2015-02-17
Madam Speaker Purick took the Chair at 10.15 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise I have received a letter dated 11 February 2015 from the member for Daly advising of his resignation as Deputy Speaker following his appointment as a minister. Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 8, the Assembly will now proceed to elect a Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees.
APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY SPEAKER AND
CHAIR OF COMMITTEES
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I propose to the Assembly that the member for Greatorex be appointed Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Deputy Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I second that nomination.
Madam SPEAKER: Does the member for Greatorex accept the nomination of Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees?
Mr CONLAN (Greatorex): I do, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Are there any further proposals for Deputy Speaker or Chair of Committees? There being no further proposals the time for motions has expired. I declare the member for Greatorex appointed Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees in accordance with standing orders. I offer my congratulations to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr CONLAN: Thank you.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I seek that leave of absence for today, tomorrow and Thursday be granted to the member for Namatjira on account of illness.
Leave granted.
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I seek leave to give notice of a motion of no confidence in the government.
Leave not granted.
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from immediately giving notice of a motion of no confidence in the government to be moved in the Assembly pursuant to section 24(1)(a) of the Electoral Act.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, the government will not be supporting this. She can move this motion at 2 pm where notices appropriately appear on the Notice Paper.
Madam SPEAKER: The Opposition Leader has moved a motion to suspend standing orders.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, I am seeking to suspend standing orders to allow me to immediately give notice of this motion because right now the Northern Territory is in paralysis and only an election can fix this mess the Country Liberals have put us in.
The last few weeks have been an utter and complete farce due to the incompetence, arrogance and selfishness of the members opposite. We have had 10 ministerial reshuffles since the member for Braitling became Chief Minister, 14 since the Country Liberals came to power, two Chief Ministers, one Chief Minister apparent – the member for Katherine – five Deputy Chiefs, five Treasurers, four Health ministers, six Business ministers, seven Employment ministers, five Transport ministers, five Infrastructure ministers, five Local Government ministers, five Housing ministers and the list goes on. How can Territorians and business have any confidence in this government to do anything?
The last ministry did not even face a parliamentary sitting. It was announced in December and the deckchairs on the Titanic were reshuffled last week. That is how dysfunctional this government has become and why we need to put this motion forward now. The sooner we can go to an election the sooner the public will have its faith restored in its publicly elected officials.
We have witnessed CLP ego-driven politics, where people treat their posts like a power play with no care for the consequences and impact their decisions have on Territorians. How can investors have any confidence to do business in the Territory when they do not know who they need to talk to on a week-to-week basis? How can business have any certainty to invest and expand when the goalposts continually shift and the umpires keep changing?
An election will end the bitter CLP infighting. It will end the paralysis of government and let Territorians get on with their jobs with faith restored that the government is no longer a circus. This is not Game of Thrones. Government affects services and businesses, and your petty politics have very real consequences for Territorians. It is clear the majority of the public has already lost confidence in this government with a daily outcry from Territorians demanding an election from all circles, all sectors and all regions. Everyone is fed up with you.
Terry Mills was given a chance and you messed it up. If you had any honour, integrity or cared about the Territory you would end this farce of a government and go to an election. You are so divided and your hatred of each other runs so deep you cannot run an effective government. The only thing that keeps you from going to an election is your desperation to cling to power and your pay packets, because you all know deep down nobody in their right mind would employ you.
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, can I ask you to pause for me to acknowledge some people in the gallery. I would like to acknowledge in the gallery Senator Nova Peris OAM, past member Maggie Hickey and former Deputy Chief Minister Syd Stirling. Welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms LAWRIE: You have proven to be completely untrustworthy when given any sort of power. Your arrogant approach to government does not listen or consult, and you make decisions based on ideology not evidence.
The people of the Northern Territory have suffered under you because of your ideological approach to governing, treating people like a number not as citizens. You have put profits before people. The cost of living burden is enormous. Raising power, water and sewerage prices by 30% has hit everybody. People are starting to get their bills with the additional 5% hike and they cannot afford to stay. You are destroying the fabric of the Territory. People cannot afford to live here and you simply do not care.
You have taken an axe to health and education. You have stripped money out of our crucial non-government organisations and have failed the bush, the people who put you into government. You have walked away from them and they want to walk away from you. You sell Territory assets without consultation: the Government Printing Office, the bus network and the big one, the Territory Insurance Office. People will not forget you traded away the surety of a local insurer for some quick bucks at a price far less than you told everyone you were getting. Yet you still proceed with your weasel word nonsense about leasing assets to pursue your ideological agenda – privatising the port – and you have fattened up Power and Water with profits to sell those crucial assets. You would sell them all if there was not an election every four years. For the sake of the people of the Territory you are hurting every day, we need to debate this motion to give Territorians the chance of an election.
This motion is not something we have done lightly. The disgraceful embarrassment of a coup by the members for Katherine and Port Darwin several weeks ago shows a government which has demonstrated time and time again since coming to power in 2012 that it is divided, arrogant and members put themselves before those who elected them in the first place.
The first thing you did as a government was to break your promise of lowering the cost of living by increasing power, water and sewerage tariffs. You tried to ignore the outcry, but the Wanguri by-election result was such a decisive blow to you that to save your own skins – not for the benefit of Territorians – you decided to knife a sitting Chief Minister while he was on a trade mission in Japan.
The Chief Minister has abandoned his home of Alice Springs and ignored the people who put his party into government – the bush – and has brought back jobs for the boys, the Silver Circle – the culture that was rejected – of the 1990s.
If you are not the Chief Minister’s friend you will not get squat. This is not the way to run the Territory. We are a democracy not a dictatorship, as the Chief Minister has often been described. We need to end this debacle of a government that does not have the confidence of Territorians.
We saw how the secret slush fund of Foundation 51 was used by the CLP for electioneering purposes, and many questions need to be answered on that – serious questions that only an ICAC can resolve.
When three bush members of the CLP government walked out last year it was proof the Chief Minister had stopped listening. When three of your own party are willing to walk out things are bad.
You tried to spin it back on the member for Namatjira for being a troublemaker, and saying you would not govern with a gun to your head, but the reality is the members for Namatjira, Arnhem and Arafura knew you would not listen to them until they did something drastic, because with your arrogance it is your way or the highway.
This is not democracy. This is not what Territorians want, need or expect.
This motion needs to be accepted for debate on Tuesday because the sooner we can go to an election the sooner we can end this debacle of a government. Your game playing and hatred for each other has made us a national embarrassment, a laughing stock, a joke.
The national coverage of the members for Katherine and Port Darwin’s failed midnight coup had people seriously questioning if we could even go on to be a state or whether we should be taken over by the Commonwealth. That is how bad it has become. This is very serious.
This motion needs to go ahead to end this national joke of a CLP government. The sad thing is most of you agreed. Nine of you know the member for Braitling is not up to the job of Chief Minister and voted to have him gone.
The members for Katherine, Arafura, Daly, Port Darwin, Blain, Brennan, Greatorex, Drysdale and Araluen all want him gone.
To show how dysfunctional you are, the Chief Minister refuses to resign and the remaining five members threaten to bring the House down – to desert the government and bring on an election.
The member for Braitling said he would rather go to an election. Member for Braitling, let us do it; let us go. Accept this motion and let us go to an election.
The member for Fong Lim said he is fed up with the nest of vipers and would rather have an election than work with his so-called colleagues, and I quote:
Media has reported that the members for Goyder and Stuart both threatened to resign to bring on an election. However, probably the most appalling part of this whole charade was the behaviour of the Chief Minister once he knew his number was up, that extraordinary press conference he gave where he accused members of his own Cabinet and senior members of the police of conspiring to get rid of him shows how bad this has become.
The accusations are of the most serious nature, and, if true, need to be dealt with at the highest level. If not, the Chief Minister should resign because he has become quite unhinged in his lust for power.
Once the Chief Minister got his way he showed he had not learnt his lesson and there was no unity. He went on to sack a Cabinet member, the member for Araluen. He ranted accusations in an Alice Springs CLP branch meeting which was taped and has been the subject of much commentary. The bullying, the blackmail and the hatred shows this government is completely dysfunctional and why nobody has any confidence in it. Despite promises of unity, and to show you have not learnt a single lesson from this debacle, you keep taking your revenge. You sacked the member for Araluen from Cabinet and the member for Greatorex mysteriously resigned from Cabinet.
You are divided. You are not capable of governing. You should go to an election. You should accept this motion. Four members of the government threatened an election and nine members of the government want a different Chief Minister. This government no longer has the confidence of the people, nor does it deserve the confidence of the parliament.
I am asking members of the parliament to consider this motion seriously, put aside their partisan politics and, for the good of the Territory, let the motion pass so we can get on with giving Territorians a government which represents the people of the Territory rather than themselves.
Madam Speaker, this is simply talking to the suspension of standing orders. I have more to say in regard to a motion of no confidence.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, bearing in mind we are only talking about a suspension of standing orders and she can give notice of this motion in three-and-a-half hours, I move the motion be put and disposed of.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw attention to the past member for Casuarina, Kon Vatskalis. Welcome. That new style tricked me.
Honourable members, also in the Speaker’s Gallery we have a former member for Nelson, Noel Padgham, and former member for Nightcliff, past Speaker Jane Aagaard. Welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ayes 13 Noes 9
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: The question now is that standing orders be suspended to allow for the immediate giving of notice of a motion by the Leader of the Opposition.
The Assembly divided:
Ayes 9 Noes 13
Mr Styles
Mr Tollner
Mr Westra van Holthe
Motion negatived.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received Message No 23 from His Honour the Administrator notifying assent to the bills passed in the November sittings. The message is dated 2 February 2015.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that on Thursday 19 February 2015 the Assembly meets at 2 pm and that the routine of business be as follows – this is for the Bombing of Darwin Commemoration sitting adjustment:
Petitions
Questions
Notices
Government Business
Notices
Orders of the Day
Ministerial statements
Papers
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I table a copy of the Administrative Arrangement Order published in the Northern Territory Gazette No S12 dated 11 February 2015.
WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION OF DISALLOWANCE
Regulation 4n of the Motor Accidents
(Compensation) Amendment Regulations 2014
Mr BARRETT (Blain): Madam Speaker, I advise that Regulation 4N of the Motor Accidents (Compensation) Amendment Regulations 2014 was repealed at the Executive Council meeting of 16 December 2014. I therefore withdraw the proposed motion of disallowance and seek leave to table correspondence from the Treasurer confirming the repeal.
Leave granted.
MOTION
Note Paper – Report on Entitlements of Assembly Members
and Determination No 1 of 2014
Continued from 30 October 2014.
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I continue my remarks on the Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members and Determination No 1 of 2014. This report has made a number of recommendations for adjustments to members of the Legislative Assembly entitlements under various headings but not excluding proposals to adjust allowances to ensure members can serve their electorates and provide advocacy for their constituents.
The tribunal can make determinations on certain allowances, and changes have been recommended in this report in the areas of electorate allowances for members, staffing, motor vehicles, travel allowances and other entitlements.
This is the normal course of action for any members’ entitlement tribunal around the country and we would expect no less from the tribunal. The difference is we ask our independent tribunal in the Northern Territory to determine the requirements of an elected member to operate his or her electorate in a satisfactory way.
Whilst we respect the good work undertaken by the Remuneration Tribunal in delivering this report, and while we on this side of the House appreciate the effort the tribunal has taken in this report to reflect the issues raised by members, I and my colleagues do not think the tribunal has been able to do its job properly or appropriately. It has one hand tied behind its back.
We on this side will not be supporting the recommendations in this report except for the last and reoccurring pleading recommendation of the tribunal: to allow the tribunal to independently determine both members’ salaries as well as their entitlements. We want to remove the members’ conflict of interest we have in this Chamber in the determinations. This will ensure a balanced approach to prescribing the right levels of value to each within the determination.
Let me explain. For the last few years the Remuneration Tribunal has been pointing out a major flaw in its ability to fairly determine conditions for all members of the Legislative Assembly, not just government. In March 2011 the Assembly Members and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act was amended under the then Labor government to remove the tribunal’s independence. It moved to tie increases in members’ remuneration to any percentage increase received by Northern Territory public servants. Subsequently these measures were described by the tribunal, in its Determination No 1 of 2012 Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members, that if the new act amendments of 2011 were not negated then the capacity of the tribunal for independent assessment of member remuneration levels would be removed and the independence of the tribunal would be partly removed.
In the same report the tribunal has also strongly recommended these provisions of the act be repealed and replaced with a power for the tribunal to determine conditions of office for all Assembly members and Assembly officeholders. This is only fair and reasonable and in no way different from how federal parliamentary members’ determinations work.
Prior to legislative change in the federal parliament in 2012 by way of the Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011, the tribunal did not directly determine parliamentary base salary. Following amendments which took effect from 5 August 2012, the tribunal now has a responsibility to determine base pay for all members of parliament in both Houses. The federal tribunal conducted, with the assistance of an external consultant, a review of the work of members of parliament.
The Remuneration Tribunal of the federal parliament is an independent statutory authority established under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973. The tribunal consists of three part-time members appointed by the Governor-General.
We have made changes to our tribunal in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory now has a tribunal made up of a similar number of members – being three – and has consistently, ever since the amendments to the act, called on this Assembly to follow the lead of the Commonwealth parliament and vest the determination of members’ entitlements to an independent tribunal, not members of parliament.
This tribunal has also recommended that any legislation for determining members’ base salaries should ensure the tribunal cannot determine the salary be more than that of a federal member of parliament less a fix percentage nominated by the act. The tribunal again noted in its Determination No 1 of 2013 there has not been any change to the legislation and it is still of the view the legislation should be changed.
In the 2014 report before the House today the tribunal said, at recommendation 16, that it notes there has not been any change to the above legislation in relation to members and officeholders, and the tribunal reiterates its comments in this respect made in previous reports of 2012 and 2013.
As I have made it clear, our tribunal does not currently have a role in setting many aspects for officeholders or members of the Legislative Assembly set by legislation. As I stated earlier, we on this side of the House are moved to take up the tribunal’s plea to change the way determinations are made, remove it from the hands of politicians and demonstrate this by not supporting the latest report of the tribunal.
We will further demonstrate we are willing to follow the sound advice of the tribunal by bringing forth legislation for debate in this Assembly changing the way members entitlements are determined by placing those determinations into the hands of a fully independent tribunal. Later this week I will give notice of this legislation and I urge all members of the parliament to participate in the debate on the bill once it has been formally introduced and laid on the table until next sittings.
I would like to point out to members of the House that while we respect and acknowledge the sound advice of the tribunal to place the powers of determination of members’ entitlements in its hands, there are other reasons we believe we have to change the method of determination, not the least of which is the compromising position the government finds itself in every time a new public service EBA is negotiated.
Currently the act, as varied by Labor under the previous government, prescribes that increases to members’ remuneration be tied to public servant increases received by Northern Territory public employees, and the determination of additional salaries for officeholders be removed from the tribunal altogether.
The other factor is that during any negotiations the government takes to increase the salaries of public servants, members of the government are effectively negotiating with themselves for a pay rise because of those flow-on effects. This is a direct conflict of interest and we have always maintained that. This is not a reasonable position for any member to be in, let alone members of the executive government that have to adhere to a strict ministerial code of conduct and should be declaring a conflict of interest on the grounds they could gain personal advantage from any decisions they make in Cabinet around salary increases for public employees.
I commend to the House the direction I have outlined for the future determination of members’ entitlements through an independent tribunal, as happens in most other states and the federal parliament. We are not supportive of the Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members and Determination No 1 of 2014 proceeding, but thank the tribunal for its efforts and inform it we will be taking up the repeated advice that future powers of determination be vested in a fully independent tribunal.
Madam Speaker, I move that the report be noted.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, essentially this is a debate to process at the moment. We are seeking, under the government’s direction, to disallow the current advice from the Remuneration Tribunal. On this side of the House we offer cautious support.
I had a good conversation with the Leader of Government Business yesterday about the process the government intends to follow in creation of an independent statutory body separate to politicians in order to make these decisions. It is a good process. In the context of the broader political debate we are having at the moment about independence it is a sensible step. Obviously we are still waiting for more details.
Last night I had a conversation with the member for Nelson. I will not put words in his mouth; I am assuming he will speak in this debate. There is some detail yet to come but that is for a further debate. Essentially, the first step we need to take is to disallow what has been put before us.
There is some logic in that because you do not want the Legislative Assembly to implement a range of processes and procedures in this Remuneration Tribunal determination if we are about to create a new independent body which may change it all. One of the things with independence is you lose control, which is a good thing in this circumstance. We should not be in charge of our own circumstances; it should be independent to us. There is some logic in disallowing the current RTD.
There were some good things in that RTD. I had done a bit of work with the Legislative Assembly to prepare myself and my office for some of the changes. The new acquittals process was very good and something we had in our office already. We were not operating on that strict quarterly time frame but were doing most of that work already. It was a good process to tighten things up, and a number of other things in the current RTD were sensible. However, we will now have a new independent statutory authority to look at those things, and that is something the public should welcome. We are separate to these decisions; we should not be involved in these decisions.
As it stands now we are being asked to discuss our own conditions. Having an independent arrangement for that is very good. We are talking about independent officers, and in the Territory we have been served by some very good independent officers such as the former Auditor-General, Frank McGuiness. People of that stature, credibility and level of independence should be looking at these things and making decisions and recommendations.
From a process point of view, having that separation is quite important and is why we provide our cautious support. We are still looking for further detail, which I understand will be coming forward soon. I understand it will be introduced on Thursday so we should get to see the time frame then. We are looking forward to the detail, but as a party, in recent times, we have spoken a lot about trust, public confidence and independence. As a result we support processes like this which see an independent statutory authority created. That is why we are providing our cautious support. This is the first logical step in the process, but we are looking for further detail when it comes forward.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of Ms Nicolle Corpus and Mr Kurt Liddy from the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I have not prepared for this. The member for Fannie Bay mentioned it to me at about 7.30 pm outside the Humpty Doo fish and chip shop. It is difficult to give a …
Mr Giles: Did you get the fish and chips?
Mr WOOD: Yes. Humpty Doo Seafoods is one of the best places to buy fish and chips.
Mr Giles: Put that on his register of interests, Madam Speaker.
Mr WOOD: Yes, I am happy to have that on my register of interests.
My understanding is the government wants to set up a new process where our entitlements will be looked at independently. Whilst I would prefer to see what comes out later in the week, I understand the principle. I believe a few things need looking at. It might sound funny, but if a member does not want a pay rise they should not be made to take it.
Sometimes simple things are complex. For instance, we can take travel allowance when we go somewhere. Sometimes that travel allowance is over the top for what I spend so I might want to say, ‘I was away for three days but will only take one day’. It is complicated to do that and we need a system which allows people to have that flexibility and an independent person or body to make those decisions. We need flexibility to say if we accept it or prefer an amended version. That gives us independence.
The Chief Minister knows I have an issue in relation to independent members not having any staff. You blamed me for all the previous worries of the world in relation to the budget and did not give any assistance. I asked the tribunal if it was possible for Independents – at that stage there was only me – to have one research officer. That was back in the days when Loraine Braham was in parliament and we shared that position. I will not push the issue; it is your decision and I live with it.
When you consider all the staff that members have available to them on both sides, the Independents have nothing. That is harsh because we want input to make parliament run better. You say we need to be working for Territorians, and that is my belief too, but sometimes it is difficult to cover every aspect of the issues we debate in parliament.
I do my best. I cannot speak on behalf of the other Independents but some assistance would be reasonable. I would put to the tribunal there should be some allowance for that.
I will raise a hot potato; the Premier of South Australia has been looking at a range of things from nuclear power to superannuation for members of parliament. He said it was a mistake in the days of Mark Latham, and then John Howard jumped on the bandwagon because of public pressure to severely cut the entitlements of members of parliament. There are only a few of us on the previous superannuation entitlements. I am not saying the superannuation system in Australia has been run well. I remember a member of the Nationals in Queensland served one term and received a very high superannuation sum. I might be wrong, but that was part of the discussion at the time ...
Mr Elferink: Was that Bill O’Chee?
Mr WOOD: Yes.
Mr Elferink: No, he did his time. He came into parliament when he was about 12.
Mr WOOD: Whatever it was it caused a big kerfuffle at the time. At that stage reasoned debate was thrown out because there was a popular move to say members of parliament received far too much superannuation and it needed to be chopped back. I believe the chopping back was too severe.
There are good reasons why members of parliament should receive a reasonable superannuation. It is not just about earning the money. People have said it was originally introduced into the Commonwealth parliament many years ago – the 1940s or 1950s – to reduce the risk of politicians being bribed. People might say, ‘We will look after you when you’re finished if you pass these laws or do this’.
It needs to be addressed. It does not necessarily have to be the same as before because that went too far in the other direction. People might think we are paid well, but you can also lose your job and that is it. For many people life is dead all of a sudden and they have nothing to support them.
There are arguments for and against and this may be an opportune time. As the Premier of South Australia said, ‘It will never be popular because even paying members of parliament a wage is never popular’. It is a no-win situation, but that does not mean we turn our back on discussion. This may be an opportune time for people to look at the issue.
I do not know much about what is being put forward today. I understand the entitlements of Assembly members’ determination comes before us each year and is up for discussion again. If we are looking at changing entitlements or bringing in a new process it may be an opportune time to raise some of these issues. They may go nowhere, but this may be a time to deal with some of them in a serious way. As the Premier of South Australia intimated, some of these things might not be popular but are worthy of discussion and debate.
I will not commit to support or otherwise at the moment. I need to see the fine print then go from there.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
The Assembly suspended.
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I wish to make a brief statement on the cyclone situation in the gulf country.
Category 2 Tropical Cyclone Lam remains slow moving in the northern Gulf of Carpentaria. A cyclone warning is now in place from Elcho Island to Cape Shield, including Nhulunbuy. A cyclone watch is in place for Maningrida to Elcho Island and Cape Shield to Port Roper, including Groote Eylandt. Tropical Cyclone Lam is currently 290 km east northeast of Nhulunbuy and 415 km northeast of Alyangula. It is moving west at about 7 km/h.
Coastal residents between Elcho Island and Cape Shield, including Nhulunbuy, are specifically warned of a dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre crosses the coast. Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide with damaging waves and dangerous flooding. Heavy rain is likely to cause flooding of low lying areas in the northeast Top End from later today. Gale force winds are expected to affect Nhulunbuy early on Wednesday, which may strengthen to very destructive winds later in the day.
Daily rainfall totals of 200 mm to 300 mm are possible along Arnhem coastal rivers on Thursday and Friday with rainfall totals of 100 mm to 150 mm to extend further inland across the Arnhem coastal rivers and also affect parts of the Carpentaria coastal rivers. These falls are expected to lead to strong stream rises which may affect road access at times. Some communities may become isolated. Catchments likely to be affected include the McArthur and Waterhouse Rivers.
Northern Territory Emergency Services advises people should stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams and waterways, avoid driving into water of unknown depth and current and stop children playing in or near floodwaters. They advise you should create your own sandbags if there is flooding by using pillowcases and shopping bags filled with sand and place them around doorways to protect your home. Be careful of fallen power lines, they are dangerous and should also be treated as live. For emergency help in floods, storms and cyclones call 132 500. Emergency information, including the latest road conditions, is available at www.securent.nt.gov.au.
As we speak a media conference is being held with emergency services to advise that schools in the immediate vicinity of the expected path of the cyclone are closed until further notice. These schools are Yirrkala School, Nhulunbuy High School, Nhulunbuy Primary School, Nhulunbuy Christian School and Baniyala School.
I have some specific advice for people in the watch and warning areas: pull together your emergency kit, clear your yards and balconies and start home shelter preparations. Please do not proceed to public emergency shelters until advised to do so. If you do not have accommodation constructed to the Building Code, or are unsure of your present accommodation, you should determine now where to shelter. This may include arranging to shelter with family, friends, or in public emergency shelters or strong buildings that are available in your community.
If your cyclone plan includes seeking shelter away from the region, the roads are open and in good condition for four-wheel drive vehicles. The fuel barge has arrived in Nhulunbuy and is currently being taken into town to replenish fuel bowsers. Check that your friends, family and neighbours have heard and understood the messages, particularly new arrivals or those who may have difficulty fully understanding English.
If you have friends, family or neighbours away see if you can help them with any cyclone preparations, including checking on pet welfare and other assets. Check with your neighbours and see if they need a hand to move pots and plants, store outdoor furniture and do not forget about pets. If you are going away make sure you have made arrangements for your animals to be cared for, particularly if there is a cyclone. People should continue to monitor local media and www.securent.nt.gov.au for updates.
In regard to government preparations, authorities are continuing to monitor the situation and will provide regular updates. A range of plans are in place and preparations have begun. Everyone should continue to monitor local media and secureNT for updates.
