 2013. This is an investment of about $400 000 covered within the department’s existing budget. It is money we found to support rugby league in the Top End and the Territory.
The government is committed to keeping the community active and the mini-budget benefits Territory families and various sporting and community organisations. We have invested heavily in sport thus far and will continue to do so because we recognise how important it is. Again, the point needs to be recognised: sport makes up a tiny slither of the Territory budget. We have upped it to about $50m. It is still a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things yet it touches every Territorian whether you are a competitor, your kids play, you are a social member of a sporting club, whether you go to a pub or sit at home to watch sport on television. It also consumes three to four pages every day of every newspaper across Australia. While it is only a small amount of funding, it has a huge impact on people across the Territory and we recognise that.
We have honoured all our election commitments. In October this government delivered on a commitment to provide $300 000 as part of a $1.8m joint partnership with the federal government to upgrade the Jingili BMX circuit. We are providing $75 sports vouchers for all Territory school children; that will be rolled out. We secured and ticked that off within the 100 days. It was a pretty complex exercise to work out how to issue those sporting vouchers but we have found the right model and they will be delivered in 2013. It is a $4m investment into the health and wellbeing of children across the Northern Territory. Under this scheme, registered school children from government and non-government schools will receive the $75 voucher to be used towards registration, equipment and uniforms.
It does not stop there, there is plenty of investment. Organisations, clubs, and venues will also benefit from the mini-budget. There is $2m for the Alice Springs Town Council to upgrade Anzac Oval; $1.2m for the operating contract with the YMCA to manage the day-to-day operations of Leanyer Recreation Park; $300 000 to upgrade the satellite BMX facility; $45 000 to upgrade lighting at the Alice Springs Karting Club; and $300 000 towards the Alice Springs Golf Club, which is a fantastic investment. It is a large amount of money and took much negotiation with the Treasurer and my Cabinet colleagues, but we realised we probably have one of the best regional and remote golf courses anywhere in the world, certainly in Australia. Kalgoorlie might be running neck and neck with Alice Springs as a remote, regional or desert course. They have recently built one. Graham Marsh designed the course in Kalgoorlie, which is pretty good by all accounts.
The Alice Springs golf course has been in the top 100 for a number of years and we are determined to ensure it stays there. If there was a draw card to the Northern Territory it is the Alice Springs Golf Club. Peter Thomson designed it and it is a superb facility. I will not be chastised too much for saying it is probably the best golf course in the Northern Territory. I believe it is and all the members at the Darwin Golf Club quietly know that as well. It is not playing one off against the other; Alice Springs is a stand out - a wonderful course. This government has recognised how important it is to invest in it. That money will go to urgent repairs and maintenance.
In relation to savings, $3m will be saved due to deferring the 2013 Arafura Games. In October we announced the games would be deferred due to a failure to meet the core objectives of Asian engagement.
There is a $1.3m saving through an adjustment of funding to the Freds Pass Sport and Recreation Management Board. This will not impact on the running of the Freds Pass Show, but the board was generously funded and many projects which should have been completed by now have not been. The most recent documentation from Freds Pass Sport and Recreation Management Board indicates a balance of approximately $320 000 remains unspent from an initial $980 000 grant payment. The Freds Pass Sport and Recreation Management Board has been invited to nominate its priority projects for the remaining funds.
We think Arts and Museums has also done pretty well. Again, we recognise the importance of our festivals, our culture in the Northern Territory and how that is able to generate and leverage serious tourism opportunities. That is up from $41.7m to $43.4m. The Defence of Darwin Experience will receive $200 000, which is ongoing funding for the operation and maintenance of the exhibition - an absolute standout. We are determined to ensure that stays where it is.
The government will also honour the previous government’s unfunded commitment to support the Rivers Arts and Culture Centre in Katherine. I was hoping the member for Katherine would be here to prompt me on the pronunciation. I will not attempt that, nevertheless, it is important for the region.
Mr McCarthy: Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre.
Mr CONLAN: Thank you. It is probably the most intelligent thing I have heard you say all year, member for Barkly. Thanks very much.
Mr McCarthy: Thank you, minister, for more of your abuse. Bring it on, minister.
Mr CONLAN: The centre will receive $1m over two years from 2012-13, and a further $250 000 in 2014-15. The member for Barkly - I could not quite hear him there - loves to ...
Mrs Lambley: Very appreciative.
Mr CONLAN: He is very appreciative of it. They love to talk about the times on the radio and they hated it when I was on the radio. I could not let this go, the only regret I have is we did not get a chance to carve you up on the radio. We would have had some fun with you, mate. We would have had a ball with you.
We had the former member for Nhulunbuy, Syd Stirling; the former Chief Minister, Clare Martin; the former member for Barkly, Elliot McAdam - all quite solid, capable members of parliament - all floundering on the radio in those days. I can only imagine what we could have done with you. It would have been fun and is a great regret we did not get a chance to bring out the jousting swords on 8HA. Nevertheless, I digress.
In savings with regard to Arts and Museums, the museum retail operation will be outsourced saving $200 000 in 2014-15. Security services will also be outsourced with a saving of $100 000 from 2013-14, and $186 000 will be saved from the museum’s photography and library service. There will also be further restructure of the department in 2015-16 which is expected to save $800 000 from 2015-16. Outsourcing of some of the department’s operations will result in a small number of job losses, but it opens up the same positions in the private sector.
Let us turn to Parks and Wildlife. There will be an increase of funding for additional frontline staff - again, a dedicated commitment to the value we put on parks. It is very good news and a positive story for Parks and Wildlife across the NT. There will be an increase of $2.6m in this mini-budget from around $51.1m to $53.7m. That additional money is for frontline jobs, extra ranger positions, and our parks ...
Mr STYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the minister be granted an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr CONLAN: Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson. There is a saving of $380 000 in 2012-13 coming from a decrease in Territory Eco-link funding. Territory Eco-link was developed through an MOU between the former Northern Territory government and the South Australian government to establish a wildlife corridor plan. This government is determined to focus on frontline park service delivery. This is where our priorities have to be.
There is not much money left, sadly. I am unsure where it has gone, but it certainly did not go into frontline park initiatives. We need to ensure what money we have been able to secure from Treasury goes to frontline park initiatives, and that is exactly what we are doing. Eco-link does not fall into this category.
The savings come from efficiencies in operations and reduction in grants funding. The two positions attached to the project have been absorbed and there are no actual job losses within Eco-link. There are further savings of $360 000 ongoing in 2013-14 from a reduction in a small number of management support positions. The savings of $260 000 in 2013-14, increasing incrementally to $547 000 in 2015-16, are coming from the group support program for Indigenous rangers. There are no ranger positions lost; this government is increasing the number of park rangers.
This mini-budget also protects the health of Territorians. This government will continue to fund $200 000 for the removal of all visible asbestos in public areas managed by Parks and Wildlife. This is a big job but it has to be done. This follows asbestos being found in the George Brown Botanic Gardens, Casuarina Coastal Reserve and Charles Darwin National Park.
This budget is good news for Territorians. It is important and represents a solid commitment to sport, the arts, our parks, and our tourism and hospitality sectors. Tourism is a major economic driver and we believe in it wholeheartedly. It was lost under the previous government. Thank goodness we are able to stop the wrecking ball of the previous government and bring on a government serious about wealth creation in the Northern Territory.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, when framing a responsible budget you need to build it around health and education while ensuring you provide skills and opportunities for Territorians. Those are the challenges when framing a budget. You have to do it responsibly and with a broader Territory economy in mind. That is not what we received yesterday. This mini-budget is a major disaster for Territorians. It hurts Territory families, seniors and businesses, who understand the Territory economy is in good shape.
The CLP has failed on education. It has made savings in education of 10%. As the CEO said in an e-mail to staff yesterday:
What does 10% mean to parents, teachers and, most importantly, the children sitting in class each day? Over the last few days we have heard from frontline teachers who say we will see fewer teachers in schools and less support for teachers. We understand the CLP has revised the staff allocation model for schools - the formula to calculate how many teachers a school receives - which uses enrolment and attendance. Providing a greater emphasis on attendance means, for example, Casuarina Senior College will lose six full-time equivalent teachers. This will be disputed by staff at Casuarina Senior College. The change to the staffing formula is creating great unease in all schools. The emphasis on attendance over enrolment will have an even bigger impact on small schools, rural schools and remote schools. These schools cannot afford to lose teachers. Teachers are part of the work that needs to happen in these communities to improve attendance.
The CLP’s mini-budget is a major disaster. Ordinary Territorians and hard-working small businesses do not need Moody’s and Access Economics to tell them the Territory was in sound shape. They knew the economy had a solid foundation and exciting potential for growth. Ordinary Territorians and hard-working small businesses know things have been hand-braked. We will feel the ripples from these decisions for years to come. The one thing different when they wake up to go to work in the morning is a CLP government is in power - a government which does not understand the challenges of the Territory economy and when making budget decisions does not consider the broader Territory economy.
The government did not consult the Chamber of Commerce which said the increase in power and water will force businesses to pass on the extra costs to consumers. Businesses struggling to increase their profit margins will suffer and the increase will also deter interstate and international businesses from investing in the Territory.
In fact, it has doubled the cost of living pressure with its decision to massively increase power and water costs, directly leading to the CPI going from 2.1% to 4.3%. That is going to place significant wage pressure on businesses which are already struggling to work out how to cover their massively increased power and water bills. While they work out how to pay those bills, they know there will be more pressure to pay their workers more to retain them.
When the Minister for Business was asked last week about the plight of businesses in the Territory he referenced Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest. Apparently only the best businesses will survive the CLP’s massive power and water increases. Going into this mini-budget, that attitude from the Minister for Business set the scene for business. In looking to the CLP for support, businesses have been left disappointed that the CLP’s answer to their massive power and water increases is a small increase to a small grant program.
There are businesses in the Territory whose power and water bills amount to about what the CLP has put aside to help them. When they try to find the government’s budget media release on business they may have a little difficulty locating it. The minister’s media release is titled ‘Environmental Program Boosted’. It is not what businesses normally go looking for and, looking to the CLP for support, businesses are left disappointed that their answer is a small increase to a small grant program.
They will be even more disappointed when they realise the implications of the CLP cutting education by 10%. Savings of 10% have been found within the Education department, and the CLP has cut funding to the tertiary sector by $4m. That can only mean one thing. We have been warned by businesses about the training sector, and we have been warned by the training sector to keep an eye on what the CLP would do around tertiary funding. The CLP will cut funding to VET programs at tertiary institutions and in schools. At a time when the Territory has exciting opportunities for our own we are going to stop or slow down training our own.
The CLP’s short-sighted approach and politically motivated mean and vengeful budget will see cuts to education which will impact directly on our own being able to take up the opportunities we have in the Territory. We were negotiating with the federal government to deliver a $21m VET facility at Charles Darwin University. We were looking to expand our investment and instead the CLP cut funding to tertiary education by $4m. We need tradespeople in the Territory; we need highly skilled workers to take up the exciting opportunities in our world-class projects like those in the mining and gas industry. Cutting tertiary and VET funding does not make sense at a time when we are negotiating with the Commonwealth for a $21m purpose-built VET facility at CDU and when we have opportunities in the Northern Territory for employment.
Another thing the CLP is cutting at the university is the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. This program was designed to build the leadership capacity of our teachers to ensure we did not have to rely on education leaders from interstate. The Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development provided professional development for teachers in senior roles and mentoring for first year teachers. The member for Sanderson lauded this service yesterday and I agree with many of his comments. He mentioned the professional development the centre provides.
The CLP government did not mention it has been rolled back by over $1m. The term ‘rolled back’ is used in the government’s media release - an interesting way to describe job cuts. This is a direct service to the front line which improves the quality of people on the front line. It was designed to ensure our teachers were the best they could be. The service was designed to reduce our need to source skills from down south, to grow our own, to harness the opportunities we have in the Territory.
We need to keep our own and the CLP government has made some progress in that regard. It has introduced a process to transfer teachers from temporary to permanent contracts. Under the old system, offers went out in May and September and saw the number of teachers on temporary contracts go from about 30% to 15%. The new process is timelier and will see the number of teachers hover around 15%, not rise to 30%. The troughs will be the same but the peaks will be less. However, we will be keeping a watching eye on the program because teachers can be made permanent to a region rather than a school meaning those teachers will not have certainty of what school they teach in. From the briefing I had, which I appreciate minister, the CEO gave personal assurances he will be monitoring that.
Where teachers are made permanent to a region rather than a school, efforts will be made to give them permanency at a school as soon as possible. The Education minister said in her media release this will see hundreds of teachers transfer from temporary contracts to permanent ones. In my briefing, the number was 188 and that is the number the member for Sanderson used yesterday.
The CLP made an election promise of retention bonuses for teachers who work in our regions: $5000 for the first year and $10 000 for the second. In the Minister for Education’s media release she said the government would deliver a pathway forward through the teacher and educator enterprise agreement for payment of remote retention bonuses to teachers serving in remote schools and establish a HECS repayment scheme for teaching staff.
The CLP’s retention bonus promise is now on the table as part of the enterprise bargaining agreement. This may come as a surprise to the minister, but when you promise to do something before the election people do not expect to negotiate it after the election.
The CLP approach to education is to slash. It has found savings of 10% within the Education department and intends to cut services at schools. The mini-budget does not give much detail on what services, it simply says, ‘A range of programs deemed to be inefficient or not achieving the required outcomes have been reviewed as part of the mini-budget process’.
People over a number of weeks - teachers, parents, friends, friends of friends, the Job Watch site and colleagues – have spoken to us about the services and jobs at risk. The CLP is busy narrowing the definition of a frontline service. We have heard the transition to work staff have been told to find other work and this disturbs us. These people help disabled students, students with learning difficulties or who are challenging in the classroom gain employment. They have been told to find other employment. They provide a frontline service. I have already spoken about cuts to VET programs which we consider a frontline service.
I have mentioned the cuts to the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. We consider a program to support and develop our teachers to be front line. We have heard the Irrkerlantye unit at Bradshaw Primary School is closing. This was for Central Arrernte families mainly from the Amoonguna community and was established to educate children with learning difficulties who need special attention. This means students with learning difficulties now have to go into mainstream classrooms, which is bad for all students. It was based around Aboriginal kinship, a family structure; parents, grandparents and others could be part of the class. The Irrkerlantye unit was a frontline service and is now gone.
The CLP confirmed yesterday that the CSIRO position is definitely gone. This is, without doubt, a frontline position. Science education is crucial for our young Territorians and the world-class opportunities we have in the Northern Territory. Unfortunately, the CLP government has decided to stop funding the manager’s position at the CSIRO science education centre, which also means it is unlikely the CSIRO science education centre will continue.
The centre runs a number of double helix and community events at Darwin libraries, holiday care centres and the waterfront. It has already stopped taking bookings for school holiday programs and alerted parents the programs may have to be cancelled. This issue was raised in the last sittings of parliament by me and the member for Goyder. The CLP said this position has passed its use-by date and is not frontline. We believe that is a mistake. Science does not have a use-by date. The CSIRO education centre, through the manager, provides an amazing and exciting education experience for thousands of children.
It is extremely disappointing that the CLP did not listen to science teachers, students and parents who said this position is front line. We have seen in a few short weeks the Country Liberals’ vision for education and it is stark.
As the Leader of the Opposition said, schools are suffering from displacement of staff and the revised staff allocation model which will see teaching returned to rows of students, monitors, and one teacher to large classes with no support for special needs students in mainstream classes and stressed out support staff everywhere. The CLP confirmed yesterday that when things become difficult it will hand government schools to the non-government sector. That is not how government should work with the non-government sector. We should have a partnership with private schools; a positive and constructive working relationship and, where possible, parents and students should have choice. We should not hand over government schools and the responsibility for education when the going gets tough.
There has been a change of language from the CLP since the election. Pre-election it was talking about handing over schools to communities and creating a new education sector, a community driven sector. Now it is talking about handing over schools to the non-government sector. We will be keeping a close eye on the policy of handing government schools to others to run.
The non-government sector is not private enterprise as described by the government. There are committed, passionate people who want to educate our children and provide parents with a choice in how their children are taught. Sometimes they have a different philosophy, sometimes a faith, sometimes different subjects, but they provide choice. It was wrong of the government to call them private enterprise but right to listen to the opposition, the member for Nelson, and representations from independent schools and provide those schools with the same help government schools will receive to deal with the pain of massive increases to water prices.
Schools are not cash-rich institutions. The government seems to believe schools have spare cash, which is not the case. As local members we are all, or should be, participants in school councils. We know the finances of our schools and the struggles they have each year to make ends meet and provide a good education to our children. We know that high schools will have to find about $80 000 for power and water bills and primary schools around $30 000 to $40 000 - money they do not have.
If the government will not listen to us perhaps it will listen to COGSO. It issued a media release last week in response to the announcement of government assistance stating it will still have to pay 15% on power, 20% on water and 12.5% on sewerage:
The government has listened once and we ask it to listen to COGSO this time. Do not treat schools like private enterprise. They cannot afford these power increases. This will hurt schools. When you hurt schools, you affect what happens in the classroom. This will hurt the front line.
This mini-budget is a major disaster for the Territory. It breaks two of the CLP’s biggest election promises: to reduce the cost of living which, in this mini-budget, it doubles; and to immediately remove problem drunks from our streets. That promise is in tatters. There is nothing in this budget to remove problem drunks from our streets - a CLP promise.
All this budget announces is a transfer of responsibility from the Attorney-General to the Health minister. In previous debates in this Chamber the cost of alcohol abuse to the community and the problems we have with alcohol have been clearly established. In 2007, the cost to the community was $670m. Those costs have been increasing annually, and the CLP’s lack of policy and failure to honour the election promise to immediately deal with this issue will cost future budgets hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this mini-budget is a major disaster. It hand-brakes the Territory’s economy, hurts ordinary Territorians, breaks the back of small business and sees services on the front line suffer. This mini-budget is a major disaster and I cannot commend it to the House.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Mr Deputy Speaker, there are many ways to describe the mini-budget but the best way is Col Wicking’s cartoon in the newspaper today showing how the government sees the mini-budget and how Territorians see the mini-budget. I seek leave to table this cartoon to the House.
Leave granted.
Mr VATSKALIS: Mr Deputy Speaker, I will tell Col I tabled his cartoon in the parliament.
This mini-budget is not a mini-budget; it is a mean budget for all Territorians. In the past few days I have been talking to many people around my electorate and in Darwin. Today I had the opportunity to speak to an ex-CLP minister who told me this government does not know how to govern. It does not realise governments are elected by the people to govern for the people. These people believe they can run a government like a business. Governments are not businesses; governments are for the people. In business you make a profit and provide dividends. Governments do not give dividends to citizens; they provide dividends in different forms - in schools, education, hospitals and essential services. Holding the price of power down, providing free education, and providing free medical care are the dividends citizens in a state receive from a good government.
This mini-budget has been presented to Territorians on the pretext the Territory is nearly bankrupt; our debt is enormous and we cannot get out of it. That is far from the truth. The former CLP minister suggested I ask: with all the measures you take today will interest payments go down? The answer is no, they will not go down.
One thing about the debt is well-described in today’s NT News on page 5:
Mr Elferink: Not true!
Mr VATSKALIS: It is true because ...
Mr Elferink: No it is not. It is talking about the general government sector only.
Mr VATSKALIS: ... the debt to income ratio today is 63% and is expected to be at 73% within four years. In the 2001 budget papers provided by the last …
Mr Elferink: You are not being honest.
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Under Standing Order 51, I would like to hear the member for Casuarina’s statement thanks.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, it is also incumbent upon members of this House to be truthful to the House. The member is being untruthful because he does not understand what he is talking about.
Mr HENDERSON: Speaking to the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, the Leader of Government Business well knows he cannot accuse my colleague of being untruthful unless he does so by way of substantive motion.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Casuarina, you have the call.
Mr VATSKALIS: Mr Deputy Speaker, the member opposite accused me of lying. I am reading from the budget papers for 2001 produced by the 2000-01 CLP government. These documents are on the government website. They are under the then Treasurer, Mike Reid, who clearly states the Territory’s nett debt was 99%, fell to 68% in 1993-94 and 1998-98, but was expected to rise to 70% by 30 June 2000. Was Mike Reid lying? His signature is on these documents. The truth hurts, does it not, member for Port Darwin.
The reason the government is going on about debt is to try to persuade Territorians there is a big problem. The truth is different. Yes, there is debt in the Territory. There was debt in 2001 when we took government - $1.4bn to $1.5bn - and there is debt now of $2.4bn. Debt is necessary for the Territory to exist, as stated in the 2001 CLP budget papers. It is not me saying that, not my colleague. The ex-Treasurer, Mike Reid said that in 2001. There is debt and debt is necessary, especially when you borrow money to build infrastructure. The old CLP knew that because it borrowed money and built the Territory. The new CLP has lost the plot since the election and is only interested in a balanced budget. If people do not like it they can lump it; that is what it has done.
We have seen power, water and sewerage charges go through the roof - 30% in one hit. Power and water is not a luxury in the Territory but an essential service. The real cost of power generation in the Territory is high. In Darwin we pay 22.7c per kWh. The cost of producing the same power in the bush is three times higher but the government does not ask people living in the bush - Indigenous Territorians - to pay 72c per kWh. For many years it was the same rate we pay in Darwin and the urban centres. In the Territory it is an essential service not a luxury.
I heard the Treasurer yesterday say, ‘Well, you have to pay. The rates and taxes you pay in the Territory are much lower than down south. We have to bring them in line with what people pay down south.’ Yes, bring the cost of living down south to the Territory and I will not argue. A report was released yesterday on the state of Australian cities which shows Darwin has the highest costs for food, tobacco, alcohol, insurance and rent. How much is the price of petrol per litre? Give me the price they pay in Melbourne, Sydney or Perth and you can then justify bringing in the same taxes and rates as down south.
Members opposite spoke about their relevant portfolios. I heard my counterpart, the Minister for Health, talking about the budget. There were only a few references to health in his speech. He spoke about the bad Labor government which brought the Territory to this state, about how we, supposedly, do not get as much money as other states - we only get 43% and we should be getting 62%. He omitted to say the Territory was receiving 70% before Abbott was Minister for Health and changed the ratio. He even went on to talk about the intervention - everything but health. Oh yes, he made a reference to the Alice Springs Emergency Department and how it was unfunded. Hold on a minute, there was already an emergency department in Alice Springs which was funded. We have an upgraded one and somehow it is unfunded? Obviously he cannot read his own budget papers.
Then he referred to the hotels for long-grassers at hospitals - medi-hotels. The medi-hotels provide essential services to people who come from the bush, either to be treated or to give birth. He is quite happy for women in Nhulunbuy, when they want to give birth, to stay at the Walkabout hotel rather than a medi-hotel on the hospital grounds. He is quite happy for young women to stay in licensed premises near a bar, near a tavern, rather than stay in a supervised facility in the hospital grounds. He said there is one at Royal Darwin Hospital; yes there is. He has managed to put a stop to the ones in Katherine, Gove, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
For his information, there were no medi-hotels in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs because we had not agreed with the Commonwealth on the construction of the medi-hotels. He managed to stop the ones in Katherine and Gove, and I hope he has a good talk with the Indigenous members opposite because the people now not able to stay in a medi-hotel are Indigenous people from Arafura, Arnhem, Namatjira and Stuart. They access these medi-hotels to receive essential treatment.
He did not say this mean mini-budget managed to cancel $200 000 for the bush bus, or cancel the renal dialysis clinic in Katherine - the one the member for Katherine did not like. He said, and I quote from the NT News of 4 March 2011:
The Katherine hospital had six chairs and the clinic would provide 14 chairs, but, no, we cancelled it. How many Indigenous Territorians suffering from renal disease have to die prematurely for you to have a balanced budget? That is what you have done.
The Labor government managed to bring the life expectancy of Indigenous Territorians with renal disease to the same level as any other Australian. This action will push it back and, member for Arafura, tell your people with renal disease they cannot live until their seventies because of the lack of renal facilities. They will die earlier. Tell them that because these guys will not do it; they are not game to tell them.
One of the things the Minister for Health did not say is there is no funding in the mini-budget for another suburban super clinic. A few days ago he told us how few GPs we have in the Territory and how people clog the emergency department because they do not have access to practitioners. However, not one dollar has been allocated for the northern suburbs super clinic despite the fact we, in government, found a location and negotiated $5m from the federal government for this super clinic.
Of course, there are announcements about clinics in Arnhem Land and money allocated. He omitted to say this clinic was already programmed by the Labor government when in government in association with the federal government. He did not tell people we will have significant problems with nurses because he just cut overtime for nurses and is not going to use agency nurses. The only way we can cope with vacancies, holidays, or hospital staff being sick in every hospital in the Territory is because we can access agency nurses.
He spoke about committing $6m for cardiac services, omitting to say the Labor government had committed $45m over 10 years for cardiac services and, just prior to the election, we were committing extra money to bring forward cardiac services in the Territory. He also allocated $4m to reduce waiting lists, which I welcome, but, again, he omitted to say the Territory Labor government had put serious money into waiting lists and had reduced them to some of the smallest in this country.
There are many figures in the budget. There are also many omissions which were not produced in the books or the press releases. Some were admitted during speeches by members opposite.
I come to the speech by the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries in support of the budget. He said the department was bad, morale was low and people were not employed in the department. Then, all of a sudden, he praises the department for the good job done - and the previous government - in expanding exploration, for the Territory being the place to do mining, and how many people came to the Territory to establish headquarters. It was interesting because he said the department had low morale but, at the same time, all these things happened in the Territory. How can a department with less people and low morale achieve something like that? I cannot understand it. Then, somewhere between Blue Mud Bay and the Department of Mines and Energy, there was a paragraph about what is happening.
He said, and I quote:
Hidden somewhere was a slug on the fishing industry, animal industry and the agricultural industry. That did not come out in the media release or the budget books. However, from 1 January people will be hit with a fee every time they try to export plants to another jurisdiction, if their boat comes into the harbour from another jurisdiction, or if some farmers, especially pastoralists, want to have their animals inspected for ticks. That was not mentioned at all.
Of course, there are other issues in the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries. He made a song and a dance about the Ord River and claimed everything has been done in the past three months, which is wrong. The previous government, especially me, had been negotiating with the Western Australia government, the federal government and the Shanghai Zhongfu Company - the proponent - to establish the big sugar industry in the Ord River. Representatives of the company and the vice-president met with me and discussed the expansion into the Northern Territory side of the river. I had to advise him that any negotiations by the previous CLP government with traditional owners would have to be re-done because when it started in the 1990s, unfortunately, the government spoke to the wrong people. We also advised him the cost of infrastructure would be significant and something the Territory could not afford, but we were quite happy to negotiate for the company to put forward money for infrastructure in order to expand into the Northern Territory, something he was very happy with.
One thing from the discussion was the company was not looking at the Territory from which to export its produce; it was looking at the port of Wyndham in Western Australia.
The minister has my full support for expansion of the Ord. I would draw his attention to committing Territory taxpayers’ money to fund infrastructure or other facilities, something the company is already happy to do.
With regard to exploration and other activities in the Territory, I have noticed the allocation of $0.15m - $0.15m sounds better than $150 000 – and I welcome any additional investment to attract Asian markets. I draw to the minister’s attention that Asia is not only Indonesia, it is broader. Asia is Indonesia, China, Japan, Korea and, possibly in the future, India. While we welcome cooperation and expansion of our relations with Indonesia, it should not be done at the expense of our relations with China and Japan.
Again, the former Labor government instigated the International Investment Attraction Program and, as a result, a significant number of Chinese companies, and Japanese - INPEX is here - established themselves in the Northern Territory. The money allocated towards the Department of Mines and Energy will not cover more than one position. The amount of $150 000 per annum for a competitive geoscience initiative means a person to analyse geoscience data; it involves more than a P4 person working in the area. I notice, with great interest, his comment that the Department of Mines and Energy did not have a significant number of public servants when compared to the rest of the public service. The Department of Mines and Energy was one of the most efficient departments managing to produce significant work with that number of public servants.
For example, the Department of Primary Industries oversees the growth of the mango industry. As a result, the Territory is the biggest mango producer in Australia. The department of Mines, with a certain number of public servants, managed to attract investment from China and Japan and make the Territory a known name in the Chinese and Japanese mining industries.
Also, I draw your attention to what this budget has to offer Police, Fire and Emergency Services. I will not expand on the Humpty Doo Fire Station. The Speaker of the House, who comes from the same party as the government, has already canned it in the electronic media. I am sure the member for Nelson will have a go too. However, it is alarming to discover today this government has already started cutting training for volunteer firefighters - I was advised by a volunteer this morning - cutting training and the expense to provide for training.
This budget, as my colleague the member for Fannie Bay said, is a disaster for Territorians. It is a mean budget. It is not a budget to improve the fiscal position of the Northern Territory because the reality is the Territory is not bankrupt. It does not face bankruptcy. Yes, it might have a debt like many other states ...
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the member be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr VATSKALIS: Thank you, member for Barkly.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this budget will not improve the financial situation of the Northern Territory immediately or in the near future. This budget is to raise the necessary funds for the Country Liberal Party to provide the election commitments it made, especially in the four Indigenous seats in the Territory. That means Territorians will be slugged so the Country Liberal Party can go to the next election showing Territorians in remote areas it has done something for them. Well, that may be, but the people in the Territory, especially in the four Indigenous seats, will realise power prices are up, the renal dialysis service they used to have is not there any longer; the medi-hotels they had to stay in when they went to hospital do not exist, and everything the CLP said was just lip service.
Mr KURRUPUWU (Arafura): Mr Deputy Speaker, I also support the mini-budget brought down yesterday by our Treasurer. I start by saying how difficult this must have been to put together, given the financial mess we inherited.
I am happy a number of issues have been addressed. The main one, of course, is the shires. Now funding has been set aside to bring people together to fix the shire mess I, and many other people, am much happier.
The $6.2m set aside for shire reform demonstrates the level of commitment this government has to it. I look forward, particularly with my bush colleagues, to playing a big part in sorting through the mess we were left - not giving a voice to the bush - and getting a fair go for all.
This issue has been discussed a fair bit so I will not talk any more about it except to say thank goodness Labor is now sitting in opposition where it belongs.
I am very happy with the direction we are heading on shire reform, as are many people from my electorate.
I am very happy to see $2m going into the barge landing at Wurrumiyanga, Bathurst Island. Members may not be aware that Tiwi landowners are putting much of their own funding towards this major project. This is something I am very proud of. The former government stated yesterday I promised $20m for Port Melville. I did not promise $20m. This is funding from Tiwi landowners who contribute towards any development or projects happening in their community.
Another $900 000 going into police facilities and overnight accommodation at Milikapiti is a step in the right direction. Supporting and respecting our police is a very good thing and I place on the record my thanks for them doing what can be, at times, a very challenging job.
We also look at a fair go for our outstations, with $5200 going to homelands for each dwelling. This is a major boost right across the Territory and, in real terms, an increase of around $3000. It will allow many of our people to address minor housing problems straightaway and allow them to choose their own priorities.
It is very important to get our kids to school. What many members may not be aware of is how low attendance rates really are in some areas, not just what is reported. This is because there are some children who have not been enrolled in school and, therefore, do not appear in any statistics. This measure may help address this problem.
Another good thing, while talking about schools, is the remote retention bonus for teachers. Anything we can do to keep remote teachers in the school is a big boost. In many cases, kids and parents just get used to teachers and then they are gone. The trust and all that goes with it has to be rebuilt, which makes it harder on all. Our children’s education is a major issue, not only in my electorate, but right across the Territory. It is our responsibility and duty to do all we can to help them be involved more in school and work with the parents who may be having difficulties in getting their children to school.
In many areas we see parents, even grandparents, having to take children to health clinics and other mainstream places to interpret for them. Whose fault is it?
The statistics of the issues today, for example, health, education and unemployment, are pretty high and poor. At Royal Darwin Hospital there are 100% more Indigenous than non-Indigenous. If you look at education - especially the prisons - there are 100% more Indigenous people than non-Indigenous. I have heard much about the previous government developing a strategy; it is not happening. We could speculate and lay blame all day but the problems will continue. I see the building of trust with teachers and schools as one of the building blocks. Encouraging teachers to stay around longer is a good thing and I pay tribute to those teachers who are doing the best they can under trying circumstances.
I also touch on health, another major issue. There are some good things in this budget. Over $6m on cardiac services is of major importance as we have a big problem in remote areas. It is good to see some action here. I am also pleased to see funding allocated for remote mobile breast screening of $725 000 from 2014. As honourable members would be aware, this is another major problem for the people of the bush. Early detection will certainly help save lives.
The funding allocated to run the medi-hotel is welcome, but a big bad mark against the previous government for not ensuring ongoing funding to keep it operating. What was it thinking? The idea of this very important access to responsible accommodation is a good one as my people, and many others, will benefit from it. Keeping close to family while in hospital is very important and beneficial to all because family support gives so much confidence to all as they are going through what can be a very bad time. Mr Deputy Speaker, it is a really good thing for them to be able to stay close.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker I respond to the mini-budget. In simple terms, I call it the good, the bad and the ugly. There are some good things in the budget, some not so good things, and some things which are downright very not good. It is a little sad when we are talking about such important issues as the provision of essential services that we have not had a debate on government responsibility and the provision of essential services.
Having water, electricity and sewerage is a human right no matter where you live and the provision of that service needs to be at a scale people can afford without getting into difficulty. We use that basis for the provision of essential services in many of our remote communities. They are subsidised. They are regarded as a service and subsidised to 80% of the total cost. That came out of the Estimates Committee so we use that philosophy. I am not saying we should not subsidise, but when it comes to talking about the bigger issue all I get from one member of the government is I am a moron or a pinko simply because I would like a rational debate over the role of government when it comes to provision of these services. The government provides services. It provides a bus service which is subsidised. Councils provide swimming pools which are subsidised. We do not say user pays for swimming pools because to cover costs would mean no one would use them, and the same with buses. Why do you not apply that idea to the provision of essential services?
I hear the member for Fong Lim raving and ranting about people on this side of the House he has trouble with who have an alternative point of view - Power and Water has to be a business. If it is a business let it go, tell it to make a profit and run as if it is a fish and chip shop or something. It is not, and we live in a relatively small community with a relatively small economy and we try to encourage people to stay in the Northern Territory. Sometimes that has not been successful; there has always been movement of people back and forwards. What is happening today will only increase that rather than attract people to the Territory because as the cost of living goes up, people look around to see if there is another place in Australia they can move to.
I will not move even if the price of electricity doubles. This is my home and I will be buried here one day because I love it. Obviously, I am a little better off - I have paid my mortgage. I help look after my grandchildren, but there are people not as well off who are struggling with the changes occurring.
It is sad in this debate that we are not allowed to look at that issue. It is either fobbed off, as the member for Fong Lim did the other night – a fairly immature approach when you are called a moron because you have a different idea to him. It deserves a reasonable chance of having a mature debate to see where we are going with the provision of essential services.
One of the things not dealt with in the mini-budget is Power and Water; it does not have a section. I would like to know a little more about the cost – how we paid for all that infrastructure, all those generators, and what the day-to-day running requirements of Power and Water are. I would like to see that so we can debate how the provision of essential services is paid for.
I will go through some of the features in the budget and comment on the good ones. I will comment on the bad ones and, of course, sport happens to be first on my list. There is no doubt sport is very important for youth and the minister has money for sports vouchers. He has put money into upgrading various BMX facilities, and some money into lighting at the Alice Springs Karting Club. However, unfortunately, youth in the rural area seems to have missed out.
The minister is quite happy to promote the importance of sport, especially for youth, in other parts of the Territory. However, when it comes to the Litchfield Shire he has dumped the swimming pool and the $2.8m for continued upgrading of Freds Pass Reserve. I was disappointed listening to the minister’s non-response today. He really has no idea of the importance of Freds Pass Reserve to the whole of the rural area. The member for Daly would know, the member for Goyder knows, and I, as local member, know it is the only recreation reserve in the whole of Litchfield serving a population of 20 000. It provides entertainment, recreation and training for all codes of football.
I was telephoned by the archery people today asking what has happened because they are expecting some upgrades. The cricket club is expecting upgrades. The Swamp Dogs Rugby Union was expecting upgrades which would allow expansion for the Rugby League club. All these things have disappeared. There was to be an upgrade of the administration area. Yet, without consultation with local members or the Freds Pass Reserve Management Board, this was cut without any thought given to what effect it would have, especially on youth. As I said, I am happy to see the minister give money to various facilities throughout the Territory to help youth, but it seems that because of an arrangement I had with the previous Chief Minister I am the reason - that is what they like to say - for my community losing out. The minister more or less said that today. That is the way it is written in the budget and it is so disappointing. If you do not like me, tell me. If you do not like the agreement, tell me. But, do not take it out on the kids of Litchfield. That is what you have done and that is really low. I put on the record that we feel people in the rural area have been discriminated against.
In relation to roads, the minister - this was raised by the ABC when asked if he knew he had $12m for roads. The Chief Minister states in his media release titled, ‘Capital Works to drive growth in Palmerston and Litchfield’ there is $12m for the Howard Springs Road. In fact, it is in the mini-budget as new works. The reality is it is happening now.
The previous government allocated money to duplicate the Howard Springs Road which is being built at this very moment. They are widening it, putting in the infrastructure, the electricity, water and the telephones. They are all going underground and being moved. I could not believe there was $12m. I thought there must be a new road. I have not seen anything. It is the road now and is a little deceptive when you open up the page to see, ‘New works’. It is not new works; the work is in progress. How much in the mini-budget has been declared ongoing? In some cases it is. How many statements have been made in all these budget releases to define what is new - from the new government - and what was existing? That would have been a fairer way to see what the new government is doing on top of what the old government did.
I do not mind people saying they are continuing with the works program on Howard Springs Road. Thank heavens for that; it was desperately needed. However, it comes across as though new money has been given. Along with many other things written in there, it makes it difficult to know whether these are new things or just put in the budget as a continuation of what the previous government said.
There are some good things. I do not know what is ongoing and what is not, but it is good to see more money going to some of the outback roads such as the Mereenie Loop Road and the Tanami Road. It has taken years and years to do those roads.
There is a $20 counter transaction fee fir vehicle registration; that is stingy. There are many people in my area who do not use computers and do not give credit card details over the phone. They go to MVR to pay their rego. Those people will cop a $20 fee. Why? Is it because the government wants to reduce the number of people going to the office? That is discriminatory because quite a number of people do not trust the credit card system over the phone and do not have computers connected to the Internet. I would love to know how much money you are going to raise from the $20 counter transaction fee. I presume it is not there to raise money as much as to scare people off going. That is not fair, especially for older people. Many older people would rather pay their money and not be hit with a $20 counter transaction fee. In our case, rural people will go to Palmerston to do some shopping and drop in to pay their rego. They are hit with a $20 fee for doing that, and that is a bit rich. You do not need to do that. If the budget is so delicately balanced you have to throw that in then we are really penny-pinching.
It is good to see CCTV cameras in Katherine, they have an important function.
I congratulate the government on turning the Alice Springs Youth Centre into a PCYC - $2.5m. That is excellent. There still needs to be rationalisation of youth services in Alice Springs. There are four in a small town. We need to change the idea there is one youth centre for black people and one for white people. I have visited these places a number of times and know that has happened. I hope that does not happen with youth facilities. This may be a way to turn that around because I am a great fan of PCYC and will be watching how this goes. I do not know what the money will be spent on. The Alice Springs Youth Centre is not what you would call modern.
I do not understand why the government has decided to remove public transport inspectors. They are not much different to public housing inspectors who seem to be getting a good rap for the work they do which takes some of the load off police. This says public transport inspectors will be scrapped and transferred to NT Police. Will they be retrained as police or scrapped altogether? There are some savings.
Just as I praised the PCYC idea I see the Blue Light Disco will go. This disco operates out bush and in the city. Kids love it, especially out bush where it is their favourite night. Usually a local policeman runs it and I am concerned some of these things which are good for youth - they encourage a good relationship between young people and police, they have that rapport. That is a negative approach. How much money is being saved? We are penny-pinching because these are good programs.
Ground maintenance contracts at the Peter McAulay Centre are being reduced. The landscaping there has never been really good and there has always been a gravelly garden. Why not plant a whole pile of natives and let it go? I am unsure how much money has been spent but it has never been the best garden.
We are also ceasing the First Response Patrol over time as other programs take over services to address antisocial behaviour. What are those other programs? I have seen the First Response Patrol checking who is sleeping around St Mary’s at around 6 am. The Police Commissioner said it was one of the best things in the Darwin area. He praised the First Response Patrol so I am unsure why that is going. If it is because of other programs this does not say what they are.
One of the big issues is the transition of the Humpty Doo Fire Station to volunteer status. No! People have spoken to me today about this. The Treasurer would say there are only 100 call-outs. Of those 100 calls, 20 may be due to false alarms but the other 80 would be highly important, especially in relation to grass fires. You have to remember those calls relate to a station which is only open during the day. Comparing it with stations open 24 hours a day is not a fair comparison. It is a backwards step - I know the member for Goyder is fuming about it – and again, no consultation. When you consider the number of trucks now travelling up and down the Arnhem and Stuart Highways, you need a quicker response time if there is an accident. Relying on Palmerston to do that it is false economy.
On top of that, the NT Fire and Rescue Service tender will be taken away from Palmerston and there will only be one truck at Berrimah. If there is an accident in Darwin and a need for the fire tender, and an accident in Humpty Doo, there will be no fire tender available. That can be shared at the moment. That is a great mistake. I was talking to someone today who is very knowledgeable about this. The Northern Territory government has signed up to set standards for response times. Those times are now being increased. If something happens, someone will ask the government if a change to response times due to budget cuts has resulted in someone dying. You have reduced the standard the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service signed up to; the government signed up to that. If those standards are not being applied who takes responsibility if something happens?
Firearm fees increasing from $35 to $105 - governments never seem to be pleased about people with firearms and that is a mighty big whack. You say things have not increased significantly since 1996, but that is symbolic of where we are going with electricity prices. We are going to hit you - bang, instead of the argument for a gradual increase. Budget does not necessarily mean a budget paper; it means to budget and you can budget in different ways. You have whacked up a shooter’s firearm licence $70 in one hit - a pretty steep charge.
Primary Industries and Fisheries received an overall increase of $1.84m. I welcome anything to help primary industry and fisheries. However, $400 000 is to establish the Ord Development project. That money is already there; it is ongoing. There is an allocation of $4.5m for fishing infrastructure at Dundee. Who owns Dundee? Who owns the beach? Is it private? If it is private, why are we building a boat ramp on private land? I am sure the coast at Dundee is not public land. It was left in the hands of developers. I will not go into my thoughts on that development, but I hope we do not see a repeat of that type of development when changes to the planning rules occur.
Regarding the buy-back of commercial fishing licenses, I might comment later when we deal with Chambers Bay. I gather it is welcome even though the closing of Chambers Bay is not.
I notice there is money for an Ali Curung farming project. I do not know why, Treasurer, it is in your media release titled ‘Family Support services boosted in the Barkly’. It seems it should be under primary industry. It says $2.5m in 2014-15, and $2.24m ongoing from 2015-16 for the Ali Curung partnership farming project. I would like to know more about that because I went past Ali Curung a few weeks ago and there was a sign up looking for workers; they cannot get workers at the melon farm. I would be interested to know what this project is about. I thought …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request the member be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: Treasurer, I am all for creating more employment. However, this disturbs me because I have been to the melon farm and there were two people from Ali Curung working, the rest were backpackers. What is this about? Is this money down the drain? If people cannot work at an existing farm what will this do? I believe in farming and producing your own product because I spent a fair bit of my earlier days doing exactly that.
I am concerned about the introduction of biosecurity service fees. How much will they be?
There is some good news in the Health portfolio, including for Elliott, and the redevelopment of the Tennant Creek Hospital and funding for a health clinic at Ntaria. I do not know how much of that is ongoing - some is Commonwealth. I am concerned there is $35m for a rehabilitation centre for problem drinkers and $15m for rehabilitation operational costs. There is not enough understanding of what that is about. There should be compulsory rehabilitation through the Department of Health and I am pleased it is not in the Department of Justice. That is a large amount of money and I would like to know how much consultation has occurred with CAAPS, FORWAARD and Amity Community Services. They already provide services. Can we use their services and expertise to run these programs even if the programs have compulsory rehabilitation? Can we attach ourselves to existing facilities? What about StrongBala in Katherine? What other possibilities do we have before we start building stand-alone facilities? There is very little detail here.
It is good to see an upgrade to the Borroloola health clinic - $800 000. However, reduced costs in providing prison health services saving $2.3m concerns me.
The new prison will have a special area which Remote Health will look after. Someone needs to look after the health of prisoners. Sometimes prisoners come through the door in an unhealthy state. You need health services in a prison. Some people in prison have ongoing problems outside and will need the health service to keep an eye on them. What does that reduction mean?
In Correctional Services there is $1m for early intervention programs and residential boot camps. Are we really talking about boot camps or are we talking about residential camps because they are two different things. Boot camps are what you see on TV where they drive kids to the top of a mountain in freezing cold conditions with only a singlet and pair of shorts on and hope they survive and come back behaving. Are we looking at something like Wildman River where kids could go, receive some education, do some work, have some recreation and are away from the troublemakers? There were some residential camps in Alice Springs - the Abbotts had one – there have been a number. They are not all successful and kids sometimes have to do some hard work, but this is not clear. Are you talking about a residential camp like Wildman River or climbing Mt Kosciusko in the middle of winter in a t-shirt, shorts and thongs? There is a vast different between the two.
If we are going to make these things work we have to think them through carefully. You have to learn from other places because the boot camps we see on TV are not necessarily successful. They might appear successful for a little while, but I am unsure, in the long term, if they are successful.
I am happy the government is going down that path. I always believed you could send kids to cattle stations or communities where they had to work, but they have time to think about where they are going in life. They can lie under stars, talk to elders, talk to older people about life experiences, try to learn a few things while there and try to readjust their lives away from the troublemakers they usually mix with who cause problems. I welcome that, but we need some clarification.
I am not sure where we are going by disbanding the SMART Court, Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal and the Community Court. If that is to be replaced I would rather you keep it going until you have a replacement, not leave a gap.
The Treasurer mentioned a saving of $600 000 per year through the cessation of the CTC. Fair enough, it was a sessional committee and there was no guarantee it would continue. It served its time and purpose. One good thing from it is the PAC is now holding hearings which are open to the public, which is really important. You can criticise it but it is gone, it is past, it is history, but it did some good things. Please do not knock everything because it had a relationship with Paul Henderson and me.
That narrows it down to having a go at me. Look at whether some good things came out of it! We tried hard to do things and it was not an easy job, especially when it came to SIHIP, and it was difficult to get the Commonwealth government to change its mind.
It is good to see the working parties in Alice Springs. There should be some in Darwin as well, and other places, because we never have enough people to do what the pensioners want done around my part of the world.
I am a great supporter of the work camp at Tennant Creek. I was hoping there would be a prison farm at Katherine - the government promised it would do the same as the previous government - and a work camp. They are two important things. People keep talking about the big prison. I do not like the big prison, believe it or not, but I understand there will be many people in prison - the statistics show it. I would rather those people were in a work camp or prison farm in Katherine. That is the emphasis we need, but it is not on anyone’s budget now and I would like to know why not.
There is a $1m canteen for Taminmin College, but the big cost for many schools is the increase in electricity and water. I thank the minister for changing her mind over the non-government schools. Yes, I was upset, but it is good the government has looked at that on a more even basis. However, schools will take a 15% increase in their electricity and will have to budget. The minister will say they have to run it like a business, but Taminmin has been trying to reduce electricity usage as much as possible. It still has not been able to get it down to a point where it can fit within its budget.
I do not understand why we are rolling back the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. I attended the Taminmin College presentation last night and quite a number of kids won awards from the Centre. It has been a really good thing for places like Taminmin College. Taminmin High School used to be regarded as a ratbag place. Kids would be in trouble with drugs and all types of things. It has picked itself up and is now Taminmin College. The school has really shown itself as a leader in the community with its VET courses. Another thing it has shown is the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. I hope it is not cut back.
The CSIRO teaching program – a silly decision which should not have happened. The CSIRO teaching program is excellent.
In Lands and Planning, there is money for the Planning Commission and the EPA - fair enough. I am not against either of those things; I am against the way they were set up.
It is good to see three new rangeland monitoring officers for the Pastoral Lands Board. It is important. We had many discussions with the Pastoral Lands Board last year because I would not support the new land clearing legislation as some issues had not been thought through properly. One of the issues was not enough people to monitor pastoral properties.
I thank the minister for a response to the $5200 for eligible housing. I know there is much work to do on it. The budget mentioned connecting that money with school attendance. Again, is it going to the owner or the organisation which looks after the house, such as Yilli Rreung? If people do not have children and live in a house, will they be eligible? I am not asking you to answer all those questions, minister, but I will be following it up. I am not saying it is a bad idea but, with SIHIP, the money just disappeared. I want to ensure everything works well.
I noticed the government is getting rid of the Top End Quarterly. That was a good magazine selling the Territory. It is sad to see that go.
I hope the $25 000 first homeowner grant boosts housing, but we need cheaper land. The minister has been talking about that. I want to see it happen, not listen to rhetoric. It is not cheap to develop serviced land, unfortunately, as much as I would like to, especially in the suburbs. It might be a little cheaper in the rural area, but it is not easy. If you look at what has to go in before you build a house, it is costly. I am interested to see plans to produce more affordable land.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the minister for her budget. Yes, there are some good things, some bad things, and some downright ugly things, but that is the way budgets go in this world.
Mr HENDERSON (Wanguri): Mr Deputy Speaker, this is a budget of betrayal of the people of the Northern Territory and is not needed at this point in time in the Northern Territory’s history.
The CLP went to the election promising the people of the Northern Territory it would be open, transparent, accountable, and would reduce the cost of living. In fact, the first point of its five-point plan promised the people of the Northern Territory it would cut the cost of living.
One wonders why people across Australia are cynical of politicians, and increasingly so, when you go to an election promising as your first point of connection with the people to cut the cost of living and 13 weeks or so into government you have the biggest set of increases in any one budget the Northern Territory has ever seen. Why is this betrayal of the Territory people? The reason is all the budget numbers used to put this mini-budget together were confirmed in the PEFO – the pre-election fiscal outlook – prior to the election. There is nothing in these numbers significantly different from the numbers required under law for Treasury to produce prior to an election.
The state of the books of Power and Water was well-known to the government when in opposition through numerous statements of corporate intent tabled in this parliament which showed Power and Water’s budget status. There was nothing new released in these budget papers today that was not known by the government prior to the election when Neil Conn and Ken Clarke were already on the books advising on the state of the Territory’s budget.
The government misled and lied to Territorians when they said it would cut the cost of living because they knew the state of the books. If they really believe the budget position is so bad that we need a budget which hits every Territorian really hard and will significantly impact the economy of the Northern Territory, why on earth did they not come clean with Territorians before the election?
Let us assume people will not believe what the government says as they are angry because of the budget of betrayal and will not believe the previous government because they do not trust politicians, well the independent umpire is the credit ratings agency Moody’s, a well-established, well-regarded, well-respected international credit rating agency. Moody’s looks at our Treasury books every year and our credit rating is AA1 - the second-highest credit rating Moody’s can provide - with a stable outlook, not one which put the government on watch, a stable outlook.
Yes, there were some comments that the government of the day needed to look at Power and Water and issues emerging from Power and Water’s books, but it was not an atmosphere of a catastrophic, imminent collapse of Power and Water. It was a comment in Moody’s assessment. If you do not believe the government and do not believe the opposition, believe the independent umpire, Moody’s, which has rated the government budget at AA1.
What I find really offensive about the way this has played out is the total disregard and absolute and obvious dismissal of the work of the fantastic people at Northern Territory Treasury. The Country Liberal Party, both in opposition and now in government, does not trust some of the most respected people in the public service - those Treasury officials who are required, by law, to present budget papers to this parliament which have to comply with the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act and the accounting rules all governments use.
It would be illegal to present budget papers which were not accurate. For the then opposition, the now government, to say it does not trust all those people in Treasury and has to bring back the old boys’ network - the Country Liberal club - at huge expense to independently advise us on the state of the government’s books – Treasurer, I am very disappointed because I know those people in Treasury and their integrity is complete. They are professional and it is one of the most well-regarded Treasuries in the Commonwealth. A point in case is to recognise the outrageous attempted attack on the Territory’s GST revenue by Western Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales, who convinced the Julia Gillard government to review the GST. That was fairly and squarely aimed at stripping GST revenue off the Northern Territory to fund back to Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. The current government did not win the argument in the report handed down yesterday, it was the fantastic officers in Treasury, led by the Under Treasurer of the day, Jennifer Prince, with the current Leader of the Opposition, who took that argument up full square and won the fight against the might of the Victorian, New South Wales and Western Australian Treasuries.
That is the regard our Treasury attracts across Australia. For the CLP to say it does not trust any of them to do the work, it does not trust the budget papers and needs to bring in the old boys’ network - Neil Conn, Ken Clarke, Barry Coulter and Col Fuller, all well-known, long-regarded, a number are life members of the CLP – is insulting to hard-working and well-regarded Northern Territory public servants.
What did these people find? Well, they produced a dodgy document in November which was tabled in this House which Treasury put - and had to because it had to comply with the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act. This report is not a government document and we now have mini-budget papers which, essentially, confirm what was in the PEFO.
My advice to the government is that we have some fantastic public servants in the Northern Territory. Please learn to trust them and they will repay you in spades with very good advice.
Regarding the tenor of this document and what the Country Liberal Party is trying to sell to the people of the Northern Territory it is, essentially, that the Territory is broke and unless we do something drastic we will go to hell in a hand basket very quickly. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is reflected in the documents the Treasurer tabled in parliament yesterday. The budget is framed in the economic outlook of the Northern Territory, not in isolation. It is framed in what is happening with the economy, with government revenues, and where we are heading in the future. Reading the fiscal and economic outlook from the budget papers, I find it a little strange these chapters are in the back of the book when they are normally at the front of the budget books. However, in framing this argument I read from page 95:
Is the Territory going broke? Are we going to hell in a hand basket? No! We had the strongest growth in the nation bar Western Australia at 4.4%. I will go on:
Further:
This is not a struggling economy; this is a growing economy. It is probably one of the fastest growing economies in the Western world and with a growing economy, you have growing government revenues - taxation revenues through own source revenue of stamp duties, payroll tax and, of course, the national economy. The national economy is slowly returning to recovery. China is starting to come good again and there are growth forecasts coming out of the United States. Yes, there are still worries in Europe. Unfortunately, my good friend the member for Casuarina’s home country is still causing problems but, essentially, we are on the road to recovery and revenues are forecast to grow.
If the government wanted to make additional saving measures in this budget that is fine, make them. If you wanted to increase power and water tariffs, do so. However, in a small economy like the Northern Territory one of the things I learnt over many years on the other side of the Chamber was that confidence is a very fragile commodity - consumer confidence and consumer spending. Confidence from local business people to invest in their business is the most important commodity you have in the Northern Territory economy. Once you lose that confidence it is very hard for people to return to their normal spending and investment patterns.
My real fear with the climate this budget debate is being held in - irrespective of the politics of what the government inherited and what it has to do to fix the situation - is that the language and hysteria used by the government in its critique of the budget position it inherited will stifle significantly, possibly even collapse, consumer confidence in the Northern Territory. I have moved around Darwin over the last six or seven weeks and I hear over and over again business people saying things are really tough. This will be a tough period for retail going into Christmas. People in the public sector are nervous about whether they have a job or not, people are not spending. We could have avoided all of this with the new government introducing a mini-budget, doing what it wanted to reset the Territory’s fiscal policy, but not in such a way that it has terrified people in the Northern Territory.
Talk to anybody in the public service about the mood at the moment. Morale is through the floor, people are terrified about whether they will have a job or not, and you need not have created that environment. And guess what, they are not spending money! They are not committing to the new car, upgrading the home or planning for a holiday whilst all bets are off and we wait to see how this will wash out. When you have a AA1 credit rating and a stable outlook, when you have an economy forecast to be the strongest growing in Australia - we are bumping along with Western Australia - over the next five years, when you have investment coming into the Northern Territory most economies around the world would give their eye teeth for, why we are having this debate astounds me. You do not need to do this.
One thing which really concerned me is the impact this mini-budget will have on CPI and inflation. Traditionally, inflation is a little higher in the Northern Territory because of the distance and getting products and goods into the marketplace. However, on page 98 of the budget papers it says:
The Chief Minister today said the price increases in power and water will not double inflation in the Northern Territory. Here are your own budget papers, Chief Minister, which say the 2012 outcome for the CPI is expected to moderate to 2.1%. Further, the budget papers say:
Very clearly, Treasury has advised you are going to double the rate of inflation in Darwin, the biggest part of the economy of the Northern Territory. That will lead to increased pressures on wages. Good luck with your EBA negotiations with all the public sector unions, trying to hold them to a 2% or 3% EBA outcome. Good luck, because you have opened the gates of hell for yourselves with those EBAs. Many of those workers - particularly lower-level public servants earning $30 000, $40 000, $50 000 or $60 000 a year – are trying to raise a family with 30% increases in electricity, 40% increases in water, and increases right across the board. Try to convince them to accept a pay increase of 2% to 3% as we managed to - good luck. Guess what? All of this will come back onto your budget in increased EBA outcomes. The unions will be working very hard on behalf of their members to extract from the government. If there is not significant industrial unrest, unless the government concedes, I will be very surprised. Those wage increases will flow through to the private sector as well, and you will have employers in the Northern Territory pretty cranky about increased wages they will need to pay to compete with public sector wages and to recompense people for these costs.
If you look at the context of this budget, we have strong economic growth forecasts and a AA1 credit rating from an international credit ratings agency. Many places around the world - in fact most world economies - would give their eye teeth for a AA1 credit rating. If you want to go to the history - and it is in the budget papers again - as to why, since 2008, the Territory government budget has gone back into deficit, clearly, the budget papers say it is largely as a response by the former government to mitigate the effects of lower private sector investment caused by the GFC.
I make no apology for leading a government which took us into budget deficit territory to protect jobs in the Northern Territory. If we had taken …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the member be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON: Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank my honourable colleagues.
If we had taken the Treasurer’s advice and not taken the Territory budget into deficit from 2008-09 onwards whilst trying to secure the future of the Territory through the INPEX project, the marine supply base and positioning ourselves as the capital of Northern Australia, goodness knows where we would be today. There would be thousands fewer people employed in the Northern Territory and the capacity of the Northern Territory economy would have been severely diminished. What is the point of having a healthy set of budget books when we would have had to cut services, see thousands of people lose their jobs, and hundreds of businesses close? If you do not believe me, Treasurer, talk to the Chamber of Commerce, the Master Builders, or any industry association which said it was the right thing to do.
We are coming into a period where the world economy is improving, the national economy is improving, government revenues are starting to improve slowly. Yes, you have an argument to reset the budget books. However, not the way you have done it and not with the time frame you are doing it in.
Regarding electricity increases, I do not have the Hansard before me today and have not bothered digging out the newspaper headlines, but when we increased electricity prices in 2009 – I believe it was by 18%, in 2010 by another 5%, and in 2011-12 by another 3% - you should have heard the opposition. The member for Port Darwin in particular was at his hyperventilating best about what an outrage it was for the Northern Territory government to be putting a 23% increase on power and water charges over a three-year period to respond to a devastating outage when the Casuarina Zone Substation blew up. We had an independent report which basically said unless we invested a motza into the capital side of the agency, the maintenance side of the agency, we would have an increasingly unreliable power supply.
The hypocrisy to sit there in 2009-10 when there was a very real reason to invest based on a significant failure and now to say you have to put things up by 30% and Territorians should just cop it. I urge the Treasurer - I do not believe you were in the House then - to read some of the debate from your side of politics around that time.
If you were going to make it 30%, for heaven’s sake, do it over three or four years. The ratings agency will see you are doing something; you will get a tick for it. The only reason you are doing it in one year is, politically, you are hoping like heck people will forget about it.
I am sad that is the case because people will hurt significantly. I will give the example of a constituent, a carer, who came to see me recently. To be fair to this lady I would say she is in her late 50s early 60s, lives by herself in Leanyer and cares for a little Aboriginal boy who would be about eight years old. He is, for the best part, a quadriplegic. She has had this little boy for about four years. Because of his disability he needs to be in air-conditioned accommodation most of the time. Feeding this boy is always a messy business and his condition is such that he cannot accommodate showers and has to have baths. She was distraught saying, ‘Unless I can get some relief I will have to give this little boy back because I cannot afford the increases’. I will write to the Treasurer with specifics of this. I do not know if there are any circumstances to help support this lady but these are the effects you will have around the Northern Territory. You do not need to do it in one hit.
It is not only the personal cost, it is the cost to businesses large and small. Businesses are telling me they do not know how they will accommodate this. At Hibiscus Shopping Centre - I will not embarrass the retailer – I was told, ‘We are deciding over Christmas whether to close the doors altogether. We cannot see how to recover these costs and compete with a supermarket across the road.’ This will have a very serious effect on our economy. You have bitten too hard, gone too deep, and have not listened to the business community regarding the impact this will have. I would not be surprised if in the budget next year, if things are really tough, you start listening and moderate some of these cuts in response to a declining economic position because there is a two-speed economy.
There are people working in the mining industry - associated with the mining industry in service industries or service capacities, or the legal industry. There are tradies who are working in that industry earning big money. However, there is also a heap of people earning between $30 000 and $60 000 per year and this will hurt badly. There is no reason to do this.
You are a new government and have every right to reset the fiscal parameters, but to say unless we do this, in this way, at this time, the Territory will go to hell in a hand basket, we will go broke - there is nothing further from the truth.
In much of the Treasury commentary on the fiscal position of the Northern Territory and the outlook - the numbers the CLP is using to scare people - we would have a debt of $6bn in 2015-16. All Treasury figures say that is under a do-nothing scenario. That is to presuppose the government would not have responded to emerging fiscal conditions. You do that every year at budget time.
There is one good thing about the budget. I was pleased to see the increase in repairs and maintenance expenditure. That is a good move and will certainly help many smaller businesses. However, to say we ignored this - welcome to government. Every year part of the budget process is all agencies coming with capital works bids, minor new works bids and repairs and maintenance bids. Guess what? Every year there is not enough money to go round and you have to prioritise how much money you spend on capital works, minor new works, repairs and maintenance, which projects are funded and which are not. There are always hundreds of millions of dollars more of asks than money available. This mini-budget says repairs and maintenance is a priority. From my knowledge of infrastructure across the Territory that is a pretty good call.
Some ministers in debate commented that the previous government left unfunded commitments on the books which they have to pick up. Again, welcome to government. You are on the other side now and good luck to you. Let us take the medi-hotels, for example. There was nothing in the budget papers for the medi-hotels because they have not been constructed yet. Once they are constructed, ready to open and the first patients admitted, in the budget for that year the government would make a new allocation to fund the medi-hotels.
It is the same with the emergency department at Alice Springs. The Minister for Health would tell budget Cabinet it is time to pick up the recurrent costs of the new expansion we have done in conjunction with the Commonwealth. The department had 12 to 18 months to work out what those costs were. Of course, that is a new allocation of funding to be done in the budget every year. It is the same with funding dialysis programs and increases; they would either be funded from within the agency or with extra money. If it is funded within the agency, the government would decide what programs to cut to accommodate the new funding.
To say it was a black hole we had not considered is really pulling it too far. Why you would fund a medi-hotel before it was constructed and opened beggars all understanding. It would be like Yes Minister - having the hospital with no patients. We were prepared to fund those and it would be part of the usual budget deliberations.
In conclusion, this is a budget of betrayal. The government knew the numbers before it came to government. It was do anything, say anything, promise anything to win government and we will work out how to pay for it. Unfortunately, Territorians are paying through their eye teeth and it will hurt the economy.
Mr VOWLES (Johnston): Madam Speaker, I place on record what a disgrace this new government is. It is absolutely heartless and I do not know how members can say with a straight face that it is governing for all Territorians. This mini-budget, once again, proves you are governing for yourselves and your CLP old mates.
First, budgets are about priority and timing. The CLP’s budget speaks volumes about the kind of government it is and its goals. The CLP is concerned with only one thing: winning government again in four years’ time so, despite the pleas from Territorians to stagger the price increases for power, water and sewerage over time, the CLP is doing it in one big hit. It is simply because it wants Territorians to forget all about it in four years’ time. The same principle applies here; the CLP is going hard with a massive hit to Territorians on their cost of living in one sharp heavy blow with the aim Territorians will forget all about it come the election in 2016. It is either that or they would have left the Northern Territory altogether because they cannot afford to live here.
I respond to the impact of this ruthless mini-budget on my shadow portfolios. I would like to talk about some of the most vulnerable people in the community, our senior Territorians. Senior Territorians in my electorate and across the Northern Territory are irate and upset with the Chief Minister, the Treasurer, and this new government. Our senior Territorians, the backbone of the Territory, people who have shaped and developed this paradise we call home into what it is today, are very angry. The government’s decision to raise power, water and sewerage charges has outraged them and they want to be heard. You are now charging them to get on the bus and are raising public housing rents by 1%. Talk about hurting the most vulnerable people in our community!
Pensioners live on fixed incomes and it is very difficult to make ends meet. I understand $1 per bus trip may not seem like much to us in this room but those pensioners who are unwell or have loved ones who are unwell will be hit the hardest. Pensioners who have medical appointments they cannot drive to, are not eligible for taxi vouchers, and have no choice but to travel frequently will be hurt the most. Those who live at home but travel daily to visit their loved ones in hospital or a nursing home by bus will be hit just as hard. Perhaps on its own the introduction of $1 per fare for carers, pensioners and seniors would not be so bad but, because the CLP wants to inflict pain all at once with rent, power, water and sewerage increases, the flow-on increase to council rates, services and groceries is just too much.
I have also heard from a number of seniors and pensioners in my electorate and look forward to talking to them on Friday with the member for Nightcliff who will be putting on a morning tea at the Coconut Grove Seniors Village.
The increased cost to rego will be very hard for them. Pensioners are on fixed incomes, Treasurer, and the reason for the increase being it is time for an increase is not good enough because it is not the right time.
The CLP could have staggered all the increases to the cost of living over time but decided not to do so. The rego increase did not have to come now on top of everything else.
The non-government organisations in our community are also in shell shock. Services helping those doing it tough in our community will be cut and people in those organisations will lose their jobs.
The CLP is not doing the Territory any good by cutting jobs left, right and centre in the public sector then making decisions which force the cutting of jobs for NGOs and the private sector. It is taking money out of the economy and everyone is hurting.
I note on the radio this morning a very important NGO in our community, the Council of the Ageing, is still waiting to hear about funding for 2013 from the Department of the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, you know how important the work of COTA is as a voice for our seniors. I am sure you will be sending a letter to them in the next week guaranteeing funding from 1 January 2013.
I speak to my other portfolio, sport and recreation, which has also been impacted on. Once again, the member for Greatorex, the Minister for Sport and Recreation, took time for another personal attack on me during Question Time yesterday but, once again, you showed your incompetence to your colleagues, to us over here, and to anybody watching or listening. You could not even answer your own dorothy dixer correctly! You rambled on to inform us that a grant of $300 000 was given to the Alice Springs Golf Club but your budget papers state it is $250 000. Your office then issued a media release saying it is $300 000. Which one is it, member for Greatorex?
You were so excited to get to your feet and feel important that you bungled it. With your continual personal insults to me I need to remind you this is very unbecoming of a minister of the Crown. I know, minister, you know, your colleagues know, you are out of your depth and it is becoming embarrassing for you.
Which one is it Bungles, member for Greatorex? Are you wrong or is the Treasurer wrong? An amount of $50 000 goes a long way in the sport and recreation field. I am sure the finer, very honourable, member for Barkly would love that money in the Barkly region, or perhaps the member for Nhulunbuy in her region; there are many sport and recreation organisations there that would love $50 000.
After all those years in opposition, member for Greatorex, you now get your chance and are not up to it. People have contacted me embarrassed and ashamed you are their minister, embarrassed to tell people what department they work for because of the way you behave here and the decisions you are making.
A word of advice to you, member for Greatorex, read your briefs for once, take on the great advice you are getting from your staff and the hard-working departmental staff, read your speeches, and get it right. Stop worrying about your ego, do what you are elected to do and serve the people of the Northern Territory with their best interests at the forefront of every decision you make.
Member for Greatorex, the previous member for Stuart and former Minister for Sport and Recreation worked tirelessly to improve and campaign for sport and recreation facilities and funding in the bush. Let us see if you do the same, member for Greatorex. He worked hard to secure the continual funding allocated to employ over 50 community sport and recreation officers in over 50 remote communities - frontline positions which provided great service to youth in our remote communities. I am glad we have kept you to account with the announcement that funding to this very important program is continuing.
I have another query on the figures in the mini-budget. You announced in your election commitment a sports voucher scheme costing $4m and an extra $1.7m of funding for peak sport and recreation organisations, but the overall increase is only $5.1m in the budget. The increase of $5.7m has been offset by some reduction totalling $600 000. It would be interesting to know what the reductions are and where they have gone.
I turn to tourism. The ABC reported yesterday:
Going through the mini-budget, I cannot see any costs associated with the relocation of tourism staff and the office to Alice Springs. I guess these costs will be coming from within the existing budget. I have a feeling these costs will be taken out of the tourism promotion bucket of money - money put aside for product development - putting more strain on a sector already feeling the pinch of the increases in power, water and sewerage, flow-on increases to council rates and, now, throwing in new rego hikes as well.
With the shadow portfolio of Young Territorians, I am a great supporter of the Northern Territory Youth Affairs Network. This afternoon I was advised it has lost funding and will close its doors in 90 days, which is of concern. The Northern Territory Youth Affairs Network plays an important role in recognising youth services as essential, supporting all who are engaged with young people by establishing, maintaining and enhancing connections, sharing and promoting examples of evidence-based best practice, and promoting individual sector-wide professional development. I ask the government to reconsider this decision and fund the important area of youth in the Northern Territory.
With my sense of community and helping others less fortunate, I mention an organisation which provides a great service to people in need of assistance; a service which provides families and individuals from all walks of life with the basic necessity of food - Food for Life and Foodbank NT run by Baptist Care NT in Berrimah. Foodbank NT is a not-for-profit organisation which collects surplus, salvaged and donated food and grocery products from food manufacturers, distributors and retailers and distributes it to people in need. The organisation is run predominantly by volunteers relying on donations to support the day-to-day operations in Darwin and helps welfare and community aid organisations as well as individuals. All donations assist to find ways to help people break out of the food poverty cycle.
I volunteered for the annual Christmas hamper packing last Saturday and was inspired to see so many people volunteer their time to pack for less fortunate people in our society. Chief Executive Peter Fisher and staff are deeply concerned about the future of the organisation due to a lack of funding security from the Northern Territory government.
The previous Labor government provided funding of $156 000 to Foodbank NT which assisted in the running costs of the organisation. They have not been guaranteed any funding from your government, Chief Minister. This is very disappointing and I urge you to call them and commit to funding. If you do not fund them they will close the doors on 31 December.
This government has broken an election commitment in this mini-budget for my electorate of Johnston. We committed $2.5m to the flood issues in Rapid Creek prior to the election and were ready to work immediately with residents and local organisations on solutions agreeable to everyone. On 20 August 2012, the CLP and its candidate also announced funding of $1.5m. The people in Rapid Creek Road and surrounding streets were very happy with both commitments.
Chief Minister, why did you lie to the people of Johnston before the election saying you were going to put down a payment of $1.5m as the first step and now gone against that and halved it to $750 000 for another report? You need to rise above politics on this. You need to stick to your commitment of $1.5m as a down payment. I am very disappointed with this decision. I know the CLP candidate for Johnston, Ms Jo Sangster, would also be disappointed. She, like me, doorknocked those residents affected by the floods. She too heard the horror stories of homes damaged, the panic families felt as the waters rose, waking children in the middle of the night, pets dying and personal belongings damaged beyond repair.
We need to provide these residents with some certainty and the Chief Minister not to cut his promise of $1.5m by half. This is an important issue in my electorate of Johnston and the people of Rapid Creek and Millner are contacting me every day about this. I urge the government to reconsider and put the full election commitment of $1.5m on the table.
Madam Speaker, this is a bad budget for seniors, business, families, definitely for the people of Johnston, especially those living in Rapid Creek and surrounding streets. It is a bad budget for all Territorians. I do not commend this budget to the House. Thank you.
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We cannot adjourn the debate. If the minister on the other side would like to adjourn the debate?
Mr GILES (Transport): Madam Speaker, I thought the Labor members may have wanted to have a chat today, but obviously not. I gave them an opportunity to raise some concerns. I would have sat and answered some of their questions, but no, they are not very keen on speaking about this at all, which is quite surprising. Considering there have been so many changes or measures through my departments of Transport and Infrastructure, Local Government and the Port, I thought they may have wanted to ask some questions, particularly the shadow minister. I could have responded, but no, the Labor members may want to run some sort of strategy and come in here with some diatribe later.
I listened intently to the new member for Johnston. Congratulations on his first speech in a budget reply, albeit a mini-budget through a statement. He spoke about Rapid Creek and flooding. I am sure he has no understanding how much that will cost to fix, but he must think, ‘What did the previous Labor government do about it over the last 11 years?’ Nothing at all. He has just come back into the Chamber. What did the previous government say, member for Johnston?
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling, you know you cannot reference members who are in or out of the Chamber so please withdraw that.
Mr GILES: Sorry, Madam Speaker, I was just welcoming debate about the Rapid Creek bridge. If he had thought over the last 11 years and asked his former ministerial colleagues, ‘What did we do?’ Nothing. After 12 weeks he says, ‘You haven’t fixed my bridge’. Well 12 weeks to 11 years buddy, let us get it right. You could have fixed the bridge twice if you did not have to put the extra $50m into the AMS. You could have fixed it two-and-a-half times but, no, AMS. The investment in the marine supply base could have fixed the Rapid Creek bridge a few times. That is not denigrating the marine supply base, but when you talk about your electorate and throw stones in the House, look at your own backyard buddy. You have to get that right.
The former Chief Minister, the member for Wanguri, spoke about our increased investment in repairs and maintenance. This year the BAMS report showed about $197m was required for repairs and maintenance of our assets in the Northern Territory. What was it in the 2012-13 budget put out by the former Labor government? It was $100m. It has been decreasing on actual requirements each year. We have recognised it is a problem. We do not have a whole swag of money but we have said we are going to put in an extra $100m: $10m this year, $20m next year, $30m the year after and $40m the year after that. We are trying to rebuild our asset base, something Labor did not do with Power and Water over 11 years of government. We had four power outages in Alice Springs last week because Labor did not put the money into it. This government is putting the money into it. The $100m is money for hospitals, schools, police stations and government assets right across the Territory, of which there are tens and tens of thousands.
With regard to staff cuts, it was either the first or second question on our first day in parliament and the shadow minister wanted to big note about how he had a budget leak and asked a question about staff being sacked in Infrastructure. I have always said there will be no staff sacked in Infrastructure. There will be a 20% reduction over a four-year period through natural attrition which, this year, means 25. We have an FTE of 411 and current staff of 392, so we are looking at five or seven to go, which will occur through natural attrition. We know there will be a downward projection of the capital works program because we are trying to repay government debt, trying to reduce our expenditure on interest rates from $750 000 a day, which is going to be about 1.1. We want to reduce that so our capital works program is, unfortunately, going to suffer and we will not need as many staff. Not one person will be sacked. We will be ensuring we have a better realignment of our staffing workforce to do the job. The Chief Executive Officer is already putting in place an organisational restructure to ensure that occurs.
We are reducing the fleet by 10 vehicles and moving our staff from the Chan Building to Highway House. We are putting in place a ministerial oversight committee chaired by myself with my colleagues the members for Araluen and Brennan - two ministers to help me oversee the failures of the AMS and try to get it back together.
Should we continue with the AMS, should we put another $48.5m into the AMS, or should we start again? You would think the guys over there would debate what we do with it but they were just wishy-washing money around. We have the DDD credit rating: debt, deficit and Delia. Delia running out with a credit card or a big cheque and now we are left to carry the baby. It is a difficult time.
That is why we are putting in place austerity measures to remove the debt and deficit, move into positive territory, and put investment back into infrastructure. The way to build the Territory is to build infrastructure - roads and bridges. The way to win Lingiari is through roads and bridges. That is what we need to do.
In this mini-budget there is a capital works program modest increase from $420m to $438m. That is positive thinking. The Nightcliff Police Station $2m upgrade is not pork barrelling; we did not win that seat. We will provide outcomes for the northern suburbs as well as the rest of the Territory. There is $35m for rehabilitation centres, police facility upgrades at Milikapiti, $2.2m towards the Defence Support Hub, $1m for Taminmin College canteen facilities and $2m for Katherine Police and Fire Station works. We are doing a whole range of things in this budget.
It is a positive budget. It has been difficult to put investment in there while we repay debt and put in place austerity measures, but there are some positive things happening. I thank staff at the Department of Infrastructure for the hard work they have done in helping compile their submission and the support they have given me. There is a long way to go to fix AMS and we are putting so much money into a failed system which the former Labor government did not oversee. We have difficulties around fraud and corruption allegations and police investigations. It is a challenge, but I know the staff are committed to a positive way forward.
The Department of Transport has a fantastic group of individuals who bent over backwards to ensure we had an improved level of customer service, especially around the MVR opening at Parap on Saturdays - a great initiative. We have more money for general staffing of MVR in the budget because we know the number of transactions is increasing. There has been a 25% increase in transactions in the last four years. That is substantial, and MVR staff at the front line are dealing with this and need the resources which is why we, as a new government, have put those resources in.
Labor did not offer Saturday opening. It did not think about how to improve service at MVR. We have already thought about that. There is an internal investigation happening at the moment to reduce client interaction with MVR so mums and dads do not have to go there.
One of the initial things is a $20 fee for new, over the counter transactions. The fee does not apply to transactions where a visit to the MVR is mandatory such as an eyesight test, registering a new car, having a new photograph taken for a driver’s licence or booking a test. It is only for transactions which could be done online or through MVR Quick Pay because we are trying to encourage people to use the telephone or the Internet. Next year we will be putting in place a range of measures designed to assist people to not attend the MVR. That is not to say the MVR is a bad place, but we know for all Territorians time is important. People are busy and do not need to be waiting in line. We are looking at methods to reduce time. That might include changing the time frame for licences, changes to the eye test, doing things online, improving the IT system so private inspectors can do uploads online and you do not have a paper-based business, or using Australia Post as a shop front. We are looking at a range of things and I anticipate these changes will come in next year and will be positive.
Look at some of the things we have delivered through the Department of Transport in this mini-budget: an upgrade to the airstrips at Utopia and Yarralin. I am sure my colleagues, the members for Namatjira and Stuart, will be happy to see those airstrips upgraded. There is $33m for the Tiger Brennan Drive extension; that is our commitment to the $103m investment. The people of Palmerston, and Territorians who travel TBD, will be happy to know there is $9.2m in the 2012-13 financial year to do work around the Stuart Park area. Into the forward estimates we are committing the remainder of the $33m to fully duplicate the whole TBD.
Today I was at the corner of Vanderlin Drive and Lee Point Road near the intersection, announcing our $5m election commitment will be fulfilled. We are providing $5m to the City of Darwin - in the new era of cooperative partnership between local government and the Territory government - into building infrastructure. There is $5m to see the duplication of Lee Point Road from Dulinda Terrace to Vanderlin Drive so residents and families in Lyons and Muirhead can get out of that bottleneck. Over the next decade there will be 1100 new houses in Muirhead. Getting people out on a two lane road will not be easy. We made that election commitment to the people of Wanguri. We recognised the problems - whether you live in Lyons, Leanyer or Muirhead - with traffic in the growing development would be significant. I announced that today.
It is a fantastic initiative. The acting lord mayor, Gary Haslett, today on site said, ‘This is like an early Christmas present’. It is $5m. It will be more than $14m for the duplication scheduled, but he has an early Christmas present. I did not even have a bow or any wrapping paper but he was very happy to get that $5m. That work will start in the Dry Season. He said, ‘When do we get the money?’ I said, ‘Before 30 June, buddy! We are committed.’ That is the cooperative partnership we are entering into. To the people of Wanguri, we are very keen to help.
Labor likes to say, ‘You just care about the bush’; we care about every Territorian. The Nightcliff Police Station – I am committing $5m for Lee Point Road and am investigating what can be done for the people who need the bridge fixed because of flooding because we know, as the member for Johnston said – reflecting on his comments - his government did nothing so we will look into that.
There is $150 000 for the METAL program to help motorcycle riders because there are not enough instructors and the waiting list is getting too long. Was anything done by Labor? No. We have put $150 000 into it. Each year, every year, under the forward estimates there will be $250 000 for the DriveSafe NT program because we know the DriveSafe NT program has fantastic outcomes.
I have already mentioned the MVR Saturday morning service - $790 000 in the budget. It is a new initiative not done by Labor - completely unfunded.
It was exciting reflecting over the past four years and seeing the dramas with registration stickers, how they were coming unstuck, and how annoying registration stickers were. To be able to sign a paper to say, ‘Right, we are getting rid of rego stickers’ - it is $100 000 saving, which is important, but it is another unnecessary item people will not have to worry about any longer.
Buses and bus ticketing are issues in this budget. I can advise the House there are about 5.2 million bus trips per annum. About 66% of those bus trips are free. There has not been a review on the cost since 2006 and, since 2006, the cost of running buses has gone from $13m to $22m. We have a cost recovery base of about 5%. That means it costs us $22m to run them and we only get 5% back because 66% of buses are free - an air-conditioned bus, jump on, free. We have to move to more of a cost recovery model so we have made a number of changes. There is now a $1 charge for pensioners and the adult price has increased from $2 to $3 for a three hour trip, $5 to $7 for a daily trip, and $15 to $20 for a weekly ticket. We know people will be concerned about cost increases, but we are still the cheapest place in Australia for public transport.
We have increased those charges in an attempt to move towards a 10% to 15% cost recovery basis - not 100%, 10% to 15%. Nationally, the average is about 20% or above. We are nowhere near the national average. We have made changes in that regard. While a $1 ticket for pensioners is not free, we do not believe it is a significant inconvenience. Yes, it does add to costs. We have to remind ourselves that at the end of the day someone has to pay. At the moment, with a $22m expense with a 5% cost recovery basis, no one seems to be paying. It is a difficult position. Labor was not prepared to make the tough decisions but we are.
Some concerns have been raised about the change of 10 peak period taxi licences in Darwin to full-time taxis licences before Christmas. Today I signed a letter to all 10 peak period taxi licence holders advising them if they wish to have a full taxi licence they can apply at any point in time and pay the pro-rata rate or difference for a full-time taxi plate. Many Territorians will be able to reflect on the issue of taxis. Taxi operators run a business, drivers operate a business, and they want as much business as possible. It is only fair in a free market. Also, we are coming up to Christmas which is a busy time for taxis.
New people are coming to the Territory to reside. That is particularly reflected in the Motor Vehicle Registry statistics. There has been a 25% increase over the last three or four years in the number of transactions. More and more people are coming to the Territory in a changing environment and more are using taxis. For someone who catches a plane from Alice Springs to Darwin frequently, seeing the queue at the taxi rank – a week ago I was at the taxi rank and there would have been 50 people in the queue. Everyone is asking where the Minister for Transport is and why there are no taxis. I can tell you why: the former Labor government did not act.
We have increased the number of taxi plates. There will be some pain and taxi operators and drivers will be concerned about more competition. That is a concern if you are a business operator; you do not always want extra competition because it reduces your profit margin. However, taxis are a part of our public transport system and we need to ensure we get the balance right between supply and demand.
Heaven help the poor people - members for Drysdale and Brennan - who live at Palmerston trying to catch a cab. There is a whole range of things we are looking at behind the scenes.
In 2009, a review was done into the CPV industry by Fivenines Consulting and a number of recommendations were made which were not all implemented. I am not paying a consultant; I am working with the Department of Transport to see how we can make improvements in the taxi industry across a wide range of areas which meet the needs of the taxi industry as well as consumers.
It is a very difficult balance; not everyone will be happy. Different people say different things. I had a number of taxi operators ring me today saying how good changing the peak hour taxi plates is, but other people are not happy. However, we are doing work in that area.
Not everyone is interested in the port, least of all the former Labor government. Its ministers were never very keen to talk about the port. All they did was denigrate the port. We have made some changes. I have advised the board, through the chairperson, we will no longer have a board at the port. The Chief Executive Officer will report directly to me and two expert consultants will provide advice on the port.
I have just finished a port pricing review. We have moved the marine supply base into the port to provide greater synergies. We have been undertaking, since coming into government, investigations of the individual operations of the port to identify opportunities for greater efficiencies and seamless processes in trying to make it more commercially sustainable.
We are looking at opportunities at Stokes Hill Wharf and Fort Hill Wharf. I anticipate that in the new year we may consider moving to new models of operation. It is not about selling the port; it is about looking at better commercial operations of the port. There have been some changes in port structure. We are looking at better repairs and maintenance from an internal perspective. They are very positive things.
I answered a question in the Chamber today. I am unsure if anyone was listening, but I spoke about the $6.2m additional funding in forward estimates for the regional governance investigations.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! I request the member for Braitling be given an extension time pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr GILES: I answered a question earlier today and I thank my Cabinet and wing colleagues for support in the very important area of shire governance. That will equate to around 23 additional staff - no, not sackings - I will be putting on to look at reform measures.
In relation to my town of Alice Springs, how good it is to see the Tourism department moving to Alice Springs. I know Labor does not support anywhere outside its own backyard, even though it cannot fix flood-prone areas or anything. It is very good for the regions. The investment the Minister for Sport and Recreation has made into the golf club should move it to a more level footing.
The $45 000 investment in the go-karts - Labor and Delia like to talk about this being pork barrelling; it is not pork barrelling. We have the national championships for the Australian Karting Association next year. They need investment to support tourism and the sporting people who will be visiting. It is a good investment for our little town of Alice Springs.
While Labor likes to bang on about pork barrelling, I have just put $5m into the Lee Point Road duplication to support the people in Wanguri, Lyons, Muirhead and Leanyer and get better hospital access to intersections like Tambling Terrace. Well, $45 000 or $5m; it is funny.
The Police Citizens Youth Centre: $2.5m to support the PCYC. It used to operate on a shoestring budget. We, immediately after the election, increased the budget by 50% and they were very happy about that. I look forward to the new hall being built there and the opportunity for police to interact with kids. It is a fantastic initiative.
Anzac Hill - Labor was on the radio this afternoon talking about pork barrelling, ‘There is pork barrelling’. I do not have any relationship with Anzac Hill; I was not born on Anzac Hill, I do not play on Anzac Hill. There is soccer, rugby league and rugby union - a number of sports operate there. As a sporting venue it is the centrepiece of our town. That is why the Masters Games and major sporting events are held there - NRL or weekend sports, kids getting out and having a game. It is a real opportunity to rebuild those facilities and put investment into our town through infrastructure. In the long term it is a good way to go.
Finally, the investment into Kilgariff, albeit a previous Labor government initiative. I was never a big supporter of Kilgariff but it is on the books and we will be moving that way. It was very interesting to receive a briefing not long after coming into the ministerial role about the plans for Kilgariff; there were no plans. Nothing at all was to be done in the calendar year 2013. We would have been lucky if there was anything in 2014. Even though there was a line in the budget talking about $3.5m, I immediately put my foot down and said, ‘We have to get that spine road built; I want it built like this, I want that. We have to look at drainage, flooding, the Q100 - the hundred-year flooding issues.’ The plans are under way and I am working towards - it is an accelerated time frame and you should never set time frames - a 1 July time frame to get some of that land working. We are working very, very hard. People have hit the button; they know the job, they know the motivation. This is positive, and positive within the mini-budget.
Finally, I congratulate the Treasurer for putting together the mini-budget. It is a very stressful time, particularly coming to the job just a few weeks ago and having to pull this together and uncover the huge mountain of debt, deficit and deceit by Delia. It is a troublesome time trying to fix things. All the competing interests, people yelling and screaming from across the other side; the people who never paid the debt. There has been some talk about unfunded legacy items in my area. We have spoken about AMS, but it is interesting when we have issues of animal welfare and the conversations around Mataranka Station – let me take a step back.
The former Labor government reminds me of the 15-to-20-year-old campaign by the telecommunications provider that was coming to Australia. I remember the ads on TV. Who remembers that? Optus – yes. That is what Labor was like.
The member for Fong Lim called it the hotel for long-grassers - a new 100-bed facility. Would you like that? Yes. Do we have any money for it? Yes. Ninety new childcare workers? Yes. Ten animal welfare officers in my department to fix up the Mataranka stuff? Yes. The housing programs? Yes. All the stuff in the Tourism and Sports departments? Yes. However, there was no money for any of it so we walk in mindful of the previous Labor government – yes, yes, yes. Well, sometimes you have to be able to balance the budget. You need money there.
I have 10 animal welfare workers and am $300 000 short in the budget. We know there is a big debt moving out to $6.2bn. What do I do? Do I remove the 10 animal welfare officers and say we are not committed to animal welfare like Labor? Do I find the $300 000 at the same time as trying to pay Labor’s debt? It is a difficult decision. We funded it; we kept it going. We are committed to animal welfare and I am not pre-empting a debate tomorrow on the Animal Welfare Act.
This is what we came to - 90 additional child protection workers and no money. The 100 beds sitting there; I have inspected it and the Minister for Health has inspected it. There is no money to operate it. The emergency department at Alice Springs Hospital – fantastic! Off the top of my head it was 38 beds. I visited with the member for Stuart and the Minister for Health; we toured it. It is a great facility but there is nothing there. It reminded me of a Yes Minister program - the hospital that will never degrade in an asset management sense because it has no patients or beds.
We went into the X-ray room and I asked, ‘Where is your X-ray machine?’ ‘We did not have enough money to buy that.’ There is an X-ray room with no X-ray machine. No beds, no X-ray machine. The Minister for Health is now challenging himself to find the money and we have the goons on the other side asking questions about our budget cuts! This is what we came into.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I congratulate the Treasurer, my Cabinet colleagues and the full wing for their solidarity in putting together this mini-budget. It has been a very difficult process. I support the statement, and commend the Treasurer and her statement to the House.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Mr Deputy Speaker, you could never call the member for Braitling a liar, he is just consistently careless with the truth. I am honoured to speak in this debate because it has been a good one and sets very clear policy divisions between Labor and Liberal, and the mini-budget has, basically, set the electoral course for the new CLP government.
The captain, the member for Blain, and the first mate, the member for Araluen, have set to sea with the crew onboard and have set the course, electorally, in the Northern Territory and, as the Chief Minister says, ‘Let time tell’. The Chief Minister, in his opening contribution to what was really the budget debate during Question Time, started with, ‘It is an indication of where our priorities are’, and I could not agree with him more. He has set the economic rationalist priorities of the Liberals. He set sail and will be judged by the electorate, and good on him, because he deserves to be judged.
The Treasurer has done much media - I am sure she enjoys her media career. In summary of just one of the interviews on ABC radio in Darwin, the Treasurer told Territorians they can no longer expect to pay lower taxes, fees and charges than other parts of the country. What the Treasurer was saying is dead right, but what the Treasurer does not understand is to get skilled workers, build communities, and build the Territory on the last frontier you have to offer incentives. If you go against that policy and turn around and directly slap people, then they pack up and leave.
If you are on the east coast and lose your job in the public sector, or you have a change in your employment circumstances, there is a good opportunity for you to re-establish yourself in the big systems of modern Australia with high population densities. However, what we see in the Territory is families and business pack up and cross the border. They do not come back. The member for Wanguri spoke about the loss in consumer confidence not being underestimated as we steam off into the sunset of the economic rationalism of the CLP.
The Leader of the Opposition highlighted the Chief Minister’s value for Territorians when he has given 20 of his mates high-paying jobs - up to $1000 a day, plus accommodation, plus whatever other incentives are in the package – while on the other hand he set the economic rationalist Liberal parameters of making everyone else pay for it.
Let us start with the Department of the Chief Minister and the output group of Policy Advice and Coordination. The 2012-13 budget allocated $4.252m. This mini-budget 2012-13 has allocated $13.450m, a budget variation of $9.203m. That is fine. What is it for? It is for policy advice and coordination. If I wanted to be crass and use examples of the verbal abuse from the then opposition for four years - they called them spin doctors and referred to these people in a negative light and denigrated them, their jobs, and their position in supporting the team of government. Yet here I see a massive reallocation of dollars by the Chief Minister in the Chief Minister’s department: $9.203m is going to fund policy advisors. That is a lot of money Chief Minister. Another one of your mantras was the Labor government talks about money. It always talks about money, but money does not equate to outcomes. Chief Minister, I would love to give you some of the outcomes $9.203m would deliver for the constituents of Tennant Creek and the Barkly. I do not have time in this debate but I ask you to think about that because $9.203m into policy advisors for the CLP government is a bit rich.
Let us move on because we have Territorians to talk about who are coping with power, water and sewerage price increases of up to $2000 a year, rates which will increase by around 6%, rent increases to pay for rate rises, childcare increases which we have heard could be up to $5 a day, private school fees will increase, car registrations will increase from between 4% and 18%, yet the policy advisors of the CLP will be well and truly taken care of by this mini-budget. It is a clear policy division in this debate, a clear policy division in the Territory, and it is disgraceful.
Let us examine the budget because the member for Nelson, who was far more moderate in his debate, said there is the good, the bad and the ugly. When we talk about the CLP mini-budget of 2012-13, we definitely have to look at its effect on increasing the cost of living, in reducing business confidence, and the most alarming part, reducing consumer confidence.
I do not see any transparency around public service job cuts - how many, where will they be cut and when. That is the fear factor this mini-budget has put into the Territory and those hard-working public servants and their families. There is no transparency; let us wait and see. The Treasurer will not give us any details. However, in a media release, ‘Prosperity into the future’, the Treasurer said:
I am a crusty Territorian who lived through the same process in the 1980s and the 1990s. I remember my first charter flight. The Chief Minister might be interested in that. I was brought to Tennant Creek with a mob of schoolteachers from the bush, put up in a hotel, taken to a forum and told about the ERC cuts - the Economic Review Committee. We have done this before; we have been down this road. It took over a decade to recover from that bad policy decision. The irony is the architects of the new millennia economic review cuts are the same people who were here in the 1980s and 1990s. That is alarming, and Territorians are talking about that. It needs to be seriously addressed.
One example which really got my imagination running was a memory of the education stores. Under the Economic Review Committee of the 1980s and 1990s, an economic rationalist made the decision to cut the education stores. I have spent more than half my life in remote areas, and the education stores truck was run by two public servants who travelled the length and breadth of the Barkly, forged rivers, travelled across dusty plains, and risked their lives on some occasions to get stores into schools. The economic rationalist Liberal came up with cutting that to save money. That was horrific.
When they realised the private sector could not cope with the challenges of remote and regional Barkly they saw escalation in costs, companies refusing to do deliveries, and schools running out of important supplies such as toilet paper, let alone the books and pencils. What happened? The government of the day had to rebuild it, the storemen were reinstated, and we went full circle. It took years to correct and who knows how much money. My recollections are clear. When I looked at this budget and listened to the speakers on the other side, I had a very strong feeling of, ‘Here we go again’. Well, look out, because the Territory might not put up with it a second time.
I will go to Arts and Museums and start with the minister for verbal abuse, the member for Greatorex, who cannot contain himself. He is one of the members on the other side who cannot rise to the occasion. He is definitely not an honourable minister. He challenged me with more abuse; he would have liked to get me on radio, ridicule me, carve me up, and run me down. I would relish that opportunity, minister for abuse. As a schoolie for over 30 years, I can see you have some deep-seated problems relating to your childhood. I wish I had you in the alternative education program where we used to look at high-support behavioural and emotional needs students like yourself, and were able to create environments where we would correct those behaviours and offer new choices and opportunities in life.
I am also a Catholic, member for verbal abuse, and offer you the opportunity, if you would like to talk about your deep-seated issues, to help you because I have worked hard with many other people in my life. I could probably give you some help. However, if you want to continue down that road do so, but remember sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. I am an infant-primary trained teacher as well, for those members of the House who are interested.
Let us talk about Arts because it is a good story. I thank the minister for Arts for not decreasing the budget. However, there is not much transparency around the whole process and, therefore, when we talk about a budget increase of $1.76m - we all support that, the arts community supports that. The Minister for Arts and Museums spoke about the Defence of Darwin experience and Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre in Katherine. Once again, he was not quite truthful with the Territory. Yes, there were budgets to design, construct and run those facilities. I hope he visits them to get a better idea of what those incredible icons of the Territory are all about which were delivered under the previous Labor government. That is a good story, and he has spoken about extra money going to look after those facilities.
However, in the media he says, ‘In coming years, savings have been identified across the Department of Arts and Museums’. I am afraid that is the code for staff and program cuts, no doubt about it. The minister, in his contribution to the debate, also spoke about ‘outsourcing of jobs’. He has some already lined up; some functions of the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory will be outsourced. He is talking about staff cuts, about savings. He is using the language of economic rationalism from the Liberals. This means more pain, as the Treasurer has outlined, for Territorians.
He did not talk about some of the new initiatives in arts: The Chan Contemporary Art Space, the NT Indigenous Music Awards, the NT Music Awards, the Darwin Festival, the NT festival program and the museums grants program. These initiatives celebrate the arts and culture sector of the Northern Territory. Minister, you did not mention them. You made no reference to them in the mini-budget. We hope they are safe; we hope they are preserved. We will be watching you very carefully because by 2015-16 further efficiencies will realise an estimated $800 000 ongoing savings from the department. In his document the minister said he is out for more cuts; he is after more scalps.
I seriously hope he stays out of the arts because the way to turn this around, minister, is the way we were working towards in government. Put your energy into the philanthropic sector; that is the way the world has gone. The whole world wants to know about Indigenous culture and arts. We have a vibrant arts community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, right across the Northern Territory. It is something to sell and market, minister. You are in the game of tourism. Chase the philanthropic sector because that is where the significant investments will come from. You will not have to play the Liberal economic rationalist game of cut, cut, cut, sack, sack, sack, and participate with your ill-informed colleagues to destroy business and consumer confidence across the Northern Territory. More importantly, do not destroy the confidence in our arts and museums.
I did not mention the arts in education project, nor did you: a cutting-edge project initiated under the previous Labor government where arts teamed up with education. Minister, you have just over a week to find where those sites are, read the report coming in, talk to Menzies, which is doing the assessment and evaluation, and check out how cutting edge and innovative the previous government was to turn around educational outcomes, improve attendance and engagement, and capture those new, young families supporting kids to deliver better outcomes in education.
There is the challenge, minister. Drop the attitude and language and get on with the work. Welcome to the world of government. The Minister for Transport is always good to debate with. He shares the same silver suit and attitude. I will not comment on his childhood but, once again, a student I would have relished having in a classroom in the Northern Territory education system. I would have turned you around, young fella. You would have come out the other end clearly different than you are now. However, we move on. I am pleased to see the Minister for Transport ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, it being 5.30 pm, in accordance with Standing Order 93, debate is suspended and General Business has precedence over Government Business until 9 pm. Do you wish to adjourn to a later date?
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker.
Debate suspended.
MOTION
Chambers Bay and Finke Bay – Closure to Commercial Barramundi Fishers
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I move that the government makes no final decision on the closure of Chambers Bay and Finke Bay to commercial barramundi fishers until the Shared Resource Framework has been finalised by government and used to evaluate, in a transparent manner, the cost/benefits of such a closure.
I understand, because of the delay in bringing this forward to parliament, the minister has made an announcement which is disappointing, especially to the NT Seafood Council. He has declared Chambers Bay and Finke Bay off limits for commercial barramundi fishing. I will get back to that later. The debate is worth having because the way it happened is political rather than for any scientific reason. It was done because of promises made by the government to the amateur fishing people before the election.
We need to ask where we are going in the Northern Territory when we talk about the commercial fishing industry. I made a joke recently that if you look back to when Jesus was looking for people to help him, the first people he went to were commercial fishermen around the Sea of Galilee. He must have thought they were pretty important people. I have always thought that if there is one universal occupation it is commercial fishing. No matter what country, you will find people making their living out of fishing to supply food ...
Mr Vatskalis: Not Switzerland.
Mr WOOD: No, not Switzerland. There are some lakes, there might be trout. From Greenland to Canada, South America, to Australia, to the Cook Islands, there are plenty of fish and people earn a living from commercial fishing. Unfortunately, in some areas of the Territory commercial fishing has become a dirty word. That is sad because commercial fishers spend a lot of money and risk their lives to some extent. It is not always pleasant when the sea is rough. They work very long hours to sustain their families, pay their bills, feed Territorians and others in and outside of Australia, and help the Northern Territory economy.
Minister, the amateur side of things should belong to the Minister for Sport and Recreation. The sector I am talking about - the commercial fishers - should be part of Primary Industry and if there are environmental issues in relation to sustainability of the fisheries the new EPA should be keeping an eye on that. I sometimes feel there is a clash of responsibilities with the minister’s portfolios. He probably does not agree with me, but I see the pressure sometimes applied by amateur fishermen on commercial fishing as something which needs to be looked at.
Carmel Ball and Ziko Ilic, proprietors of the Darwin Fish market, wrote to the Chief Minister saying:
That is similar to what the NT Seafood Council was putting forward. This was not about discussing where fish should be caught; it was saying the government said it supports a resource sharing framework, which follows on from the previous government. It said, ‘We support that concept but not for this issue because we promised the amateur fishing people we would close Chambers Bay and Finke Bay’.
Again, it was more about politics than anything to do with the quantity of food. In fact, I heard one gentleman from the amateur fishing association say on ABC radio, ‘Look, the amount of barramundi they take out of the area is reasonably small therefore it should not be a problem’. The argument can then be turned around the other way: if only a small amount of barramundi is taken what is the problem for amateur fishing? I also heard that the amateur fishing people do not want the large fish, but the trophy fish people - the minister mentioned on television last night we can make this an iconic place for catching large barramundi. Well, my understanding is commercial fishermen do not want the metre-sized barramundi.
Again, it is very hard to get a balanced view. In the Sunday Territorian of 20 October there were two articles, one by the amateur fishing association’s Craig Ingram - I have had some discussions with him - and an open letter to the Chief Minister from Kevin Innes, a commercial fisherman, saying he does not own a barramundi licence so he must catch other fish. All the photos are of amateur fishermen catching fish bigger than one metre. You have pictures of iconic barramundi over one metre being caught and the commercial people are saying they are not interested in that.
There is not one picture of commercial fishermen. I have nothing against amateur fishing, but the balance has gone a bit cuckoo. I will read to the House some of the comments. Pardon me, Madam Speaker, you might be mentioned in this. These were comments in Hansard from the member for Goyder on 28 March 2012:
I could not agree more.
The member for Goyder said:
That gives the impression there are others who believe the balance between the amateur fishing viewpoint and commercial fishing is one-sided. All those quotes come from members who are now in the government.
The other thing which reflects some of those statements is that the act requires something. The changes to the regulations I presume the minister had to make to close the Chambers Bay and Finke Bay fishing areas come under the Fisheries Act. The Fisheries Act came into operation on 14 December. Part 1 2A Objects, states the objects are:
Mr Westra van Holthe: Have a look at all the other closures, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: I know. This is the one I am dealing with. This is the one I am saying ...
Mr Westra van Holthe: I know that, but come on.
Mr WOOD: All right, you can answer me back, minister. The act says this. Perhaps those closures were not correct ...
Mr Westra van Holthe: Maybe all the closures are illegal.
Mr WOOD: That is right. However, if the act needs changing, then change it. The act says deal with fairness, equity and access to aquatic resources. When we make these decisions to close, have they been made according to the act?
I have today’s newsletter from the NT Seafood Council headed ‘Disappointed, but looking to a new way forward’. I give credit to the NT Seafood Council; they do not like the decision you made but are willing to work with you and are quite happy you have made statements in regard to the buy-back of certain licences. They would like to know the exact amount of money the government will offer for those licences because it is not clear in the budget what that will be. Obviously, if you want to buy someone out they want to ensure it is a reasonable amount.
They say, and this is why I take my hat off to them:
I am interested, minister, what the latest on the buy-back of those licences is. Obviously the NT Seafood Council accepts that as something to mitigate what has happened because of this decision.
I owned a boat once but did not get out too often. If you are a vegetable grower, believe it or not, you spend most of your time turning the water on and off and ensuring no one is pinching your watermelons. Unfortunately, in many places I lived I did not have much of a chance.
If you are able to continue something started by the previous government - put some more jetties in the harbour where people who do not own a boat can enjoy it. One of the great things in life when I was young was to sit on a jetty and throw a line in. That is one of the good things. Unfortunately, the one at Palmerston, at high tide, is sometimes hard to get to - the whole thing goes under water, but I digress.
It is important to ensure Territorians can buy wild caught barramundi at a reasonable price and we do not push our commercial people so far out that we have to pay extra. People say they pay extra down south. That might be the case, but I do not regard the barramundi I eat here, caught locally, to be at a price where I think, ‘Blow that, I will have chicken for tea’.
I go to Fisherman’s Wharf quite often. Maria knows me; she has been supplying me with fish and chips and fish burgers for years. It is great to go there and enjoy wild catch barramundi or wild catch threadfin salmon. I do not want to pay a huge price for that; I want it to be affordable. I am on a reasonable wage. Many people today will be counting their dollars with all the price increases. The last thing you want is the price of barramundi to increase because it will become a luxury item rather than a standard part of the diet. That is what Carmel Ball was talking about, the health benefits of eating fish.
It is probably hard to debate something after the event, but it is my job to present the side of the NT Seafood Council - the non-fishing association. I would love to one day start an amateur non-fishing association so the consumer who cannot go fishing because they do not have a boat, or do not have the time can, at least, be recognised as an important part in the overall equation of looking after our fishing resources which are so important.
This is not against amateur fishers, but sometimes this debate is weighted not so much for Bill and little Johnny who hop in the tinny and go out in the harbour, but on behalf of people who spend their entire life fishing under the banner ‘amateur’ and tend to push and promote their viewpoint to ensure they get the biggest barra to brag about and tell people why it is so great to fish in the Northern Territory, and it is. However, there is a group of people who like to catch a queenfish or a mangrove jack. They are happy to go out for the afternoon because fishing is part of an experience many of us like - bonding as a family. I am not against amateur fishing per se, but part of that lobby group tends to put a much greater weight on government, especially politically, than it should.
We do not give enough credence or support to commercial fishers. They do not have an easy life. You might see a big boat at Fisherman’s Wharf, but it would not be cheap with the price of fuel; the price of diesel has gone up a few more cents and is now 160 per litre at Smith Street BP. I imagine filling up a fairly big tank on a commercial fishing boat is not cheap. You have to employ people, you have the risks of working at sea, I imagine insurance is pretty high, and you have to catch fish. If you go out all day and do not catch fish you will not be in business long. It is a risky business, a dangerous business, but one which the people in it enjoy. You have the freedom of being out on the open sea and being your own boss.
I am glad you are Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries – sorry, former minister. It is a good move because it needs to have identification and recognition of what it is. It gives some hope we will give more recognition to our commercial fishing. I do not believe our fisheries are in any way threatened. I heard someone on the radio saying a person had taken out 90 tonne of fish. Perhaps they do not understand 90 tonne of fish is a very small amount. If you go to the Cook Islands or talk about fish taken out of other places you are talking thousands and thousands of tonnes.
We take a relatively small amount of fish and, because we have a limited number of licences and a large area to cover, barramundi are not threatened. We have more concerns about golden snapper, and I am unsure if that comes from commercial fishing. I thought it was more from amateurs.
We have to keep an eye on any down sides for charter boat operators. Sometimes I hear from commercial fishermen that some, not all, tend to fish in one spot until it is fished out and then go to another spot. I am unsure if that is a good way to manage local fisheries.
That confirms the idea of a shared framework is a good one because it includes the charter boat people, the amateur fishers, and the commercial people. The best way to get over the bias of one against the other is for all sides to talk about it. That probably should include people who consume the fish as well, like Carmel Ball or some of the restaurants in town. We would have a group of people who provide, consume and sell the fish as part of the shared framework the previous government put forward and the new government said it would continue with. Unfortunately, they did not include Chambers Bay and Finke Bay.
Minister, the motion is, to some extent, irrelevant from the point of view of voting. However, it has given us the opportunity to say in your next decision ensure it is worked under the shared framework, give recognition where it is due and ensure commercial fishers are recognised for the hard work they do for the Territory, the economy, and for people like me who do not get a chance to fish but love to have wild caught barra and threadfin salmon. Thank you.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond as the minister is not responding at this stage. I agree with my colleague, the member for Nelson, it is a little late. The minister has signed the change to the Barramundi Fishery Management Plan, but I agree with the minister; he can do it. The scope of the act does not matter, there are mechanisms and other clauses which allow him to do that. However, the way it was done was not correct.
The minister had already made the decision to change the management plan. He announced it publicly and gave the public 28 days to comment, but comment on what? You had already made the decision but not based on scientific grounds. It was simply a pork barrelling decision. I accept that; however, decisions made by the minister for Fisheries need to rely on scientific evidence. You have heard the saying about Caesar’s wife: not only be honest, but appear to be honest. A minister of the Crown should not only be honest, but should make every effort for others to know he is honest.
Minister, I am not against commercial fishers or amateur fishers. However, as you will find in the future, you will be accused of both. One day you make a decision and the NT Seafood Council will jump down your throat and accuse you of supporting AFANT. Another day you make a decision and AFANT will jump up and down and say you support commercial fisheries. This is part of being a minister in a very sensitive area. The funny thing is, everyone talks about sharing resources. The commercial fishers talk about sharing resources with the amateurs and Indigenous interests, the amateurs talk about sharing resources, Indigenous interests and commercial resources, and, of course, the Indigenous people want to have a fair share of the fishing industry which, under the recent decision by the High Court - the Blue Mud Bay decision - belongs to them so they fish in the area under their control as long as they are there.
Minister, with the stroke of a pen you have excluded a significant commercial sector of our economy from the area which relies on it for survival. Let us look at the facts. Closing Finke Bay and Chambers Bay has not achieved much because in the past commercial and amateur fishers were fishing there and there was no conflict. While I was minister I cannot remember either sector complaining about actions of the other sector. The area is massive. Commercial fishers will not fish in areas the amateur fishers knew; they delineate the area and move away.
When I was considering closing that area I specifically asked the department to give me maps and, if possible, hire an aeroplane and take, for a period of time, aerial photographs to find out where the commercial fisherman fish and where the amateur fishermen fish. Surprise, surprise, the commercial fishermen were fishing three to six miles out to sea and all the amateur fishers congregated at the mouth of the creeks. There are other photos with the department. I invite you to ask the department for these photos and you will see where commercial and amateur fishermen go fishing. The amateur fishermen are interested in the middle plus barramundi - the trophy fish - and the only place they will catch them is there. The commercial fishermen are interested in the smaller fish which are more palatable.
The plan we had at the time we knew would not satisfy either. We knew we had to make a decision, and I was prepared to make the tough decision. I was prepared to set aside areas around the mouth of the creeks - I am talking about significant areas a mile wide either side of the creek and about three miles deep - and demand the size of the nets used by the commercial fishermen be limited so the big fish sought by the amateur fishermen would not be caught by them.
As you are well aware, and we have had arguments in this House, I was not afraid to stand up for the amateur fishermen and argue for closing the bay near Bynoe Harbour when commercial fishermen were seen by people and photographed and filmed doing the wrong thing. I remember at the time you criticised me severely. The Chief Minister, then Leader of the Opposition, was very pleased with the decision I made. I ensured people knew if they broke the law I was prepared to step in. I was not afraid to close the areas. I closed the area. I acquired commercial barramundi licences to the disgust of the NT Seafood Council, but I knew the best way to separate the interests and share the resources was to find a way where there was no conflict or friction between the different sectors of fishermen.
The politics of fishing in the Territory are very powerful. Yes, AFANT has 1000 or 2000 members. However, as the member for Nelson said, they do not speak for everyone because their members have their own view. I recall a survey was done by one of the fishing writers before the election which revealed about 40% to 45% would change their votes based on the decision of the government with regard to recreational fishing. There are differences within the amateur fishing fraternity.
However, the issue is not about favouring one sector against the other. The issue is – and it will come back while you are minister - you have to make a decision when the pressure mounts. I will give you the next pressure point. I have already been approached by people telling me commercial fishermen cannot fish at Chambers Bay or Finke Bay; they have to go somewhere else to supply fresh barramundi to the markets in Darwin. The next area will be Channel Point. I have already had people from that area ask me what they will do, what the government will do, and whether it will close that area to commercial fishers.
Where do we finish? Where would you push out commercial fishers and what will the impact be on the tourism industry and consumers in Darwin? How far do we have to push them out? The only reason we get fresh barramundi, or the majority of fresh barramundi, in Darwin is because of the easy access to some of these fishing grounds. Chambers and Finke Bays are only a few hours’ drive so the commercial fisherman could put the fillets on ice, chill them, and freight them via truck to Darwin. You cannot do that if you have to send someone down, let us say, to Wadeye, or further down to the Western Australia border or to the east. There is no infrastructure, no roads. You cannot bring chilled barramundi to Darwin, it has to be frozen. The other option is air freight. The cost would be enormous to air freight barramundi from these remote areas and frozen barramundi defeats the purpose. Do I want to buy frozen barramundi? I might as well buy frozen barramundi from Vietnam, Thailand or anywhere else.
We went to great lengths to ensure people in the Territory, and Australians who come to the Territory, have seafood caught in the Territory. We passed legislation to ensure this seafood is labelled as such. We are the envy of every other commercial fishing industry in Australia because we were brave enough to insist seafood caught in Australia is labelled as Australian caught seafood, and imported seafood is labelled as imported seafood.
We had some reaction at the beginning from restaurants and the commercial industry. However, they eventually said it was one of the best things we did because the majority of people care about what they eat and ask for Australian caught barramundi or seafood rather than imported. So, we had a win there.
At the same time, there are many obstacles for the fishing industry. As the member for Nelson said, the fishing industry is a made up of local people. We know the people who fish in the area. I have known Dominic for a long time. He is the only person who fished in the Chambers and Finke Bays area for barramundi. He supplies most of the fish shops in Darwin with fresh barramundi. I also know Ziko very well. Ziko owns the Darwin Fish Market which sells barramundi. Both Dominic and Ziko were very critical of your decision to close these areas - for closing these areas completely. They were quite happy for you to close certain areas reserved for the amateurs and leave the rest open so they continue to get threadfin salmon and fresh barramundi to the markets.
People do not want to completely exclude amateurs from the areas; they are happy to share the resource and the area. Excluding one sector to benefit another without any scientific backing is wrong. This is going to bite you again and again. You made a decision this time, what is the next decision? What area will you close? What pressure will you be subject to in order to close other areas? How far are you going to push the commercial fishing sector? Do you want a fishing industry in the Territory or not? If we want one, we have to ensure it exists and do not exclude it from the very important fishing areas.
I bet you next year you will get pressure from AFANT to close the mouth of the Daly River because that is one of the last areas where commercial barramundi fishermen fish at the moment. AFANT had been in my ear for years to close that area. I resisted because when we close that area we might as well start importing barramundi from Queensland or Western Australia because we will not be able to get fresh barramundi in the Northern Territory.
You have a very hard job to do. I understand the difficulties and pressures but I always said, ‘I will take action based on scientific evidence and scientific advice’. I have a background in the environment but I am not a specialist in aquaculture or fisheries. I relied on people to provide me with advice. That is why I stood firm against my federal colleagues when they tried to make significant areas of the Territory sea parks and close them to any activity. I used scientific advice to show that action was wrong and unjustified. The Territory fishes only 8% of the resources where other countries fish 30-35% of their fishing resources. The Territory does not have the problem Queensland had before with uncontrolled fishing or Western Australia with the shark fishery. We are one of the few places in Australia where successive governments have managed fisheries very well. They have supported amateurs and commercial fishing. We have seen a significant increase in the volume we catch in the Territory because we have good stock and have seen a significant increase in people with boats.
Even Chris Makepeace admitted publicly we are now victims of our own success. Too many amateur fishermen and too many boats that can travel long distances and reach places they could not before are putting enormous pressure on our stocks. As you said before, and your department disclosed a few weeks ago, there is significant threat to golden snapper in our area by amateur fishermen. Also, jewfish is subject to pressure by amateur and commercial fishing. Charter boats - people who go on charters believe they can catch any fish they like in uncontrolled volumes - can put significant pressure on certain special fish which tend to congregate and jewfish is a good example. I have complaints from people at Channel Point - that is one of the areas where black jewfish congregate, especially in the spawning season - that people will hammer them.
We had the example from other states: Western Australia banned fishing of red snapper in certain areas because now, with GPS and boats which can travel long distances, people know the exact point fish congregate and will hammer that spot with disastrous results.
You have made your decision, but I seriously ask you to look at it. I will remain a member of AFANT and am prepared to go to the next AGM. I may not be very popular with them, but I am prepared to explain the decision I took at the time and why. I am sure many people will understand the reason.
At the same time, we have a situation with Blue Mud Bay where many Indigenous people will require measures be put in place to allow people to fish commercially or as amateurs. We have a situation on the Tiwi Islands where the Tiwi people have a special deal with some charter fishermen; they have closed nearly the whole of the north of their islands so neither commercial fishermen nor amateurs can access that area. I know the reaction of AFANT to this closure. We cannot have it both ways; we cannot demand to close the area completely to commercials but, at the same time, when the Tiwi people exercise their legal rights, argue it should happen. The best practice is to co-exist, find the best solution and a way to reach an agreement. To put it bluntly, I know why an agreement was not reached before the last election. Certain people in AFANT thought, with the coming election, they could blackmail the government or the opposition to make the decisions they wanted. That is the reason they refused to reach an agreement with the barramundi group. You will find it again, and you are going ...
Mr Westra van Holthe: Making that accusation you ...
Mr VATSKALIS: I do not make that accusation. That statement was made to my fisheries advisor in my office. I could not believe it. I was very disappointed at the time because that is not the way to proceed. My argument has always been, ‘You have common areas, sit down together and find a way. Do not force the minister to make a decision because some of you will not like it.’
The process you used was wrong. It might be according to the letter of the law, but it was wrong. You made the decision then asked for public input; your decision was already made. It was only going through the process. I will not call it corrupt, but it was not correct.
Minister, you have an interesting portfolio. You will be put under pressure but remember you are the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries for all Territorians not only those who catch fish as commercial fishermen or amateur fishermen, but also the consumers. You might see signs in the fish markets, ‘No fresh barramundi thanks to the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries and the Amateur Fishing Association of the Northern Territory’. At the end of the day, the last thing you need is to play one industry against the other, or have people talking about the selective few who can afford a boat being the only ones who can get fresh barramundi. This is not what the Northern Territory is all about. The Territory lifestyle is not only about going out with your boat and catching a fish, it is also about being able to access fresh seafood from the best waters in Australia; the best seafood in Australia which is being denied to the average Territorian who does not have a boat to go fishing.
It was the wrong decision. It does not serve any purpose but your political future. The decision will come back to haunt you.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Madam Speaker, given the decision was made last week to go ahead with these closures my original view was to say the member for Nelson’s motion is completely redundant, but I will add a little to it because there are some issues I might need to cover off.
I let the member for Nelson know privately that I held off making a decision around the closure of Finke and Chambers Bays with a view to allowing him to debate this last Wednesday, the previous General Business Day. I thought there might be some compelling argument I should take into consideration before making the final decision. However, then a couple of things happened.
The first was the member for Nelson was No 1 on the Notice Paper last Wednesday and gave that position away. He capitulated to the Leader of the Opposition, or whoever approached him on the opposition benches, to hand over that position in favour of a motion the opposition wanted to get up on General Business Day about Power and Water.
Unfortunately, the motion relating to Power and Water took up the entire four-and-a-half hours so we did not get to it. The message sent to me as a result of the member for Nelson’s capitulation on his No 1 position told me he was not all that serious about this motion. If he were serious, if it really meant something to him, there is no way in the world he would have given his No 1 spot to the opposition. Immediately, my view that the member for Nelson’s motion was something he was really passionate about changed and I formed the view that perhaps he was running this motion because he was being pressured by constituents or, politically, people who had approached him. Anyway, that is one thing.
Having heard the debate tonight from the members for Nelson and Casuarina, if the member for Nelson can take any comfort from this - it is cold comfort, but comfort nonetheless - the arguments tonight were not compelling enough for me to change my decision. I appreciate you have done much preparation on this member for Nelson, you wanted to bring this on but the arguments were not compelling enough.
During the debate a number of issues were raised, one around the letters which came in. There was a 30-day period for the public to comment. I am happy to inform the House we received a number of comments from people, one of which the member for Nelson quoted in his debate. However, when I weighed up those comments - if I could go by numbers - more than half were in favour of the closure. That on its own did not provide me with any compelling reason not to make the decision.
The other part of all this is the comments in the public arena at the time this debate first hit the airwaves. What was disappointing were the spurious claims made by the member for Casuarina about the supply of local fresh wild caught barramundi. He was inexplicable in the irresponsible way he inflamed the media and had people believing, or tried to have them believe, as a result of this closure there would be no more fresh barramundi available for consumption in Darwin. What a load of codswallop!
The only way there would be no commercially available fresh wild caught barramundi in Darwin is if commercial operators decided they were not going to go fishing. There is plenty of scope beyond Chambers Finke Bays to continue with a ready supply of fresh wild caught barramundi to the markets in Darwin. It was disappointing that the member for Casuarina, the former minister, trying to point score politically, I guess, made those very wild claims.
The member for Nelson raised the act. The object of the act needs to be looked at in the context of the whole fishery not just the closure of Chambers Bay and Finke Bay, which represent about 100 km of coastline, whereas the Territory has, from memory - I stand corrected if I am wrong - about 5500 km of coastline. In looking at the object of the act and determining whether the closure fits with the object, it is important to look right across the Northern Territory and view the decision made and the object of the act in that context.
Other issues were around the pressure which could be applied elsewhere. There will be buy-back of licences. The member for Nelson specifically asked that question. The process around the licence buy-back is proceeding well. I cannot give you any specific details about how, what, when, where, why, or who, but negotiations are proceeding well. First, there will be a commensurate buy-back of barramundi licences relating to the areas being closed in Finke and Chambers Bays, which has been estimated at around two-and-a-half full licences. In addition, there will be further buy-back of licences up to the value of about six licences to take into account the legacy of unpurchased licences from the former government. We are adjusting the fishery so the commercial sector is not squeezed into smaller areas which could, perhaps, create sustainability problems.
Speaking of sustainability, the members for Nelson and Casuarina are quite right; we do not have a sustainability issue in the Territory. The closure of Finke and Chambers Bays is not about sustainability; it is about - I am happy and proud to say - a vision for the future of recreational fishing in the Northern Territory. There are areas in that region famous for very large barramundi. Having commercial operators go into those areas with gill nets is not consistent with the vision I, or the Mills government, have for the future of recreational fishing in that area.
I do not remember it, but I have been told about a former minister for Fisheries, Mike Reed, who decided - I believe it was the Mary River - had to be closed to commercial fishing many years ago. He did that without any scientific evidence, but it was the right thing to do. He was another minister for Fisheries who had a vision for the recreational sector and I applaud him for that. That is how I see this closure. It is visionary, bold no doubt, and has created some consternation from a number of quarters, but it is important to recognise the recreational sector contributes an enormous amount to the economy of the Northern Territory.
If I get the quote slightly wrong I apologise, but the former minister said earlier that our success has got to us, or something like that. Do you remember the quote, member for Nelson? You know what I mean ...
Mr Wood: I know what you mean.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: We are a product of our success or something like that. What he was referring to is it is such a good fishery here, and so many recreational fishers are coming here, it is putting pressure on everywhere. He is quite right. That is why it is vitally important to set aside an area where access is restricted exclusively to the recreational sector to provide for not only fishing pressure from the amateur sector right now, but for many years to come as that sector continues to grow. Recreational angling has doubled in the last four of five years, maybe the last 10 years.
There is no sign of that slowing down, which is why it is important to focus on making the best use of the coastline to provide for the growth in the recreational sector. This ties in very well with the three-hub economy. You could say Primary Industry and Fisheries, for its food production, is a part of the three-hub economy. You could argue comfortably that recreational fishing is an enormous part of the tourism sector. As we work to grow those three hubs - tourism being one - an important part is the recreational fishing sector. The beautiful pristine areas of Finke Bay and Chambers Bay will be, and can be, marketed nationally and internationally as one of the iconic fishing destinations in one of the most pristine areas in the world. That is why this decision needed to be taken in that context.
A question came up earlier about the resource sharing framework. Both members raised it. I can say - and this will give you some reassurance, member for Nelson and those in the commercial sector, and provide some certainty to the amateurs - if there are to be any further closures of fishing areas to commercial operators, those decisions will be given the full consideration of the resource sharing framework going forward. That is important for the commercial sector to know as well. The commercial sector needs to understand - I thank them today for their press release. Clearly, they are not happy and that is to be expected, but they understand they have to get on with business and work with the government as we develop, in conjunction with them, some plans going forward.
A big part of that will be for the department of Fisheries to work with the NT Seafood Council, and its members to find better ways to operate. We will be looking at how we can work with them to make them more effective, more efficient, and make the whole sector receive the status it deserves: being professional fishermen. There is a line somewhere between commercial fishermen and professional fishermen. The word ‘professional’ carries an extra bit of something: weight, importance, or an intrinsic feeling these guys are expert in what they do. That is the direction we want to take the commercial sector in and work with it to achieve that.
I recognise the importance of both the recreational sector and the commercial sector within the fisheries of the Northern Territory. I am more than prepared to work with both, have the necessary conversations, and we will find common ground out of all this. I have indicated to the NT Seafood Council my willingness, and that of my department, to engage with it as we move forward.
I am very happy to provide - I cannot do it tonight because I do not have a copy to table - a statement of the decision which outlines some of the details and reasons the decision was made. You may still not agree, member for Nelson, with the decision but I ask for some understanding of a different approach this government takes to the vision for the future of the Northern Territory in so many ways, not just in the area of our fisheries.
We are prepared to make some hard decisions, as evidenced by the recent mini-budget, and some announcements before that regarding the price of power, water and sewerage. Rest assured, this was also a hard decision. Even though it was an election commitment, I can assure members in this Chamber that, had there been compelling reason not to go ahead, this would not have happened. Nobody thus far has had a compelling reason overshadowing the vision we have for the future of recreational fishing in the Northern Territory.
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for bringing the motion. It is a shame we did not get to this last week, member for Nelson. It makes tonight’s debate a bit irrelevant. I was going to make my speech very short; I did not want to take up the Assembly’s time on a motion which was, essentially, redundant. However, some good points were raised tonight for which I owed the member for Nelson some degree of explanation. He may not like it, but please provide a level of understanding as to why. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his response. I am glad he did not give a short response because it is important we have on record the minister’s policy in relation to this quite important issue. As the member for Casuarina said, it not only applies here but could be applying elsewhere in the future. It was important to hear the government’s point of view on this matter and its broader vision as well.
The minister said I might have capitulated to the Opposition Leader. I could have capitulated to you, minister, because my motion was the first one for the year, you were going on a ministerial trip to New Zealand and I said we would move it so we could debate it when you returned. I think it is one-all on that issue.
The problem I have with this system of GBDs is if you do not complete the debate that night you go to the bottom of the list unless you can get someone to bring it to the top. I know that from the previous Assembly. It looks like we are going to run out of time.
The increase in power and water charges was an important issue and very relevant at the time. The cost of essential services would affect fishermen as well.
Be that as it may, it is important to have this debate tonight. I forgot to say that Aboriginal people should be involved in the shared framework and I apologise for that, it was an oversight. You mentioned how many thousand kilometres of coastline?
Mr Westra van Holthe: Five-and-a-half thousand kilometres.
Mr WOOD: A large percentage of that comes under the Blue Mud Bay decision and, of course, those people own that section of our waterways and are also part of the shared resource framework. We must not forget that. I apologise for not including that in my discussion.
Minister, I understand where you are coming from. I am an understanding man, but sometimes people do not understand me. It has not been the easiest few days as an independent member. Sometimes people are not as understanding of me as I would like them to be, but that is another story.
I understand the vision and can see there is a great opportunity to improve tourism. Many people rely on amateur fishing. People make lures, people sell boats, repair boats, and make the bits and pieces to make it safe when you are on the water. There are fishing line people, ice people, the beer, the food, and all the things that go with fishing. I see them at Howard Springs because they line up when I am going to work. I ask them, ‘What are you doing on Thursday morning?’ ‘Going fishing.’ That is not a bad life. I ask them to bring something back but it never happens. It is a big industry. It is a tourist industry and a great recreation for local people, especially people who work hard and want time off. It is also a mate thing. People might knock that, but it is a mate thing. Blokes go out for a bit of time amongst themselves, have a beer, enjoy a fish, good yak, come home sunburnt, probably do not catch a fish but they have had a great day. It is good from that point of view and I do not have any qualms about that.
The vision may be a little premature. The vision has driven forward at a time when it was not necessary. There was an election and it is a vote-catcher, ‘We will close this’. You closed it last week but there was no great hurry to close it. The fish resource would not be any worse in a few years’ time where the science could have shown it, even if it was science based on the numbers of people coming to the Territory to use that area. The minister said, and I have heard the NT Seafood Council say, there are not many amateur fishers in that part; they are mainly around the mouth of the Mary River because that is where they can catch fish. That is the science which would have helped the argument, if any, that many people are fishing at present. My understanding is unless you have a pretty good boat it is a long way from anywhere and you need plenty of fuel to travel those distances.
Minister, thank you for your comments tonight, I appreciate them. It is also nice to have some debate around primary industry.
Mr Westra van Holthe: Thank you for your compliment before Gerry.
Mr WOOD: That is all right. I digress slightly and I will talk about the Cook Islands later, but it is amazing when you go somewhere else and still come across issues we have had.
For instance, we tried to control fruit fly by hot water treatments. I discovered the Cook Islands were once quite a big exporter of fruit. They hardly export anything now except pawpaw. They are doing experimental work - fruit flies like pawpaw - similar work. I like discussing those issues because, as someone said recently, we all have our eye on the mining industry being the future of Australia but it will not last forever and agriculture probably will; we still have to eat. We do not and have not given it enough emphasis, and, even if I disagree with the government on other things, I will listen with interest to the policies of the new government relating to primary industry.
Madam Speaker, I am unsure if there is any point voting on this motion. I place on record I do not support the closure of Finke Bay and Chambers Bay. It is premature.
I thank the NT Seafood Council, especially Katherine and Donna, and the other people in the office. Also, Rob Fish - a great name for someone in charge of the NT Seafood Council. He should not be allowed to leave.
I thank all the people who signed the petition. You would be amazed in my area - I never take a petition to someone and ask, ‘Please sign it’. I leave it on a table with a sign in front of it and ask people to read it and, if they wish, sign. I do not force signatures and am not a great fan nowadays of so-called electronic petitions because they are too easy. You want people to sign something after giving it some thought. I was amazed at the number of mature-aged people in the rural area who signed the petition because they supported the commercial fishing industry.
I also thank Carmel Ball for showing me her fresh fish. People should visit her shop. The way she presents her fish for sale is great. It is nice to see a fresh fish shop. When I was a kid I would pick up the Friday fish at the Camberwell fish markets and the place smelt of fish. The fish were fresh, water was flowing everywhere, marble was laid out to keep everything spotless, but it reminded me, when I went into the shop at Fisherman’s Wharf, how many fish we have in the Northern Territory and how lucky we are to have a fresh food market. I hope that continues. I hope the price of fish will not reach a point where it is difficult for people to afford. The minister said there is still plenty of fish. The issue, for me, was not that there are plenty of fish, but the fish have to come from a longer distance and will cost more.
We need to ensure that, added to all the other costs we heard about in the mini-budget, this is not another one because of the government’s decision to close down a fishery.
Madam Speaker, I thank the minister and the member for Casuarina for their contribution to the debate tonight. I will leave it at that.
Motion negatived.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I move that the Chief Minister explains to the Northern Territory’s public servants why he said before the election there would be ‘no public service jobs lost under a Country Liberals government’ and why, after the election, he said he would ‘support and strengthen the Northern Territory public service’ when he has done the opposite and sacked valuable and hard-working public servants, made others fearful for their jobs, and put services at risk for Territorians, and that the Chief Minister now tells Territorians exactly how many more NTPS jobs he intends to slash.
As every Territorian would know, the Chief Minister is on the record, prior to the election, stating categorically that no public servant would lose their job if he were elected. He did this on a live television debate, and reiterated this message throughout the election campaign repeatedly. He maintained this position immediately after the election in a media release dated 27 August titled ‘Mills meets Public Service Commissioner’. I will read a couple of sentences from that media release:
Who, I might add, was sacked soon after this:
He went on to say:
It all went pear-shaped from there, and the past 102 days have been hell for public servants under this new wrecking ball of a government. It was only a matter of time before Territorians and public servants saw the Chief Minister was not a man of his word, is not to be trusted, and his hollow promise to be transparent and accountable on his so-called ‘contract’ with Territorians is not worth the paper it is printed on.
Despite years of loyal service to successive Northern Territory governments, Mr Symons, who I referred to in the media release, was one of a number of capable and hard-working CEOs who have been sacked and replaced with 10 appointments, along with former Under Treasurer, Jennifer Prince, for whom the member for Port Darwin’s praise, as shadow Treasurer, bordered on sycophantic. Also, Richard Galton, decades of dedicated service – gone; David Ritchie, Jim Grant, Mark Sweet, John Fitzgerald and, more recently, Steve Rossingh, all gone and with it decades of knowledge, loyal service, and hard work.
All these people were sacked to make way for the return of political appointments on whacking big salaries amounting to about $1000 a day. Some of these appointments brought people out of retirement. Mr Deputy Speaker, let me correct what I said there. I am not talking about the salaries of the newly-appointed CEOs but members of the Renewal Management Board and other very senior appointments on contract.
That would account for an increase, if we look at the mini-budget, in the Department of the Chief Minister of $9m to the budget for policy advice and coordination. This is where the big salaries for the old mates of the CLP government who have come back are being paid from. Some of these appointments brought people out of retirement. All were men, not one woman. Is it small wonder this move saw those of us who remember the bad old days of the CLP boys club as a new age kind of dad’s army. I am not being ageist here; I would not want to offend the Treasurer, God forbid, but it is the truth.
The new Chief Minister has unashamedly politicised the public service. However, if there is one saving grace it is the fact the new Minister for Health, unlike the Chief Minister, knew the former Under Treasurer, Jennifer Prince, was far too valuable an asset to let go and, in the weeks following her sacking, offered her a job within Health. As we know, the Minister for Health values her knowledge and expertise, whereas the Chief Minister could only say it was a time for change and that is why she is no longer the Under Treasurer.
Let us not forget the then Leader of the Opposition, in the post-election action plan issued prior to the election and dated August 2012, promised to, on Day 5:
There were no advertisements calling for an expression of interest but, rather like the practices of the old CLP, friendly appointments were made. There was no process of merit and certainly no transparency. This was highlighted in the last sittings during one of the first Question Times when the member for Nelson asked a direct question of the Chief Minister about whether or not the process of an EOI for a new chair of the EPA had been agreed to as per his commitment. On the back foot, the Chief Minister said, ‘I know I am on the record’, and then confessed saying, ‘I will accept there was not the process I was referring to’. He has, unashamedly, broken his pre-election commitment to advertise for a job and this goes straight to the heart of his five-point plan about accountability and transparency as being absolutely worthless. He and his government clearly cannot be trusted.
Let us add to the list of sackings. Soon after that, the Northern Territory Coordinator-General for Remote Services, Ms Olga Havnen, just twelve months into her two-year contract also fell under the CLP’s axe. This highlighted, once again, the new government’s previous commitment not to sack public servants and its unwillingness to take advice and promote transparency and report, in this instance, independent advice at arm’s length from government.
Having started at the top with the sacking of CEOs and replacing them with hand-picked old boys, public servants were put on notice on a whole raft of measures, none of which initially were consulted or negotiated - I am still not convinced they are - all of which were top down, leaving public servants confused, fearful and anxious about the future, looking over their shoulders. In the past three months, there has been no improvement and we know morale in the Northern Territory public service is at rock bottom - a freeze on temporary contracts; a freeze on higher duties allowance; the announcement that 23 agencies of the former government’s Administrative Arrangements would now be reshuffled and expanded into 33 agencies with no consultation whatsoever. The new Tourism minister announced that Tourism NT will relocate to Alice Springs and from there backpedalled desperately when he realised his announcement backfired not only with the hard working public servants with lives and families entrenched in Darwin, but also quite badly with elements of the tourism industry.