Gove District Hospital has well-established emergency plans for adverse events such as cyclones. Patients will be contacted if any out-patient appointments need to be rescheduled.
The acting Police Commissioner will be giving me another update after 3 pm, when another emergency management meeting will occur. I will be providing the community with a further update at that point.
I advise Territorians that measures are being taken by all areas of government – Territory and some federal – to make sure we are prepared and ready to respond should it be necessary. When we receive an update from the Bureau of Meteorology we will provide more information.
In conclusion, residents in the affected area should stay tuned to the emergency stations. I will be keeping abreast of developments and keeping the public as informed as possible, along with the acting Police Commissioner, as soon as information presents itself.
The CLERK: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 100A I inform honourable members that responses to Petition Nos 39, 40 and 41 have been received and circulated to honourable members. The text of the response will be placed on the Legislative Assembly website. A copy of the response will be provided to the member who tabled the petition for distribution to petitioners.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, you will note the Rulings and Precedents of the 12th Assembly have been placed on your desks. These will be updated after each sittings and will be available in electronic form on the members’ suite of the intranet site.
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, today I talk about the direction of government for 2015-16, a direction committed to placing community best interests at the centre of all decision-making, a direction that establishes the right frameworks for the Northern Territory’s future and recognises opportunities and delivers the very best outcomes for Territorians. Put simply, it is time for all of us to get on with making people’s lives simpler, easier and safer.
We have achieved a great deal in the past two years but there is much to do. In 2015 my government’s work will include: supporting Northern Territory families and communities; giving our kids the best education and keeping them active; promoting our great Territory lifestyle; protecting our environment; bringing on land release to ease housing pressures; strengthening our prosperous economy; creating jobs and removing road blocks to regional development; cutting red tape; investing in the infrastructure Territorians need to move themselves around and get their products to market; and attracting new visitors and celebrating our unique Territory culture.
I want to assure Territorians we will work with you. We want to walk beside you on this journey. That means speaking to Territorians directly about their priorities and their local solutions. We want to create the sense of community which was the Country Liberals strength. We want to be a reflection of the community, not viewed as isolated from its needs and aspirations.
The government I lead will be 110% focused on Territorians, not an agenda that improves a balance sheet but ignores the needs of mums and dads in Malak. I believe Territorians have a lot to contribute and my government wants to properly engage with the community. Right around Australia, right around the Northern Territory, people feel their politicians have left them behind with big picture agenda items, mudslinging and political slurs, as we have seen today from the Labor Party.
The big picture economy, in particular, is often too big for people to see. As a result, government becomes detached from the average Territorian. This will change. We need to better support Territorians in the things that matter in their daily lives rather than assume they want to be part of a dry economic agenda. People are part of a community not a five-year plan or a 2030 vision. Economic indicators and credit ratings are very important, but we have to make sure this is extrapolated to mean much more to Territorians.
We cannot lose sight of the fact people are more interested in the state of their children’s classroom than a Moody’s credit rating. Our economy is going from strength to strength and is leading the nation. We have a great story to tell but I understand we have not always explained the benefits of this to individual Territorians, particularly when it comes to some of the larger projects. In essence, they all mean job opportunities for Territorians. We need to grow the economy. The government’s role is to ensure the benefits of a growing economy translates into jobs and better facilities, better services and a sense of inclusion for all Territorians.
These are things like lights at the local oval being on so kids can train in the evening rather than playing on the street, and more support for sporting and community groups so they can decide their own priorities rather than a government deciding what they need. My government is committed to making Territorians the centre of everything. We do not engage in mudslinging like the Labor Party.
When the Country Liberals were elected in 2012 we promised we would make the Territory a better place for everyone. We are working hard to achieve that with a focus on community lifestyle and the economy. In 2015 we will be continuing support for Territory families through our hugely popular Country Liberals Back to School payment and sports voucher schemes. We have added an extra $5m to the Country Liberals Sport Voucher Scheme to get more children off the couch and into recreational activities. These vouchers have increased from $75 to $200 per child. We have expanded the scheme to include more activities such as dance, music, arts and learn to swim lessons for children aged up to five years.
This will encourage our children to live healthier lives and reduce the cost to families. We have doubled the Country Liberals Back to School payment to $150 per child to further ease the burden on families. The payments help offset the cost of education items such as uniforms, text books, stationery, school excursions and student ID cards. We want to help our kids learn but also keep them active. These two Country Liberals initiatives make it easier to do both.
We have reduced the cost of childcare services by increasing childcare subsidies by 10% and expanded the scheme to include Family Day Care. Five children and Family Day Care centres have been constructed in Palmerston, Gunbalanya, Maningrida, Ngukurr and Yuendumu which will deliver both government and non-government integrated early childhood services, including health and parenting support.
We have completed the most comprehensive review of Indigenous education in 15 years with a view to giving our kids in the bush a future. The Country Liberals have committed more than $40m to implement recommendations from the Wilson Indigenous education review. The 10-year Indigenous education strategy, A share in the future, will begin this year and will provide a strategic direction to create future success for all Territory Indigenous children.
The Our School, Our Future plan aims to provide greater autonomy for schools. It gives parents and communities increased opportunities for input into the decision-making that shapes their school’s strategic direction. As part of this plan, the global schools budget model was announced in September 2014 with implementation to commence in all Northern Territory schools for the 2015 school year. The new school resourcing model will improve the targeting of resources and provide schools with greater flexibility in decision-making and a clear framework for forward planning. For the first time, principals and their school communities have a line of sight to their full resourcing package and can make decisions about how to utilise these resources in line with their local priorities and needs.
Six schools were successful in their applications to become independent public schools in 2015: Braitling, Larrakeyah, Leanyer and Wulagi Primary Schools, Darwin High School and Palmerston Senior College.
We are building a new school for students with special needs. The Northern Territory Open Education Centre and a new childcare centre at Ntaria, or Hermannsburg, will also be constructed.
In response to improved school student attendance, funding has been provided through improved infrastructure at five schools involved in the Remote School Attendance Strategy, being Maningrida, Borroloola, Ntaria, Ali Curung and Shepherdson College.
The NT government is committed to expanding the availability of regional boarding schools for remote and very remote students, and has committed $40.5m to the establishment of these boarding facilities, including one in Nhulunbuy which will be supplemented by Australian government funding.
A total of $52m has also been allocated over the 10-year life of the National Partnership Agreement on Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory to establish and upgrade teacher housing in remote and very remote areas.
In regard to keeping Territorians safe, under the Country Liberals the Territory has seen property crime figures drop to their lowest level since current records began. Unlike Delia Lawrie’s failed Labor government, the Country Liberals take law and order seriously. Our policies are delivering, driving down crime and cutting alcohol consumption. The government has introduced a suite of alcohol measures, including Alcohol Protection Orders, stationing police at bottle shops and paperless arrests which are driving down violent crime.
Alcohol-related assaults were down 16% Territory-wide over the past year alone. The effects have been especially visible in Alice Springs where alcohol-related assaults are down 30%, and Tennant Creek, where they are down a staggering 53%. We hope to see similar results from expansion of the policy of having police based at bottle shops in Katherine. Anecdotal evidence to date suggests that intervention is working substantially well, with early figures indicating an average of more than 35 domestic violence cases attended to by police each day now down to one a day. We are already protecting women and children in Katherine as a result of that measure.
Territorians are safer on our streets under the Country Liberals government. Alcohol Mandatory Treatment is helping to turn the tide of damage caused by alcohol abuse. More than 600 people have been referred to alcohol mandatory treatment since the program started in July 2013. Lives are being changed; people are obtaining work and life skills, reconnecting with families and their health is improving. This year we will expand the AMT program in Alice Springs and we are looking to build a secure treatment facility in Katherine.
Property crime is currently at the lowest level since we were last in government in the 1990s. Commercial break-ins are down 21% in Darwin and house break-ins are down 22% in Alice Springs. House break-ins have halved in Tennant Creek and are down 16% in Katherine.
The government is investing heavily in the Territory’s CCTV network. We are using it as a crime-fighting tool with 180 cameras soon to be operating NT-wide.
We understand youth crime is an issue in many Territory towns and communities. We have heard this message and have just announced a $4.2m funding package for regional youth programs focused on early intervention and prevention, which we believe is the key to tackling this issue.
We are also keen to ensure we take Territorians with us as we embark on new policies like this. That is why we have decided to tap into the local knowledge of regional coordination committees in each of the major centres to decide how the money will be allocated. Local people have the best idea of community needs, where there are gaps in services and where there is a risk of duplication.
Keeping Territorians healthy is a priority. Work is continuing on Palmerston Regional Hospital on two fronts, with the Northern Territory government assessing expressions of interest from a number of private health providers to design, build, operate and maintain the public hospital. This means for the first time Territory families will be able to access a fully functioning level three hospital close to Palmerston and the rural area. There is also the potential to increase the scope of private hospital services in the Territory.
Major earthworks on the Stuart Highway and Temple Terrace intersection are currently under way to improve safety and relieve congestion in the local area. The $150m investment into Palmerston Regional Hospital is a capital investment jointly funded by the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments. We are also investing in existing health infrastructure and look forward to announcing the next tender for fire rectification program works to Alice Springs hospital early next year. The $26m building program is anticipated to continue for the next four years.
The Northern Territory government has also introduced measures to help increase the number of Aboriginal Health Practitioners employed in the NT, both in government and Aboriginal community controlled health organisational sectors.
The government is committed to improving regional health and empowering the transition of health services in our remote communities to the community-controlled sector. We are leading this reform through the Pathways to Community Control program.
Through its chronic disease programs the Northern Territory has seen a significant improvement in life expectancy, especially for Aboriginal women, which is a positive step. Remote primary healthcare teams have increased their access to adult health checks, enabling identification of risk and prevention of early onset of chronic disease.
The government has increased women’s choices for birthing in the Northern Territory by introducing legislation that allows privately practising midwives to care for women birthing in the home.
Patients in Central Australia can now receive an MRI scan for the first time with the installation of a new magnetic resonance imaging machine at Alice Springs Hospital, and we have opened a new emergency department in Tennant Creek providing a GP service at the hospital.
In addition, the expansion of the Telehealth NT network means increased access to health services for those living in remote communities. A total of 56 government remote sites are connected, and 85 remote sites and five hospital sites are all on the road to participating. Work continues to add further connections, a fantastic outcome for the health sector.
In 2015 my government will continue to implement a coordinated approach to tackling domestic violence, a heinous crime. More than 60% of assault offences in the Northern Territory are associated with domestic violence with 82% of the victims being women. Minister Bess Price knows only too well the pain and suffering caused by this terrible and violent crime and has made a huge contribution to this policy. Enough is enough when it comes to domestic violence.
We will tackle domestic violence head-on and give government agencies all the support they need to remove this scourge on society. The NT government’s Domestic and Family Violence Reduction Strategy 2014-17: Safety Is Everyone’s Right is a victim focused integrated strategy which aims to create an improved coordinated approach. Safety is a basic human right and is at the core of the approach. The strategy is jointly funded by the Australian and Northern Territory governments and will see 11 government departments and non-government organisations working together. The long-term commitment to reduce domestic and family violence is strengthened by increasing funding for support services.
The Northern Territory public service is the largest employer in the Territory, with 20 000 people working across 30 agencies. I understand across other jurisdictions in Australia cuts to the public service have been hugely unpopular and unproductive, which is why we bucked the trend in the Northern Territory and have increased the number of employees our Northern Territory public service has since we came to government. There are more employees in the NT public service now than when we came to office, so let us remove one of the Labor lies continuously peddled ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please withdraw that comment in regard to lies.
Mr GILES: I withdraw. It is continuously peddled that public servants have been sacked. That is untrue. There are more public employees in the Northern Territory now than when we came to government.
Last year we unveiled a package of measures to make the Northern Territory public service a more attractive place to work, on top of having more employees than when we came to government. The changes were aimed at modernising our public service, promoting training and staff development, as well as giving staff more flexibility in their working lives. The changes include the ability for staff to accrue leave to use over a Christmas period shutdown. This will bring the Territory into line with other jurisdictions across the country.
There is provision for more flexible work hours. There will be better outcomes for part-time work and we will also simplify the process of recruitment to make it easier to apply for government jobs. We are keen to build our skill base within the NT public service and will offer a training guarantee for all public servants at the AO2 to AO5 levels to assist employees with their professional development.
Today I would also like to unveil a new plank of these public service reforms by setting a new Aboriginal employment target. We have reviewed Aboriginal employment across the public service. A total of 30% of the Territory’s population is Aboriginal, yet when we came to government only 8% of the Territory public service was of Aboriginal descent. In my book that is unacceptable. Today I announce that by 2020 we will double the proportion of Aboriginal employees in the public service from 8% to 16%. I will have more to say at a later date on the strategies …
Ms Lawrie: No one believes you.
Mr GILES: … to produce that, but we are setting the target today.
I note the interjection from the Leader of the Opposition, who does not support the 16% target for Indigenous employees and criticised it from across the Chamber. We will stand up for Aboriginal employment in the public service and …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I said no one believes you.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down. It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: For eleven-and-a-half years Labor had an opportunity to improve the lives of Aboriginal Territorians and did not. We will double the Indigenous employment rate in the Territory from 8% to 16% by 2020, and will have more to say about it as we unveil some of our strategies to achieve that target. Thank you very much to those working inside the public service commission for their support in coordinating the review and the report – the Callaghan report – into Indigenous employment. I look forward to working with the public service commissioner, the office of the public service commissioner, and all agencies and staff to see a positive outcome in doubling Aboriginal employment in the Northern Territory by 2020 from 8% to 16%.
Fundamentally, I want to give Indigenous people – Aboriginal Territorians – an opportunity to have a real job in government and a chance to contribute to breaking the cycle of welfare dependency that has crippled Aboriginal people for so long.
No government in the Territory’s history has stood up for the economic rights of Aboriginal Territorians like we have since coming to government. This will continue to change and is why we brought back the Indigenous Affairs portfolio. We are setting up the enabling framework to empower Aboriginal people and give them a voice.
We have already abolished Labor’s toxic shires. We have put in place the regional council model and established 63 local authorities across the Territory. We funded them so local authorities can have a say in their communities and start driving reform.
Indigenous affairs will see new life in the Northern Territory like never before, standing up for Indigenous Territorians, Aboriginal economic rights, jobs and business. We are getting rid of centralisation, the Labor way of taking the voice away from Aboriginal Territorians, and are giving it back to the people on the ground. We are empowering Aboriginal Territorians to take control of their lives and driving reform in an effort to improve educational outcomes, employment outcomes and business opportunities.
During 2015 my government will continue to defend our unique Territory lifestyle and protect the environment. We want to make it easy for Territorians to enjoy our great outdoors, whether it is fishing on our world famous rivers or swimming in a waterhole.
We are investing in CCTV at our boat ramps and infrastructure in our national parks. I know the member for Blain is excited to see CCTV at boat ramps. It was one of his key election commitments in the Blain by-election.
We also know how much Territorians love their sport. That is why we are investing millions of dollars in bringing first-class sporting teams to our back yard. Since coming to government we have started building an impressive calendar of fixtures. In partnerships like this, created by the Country Liberals government, we now see soccer, AFL, cricket and NRL on a regular basis. The Eels were in Alice Springs last Friday night.
It is not just about games or Territorians watching games, it is about investment in the community. It is about going to hospital and talking to the sick kids, going to schools and encouraging sporting participation and healthy eating. It is about creating pathways for Territorians to make it to the big league. A couple of weeks ago we saw a Palmerston rugby league player join the Parramatta Eels in the Jersey Flegg. Congratulations. That is what it is all about.
In June 2014 this government created Festivals NT. This is a new initiative to expand the Northern Territory’s annual program of cultural, sporting and business events by having a key focus on attracting visitors from overseas and interstate. This will strengthen the Territory’s role as a gateway and meeting place between Australia and Asia, promote the Northern Territory as a tourist destination, develop and showcase the arts, expand the reach and range of sporting events in competitions and build on celebrated Northern Territory events.
Festivals NT includes a year-round Territory-wide festival calendar which builds on existing events and incorporates new sporting, business and cultural elements. It is already proving to be an enormous success. Not only have we seen additional events in the arts, including an expanded program of events in the 2014 Darwin Festival, but also some great sporting events, including the Adelaide United partnership and the inaugural Mitchel Street Mile.
Festivals NT will continue building on existing festivals across the Territory in 2015 with a particular focus on Asian engagement. A new director has just been appointed within the Department of the Chief Minister to oversee Festivals NT. She joins the government later this month and comes with broad experience, having relocated from Indonesia where she was working in the Australian Embassy producing the recent Oz Fest program.
One of the key tasks will be to develop signature events to celebrate Territory Day based on research we conducted last year. The key message from the community consultation was people believe Territory Day is important and should be celebrated. We are proud to be Territorian and of the Territory’s heritage. Territory Day should be a celebration belonging to the people and should recognise our history, our heroes, our achievements, our lifestyle and our future.
Most accept that fireworks are part and parcel of Territory Day celebrations, but there are mixed views on whether gazetting a public holiday is essential to celebrating Territory Day. We asked the question and the community responded with roughly a 50:50 view – slightly in favour of a public holiday. It is clear there is not a strong enough desire from the community to create a public holiday to celebrate Territory Day at this time.
The government has listened to Territorians and decided not to introduce a public holiday at present. However, we want to build on the It’s Our Day campaign we started last year. As such, Territory Day 2015 will be a time where we expand on our family-friendly public firework displays. We will also work to create a sense of local celebration and Territory-wide unity through some new events to be held in regional areas.
Between 2014 and 2018 Australia will commemorate the Anzac Centenary – 100 years since World War I. The Northern Territory government has announced its support for a Northern Territory Anzac Centenary program with a highlight being The Borella Ride, a re-enactment of Albert Borella’s 1915 …
Ms Walker: You did not even go to the opening.
Mr GILES: … enlistment journey from Tennant Creek to Darwin ...
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: I know people across the Chamber have no respect for fallen diggers and past history, but could you be quiet during this …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 62. That is offensive. I ask the Chief Minister to withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you can withdraw that comment please.
Mr GILES: I withdraw. I point out to those listening and reading that talking about the centenary of Anzac is something I would not be rudely interrupting.
I get back to The Borella ride and the re-enactment of Albert Borella’s 1915 enlistment journey from Tennant Creek to Darwin. It starts in Tennant Creek on Friday, and I will be there with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister, the member for Drysdale. I look forward to travelling with her, amongst other ministerial colleagues. It will culminate in Darwin on 3 March.
We also recently hosted the arrival of Albert Borella’s Victoria Cross. This is proudly displayed in our Main Hall and will then be moved into the State Library for a month to join the Borella display.
The NT government has committed funding of $4.5m over four years for the Anzac Centenary program, including the Chief Minister’s Anzac Spirit Study Tour. There will also be special commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin in 2017.
We must maintain clear air, water and land. Water is one of our most valuable resources and we must do all we can to manage it wisely. We must ensure sound scientific knowledge is in place as we seek to harness the benefits of important resources. We must put proper measures in place to allow for sustainable projects and we must listen and work with those whose knowledge of country is profound.
In 2015 the government is developing a balanced environment strategy. This is a framework to ensure the Territory has an environment that is sustainable, balances use with protection and is well-managed, including urban design and public spaces.
The Northern Territory has high standards overseen by the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority, which ensures the protection of our environmental values as we look to the past and the future. For example, we have negotiated an environmental assessment bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth to reduce the regulatory burden on developers without compromising environmental outcomes by partnering on the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This objective is to ensure an integrated coordinated approach that minimises duplication and ensures an efficient and effective process.
In 2015 my government will continue to work with the Commonwealth to further reduce duplication and unnecessary green tape, while putting foremost the priority of protecting our environment.
We have also been making the lives of Territorians easier by cutting more than 200 pieces of red tape since coming to government, and there is still a lot more to do. Labor’s disgraceful red tape legacy was laid bare in a report by Deloitte last year, which showed how the burden on local business exploded between 2006 and 2011.
The Deloitte report titled Building the Lucky Country showed that red tape grew exponentially under Labor’s watch and that legacy is now costing local businesses an estimated $4bn every year. It is a mess, and one we have been trying to tackle. We are trying to drive down the cost of doing business by slashing dumb rules and regulations that put the brakes on development and investment and, ultimately, stopped jobs being created for Territorians. This campaign covers a range of areas including construction, mining, motor vehicle registration, licensing for trades, property conveyancing, building approvals, land titles, tourism and government procurement.
We have established a red tape abolition squad, and our procurement reforms are making it easier for businesses to tender and supply goods and services to government. We now have a one-stop website for the tracking of invoices, making it quicker and easier for businesses to get their government bills paid – overturning the old asset management system which was a complete debacle by the former minister, the member for Barkly. We have also launched a website for the public to report unnecessary bureaucracy.
Some of our most important reforms have been in the construction sector, helping fast-track new residential development across the Territory to increase housing supply and drive down the cost of living. We have introduced Australia’s first online integrated building approval lodgement system, shaved three months off rezoning approval times and started a one-stop shop for development applications.
In especially welcome news for local construction projects, new developments now only need one utilities clearance to secure title instead of the current two clearances for the same project. This has been a huge cash flow issue for many developers, and has previously slowed release of properties onto the market. I am pleased we have listened to the concerns of the industry and delivered on this important change. I promise Territorians will see more of the same red tape cuts throughout 2015.
In 2015-16 my government will continue to implement the biggest residential, commercial and industrial land release program in the Territory’s history – it will get bigger. We understand the cost of housing has become a huge burden for many Territorians and adds to the cost of living. This is a product of Labor’s failure to release enough land or have enough units built across the Territory. This is part of planning for a bigger future and a better tomorrow. They fell asleep at the wheel and we are quickly overcoming that enormous shortfall in housing demand.
Palmerston is the centre of growth in the Top End, with Zuccoli stage 2 expected to deliver land for 600 dwellings and stages 3 and 4 a further 1700 dwellings. Proposals for the final instalment, stage 5, are currently being assessed and will supply land for a further 400 dwellings. Works on the site will commence sometime this year.
In 2015 the Darwin Regional Land Use Plan will be incorporated into the Northern Territory Planning Scheme. This framework provides greater certainty on future land uses for facilitating growth and increased population. It identifies the location of strategic infrastructure, for example ports, airports and water catchments, including future transport and utility corridors and sites for essential services.
The government has released the Territory’s largest ever brownfield site – 160 ha at Berrimah Farm. Three proponents have been shortlisted and invited to submit detailed proposals for redevelopment of the site which could yield up to 3000 dwellings. The initial stages of Holtze will be released during 2015 providing for approximately 1200 new dwellings. This stage will support the new Palmerston Regional Hospital and the surrounding health precinct.
Industrial land in 2014-15 includes Darwin Business Park north, Muramats Road East Arm and Middle Arm for development of commercial and industrial land for downstream gas processing, extractive industries and commercial support industries.
Twenty-four affordable lots have been sold in Kilgariff stage 1A in Alice Springs, and stage 1B has now been released bringing the total amount of lots available to 80. A review of the NT Planning Scheme provisions is currently under way, focusing primarily on the Alice Springs CBD.
The member for Katherine would be pleased to know the Katherine Land Use Plan was introduced into the NT Planning Scheme last year. The Katherine East 19 ha site is expected to yield over 100 lots and supply more than 200 dwellings. Construction and sales off the plan for the first 71-lot stage will commence in early 2015, and land in Kalkarindji and Tennant Creek will also be released for development later this year as part of the last budget.
There is no doubt our massive land release program is stimulating the building activity. This is vitally important for our future to ensure our population grows and there are affordable homes for our young people. Helping Territorians buy a home in the city and the bush is an important element of this government’s platform. Pride is important, and owning your own home helps to build a culture that is proud and confident of its future.
The government is selling up to 50% of all remote public housing stock back to tenants. As of 1 July 2014 housing on a 40- or 99-year lease became available for sale to tenants which will help restore pride in home ownership and further break the cycle of dependence on government. We said we would build a better future for all Territorians and what better way than through education and owning your own home.
We have increased the First Home Owner Grant for new homes by $1000 to $26 000 and altered the eligibility to encourage construction of new housing and create jobs. New housing creates jobs and helps keep down the cost of living by increasing the supply of homes, something we have been doing quite successfully.
Under the Real Housing for Growth plan the government is delivering 2000 new dwellings over the four-year term of government. The Department of Housing has already supported delivery of 50 new affordable rental units in Karama and nine in Tennant Creek. These properties have been made available to eligible key service industry workers at 30% below market rents, helping drive down the cost of living.
The public housing complex currently being developed at Runge Street will deliver 59 two-bedroom dwellings, 15 affordable rental units for key service industry workers and 10 units reserved for eligible purchasers through the homebuyer initiative.