I acknowledge the strong advocacy of unions in holding the new CLP government to account in relation to the obligation under the enterprise bargaining agreement that, regardless of which political party is in government, it must consult with the likes of the Community and Public Sector Union - the CPSU - and United Voice. Under the terms of the EBA, it is clearly stated that employees must be consulted over matters of major change.
If the things this new government has put in place do not constitute major change I do not know what does. It is small wonder that, within days of the new government and its sweeping and un-negotiated major changes without consultation, unions lodged a case with the Fair Work Ombudsman. Essentially, the outcome of that was recognition that parties needed to sit down together, including the Commissioner for Public Employment, and draw up processes to consult and communicate around changes. As a recipient of the Commissioner’s bulletin updates I see some evidence of this, but sometimes the complexity and verbosity of bureaucratic language does not deliver a clear and definitive message. I am pleased to see union delegates are at the table to represent the interests of their members, the hard-working public servants of the Northern Territory.
Let us go back to the shambolic plan to relocate Tourism NT to Alice Springs not helped, apparently, by the new Tourism minister’s visit to the Tourism department. This only added to the confusion as he was unable to answer any of their questions; nothing has changed. The minister also admitted to Tourism staff that the move was based on politics. Moving Tourism, and Parks and Wildlife, is all about having his departments in his own electorate. Goodness knows how many times he said in this House all he wanted to do was go home to Alice Springs!
Nowhere pre-election did the CLP say it would be moving Tourism NT to Alice Springs. This and other sneaky moves by the CLP saw the opposition launch the Job Watch website. This website has become necessary to allow public servants to blow the whistle on what is really happening in their workplaces because of fears of repercussions if they were to raise it with their managers. So much for the Chief Minister’s bold assertion that public servants could provide, and I quote, ‘frank and fearless advice’. For the record, the opposition continues to encourage public servants whose jobs are at risk, should they know of others, or where the CLP is simply not being open and accountable, to direct people to use the Job Watch site.
Whistleblowers continue to alert the opposition to the scrapping of public sector jobs and, with it, the obvious correlation in the reduction to services and programs. The whistleblowers and the unhappy campers, which are public servants and Territorians generally, are venting like they never vented before. They have taken to social media like Facebook, are writing letters, sending text messages and posting online comments to the NT News. They are calling talkback radio complaining bitterly that after only three months they have had a gutful of this new government. This includes those who voted CLP and who, like the middle-aged woman I saw on the ABC news last night, said she would never vote CLP again. She is not alone.
The mini-budget handed down yesterday, Day 101 of this dreadful and arrogant government’s rule - it rules with an iron fist and no heart - has revealed that 600 jobs in the public service will go. It does not matter whether the Treasurer wants to split hairs over whether or not the 10% cuts she inflicted on jobs in Education are front line or back line as she calls them, the truth is this new government has been incredibly dishonest with Territorians and public servants. What other jobs and what other programs are on the hit list? What services will be cut and whose job with it will be next? Will the Attorney-General identify how many lawyers’ jobs will be going in the Attorney-General’s department? To fill the gap will he roll up his sleeves, jump in behind a desk and lend a hand to those left behind and at the same time build up some work experience hours as a lawyer?
We on this side of the House who are here to hold this new government to account have received, and continue to receive, much intelligence from hard-working public servants about how low morale has become and how fearful people are for their jobs, but even more fearful of offering the fearless and frank advice so disingenuously invited by the former Leader of the Opposition. That is why we established the Job Watch website to provide public servants with a confidential opportunity to let the truth be known. People are using it and communicating with us, including students who were advised offers of vocational employment over the Christmas vacation would not be happening this year. The Chief Minister denied this and went so far as to peddle out the old line about Labor lies only to discover it was, in fact, true.
So desperate to win government and take power was the CLP, the Leader of the Opposition, in the lead-up to the August election, would have said and done anything to make it a reality. He said no public service jobs would be lost under a CLP government. The truth is the writing was well and truly on the wall if we look to other jurisdictions. Conservative governments in other parts of Australia have slashed public sector jobs. New South Wales – 15 000 public sector jobs to be cut; Victoria - 4200 public service jobs to be cut; Queensland – 20 000 public service jobs to be cut, including forced redundancies. In each of these jurisdictions, in the lead-up to election, the Liberal leader of the opposition, now Liberal premiers, are on the record promising people’s jobs were safe.
The CLP manifesto makes one direct reference to public servants on page seven where it states:
The reality could not be further from the truth. Sadly, all too many of our public servants want to do good things, want to provide important services, front line or otherwise to clients, children, families, businesses, but cannot concentrate on that when they are so understandably anxious about their future. They do not know if their contract will be renewed. They are taking on additional work because colleagues have moved or have not been replaced, and are doing extra duties and extra hours without the recognition, thanks or pay.
On top of that, as if things are not tough enough they are worrying about their job security, not to mention the cost of living hikes, another blatant backflip and broken promise inflicted on the Territory by this deceitful government.
How very trite those words about knowing public servants want to do good things from the Chief Minister sound now. This is from a leader who has done countless bad things, terrible things since taking the reins. Utility increases, surely unprecedented in the history of the nation, with power bills to rise 30% in less than a month’s time will clearly impact on the cost of living for all Territorians, including our public servants, and will impact on service delivery as government jobs and service cuts will have to be made to compensate for the increased operating costs. Chief Minister, please do not lecture me when you stand to speak, or Territorians, with the debt story. We all know you are using NT debt as an excuse to drastically cut services and increase charges in the mini-budget.
Just this afternoon, bang, news the Northern Territory Youth Affairs Network has its marching orders. This is an NGO funded through government and a cut which will hurt our youth. I have been on their networking list for some time. They provide an incredibly good service, especially to people in remote areas, but clearly the value has not been recognised and that service has now gone.
We are all a little weary of hearing from this new and terrible Treasurer about the tightening of belts. Territorians might have thought things could not be worse than yesterday’s mini-budget and the 100 days of pain leading up to it, but we heard the Treasurer on the ABC news last night saying the pain is yet to come.
The Treasurer’s mini-budget says 600 public servants will go. That is, as the Leader of the Opposition said this morning, 600 more than the Chief Minister promised prior to the election. What the Treasurer and the Chief Minister need to be talking about, frankly and honestly, is how many more public sector jobs they intend to cut and how this will impact on Territorians who are reliant on those services. More importantly, it is about being honest with public servants and their families who are wondering what is around the corner and whether they will have a job next week, next month or even next year. They are wondering how they will afford the usual Christmas or the traditional January holiday while the kids are off school. It is going to be a very bleak Christmas for many.
The Chief Minister will still not be upfront or honest with Territorians and public servants, nor will the Treasurer, about which jobs will go out of the 600 and which are earmarked for the next round of axing. I noted yesterday a media release put out by the CPSU condemning the CLP government’s announcement it would axe 600 jobs from the public sector. In that media release Kay Densley states:
The media release goes on to say a meeting with Treasury was planned for today.
I have spoken with Ms Densley since that meeting and they are still no clearer. Whilst I know Treasury officials to be hard-working, I also know them to be number crunchers and simply following the Treasurer’s directions. They have been asked to find $60m, which translates into 600 jobs. That provides no additional information to identify how many jobs, which jobs, where, who will be going and who will be safe.
During my conversation with Ms Densley she also advised that people were continuing to find out in the most awful way that their jobs are going or under threat. She has obviously had communication from members associated with the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory. The minister’s media release states:
That was news to the security people who are public servants. Fancy finding out about your job by reading a media release! That was the same for someone employed as a photographer.
His release further says:
Of course, the photographer working there is clearly worried about his future.
Chief Minister, even within your own agency of Police Fire and Emergency Services people associated with the First Response Patrol learnt for the first time through a media release their jobs were going; so, well done.
Before I close, I will touch on a very important point raised by the Leader of the Opposition in her reply to the mini-budget this morning. She challenged the Treasurer on the fact the CLP has, effectively, made the decision to double the rate of inflation from 2.1% to 4.3%, and doing this will put incredible pressure on both public and private sector wage growth. How very strange it is that nowhere in the mini-budget this is mentioned. It raises the question as to how the CLP will manage renegotiation of EBAs. The public sector EBA and the teacher’s EBA come around in August 2013 - there may well be others next year - and I trust this wrecking ball of a government is ready to listen to representation as to why it should be paying increases of at least 4.3%. Ironically, the only way to pay for increases will be pay cuts or more job cuts. This will amount to people who call the Territory home and have raised families here starting to look elsewhere and to leave.
I ask the Chief Minister to come clean. Here is his chance to place on the record why he told Territorians and public servants before the election their jobs were safe when he knew all along they were not. Our former Chief Minister summed it up pretty well in the House today, ‘Pre-election you were prepared to do anything, to say anything to win government’. The next step for the Chief Minister should be to try to recover some face if he has any shred of decency left, to be honest and say exactly how many more jobs, and which jobs are next, and to put public servants’ nerves at rest.
I close by placing on the record some comments received from a public servant. Obviously, for fear of retribution, they can only be made anonymously:
I thank the House for the opportunity to speak to this motion and look forward to hearing more from the Chief Minister and, most importantly, exactly what the intentions are with the public service. I call upon him to be open and transparent as per the contract he signed with Territorians in the lead-up to the election.
Mr MILLS (Chief Minister): I have made my position very clear on this issue: the Country Liberals value an effective and efficient public sector which delivers frontline services to the community. I will honour that promise. I have said all along we are looking at those people whose only role is to service the interests of government and we are focusing on strengthening services to the public. These are people on or above $110 000 a year. We made that clear and explained why. We are not talking about teachers, doctors or police officers. The fact is - and this is a difficult fact for the now opposition to comprehend - they have a part to play in this. Under Labor, the number of executive contract officers blew out to enormous levels. Over the past five years the number of executive contract officers in the NT Public Sector has grown by 50% from 342 to 515. It is interesting to pause on that for a moment because it was acknowledged by previous Treasurer Syd Stirling that public service numbers were increasing to concerning levels and that was in 2006.
In 2006, having admitted growth was becoming unsustainable, he acknowledged that fact, accepted responsibility, and admitted before a large gathering he would begin to reduce that number. I understand in a report, I believe it was ABC Stateline, he made a guarantee at an industry representative gathering that the Territory government would not employ more public servants - which was an admission of the growth - and would not spend more on wages and he would make the guarantee rock solid. He then stated, ‘Yes, we understand public service numbers are at historic highs for the Territory; there are reasons for that. Yes, we have done many things; there has been more money coming in, new initiatives, etcetera’, but he said:
He accepted there was a problem and then staked his credibility on doing something about it. The interviewer said, ‘So, basically, how are you going to do it?’ He stated:
He knew there was a problem.
The problem is at a number of different levels. The Treasurer acknowledges if staff numbers grow the wages bill grows and you have limited capacity to service and limited flexibility. It starts to impose real pressure on your fiscal position. He understood that and staked his credibility on addressing that through natural attrition. That, if it has escaped you, member for Nhulunbuy, is precisely the mechanism that would be best used here, as we have said before. There are senior contract positions we have to assess to be fair, given the extraordinary level of growth, but the problem is growth is at such a level we are required to make some difficult decision, ones the former government was not able to make. You can sheet the blame home to us if it makes you feel better, but the reality is even the former Treasurer Syd Stirling acknowledged there was a problem and staked his credibility on doing something about it. But he was unable to make the difficult decisions. The fact he did not make the difficult decisions – the capacity to make hard decision was not in the DNA of the Labor brand - is because in the last five years, with the population increase of about 9%, we have seen the public service grow by 24%. This was largely under the watch of the then next Treasurer, Treasurer Lawrie.
The Treasurer before staked his credibility on this but was not able to deliver and acknowledge the problem. Then, during the last five years, the population grew by 9%, the public sector by 24%, and executive contract numbers by 50%. We are now the baddies because we have to deal with an unsustainable position. I know people are upset, but if they think about it they will understand why it is occurring. It is because of the careless attitude of the former Labor government. It is not sustainable. You have put people into difficult positions. It is a position recognised on your side but not acted on. You say you care, but you do not care enough to do the right thing and avert a problem. It gives you all the relief you can muster to cover your shame that you now can blame the ones who care enough to make the tough decisions which will result in security and strength. It is difficult for you to understand, but that is how we see it. It is not because we enjoy this; it is the right thing to do for the long term.
You can and have been caught up in the emotion of this which has rendered Labor incapable of managing well and, therefore, there is a problem. If it makes you sleep well at night then sheet the blame home, but think about this and consider how we got into a situation, which even the former member for Nhulunbuy acknowledged was a problem.
Labor made the public service bigger but not better. What is even more shocking is that this is despite repeated promises it could not fulfil. Capping public service staffing levels - as a part of the 2010 budget the Labor government announced an efficiency dividend and an NTPS staffing cap. According to Labor, the staffing cap was a two-year measure designed to maintain overall NTPS staffing level numbers at March 2010 levels. I have heard these assertions before. Why were they given? Because Labor knew there was a problem but could not deal with it and, at the same time, committed to increasing frontline services.
I have quotes from Chief Minister Clare Martin about the same things - the restructuring, making necessary decisions, railing that the Country Liberals in opposition had not been capable of making these decisions. Nothing seems to change except the language and the action. The language remains with Labor, you do not follow through on any action.
This staffing cap was extended by the Treasurer in the 2012-13 budget. I wonder why. Departments were placed under further pressure in the 2012 budget with a forced 2% reprioritisation of spending on top of a 3% efficiency dividend and staffing cap. You do not have the capacity to make the decisions; you put the measures in place which were reportedly expected to create $300m in savings. This position was reiterated by the then Treasurer, now Opposition Leader, the member for Karama in her budget speech on 4 May, 2010 and I quote:
Good heavens. Further:
The fact is in March 2010 there were 18 149 staff in the Northern Territory public service. By September 2012 those levels had risen, as mentioned previously, to around 20 000. So much for Labor’s staffing cap. You say it and it sounds good. You win the approval of the audience but you do not follow through. You create a greater problem. Somewhere someone has to do something for the sake of those being given positions which are largely unsustainable. You cannot continue down this path. However, instead of maintaining the March 2010 level of 18 149, Labor increased the Northern Territory public service by almost 2000 positions - just another Labor broken promise to Territorians about fiscal responsibility. I would be really concerned about that.
The member for Nhulunbuy would be untroubled by that because it requires some soul searching and consideration of the complexity. The fault originates on that side and it could not continue. I do not know if you run your own affairs like this, but you cannot keep doing it. What would you do if you were in the position? Perhaps, member for Nhulunbuy, one day you will be in this position. What would you do? Consider that. Get off your high horse, stop calling us names and think about it.
If we go back to 2001, the statistics paint an even bleaker picture, particularly in relation to the number of executive contract officers employed by the Labor government. According to Northern Territory public service employment statistics available from the NT Public Service Commissioner, the number of full-time staff in the NTPS increased by approximately 35% between 2001 and 2012 from 14 300 to 19 500. That is now over 20 000 with 1000 extra in just 12 months. Wages have risen 98% between the financial years 2002-03 and 2012-13 – $900m to $1.788bn compared to a CPI increase of 33%. These are real numbers. What would you do to manage this? It is comfortable for you over there, you can just hurl abuse.
Ms Walker: That is a rhetorical question, Terry. I have contributed to the debate.
Mr MILLS: Perhaps most alarming of all is the number of executive appointments in the Northern Territory ...
A member: It is a real question.
Mr MILLS: That is right, they are real questions. I hope you get the chance to read this if you are not listening now. Perhaps the most alarming of all is that the number of executive appointments in the Northern Territory service has grown by 104% since 2001. Obviously, looking at this – put the emotion aside, member for Nhulunbuy - there are too many chiefs when we really need more soldiers on the front line. It is out of control. You have mismanaged it and now you are covering it up and shooting the blame home to those who have just arrived on the scene and are rendering assistance and trying to fix this problem. People are fighting to improve the lives of Territorians; they are the ones who need support.
With so many executives it can be easy for no one person to take responsibility for action or non-action. It is easy to deflect to another manager, another area, another agency, or to have it buried in some mega-department. We need thinner senior management layers and individual executives exhibiting greater accountability for their actions. We will achieve this with the smaller agencies as chief executives will be more in touch with what is happening on the ground, closer to their management teams, better able to monitor performance and demand accountability. The exception is the Department of Education and Children’s Services, which I have deliberately brought together so children can benefit from a greater network of professional staff and facilities all concerned with the growth, development, and safety of children.
I point out another quote from the former Treasurer and now Opposition Leader, the member for Karama, on 1 May 2012. When talking about Budget 2012-13 and savings in advertising, the member for Karama said:
Unfortunately the former Treasurer did not practise what she preached. In the last financial year Labor spent $1.2m on advertising in the Chief Minister’s Office alone. For the same period, $20m was spent on the whole-of-government advertising. To facilitate this extraordinary spend on advertising, Labor employed 140 marketing and communications staff with the NTPS whose sole role was to look after the interests of the Labor government. Shameful! I cannot believe you guys. That is more than all the journalists employed in the whole of Darwin - the whole of the Territory, I suspect.
The member for Nhulunbuy is right when she says I promised to support and strengthen the public service prior to the election. That is exactly what my government is doing. Yet, do not bother with the facts, any analysis or, in the famous approach of the member for Barkly, deconstruct and look at the problem from a few different angles. This one needs deconstruction. You had 10 years of defragging and unpacking this to look at the problem which must be addressed with the future of the Territory, the strengthening of people and families, and services delivered in mind.
When talking about the former Treasurer you have so easily slid over an important fact which will cause you to trip in your rush to feed the upset and angry crowd. You feed them whatever you can lay your hands on, even if it is not the truth. You claim we have doubled the cost of living but that is not true. The fact is, in your former Treasurer’s estimation, going into the election on those fiscal settings it was projected the cost of living would increase by 1.3%, I understand. We have set 0.9%. Yes, it may have doubled, but the greater contribution to that increase is from the settings already put in place by the former Treasurer. Her own admission then but not convenient now - bundle it together and post it in the Country Liberals’ box. Stick it on them, but it is not true.
The larger part of the contribution to the cost of living increase is from the settings established by the member for Karama. Look at it yourself. As an educated person, read it for yourself and consider what you said. If you are going to feed the crowd with that which is untrue to service your political agenda you are doing a disservice to the community. You are not building cohesion, confidence, or truth; you are feeding them whatever you want to keep them wild, keep them angry and unsettled. People need to be settled and you have to tell them the truth. The truth is often difficult and does not suit the political purpose. That has been your problem all along.
We have much work to do to tell people the truth. That is why these difficult decisions are based on something solid and sound and, over time - granted, people will be upset about it. I have friends who are very upset, but we are doing it because we have an eye on the future. They are the decisions Treasurer Stirling could not make even though he knew it was a problem. It then got further out of control under Treasurer Lawrie - way out of control - who now breathlessly sheets it all home to the Country Liberals. It is unbelievable.
I have faith in the public service. I believe they largely understand this; they are weighing it up and testing the character of this government. This government will be found to be true and able to guide the future of the Territory to places you were unable to because you feasted on the fat of the land, fed yourselves, and did not feed the core strength of the community. You invested in making yourselves look good, diminishing your responsibility and accountability, made no hard decisions and provided no real leadership. It is the easiest thing in the world to make big announcements, spend money and say yes. It is harder to say no. You do not care enough to say no because you might get a push back and it hurts. If you say no, it is because it is something more important than yourself. That is what this Country Liberal government has been able to do. People are upset and angry but we are making these decisions for a good reason. The capacity of the former government to make these decisions was left wanting.
We are determined to improve the lives of Territorians - we will not back away from that - by ensuring service delivery hits the ground quickly and efficiently in areas which matter most throughout the whole Territory - the city and in the bush. We have already made progress in this area by opening MVR on Saturdays which has been highly successful with hundreds of Territorians taking advantage of the increased operating times. I sincerely thank the MVR staff for their hard work and dedication in improving this important service to Territorians. One of my first visits was to the staff at MVR Parap. I thanked them very much for their commitment and support. I have offered my support to them. They gave me some tremendous feedback.
We know household budgets are tight and governments are expected to live within their means. Times are tight - look around. The cost of living is high in the Territory; housing prices are increasing and rents have skyrocketed to be the most expensive in the country. Territory families are doing it tough. To use the Opposition Leader and former Treasurer’s own words, ‘People expect government to tighten its belt’. They do, and for government to provide leadership. Unlike Labor, we will live within our means. We will help Territory families and provide the leadership necessary during these hard times.
Prior to the election it was no secret one of the points of our five-point plan was to cut waste and reduce the enormous debt burden facing every Territorian. This debt is expected to blow out to $6bn in 2016 - a fact. It is a debt which currently sees Territory families struggling to pay their rent, paying $750 000 in interest repayments every day. That money should be spent on services to improve the lives of Territorians with more doctors, nurses, teachers and more police in the city and the bush.
In May, the non-financial public sector fiscal imbalance was $767m but early indications from the Renewal Management Board, which you like to attack personally rather than weigh what has come from it. Judge on merit; attacking people is the way of a Labor government. You guys made plenty of appointments. I could name people who were paid extraordinary salaries for jobs which were not advertised - greater in combination - a few of them, member for Nhulunbuy. You become a little animated about this. Some decisions the former government made were obscene when it comes to the amount of money paid to some people. Jobs were not advertised and no one knows. We know, but will not name them in the parliament. You are happy to not only name them but call their reputations into account. You can judge them with all the academic credentials you can muster on the other side and they would not equal one of these. However, you name them, belittle - former Administrators, former Under Treasurers, respected around the country by Labor administrations, Liberals and conservatives. You can denigrate them - attack the messenger; do not trouble yourselves with the substance. You do not have the heart for it. Low-level, nasty stuff is your style. It is weak and shallow.
We know the fiscal position has been so compromised by the former Treasurer, now Opposition Leader, that we have no option but to seek efficiencies. Treasurer Stirling would probably agree with us. The proliferation of programs and duplication of functions within departments has resulted in significant waste and a need to structurally change the sector. These changes have been made and, at the heart, is our aim to ensure Territorians receive value for money. We committed to this before the election and will follow through on our promise. Territorians, young and old, deserve value for money. That is why we will be doing everything possible to ensure Territory families can walk the streets safely at night and ensure priority is given to resourcing frontline services like police, teachers, nurses and health workers.
Our budgetary position must be addressed, which is why my government has a clear and positive intention to maintain the strongest commitment to fixing the Territory’s finances as soon as we can. We will manage the situation carefully and responsibly to protect and secure the Territory’s long-term future and progressively bring the Territory back to a position where it lives within its means, focus strongly on economic growth, development and jobs, and maintain a public sector at the appropriate level.
Perhaps former Treasurer Stirling could not get the support of his colleagues. Former Treasurer Lawrie, who was in Cabinet, perhaps did not provide him with the necessary support because in the five years under her reign it blew out even further.
We will work within a firm policy of fiscal discipline and accountable government to establish clear, sensible and achievable goals. We promised to do all this before the election and have every intention of delivering on these promises. Obviously a significant aspect of repairing the Territory’s fiscal position will involve seeking savings across departments, but we will never forget we are dealing with good people, many with mortgages and families. After 11 years of a Labor government we have been left with a mess to clean up and have a clear position in mind.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we have to do this for the best interests of the Territory and the families of the Territory. This motion is ill-founded and serves no genuine purpose.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Treasurer): Mr Deputy Speaker, I welcome the motion from the member for Nhulunbuy that:
Further, the Chief Minister must be honest and tell Territorians:
It is quite a lengthy motion, but I welcome the opportunity to speak on issues the member for Nhulunbuy felt compelled to raise. To begin, it is quite interesting that the former Labor government, now opposition, should pedal this level of scaremongering in the community. It maintains it is the friend of the people, the friend of the workers, certainly the friend of the unions, and friend of the working class. We have all heard the mantra of the Labor Party over decades, if not centuries - best friends yet really doing them no service. You are creating a climate of fear, anxiety and low morale, as the former Chief Minister mentioned today, and it is not required. It is unnecessary, it is not fair, and it is not justified.
We have been up-front from the word go and have explained our brief, our goal, all along. No one will be sacked. There will be no sackings, no forced redundancies. Positions with pay ranges over $110 000 may be scrutinised as to whether they are necessary. We have been up-front about that. Some may lose their jobs if they are seen to be unnecessary, but most of those people will be redeployed. We have also been clear on that. People in the front line providing direct services to people within all agencies of government have security of their positions.
The member for Nhulunbuy has allowed us to reinforce the message we have given in the 15 weeks we have been in government. Nothing has changed. All we hear from the other side is the lines being peddled, which are unkind and inflicting unnecessary pain and anxiety on the people of the Northern Territory, on the public servants who might be listening to this debate tonight. The opposition maintains there will be sackings, there are sackings, and there is an underlying mission of this government to get to people, to fling them out of jobs willy-nilly, to create this sense of uncertainty and instability. This is cruel, unnecessary, unkind, and all the words thrown at us over the last few weeks are scaremongering at the very base level amongst the people who vote Labor and align themselves with the Labor Party, and it borders on being criminal.
The member for Nhulunbuy felt compelled to raise this issue in parliament because she felt the government has a malicious campaign and is to blame for the anxiety people in the public service feel. Despite the bleating from those opposite, this motion has not gained any validity whatsoever as a result of yesterday’s mini-budget. In fact, people in the Territory who have been feeling a sense of anxiety about the security of their positions within the public service should feel a little more secure in the knowledge we have reinforced our original position, which I have already stated.
The Country Liberals have been consistent on the issue of public servant employment. To the 20 000 public servants who might be listening: our message has not changed. Do not listen to your Labor mates who are peddling this nonsense because you will work yourself into a state, which is exactly what they want. They want you to feel a sense of insecurity, of pending doom and gloom, and it is not necessary. If you are paid less than $110 000 a year, are not in an executive contract officer position, and are in the front line you have nothing to worry about.
The number of people whose positions have been targeted by the scrutiny of the new government is minimal and the positions are in the upper echelons of the public service, as the Chief Minister has already stated. It is about trimming back the excessive amounts of upper bureaucracy within the public service which increased exponentially over the time the former government was in power - over 100% increase in the public service in the last 10 years. It is insane, unjustifiable, irrational and frightening. Of course, being a conservative government we believe in responsible management. We believe in looking at the excesses and inefficiencies in any government, and it is our duty to cut back and trim to allow the open market to take its full effect. It is about trying to keep government as small as possible whilst maintaining services to the people - services people expect, desire, and need - but, at the same time, keeping the executive-heavy top end of bureaucracy as minimal as possible.
The former government takes no responsibility for anything we inherited. It is all about no responsibility and now the former government is laying the blame fairly and squarely at our feet which is totally irrational. After 15 weeks in government it is mystifying how these people can look us in the face and say it is our fault. I have not heard one of them accept an ounce of responsibility.
There was a hint last week from the Leader of the Opposition. She hinted she had to spend a large amount of money which put us in debt - blew out the fiscal imbalance. Today I heard a slight hint of responsibility from the former Chief Minister. He talked about the need for a deficit and the fact the global financial crisis caused the former government to spend its way out of the situation; there had to be a deficit. There was a little hint of responsibility taken by the former Chief Minister, who has sat in silence at the back. He has been sitting in silence for months now. We heard him speak today in the second round of parliamentary sittings. It was quite unusual to hear the man speak. I thought he had lost his voice or was too embarrassed to say anything. However, I appreciated his contribution because of all the opposition members the former Chief Minister probably makes the most sense.
I have digressed. I return to the allegations made by the member for Nhulunbuy that we have somehow misled the people of the Northern Territory in what we planned for the public service. We have not done that. I will continue my efforts to defend and explain our position for the people of the Northern Territory and the public servants of the Northern Territory.
Frontline services will be protected. There will be no change to frontline services. Public servants in the front line have absolute security in their employment tenure. We believe we can achieve a 3% reduction in employee expenses over four years by not replacing personnel when they leave, the non-renewal of some contract positions, especially in the many management layers which have come about, and through reshaping our agencies and the way they do things to ensure the focus is on the front line. Once again, this reiterates the message we have been sending out for months.
The 3% reduction could see up to 600 positions removed from a public service of 20 000. The Commissioner for Public Employment advises the natural turnover of staff - public servants choosing to leave their jobs - runs at over 4000 a year. A full 23% of the public service turns over every year regardless of what the government does or the opposition says. We are talking about a 3% reduction over four years: around 570 positions. We have allowed some leverage and say 600 positions will be removed from the public service within the forward estimates. Our measure to see a reduction in the total number of public servants by 600 positions over four to five years is achievable through not replacing personnel when they leave, the non-renewal of some contract positions, and reshaping our agencies and the way they do things.
Under Labor the public service ballooned, as the Chief Minister outlined earlier: 24% in five years, and executive contracts grew over 50% in five years. What was the justification for an increase in executive contract positions of 50% during those five years? It does not measure up to increases in population or any obvious increase in the productivity of the public service. It was complete and utter indulgence by a Labor government intent on reaffirming itself as some power machine which had to have a massive big public service behind it. It was a demonstration of how clever it was if surrounded by 50% more employees. It, somehow, obviously made them feel good. They felt they were doing something constructive and were the big strong leaders of the Northern Territory. However, this was unsustainable.
When the GST rivers of gold stopped flowing the Territory was left in a state. Government was still paying wages, especially to executives, it could not afford. This has added to the fiscal imbalance of the Northern Territory and the burgeoning, ballooning debt we are faced with. The Country Liberals have taken the responsible action of limiting further public service growth. We cannot afford the public service to get any bigger. There has to be a retraction, a correction. We are talking about a correction of 3%, which is less than the natural attrition rate over a 12-month period.
Only the Country Liberals will take the tough but necessary action to ensure the Territory gets back on track. Only the Country Liberals can manage the finances of the Territory responsibly. We have seen that time and time again. Conservative governments come in, are faced with huge fiscal imbalances, ballooning debt, escalating debt. Conservative governments in the other states of Australia are faced with similar problems. It is people like us in a conservative government - leaders, ministers - who have to make the tough decisions, put these corrections in place and try to manage our way out of these potentially disastrous situations.
I digress for a minute. On television the other morning - while in Darwin I indulge in watching some morning television; at home I do not because I am usually running around after my kids - they spoke about the Rosella food manufacturing company going into receivership. One of the commentators asked, ‘What can they do?’ and the other one, some kind of financial guru, said, ‘They need to get themselves out of debt’. I thought, ‘Gee, there is a message in that’. The Rosella food manufacturing company was in debt up to its eyeballs and has hit the wall; it has gone under and that is the end of it unless someone bails or buys it out. Governments can do the same thing. We are faced with the same situation as the Rosella food manufacturing company: unmanageable and unsustainable debt. We have seen around the world that governments can go kaput, governments can hit the wall, governments can go under.
What are we doing as a responsible conservative government? We have come online and are making very serious and difficult decisions about pulling ourselves back from the precipice the Americans call the ‘fiscal cliff’. We could call our predicament a fiscal cliff too. We are not at the edge - some would argue we are a few metres away - but we are getting very close to that fiscal cliff. It is up to us, as a new responsible conservative government, to pull the Northern Territory back from the fiscal cliff or going down the same track as the Rosella food manufacturing company - to pull ourselves out of what could potentially be a disastrous situation for all.
Yes, I hear the echoes in the background, ‘You are exaggerating. There is no black hole.’ I heard someone in Alice Springs who thinks he is a guru of all things say, ‘There is no such black hole. The level of debt in the Northern Territory is sustainable. There is nothing wrong with the level of debt.’ Rubbish! That is absolute and utter rubbish! Anyone with half a brain can tell you that heading toward $5.5bn of debt in the forward estimates is unsustainable. It is not where any of us want to see ourselves because of the serious implications of getting the Territory into that level of debt.
The Country Liberals have taken the responsible action of limiting further public service growth and are ensuring government expenditure on frontline service delivery is minimised. Only the Country Liberals can do this. As the Chief Minister reminded the House earlier in debate, the Country Liberals’ election commitment was that for public servants earning $110 000 a year or less their jobs are safe. The message has been clear. This government’s plans to grow the Territory’s economy needs hard-working people like our public servants to help us do that. We are not saying the public service is a bad thing, it is just too big. It is adding to the problems of the overall fiscal situation of the Northern Territory. We are spending too much on propping up a large unnecessary public service. Trimming it back by 3% will make it manageable, a fulsome and productive government and public service, but it will not be a burden on the overall fiscal outlook for the Northern Territory.
In relation to public service employment designations, the salary level of $110 000 per annum relates to senior administrative officers at SAO2 level. This level was formerly known as executive officer level 1, the former EO1. Those positions and above are the ones we are scrutinising. This is the same message we have been giving all along.
Mr STYLES: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request an extension of time for the Treasurer.
Motion agreed to.
Mrs LAMBLEY: Thank you. It is reasonable for a new government to take a careful look at the structure of agencies and how they are resourced, both in dollars and staff. If you buy a new business you look at staffing levels and how much you are spending on staffing because it is usually the highest level of expenditure in any business. Government is no different.
We need to scrutinise who is doing what. Are staff required? It is a natural thing to do. Labor is not about business and never has been. It claims to be, aspires to be, but it is not in its DNA. Conservative governments understand business, understand the need to rationalise and look at what is happening within government, within businesses and ensure they work properly, efficiently and sustainably.
The argument around the Power and Water Corporation, which the opposition does not grasp is that, at a bare minimum, you have to aim for a level of financial sustainability. It has accused us of trying to make money out of the Power and Water Corporation. God forbid, make money out of a Power and Water Corporation struggling to make ends meet! It has not made ends meet for many years. It has struggled and is a great example of how the former Labor government, now the opposition, had no comprehension of how business is run, how it is necessary to balance revenue and expenditure and run things in an efficient, sustainable manner.
We are not talking about public servants below director or executive level of SA02. We are looking at the higher levels to ensure we have the right number, skills and experience in the management ranks to do the necessary job. It is very simple stuff. Let me go through the staff regarded as critical and exempt from the current stay on recruitment. Let us unpack this and be really clear what we are talking about.
The first category comprises frontline service delivery staff. Among the many public servants below the SAO2 manager level is a significant proportion of staff we regard as front line. That is, they are delivering services directly to the community. This includes a range of roles, including those who immediately spring to mind such as teachers, nurses, police officers, child protection workers, etcetera. However, it also includes front counter staff at the Motor Vehicle Registry, park rangers looking after our national parks, truancy officers working with children, tenancy officers working with public housing tenants, bus drivers, child protection workers, Aboriginal interpreters helping Aboriginal people in the courts or the hospital, prison guards in our gaols, fire control officers in rural areas, and the list goes on. A stack of people will never be affected and have job security from this government. They are not in the firing line and should turn from the cruel message Labor is peddling which is affecting the lives and wellbeing of Territorians whose jobs are not at risk.
The next category exempt from the freeze are those who are part of essential frontline services or essential to the function of services. This includes assistant teachers, school registrars and other school-based staff, Aboriginal Health Workers, patient care assistants, Indigenous liaison, patient travel, reception and other staff in hospitals, water testing and flooding forecasting officers, Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry staff, Land Titles officers, police forensics and disability case managers. The other categories include essential regulatory staff and employees in positions fully-funded by external services such as Commonwealth national partnership agreements. Regulatory staff include public housing safety officers, transit safety officers, animal welfare inspectors, MVR inspectors, complaints and investigations staff in a range of agencies, mining and energy compliance officers and environmental and assessment and regulatory officers.
The Territory receives significant funding flows from the Commonwealth through national partnership agreements for agreed purposes. The Territory has obligations to fulfil under these agreements and staff implementing programs under those agreements are exempt from the recruitment restrictions. Staff are in these arrangements across a range of agencies including health, education, public housing, children’s services, remote services and roads. There is no doubt the Territory needs highly competent experts in our public service, implementing programs of the government of the day and providing much needed services to Territorians.
Other areas outside the restrictions are Power and Water, school councils, early careers programs such as graduates, trainees or cadets studying at university and working in vacation periods, vacation employment for students and scholarship holders, and Indigenous employment program participants. The agency-specific positions in the exemption categories have been included after chief executives consulted with employees and relevant unions and can be amended, if necessary, after this required consultation process. All this information is on the website of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment. I implore Territorians and all public servants to look at the website. Do not listen to the Labor mob. Do not listen to the opposition. Do not listen to your Labor cronies about this because they will instil fear and doubt in your mind. See for yourself. Look at the website and do not be drawn into this sad and sorry line the member for Nhulunbuy is pushing through her motion tonight.
I refer members opposite to the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment website. Look for yourself! Look, member for Nhulunbuy, because you do not, or will not, acknowledge the missions we have put before the public service of trimming back to 3% are the way they are. You have chosen to misread them and to peddle a different line. Everyone in opposition should have a look.
There is an extensive question and answer sheet designed to answer any questions staff and managers may have. It is a good website; it is informative and will ease your anxiety if you are worried. The guidelines are clear and based on the changed management arrangements specified in enterprise agreements. Chief executives should be communicating regularly and clearly with all staff, keeping them up to date with changes and how they will be implemented in agencies as the public sector adjusts to the policies and priorities of this new government.
We have ticked every box. We have implemented these changes in a responsible, open, and transparent way:
If staff are uncertain and worried about their employment they should be talking to their managers, their human resources staff, or their chief executives. Go straight to the top! If you are worried, have a conversation with someone who can ease your anxieties or give you information. Those communication lines should be open.
It is worth noting, in the context of seeking to bring certainty to staff, one of the first decisions I made in the Education portfolio was to change Territory teachers from temporary to permanent contracts. The member for Nhulunbuy has not acknowledged that. A current teacher, she has failed to recognise this government, after years of creating uncertainty for teachers, has created permanency for teachers. We have allowed them to live a more stable and certain life in the Northern Territory, which is something the former government was unable to do.
In closing, I reject the inference of this motion; it is not true. The opposition is peddling a very destructive, dangerous line about how we are going to sack public servants. It is simply not true.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister and the Treasurer for their contributions to the debate. They did not provide any assurances or clarify anything, simply muddied the waters. The Treasurer really has no idea. We can forgive her, having been in the job for only 15 weeks, but what she said this evening has really made things even more difficult for people.
The Chief Minister has missed the point of the motion. The heart of the motion goes to the pre-election commitment about no loss of public service jobs. Nor did he, or the Treasurer, address how many more public service jobs will be slashed, even after the Treasurer said last night on the news there is more pain to come.
They are completely deluded if they believe this is a scare campaign the opposition is running. It shows how out of touch they are if they are not listening to people in downtown Darwin, Alice Springs, or in the bush about how fearful people are of life under a Country Liberal government ...
Ms Lee interjecting.
Ms WALKER: They are even fearful in Gapuwiyak, I am sure. If the member for Arnhem wants to contribute to the debate she is more than welcome to; however, you missed your turn because I am now closing it.
The Chief Minister talked about cohesion, confidence and truth coming from his government. What utter rubbish! What utter nonsense! What planet is this man on? He thinks public servants will understand. He is out of touch. You cannot blame public servants for feeling they have been betrayed and lied to. There is no doubt the CLP, in the lead-up to the election, had a plan for what it would do if it won government. It had a plan ready and was prepared to make any promise, say anything, do anything - including its candidates and the messages they would peddle - to gain government. It did that and now, in government, turns it back on the opposition and accuses it of scaremongering.
The Treasurer has only been in the job for 15 weeks, but to talk about the Territory economy in the same breath as some item she has watched on a morning television show - if this is where she is studying the economy and fiscal policy I am a little concerned. She talked about the Rosella food manufacturing company going under and the only way it could survive was to get out of debt. She jumped at that, grabbed it with both hands and thought, ‘Yes, this is what is wrong with the Northern Territory government. It is like the Rosella food manufacturing company.’ She does not understand the Northern Territory government is not a commercial enterprise per se, its primary responsibility is to deliver essential services. The former Labor government will never apologise for the increase in the number of public servants after 26-odd years of the CLP which did not recruit enough teachers, nurses, police, Aboriginal interpreters - those are just some of the public service jobs. Labor will never apologise for recruiting to the jobs the CLP would not.
They come into this House and talk about Labor opposition peddling scaremongering - we are responding to what people are telling us. The Treasurer is out of touch, has no idea what people are really thinking, and how afraid public servants are about their future and what is around the corner - whether or not there will be a job. People are genuinely concerned. The Treasurer has probably been delivering the same speech for too long and is starting to believe it herself. She is not listening to the unions. The AEU is struggling to meet with her.
The heart of this motion is that we wanted the government to talk about breaking a promise and where it intends to go next. It has done neither.
Motion negatived.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly recognises:
(a) the unique environmental and heritage values of Darwin’s harbour
(b) that special places like East Point help define Darwin as an extraordinary city to live in and make our place a pleasure for people to visit
(c) that parliament must protect the natural beauty and heritage values of East Point, preserve the environmental values of Ludmilla Creek, and safeguard the ecologically important mangrove areas of Coconut Grove
(d) these special places are at risk under the CLP’s new Planning Commission.
We have come together as a parliament to debate issues and pass laws aimed at making a better Territory. We have 25 individuals in a room wanting the best for Territorians and, whatever the inspiration that drives our journey here, we want to make where we live a better place for all.
We do not always agree; we debate and argue, cajole and plead, but every morning when we get together as a Chamber we work towards that common cause. While we often disagree about how to get there, we are all passionate and well-motivated in our thoughts and intentions. That is why this motion goes to the heart of what we do here. Our motion goes to listening to the people we represent. When first elected I received a very good piece of advice from an old hand: always listen to the people who elected you. They will give your arguments the focus you need.
What I have tried to do faithfully with this motion is reflect the views of the people of Darwin, those who elected me in particular. I urge members opposite to listen in good faith to what people are saying. Where we live is a slice of paradise, a little corner of heaven; this is a special place.
I am not alone in feeling this way. I suggest all in this Chamber share a similar love for the Territory. In drafting my speech tonight I also asked a few Territorians for their words and why they love where they live. Their comments form part of my narrative tonight. I was born and bred here so I had no choice. I loved the Territory before I could talk. I have a great respect for those who have made the choice to live here, to shed previous ties and original homes and join us in saying yes, the Territory is special. They actively recognise those things many of us simply know to be true, things we take as articles of faith. They put into words what some of us only feel.
Many of us who were born here have a certain poetry when we share stories of growing up which not only reinforce the sentimental value of our area, but the history and heritage we are so fortunate to have in our back yard. Many people call East Point their back yard. It is a place like no other in the Territory which captures our history and heritage, environment and lifestyle values. Our motion embraces more than East Point and other speakers from our side will talk passionately about those special places. As the local member for East Point, it is a place I am most passionate about.
This is why a project like Arafura Harbour, the proposed canal through Fannie Bay beach, caused such division. It is why Cath and countless others asked me to speak up against the proposed development between East Point and Nightcliff.
There are often times when debating controversial projects like this that people are accused of ‘NIMBYism’; they do not want projects in their back yard. This is a blunt attack which has been broadened too often in public debates. People should have an opinion about their back yards. We should celebrate it as a marker of community. That passion, built over years of connection to East Point, drives such community concern over a proposal like Arafura Harbour.
The Arafura Harbour project and its canal through Fannie Bay beach threatens what many of us consider to be a part of Darwin which best defines us, shapes us and best tells our story. To borrow from Adrienne:
Or, more evocatively, when Lizzie says:
It should not surprise us that love is a common theme. Maria loves Darwin:
As Nicholas says:
That is why Jenna is:
It is also what attracted Anita. In her own words:
It is why Helen and her family stay here:
That is why we are moving tonight that parliament recognises the unique environmental heritage value of Darwin Harbour and that special places like East Point help define Darwin as an extraordinary city to live in and make it a pleasure for people to visit.
As a parliament, we must protect the natural beauty and heritage values of East Point, preserve the environment values of Ludmilla Creek, and safeguard the ecologically important mangrove areas at Coconut Grove. These special places are at risk under the CLP’s new Planning Commission. People living in my area are deeply worried about the CLP’s plan for a Planning Commission. The CLP’s pre-election policy documents stated the Planning Commission would be the body of review for projects identified as being of a large or sensitive nature.
In the Chief Minister’s second reading speech to establish the Planning Commission he said the body of work for the Planning Commission would include revisiting greenfield sites. Last week the new CLP government passed legislation enabling the Planning Commission. The Territory now has a new vehicle for planning, one designed to allow further debate of planning issues considered controversial.
The proposed canal development of Arafura Harbour, which includes a canal through Fannie Bay beach, is controversial. The member for Fong Lim called it visionary. The CLP had a new commission which allows debate of controversial planning projects. The CLP has members who actively support the controversial development of East Point. The CLP has proven, in a few short weeks, it is prepared to make unpopular, party political appointments and decisions. Those decisions include appointing a handpicked partisan chair of the Planning Commission despite promising in the 100-day plan to advertise the position to ensure the best applicant got the job. This is why people have gone from deeply worried to actively stressed or, as Fiona puts it, ‘an increasing sense of community unease’.
This is one reason I sent an e-mail to a few people asking for personal testimonials of why they love and value places like East Point. My inbox was flooded with community responses.
I have touched on some of the family and lifestyle reasons and some of the emotional drivers which see people choose to stay here. However, East Point, Ludmilla and Nightcliff also have an environmental and ecological importance to the broader Darwin area. Many of us visiting East Point see trees, birds and fish and, while we might admire their beauty, are prepared to admit we might not be able to tell one bird from the other or why one fish might be more special. Many of us just enjoy the beauty or wilderness. There is nothing wrong with that unless we let ignorance blind us to reason or science.
There are people in Darwin who have studied for many years to better understand our local environment and it is important, when making decisions or shaping our beliefs, we listen to those who know more. There are always people with specialised fields or knowledge and their thoughts are important. Many community-minded people have volunteered their time to work alongside these people in our natural environment.
As Anthony says:
Peter adds:
It is no accident that we have rare birds and fish enjoying these areas. Fiona explains:
Gavin talks about mangroves in detail explaining that:
It is more than birds though, as Richard notes:
While I may enjoy an afternoon walk at East Point or a barbecue kicking back amongst our beautiful flora and fauna, others are seeing important details and an interconnectedness which marks this area as special and important to preserve and protect.
For others, the motivation to preserve and protect has historical resonances. We all know war has come to our shores. We all know this is not a page that was writ large in Australia’s history without persistence from many. Our commemorations have now grown and been properly acknowledged as a day of remembrance.
It took the efforts of many, but I pay particular homage to the Royal Australian Artillery Association, curator of the military museum at East Point. I will borrow the words of member and historian, Dr Tom Lewis:
The story of the Royal Australian Artillery Association is illuminative: a clear understanding of what they valued, concerted efforts to share and explain that value to others, years of work in preserving and protecting what they valued, and a careful investment made to add to what they valued.
The Defence of Darwin Experience the Labor government built in 2012 complements the heritage emplacements at East Point. It is possible to work with the local community to enhance what we value about special places like East Point to make a careful and considered investment.
Louise asks:
Alison provides a part answer:
Sometimes to protect and preserve an area we need to find a way to use it, as the Royal Australian Artillery Association found a way to preserve the World War II heritage sites at East Point and open them to the public at the same time. This requires trust between all parties, willingness for open dialogue, belief there is a shared desire to maintain what is special about a place, and any discussion we have is about adding value, as the Defence of Darwin Experience has to the military heritage at East Point.
There is a lack of trust in the current government. People hear the member for Fong Lim describe Arafura Harbour marina as ‘visionary’. They have read, with concern, carefully hedged words from the new government. They have seen the new government break promises. Only months in, we have seen a shameless breach of faith by the new government in many instances. The Chief Minister has mentioned things which cause deep concern for locals: the Planning Commission will look at sensitive projects and revisit greenfield sites. The Chief Minister has also made noises about listening to the community, and the Planning Commission places people and their choices at the heart of planning for the future.
This needs to be demonstrated by the Country Liberal Party, as words are cheap. There have been too few actions over previous years of CLP government for people to have trust or be able to place faith in the CLP when it comes to development. The Chief Minister might not like to hear that, but that trust needs to be earned through CLP actions. It can make a small start by agreeing we must protect the natural beauty and heritage values of East Point, preserve the environmental values of Ludmilla Creek, and safeguard the ecologically important mangrove areas of Coconut Grove.
Madam Speaker, I commend this motion to the House.
Mr TOLLNER (Health): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for bringing this motion to the House. I am glad he has because it gives us an opportunity to discuss the important matters surrounding East Point and Ludmilla Creek, right through to Rapid Creek. I also congratulate the member for Fannie Bay on having such strong views. I am sure it is one of the reasons he is still a member of this Chamber. He has been very vocal in his opposition to many development applications and has stuck to it.
I have taken a different course and tried not to interfere in planning processes. I was horrified when the previous Chief Minister involved himself in opposing development of the old Bunnings site in Casuarina, which is in his electorate. That was a complete abuse of process. In the same way, I thought the canning of Arafura Harbour was a complete abuse of process because there was no process. It was simply the Labor government of the day saying, ‘We are not going to let it go ahead’. It was not prepared to look at the merits.
The member for Fannie Bay is correct in saying I called Arafura Harbour a visionary development; it was. For people to develop plans involving billions of dollars creating large canal estates in a sensitive area is visionary. It does not mean I necessarily believe it is the right thing, but I pay tribute to people who think of these ideas. The minute we start bagging people for using their imagination, putting forward ideas, is the day we start a slow downward spiral into a community which believes in ignorance and shuts its ears to different ideas and views. I do not want to be part of that so I am always keen to encourage people to put forward their ideas.
It was unfortunate because it was a visionary project and the previous government should have allowed the process to occur and gauged community sentiment. There should have been a process allowing community members to state their views one way or the other. It appeared from the outside that a large majority of the community was opposed to Arafura Harbour. However, a large contingent in my electorate was supportive of it. If the member for Fannie Bay was completely honest, he would say some people in the Fannie Bay electorate supported the project as well. A limited number they may have been, but there was a variance of views amongst the community.
It was wrong for the government to intervene the way it did and not allow the process to occur. One of the greatest problems of the previous government was that it showed scant regard for any planning process. A lack of planning by the previous government created a lack of certainty in the community to the point where people did not know what was happening on the block next door because it was all too easy to - whether you made a donation to the Labor Party, whether you had a mate in the planning commission or the Development Consent Authority - there was no real process to say how things happened.
There is currently a protest over a rather large development behind McDonald’s and some people in the Ludmilla area are quite upset about it. What has upset them is it was allowed to go ahead because the previous government allowed a rezoning to take place which did not really go to public opinion - did not ask the locals what they thought. It was rezoned and then they had to come up with a development proposal which goes to the Development Consent Authority. The first opportunity the community had to object to the development was through the development consent stage and, of course, that is at the very end of the process. The community should be involved at the planning stage and should determine how they want their community to look. There are a number of controversial plans or ideas for that entire area as well as Arafura Harbour.
There are plans to develop Gwalwa Daraniki land which some people are opposed to, and plans to develop behind McDonald’s which some people are opposed to. There are also plans to develop along Dick Ward Drive. The Jape group wants to build a block of 12 units on Nemarluk Drive. This attracted something like 300 protesters to try to stop that development, so the area is not free of controversial issues. In every one of the public meetings I have been to, the issue which most concerns people is storm surge. They say you cannot build in these areas because of storm surge.
One of my constituents is Graham McMahon, bless his soul – a lovely fellow who speaks of his long involvement with the sea. He understands how cyclones work and the issues of storm surge and is adamant there is the possibility a 7 m wave could wash through the area. It does not really matter what is built there if a 7 m wave comes through; half of Palmerston would disappear! It might be going to the extreme to talk about 7 m waves flooding through Ludmilla, but it raises a concern which is acknowledged in many of the documents and maps we have; there is a very low-lying area through Ludmilla and into The Narrows.
Sadgroves Creek and Racecourse Creek used to be connected years and years ago. There was even an incident where Darwin became an island back in the 1940s after a big flood. It is a very low lying area and every Wet Season people in The Narrows - my good friend the member for Port Darwin will tell you about the moisture in The Narrows because it is such a low area. As a government, you have to ask the question some time. We are dealing with a ticking time bomb when it comes to storm surge. There are enormous concerns for property and people if there is a major storm surge through that area. Somewhere down the line we have to acknowledge this is a real concern.
People in the Ludmilla area know it because every time there is a development application for anything the first reason put up against it is storm surge. We need to look at storm surge abatement through that area. I am not suggesting any particular way, but it has been suggested by others that a good way of negating storm surge would be to consider the construction of a sea wall from East Point to somewhere in Nightcliff.
I imagine my good comrades on the other side will see that as a big green light to tick off on Arafura Harbour. It is probably one of the big selling points Arafura Harbour had because it would have constructed a massive sea wall for the development. However, under this new government, if that idea was put forward again it would be necessary to gauge community support, undertake full environmental impact assessments, and discuss things with the Commonwealth in relation to the RAAF Base and how planes take off and land. There would have to be some commercial analysis as well. Even if they were to put the proposal up again, there would be an enormous amount of work to do to consider whether it was a proper thing for the area. I am disappointed the previous government would not at least let the process occur. After all, these people put up many hundreds and thousands of dollars to bring their idea to the public. To me, it is completely wrong when, through the utterance of a Chief Minister, you are able to can something like that.
This government has a range of concerns through that area. Many people see the area behind McDonald’s as a wasteland. As the member for Fannie Bay said, ornithologists and people who study birds and other creatures find much delight traipsing through that area. However, other people in the community see it as a wasteland. They see it full of gamba grass, old car wrecks, rubbish and all types of kitchen appliances dumped there. It seems to have been a dumping ground for half a Darwin at some stage. It is bizarre to suggest it should stay the way it is. This idea Ludmilla Creek is some type of a unique ecosystem - it probably is, because not too far away is a sewerage outlet.
It has been said at some of the public meetings that it is a food bowl for the Indigenous people of the area. I talk to many Indigenous people in the area, particularly those in Kulaluk, and they do not eat anything from there. They call them kukka crab. Territorians will have an idea what a kukka crab is, and it not a crab you want to eat. It is a crab caught near a sewerage outlet. I hasten to suggest some of the unique wildlife is probably unique because nowhere else is there a sewerage outlet so handy where a range of creatures can exist on people's effluent. I do not know if that is the type of nature reserve we want in Darwin but it obviously appeals to some people.
Like the member for Fannie Bay, I enjoy East Point. It is a fabulous place. His talking up of the Bombing of Darwin museum is rather strange. I was disgusted by the whole facility. I was involved with the artillery museum. I knew retired Colonel Jack Hayden very well; he was a very good friend of mine. I believe Madam Speaker knew him quite well too. He was the man behind putting together the artillery museum and he really gave his heart and soul to that place. He was dead keen to see it go ahead. I imagine he would be rolling in his grave now seeing it housed in something little better than a shed.
Some years ago when in the federal parliament I had cause to talk about the construction of a Bombing of Darwin museum. I remember the meetings I had with the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the Prime Minister. We had secured a commitment from the federal government to contribute money. I spoke to the ambassadors of the USA and Japan. They assured me construction of a museum and memorial would attract support from the US and Japanese governments.
Look at the nonsense constructed out there and built by a Townsville company! Oddly enough, we do not have anyone in Darwin who can build a shed; we have to give it to a mob in Townsville to build one for us. However, we built a shed. I do not believe there is a cracker of Commonwealth money in it. There is certainly no American or Japanese money. It is such a poor effort for something which should have been great and would have put Darwin on the map.
I remember the number of people I spoke to about it at the time. Peter Adamson was Lord Mayor - the former member for Casuarina was dead set behind it. Of course, the City of Darwin is enormously involved in Bombing of Darwin celebrations and has really carried the flame. It would have been great to see it having some involvement as well.
There was an enormous amount of support behind it. I remember the time well because the former Chief Minister, Clare Martin, really out of spite, decided nothing would be at East Point and we were going to do something across the road in the old …
Mr Wood: No, just over here on the lawn.
Mr Elferink: Just on the lawn, yes.
Mr TOLLNER: Just on the lawn here. We were going to do something where the old law courts were. That stunned everyone because it put a stop to everything. Goodness me, only a few years later some bright spark decided to put a shed at East Point. It is a complete failure and I am disgusted with the development. Blokes like Jack Hayden deserve better than a flimsy shed at East Point.
This motion of the member for Fannie Bay is a good one because it allows us to discuss these important matters. An enormous effort has been put in to try to get Racecourse Creek cleaned out. Most people do not know it is not a creek any longer, it is a drain. It was created as a drain in the early 1960s and, in the mid-1960s when Bagot Road was built, drains were put underneath Bagot Road which flow straight into Racecourse Creek. If you go to the back of Ludmilla Primary School, you can see four or five enormous pipes which flow straight into Racecourse Creek. In 1968, a D9 bulldozer drove down Racecourse Creek and cleaned it out completely and it became a drain.
Since then, no Country Liberal government or Labor government has done anything about it and it has silted up. It is filled with mangroves, paperbarks and pandanus. Now, goodness me, it is a pristine piece of wilderness which cannot be touched! Try to convince the Ludmilla Landcare Group that - goodness me! Half The Narrows floods every Wet Season, Ludmilla Primary School floods every Wet Season and we need to clean this drain out. It is like pulling teeth.
I understand these people have particular views about the place they live in; I can appreciate that. However, when those things start to impact on people who live miles away, as is the case in The Narrows, there are wider interests to be considered, not just those of a select few who live on a particular street and like to walk in bushland irrespective of how much they look after it. I acknowledge an enormous number of people in the Ludmilla area are part of the Ludmilla Landcare Group and put in many tireless hours cleaning weeds from the area, planting trees and trying to look after it. I understand they have very strong views, but it is my strong view this entire area should be looked at by the Planning Commission immediately because there is so much uncertainty.
Nemarluk School has moved to Alawa. What happens to that area? Ludmilla Primary School has enormous problems with traffic and kids trying to get in and out of the school. What is the future of the racecourse? What is the future of rugby league? What is happening with the Gwalwa Daraniki Association, which did not receive any government funds in almost the entire decade of the Territory Labor government? It did not receive one cracker because it has a lease with McDonald’s and receives an income, therefore is a commercial organisation and, oddly enough, does not receive any government assistance at all.
This is unlike a similar community just around the corner called Bagot, which attracted enormous amounts of Labor government money: $6.5m in the last term. Something like $6.5m would have gone a long way with the Gwalwa Daraniki Association, but it is more focused on trying to get people into jobs, trying to develop something it can use to secure their future for the long term. I am very keen for the Bagot Community to be involved and be as keen as the Gwalwa Daraniki community.
There are enormous issues across the entire area. I am completely opposed to the member for Fannie Bay’s view that we lock it all up; shut it all down. We need to look at this holistically and involve the community because, ultimately, it is the community living there. It should be put out to public discussion - all these things - and should be looked at as part of an entire package to ensure we develop these areas properly.
I am not personally opposed to or supportive of Arafura Harbour. I would like to see what the environmental impact assessment says, what the commercial numbers look like - how they add up - and community sentiment. We all know the squeaky wheel tends to get the most oil, but what do all the people we hardly ever hear from think? All these things are important and, unfortunately, were completely omitted by the former government. The former government did not care about community opinion and did not look at planning in a holistic way. It merely did things on an ad hoc basis and stuck bandaids on things. I do not want my kids growing up in a city of bandaid on bandaid on bandaid. I would much rather we planned our city and our development. This is a beautiful place to live. I have visions of a beaut green tropical city, a major metropolis in the north of Australia with fantastic facilities, beautiful parks and beautiful beaches.
That is not everyone’s dream, but I would love to see a city with wonderful infrastructure, beautiful parks and friendly people. Doing things on an ad hoc basis does not move us in any particular direction; it simply meets the needs of a particular individual at a particular time.
The issue with Arafura Harbour was one of the most appallingly handled things I have ever seen government in the Northern Territory do. To can an idea a bloke put his heart and soul into developing and other people had put enormous amounts of money into - they had not even brought their display here when the previous Chief Minister canned it. The display was being transported to Darwin so people could look at the vision and see what was being planned but, before it was even out of the box, it was canned. It is shameful.
In that area, and parts of Fannie Bay, there is an interesting diversity of people, particularly Fannie Bay. You have some the more well-off and least well-off, and some of the more environmentally aware and least environmentally aware. Similarly, right through Ludmilla and up into Coconut Grove you find this amazing diversity and contradiction of characters. Sometimes it causes great consternation. I have been the target of a number of my constituents for particular views I have. I imagine in the future that will continue. During these times you can be bent out of shape and beat up but, when you reflect, one of the great things about our community is we have people with diversity and difference. It would be a damn boring place if everybody was exactly like the member for Sanderson, for instance. It would be a wonderful world of course, member for Sanderson, but if we were all like you there would not be much diversity.
I congratulate the member for Fannie Bay and thank him for bringing this motion forward. I clearly differ on some of your views, particularly in relation to the artillery museum. When you started talking about that I almost fell off my chair! It is a demonstration that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and we all have different views on things.
The new Planning Commission has the ability to turn Darwin around and give us some good long-term plans, provide certainty for residents wherever they live, for developers, for landowners and all others who live in our community. The more support we can give the Planning Commission and the better we resource it, the more it will benefit our interests in the long term.
Ms FYLES (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, Territorians have a unique lifestyle based around our outdoor tropical lifestyle in the north and our beautiful desert region in Central Australia. However, we need a balance in good planning: planning for growth but planning which also protects our environment and lifestyle. Sound decision-making, especially with decisions and consequences that may be irreversible, is vital. That is why, during the recent election campaign, development of Arafura Harbour was a key issue in my electorate of Nightcliff. Many constituents voiced concerns to me that any potential development would destroy the natural mangrove coastline and Ludmilla Creek catchment. It could also have an adverse impact on the beautiful Nightcliff foreshore.
These mangroves have been described as the lungs and marine nurseries of Darwin Harbour. I have spent many hours exploring the area by foot in front of Coconut Grove, and by boat further offshore. I want my children to have this opportunity to explore and learn from their local environment. The importance of Ludmilla Creek catchment as ‘a corridor to the sea’ for residents as well as fauna and flora has been clear for decades and was formalised, as my colleague said, in the draft Ludmilla Creek Catchment Management Plan published in 1998 by the Ludmilla Creek Landcare Group.
The area’s critical green corridor links Rapid Creek and its many vegetation communities with the various dry and wetland vegetation communities of Ludmilla Creek and Kulaluk Bay. Preservation of such links is essential to allow movement, especially of birds, through the different areas in order to access food resources throughout the year. Fauna of the sea and coast such as fish, crabs etcetera, also rely on the products of the hinterland vegetation in order to survive. Local Indigenous people in the area still use this land for sustainable hunting, fishing and food gathering. One local resident told me, quote:
I strongly agree with this description; it sums up such a unique area.
Like most Territorians, when I travel by plane into Darwin or leave, I am always amazed by the beautiful aerial view of the mangroves. We must preserve this open green space. Any proposed developments would affect access to parts of Kulaluk by Indigenous people using the land for gathering of food and special purposes.
The Kulaluk Special Purpose Lease was granted in August 1979 by Chief Minister Paul Everingham. The intention was to give the Larrakia, and other Indigenous people, back an area of culturally and environmentally significant land on which to live without further threat of displacement. Major developments on Kulaluk land would compromise the original master plan submitted for approval before the Kulaluk lease was granted. Kulaluk has culturally significant places, such as the Larrakia burial ground, which should not become small islands in a sea of development but remain part of a larger whole as intended in the original Kulaluk Special Purpose Lease. We must work together with the Kulaluk people if they wish to build economic development. I can understand their desire to pursue independent income and look at options for their land.
Recently, at a community environment group working bee I attended, it was evident there is an increasing sense of community unease about the future of Ludmilla, East Point and Nightcliff foreshore. After all, these areas have significant environmental value and are important to our community.
Darwin, as a city, is fortunate to have retained such an area of bushland. Smart cities maintain areas of environmental value and do not allow everything to be given up to tar and cement. In the Northern Territory, we also have a special responsibility: our largely unspoiled environment, both urban and regional. We do not want to repeat the mistakes made in other jurisdictions. We must preserve the green open space we have.
Many of us each year head south to visit family, particularly on the east coast. From these visits I can think of many examples where the environment has not been protected as best it could and caused people living in those areas problems.
Despite the CLP candidate for Nightcliff declaring during the recent campaign that, ‘Arafura Harbour development was only in its proposal stage and no development would happen without the overwhelming support of the community’, the community is uneasy. Many of my constituents fear and wonder, with your government’s establishment of the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority and the establishment of the new Planning Commission, if this is not just a rubber stamp for large scale developments such as Arafura Harbour. They worry that a small group of handpicked mates will have the power to make a decision over an area of such important environmental and community importance.
Available evidence indicates natural canal style estates such as is proposed by Arafura Harbour are highly complex and their environmental impacts are difficult to manage. Canal estates can have major adverse impacts on the host estuary causing loss of habitat, polluting waters by urban runoff, and boating activities disturb coastal soils.
In some other Australian jurisdictions where canal estate projects have been carried out over a number of years, governments have now moved to either ban them or severely limit their development. New South Wales and Victoria have banned canal estate developments outright, and Western Australia and Queensland have severely restricted their development through planning policy principles and guidelines. When one thinks of canal estates they often think of Queensland and the Gold Coast, yet they have been put on hold there. Should we not look and learn from the southern and eastern states? We do not have to make the same mistakes; we can leave this area and protect it for future generations to enjoy.
My other concern is surge risk. Despite what many opposite tell us, climate change is occurring. As a result, we have rising sea levels and, according to global warming predictions, these rises in sea levels will increase in further years. A strong cyclone on a high tide would devastate developments in this area and potentially cost lives. New developments should not be considered in primary surge zones.
Immediately after Cyclone Tracy building was not permitted in the primary surge zone. Gradually, memories lapsed and developments were allowed in the primary surge zone.
The removal of these mangroves could impact the coastline in Nightcliff during a cyclone or severe storm. The mangrove area of Coconut Grove is an ecologically important area and vital to the health of Darwin Harbour. It is the lungs of our harbour. East Point is an especially beautiful area which the Darwin community needs as an ongoing recreation and nature reserve. It is a ribbon of green so close to our city centre.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, the time is now 9 pm so General Business Day is finished. Do you want to adjourn your comments for a later time?
Ms FYLES: I have about a page. Can I quickly finish?
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, sure.
Mr Elferink: That would work for me too.
Ms FYLES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Large residential and commercial development in this area would diminish its value as a public recreation area and destroy a beautiful natural environment. I have been enjoying its natural beauty for as long as I can remember. It is a cool place to exercise, even on the hottest days, with the shade of the trees and the cool breezes as it is a peninsula. The mangrove walk is a completely natural environmental experience. I remember going there on school excursions and have taken students there to see the backdrop of the city. Not many capital cities can boast they have a mangrove walk within view of the city skyline.
My colleague spoke in detail of families enjoying the recreation facilities year round and the busyness of Greek Easter weekend or Dry Season days. They should stay for all residents to enjoy, not just a few who live in a canal estate. Foreshore space is one of our precious resources and should be kept as public open space unless there is a compelling case and a clear community benefit, not just a private benefit arising from the development.
The development of artificial canal estates in other states has led to serious adverse environmental and economic impacts. We, on this side of the House, welcome potential investment but we want sustainable development. By providing investors a clear indication of which projects are worth pursuing and which ones are unsuitable, we will ensure the best and most sustainable projects for the Territory.
Madam Speaker, as my colleague said, great cities are marked not only by their new developments but by what they retain. Darwin has a special heritage; a heritage to be celebrated not swept away.
Debate adjourned.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, whilst there is no question before the Chair, I move that leave be granted to the Chief Minister for the entirety of tomorrow, 6 December 2012. By way of explanation: COAG.
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I will conclude my report on my trip to the Cook Islands as a representative of the Northern Territory at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Australia and Pacific Regional Conference.
Last night I gave a brief summary of some of the issues discussed. An interesting one was a report by Hon Fiona Simpson, Speaker of the Queensland parliament. She spoke about issues around banning television cameras straying from members of parliament and picking up protestors in the gallery even though she had told them a number of times not to do it. They were also told not to show the footage on TV that night but they did. There was quite some discussion about how those breaches could be punished. She banned the media from reporting for a number of weeks. There was some discussion as to whether the parliament had the power to fine media outlets when they breach the rules of parliament.