In the first quarter of this year there will be 122 new affordable rental dwellings available under the head leasing initiative to support the attraction and retention of key service industry workers in the Northern Territory – 60 at Coolalinga, 37 at Farrar and 25 units in Braitling. Another 116 affordable rental units are also under construction across the Darwin/Palmerston region. The homebuyer initiative provides opportunities for eligible Territorians to purchase their own home at affordable prices.
HomeBuild Access provides low deposit and low interest loans for Territorians, targeted at new dwellings. An amount of $4.5m has been set aside over the next three years to enable Territorians in remote communities to become homeowners. What sort of opportunity is that?
The Department of Housing is also working with Defence Housing Australia on a joint redevelopment initiative trial in Darwin to address the increasing social goals of Framing the Future by redeveloping older public housing assets. The development will be funded wholly by Defence Housing Australia in exchange for land provided by the Department of Housing.
Key reforms over the next three years will focus on: improved tenancy and property management practices; consistent management practice across remote and urban public housing; enforcing tenant obligations – paying rent and paying for tenant responsibility damage that may occur; supporting mobility initiatives so there are no barriers to remote community residents transferring their public housing allocation to a regional centre if they gain employment; allocation of housing to families whose children attend school regularly or to families where the tenants are employed; and increased Indigenous employment in property and tenancy management.
In regard to helping vulnerable Territorians, the Northern Territory government recognises the important role the non-government sector plays in providing services to Territorians. Several new initiatives have been, and will continue to be, introduced to build the working relationship between the government and the non-government organisation sector, including a partnership group initially focusing on how both parties can work together in a more streamlined way.
Last Thursday I signed a Statement of Principles with NTCOSS to underpin the working relationship – which has now ratified that working relationship – and had a meeting with the non-government organisation sector in Alice Springs yesterday morning and displayed that shared set of principles. It reaffirms our shared commitment to working together to achieve outcomes for those most vulnerable and at risk within the Northern Territory. I thank those from the NGO sector who come around the table every six months to chat with government, identify issues and find solutions on how we can move forward.
In 2015 we will be creating jobs for the future by building a strong economy. When we came to government the Northern Territory finances had been run down to such a point it was difficult to fund any new initiative. The Labor Party had done its best to bankrupt the Northern Territory and the Leader of the Opposition, as former Treasurer, should hang her head in shame for her role in placing the Territory at almost bankruptcy levels.
In the 2013-14 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report we delivered a net operating surplus three years ahead of schedule, no applause from the opposition there. By reducing waste, tightening our belts and staying focused on outcomes, by the end of 2013-14 we had already reduced the debt burden on the Territory by $1.5bn which was a result of Labor incompetence and inertia.
By reducing Labor debt by $1.5bn we reduced interest repayments by $32m a year. We can now spend that on delivering infrastructure and services to Territorians, such as the popular Back to School vouchers or the sports vouchers. The projections for 2015-16 are to have further reduced the Labor debt burden by $1.8bn and $80m in interest repayments respectively.
The latest Deloitte Access Economics report gives a glowing outlook for the Territory’s economy, with inflation moderating to the second lowest in the country and our economic performance expected to remain strong, growing by an average of 4.2% per annum between 2014-15 and 2018-19. That is the highest average annual growth forecast of all jurisdictions in the nation. The recent message from the CEO of the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce dated 29 January 2015 summed it up completely when he said the recent Sensis Business Index showed NT businesses are the most positive in the country.
How that would change if there was a Labor government! That outstanding achievement is allowing us to get on with business and look forward to 2015, 2016, 2017 and beyond.
This year we continue with the hard work to ensure the economic settings are correct and we can create jobs for Territorians. The Territory has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, the highest year-on-year employment growth and the highest participation rate of 71.9% compared to 64.7%. The participation rate is generally under the radar, but it shows Territorians want to work and are getting jobs.
We will continue to develop the Territory’s tourism potential. With than in mind, I would like to thank the member for Greatorex for his hard work on arresting the decline in tourism after 10 years of the former Labor government and turn it around to an increase in tourist numbers. Member for Greatorex, I am sure all Territorians thank you for arresting that decline. We have returned the Territory’s tourism industry to a position of growth and will continue that focus throughout 2015-16.
Independent research shows holiday visitor numbers and expenditure have increased, with visitor expenditure increasing by 18% to $896m. This translates to an additional $135m for the Territory’s economy, a return on investment of almost $17 for every extra dollar invested in tourism by this Country Liberals government since 2012. These results represent a significant turnaround and are a clear sign Tourism NT’s revitalised marketing strategy is working. However, there is much to do over the coming years to return the tourism sector to the position it was during the early 2000s before Labor ruined it.
In 2015 my government, through Tourism NT, will focus on maintaining and building visitor growth into the Territory. For that we need game changers to attract more visitors, enhance their experiences in the NT and encourage regional dispersal. We need investment in tourism infrastructure to deliver diversified and innovative experiences. Image a cultural centre of national and global significance based in Darwin or Alice Springs providing insight into the arts, culture and philosophies of Australian Indigenous peoples. What about a major attraction in the Top End that capitalises on the resurgence of interest in Australia’s involvement in both world wars and the Anzacs in general. It would complement our Defence of Darwin Experience, its museum, but broaden it to include interactive experiences on land and water utilising advancements in technology to bring history to life. For example, there could be holograms to tell stories through the eyes of those who were here during the bombing of Darwin.
There is also the upgrading of the Darwin port facility to position the city as not just the successful short visit destination it already is, but a base for the quality cruise experiences that explore the magic of the Spice Islands and other countries to our north.
Along with that we need effective integration of the Waterfront Precinct with Darwin city itself as a welcoming gateway for our cruise ship visitors. Not only is a cruise activation plan to maximise the NT cruise sector in the final stages of development, but the major Cruise Down Under Conference will be held in Darwin in September 2015, putting an additional spotlight on this increasingly popular cruise destination.
Imagine the Territory as a leading backdrop for self-drive or guided tours, renowned for routes to both popular and little-explored locations. For example, Alice Springs to Tennant Creek being on everyone’s bucket list as a must-do for an Australian drive.
This range of diverse projects demonstrates the potential of the resources industry to underpin economic development in our remote areas. We want to reposition the Territory in the adventure space, linking our natural wonders such as Katherine Gorge and Karlu Karlu whilst opening up spectacular country to cater a well-managed way for the four-wheel drive market. This includes breathing new life into the Savannah Way, famous for linking 15 national parks and five world heritage areas across the Northern Territory.
Over this year and next my government aims to turn such ideas into reality and introduce circuit breakers that will change our thinking about what attracts visitors and turn thinking into attractions that are compelling and not to be missed. We must revamp the sense of welcome visitors experience when they arrive in Darwin or Alice Springs, make them feel excited and sense they are arriving somewhere special. We must use our strengths to leverage our opportunities. This is already happening in east Arnhem Land with forward-thinking traditional owners offering customised educational stays in their homelands.
Approximately 70% of recreational fishing occurs in regional areas where it is often the primary economic and development driver. New venues include Dhipirri Lodge near Milingimbi, where charters experience fishing the Glyde and the Woolen Rivers for barramundi.
A new Northern Territory Aboriginal Tours and Experiences brochure was launched in November 2014. We must encourage new destinations such as the Tiwi Islands by facilitating an environment that fosters tourism investment to provide diversified inspirational experiences for the discerning traveller. I would also like to see places like Wadeye, Groote Eylandt, Baniyala, Milingimbi, Ramingining – Aboriginal communities – taking that opportunity for economic advancement.
We must open up the Territory’s world heritage listed national parks – Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta – by providing new and exciting experiences to attract more visitors, creating more jobs for Territorians – particularly Indigenous Territorians – in these regional and remote locations.
Imagine an accommodation habitat on a remote billabong in Kakadu National Park with a stairway to a construction below the water line so those staying in it can view and sleep with underwater wildlife. What an experience that would be! This is the thinking we need to put out there.
Traditional owners are concerned about falling visitation numbers to Kakadu as it affects their livelihood and that of their children. The fewer visitors the less spend, fewer jobs, fewer opportunities and less hope for people living in those areas. My government is already working with them on this new concept and will continue the work in 2015 and beyond to provide opportunities.
We are also working on new experiences such as a two-day walk and high-quality swag experience between Kata Tjuta – the Olgas – and Uluru accompanied by traditional owners and park rangers to help travellers understand and appreciate the country, setting off at sunrise one day one and finishing at sunset on day two. The Larapinta Trail in Central Australia already has a world-class reputation and we are intent on establishing walks in Kakadu and other parts to rival Larapinta.
We must expand our natural offerings. The Jawoyn people are interested in expanding beyond Nitmuluk National Park to the south end of Kakadu. This area, including Katherine itself, is rich in natural, cultural, pioneering and pastoral history. Let us help others to explore, learn and enjoy by attracting investment for tourism development.
We must unlock the land with care and create accommodation and experiences in secluded but accessible unique settings such as, for instance, a boutique lodge within easy reach of the Devils Marbles or a luxury lodge experience on the shores of the Mary Ann Dam north of Tennant Creek. We must always keep at the front of our mind it is about creating jobs for Territorians – something that matters to people – and creating those jobs in regional and remote areas so Aboriginal Territorians can be part of it.
My government is ready to support investors with visionary concepts outside the square which complement the uniqueness of the Northern Territory and realise the Territory’s full potential as a compelling tourist destination. This will be a focus of ours over the next few years.
It is important the bush shares equally in the benefits of this extraordinary economic growth we are experiencing. Therefore, we will continue to support and supplement regional economic development opportunities, programs and initiatives at every opportunity and are not ashamed to say so.
In 2015 we will continue to remove the road blocks to regional development and pursue real economic opportunities with a number of communities. We have seen fantastic progress and partnership on the Tiwi Islands. I know the member for Arafura is very happy with those partnerships.
We will continue that model to other regions in 2015, working with communities to connect them with investors and projects which suit their vision for the local economy and maximise job creation. The Tiwi people are looking forward. The affordable ferry service to the Tiwi Islands carried nearly 5500 passengers last year. The first woodchip harvest is planned for March 2015, creating up to 100 jobs on the Tiwi Islands. The Port Melville redevelopment will provide marine-based support, including a 30 million litre tank farm, and $0.5m was allocated in the 2014-15 Budget for pontoon development.
Potential for a tourism precinct is also being explored. The government’s focus is on creating jobs in regional and remote areas and working to expand this. I call on those in other communities who see what is happening on the Tiwi Islands, if you want similar development to occur in your country, on your land, in your community we are more than happy to assist you drive this forward. This is about change, economic advancement, hope and opportunity, and it all starts with education and a job.
The resources sector plays a vital part in the Territory’s economy and jobs market, and will continue to do so in the future. The effects of the current downturn are fully recognised. This is the time to put in place planning and infrastructure for the future.
Short-term fluctuations in the oil price should not distract us. The global economy is, and will remain, hungry for oil, gas and other resources. Natural gas currently accounts for a quarter of global energy consumption. The mainstay of power generation is moving away from coal towards gas fired, and the international energy agency expects the global LNG market to grow 40% in the next five years with half of all new exports coming from Australia.
It is vital Darwin is fully prepared to play its part as a strategic hub for servicing the region’s oil, gas, marine and Defence industries. This government is progressing development of just under 100 ha of waterfront land within the East Arm Logistics Precinct in order to capture this market opportunity, and the master plan will be completed during the course of 2015.
There is no doubt LNG will displace iron ore as the main source of Australia’s export growth within this decade, but the Northern Territory government is not only focused on LNG exports to our markets north. With the dynamics currently facing gas supply in New South Wales in particular, the importance of investment cannot be underestimated. That is one of our priorities for 2015, and was clearly stated in the most recent COAG communique in October 2014 when it was stated:
However, we must ensure gas is also utilised in the Northern Territory to support industry development, particularly downstream petrochemical opportunities, and that is something we are working quite hard on. We have many eggs in many different baskets, all with the intent of creating jobs for the Territory’s future.
The pipeline carries major project status and 11 companies have been shortlisted to proceed to the next stage of the bid process. In 2015 the pipeline will be a priority for the government.
Before I move away from the oil and gas industry I would like to re-emphasise the employment and training opportunities for Territorians.
A few months ago I opened the onshore supply base for Shell Prelude at East Arm Industrial Business Park. At the same time Charles Darwin University launched a Prelude to the Future training and employment program, a unique four-way partnership between the Prelude joint venture, the Northern Territory government, Charles Darwin University and Group Training NT. It will run for two years providing participants with 20 weeks of auto-mechanic training, work experience and ongoing mentoring.
We are currently in talks with other major resource companies about future projects that will build on the Territory’s proven track record as a reliable source of LNG and as a supplier of a service industry to the LNG sector.
Major projects like INPEX and Prelude create jobs. They create a future for the next generation of apprentices and tradies, plus widespread business opportunities for local companies, all of which this government will rigorously pursue in 2015.
The Northern Territory government is committed to assisting businesses to access skilled workers. It is good for business and for Territorians who want to work.
In 2015 the Northern Territory Employment and Training Advisory Board will prepare reforms to deliver a training system to be introduced at the start of next year which is more responsive to the needs of business and industry and delivers better outcomes for workers and future workers of the Northern Territory.
In 2015 the Department of Business will finalise arrangements with the Australian government for a second stage of the Designated Area Migration Agreement, providing an increased number of places in a greater range of occupations identified by Northern Territory employers as suffering from a labour shortage.
The Territory will also look to expand the pilot project established between Australia and Greece to other priority nations with significant migrant communities in the Northern Territory.
Despite the current challenges in commodity markets the value of mineral production in the Northern Territory continued to increase last year. The Territory has a strong pipeline of emerging mining projects moving forward including, I am pleased to say, projects in Central Australia.
The first new gold mine in the Tanami in more than a decade is scheduled to commence soon, with ABM Resources Old Pirate project having received all government approvals. At the Mount Peake project near Barrow Creek TNG is developing one of the largest strategic metals vanadium-titanium-iron projects in Australia. TNG is in the final stages of feasibility studies with plans to begin construction in 2015, and production and exports from 2017.
KGL Resources Jervois project on the Plenty Highway began a drilling project in September last year and is working towards the pre-feasibility study at one of the highest grade copper open pit projects in Australia with significant silver and lead/zinc potential.
There is also an underground salt mine on the cards and the brand new Teena zinc discovery near Borroloola.
This range of diverse projects demonstrates the potential of the resources industry to again underpin economic development in our regional and remote areas, but also provide economic injection to our urban centres such as Darwin and Palmerston.
Another project on the major projects list is the Ord River expansion which represents enormous potential for economic development and employment, not only in agriculture but also other opportunities in the area, particularly around mining and resources. It is a challenge moving forward on the Ord River expansion at the moment. Government is still weighing up whether it will continue with this project but, hopefully, will be able to reach a resolution and move forward with the Ord expansion.
During 2015 and beyond government remains committed to ensuring all these projects have the maximum opportunity to proceed to development so we can create jobs for Territorians. However, at all stages of any development we are mindful of keeping our unique lifestyle – it is the envy of many – and also protecting the environment. Getting the balance right is important not just to government, but to everyone across the Territory.
In 2015 we will continue to actively encourage growth of Defence services in the Territory. We currently have 20% of the RAAF’s air combat capability based in the NT, and DHA will be commencing work on 80 houses on the RAAF Base Darwin and 50 houses at RAAF Tindal shortly.
There are 700 or so personnel at Larrakeyah Barracks operating the patrol boat fleet from HMAS Coonawarra, and new wharf facilities are currently under consideration by Defence. The multiuser barge facilities and common area in the Marine Industry Park will proceed through the parliamentary works committee with capital provided by the Royal Australian Navy. A decision on this is expected mid-2015, with works hopefully commencing by the end of the year.
The Combat Brigade – 1st Brigade – is at Robertson Barracks and will grow incrementally when it enters the ‘readying’ rotation phase in July 2015. This includes relocation of the 9th Field Squadron from Adelaide to Darwin. The Northern Territory is a key strategic location to support future defence, border security and humanitarian operations, particularly within the Asia-Pacific region.
In 2015 I will release the government’s strategic plan to maximise the economic benefit of Defence’s evolving presence in the Northern Territory. This report titled Northern Territory and Defence: A Strategy for Security and Prosperity will outline our plan to integrate future ADF presence and infrastructure spending with the US Force Posture initiative for the economic benefit and regional stability of all Territorians, northern Australians and Australians. The US initiative will see the continued presence of 1175 Marines from April 2015 and the planning for this number to grow to 2500 in 2017-18.
In addition, 2015 will be a major year for international exercises in training areas across the Territory, including a significant influx of United States Army, Navy, and Marines, in conjunction with the Australian Defence Force, for exercise Talisman Sabre.
In 2015-16 my government will be focused on the benefits of the Defence spend in the Northern Territory and this will be a significant area of growth and opportunity.
During 2015 we will continue our work building an economy that is strengthened by new private and public infrastructure projects critical to delivering the long-term infrastructure requirements of the Northern Territory. We are investing a record $377.8m on roads this financial year because we know better roads open up the Territory to people being better connected, business being connected with new investment opportunities being the result.
The Outback Way, stretching from Laverton in Western Australia to Winton in Queensland, has a total program for the Northern Territory of $40m over three years. It is jointly funded by the Australian and Territory governments and construction is expected to commence on the straight road between Yulara and Docker River in May. The Plenty Highway component will commence in June.
Other projects include the Leviathan Creek crossing on Fog Bay Road, expected to be completed in December 2015, much to the delight of the member for Daly no doubt, and sealing sections of the access road between Kalkarindji and Lajamanu will be pleasant news for the member for Stuart.
Joint projects through the Regional Roads Productivity Package the government is rolling out include upgrading and sealing of sections of road between Alice Springs Airport and Santa Teresa, including Yam Creek crossing, with completion expected in May 2015. An upgrade of sections of the Arnhem Link Road is dependent on the outcome of stakeholder consultation, much to the delight, no doubt, of the members for Arnhem and Nhulunbuy. Work on the Buntine Highway has an anticipated completion of September 2015. Port Keats Road flood immunity improvement through the Moyle River floodplain is expected to be completed in November 2015. Construction of a bridge over Rocky Bottom Creek on the Central Arnhem Road is expected to be completed in December 2015. New bridges at the Roper and Wilton River crossings are due for completion by December 2016.
Another significant project is the Alice Springs rail overpass under construction right now and anticipated for completion in May this year. Also, substantial new investment into the Tanami Road will see sealing and upgraded sections, and a project to extend the seal will continue.
We are investing in remote aerodromes this year with Utopia, Docker River and Yarralin having upgrades throughout 2015. The Port Keats and Bathurst Island aerodromes are the next priority subject to budget allocations. I am sure I will be lobbied by the members for Arafura and Daly.
Legislation enabling a possible lease of Darwin port will be referred to a parliamentary committee through a motion in parliament this week. That is to ensure the proposed model offers the best outcome for Territorians. The member for Blain will be leading that parliamentary inquiry. We have heard loud and clear that people do not want the port sold. I reiterate that we are talking about leasing the port not selling it. I will sign in blood if need be that the port is not for sale despite what Labor says.
Our port must grow to meet the needs and opportunities of the future. I want Territorians to be confident any lease arrangement we enter into is in the best interests of all Territorians.
There are different ways to structure a lease. I want Territorians to have faith that the model ultimately chosen is the best one available after considering all evidence. That is the role of the members for Blain, Drysdale, Fannie Bay and Nelson, who are all on the committee.
As such, debate on the enabling bills currently before the Assembly will be deferred until that parliamentary select committee has been established and had the opportunity to examine what is proposed, as well as alternate models from Australia and around the world.
The committee will look at options to enhance the model to ensure any partner is focused on growth and development of the port, has competitive prices and follows international best practice in safety, environmental standards and operational efficiency. The committee will also consider existing Northern Territory public private partnerships such as the Labor Marine Supply Base, and what lessons can be learnt from the process undertaken by the former Labor government when it outsourced part of the port.
I am particularly keen to see the committee’s recommendations about the duration of any lease. Whilst a 99-year lease has been floated previously as part of the legislative agenda on the table in parliament, many time frames are used around the world. I am interested in feedback on the preferred length of any lease. The key to this will be giving sufficient certainty to any potential partner while retaining the government’s ability to consider the partner’s performance against pre-agreed benchmarks. Ultimately, we want to maximise the benefit to Territorians from any partnership, both in ongoing financial returns and long-term expansion of the port. Our economy needs a port that is efficient and competitive, and any lease agreement must be focused on achieving that goal. The inquiry will run for five weeks with a final report to be presented by 20 March 2015.
The Territory government will establish an infrastructure fund to directly invest in infrastructure to support future development of the Northern Territory. The fund will comprise a share of the proceeds from sales of government assets. It will support economic investment for social and economic advancement in the Territory, leverage private sector investment where viable and access contributions from available Commonwealth funding for infrastructure purposes.
The overarching objective of the fund will be to promote investment in infrastructure which supports the longer-term economic growth and development of the Territory and the social wellbeing of Territorians.
Already $50m from the proceeds of the sale of TIO has been set aside for flood mitigation initiatives in high-risk areas. Flood mitigation is expensive work and no government has been willing or able to tackle the problem before.
My government has begun work and in 2015 is getting on with the job. Last month I announced the draft terms of reference and membership details of the Darwin and Katherine flood mitigation committees being established to make recommendations on how the funding can best be spent, ensuring value for money for taxpayers. A total of $25m is set aside for works in Rapid Creek and the Darwin rural area, while another $25m has been allocated to Katherine, including $7.6m to move the town’s ambulance centre out of the flood zone. After calling for public expressions of interest the government has announced membership of both committees, and together we will focus our efforts in 2015-16 to ameliorate the effects of future flood damage to people and property.
In addition to dealing with matters of significant infrastructure and flood mitigation, this government is implementing a number of reforms to make people’s lives easier and improve convenience. The much welcomed reforms at MVR will continue in 2015, providing more options for service access and greater convenience for customers and industry.
The start of the school year has seen commencement of a trial for a new Alice Springs school bus in consultation with local operator ATG Downunder.
In 2015 the government will finalise the review of the taxi industry and the regulatory framework for the commercial passenger vehicle industry to improve services to the community and the tourism sector, and access into the industry, while maintaining quality and safety standards.
In conclusion, 2015 will see a government that: listens to Territorians about how they want to see the Territory grow; is focused on law and order and continuing to drive down crime across the Territory, as has been seen through the continued publication of crime statistics; is committed to the priorities of good healthcare and good education; ensures land release continues so home ownership can be achieved by more Territorians and homes are affordable whether renting or buying; supports small business and local industries, encouraging training and creating jobs for all Territorians; pursues capital investment in improved infrastructure that will lead to regional development; is promoting international trade and Asian engagement which will create more investment opportunities for the Territory from our friends to the north; will find ways to enable traditional owners to attract private sector investment and finance to develop their own land to create jobs and economic advancement for Indigenous people; is making the most of our strategic position within northern Australia in every aspect, from agribusiness to Defence to international education and LNG.
I will be proud to lead the Northern Territory in the year ahead to make the lives of Territorians easier, safer and simpler. I hope we have an Opposition Leader and an opposition soon which talks about Territorians rather than muckraking, mudslinging, spreading scurrilous rumours and innuendo.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): I did not notice that last part in your written statement, Chief Minister. You strayed from the script distributed to the Chamber this afternoon a few times. I guess those parts speak volumes for the person you have descended to ...
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, can you pause so I can welcome some people in the gallery. Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of a group from the Future NT Cattlemen’s Association Leadership Development Program. On behalf of honourable members, welcome to Parliament House. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, I hope the government goes back to providing ministerial statements. It used to provide them the evening before then moved to the morning of. We did not see this statement until the Chief Minister was on his feet. If you want a considered policy debate and discourse it is a simple courtesy to distribute details of the policy you want to speak to the night before, or the morning of, so some research and work can be done. That is just a suggestion.
I am picking up on the attempt by the Chief Minister to cloak himself in a new cloak: he is consultative, engaging and will be inclusive. There is a challenge to see how you manage in the parliamentary convention process as Chief Minister.
Regardless of the lack of notice I welcome the statement from the Chief Minister. Much of it we have heard before. A few new items are glimmers of the Chief Minister’s musings and a whole lot of imagination. The Chief Minister likes to think big. I guess the problem is Territorians do not trust what he says, have not seen him deliver on anything other than chaos and dysfunction and no longer believe him. At a time when Territorians should be reaping the rewards of a strong economy they are struggling under the burden of a CLP leader unfit to govern.
Power bills are rolling in from your increased tariffs and taking their toll on families and businesses are heading backwards financially while you fatten Power and Water profits to sell crucial assets. Your privatisation agenda is ideologically-driven rather than responding to market and Territory needs. Your pursuit of power and greed shows an arrogant lack of empathy for the impact it has on Territorians.
Labor would halt this privatisation push and immediately review crippling tariff increases imposed by your decisions that were not backed up by detailed analysis. We would halt the sale of the port and work with industry to expand business opportunities with Asia. Our existing port operates well under capacity and we would work with trade and resources industries to grow opportunities.