Another session, by Hon Moana Mackey, an MP from New Zealand, took up the issue of committee systems. She spoke about the committee in New Zealand. There, every bill before parliament has to go before a committee. There are some advantages - a bill usually does not need to be amended. The committee is normally made up of representatives of every party in New Zealand so there is a fair chance that by the time it comes back to parliament it is ready to be approved. The only problem is it sometimes takes six months. If you are trying to get your legislation through at a reasonable speed that system would slow things down.
There was an interesting session on Question Time. Hon Lynette Breuer, Speaker of the South Australian parliament, gave a brief history of Question Time. She also threw a few good questions out as to whether it was needed because some people claim - l am one - the good thing about questions is, theoretically - it does not always happen, and today would be a classic example - you do not get the information you want but it should be a place where information can be asked for and given accordingly. Of course, that does not always happen.
The other thing the Hon Lynette Breuer said is you have other forms of getting information such as Facebook, Twitter, websites and the media. She asked, ‘Does it serve the purpose people believe it should? Has it become an audition for government?’ In other words, government uses it as part of another debate. She noted in British Columbia no dorothy dixer questions are allowed. That would be a change. The final issue raised was whether the questions were the problem. In other words, were the questions more about waffle and did not drag out a decent answer.
It was a good session with many questions because it is the part of parliament we know creates much interest with the public, also much interest between members of parliament.
The last session was on practical benchmarking for parliament run by Mr Neil Laurie from Queensland. He presented a discussion paper on the comparison of business processes and performance in order to measure the effectiveness of parliament. This is important because the CPA is trying to promote good governance in small countries, especially when talking about the Pacific Islands. It is a good process. In fact, he said one of the best things the CPA does is having this benchmark. It is called ‘recommended benchmark for democratic legislators’. Again, these are important things.
This was my first CPA conference. It is an opportunity for a range of countries with some common affiliations - even though the Cook Islands are a long way away, Cook Islanders are New Zealanders and can freely move into Australia - we have Cook Islanders in Darwin. It might be a fair distance away but we have some commonalities, especially in the way we are governed.
The Cook Islands was a wonderful experience. The hospitality was something you would not believe. Every night we had a feast of food a mile long, and if you do not have a plate full of food you are regarded as having bad manners. We would have taro, breadfruit, pumpkin jelly, banana jelly, green bananas, a version of potato salad, fish, pork and chicken. There was just about everything you need. There were a few things I had not tried before which can cause a few rumbles in the tummy, but that was minor. We had traditional dancing on most nights and were welcomed wherever we went. The Cook Islanders are a religious people and always welcome you, always say grace, and always thank you when you are leaving.
We visited the island of Aitutaki, 45 minutes north of Rarotonga, and were welcomed with beating drums by one of the chiefs of the island. I was there with Mr Tatham. We took the early flight and were given a tour of the island. It is amazing to see how the islanders have kept their traditions and way of life without tourism disturbing it, especially on Aitutaki, which is very much dependent on tourism. It is an atoll. A small part of that atoll is definitely for the luxury market. You can obviously get cheaper accommodation and people can take the boat, as we did, to various islands around the atoll. It is a beautiful place and there were times I had to pinch myself; I thought I was in a postcard.
The sea was blue and you could see the fish. To go to this atoll with people playing ukuleles, guitars and singing all the way - the hospitality was marvellous and continued to the day we left. There are so many things I could talk about. I could just about give a slide night.
You hear funny stories about why people do not wear helmets. I do not know if I explained this before. The top speed is 50 km/h, but if you do not want to wear a helmet you can travel at 40 km/h.
HMAS Fremantle was docked there. It has been given to the Cook Islands as a patrol boat to look after the fishing industry. This island depends very much on tourism. It has very low exports. Its main exports are fish, pearls and maire. Maire is an interesting plant which comes from one of the islands to the north and is used to make the lei you receive when you go to Hawaii - the welcoming garland. The Cook Islands export it to Hawaii. They import most things and rely on tourism.
Treasurer, perhaps we should look at what the Cook Islands are doing. I have a $3 note from the Cook Islands. They have two kinds of notes: a $3 one with the mermaid and the shark - there is a story about that – and, if you want something different, there is a $2 coin. It does not go into a drink machine, but it is a way of making money for the local community. If the budget is a bit crook, we could have a $6 note and a $4 coin and sell those off at a reasonable price. This $3 note cost me $8.
The Cook Islanders are the friendliest people and they are the most beautiful islands. There are issues, like anywhere else. Even though it is a beautiful island, it has similar problems to the Northern Territory but the people are so wonderful and so friendly.
I intend to go back. I am going to have a special Cook Islands bank account to pay for the airfare. I would recommend to anyone who wanted to get away from it all, to go back in time a little and enjoy the peace, quiet and tranquillity, and to give your soul a rest as well, you could not beat the Cook Islands.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Madam Speaker, this evening I thank the many people who have helped me during the year as the member for Karama. Volunteers play such an important role in the lives of local members. Without them it would be truly difficult to get anything done. I want to thank my band of volunteers. I feel very privileged to have such wonderful people who I work so closely with and who generously give their time to help and support me but, more importantly, help and support our local community. They are very passionate about caring for others in our community. Thank you to the incredible Donna, John, Dee, Hamali and Chandra, Kevin and Rita, Terry, Sandy, Sonya, Alicia and Alexis, Richo, Giovana, Greg, Michael, Lewis, Alex, Nicky, Bong Hannah, Marie, Ian, Terry, Sally Vander, Joanna, Sumsong and Amanda, Noel, James, Anthony, Matt, Gracie, Rod and Di, Tanya and Cecil. You are all champions. You have all done so much to help me and the communities of Karama and Malak. I sincerely thank you.
I thank the schools in my electorate for the warm welcome I receive every time, from the principals through to the staff at the front office, the support staff and the teachers. I hope they all have a very well-deserved break this holiday season, they have certainly earned it. They have been putting in a massive effort all year long with our bright, enthusiastic, interesting and often challenging students in Karama and Malak.
I want to thank the principals directly: Peter Swan at Malak; Jan Moore, who took over as acting Principal at Sanderson Middle School; Sally Winch at Manunda; Marg Fenbury at Karama; Marg Guit the out-going Principal of Holy Family School. Marg, thank you for the three years of leadership at that school, and to the 40-odd years of commitment to education. Lester Lemke at O’Loughlin Catholic College is retiring. What an awesome principal he has been. The whole school community will dearly miss Lester. Also, John Metcalfe who shows great leadership at Marrara Christian College.
I thank the traders in my shopping centres who always generously give support when I am around asking for help fundraising. Their donations toward fundraisers for our community are very much appreciated.
I had a Christmas card design competition this year and want to congratulate Grace Doherty from O’Loughlin for her frog design. It has now been published and is hitting the electorate in every letterbox. I also congratulate our second prize winner, Lara-Lee Blanthorm, and third prize winner, Shaun Brogan. Thank you to all those children who took the time to create the designs and send them in; they were fantastic. I am really in awe of the professionalism of the designs created by the local students.
Literacy award winners for 2012 - these are kids who really go out of their way to excel in their learning and make great role models for their classmates. They love getting the certificates I hand out at school assembly and really appreciate the gift voucher from Casuarina Shopping Square. I like to think it is a small way to encourage them in their learning.
At Karama, congratulations to Anna Scadape, Christopher Fraser, Frankie Falipe, Jacob Baird, Jasmine McGerie, Kyam Hone, Kalia Roe-Weetra, Mary-Claire Papel, Michalea Decaney, Nick Jeffrey, Rosera Sampson, Riley Philpott, Samantha Prosser, Tarice Munich and Monica Philpott.
At Malak, congratulations to Benjamin Ah Mat, Chloe Clarke, Dylan Walters, Emon O’Donnell, Edwan Neiber, Geniveve Talbot, Georgia Baksi, Gilllan Gabore, Jarrah Detonamo, Miguel McGabo, Cherilyn Orojo, Sheena Mabelina, Dasha Borsie, Kimberley Fengenday, Lilly Baksi, Tyrone Nona and Presley Motlop-Smith.
At Manunda Terrace, congratulations to Christa Dos Rose, Paige Preston, Phillip Basera, Talicia Archer, Finn van Halzing and Shakira Brown-Edwards.
At Sanderson Middle School, congratulations go to Akas Sargy, Albert Fernada, Amelia Douglas, Anna-Marie Bratum, Antonio Ng, Oswald James Magals, Alicia Austral, Cindy Ong, Dalia Cope, Hung Lee, Jeremy Binks, John Wilamena-Wage, Lucas Chin, Ling Kong Lu, Nikita Long, Pathea Gaycarp, Patrick Demontaverde and Talia Nona.
Also, I had a special award created for me from advice received late this week - the Legend Award, which I award to my electorate officer, Kerry Wetherall. Congratulations, Kerry. It might make up - I doubt it – for the fact she is missing out on going for back-to-back gold at the Arafura Games in softball. She is one of the many heartbroken Territorians out there.
On the home front, I sincerely thank my mother, my role model, and a woman I am most proud to know, Dawn Lawrie. You are an incredible Territorian, still working very hard for Territorians advocating on behalf of families and individuals with disabilities and doing an awesome job. I am incredibly proud of the work she does.
To my sister, Diane, a tough year, but welcome back from deployment overseas. She got to know yet another overseas deployment for our Defence force. It is always tough when family members deploy for so long - the best part of a year - but she is welcome back. She is extremely skinny, but I am sure we will be able to fatten her up now she is back on home turf.
To my long suffering almost brother-in-law, Terry, who took care of Lucy while Dianne was away, thank you for your support and love of my sister. My niece, Hannah, is delighted to finally get her mum back, and also probably delighted her mother can start to nag me about all the things I should be doing in the family fold. Hannah has had a fantastic year at university and I am really looking forward to her kicking more goals there.
To John, Tanya, Sam and Tom, thanks for your support from afar. Sam and Tom, thanks for invading my house in the lead-up to the election campaign. It was awesome to have my nephews rampaging and expanding my family at an incredibly busy time of the year. It keeps you extremely real.
To the best people in the entire universe, Jhenne, Bronte and Zac, my children, thank you for doing well at school this year despite how busy mum has been and continuing to amaze me by pulling out things like an A in maths - awesome result there. Jhenne, you are quite the incredible artist and performer, and surprising us with that A in maths blew the family away.
Bronte is kicking goals, of course, academically. It is not fair to say ‘of course’ when you have a high achiever in the family, because they get sick of being taken for granted when they are studious. Awesome effort!
Young Zac is looking forward to Grade 3. I am looking forward to him continuing to shine at school and impress his teachers. The constant feedback we get about my little guy is he is one of the kindest-hearted students at the school. That is an awesome result and achievement. I have really enjoyed watching his reading accelerate this year. It is incredible when they are that age and go from reading fairly well to being off the scale with their reading abilities. It is incredible what you can do with the literacy capacity of a child of that age.
To Fila, my 22-year-old, saving now for a life overseas in Europe, so she says - believe it when I see it, baby. Finally, to Peter, who has taken us all on in extremely good grace and is a fantastic support to me.
I wish the Hansard staff, Assembly staff, Table Office staff, Madam Speaker, and all members of the Assembly a safe, healthy and happy festive season. Also, the IT support staff who keep me sane - Trobs, thank you, mate. Can you ensure the server does not go down as consistently as it has in the last few days? Thank you.
Ms FINOCCHIARO (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, tonight I give my support to the Treasurer and share how the mini-budget impacts on the Drysdale and Palmerston communities at large.
There has been a great deal of anticipation and angst in the community over the content of the mini-budget and how it might impact on Territorians. I will not pretend decisions our government has made, such as increases to Power and Water Corporation tariffs, will not hurt Territorians, but I take solace from the fact many Drysdale residents have said to me whilst they do not like our decision, they understand the state of the Power and Water Corporation and the Northern Territory government’s budget has left no choice but to get spending under control.
I cannot emphasise to the electorate enough the tough decisions we have made are not ones we made joyfully. They are excruciating decisions which were not taken lightly. However, with a fiscal imbalance forecast of $867m in 2012-13, we had to make those decisions. The Treasurer, in her statement, gave the example that we could employ another 600 nurses every single year for the same amount we pay in interest repayments on our unsustainable levels of debt. Our government is working hard to remove the fiscal imbalance by 2015-16 so the public’s money can be better spent on the future of our Territory, not just servicing the credit card.
On balance, I am able to report to my constituents and fellow Palmerston residents that the sky did not fall down as the opposition may have had Territorians believe. The scaremongering and far-fledged negative media campaign run against our government in the last 100-plus days has been phenomenal. Importantly, it has been unwarranted, and I take enormous offence that the good people of Palmerston have been wound up by this opposition because Labor had absolute disregard for the people of Palmerston, the future of the Territory and Territorians.
The Chief Minister, in his response to the Treasurer’s statement, raised some very pertinent budget changes which will enhance the lives of Palmerston residents, as did my Country Liberal colleagues in their respective responses.
First, we have seen in this mini-budget the funding of an election commitment to increase police numbers. We have also seen a redirection of police officers back onto our streets where they are so desperately needed. Our government has also dedicated an additional $50m to improve conditions for our police officers. There has been a commitment of $800 000 in 2012-13 for the Planning Commission, an essential asset for the future growth of Palmerston. It will guide how our beautiful city grows and will ensure the aspirations of the City of Palmerston and private development accord with the strategic plan for our region.
I was very pleased to learn the good people of Somerville, a homegrown Territory non-government organisation providing counselling support for people who suffer financial, personal and housing hardship, will receive $2m to expand the wonderful community centre it has in the electorate of Drysdale. I met with Latisha Perry and Allison O’Conner on Friday, 20 November. I know how much this money means to them and their ability to deliver increased services to the good people of Palmerston who depend on the services Somerville provides - another win for the Drysdale community.
There is no shortage of financial commitment to continue with residential growth and support in Palmerston. A sum of $12.8m has been dedicated to the 2012-13 financial year to continue with headworks for residential development. I am also humbled to see a total of $13m set aside for public housing in Bellamack, Zuccoli and Rosebery. There will also be 2000 affordable homes built over the next four years. We have seen increases in the First Home Owner Grant to $25 000 for new homes in Palmerston, and an increase in the Stamp Duty Principal Place of Residence Rebate from $3500 to $7000 for new homes.
This is a particularly exciting initiative because the stamp duty concession is available to non-first homebuyers for new homes or land, not to mention the HomeBuild Access scheme, which caters to all Territorians not just the first homebuyer. The reduction of the cap of $750 000 to $600 000 will help put a lid on rising housing costs. Labor’s schemes did nothing but increase the churn and jack up the price. Our better-targeted approach provides greater incentive the cheaper the property purchased by the first homebuyer. In this way, the market is being given the right signal to produce more reasonably priced stock.
The Northern Territory Treasury predicts changes contained in the mini-budget will lower CPI by 0.2% next financial year. In this way, you are already seeing our better targeted package putting downward pressure on the cost of living. The mini-budget also makes a substantial allocation for major works around the Palmerston area, including $14.4m in 2012-13 for the Wishart Road development and $2.2m in 2012-13 for the long awaited Defence Support Hub.
I am thrilled Palmerston Senior College Special Education Centre will receive $750 000 for upgrades to its facilities. Last week I spoke in Adjournment about the wonderful achievements of this special education centre and that it is rapidly outgrowing its facilities. I am sure Frankie MacLean and her dedicated staff have many plans to spend these much needed funds. I again take this opportunity to congratulate them on the work they do for our community.
We will see a fantastic contribution to the health system with, amongst other things, $6.5m to improve cardiac services and bring angioplasty surgery to Darwin for the first time. We will also see reductions in waiting lists and an increase of 400 elective surgeries every year across the Territory.
I welcome the $300 000 upgrade to the Satellite City BMX facility and know this injection will be welcomed by our community, just as the community will welcome the increased funding to peak sport and recreational bodies to $1.75m a year.
The great thing is our government will save nearly $1m a year by closing the Office of the Chief Minister in Palmerston and Katherine.
The mini-budget also contains great incentives such as doubling the back to school bonus to $150 per student plus $75 school sport vouchers. There is a $33m commitment to further stages of the Tiger Brennan Drive duplication, and $70m will be contributed by the federal government. By mid-2013, we will see work start on this critical transport infrastructure project, one of the largest ever seen in the Northern Territory.
I do not need to remind Palmerston residents of the congestion and bottlenecks on Tiger Brennan Drive. For those unfamiliar with this stretch of arterial road, when I say Tiger Brennan services 20 000 cars a day you might start to form a picture of what Palmerston residents have been forced to negotiate every day. We have been in need of dual lanes into the city for over a decade and now we will finally see this delivered. The Infrastructure Services Division of the Department of Infrastructure will move to Highway House in Palmerston. This influx of personnel into Palmerston will boost the Palmerston economy and increase patronage for local business.
These are just some of the many ways the mini-budget will benefit Palmerston residents. Madam Speaker, I commend the mini-budget and Treasurer’s statement to the house.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Madam Speaker, I rise to make special acknowledgement of Jackie Townsend nee Jacqueline Dore. I make that special acknowledgement as my sister-in-law and the eldest of the siblings in the Dore family, now, on the passing of her parents, and my wife’s parents, is very much the matriarch of the family. Jacqueline has led a very interesting life and when I think about the early days of Jackie’s life, I am inspired. When you think about The Beatles, the Rolling Stones or The Who, Jackie was living it in England and tells some incredible stories of that time, the swinging sixties in England. She met a wonderful man, married, had two children and, like the other family, migrated to Australia. She joined the family in famous Coogee Beach a few years later, but started raising her kids there and did a great job with Stephen and Tracey.
She then experienced a period in her life where she had some more freedom and decided to travel by road around the country she adopted; Australia, a country she loves dearly. Her travels brought her to the Northern Territory and Borroloola. There she met a wonderful guy, Gary Cronin, a share farmer, a very talented heavy machinery operator, a miner from the Eyre Peninsula, and they set up a partnership in Borroloola. Jackie is known for turning a house into a home.
They bought a property on Robinson Road, Borroloola, and turned it into a beautiful home with a beautiful garden. Gary worked for various earth moving companies but ended up working at McArthur River mine and is a very knowledgeable person. As the local member, I find it great to have a dialogue with Gary Cronin about all types of issues around my research. You can be guaranteed he will give you very accurate information around mining, construction, farming, his first love, agriculture, and, of course, the Northern Territory because he has spent much time here, particularly in the Katherine region.
They have retired to the Eyre Peninsula where they are both farming, but came back to support me in my campaign at Borroloola. Jackie and Gary have some serious roots in the Gulf Country and Borroloola. Jackie, especially, is loved for many reasons, but one of the important jobs she did was as a founding member of the crche in Borroloola. She built important relationships with the local town community and the young mums and, of course, grandmas. She is very much loved and respected and her children followed her. Tracey and Glen now run a very good business in Borroloola, Red Dirt Trading. Her grandchildren are growing up there so it is very much a family affair.
Jackie is new to politics to some degree but took a great interest in Northern Territory politics. When I was privileged to be elected as the member for Barkly in 2008, she took an in-depth look at Northern Territory politics and started to form her own decisions around policy, the difference between political parties, and the way the Northern Territory was governed under a Labor government. It was certainly very challenging. Jackie does not suffer fools gladly and does not mince her words. We had some great political discussions and the whole time she championed the cause of Borroloola, the people of Borroloola and the Gulf.
When I asked Jackie and Gary to help me on the campaign they were delighted and honoured. They drove from the Eyre Peninsula to Tennant Creek. They had a night with us at home and then drove into the Gulf Country. I was on the road through the Roper Gulf and, as the first day started to unfold, I knew this campaign was going to be something different, something that ended up displaying the most venom I had seen since the Labor party took the seat of Barkly off the once Chief Minister, Hon Ian Tuxworth. In those days it got quite hot. We succeeded. We took the seat off the National member for Barkly, and it was very much a turning point in history.
Jackie and Gary landed in Borroloola at the same time as one of my sons, Thomas McCarthy, and we were surrounded by Glen and Tracey and the kids. Of course, Steve McVay turned up as the campaign manager and we decided to kick off part of the campaign at the Borroloola rodeo. There had been much activity from the then opposition, the Country Liberal Party, so we decided to plan how we would present our case for consideration in the 2012 election across Borroloola and the Gulf Country.
Jackie, Gary and Thomas did it with distinction and integrity telling the story we had put together - the 10-year story - the story of the Stronger Futures package around the important resources coming from the Commonwealth government to continue Labor’s plan to roll-out the development and important infrastructure and service delivery for that very interesting part of the Northern Territory.
One of the big events at that time was when the then Leader of the Opposition, Hon Terry Mills, parachuted into Borroloola. I will quote from his 17 August media release, the Borroloola Contract:
Mr Mills spoke about other areas of the five-point plan but then outlined very specific commitments contained in the Borroloola Contract. They include:
Mr Mills listed himself as a media contact: Terry Mills, 0418 833 594.
I place that on the public record because it was a parachute event and the now Chief Minister arrived in a charter aircraft. He was certainly cashed up. He had a billboard, two television crews, and managed to negotiate the signing. Even more importantly, he had it on the news at night. It ran on the news so the politics certainly hotted up. The now Chief Minister presented the people of Borroloola with a good plan there is no doubt about that.
Jackie, when I send you this Hansard transcript, you will read it carefully and see you will be returning to the Northern Territory. Gary, you will be escorting Jacky no doubt, the great man on the road. You will be continuing the campaign for the people of Borroloola and Gove to ensure these election commitments are delivered because they are good commitments. This is a good plan; however, some of these services were already in train from the previous Labor government.
It will be important to remind the Country Liberal Party, the now government of the Northern Territory, these commitments are real. The town of Borroloola, gazetted in 1885 - honourable people, they are wise constituents and will continue to hold the government to account, which is the way it should be.
Jackie and Gary, it is more politics for you. Remember the wonderful time.
Madam Speaker, I thank the people of Borroloola and the Gulf Country for, once again, providing me with your support. Now in opposition, I will continue to lobby. It was great to celebrate the wonderful developments we all shared under the previous Labor government. However, the Country Liberal Party has laid out a fair plan, a good plan, and it has some influence because it is signed off by the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. We look forward to celebrating all those developments. I really hope Jackie Townsend meets Terry Mills one day.
Mr STYLES (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, tonight I talk about some wonderful events occurring in the Northern Territory, specifically in Darwin, and, more importantly, at Charles Darwin University. I recently had the pleasure to attend the opening of the North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas based at Charles Darwin University Casuarina Campus. The centre was opened by Chief Minister Terry Mills. It is a $7m facility which is at the forefront of research and training for the Northern Territory’s burgeoning oil and gas industry.
The cutting-edge facility was built with support from the Northern Territory government and the oil and gas industry through INPEX, Total, and other participants in the Ichthys LNG joint venture project. An expected 200 students will study and train at the facility in 2013, strengthening the industry’s workforce. The North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas will also conduct research in conjunction with industry partners to solve problems specific to the industry.
CDU is collaborating with industry partner Tenax Energy Pty Ltd to create the world’s first tropical environment-focused tidal energy research centre in Darwin. The testing centre and associated pilot plan is the first step towards delivering affordable tidal energy to Darwin by the end of the decade. The tropical tidal testing centre, known as T3C, aims to stimulate collaboration in tropical tidal energy generation globally across research institutions and device manufacturers. Central to the TC3 program will be the technical research conducted with the active participation of technology developers. The project will provide opportunities for technological innovation and will build a platform of knowledge and experience to underpin the growth of a new industry in the Northern Territory.
Work starts on $46m research facilities for Menzies - more work occurring at CDU. Work has begun on the Menzies School of Health Research multimillion dollar buildings at Casuarina Campus and the Royal Darwin Hospital. By mid-2013, two modern and ecologically sound buildings will be completed. This project will secure Menzies a long-term productive future and pave the way for researchers to continue to improve the health of Australians and those in our region.
Charles Darwin University ranks in the top 2% of the world’s universities. It is quite an achievement for a university started by the CLP government to reach such high recognition of universities throughout the world. The university has maintained its position among the world’s top 400 universities for the second year. CDU is one of 19 Australian universities to make this year’s list in the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The rankings use 13 separate performance indicators and take into consideration excellence in teaching, research and knowledge transfer, and international outlook for the university. The results are used by students to help select degree courses, academics to inform career decisions, and by research teams to identify new collaborative partners.
A CDU researcher has been recognised as one of the Territory’s top innovators in conservation research during the Northern Territory Research and Innovation and Young Tall Poppy Awards. Professor Stephen Garnett from CDU’s Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods won the overall 2012 Chief Minister’s Research and Innovation Award and the Tropical Knowledge Research Award.
CDU wins training awards. It won the prestigious Training Provider of the Year in the 2012 NT Training Awards. CDU offers 200 VET qualifications to approximately 14 000 students in more than 150 locations throughout the Territory. At this year’s awards, CDU students took out awards for Trainee of the Year, Vocational Student of the Year, the Austin Ashe Apprentice of the Year and the VET in Schools Student of the Year.
CDU has markedly improved its standing in this year’s Good Universities Guide, an annual rating system which compares Australia’s universities. For the first time, CDU has gained three stars in the key categories of teaching, quality and graduate satisfaction. This positions CDU in the middle of Australia’s 41 universities, an impressive achievement for one of the country’s youngest universities. The improved rating is a reflection of the efforts made by the academic staff towards improving course design, student engagement and the quality of learning resources.
The impact of research: CDU’s Centre for Renewable Energy Research Fellow, Dr Kean Yap, is working towards solving some of the electricity generation challenges faced by remote areas in the Northern Territory. Dr Yap aims to reduce diesel fuel consumption in the Territory’s remote area hybrid power stations to reduce costs, help improve energy security for remote communities and reduce carbon emissions. The research is expected to improve overall energy security for remote communities.
The Western Australia government heeds bird extinction warnings. The work of two CDU researchers has been written into Western Australia law. Recommendations by Professor Stephen Garnett and Dr Judit Szabo about the conservation status of Australian birds are being considered by several other jurisdictions. PhD research connects our culturally divided neighbours.
The residents of Ludmilla have worked together to break down cultural barriers after research by a CDU PhD candidate brought together neighbours from all walks of life and ethnicities. As part of her research, community development specialist Dr Gretchen Ennis instigated Ludmilla Neighbourhood Connections which brought together a diverse network of people and organisations to create community and increase connections across cultures. Using the community participation concept of neighbourhood networking, the residents came together for events ranging from concerts to sports days. They also rediscovered a significant history of the area and worked together to create a DVD which was distributed throughout the neighbourhood.
The education impact: CDU has helped East Timor tackle education. Educators from CDU and East Timor are working together to tackle issues related to providing education in one of the world’s newest nations. Steps to the Future, a cooperative workshop for education and training in East Timor brought together CDU and East Timorese educators to discuss literacy and numeracy, vocational education, teaching English, and teacher education. The workshop will help to strengthen links between the Northern Territory and East Timor.
The first Australian university to offer chemical engineering online: CDU is about to become the first university in Australia, and the third in the world, to offer Bachelor and Masters programs in chemical engineering online. The offerings, which are expected to generate interest from remote and regional students, are the latest demonstration of CDU’s commitment to innovation and increased flexibility in the higher education sector.
What is happening at Charles Darwin University is very exciting. The staff and, in particular, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Barney Glover, need to be commended for their efforts in getting these courses together. I am very proud all my tertiary education has been completed at Charles Darwin University, part of it when it was the Northern Territory University. I am proud I am a member of the alumni and always take every opportunity I can to promote our university. A huge number of students study part-time and, in particular, from a conversation with Professor Glover, there are a number of mature-aged students who use the university for further education. In fact, I was one of those who, as a mature-aged student, was given the opportunity to further my studies right up to the MBA and then to start a doctorate.
It is a fantastic university. It is a credit to the former Country Liberal government which started the university against opposition from members opposite at the time. We have demonstrated that when you believe in something and chase it, put the passion and effort into it, you can succeed. That is what this government will be doing; we will be demonstrating to people we have the commitment, the passion, and the will to make the Territory a fantastic place for our children and our children’s children.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, tonight I acknowledge an eminent jurist here in the Northern Territory, Justice Dean Mildren. Justice Dean Mildren will retire on 26 February 2013. Justice Mildren was born and educated in Adelaide and graduated with degrees in arts and law from the University of Adelaide in 1966. He entered into articles with James Henry Muirhead QC, later a justice of the Supreme Court and, subsequently, Administrator of the Northern Territory. Justice Mildren was admitted as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1968, and the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 1970.
Justice Mildren relocated to Darwin in 1972 and became a partner with the firm Thomson and Co, which was restyled as Thomson Mildren and Co. His was one of the first firms to resume practice in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy and was instrumental in the restoration of legal services to the Darwin community. In 1976 he became in-house counsel and in 1980 joined the Northern Territory Independent Bar. One of Justice Mildren’s first briefs at the Independent Bar was to trace the application of the Imperial and South Australian laws and statutes to the newly elected body politic of the Northern Territory of Australia. Justice Mildren’s opinion became the seminal study in the matter and formed the basis for the enactment of the Sources of the Law Act 1985 Northern Territory.
Justice Mildren has had a diverse practice and was appointed a QC in 1983. He conducted jury trials in criminal matters, was an expert in personal injuries and workers compensation matters, and was also acknowledged as the Territory’s leading commercial Silk. Justice Mildren held a number of significant legal posts before appointment as a Supreme Court judge. These included Secretary of the Law Society 1972-73, President of the Law Society 1973, 1975, 1979 and 1981, Vice President of the Bar Association 1981-87, President of the Bar Association 1987-91, and Vice President of the Australian Bar Association 1989-90. He was also Chair of the Northern Territory Planning Appeals Committee 1979-85, and Deputy Chair of the Legal Practitioners Complaints Committee, 1983-88.
Justice Mildren was a part-time lecturer in torts and legal history at the Northern Territory University, now called Charles Darwin University, shortly after the establishment of the law faculty in Darwin in 1988. In that capacity, he educated and mentored many students who have since graduated and established successful careers in law in the Northern Territory, interstate and overseas. He was appointed as an adjunct professor of law in 1997 and held that position until 2002. In 1974, Justice Mildren joined the Army Legal Corp as reserve officer and rose to the rank of colonel. He served with the chief legal officer for the 7th Military District 1975-86, as a defence force magistrate 1986-91, and as a judge advocate 1986-96. He has been a member of the Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal since 1996 and was awarded a Reserve Force decoration bar in 1995.
Justice Mildren was appointed a judge in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory on 28 June 1991. Since that time, he has become recognised as an outstanding jurist and a leader in many areas of Northern Territory law. His judgments are noted for their academic depth and intellectual acuity. They have been reported extensively in national services such as the Australian Law Reports and the Federal Law Reports.
Among his many other qualities as a jurist, Justice Mildren has a particular interest in Aboriginal justice issues and is sensitive to the difficulties confronting courts in attempting to meet legitimate expectations and entitlements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their dealings with the legal system.
As part of that concern, in 1997 Justice Mildren formulated proforma directions to the jury for cases involving Aboriginal witnesses. Those directions are designed to assist the jury in assessing the evidence of Aboriginal witnesses and/or an accused person’s record of interview. This was achieved by drawing the jury’s attention to the possibility of sociolinguistic factors which can lead to misunderstandings of an Aboriginal witness’s evidence. The directions note, amongst other things, many Aboriginal people speak Aboriginal English which can lead to unwitting miscommunication, there may be extra linguistic features of evidence such as a tendency to avoid eye contact, and culturally appropriate periods of silence may elapse before an Aboriginal witness responds to a question. Further, Aboriginal witnesses may also show a tendency to agree with propositions put to them by persons in authority whether or not they agree with those propositions. The application of those directions has significantly advanced the course of Aboriginal participants in the justice system.
Justice Mildren has also written extensively on Aboriginal justice and related issues and has been instrumental in the development and maintenance of an Aboriginal Interpreter Service for use inside the courts and has been active in training Aboriginal interpreters. Justice Mildren assumed the Chair of the Council of Law Reporting for the Northern Territory in May 1999 following the retirement of Sir William Kearney. He continues to hold that position. In 2007, he was responsible for the establishment of the Northern Territory Law Journal.
Justice Mildren also added to the Northern Territory judgments 1918-1950, being judgments of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, the Supreme Court of North Australia and Supreme Court of Central Australia, the Northern Territory University Press 2001.
Justice Mildren is the foremost authority on the Territory’s legal history. In 2011, to coincide with the centenary of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, his comprehensive accounts of the court’s history Big Boss Fella All Same Judge was published by Federation Press. Justice Mildren is held in the highest regard by his judicial colleagues and members of the legal profession who recognise his extraordinary breadth and depth of knowledge of the law.
Justice Mildren’s contributions as first, a barrister and fearless advocate on matters involved in the administration of justice and, subsequently, as an exemplary judicial officer, have universally been recognised and valued by members of the Territory executive and legislature and the judiciary.
As previously indicated, Justice Mildren will retire on 26 February 2013 and, at the time of retirement, will be the Northern Territory’s longest serving resident judge and will have contributed to Northern Territory law for over 40 years. It is arguable no other person has had such a significant and positive influence on development of law and the legal profession in the Northern Territory. I wish him and Liz well in the next chapter of their lives. It is likely His Honour will be returning to the Northern Territory Supreme Court as an acting judge in the not too distant future.
I place on the record my thanks to this extraordinary jurist in the Northern Territory and am grateful to him, on behalf of this parliament, the Northern Territory government, and the people of the Northern Territory for his extraordinary contribution to this jurisdiction. I believe it is sufficiently noteworthy that this House be informed of the impending retirement of Justice Mildren.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
TABLED PAPER
Sitting Schedule 2013
Sitting Schedule 2013
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table the proposed sitting dates for 2013. The sitting schedule includes the introduction of the budget during the week commencing 30 April 2013, and Estimates Committee hearings being held over two weeks in June. Are there any questions?
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Media Coverage of Mini-Budget 2012-13
Media Coverage of Mini-Budget 2012-13
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have given permission for the ABC, SBS and Sky News to film the opposition’s response to the mini-budget. I call on the Leader of the Opposition.
MOTION
Note Paper - Mini-Budget 2012-13
Note Paper - Mini-Budget 2012-13
Continued from 4 December 2012.
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): The CLP mini-budget handed down yesterday was unnecessary, mean, and out of touch with the daily realities faced by Territory families. The CLP mini-budget hurts Territorians. It hits them where it hurts the most, doubling the cost of living. Chief Minister, you have betrayed Territorians in our cities, towns and remote areas, slashing jobs and vital programs and hiking up fees and charges. You have failed the test of leadership and compassion. You are out of touch with the reality of Territorians and have delivered a mean-spirited budget. The slash and burn nature of this mini-budget is unnecessary. The CLP is inflicting pain on Territorians to meet hundreds of millions of dollars of unfunded election commitments.
Your mini-budget is a disaster for Territory families. The CLP mini-budget hits every Territorian. It hits childcare, students at school, job seekers, apprentices and trainees. It hits young families, homebuyers, renters, public servants, businesses, seniors, local government, and renal patients in the bush. The CLP mini-budget puts prices up and services down for all Territorians. Under the cost of living burden rising from a CPI of 2.1% to 4.3%, households will suffer, businesses will go broke and families will pack up and leave.
On power and water bills Territorians have spoken loud and clear. Territorians know these bills will hurt them and that they are unnecessary. The power and water hike increases rents, rates, childcare and groceries. It increases costs in every facet of daily life. Add to that, vehicle registration costs which are up by $105, bus fares are up, every government fee and charge is up. The CLP promised to cut the cost of living but has increased almost every aspect of it.
It is extraordinary to hear the CLP justify increases in car registration based on levels down south. It is completely oblivious to the price of petrol in the Northern Territory How dare it suggest the cost of running a car is cheaper in the Territory than down south. The CLP claims car rego has not increased in 16 years other than by the CPI. Why should car rego go up by more than the CPI? And, get this: Territorians now have to pay $20 for the privilege of waiting in line at MVR to pay their registration.
The CLP does not understand how much pain this mini-budget will cause. It is out of touch with Territory families. Many Territory families will simply not be able to afford the cost of living increases in this CLP mini-budget. The mini-budget doubles inflation. The figure is right there in the mini-budget book: inflation increasing from 2.1% to 4.3% as a result of the utility price hikes.
People trying to buy their first home are hit extra hard by this mini-budget. Territorians in the process of buying a house now cannot and their dreams are shattered. The stamp duty concessions for first homeowners are gone. The First Home Owner Grant is only $12 000 for existing properties and the maximum value of eligible properties has been cut from $750 000 to $600 000. As a result, in Darwin and Palmerston there are now 1100 fewer properties available to first homeowners - 1100 fewer to claim the $25 000 assistance. How on earth does that help first homebuyers?
Seniors have been targeted cruelly by the Country Liberal Party. Power, water, rates, rents are all up and they can no longer travel on buses for free. The thought of senior Territorians having to swelter in their homes without air conditioning because they cannot afford it sickens me.
Businesses face a double whammy. Their costs increase and their customers have less money to spend. This mini-budget will send many businesses broke. We already know a small business will incur a $7800 power and water bill hike, but with every government charge going up they are being hit again and again and again. The Minister for Business has the gall to issue a media release saying the mini-budget will help business reduce costs because the government is increasing ecoBiz grants by $220 000.
There are individual businesses whose costs will increase by a greater amount than the entire cost of the program. You are completely out of touch. Yesterday, we could not even find the CLP mini-budget business release until we realised it was titled, quote:
Environmental Program Boosted.
That is how much you rate business.
The Country Liberal Party thinks Territory businesses are awash with cash and if they become a little more efficient these massive increases should not hurt too much - totally out of touch! Every business will be affected. Our big employers, retail and hospitality, will be decimated by this mini-budget. Many will close and jobs will be lost. You are hitting them from every angle.
The mini-budget says 600 public servants will go. That is 600 more people than you promised. Who could possibly believe it will not be more than 600? The Country Liberal Party has been completely deceptive on the job cuts plan, promising none before the election then started sacking in the first week. The CLP will still not be up front about which jobs will go. At least in Queensland and other states they were up front and said which jobs would go. There is no such accountability or honesty here. You are talking about the future of families and you cannot even be honest with them. You simply have no idea how much stress and tension your price rises and job cuts are causing, and not being upfront and honest hurts even more.
The mini-budget reveals the Country Liberal Party has made the decision to double the rate of inflation from 2.1% to 4.3%. This will put enormous pressure on public and private sector wage growth; however, the mini-budget is silent on this. If EBAs for our public servants - including nurses, teachers, doctors and police - do not involve pay rises of at least 4.3% they will get a real pay cut. The only way to pay for it will be pay cuts or more job cuts.
The numbers in this mini-budget prove the pain, price hikes and job cuts are simply not necessary. The mini-budget proves what we have been saying: our debt position is manageable and responsible. It takes about 8% of revenue to service the debt, something the Treasurer admitted yesterday was responsible and a good decision.
It is worth noting that, despite all the CLP talk, not one independent commentator or analyst agrees with it. The only people who agree are being paid $1000 a day to do so.
The facts are clear, Moody’s looked at our finances this year and reaffirmed our AA1 rating and a stable outlook - the second highest rating there is. The government’s debt is less of a burden than it was last time the CLP was in power. The debt to revenue ratios over the forward estimates and the interest to revenue ratios are manageable and responsible. The nett debt to revenue ratio rises from 63% to 73%, but it was more than 90% when the CLP was in office in the 1990s. This mini-budget, you claimed, was all about debt. Last week any debt was a terrible thing according to the CLP - debt was evil. Yet, in this mini-budget, you are committing to a nett debt of $4.4bn by 2015-16.
Last week the CLP was complaining about how much interest we pay. It said interest payments were a disaster. The mini-budget increases those payments. Interest payments increase by nearly $90m a year across the forward estimates. The interest to revenue levels stay around the same as previously. The CLP is pretending the price hikes, job cuts, and the health and education cuts are about debt. Rubbish! They are about getting Territorians to pay for the CLP’s unfunded election commitments.
This mini-budget is also about fattening up Power and Water as a utility to sell it off. Debt was a ruse. This mini-budget proves it and Territorians know it. They simply do not believe you and you have lost their trust.
The cuts to services in this budget are savage and mean. Health and education services have been targeted for cuts. Cutting renal service expansion is a disgrace. Many people - mainly Indigenous - requiring renal services face a shorter life as a result of this mini-budget. The mini-budget reduces the hours of operation of the Palmerston GP Super Clinic, although we have no further information. Adjusting nursing staffing models means fewer nurses. This mini-budget provides fewer nurses for our hospitals.
To hear the Minister for Health proudly state he had put a stop to the medi-hotel in Gove is sickening. He is proud he has stopped accommodation for patients with chronic illnesses and stopped pregnant women having somewhere to stay. He dismisses these people as long-grassers.
Cutting the education budget by 10% and pretending it will not affect education outcomes is ludicrous. We have already heard schools are being forced to reduce the number of teachers. Cutting teachers is cutting frontline services. The Minister for Education has been refusing requests from teachers to meet. We now know why. The teachers union has said the mini-budget will see teaching returned to rows of students, monitors, and one teacher to large classes with no support for special needs in mainstream and stressed out support staff everywhere. The CLP still claims frontline services will not be affected. It is treating teachers and Territorians with contempt.
How can the CLP claim firefighters are not frontline staff? Yet, that is who they are getting rid of at Humpty Doo. Madam Speaker, as you so eloquently put it, ‘Have you lost your collective minds?’
We have also heard via whistleblowers that this is not the only cut to firefighting services. It is claimed the CLP is decommissioning the rescue tender from Palmerston. That is six positions. These people cut people from cars but apparently that is not a frontline service. Of course, the CLP tried to hide this cut. Where is the media release announcing that?
The family and parent support services budget has been slashed from $53m to $40m. As NGOs providing child protection services made it clear on the news last night, this will lead to more child abuse and neglect.
The local government budget has been slashed from $72m to $59m. The CLP said local government was struggling to be financially sustainable so it rips out more funding.
The Department of Infrastructure has had 20% of its jobs cut. These are the engineers who help build the Territory.
Indigenous employment programs have been slashed. Tertiary funding has been slashed. Young Territorians will miss out on the wonderful, highly-skilled job opportunities our growing economy is providing.
On the front page of the 100-day plan the CLP promised to immediately remove drunks from our streets but what has it done? It scrapped the Banned Drinker Register and the SMART Court, which could order people into rehabilitation and treatment. This has been replaced with nothing. It is scrapping the first response unit and replacing it with nothing. The so-called habitual drunks legislation is in tatters. All this mini-budget announces is that the Attorney-General has flicked it to the Minister for Health. The CLP has very quickly turned Darwin into a drinker’s paradise. The drunks are well and truly on tap.
It has been clearly established that the cost of alcohol abuse runs into hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2007, the cost of alcohol abuse to the community was $670m. That would be close to $1bn now. The CLP’s complete lack of policy in this area will cost future budgets hundreds of millions of dollars.
This mini-budget announces the CLP will sell off government employee housing to pay for its unfunded promises. I quote the Minister for Housing:
- ... in some areas there is a sufficient supply of good private rental houses that staff can access.
Where? Of course, no information. The government is planning to rake in millions of dollars selling off public housing, and there are so many other cuts right across government that shadow ministers will drill down into.
The price of fireworks and gun registration is up. You are hitting Territorians everywhere. Could you be any less Territorian?
This budget is horrific. When the Treasurer announced the power and water bill hikes she said she hoped Territorians would forget about it within two years. They will not. You and the Chief Minister have lost the trust of the people of the Northern Territory. They know you were not honest with them. They know you are causing unnecessary pain and they will not forget. You have lost their trust. You have no compassion. This budget lacks any consideration or thought for how people will be affected by it.
The people who designed this budget do not even live in the Territory. They are being put up in luxury hotels, being paid $1000 per day before they head back down south. They could not care less how much their cuts hurt Territorians. Perhaps the most concerning aspect of this mini-budget was revealed on the ABC news last night when the Treasurer conceded this was just the start. She said there is more pain to come.
Madam Speaker, I condemn this mini-budget in the strongest possible terms. Territorians want us to fight this government and we will. That is our commitment; a commitment we will not tear up.
Debate adjourned.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Pass Bill through all Stages - Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (Serial 17)
Pass Bill through all Stages - Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (Serial 17)
Mrs LAMBLEY (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 17) passing through all stages this sittings period.
Motion agreed to.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Pass Bill through all Stages - Bail Amendment Bill (Serial 13)
Pass Bill through all Stages - Bail Amendment Bill (Serial 13)
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills titled Bail Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 13) and Domestic and Family Violence Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 14):
(a) being presented and read a first time together and one motion being put in regard to, respectively, the second readings, the committee’s report stage, and the third readings of the bills together
Hearing these matters cognate is to deal with the same issue emanating from both bills.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Reorder of Business – Call on Revenue and other Legislation Amendment Bill (Serial 17)
Reorder of Business – Call on Revenue and other Legislation Amendment Bill (Serial 17)
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that Government Business, Orders of the Day relating to the Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 (Serial 17) be called on forthwith.
Motion agreed to.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Treasurer, before you start, I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 9 Kormilda College students accompanied by their teachers. On behalf of honourable members, I extend a warm welcome to you and hope you enjoy your visit to Parliament House.
REVENUE AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 17)
(Serial 17)
Continued from 4 December 2012.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, this bill puts in place a package of measures announced as part of the government’s 2012-13 mini-budget by proposing amendments to the Stamp Duty Act, First Home Owners Grant Act and Motor Vehicles (Fees and Charges) Regulations.
The Northern Territory is one of the lowest taxing jurisdictions in Australia. In the current challenging fiscal environment, the government needs to move Territory taxes to a level closer to the state average. The measures in the bill will improve the Territory’s overall fiscal position and assist in achieving the government’s goal of balancing the budget during its first term.
The measures better target the Territory’s homebuyer assistance schemes and increase motor vehicle registration fees. The government is committed to ensuring Territorians have access to a range of housing options. In keeping with this commitment, the bill proposes measures to better target the assistance provided to both first homebuyers and other homebuyers.
In the past, rather than improving housing affordability, untargeted homeowner assistance has often contributed to higher property prices. This brings into question whether assistance is being wasted and if it can be delivered more effectively.
The measures will allow improved access to new homes for low- and middle-income families and also provides a strong foundation from which the affordable new home market can expand. This is because the bill increases the first homeowner grant for both established and newly constructed homes.
The original intent of the grant was to support first homebuyers by offsetting the effect of the GST on the acquisition of a home. However, aside from temporary increases initiated by the Commonwealth, the grant has not increased since set at $7000 in 2000.
The First Home Owner Grant will now increase to $25 000 for new home transactions commencing on or after 4 December 2012. A new home is one which has not been previously lived in or sold as a place of residence. To provide regional first homebuyers with greater assistance, a First Home Owner Grant of $25 000 will also be available for established homes in regional areas. This includes homes in Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs but not Litchfield or Wagait, which are closer to Darwin.
This also recognises that outside of greater Darwin, including Palmerston, first homebuyers are much less likely to be buying a newly constructed home or building a new home.
From 4 December 2012, a greater First Home Owner Grant of $12 000 will also be available to first homebuyers of established homes in Darwin, Palmerston, Litchfield and Wagait. The increases in the First Home Owner Grant will be funded by the stamp duty first homeowner concession ceasing from 4 December 2012. Savings from this decision will also be channelled towards improving the Territory’s fiscal position.
The delivery of first homebuyer assistance through a single grant scheme will promote administrative consistency and reduce the red tape applicants currently face in dealing with two legislative regimes. Furthermore, a higher First Home Owner Grant amount will ensure first homebuyers receive available funds at one point in time, providing the opportunity for the grant to be readily used as part of a home deposit.
The government is committed to better targeted and fiscally responsible spending of the public purse. Consistent with this, the bill focuses eligibility for the First Home Owner Grant on those who are more in need of assistance. The maximum value of a home eligible for a First Home Owner Grant will be reduced from the current $750 000 threshold to a maximum home value of $600 000. This is still higher than the current greater Darwin median house price of about $568 000 according to Real Estate Institute figures.
Territorians buying or building a new home which is not their first home will also benefit from the measures contained in the bill. From 4 December 2012, the stamp duty Principal Place of Residence Rebate will double from $3500 to $7000, but will be retargeted to purchasers of new homes or vacant land on which a new home will be built. This means Territorians buying or building a new home which will be their principal place of residence will not be required to pay stamp duty on about the first $231 000 of the home’s value.
This recognises the importance of supporting the construction and supply of new homes in the Territory. Also, by limiting this assistance to the purchase or construction of new homes, the unwanted effect of over-inflating the property market will be minimised. The risk of potential distortions of the property market will be further mitigated by commencing the increases to the First Home Owner Grant and Principal Place of Residence Rebate from the mini-budget announcement date of 4 December 2012.
Aside from an automatic yearly increase in line with the Consumer Price Index, motor vehicle registration fees for light vehicles were last increased 16 years ago. Northern Territory registration fees are currently among the lowest of all of the states and territories across all categories. The bill proposes to increase motor vehicle registration fees in the Motor Vehicles (Fees and Charges) Regulations from 1 January 2013.
Under the measures proposed by the bill, the total registration costs for light vehicles will remain slightly lower than the average of the other states. Annual registration fee increases will vary from $11 for a motorcycle, $67 for a small vehicle, and $105 for a large four-wheel-drive vehicle. Although there will be concern about the size of these increases, the overall change in the cost of registering a vehicle in the Territory will range from about 4% to 18%.
I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement to accompany the bill.
Debate adjourned.
BAIL AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 13)
DOMESTIC and FAMILY VIOLENCE AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 14)
(Serial 13)
DOMESTIC and FAMILY VIOLENCE AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 14)
Bills presented and read a first time.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.
The Bail Amendment Bill 2012 and the Domestic and Family Violence Amendment Bill 2012 are presented together because they both remedy a problem with respect to police being able to enforce orders or conditions made prohibiting persons from consuming alcohol and other drugs in bail agreements and domestic violence orders by testing for compliance.
The purpose of the Bail Amendment Bill 2012 is to amend the Bail Act to make it clear police or a court, when granting bail, can impose bail conditions which seek to ensure compliance with other conditions. An expressed power for police and courts to make bail conditions requiring an accused person to submit to testing to ensure compliance with a bail condition prohibiting them from consuming alcohol and other drugs will also be inserted into the Bail Act.
Amendments to the Bail Act are necessary as a number of magistrates have been refusing to order tests and conditions which would oblige a person to undergo compliance testing such as a breath analysis which seeks to ensure they are complying with a condition they not consume alcohol. The refusal to make these orders arose following a decision of a single judge in the New South Wales Supreme Court in Lawson v Dunlevy [2012] NSWSC 48. That decision considered New South Wales provisions which govern the matters upon which bail conditions can be imposed. The New South Wales provisions are drafted in a similar way to the relevant provisions of the Territory’s Bail Act.
A further minor amendment will be made to section 27(1)(h) of the Bail Act to ensure a police officer or court, when granting bail, can impose a condition preventing an accused from misusing drugs which have been prescribed to them. In the condition prohibiting drugs or alcohol, the phrase ‘non-prescription drugs’ is replaced with, ‘a drug (other than as prescribed for the person by a health practitioner)’.
The purpose of the Domestic and Family Violence Amendment Bill 2012 is to amend the Domestic and Family Violence Act so it is clear police or a court, when making a domestic violence order, can make an ancillary order which aims to ensure compliance with other orders.
Amendments to the Domestic and Family Violence Act are necessary as police have not been ordering domestic violence orders which oblige a person to undergo tests for alcohol or drug use as a result of ambiguity as to the lawfulness of such orders. This ambiguity also arose as a result of the decision in the New South Wales Supreme Court in relation to bail conditions.
Amendments to section 21 of the Domestic and Family Violence Act will ensure police and courts can make such ancillary orders to ensure compliance with another domestic violence order.
The ability of police to monitor that an accused is complying with the domestic violence order or bail conditions is essential to ensuring there is no further risk of offending or acts of domestic violence occurring due to alcohol consumption or drug abuse, and risks to safety of other persons and the public are minimised. These amendments will put beyond doubt the ability of courts and police to make domestic violence orders and bail conditions which seek to ensure compliance with other orders and conditions.
As members of the Assembly are aware, misuse of alcohol and drugs plays a significant role in the commission of criminal offences in the Northern Territory. These amendments will assist police in determining whether a person subject to bail conditions or a domestic violence order is consuming alcohol or drugs despite a court order not to do so.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bills to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statements.
Debate adjourned.
JUSTICE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT
(AGE OF RETIREMENT) BILL
(Serial 15)
(AGE OF RETIREMENT) BILL
(Serial 15)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of the bill is to amend the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, Law Officers Act, Magistrates Act and the Supreme Court Act to raise the retirement age for the Master of the Supreme Court, the Solicitor-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions and magistrates from 65 to 70 years. There has, in recent times, been a trend in the general workforce to either increasing mandatory retirement ages or doing away with them altogether. While the Supreme Court justices in the Northern Territory are currently appointed to the age of 70, a number of other statutory offices, namely the Master of the Supreme Court, the Solicitor General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and magistrates, are appointed to the age of 65.
A review of retirement ages for similar positions throughout Australia has been undertaken. In Australia, the mandatory age for justices ranges between 70 and 72. For the Master’s position, the Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction with a retirement age under 70. In most cases, the Solicitor-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions are appointed for a fixed term otherwise the range is from 65 to 72. For magistrates the range is 65 to 72, with four of the seven jurisdictions having a retirement age of 65.
With regard to magistrates, it should be noted that short-term relieving magistrate appointments can be made for up to 70-year-olds and former magistrates have been engaged on numerous occasions in the past as relieving magistrates. There is no reason to doubt officers who hold the position in question would ordinarily be able to continue to perform the functions required of them at a high level until the age of 70. This is recognised in the current age limit of 70 for Supreme Court judges. Indeed, office holders having reached the age of 65 are in a better position to contribute given their wealth of experience.
The Justice Legislation Amendment (Age of Retirement) Bill 2012 provides for a person to be appointed as the Solicitor-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Master of the Supreme Court or a magistrate up to the time they turn 70 years of age. Additionally, the legislation will provide that persons currently in the position of Solicitor-General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Master of the Supreme Court or magistrate continue in those positions until they reach the age of 70 years.
I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
EVIDENCE (NATIONAL UNIFORM LEGISLATION) BILL
(Serial 16)
(Serial 16)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney General and Justice): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to make amendments to the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 to ensure when a person has been charged with an offence where the alleged victim is under 16, a close relative of the defendant - their spouse, de facto partner, parent or child - will not be able to make an application under section 18 of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 that they be excused from giving evidence. Section 12 of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation Act) 2011 provides that every person is competent and compellable to give evidence.
There are a limited number of exceptions to this general rule contained in the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation Act) 2011. Section 18 contains one of those exceptions. In summary, that provision provides that a close relative of a defendant is not compellable to give evidence for the prosecution if a court is satisfied there is a likelihood that harm may result to the person if they give evidence and the gravity of the risk of harm outweighs the desirability of having the evidence given. Section 19 provides that, for certain offences, section 18 does not apply. Currently this includes section 19(b):
- An offence against a provision in Part V or Part VI of the Criminal Code Act and the offender is a person under the age of 16 years.
My department advises me this is an absurdity; that close relatives of an offender under 16 should not be able to make an application to be excused from giving evidence under section 18. I agree. The relevant Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory provisions upon which section 19(b) is based operate in such a way as to exclude, for a limited number of offences, close relatives of a defendant where the offence relates to an alleged victim under the age of 16, to be able to make an application to be excluded from giving evidence.
It is apparent the reference to ‘an offender’ in section 19(b) is a drafting error and the intention was to refer to the alleged victim. If a court is asked to consider the meaning of section 19(b) before the commencement of any amendments arising from this bill, the court may be able to consider this drafting error in construing the true intention of section 19(b).
There are good reasons why a close relative of a defendant who has been charged with an offence involving a child should not be excused from giving evidence. In matters involving children it is often only a spouse, partner, or close relative of a defendant who will be able to give evidence necessary to obtain a finding of guilt. Under section 19 of the current Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act there is no apparent policy purpose behind what offences with respect to children were or were not included.
For example, a close relative of somebody charged with an offence under the Care and Protection of Children Act in relation to the employment of children was not able to make an application under section 18 to be excused from giving evidence. However, a close relative of somebody charged with a serious offence under the Summary Offences Act or the Misuse of Drugs Act in relation to children could make an application not to give evidence.
Amendment to section 19 proposed in this bill will mean in all matters in which a person has been charged with an offence where an alleged victim is under 16, their close relatives will not be able to make an application under section 18 that they be excused from giving evidence. That was the position at common law before the commencement of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 and the passage of this bill will see that situation restored.
In addition to the drafting error contained in section 19(b), a number of the provisions of the Care and Protection of Children Act referred to in section 19(a) of the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 no longer exist. Specifically, these are now repealed sections 228, 240 and 246. These provisions were repealed by the Education and Care Services (National Uniform Legislation) Act which was introduced after the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act.
The need to make consequential amendments to the Evidence (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 was not picked up at the time of passage of the Education and Care Services (National Uniform Legislation) Act. In the event a court is asked to consider an application by someone to whom the repealed provisions may have applied, section 15(1) of the Interpretation Act will be relevant. That provides that, where an act re-enacts provisions of a former act, reference to the provisions repealed shall be construed as a reference to the provisions re-enacted.
I commend the bill to honourable members and table a copy of the explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
MOTION
Note Paper - Mini-Budget 2012-13
Note Paper - Mini-Budget 2012-13
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr HIGGINS (Daly): Madam Speaker, I respond to the Treasurer’s mini-budget. Reading the media releases, it is quite clear it is planning for prosperity into the future. It seems to be a start not a stop. I will highlight some of the areas which affect me and some of the points made.
The previous government consistently spent beyond its means, leading to this mini-budget. If re-elected, it would have needed to make the same cuts. The government, in this mini-budget, is trying to refocus expenditure priorities back to frontline services.
If I can focus on lands, planning and the environment, the media release yesterday highlighted a natural beauty about our Territory closely related to tourism. I own a tourism industry business at Daly River and see the protection of the environment as a key part of our going forward. The establishment of the Environment Protection Authority will ensure this. It was pleasing to see we have allocated $800 000 ongoing annually to establish and operate the Northern Territory Planning Commission, and $500 000 ongoing in 2013 to establish an independent board for the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority. I spoke on this in the House recently saying it was a success, especially relating to my involvement on the Daly River Management Advisory Committee.
Land release to increase the supply of affordable houses - the community of Nauiyu has no land on which it can build houses. They have two blocks left and no plans for land release. I am hoping the planning authority and the Environment Protection Authority will see an end to some of that.
I also notice in the media release investigation into flood mitigation measures at Rapid Creek, which reminded me of the Daly River. Every year we have flooding at the Daly and it is always a concern, especially for the people living at the lower part of the Daly. Over the last 10 to 15 years I have resided at the Daly there has been a gradual decrease in the amount of money being spent on monitoring that flooding. That causes much concern to the people at the Daly. I hope in the future we address that problem, as a government, to make it easier.
In regard to capital works, $1m was allocated for a canteen at Taminmin College. I was there two or three weeks ago when classes were out and there was a massive line up at the existing canteen. This $1m will be well-accepted by the people there. It has been an issue for many years and I am glad to see we are addressing the problem.
As you know, there was a freeze on the live export trade some 18 months ago. I am glad to see the Mills government is trying to do some work in that area by increasing funding to the rangelands monitoring program. That will be increased by about $0.5m a year.
This is good for the environment, is direct funding into the environment, and goes much further than the previous government which gave much lip service to the environment. I commend the government for doing that. The money will enable three new rangelands monitoring offices to be established, and it is another $100 000 to support the Pastoral Land Board operations.
When we talk about cutting Labor waste - the media release on that reminded me of my role as chairman of the tourist association in Katherine and how upset people in Katherine were at the time funding for the regional tourist association was cut. I received a phone call from the then Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, advising me of that. Paul and I have known each other for many years, which is why I received the phone call. However, I was very disappointed that money was, straightaway, redirected into the establishment of an office of the Chief Minister in Katherine. I am glad to see that office has been closed and there will be a saving of $400 000 this year and $900 000 ongoing. I hope some of that money goes back into tourism.
We have seen the establishment of a tourism commission. When I was first involved in tourism the commission was already established but it was removed by the previous Labor government. Tourism, since then, has gone backwards. If you look at the numbers now you will find an increase in tourists to Darwin, but outside Darwin the numbers have drastically decreased.
I have a big interest in environmental issues. It was good to see we will double funding for the environmental program ecoBiz NT. That increase is from $220 000 to $440 000, and I hope many people benefit from that initiative. Business and industry grants will also receive $1m in 2012-13, and ongoing of $858 000 in additional funds. Again, I commend that.
I have heard the discussion around the Humpty Doo fire service but I will restrict my comments to Bushfires NT, which does a great job. It is based in Batchelor. There is also the Bushfires Council, chaired by Paul Blore. I have known Paul for many years. He managed Lucy Downs, which is behind the Daly, or the mango farm where I live. He was manager there about 12 years ago. Paul spoke to me about Bushfires NT funding and I am pleased we are able to do something in that area.
Most of the specific actions in the rural area are concentrated around fishing. While they may be directed more at people in Darwin, most of the initiatives which have been listed fall in the electorate of Daly. While they do not affect the constituents too much they have an impact on tourism.
The $4.5m for fishing infrastructure at Dundee is well and truly overdue. The buy-back of commercial licences for Finke Bay and Chambers Bay is also a very good initiative amateur fishermen will be very pleased about.
The comprehensive study of potential new areas to support a new boat ramp at Shady Camp - that is in my electorate and I am pleased to see we have allocated some money for that.
Remote schools are receiving additional funding in this budget and the Back to School bonus increasing from $75 to $150 per student is much appreciated ...
______________
Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, if I could interrupt to welcome some students. I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 9 Kormilda College students, accompanied by their teachers. On behalf of all members, I extend a warm welcome to you and hope you enjoy your visit to Parliament House.
Members: Hear, hear!
________________
Mr HIGGINS: The community of Woodycupaldiya does not have a teacher at the moment yet there are 29 children there. I was very pleased to see the remote retention bonus for teachers, and we are going to find a pathway forward through that.
The other issue I applaud is allowing remote communities the choice of either non-government or government schools. In the Daly, again, I can draw on that. We have a Catholic school in the community, which is very well run, and a government school at Wooliana. It is interesting to note over the years the shift of people from one school to another - back and forth. It means people appreciate the choice of being able to move from one to the other.
With regard to health, in a media release we said:
- We are determined to work on improving the level of health of Indigenous Territorians.
I noticed in the newspaper today the completely misleading statement which said $5000 will be given to every Indigenous householder to renovate their houses. I found that insulting and misleading. The promise made by the Country Liberals was $5200 for each home, not occupant, and it is not just to renovate their houses and is not being paid to them. I found that offensive.
The boost for the homelands is in addition to existing budget allocations for outstation services.
If I could go back to that for a moment, the homelands and funding for these houses was one of the key election promises made by the Country Liberals in the bush areas. The second major promise made by the Country Liberals in the bush was local government reform. I was pleased to see the minister issue a media release stating what he said in the House last week: we have 21 members of a stakeholder group drawn from across the Territory and these people are to advise government on what options are available.
The Minister for Local Government announced funding of $6.2m over four years to develop and implement local government reform. It is pleasing we are moving forward in that area. The functions and responsibilities of shires and councils was a key item in the election commitments of the Country Liberals and I am really pleased with that.
There is some concern about the long-term sustainability of the shires. That, of course, is a worry in our budget. The two people on that committee representing the Daly electorate are Tobias Nganbe from Wadeye and Harold Wilson from Peppimenarti. I wish them luck.
During the election the issue of boat registration was quite misleading to many constituents, as was the statement we were going to dam the Daly. I sat on the Daly River Management Advisory Committee and I thought that was outrageous. I am glad to see we have ruled out boat registration and, hopefully, that will put an end to the rubbish coming from the opposition.
The registration sticker issue was quite good. One of the problems in the bush is we go to police stations to register our vehicles and get yellow slips. The issue of sticky labels is not something in the forefront of our mind, but I am sure people in the city will become used to it.
The focus on the Centre is very good. For many years bush seats south of the Berrimah Line have been completely ignored. When we talk about the Centre we talk about CCTV in Katherine. I can tell you from my time as chairman of the tourist association that was always a big issue in Katherine and I am glad to see something is being done about it.
The other issue is sentencing. The emphasis will be more on correction rather than locking people up. I know someone who works hard at the Don Dale Centre who said it is really good to see we are not just giving people television and video games. That was also a very good decision.
With regard to the victims of crime levy, I can …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, it is 12 noon. Do you want to reserve your comments for a later time?
Mr HIGGINS: Yes, if I could.
Debate suspended.
PETITIONS
Bushland in the East Point, Ludmilla Creek and Kulaluk Lease Area
Bushland in the East Point, Ludmilla Creek and Kulaluk Lease Area
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Speaker, I present a petition from 569 petitioners praying that bushland in the East Point, Ludmilla Creek and Kulaluk lease area not be destroyed. The petition bears the Clerk’s certificate that it conforms with the requirements of standing orders. I move that the petition be read.
Motion agreed to; petition read:
- To the honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory, we the undersigned respectfully showeth this petition against the planned destruction of bushland for the construction of a light industrial estate and associated works on Lot 5182 of the Kulaluk lease between Fitzer Drive, Bagot Road, Totem Road and Dick Ward Drive, which will have a negative effect on the wellbeing of residents of Ludmilla, Minmarama Village and Coconut Grove, destroy Aboriginal sites, and threaten the ecological viability of a conservation zone/green belt extending from the East Point Reserve, Ludmilla Creek and the Kulaluk lease, including Lot 5182.
Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the Northern Territory government urgently consult with the residents of Ludmilla, Coconut Grove and Minmarama Village regarding the effects on the wellbeing of said residents by the rezoning of a conservation zone for a light industry estate that will drastically change the ambience of the area; urgently consult with all Aboriginal people who have a cultural and historical connection to the said land; facilitate cultural, environmental and heritage studies to document sites and the ecology of the area; and conduct an inquiry into the circumstances whereby the incorporated association which holds the lease to 301 ha of priceless public land, including Lot 5182, can amend their constitution so that a minimum of five members can decide the future of the lease to the detriment of neighbouring residents and other Aboriginal people and in contradiction to the expressed original purposes for the granting of a lease to Larrakia and associated Aboriginal people.
And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.
Power and Water Price Increases
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I present a petition from 225 petitioners relating to power and water price increases. The petition bears the Clerk’s certificate that it conforms with the requirements of standing orders. The petition is similar to Petition No 6 presented on 29 November 2012. I move that the petition be read.
Motion agreed to; petition read:
- To the honourable the Speaker and members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory, we the undersigned respectfully showeth that the announced one-off price increase in utility charges which will take effect from 1 January 2013, as announced by the Chief Minister and Treasurer - 30% increase in the price of power; 40% increase in water charges; 20% increase in sewerage charges - will lift the cost of living to an unsustainable level for Territorians, especially for families and low income earners.
Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that the government not bring in high price increases as a one-off increase, the government consider the impact these increases will have on the lives of Territorians, and the government increase charges at a much lower rate in increments across the term of this government.
MOTION
Note Paper - Mini-Budget 2012-13
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr HIGGINS (Daly): Madam Speaker, I left off with the Attorney-General’s media release. I notice we are going to increase the victims of crime levy. I was around when this levy was first introduced years ago. It has been an ongoing problem that this levy does not fund compensation to the victims of crime. I am pleased to see we are addressing that.
The other thing in his statement was $650 000 ongoing to support the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. That area is constantly after more funding and I am glad to see we have done that.
I was around when the domestic violence legal service was introduced which, from memory, was free to many people. I am glad we are continuing funding that with $165 000 ongoing.
With regard to health, as people keep talking about old people it is good to see an increase in cardiac services. I have stated before that I am an insulin-dependent diabetic, which does have some consequences for cardiac, so I am glad to see that.
A little closer to home, at the Daly, there is additional funding of $330 000 for consideration of Gone Too Soon: A Report into Youth Suicide in the Northern Territory. This is a big issue for many people at the Daly and I am glad to see that has been increased. This report, I acknowledge, was tabled by the Labor Party in March 2012.
There is $2m to review the Patient Assistance Travel Scheme. This issue is also very relevant to the people at the Daly who travel to Darwin and back, and interstate. It is good to see we are considering those people who live a long way from the health service.
This is a small issue, but the increase in the number of taxis - I often have to stay in Darwin, like the member for Barkly - he might live here, I am not too sure; he claims to live in Tennant Creek. Anyway, I use taxis regularly and it is good to see the number of taxis has been increased. I commend the Treasurer for that.
With regard to the first homebuyer scheme, I am glad to see we are doing something. My son is about to buy his first house and I am glad he will receive some assistance.
Parks and Wildlife affects tourism and I am pleased to see - I was in a meeting yesterday with Parks people - we are increasing the funding for Parks and Wildlife by $2.6m. This increase will support park ranger positions in remote areas, which includes Indigenous trainee rangers and Indigenous support staff. From an Indigenous employment point of view it is a very good thing to do.
With regard to my involvement in Landcare Australia, it is good to see funding for Land for Wildlife in the Top End run by Greening Australia, which has much to do with Landcare Australia, will continue. That is a great thing to do.
The last item of specific interest to me is related to primary industries but more to the fishing area. We have $50 000 in 2012-13 and $20 000 ongoing for the Amateur Fishermen’s Association and the NT Seafood Council for more boat safety awareness and education programs. On the Daly, this is one of the biggest problems we have with tourists. They are quite aware of the boating regulations; they all need licences and their boats are registered. The issue we constantly have is with Territorians who are not aware of the rules and rights of people on the river. This causes continuous angst and I am glad we are putting more funding into education programs.
There is $220 000 ongoing for the recreational fishing development plan, and $30 000 ongoing for establishment and support of the recreational fishing advisory committee. Again, these are key issues to tourism, especially in places like the Daly. The funding for the buy-back of commercial fishing licences at Finke and Chambers Bays is another great initiative.
Madam Speaker, I am very happy with the mini-budget. It is a mini-budget; it is the beginning not the end. Thank you.
Ms ANDERSON (Indigenous Advancement): Madam Speaker, I support my colleague, the Treasurer and Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, on the mini-budget released yesterday. It was fantastic to see the direction the Country Liberals are going in with the Northern Territory and its people.
Before I get to my speech, I will talk about how good the Country Liberal Party is and how it is delivering on the commitments it made to the people of the Northern Territory prior to the last election.
We are committed to moving all Territorians forward. We are not about separatism; we are not separating the rural area from the town area, the bush from the northern suburbs, we are about leading all Territorians forward. We believe we have a great opportunity. The Territory is a young place and a lucky place. We have so many opportunities to move all Territorians forward. This is the focus of the Terry Mills Liberal government. We will look at education. We are looking at economic development and the three-hub economy. The three-hub economy will drive all Territorians forward. We heard many good things about the Territory in the mini-budget yesterday - fantastic stuff to drive the Northern Territory considering what we came into with those guys on the other side, the guys Aboriginal people thought did not deserve to govern the Northern Territory because they were always about separating the Territory.
The people Labor thought believed in them and loved them put them on the opposite side. That is why Labor is sitting on the opposite side yelling and interjecting saying, ‘This is not working, that is not working, what are you doing about it?’ The people believed in the honesty and integrity of Terry Mills and the Country Liberal Party. You are sitting over there because Aboriginal people want to see results in education, health, housing, homelands and child protection. This is about moving all Territorians forward so we are not stuck in a zoo not having anything done for one part of the Northern Territory. We are honest. This is a sincere and honest relationship to move Territorians forward.
The Treasurer’s statement highlighted how we will emerge from the financial mess we inherited. I am pleased we have a way forward and are at last able to own the solutions to the many problems created by Labor.
I pause to consider what we do here and why, and 100 days in it is worth taking a moment to assess. I have contributed to the development of Indigenous communities for a long time now, particularly during my years as a former Commissioner of ATSIC. Furthermore, my previous ministerial experiences gave me another chance to contribute meaningfully to the fabric of Northern Territory life. For this opportunity I owe enormous gratitude to my electorate.
One thing this experience has given me is that I strongly believe it is not productive to succumb to despair over the last government’s financial legacy. It is done and my work now is about governing to the best of my ability using all the lessons of my years and my life stories to push through. What matters today is content, real government, not what we see in the media and what the opposition tries to portray.
We will work as partners with the community in this journey going forward to ensure the best possible outcome for all Territorians and for social harmony across the country. I am pleased we have a way forward which means working together with regional communities and that we have a government which respects and trusts Aboriginal Territorians and the need to listen to our people. This mini-budget reflects the way forward.
I will now address some important parts of the mini-budget, including the cancellation of future forums, the disbandment of the position of Coordinator-General and the NT Indigenous Advisory Council, and our policy regarding homelands and outstations.
The future forums were a local implementation plan commitment made by the previous Northern Territory government. The level of effort and cost in arranging the future forums often outweighed the level of community attendance, engagement and outcomes. Some communities were not supportive of a future forum event. Furthermore, they were not well-connected with other government employment programs such as the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
While only saving $100 000, it is still $100 000 we can allocate towards deficit reduction or frontline service delivery. Both these things are significantly more important than maintaining a commitment that is not useful and unsupported by the community.
I will now move to the NT Indigenous Advisory Council. Listening and responding to the views and issues of Aboriginal people across the Territory is central to this government. In previous years, an Indigenous Advisory Council comprising up to 16 members would come together from time to time to give advice to the previous government on Indigenous affairs. Bringing this group of people together for a meeting was an expensive exercise, as was maintaining the backroom support for the council and, like the former chair the now member for Stuart, they were never consulted properly; they were token faces in the wilderness.
The government appreciated the experience and commitment of the members of the council; however, it is time to implement a new approach to listening and responding to the issues facing Aboriginal Territorians.
I outlined this new approach within weeks of the election by visiting many parts of remote Northern Territory. Amongst other places, I visited my home areas of Papunya, Docker River, Santa Teresa and Alpara. I have also visited the Tiwi Islands, Tennant Creek, and have plans to visit Arnhem Land.
The government’s new Cabinet subcommittee will travel to all parts of the Territory to meet directly with Aboriginal people. The advice and perspectives coming to the government will be broad based and grounded within the daily lives of Aboriginal Territorians. This represents a step forward in ensuring policies and programs targeting Aboriginal people work better, are practical and achieve intended results.
I speak now of the stand-alone position of the Northern Territory Coordinator-General for Remote Services which was disbanded with effect from 8 October 2012. There will be no reduction in the focus on remote areas as a result of this decision. In fact, the capacity to monitor and respond to issues in the bush has been heightened by appointing the Territory’s most senior public servant in Indigenous advancement to the role of Coordinator-General.
The national Coordinator-General for Remote Indigenous Services, Mr Brian Gleeson, will continue to provide independent oversight of remote service delivery under the national partnership agreement. I have met with him twice. In addition, the Cabinet subcommittee created in part to replace the Indigenous Advisory Council, will also focus on better coordinating all levels of government activity right across remote Territory communities. The decision to disband the stand-alone position will therefore not only free vital resources to deliver frontline services, it will also mean better-connected responses to issues being tackled in the bush.
I have said before and repeat in this House: the disbanding of the position had nothing to do with the report. While the report was not particularly original and was inaccurate as shown by the list of amendments we had to post on the web, it demonstrated the money spent on this position, some $250 000 per year, was not well spent.
In my travels around the remote areas of the Northern Territory I have seen and heard what people in remote areas need. One of the issues we wanted to address, and we promised to give special attention to during our campaign, was homelands and outstations. I may be the first minister to have grown up on an outstation, the first minister probably in any western democracy to have grown up in one of the most wonderful places on earth. It is very different from the average city lawyer who becomes a minister.
We are remote in all Australia - 24% of Indigenous people live in remote or very remote areas in the Territory, the proportion being 81%. When I speak of remoteness, I mean not just remote from Darwin or Alice Springs, but remote from each other. There are 527 homelands and outstations funded by my department. The Northern Territory government acknowledges the contribution homelands and outstations make to the economic, social and cultural life of the Northern Territory.
I will speak more on the practicalities regarding homelands, but I first want to make a more general point. Indigenous people help by being connected to the land, but we help other Australians too through our knowledge, our ceremonies, our stories, and the practice of our traditions. We give human meaning to the patches of dirt and rock, to the creatures that live there, and to the sun and the sky. I hope this living meaning is valued by other Australians who have already acknowledged it by returning the land in question to Indigenous people. It was never our intention to lock up our land and walk away from it. Our desire was always to live on the land and keep the meaning alive by staying connected.
Homelands give life and meaning to large areas of this country, and I hope all Australians might sense the deep meaning of that even if they cannot experience it themselves. I hope they can look at the lives of people in the homelands and appreciate something of what the land gives us and what we give the land. The homelands make Australia a richer place, culturally and spiritually, in history and individual imagination. In short, they make it a better place. Presently, about 10 000 people live on homelands, a figure which constitutes about one quarter of the total remote Indigenous population of the Territory. With the right policies much can be done for the residents of these homelands and, therefore, for the health, wellbeing and social harmony of the wider community.
On behalf of the government, I reaffirm the integral role of homelands in the Territory. I commit us to providing the residents of the homelands with the same services as other Territorians, within reason, and accepting in many cases they are starting from a lower base. Our goal is to work together with Aboriginal communities for the best possible results for the homelands.
The existing housing management and maintenance grant program provides $7.3m per annum for homelands, outstations and urban community living areas. These grants are funded by the Australian and Northern Territory governments through the National Affordable Housing Agreement. This funding is provided to shire councils and outstation resource centres to manage houses and provide residential support.
In 2012-13, the Territory government will provide $15m in municipal and essential services funding administered by my department. The Commonwealth has contributed an additional $5m. In addition, through the Stronger Futures program, the Commonwealth government will be providing $20m per annum for the next nine years. This funding is allocated to shire councils and outstation resource centres for housing management and maintenance on homelands, outstations, and town camps. As promised before the recent election, the Country Liberals are committed to providing long-term certainty for residents of outstations and homelands regarding the level of support available from the Northern Territory and Australian governments. Therefore, in meeting these promises, Terry Mills’ government, through my department, has agreed to an additional appropriation of $14m over four years - 2012-13 to 2015-16 - for the purpose of improving housing priorities in homelands and outstations.
This funding is crucial to support people to stay on country. Service providers will be able to access up to $5200 per eligible dwelling to be spent on housing repairs and maintenance not already covered under the current housing management and maintenance program. We expect the number of dwellings in 2012-13 eligible for the $5200 additional maintenance payment, together with some administrative setup costs, will result in the $2m allowed for in the Treasurer’s statement. We anticipate the number of dwellings eligible will increase over time. The eligibility criteria announced during the campaign includes that the dwellings must be the regular place of residence without any other government assisted residence, the resident must participate in the economy of the homeland and the children must attend school regularly.
By focusing on existing homelands used as principal places of residence, we will bring back financial certainty and provide long-term clarity for residents and service providers. We will also ensure buildings are gradually improved or replaced through an agency asset management plan. With the right ideas we can have good housing in the homelands. We can have assets and financial future for our children.
Our emphasis will be on housing, but there is much more to be done. We will be looking at development opportunities ensuring residents get the full benefit of every relevant government program. There are opportunities in many of the 500 homelands. The jobs are there in land management and ecotourism, coastal security, growing vegetables, even in new industries most of us are still coming to grips with such as carbon trading in response to climate change. We will ensure residents receive full government support.
As I hope I have made clear by now, we do not see homelands as a hermitage or retreats; places cut off from the rest of the world. We see them as entirely unique places in what they have to offer, but also connected to the rest of the world. Should economic independence be possible it will only make them stronger.
We are aware it could be more expensive to have people living in hundreds of small communities scattered across the Territory rather than restricted to a few dozen towns and that homelands could never offer the health services of, say, Darwin. However, shifts in technology mean homeland life does not have to be as rough as we once thought. The benefits of the homelands are potentially enormous in health, wellbeing and social harmony for all Australians. A new homelands policy will be a whole-of-government approach in fitting with our belief homelands make life better for the 10 000 Indigenous people who live there, and for all Australians as a whole. By working together with Aboriginal communities this government can begin to move forward and achieve an unprecedented level of social cohesion across Australia.
In closing, Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague, the Treasurer, for helping the people in the bush even when we are in difficult budgetary circumstances.
Mr CONLAN (Tourism and Major Events): Madam Speaker, today I speak on the Treasurer’s mini-budget in a number of areas in my portfolios, Sport and Recreation being one of those. We will kick off with Tourism. We have Arts and Museums, and other things which need to be talked about.
This mini-budget is good news for the Northern Territory on a number of fronts. Having a mini-budget means there has been an election and a change of government. That in itself is good. It is good news there has been a change of government and the wrecking ball that was the previous Labor government has been brought to a halt. In fact, the wrecking ball has been wrecked and stopped in its tracks. Now we can get on with doing what is right for the Northern Territory and addressing some of the areas which have been neglected in spades.
This budget is not so much about cuts; it is about savings and reducing waste. Boy, there was so much waste by the previous government. I will highlight today, as my colleague the Minister for Indigenous Advancement indicated in her speech, that important things have been retained and investment will continue in the areas of growth, Indigenous advancement, education and health. The waste has been removed.
I will start with tourism. This government is clearly committed to tourism. It is a key plank of our three-hub economy and an integral part of our commitment to revive the Territory economy. Someone said to me the best way to generate wealth is to make, mine, grow or show. You make it, mine it, grow it or show it. This is about showing it because do we have a product! We have a world-class environment in the Northern Territory from Darwin to Alice Springs and everywhere in between. That was the Ted Egan song, ‘Up to the VRD and everywhere in between’. It is a wonderful product. Australia is a fantastic product and we have a wonderful slice of it in the Northern Territory. It needs to be revived and returned to that powerhouse industry it once was. I have said it before and will continue to say it was a powerhouse industry. Tourism operators who have been around long enough know the industry it was and crave to see it return.
We are serious about promoting the Northern Territory throughout Australia and the rest of the world. We need to get people to the Northern Territory. Despite the challenging fiscal environment - that was spoken of many times in this House over the last few sessions of parliament. We are in serious trouble when it comes to the financial outlook of the Northern Territory. Thank goodness the previous government’s spending has been brought to a halt and we can start saving money, reduce the waste, and return the Territory to a fiscal imbalance of zero.
Tourism will receive just over $48m - an additional $250 000 above the previous figure. We plan to invest much more in tourism over the coming years but, because of the state of the finances, we have added a modest $250 000. That is mainly to cover the costs associated with establishing the tourist commission. We have disbanded the previous advisory board, which was well-intentioned but, essentially, an instrument of the previous government to distance itself from any real decision-making or commitment to tourism. ‘We have an advisory board, look at us.’ It looked good on paper but there was no strength to it.
The commission is headed up by long-term Territorian and Chief Executive Officer of Airnorth, Michael Bridge. Bridgy is a wonderful bloke, a great Territorian, a shrewd operator and will bring a serious level of clout to Tourism NT. Tony Mayell - you can call Tony Mayell a long-term Territorian. He attended Tennant Creek Primary School all those years ago - about 1954 - and has spent every decade in the Territory. He has come and gone a number of times. He is a highly sought after guy. He is a big player in this field and has travelled the world. He has been involved in London and right across Australia. We recently brought him back from Tourism Tasmania because we saw him as a guy who could crash through many of the brick walls and stumbling blocks put in place by the previous government. Tony is a real gain and it is great to have him back on board. The other commissioners who make up Tourism NT are equally outstanding and have been chosen because of their enthusiasm and expertise. We have the right mix to push this industry forward.
The commission will also provide stability and allow a proactive plan of investment and marketing strategies to increase visitor numbers which fell under Labor. To be fair, it was not just the Labor government’s fault. There were many things at play but the previous Labor government failed to act on the opportunities which came its way despite the adversity of the GFC, etcetera. It did not capitalise on it and was a reflection on how it saw tourism in the NT.
The industry needs stability and consistency so the private sector has confidence to invest and provide quality products and services to our visitors. We need to embark on a strong tourism marketing program. It is all very well having strategic development and plans, but you have to get those to the marketplace. That area has not been emphasised over recent years and that is something this government is determined to do - ensure our product is in every single person’s face right across Australia and the world so they know what we have. It is all well and good having a great product, but if people do not see it they do not know about it.
We have talked about the statistics and figures before; we know about them. The tourism and hospitality sectors employ about 14 000 Territorians directly and indirectly. This equates to about 6% of all Territorians making a significant contribution to the sector. This year it is estimated to have generated about $1.7bn into the Northern Territory economy, with a total of 1.3m visits of which 666 000 were holiday visitors. They are pretty good numbers. They can be better, have been better, and we are determined to ensure they are better. Many people are relying on us to make it better. There was a decrease in international visitors of 14%.
I am quickly learning tourism can be quite complicated when you are talking about numbers, data and statistics. For example, international visitors are down but American visitors are up. Internal visitation is up but intrastate visitors are down. That is up, that is down, this is out and that is aside. It can be difficult to comprehend, particularly when you have statistics showing Europe is down, America is up, but international visitors have stagnated. What does that mean? It can be difficult to comprehend because it is based around much data. The best measure of tourism is at the coalface - with the operator. All operators will tell you they have been feeling the pinch for a number of years for a number of reasons. Times are tough but that is, as they say, when the tough get going. That is exactly what we are determined to do.
Major Events has also been placed with Tourism and I emphasise again that I get very excited when I meet various stakeholder groups, whether they be tourism or arts groups, sporting groups or parks and wildlife groups, and explain the way we have strategically aligned my portfolio set. It is all about leveraging tourism through sport and recreation and arts and museums. All our festivals should be there to generate the tourist dollar, all our sporting carnivals and our parks.
We have some of the best parks in the world. People would kill to have the parks we have. They are wonderful and we should be using all levers possible to generate visitor numbers into the Northern Territory. We can do that through our racing carnivals, our sporting events, our arts and museums and our major events.
Major Events, quite rightly, sits with Tourism and remains very well-supported by this government. We believe many of the Territory’s headline acts are a great driver of tourism and hospitality. These include the V8 Supercars, the Hottest 7s in the World, and BassintheGrass, as well as the Alice Springs Masters Games and the Finke Desert Race.
I will run through Sport and Recreation because we are time critical. We have secured the national rugby league match for Darwin next year between the Panthers and the Gold Coast Titans. That is very exciting and is now in the official NRL published fixture for next year. People looking through the fixture will see Darwin is listed. That will be played at TIO Stadium on 6 July 2013. This is an investment of about $400 000 covered within the department’s existing budget. It is money we found to support rugby league in the Top End and the Territory.
The government is committed to keeping the community active and the mini-budget benefits Territory families and various sporting and community organisations. We have invested heavily in sport thus far and will continue to do so because we recognise how important it is. Again, the point needs to be recognised: sport makes up a tiny slither of the Territory budget. We have upped it to about $50m. It is still a tiny speck in the grand scheme of things yet it touches every Territorian whether you are a competitor, your kids play, you are a social member of a sporting club, whether you go to a pub or sit at home to watch sport on television. It also consumes three to four pages every day of every newspaper across Australia. While it is only a small amount of funding, it has a huge impact on people across the Territory and we recognise that.
We have honoured all our election commitments. In October this government delivered on a commitment to provide $300 000 as part of a $1.8m joint partnership with the federal government to upgrade the Jingili BMX circuit. We are providing $75 sports vouchers for all Territory school children; that will be rolled out. We secured and ticked that off within the 100 days. It was a pretty complex exercise to work out how to issue those sporting vouchers but we have found the right model and they will be delivered in 2013. It is a $4m investment into the health and wellbeing of children across the Northern Territory. Under this scheme, registered school children from government and non-government schools will receive the $75 voucher to be used towards registration, equipment and uniforms.
It does not stop there, there is plenty of investment. Organisations, clubs, and venues will also benefit from the mini-budget. There is $2m for the Alice Springs Town Council to upgrade Anzac Oval; $1.2m for the operating contract with the YMCA to manage the day-to-day operations of Leanyer Recreation Park; $300 000 to upgrade the satellite BMX facility; $45 000 to upgrade lighting at the Alice Springs Karting Club; and $300 000 towards the Alice Springs Golf Club, which is a fantastic investment. It is a large amount of money and took much negotiation with the Treasurer and my Cabinet colleagues, but we realised we probably have one of the best regional and remote golf courses anywhere in the world, certainly in Australia. Kalgoorlie might be running neck and neck with Alice Springs as a remote, regional or desert course. They have recently built one. Graham Marsh designed the course in Kalgoorlie, which is pretty good by all accounts.
The Alice Springs golf course has been in the top 100 for a number of years and we are determined to ensure it stays there. If there was a draw card to the Northern Territory it is the Alice Springs Golf Club. Peter Thomson designed it and it is a superb facility. I will not be chastised too much for saying it is probably the best golf course in the Northern Territory. I believe it is and all the members at the Darwin Golf Club quietly know that as well. It is not playing one off against the other; Alice Springs is a stand out - a wonderful course. This government has recognised how important it is to invest in it. That money will go to urgent repairs and maintenance.
In relation to savings, $3m will be saved due to deferring the 2013 Arafura Games. In October we announced the games would be deferred due to a failure to meet the core objectives of Asian engagement.
There is a $1.3m saving through an adjustment of funding to the Freds Pass Sport and Recreation Management Board. This will not impact on the running of the Freds Pass Show, but the board was generously funded and many projects which should have been completed by now have not been. The most recent documentation from Freds Pass Sport and Recreation Management Board indicates a balance of approximately $320 000 remains unspent from an initial $980 000 grant payment. The Freds Pass Sport and Recreation Management Board has been invited to nominate its priority projects for the remaining funds.
We think Arts and Museums has also done pretty well. Again, we recognise the importance of our festivals, our culture in the Northern Territory and how that is able to generate and leverage serious tourism opportunities. That is up from $41.7m to $43.4m. The Defence of Darwin Experience will receive $200 000, which is ongoing funding for the operation and maintenance of the exhibition - an absolute standout. We are determined to ensure that stays where it is.
The government will also honour the previous government’s unfunded commitment to support the Rivers Arts and Culture Centre in Katherine. I was hoping the member for Katherine would be here to prompt me on the pronunciation. I will not attempt that, nevertheless, it is important for the region.
Mr McCarthy: Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre.
Mr CONLAN: Thank you. It is probably the most intelligent thing I have heard you say all year, member for Barkly. Thanks very much.
Mr McCarthy: Thank you, minister, for more of your abuse. Bring it on, minister.
Mr CONLAN: The centre will receive $1m over two years from 2012-13, and a further $250 000 in 2014-15. The member for Barkly - I could not quite hear him there - loves to ...
Mrs Lambley: Very appreciative.
Mr CONLAN: He is very appreciative of it. They love to talk about the times on the radio and they hated it when I was on the radio. I could not let this go, the only regret I have is we did not get a chance to carve you up on the radio. We would have had some fun with you, mate. We would have had a ball with you.
We had the former member for Nhulunbuy, Syd Stirling; the former Chief Minister, Clare Martin; the former member for Barkly, Elliot McAdam - all quite solid, capable members of parliament - all floundering on the radio in those days. I can only imagine what we could have done with you. It would have been fun and is a great regret we did not get a chance to bring out the jousting swords on 8HA. Nevertheless, I digress.
In savings with regard to Arts and Museums, the museum retail operation will be outsourced saving $200 000 in 2014-15. Security services will also be outsourced with a saving of $100 000 from 2013-14, and $186 000 will be saved from the museum’s photography and library service. There will also be further restructure of the department in 2015-16 which is expected to save $800 000 from 2015-16. Outsourcing of some of the department’s operations will result in a small number of job losses, but it opens up the same positions in the private sector.
Let us turn to Parks and Wildlife. There will be an increase of funding for additional frontline staff - again, a dedicated commitment to the value we put on parks. It is very good news and a positive story for Parks and Wildlife across the NT. There will be an increase of $2.6m in this mini-budget from around $51.1m to $53.7m. That additional money is for frontline jobs, extra ranger positions, and our parks ...
Mr STYLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the minister be granted an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr CONLAN: Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson. There is a saving of $380 000 in 2012-13 coming from a decrease in Territory Eco-link funding. Territory Eco-link was developed through an MOU between the former Northern Territory government and the South Australian government to establish a wildlife corridor plan. This government is determined to focus on frontline park service delivery. This is where our priorities have to be.
There is not much money left, sadly. I am unsure where it has gone, but it certainly did not go into frontline park initiatives. We need to ensure what money we have been able to secure from Treasury goes to frontline park initiatives, and that is exactly what we are doing. Eco-link does not fall into this category.
The savings come from efficiencies in operations and reduction in grants funding. The two positions attached to the project have been absorbed and there are no actual job losses within Eco-link. There are further savings of $360 000 ongoing in 2013-14 from a reduction in a small number of management support positions. The savings of $260 000 in 2013-14, increasing incrementally to $547 000 in 2015-16, are coming from the group support program for Indigenous rangers. There are no ranger positions lost; this government is increasing the number of park rangers.
This mini-budget also protects the health of Territorians. This government will continue to fund $200 000 for the removal of all visible asbestos in public areas managed by Parks and Wildlife. This is a big job but it has to be done. This follows asbestos being found in the George Brown Botanic Gardens, Casuarina Coastal Reserve and Charles Darwin National Park.
This budget is good news for Territorians. It is important and represents a solid commitment to sport, the arts, our parks, and our tourism and hospitality sectors. Tourism is a major economic driver and we believe in it wholeheartedly. It was lost under the previous government. Thank goodness we are able to stop the wrecking ball of the previous government and bring on a government serious about wealth creation in the Northern Territory.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, when framing a responsible budget you need to build it around health and education while ensuring you provide skills and opportunities for Territorians. Those are the challenges when framing a budget. You have to do it responsibly and with a broader Territory economy in mind. That is not what we received yesterday. This mini-budget is a major disaster for Territorians. It hurts Territory families, seniors and businesses, who understand the Territory economy is in good shape.
The CLP has failed on education. It has made savings in education of 10%. As the CEO said in an e-mail to staff yesterday:
- ... we will be heading into a period where we will have comparatively less funding available to undertake our business. That means that DECS will need to change the way in which we operate and to revisit some of our current practices.
What does 10% mean to parents, teachers and, most importantly, the children sitting in class each day? Over the last few days we have heard from frontline teachers who say we will see fewer teachers in schools and less support for teachers. We understand the CLP has revised the staff allocation model for schools - the formula to calculate how many teachers a school receives - which uses enrolment and attendance. Providing a greater emphasis on attendance means, for example, Casuarina Senior College will lose six full-time equivalent teachers. This will be disputed by staff at Casuarina Senior College. The change to the staffing formula is creating great unease in all schools. The emphasis on attendance over enrolment will have an even bigger impact on small schools, rural schools and remote schools. These schools cannot afford to lose teachers. Teachers are part of the work that needs to happen in these communities to improve attendance.
The CLP’s mini-budget is a major disaster. Ordinary Territorians and hard-working small businesses do not need Moody’s and Access Economics to tell them the Territory was in sound shape. They knew the economy had a solid foundation and exciting potential for growth. Ordinary Territorians and hard-working small businesses know things have been hand-braked. We will feel the ripples from these decisions for years to come. The one thing different when they wake up to go to work in the morning is a CLP government is in power - a government which does not understand the challenges of the Territory economy and when making budget decisions does not consider the broader Territory economy.
The government did not consult the Chamber of Commerce which said the increase in power and water will force businesses to pass on the extra costs to consumers. Businesses struggling to increase their profit margins will suffer and the increase will also deter interstate and international businesses from investing in the Territory.
In fact, it has doubled the cost of living pressure with its decision to massively increase power and water costs, directly leading to the CPI going from 2.1% to 4.3%. That is going to place significant wage pressure on businesses which are already struggling to work out how to cover their massively increased power and water bills. While they work out how to pay those bills, they know there will be more pressure to pay their workers more to retain them.
When the Minister for Business was asked last week about the plight of businesses in the Territory he referenced Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest. Apparently only the best businesses will survive the CLP’s massive power and water increases. Going into this mini-budget, that attitude from the Minister for Business set the scene for business. In looking to the CLP for support, businesses have been left disappointed that the CLP’s answer to their massive power and water increases is a small increase to a small grant program.
There are businesses in the Territory whose power and water bills amount to about what the CLP has put aside to help them. When they try to find the government’s budget media release on business they may have a little difficulty locating it. The minister’s media release is titled ‘Environmental Program Boosted’. It is not what businesses normally go looking for and, looking to the CLP for support, businesses are left disappointed that their answer is a small increase to a small grant program.
They will be even more disappointed when they realise the implications of the CLP cutting education by 10%. Savings of 10% have been found within the Education department, and the CLP has cut funding to the tertiary sector by $4m. That can only mean one thing. We have been warned by businesses about the training sector, and we have been warned by the training sector to keep an eye on what the CLP would do around tertiary funding. The CLP will cut funding to VET programs at tertiary institutions and in schools. At a time when the Territory has exciting opportunities for our own we are going to stop or slow down training our own.
The CLP’s short-sighted approach and politically motivated mean and vengeful budget will see cuts to education which will impact directly on our own being able to take up the opportunities we have in the Territory. We were negotiating with the federal government to deliver a $21m VET facility at Charles Darwin University. We were looking to expand our investment and instead the CLP cut funding to tertiary education by $4m. We need tradespeople in the Territory; we need highly skilled workers to take up the exciting opportunities in our world-class projects like those in the mining and gas industry. Cutting tertiary and VET funding does not make sense at a time when we are negotiating with the Commonwealth for a $21m purpose-built VET facility at CDU and when we have opportunities in the Northern Territory for employment.
Another thing the CLP is cutting at the university is the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. This program was designed to build the leadership capacity of our teachers to ensure we did not have to rely on education leaders from interstate. The Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development provided professional development for teachers in senior roles and mentoring for first year teachers. The member for Sanderson lauded this service yesterday and I agree with many of his comments. He mentioned the professional development the centre provides.
The CLP government did not mention it has been rolled back by over $1m. The term ‘rolled back’ is used in the government’s media release - an interesting way to describe job cuts. This is a direct service to the front line which improves the quality of people on the front line. It was designed to ensure our teachers were the best they could be. The service was designed to reduce our need to source skills from down south, to grow our own, to harness the opportunities we have in the Territory.
We need to keep our own and the CLP government has made some progress in that regard. It has introduced a process to transfer teachers from temporary to permanent contracts. Under the old system, offers went out in May and September and saw the number of teachers on temporary contracts go from about 30% to 15%. The new process is timelier and will see the number of teachers hover around 15%, not rise to 30%. The troughs will be the same but the peaks will be less. However, we will be keeping a watching eye on the program because teachers can be made permanent to a region rather than a school meaning those teachers will not have certainty of what school they teach in. From the briefing I had, which I appreciate minister, the CEO gave personal assurances he will be monitoring that.
Where teachers are made permanent to a region rather than a school, efforts will be made to give them permanency at a school as soon as possible. The Education minister said in her media release this will see hundreds of teachers transfer from temporary contracts to permanent ones. In my briefing, the number was 188 and that is the number the member for Sanderson used yesterday.
The CLP made an election promise of retention bonuses for teachers who work in our regions: $5000 for the first year and $10 000 for the second. In the Minister for Education’s media release she said the government would deliver a pathway forward through the teacher and educator enterprise agreement for payment of remote retention bonuses to teachers serving in remote schools and establish a HECS repayment scheme for teaching staff.
The CLP’s retention bonus promise is now on the table as part of the enterprise bargaining agreement. This may come as a surprise to the minister, but when you promise to do something before the election people do not expect to negotiate it after the election.
The CLP approach to education is to slash. It has found savings of 10% within the Education department and intends to cut services at schools. The mini-budget does not give much detail on what services, it simply says, ‘A range of programs deemed to be inefficient or not achieving the required outcomes have been reviewed as part of the mini-budget process’.
People over a number of weeks - teachers, parents, friends, friends of friends, the Job Watch site and colleagues – have spoken to us about the services and jobs at risk. The CLP is busy narrowing the definition of a frontline service. We have heard the transition to work staff have been told to find other work and this disturbs us. These people help disabled students, students with learning difficulties or who are challenging in the classroom gain employment. They have been told to find other employment. They provide a frontline service. I have already spoken about cuts to VET programs which we consider a frontline service.
I have mentioned the cuts to the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. We consider a program to support and develop our teachers to be front line. We have heard the Irrkerlantye unit at Bradshaw Primary School is closing. This was for Central Arrernte families mainly from the Amoonguna community and was established to educate children with learning difficulties who need special attention. This means students with learning difficulties now have to go into mainstream classrooms, which is bad for all students. It was based around Aboriginal kinship, a family structure; parents, grandparents and others could be part of the class. The Irrkerlantye unit was a frontline service and is now gone.
The CLP confirmed yesterday that the CSIRO position is definitely gone. This is, without doubt, a frontline position. Science education is crucial for our young Territorians and the world-class opportunities we have in the Northern Territory. Unfortunately, the CLP government has decided to stop funding the manager’s position at the CSIRO science education centre, which also means it is unlikely the CSIRO science education centre will continue.
The centre runs a number of double helix and community events at Darwin libraries, holiday care centres and the waterfront. It has already stopped taking bookings for school holiday programs and alerted parents the programs may have to be cancelled. This issue was raised in the last sittings of parliament by me and the member for Goyder. The CLP said this position has passed its use-by date and is not frontline. We believe that is a mistake. Science does not have a use-by date. The CSIRO education centre, through the manager, provides an amazing and exciting education experience for thousands of children.
It is extremely disappointing that the CLP did not listen to science teachers, students and parents who said this position is front line. We have seen in a few short weeks the Country Liberals’ vision for education and it is stark.
As the Leader of the Opposition said, schools are suffering from displacement of staff and the revised staff allocation model which will see teaching returned to rows of students, monitors, and one teacher to large classes with no support for special needs students in mainstream classes and stressed out support staff everywhere. The CLP confirmed yesterday that when things become difficult it will hand government schools to the non-government sector. That is not how government should work with the non-government sector. We should have a partnership with private schools; a positive and constructive working relationship and, where possible, parents and students should have choice. We should not hand over government schools and the responsibility for education when the going gets tough.
There has been a change of language from the CLP since the election. Pre-election it was talking about handing over schools to communities and creating a new education sector, a community driven sector. Now it is talking about handing over schools to the non-government sector. We will be keeping a close eye on the policy of handing government schools to others to run.
The non-government sector is not private enterprise as described by the government. There are committed, passionate people who want to educate our children and provide parents with a choice in how their children are taught. Sometimes they have a different philosophy, sometimes a faith, sometimes different subjects, but they provide choice. It was wrong of the government to call them private enterprise but right to listen to the opposition, the member for Nelson, and representations from independent schools and provide those schools with the same help government schools will receive to deal with the pain of massive increases to water prices.
Schools are not cash-rich institutions. The government seems to believe schools have spare cash, which is not the case. As local members we are all, or should be, participants in school councils. We know the finances of our schools and the struggles they have each year to make ends meet and provide a good education to our children. We know that high schools will have to find about $80 000 for power and water bills and primary schools around $30 000 to $40 000 - money they do not have.
If the government will not listen to us perhaps it will listen to COGSO. It issued a media release last week in response to the announcement of government assistance stating it will still have to pay 15% on power, 20% on water and 12.5% on sewerage:
- In Education minister Robyn Lambley’s response to opposition questions in parliament she said ‘instead of a 30% increase in electricity bills, we will reduce that to 15%, effectively, by the use of significant subsidies’, Mr Walding said.
- This is not acceptable. Schools work hard to achieve improved energy efficiency but support from the NT government to achieve energy savings has been minimal. Schools are struggling with ageing plant and infrastructure that, for the most part, was not designed for Territory conditions and isn’t energy efficient.
The NT government has failed to consider the needs of our children and their learning.
The government has listened once and we ask it to listen to COGSO this time. Do not treat schools like private enterprise. They cannot afford these power increases. This will hurt schools. When you hurt schools, you affect what happens in the classroom. This will hurt the front line.
This mini-budget is a major disaster for the Territory. It breaks two of the CLP’s biggest election promises: to reduce the cost of living which, in this mini-budget, it doubles; and to immediately remove problem drunks from our streets. That promise is in tatters. There is nothing in this budget to remove problem drunks from our streets - a CLP promise.
All this budget announces is a transfer of responsibility from the Attorney-General to the Health minister. In previous debates in this Chamber the cost of alcohol abuse to the community and the problems we have with alcohol have been clearly established. In 2007, the cost to the community was $670m. Those costs have been increasing annually, and the CLP’s lack of policy and failure to honour the election promise to immediately deal with this issue will cost future budgets hundreds of millions of dollars.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this mini-budget is a major disaster. It hand-brakes the Territory’s economy, hurts ordinary Territorians, breaks the back of small business and sees services on the front line suffer. This mini-budget is a major disaster and I cannot commend it to the House.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Mr Deputy Speaker, there are many ways to describe the mini-budget but the best way is Col Wicking’s cartoon in the newspaper today showing how the government sees the mini-budget and how Territorians see the mini-budget. I seek leave to table this cartoon to the House.
Leave granted.
Mr VATSKALIS: Mr Deputy Speaker, I will tell Col I tabled his cartoon in the parliament.
This mini-budget is not a mini-budget; it is a mean budget for all Territorians. In the past few days I have been talking to many people around my electorate and in Darwin. Today I had the opportunity to speak to an ex-CLP minister who told me this government does not know how to govern. It does not realise governments are elected by the people to govern for the people. These people believe they can run a government like a business. Governments are not businesses; governments are for the people. In business you make a profit and provide dividends. Governments do not give dividends to citizens; they provide dividends in different forms - in schools, education, hospitals and essential services. Holding the price of power down, providing free education, and providing free medical care are the dividends citizens in a state receive from a good government.
This mini-budget has been presented to Territorians on the pretext the Territory is nearly bankrupt; our debt is enormous and we cannot get out of it. That is far from the truth. The former CLP minister suggested I ask: with all the measures you take today will interest payments go down? The answer is no, they will not go down.
One thing about the debt is well-described in today’s NT News on page 5:
The Territory government’s debt is less of a burden now than it was the last time the CLP was in power.
Mr Elferink: Not true!
Mr VATSKALIS: It is true because ...
Mr Elferink: No it is not. It is talking about the general government sector only.
Mr VATSKALIS: ... the debt to income ratio today is 63% and is expected to be at 73% within four years. In the 2001 budget papers provided by the last …
Mr Elferink: You are not being honest.
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Under Standing Order 51, I would like to hear the member for Casuarina’s statement thanks.
Mr ELFERINK: Speaking to the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, it is also incumbent upon members of this House to be truthful to the House. The member is being untruthful because he does not understand what he is talking about.
Mr HENDERSON: Speaking to the point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker, the Leader of Government Business well knows he cannot accuse my colleague of being untruthful unless he does so by way of substantive motion.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Casuarina, you have the call.
Mr VATSKALIS: Mr Deputy Speaker, the member opposite accused me of lying. I am reading from the budget papers for 2001 produced by the 2000-01 CLP government. These documents are on the government website. They are under the then Treasurer, Mike Reid, who clearly states the Territory’s nett debt was 99%, fell to 68% in 1993-94 and 1998-98, but was expected to rise to 70% by 30 June 2000. Was Mike Reid lying? His signature is on these documents. The truth hurts, does it not, member for Port Darwin.
The reason the government is going on about debt is to try to persuade Territorians there is a big problem. The truth is different. Yes, there is debt in the Territory. There was debt in 2001 when we took government - $1.4bn to $1.5bn - and there is debt now of $2.4bn. Debt is necessary for the Territory to exist, as stated in the 2001 CLP budget papers. It is not me saying that, not my colleague. The ex-Treasurer, Mike Reid said that in 2001. There is debt and debt is necessary, especially when you borrow money to build infrastructure. The old CLP knew that because it borrowed money and built the Territory. The new CLP has lost the plot since the election and is only interested in a balanced budget. If people do not like it they can lump it; that is what it has done.
We have seen power, water and sewerage charges go through the roof - 30% in one hit. Power and water is not a luxury in the Territory but an essential service. The real cost of power generation in the Territory is high. In Darwin we pay 22.7c per kWh. The cost of producing the same power in the bush is three times higher but the government does not ask people living in the bush - Indigenous Territorians - to pay 72c per kWh. For many years it was the same rate we pay in Darwin and the urban centres. In the Territory it is an essential service not a luxury.
I heard the Treasurer yesterday say, ‘Well, you have to pay. The rates and taxes you pay in the Territory are much lower than down south. We have to bring them in line with what people pay down south.’ Yes, bring the cost of living down south to the Territory and I will not argue. A report was released yesterday on the state of Australian cities which shows Darwin has the highest costs for food, tobacco, alcohol, insurance and rent. How much is the price of petrol per litre? Give me the price they pay in Melbourne, Sydney or Perth and you can then justify bringing in the same taxes and rates as down south.
Members opposite spoke about their relevant portfolios. I heard my counterpart, the Minister for Health, talking about the budget. There were only a few references to health in his speech. He spoke about the bad Labor government which brought the Territory to this state, about how we, supposedly, do not get as much money as other states - we only get 43% and we should be getting 62%. He omitted to say the Territory was receiving 70% before Abbott was Minister for Health and changed the ratio. He even went on to talk about the intervention - everything but health. Oh yes, he made a reference to the Alice Springs Emergency Department and how it was unfunded. Hold on a minute, there was already an emergency department in Alice Springs which was funded. We have an upgraded one and somehow it is unfunded? Obviously he cannot read his own budget papers.
Then he referred to the hotels for long-grassers at hospitals - medi-hotels. The medi-hotels provide essential services to people who come from the bush, either to be treated or to give birth. He is quite happy for women in Nhulunbuy, when they want to give birth, to stay at the Walkabout hotel rather than a medi-hotel on the hospital grounds. He is quite happy for young women to stay in licensed premises near a bar, near a tavern, rather than stay in a supervised facility in the hospital grounds. He said there is one at Royal Darwin Hospital; yes there is. He has managed to put a stop to the ones in Katherine, Gove, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
For his information, there were no medi-hotels in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs because we had not agreed with the Commonwealth on the construction of the medi-hotels. He managed to stop the ones in Katherine and Gove, and I hope he has a good talk with the Indigenous members opposite because the people now not able to stay in a medi-hotel are Indigenous people from Arafura, Arnhem, Namatjira and Stuart. They access these medi-hotels to receive essential treatment.
He did not say this mean mini-budget managed to cancel $200 000 for the bush bus, or cancel the renal dialysis clinic in Katherine - the one the member for Katherine did not like. He said, and I quote from the NT News of 4 March 2011:
- ... I’m a realist insofar as understanding the nature of the clients who will largely be visiting a facility. And I’m a realist with respect to the type of behaviour that can be attracted by some Aboriginal people.
The Katherine hospital had six chairs and the clinic would provide 14 chairs, but, no, we cancelled it. How many Indigenous Territorians suffering from renal disease have to die prematurely for you to have a balanced budget? That is what you have done.
The Labor government managed to bring the life expectancy of Indigenous Territorians with renal disease to the same level as any other Australian. This action will push it back and, member for Arafura, tell your people with renal disease they cannot live until their seventies because of the lack of renal facilities. They will die earlier. Tell them that because these guys will not do it; they are not game to tell them.
One of the things the Minister for Health did not say is there is no funding in the mini-budget for another suburban super clinic. A few days ago he told us how few GPs we have in the Territory and how people clog the emergency department because they do not have access to practitioners. However, not one dollar has been allocated for the northern suburbs super clinic despite the fact we, in government, found a location and negotiated $5m from the federal government for this super clinic.
Of course, there are announcements about clinics in Arnhem Land and money allocated. He omitted to say this clinic was already programmed by the Labor government when in government in association with the federal government. He did not tell people we will have significant problems with nurses because he just cut overtime for nurses and is not going to use agency nurses. The only way we can cope with vacancies, holidays, or hospital staff being sick in every hospital in the Territory is because we can access agency nurses.
He spoke about committing $6m for cardiac services, omitting to say the Labor government had committed $45m over 10 years for cardiac services and, just prior to the election, we were committing extra money to bring forward cardiac services in the Territory. He also allocated $4m to reduce waiting lists, which I welcome, but, again, he omitted to say the Territory Labor government had put serious money into waiting lists and had reduced them to some of the smallest in this country.
There are many figures in the budget. There are also many omissions which were not produced in the books or the press releases. Some were admitted during speeches by members opposite.
I come to the speech by the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries in support of the budget. He said the department was bad, morale was low and people were not employed in the department. Then, all of a sudden, he praises the department for the good job done - and the previous government - in expanding exploration, for the Territory being the place to do mining, and how many people came to the Territory to establish headquarters. It was interesting because he said the department had low morale but, at the same time, all these things happened in the Territory. How can a department with less people and low morale achieve something like that? I cannot understand it. Then, somewhere between Blue Mud Bay and the Department of Mines and Energy, there was a paragraph about what is happening.
He said, and I quote:
- ... government provides a wide range of animal and plant biosecurity services across primary industry and fisheries areas. Fees will be introduced on 1 January 2013 for a range of animal and plant biosecurity services, making the Territory the last jurisdiction in Australia to introduce these types of fees. These include:
- animal - including tick inspections and horse spraying for ticks
plant - for example authorising, certifying or providing inspection to growers for interstate market access
fishing - inspections of vehicles for marine pests type of biosecurity services.
Hidden somewhere was a slug on the fishing industry, animal industry and the agricultural industry. That did not come out in the media release or the budget books. However, from 1 January people will be hit with a fee every time they try to export plants to another jurisdiction, if their boat comes into the harbour from another jurisdiction, or if some farmers, especially pastoralists, want to have their animals inspected for ticks. That was not mentioned at all.
Of course, there are other issues in the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries. He made a song and a dance about the Ord River and claimed everything has been done in the past three months, which is wrong. The previous government, especially me, had been negotiating with the Western Australia government, the federal government and the Shanghai Zhongfu Company - the proponent - to establish the big sugar industry in the Ord River. Representatives of the company and the vice-president met with me and discussed the expansion into the Northern Territory side of the river. I had to advise him that any negotiations by the previous CLP government with traditional owners would have to be re-done because when it started in the 1990s, unfortunately, the government spoke to the wrong people. We also advised him the cost of infrastructure would be significant and something the Territory could not afford, but we were quite happy to negotiate for the company to put forward money for infrastructure in order to expand into the Northern Territory, something he was very happy with.
One thing from the discussion was the company was not looking at the Territory from which to export its produce; it was looking at the port of Wyndham in Western Australia.
The minister has my full support for expansion of the Ord. I would draw his attention to committing Territory taxpayers’ money to fund infrastructure or other facilities, something the company is already happy to do.
With regard to exploration and other activities in the Territory, I have noticed the allocation of $0.15m - $0.15m sounds better than $150 000 – and I welcome any additional investment to attract Asian markets. I draw to the minister’s attention that Asia is not only Indonesia, it is broader. Asia is Indonesia, China, Japan, Korea and, possibly in the future, India. While we welcome cooperation and expansion of our relations with Indonesia, it should not be done at the expense of our relations with China and Japan.
Again, the former Labor government instigated the International Investment Attraction Program and, as a result, a significant number of Chinese companies, and Japanese - INPEX is here - established themselves in the Northern Territory. The money allocated towards the Department of Mines and Energy will not cover more than one position. The amount of $150 000 per annum for a competitive geoscience initiative means a person to analyse geoscience data; it involves more than a P4 person working in the area. I notice, with great interest, his comment that the Department of Mines and Energy did not have a significant number of public servants when compared to the rest of the public service. The Department of Mines and Energy was one of the most efficient departments managing to produce significant work with that number of public servants.
For example, the Department of Primary Industries oversees the growth of the mango industry. As a result, the Territory is the biggest mango producer in Australia. The department of Mines, with a certain number of public servants, managed to attract investment from China and Japan and make the Territory a known name in the Chinese and Japanese mining industries.
Also, I draw your attention to what this budget has to offer Police, Fire and Emergency Services. I will not expand on the Humpty Doo Fire Station. The Speaker of the House, who comes from the same party as the government, has already canned it in the electronic media. I am sure the member for Nelson will have a go too. However, it is alarming to discover today this government has already started cutting training for volunteer firefighters - I was advised by a volunteer this morning - cutting training and the expense to provide for training.
This budget, as my colleague the member for Fannie Bay said, is a disaster for Territorians. It is a mean budget. It is not a budget to improve the fiscal position of the Northern Territory because the reality is the Territory is not bankrupt. It does not face bankruptcy. Yes, it might have a debt like many other states ...
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the member be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr VATSKALIS: Thank you, member for Barkly.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this budget will not improve the financial situation of the Northern Territory immediately or in the near future. This budget is to raise the necessary funds for the Country Liberal Party to provide the election commitments it made, especially in the four Indigenous seats in the Territory. That means Territorians will be slugged so the Country Liberal Party can go to the next election showing Territorians in remote areas it has done something for them. Well, that may be, but the people in the Territory, especially in the four Indigenous seats, will realise power prices are up, the renal dialysis service they used to have is not there any longer; the medi-hotels they had to stay in when they went to hospital do not exist, and everything the CLP said was just lip service.
Mr KURRUPUWU (Arafura): Mr Deputy Speaker, I also support the mini-budget brought down yesterday by our Treasurer. I start by saying how difficult this must have been to put together, given the financial mess we inherited.
I am happy a number of issues have been addressed. The main one, of course, is the shires. Now funding has been set aside to bring people together to fix the shire mess I, and many other people, am much happier.
The $6.2m set aside for shire reform demonstrates the level of commitment this government has to it. I look forward, particularly with my bush colleagues, to playing a big part in sorting through the mess we were left - not giving a voice to the bush - and getting a fair go for all.
This issue has been discussed a fair bit so I will not talk any more about it except to say thank goodness Labor is now sitting in opposition where it belongs.
I am very happy with the direction we are heading on shire reform, as are many people from my electorate.
I am very happy to see $2m going into the barge landing at Wurrumiyanga, Bathurst Island. Members may not be aware that Tiwi landowners are putting much of their own funding towards this major project. This is something I am very proud of. The former government stated yesterday I promised $20m for Port Melville. I did not promise $20m. This is funding from Tiwi landowners who contribute towards any development or projects happening in their community.
Another $900 000 going into police facilities and overnight accommodation at Milikapiti is a step in the right direction. Supporting and respecting our police is a very good thing and I place on the record my thanks for them doing what can be, at times, a very challenging job.
We also look at a fair go for our outstations, with $5200 going to homelands for each dwelling. This is a major boost right across the Territory and, in real terms, an increase of around $3000. It will allow many of our people to address minor housing problems straightaway and allow them to choose their own priorities.
It is very important to get our kids to school. What many members may not be aware of is how low attendance rates really are in some areas, not just what is reported. This is because there are some children who have not been enrolled in school and, therefore, do not appear in any statistics. This measure may help address this problem.
Another good thing, while talking about schools, is the remote retention bonus for teachers. Anything we can do to keep remote teachers in the school is a big boost. In many cases, kids and parents just get used to teachers and then they are gone. The trust and all that goes with it has to be rebuilt, which makes it harder on all. Our children’s education is a major issue, not only in my electorate, but right across the Territory. It is our responsibility and duty to do all we can to help them be involved more in school and work with the parents who may be having difficulties in getting their children to school.
In many areas we see parents, even grandparents, having to take children to health clinics and other mainstream places to interpret for them. Whose fault is it?
The statistics of the issues today, for example, health, education and unemployment, are pretty high and poor. At Royal Darwin Hospital there are 100% more Indigenous than non-Indigenous. If you look at education - especially the prisons - there are 100% more Indigenous people than non-Indigenous. I have heard much about the previous government developing a strategy; it is not happening. We could speculate and lay blame all day but the problems will continue. I see the building of trust with teachers and schools as one of the building blocks. Encouraging teachers to stay around longer is a good thing and I pay tribute to those teachers who are doing the best they can under trying circumstances.
I also touch on health, another major issue. There are some good things in this budget. Over $6m on cardiac services is of major importance as we have a big problem in remote areas. It is good to see some action here. I am also pleased to see funding allocated for remote mobile breast screening of $725 000 from 2014. As honourable members would be aware, this is another major problem for the people of the bush. Early detection will certainly help save lives.
The funding allocated to run the medi-hotel is welcome, but a big bad mark against the previous government for not ensuring ongoing funding to keep it operating. What was it thinking? The idea of this very important access to responsible accommodation is a good one as my people, and many others, will benefit from it. Keeping close to family while in hospital is very important and beneficial to all because family support gives so much confidence to all as they are going through what can be a very bad time. Mr Deputy Speaker, it is a really good thing for them to be able to stay close.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker I respond to the mini-budget. In simple terms, I call it the good, the bad and the ugly. There are some good things in the budget, some not so good things, and some things which are downright very not good. It is a little sad when we are talking about such important issues as the provision of essential services that we have not had a debate on government responsibility and the provision of essential services.
Having water, electricity and sewerage is a human right no matter where you live and the provision of that service needs to be at a scale people can afford without getting into difficulty. We use that basis for the provision of essential services in many of our remote communities. They are subsidised. They are regarded as a service and subsidised to 80% of the total cost. That came out of the Estimates Committee so we use that philosophy. I am not saying we should not subsidise, but when it comes to talking about the bigger issue all I get from one member of the government is I am a moron or a pinko simply because I would like a rational debate over the role of government when it comes to provision of these services. The government provides services. It provides a bus service which is subsidised. Councils provide swimming pools which are subsidised. We do not say user pays for swimming pools because to cover costs would mean no one would use them, and the same with buses. Why do you not apply that idea to the provision of essential services?
I hear the member for Fong Lim raving and ranting about people on this side of the House he has trouble with who have an alternative point of view - Power and Water has to be a business. If it is a business let it go, tell it to make a profit and run as if it is a fish and chip shop or something. It is not, and we live in a relatively small community with a relatively small economy and we try to encourage people to stay in the Northern Territory. Sometimes that has not been successful; there has always been movement of people back and forwards. What is happening today will only increase that rather than attract people to the Territory because as the cost of living goes up, people look around to see if there is another place in Australia they can move to.
I will not move even if the price of electricity doubles. This is my home and I will be buried here one day because I love it. Obviously, I am a little better off - I have paid my mortgage. I help look after my grandchildren, but there are people not as well off who are struggling with the changes occurring.
It is sad in this debate that we are not allowed to look at that issue. It is either fobbed off, as the member for Fong Lim did the other night – a fairly immature approach when you are called a moron because you have a different idea to him. It deserves a reasonable chance of having a mature debate to see where we are going with the provision of essential services.
One of the things not dealt with in the mini-budget is Power and Water; it does not have a section. I would like to know a little more about the cost – how we paid for all that infrastructure, all those generators, and what the day-to-day running requirements of Power and Water are. I would like to see that so we can debate how the provision of essential services is paid for.
I will go through some of the features in the budget and comment on the good ones. I will comment on the bad ones and, of course, sport happens to be first on my list. There is no doubt sport is very important for youth and the minister has money for sports vouchers. He has put money into upgrading various BMX facilities, and some money into lighting at the Alice Springs Karting Club. However, unfortunately, youth in the rural area seems to have missed out.
The minister is quite happy to promote the importance of sport, especially for youth, in other parts of the Territory. However, when it comes to the Litchfield Shire he has dumped the swimming pool and the $2.8m for continued upgrading of Freds Pass Reserve. I was disappointed listening to the minister’s non-response today. He really has no idea of the importance of Freds Pass Reserve to the whole of the rural area. The member for Daly would know, the member for Goyder knows, and I, as local member, know it is the only recreation reserve in the whole of Litchfield serving a population of 20 000. It provides entertainment, recreation and training for all codes of football.
I was telephoned by the archery people today asking what has happened because they are expecting some upgrades. The cricket club is expecting upgrades. The Swamp Dogs Rugby Union was expecting upgrades which would allow expansion for the Rugby League club. All these things have disappeared. There was to be an upgrade of the administration area. Yet, without consultation with local members or the Freds Pass Reserve Management Board, this was cut without any thought given to what effect it would have, especially on youth. As I said, I am happy to see the minister give money to various facilities throughout the Territory to help youth, but it seems that because of an arrangement I had with the previous Chief Minister I am the reason - that is what they like to say - for my community losing out. The minister more or less said that today. That is the way it is written in the budget and it is so disappointing. If you do not like me, tell me. If you do not like the agreement, tell me. But, do not take it out on the kids of Litchfield. That is what you have done and that is really low. I put on the record that we feel people in the rural area have been discriminated against.
In relation to roads, the minister - this was raised by the ABC when asked if he knew he had $12m for roads. The Chief Minister states in his media release titled, ‘Capital Works to drive growth in Palmerston and Litchfield’ there is $12m for the Howard Springs Road. In fact, it is in the mini-budget as new works. The reality is it is happening now.
The previous government allocated money to duplicate the Howard Springs Road which is being built at this very moment. They are widening it, putting in the infrastructure, the electricity, water and the telephones. They are all going underground and being moved. I could not believe there was $12m. I thought there must be a new road. I have not seen anything. It is the road now and is a little deceptive when you open up the page to see, ‘New works’. It is not new works; the work is in progress. How much in the mini-budget has been declared ongoing? In some cases it is. How many statements have been made in all these budget releases to define what is new - from the new government - and what was existing? That would have been a fairer way to see what the new government is doing on top of what the old government did.
I do not mind people saying they are continuing with the works program on Howard Springs Road. Thank heavens for that; it was desperately needed. However, it comes across as though new money has been given. Along with many other things written in there, it makes it difficult to know whether these are new things or just put in the budget as a continuation of what the previous government said.
There are some good things. I do not know what is ongoing and what is not, but it is good to see more money going to some of the outback roads such as the Mereenie Loop Road and the Tanami Road. It has taken years and years to do those roads.
There is a $20 counter transaction fee fir vehicle registration; that is stingy. There are many people in my area who do not use computers and do not give credit card details over the phone. They go to MVR to pay their rego. Those people will cop a $20 fee. Why? Is it because the government wants to reduce the number of people going to the office? That is discriminatory because quite a number of people do not trust the credit card system over the phone and do not have computers connected to the Internet. I would love to know how much money you are going to raise from the $20 counter transaction fee. I presume it is not there to raise money as much as to scare people off going. That is not fair, especially for older people. Many older people would rather pay their money and not be hit with a $20 counter transaction fee. In our case, rural people will go to Palmerston to do some shopping and drop in to pay their rego. They are hit with a $20 fee for doing that, and that is a bit rich. You do not need to do that. If the budget is so delicately balanced you have to throw that in then we are really penny-pinching.
It is good to see CCTV cameras in Katherine, they have an important function.
I congratulate the government on turning the Alice Springs Youth Centre into a PCYC - $2.5m. That is excellent. There still needs to be rationalisation of youth services in Alice Springs. There are four in a small town. We need to change the idea there is one youth centre for black people and one for white people. I have visited these places a number of times and know that has happened. I hope that does not happen with youth facilities. This may be a way to turn that around because I am a great fan of PCYC and will be watching how this goes. I do not know what the money will be spent on. The Alice Springs Youth Centre is not what you would call modern.
I do not understand why the government has decided to remove public transport inspectors. They are not much different to public housing inspectors who seem to be getting a good rap for the work they do which takes some of the load off police. This says public transport inspectors will be scrapped and transferred to NT Police. Will they be retrained as police or scrapped altogether? There are some savings.
Just as I praised the PCYC idea I see the Blue Light Disco will go. This disco operates out bush and in the city. Kids love it, especially out bush where it is their favourite night. Usually a local policeman runs it and I am concerned some of these things which are good for youth - they encourage a good relationship between young people and police, they have that rapport. That is a negative approach. How much money is being saved? We are penny-pinching because these are good programs.
Ground maintenance contracts at the Peter McAulay Centre are being reduced. The landscaping there has never been really good and there has always been a gravelly garden. Why not plant a whole pile of natives and let it go? I am unsure how much money has been spent but it has never been the best garden.
We are also ceasing the First Response Patrol over time as other programs take over services to address antisocial behaviour. What are those other programs? I have seen the First Response Patrol checking who is sleeping around St Mary’s at around 6 am. The Police Commissioner said it was one of the best things in the Darwin area. He praised the First Response Patrol so I am unsure why that is going. If it is because of other programs this does not say what they are.
One of the big issues is the transition of the Humpty Doo Fire Station to volunteer status. No! People have spoken to me today about this. The Treasurer would say there are only 100 call-outs. Of those 100 calls, 20 may be due to false alarms but the other 80 would be highly important, especially in relation to grass fires. You have to remember those calls relate to a station which is only open during the day. Comparing it with stations open 24 hours a day is not a fair comparison. It is a backwards step - I know the member for Goyder is fuming about it – and again, no consultation. When you consider the number of trucks now travelling up and down the Arnhem and Stuart Highways, you need a quicker response time if there is an accident. Relying on Palmerston to do that it is false economy.
On top of that, the NT Fire and Rescue Service tender will be taken away from Palmerston and there will only be one truck at Berrimah. If there is an accident in Darwin and a need for the fire tender, and an accident in Humpty Doo, there will be no fire tender available. That can be shared at the moment. That is a great mistake. I was talking to someone today who is very knowledgeable about this. The Northern Territory government has signed up to set standards for response times. Those times are now being increased. If something happens, someone will ask the government if a change to response times due to budget cuts has resulted in someone dying. You have reduced the standard the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service signed up to; the government signed up to that. If those standards are not being applied who takes responsibility if something happens?
Firearm fees increasing from $35 to $105 - governments never seem to be pleased about people with firearms and that is a mighty big whack. You say things have not increased significantly since 1996, but that is symbolic of where we are going with electricity prices. We are going to hit you - bang, instead of the argument for a gradual increase. Budget does not necessarily mean a budget paper; it means to budget and you can budget in different ways. You have whacked up a shooter’s firearm licence $70 in one hit - a pretty steep charge.
Primary Industries and Fisheries received an overall increase of $1.84m. I welcome anything to help primary industry and fisheries. However, $400 000 is to establish the Ord Development project. That money is already there; it is ongoing. There is an allocation of $4.5m for fishing infrastructure at Dundee. Who owns Dundee? Who owns the beach? Is it private? If it is private, why are we building a boat ramp on private land? I am sure the coast at Dundee is not public land. It was left in the hands of developers. I will not go into my thoughts on that development, but I hope we do not see a repeat of that type of development when changes to the planning rules occur.
Regarding the buy-back of commercial fishing licenses, I might comment later when we deal with Chambers Bay. I gather it is welcome even though the closing of Chambers Bay is not.
I notice there is money for an Ali Curung farming project. I do not know why, Treasurer, it is in your media release titled ‘Family Support services boosted in the Barkly’. It seems it should be under primary industry. It says $2.5m in 2014-15, and $2.24m ongoing from 2015-16 for the Ali Curung partnership farming project. I would like to know more about that because I went past Ali Curung a few weeks ago and there was a sign up looking for workers; they cannot get workers at the melon farm. I would be interested to know what this project is about. I thought …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request the member be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: Treasurer, I am all for creating more employment. However, this disturbs me because I have been to the melon farm and there were two people from Ali Curung working, the rest were backpackers. What is this about? Is this money down the drain? If people cannot work at an existing farm what will this do? I believe in farming and producing your own product because I spent a fair bit of my earlier days doing exactly that.
I am concerned about the introduction of biosecurity service fees. How much will they be?
There is some good news in the Health portfolio, including for Elliott, and the redevelopment of the Tennant Creek Hospital and funding for a health clinic at Ntaria. I do not know how much of that is ongoing - some is Commonwealth. I am concerned there is $35m for a rehabilitation centre for problem drinkers and $15m for rehabilitation operational costs. There is not enough understanding of what that is about. There should be compulsory rehabilitation through the Department of Health and I am pleased it is not in the Department of Justice. That is a large amount of money and I would like to know how much consultation has occurred with CAAPS, FORWAARD and Amity Community Services. They already provide services. Can we use their services and expertise to run these programs even if the programs have compulsory rehabilitation? Can we attach ourselves to existing facilities? What about StrongBala in Katherine? What other possibilities do we have before we start building stand-alone facilities? There is very little detail here.
It is good to see an upgrade to the Borroloola health clinic - $800 000. However, reduced costs in providing prison health services saving $2.3m concerns me.
The new prison will have a special area which Remote Health will look after. Someone needs to look after the health of prisoners. Sometimes prisoners come through the door in an unhealthy state. You need health services in a prison. Some people in prison have ongoing problems outside and will need the health service to keep an eye on them. What does that reduction mean?
In Correctional Services there is $1m for early intervention programs and residential boot camps. Are we really talking about boot camps or are we talking about residential camps because they are two different things. Boot camps are what you see on TV where they drive kids to the top of a mountain in freezing cold conditions with only a singlet and pair of shorts on and hope they survive and come back behaving. Are we looking at something like Wildman River where kids could go, receive some education, do some work, have some recreation and are away from the troublemakers? There were some residential camps in Alice Springs - the Abbotts had one – there have been a number. They are not all successful and kids sometimes have to do some hard work, but this is not clear. Are you talking about a residential camp like Wildman River or climbing Mt Kosciusko in the middle of winter in a t-shirt, shorts and thongs? There is a vast different between the two.
If we are going to make these things work we have to think them through carefully. You have to learn from other places because the boot camps we see on TV are not necessarily successful. They might appear successful for a little while, but I am unsure, in the long term, if they are successful.
I am happy the government is going down that path. I always believed you could send kids to cattle stations or communities where they had to work, but they have time to think about where they are going in life. They can lie under stars, talk to elders, talk to older people about life experiences, try to learn a few things while there and try to readjust their lives away from the troublemakers they usually mix with who cause problems. I welcome that, but we need some clarification.
I am not sure where we are going by disbanding the SMART Court, Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal and the Community Court. If that is to be replaced I would rather you keep it going until you have a replacement, not leave a gap.
The Treasurer mentioned a saving of $600 000 per year through the cessation of the CTC. Fair enough, it was a sessional committee and there was no guarantee it would continue. It served its time and purpose. One good thing from it is the PAC is now holding hearings which are open to the public, which is really important. You can criticise it but it is gone, it is past, it is history, but it did some good things. Please do not knock everything because it had a relationship with Paul Henderson and me.
That narrows it down to having a go at me. Look at whether some good things came out of it! We tried hard to do things and it was not an easy job, especially when it came to SIHIP, and it was difficult to get the Commonwealth government to change its mind.
It is good to see the working parties in Alice Springs. There should be some in Darwin as well, and other places, because we never have enough people to do what the pensioners want done around my part of the world.
I am a great supporter of the work camp at Tennant Creek. I was hoping there would be a prison farm at Katherine - the government promised it would do the same as the previous government - and a work camp. They are two important things. People keep talking about the big prison. I do not like the big prison, believe it or not, but I understand there will be many people in prison - the statistics show it. I would rather those people were in a work camp or prison farm in Katherine. That is the emphasis we need, but it is not on anyone’s budget now and I would like to know why not.
There is a $1m canteen for Taminmin College, but the big cost for many schools is the increase in electricity and water. I thank the minister for changing her mind over the non-government schools. Yes, I was upset, but it is good the government has looked at that on a more even basis. However, schools will take a 15% increase in their electricity and will have to budget. The minister will say they have to run it like a business, but Taminmin has been trying to reduce electricity usage as much as possible. It still has not been able to get it down to a point where it can fit within its budget.
I do not understand why we are rolling back the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. I attended the Taminmin College presentation last night and quite a number of kids won awards from the Centre. It has been a really good thing for places like Taminmin College. Taminmin High School used to be regarded as a ratbag place. Kids would be in trouble with drugs and all types of things. It has picked itself up and is now Taminmin College. The school has really shown itself as a leader in the community with its VET courses. Another thing it has shown is the Centre for School Leadership, Learning and Development. I hope it is not cut back.
The CSIRO teaching program – a silly decision which should not have happened. The CSIRO teaching program is excellent.
In Lands and Planning, there is money for the Planning Commission and the EPA - fair enough. I am not against either of those things; I am against the way they were set up.
It is good to see three new rangeland monitoring officers for the Pastoral Lands Board. It is important. We had many discussions with the Pastoral Lands Board last year because I would not support the new land clearing legislation as some issues had not been thought through properly. One of the issues was not enough people to monitor pastoral properties.