We would initiate a high-level task force to review the impact of the TIO sale and work with the federal, Queensland and Western Australia governments to implement the recommendations of Pivot North to deliver an affordable public insurance model which promotes investment in northern Australia, giving families and businesses the insurance coverage they need.
Building our regions means understanding the needs on the ground. Peak regional committees will identify social, economic and environment priorities for a whole-of-government response and will report directly to me. Local government will be at the table and engaged in the outcomes. The stripping of education and walking away from the investment in choices for Indigenous education has been disgraceful and must end. Labor would work with school communities, the Australian Education Union, COGSO and our educators to invest in education to secure a better future for our children. A civilised and smart society places education as a priority not a blunt budget-slashing exercise.
People who built the Territory will be valued and listened to. We will abandon your arrogant ‘my way or the highway approach’ and reinstate engagement across all key industry groups to heed their innovative ideas. We believe in partnerships not the self-serving approach of taking care of a select few mates. We would restore integrity and appointments based on good governance rather than the job-for-the-mates approach of this government.
Health would once again become a partnership where we engage with surgeons, doctors, nurses and allied health practitioners to promote care models based on evidence and best practice. We would build Palmerston hospital, fast-tracking construction rather than bogging it down in the quicksand of a private operator model that fails to meet the needs of Territorians. We would address the tragedy of the ice epidemic by immediately installing an ice room at Royal Darwin Hospital and establishing an inter-agency task force of police, Health and Children and Families to report within six weeks on action which can be taken to combat the scourge of ice in our communities.
We would reinstate the moratorium on pokies and review current CLP action to expand the rivers of grog in the Territory. As we have done in the past, we would again work with all stakeholders to minimise grog-related harm. Yes, we would reinstate the Banned Drinker Register and remove the expensive policy failure of temporary Beat locations. We would return to working with our fine police and restore the separation of powers so disgracefully torn down by the CLP. We would restore confidence in our electoral system by having an inquiry into Foundation 51 and strengthen electoral laws to ensure integrity in the system.
With a failure in planning and a crisis in housing urgent restoration work needs to occur with a root and branch repair. The NT Planning Commission has been an expensive failure and added to bureaucratic red tape. We would immediately embark on consultation on the Greater Darwin Strategic Land Use Plan you foolishly shelved to restore confidence and certainty in planning. The need to deliver social and affordable housing has increased with the CLP sale of public housing and failure to deliver on the NPARIH housing program in remote regions. Families across the Territory have been plunged into a housing crisis that needs to be tackled and turned around. Shelter is a basic need and this has been a major failing of your CLP dysfunction.
Working with our local construction sector and encouraging innovation must occur to deliver affordable and social housing. We will be innovative and bold. Labor introduced affordable rental stock, but more needs to be done. Unlike your government, Labor recognises the importance of both social and economic development. We will establish peak, social and economic advisory committees to drive reforms. They will not be an exclusive mates club; they will be inclusive.
The first legislation we will introduce will be retrospective compensation for our firefighters. It will help firefighters who have acquired cancer as a result of their job. It will be retrospective so those firies with cancer now get the coverage and support they need. Our firefighters have been seeking that support from this government for two-and-a-half years.
We will establish a jobs task force of both industries and unions to deliver jobs and training opportunities for locals. Territorians will come first. Our training institutions at Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education will be at the table with leaders of industry and unions. Inclusive government delivers better outcomes. We will work in partnership with Indigenous organisations and land councils to realise the vast potential of Indigenous Territorians, restoring respect rather than the CLP divide and conquer mentality.
Labor will reinstate funding to the environment sector and establish an office of climate change to drive investment in renewable energy. We can do this and continue to support the oil and gas industry to promote energy security while enhancing the importance of protecting our beautiful environment. Natural resources will not be a commodity used by the CLP to enhance the profits of a few mates. Strategic Indigenous reserves for water will be reinstated, as will water advisory councils and local water allocation plans.
We will continue to seek tourism opportunities and work with the sector to improve domestic and international visitation and restore our relationship with our neighbours by bringing back the much loved Arafura Games.
Nhulunbuy structural adjustment opportunities will be pursued to return health to this vibrant community and region. We would be a government for all Territorians, promoting harmony and cultural diversity, and would introduce 18C legislation to make racial vilification unlawful in the Northern Territory.
These are just some of the clear policy differences between the Giles approach of arrogance, exclusiveness and dishonesty. Territorians deserve a better government and Labor stands ready to govern. We are united, stable and willing to embrace innovation while pursuing an inclusive agenda with the many Territorians who have built the economic and social fabric of our Territory.
We will encourage debate and be accountable for our decisions. We will restore decency to government and care for the people of our great Territory. My team is working on a raft of policy announcements and these are just some areas that highlight our fundamental differences with your two-and-a-half years of policy failure.
We stand in stark contrast to you, Chief Minister. You have continued as you began. In the words of one of your own you lack honesty, respect and integrity.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Mr Deputy Speaker, I listened carefully to the election portfolio articulated by the Leader of the Opposition and heard a very expensive exercise. It was clearly a structuring of her future as leader of the Labor Party, resting heavily on the stability of the Labor Party as the vehicle moving forward.
It is not what I, many other people or the media have heard in relation to stability of the Labor Party. However, I do not want to talk about that because that is us talking amongst ourselves. I would like to talk about what matters to Territorians. I stridently refute some of the things the Leader of the Opposition says are not being done by this side of the House.
Starting with what has been achieved already in the Attorney-General’s department, despite being in government for a decade with repeated calls by the CLP – namely yours truly when in opposition – to introduce a civil appeals tribunal in the Northern Territory, Labor steadfastly refused to do so. Whilst it is as politically sexy as a sock in a tumble dryer, civil and administrative appeals tribunals have been established in every other jurisdiction. I was anxious to introduce one and have done so in the brief two-and-a-half years of government.
Under the former Labor government the situation with domestic violence was clear. It was a major problem in our community and, sadly, continues to be so. On this side of the House – I have worked closely with Minister Bess Price in this area – we have developed a domestic violence policy which, in my opinion and that of many people who observe what we are doing, will become the benchmark in this country for the response to domestic violence situations. It leads to, ultimately, a case management structure surrounding families and individuals who find themselves caught up in a domestic violence situation.
That case management is done locally – Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Palmerston and the northern suburbs – where we can surround not only the perpetrator but also the family with the appropriate responses. That means 11 government departments, as well as NGOs, making sure when domestic violence occurs families are properly surrounded, the perpetrators are brought to justice and the victims are properly looked after.
The national uniform legislation in relation to the rules of evidence – something the former government stridently ignored over a number of years – were changes I made as Attorney-General. We then had a much larger body of law surrounding the rules of evidence to touch on, and it has finally led to changes in the process in which evidence is interpreted that has seen at least one person brought to account for an act of homicide they stand accused of.
That matter, I understand, is still before the courts. The rules of evidence are now structured in such a way that the accused is actually the accused, not somebody who has not been brought to account before a court of law.
I have also introduced something the former government refused to introduce or paid no attention to: the structure surrounding the presumptions of multiple trials where there are multiple victims of child sex offences. This legislation was frowned upon by the members opposite and received certain negative comments. However, the idea that if you have 12 victims of a paedophile you have a presumption in favour of 12 trials was inherently unfair. Fortunately, in the opinion of the CLP government it was unfair.
We changed that legislation so under current Northern Territory law when you have 12 victims there is one trial in which all 12 victims give evidence unless there is a good reason not to go down that process. This was left abandoned by the members opposite.
Whilst they tell us how they will rescue all puppies and pussy cats into the future, where is the capacity to deliver? I am pointing out a few things to demonstrate that members opposite have struggled in their capacity to deliver.
In the not-so-distant future there will be amendments before this House to the summary procedure rules which will see pre-trial disclosure of defences as reflected in places like Victoria, something the former government could have done many years ago but failed to acknowledge the importance of it. Many trials will no longer be necessary because defence and prosecution will be required to speak to each other before they walk into a hearing room. This model of trial has long been accepted in the civil domain. The government will bring this forward despite the fact Labor never looked at the issue in 10 or 11 years.
The Chief Minister has created the Mental Health Services portfolio under the Health portfolio, of which I have carriage. A number of areas need attention here. There is scant intersection between the current mental health systems and services that exist in the Northern Territory and the criminal justice system. The two are surprisingly closely related when you consider that – in my opinion and that of every professional I have spoken to – many people with mental health issues find themselves in the criminal justice system when they come to the attention of the state rather than in the mental health system. This has not been attended to for far too long.
Palmerston Regional Hospital is something I am also tasked to work on. We will be working with the private sector to assist help us design and construct the hospital. We will also be closely dealing with the private sector in how it is managed into the future because there are efficiencies to be gained. This means when you have an efficiency you have more health dollars to spend on patients rather than systems. That is a fundamental and vitally important process of which I am acutely aware.
Going back to the mental health issue, I am also concerned about some of the other gaps that exist. I am concerned there is insufficient communication of primary mental healthcare, particularly in regional and remote areas. In the not-so-distant future I will announce a suicide prevention policy as a result of my role as Minister for Mental Health Services. Stay tuned for details on that.
I am also concerned about a gap which was allowed to grow under the former government between good outpatient services and inpatient services in the mental health system. If you have a mental health issue, perhaps depression, you can seek assistance from the Tamarind Centre. They do not do a bad job at all. In fact, it is clear the occupants of the building have worked very hard over the years and continue to do so.
Those outpatient services are useful, but we need to address what happens beyond them. At the other end of the scale you have the inpatient-type services. These people have profound episodes, perhaps psychotic episodes, and need to be restrained for their own protection. Between those two extremes there is not much and there is a lot more we can do. I will be doing a whole lot more work on that.
In the 30-odd days since becoming Health minister I have travelled over 1000 km, visited a number of remote clinics and spoken to many remote nurses, both in the public sector and the private sector, and organisations such as Sunrise. It has become clear the quality of primary mental healthcare services can be improved on.
In relation to Aboriginal Health Workers, I echo the comments of the Chief Minister in relation to his desire to see more Aboriginal people in employment. One of the great tragedies over the last 20 to 30 years – probably closer to 40 – is we have seen a far more superficial presence of non-Aboriginal people in remote communities. If you go back to the days of the missions, many of the people who worked on them were there for decades. People like Gary Stoll or Pastor Albrecht would spend their whole life committed to a community.
I reckon you are flat out getting a public servant to stay in a community for 18 months to two years now. That is not necessarily championing the missions, but lots of babies were thrown out with the bath water when it came to missions. We can revisit the commitment we expect to see in those communities. Who better to turn to for a long-term commitment to health work in a community than somebody who was born there, lives there and has been related to the community for a long time? I am concerned the number of Aboriginal Health Workers has fallen away over the last decade and it is something I will turn my attention to.
In the area of Corrections, the Sentenced to a Job program I am passionate about and have been a strident champion of since the day I took over Corrections – I have been driving it and once again remain critical of the former government’s desire to build prison Mahal. It is doubtless a spectacular prison; however, a prison, whilst a necessary evil, should be less about the buildings and more about what you do inside them.
I travelled to the United States in recent times. About 12 months ago I also travelled to the United States for a Prisons Conference. Not only was Sentenced to a Job well received, but I had a chance to see other prisons around the world. In fact, on my most recent trip I looked at Maricopa County – this is Sheriff Joe stuff – which is as much window dressing as anything else, but for me it is about trying to change the hearts and minds of the people we have in custody. Some people point-blank refuse to do so and there is not much you can do for them, but other people should and will be encouraged under this government to make the most of their time in incarceration so they do not return.
I still do not trust this figure but will quote it for the sake of this debate because it is almost too good to be true. The normal recidivism rate remains stubbornly at around 57%, but Sentenced to a Job prisoners return to custody at a rate of 14% after leaving prison. I have asked CDU to find some students prepared to do their doctorate on this program because if we are to promote Sentenced to a Job to other jurisdictions, both nationally and internationally, we need some intellectual and academic rigour around it. I am grateful to CDU because they are fishing around for students to look at what we are doing in the Corrections system and, hopefully, we can find better ways forward.
We are also placing prisoners in remote communities and that has had an effect. That is a hybrid of prisons and the Sentenced to a Job program, and we see it successfully operate in places like Nhulunbuy. Now I am Minister for Correctional Services again I will be re-exploring what we can do in the Borroloola area because I believe much can be done. We had identified an outstation to locate a camp but, unfortunately, the traditional landowner has passed on, God rest his soul, and now there are three other traditional owners and we have to find our way through that. If we can we will.
Across the range of portfolios I have carriage of I hope I am demonstrating to members it is not just about saying we love puppies and will be nice to everybody; it is about delivering on the services and promises we have committed to.
Moreover, in the area of child protection we have restored the integrity of the system. So much was placed on the shoulders of child protection as a system and child protection workers in competing expectations that in many respects the organisation lost its way. You can well imagine my dismay when I discovered in some instances arrangements for foster carers and carers of children when that child was removed from their home were expensive to the point of being ridiculous, including a $300 000 contract for a compliant 17-year-old to be looked after by an adult.
In essence, in a year we were paying off the carer’s house and he was looking after a compliant 17-year-old who drove himself to school. That is too expensive, and if we spend money like that in some areas of child protection we have failed children in other areas because it is money we do not have. The sad truth is you have to rationalise your expenditure and it is about money.
If you do not believe it is about money you end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars every year in interest payments alone. That is money you do not have for child protection work, health work, mental health work or disability service work. There are a number of areas where money is a concern. You cannot spend more than you earn indefinitely.
Perhaps I risk a point of order, but as part of this government’s strident effort to protect children coming before the House this week will be legislation dealing with permanent care orders. I heard some noise about that on the radio this morning while listening to the news bulletins. Permanent care orders are about enabling stability around children.
I do not care if people think it is about this notion, that notion, this bunch of people doing something, the government doing something, the opposition doing something or the public service doing something. It is about creating a stable and safe environment for children. If that stability can be underwritten with a permanent care order then we are not only bound to look at it, we are duty bound to implement it. Where a person is looking after a child and there is no reasonable prospect that child can find its way back to a family, and if the person looking after that child wants to take that child to adulthood, they can seek a permanent care order in the absence of other options being available. Surely that makes sense.
To give a child security in life – something in many instances they never had until coming into the child protection system – as a state surely that is the least we can offer them.
This government has done things. Yes there has been noise in recent times, but we have done many good things of which I am personally proud. This has been a rare and precious opportunity to be a minister of the Crown and pursue a number of things I believe worthwhile. Some of them were not politically sexy, such as the NT Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal, but if you speak to people in the system you realise how much fairer and more accessible the justice system is to them and you know you have done the right thing.
If victims do not have to relate to courts on multiple occasions, what happened to them in sexual crimes because of changes we have made to the law, that makes it worthwhile. If we create a mental health environment better than the one bequeathed to us surely it is worthwhile and worth pursuing.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we say a prayer every time this Assembly sits. It finishes with the line, ‘For the true welfare of the people of the Northern Territory’. I listened to the prayers of the good Anglican bishop this morning and I echo the sentiment of those prayers with the final line of the prayer we say, ‘For the true welfare of the people of the Northern Territory’.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and welcome to the Chair.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr McCARTHY: The Chief Minister wants to turn over a new leaf. The Leader of the Opposition gave him some great advice. This lengthy statement about his plans to turn over a new leaf, dropped on the opposition and Independent benches while the Chief Minister was speaking, is not only an insult to members opposite, it is an insult to the people who have elected me.
As member for Barkly I want the opportunity to respond to the Chief Minister’s litany of new stories about turning over a new leaf. The Chief Minister has not only offended me, he has also offended the constituents I represent in the lengthy statement about what a good bloke he will be for however long and has shown complete contempt for Territorians. It is a failure from the start but we will get over that; we will move on. Let us talk about the Chief Minister’s promises.
I am distressed with a Chief Minister leading a Country Liberal government over the last couple of months which has become the laughing stock of the nation. I am disappointed and offended because the conversation in the constituency has now grown to all politicians; we are all labelled with the same negativity. I am dealing with it at a grassroots level in the regional towns and the bush because of the behaviour and choices of the member for Braitling, Chief Minister Adam Giles.
When I reflect on this laughing stock it goes to the global end of our Territory partners, the INPEX group, which is delivering one of the biggest projects ever seen in the Northern Territory. It goes right through the business community, which has lost confidence. It goes to the public sector, which is struggling to implement government policy, and to the constituency. How dare the Chief Minister drag our reputations down!
Comments were made about the member for Katherine, now Deputy Chief Minister. The member for Katherine lacked capability, capacity, tenacity and professionalism. That is extremely damaging not only to the member for Katherine, but also the government and members of this Legislative Assembly.
After the member for Araluen was sacked she said the Chief Minister lacked honesty, respect and integrity. This is in the public domain, this is commentary about the government ...
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! I am curious about what this has to do with setting the agenda for the year ahead. It seems the member for Barkly is keen to get back into the gutter rather than talk about the agenda for the year ahead. He is straying wide of the topic.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fong Lim. Member for Barkly, We are only a few minutes into your 20-minute reply. I am sure you are developing your argument, but could you get back to the subject please.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I know how it must hurt and how embarrassed you must be. We have an opportunity next Tuesday to remove the Chief Minister. You guys will not lose government but you will remove the Chief Minister. He needs to go and nine of you agree with that. We heard the member for Port Darwin, one of the hardest working members of the government, give his litany of achievements. The member for Katherine was ready to step up to the post. You need to get rid of this guy because he is bringing us down.
I will get to the point of the statement, turning over a new leaf and what he will do for the Territory. Because this lengthy statement was delivered at the last minute I will add a preamble to it. It starts with the CLP government chaos and dysfunction continuing, with the 14th Cabinet reshuffle in just two-and-a-half years. Cabinet represents executive government, the most important decision-making authority; however, since August 2012 the CLP lauds two Chief Ministers, five Deputy Chief Ministers, five Treasurers, three Police ministers, five Education ministers …
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Whilst the member for Barkly might find this entertaining, the Chief Minister did not have a preamble to his speech. Whilst the member for Barkly might want to add something and talk to that, this is about setting the agenda for the future of the Northern Territory. I ask you to again remind him to get back to the subject at hand.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fong Lim.
Member for Barkly, there is a question on relevance. Remain within the bounds of the statement please.
Mr McCARTHY: Mr Deputy Speaker, before I was so rudely interrupted … three Police ministers, five Education ministers, five Housing ministers, six Business ministers and six Sport ministers. Member for Fong Lim, let us refer to Hon Shane Stone, one of the founding fathers of the CLP, who basically sent a clear message to this Chief Minister. The national press reported Shane Stone as saying the NT government was languishing after time-wasting bickering and the CLP has established no clear agenda during its first 18 months in power …
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! I know it is difficult for the opposition to look at the year and the agenda ahead and would rather dwell in the past and roll in the mud. I remind the member for Barkly this is about setting the agenda for the year ahead, not harking back to the days of Shane Stone or adding preambles to the statement. Let us look forward, member for Barkly. Let us talk about the agenda for the year ahead. Mr Deputy Speaker, perhaps he should be reminded again.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fong Lim. Member for Barkly, you have been shown some latitude in the first few minutes of your response to the ministerial statement. I ask you to remain relevant, please.
Mr McCARTHY: I will start with something I am passionate about, having devoted over 30 years – more than half my life – to building education in the Northern Territory.
The Chief Minister was very light on in his promises, so let us hark back to what he can redo. Let us face it, the first two-and-a-half years have been a disaster in education. Let us talk about the promises the CLP made to improve education outcomes in the bush. What has been delivered in two-and-a-half years? An Indigenous education review.
However, we have lost 185 teaching positions. We had a global school budget policy implemented which was $23m short in funding. That was revised by the new minister – one of the revolving doors of ministers who was then sacked. The Chief Minister did not put on the record that he would be reinstating 185 teaching positions, that the $23m originally short in the global school budget policy from the CLP will be honoured, and the CLP will look to the regional remote schools that have shared local jobs. When this debacle was rolling out principals had no alternative but to look at who they could afford in their global school budget. Unfortunately, in my travels throughout a number of electorates, the message was they would lose school support positions. This relates to local jobs.
The Chief Minister, in his new leaf statement, says he is all about jobs. Unfortunately, there has been much damage done in two-and-a-half years in the bush and it needs to be addressed. Chief Minister, there was no message or commitment in that lengthy statement. It was, once again, ‘just trust me’ promises.
He put figures towards boarding facilities. Chief Minister, look at the response from your government to the people of Mt Liebig community. They have great concerns about your policy of bussing or flying kids to boarding schools with no opportunity for those kids in remote communities. They will not survive the experience you are mandating when you say you will listen to Territorians, and will make things simpler and life safer and better.
Go to the response to the petition. That is one tiny community in Central Australia desperate to get a message to you. They want you to listen. Drop the rhetoric with your new leaf and all your promises and go back to what we need to do to address some of the issues over the past two-and-a-half years. There was no mention of the boarding school facility at Borroloola in your statement. However, you have seriously dropped off any commitments or promises to Borroloola, and the community is asking serious questions. No doubt the next statement will deal with that.
When we talk about health, the Chief Minister lauds his relationship with Canberra and the Liberals. At the last estimates we saw $33m in cuts to the Northern Territory health budget from the Abbott Liberal government. The member for Araluen, who was Health minister, worked with incredible public servants from the Health department and clawed that back to an $11m cut to Northern Territory health services by the Liberals in Canberra. We have not heard what the Chief Minister has done about that. We have not heard how the Chief Minister will champion the cause of health outcomes for people in town and in the bush. He could start by announcing it is not good enough from his Liberal mates in Canberra and he will do something about it.
We have seen the report card of two-and-a-half years – Palmerston hospital delayed, added months to elective surgery and we have bed block at RDH and regional hospitals. Once again the Chief Minister trotted out in his new book that they delivered an accident and emergency ward at Tennant Creek Hospital with a GP clinic. That was done under Labor, and I was the only guy not invited to the opening. I will not dwell on that, but the regional hospitals, including Nhulunbuy, which got nothing – it was on the program for an upgrade to its accident and emergency ward – $13m servicing the northeast Arnhem region – but received nothing.
There you go, Chief Minister. If you want to turn over a new leaf let us see some reparation into the regional areas not only to deliver health outcomes, but also to deliver regional economic development in the bush.
Looking at health outcomes, Canteen Creek and Elliott clinics did not get a mention this morning but are back on the infrastructure program after a two-and-a-half year delay. They would have been constructed by now, but were taken off the program on the advice of the old boys from the Renewal Management Board who were paid $1m. They fell off the program, have finally been reinstated but are simply rhetoric. I challenge the Chief Minister, with his new promises, to get serious about this.
I know work is being done in the department and I will tail this. Unfortunately, after two-and-a-half years of delay, you no doubt have incurred considerable increases in the construction costs on CPI alone. Under CLP economic management we have seen CPI balloon out to nearly 4%. We are really talking about a considerable increase in the construction budget. We have talked about serious delays which relate to health outcomes of regional and remote people in Elliott and Canteen Creek who are still waiting.
Chief Minister, we need to talk about the past because there is a litany of failures you need to address which were not in this lengthy statement. It is, once again, all about the Chief Minister and his high-level ideas and thinking.
While we are on the subject the Canteen Creek airstrip, which was funded and should have been constructed, has had a two-and-a-half year delay. So many efficiencies around delivering these infrastructure projects were synchronised in delivering better economic outcomes and more jobs, improved regional economic development, and the real outcomes around health and transport have been lost. Of course it is lost when you see in the last CLP budget a $98m reduction in the infrastructure program.
The Chief Minister continues to talk about spruiking housing and spoke about incentives to get Territorians into housing. However, what we have seen in Treasury reports in the housing area is a $30m saving in changes to the first homeowner scheme. You can rack that up and tell everybody what great economic managers you are, but $30m has disadvantaged young Territorians getting into their first home. That simple policy move has saved a lot of cash but has left people with no opportunity to get into their first home. We will continue to challenge this policy because we want young people to get into their own home.
Low income earners are another category. We have to look at social and affordable housing, and the Chief Minister mentioned 2000 new rental homes but the last Housing minister, the member for Greatorex, said last year out of 2000 only 246 had been delivered. I did not aggregate the figures as the Chief Minister was talking, but 246 after two-and-a-half years with a target of 2000 – a lot of work has to be done. This is supporting a major sector in our Northern Territory community – low income earners.
Once again, the policy seems to be more about talk than delivery, and in the regions people are extremely concerned about housing. What we have in Territory Housing stock in the regions – the CLP government has been making money from the sale of Territory Housing stock – $3.7m public housing stock from the Department of Housing 2013-14.
The Chief Minister lauds the statement of people owning their own home, a great thing. The opposition supports that, but as a policy outcome you have to be careful when you see that sale of stock and the waiting lists to get into public housing increase, particularly in the regional centres. Chief Minister, a lot of work needs to be done there.
I was disappointed recently to see a Sky News story with Senator Nigel Scullion standing in the middle of Garawa 1, a community living area in Borroloola on the east side of the McArthur River. Senator Nigel Scullion was showing empathy with the constituents about the overcrowded housing and was demanding something be done. I challenged Senator Nigel Scullion, as did the member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, when we discovered there had been a $7m cut to the NPARIH budget. Also, the construction time frame for 25 new houses and 75 refurbishments had been pushed out to 2018. I thought, how dare a Liberal senator for the Northern Territory show empathy when it happened through his own actions.
We challenged that and he responded with, ‘No, you have it all wrong. I handed all the cash and the responsibility to the Chief Minister, the member for Braitling, Adam Giles. He has control.’ The people from Borroloola were pushed sideways. Senator Nigel Scullion exposed what had been happening; the money has been given to the Northern Territory government and it had not delivered.
There has been a lot of pressure on housing in Elliott. I thank the previous minister for Lands and Planning, who was inclusive and kept me in the loop about the work the Labor government had done. To his credit this was continued by the CLP minister, the member for Brennan – normalising the land use principles of Elliott and incorporating both the special purpose lease at the south end of Elliott and the outstation, Gurungu, at the north end of Elliott into the town plan. This was the first step in going to the feds to get them onto the NPARIH program – the Indigenous housing infrastructure program – money from the federal government.
I hope the new minister for Lands and Planning will continue the good work of the previous minister, the member for Brennan. We need a serious look at the books to see what is there for new Indigenous housing in Elliott because Senator Nigel Scullion has put the emphasis fair and square on the CLP government with the Chief Minister, the member for Braitling, Hon Adam Giles, in charge of the funds and that important program. It was good to get some clarity from Liberal to Liberal.
The outstation area was not covered. The Chief Minister did not really elaborate, but I ask that the Homelands Extra Allowance – the $5200 per dwelling for outstations – be looked at seriously because I am moving around three electorates advising people on outstations and homelands that this scheme is available. Nobody from the government is helping. The scheme is available but people do not know about it. You need a fair level of comprehension to complete the forms. People need assistance, and I have asked the minister for Community Services, who is now the Minister for Housing, for help. I received some interesting responses. I thank her for her response that the department is liaising with Aboriginal resource organisations to get support for the outstations ...
Ms WALKER: Mr Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request an extension of time for the member for Barkly.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker and member for Nhulunbuy, this is so important. This is what is available and what we need. This can translate to good jobs but there is a big breakdown. Since entering into a number of negotiations with outstations and homelands to get this moving, I have discovered a few more that are not even on the program. It is saving by default from this government. If you have committed to this policy, we need more support to make sure the information gets out and people are supported. It is a complicated form; a submission-based process. It is not easy for people who are not familiar with bureaucratic processes. If that is policy it needs to be supported.
Chief Minister, if you really want to help people let us make sure people know about these opportunities. We can then make sure they put their applications in and are supported with the minimum of housing repairs. This all started with me. It did not really start with me; I have lobbied for this for years. It started with the Homelands Extra Scheme and an elderly person wanting to get a door on her bathroom for privacy. Chief Minister, there is an example of making life simpler and safer, and delivering for Territorians.
There is much I could say in the housing area but will not because of time. I will go on to the Chief Minister as the architect of the toxic shire strategy which gave him the result he mentioned in this statement – the bush voted in the CLP government. Enormous promises were made to the bush to secure that vote and there is enormous responsibility. The Chief Minister has exhausted two-and-a-half years of infighting, backstabbing, dysfunction and instability. He now turns over a new leaf with a lengthy statement that he will be a good guy, will consult and will get this government back on the road.
From the body language in Question Time today I am not so sure about that. I reckon you guys should think seriously about getting rid of him, and that opportunity is next Tuesday. You will not lose government. You need new leaders and real credibility. The only way to do it is get rid of that guy. He is still in charge. You looked like a happy bunch of campers during Question Time today.
We will go to local government because the Chief Minister has made major announcements but done little in the pragmatic changes on the ground. We have an issue with the new West Daly Regional Council needing $5m in top up just for sustainability. We had extensive debate in this place. The member for Nelson put the opportunity of a boundary commission. We said, ‘Put the brakes on, look at this and do real economic modelling and analysis around this’. No, you went ahead. The Chief Minister led it. You created the West Daly Regional Council and now some serious issues have emerged and it needs support.
The Chief Minister, with his new approach to consultation and helping people, no doubt will support the new West Daly Regional Council. The disadvantage for the original Victoria Daly Council has been enormous. Just before Christmas the Victoria Daly Council had to shed 23 jobs. Once again these are mostly local jobs. These people wanted to get up and get to work, feel good about themselves and be proud mentors of their family and their community. Twenty-three jobs went. That simple change in boundaries and creation of a new council has caused a huge imbalance. The Chief Minister needs to sort that out as soon as possible.
However, in the broader perspective, our Chief Minister, the champion of the Abbott government in Canberra, needs to get to Canberra and fight for the federal financial assistance grants to local government and regional councils. It is important. Everybody in the sector is talking about it. These are important grant programs; they cannot do without them. Canberra is scrapping these financial assistance grant programs. This will be extremely detrimental to the financial sustainability as well as the new projects and programs regional councils want to initiate.
In regard to the cost of living, the Chief Minister is very creative with the figures. It is interesting to read what Treasury produces then hear it spoken about in parliament. There are major shifts across pages of figures in an attempt to tell the good story. Essentially, it is simple economics: go in hard after a big tax grab. That is exactly what you have done. After two-and-a-half years we start to see figures for 2013-14 of $81.8m in tax hikes.
That is a policy, a strategy, but families are hurting. When you pay a lot more for your basic cost of living then add 30% for power, 40% for water and 25% for sewerage you start putting serious pressure on Territory families. Many of the families I represent are on fixed incomes, so it really bites when you have price increases in power cards, car rego and food. Some interesting statistics were issued today on Territory residents in regional and remote areas paying 50% more for food than people in major centres. With the Abbott Liberal government indexation of fuel seeing increases twice a year, people will be in pain.
Chief Minister, I will give you an example of people you need to help. I was talking to people in business on the main street of Tennant Creek – people in the hospitality business. There is a downturn in people visiting restaurants or buying sandwiches for lunch from cafs because consumer confidence has been crushed. In addition, in a town like Tennant Creek with many public servants, people are worried about their jobs because they have seen the severe cuts to public sector jobs. People are nervous and it is having a macro effect on the business economy, which is creating a downturn. That is a micro example of this policy.
The Leader of the Opposition has already issued a policy position that Labor will conduct immediately. If you really want to look after and support people, you might want to pick up on some of the ideas because people are hurting, particularly people in the bush.
I try to empathise with people. As an ex-school teacher after a big holiday the credit card was maxed out, I had to get the kids back to school and I had the biggest power, water and sewerage bill of the year. I would load that onto the credit card and work it out over six months. I was struggling. That is the way I did it, and that meant we were not able to dine out or invest in entertainment for the first couple of months until we got the family back on its feet. That was a few years ago, and now we are talking about massive increases and massive hikes across the policy area of the CLP.
We are talking about cutting construction budgets, the lifeblood of regional and remote areas. This is a high-taxing government with cuts to public service jobs, crushing consumer confidence, and we now see contracts going to interstate companies.
The Chief Minister talked about land release. I have received a lot of complaints in the last few days. The small industrial subdivision to be created in Tennant Creek – I applaud that, it was under our planning – has been given to an interstate company. We do not understand that. Local business people go to restaurants and buy sandwiches, and I am getting more and more complaints about interstate contracts under this CLP government ...
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, thank you. Your time has expired.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Deputy Chief Minister): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on the Country Liberal government’s direction for 2015-16. As Deputy Chief Minister, I make a commitment to Territorians that I fully support our Chief Minister and all the work this government is doing to further advance the interests of Territorians. We are getting on with the business of governing and doing what is best for Territorians. Our focus is firmly where it should be: on the needs of Territorians.
The Country Liberals is a united team and its goal is to ensure a prosperous future for current and future Territorians. On this side of the House we are focusing on making people’s lives simpler, safer and easier by delivering good governance, sensible policy and sound economic choices. We are working hard to remind Territorians why they put their trust and confidence in us in 2012, and why the Labor Party was so unceremoniously swept from power at that time. We are communicating better and working with Territorians in our decision-making. We are listening to Territorians.
The Chief Minister said we are speaking to Territorians directly about their priorities and local solutions. This government has already done a lot of work in turning around the Territory’s economy, but we need to keep our sleeves rolled up and get on with the job without political distraction.
In his statement the Chief Minister said the Country Liberals team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by strengthening the public service. I consider it a privilege to hold the portfolio of Minister for Public Employment. The Northern Territory public service is the Territory’s largest employer. Over 20 000 Territorians are employed in our public service, working hard and diligently to deliver the services and implement the policies of this government. Recently the Chief Minister announced a package of measures designed to make our public service a more attractive place to work. I will not go into detail because the Chief Minister did a very good job of outlining those changes. Over the next 12 months I will be implementing measures to modernise our public service, promote training and staff development and give staff more flexibility in their working lives.
What a courageous and positive announcement by the Chief Minister today about Indigenous employment targets within the public service. Moving from the current frame of 8% up to 16% is worthy and notable.
The Chief Minister also said this government is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by protecting our great Territory lifestyle. I have said many times in this House and elsewhere that recreational fishing is an important part of our lifestyle. It is also a major tourism drawcard and a growing contributor to the Territory’s economy. In regard to achievements designed to grow and enhance our recreational fishing opportunities this government has already landed some big ones.
As Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries I have worked with my department to do many things, including closing Finke and Chambers Bays to commercial barramundi fishing, establishing the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee, implementing the Recreational Fishing Development Plan 2012-2022, and establishing a recreational fishing data survey program to better understand recreational fishing patterns in the Territory. We have reached seven agreements with traditional owners around the Territory for ongoing access by fishers to waters affected by the Blue Mud Bay decision. We have implemented a comprehensive safety and recreational fishing education program in conjunction with marine safety, and late last year we removed the seasonal closure for recreational fishing on the Mary River.
Public consultation overwhelmingly supported the notion, and Territorians and visitors have flocked to the Mary River over the past two months in order to land what is well-known as a ‘Shady Lady’. By all reports the fishing at Shady Camp has been world-class.
Not only has the fishing been excellent, but the knock-on effect from all the visitors to the Mary River region has improved the economy of the region. People drive past the Bark Hut Inn, call into places along the way, stay in hotels, buy from the shops and the anecdotal evidence is that the micro-economy of the region has boomed over the last few months. It is a real success story.
As well, the $2.5m project to upgrade two critical barrages on the Mary River near Shady Camp to reduce saltwater intrusion into the wetlands and protect valuable pastoral land was completed last year.
One of the most important issues for fishing is access. This government continues to work hard to achieve win/win outcomes for traditional owners and recreational fishers through the Blue Mud Bay negotiation process. In order to honour the decision made by the High Court of Australia, negotiations are under way with many community leaders to secure outcomes that allow permit free access to as much of the Territory coastline as possible.
The Chief Minister also said in his statement that the team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by creating jobs in the bush. The government recognises that food production will play an important part in our economic future and we have worked hard to develop our agricultural, horticultural and pastoral industries. While I do not agree with the notion we will be the food bowl of the north, we certainly have the opportunity and the potential to become the delicatessen for Asia.
We are clearly focused on addressing industry priorities and removing roadblocks to industry expansion. Since coming to office we have worked hard to reduce red tape. We have increased exports to our Asian neighbours, enabled greater flexibility for land use on pastoral leases and are researching additional available land for use in primary production. All signs indicate the primary industry and fisheries sector in the Northern Territory will continue to grow, and forecasts indicate a total contribution of $610m next financial year predominantly due to predicted increases in the pastoral sector.
The Northern Territory government is also working closely with the Commonwealth government to develop northern Australia through new infrastructure and new economic activity, particularly through the portfolio sectors I have responsibility for.
A key aspect of northern Australian development is increasing agricultural development and opportunities emerging for investment in the agribusiness sector. Currently my Department of Land Resource Management is actively looking to identify and map soils across the Northern Territory that can be used for more intensive agriculture and horticulture. These projects aim to provide the required land and water information for pastoralists and other landholders to further develop agricultural and horticultural enterprises. The department has also started an investigative bore drilling program to identify new agricultural precincts in areas around Ali Curung, between Mataranka and Larrimah and also around Ngukurr.
This government values our food production industries, in particular our pastoral industry, and we are committed to ensuring its growth and success. Increased live cattle exports, in conjunction with changes to the Pastoral Land Act which allow diversification on pastoral land use, are expected to encourage more mixed farming, especially broadacre cropping over the next few years.
Notwithstanding the announcement by the Chief Minister earlier about Seafarms, one of the most exciting non-pastoral use projects under way is the cultivation of poppies on Tipperary Station for the pharmaceutical industry. Other non-pastoral use applications current being assessed are for tourism, horticulture, forestry and broad scale agricultural activities.
This week, as the Chief Minister mentioned earlier, there was a major media announcement on plans to establish the world’s largest prawn farm on Legune Station near the Western Australia border. The proposed farm, known as Project Sea Dragon, will see development of up to 10 000 ha which is expected to produce over 100 000 tonnes of black tiger prawns every year, and employ 1600 full-time staff at its operations on the land and in various cities.
This is an exciting time to be working on the land and involved with the primary industry sector, especially since this government supports our primary sector so well. We work hard with landholders to give them the best possible opportunities.
Since amending the Pastoral Land Act in 2014 to allow increased diversification on the pastoral estate, the Pastoral Land Board is considering non-pastoral use permits for tourism activities in Central Australia, VRD and the Roper regions, and the cultivation of onions in Central Australia. It is the job of the Pastoral Land Board to ensure the health, economic viability and sustainability of the Northern Territory’s pastoral lands in order for our pastoral industry to thrive.
For many years under the previous Labor government, the Pastoral Land Board did not have the funding or resources to undertake its duties in monitoring our pastoral estate – shame. However, the Country Liberals government recognises the importance of the pastoral industry and the valuable work performed by this board, and has provided the necessary funding to allow the Pastoral Land Board to do its job. In turn, this has supported the pastoral industry through provision of extension services with regard to pastoral land clearing applications, non-pastoral use applications, property inspections and reporting, and more frequent property visits and infrastructure upgrades.
The Chief Minister also mentioned how the Country Liberals team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by promoting international trade. The Northern Territory cattle industry had a bumper year for live cattle sales in 2014, and export numbers through the Darwin port set a new record surpassing the previous high of 364 944 head in 2008. The success is a result of the incredibly hard work of the cattle industry in conjunction with this government to restore and grow the markets for Territory beef.
The Country Liberals government, in conjunction with industry associations, has worked hard to rebuild the live cattle trade with Indonesia and establish new long-term markets for Territory cattle and buffalo in other Southeast Asian countries – something the former Labor government did not do.
The trade relationship between the Northern Territory and Indonesia has grown stronger, which is an indication of the solid foundation that existed between these two governments dating back to the 1980s, but sadly let slip by the former Labor government. Indonesia recently elected a new government and it is recognised there will be a settling in period while new ministers get across their portfolios.
Earlier this month I had the honour of meeting with the Indonesian Consul to the Northern Territory, and together we agreed on ongoing areas of cooperation regarding trade between our governments. It is my intention – once the ministry is settled in Indonesia – to visit Jakarta and meet with my counterpart in the Indonesian government so we can continue to rebuild the relationship between the Northern Territory and Indonesia.
Our role as a government is vital in ensuring the northern cattle industry continues to thrive and it is my intention, as Deputy Chief Minister, to work hard to bring certainty to the NT cattle industry and our trading partners.
There is a unique opportunity for the Northern Territory to capitalise on the rapidly increasing demand for quality food in the Asia-Pacific region. New trade relationships with Vietnam and now Cambodia have seen our markets for live cattle increase. The Northern Territory government-led trade missions that helped secure these new trading partners will continue.
Regular visits to our trading partners deliver the assurance and respect required to ensure long term and successful partnerships. Only personal visits allow for relationships to form with our trading partners and they are critical to the trust that can be engendered between our two jurisdictions.
Currently the Northern Territory is the largest supplier of live cattle and buffalo to Southeast Asia and this government is determined to see this continue. Negotiations are under way to expand Australian cattle exports into Vietnam and Cambodia, Thailand is on the list as well, while China in particular stands as a market of significant growth potential once a number of import hurdles have been overcome.
Indonesia remains our largest export market with about 251 000 head of NT cattle exported in 2014, increasing from approximately 244 000 head of cattle in 2013. These are in the years after the recovery of the live cattle trade.
My Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries is also working to strengthen the links into eastern Indonesia and is now exploring opportunities for collaboration in Kalimantan. That is what forming relationships is about. It is about doing the hard yards and putting your feet on the ground to help your trading partners – partnering with them to improve their capability and capacity.
In 2013 this government established a Live Animal Export Development Unit within my Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries. This unit works closely with the NT Cattlemen’s Association and the NT Livestock Exporters Association on a strategic and targeted approach to market development. As well, my department works in partnership with Meat & Livestock Australia and the Department of Business to promote the live export trade and assist importers of NT cattle.
The challenge in the next few years will be determining how to produce the number of cattle the growing markets to our north will require. A number of Northern Territory cattle stations have ambitious development plans and my department is assisting leaseholders to help them expand.
I would like to see the NT herd increase by at least 50% over the next 10 years. However, this government recognises the upgrades needed to existing infrastructure to support the breeding and transportation of another million head will be significant. It is a challenge I throw down and am, on behalf of the government, willing to accept as well.
Imagine what the economy of the Northern Territory, particularly in the pastoral industry, would look like if our herd increases from two million to three million head, that our turn off increases from 600 000 head a year to 900 000, even close to a million. That will make a huge difference to the pastoral sector and the general economy of the Northern Territory.
The infrastructure I am talking about includes upgrading or building additional roads, holding yards and port facilities – all pretty huge projects that cannot and will not happen overnight. There is no doubt the demand for Territory cattle is rising and beef prices are set to continue a steady increase. A few people have said, and I join in the chorus, it is a good time to be in beef.
It is important that industry and government work hand in hand to ensure we have the relevant infrastructure and cattle numbers in place to meet these demands. The opening last year of AACos Darwin meat processing facility presented the first opportunity in many years for Top End producers to market fat cattle.
After many years with few market options there has been a surge of interest in buffalo, particularly for export to Vietnam. Programs to assist the farmed buffalo sector and take sustainable harvest from the Arnhem Land herds are being planned. In 2014, 5055 buffalo were exported through Darwin, up from a total of 800 in 2013.
I will move to a completely different topic and something a little closer to home from me. The Chief Minister said in his statement that our team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by keeping us all safe. As the local member for Katherine, I applaud and welcome the Country Liberals initiative to establish temporary beat locations outside takeaway outlets in Katherine. At this stage it is just a six-month trial, but I will be having discussions with the Police minister about how the trial can turn into something more sustainable and full time ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I seek an extension of time for the member to complete his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Port Darwin.
At this stage it is just a six-month trial, but statistics already show the drastic measure is effectively reducing alcohol-fuelled violence and antisocial behaviour. Temporary beat locations have already proved successful in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. In these towns levels of alcohol-related crime have plummeted since temporary beat locations began in early 2014 ...
Mr Elferink: They will get rid of them. The Labor Party will get rid of them.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: That would be the sad part. I pick up on the interjection from the member for Port Darwin. You would almost call them draconian measures, certainly drastic, but we know the Labor Party would get rid of them if ever back in government ...
Mr Elferink: They just announced it. The Leader of the Opposition announced it.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: That would be a sad day for the Territory given how successful TBLs have been.
By employing this highly visible preventative approach at the town’s main takeaway grog outlets assaults and other acts of violence have been reduced. In fact, anecdotally ambulance work has been cut by about 50%, hospital presentations down by about 50% and the work of police has completely changed. Albeit there are police posted at these outlets; it allows other officers to get out and do what they are paid for – police my town, do some proactive work, investigate things, talk to people on the street, chat with shop owners and do all the things they did not have time to previously because they were too busy picking up drunks. The face of the town has changed remarkably and you could notice it from day one. That is how successful these TBLs are. Impressive results are being delivered by our hard-working police, but we still recognise antisocial behaviour is a major issue in the centre of all our towns and work needs to continue to make sure we stay on top of it.
These things are about preventing the public drunkenness which so often leads to criminal offending. It is also about protecting the women and children of Katherine, who are too often the victims of violence flowing from alcohol abuse.
The Chief Minister’s statement also mentioned cutting the cost of living for Territorians by releasing more land. The Country Liberals government has worked hard to overcome the drastic shortage of land release under Labor and has responded to local demand for housing by fast-tracking and releasing suitable land in townships across the Territory.
In my electorate of Katherine, stage one of a new subdivision in Katherine East has been awarded to local company Downes Graderways. Construction and sales are planned to commence this year, and it is expected over 100 lots and more than 200 dwellings will be available.
The Country Liberals has, since coming to government in 2012, made huge progress in making the Territory a better place to live, work and play. It is a better place to raise a family, own a business, go to school, get a job and have a holiday as a result of the policy direction this government has taken since being elected in 2012.
Although the Chief Minister’s statement is about setting the agenda for the year ahead, I look backward and use what has occurred over the past two-and-a-half years under this government as a demonstration of what people of the Territory can look forward to: better living conditions, more jobs and more opportunities. That is what we are about but we are not resting on our laurels. Our sleeves are rolled up and we are working hard to make the Territory the best place in Australia to live, although it really is and we just have to keep it that way.
I support the Chief Minister’s statement on setting this government’s agenda for the year ahead.
Mr CHANDLER (Police, Fire and Emergency Services): Madam Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government that has a plan in progress to advance the Northern Territory. We are committed to placing community best interests in the centre of all decision-making. This Country Liberals government is establishing a framework for the Northern Territory’s future which recognises opportunities and delivers the best outcomes for all Territorians no matter where they live. The Chief Minister said we will make life simpler, easier and safer.
The Chief Minister referenced the tremendous achievements of this government and I am proud of the role I played, and continue to play, in those achievements. What has happened over the last few weeks gives you the opportunity to take stock and look at what has been achieved. Often governments are accused of doing things slowly. I am not just talking about the Northern Territory, but governments around the world are often accused of being slow to act and slow to introduce change.
With a change of ministry you have the opportunity to look back on achievements over the last two-and-a-half years. It is only then you get the chance to take stock and see what a change there has been. So many things have changed for the better and so many things achieved which make the Northern Territory a better place to live. Whilst there might be a lot of rhetoric from time to time, it is based on ideology not stats, not the real difference occurring in the lives of Territorians whether they are in business, on welfare or live in the city or the bush.
I repeat the Chief Minister’s pledge to Territorians: the government will work with you. That means speaking to Territorians about their priorities and local solutions. For a long time this government has spoken about the big picture, as did the previous Labor government. They talked about INPEX all the time and how that big opportunity would change things for the better. In the main that is correct; it has. They spoke about the big end of town. This government could be guilty of the same thing; we continually talk about the big things and big opportunities for the Territory, including the debt levels this government was left to deal with.
Let us touch on that for a minute. What do mums and dads really care about? It is what is happening in their streets, their schools and that they have access to good quality government services. They are not interested in hearing government talk about debt, we know that. They are not interested in us talking about INPEX and other big opportunities that exist in the Northern Territory. Let us face it, for many it is white noise. Even as part of a government listening to some of the things we talk about it is white noise.
This government recognises mums and dads expect us to do those things anyway but not brag about it. Do not constantly talk about the big picture items because for many it is white noise. Let us talk about what can make a difference to the lives of Territorians. Many things have been introduced in the last two-and-a-half years by the Country Liberals government.
Minister Tollner suggested to me earlier today after all the hoo-hah that we should look at what has been achieved. What an amazing feat to have had the hoo-hah and still deliver what this government has over the last two-and-a-half years.
As the Chief Minister said, we cannot lose sight of the fact people are more interested in the state of their kid’s classroom than a Moody’s rating. Our economy is going from strength to strength but we need to work on explaining this to Territorians. We need to explain to the mums and dads in Moulden, Bakewell or and anywhere else what this means to job opportunities for Territorians. When the Country Liberals were elected in 2012 we promised we would make the Territory a better place for everyone. We have a renewed vigour to do that and the obligation is on this government to demonstrate it to Territorians.
What do we have to do differently? We need the same work ethic. We could be accused of having our heads in the sand and our bums up, working hard to change the lives of Territorians. We need to get the messaging right – how to articulate to the mums and dads of the Territory why the government does things and how they will benefit from the actions of this government.