I thank the minister for a response to the $5200 for eligible housing. I know there is much work to do on it. The budget mentioned connecting that money with school attendance. Again, is it going to the owner or the organisation which looks after the house, such as Yilli Rreung? If people do not have children and live in a house, will they be eligible? I am not asking you to answer all those questions, minister, but I will be following it up. I am not saying it is a bad idea but, with SIHIP, the money just disappeared. I want to ensure everything works well.
I noticed the government is getting rid of the Top End Quarterly. That was a good magazine selling the Territory. It is sad to see that go.
I hope the $25 000 first homeowner grant boosts housing, but we need cheaper land. The minister has been talking about that. I want to see it happen, not listen to rhetoric. It is not cheap to develop serviced land, unfortunately, as much as I would like to, especially in the suburbs. It might be a little cheaper in the rural area, but it is not easy. If you look at what has to go in before you build a house, it is costly. I am interested to see plans to produce more affordable land.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the minister for her budget. Yes, there are some good things, some bad things, and some downright ugly things, but that is the way budgets go in this world.
Mr HENDERSON (Wanguri): Mr Deputy Speaker, this is a budget of betrayal of the people of the Northern Territory and is not needed at this point in time in the Northern Territory’s history.
The CLP went to the election promising the people of the Northern Territory it would be open, transparent, accountable, and would reduce the cost of living. In fact, the first point of its five-point plan promised the people of the Northern Territory it would cut the cost of living.
One wonders why people across Australia are cynical of politicians, and increasingly so, when you go to an election promising as your first point of connection with the people to cut the cost of living and 13 weeks or so into government you have the biggest set of increases in any one budget the Northern Territory has ever seen. Why is this betrayal of the Territory people? The reason is all the budget numbers used to put this mini-budget together were confirmed in the PEFO – the pre-election fiscal outlook – prior to the election. There is nothing in these numbers significantly different from the numbers required under law for Treasury to produce prior to an election.
The state of the books of Power and Water was well-known to the government when in opposition through numerous statements of corporate intent tabled in this parliament which showed Power and Water’s budget status. There was nothing new released in these budget papers today that was not known by the government prior to the election when Neil Conn and Ken Clarke were already on the books advising on the state of the Territory’s budget.
The government misled and lied to Territorians when they said it would cut the cost of living because they knew the state of the books. If they really believe the budget position is so bad that we need a budget which hits every Territorian really hard and will significantly impact the economy of the Northern Territory, why on earth did they not come clean with Territorians before the election?
Let us assume people will not believe what the government says as they are angry because of the budget of betrayal and will not believe the previous government because they do not trust politicians, well the independent umpire is the credit ratings agency Moody’s, a well-established, well-regarded, well-respected international credit rating agency. Moody’s looks at our Treasury books every year and our credit rating is AA1 - the second-highest credit rating Moody’s can provide - with a stable outlook, not one which put the government on watch, a stable outlook.
Yes, there were some comments that the government of the day needed to look at Power and Water and issues emerging from Power and Water’s books, but it was not an atmosphere of a catastrophic, imminent collapse of Power and Water. It was a comment in Moody’s assessment. If you do not believe the government and do not believe the opposition, believe the independent umpire, Moody’s, which has rated the government budget at AA1.
What I find really offensive about the way this has played out is the total disregard and absolute and obvious dismissal of the work of the fantastic people at Northern Territory Treasury. The Country Liberal Party, both in opposition and now in government, does not trust some of the most respected people in the public service - those Treasury officials who are required, by law, to present budget papers to this parliament which have to comply with the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act and the accounting rules all governments use.
It would be illegal to present budget papers which were not accurate. For the then opposition, the now government, to say it does not trust all those people in Treasury and has to bring back the old boys’ network - the Country Liberal club - at huge expense to independently advise us on the state of the government’s books – Treasurer, I am very disappointed because I know those people in Treasury and their integrity is complete. They are professional and it is one of the most well-regarded Treasuries in the Commonwealth. A point in case is to recognise the outrageous attempted attack on the Territory’s GST revenue by Western Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales, who convinced the Julia Gillard government to review the GST. That was fairly and squarely aimed at stripping GST revenue off the Northern Territory to fund back to Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. The current government did not win the argument in the report handed down yesterday, it was the fantastic officers in Treasury, led by the Under Treasurer of the day, Jennifer Prince, with the current Leader of the Opposition, who took that argument up full square and won the fight against the might of the Victorian, New South Wales and Western Australian Treasuries.
That is the regard our Treasury attracts across Australia. For the CLP to say it does not trust any of them to do the work, it does not trust the budget papers and needs to bring in the old boys’ network - Neil Conn, Ken Clarke, Barry Coulter and Col Fuller, all well-known, long-regarded, a number are life members of the CLP – is insulting to hard-working and well-regarded Northern Territory public servants.
What did these people find? Well, they produced a dodgy document in November which was tabled in this House which Treasury put - and had to because it had to comply with the Fiscal Integrity and Transparency Act. This report is not a government document and we now have mini-budget papers which, essentially, confirm what was in the PEFO.
My advice to the government is that we have some fantastic public servants in the Northern Territory. Please learn to trust them and they will repay you in spades with very good advice.
Regarding the tenor of this document and what the Country Liberal Party is trying to sell to the people of the Northern Territory it is, essentially, that the Territory is broke and unless we do something drastic we will go to hell in a hand basket very quickly. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is reflected in the documents the Treasurer tabled in parliament yesterday. The budget is framed in the economic outlook of the Northern Territory, not in isolation. It is framed in what is happening with the economy, with government revenues, and where we are heading in the future. Reading the fiscal and economic outlook from the budget papers, I find it a little strange these chapters are in the back of the book when they are normally at the front of the budget books. However, in framing this argument I read from page 95:
- Economic growth in the Territory strengthened to 4.4% in 2011-12, up from 1.2% in 2010-11.
Is the Territory going broke? Are we going to hell in a hand basket? No! We had the strongest growth in the nation bar Western Australia at 4.4%. I will go on:
- Growth was also supported by: a strengthening household sector primarily driven by increasing consumer confidence following the decision by INPEX to build its LNG plant near Darwin ...
... and Commonwealth assistance payments to households ...
Further:
- The Territory economy is forecast to grow by a further 3.9% in 2012-13 and by 4.4% in 2013-14 mainly due to record construction activity related to major projects, including intensifying activity related to the INPEX project, the Marine Supply Base and the GEMCO refinery expansion ... strong forecast growth in residential construction activity will be supported by lower interest rates, land releases in Palmerston (Johnston, Bellamack, Zuccoli and Durack) and in Darwin’s northern suburbs (Muirhead) and Alice Springs (Kilgariff) ...
This is not a struggling economy; this is a growing economy. It is probably one of the fastest growing economies in the Western world and with a growing economy, you have growing government revenues - taxation revenues through own source revenue of stamp duties, payroll tax and, of course, the national economy. The national economy is slowly returning to recovery. China is starting to come good again and there are growth forecasts coming out of the United States. Yes, there are still worries in Europe. Unfortunately, my good friend the member for Casuarina’s home country is still causing problems but, essentially, we are on the road to recovery and revenues are forecast to grow.
If the government wanted to make additional saving measures in this budget that is fine, make them. If you wanted to increase power and water tariffs, do so. However, in a small economy like the Northern Territory one of the things I learnt over many years on the other side of the Chamber was that confidence is a very fragile commodity - consumer confidence and consumer spending. Confidence from local business people to invest in their business is the most important commodity you have in the Northern Territory economy. Once you lose that confidence it is very hard for people to return to their normal spending and investment patterns.
My real fear with the climate this budget debate is being held in - irrespective of the politics of what the government inherited and what it has to do to fix the situation - is that the language and hysteria used by the government in its critique of the budget position it inherited will stifle significantly, possibly even collapse, consumer confidence in the Northern Territory. I have moved around Darwin over the last six or seven weeks and I hear over and over again business people saying things are really tough. This will be a tough period for retail going into Christmas. People in the public sector are nervous about whether they have a job or not, people are not spending. We could have avoided all of this with the new government introducing a mini-budget, doing what it wanted to reset the Territory’s fiscal policy, but not in such a way that it has terrified people in the Northern Territory.
Talk to anybody in the public service about the mood at the moment. Morale is through the floor, people are terrified about whether they will have a job or not, and you need not have created that environment. And guess what, they are not spending money! They are not committing to the new car, upgrading the home or planning for a holiday whilst all bets are off and we wait to see how this will wash out. When you have a AA1 credit rating and a stable outlook, when you have an economy forecast to be the strongest growing in Australia - we are bumping along with Western Australia - over the next five years, when you have investment coming into the Northern Territory most economies around the world would give their eye teeth for, why we are having this debate astounds me. You do not need to do this.
One thing which really concerned me is the impact this mini-budget will have on CPI and inflation. Traditionally, inflation is a little higher in the Northern Territory because of the distance and getting products and goods into the marketplace. However, on page 98 of the budget papers it says:
- Despite stronger growth in rent and house purchase prices and the introduction of the Commonwealth’s carbon price in 2012, in year-on-year terms growth in the Darwin consumer price index (CPI) is estimated to moderate to 2.1% which, is unchanged from the estimate in PEFO.
The Chief Minister today said the price increases in power and water will not double inflation in the Northern Territory. Here are your own budget papers, Chief Minister, which say the 2012 outcome for the CPI is expected to moderate to 2.1%. Further, the budget papers say:
- In 2012-13, growth in the Darwin CPI is forecast to strengthen to 4.3% reflecting increases in utility tariffs from January 2013 ....
Very clearly, Treasury has advised you are going to double the rate of inflation in Darwin, the biggest part of the economy of the Northern Territory. That will lead to increased pressures on wages. Good luck with your EBA negotiations with all the public sector unions, trying to hold them to a 2% or 3% EBA outcome. Good luck, because you have opened the gates of hell for yourselves with those EBAs. Many of those workers - particularly lower-level public servants earning $30 000, $40 000, $50 000 or $60 000 a year – are trying to raise a family with 30% increases in electricity, 40% increases in water, and increases right across the board. Try to convince them to accept a pay increase of 2% to 3% as we managed to - good luck. Guess what? All of this will come back onto your budget in increased EBA outcomes. The unions will be working very hard on behalf of their members to extract from the government. If there is not significant industrial unrest, unless the government concedes, I will be very surprised. Those wage increases will flow through to the private sector as well, and you will have employers in the Northern Territory pretty cranky about increased wages they will need to pay to compete with public sector wages and to recompense people for these costs.
If you look at the context of this budget, we have strong economic growth forecasts and a AA1 credit rating from an international credit ratings agency. Many places around the world - in fact most world economies - would give their eye teeth for a AA1 credit rating. If you want to go to the history - and it is in the budget papers again - as to why, since 2008, the Territory government budget has gone back into deficit, clearly, the budget papers say it is largely as a response by the former government to mitigate the effects of lower private sector investment caused by the GFC.
I make no apology for leading a government which took us into budget deficit territory to protect jobs in the Northern Territory. If we had taken …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the member be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON: Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank my honourable colleagues.
If we had taken the Treasurer’s advice and not taken the Territory budget into deficit from 2008-09 onwards whilst trying to secure the future of the Territory through the INPEX project, the marine supply base and positioning ourselves as the capital of Northern Australia, goodness knows where we would be today. There would be thousands fewer people employed in the Northern Territory and the capacity of the Northern Territory economy would have been severely diminished. What is the point of having a healthy set of budget books when we would have had to cut services, see thousands of people lose their jobs, and hundreds of businesses close? If you do not believe me, Treasurer, talk to the Chamber of Commerce, the Master Builders, or any industry association which said it was the right thing to do.
We are coming into a period where the world economy is improving, the national economy is improving, government revenues are starting to improve slowly. Yes, you have an argument to reset the budget books. However, not the way you have done it and not with the time frame you are doing it in.
Regarding electricity increases, I do not have the Hansard before me today and have not bothered digging out the newspaper headlines, but when we increased electricity prices in 2009 – I believe it was by 18%, in 2010 by another 5%, and in 2011-12 by another 3% - you should have heard the opposition. The member for Port Darwin in particular was at his hyperventilating best about what an outrage it was for the Northern Territory government to be putting a 23% increase on power and water charges over a three-year period to respond to a devastating outage when the Casuarina Zone Substation blew up. We had an independent report which basically said unless we invested a motza into the capital side of the agency, the maintenance side of the agency, we would have an increasingly unreliable power supply.
The hypocrisy to sit there in 2009-10 when there was a very real reason to invest based on a significant failure and now to say you have to put things up by 30% and Territorians should just cop it. I urge the Treasurer - I do not believe you were in the House then - to read some of the debate from your side of politics around that time.
If you were going to make it 30%, for heaven’s sake, do it over three or four years. The ratings agency will see you are doing something; you will get a tick for it. The only reason you are doing it in one year is, politically, you are hoping like heck people will forget about it.
I am sad that is the case because people will hurt significantly. I will give the example of a constituent, a carer, who came to see me recently. To be fair to this lady I would say she is in her late 50s early 60s, lives by herself in Leanyer and cares for a little Aboriginal boy who would be about eight years old. He is, for the best part, a quadriplegic. She has had this little boy for about four years. Because of his disability he needs to be in air-conditioned accommodation most of the time. Feeding this boy is always a messy business and his condition is such that he cannot accommodate showers and has to have baths. She was distraught saying, ‘Unless I can get some relief I will have to give this little boy back because I cannot afford the increases’. I will write to the Treasurer with specifics of this. I do not know if there are any circumstances to help support this lady but these are the effects you will have around the Northern Territory. You do not need to do it in one hit.
It is not only the personal cost, it is the cost to businesses large and small. Businesses are telling me they do not know how they will accommodate this. At Hibiscus Shopping Centre - I will not embarrass the retailer – I was told, ‘We are deciding over Christmas whether to close the doors altogether. We cannot see how to recover these costs and compete with a supermarket across the road.’ This will have a very serious effect on our economy. You have bitten too hard, gone too deep, and have not listened to the business community regarding the impact this will have. I would not be surprised if in the budget next year, if things are really tough, you start listening and moderate some of these cuts in response to a declining economic position because there is a two-speed economy.
There are people working in the mining industry - associated with the mining industry in service industries or service capacities, or the legal industry. There are tradies who are working in that industry earning big money. However, there is also a heap of people earning between $30 000 and $60 000 per year and this will hurt badly. There is no reason to do this.
You are a new government and have every right to reset the fiscal parameters, but to say unless we do this, in this way, at this time, the Territory will go to hell in a hand basket, we will go broke - there is nothing further from the truth.
In much of the Treasury commentary on the fiscal position of the Northern Territory and the outlook - the numbers the CLP is using to scare people - we would have a debt of $6bn in 2015-16. All Treasury figures say that is under a do-nothing scenario. That is to presuppose the government would not have responded to emerging fiscal conditions. You do that every year at budget time.
There is one good thing about the budget. I was pleased to see the increase in repairs and maintenance expenditure. That is a good move and will certainly help many smaller businesses. However, to say we ignored this - welcome to government. Every year part of the budget process is all agencies coming with capital works bids, minor new works bids and repairs and maintenance bids. Guess what? Every year there is not enough money to go round and you have to prioritise how much money you spend on capital works, minor new works, repairs and maintenance, which projects are funded and which are not. There are always hundreds of millions of dollars more of asks than money available. This mini-budget says repairs and maintenance is a priority. From my knowledge of infrastructure across the Territory that is a pretty good call.
Some ministers in debate commented that the previous government left unfunded commitments on the books which they have to pick up. Again, welcome to government. You are on the other side now and good luck to you. Let us take the medi-hotels, for example. There was nothing in the budget papers for the medi-hotels because they have not been constructed yet. Once they are constructed, ready to open and the first patients admitted, in the budget for that year the government would make a new allocation to fund the medi-hotels.
It is the same with the emergency department at Alice Springs. The Minister for Health would tell budget Cabinet it is time to pick up the recurrent costs of the new expansion we have done in conjunction with the Commonwealth. The department had 12 to 18 months to work out what those costs were. Of course, that is a new allocation of funding to be done in the budget every year. It is the same with funding dialysis programs and increases; they would either be funded from within the agency or with extra money. If it is funded within the agency, the government would decide what programs to cut to accommodate the new funding.
To say it was a black hole we had not considered is really pulling it too far. Why you would fund a medi-hotel before it was constructed and opened beggars all understanding. It would be like Yes Minister - having the hospital with no patients. We were prepared to fund those and it would be part of the usual budget deliberations.
In conclusion, this is a budget of betrayal. The government knew the numbers before it came to government. It was do anything, say anything, promise anything to win government and we will work out how to pay for it. Unfortunately, Territorians are paying through their eye teeth and it will hurt the economy.
Mr VOWLES (Johnston): Madam Speaker, I place on record what a disgrace this new government is. It is absolutely heartless and I do not know how members can say with a straight face that it is governing for all Territorians. This mini-budget, once again, proves you are governing for yourselves and your CLP old mates.
First, budgets are about priority and timing. The CLP’s budget speaks volumes about the kind of government it is and its goals. The CLP is concerned with only one thing: winning government again in four years’ time so, despite the pleas from Territorians to stagger the price increases for power, water and sewerage over time, the CLP is doing it in one big hit. It is simply because it wants Territorians to forget all about it in four years’ time. The same principle applies here; the CLP is going hard with a massive hit to Territorians on their cost of living in one sharp heavy blow with the aim Territorians will forget all about it come the election in 2016. It is either that or they would have left the Northern Territory altogether because they cannot afford to live here.
I respond to the impact of this ruthless mini-budget on my shadow portfolios. I would like to talk about some of the most vulnerable people in the community, our senior Territorians. Senior Territorians in my electorate and across the Northern Territory are irate and upset with the Chief Minister, the Treasurer, and this new government. Our senior Territorians, the backbone of the Territory, people who have shaped and developed this paradise we call home into what it is today, are very angry. The government’s decision to raise power, water and sewerage charges has outraged them and they want to be heard. You are now charging them to get on the bus and are raising public housing rents by 1%. Talk about hurting the most vulnerable people in our community!
Pensioners live on fixed incomes and it is very difficult to make ends meet. I understand $1 per bus trip may not seem like much to us in this room but those pensioners who are unwell or have loved ones who are unwell will be hit the hardest. Pensioners who have medical appointments they cannot drive to, are not eligible for taxi vouchers, and have no choice but to travel frequently will be hurt the most. Those who live at home but travel daily to visit their loved ones in hospital or a nursing home by bus will be hit just as hard. Perhaps on its own the introduction of $1 per fare for carers, pensioners and seniors would not be so bad but, because the CLP wants to inflict pain all at once with rent, power, water and sewerage increases, the flow-on increase to council rates, services and groceries is just too much.
I have also heard from a number of seniors and pensioners in my electorate and look forward to talking to them on Friday with the member for Nightcliff who will be putting on a morning tea at the Coconut Grove Seniors Village.
The increased cost to rego will be very hard for them. Pensioners are on fixed incomes, Treasurer, and the reason for the increase being it is time for an increase is not good enough because it is not the right time.
The CLP could have staggered all the increases to the cost of living over time but decided not to do so. The rego increase did not have to come now on top of everything else.
The non-government organisations in our community are also in shell shock. Services helping those doing it tough in our community will be cut and people in those organisations will lose their jobs.
The CLP is not doing the Territory any good by cutting jobs left, right and centre in the public sector then making decisions which force the cutting of jobs for NGOs and the private sector. It is taking money out of the economy and everyone is hurting.
I note on the radio this morning a very important NGO in our community, the Council of the Ageing, is still waiting to hear about funding for 2013 from the Department of the Chief Minister. Chief Minister, you know how important the work of COTA is as a voice for our seniors. I am sure you will be sending a letter to them in the next week guaranteeing funding from 1 January 2013.
I speak to my other portfolio, sport and recreation, which has also been impacted on. Once again, the member for Greatorex, the Minister for Sport and Recreation, took time for another personal attack on me during Question Time yesterday but, once again, you showed your incompetence to your colleagues, to us over here, and to anybody watching or listening. You could not even answer your own dorothy dixer correctly! You rambled on to inform us that a grant of $300 000 was given to the Alice Springs Golf Club but your budget papers state it is $250 000. Your office then issued a media release saying it is $300 000. Which one is it, member for Greatorex?
You were so excited to get to your feet and feel important that you bungled it. With your continual personal insults to me I need to remind you this is very unbecoming of a minister of the Crown. I know, minister, you know, your colleagues know, you are out of your depth and it is becoming embarrassing for you.
Which one is it Bungles, member for Greatorex? Are you wrong or is the Treasurer wrong? An amount of $50 000 goes a long way in the sport and recreation field. I am sure the finer, very honourable, member for Barkly would love that money in the Barkly region, or perhaps the member for Nhulunbuy in her region; there are many sport and recreation organisations there that would love $50 000.
After all those years in opposition, member for Greatorex, you now get your chance and are not up to it. People have contacted me embarrassed and ashamed you are their minister, embarrassed to tell people what department they work for because of the way you behave here and the decisions you are making.
A word of advice to you, member for Greatorex, read your briefs for once, take on the great advice you are getting from your staff and the hard-working departmental staff, read your speeches, and get it right. Stop worrying about your ego, do what you are elected to do and serve the people of the Northern Territory with their best interests at the forefront of every decision you make.
Member for Greatorex, the previous member for Stuart and former Minister for Sport and Recreation worked tirelessly to improve and campaign for sport and recreation facilities and funding in the bush. Let us see if you do the same, member for Greatorex. He worked hard to secure the continual funding allocated to employ over 50 community sport and recreation officers in over 50 remote communities - frontline positions which provided great service to youth in our remote communities. I am glad we have kept you to account with the announcement that funding to this very important program is continuing.
I have another query on the figures in the mini-budget. You announced in your election commitment a sports voucher scheme costing $4m and an extra $1.7m of funding for peak sport and recreation organisations, but the overall increase is only $5.1m in the budget. The increase of $5.7m has been offset by some reduction totalling $600 000. It would be interesting to know what the reductions are and where they have gone.
I turn to tourism. The ABC reported yesterday:
- The mini-budget hasn’t provided any further details on the Department of Tourism’s move to Alice Springs. The government has committed a quarter of a million dollars to setting up a new Tourism Commission Board in Alice Springs but there has been a lack of information on the department’s move to Central Australia with the tourism budget remaining relatively unchanged. No information has been provided about how much the move will cost or how many jobs were cut or redeployed to Alice Springs.
Going through the mini-budget, I cannot see any costs associated with the relocation of tourism staff and the office to Alice Springs. I guess these costs will be coming from within the existing budget. I have a feeling these costs will be taken out of the tourism promotion bucket of money - money put aside for product development - putting more strain on a sector already feeling the pinch of the increases in power, water and sewerage, flow-on increases to council rates and, now, throwing in new rego hikes as well.
With the shadow portfolio of Young Territorians, I am a great supporter of the Northern Territory Youth Affairs Network. This afternoon I was advised it has lost funding and will close its doors in 90 days, which is of concern. The Northern Territory Youth Affairs Network plays an important role in recognising youth services as essential, supporting all who are engaged with young people by establishing, maintaining and enhancing connections, sharing and promoting examples of evidence-based best practice, and promoting individual sector-wide professional development. I ask the government to reconsider this decision and fund the important area of youth in the Northern Territory.
With my sense of community and helping others less fortunate, I mention an organisation which provides a great service to people in need of assistance; a service which provides families and individuals from all walks of life with the basic necessity of food - Food for Life and Foodbank NT run by Baptist Care NT in Berrimah. Foodbank NT is a not-for-profit organisation which collects surplus, salvaged and donated food and grocery products from food manufacturers, distributors and retailers and distributes it to people in need. The organisation is run predominantly by volunteers relying on donations to support the day-to-day operations in Darwin and helps welfare and community aid organisations as well as individuals. All donations assist to find ways to help people break out of the food poverty cycle.
I volunteered for the annual Christmas hamper packing last Saturday and was inspired to see so many people volunteer their time to pack for less fortunate people in our society. Chief Executive Peter Fisher and staff are deeply concerned about the future of the organisation due to a lack of funding security from the Northern Territory government.
The previous Labor government provided funding of $156 000 to Foodbank NT which assisted in the running costs of the organisation. They have not been guaranteed any funding from your government, Chief Minister. This is very disappointing and I urge you to call them and commit to funding. If you do not fund them they will close the doors on 31 December.
This government has broken an election commitment in this mini-budget for my electorate of Johnston. We committed $2.5m to the flood issues in Rapid Creek prior to the election and were ready to work immediately with residents and local organisations on solutions agreeable to everyone. On 20 August 2012, the CLP and its candidate also announced funding of $1.5m. The people in Rapid Creek Road and surrounding streets were very happy with both commitments.
Chief Minister, why did you lie to the people of Johnston before the election saying you were going to put down a payment of $1.5m as the first step and now gone against that and halved it to $750 000 for another report? You need to rise above politics on this. You need to stick to your commitment of $1.5m as a down payment. I am very disappointed with this decision. I know the CLP candidate for Johnston, Ms Jo Sangster, would also be disappointed. She, like me, doorknocked those residents affected by the floods. She too heard the horror stories of homes damaged, the panic families felt as the waters rose, waking children in the middle of the night, pets dying and personal belongings damaged beyond repair.
We need to provide these residents with some certainty and the Chief Minister not to cut his promise of $1.5m by half. This is an important issue in my electorate of Johnston and the people of Rapid Creek and Millner are contacting me every day about this. I urge the government to reconsider and put the full election commitment of $1.5m on the table.
Madam Speaker, this is a bad budget for seniors, business, families, definitely for the people of Johnston, especially those living in Rapid Creek and surrounding streets. It is a bad budget for all Territorians. I do not commend this budget to the House. Thank you.
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We cannot adjourn the debate. If the minister on the other side would like to adjourn the debate?
Mr GILES (Transport): Madam Speaker, I thought the Labor members may have wanted to have a chat today, but obviously not. I gave them an opportunity to raise some concerns. I would have sat and answered some of their questions, but no, they are not very keen on speaking about this at all, which is quite surprising. Considering there have been so many changes or measures through my departments of Transport and Infrastructure, Local Government and the Port, I thought they may have wanted to ask some questions, particularly the shadow minister. I could have responded, but no, the Labor members may want to run some sort of strategy and come in here with some diatribe later.
I listened intently to the new member for Johnston. Congratulations on his first speech in a budget reply, albeit a mini-budget through a statement. He spoke about Rapid Creek and flooding. I am sure he has no understanding how much that will cost to fix, but he must think, ‘What did the previous Labor government do about it over the last 11 years?’ Nothing at all. He has just come back into the Chamber. What did the previous government say, member for Johnston?
Mr VOWLES: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Braitling, you know you cannot reference members who are in or out of the Chamber so please withdraw that.
Mr GILES: Sorry, Madam Speaker, I was just welcoming debate about the Rapid Creek bridge. If he had thought over the last 11 years and asked his former ministerial colleagues, ‘What did we do?’ Nothing. After 12 weeks he says, ‘You haven’t fixed my bridge’. Well 12 weeks to 11 years buddy, let us get it right. You could have fixed the bridge twice if you did not have to put the extra $50m into the AMS. You could have fixed it two-and-a-half times but, no, AMS. The investment in the marine supply base could have fixed the Rapid Creek bridge a few times. That is not denigrating the marine supply base, but when you talk about your electorate and throw stones in the House, look at your own backyard buddy. You have to get that right.
The former Chief Minister, the member for Wanguri, spoke about our increased investment in repairs and maintenance. This year the BAMS report showed about $197m was required for repairs and maintenance of our assets in the Northern Territory. What was it in the 2012-13 budget put out by the former Labor government? It was $100m. It has been decreasing on actual requirements each year. We have recognised it is a problem. We do not have a whole swag of money but we have said we are going to put in an extra $100m: $10m this year, $20m next year, $30m the year after and $40m the year after that. We are trying to rebuild our asset base, something Labor did not do with Power and Water over 11 years of government. We had four power outages in Alice Springs last week because Labor did not put the money into it. This government is putting the money into it. The $100m is money for hospitals, schools, police stations and government assets right across the Territory, of which there are tens and tens of thousands.
With regard to staff cuts, it was either the first or second question on our first day in parliament and the shadow minister wanted to big note about how he had a budget leak and asked a question about staff being sacked in Infrastructure. I have always said there will be no staff sacked in Infrastructure. There will be a 20% reduction over a four-year period through natural attrition which, this year, means 25. We have an FTE of 411 and current staff of 392, so we are looking at five or seven to go, which will occur through natural attrition. We know there will be a downward projection of the capital works program because we are trying to repay government debt, trying to reduce our expenditure on interest rates from $750 000 a day, which is going to be about 1.1. We want to reduce that so our capital works program is, unfortunately, going to suffer and we will not need as many staff. Not one person will be sacked. We will be ensuring we have a better realignment of our staffing workforce to do the job. The Chief Executive Officer is already putting in place an organisational restructure to ensure that occurs.
We are reducing the fleet by 10 vehicles and moving our staff from the Chan Building to Highway House. We are putting in place a ministerial oversight committee chaired by myself with my colleagues the members for Araluen and Brennan - two ministers to help me oversee the failures of the AMS and try to get it back together.
Should we continue with the AMS, should we put another $48.5m into the AMS, or should we start again? You would think the guys over there would debate what we do with it but they were just wishy-washing money around. We have the DDD credit rating: debt, deficit and Delia. Delia running out with a credit card or a big cheque and now we are left to carry the baby. It is a difficult time.
That is why we are putting in place austerity measures to remove the debt and deficit, move into positive territory, and put investment back into infrastructure. The way to build the Territory is to build infrastructure - roads and bridges. The way to win Lingiari is through roads and bridges. That is what we need to do.
In this mini-budget there is a capital works program modest increase from $420m to $438m. That is positive thinking. The Nightcliff Police Station $2m upgrade is not pork barrelling; we did not win that seat. We will provide outcomes for the northern suburbs as well as the rest of the Territory. There is $35m for rehabilitation centres, police facility upgrades at Milikapiti, $2.2m towards the Defence Support Hub, $1m for Taminmin College canteen facilities and $2m for Katherine Police and Fire Station works. We are doing a whole range of things in this budget.
It is a positive budget. It has been difficult to put investment in there while we repay debt and put in place austerity measures, but there are some positive things happening. I thank staff at the Department of Infrastructure for the hard work they have done in helping compile their submission and the support they have given me. There is a long way to go to fix AMS and we are putting so much money into a failed system which the former Labor government did not oversee. We have difficulties around fraud and corruption allegations and police investigations. It is a challenge, but I know the staff are committed to a positive way forward.
The Department of Transport has a fantastic group of individuals who bent over backwards to ensure we had an improved level of customer service, especially around the MVR opening at Parap on Saturdays - a great initiative. We have more money for general staffing of MVR in the budget because we know the number of transactions is increasing. There has been a 25% increase in transactions in the last four years. That is substantial, and MVR staff at the front line are dealing with this and need the resources which is why we, as a new government, have put those resources in.
Labor did not offer Saturday opening. It did not think about how to improve service at MVR. We have already thought about that. There is an internal investigation happening at the moment to reduce client interaction with MVR so mums and dads do not have to go there.
One of the initial things is a $20 fee for new, over the counter transactions. The fee does not apply to transactions where a visit to the MVR is mandatory such as an eyesight test, registering a new car, having a new photograph taken for a driver’s licence or booking a test. It is only for transactions which could be done online or through MVR Quick Pay because we are trying to encourage people to use the telephone or the Internet. Next year we will be putting in place a range of measures designed to assist people to not attend the MVR. That is not to say the MVR is a bad place, but we know for all Territorians time is important. People are busy and do not need to be waiting in line. We are looking at methods to reduce time. That might include changing the time frame for licences, changes to the eye test, doing things online, improving the IT system so private inspectors can do uploads online and you do not have a paper-based business, or using Australia Post as a shop front. We are looking at a range of things and I anticipate these changes will come in next year and will be positive.
Look at some of the things we have delivered through the Department of Transport in this mini-budget: an upgrade to the airstrips at Utopia and Yarralin. I am sure my colleagues, the members for Namatjira and Stuart, will be happy to see those airstrips upgraded. There is $33m for the Tiger Brennan Drive extension; that is our commitment to the $103m investment. The people of Palmerston, and Territorians who travel TBD, will be happy to know there is $9.2m in the 2012-13 financial year to do work around the Stuart Park area. Into the forward estimates we are committing the remainder of the $33m to fully duplicate the whole TBD.
Today I was at the corner of Vanderlin Drive and Lee Point Road near the intersection, announcing our $5m election commitment will be fulfilled. We are providing $5m to the City of Darwin - in the new era of cooperative partnership between local government and the Territory government - into building infrastructure. There is $5m to see the duplication of Lee Point Road from Dulinda Terrace to Vanderlin Drive so residents and families in Lyons and Muirhead can get out of that bottleneck. Over the next decade there will be 1100 new houses in Muirhead. Getting people out on a two lane road will not be easy. We made that election commitment to the people of Wanguri. We recognised the problems - whether you live in Lyons, Leanyer or Muirhead - with traffic in the growing development would be significant. I announced that today.
It is a fantastic initiative. The acting lord mayor, Gary Haslett, today on site said, ‘This is like an early Christmas present’. It is $5m. It will be more than $14m for the duplication scheduled, but he has an early Christmas present. I did not even have a bow or any wrapping paper but he was very happy to get that $5m. That work will start in the Dry Season. He said, ‘When do we get the money?’ I said, ‘Before 30 June, buddy! We are committed.’ That is the cooperative partnership we are entering into. To the people of Wanguri, we are very keen to help.
Labor likes to say, ‘You just care about the bush’; we care about every Territorian. The Nightcliff Police Station – I am committing $5m for Lee Point Road and am investigating what can be done for the people who need the bridge fixed because of flooding because we know, as the member for Johnston said – reflecting on his comments - his government did nothing so we will look into that.
There is $150 000 for the METAL program to help motorcycle riders because there are not enough instructors and the waiting list is getting too long. Was anything done by Labor? No. We have put $150 000 into it. Each year, every year, under the forward estimates there will be $250 000 for the DriveSafe NT program because we know the DriveSafe NT program has fantastic outcomes.
I have already mentioned the MVR Saturday morning service - $790 000 in the budget. It is a new initiative not done by Labor - completely unfunded.
It was exciting reflecting over the past four years and seeing the dramas with registration stickers, how they were coming unstuck, and how annoying registration stickers were. To be able to sign a paper to say, ‘Right, we are getting rid of rego stickers’ - it is $100 000 saving, which is important, but it is another unnecessary item people will not have to worry about any longer.
Buses and bus ticketing are issues in this budget. I can advise the House there are about 5.2 million bus trips per annum. About 66% of those bus trips are free. There has not been a review on the cost since 2006 and, since 2006, the cost of running buses has gone from $13m to $22m. We have a cost recovery base of about 5%. That means it costs us $22m to run them and we only get 5% back because 66% of buses are free - an air-conditioned bus, jump on, free. We have to move to more of a cost recovery model so we have made a number of changes. There is now a $1 charge for pensioners and the adult price has increased from $2 to $3 for a three hour trip, $5 to $7 for a daily trip, and $15 to $20 for a weekly ticket. We know people will be concerned about cost increases, but we are still the cheapest place in Australia for public transport.
We have increased those charges in an attempt to move towards a 10% to 15% cost recovery basis - not 100%, 10% to 15%. Nationally, the average is about 20% or above. We are nowhere near the national average. We have made changes in that regard. While a $1 ticket for pensioners is not free, we do not believe it is a significant inconvenience. Yes, it does add to costs. We have to remind ourselves that at the end of the day someone has to pay. At the moment, with a $22m expense with a 5% cost recovery basis, no one seems to be paying. It is a difficult position. Labor was not prepared to make the tough decisions but we are.
Some concerns have been raised about the change of 10 peak period taxi licences in Darwin to full-time taxis licences before Christmas. Today I signed a letter to all 10 peak period taxi licence holders advising them if they wish to have a full taxi licence they can apply at any point in time and pay the pro-rata rate or difference for a full-time taxi plate. Many Territorians will be able to reflect on the issue of taxis. Taxi operators run a business, drivers operate a business, and they want as much business as possible. It is only fair in a free market. Also, we are coming up to Christmas which is a busy time for taxis.
New people are coming to the Territory to reside. That is particularly reflected in the Motor Vehicle Registry statistics. There has been a 25% increase over the last three or four years in the number of transactions. More and more people are coming to the Territory in a changing environment and more are using taxis. For someone who catches a plane from Alice Springs to Darwin frequently, seeing the queue at the taxi rank – a week ago I was at the taxi rank and there would have been 50 people in the queue. Everyone is asking where the Minister for Transport is and why there are no taxis. I can tell you why: the former Labor government did not act.
We have increased the number of taxi plates. There will be some pain and taxi operators and drivers will be concerned about more competition. That is a concern if you are a business operator; you do not always want extra competition because it reduces your profit margin. However, taxis are a part of our public transport system and we need to ensure we get the balance right between supply and demand.
Heaven help the poor people - members for Drysdale and Brennan - who live at Palmerston trying to catch a cab. There is a whole range of things we are looking at behind the scenes.
In 2009, a review was done into the CPV industry by Fivenines Consulting and a number of recommendations were made which were not all implemented. I am not paying a consultant; I am working with the Department of Transport to see how we can make improvements in the taxi industry across a wide range of areas which meet the needs of the taxi industry as well as consumers.
It is a very difficult balance; not everyone will be happy. Different people say different things. I had a number of taxi operators ring me today saying how good changing the peak hour taxi plates is, but other people are not happy. However, we are doing work in that area.
Not everyone is interested in the port, least of all the former Labor government. Its ministers were never very keen to talk about the port. All they did was denigrate the port. We have made some changes. I have advised the board, through the chairperson, we will no longer have a board at the port. The Chief Executive Officer will report directly to me and two expert consultants will provide advice on the port.
I have just finished a port pricing review. We have moved the marine supply base into the port to provide greater synergies. We have been undertaking, since coming into government, investigations of the individual operations of the port to identify opportunities for greater efficiencies and seamless processes in trying to make it more commercially sustainable.
We are looking at opportunities at Stokes Hill Wharf and Fort Hill Wharf. I anticipate that in the new year we may consider moving to new models of operation. It is not about selling the port; it is about looking at better commercial operations of the port. There have been some changes in port structure. We are looking at better repairs and maintenance from an internal perspective. They are very positive things.
I answered a question in the Chamber today. I am unsure if anyone was listening, but I spoke about the $6.2m additional funding in forward estimates for the regional governance investigations.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! I request the member for Braitling be given an extension time pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr GILES: I answered a question earlier today and I thank my Cabinet and wing colleagues for support in the very important area of shire governance. That will equate to around 23 additional staff - no, not sackings - I will be putting on to look at reform measures.
In relation to my town of Alice Springs, how good it is to see the Tourism department moving to Alice Springs. I know Labor does not support anywhere outside its own backyard, even though it cannot fix flood-prone areas or anything. It is very good for the regions. The investment the Minister for Sport and Recreation has made into the golf club should move it to a more level footing.
The $45 000 investment in the go-karts - Labor and Delia like to talk about this being pork barrelling; it is not pork barrelling. We have the national championships for the Australian Karting Association next year. They need investment to support tourism and the sporting people who will be visiting. It is a good investment for our little town of Alice Springs.
While Labor likes to bang on about pork barrelling, I have just put $5m into the Lee Point Road duplication to support the people in Wanguri, Lyons, Muirhead and Leanyer and get better hospital access to intersections like Tambling Terrace. Well, $45 000 or $5m; it is funny.
The Police Citizens Youth Centre: $2.5m to support the PCYC. It used to operate on a shoestring budget. We, immediately after the election, increased the budget by 50% and they were very happy about that. I look forward to the new hall being built there and the opportunity for police to interact with kids. It is a fantastic initiative.
Anzac Hill - Labor was on the radio this afternoon talking about pork barrelling, ‘There is pork barrelling’. I do not have any relationship with Anzac Hill; I was not born on Anzac Hill, I do not play on Anzac Hill. There is soccer, rugby league and rugby union - a number of sports operate there. As a sporting venue it is the centrepiece of our town. That is why the Masters Games and major sporting events are held there - NRL or weekend sports, kids getting out and having a game. It is a real opportunity to rebuild those facilities and put investment into our town through infrastructure. In the long term it is a good way to go.
Finally, the investment into Kilgariff, albeit a previous Labor government initiative. I was never a big supporter of Kilgariff but it is on the books and we will be moving that way. It was very interesting to receive a briefing not long after coming into the ministerial role about the plans for Kilgariff; there were no plans. Nothing at all was to be done in the calendar year 2013. We would have been lucky if there was anything in 2014. Even though there was a line in the budget talking about $3.5m, I immediately put my foot down and said, ‘We have to get that spine road built; I want it built like this, I want that. We have to look at drainage, flooding, the Q100 - the hundred-year flooding issues.’ The plans are under way and I am working towards - it is an accelerated time frame and you should never set time frames - a 1 July time frame to get some of that land working. We are working very, very hard. People have hit the button; they know the job, they know the motivation. This is positive, and positive within the mini-budget.
Finally, I congratulate the Treasurer for putting together the mini-budget. It is a very stressful time, particularly coming to the job just a few weeks ago and having to pull this together and uncover the huge mountain of debt, deficit and deceit by Delia. It is a troublesome time trying to fix things. All the competing interests, people yelling and screaming from across the other side; the people who never paid the debt. There has been some talk about unfunded legacy items in my area. We have spoken about AMS, but it is interesting when we have issues of animal welfare and the conversations around Mataranka Station – let me take a step back.
The former Labor government reminds me of the 15-to-20-year-old campaign by the telecommunications provider that was coming to Australia. I remember the ads on TV. Who remembers that? Optus – yes. That is what Labor was like.
The member for Fong Lim called it the hotel for long-grassers - a new 100-bed facility. Would you like that? Yes. Do we have any money for it? Yes. Ninety new childcare workers? Yes. Ten animal welfare officers in my department to fix up the Mataranka stuff? Yes. The housing programs? Yes. All the stuff in the Tourism and Sports departments? Yes. However, there was no money for any of it so we walk in mindful of the previous Labor government – yes, yes, yes. Well, sometimes you have to be able to balance the budget. You need money there.
I have 10 animal welfare workers and am $300 000 short in the budget. We know there is a big debt moving out to $6.2bn. What do I do? Do I remove the 10 animal welfare officers and say we are not committed to animal welfare like Labor? Do I find the $300 000 at the same time as trying to pay Labor’s debt? It is a difficult decision. We funded it; we kept it going. We are committed to animal welfare and I am not pre-empting a debate tomorrow on the Animal Welfare Act.
This is what we came to - 90 additional child protection workers and no money. The 100 beds sitting there; I have inspected it and the Minister for Health has inspected it. There is no money to operate it. The emergency department at Alice Springs Hospital – fantastic! Off the top of my head it was 38 beds. I visited with the member for Stuart and the Minister for Health; we toured it. It is a great facility but there is nothing there. It reminded me of a Yes Minister program - the hospital that will never degrade in an asset management sense because it has no patients or beds.
We went into the X-ray room and I asked, ‘Where is your X-ray machine?’ ‘We did not have enough money to buy that.’ There is an X-ray room with no X-ray machine. No beds, no X-ray machine. The Minister for Health is now challenging himself to find the money and we have the goons on the other side asking questions about our budget cuts! This is what we came into.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I congratulate the Treasurer, my Cabinet colleagues and the full wing for their solidarity in putting together this mini-budget. It has been a very difficult process. I support the statement, and commend the Treasurer and her statement to the House.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Mr Deputy Speaker, you could never call the member for Braitling a liar, he is just consistently careless with the truth. I am honoured to speak in this debate because it has been a good one and sets very clear policy divisions between Labor and Liberal, and the mini-budget has, basically, set the electoral course for the new CLP government.
The captain, the member for Blain, and the first mate, the member for Araluen, have set to sea with the crew onboard and have set the course, electorally, in the Northern Territory and, as the Chief Minister says, ‘Let time tell’. The Chief Minister, in his opening contribution to what was really the budget debate during Question Time, started with, ‘It is an indication of where our priorities are’, and I could not agree with him more. He has set the economic rationalist priorities of the Liberals. He set sail and will be judged by the electorate, and good on him, because he deserves to be judged.
The Treasurer has done much media - I am sure she enjoys her media career. In summary of just one of the interviews on ABC radio in Darwin, the Treasurer told Territorians they can no longer expect to pay lower taxes, fees and charges than other parts of the country. What the Treasurer was saying is dead right, but what the Treasurer does not understand is to get skilled workers, build communities, and build the Territory on the last frontier you have to offer incentives. If you go against that policy and turn around and directly slap people, then they pack up and leave.
If you are on the east coast and lose your job in the public sector, or you have a change in your employment circumstances, there is a good opportunity for you to re-establish yourself in the big systems of modern Australia with high population densities. However, what we see in the Territory is families and business pack up and cross the border. They do not come back. The member for Wanguri spoke about the loss in consumer confidence not being underestimated as we steam off into the sunset of the economic rationalism of the CLP.
The Leader of the Opposition highlighted the Chief Minister’s value for Territorians when he has given 20 of his mates high-paying jobs - up to $1000 a day, plus accommodation, plus whatever other incentives are in the package – while on the other hand he set the economic rationalist Liberal parameters of making everyone else pay for it.
Let us start with the Department of the Chief Minister and the output group of Policy Advice and Coordination. The 2012-13 budget allocated $4.252m. This mini-budget 2012-13 has allocated $13.450m, a budget variation of $9.203m. That is fine. What is it for? It is for policy advice and coordination. If I wanted to be crass and use examples of the verbal abuse from the then opposition for four years - they called them spin doctors and referred to these people in a negative light and denigrated them, their jobs, and their position in supporting the team of government. Yet here I see a massive reallocation of dollars by the Chief Minister in the Chief Minister’s department: $9.203m is going to fund policy advisors. That is a lot of money Chief Minister. Another one of your mantras was the Labor government talks about money. It always talks about money, but money does not equate to outcomes. Chief Minister, I would love to give you some of the outcomes $9.203m would deliver for the constituents of Tennant Creek and the Barkly. I do not have time in this debate but I ask you to think about that because $9.203m into policy advisors for the CLP government is a bit rich.
Let us move on because we have Territorians to talk about who are coping with power, water and sewerage price increases of up to $2000 a year, rates which will increase by around 6%, rent increases to pay for rate rises, childcare increases which we have heard could be up to $5 a day, private school fees will increase, car registrations will increase from between 4% and 18%, yet the policy advisors of the CLP will be well and truly taken care of by this mini-budget. It is a clear policy division in this debate, a clear policy division in the Territory, and it is disgraceful.
Let us examine the budget because the member for Nelson, who was far more moderate in his debate, said there is the good, the bad and the ugly. When we talk about the CLP mini-budget of 2012-13, we definitely have to look at its effect on increasing the cost of living, in reducing business confidence, and the most alarming part, reducing consumer confidence.
I do not see any transparency around public service job cuts - how many, where will they be cut and when. That is the fear factor this mini-budget has put into the Territory and those hard-working public servants and their families. There is no transparency; let us wait and see. The Treasurer will not give us any details. However, in a media release, ‘Prosperity into the future’, the Treasurer said:
- In the future the community can expect to see a leaner and more efficient public service capable of delivering the services and infrastructure that the community wants and needs.
I am a crusty Territorian who lived through the same process in the 1980s and the 1990s. I remember my first charter flight. The Chief Minister might be interested in that. I was brought to Tennant Creek with a mob of schoolteachers from the bush, put up in a hotel, taken to a forum and told about the ERC cuts - the Economic Review Committee. We have done this before; we have been down this road. It took over a decade to recover from that bad policy decision. The irony is the architects of the new millennia economic review cuts are the same people who were here in the 1980s and 1990s. That is alarming, and Territorians are talking about that. It needs to be seriously addressed.
One example which really got my imagination running was a memory of the education stores. Under the Economic Review Committee of the 1980s and 1990s, an economic rationalist made the decision to cut the education stores. I have spent more than half my life in remote areas, and the education stores truck was run by two public servants who travelled the length and breadth of the Barkly, forged rivers, travelled across dusty plains, and risked their lives on some occasions to get stores into schools. The economic rationalist Liberal came up with cutting that to save money. That was horrific.
When they realised the private sector could not cope with the challenges of remote and regional Barkly they saw escalation in costs, companies refusing to do deliveries, and schools running out of important supplies such as toilet paper, let alone the books and pencils. What happened? The government of the day had to rebuild it, the storemen were reinstated, and we went full circle. It took years to correct and who knows how much money. My recollections are clear. When I looked at this budget and listened to the speakers on the other side, I had a very strong feeling of, ‘Here we go again’. Well, look out, because the Territory might not put up with it a second time.
I will go to Arts and Museums and start with the minister for verbal abuse, the member for Greatorex, who cannot contain himself. He is one of the members on the other side who cannot rise to the occasion. He is definitely not an honourable minister. He challenged me with more abuse; he would have liked to get me on radio, ridicule me, carve me up, and run me down. I would relish that opportunity, minister for abuse. As a schoolie for over 30 years, I can see you have some deep-seated problems relating to your childhood. I wish I had you in the alternative education program where we used to look at high-support behavioural and emotional needs students like yourself, and were able to create environments where we would correct those behaviours and offer new choices and opportunities in life.
I am also a Catholic, member for verbal abuse, and offer you the opportunity, if you would like to talk about your deep-seated issues, to help you because I have worked hard with many other people in my life. I could probably give you some help. However, if you want to continue down that road do so, but remember sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me. I am an infant-primary trained teacher as well, for those members of the House who are interested.
Let us talk about Arts because it is a good story. I thank the minister for Arts for not decreasing the budget. However, there is not much transparency around the whole process and, therefore, when we talk about a budget increase of $1.76m - we all support that, the arts community supports that. The Minister for Arts and Museums spoke about the Defence of Darwin experience and Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre in Katherine. Once again, he was not quite truthful with the Territory. Yes, there were budgets to design, construct and run those facilities. I hope he visits them to get a better idea of what those incredible icons of the Territory are all about which were delivered under the previous Labor government. That is a good story, and he has spoken about extra money going to look after those facilities.
However, in the media he says, ‘In coming years, savings have been identified across the Department of Arts and Museums’. I am afraid that is the code for staff and program cuts, no doubt about it. The minister, in his contribution to the debate, also spoke about ‘outsourcing of jobs’. He has some already lined up; some functions of the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory will be outsourced. He is talking about staff cuts, about savings. He is using the language of economic rationalism from the Liberals. This means more pain, as the Treasurer has outlined, for Territorians.
He did not talk about some of the new initiatives in arts: The Chan Contemporary Art Space, the NT Indigenous Music Awards, the NT Music Awards, the Darwin Festival, the NT festival program and the museums grants program. These initiatives celebrate the arts and culture sector of the Northern Territory. Minister, you did not mention them. You made no reference to them in the mini-budget. We hope they are safe; we hope they are preserved. We will be watching you very carefully because by 2015-16 further efficiencies will realise an estimated $800 000 ongoing savings from the department. In his document the minister said he is out for more cuts; he is after more scalps.
I seriously hope he stays out of the arts because the way to turn this around, minister, is the way we were working towards in government. Put your energy into the philanthropic sector; that is the way the world has gone. The whole world wants to know about Indigenous culture and arts. We have a vibrant arts community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, right across the Northern Territory. It is something to sell and market, minister. You are in the game of tourism. Chase the philanthropic sector because that is where the significant investments will come from. You will not have to play the Liberal economic rationalist game of cut, cut, cut, sack, sack, sack, and participate with your ill-informed colleagues to destroy business and consumer confidence across the Northern Territory. More importantly, do not destroy the confidence in our arts and museums.
I did not mention the arts in education project, nor did you: a cutting-edge project initiated under the previous Labor government where arts teamed up with education. Minister, you have just over a week to find where those sites are, read the report coming in, talk to Menzies, which is doing the assessment and evaluation, and check out how cutting edge and innovative the previous government was to turn around educational outcomes, improve attendance and engagement, and capture those new, young families supporting kids to deliver better outcomes in education.
There is the challenge, minister. Drop the attitude and language and get on with the work. Welcome to the world of government. The Minister for Transport is always good to debate with. He shares the same silver suit and attitude. I will not comment on his childhood but, once again, a student I would have relished having in a classroom in the Northern Territory education system. I would have turned you around, young fella. You would have come out the other end clearly different than you are now. However, we move on. I am pleased to see the Minister for Transport ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, it being 5.30 pm, in accordance with Standing Order 93, debate is suspended and General Business has precedence over Government Business until 9 pm. Do you wish to adjourn to a later date?
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, thank you, Madam Speaker.
Debate suspended.
MOTION
Chambers Bay and Finke Bay – Closure to Commercial Barramundi Fishers
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I move that the government makes no final decision on the closure of Chambers Bay and Finke Bay to commercial barramundi fishers until the Shared Resource Framework has been finalised by government and used to evaluate, in a transparent manner, the cost/benefits of such a closure.
I understand, because of the delay in bringing this forward to parliament, the minister has made an announcement which is disappointing, especially to the NT Seafood Council. He has declared Chambers Bay and Finke Bay off limits for commercial barramundi fishing. I will get back to that later. The debate is worth having because the way it happened is political rather than for any scientific reason. It was done because of promises made by the government to the amateur fishing people before the election.
We need to ask where we are going in the Northern Territory when we talk about the commercial fishing industry. I made a joke recently that if you look back to when Jesus was looking for people to help him, the first people he went to were commercial fishermen around the Sea of Galilee. He must have thought they were pretty important people. I have always thought that if there is one universal occupation it is commercial fishing. No matter what country, you will find people making their living out of fishing to supply food ...
Mr Vatskalis: Not Switzerland.
Mr WOOD: No, not Switzerland. There are some lakes, there might be trout. From Greenland to Canada, South America, to Australia, to the Cook Islands, there are plenty of fish and people earn a living from commercial fishing. Unfortunately, in some areas of the Territory commercial fishing has become a dirty word. That is sad because commercial fishers spend a lot of money and risk their lives to some extent. It is not always pleasant when the sea is rough. They work very long hours to sustain their families, pay their bills, feed Territorians and others in and outside of Australia, and help the Northern Territory economy.
Minister, the amateur side of things should belong to the Minister for Sport and Recreation. The sector I am talking about - the commercial fishers - should be part of Primary Industry and if there are environmental issues in relation to sustainability of the fisheries the new EPA should be keeping an eye on that. I sometimes feel there is a clash of responsibilities with the minister’s portfolios. He probably does not agree with me, but I see the pressure sometimes applied by amateur fishermen on commercial fishing as something which needs to be looked at.
Carmel Ball and Ziko Ilic, proprietors of the Darwin Fish market, wrote to the Chief Minister saying:
- Our community includes people who cannot get their own fish and includes people who do not own a boat, who do not have time to fish on weekends, who do not like fishing, and who are just visiting and would like to try our local iconic fresh wild caught barramundi and king threadfin.
- We live in a community that is increasingly concerned with improved health outcomes, particularly through better diets. How can restricting access to a regular consistent weekly supply of premium quality, fresh, locally-caught barramundi support this, especially when it is our number one best seller?
The ability to purchase local seafood is a community service our customers rely on. We care about getting regular access to premium quality fresh local wild caught barramundi for our customers at an affordable price. All of what we purchase here in the Northern Territory is sold here in the Territory and across the Top End to Kununurra. We want local people to stay employed and local business to thrive.
- Remember next time you walk into a fresh fishmonger shop, or take a dinner cruise, go to a local restaurant, attend a wedding dinner or dine at Parliament House, do not blame the shop attendants, the caterers, the tour guides or the restaurateurs for not having the fresh local wild caught barramundi on your plate, blame the government which did not consult with the stakeholders. Therefore, we do not support the closure without proper assessment and request you delay the decision until a resource sharing framework is developed and all stakeholders are consulted.
That is similar to what the NT Seafood Council was putting forward. This was not about discussing where fish should be caught; it was saying the government said it supports a resource sharing framework, which follows on from the previous government. It said, ‘We support that concept but not for this issue because we promised the amateur fishing people we would close Chambers Bay and Finke Bay’.
Again, it was more about politics than anything to do with the quantity of food. In fact, I heard one gentleman from the amateur fishing association say on ABC radio, ‘Look, the amount of barramundi they take out of the area is reasonably small therefore it should not be a problem’. The argument can then be turned around the other way: if only a small amount of barramundi is taken what is the problem for amateur fishing? I also heard that the amateur fishing people do not want the large fish, but the trophy fish people - the minister mentioned on television last night we can make this an iconic place for catching large barramundi. Well, my understanding is commercial fishermen do not want the metre-sized barramundi.
Again, it is very hard to get a balanced view. In the Sunday Territorian of 20 October there were two articles, one by the amateur fishing association’s Craig Ingram - I have had some discussions with him - and an open letter to the Chief Minister from Kevin Innes, a commercial fisherman, saying he does not own a barramundi licence so he must catch other fish. All the photos are of amateur fishermen catching fish bigger than one metre. You have pictures of iconic barramundi over one metre being caught and the commercial people are saying they are not interested in that.
There is not one picture of commercial fishermen. I have nothing against amateur fishing, but the balance has gone a bit cuckoo. I will read to the House some of the comments. Pardon me, Madam Speaker, you might be mentioned in this. These were comments in Hansard from the member for Goyder on 28 March 2012:
- The commercial seafood industry is an integral part of our economy and our community. It generates wealth for many Territorians and businesses and, like many industries, because it is out of sight much of the time, tends to be overlooked.
I could not agree more.
- However, there is an enormous level of indirect employment attached to the industry and procurement of products and services. It deserves more than it is getting, and if a Country Liberals’ government is to secure government after the August elections, we will make it, and its future development, a priority. We will consult openly and fully, as the future of the commercial and recreational fishing activities depends on it, as does the livelihoods of many Territorians.
- The other thing that concerns me is the power recreational fishers have in AFANT. It seems every time AFANT puts in a call for support, government jumps. We all know AFANT would like to see every commercial fisherman run out of the Territory because they do not particularly like them, and this government responds.
The member for Goyder said:
- The two types of fishing can and do co-exist; however, I agree with my colleague, the member for Fong Lim. A government should not be beholden to one sector, one organisation, or one level of activity. That, sadly, is what is happening in this situation. It is disappointing the minister did not address what we were trying to achieve with this motion.
- Mr Makepeace, I own a boat and I like to go fishing on occasions, but I am not one of the 30 000-plus recreational fishers you claim to represent. You do not represent me because I do not believe in constantly whining about an almost non-existent commercial fishing industry.
That gives the impression there are others who believe the balance between the amateur fishing viewpoint and commercial fishing is one-sided. All those quotes come from members who are now in the government.
The other thing which reflects some of those statements is that the act requires something. The changes to the regulations I presume the minister had to make to close the Chambers Bay and Finke Bay fishing areas come under the Fisheries Act. The Fisheries Act came into operation on 14 December. Part 1 2A Objects, states the objects are:
- (a) to manage the aquatic resources of the Territory in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development, whether managing a single fish species or an ecosystem, to ensure the promotion of appropriate protection of fish and fish habitats;
(b) to maintain a stewardship of aquatic resources that promotes fairness, equity and access to aquatic resources by all stakeholder groups, including:
- (i) Indigenous people;
(ii) commercial operators and aquaculture farmers;
(iii) amateur fishers; and
(iv) others with an interest in the aquatic resources of the Territory; and
(c) by means of a flexible approach to the management of aquatic resources and their habitats, to promote the optimum utilisation of aquatic resources to the benefit of the community.
Mr Westra van Holthe: Have a look at all the other closures, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: I know. This is the one I am dealing with. This is the one I am saying ...
Mr Westra van Holthe: I know that, but come on.
Mr WOOD: All right, you can answer me back, minister. The act says this. Perhaps those closures were not correct ...
Mr Westra van Holthe: Maybe all the closures are illegal.
Mr WOOD: That is right. However, if the act needs changing, then change it. The act says deal with fairness, equity and access to aquatic resources. When we make these decisions to close, have they been made according to the act?
I have today’s newsletter from the NT Seafood Council headed ‘Disappointed, but looking to a new way forward’. I give credit to the NT Seafood Council; they do not like the decision you made but are willing to work with you and are quite happy you have made statements in regard to the buy-back of certain licences. They would like to know the exact amount of money the government will offer for those licences because it is not clear in the budget what that will be. Obviously, if you want to buy someone out they want to ensure it is a reasonable amount.
They say, and this is why I take my hat off to them:
- While the implementation of these closures will cause disruption to retailers and consumers from next February the Seafood Council is committed to working with the government.
Industry want to overcome these disruptions and maximise the potential opportunities this fishery offers around the Territory coastline and continue to deliver quality products to consumers.
For the first time there seems to be a shining light appearing in the distance and it will be a win for seafood consumers, the fishing industry and the broader NT community if the government delivers on this promise.
- ... we are ‘relieved’ that the minister has acknowledged that additional licences (up to six) need to be removed to mitigate the impacts of years of cumulative closures.
I am interested, minister, what the latest on the buy-back of those licences is. Obviously the NT Seafood Council accepts that as something to mitigate what has happened because of this decision.
I owned a boat once but did not get out too often. If you are a vegetable grower, believe it or not, you spend most of your time turning the water on and off and ensuring no one is pinching your watermelons. Unfortunately, in many places I lived I did not have much of a chance.
If you are able to continue something started by the previous government - put some more jetties in the harbour where people who do not own a boat can enjoy it. One of the great things in life when I was young was to sit on a jetty and throw a line in. That is one of the good things. Unfortunately, the one at Palmerston, at high tide, is sometimes hard to get to - the whole thing goes under water, but I digress.
It is important to ensure Territorians can buy wild caught barramundi at a reasonable price and we do not push our commercial people so far out that we have to pay extra. People say they pay extra down south. That might be the case, but I do not regard the barramundi I eat here, caught locally, to be at a price where I think, ‘Blow that, I will have chicken for tea’.
I go to Fisherman’s Wharf quite often. Maria knows me; she has been supplying me with fish and chips and fish burgers for years. It is great to go there and enjoy wild catch barramundi or wild catch threadfin salmon. I do not want to pay a huge price for that; I want it to be affordable. I am on a reasonable wage. Many people today will be counting their dollars with all the price increases. The last thing you want is the price of barramundi to increase because it will become a luxury item rather than a standard part of the diet. That is what Carmel Ball was talking about, the health benefits of eating fish.
It is probably hard to debate something after the event, but it is my job to present the side of the NT Seafood Council - the non-fishing association. I would love to one day start an amateur non-fishing association so the consumer who cannot go fishing because they do not have a boat, or do not have the time can, at least, be recognised as an important part in the overall equation of looking after our fishing resources which are so important.
This is not against amateur fishers, but sometimes this debate is weighted not so much for Bill and little Johnny who hop in the tinny and go out in the harbour, but on behalf of people who spend their entire life fishing under the banner ‘amateur’ and tend to push and promote their viewpoint to ensure they get the biggest barra to brag about and tell people why it is so great to fish in the Northern Territory, and it is. However, there is a group of people who like to catch a queenfish or a mangrove jack. They are happy to go out for the afternoon because fishing is part of an experience many of us like - bonding as a family. I am not against amateur fishing per se, but part of that lobby group tends to put a much greater weight on government, especially politically, than it should.
We do not give enough credence or support to commercial fishers. They do not have an easy life. You might see a big boat at Fisherman’s Wharf, but it would not be cheap with the price of fuel; the price of diesel has gone up a few more cents and is now 160 per litre at Smith Street BP. I imagine filling up a fairly big tank on a commercial fishing boat is not cheap. You have to employ people, you have the risks of working at sea, I imagine insurance is pretty high, and you have to catch fish. If you go out all day and do not catch fish you will not be in business long. It is a risky business, a dangerous business, but one which the people in it enjoy. You have the freedom of being out on the open sea and being your own boss.
I am glad you are Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries – sorry, former minister. It is a good move because it needs to have identification and recognition of what it is. It gives some hope we will give more recognition to our commercial fishing. I do not believe our fisheries are in any way threatened. I heard someone on the radio saying a person had taken out 90 tonne of fish. Perhaps they do not understand 90 tonne of fish is a very small amount. If you go to the Cook Islands or talk about fish taken out of other places you are talking thousands and thousands of tonnes.
We take a relatively small amount of fish and, because we have a limited number of licences and a large area to cover, barramundi are not threatened. We have more concerns about golden snapper, and I am unsure if that comes from commercial fishing. I thought it was more from amateurs.
We have to keep an eye on any down sides for charter boat operators. Sometimes I hear from commercial fishermen that some, not all, tend to fish in one spot until it is fished out and then go to another spot. I am unsure if that is a good way to manage local fisheries.
That confirms the idea of a shared framework is a good one because it includes the charter boat people, the amateur fishers, and the commercial people. The best way to get over the bias of one against the other is for all sides to talk about it. That probably should include people who consume the fish as well, like Carmel Ball or some of the restaurants in town. We would have a group of people who provide, consume and sell the fish as part of the shared framework the previous government put forward and the new government said it would continue with. Unfortunately, they did not include Chambers Bay and Finke Bay.
Minister, the motion is, to some extent, irrelevant from the point of view of voting. However, it has given us the opportunity to say in your next decision ensure it is worked under the shared framework, give recognition where it is due and ensure commercial fishers are recognised for the hard work they do for the Territory, the economy, and for people like me who do not get a chance to fish but love to have wild caught barra and threadfin salmon. Thank you.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Madam Speaker, I am happy to respond as the minister is not responding at this stage. I agree with my colleague, the member for Nelson, it is a little late. The minister has signed the change to the Barramundi Fishery Management Plan, but I agree with the minister; he can do it. The scope of the act does not matter, there are mechanisms and other clauses which allow him to do that. However, the way it was done was not correct.
The minister had already made the decision to change the management plan. He announced it publicly and gave the public 28 days to comment, but comment on what? You had already made the decision but not based on scientific grounds. It was simply a pork barrelling decision. I accept that; however, decisions made by the minister for Fisheries need to rely on scientific evidence. You have heard the saying about Caesar’s wife: not only be honest, but appear to be honest. A minister of the Crown should not only be honest, but should make every effort for others to know he is honest.
Minister, I am not against commercial fishers or amateur fishers. However, as you will find in the future, you will be accused of both. One day you make a decision and the NT Seafood Council will jump down your throat and accuse you of supporting AFANT. Another day you make a decision and AFANT will jump up and down and say you support commercial fisheries. This is part of being a minister in a very sensitive area. The funny thing is, everyone talks about sharing resources. The commercial fishers talk about sharing resources with the amateurs and Indigenous interests, the amateurs talk about sharing resources, Indigenous interests and commercial resources, and, of course, the Indigenous people want to have a fair share of the fishing industry which, under the recent decision by the High Court - the Blue Mud Bay decision - belongs to them so they fish in the area under their control as long as they are there.
Minister, with the stroke of a pen you have excluded a significant commercial sector of our economy from the area which relies on it for survival. Let us look at the facts. Closing Finke Bay and Chambers Bay has not achieved much because in the past commercial and amateur fishers were fishing there and there was no conflict. While I was minister I cannot remember either sector complaining about actions of the other sector. The area is massive. Commercial fishers will not fish in areas the amateur fishers knew; they delineate the area and move away.
When I was considering closing that area I specifically asked the department to give me maps and, if possible, hire an aeroplane and take, for a period of time, aerial photographs to find out where the commercial fisherman fish and where the amateur fishermen fish. Surprise, surprise, the commercial fishermen were fishing three to six miles out to sea and all the amateur fishers congregated at the mouth of the creeks. There are other photos with the department. I invite you to ask the department for these photos and you will see where commercial and amateur fishermen go fishing. The amateur fishermen are interested in the middle plus barramundi - the trophy fish - and the only place they will catch them is there. The commercial fishermen are interested in the smaller fish which are more palatable.
The plan we had at the time we knew would not satisfy either. We knew we had to make a decision, and I was prepared to make the tough decision. I was prepared to set aside areas around the mouth of the creeks - I am talking about significant areas a mile wide either side of the creek and about three miles deep - and demand the size of the nets used by the commercial fishermen be limited so the big fish sought by the amateur fishermen would not be caught by them.