I am no longer minister for Lands and Planning, but we have made a real difference in that area for Territorians. When we came to government land prices in Palmerston were touching $300 000. Today, through changes to policy and contracts, they are between $160 000 and $180 000. That, in itself, is an amazing feat. For many people an average block costing $300 000 is out of reach. How can you afford a mortgage if you are paying $300 000 for a block of land and another $300 000 to $400 000 for a home? To introduce policies and contracts where price points were between $160 000 and $180 000 is real change. It has and will continue to make a difference for Territorians.
People might argue we have changed the planning scheme to allow for smaller blocks and that unit development is happening at a rapid rate. When you have countless families knocking on your door, as a responsible minister you look for easy ways for them to get out of the rent cycle and into their own property. What we have achieved in the last few years is amazing. Yes, land sizes are different than they were a few years ago, but this is about choice. It provides people with choice and, for many, the opportunity to get into their own property for the first time.
This government is releasing land at record rates. Timely release of land is critical to lowering the cost of living and making housing more affordable. Since May 2013 we have released land to accommodate approximately 5500 new homes across the Territory. As part of Budget 2014-15, the Territory government is bringing on land release programs which will deliver a further 6500 dwellings over the next decade. The Northern Territory government has also identified over 70 infill development sites for land release across the Territory, with a potential yield of around 2700 dwellings. In Palmerston we are two to three years ahead of the previous Labor government’s schedule because this government realised we were behind the eight ball. We had to punch through that wave and release land faster than previously.
My colleague, minister Tollner, will no doubt expand on these achievements. I will selfishly focus on the great city of Palmerston. The final stages of Bellamack and Johnston are complete and the focus for greenfield land release is Zuccoli. Stage one of Zuccoli is progressing as scheduled. Stage two achieved its first titles in November 2014 and homes are nearing completion. The second stage of stage two is currently being pre-sold and showing solid sales rates. The development rights for stages three and four have been awarded and the developer is now finalising design and seeking approvals. The first 179 lot sub-stage is expected to go on pre-sale in April 2015, with titles to be achieved by the end of this year. The Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment is finalising the award of Zuccoli stage five, which will also deliver lots to Territorians in 2015.
I pay tribute to the former chief executive, John Coleman, and his team for their can-do attitude whilst I held the reins of Lands and Planning. They did an amazing job. The culture there is certainly can-do. It is amazing what a group of specialist operators have achieved in the last two-and-a-half years. In the four years I was in opposition and living in Palmerston I saw nothing happen out there.
You only have to visit Palmerston today and look at the – there are cranes on the skyline. A new $55m hotel is being built next to a new complex that could touch close to $300m by the time it is finished.
Plans are well under way for the new $150m Palmerston Regional Hospital. The Gateway Shopping Centre – $300m worth of shopping centre. New schools are planned for and construction will start within the next 12 months.
There is about $1bn worth of infrastructure, both government and private, either commenced or about to commence in Palmerston – a satellite city of 30 000 people having over $1bn worth of construction occurring or about to commence. That is amazing and this government is accused of doing nothing – quite unbelievable.
Palmerston is going from strength to strength. My colleagues, the members for Drysdale and Blain, and I look forward to a bright and exciting future for the residents of Palmerston.
I will go to childcare services and the increased funding this government has provided. On 12 December 2014 the Northern Territory government signed an extended National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education for the period 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2016 covering service delivery for the 2015 calendar year.
The agreement increased the Northern Territory standard provision to 480 hours per year, 12 hours a week 40 weeks a year and enabled extended access for more remote communities through multilevel classes and mobile preschool programs.
Under the National Partnership Agreement for Universal Access to Early Childhood Education 2009 to 2014, preschools in the Northern Territory have been working towards providing access to a quality early childhood education program delivered by a degree qualified early childhood teacher for children the year before full-time schooling. The emphasis is on Indigenous children and children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds for 600 hours per year, which is 15 hours a week 40 weeks a year.
In 2015 the scope of the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education has been expanded to include support for all preschool participation regardless of whether preschool programs are delivered through the schools – non-government and government – stand-alone preschools or long daycare centres.
The Report on Government Services released on 6 February 2015 showed the Northern Territory has lower approved long daycare service costs than nationally, lower preschool costs after subsidies, a higher proportion of qualified workers delivering preschool programs than nationally, the highest state or territory government expenditure of any jurisdiction per child attending approved childcare services, the highest rate of state or territory government spending on early childhood education and childcare, and lower out of pocket costs for long daycare services than nationally. That is not too bad compared to the national averages. If you listened to the other side you would think we were a horrible government doing wrong in so many areas. When you break down the statistics and see what is happening, it is quite different.
During 2014 four remote family centres were constructed at Gunbalanya, Maningrida, Ngukurr, Yuendumu and one provisional child and family centre at Palmerston. When I took over Education a little over 18 months ago the first time, I discovered we were about three-and-a-half years into a five-year agreement where the federal government wanted to fund five childcare centres. For three-and-a-half years the previous Labor government had failed to take advantage of this federal money to build five childcare centres. With 18 months to run on the agreement we made a bold decision to build all five childcare centres. Some warned against it saying it could not be achieved and we would be left to foot the bill; we would not meet the agreement.
All five of those centres have been built with the help of an active Northern Territory government and the departments involved. Congratulations. You pulled off building five childcare centres that could easily have been built had the previous government taken advantage of the agreement with the federal government. They sat on their hands, yet we achieved that in an 18-month period – new childcare centres at Gunbalunya, Maningrida, Ngukurr, Yuendumu and Palmerston.
I will continue with education as I am so excited to pick up that portfolio again. So much work commenced and it will be nice to see much of it completed in the next 18 months.
The Indigenous education review, a 10-year Indigenous education strategy, makes this government stand out compared to the previous Labor government.
An Indigenous education review had not been undertaken for decades. From that we have a detailed strategy covering the next 10 years, not a 12-month pilot program or something that will start today and finish tomorrow. It is a 10-year strategy to give certainty to the direction we are taking in education. It will give certainly to parents, the wider community and our hard-working teachers about this government’s focus on education for the next 10 years. That was a miserable failure of the previous government, which went from one failed strategy to the next.
Everyone is looking for that silver bullet, I get that. In the first few months I had this portfolio I struggled because I was listening to experts and everyone around me who had far more experience in education than me. I was worried that if these guys did not have this perfected what hope did I have, with little experience in the area. How could I fix some of the huge problems we had in delivering quality education in the Northern Territory, particularly in remote areas.
It was not until I took that trip to north Queensland and met Noel Pearson that I found someone I instantly – do not take this the wrong way – fell in love with because of his passion for education and for taking a child from a remote community and exposing them to an education which provides endless opportunities. We have not been able to deliver that in the Northern Territory.
When you see children learning at 1.5 the average rate, when you see engaged children in classroom after classroom – I cried tears of joy at the hotel that night because for the first time I had seen something I thought had real opportunity for the Northern Territory. I came back to the Northern Territory excited about what I had seen but I needed to influence people to move the ship a few degrees to the right. I saw the value of that product and the difference it could make for Indigenous kids in the bush. I knew it was the right thing to do and something I will work hard to deliver.
It is too important. Indigenous kids have every right, like kids in our urban centres – whether it is Sydney or Melbourne- to a decent education. I would be damned as a minister if I did not try my best to find a product to do just that. I believe we are onto it and will continue to focus heavily in that area.
Global school budgets and independent public schools are fantastic opportunities for schools where, instead of having central control at the Mitchell Centre, decisions are being made at the school level. I guarantee you, sooner rather than later no school will want to go back ...
Mr HIGGINS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I seek an extension of time for the member.
Motion agreed to.
Mr CHANDLER: I look forward to working with those schools into the future. I knew there would be wrinkles going from a complex budgeting system under the previous funding model to a more robust and streamlined system being introduced with global budgeting. Nobody expected to get out of this without appropriately funding the schools. When I handed the budget to the new minister, minister Lambley, that was approved and additional money was found to put into the schools.
The first independent public schools are Braitling Primary School, Darwin High School, Larrakeyah Primary School, Leanyer Primary School, Palmerston Senior College and Wulagi Primary School. A few more applied, but at the time it was considered these schools had the capability, local support and vision to transit from a public system into the more independent model proposed...
Mr Wood: You did not give them enough money.
Mr CHANDLER: That is not quite correct, member for Nelson. I look forward to the next round later this year as a number of schools were so tempted to apply to become independent public schools. Some took the precautionary approach and will see how the bold schools – the ones that took the challenge on – develop over the next 12 months. I guarantee a number of schools will put their hands up because they recognise the advantages of going down this path.
Watch this space, member for Nelson …
Mr Wood: I will.
Mr CHANDLER: … and I look forward to working with the next group of schools that want to take on the independent process.
One of the biggest things I have tried to influence this government – every member on this side of the House knows a government needs to put more into special needs. Probably no one on the Labor side, or the Independents, would argue against that. I am proud this government has approved building of a new Henbury School and a special needs school in Palmerston. Cabinet ministers approved funding those programs to ensure we provide the best special needs education for our children into the future.
I look forward to seeing a new Henbury School provide ongoing services for decades to come. Similarly, I look forward to seeing a new school built at Bellamack to provide special needs facilities and resources for children in Palmerston and the rural area. Rural children, member for Nelson, will be quite welcome at the special needs school in Palmerston ...
Mr Wood: I hope so
Mr CHANDLER: NTOEC, a jointly funded initiative of this government and our good friends INPEX, will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the first time. It will not be filling an old building with modern equipment; we will build the services we need. The $11.6m this government is investing in NTOEC is something Territorians will no doubt be proud of in the future. Co-locating it with Darwin High School is a great way to involve another high school because they will all benefit from having it there.
The federally-funded Remote School Attendance Strategy is helping lift attendance figures of students in the bush. When children go to school they have a chance to be educated. One of the interesting things coming out of that strategy – as part of the agreement we had to sign with the federal government – was better ways of recording student attendance, and we are so far ahead of the game in the Northern Territory.
If you talk to minister Christopher Pyne, or any federal bureaucrat trying to get information from perhaps the New South Wales government – they could wait for months for it. The Northern Territory would have the information to them the same day because that is how good our process of recording attendance is.
Interestingly, some of the information will show whilst some remote schools had low attendance rates a lot of it was because children were not in the communities at the time. Attendance rates of children in the communities are, in some cases, well above the 80% mark. If the children are in the community there is a high chance they are attending school.
We acknowledge there is a lot to do in that area. I am hopeful Direct Instruction, and derivatives of it being applied in our remote schools, will engage children to the point they want to go to school.
There is a lot to be done with the Remote School Attendance Strategy. Regional boarding schools, another initiative of this government, will help children access far better education than they could before. A child who attends Darwin High School is exposed to far more opportunities than in a remote school. It is not possible to provide the same level of service in a remote school as in a regional or city school.
The remote boarding school model has $40.5m being spent on it. The first school, which will be built in Nhulunbuy, will provide many school students with access to the quality of education they would get at Nhulunbuy High School compared to more remote schools. The national partnership agreement for remote teacher housing is another great agreement this government has signed with the federal government.
Today the Leader of the Opposition said it would scrap TBLs if Labor came to government. There would be pandemonium if you took TBLs away from Alice Springs, Katherine or Tennant Creek. Nurses have sent messages to say they have never seen a Saturday night at Katherine Hospital so quiet in years. Business people on the main street of Katherine contact us to say they have never seen it so quiet when it comes to antisocial behaviour. That is evidence the program is working. Do we think it is the perfect solution? No, but with policing it is about being a step ahead of the game. For those communities TBLs have provided that step ahead of the game.
There is anecdotal evidence it is causing problems in other areas but, like all good policing operations, you focus on the issue. It is no different to a project focused on antisocial driving – hooning. You might have a program focused on drink-driving, or a special squad put together to focus on break and enters. This is no different. TBLs are just one of the measures police are trying to reduce antisocial behaviour in and around our towns and communities. Has it been successful? Yes. Look at the statistics which show where there has been a real difference.
I could talk all day about the good things this government has done in the last two-and-a-half years. I know, with the Chief Minister’s agenda, what we will achieve in the lead-up to the next election. I commend the statement to the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I would be more prepared had I received this last night. It is a bit rough to have 35 pages of a broad statement about the future goals of the Northern Territory government and to have to try to give a reasonable response to some of the issues.
I understand the government’s reason not to release things until the day they come on, but it does not help. There is consultation with the other side of the House, and if you want a good debate people need time to prepare. If I prepare the night before I can listen to some of the debate, such as the member for Brennan talking about education. I can pick up some of the debate …
Mr Elferink: I will get you on the loop.
Mr WOOD: Thank you.
It is good the government starts off the year with an agenda. This is its focus, and probably a good document for me to refer to half way through the year to see if it is doing the things it said.
There are many things in the statement. There is no way, in the time I had, for serious analysis of whether the government is on the right path or whether what it says is real or not.
The member for Brennan mentioned the new independent school model and how a number of schools have joined up. I congratulate the government for that, but schools in my area – Madam Speaker would be the same – I believe the problem was insufficient money to cover some of the costs for this year and that is why they were reluctant to join up.
I understand money was allocated when the new minister took over the job. That signified there had been a shortage of money for schools that wanted to join and the issue these schools had …
Mr Chandler: We recognised that.
Mr WOOD: I am glad you did, but a lot of the pain was that schools felt the shortage of money was not recognised by the government. However, credit where it is due, the government has said it will allocate more money to that area and I welcome that. I will not harp on it, but from discussions with schools and some fairly vigorous discussions with certain school councils the right outcome was achieved. I thank schools that ensured they were not shortchanged if they moved to an independent school model.
There is a section on keeping Territorians safe. The government sometimes forgets it is not all about pubs or domestic violence. I receive a lot of complaints about misuse of vehicles, especially off-road vehicles hooning at night. Some time ago I asked the Chief Minister to look at CCTV cameras.
Palmerston Boat Ramp is getting CCTV cameras. I asked for CCTV cameras on certain intersections in the rural area and was told it is too expensive and to dob people in. CCTV cameras can be connected to WiFi and mobile phones. Why can the rural area not have some security? We have issues in relation to vehicle misuse …
Mr Chandler: Two mobile units are on the way, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: That is great, but there is a big issue with the use of off-road vehicles where they should not be. I recently received a letter from a gentleman – it was to the local council. I replied explaining that quad bikes are not legal on any road in the Northern Territory. If you want more than that, technically there are not legal on Crown land because they cannot be registered and Crown land is regarded, under the Traffic Act, as part of the road.
That raises the issue of people not being covered by insurance or only partially covered. If you do something illegal – legislation came in last year where you get a reduction in employment benefits if you have been injured, and there may be other reductions in what payments you can get through the MAC Scheme. Some of those matters need to be enforced by government through an education program and by catching these people.
It is not easy, but show the rural area it is not left out when it comes to a safe place for Territorians to live. People should be able to enjoy quad bikes and ATVs. I have written to the Minister for Sport and Recreation. I asked the previous government to look at it. I believe it was in the too hard basket, but there is room in the rural area for a well-designed off-road vehicle park. It would take up a fair area and benefit not only local people who want to use ATVs, but people wanting to train children how to use them safely. You could have competitions to attract people from down south, and it could also have a caravan park where people could enjoy off-road vehicles as a recreation or a competition.
I am happy to work with the Minister for Sport and Recreation and the minister for Lands and Planning to find suitable land. I expect people in the industry, the motor sports association or anybody involved with ATVs to partake in discussions. Getting people to a place where they are safe and not breaking the law is a positive initiative rather than coming down heavy on them. They should not be riding illegally, so if we set up a place where it is legal it would be a positive approach and may reduce the number of people riding up and down roads.
Unfortunately people forget ATVs – from a farm point of view – have more fatalities than any other vehicle in Australia. Last year there were about 17 ATV fatalities. The work health website shows a number of people have been injured by quad bikes.
It brings it home that they are not a vehicle to take lightly. They tip over easily and at least two people have died in the rural area, one on Gunn Point Road and one on Gunn Point beach. The government needs to look at this. If we are talking about keeping Territorians safe some good things could be put into place in the rural area.
Making the lives of Territorians simpler by cutting red tape is interesting and one has to be careful here. There are some good reasons for red tape and there is superfluous red tape. When government talks about cutting red tape it has to make sure it cuts unnecessary red tape, but you do not want to cut all red tape because some is important.
In the port legislation to be introduced – I will not debate the legislation as such, but the port legislation has regulations about all ports not just Darwin port.
I have spoken to a company with a port near Borroloola. They do not know much about this legislation but I understand it will introduce regulations about use of ports. One could argue the government is now bringing in red tape. Whilst it is easy to say cut red tape, we need to be careful we do not use the term just to make business operate better. You need some red tape to make sure the environment is protected, businesses are protected and the community is protected. It sounds good, but you have to make sure the balance is there.
The Chief Minister spoke about the shortage of housing in the Darwin region and the Northern Territory. I remember chastising the Labor Party many years ago when it stopped releasing land. In fact, from memory there was a section of the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment called the housing section which planned well ahead.
At some stage they thought everything was running smoothly and dropped it. Unfortunately, they then got behind the eight ball and it was extremely difficult to pick it up. I do not support the existing Darwin Regional Land Use Plan for many reasons, but I support the government trying to develop more land for urban housing. Those two things do not work against one another. It is good to say we need more housing, but a good government plans things first and develops second.
I will give you an example. The Chief Minister stated the initial stages of Holtze will be released in 2015 and will provide approximately 1200 new dwellings. Is that putting the cart before the horse? The Darwin regional plan has not been approved, yet the minister, and the previous minister for Lands and Planning, will remember that the week before the Freds Pass Show they announced Palmerston north would be developed. We had not had the first draft of the Darwin Regional Land Use Plan. Does something seem out of sync?
The ministerial statement says the land will be developed into small blocks yet the Planning Commission is, supposedly, looking at all the submissions relating to the discussion paper. It has not finalised that or produced its draft plan. In the meantime, the minister said we will have 1200 new dwellings at Holtze.
Why have a process and call it a discussion about the Darwin regional plan if the government has already decided that land will be developed? It has not been through the proper process?
Yes, we need more housing. We need urban housing in urban areas and rural housing in rural areas. They do not need to overlap. People are sometimes called anti-development, a common approach when you have a different opinion about development. That is annoying because I am not anti-development. I am sometimes criticised about the state of Coolalinga, something I supported. It is an urban development with duplexes and flats but it is missing a shopping centre. I am surprised the company meant to build the shopping centre at Coolalinga has enough money to fix up Woolworths on Smith Street.
I am not sure what is happening there, but people in the rural area want to know what has happened to the shopping centre at Coolalinga. I hope it is still on the agenda. Yes, we have McDonalds, a fuel outlet and some small shops supplying stock feed and hire equipment, but we do not have a shopping centre with Kmart and Coles as promised. It is disappointing. It is not about being anti-development; it is about being pro-development in the right place.
The government says Territorians have the opportunity to purchase their own home at affordable prices. I understood the government took away the opportunity for people to buy a second-hand house because it wanted to promote new housing. That is a backwards step. Older houses in the northern suburbs may be affordable to those who cannot afford a new house. Those people could be helped by a government subsidy. Not everyone can afford house and land packages of $500 000 to $600 000. I imagine some of the older houses in areas like Rapid Creek are worth a lot less. Some of the houses are small, but the government believes by removing that assistance more new houses will be built. That is unfair for those who want to start off with a second-hand house.
I have heard about jobs in the bush for many years. There is no doubt development can create jobs. Many places in the bush do not have the opportunity for large-scale development. There is no mining, little tourism and that is only in the Dry Season. You should use local government as your employment agency and build from that when the opportunities come.
We spend millions of dollars on these companies trying to create jobs out bush when there are none. I have seen it year-in and year-out. We pay people to do the training – 12 people do a course in bookkeeping when there is one job. A lot of money has been spent on job promotion where the practical outcome is no jobs. It is good to see the government promoting places like the Tiwi Islands, where there are opportunities.
You still want people to work where there are no opportunities and that is where you invest in local government. It is central to these areas, the equipment is there and people can find work. Once you have work the opportunities come and you can move up the scale.
To not have people working is one of the saddest things. We have big developments in the Top End – INPEX – and people are paid huge salaries. In other parts of the Territory people are on the dole and the cost of everything is high – the cost of food and fuel. You have a ‘them and us’ situation in the Territory and that is something we have to avoid where possible ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request an extension of time for the member to finish his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: The Chief Minister said a lot about gas and I understand it is an important part of the economy. I have not made up my mind about fracking and am still waiting for the report.
Renewables are important. I am in favour of promoting the tidal turbine. If we can get that happening in Clarence Strait it has great potential for reducing the amount of greenhouse gases electricity production, especially in this area, produces. We should not look at gas alone. We should keep our options open, whether they are solar, wind or solar thermal.
It is great to hear the South Australian Labor premier talk about a royal commission into uranium. We are also a big producer of uranium. It is refreshing to have a Labor premier say it is time to discuss this. We are trying to reduce coal-fired power stations and reduce omissions.
I understand from talking to Areva, the French energy company, that China will have about 65 nuclear power plants. The reason for that is to get a big reduction in omissions. They will be putting a lot of emphasis on renewable resources, but they understand the quantity of energy they want will rely on a 24-hour source, is a base load and will keep their industries turning over.
Is the Territory government interested in a submission to the royal commission in relation to where Australia should be with uranium use? It could be about what we will do with the waste from uranium, the safety aspects and the practical outcomes it could have from the reduction of carbon omissions into the atmosphere.
There is so much in this document so it is a pity there was not more time to prepare for it. I appreciate the member for Port Darwin assuring me I will receive statements earlier. I like to involve myself in debate not always to be negative; it gives me the opportunity to state my idea on various things.
It is good the government is looking at the port. Chief Minister, I e-mailed you today saying we should give the committee more time to report but you might not agree. I congratulate you. At least you are willing to put some of the issues to a committee. The sale of TIO did not go to a committee, the sale of Darwin buses did not, nor did the sale of the Government Printing Office, but at least you are providing a chance for discussion. If you rush this we may not have time to see all the people we need to because another issue is whether the port should stay as it is.
The Chief Minister is upmarket about the port changing the way it operates. That is fair enough, but if we are to look independently at the future of the port one option is to leave it as is. Another option might be like the port at Wyndham – they manage it on behalf of the government. We should look at the port at present and see if that is a better outcome than what you are considering into the future.
If we are to discuss the port – and we will in the year ahead – we must have adequate time to look at it so we bring a well-thought through document to parliament which covers all the people we need to talk to regarding the future of the port.
The Department of Agriculture – AQIS has changed its name – and Customs, Commonwealth bodies, all use the port. We need to make sure they are involved in these discussions. Defence people, as you know, are not always the easiest to talk to in a hurry. They have their own bureaucracy and if we are discussing the future of Darwin port we need to know if they should be involved.
Hopefully we will discuss these issues later in the year to see if the agenda is working.
Debate adjourned.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table 10 travel reports from the members for Namatjira, Nelson, Stuart and Arafura pursuant to paragraph 4.12 of the Remuneration Tribunal Determination.
I also table the Members of the Legislative Assembly Fuel Transaction Report.
I also table the Auditor-General for the Northern Territory February 2015 Report to the Legislative Assembly.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the following committee membership changes be adopted: the member for Daly is discharged and the member for Greatorex appointed to the Public Accounts Committee; the member for Daly is discharged and the member for Greatorex appointed to the committee on the Northern Territory’s Energy Future; and the member for Daly is discharged and the member for Drysdale appointed to the Fuel Price Disclosure Bill Scrutiny Committee.
Motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Today I advise the House of the Australia Day 2015 Honours awarded on 26 January 2015. Three Territorians were recognised as members of the General Division of the Order of Australia.
Kathy Abbott was awarded for her significant service to the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory and for being an advocate for improved health and wellbeing. A central Arrernte women and mother of six, Kathy is one of the longest-serving Aboriginal Health Workers in the Northern Territory. She began her career in 1970 at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and went on to train others and advocate for the vital part Aboriginal Health Workers play in caring for their people.
One of her most important roles has been as co-founder of the Akeyulerre, known as the healing centre, which promotes wellbeing through culture and is dedicated to ensuring there is a place for cultural knowledge and that knowledge is promoted and shared with the broader community.
Kathy was instrumental in making the centre a reality, running healing programs at a time when traditional knowledge and healing were dismissed and disregarded in the mainstream.
Kathy was also co-author of an important work summarising the history of Aboriginal Health Workers and community workers in the Territory from 1870, of which I have a copy. This document is a history of Aboriginal Health Workers and Aboriginal community workers in the Territory health sector. It is currently held in the State Library and is a valuable resource. It was a pleasure to see Kathy’s life work recognised on Australia Day.
The second recipient was Mr Mike Burgess, in recognition of his significant service to public administration through governance, co-ordination, and infrastructure development roles.