As you are well aware, and we have had arguments in this House, I was not afraid to stand up for the amateur fishermen and argue for closing the bay near Bynoe Harbour when commercial fishermen were seen by people and photographed and filmed doing the wrong thing. I remember at the time you criticised me severely. The Chief Minister, then Leader of the Opposition, was very pleased with the decision I made. I ensured people knew if they broke the law I was prepared to step in. I was not afraid to close the areas. I closed the area. I acquired commercial barramundi licences to the disgust of the NT Seafood Council, but I knew the best way to separate the interests and share the resources was to find a way where there was no conflict or friction between the different sectors of fishermen.
The politics of fishing in the Territory are very powerful. Yes, AFANT has 1000 or 2000 members. However, as the member for Nelson said, they do not speak for everyone because their members have their own view. I recall a survey was done by one of the fishing writers before the election which revealed about 40% to 45% would change their votes based on the decision of the government with regard to recreational fishing. There are differences within the amateur fishing fraternity.
However, the issue is not about favouring one sector against the other. The issue is – and it will come back while you are minister - you have to make a decision when the pressure mounts. I will give you the next pressure point. I have already been approached by people telling me commercial fishermen cannot fish at Chambers Bay or Finke Bay; they have to go somewhere else to supply fresh barramundi to the markets in Darwin. The next area will be Channel Point. I have already had people from that area ask me what they will do, what the government will do, and whether it will close that area to commercial fishers.
Where do we finish? Where would you push out commercial fishers and what will the impact be on the tourism industry and consumers in Darwin? How far do we have to push them out? The only reason we get fresh barramundi, or the majority of fresh barramundi, in Darwin is because of the easy access to some of these fishing grounds. Chambers and Finke Bays are only a few hours’ drive so the commercial fisherman could put the fillets on ice, chill them, and freight them via truck to Darwin. You cannot do that if you have to send someone down, let us say, to Wadeye, or further down to the Western Australia border or to the east. There is no infrastructure, no roads. You cannot bring chilled barramundi to Darwin, it has to be frozen. The other option is air freight. The cost would be enormous to air freight barramundi from these remote areas and frozen barramundi defeats the purpose. Do I want to buy frozen barramundi? I might as well buy frozen barramundi from Vietnam, Thailand or anywhere else.
We went to great lengths to ensure people in the Territory, and Australians who come to the Territory, have seafood caught in the Territory. We passed legislation to ensure this seafood is labelled as such. We are the envy of every other commercial fishing industry in Australia because we were brave enough to insist seafood caught in Australia is labelled as Australian caught seafood, and imported seafood is labelled as imported seafood.
We had some reaction at the beginning from restaurants and the commercial industry. However, they eventually said it was one of the best things we did because the majority of people care about what they eat and ask for Australian caught barramundi or seafood rather than imported. So, we had a win there.
At the same time, there are many obstacles for the fishing industry. As the member for Nelson said, the fishing industry is a made up of local people. We know the people who fish in the area. I have known Dominic for a long time. He is the only person who fished in the Chambers and Finke Bays area for barramundi. He supplies most of the fish shops in Darwin with fresh barramundi. I also know Ziko very well. Ziko owns the Darwin Fish Market which sells barramundi. Both Dominic and Ziko were very critical of your decision to close these areas - for closing these areas completely. They were quite happy for you to close certain areas reserved for the amateurs and leave the rest open so they continue to get threadfin salmon and fresh barramundi to the markets.
People do not want to completely exclude amateurs from the areas; they are happy to share the resource and the area. Excluding one sector to benefit another without any scientific backing is wrong. This is going to bite you again and again. You made a decision this time, what is the next decision? What area will you close? What pressure will you be subject to in order to close other areas? How far are you going to push the commercial fishing sector? Do you want a fishing industry in the Territory or not? If we want one, we have to ensure it exists and do not exclude it from the very important fishing areas.
I bet you next year you will get pressure from AFANT to close the mouth of the Daly River because that is one of the last areas where commercial barramundi fishermen fish at the moment. AFANT had been in my ear for years to close that area. I resisted because when we close that area we might as well start importing barramundi from Queensland or Western Australia because we will not be able to get fresh barramundi in the Northern Territory.
You have a very hard job to do. I understand the difficulties and pressures but I always said, ‘I will take action based on scientific evidence and scientific advice’. I have a background in the environment but I am not a specialist in aquaculture or fisheries. I relied on people to provide me with advice. That is why I stood firm against my federal colleagues when they tried to make significant areas of the Territory sea parks and close them to any activity. I used scientific advice to show that action was wrong and unjustified. The Territory fishes only 8% of the resources where other countries fish 30-35% of their fishing resources. The Territory does not have the problem Queensland had before with uncontrolled fishing or Western Australia with the shark fishery. We are one of the few places in Australia where successive governments have managed fisheries very well. They have supported amateurs and commercial fishing. We have seen a significant increase in the volume we catch in the Territory because we have good stock and have seen a significant increase in people with boats.
Even Chris Makepeace admitted publicly we are now victims of our own success. Too many amateur fishermen and too many boats that can travel long distances and reach places they could not before are putting enormous pressure on our stocks. As you said before, and your department disclosed a few weeks ago, there is significant threat to golden snapper in our area by amateur fishermen. Also, jewfish is subject to pressure by amateur and commercial fishing. Charter boats - people who go on charters believe they can catch any fish they like in uncontrolled volumes - can put significant pressure on certain special fish which tend to congregate and jewfish is a good example. I have complaints from people at Channel Point - that is one of the areas where black jewfish congregate, especially in the spawning season - that people will hammer them.
We had the example from other states: Western Australia banned fishing of red snapper in certain areas because now, with GPS and boats which can travel long distances, people know the exact point fish congregate and will hammer that spot with disastrous results.
You have made your decision, but I seriously ask you to look at it. I will remain a member of AFANT and am prepared to go to the next AGM. I may not be very popular with them, but I am prepared to explain the decision I took at the time and why. I am sure many people will understand the reason.
At the same time, we have a situation with Blue Mud Bay where many Indigenous people will require measures be put in place to allow people to fish commercially or as amateurs. We have a situation on the Tiwi Islands where the Tiwi people have a special deal with some charter fishermen; they have closed nearly the whole of the north of their islands so neither commercial fishermen nor amateurs can access that area. I know the reaction of AFANT to this closure. We cannot have it both ways; we cannot demand to close the area completely to commercials but, at the same time, when the Tiwi people exercise their legal rights, argue it should happen. The best practice is to co-exist, find the best solution and a way to reach an agreement. To put it bluntly, I know why an agreement was not reached before the last election. Certain people in AFANT thought, with the coming election, they could blackmail the government or the opposition to make the decisions they wanted. That is the reason they refused to reach an agreement with the barramundi group. You will find it again, and you are going ...
Mr Westra van Holthe: Making that accusation you ...
Mr VATSKALIS: I do not make that accusation. That statement was made to my fisheries advisor in my office. I could not believe it. I was very disappointed at the time because that is not the way to proceed. My argument has always been, ‘You have common areas, sit down together and find a way. Do not force the minister to make a decision because some of you will not like it.’
The process you used was wrong. It might be according to the letter of the law, but it was wrong. You made the decision then asked for public input; your decision was already made. It was only going through the process. I will not call it corrupt, but it was not correct.
Minister, you have an interesting portfolio. You will be put under pressure but remember you are the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries for all Territorians not only those who catch fish as commercial fishermen or amateur fishermen, but also the consumers. You might see signs in the fish markets, ‘No fresh barramundi thanks to the Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries and the Amateur Fishing Association of the Northern Territory’. At the end of the day, the last thing you need is to play one industry against the other, or have people talking about the selective few who can afford a boat being the only ones who can get fresh barramundi. This is not what the Northern Territory is all about. The Territory lifestyle is not only about going out with your boat and catching a fish, it is also about being able to access fresh seafood from the best waters in Australia; the best seafood in Australia which is being denied to the average Territorian who does not have a boat to go fishing.
It was the wrong decision. It does not serve any purpose but your political future. The decision will come back to haunt you.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Madam Speaker, given the decision was made last week to go ahead with these closures my original view was to say the member for Nelson’s motion is completely redundant, but I will add a little to it because there are some issues I might need to cover off.
I let the member for Nelson know privately that I held off making a decision around the closure of Finke and Chambers Bays with a view to allowing him to debate this last Wednesday, the previous General Business Day. I thought there might be some compelling argument I should take into consideration before making the final decision. However, then a couple of things happened.
The first was the member for Nelson was No 1 on the Notice Paper last Wednesday and gave that position away. He capitulated to the Leader of the Opposition, or whoever approached him on the opposition benches, to hand over that position in favour of a motion the opposition wanted to get up on General Business Day about Power and Water.
Unfortunately, the motion relating to Power and Water took up the entire four-and-a-half hours so we did not get to it. The message sent to me as a result of the member for Nelson’s capitulation on his No 1 position told me he was not all that serious about this motion. If he were serious, if it really meant something to him, there is no way in the world he would have given his No 1 spot to the opposition. Immediately, my view that the member for Nelson’s motion was something he was really passionate about changed and I formed the view that perhaps he was running this motion because he was being pressured by constituents or, politically, people who had approached him. Anyway, that is one thing.
Having heard the debate tonight from the members for Nelson and Casuarina, if the member for Nelson can take any comfort from this - it is cold comfort, but comfort nonetheless - the arguments tonight were not compelling enough for me to change my decision. I appreciate you have done much preparation on this member for Nelson, you wanted to bring this on but the arguments were not compelling enough.
During the debate a number of issues were raised, one around the letters which came in. There was a 30-day period for the public to comment. I am happy to inform the House we received a number of comments from people, one of which the member for Nelson quoted in his debate. However, when I weighed up those comments - if I could go by numbers - more than half were in favour of the closure. That on its own did not provide me with any compelling reason not to make the decision.
The other part of all this is the comments in the public arena at the time this debate first hit the airwaves. What was disappointing were the spurious claims made by the member for Casuarina about the supply of local fresh wild caught barramundi. He was inexplicable in the irresponsible way he inflamed the media and had people believing, or tried to have them believe, as a result of this closure there would be no more fresh barramundi available for consumption in Darwin. What a load of codswallop!
The only way there would be no commercially available fresh wild caught barramundi in Darwin is if commercial operators decided they were not going to go fishing. There is plenty of scope beyond Chambers Finke Bays to continue with a ready supply of fresh wild caught barramundi to the markets in Darwin. It was disappointing that the member for Casuarina, the former minister, trying to point score politically, I guess, made those very wild claims.
The member for Nelson raised the act. The object of the act needs to be looked at in the context of the whole fishery not just the closure of Chambers Bay and Finke Bay, which represent about 100 km of coastline, whereas the Territory has, from memory - I stand corrected if I am wrong - about 5500 km of coastline. In looking at the object of the act and determining whether the closure fits with the object, it is important to look right across the Northern Territory and view the decision made and the object of the act in that context.
Other issues were around the pressure which could be applied elsewhere. There will be buy-back of licences. The member for Nelson specifically asked that question. The process around the licence buy-back is proceeding well. I cannot give you any specific details about how, what, when, where, why, or who, but negotiations are proceeding well. First, there will be a commensurate buy-back of barramundi licences relating to the areas being closed in Finke and Chambers Bays, which has been estimated at around two-and-a-half full licences. In addition, there will be further buy-back of licences up to the value of about six licences to take into account the legacy of unpurchased licences from the former government. We are adjusting the fishery so the commercial sector is not squeezed into smaller areas which could, perhaps, create sustainability problems.
Speaking of sustainability, the members for Nelson and Casuarina are quite right; we do not have a sustainability issue in the Territory. The closure of Finke and Chambers Bays is not about sustainability; it is about - I am happy and proud to say - a vision for the future of recreational fishing in the Northern Territory. There are areas in that region famous for very large barramundi. Having commercial operators go into those areas with gill nets is not consistent with the vision I, or the Mills government, have for the future of recreational fishing in that area.
I do not remember it, but I have been told about a former minister for Fisheries, Mike Reed, who decided - I believe it was the Mary River - had to be closed to commercial fishing many years ago. He did that without any scientific evidence, but it was the right thing to do. He was another minister for Fisheries who had a vision for the recreational sector and I applaud him for that. That is how I see this closure. It is visionary, bold no doubt, and has created some consternation from a number of quarters, but it is important to recognise the recreational sector contributes an enormous amount to the economy of the Northern Territory.
If I get the quote slightly wrong I apologise, but the former minister said earlier that our success has got to us, or something like that. Do you remember the quote, member for Nelson? You know what I mean ...
Mr Wood: I know what you mean.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: We are a product of our success or something like that. What he was referring to is it is such a good fishery here, and so many recreational fishers are coming here, it is putting pressure on everywhere. He is quite right. That is why it is vitally important to set aside an area where access is restricted exclusively to the recreational sector to provide for not only fishing pressure from the amateur sector right now, but for many years to come as that sector continues to grow. Recreational angling has doubled in the last four of five years, maybe the last 10 years.
There is no sign of that slowing down, which is why it is important to focus on making the best use of the coastline to provide for the growth in the recreational sector. This ties in very well with the three-hub economy. You could say Primary Industry and Fisheries, for its food production, is a part of the three-hub economy. You could argue comfortably that recreational fishing is an enormous part of the tourism sector. As we work to grow those three hubs - tourism being one - an important part is the recreational fishing sector. The beautiful pristine areas of Finke Bay and Chambers Bay will be, and can be, marketed nationally and internationally as one of the iconic fishing destinations in one of the most pristine areas in the world. That is why this decision needed to be taken in that context.
A question came up earlier about the resource sharing framework. Both members raised it. I can say - and this will give you some reassurance, member for Nelson and those in the commercial sector, and provide some certainty to the amateurs - if there are to be any further closures of fishing areas to commercial operators, those decisions will be given the full consideration of the resource sharing framework going forward. That is important for the commercial sector to know as well. The commercial sector needs to understand - I thank them today for their press release. Clearly, they are not happy and that is to be expected, but they understand they have to get on with business and work with the government as we develop, in conjunction with them, some plans going forward.
A big part of that will be for the department of Fisheries to work with the NT Seafood Council, and its members to find better ways to operate. We will be looking at how we can work with them to make them more effective, more efficient, and make the whole sector receive the status it deserves: being professional fishermen. There is a line somewhere between commercial fishermen and professional fishermen. The word ‘professional’ carries an extra bit of something: weight, importance, or an intrinsic feeling these guys are expert in what they do. That is the direction we want to take the commercial sector in and work with it to achieve that.
I recognise the importance of both the recreational sector and the commercial sector within the fisheries of the Northern Territory. I am more than prepared to work with both, have the necessary conversations, and we will find common ground out of all this. I have indicated to the NT Seafood Council my willingness, and that of my department, to engage with it as we move forward.
I am very happy to provide - I cannot do it tonight because I do not have a copy to table - a statement of the decision which outlines some of the details and reasons the decision was made. You may still not agree, member for Nelson, with the decision but I ask for some understanding of a different approach this government takes to the vision for the future of the Northern Territory in so many ways, not just in the area of our fisheries.
We are prepared to make some hard decisions, as evidenced by the recent mini-budget, and some announcements before that regarding the price of power, water and sewerage. Rest assured, this was also a hard decision. Even though it was an election commitment, I can assure members in this Chamber that, had there been compelling reason not to go ahead, this would not have happened. Nobody thus far has had a compelling reason overshadowing the vision we have for the future of recreational fishing in the Northern Territory.
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for bringing the motion. It is a shame we did not get to this last week, member for Nelson. It makes tonight’s debate a bit irrelevant. I was going to make my speech very short; I did not want to take up the Assembly’s time on a motion which was, essentially, redundant. However, some good points were raised tonight for which I owed the member for Nelson some degree of explanation. He may not like it, but please provide a level of understanding as to why. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his response. I am glad he did not give a short response because it is important we have on record the minister’s policy in relation to this quite important issue. As the member for Casuarina said, it not only applies here but could be applying elsewhere in the future. It was important to hear the government’s point of view on this matter and its broader vision as well.
The minister said I might have capitulated to the Opposition Leader. I could have capitulated to you, minister, because my motion was the first one for the year, you were going on a ministerial trip to New Zealand and I said we would move it so we could debate it when you returned. I think it is one-all on that issue.
The problem I have with this system of GBDs is if you do not complete the debate that night you go to the bottom of the list unless you can get someone to bring it to the top. I know that from the previous Assembly. It looks like we are going to run out of time.
The increase in power and water charges was an important issue and very relevant at the time. The cost of essential services would affect fishermen as well.
Be that as it may, it is important to have this debate tonight. I forgot to say that Aboriginal people should be involved in the shared framework and I apologise for that, it was an oversight. You mentioned how many thousand kilometres of coastline?
Mr Westra van Holthe: Five-and-a-half thousand kilometres.
Mr WOOD: A large percentage of that comes under the Blue Mud Bay decision and, of course, those people own that section of our waterways and are also part of the shared resource framework. We must not forget that. I apologise for not including that in my discussion.
Minister, I understand where you are coming from. I am an understanding man, but sometimes people do not understand me. It has not been the easiest few days as an independent member. Sometimes people are not as understanding of me as I would like them to be, but that is another story.
I understand the vision and can see there is a great opportunity to improve tourism. Many people rely on amateur fishing. People make lures, people sell boats, repair boats, and make the bits and pieces to make it safe when you are on the water. There are fishing line people, ice people, the beer, the food, and all the things that go with fishing. I see them at Howard Springs because they line up when I am going to work. I ask them, ‘What are you doing on Thursday morning?’ ‘Going fishing.’ That is not a bad life. I ask them to bring something back but it never happens. It is a big industry. It is a tourist industry and a great recreation for local people, especially people who work hard and want time off. It is also a mate thing. People might knock that, but it is a mate thing. Blokes go out for a bit of time amongst themselves, have a beer, enjoy a fish, good yak, come home sunburnt, probably do not catch a fish but they have had a great day. It is good from that point of view and I do not have any qualms about that.
The vision may be a little premature. The vision has driven forward at a time when it was not necessary. There was an election and it is a vote-catcher, ‘We will close this’. You closed it last week but there was no great hurry to close it. The fish resource would not be any worse in a few years’ time where the science could have shown it, even if it was science based on the numbers of people coming to the Territory to use that area. The minister said, and I have heard the NT Seafood Council say, there are not many amateur fishers in that part; they are mainly around the mouth of the Mary River because that is where they can catch fish. That is the science which would have helped the argument, if any, that many people are fishing at present. My understanding is unless you have a pretty good boat it is a long way from anywhere and you need plenty of fuel to travel those distances.
Minister, thank you for your comments tonight, I appreciate them. It is also nice to have some debate around primary industry.
Mr Westra van Holthe: Thank you for your compliment before Gerry.
Mr WOOD: That is all right. I digress slightly and I will talk about the Cook Islands later, but it is amazing when you go somewhere else and still come across issues we have had.
For instance, we tried to control fruit fly by hot water treatments. I discovered the Cook Islands were once quite a big exporter of fruit. They hardly export anything now except pawpaw. They are doing experimental work - fruit flies like pawpaw - similar work. I like discussing those issues because, as someone said recently, we all have our eye on the mining industry being the future of Australia but it will not last forever and agriculture probably will; we still have to eat. We do not and have not given it enough emphasis, and, even if I disagree with the government on other things, I will listen with interest to the policies of the new government relating to primary industry.
Madam Speaker, I am unsure if there is any point voting on this motion. I place on record I do not support the closure of Finke Bay and Chambers Bay. It is premature.
I thank the NT Seafood Council, especially Katherine and Donna, and the other people in the office. Also, Rob Fish - a great name for someone in charge of the NT Seafood Council. He should not be allowed to leave.
I thank all the people who signed the petition. You would be amazed in my area - I never take a petition to someone and ask, ‘Please sign it’. I leave it on a table with a sign in front of it and ask people to read it and, if they wish, sign. I do not force signatures and am not a great fan nowadays of so-called electronic petitions because they are too easy. You want people to sign something after giving it some thought. I was amazed at the number of mature-aged people in the rural area who signed the petition because they supported the commercial fishing industry.
I also thank Carmel Ball for showing me her fresh fish. People should visit her shop. The way she presents her fish for sale is great. It is nice to see a fresh fish shop. When I was a kid I would pick up the Friday fish at the Camberwell fish markets and the place smelt of fish. The fish were fresh, water was flowing everywhere, marble was laid out to keep everything spotless, but it reminded me, when I went into the shop at Fisherman’s Wharf, how many fish we have in the Northern Territory and how lucky we are to have a fresh food market. I hope that continues. I hope the price of fish will not reach a point where it is difficult for people to afford. The minister said there is still plenty of fish. The issue, for me, was not that there are plenty of fish, but the fish have to come from a longer distance and will cost more.
We need to ensure that, added to all the other costs we heard about in the mini-budget, this is not another one because of the government’s decision to close down a fishery.
Madam Speaker, I thank the minister and the member for Casuarina for their contribution to the debate tonight. I will leave it at that.
Motion negatived.
MOTION
Public Service Job Losses
Public Service Job Losses
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I move that the Chief Minister explains to the Northern Territory’s public servants why he said before the election there would be ‘no public service jobs lost under a Country Liberals government’ and why, after the election, he said he would ‘support and strengthen the Northern Territory public service’ when he has done the opposite and sacked valuable and hard-working public servants, made others fearful for their jobs, and put services at risk for Territorians, and that the Chief Minister now tells Territorians exactly how many more NTPS jobs he intends to slash.
As every Territorian would know, the Chief Minister is on the record, prior to the election, stating categorically that no public servant would lose their job if he were elected. He did this on a live television debate, and reiterated this message throughout the election campaign repeatedly. He maintained this position immediately after the election in a media release dated 27 August titled ‘Mills meets Public Service Commissioner’. I will read a couple of sentences from that media release:
- ‘It was important for me to meet with Graham Symons ...
Who, I might add, was sacked soon after this:
- ... early in my tenure to assure all public servants that their jobs are safe’, Mr Mills said.
He went on to say:
- Contrary to the lies spread by Labor during the election campaign, no public service jobs will be lost under a Country Liberals government.
It all went pear-shaped from there, and the past 102 days have been hell for public servants under this new wrecking ball of a government. It was only a matter of time before Territorians and public servants saw the Chief Minister was not a man of his word, is not to be trusted, and his hollow promise to be transparent and accountable on his so-called ‘contract’ with Territorians is not worth the paper it is printed on.
Despite years of loyal service to successive Northern Territory governments, Mr Symons, who I referred to in the media release, was one of a number of capable and hard-working CEOs who have been sacked and replaced with 10 appointments, along with former Under Treasurer, Jennifer Prince, for whom the member for Port Darwin’s praise, as shadow Treasurer, bordered on sycophantic. Also, Richard Galton, decades of dedicated service – gone; David Ritchie, Jim Grant, Mark Sweet, John Fitzgerald and, more recently, Steve Rossingh, all gone and with it decades of knowledge, loyal service, and hard work.
All these people were sacked to make way for the return of political appointments on whacking big salaries amounting to about $1000 a day. Some of these appointments brought people out of retirement. Mr Deputy Speaker, let me correct what I said there. I am not talking about the salaries of the newly-appointed CEOs but members of the Renewal Management Board and other very senior appointments on contract.
That would account for an increase, if we look at the mini-budget, in the Department of the Chief Minister of $9m to the budget for policy advice and coordination. This is where the big salaries for the old mates of the CLP government who have come back are being paid from. Some of these appointments brought people out of retirement. All were men, not one woman. Is it small wonder this move saw those of us who remember the bad old days of the CLP boys club as a new age kind of dad’s army. I am not being ageist here; I would not want to offend the Treasurer, God forbid, but it is the truth.
The new Chief Minister has unashamedly politicised the public service. However, if there is one saving grace it is the fact the new Minister for Health, unlike the Chief Minister, knew the former Under Treasurer, Jennifer Prince, was far too valuable an asset to let go and, in the weeks following her sacking, offered her a job within Health. As we know, the Minister for Health values her knowledge and expertise, whereas the Chief Minister could only say it was a time for change and that is why she is no longer the Under Treasurer.
Let us not forget the then Leader of the Opposition, in the post-election action plan issued prior to the election and dated August 2012, promised to, on Day 5:
- Open up expressions of interest and applications for the appointment of:
- the chair of the independent Planning Commission
the chair of the Tourism Commission
- the independent chair of the EPA.
There were no advertisements calling for an expression of interest but, rather like the practices of the old CLP, friendly appointments were made. There was no process of merit and certainly no transparency. This was highlighted in the last sittings during one of the first Question Times when the member for Nelson asked a direct question of the Chief Minister about whether or not the process of an EOI for a new chair of the EPA had been agreed to as per his commitment. On the back foot, the Chief Minister said, ‘I know I am on the record’, and then confessed saying, ‘I will accept there was not the process I was referring to’. He has, unashamedly, broken his pre-election commitment to advertise for a job and this goes straight to the heart of his five-point plan about accountability and transparency as being absolutely worthless. He and his government clearly cannot be trusted.
Let us add to the list of sackings. Soon after that, the Northern Territory Coordinator-General for Remote Services, Ms Olga Havnen, just twelve months into her two-year contract also fell under the CLP’s axe. This highlighted, once again, the new government’s previous commitment not to sack public servants and its unwillingness to take advice and promote transparency and report, in this instance, independent advice at arm’s length from government.
Having started at the top with the sacking of CEOs and replacing them with hand-picked old boys, public servants were put on notice on a whole raft of measures, none of which initially were consulted or negotiated - I am still not convinced they are - all of which were top down, leaving public servants confused, fearful and anxious about the future, looking over their shoulders. In the past three months, there has been no improvement and we know morale in the Northern Territory public service is at rock bottom - a freeze on temporary contracts; a freeze on higher duties allowance; the announcement that 23 agencies of the former government’s Administrative Arrangements would now be reshuffled and expanded into 33 agencies with no consultation whatsoever. The new Tourism minister announced that Tourism NT will relocate to Alice Springs and from there backpedalled desperately when he realised his announcement backfired not only with the hard working public servants with lives and families entrenched in Darwin, but also quite badly with elements of the tourism industry.
I acknowledge the strong advocacy of unions in holding the new CLP government to account in relation to the obligation under the enterprise bargaining agreement that, regardless of which political party is in government, it must consult with the likes of the Community and Public Sector Union - the CPSU - and United Voice. Under the terms of the EBA, it is clearly stated that employees must be consulted over matters of major change.
If the things this new government has put in place do not constitute major change I do not know what does. It is small wonder that, within days of the new government and its sweeping and un-negotiated major changes without consultation, unions lodged a case with the Fair Work Ombudsman. Essentially, the outcome of that was recognition that parties needed to sit down together, including the Commissioner for Public Employment, and draw up processes to consult and communicate around changes. As a recipient of the Commissioner’s bulletin updates I see some evidence of this, but sometimes the complexity and verbosity of bureaucratic language does not deliver a clear and definitive message. I am pleased to see union delegates are at the table to represent the interests of their members, the hard-working public servants of the Northern Territory.
Let us go back to the shambolic plan to relocate Tourism NT to Alice Springs not helped, apparently, by the new Tourism minister’s visit to the Tourism department. This only added to the confusion as he was unable to answer any of their questions; nothing has changed. The minister also admitted to Tourism staff that the move was based on politics. Moving Tourism, and Parks and Wildlife, is all about having his departments in his own electorate. Goodness knows how many times he said in this House all he wanted to do was go home to Alice Springs!
Nowhere pre-election did the CLP say it would be moving Tourism NT to Alice Springs. This and other sneaky moves by the CLP saw the opposition launch the Job Watch website. This website has become necessary to allow public servants to blow the whistle on what is really happening in their workplaces because of fears of repercussions if they were to raise it with their managers. So much for the Chief Minister’s bold assertion that public servants could provide, and I quote, ‘frank and fearless advice’. For the record, the opposition continues to encourage public servants whose jobs are at risk, should they know of others, or where the CLP is simply not being open and accountable, to direct people to use the Job Watch site.
Whistleblowers continue to alert the opposition to the scrapping of public sector jobs and, with it, the obvious correlation in the reduction to services and programs. The whistleblowers and the unhappy campers, which are public servants and Territorians generally, are venting like they never vented before. They have taken to social media like Facebook, are writing letters, sending text messages and posting online comments to the NT News. They are calling talkback radio complaining bitterly that after only three months they have had a gutful of this new government. This includes those who voted CLP and who, like the middle-aged woman I saw on the ABC news last night, said she would never vote CLP again. She is not alone.
The mini-budget handed down yesterday, Day 101 of this dreadful and arrogant government’s rule - it rules with an iron fist and no heart - has revealed that 600 jobs in the public service will go. It does not matter whether the Treasurer wants to split hairs over whether or not the 10% cuts she inflicted on jobs in Education are front line or back line as she calls them, the truth is this new government has been incredibly dishonest with Territorians and public servants. What other jobs and what other programs are on the hit list? What services will be cut and whose job with it will be next? Will the Attorney-General identify how many lawyers’ jobs will be going in the Attorney-General’s department? To fill the gap will he roll up his sleeves, jump in behind a desk and lend a hand to those left behind and at the same time build up some work experience hours as a lawyer?
We on this side of the House who are here to hold this new government to account have received, and continue to receive, much intelligence from hard-working public servants about how low morale has become and how fearful people are for their jobs, but even more fearful of offering the fearless and frank advice so disingenuously invited by the former Leader of the Opposition. That is why we established the Job Watch website to provide public servants with a confidential opportunity to let the truth be known. People are using it and communicating with us, including students who were advised offers of vocational employment over the Christmas vacation would not be happening this year. The Chief Minister denied this and went so far as to peddle out the old line about Labor lies only to discover it was, in fact, true.
So desperate to win government and take power was the CLP, the Leader of the Opposition, in the lead-up to the August election, would have said and done anything to make it a reality. He said no public service jobs would be lost under a CLP government. The truth is the writing was well and truly on the wall if we look to other jurisdictions. Conservative governments in other parts of Australia have slashed public sector jobs. New South Wales – 15 000 public sector jobs to be cut; Victoria - 4200 public service jobs to be cut; Queensland – 20 000 public service jobs to be cut, including forced redundancies. In each of these jurisdictions, in the lead-up to election, the Liberal leader of the opposition, now Liberal premiers, are on the record promising people’s jobs were safe.
The CLP manifesto makes one direct reference to public servants on page seven where it states:
- The Country Liberals will ensure that our public servants can once again go to work to do good things, that is, concentrate on service delivery.
The reality could not be further from the truth. Sadly, all too many of our public servants want to do good things, want to provide important services, front line or otherwise to clients, children, families, businesses, but cannot concentrate on that when they are so understandably anxious about their future. They do not know if their contract will be renewed. They are taking on additional work because colleagues have moved or have not been replaced, and are doing extra duties and extra hours without the recognition, thanks or pay.
On top of that, as if things are not tough enough they are worrying about their job security, not to mention the cost of living hikes, another blatant backflip and broken promise inflicted on the Territory by this deceitful government.
How very trite those words about knowing public servants want to do good things from the Chief Minister sound now. This is from a leader who has done countless bad things, terrible things since taking the reins. Utility increases, surely unprecedented in the history of the nation, with power bills to rise 30% in less than a month’s time will clearly impact on the cost of living for all Territorians, including our public servants, and will impact on service delivery as government jobs and service cuts will have to be made to compensate for the increased operating costs. Chief Minister, please do not lecture me when you stand to speak, or Territorians, with the debt story. We all know you are using NT debt as an excuse to drastically cut services and increase charges in the mini-budget.
Just this afternoon, bang, news the Northern Territory Youth Affairs Network has its marching orders. This is an NGO funded through government and a cut which will hurt our youth. I have been on their networking list for some time. They provide an incredibly good service, especially to people in remote areas, but clearly the value has not been recognised and that service has now gone.
We are all a little weary of hearing from this new and terrible Treasurer about the tightening of belts. Territorians might have thought things could not be worse than yesterday’s mini-budget and the 100 days of pain leading up to it, but we heard the Treasurer on the ABC news last night saying the pain is yet to come.
The Treasurer’s mini-budget says 600 public servants will go. That is, as the Leader of the Opposition said this morning, 600 more than the Chief Minister promised prior to the election. What the Treasurer and the Chief Minister need to be talking about, frankly and honestly, is how many more public sector jobs they intend to cut and how this will impact on Territorians who are reliant on those services. More importantly, it is about being honest with public servants and their families who are wondering what is around the corner and whether they will have a job next week, next month or even next year. They are wondering how they will afford the usual Christmas or the traditional January holiday while the kids are off school. It is going to be a very bleak Christmas for many.
The Chief Minister will still not be upfront or honest with Territorians and public servants, nor will the Treasurer, about which jobs will go out of the 600 and which are earmarked for the next round of axing. I noted yesterday a media release put out by the CPSU condemning the CLP government’s announcement it would axe 600 jobs from the public sector. In that media release Kay Densley states:
- We now have one figure - 600 people to go - but we are still in the dark about who is at risk of losing their job.
The media release goes on to say a meeting with Treasury was planned for today.
I have spoken with Ms Densley since that meeting and they are still no clearer. Whilst I know Treasury officials to be hard-working, I also know them to be number crunchers and simply following the Treasurer’s directions. They have been asked to find $60m, which translates into 600 jobs. That provides no additional information to identify how many jobs, which jobs, where, who will be going and who will be safe.
During my conversation with Ms Densley she also advised that people were continuing to find out in the most awful way that their jobs are going or under threat. She has obviously had communication from members associated with the Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory. The minister’s media release states:
- A review of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory’s (MAGNT) security arrangement will provide ongoing savings from 2013-14.
That was news to the security people who are public servants. Fancy finding out about your job by reading a media release! That was the same for someone employed as a photographer.
His release further says:
- During this same period, ongoing savings of $186 000 will be made from the rationalisation of MAGNT photography and library services.
Of course, the photographer working there is clearly worried about his future.
Chief Minister, even within your own agency of Police Fire and Emergency Services people associated with the First Response Patrol learnt for the first time through a media release their jobs were going; so, well done.
Before I close, I will touch on a very important point raised by the Leader of the Opposition in her reply to the mini-budget this morning. She challenged the Treasurer on the fact the CLP has, effectively, made the decision to double the rate of inflation from 2.1% to 4.3%, and doing this will put incredible pressure on both public and private sector wage growth. How very strange it is that nowhere in the mini-budget this is mentioned. It raises the question as to how the CLP will manage renegotiation of EBAs. The public sector EBA and the teacher’s EBA come around in August 2013 - there may well be others next year - and I trust this wrecking ball of a government is ready to listen to representation as to why it should be paying increases of at least 4.3%. Ironically, the only way to pay for increases will be pay cuts or more job cuts. This will amount to people who call the Territory home and have raised families here starting to look elsewhere and to leave.
I ask the Chief Minister to come clean. Here is his chance to place on the record why he told Territorians and public servants before the election their jobs were safe when he knew all along they were not. Our former Chief Minister summed it up pretty well in the House today, ‘Pre-election you were prepared to do anything, to say anything to win government’. The next step for the Chief Minister should be to try to recover some face if he has any shred of decency left, to be honest and say exactly how many more jobs, and which jobs are next, and to put public servants’ nerves at rest.
I close by placing on the record some comments received from a public servant. Obviously, for fear of retribution, they can only be made anonymously:
- On behalf of all affected thank you for your comments on valuing professional public servants. I obviously cannot acknowledge your debate remarks publicly for fear of retribution, but you have hit the nail on the head. Whether we have spent more than 30 years working for the government of the day or are caught up in politics at its worst, the professional public servant is more than a carpet stroller. We have husbands and wives, children, parents, and siblings. We have a skill set that, until now, has been highly valued and sought after.
Some of us have been sacked outright, some forced to hang on with a Clayton’s sacking of just not being renewed, some have had their higher duties allowance cut with no forewarning and no reduction in their duties despite a slashing of pay levels, and some still are being forced to move to Alice Springs because if they do not say yes they will have no job.
We are real people who love the Territory. We made this place our home and are now forced to consider a future outside the Territory where our skills will be valued.
Thank you for giving us a voice.
I thank the House for the opportunity to speak to this motion and look forward to hearing more from the Chief Minister and, most importantly, exactly what the intentions are with the public service. I call upon him to be open and transparent as per the contract he signed with Territorians in the lead-up to the election.
Mr MILLS (Chief Minister): I have made my position very clear on this issue: the Country Liberals value an effective and efficient public sector which delivers frontline services to the community. I will honour that promise. I have said all along we are looking at those people whose only role is to service the interests of government and we are focusing on strengthening services to the public. These are people on or above $110 000 a year. We made that clear and explained why. We are not talking about teachers, doctors or police officers. The fact is - and this is a difficult fact for the now opposition to comprehend - they have a part to play in this. Under Labor, the number of executive contract officers blew out to enormous levels. Over the past five years the number of executive contract officers in the NT Public Sector has grown by 50% from 342 to 515. It is interesting to pause on that for a moment because it was acknowledged by previous Treasurer Syd Stirling that public service numbers were increasing to concerning levels and that was in 2006.
In 2006, having admitted growth was becoming unsustainable, he acknowledged that fact, accepted responsibility, and admitted before a large gathering he would begin to reduce that number. I understand in a report, I believe it was ABC Stateline, he made a guarantee at an industry representative gathering that the Territory government would not employ more public servants - which was an admission of the growth - and would not spend more on wages and he would make the guarantee rock solid. He then stated, ‘Yes, we understand public service numbers are at historic highs for the Territory; there are reasons for that. Yes, we have done many things; there has been more money coming in, new initiatives, etcetera’, but he said:
- ... I believe we will see a downturn in numbers over the next two years, and I’ll stake my credibility on that.
He accepted there was a problem and then staked his credibility on doing something about it. The interviewer said, ‘So, basically, how are you going to do it?’ He stated:
- ... there are a whole range of people that leave the public service for various reasons during the course of each year, something over four thousands, which might surprise people. That’s how many people depart the public sector on an annual basis so it’s simply watching those numbers come down. Of course, you always need your frontline staff, you always need people to run those services, that’s the Chief Executive’s main purpose and objectives, and of course they have a responsibility to bring their budget in.
He knew there was a problem.
The problem is at a number of different levels. The Treasurer acknowledges if staff numbers grow the wages bill grows and you have limited capacity to service and limited flexibility. It starts to impose real pressure on your fiscal position. He understood that and staked his credibility on addressing that through natural attrition. That, if it has escaped you, member for Nhulunbuy, is precisely the mechanism that would be best used here, as we have said before. There are senior contract positions we have to assess to be fair, given the extraordinary level of growth, but the problem is growth is at such a level we are required to make some difficult decision, ones the former government was not able to make. You can sheet the blame home to us if it makes you feel better, but the reality is even the former Treasurer Syd Stirling acknowledged there was a problem and staked his credibility on doing something about it. But he was unable to make the difficult decisions. The fact he did not make the difficult decisions – the capacity to make hard decision was not in the DNA of the Labor brand - is because in the last five years, with the population increase of about 9%, we have seen the public service grow by 24%. This was largely under the watch of the then next Treasurer, Treasurer Lawrie.
The Treasurer before staked his credibility on this but was not able to deliver and acknowledge the problem. Then, during the last five years, the population grew by 9%, the public sector by 24%, and executive contract numbers by 50%. We are now the baddies because we have to deal with an unsustainable position. I know people are upset, but if they think about it they will understand why it is occurring. It is because of the careless attitude of the former Labor government. It is not sustainable. You have put people into difficult positions. It is a position recognised on your side but not acted on. You say you care, but you do not care enough to do the right thing and avert a problem. It gives you all the relief you can muster to cover your shame that you now can blame the ones who care enough to make the tough decisions which will result in security and strength. It is difficult for you to understand, but that is how we see it. It is not because we enjoy this; it is the right thing to do for the long term.
You can and have been caught up in the emotion of this which has rendered Labor incapable of managing well and, therefore, there is a problem. If it makes you sleep well at night then sheet the blame home, but think about this and consider how we got into a situation, which even the former member for Nhulunbuy acknowledged was a problem.
Labor made the public service bigger but not better. What is even more shocking is that this is despite repeated promises it could not fulfil. Capping public service staffing levels - as a part of the 2010 budget the Labor government announced an efficiency dividend and an NTPS staffing cap. According to Labor, the staffing cap was a two-year measure designed to maintain overall NTPS staffing level numbers at March 2010 levels. I have heard these assertions before. Why were they given? Because Labor knew there was a problem but could not deal with it and, at the same time, committed to increasing frontline services.
I have quotes from Chief Minister Clare Martin about the same things - the restructuring, making necessary decisions, railing that the Country Liberals in opposition had not been capable of making these decisions. Nothing seems to change except the language and the action. The language remains with Labor, you do not follow through on any action.
This staffing cap was extended by the Treasurer in the 2012-13 budget. I wonder why. Departments were placed under further pressure in the 2012 budget with a forced 2% reprioritisation of spending on top of a 3% efficiency dividend and staffing cap. You do not have the capacity to make the decisions; you put the measures in place which were reportedly expected to create $300m in savings. This position was reiterated by the then Treasurer, now Opposition Leader, the member for Karama in her budget speech on 4 May, 2010 and I quote:
- In the current constrained fiscal environment it is vital to ensure budget restraint is maintained.
Good heavens. Further:
- To this effect, a staffing cap is in place against all agencies so overall numbers are maintained at the 20 March 2010 levels. This does not preclude staffing increases in particular areas to respond to changing circumstances or demand.
The fact is in March 2010 there were 18 149 staff in the Northern Territory public service. By September 2012 those levels had risen, as mentioned previously, to around 20 000. So much for Labor’s staffing cap. You say it and it sounds good. You win the approval of the audience but you do not follow through. You create a greater problem. Somewhere someone has to do something for the sake of those being given positions which are largely unsustainable. You cannot continue down this path. However, instead of maintaining the March 2010 level of 18 149, Labor increased the Northern Territory public service by almost 2000 positions - just another Labor broken promise to Territorians about fiscal responsibility. I would be really concerned about that.
The member for Nhulunbuy would be untroubled by that because it requires some soul searching and consideration of the complexity. The fault originates on that side and it could not continue. I do not know if you run your own affairs like this, but you cannot keep doing it. What would you do if you were in the position? Perhaps, member for Nhulunbuy, one day you will be in this position. What would you do? Consider that. Get off your high horse, stop calling us names and think about it.
If we go back to 2001, the statistics paint an even bleaker picture, particularly in relation to the number of executive contract officers employed by the Labor government. According to Northern Territory public service employment statistics available from the NT Public Service Commissioner, the number of full-time staff in the NTPS increased by approximately 35% between 2001 and 2012 from 14 300 to 19 500. That is now over 20 000 with 1000 extra in just 12 months. Wages have risen 98% between the financial years 2002-03 and 2012-13 – $900m to $1.788bn compared to a CPI increase of 33%. These are real numbers. What would you do to manage this? It is comfortable for you over there, you can just hurl abuse.
Ms Walker: That is a rhetorical question, Terry. I have contributed to the debate.
Mr MILLS: Perhaps most alarming of all is the number of executive appointments in the Northern Territory ...
A member: It is a real question.
Mr MILLS: That is right, they are real questions. I hope you get the chance to read this if you are not listening now. Perhaps the most alarming of all is that the number of executive appointments in the Northern Territory service has grown by 104% since 2001. Obviously, looking at this – put the emotion aside, member for Nhulunbuy - there are too many chiefs when we really need more soldiers on the front line. It is out of control. You have mismanaged it and now you are covering it up and shooting the blame home to those who have just arrived on the scene and are rendering assistance and trying to fix this problem. People are fighting to improve the lives of Territorians; they are the ones who need support.
With so many executives it can be easy for no one person to take responsibility for action or non-action. It is easy to deflect to another manager, another area, another agency, or to have it buried in some mega-department. We need thinner senior management layers and individual executives exhibiting greater accountability for their actions. We will achieve this with the smaller agencies as chief executives will be more in touch with what is happening on the ground, closer to their management teams, better able to monitor performance and demand accountability. The exception is the Department of Education and Children’s Services, which I have deliberately brought together so children can benefit from a greater network of professional staff and facilities all concerned with the growth, development, and safety of children.
I point out another quote from the former Treasurer and now Opposition Leader, the member for Karama, on 1 May 2012. When talking about Budget 2012-13 and savings in advertising, the member for Karama said:
- ... people expect government to tighten its belt ...
- The most effective and efficient way to do that is through efficiency dividends where departments can generally look at their spending behaviour and patterns. It is largely on travel and consultancies and we make no apology for that.
Unfortunately the former Treasurer did not practise what she preached. In the last financial year Labor spent $1.2m on advertising in the Chief Minister’s Office alone. For the same period, $20m was spent on the whole-of-government advertising. To facilitate this extraordinary spend on advertising, Labor employed 140 marketing and communications staff with the NTPS whose sole role was to look after the interests of the Labor government. Shameful! I cannot believe you guys. That is more than all the journalists employed in the whole of Darwin - the whole of the Territory, I suspect.
The member for Nhulunbuy is right when she says I promised to support and strengthen the public service prior to the election. That is exactly what my government is doing. Yet, do not bother with the facts, any analysis or, in the famous approach of the member for Barkly, deconstruct and look at the problem from a few different angles. This one needs deconstruction. You had 10 years of defragging and unpacking this to look at the problem which must be addressed with the future of the Territory, the strengthening of people and families, and services delivered in mind.
When talking about the former Treasurer you have so easily slid over an important fact which will cause you to trip in your rush to feed the upset and angry crowd. You feed them whatever you can lay your hands on, even if it is not the truth. You claim we have doubled the cost of living but that is not true. The fact is, in your former Treasurer’s estimation, going into the election on those fiscal settings it was projected the cost of living would increase by 1.3%, I understand. We have set 0.9%. Yes, it may have doubled, but the greater contribution to that increase is from the settings already put in place by the former Treasurer. Her own admission then but not convenient now - bundle it together and post it in the Country Liberals’ box. Stick it on them, but it is not true.
The larger part of the contribution to the cost of living increase is from the settings established by the member for Karama. Look at it yourself. As an educated person, read it for yourself and consider what you said. If you are going to feed the crowd with that which is untrue to service your political agenda you are doing a disservice to the community. You are not building cohesion, confidence, or truth; you are feeding them whatever you want to keep them wild, keep them angry and unsettled. People need to be settled and you have to tell them the truth. The truth is often difficult and does not suit the political purpose. That has been your problem all along.
We have much work to do to tell people the truth. That is why these difficult decisions are based on something solid and sound and, over time - granted, people will be upset about it. I have friends who are very upset, but we are doing it because we have an eye on the future. They are the decisions Treasurer Stirling could not make even though he knew it was a problem. It then got further out of control under Treasurer Lawrie - way out of control - who now breathlessly sheets it all home to the Country Liberals. It is unbelievable.
I have faith in the public service. I believe they largely understand this; they are weighing it up and testing the character of this government. This government will be found to be true and able to guide the future of the Territory to places you were unable to because you feasted on the fat of the land, fed yourselves, and did not feed the core strength of the community. You invested in making yourselves look good, diminishing your responsibility and accountability, made no hard decisions and provided no real leadership. It is the easiest thing in the world to make big announcements, spend money and say yes. It is harder to say no. You do not care enough to say no because you might get a push back and it hurts. If you say no, it is because it is something more important than yourself. That is what this Country Liberal government has been able to do. People are upset and angry but we are making these decisions for a good reason. The capacity of the former government to make these decisions was left wanting.
We are determined to improve the lives of Territorians - we will not back away from that - by ensuring service delivery hits the ground quickly and efficiently in areas which matter most throughout the whole Territory - the city and in the bush. We have already made progress in this area by opening MVR on Saturdays which has been highly successful with hundreds of Territorians taking advantage of the increased operating times. I sincerely thank the MVR staff for their hard work and dedication in improving this important service to Territorians. One of my first visits was to the staff at MVR Parap. I thanked them very much for their commitment and support. I have offered my support to them. They gave me some tremendous feedback.
We know household budgets are tight and governments are expected to live within their means. Times are tight - look around. The cost of living is high in the Territory; housing prices are increasing and rents have skyrocketed to be the most expensive in the country. Territory families are doing it tough. To use the Opposition Leader and former Treasurer’s own words, ‘People expect government to tighten its belt’. They do, and for government to provide leadership. Unlike Labor, we will live within our means. We will help Territory families and provide the leadership necessary during these hard times.
Prior to the election it was no secret one of the points of our five-point plan was to cut waste and reduce the enormous debt burden facing every Territorian. This debt is expected to blow out to $6bn in 2016 - a fact. It is a debt which currently sees Territory families struggling to pay their rent, paying $750 000 in interest repayments every day. That money should be spent on services to improve the lives of Territorians with more doctors, nurses, teachers and more police in the city and the bush.
In May, the non-financial public sector fiscal imbalance was $767m but early indications from the Renewal Management Board, which you like to attack personally rather than weigh what has come from it. Judge on merit; attacking people is the way of a Labor government. You guys made plenty of appointments. I could name people who were paid extraordinary salaries for jobs which were not advertised - greater in combination - a few of them, member for Nhulunbuy. You become a little animated about this. Some decisions the former government made were obscene when it comes to the amount of money paid to some people. Jobs were not advertised and no one knows. We know, but will not name them in the parliament. You are happy to not only name them but call their reputations into account. You can judge them with all the academic credentials you can muster on the other side and they would not equal one of these. However, you name them, belittle - former Administrators, former Under Treasurers, respected around the country by Labor administrations, Liberals and conservatives. You can denigrate them - attack the messenger; do not trouble yourselves with the substance. You do not have the heart for it. Low-level, nasty stuff is your style. It is weak and shallow.
We know the fiscal position has been so compromised by the former Treasurer, now Opposition Leader, that we have no option but to seek efficiencies. Treasurer Stirling would probably agree with us. The proliferation of programs and duplication of functions within departments has resulted in significant waste and a need to structurally change the sector. These changes have been made and, at the heart, is our aim to ensure Territorians receive value for money. We committed to this before the election and will follow through on our promise. Territorians, young and old, deserve value for money. That is why we will be doing everything possible to ensure Territory families can walk the streets safely at night and ensure priority is given to resourcing frontline services like police, teachers, nurses and health workers.
Our budgetary position must be addressed, which is why my government has a clear and positive intention to maintain the strongest commitment to fixing the Territory’s finances as soon as we can. We will manage the situation carefully and responsibly to protect and secure the Territory’s long-term future and progressively bring the Territory back to a position where it lives within its means, focus strongly on economic growth, development and jobs, and maintain a public sector at the appropriate level.
Perhaps former Treasurer Stirling could not get the support of his colleagues. Former Treasurer Lawrie, who was in Cabinet, perhaps did not provide him with the necessary support because in the five years under her reign it blew out even further.
We will work within a firm policy of fiscal discipline and accountable government to establish clear, sensible and achievable goals. We promised to do all this before the election and have every intention of delivering on these promises. Obviously a significant aspect of repairing the Territory’s fiscal position will involve seeking savings across departments, but we will never forget we are dealing with good people, many with mortgages and families. After 11 years of a Labor government we have been left with a mess to clean up and have a clear position in mind.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we have to do this for the best interests of the Territory and the families of the Territory. This motion is ill-founded and serves no genuine purpose.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Treasurer): Mr Deputy Speaker, I welcome the motion from the member for Nhulunbuy that:
- … the Chief Minister explains to Northern Territory public servants why he said before the election there would be no public service jobs lost under a Country Liberals government and why, after the election, he said he would support and strengthen the Northern Territory public service when he has done the opposite and sacked valuable and hard-working public servants, made others fearful for their jobs, and put services at risk for Territorians …
Further, the Chief Minister must be honest and tell Territorians:
- … exactly how many more NTPS jobs he intends to slash.
It is quite a lengthy motion, but I welcome the opportunity to speak on issues the member for Nhulunbuy felt compelled to raise. To begin, it is quite interesting that the former Labor government, now opposition, should pedal this level of scaremongering in the community. It maintains it is the friend of the people, the friend of the workers, certainly the friend of the unions, and friend of the working class. We have all heard the mantra of the Labor Party over decades, if not centuries - best friends yet really doing them no service. You are creating a climate of fear, anxiety and low morale, as the former Chief Minister mentioned today, and it is not required. It is unnecessary, it is not fair, and it is not justified.
We have been up-front from the word go and have explained our brief, our goal, all along. No one will be sacked. There will be no sackings, no forced redundancies. Positions with pay ranges over $110 000 may be scrutinised as to whether they are necessary. We have been up-front about that. Some may lose their jobs if they are seen to be unnecessary, but most of those people will be redeployed. We have also been clear on that. People in the front line providing direct services to people within all agencies of government have security of their positions.
The member for Nhulunbuy has allowed us to reinforce the message we have given in the 15 weeks we have been in government. Nothing has changed. All we hear from the other side is the lines being peddled, which are unkind and inflicting unnecessary pain and anxiety on the people of the Northern Territory, on the public servants who might be listening to this debate tonight. The opposition maintains there will be sackings, there are sackings, and there is an underlying mission of this government to get to people, to fling them out of jobs willy-nilly, to create this sense of uncertainty and instability. This is cruel, unnecessary, unkind, and all the words thrown at us over the last few weeks are scaremongering at the very base level amongst the people who vote Labor and align themselves with the Labor Party, and it borders on being criminal.
The member for Nhulunbuy felt compelled to raise this issue in parliament because she felt the government has a malicious campaign and is to blame for the anxiety people in the public service feel. Despite the bleating from those opposite, this motion has not gained any validity whatsoever as a result of yesterday’s mini-budget. In fact, people in the Territory who have been feeling a sense of anxiety about the security of their positions within the public service should feel a little more secure in the knowledge we have reinforced our original position, which I have already stated.
The Country Liberals have been consistent on the issue of public servant employment. To the 20 000 public servants who might be listening: our message has not changed. Do not listen to your Labor mates who are peddling this nonsense because you will work yourself into a state, which is exactly what they want. They want you to feel a sense of insecurity, of pending doom and gloom, and it is not necessary. If you are paid less than $110 000 a year, are not in an executive contract officer position, and are in the front line you have nothing to worry about.
The number of people whose positions have been targeted by the scrutiny of the new government is minimal and the positions are in the upper echelons of the public service, as the Chief Minister has already stated. It is about trimming back the excessive amounts of upper bureaucracy within the public service which increased exponentially over the time the former government was in power - over 100% increase in the public service in the last 10 years. It is insane, unjustifiable, irrational and frightening. Of course, being a conservative government we believe in responsible management. We believe in looking at the excesses and inefficiencies in any government, and it is our duty to cut back and trim to allow the open market to take its full effect. It is about trying to keep government as small as possible whilst maintaining services to the people - services people expect, desire, and need - but, at the same time, keeping the executive-heavy top end of bureaucracy as minimal as possible.
The former government takes no responsibility for anything we inherited. It is all about no responsibility and now the former government is laying the blame fairly and squarely at our feet which is totally irrational. After 15 weeks in government it is mystifying how these people can look us in the face and say it is our fault. I have not heard one of them accept an ounce of responsibility.
There was a hint last week from the Leader of the Opposition. She hinted she had to spend a large amount of money which put us in debt - blew out the fiscal imbalance. Today I heard a slight hint of responsibility from the former Chief Minister. He talked about the need for a deficit and the fact the global financial crisis caused the former government to spend its way out of the situation; there had to be a deficit. There was a little hint of responsibility taken by the former Chief Minister, who has sat in silence at the back. He has been sitting in silence for months now. We heard him speak today in the second round of parliamentary sittings. It was quite unusual to hear the man speak. I thought he had lost his voice or was too embarrassed to say anything. However, I appreciated his contribution because of all the opposition members the former Chief Minister probably makes the most sense.
I have digressed. I return to the allegations made by the member for Nhulunbuy that we have somehow misled the people of the Northern Territory in what we planned for the public service. We have not done that. I will continue my efforts to defend and explain our position for the people of the Northern Territory and the public servants of the Northern Territory.
Frontline services will be protected. There will be no change to frontline services. Public servants in the front line have absolute security in their employment tenure. We believe we can achieve a 3% reduction in employee expenses over four years by not replacing personnel when they leave, the non-renewal of some contract positions, especially in the many management layers which have come about, and through reshaping our agencies and the way they do things to ensure the focus is on the front line. Once again, this reiterates the message we have been sending out for months.
The 3% reduction could see up to 600 positions removed from a public service of 20 000. The Commissioner for Public Employment advises the natural turnover of staff - public servants choosing to leave their jobs - runs at over 4000 a year. A full 23% of the public service turns over every year regardless of what the government does or the opposition says. We are talking about a 3% reduction over four years: around 570 positions. We have allowed some leverage and say 600 positions will be removed from the public service within the forward estimates. Our measure to see a reduction in the total number of public servants by 600 positions over four to five years is achievable through not replacing personnel when they leave, the non-renewal of some contract positions, and reshaping our agencies and the way they do things.
Under Labor the public service ballooned, as the Chief Minister outlined earlier: 24% in five years, and executive contracts grew over 50% in five years. What was the justification for an increase in executive contract positions of 50% during those five years? It does not measure up to increases in population or any obvious increase in the productivity of the public service. It was complete and utter indulgence by a Labor government intent on reaffirming itself as some power machine which had to have a massive big public service behind it. It was a demonstration of how clever it was if surrounded by 50% more employees. It, somehow, obviously made them feel good. They felt they were doing something constructive and were the big strong leaders of the Northern Territory. However, this was unsustainable.
When the GST rivers of gold stopped flowing the Territory was left in a state. Government was still paying wages, especially to executives, it could not afford. This has added to the fiscal imbalance of the Northern Territory and the burgeoning, ballooning debt we are faced with. The Country Liberals have taken the responsible action of limiting further public service growth. We cannot afford the public service to get any bigger. There has to be a retraction, a correction. We are talking about a correction of 3%, which is less than the natural attrition rate over a 12-month period.
Only the Country Liberals will take the tough but necessary action to ensure the Territory gets back on track. Only the Country Liberals can manage the finances of the Territory responsibly. We have seen that time and time again. Conservative governments come in, are faced with huge fiscal imbalances, ballooning debt, escalating debt. Conservative governments in the other states of Australia are faced with similar problems. It is people like us in a conservative government - leaders, ministers - who have to make the tough decisions, put these corrections in place and try to manage our way out of these potentially disastrous situations.
I digress for a minute. On television the other morning - while in Darwin I indulge in watching some morning television; at home I do not because I am usually running around after my kids - they spoke about the Rosella food manufacturing company going into receivership. One of the commentators asked, ‘What can they do?’ and the other one, some kind of financial guru, said, ‘They need to get themselves out of debt’. I thought, ‘Gee, there is a message in that’. The Rosella food manufacturing company was in debt up to its eyeballs and has hit the wall; it has gone under and that is the end of it unless someone bails or buys it out. Governments can do the same thing. We are faced with the same situation as the Rosella food manufacturing company: unmanageable and unsustainable debt. We have seen around the world that governments can go kaput, governments can hit the wall, governments can go under.
What are we doing as a responsible conservative government? We have come online and are making very serious and difficult decisions about pulling ourselves back from the precipice the Americans call the ‘fiscal cliff’. We could call our predicament a fiscal cliff too. We are not at the edge - some would argue we are a few metres away - but we are getting very close to that fiscal cliff. It is up to us, as a new responsible conservative government, to pull the Northern Territory back from the fiscal cliff or going down the same track as the Rosella food manufacturing company - to pull ourselves out of what could potentially be a disastrous situation for all.
Yes, I hear the echoes in the background, ‘You are exaggerating. There is no black hole.’ I heard someone in Alice Springs who thinks he is a guru of all things say, ‘There is no such black hole. The level of debt in the Northern Territory is sustainable. There is nothing wrong with the level of debt.’ Rubbish! That is absolute and utter rubbish! Anyone with half a brain can tell you that heading toward $5.5bn of debt in the forward estimates is unsustainable. It is not where any of us want to see ourselves because of the serious implications of getting the Territory into that level of debt.
The Country Liberals have taken the responsible action of limiting further public service growth and are ensuring government expenditure on frontline service delivery is minimised. Only the Country Liberals can do this. As the Chief Minister reminded the House earlier in debate, the Country Liberals’ election commitment was that for public servants earning $110 000 a year or less their jobs are safe. The message has been clear. This government’s plans to grow the Territory’s economy needs hard-working people like our public servants to help us do that. We are not saying the public service is a bad thing, it is just too big. It is adding to the problems of the overall fiscal situation of the Northern Territory. We are spending too much on propping up a large unnecessary public service. Trimming it back by 3% will make it manageable, a fulsome and productive government and public service, but it will not be a burden on the overall fiscal outlook for the Northern Territory.
In relation to public service employment designations, the salary level of $110 000 per annum relates to senior administrative officers at SAO2 level. This level was formerly known as executive officer level 1, the former EO1. Those positions and above are the ones we are scrutinising. This is the same message we have been giving all along.
Mr STYLES: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request an extension of time for the Treasurer.
Motion agreed to.
Mrs LAMBLEY: Thank you. It is reasonable for a new government to take a careful look at the structure of agencies and how they are resourced, both in dollars and staff. If you buy a new business you look at staffing levels and how much you are spending on staffing because it is usually the highest level of expenditure in any business. Government is no different.
We need to scrutinise who is doing what. Are staff required? It is a natural thing to do. Labor is not about business and never has been. It claims to be, aspires to be, but it is not in its DNA. Conservative governments understand business, understand the need to rationalise and look at what is happening within government, within businesses and ensure they work properly, efficiently and sustainably.
The argument around the Power and Water Corporation, which the opposition does not grasp is that, at a bare minimum, you have to aim for a level of financial sustainability. It has accused us of trying to make money out of the Power and Water Corporation. God forbid, make money out of a Power and Water Corporation struggling to make ends meet! It has not made ends meet for many years. It has struggled and is a great example of how the former Labor government, now the opposition, had no comprehension of how business is run, how it is necessary to balance revenue and expenditure and run things in an efficient, sustainable manner.
We are not talking about public servants below director or executive level of SA02. We are looking at the higher levels to ensure we have the right number, skills and experience in the management ranks to do the necessary job. It is very simple stuff. Let me go through the staff regarded as critical and exempt from the current stay on recruitment. Let us unpack this and be really clear what we are talking about.
The first category comprises frontline service delivery staff. Among the many public servants below the SAO2 manager level is a significant proportion of staff we regard as front line. That is, they are delivering services directly to the community. This includes a range of roles, including those who immediately spring to mind such as teachers, nurses, police officers, child protection workers, etcetera. However, it also includes front counter staff at the Motor Vehicle Registry, park rangers looking after our national parks, truancy officers working with children, tenancy officers working with public housing tenants, bus drivers, child protection workers, Aboriginal interpreters helping Aboriginal people in the courts or the hospital, prison guards in our gaols, fire control officers in rural areas, and the list goes on. A stack of people will never be affected and have job security from this government. They are not in the firing line and should turn from the cruel message Labor is peddling which is affecting the lives and wellbeing of Territorians whose jobs are not at risk.
The next category exempt from the freeze are those who are part of essential frontline services or essential to the function of services. This includes assistant teachers, school registrars and other school-based staff, Aboriginal Health Workers, patient care assistants, Indigenous liaison, patient travel, reception and other staff in hospitals, water testing and flooding forecasting officers, Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry staff, Land Titles officers, police forensics and disability case managers. The other categories include essential regulatory staff and employees in positions fully-funded by external services such as Commonwealth national partnership agreements. Regulatory staff include public housing safety officers, transit safety officers, animal welfare inspectors, MVR inspectors, complaints and investigations staff in a range of agencies, mining and energy compliance officers and environmental and assessment and regulatory officers.
The Territory receives significant funding flows from the Commonwealth through national partnership agreements for agreed purposes. The Territory has obligations to fulfil under these agreements and staff implementing programs under those agreements are exempt from the recruitment restrictions. Staff are in these arrangements across a range of agencies including health, education, public housing, children’s services, remote services and roads. There is no doubt the Territory needs highly competent experts in our public service, implementing programs of the government of the day and providing much needed services to Territorians.
Other areas outside the restrictions are Power and Water, school councils, early careers programs such as graduates, trainees or cadets studying at university and working in vacation periods, vacation employment for students and scholarship holders, and Indigenous employment program participants. The agency-specific positions in the exemption categories have been included after chief executives consulted with employees and relevant unions and can be amended, if necessary, after this required consultation process. All this information is on the website of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment. I implore Territorians and all public servants to look at the website. Do not listen to the Labor mob. Do not listen to the opposition. Do not listen to your Labor cronies about this because they will instil fear and doubt in your mind. See for yourself. Look at the website and do not be drawn into this sad and sorry line the member for Nhulunbuy is pushing through her motion tonight.
I refer members opposite to the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment website. Look for yourself! Look, member for Nhulunbuy, because you do not, or will not, acknowledge the missions we have put before the public service of trimming back to 3% are the way they are. You have chosen to misread them and to peddle a different line. Everyone in opposition should have a look.
There is an extensive question and answer sheet designed to answer any questions staff and managers may have. It is a good website; it is informative and will ease your anxiety if you are worried. The guidelines are clear and based on the changed management arrangements specified in enterprise agreements. Chief executives should be communicating regularly and clearly with all staff, keeping them up to date with changes and how they will be implemented in agencies as the public sector adjusts to the policies and priorities of this new government.
- For all agencies undertaking significant change as the result of the new NTPS Agency Arrangements there are very clear obligations to ensure:
consultation with employees and their representative
reasonable commitment of resources during the change process
We have ticked every box. We have implemented these changes in a responsible, open, and transparent way:
- Agencies are directly responsible for ensuring the above principles are met throughout the change process. Agency management and human resource directors are encouraged to consult with the Employee Relations Unit of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment for advice on their change management process.
If staff are uncertain and worried about their employment they should be talking to their managers, their human resources staff, or their chief executives. Go straight to the top! If you are worried, have a conversation with someone who can ease your anxieties or give you information. Those communication lines should be open.
It is worth noting, in the context of seeking to bring certainty to staff, one of the first decisions I made in the Education portfolio was to change Territory teachers from temporary to permanent contracts. The member for Nhulunbuy has not acknowledged that. A current teacher, she has failed to recognise this government, after years of creating uncertainty for teachers, has created permanency for teachers. We have allowed them to live a more stable and certain life in the Northern Territory, which is something the former government was unable to do.
In closing, I reject the inference of this motion; it is not true. The opposition is peddling a very destructive, dangerous line about how we are going to sack public servants. It is simply not true.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister and the Treasurer for their contributions to the debate. They did not provide any assurances or clarify anything, simply muddied the waters. The Treasurer really has no idea. We can forgive her, having been in the job for only 15 weeks, but what she said this evening has really made things even more difficult for people.
The Chief Minister has missed the point of the motion. The heart of the motion goes to the pre-election commitment about no loss of public service jobs. Nor did he, or the Treasurer, address how many more public service jobs will be slashed, even after the Treasurer said last night on the news there is more pain to come.
They are completely deluded if they believe this is a scare campaign the opposition is running. It shows how out of touch they are if they are not listening to people in downtown Darwin, Alice Springs, or in the bush about how fearful people are of life under a Country Liberal government ...
Ms Lee interjecting.
Ms WALKER: They are even fearful in Gapuwiyak, I am sure. If the member for Arnhem wants to contribute to the debate she is more than welcome to; however, you missed your turn because I am now closing it.
The Chief Minister talked about cohesion, confidence and truth coming from his government. What utter rubbish! What utter nonsense! What planet is this man on? He thinks public servants will understand. He is out of touch. You cannot blame public servants for feeling they have been betrayed and lied to. There is no doubt the CLP, in the lead-up to the election, had a plan for what it would do if it won government. It had a plan ready and was prepared to make any promise, say anything, do anything - including its candidates and the messages they would peddle - to gain government. It did that and now, in government, turns it back on the opposition and accuses it of scaremongering.
The Treasurer has only been in the job for 15 weeks, but to talk about the Territory economy in the same breath as some item she has watched on a morning television show - if this is where she is studying the economy and fiscal policy I am a little concerned. She talked about the Rosella food manufacturing company going under and the only way it could survive was to get out of debt. She jumped at that, grabbed it with both hands and thought, ‘Yes, this is what is wrong with the Northern Territory government. It is like the Rosella food manufacturing company.’ She does not understand the Northern Territory government is not a commercial enterprise per se, its primary responsibility is to deliver essential services. The former Labor government will never apologise for the increase in the number of public servants after 26-odd years of the CLP which did not recruit enough teachers, nurses, police, Aboriginal interpreters - those are just some of the public service jobs. Labor will never apologise for recruiting to the jobs the CLP would not.