Mike first arrived in the Territory from Western Australia in 1979 and spent his early career in Katherine, where he helped the government set up outstations and helped Territorians establish themselves on country. Mike’s work also looked to the Territory’s future, as he held a key role in discussions around the INPEX investment in the Top End.
Mike’s many positions have included Cabinet Secretary, CEO of diverse government departments and board member of Darwin Waterfront Corporation, Darwin Port Corporation, the Land Development Corporation as well as the Tourism Advisory and Major Events Boards. Mike Burgess retired from the Public Service in 2013 and continues to contribute to the Northern Territory through community organisations such as the Darwin Symphony Orchestra.
Timothy Nadjowh has been recognised for significant service to the Indigenous communities of West Arnhem Land as leader and elder. Timothy’s endeavours over many decades have supported those living in remote community outstations and small communities on country in Western Arnhem Land.
In 1966 he worked with the Church Missionary Society to found Gumarderr, 70 km from Gunbalanya, the first decentralised Indigenous community in the West Arnhem region. He went on to set up many other outstations including Gumarrirnbang in the stone country, which currently has a school, an airstrip and a medical office.
Timothy is an inspirational traditional owner whose influence has been appreciated by many, including missionaries working in remote regions and those leading the construction of airstrips throughout Arnhem Land. As a translator he has helped spread critical health messages. Timothy is also a highly regarded artist.
Charlie King has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the broadcast media and the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory.
Charlie is well-known to many Territorians due to his many years of presenting Sporttalk and Grandstand. His comprehensive coverage has spread far beyond local events of footy and cricket to the national and international stage, including becoming the first Indigenous Australian to compete at the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing, and then again in 2012 at the London Olympics. However, there is a second equally important strand to Charlie’s life that has been recognised with this award.
Born in Alice Springs, he was the third youngest in a family of eleven from a mother of Gurindgi descent and an Irish father. His initial career was as a youth worker helping to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged young people and victims of domestic violence.
After 20 years he had to leave as he found it too difficult to deal with so many heartbreaking situations. Instead he followed a different career path in sports broadcasting, which he has combined with a strong personal commitment to communicate the zero tolerance to domestic violence message. He is an initiator and ambassador of the Australia-wide campaign entitled NO MORE.
Charlie King has been the recipient of many community awards including the inaugural Children’s Champion, Darwin Citizen of the Year and Northern Territory Indigenous Elder of the Year. He is a long-term ambassador of White Ribbon Australia, coordinator of the Indigenous Men’s Forum, and joint patron of Life Education NT.
Finally, two Public Service Medals and two Australia Police Officers Medals have been awarded as follows.
John Coleman, the new head of the Department of the Chief Minister, for an exemplary career in the Northern Territory Public Service spanning over 35 years.
John played a pivotal role in the coordination of the Territory’s response to the East Timor crisis in 1999. He has served in a range of government departments, particularly in the area of land and economic development, and has been responsible for the design and introduction of innovative administrative and technical programs and policies.
John’s achievements include the establishment of the Land Development Corporation and reinvigoration of destination development in Tourism NT. He has also been involved in the establishment of a spatial mapping system and negotiated the tenure arrangements of the Wickham Point gas plant and the Darwin Industry Fuel Terminal.
Ernie Wanka has been honoured with the Public Service Medal for his outstanding public service to infrastructure planning in the Northern Territory, especially in design, construction and maintenance of the road transport network over 35 years. As Executive Director of the Transport Infrastructure Planning Division, he has managed the Territory’s 22 000 km of communal road network, 72% of which is unsealed.
In times of natural disasters, Ernie has been a steadying influence in getting infrastructure and facilities restored. He has recently been appointed as a government chief engineer for the Department of Transport, with responsibilities for strategic policy development and major infrastructure projects.
Commander Bruce Porter joined the Northern Territory Police Force in 1989 and since that time has served in many locations during his frontline policing career, including with the Darwin Metropolitan Command, Northern Command, and asTerritory Duty Superintendent at Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. He also served with the Territory Response Group for seven years and was part of the Sydney 2000 Olympics Emergency Response contingent.
The final award goes to Superintendent Robert Rennie, who joined the Northern Territory Police Force 33 years ago. He has served in many Territory locations during his career including Tennant Creek, Pine Creek, Nhulunbuy and Jabiru. He has served in a variety of positions including Darwin Metropolitan Command and as manager of the Katherine Showgrounds Evacuation Centre, which housed more than 860 evacuees during the 2011 Victoria River floods.
In 2004 Superintendent Rennie joined the Road Safety Division and set about redesigning and reinvigorating the direction and function of the division. This saw the creation of the Major Crash Investigation Unit. He has served as a representative on the road safety task force and coordination and implementation groups, as well as national and international committees.
It is an honour to acknowledge each of these recipients in this House. I take this opportunity to extend my thanks, on behalf of the citizens of the Northern Territory, for the collective contributions made by the men and women named today.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Madam Speaker, this Friday Tennant Creek will be celebrating the journey Albert Borella made in 1915. He commenced his 1000 km journey from Tennant Creek to Darwin to enlist in World War I. He fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. He was wounded, commissioned on the battlefield and awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest honour for valour in combat.
My grandfather, Frank Geelan was also a Gallipoli veteran and our family has done great research into his exploits on the battlefields of Gallipoli and through the Middle East. It was with an element of excitement I heard the Chief Minister announce today he will be travelling to Tennant Creek on Friday with the parliamentary secretary, the member for Drysdale, on a charter aircraft to attend some of the celebrations and commemorative activities planned in Tennant Creek.
Chief Minister, I humbly request you see fit to offer me a seat on that aircraft. I promise to be on my best behaviour. My ambition is to be home to share that commendable event. I acknowledge the federal and Northern Territory governments in the commemorative programs around the Borella Ride representing the Anzac centenary.
I quote from the Chief Minister’s ministerial statement of 17 February 2015:
All I have had in the six years of being a parliamentarian is an electorate vehicle. I average 50 000 km a year. I cannot make it back for this important commemorative event in Tennant Creek on Friday. It would be irresponsible of me to leave parliament early or drive on Thursday night.
To make it easier for me, it would be a privilege to sit up the back, or wherever you like, in a charter aircraft – I said I will be on my best behaviour – so I can share in this commemorative event with the great constituents of the Barkly and my family.
To make my life safer it would be more sensible to join your party, take a charter aircraft to Tennant Creek and return to Darwin to continue my parliamentary obligations. In your words, Chief Minister it would be simpler, easier and safer.
I hope you will consider my request. I have asked the Leader of the Opposition to formalise that request, if necessary. It would be great to get a response before the end of parliamentary sittings on Thursday night. I will be ready, willing and able. I will have minimal baggage, no swag and will leave the tuckerbox in the Toyota. The Toyota will be safe and sound at Parliament House. It would be a humbling opportunity and I hope to hear from you soon, Chief Minister.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I hope the member for Barkly takes his guitar.
As a member of this parliament I am concerned about what is happening to Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in Indonesia.
I do not speak as a do-gooder but as someone who has visited some of the prisons in the United States. One was the West Central Community Correctional Facility. Many of the prisoners were drug addicts or had problems with alcohol, had been to prison a number of times and were in a pretty tough place where they had to turn their lives around. Basically their motto is ‘repaying’. They were repaying the community for what they had done.
I cannot do nothing about what is happening in Indonesia so I e-mailed the Indonesian Consul, Mr Andre Omer Siregar. I said:
I wrote that on 19 January 2015 and have not had a response.
In the meantime I have also written to the opposition leader in Indonesia and the Jakarta Post. Unfortunately I have not been able to find the President of Indonesia’s e-mail. I have checked the website and it is not that easy.
What gave me some hope was listening to A.M. EarlyMorning at about 6:10 am when Malcolm Turnbull was speaking. I would like to read what he said. I am not sure whose website this is, but it is by Indonesian correspondents George Roberts and Helen Brown. It is on the Yahoo website and says:
I was moved by those words and believe we should take great heart that one of our senior politicians has been willing to stand up. I know Prime Minister Abbott has too, but I thought the words from Malcolm Turnbull were inspiring. I hope politicians in Indonesia, not just the President and the Opposition Leader, will see this is a great mistake. Hopefully, something good will come out of this. To execute these people will be the end, and in this day and age we can do better than that.
I hope Indonesia listens to the words of Malcolm Turnbull because they are wise and should be listened to.
Ms FYLES (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, tonight I want to express my concerns about a real threat to Territory democracy. Subject to a couple of provisions, there is nothing wrong with donations to political parties. The first provision is that donations are properly declared in accordance with disclosure laws for donors, political parties and associated entities set out in the Territory and Commonwealth Electoral Acts. The second provision is that donations do not come with strings attached.
The strong donation disclosure provisions set out in both acts are intended to ensure transparency, accountability and integrity in our democratic processes. The substantial penalties for breaches of the disclosure provisions and the strong powers of investigation conferred on both the electoral commissions reflect the intention of our parliaments to protect the integrity and viability of our precious democracy. No excuse or exception should be made for any individual, political party or associated entity which deliberately breaches the disclosure laws.
It is blatantly clear from the late disclosure returns and leaked e-mails that both the CLP and Foundation 51 have breached the disclosure provisions enumerated in both Territory and Commonwealth electoral laws.
We know from a leaked e-mail tabled in this Assembly that Foundation 51 director, Graeme Lewis, discussed Foundation 51 with the Chief Minister on many occasions. More recently, the member for Blain admitted receiving a $10 000 loan from Mr Lewis in the lead-up to the Blain by-election. Also, former magistrate and Foundation 51 director, Peter Maley, disclosed a $50 000 donation to the CLP when he was serving as a magistrate.
Recently, more than two years after the mandated deadline, Foundation 51 has disclosed a donation of $200 000 to the CLP. Until recently the Chief Minister has denied any knowledge of a relationship with Foundation 51. In a rare moment of truthfulness, if not leadership, he said of Foundation 51, ‘I think that it’s time for someone from the CLP to do something in this regard. It obviously smells.’
I understand complaints about breaches of disclosure provisions by both the CLP and Foundation 51 have been referred to the Northern Territory Electoral Commission and the Australian Electoral Commission. I am not aware of the current status of any investigations initiated by the two commissions, but there is a reasonable public expectation they will take strong action to protect our democracy. They certainly have the powers to do so.
A leaked e-mail from Foundation 51 director Graeme Lewis to then CLP President, Braedon Earley, sets out income and expenditure for Foundation 51 over many years. Much of this income and expenditure has never been disclosed as required by the Electoral Act. In the e-mail Mr Lewis states unequivocally, ‘Like you, I’ll be mortified if this information becomes widely known. It must be closely held for obvious reasons.’ This e-mail, together with other documentation on the public record, is prima facie evidence of a conspiracy to circumvent the provisions of both Electoral Acts.
It would be appropriate, in my view, for these matters to be referred to police and the DPP in the relevant jurisdictions.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I say a few words in support of the past Chief Executive of the Department of Children and Families, Jodeen Carney, and express my extreme disappointment, if not despair, at the Labor opposition’s tactics and attack. It is an attack on a former member of this House – a fine, upstanding, and professional person.
Many in this House would know Jodeen Carney was the member for Araluen for some 10 years, and everything she did in her work and her life was to a standard some of us can only aspire to. To see she was used as a pawn in some strategy by Labor is incredibly disappointing to me as the member for Goyder and someone with family and friends here – I like to think I have friends on all sides of parliament – and also as the Speaker.
To ask the type of questions of the government the opposition did today and use language they did – it will be reported out of this parliament. To allege things have happened is incredibly poor form. My opinion of some of the opposition members has been tarnished by what went on today.
In August 2010, when Jodeen Carney retired from parliament, I said a few words in an Adjournment and I want to put them on record again. It speaks volumes for the kind of person I believe she is. I have a conflict of interest because she is a dear friend of mine. This is the second paragraph, quoted from Hansard:
I have spoken to many people in the community in the last week. Some work in the field of children and families and were devastated. I know in the last few days before she finished she spent a considerable amount of time consoling and counselling people and encouraging them to keep fighting and doing their job to help keep our children safe.
Staff in Alice Springs had two minutes’ silence as a sign of respect for her and her work. There is no doubt she made a difference and for that to be used against her by the Labor opposition to get at the government is appalling. I have definitely changed my view about the opposition.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
RESIGNATION OF DEPUTY SPEAKER
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise I have received a letter dated 11 February 2015 from the member for Daly advising of his resignation as Deputy Speaker following his appointment as a minister. Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 8, the Assembly will now proceed to elect a Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees.
APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY SPEAKER AND
CHAIR OF COMMITTEES
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I propose to the Assembly that the member for Greatorex be appointed Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Deputy Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I second that nomination.
Madam SPEAKER: Does the member for Greatorex accept the nomination of Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees?
Mr CONLAN (Greatorex): I do, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Are there any further proposals for Deputy Speaker or Chair of Committees? There being no further proposals the time for motions has expired. I declare the member for Greatorex appointed Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees in accordance with standing orders. I offer my congratulations to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr CONLAN: Thank you.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Member for Namatjira
Member for Namatjira
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I seek that leave of absence for today, tomorrow and Thursday be granted to the member for Namatjira on account of illness.
Leave granted.
LEAVE TO MOVE MOTION
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I seek leave to give notice of a motion of no confidence in the government.
Leave not granted.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Notice of Motion of No Confidence in Government
Notice of Motion of No Confidence in Government
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from immediately giving notice of a motion of no confidence in the government to be moved in the Assembly pursuant to section 24(1)(a) of the Electoral Act.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, the government will not be supporting this. She can move this motion at 2 pm where notices appropriately appear on the Notice Paper.
Madam SPEAKER: The Opposition Leader has moved a motion to suspend standing orders.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, I am seeking to suspend standing orders to allow me to immediately give notice of this motion because right now the Northern Territory is in paralysis and only an election can fix this mess the Country Liberals have put us in.
The last few weeks have been an utter and complete farce due to the incompetence, arrogance and selfishness of the members opposite. We have had 10 ministerial reshuffles since the member for Braitling became Chief Minister, 14 since the Country Liberals came to power, two Chief Ministers, one Chief Minister apparent – the member for Katherine – five Deputy Chiefs, five Treasurers, four Health ministers, six Business ministers, seven Employment ministers, five Transport ministers, five Infrastructure ministers, five Local Government ministers, five Housing ministers and the list goes on. How can Territorians and business have any confidence in this government to do anything?
The last ministry did not even face a parliamentary sitting. It was announced in December and the deckchairs on the Titanic were reshuffled last week. That is how dysfunctional this government has become and why we need to put this motion forward now. The sooner we can go to an election the sooner the public will have its faith restored in its publicly elected officials.
We have witnessed CLP ego-driven politics, where people treat their posts like a power play with no care for the consequences and impact their decisions have on Territorians. How can investors have any confidence to do business in the Territory when they do not know who they need to talk to on a week-to-week basis? How can business have any certainty to invest and expand when the goalposts continually shift and the umpires keep changing?
An election will end the bitter CLP infighting. It will end the paralysis of government and let Territorians get on with their jobs with faith restored that the government is no longer a circus. This is not Game of Thrones. Government affects services and businesses, and your petty politics have very real consequences for Territorians. It is clear the majority of the public has already lost confidence in this government with a daily outcry from Territorians demanding an election from all circles, all sectors and all regions. Everyone is fed up with you.
Terry Mills was given a chance and you messed it up. If you had any honour, integrity or cared about the Territory you would end this farce of a government and go to an election. You are so divided and your hatred of each other runs so deep you cannot run an effective government. The only thing that keeps you from going to an election is your desperation to cling to power and your pay packets, because you all know deep down nobody in their right mind would employ you.
___________________
Distinguished Visitors
Distinguished Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, can I ask you to pause for me to acknowledge some people in the gallery. I would like to acknowledge in the gallery Senator Nova Peris OAM, past member Maggie Hickey and former Deputy Chief Minister Syd Stirling. Welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
___________________
Ms LAWRIE: You have proven to be completely untrustworthy when given any sort of power. Your arrogant approach to government does not listen or consult, and you make decisions based on ideology not evidence.
The people of the Northern Territory have suffered under you because of your ideological approach to governing, treating people like a number not as citizens. You have put profits before people. The cost of living burden is enormous. Raising power, water and sewerage prices by 30% has hit everybody. People are starting to get their bills with the additional 5% hike and they cannot afford to stay. You are destroying the fabric of the Territory. People cannot afford to live here and you simply do not care.
You have taken an axe to health and education. You have stripped money out of our crucial non-government organisations and have failed the bush, the people who put you into government. You have walked away from them and they want to walk away from you. You sell Territory assets without consultation: the Government Printing Office, the bus network and the big one, the Territory Insurance Office. People will not forget you traded away the surety of a local insurer for some quick bucks at a price far less than you told everyone you were getting. Yet you still proceed with your weasel word nonsense about leasing assets to pursue your ideological agenda – privatising the port – and you have fattened up Power and Water with profits to sell those crucial assets. You would sell them all if there was not an election every four years. For the sake of the people of the Territory you are hurting every day, we need to debate this motion to give Territorians the chance of an election.
This motion is not something we have done lightly. The disgraceful embarrassment of a coup by the members for Katherine and Port Darwin several weeks ago shows a government which has demonstrated time and time again since coming to power in 2012 that it is divided, arrogant and members put themselves before those who elected them in the first place.
The first thing you did as a government was to break your promise of lowering the cost of living by increasing power, water and sewerage tariffs. You tried to ignore the outcry, but the Wanguri by-election result was such a decisive blow to you that to save your own skins – not for the benefit of Territorians – you decided to knife a sitting Chief Minister while he was on a trade mission in Japan.
The Chief Minister has abandoned his home of Alice Springs and ignored the people who put his party into government – the bush – and has brought back jobs for the boys, the Silver Circle – the culture that was rejected – of the 1990s.
If you are not the Chief Minister’s friend you will not get squat. This is not the way to run the Territory. We are a democracy not a dictatorship, as the Chief Minister has often been described. We need to end this debacle of a government that does not have the confidence of Territorians.
We saw how the secret slush fund of Foundation 51 was used by the CLP for electioneering purposes, and many questions need to be answered on that – serious questions that only an ICAC can resolve.
When three bush members of the CLP government walked out last year it was proof the Chief Minister had stopped listening. When three of your own party are willing to walk out things are bad.
You tried to spin it back on the member for Namatjira for being a troublemaker, and saying you would not govern with a gun to your head, but the reality is the members for Namatjira, Arnhem and Arafura knew you would not listen to them until they did something drastic, because with your arrogance it is your way or the highway.
This is not democracy. This is not what Territorians want, need or expect.
This motion needs to be accepted for debate on Tuesday because the sooner we can go to an election the sooner we can end this debacle of a government. Your game playing and hatred for each other has made us a national embarrassment, a laughing stock, a joke.
The national coverage of the members for Katherine and Port Darwin’s failed midnight coup had people seriously questioning if we could even go on to be a state or whether we should be taken over by the Commonwealth. That is how bad it has become. This is very serious.
This motion needs to go ahead to end this national joke of a CLP government. The sad thing is most of you agreed. Nine of you know the member for Braitling is not up to the job of Chief Minister and voted to have him gone.
The members for Katherine, Arafura, Daly, Port Darwin, Blain, Brennan, Greatorex, Drysdale and Araluen all want him gone.
To show how dysfunctional you are, the Chief Minister refuses to resign and the remaining five members threaten to bring the House down – to desert the government and bring on an election.
The member for Braitling said he would rather go to an election. Member for Braitling, let us do it; let us go. Accept this motion and let us go to an election.
The member for Fong Lim said he is fed up with the nest of vipers and would rather have an election than work with his so-called colleagues, and I quote:
- If they can’t unite there’s got to be an election ...
Media has reported that the members for Goyder and Stuart both threatened to resign to bring on an election. However, probably the most appalling part of this whole charade was the behaviour of the Chief Minister once he knew his number was up, that extraordinary press conference he gave where he accused members of his own Cabinet and senior members of the police of conspiring to get rid of him shows how bad this has become.
The accusations are of the most serious nature, and, if true, need to be dealt with at the highest level. If not, the Chief Minister should resign because he has become quite unhinged in his lust for power.
Once the Chief Minister got his way he showed he had not learnt his lesson and there was no unity. He went on to sack a Cabinet member, the member for Araluen. He ranted accusations in an Alice Springs CLP branch meeting which was taped and has been the subject of much commentary. The bullying, the blackmail and the hatred shows this government is completely dysfunctional and why nobody has any confidence in it. Despite promises of unity, and to show you have not learnt a single lesson from this debacle, you keep taking your revenge. You sacked the member for Araluen from Cabinet and the member for Greatorex mysteriously resigned from Cabinet.
You are divided. You are not capable of governing. You should go to an election. You should accept this motion. Four members of the government threatened an election and nine members of the government want a different Chief Minister. This government no longer has the confidence of the people, nor does it deserve the confidence of the parliament.
I am asking members of the parliament to consider this motion seriously, put aside their partisan politics and, for the good of the Territory, let the motion pass so we can get on with giving Territorians a government which represents the people of the Territory rather than themselves.
Madam Speaker, this is simply talking to the suspension of standing orders. I have more to say in regard to a motion of no confidence.
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, bearing in mind we are only talking about a suspension of standing orders and she can give notice of this motion in three-and-a-half hours, I move the motion be put and disposed of.
__________________________
Distinguished Visitors
Distinguished Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw attention to the past member for Casuarina, Kon Vatskalis. Welcome. That new style tricked me.
Honourable members, also in the Speaker’s Gallery we have a former member for Nelson, Noel Padgham, and former member for Nightcliff, past Speaker Jane Aagaard. Welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
________________________
The Assembly divided:Ayes 13 Noes 9
- Mr Barrett Ms Fyles
Mr Chandler Mr Gunner
Mr Conlan Ms Lawrie
Mr Elferink Mr McCarthy
Mrs Finocchiaro Ms Manison
Mr Giles Ms Moss
Mr Higgins Mr Vowles
Mr Kurrupuwu Ms Walker
Mrs Lambley Ms Lee
Mrs Price
Mr Styles
Mr Tollner
Mr Westra van Holthe
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: The question now is that standing orders be suspended to allow for the immediate giving of notice of a motion by the Leader of the Opposition.
The Assembly divided:
Ayes 9 Noes 13
- Ms Fyles Mr Barrett
Mr Gunner Mr Chandler
Ms Lawrie Mr Conlan
Mr McCarthy Mr Elferink
Ms Manison Mrs Finocchiaro
Ms Moss Mr Giles
Mr Vowles Mr Higgins
Ms Walker Mr Kurrupuwu
Ms Lee Mrs Lambley
Mr Styles
Mr Tollner
Mr Westra van Holthe
Motion negatived.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Message No 23
Message No 23
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received Message No 23 from His Honour the Administrator notifying assent to the bills passed in the November sittings. The message is dated 2 February 2015.
REORDER OF ROUTINE OF BUSINESS
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that on Thursday 19 February 2015 the Assembly meets at 2 pm and that the routine of business be as follows – this is for the Bombing of Darwin Commemoration sitting adjustment:
Petitions
Questions
Notices
Government Business
Notices
Orders of the Day
Ministerial statements
Papers
Motion agreed to.
TABLED PAPER
Administrative Arrangement Order
Administrative Arrangement Order
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I table a copy of the Administrative Arrangement Order published in the Northern Territory Gazette No S12 dated 11 February 2015.
WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION OF DISALLOWANCE
Regulation 4n of the Motor Accidents
(Compensation) Amendment Regulations 2014
Mr BARRETT (Blain): Madam Speaker, I advise that Regulation 4N of the Motor Accidents (Compensation) Amendment Regulations 2014 was repealed at the Executive Council meeting of 16 December 2014. I therefore withdraw the proposed motion of disallowance and seek leave to table correspondence from the Treasurer confirming the repeal.
Leave granted.
MOTION
Note Paper – Report on Entitlements of Assembly Members
and Determination No 1 of 2014
Continued from 30 October 2014.
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I continue my remarks on the Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members and Determination No 1 of 2014. This report has made a number of recommendations for adjustments to members of the Legislative Assembly entitlements under various headings but not excluding proposals to adjust allowances to ensure members can serve their electorates and provide advocacy for their constituents.
The tribunal can make determinations on certain allowances, and changes have been recommended in this report in the areas of electorate allowances for members, staffing, motor vehicles, travel allowances and other entitlements.
This is the normal course of action for any members’ entitlement tribunal around the country and we would expect no less from the tribunal. The difference is we ask our independent tribunal in the Northern Territory to determine the requirements of an elected member to operate his or her electorate in a satisfactory way.
Whilst we respect the good work undertaken by the Remuneration Tribunal in delivering this report, and while we on this side of the House appreciate the effort the tribunal has taken in this report to reflect the issues raised by members, I and my colleagues do not think the tribunal has been able to do its job properly or appropriately. It has one hand tied behind its back.