They come into this House and talk about Labor opposition peddling scaremongering - we are responding to what people are telling us. The Treasurer is out of touch, has no idea what people are really thinking, and how afraid public servants are about their future and what is around the corner - whether or not there will be a job. People are genuinely concerned. The Treasurer has probably been delivering the same speech for too long and is starting to believe it herself. She is not listening to the unions. The AEU is struggling to meet with her.
The heart of this motion is that we wanted the government to talk about breaking a promise and where it intends to go next. It has done neither.
Motion negatived.
MOTION
East Point Heritage Preservation
East Point Heritage Preservation
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly recognises:
(a) the unique environmental and heritage values of Darwin’s harbour
(b) that special places like East Point help define Darwin as an extraordinary city to live in and make our place a pleasure for people to visit
(c) that parliament must protect the natural beauty and heritage values of East Point, preserve the environmental values of Ludmilla Creek, and safeguard the ecologically important mangrove areas of Coconut Grove
(d) these special places are at risk under the CLP’s new Planning Commission.
We have come together as a parliament to debate issues and pass laws aimed at making a better Territory. We have 25 individuals in a room wanting the best for Territorians and, whatever the inspiration that drives our journey here, we want to make where we live a better place for all.
We do not always agree; we debate and argue, cajole and plead, but every morning when we get together as a Chamber we work towards that common cause. While we often disagree about how to get there, we are all passionate and well-motivated in our thoughts and intentions. That is why this motion goes to the heart of what we do here. Our motion goes to listening to the people we represent. When first elected I received a very good piece of advice from an old hand: always listen to the people who elected you. They will give your arguments the focus you need.
What I have tried to do faithfully with this motion is reflect the views of the people of Darwin, those who elected me in particular. I urge members opposite to listen in good faith to what people are saying. Where we live is a slice of paradise, a little corner of heaven; this is a special place.
I am not alone in feeling this way. I suggest all in this Chamber share a similar love for the Territory. In drafting my speech tonight I also asked a few Territorians for their words and why they love where they live. Their comments form part of my narrative tonight. I was born and bred here so I had no choice. I loved the Territory before I could talk. I have a great respect for those who have made the choice to live here, to shed previous ties and original homes and join us in saying yes, the Territory is special. They actively recognise those things many of us simply know to be true, things we take as articles of faith. They put into words what some of us only feel.
Many of us who were born here have a certain poetry when we share stories of growing up which not only reinforce the sentimental value of our area, but the history and heritage we are so fortunate to have in our back yard. Many people call East Point their back yard. It is a place like no other in the Territory which captures our history and heritage, environment and lifestyle values. Our motion embraces more than East Point and other speakers from our side will talk passionately about those special places. As the local member for East Point, it is a place I am most passionate about.
This is why a project like Arafura Harbour, the proposed canal through Fannie Bay beach, caused such division. It is why Cath and countless others asked me to speak up against the proposed development between East Point and Nightcliff.
There are often times when debating controversial projects like this that people are accused of ‘NIMBYism’; they do not want projects in their back yard. This is a blunt attack which has been broadened too often in public debates. People should have an opinion about their back yards. We should celebrate it as a marker of community. That passion, built over years of connection to East Point, drives such community concern over a proposal like Arafura Harbour.
The Arafura Harbour project and its canal through Fannie Bay beach threatens what many of us consider to be a part of Darwin which best defines us, shapes us and best tells our story. To borrow from Adrienne:
- Great cities are marked not only by their new developments but by what they retain.
- Places like East Point are why many of us choose to live here. As Tida says:
East Point is an important part of Darwin life. It is a lovely place where families and friends meet and spend time together, learn more about nature, culture and history, Aboriginal people gather food from the sea, children play, throwing a line in the water, and where many Territorians undertake their daily exercise.
It is many things to many people - a place for relaxing, recreation, contemplation, socialising, bird-watching, eating and enjoying. East Point is a place where people get married, celebrate birthdays and other special occasions, enjoy the Dry Season and marvel at the Wet Season. But what it should not become is a parking lot for millionaires’ boats or the playground of the rich.
I think something would be irrevocably lost if that were to happen.
East Point has a special place in the hearts and minds of Territorians and it should be kept that way.
Or, more evocatively, when Lizzie says:
- A development of this nature would have the effect of hacking into Darwin’s breast and ripping out her heart and my own heart would break if it ever went ahead. I came to the Territory 24 years ago for six months but it was love at first sight and I stayed. I travel a lot with my work and when I return from a trip I feel the same about coming home to Darwin as I would coming home to my beloved.
It should not surprise us that love is a common theme. Maria loves Darwin:
- ... for many reasons but mainly for its unique and natural attractions and tropical island feel. Where else in the world would you find this? If you do you would feel very rich no matter how much money you have. The green belt is part of my identity, culture, who I am. It is a place where community can meet and enjoy the special lifestyle Darwin has for all. It is a place for all kinds of recreation and this is healthy for the wellbeing of the community.
As Nicholas says:
- One of the key attractions of Darwin, one which sets it apart from nearly all other cities in the world, is its late industrial and residential development. This has left areas of bushland close to the city which creates a unique urban landscape and abundance of birds, animals and gardens of natural beauty.
That is why Jenna is:
- ... incredibly passionate about this area. I ride my bike on a daily basis from East Point to Nightcliff, taking in the beautiful scenery and untouched beachfront areas along the way. This area of coastline is what attracted me to living in the Fannie Bay area.
It is also what attracted Anita. In her own words:
The mangroves from East Point along Ludmilla to Coconut Grove are such a special part of living in Darwin. What other cities have such an intact section of coast? I was captured by this when I first moved to Darwin four years ago and I have stayed because of these places where the land in its true form can still be encountered.
It is why Helen and her family stay here:
- East Point is very special to my family. It is where my children learnt to ride their bikes, where they have had their parties, where we shared barbeques with family and friends. East Point is where the whole community of Darwin can relax and enjoy nature and a safe place to be. My children were born in Darwin and we plan to stay here for a long while. Our family wants to continue to share East Point with the community and assist in preserving this precise place.
That is why we are moving tonight that parliament recognises the unique environmental heritage value of Darwin Harbour and that special places like East Point help define Darwin as an extraordinary city to live in and make it a pleasure for people to visit.
As a parliament, we must protect the natural beauty and heritage values of East Point, preserve the environment values of Ludmilla Creek, and safeguard the ecologically important mangrove areas at Coconut Grove. These special places are at risk under the CLP’s new Planning Commission. People living in my area are deeply worried about the CLP’s plan for a Planning Commission. The CLP’s pre-election policy documents stated the Planning Commission would be the body of review for projects identified as being of a large or sensitive nature.
In the Chief Minister’s second reading speech to establish the Planning Commission he said the body of work for the Planning Commission would include revisiting greenfield sites. Last week the new CLP government passed legislation enabling the Planning Commission. The Territory now has a new vehicle for planning, one designed to allow further debate of planning issues considered controversial.
The proposed canal development of Arafura Harbour, which includes a canal through Fannie Bay beach, is controversial. The member for Fong Lim called it visionary. The CLP had a new commission which allows debate of controversial planning projects. The CLP has members who actively support the controversial development of East Point. The CLP has proven, in a few short weeks, it is prepared to make unpopular, party political appointments and decisions. Those decisions include appointing a handpicked partisan chair of the Planning Commission despite promising in the 100-day plan to advertise the position to ensure the best applicant got the job. This is why people have gone from deeply worried to actively stressed or, as Fiona puts it, ‘an increasing sense of community unease’.
This is one reason I sent an e-mail to a few people asking for personal testimonials of why they love and value places like East Point. My inbox was flooded with community responses.
I have touched on some of the family and lifestyle reasons and some of the emotional drivers which see people choose to stay here. However, East Point, Ludmilla and Nightcliff also have an environmental and ecological importance to the broader Darwin area. Many of us visiting East Point see trees, birds and fish and, while we might admire their beauty, are prepared to admit we might not be able to tell one bird from the other or why one fish might be more special. Many of us just enjoy the beauty or wilderness. There is nothing wrong with that unless we let ignorance blind us to reason or science.
There are people in Darwin who have studied for many years to better understand our local environment and it is important, when making decisions or shaping our beliefs, we listen to those who know more. There are always people with specialised fields or knowledge and their thoughts are important. Many community-minded people have volunteered their time to work alongside these people in our natural environment.
As Anthony says:
- The reef at East Point is a special marine environment sheltering many species, some of which, it appears, may not occur elsewhere.
Peter adds:
- ... the coastal zone between East Point and Nightcliff provides habitat for migratory shorebird species such as those listed under various agreements to which Australia is party, to other species which are rare in the Darwin area, for example, the White-breasted Whistler and the Great-billed Heron, not to mention a variety of other marine and terrestrial species.
It is no accident that we have rare birds and fish enjoying these areas. Fiona explains:
- The importance of Ludmilla Creek catchment as a corridor to the sea for residents as well as fauna and flora has been clear for decades and was formalised in the draft Ludmilla Creek Catchment Management Plan published in 1998 by the Ludmilla Creek Landcare Group. This area, which includes Kulaluk Bay, is a green corridor linking Rapid Creek and its many vegetation communities with the various dry and wetland vegetation communities of Ludmilla Creek and Kulaluk Bay. Preservation of such link is essential to allow movement ...
Gavin talks about mangroves in detail explaining that:
- Mangroves provide spawning grounds for the fish we eat and are important areas for our unique bird life. We have been doing monthly counts from Dinah Beach of Pied Imperial Pigeons coming to roost for over a year now. As well as up to 1600 Pied Imperial Pigeons, that particular body of less than 1 km2 of mangroves provides a roost for several thousand Corellas during some parts of the year, hundreds of White Ibis and Rainbow Lorikeets.
It is more than birds though, as Richard notes:
- This area consists of riparian vine scrub, monsoon forest, coastal mangrove and woodland communities. These flora communities host up to 50 butterfly species, some rare, and at least one species of moth that is considered endangered and currently protected.
While I may enjoy an afternoon walk at East Point or a barbecue kicking back amongst our beautiful flora and fauna, others are seeing important details and an interconnectedness which marks this area as special and important to preserve and protect.
For others, the motivation to preserve and protect has historical resonances. We all know war has come to our shores. We all know this is not a page that was writ large in Australia’s history without persistence from many. Our commemorations have now grown and been properly acknowledged as a day of remembrance.
It took the efforts of many, but I pay particular homage to the Royal Australian Artillery Association, curator of the military museum at East Point. I will borrow the words of member and historian, Dr Tom Lewis:
- The East Point area was under complete military control in World War II. Complexes of fortifications were built there, and certainly its six-inch defences, if not its 9.2-inch weapons, which were not yet complete, would have been on the minds of Japanese attack planners as they set out their strategy for knocking the port of Darwin out of the war in early 1942.
The peninsula saw engagements by its military forces during the many raids on the town and surrounds during 1942-43. In post-war years the peninsula was neglected, and the 9.2 inch guns were sadly sold off by the federal government, ironically to a Japanese salvage team.
In the 1960s members of the Royal Australian Artillery Association took the initiative to act against vandalism in the area and set out their idea for a military museum encompassing one of the large gun emplacements. The museum - Darwin’s first - has grown steadily, and is now one of the Northern Territory’s premier tourist attractions, particularly expanded by the Defence of Darwin Experience building added to the precinct in 2012. The museum’s focus is 19 February 1942, the day of the first two enemy air raids, but it also focuses on conflicts involving Northern Australia.
The story of the Royal Australian Artillery Association is illuminative: a clear understanding of what they valued, concerted efforts to share and explain that value to others, years of work in preserving and protecting what they valued, and a careful investment made to add to what they valued.
The Defence of Darwin Experience the Labor government built in 2012 complements the heritage emplacements at East Point. It is possible to work with the local community to enhance what we value about special places like East Point to make a careful and considered investment.
Louise asks:
- How much is the wider community willing to pay to keep that space from Nightcliff to East Point relatively undisturbed? Yes, the area provides a fish nursery, a water filtration service, a storm barrier, a set of lungs for the city, an uplifting place to be in a storm, at dawn and sunset as well as providing a habitat for birds and other creatures. But what monetary value do we, the wider Darwin community, put on those services?
Alison provides a part answer:
- We have a very special piece of coastline that should be maintained, nurtured, and developed so that generations to come can enjoy this varied ecosystem, developed in such a way that supports access for locals, travellers and visitors who want to see Arafura Harbour in its natural state. A place where locals, tourists, cyclists, biologists, twitchers and historians can all find what they are looking for in an environmentally sustainable setting.
Sometimes to protect and preserve an area we need to find a way to use it, as the Royal Australian Artillery Association found a way to preserve the World War II heritage sites at East Point and open them to the public at the same time. This requires trust between all parties, willingness for open dialogue, belief there is a shared desire to maintain what is special about a place, and any discussion we have is about adding value, as the Defence of Darwin Experience has to the military heritage at East Point.
There is a lack of trust in the current government. People hear the member for Fong Lim describe Arafura Harbour marina as ‘visionary’. They have read, with concern, carefully hedged words from the new government. They have seen the new government break promises. Only months in, we have seen a shameless breach of faith by the new government in many instances. The Chief Minister has mentioned things which cause deep concern for locals: the Planning Commission will look at sensitive projects and revisit greenfield sites. The Chief Minister has also made noises about listening to the community, and the Planning Commission places people and their choices at the heart of planning for the future.
This needs to be demonstrated by the Country Liberal Party, as words are cheap. There have been too few actions over previous years of CLP government for people to have trust or be able to place faith in the CLP when it comes to development. The Chief Minister might not like to hear that, but that trust needs to be earned through CLP actions. It can make a small start by agreeing we must protect the natural beauty and heritage values of East Point, preserve the environmental values of Ludmilla Creek, and safeguard the ecologically important mangrove areas of Coconut Grove.
Madam Speaker, I commend this motion to the House.
Mr TOLLNER (Health): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for bringing this motion to the House. I am glad he has because it gives us an opportunity to discuss the important matters surrounding East Point and Ludmilla Creek, right through to Rapid Creek. I also congratulate the member for Fannie Bay on having such strong views. I am sure it is one of the reasons he is still a member of this Chamber. He has been very vocal in his opposition to many development applications and has stuck to it.
I have taken a different course and tried not to interfere in planning processes. I was horrified when the previous Chief Minister involved himself in opposing development of the old Bunnings site in Casuarina, which is in his electorate. That was a complete abuse of process. In the same way, I thought the canning of Arafura Harbour was a complete abuse of process because there was no process. It was simply the Labor government of the day saying, ‘We are not going to let it go ahead’. It was not prepared to look at the merits.
The member for Fannie Bay is correct in saying I called Arafura Harbour a visionary development; it was. For people to develop plans involving billions of dollars creating large canal estates in a sensitive area is visionary. It does not mean I necessarily believe it is the right thing, but I pay tribute to people who think of these ideas. The minute we start bagging people for using their imagination, putting forward ideas, is the day we start a slow downward spiral into a community which believes in ignorance and shuts its ears to different ideas and views. I do not want to be part of that so I am always keen to encourage people to put forward their ideas.
It was unfortunate because it was a visionary project and the previous government should have allowed the process to occur and gauged community sentiment. There should have been a process allowing community members to state their views one way or the other. It appeared from the outside that a large majority of the community was opposed to Arafura Harbour. However, a large contingent in my electorate was supportive of it. If the member for Fannie Bay was completely honest, he would say some people in the Fannie Bay electorate supported the project as well. A limited number they may have been, but there was a variance of views amongst the community.
It was wrong for the government to intervene the way it did and not allow the process to occur. One of the greatest problems of the previous government was that it showed scant regard for any planning process. A lack of planning by the previous government created a lack of certainty in the community to the point where people did not know what was happening on the block next door because it was all too easy to - whether you made a donation to the Labor Party, whether you had a mate in the planning commission or the Development Consent Authority - there was no real process to say how things happened.
There is currently a protest over a rather large development behind McDonald’s and some people in the Ludmilla area are quite upset about it. What has upset them is it was allowed to go ahead because the previous government allowed a rezoning to take place which did not really go to public opinion - did not ask the locals what they thought. It was rezoned and then they had to come up with a development proposal which goes to the Development Consent Authority. The first opportunity the community had to object to the development was through the development consent stage and, of course, that is at the very end of the process. The community should be involved at the planning stage and should determine how they want their community to look. There are a number of controversial plans or ideas for that entire area as well as Arafura Harbour.
There are plans to develop Gwalwa Daraniki land which some people are opposed to, and plans to develop behind McDonald’s which some people are opposed to. There are also plans to develop along Dick Ward Drive. The Jape group wants to build a block of 12 units on Nemarluk Drive. This attracted something like 300 protesters to try to stop that development, so the area is not free of controversial issues. In every one of the public meetings I have been to, the issue which most concerns people is storm surge. They say you cannot build in these areas because of storm surge.
One of my constituents is Graham McMahon, bless his soul – a lovely fellow who speaks of his long involvement with the sea. He understands how cyclones work and the issues of storm surge and is adamant there is the possibility a 7 m wave could wash through the area. It does not really matter what is built there if a 7 m wave comes through; half of Palmerston would disappear! It might be going to the extreme to talk about 7 m waves flooding through Ludmilla, but it raises a concern which is acknowledged in many of the documents and maps we have; there is a very low-lying area through Ludmilla and into The Narrows.
Sadgroves Creek and Racecourse Creek used to be connected years and years ago. There was even an incident where Darwin became an island back in the 1940s after a big flood. It is a very low lying area and every Wet Season people in The Narrows - my good friend the member for Port Darwin will tell you about the moisture in The Narrows because it is such a low area. As a government, you have to ask the question some time. We are dealing with a ticking time bomb when it comes to storm surge. There are enormous concerns for property and people if there is a major storm surge through that area. Somewhere down the line we have to acknowledge this is a real concern.
People in the Ludmilla area know it because every time there is a development application for anything the first reason put up against it is storm surge. We need to look at storm surge abatement through that area. I am not suggesting any particular way, but it has been suggested by others that a good way of negating storm surge would be to consider the construction of a sea wall from East Point to somewhere in Nightcliff.
I imagine my good comrades on the other side will see that as a big green light to tick off on Arafura Harbour. It is probably one of the big selling points Arafura Harbour had because it would have constructed a massive sea wall for the development. However, under this new government, if that idea was put forward again it would be necessary to gauge community support, undertake full environmental impact assessments, and discuss things with the Commonwealth in relation to the RAAF Base and how planes take off and land. There would have to be some commercial analysis as well. Even if they were to put the proposal up again, there would be an enormous amount of work to do to consider whether it was a proper thing for the area. I am disappointed the previous government would not at least let the process occur. After all, these people put up many hundreds and thousands of dollars to bring their idea to the public. To me, it is completely wrong when, through the utterance of a Chief Minister, you are able to can something like that.
This government has a range of concerns through that area. Many people see the area behind McDonald’s as a wasteland. As the member for Fannie Bay said, ornithologists and people who study birds and other creatures find much delight traipsing through that area. However, other people in the community see it as a wasteland. They see it full of gamba grass, old car wrecks, rubbish and all types of kitchen appliances dumped there. It seems to have been a dumping ground for half a Darwin at some stage. It is bizarre to suggest it should stay the way it is. This idea Ludmilla Creek is some type of a unique ecosystem - it probably is, because not too far away is a sewerage outlet.
It has been said at some of the public meetings that it is a food bowl for the Indigenous people of the area. I talk to many Indigenous people in the area, particularly those in Kulaluk, and they do not eat anything from there. They call them kukka crab. Territorians will have an idea what a kukka crab is, and it not a crab you want to eat. It is a crab caught near a sewerage outlet. I hasten to suggest some of the unique wildlife is probably unique because nowhere else is there a sewerage outlet so handy where a range of creatures can exist on people's effluent. I do not know if that is the type of nature reserve we want in Darwin but it obviously appeals to some people.
Like the member for Fannie Bay, I enjoy East Point. It is a fabulous place. His talking up of the Bombing of Darwin museum is rather strange. I was disgusted by the whole facility. I was involved with the artillery museum. I knew retired Colonel Jack Hayden very well; he was a very good friend of mine. I believe Madam Speaker knew him quite well too. He was the man behind putting together the artillery museum and he really gave his heart and soul to that place. He was dead keen to see it go ahead. I imagine he would be rolling in his grave now seeing it housed in something little better than a shed.
Some years ago when in the federal parliament I had cause to talk about the construction of a Bombing of Darwin museum. I remember the meetings I had with the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the Prime Minister. We had secured a commitment from the federal government to contribute money. I spoke to the ambassadors of the USA and Japan. They assured me construction of a museum and memorial would attract support from the US and Japanese governments.
Look at the nonsense constructed out there and built by a Townsville company! Oddly enough, we do not have anyone in Darwin who can build a shed; we have to give it to a mob in Townsville to build one for us. However, we built a shed. I do not believe there is a cracker of Commonwealth money in it. There is certainly no American or Japanese money. It is such a poor effort for something which should have been great and would have put Darwin on the map.
I remember the number of people I spoke to about it at the time. Peter Adamson was Lord Mayor - the former member for Casuarina was dead set behind it. Of course, the City of Darwin is enormously involved in Bombing of Darwin celebrations and has really carried the flame. It would have been great to see it having some involvement as well.
There was an enormous amount of support behind it. I remember the time well because the former Chief Minister, Clare Martin, really out of spite, decided nothing would be at East Point and we were going to do something across the road in the old …
Mr Wood: No, just over here on the lawn.
Mr Elferink: Just on the lawn, yes.
Mr TOLLNER: Just on the lawn here. We were going to do something where the old law courts were. That stunned everyone because it put a stop to everything. Goodness me, only a few years later some bright spark decided to put a shed at East Point. It is a complete failure and I am disgusted with the development. Blokes like Jack Hayden deserve better than a flimsy shed at East Point.
This motion of the member for Fannie Bay is a good one because it allows us to discuss these important matters. An enormous effort has been put in to try to get Racecourse Creek cleaned out. Most people do not know it is not a creek any longer, it is a drain. It was created as a drain in the early 1960s and, in the mid-1960s when Bagot Road was built, drains were put underneath Bagot Road which flow straight into Racecourse Creek. If you go to the back of Ludmilla Primary School, you can see four or five enormous pipes which flow straight into Racecourse Creek. In 1968, a D9 bulldozer drove down Racecourse Creek and cleaned it out completely and it became a drain.
Since then, no Country Liberal government or Labor government has done anything about it and it has silted up. It is filled with mangroves, paperbarks and pandanus. Now, goodness me, it is a pristine piece of wilderness which cannot be touched! Try to convince the Ludmilla Landcare Group that - goodness me! Half The Narrows floods every Wet Season, Ludmilla Primary School floods every Wet Season and we need to clean this drain out. It is like pulling teeth.
I understand these people have particular views about the place they live in; I can appreciate that. However, when those things start to impact on people who live miles away, as is the case in The Narrows, there are wider interests to be considered, not just those of a select few who live on a particular street and like to walk in bushland irrespective of how much they look after it. I acknowledge an enormous number of people in the Ludmilla area are part of the Ludmilla Landcare Group and put in many tireless hours cleaning weeds from the area, planting trees and trying to look after it. I understand they have very strong views, but it is my strong view this entire area should be looked at by the Planning Commission immediately because there is so much uncertainty.
Nemarluk School has moved to Alawa. What happens to that area? Ludmilla Primary School has enormous problems with traffic and kids trying to get in and out of the school. What is the future of the racecourse? What is the future of rugby league? What is happening with the Gwalwa Daraniki Association, which did not receive any government funds in almost the entire decade of the Territory Labor government? It did not receive one cracker because it has a lease with McDonald’s and receives an income, therefore is a commercial organisation and, oddly enough, does not receive any government assistance at all.
This is unlike a similar community just around the corner called Bagot, which attracted enormous amounts of Labor government money: $6.5m in the last term. Something like $6.5m would have gone a long way with the Gwalwa Daraniki Association, but it is more focused on trying to get people into jobs, trying to develop something it can use to secure their future for the long term. I am very keen for the Bagot Community to be involved and be as keen as the Gwalwa Daraniki community.
There are enormous issues across the entire area. I am completely opposed to the member for Fannie Bay’s view that we lock it all up; shut it all down. We need to look at this holistically and involve the community because, ultimately, it is the community living there. It should be put out to public discussion - all these things - and should be looked at as part of an entire package to ensure we develop these areas properly.
I am not personally opposed to or supportive of Arafura Harbour. I would like to see what the environmental impact assessment says, what the commercial numbers look like - how they add up - and community sentiment. We all know the squeaky wheel tends to get the most oil, but what do all the people we hardly ever hear from think? All these things are important and, unfortunately, were completely omitted by the former government. The former government did not care about community opinion and did not look at planning in a holistic way. It merely did things on an ad hoc basis and stuck bandaids on things. I do not want my kids growing up in a city of bandaid on bandaid on bandaid. I would much rather we planned our city and our development. This is a beautiful place to live. I have visions of a beaut green tropical city, a major metropolis in the north of Australia with fantastic facilities, beautiful parks and beautiful beaches.
That is not everyone’s dream, but I would love to see a city with wonderful infrastructure, beautiful parks and friendly people. Doing things on an ad hoc basis does not move us in any particular direction; it simply meets the needs of a particular individual at a particular time.
The issue with Arafura Harbour was one of the most appallingly handled things I have ever seen government in the Northern Territory do. To can an idea a bloke put his heart and soul into developing and other people had put enormous amounts of money into - they had not even brought their display here when the previous Chief Minister canned it. The display was being transported to Darwin so people could look at the vision and see what was being planned but, before it was even out of the box, it was canned. It is shameful.
In that area, and parts of Fannie Bay, there is an interesting diversity of people, particularly Fannie Bay. You have some the more well-off and least well-off, and some of the more environmentally aware and least environmentally aware. Similarly, right through Ludmilla and up into Coconut Grove you find this amazing diversity and contradiction of characters. Sometimes it causes great consternation. I have been the target of a number of my constituents for particular views I have. I imagine in the future that will continue. During these times you can be bent out of shape and beat up but, when you reflect, one of the great things about our community is we have people with diversity and difference. It would be a damn boring place if everybody was exactly like the member for Sanderson, for instance. It would be a wonderful world of course, member for Sanderson, but if we were all like you there would not be much diversity.
I congratulate the member for Fannie Bay and thank him for bringing this motion forward. I clearly differ on some of your views, particularly in relation to the artillery museum. When you started talking about that I almost fell off my chair! It is a demonstration that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and we all have different views on things.
The new Planning Commission has the ability to turn Darwin around and give us some good long-term plans, provide certainty for residents wherever they live, for developers, for landowners and all others who live in our community. The more support we can give the Planning Commission and the better we resource it, the more it will benefit our interests in the long term.
Ms FYLES (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, Territorians have a unique lifestyle based around our outdoor tropical lifestyle in the north and our beautiful desert region in Central Australia. However, we need a balance in good planning: planning for growth but planning which also protects our environment and lifestyle. Sound decision-making, especially with decisions and consequences that may be irreversible, is vital. That is why, during the recent election campaign, development of Arafura Harbour was a key issue in my electorate of Nightcliff. Many constituents voiced concerns to me that any potential development would destroy the natural mangrove coastline and Ludmilla Creek catchment. It could also have an adverse impact on the beautiful Nightcliff foreshore.
These mangroves have been described as the lungs and marine nurseries of Darwin Harbour. I have spent many hours exploring the area by foot in front of Coconut Grove, and by boat further offshore. I want my children to have this opportunity to explore and learn from their local environment. The importance of Ludmilla Creek catchment as ‘a corridor to the sea’ for residents as well as fauna and flora has been clear for decades and was formalised, as my colleague said, in the draft Ludmilla Creek Catchment Management Plan published in 1998 by the Ludmilla Creek Landcare Group.
The area’s critical green corridor links Rapid Creek and its many vegetation communities with the various dry and wetland vegetation communities of Ludmilla Creek and Kulaluk Bay. Preservation of such links is essential to allow movement, especially of birds, through the different areas in order to access food resources throughout the year. Fauna of the sea and coast such as fish, crabs etcetera, also rely on the products of the hinterland vegetation in order to survive. Local Indigenous people in the area still use this land for sustainable hunting, fishing and food gathering. One local resident told me, quote:
- We passionately hope that the development in the Ludmilla Creek area will not be given approval. We have been fortunate enough to sail up Ludmilla Creek in a boat and were very impressed at the plant and bird life visible. We were also very aware of the importance of the beautiful mangroves in providing nurseries for all kinds of fish. The mangroves also provide a buffer against storms and cyclones.
We also know that many Aboriginal people make frequent use of the area to find easily accessible bush tucker as their ancestors have done for generations. We know of no other Australian city which has such a jewel containing natural and cultural treasures so close to its heart. We must not allow its destruction; it needs to be preserved for present and future generations.
I strongly agree with this description; it sums up such a unique area.
Like most Territorians, when I travel by plane into Darwin or leave, I am always amazed by the beautiful aerial view of the mangroves. We must preserve this open green space. Any proposed developments would affect access to parts of Kulaluk by Indigenous people using the land for gathering of food and special purposes.
The Kulaluk Special Purpose Lease was granted in August 1979 by Chief Minister Paul Everingham. The intention was to give the Larrakia, and other Indigenous people, back an area of culturally and environmentally significant land on which to live without further threat of displacement. Major developments on Kulaluk land would compromise the original master plan submitted for approval before the Kulaluk lease was granted. Kulaluk has culturally significant places, such as the Larrakia burial ground, which should not become small islands in a sea of development but remain part of a larger whole as intended in the original Kulaluk Special Purpose Lease. We must work together with the Kulaluk people if they wish to build economic development. I can understand their desire to pursue independent income and look at options for their land.
Recently, at a community environment group working bee I attended, it was evident there is an increasing sense of community unease about the future of Ludmilla, East Point and Nightcliff foreshore. After all, these areas have significant environmental value and are important to our community.
Darwin, as a city, is fortunate to have retained such an area of bushland. Smart cities maintain areas of environmental value and do not allow everything to be given up to tar and cement. In the Northern Territory, we also have a special responsibility: our largely unspoiled environment, both urban and regional. We do not want to repeat the mistakes made in other jurisdictions. We must preserve the green open space we have.
Many of us each year head south to visit family, particularly on the east coast. From these visits I can think of many examples where the environment has not been protected as best it could and caused people living in those areas problems.
Despite the CLP candidate for Nightcliff declaring during the recent campaign that, ‘Arafura Harbour development was only in its proposal stage and no development would happen without the overwhelming support of the community’, the community is uneasy. Many of my constituents fear and wonder, with your government’s establishment of the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority and the establishment of the new Planning Commission, if this is not just a rubber stamp for large scale developments such as Arafura Harbour. They worry that a small group of handpicked mates will have the power to make a decision over an area of such important environmental and community importance.
Available evidence indicates natural canal style estates such as is proposed by Arafura Harbour are highly complex and their environmental impacts are difficult to manage. Canal estates can have major adverse impacts on the host estuary causing loss of habitat, polluting waters by urban runoff, and boating activities disturb coastal soils.
In some other Australian jurisdictions where canal estate projects have been carried out over a number of years, governments have now moved to either ban them or severely limit their development. New South Wales and Victoria have banned canal estate developments outright, and Western Australia and Queensland have severely restricted their development through planning policy principles and guidelines. When one thinks of canal estates they often think of Queensland and the Gold Coast, yet they have been put on hold there. Should we not look and learn from the southern and eastern states? We do not have to make the same mistakes; we can leave this area and protect it for future generations to enjoy.
My other concern is surge risk. Despite what many opposite tell us, climate change is occurring. As a result, we have rising sea levels and, according to global warming predictions, these rises in sea levels will increase in further years. A strong cyclone on a high tide would devastate developments in this area and potentially cost lives. New developments should not be considered in primary surge zones.
Immediately after Cyclone Tracy building was not permitted in the primary surge zone. Gradually, memories lapsed and developments were allowed in the primary surge zone.
The removal of these mangroves could impact the coastline in Nightcliff during a cyclone or severe storm. The mangrove area of Coconut Grove is an ecologically important area and vital to the health of Darwin Harbour. It is the lungs of our harbour. East Point is an especially beautiful area which the Darwin community needs as an ongoing recreation and nature reserve. It is a ribbon of green so close to our city centre.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nightcliff, the time is now 9 pm so General Business Day is finished. Do you want to adjourn your comments for a later time?
Ms FYLES: I have about a page. Can I quickly finish?
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, sure.
Mr Elferink: That would work for me too.
Ms FYLES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Large residential and commercial development in this area would diminish its value as a public recreation area and destroy a beautiful natural environment. I have been enjoying its natural beauty for as long as I can remember. It is a cool place to exercise, even on the hottest days, with the shade of the trees and the cool breezes as it is a peninsula. The mangrove walk is a completely natural environmental experience. I remember going there on school excursions and have taken students there to see the backdrop of the city. Not many capital cities can boast they have a mangrove walk within view of the city skyline.
My colleague spoke in detail of families enjoying the recreation facilities year round and the busyness of Greek Easter weekend or Dry Season days. They should stay for all residents to enjoy, not just a few who live in a canal estate. Foreshore space is one of our precious resources and should be kept as public open space unless there is a compelling case and a clear community benefit, not just a private benefit arising from the development.
The development of artificial canal estates in other states has led to serious adverse environmental and economic impacts. We, on this side of the House, welcome potential investment but we want sustainable development. By providing investors a clear indication of which projects are worth pursuing and which ones are unsuitable, we will ensure the best and most sustainable projects for the Territory.
Madam Speaker, as my colleague said, great cities are marked not only by their new developments but by what they retain. Darwin has a special heritage; a heritage to be celebrated not swept away.
Debate adjourned.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Member for Blain
Member for Blain
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, whilst there is no question before the Chair, I move that leave be granted to the Chief Minister for the entirety of tomorrow, 6 December 2012. By way of explanation: COAG.
Motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move the Assembly do now adjourn.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I will conclude my report on my trip to the Cook Islands as a representative of the Northern Territory at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Australia and Pacific Regional Conference.
Last night I gave a brief summary of some of the issues discussed. An interesting one was a report by Hon Fiona Simpson, Speaker of the Queensland parliament. She spoke about issues around banning television cameras straying from members of parliament and picking up protestors in the gallery even though she had told them a number of times not to do it. They were also told not to show the footage on TV that night but they did. There was quite some discussion about how those breaches could be punished. She banned the media from reporting for a number of weeks. There was some discussion as to whether the parliament had the power to fine media outlets when they breach the rules of parliament.
Another session, by Hon Moana Mackey, an MP from New Zealand, took up the issue of committee systems. She spoke about the committee in New Zealand. There, every bill before parliament has to go before a committee. There are some advantages - a bill usually does not need to be amended. The committee is normally made up of representatives of every party in New Zealand so there is a fair chance that by the time it comes back to parliament it is ready to be approved. The only problem is it sometimes takes six months. If you are trying to get your legislation through at a reasonable speed that system would slow things down.
There was an interesting session on Question Time. Hon Lynette Breuer, Speaker of the South Australian parliament, gave a brief history of Question Time. She also threw a few good questions out as to whether it was needed because some people claim - l am one - the good thing about questions is, theoretically - it does not always happen, and today would be a classic example - you do not get the information you want but it should be a place where information can be asked for and given accordingly. Of course, that does not always happen.
The other thing the Hon Lynette Breuer said is you have other forms of getting information such as Facebook, Twitter, websites and the media. She asked, ‘Does it serve the purpose people believe it should? Has it become an audition for government?’ In other words, government uses it as part of another debate. She noted in British Columbia no dorothy dixer questions are allowed. That would be a change. The final issue raised was whether the questions were the problem. In other words, were the questions more about waffle and did not drag out a decent answer.
It was a good session with many questions because it is the part of parliament we know creates much interest with the public, also much interest between members of parliament.
The last session was on practical benchmarking for parliament run by Mr Neil Laurie from Queensland. He presented a discussion paper on the comparison of business processes and performance in order to measure the effectiveness of parliament. This is important because the CPA is trying to promote good governance in small countries, especially when talking about the Pacific Islands. It is a good process. In fact, he said one of the best things the CPA does is having this benchmark. It is called ‘recommended benchmark for democratic legislators’. Again, these are important things.
This was my first CPA conference. It is an opportunity for a range of countries with some common affiliations - even though the Cook Islands are a long way away, Cook Islanders are New Zealanders and can freely move into Australia - we have Cook Islanders in Darwin. It might be a fair distance away but we have some commonalities, especially in the way we are governed.
The Cook Islands was a wonderful experience. The hospitality was something you would not believe. Every night we had a feast of food a mile long, and if you do not have a plate full of food you are regarded as having bad manners. We would have taro, breadfruit, pumpkin jelly, banana jelly, green bananas, a version of potato salad, fish, pork and chicken. There was just about everything you need. There were a few things I had not tried before which can cause a few rumbles in the tummy, but that was minor. We had traditional dancing on most nights and were welcomed wherever we went. The Cook Islanders are a religious people and always welcome you, always say grace, and always thank you when you are leaving.
We visited the island of Aitutaki, 45 minutes north of Rarotonga, and were welcomed with beating drums by one of the chiefs of the island. I was there with Mr Tatham. We took the early flight and were given a tour of the island. It is amazing to see how the islanders have kept their traditions and way of life without tourism disturbing it, especially on Aitutaki, which is very much dependent on tourism. It is an atoll. A small part of that atoll is definitely for the luxury market. You can obviously get cheaper accommodation and people can take the boat, as we did, to various islands around the atoll. It is a beautiful place and there were times I had to pinch myself; I thought I was in a postcard.
The sea was blue and you could see the fish. To go to this atoll with people playing ukuleles, guitars and singing all the way - the hospitality was marvellous and continued to the day we left. There are so many things I could talk about. I could just about give a slide night.
You hear funny stories about why people do not wear helmets. I do not know if I explained this before. The top speed is 50 km/h, but if you do not want to wear a helmet you can travel at 40 km/h.
HMAS Fremantle was docked there. It has been given to the Cook Islands as a patrol boat to look after the fishing industry. This island depends very much on tourism. It has very low exports. Its main exports are fish, pearls and maire. Maire is an interesting plant which comes from one of the islands to the north and is used to make the lei you receive when you go to Hawaii - the welcoming garland. The Cook Islands export it to Hawaii. They import most things and rely on tourism.
Treasurer, perhaps we should look at what the Cook Islands are doing. I have a $3 note from the Cook Islands. They have two kinds of notes: a $3 one with the mermaid and the shark - there is a story about that – and, if you want something different, there is a $2 coin. It does not go into a drink machine, but it is a way of making money for the local community. If the budget is a bit crook, we could have a $6 note and a $4 coin and sell those off at a reasonable price. This $3 note cost me $8.
The Cook Islanders are the friendliest people and they are the most beautiful islands. There are issues, like anywhere else. Even though it is a beautiful island, it has similar problems to the Northern Territory but the people are so wonderful and so friendly.
I intend to go back. I am going to have a special Cook Islands bank account to pay for the airfare. I would recommend to anyone who wanted to get away from it all, to go back in time a little and enjoy the peace, quiet and tranquillity, and to give your soul a rest as well, you could not beat the Cook Islands.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Madam Speaker, this evening I thank the many people who have helped me during the year as the member for Karama. Volunteers play such an important role in the lives of local members. Without them it would be truly difficult to get anything done. I want to thank my band of volunteers. I feel very privileged to have such wonderful people who I work so closely with and who generously give their time to help and support me but, more importantly, help and support our local community. They are very passionate about caring for others in our community. Thank you to the incredible Donna, John, Dee, Hamali and Chandra, Kevin and Rita, Terry, Sandy, Sonya, Alicia and Alexis, Richo, Giovana, Greg, Michael, Lewis, Alex, Nicky, Bong Hannah, Marie, Ian, Terry, Sally Vander, Joanna, Sumsong and Amanda, Noel, James, Anthony, Matt, Gracie, Rod and Di, Tanya and Cecil. You are all champions. You have all done so much to help me and the communities of Karama and Malak. I sincerely thank you.
I thank the schools in my electorate for the warm welcome I receive every time, from the principals through to the staff at the front office, the support staff and the teachers. I hope they all have a very well-deserved break this holiday season, they have certainly earned it. They have been putting in a massive effort all year long with our bright, enthusiastic, interesting and often challenging students in Karama and Malak.
I want to thank the principals directly: Peter Swan at Malak; Jan Moore, who took over as acting Principal at Sanderson Middle School; Sally Winch at Manunda; Marg Fenbury at Karama; Marg Guit the out-going Principal of Holy Family School. Marg, thank you for the three years of leadership at that school, and to the 40-odd years of commitment to education. Lester Lemke at O’Loughlin Catholic College is retiring. What an awesome principal he has been. The whole school community will dearly miss Lester. Also, John Metcalfe who shows great leadership at Marrara Christian College.
I thank the traders in my shopping centres who always generously give support when I am around asking for help fundraising. Their donations toward fundraisers for our community are very much appreciated.
I had a Christmas card design competition this year and want to congratulate Grace Doherty from O’Loughlin for her frog design. It has now been published and is hitting the electorate in every letterbox. I also congratulate our second prize winner, Lara-Lee Blanthorm, and third prize winner, Shaun Brogan. Thank you to all those children who took the time to create the designs and send them in; they were fantastic. I am really in awe of the professionalism of the designs created by the local students.
Literacy award winners for 2012 - these are kids who really go out of their way to excel in their learning and make great role models for their classmates. They love getting the certificates I hand out at school assembly and really appreciate the gift voucher from Casuarina Shopping Square. I like to think it is a small way to encourage them in their learning.
At Karama, congratulations to Anna Scadape, Christopher Fraser, Frankie Falipe, Jacob Baird, Jasmine McGerie, Kyam Hone, Kalia Roe-Weetra, Mary-Claire Papel, Michalea Decaney, Nick Jeffrey, Rosera Sampson, Riley Philpott, Samantha Prosser, Tarice Munich and Monica Philpott.
At Malak, congratulations to Benjamin Ah Mat, Chloe Clarke, Dylan Walters, Emon O’Donnell, Edwan Neiber, Geniveve Talbot, Georgia Baksi, Gilllan Gabore, Jarrah Detonamo, Miguel McGabo, Cherilyn Orojo, Sheena Mabelina, Dasha Borsie, Kimberley Fengenday, Lilly Baksi, Tyrone Nona and Presley Motlop-Smith.
At Manunda Terrace, congratulations to Christa Dos Rose, Paige Preston, Phillip Basera, Talicia Archer, Finn van Halzing and Shakira Brown-Edwards.
At Sanderson Middle School, congratulations go to Akas Sargy, Albert Fernada, Amelia Douglas, Anna-Marie Bratum, Antonio Ng, Oswald James Magals, Alicia Austral, Cindy Ong, Dalia Cope, Hung Lee, Jeremy Binks, John Wilamena-Wage, Lucas Chin, Ling Kong Lu, Nikita Long, Pathea Gaycarp, Patrick Demontaverde and Talia Nona.
Also, I had a special award created for me from advice received late this week - the Legend Award, which I award to my electorate officer, Kerry Wetherall. Congratulations, Kerry. It might make up - I doubt it – for the fact she is missing out on going for back-to-back gold at the Arafura Games in softball. She is one of the many heartbroken Territorians out there.
On the home front, I sincerely thank my mother, my role model, and a woman I am most proud to know, Dawn Lawrie. You are an incredible Territorian, still working very hard for Territorians advocating on behalf of families and individuals with disabilities and doing an awesome job. I am incredibly proud of the work she does.
To my sister, Diane, a tough year, but welcome back from deployment overseas. She got to know yet another overseas deployment for our Defence force. It is always tough when family members deploy for so long - the best part of a year - but she is welcome back. She is extremely skinny, but I am sure we will be able to fatten her up now she is back on home turf.
To my long suffering almost brother-in-law, Terry, who took care of Lucy while Dianne was away, thank you for your support and love of my sister. My niece, Hannah, is delighted to finally get her mum back, and also probably delighted her mother can start to nag me about all the things I should be doing in the family fold. Hannah has had a fantastic year at university and I am really looking forward to her kicking more goals there.
To John, Tanya, Sam and Tom, thanks for your support from afar. Sam and Tom, thanks for invading my house in the lead-up to the election campaign. It was awesome to have my nephews rampaging and expanding my family at an incredibly busy time of the year. It keeps you extremely real.
To the best people in the entire universe, Jhenne, Bronte and Zac, my children, thank you for doing well at school this year despite how busy mum has been and continuing to amaze me by pulling out things like an A in maths - awesome result there. Jhenne, you are quite the incredible artist and performer, and surprising us with that A in maths blew the family away.
Bronte is kicking goals, of course, academically. It is not fair to say ‘of course’ when you have a high achiever in the family, because they get sick of being taken for granted when they are studious. Awesome effort!
Young Zac is looking forward to Grade 3. I am looking forward to him continuing to shine at school and impress his teachers. The constant feedback we get about my little guy is he is one of the kindest-hearted students at the school. That is an awesome result and achievement. I have really enjoyed watching his reading accelerate this year. It is incredible when they are that age and go from reading fairly well to being off the scale with their reading abilities. It is incredible what you can do with the literacy capacity of a child of that age.
To Fila, my 22-year-old, saving now for a life overseas in Europe, so she says - believe it when I see it, baby. Finally, to Peter, who has taken us all on in extremely good grace and is a fantastic support to me.
I wish the Hansard staff, Assembly staff, Table Office staff, Madam Speaker, and all members of the Assembly a safe, healthy and happy festive season. Also, the IT support staff who keep me sane - Trobs, thank you, mate. Can you ensure the server does not go down as consistently as it has in the last few days? Thank you.
Ms FINOCCHIARO (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, tonight I give my support to the Treasurer and share how the mini-budget impacts on the Drysdale and Palmerston communities at large.
There has been a great deal of anticipation and angst in the community over the content of the mini-budget and how it might impact on Territorians. I will not pretend decisions our government has made, such as increases to Power and Water Corporation tariffs, will not hurt Territorians, but I take solace from the fact many Drysdale residents have said to me whilst they do not like our decision, they understand the state of the Power and Water Corporation and the Northern Territory government’s budget has left no choice but to get spending under control.
I cannot emphasise to the electorate enough the tough decisions we have made are not ones we made joyfully. They are excruciating decisions which were not taken lightly. However, with a fiscal imbalance forecast of $867m in 2012-13, we had to make those decisions. The Treasurer, in her statement, gave the example that we could employ another 600 nurses every single year for the same amount we pay in interest repayments on our unsustainable levels of debt. Our government is working hard to remove the fiscal imbalance by 2015-16 so the public’s money can be better spent on the future of our Territory, not just servicing the credit card.
On balance, I am able to report to my constituents and fellow Palmerston residents that the sky did not fall down as the opposition may have had Territorians believe. The scaremongering and far-fledged negative media campaign run against our government in the last 100-plus days has been phenomenal. Importantly, it has been unwarranted, and I take enormous offence that the good people of Palmerston have been wound up by this opposition because Labor had absolute disregard for the people of Palmerston, the future of the Territory and Territorians.
The Chief Minister, in his response to the Treasurer’s statement, raised some very pertinent budget changes which will enhance the lives of Palmerston residents, as did my Country Liberal colleagues in their respective responses.
First, we have seen in this mini-budget the funding of an election commitment to increase police numbers. We have also seen a redirection of police officers back onto our streets where they are so desperately needed. Our government has also dedicated an additional $50m to improve conditions for our police officers. There has been a commitment of $800 000 in 2012-13 for the Planning Commission, an essential asset for the future growth of Palmerston. It will guide how our beautiful city grows and will ensure the aspirations of the City of Palmerston and private development accord with the strategic plan for our region.
I was very pleased to learn the good people of Somerville, a homegrown Territory non-government organisation providing counselling support for people who suffer financial, personal and housing hardship, will receive $2m to expand the wonderful community centre it has in the electorate of Drysdale. I met with Latisha Perry and Allison O’Conner on Friday, 20 November. I know how much this money means to them and their ability to deliver increased services to the good people of Palmerston who depend on the services Somerville provides - another win for the Drysdale community.
There is no shortage of financial commitment to continue with residential growth and support in Palmerston. A sum of $12.8m has been dedicated to the 2012-13 financial year to continue with headworks for residential development. I am also humbled to see a total of $13m set aside for public housing in Bellamack, Zuccoli and Rosebery. There will also be 2000 affordable homes built over the next four years. We have seen increases in the First Home Owner Grant to $25 000 for new homes in Palmerston, and an increase in the Stamp Duty Principal Place of Residence Rebate from $3500 to $7000 for new homes.
This is a particularly exciting initiative because the stamp duty concession is available to non-first homebuyers for new homes or land, not to mention the HomeBuild Access scheme, which caters to all Territorians not just the first homebuyer. The reduction of the cap of $750 000 to $600 000 will help put a lid on rising housing costs. Labor’s schemes did nothing but increase the churn and jack up the price. Our better-targeted approach provides greater incentive the cheaper the property purchased by the first homebuyer. In this way, the market is being given the right signal to produce more reasonably priced stock.
The Northern Territory Treasury predicts changes contained in the mini-budget will lower CPI by 0.2% next financial year. In this way, you are already seeing our better targeted package putting downward pressure on the cost of living. The mini-budget also makes a substantial allocation for major works around the Palmerston area, including $14.4m in 2012-13 for the Wishart Road development and $2.2m in 2012-13 for the long awaited Defence Support Hub.
I am thrilled Palmerston Senior College Special Education Centre will receive $750 000 for upgrades to its facilities. Last week I spoke in Adjournment about the wonderful achievements of this special education centre and that it is rapidly outgrowing its facilities. I am sure Frankie MacLean and her dedicated staff have many plans to spend these much needed funds. I again take this opportunity to congratulate them on the work they do for our community.
We will see a fantastic contribution to the health system with, amongst other things, $6.5m to improve cardiac services and bring angioplasty surgery to Darwin for the first time. We will also see reductions in waiting lists and an increase of 400 elective surgeries every year across the Territory.
I welcome the $300 000 upgrade to the Satellite City BMX facility and know this injection will be welcomed by our community, just as the community will welcome the increased funding to peak sport and recreational bodies to $1.75m a year.
The great thing is our government will save nearly $1m a year by closing the Office of the Chief Minister in Palmerston and Katherine.
The mini-budget also contains great incentives such as doubling the back to school bonus to $150 per student plus $75 school sport vouchers. There is a $33m commitment to further stages of the Tiger Brennan Drive duplication, and $70m will be contributed by the federal government. By mid-2013, we will see work start on this critical transport infrastructure project, one of the largest ever seen in the Northern Territory.
I do not need to remind Palmerston residents of the congestion and bottlenecks on Tiger Brennan Drive. For those unfamiliar with this stretch of arterial road, when I say Tiger Brennan services 20 000 cars a day you might start to form a picture of what Palmerston residents have been forced to negotiate every day. We have been in need of dual lanes into the city for over a decade and now we will finally see this delivered. The Infrastructure Services Division of the Department of Infrastructure will move to Highway House in Palmerston. This influx of personnel into Palmerston will boost the Palmerston economy and increase patronage for local business.
These are just some of the many ways the mini-budget will benefit Palmerston residents. Madam Speaker, I commend the mini-budget and Treasurer’s statement to the house.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Madam Speaker, I rise to make special acknowledgement of Jackie Townsend nee Jacqueline Dore. I make that special acknowledgement as my sister-in-law and the eldest of the siblings in the Dore family, now, on the passing of her parents, and my wife’s parents, is very much the matriarch of the family. Jacqueline has led a very interesting life and when I think about the early days of Jackie’s life, I am inspired. When you think about The Beatles, the Rolling Stones or The Who, Jackie was living it in England and tells some incredible stories of that time, the swinging sixties in England. She met a wonderful man, married, had two children and, like the other family, migrated to Australia. She joined the family in famous Coogee Beach a few years later, but started raising her kids there and did a great job with Stephen and Tracey.
She then experienced a period in her life where she had some more freedom and decided to travel by road around the country she adopted; Australia, a country she loves dearly. Her travels brought her to the Northern Territory and Borroloola. There she met a wonderful guy, Gary Cronin, a share farmer, a very talented heavy machinery operator, a miner from the Eyre Peninsula, and they set up a partnership in Borroloola. Jackie is known for turning a house into a home.
They bought a property on Robinson Road, Borroloola, and turned it into a beautiful home with a beautiful garden. Gary worked for various earth moving companies but ended up working at McArthur River mine and is a very knowledgeable person. As the local member, I find it great to have a dialogue with Gary Cronin about all types of issues around my research. You can be guaranteed he will give you very accurate information around mining, construction, farming, his first love, agriculture, and, of course, the Northern Territory because he has spent much time here, particularly in the Katherine region.
They have retired to the Eyre Peninsula where they are both farming, but came back to support me in my campaign at Borroloola. Jackie and Gary have some serious roots in the Gulf Country and Borroloola. Jackie, especially, is loved for many reasons, but one of the important jobs she did was as a founding member of the crche in Borroloola. She built important relationships with the local town community and the young mums and, of course, grandmas. She is very much loved and respected and her children followed her. Tracey and Glen now run a very good business in Borroloola, Red Dirt Trading. Her grandchildren are growing up there so it is very much a family affair.
Jackie is new to politics to some degree but took a great interest in Northern Territory politics. When I was privileged to be elected as the member for Barkly in 2008, she took an in-depth look at Northern Territory politics and started to form her own decisions around policy, the difference between political parties, and the way the Northern Territory was governed under a Labor government. It was certainly very challenging. Jackie does not suffer fools gladly and does not mince her words. We had some great political discussions and the whole time she championed the cause of Borroloola, the people of Borroloola and the Gulf.
When I asked Jackie and Gary to help me on the campaign they were delighted and honoured. They drove from the Eyre Peninsula to Tennant Creek. They had a night with us at home and then drove into the Gulf Country. I was on the road through the Roper Gulf and, as the first day started to unfold, I knew this campaign was going to be something different, something that ended up displaying the most venom I had seen since the Labor party took the seat of Barkly off the once Chief Minister, Hon Ian Tuxworth. In those days it got quite hot. We succeeded. We took the seat off the National member for Barkly, and it was very much a turning point in history.
Jackie and Gary landed in Borroloola at the same time as one of my sons, Thomas McCarthy, and we were surrounded by Glen and Tracey and the kids. Of course, Steve McVay turned up as the campaign manager and we decided to kick off part of the campaign at the Borroloola rodeo. There had been much activity from the then opposition, the Country Liberal Party, so we decided to plan how we would present our case for consideration in the 2012 election across Borroloola and the Gulf Country.
Jackie, Gary and Thomas did it with distinction and integrity telling the story we had put together - the 10-year story - the story of the Stronger Futures package around the important resources coming from the Commonwealth government to continue Labor’s plan to roll-out the development and important infrastructure and service delivery for that very interesting part of the Northern Territory.
One of the big events at that time was when the then Leader of the Opposition, Hon Terry Mills, parachuted into Borroloola. I will quote from his 17 August media release, the Borroloola Contract:
- The Country Liberals will add value to the Territory’s regional centres with a renewed focus on services, infrastructure and growth.
Mr Mills spoke about other areas of the five-point plan but then outlined very specific commitments contained in the Borroloola Contract. They include:
- the development of a proper town plan including provision of residential land, roads and service and economic infrastructure
support for the establishment of a regional council to provide a stronger voice for local people and improve service delivery
establishment of government business centre allowing access to the Motor Vehicle Registry, Centrelink and other services
support for establishment of a retail centre and recreational and cultural centre
assistance and support for a school boarding facility in the Gulf Region
investment in the upgrade of roads including the Savannah Way
support for outstations.
Mr Mills listed himself as a media contact: Terry Mills, 0418 833 594.
I place that on the public record because it was a parachute event and the now Chief Minister arrived in a charter aircraft. He was certainly cashed up. He had a billboard, two television crews, and managed to negotiate the signing. Even more importantly, he had it on the news at night. It ran on the news so the politics certainly hotted up. The now Chief Minister presented the people of Borroloola with a good plan there is no doubt about that.
Jackie, when I send you this Hansard transcript, you will read it carefully and see you will be returning to the Northern Territory. Gary, you will be escorting Jacky no doubt, the great man on the road. You will be continuing the campaign for the people of Borroloola and Gove to ensure these election commitments are delivered because they are good commitments. This is a good plan; however, some of these services were already in train from the previous Labor government.
It will be important to remind the Country Liberal Party, the now government of the Northern Territory, these commitments are real. The town of Borroloola, gazetted in 1885 - honourable people, they are wise constituents and will continue to hold the government to account, which is the way it should be.
Jackie and Gary, it is more politics for you. Remember the wonderful time.
Madam Speaker, I thank the people of Borroloola and the Gulf Country for, once again, providing me with your support. Now in opposition, I will continue to lobby. It was great to celebrate the wonderful developments we all shared under the previous Labor government. However, the Country Liberal Party has laid out a fair plan, a good plan, and it has some influence because it is signed off by the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory. We look forward to celebrating all those developments. I really hope Jackie Townsend meets Terry Mills one day.
Mr STYLES (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, tonight I talk about some wonderful events occurring in the Northern Territory, specifically in Darwin, and, more importantly, at Charles Darwin University. I recently had the pleasure to attend the opening of the North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas based at Charles Darwin University Casuarina Campus. The centre was opened by Chief Minister Terry Mills. It is a $7m facility which is at the forefront of research and training for the Northern Territory’s burgeoning oil and gas industry.
The cutting-edge facility was built with support from the Northern Territory government and the oil and gas industry through INPEX, Total, and other participants in the Ichthys LNG joint venture project. An expected 200 students will study and train at the facility in 2013, strengthening the industry’s workforce. The North Australian Centre for Oil and Gas will also conduct research in conjunction with industry partners to solve problems specific to the industry.
CDU is collaborating with industry partner Tenax Energy Pty Ltd to create the world’s first tropical environment-focused tidal energy research centre in Darwin. The testing centre and associated pilot plan is the first step towards delivering affordable tidal energy to Darwin by the end of the decade. The tropical tidal testing centre, known as T3C, aims to stimulate collaboration in tropical tidal energy generation globally across research institutions and device manufacturers. Central to the TC3 program will be the technical research conducted with the active participation of technology developers. The project will provide opportunities for technological innovation and will build a platform of knowledge and experience to underpin the growth of a new industry in the Northern Territory.
Work starts on $46m research facilities for Menzies - more work occurring at CDU. Work has begun on the Menzies School of Health Research multimillion dollar buildings at Casuarina Campus and the Royal Darwin Hospital. By mid-2013, two modern and ecologically sound buildings will be completed. This project will secure Menzies a long-term productive future and pave the way for researchers to continue to improve the health of Australians and those in our region.
Charles Darwin University ranks in the top 2% of the world’s universities. It is quite an achievement for a university started by the CLP government to reach such high recognition of universities throughout the world. The university has maintained its position among the world’s top 400 universities for the second year. CDU is one of 19 Australian universities to make this year’s list in the prestigious Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The rankings use 13 separate performance indicators and take into consideration excellence in teaching, research and knowledge transfer, and international outlook for the university. The results are used by students to help select degree courses, academics to inform career decisions, and by research teams to identify new collaborative partners.
A CDU researcher has been recognised as one of the Territory’s top innovators in conservation research during the Northern Territory Research and Innovation and Young Tall Poppy Awards. Professor Stephen Garnett from CDU’s Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods won the overall 2012 Chief Minister’s Research and Innovation Award and the Tropical Knowledge Research Award.
CDU wins training awards. It won the prestigious Training Provider of the Year in the 2012 NT Training Awards. CDU offers 200 VET qualifications to approximately 14 000 students in more than 150 locations throughout the Territory. At this year’s awards, CDU students took out awards for Trainee of the Year, Vocational Student of the Year, the Austin Ashe Apprentice of the Year and the VET in Schools Student of the Year.
CDU has markedly improved its standing in this year’s Good Universities Guide, an annual rating system which compares Australia’s universities. For the first time, CDU has gained three stars in the key categories of teaching, quality and graduate satisfaction. This positions CDU in the middle of Australia’s 41 universities, an impressive achievement for one of the country’s youngest universities. The improved rating is a reflection of the efforts made by the academic staff towards improving course design, student engagement and the quality of learning resources.
The impact of research: CDU’s Centre for Renewable Energy Research Fellow, Dr Kean Yap, is working towards solving some of the electricity generation challenges faced by remote areas in the Northern Territory. Dr Yap aims to reduce diesel fuel consumption in the Territory’s remote area hybrid power stations to reduce costs, help improve energy security for remote communities and reduce carbon emissions. The research is expected to improve overall energy security for remote communities.
The Western Australia government heeds bird extinction warnings. The work of two CDU researchers has been written into Western Australia law. Recommendations by Professor Stephen Garnett and Dr Judit Szabo about the conservation status of Australian birds are being considered by several other jurisdictions. PhD research connects our culturally divided neighbours.
The residents of Ludmilla have worked together to break down cultural barriers after research by a CDU PhD candidate brought together neighbours from all walks of life and ethnicities. As part of her research, community development specialist Dr Gretchen Ennis instigated Ludmilla Neighbourhood Connections which brought together a diverse network of people and organisations to create community and increase connections across cultures. Using the community participation concept of neighbourhood networking, the residents came together for events ranging from concerts to sports days. They also rediscovered a significant history of the area and worked together to create a DVD which was distributed throughout the neighbourhood.
The education impact: CDU has helped East Timor tackle education. Educators from CDU and East Timor are working together to tackle issues related to providing education in one of the world’s newest nations. Steps to the Future, a cooperative workshop for education and training in East Timor brought together CDU and East Timorese educators to discuss literacy and numeracy, vocational education, teaching English, and teacher education. The workshop will help to strengthen links between the Northern Territory and East Timor.
The first Australian university to offer chemical engineering online: CDU is about to become the first university in Australia, and the third in the world, to offer Bachelor and Masters programs in chemical engineering online. The offerings, which are expected to generate interest from remote and regional students, are the latest demonstration of CDU’s commitment to innovation and increased flexibility in the higher education sector.
What is happening at Charles Darwin University is very exciting. The staff and, in particular, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Barney Glover, need to be commended for their efforts in getting these courses together. I am very proud all my tertiary education has been completed at Charles Darwin University, part of it when it was the Northern Territory University. I am proud I am a member of the alumni and always take every opportunity I can to promote our university. A huge number of students study part-time and, in particular, from a conversation with Professor Glover, there are a number of mature-aged students who use the university for further education. In fact, I was one of those who, as a mature-aged student, was given the opportunity to further my studies right up to the MBA and then to start a doctorate.
It is a fantastic university. It is a credit to the former Country Liberal government which started the university against opposition from members opposite at the time. We have demonstrated that when you believe in something and chase it, put the passion and effort into it, you can succeed. That is what this government will be doing; we will be demonstrating to people we have the commitment, the passion, and the will to make the Territory a fantastic place for our children and our children’s children.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, tonight I acknowledge an eminent jurist here in the Northern Territory, Justice Dean Mildren. Justice Dean Mildren will retire on 26 February 2013. Justice Mildren was born and educated in Adelaide and graduated with degrees in arts and law from the University of Adelaide in 1966. He entered into articles with James Henry Muirhead QC, later a justice of the Supreme Court and, subsequently, Administrator of the Northern Territory. Justice Mildren was admitted as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of South Australia in 1968, and the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 1970.
Justice Mildren relocated to Darwin in 1972 and became a partner with the firm Thomson and Co, which was restyled as Thomson Mildren and Co. His was one of the first firms to resume practice in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy and was instrumental in the restoration of legal services to the Darwin community. In 1976 he became in-house counsel and in 1980 joined the Northern Territory Independent Bar. One of Justice Mildren’s first briefs at the Independent Bar was to trace the application of the Imperial and South Australian laws and statutes to the newly elected body politic of the Northern Territory of Australia. Justice Mildren’s opinion became the seminal study in the matter and formed the basis for the enactment of the Sources of the Law Act 1985 Northern Territory.
Justice Mildren has had a diverse practice and was appointed a QC in 1983. He conducted jury trials in criminal matters, was an expert in personal injuries and workers compensation matters, and was also acknowledged as the Territory’s leading commercial Silk. Justice Mildren held a number of significant legal posts before appointment as a Supreme Court judge. These included Secretary of the Law Society 1972-73, President of the Law Society 1973, 1975, 1979 and 1981, Vice President of the Bar Association 1981-87, President of the Bar Association 1987-91, and Vice President of the Australian Bar Association 1989-90. He was also Chair of the Northern Territory Planning Appeals Committee 1979-85, and Deputy Chair of the Legal Practitioners Complaints Committee, 1983-88.
Justice Mildren was a part-time lecturer in torts and legal history at the Northern Territory University, now called Charles Darwin University, shortly after the establishment of the law faculty in Darwin in 1988. In that capacity, he educated and mentored many students who have since graduated and established successful careers in law in the Northern Territory, interstate and overseas. He was appointed as an adjunct professor of law in 1997 and held that position until 2002. In 1974, Justice Mildren joined the Army Legal Corp as reserve officer and rose to the rank of colonel. He served with the chief legal officer for the 7th Military District 1975-86, as a defence force magistrate 1986-91, and as a judge advocate 1986-96. He has been a member of the Defence Force Discipline Appeal Tribunal since 1996 and was awarded a Reserve Force decoration bar in 1995.
Justice Mildren was appointed a judge in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory on 28 June 1991. Since that time, he has become recognised as an outstanding jurist and a leader in many areas of Northern Territory law. His judgments are noted for their academic depth and intellectual acuity. They have been reported extensively in national services such as the Australian Law Reports and the Federal Law Reports.
Among his many other qualities as a jurist, Justice Mildren has a particular interest in Aboriginal justice issues and is sensitive to the difficulties confronting courts in attempting to meet legitimate expectations and entitlements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in their dealings with the legal system.
As part of that concern, in 1997 Justice Mildren formulated proforma directions to the jury for cases involving Aboriginal witnesses. Those directions are designed to assist the jury in assessing the evidence of Aboriginal witnesses and/or an accused person’s record of interview. This was achieved by drawing the jury’s attention to the possibility of sociolinguistic factors which can lead to misunderstandings of an Aboriginal witness’s evidence. The directions note, amongst other things, many Aboriginal people speak Aboriginal English which can lead to unwitting miscommunication, there may be extra linguistic features of evidence such as a tendency to avoid eye contact, and culturally appropriate periods of silence may elapse before an Aboriginal witness responds to a question. Further, Aboriginal witnesses may also show a tendency to agree with propositions put to them by persons in authority whether or not they agree with those propositions. The application of those directions has significantly advanced the course of Aboriginal participants in the justice system.
Justice Mildren has also written extensively on Aboriginal justice and related issues and has been instrumental in the development and maintenance of an Aboriginal Interpreter Service for use inside the courts and has been active in training Aboriginal interpreters. Justice Mildren assumed the Chair of the Council of Law Reporting for the Northern Territory in May 1999 following the retirement of Sir William Kearney. He continues to hold that position. In 2007, he was responsible for the establishment of the Northern Territory Law Journal.
Justice Mildren also added to the Northern Territory judgments 1918-1950, being judgments of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, the Supreme Court of North Australia and Supreme Court of Central Australia, the Northern Territory University Press 2001.
Justice Mildren is the foremost authority on the Territory’s legal history. In 2011, to coincide with the centenary of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, his comprehensive accounts of the court’s history Big Boss Fella All Same Judge was published by Federation Press. Justice Mildren is held in the highest regard by his judicial colleagues and members of the legal profession who recognise his extraordinary breadth and depth of knowledge of the law.
Justice Mildren’s contributions as first, a barrister and fearless advocate on matters involved in the administration of justice and, subsequently, as an exemplary judicial officer, have universally been recognised and valued by members of the Territory executive and legislature and the judiciary.
As previously indicated, Justice Mildren will retire on 26 February 2013 and, at the time of retirement, will be the Northern Territory’s longest serving resident judge and will have contributed to Northern Territory law for over 40 years. It is arguable no other person has had such a significant and positive influence on development of law and the legal profession in the Northern Territory. I wish him and Liz well in the next chapter of their lives. It is likely His Honour will be returning to the Northern Territory Supreme Court as an acting judge in the not too distant future.
I place on the record my thanks to this extraordinary jurist in the Northern Territory and am grateful to him, on behalf of this parliament, the Northern Territory government, and the people of the Northern Territory for his extraordinary contribution to this jurisdiction. I believe it is sufficiently noteworthy that this House be informed of the impending retirement of Justice Mildren.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016