We on this side will not be supporting the recommendations in this report except for the last and reoccurring pleading recommendation of the tribunal: to allow the tribunal to independently determine both members’ salaries as well as their entitlements. We want to remove the members’ conflict of interest we have in this Chamber in the determinations. This will ensure a balanced approach to prescribing the right levels of value to each within the determination.
Let me explain. For the last few years the Remuneration Tribunal has been pointing out a major flaw in its ability to fairly determine conditions for all members of the Legislative Assembly, not just government. In March 2011 the Assembly Members and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act was amended under the then Labor government to remove the tribunal’s independence. It moved to tie increases in members’ remuneration to any percentage increase received by Northern Territory public servants. Subsequently these measures were described by the tribunal, in its Determination No 1 of 2012 Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members, that if the new act amendments of 2011 were not negated then the capacity of the tribunal for independent assessment of member remuneration levels would be removed and the independence of the tribunal would be partly removed.
In the same report the tribunal has also strongly recommended these provisions of the act be repealed and replaced with a power for the tribunal to determine conditions of office for all Assembly members and Assembly officeholders. This is only fair and reasonable and in no way different from how federal parliamentary members’ determinations work.
Prior to legislative change in the federal parliament in 2012 by way of the Remuneration and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2011, the tribunal did not directly determine parliamentary base salary. Following amendments which took effect from 5 August 2012, the tribunal now has a responsibility to determine base pay for all members of parliament in both Houses. The federal tribunal conducted, with the assistance of an external consultant, a review of the work of members of parliament.
The Remuneration Tribunal of the federal parliament is an independent statutory authority established under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973. The tribunal consists of three part-time members appointed by the Governor-General.
We have made changes to our tribunal in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory now has a tribunal made up of a similar number of members – being three – and has consistently, ever since the amendments to the act, called on this Assembly to follow the lead of the Commonwealth parliament and vest the determination of members’ entitlements to an independent tribunal, not members of parliament.
This tribunal has also recommended that any legislation for determining members’ base salaries should ensure the tribunal cannot determine the salary be more than that of a federal member of parliament less a fix percentage nominated by the act. The tribunal again noted in its Determination No 1 of 2013 there has not been any change to the legislation and it is still of the view the legislation should be changed.
In the 2014 report before the House today the tribunal said, at recommendation 16, that it notes there has not been any change to the above legislation in relation to members and officeholders, and the tribunal reiterates its comments in this respect made in previous reports of 2012 and 2013.
As I have made it clear, our tribunal does not currently have a role in setting many aspects for officeholders or members of the Legislative Assembly set by legislation. As I stated earlier, we on this side of the House are moved to take up the tribunal’s plea to change the way determinations are made, remove it from the hands of politicians and demonstrate this by not supporting the latest report of the tribunal.
We will further demonstrate we are willing to follow the sound advice of the tribunal by bringing forth legislation for debate in this Assembly changing the way members entitlements are determined by placing those determinations into the hands of a fully independent tribunal. Later this week I will give notice of this legislation and I urge all members of the parliament to participate in the debate on the bill once it has been formally introduced and laid on the table until next sittings.
I would like to point out to members of the House that while we respect and acknowledge the sound advice of the tribunal to place the powers of determination of members’ entitlements in its hands, there are other reasons we believe we have to change the method of determination, not the least of which is the compromising position the government finds itself in every time a new public service EBA is negotiated.
Currently the act, as varied by Labor under the previous government, prescribes that increases to members’ remuneration be tied to public servant increases received by Northern Territory public employees, and the determination of additional salaries for officeholders be removed from the tribunal altogether.
The other factor is that during any negotiations the government takes to increase the salaries of public servants, members of the government are effectively negotiating with themselves for a pay rise because of those flow-on effects. This is a direct conflict of interest and we have always maintained that. This is not a reasonable position for any member to be in, let alone members of the executive government that have to adhere to a strict ministerial code of conduct and should be declaring a conflict of interest on the grounds they could gain personal advantage from any decisions they make in Cabinet around salary increases for public employees.
I commend to the House the direction I have outlined for the future determination of members’ entitlements through an independent tribunal, as happens in most other states and the federal parliament. We are not supportive of the Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members and Determination No 1 of 2014 proceeding, but thank the tribunal for its efforts and inform it we will be taking up the repeated advice that future powers of determination be vested in a fully independent tribunal.
Madam Speaker, I move that the report be noted.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, essentially this is a debate to process at the moment. We are seeking, under the government’s direction, to disallow the current advice from the Remuneration Tribunal. On this side of the House we offer cautious support.
I had a good conversation with the Leader of Government Business yesterday about the process the government intends to follow in creation of an independent statutory body separate to politicians in order to make these decisions. It is a good process. In the context of the broader political debate we are having at the moment about independence it is a sensible step. Obviously we are still waiting for more details.
Last night I had a conversation with the member for Nelson. I will not put words in his mouth; I am assuming he will speak in this debate. There is some detail yet to come but that is for a further debate. Essentially, the first step we need to take is to disallow what has been put before us.
There is some logic in that because you do not want the Legislative Assembly to implement a range of processes and procedures in this Remuneration Tribunal determination if we are about to create a new independent body which may change it all. One of the things with independence is you lose control, which is a good thing in this circumstance. We should not be in charge of our own circumstances; it should be independent to us. There is some logic in disallowing the current RTD.
There were some good things in that RTD. I had done a bit of work with the Legislative Assembly to prepare myself and my office for some of the changes. The new acquittals process was very good and something we had in our office already. We were not operating on that strict quarterly time frame but were doing most of that work already. It was a good process to tighten things up, and a number of other things in the current RTD were sensible. However, we will now have a new independent statutory authority to look at those things, and that is something the public should welcome. We are separate to these decisions; we should not be involved in these decisions.
As it stands now we are being asked to discuss our own conditions. Having an independent arrangement for that is very good. We are talking about independent officers, and in the Territory we have been served by some very good independent officers such as the former Auditor-General, Frank McGuiness. People of that stature, credibility and level of independence should be looking at these things and making decisions and recommendations.
From a process point of view, having that separation is quite important and is why we provide our cautious support. We are still looking for further detail, which I understand will be coming forward soon. I understand it will be introduced on Thursday so we should get to see the time frame then. We are looking forward to the detail, but as a party, in recent times, we have spoken a lot about trust, public confidence and independence. As a result we support processes like this which see an independent statutory authority created. That is why we are providing our cautious support. This is the first logical step in the process, but we are looking for further detail when it comes forward.
__________________________
Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of Ms Nicolle Corpus and Mr Kurt Liddy from the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
__________________________
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I have not prepared for this. The member for Fannie Bay mentioned it to me at about 7.30 pm outside the Humpty Doo fish and chip shop. It is difficult to give a …
Mr Giles: Did you get the fish and chips?
Mr WOOD: Yes. Humpty Doo Seafoods is one of the best places to buy fish and chips.
Mr Giles: Put that on his register of interests, Madam Speaker.
Mr WOOD: Yes, I am happy to have that on my register of interests.
My understanding is the government wants to set up a new process where our entitlements will be looked at independently. Whilst I would prefer to see what comes out later in the week, I understand the principle. I believe a few things need looking at. It might sound funny, but if a member does not want a pay rise they should not be made to take it.
Sometimes simple things are complex. For instance, we can take travel allowance when we go somewhere. Sometimes that travel allowance is over the top for what I spend so I might want to say, ‘I was away for three days but will only take one day’. It is complicated to do that and we need a system which allows people to have that flexibility and an independent person or body to make those decisions. We need flexibility to say if we accept it or prefer an amended version. That gives us independence.
The Chief Minister knows I have an issue in relation to independent members not having any staff. You blamed me for all the previous worries of the world in relation to the budget and did not give any assistance. I asked the tribunal if it was possible for Independents – at that stage there was only me – to have one research officer. That was back in the days when Loraine Braham was in parliament and we shared that position. I will not push the issue; it is your decision and I live with it.
When you consider all the staff that members have available to them on both sides, the Independents have nothing. That is harsh because we want input to make parliament run better. You say we need to be working for Territorians, and that is my belief too, but sometimes it is difficult to cover every aspect of the issues we debate in parliament.
I do my best. I cannot speak on behalf of the other Independents but some assistance would be reasonable. I would put to the tribunal there should be some allowance for that.
I will raise a hot potato; the Premier of South Australia has been looking at a range of things from nuclear power to superannuation for members of parliament. He said it was a mistake in the days of Mark Latham, and then John Howard jumped on the bandwagon because of public pressure to severely cut the entitlements of members of parliament. There are only a few of us on the previous superannuation entitlements. I am not saying the superannuation system in Australia has been run well. I remember a member of the Nationals in Queensland served one term and received a very high superannuation sum. I might be wrong, but that was part of the discussion at the time ...
Mr Elferink: Was that Bill O’Chee?
Mr WOOD: Yes.
Mr Elferink: No, he did his time. He came into parliament when he was about 12.
Mr WOOD: Whatever it was it caused a big kerfuffle at the time. At that stage reasoned debate was thrown out because there was a popular move to say members of parliament received far too much superannuation and it needed to be chopped back. I believe the chopping back was too severe.
There are good reasons why members of parliament should receive a reasonable superannuation. It is not just about earning the money. People have said it was originally introduced into the Commonwealth parliament many years ago – the 1940s or 1950s – to reduce the risk of politicians being bribed. People might say, ‘We will look after you when you’re finished if you pass these laws or do this’.
It needs to be addressed. It does not necessarily have to be the same as before because that went too far in the other direction. People might think we are paid well, but you can also lose your job and that is it. For many people life is dead all of a sudden and they have nothing to support them.
There are arguments for and against and this may be an opportune time. As the Premier of South Australia said, ‘It will never be popular because even paying members of parliament a wage is never popular’. It is a no-win situation, but that does not mean we turn our back on discussion. This may be an opportune time for people to look at the issue.
I do not know much about what is being put forward today. I understand the entitlements of Assembly members’ determination comes before us each year and is up for discussion again. If we are looking at changing entitlements or bringing in a new process it may be an opportune time to raise some of these issues. They may go nowhere, but this may be a time to deal with some of them in a serious way. As the Premier of South Australia intimated, some of these things might not be popular but are worthy of discussion and debate.
I will not commit to support or otherwise at the moment. I need to see the fine print then go from there.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
The Assembly suspended.
STATEMENT BY CHIEF MINISTER
Cyclone Lam
Cyclone Lam
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I wish to make a brief statement on the cyclone situation in the gulf country.
Category 2 Tropical Cyclone Lam remains slow moving in the northern Gulf of Carpentaria. A cyclone warning is now in place from Elcho Island to Cape Shield, including Nhulunbuy. A cyclone watch is in place for Maningrida to Elcho Island and Cape Shield to Port Roper, including Groote Eylandt. Tropical Cyclone Lam is currently 290 km east northeast of Nhulunbuy and 415 km northeast of Alyangula. It is moving west at about 7 km/h.
Coastal residents between Elcho Island and Cape Shield, including Nhulunbuy, are specifically warned of a dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre crosses the coast. Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide with damaging waves and dangerous flooding. Heavy rain is likely to cause flooding of low lying areas in the northeast Top End from later today. Gale force winds are expected to affect Nhulunbuy early on Wednesday, which may strengthen to very destructive winds later in the day.
Daily rainfall totals of 200 mm to 300 mm are possible along Arnhem coastal rivers on Thursday and Friday with rainfall totals of 100 mm to 150 mm to extend further inland across the Arnhem coastal rivers and also affect parts of the Carpentaria coastal rivers. These falls are expected to lead to strong stream rises which may affect road access at times. Some communities may become isolated. Catchments likely to be affected include the McArthur and Waterhouse Rivers.
Northern Territory Emergency Services advises people should stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams and waterways, avoid driving into water of unknown depth and current and stop children playing in or near floodwaters. They advise you should create your own sandbags if there is flooding by using pillowcases and shopping bags filled with sand and place them around doorways to protect your home. Be careful of fallen power lines, they are dangerous and should also be treated as live. For emergency help in floods, storms and cyclones call 132 500. Emergency information, including the latest road conditions, is available at www.securent.nt.gov.au.
As we speak a media conference is being held with emergency services to advise that schools in the immediate vicinity of the expected path of the cyclone are closed until further notice. These schools are Yirrkala School, Nhulunbuy High School, Nhulunbuy Primary School, Nhulunbuy Christian School and Baniyala School.
I have some specific advice for people in the watch and warning areas: pull together your emergency kit, clear your yards and balconies and start home shelter preparations. Please do not proceed to public emergency shelters until advised to do so. If you do not have accommodation constructed to the Building Code, or are unsure of your present accommodation, you should determine now where to shelter. This may include arranging to shelter with family, friends, or in public emergency shelters or strong buildings that are available in your community.
If your cyclone plan includes seeking shelter away from the region, the roads are open and in good condition for four-wheel drive vehicles. The fuel barge has arrived in Nhulunbuy and is currently being taken into town to replenish fuel bowsers. Check that your friends, family and neighbours have heard and understood the messages, particularly new arrivals or those who may have difficulty fully understanding English.
If you have friends, family or neighbours away see if you can help them with any cyclone preparations, including checking on pet welfare and other assets. Check with your neighbours and see if they need a hand to move pots and plants, store outdoor furniture and do not forget about pets. If you are going away make sure you have made arrangements for your animals to be cared for, particularly if there is a cyclone. People should continue to monitor local media and www.securent.nt.gov.au for updates.
In regard to government preparations, authorities are continuing to monitor the situation and will provide regular updates. A range of plans are in place and preparations have begun. Everyone should continue to monitor local media and secureNT for updates.
Gove District Hospital has well-established emergency plans for adverse events such as cyclones. Patients will be contacted if any out-patient appointments need to be rescheduled.
The acting Police Commissioner will be giving me another update after 3 pm, when another emergency management meeting will occur. I will be providing the community with a further update at that point.
I advise Territorians that measures are being taken by all areas of government – Territory and some federal – to make sure we are prepared and ready to respond should it be necessary. When we receive an update from the Bureau of Meteorology we will provide more information.
In conclusion, residents in the affected area should stay tuned to the emergency stations. I will be keeping abreast of developments and keeping the public as informed as possible, along with the acting Police Commissioner, as soon as information presents itself.
RESPONSES TO PETITIONS
Petition Nos 39, 40 and 41
Petition Nos 39, 40 and 41
The CLERK: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 100A I inform honourable members that responses to Petition Nos 39, 40 and 41 have been received and circulated to honourable members. The text of the response will be placed on the Legislative Assembly website. A copy of the response will be provided to the member who tabled the petition for distribution to petitioners.
- Petition No 39
Don’t Sell our TIO
Date presented: 25 November 2014
Presented by: Mr Wood
Referred to: Treasurer
Date response due: 28 April 2015
Date response received: 30 January 2015
Date response presented: 17 February 2015
Response:
- In November 2014 the Northern Territory government approved the portfolio sale of the TIO insurance business to Allianz Australia, along with the right to manage the Motor Accident Compensation (MAC) Scheme for 10 years. The sale of TIO's banking business to People's Choice Credit Union was also approved.
TIO is the last government-owned insurer and bank in Australia and has limited capacity to diversify its risk and to achieve the economies of scale of its main competitors, which undermines its long-term financial sustainability. As such, the sale of TIO insurance and banking removes these constraints as well as reducing a substantial risk exposure for government through the removal of the existing statutory guarantee on TIO insurance contracts and customer deposits. The sale also generates over $400 m to be used to invest in infrastructure to support the longer term growth and development of the Territory.
Under the terms of the sale, Allianz Australia has committed to continue to offer flood, storm surge and cyclone cover on a mandatory basis and will move to a risk based pricing of flood premiums over a three-year period. Along with this commitment, $50 m from the sale proceeds has been set aside for flood mitigation initiatives in high risk flood areas of the Northern Territory. Advisory committees for the Darwin and Katherine region will be established to develop and advise on associated flood mitigation strategies. The development of such strategies will aid in improving the availability and affordability of insurance cover in flood prone areas of the Northern Territory.
The government continues to retain ownership of the MAC Scheme; however, under the new TIO arrangements, management of the scheme will be undertaken by Allianz under a contract arrangement. The MAC scheme is financially one of the strongest schemes in Australia and this management arrangement will assist in keeping the scheme in this position.
The sale of TIO assets is consistent with both the Territory government's Framing the Future objectives for a prosperous economy and the Asset Recycling National Partnership Agreement with the Commonwealth government.
Petition No 40
Support the Retention of the TIO in its Current Legal Status
Date presented: 25 November 2014
Presented by: Ms Purick
Referred to: Treasurer
Date response due: 28 April 2015
Date response received: 30 January 2015
Date response presented: 17 February 2015
Response:
In November 2014, the Northern Territory government approved the portfolio sale of the TIO insurance business to Allianz Australia, along with the right to manage the Motor Accident Compensation (MAC) scheme for 10 years. The sale of TIO's banking business to People's Choice Credit Union was also approved.
TIO is the last government-owned insurer and bank in Australia and has limited capacity to diversify its risk and to achieve the economies of scale of its main competitors, which undermines its-long term financial sustainability. As such, the sale of TIO insurance and banking removes these constraints as well as reducing a substantial risk exposure for government through the removal of the existing statutory guarantee on TIO insurance contracts and customer deposits. The sale also generates over $400 m to be used to invest in infrastructure to support the longer term growth and development of the Territory.
Under the terms of the sale, Allianz Australia has committed to continue to offer flood, storm surge and cyclone cover on a mandatory basis and will move to a risk based pricing of flood premiums over a three-year period. Along with this commitment, $50 m from the sale proceeds has been set aside for flood mitigation initiatives in high risk flood areas of the Northern Territory. Advisory committees for the Darwin and Katherine region will be established to develop and advise on associated flood mitigation strategies. The development of such strategies will aid in improving the availability and affordability of insurance cover in flood prone areas of the Northern Territory.
The government continues to retain ownership of the MAC Scheme; however, under the new TIO arrangements, management of the scheme will be undertaken by Allianz under a contract arrangement. The MAC Scheme is financially one of the strongest schemes in Australia and this management arrangement will assist in keeping the scheme in this position.
The sale of TIO assets is consistent with both the Territory government's Framing the Future objectives for a prosperous economy and the Asset Recycling National Partnership Agreement with the Commonwealth government.
Petition No 41
Secondary Education options at Mount Liebig
Date presented: 27 November 2014
Presented by: Mr Chandler
Referred to: Mr Chandler
Date response due: 30 April 2015
Date response received: 12 February 2015
Date response presented: 17 February 2015
Response:
A review was undertaken in 2013 in response to poor education outcomes for many Indigenous students, particularly in their secondary years of schooling.
A share in the future – Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory recommends that the Northern Territory government progressively move to deliver most senior secondary and middle years schooling in regional and urban high schools with a critical mass of students. The Northern Territory government has accepted all recommendations of the review.
A large proportion of schools throughout the Northern Territory, including Mount Liebig, do not have the student numbers to offer the range of secondary education options available to students in larger regional and urban high schools. While a small number of students have completed their secondary education in remote schools, many students have not been able to achieve beyond basic levels of literacy and numeracy.
Mount Liebig School has an enrolment of 32 students and provides education from preschool to Year 6. Students from Year 7 onwards traditionally attend boarding schools in the Northern Territory or interstate. In 2015, it is estimated that six to eight secondary aged students will reside at Mount Liebig. Students who do not elect to attend boarding school from Year 7 have the option to enrol in a middle years distance education program through Alice Springs School of the Air. School of the Air services are available to individual families who meet the school's tutorship and other requirements.
- The Department of Education does not consider a School of the Air learning centre that accommodates secondary aged students to be a viable proposition in Mount Liebig due to the lack of secondary enrolments and suitable infrastructure at the school and in the community. The option for secondary age students from Mount Liebig will continue to be studying secondary schooling in a regional or urban secondary school with residential accommodation. In 2015, a key action of A share in the future Indigenous Education Strategy is the establishment of a transition
unit to support upper primary and secondary-aged students with their transition to boarding schools or schooling in regional or urban centres.
Students from Year 5 onwards in remote schools will be prepared for the experience of school away from their home community (and living in a residential facility). This will include short, intensive experiences in regional and urban schools (and residential facilities) during the final two years of primary or middle schooling as negotiated with each community.
Once students have enrolled in secondary education outside of their community, they will be supported through a case management process that involves students, their parents and their chosen boarding school. The transition support unit will work closely with boarding schools and their peak bodies to establish and maintain high standards of care and support for students within a culturally appropriate framework.
These experiences will both familiarise students with the experience of studying away from home and offer them intensive introductions to specialised options available at the urban school. These mechanisms are designed to ensure that the move to a regional or urban school is managed effectively, involves parents and communities in all decisions and that the process is undertaken gradually to build up a record of success.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Rulings and Precedents of the
12th Assembly
Rulings and Precedents of the
12th Assembly
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, you will note the Rulings and Precedents of the 12th Assembly have been placed on your desks. These will be updated after each sittings and will be available in electronic form on the members’ suite of the intranet site.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Setting the Agenda for the Year Ahead
Setting the Agenda for the Year Ahead
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, today I talk about the direction of government for 2015-16, a direction committed to placing community best interests at the centre of all decision-making, a direction that establishes the right frameworks for the Northern Territory’s future and recognises opportunities and delivers the very best outcomes for Territorians. Put simply, it is time for all of us to get on with making people’s lives simpler, easier and safer.
We have achieved a great deal in the past two years but there is much to do. In 2015 my government’s work will include: supporting Northern Territory families and communities; giving our kids the best education and keeping them active; promoting our great Territory lifestyle; protecting our environment; bringing on land release to ease housing pressures; strengthening our prosperous economy; creating jobs and removing road blocks to regional development; cutting red tape; investing in the infrastructure Territorians need to move themselves around and get their products to market; and attracting new visitors and celebrating our unique Territory culture.
I want to assure Territorians we will work with you. We want to walk beside you on this journey. That means speaking to Territorians directly about their priorities and their local solutions. We want to create the sense of community which was the Country Liberals strength. We want to be a reflection of the community, not viewed as isolated from its needs and aspirations.
The government I lead will be 110% focused on Territorians, not an agenda that improves a balance sheet but ignores the needs of mums and dads in Malak. I believe Territorians have a lot to contribute and my government wants to properly engage with the community. Right around Australia, right around the Northern Territory, people feel their politicians have left them behind with big picture agenda items, mudslinging and political slurs, as we have seen today from the Labor Party.
The big picture economy, in particular, is often too big for people to see. As a result, government becomes detached from the average Territorian. This will change. We need to better support Territorians in the things that matter in their daily lives rather than assume they want to be part of a dry economic agenda. People are part of a community not a five-year plan or a 2030 vision. Economic indicators and credit ratings are very important, but we have to make sure this is extrapolated to mean much more to Territorians.
We cannot lose sight of the fact people are more interested in the state of their children’s classroom than a Moody’s credit rating. Our economy is going from strength to strength and is leading the nation. We have a great story to tell but I understand we have not always explained the benefits of this to individual Territorians, particularly when it comes to some of the larger projects. In essence, they all mean job opportunities for Territorians. We need to grow the economy. The government’s role is to ensure the benefits of a growing economy translates into jobs and better facilities, better services and a sense of inclusion for all Territorians.
These are things like lights at the local oval being on so kids can train in the evening rather than playing on the street, and more support for sporting and community groups so they can decide their own priorities rather than a government deciding what they need. My government is committed to making Territorians the centre of everything. We do not engage in mudslinging like the Labor Party.
When the Country Liberals were elected in 2012 we promised we would make the Territory a better place for everyone. We are working hard to achieve that with a focus on community lifestyle and the economy. In 2015 we will be continuing support for Territory families through our hugely popular Country Liberals Back to School payment and sports voucher schemes. We have added an extra $5m to the Country Liberals Sport Voucher Scheme to get more children off the couch and into recreational activities. These vouchers have increased from $75 to $200 per child. We have expanded the scheme to include more activities such as dance, music, arts and learn to swim lessons for children aged up to five years.
This will encourage our children to live healthier lives and reduce the cost to families. We have doubled the Country Liberals Back to School payment to $150 per child to further ease the burden on families. The payments help offset the cost of education items such as uniforms, text books, stationery, school excursions and student ID cards. We want to help our kids learn but also keep them active. These two Country Liberals initiatives make it easier to do both.
We have reduced the cost of childcare services by increasing childcare subsidies by 10% and expanded the scheme to include Family Day Care. Five children and Family Day Care centres have been constructed in Palmerston, Gunbalanya, Maningrida, Ngukurr and Yuendumu which will deliver both government and non-government integrated early childhood services, including health and parenting support.
We have completed the most comprehensive review of Indigenous education in 15 years with a view to giving our kids in the bush a future. The Country Liberals have committed more than $40m to implement recommendations from the Wilson Indigenous education review. The 10-year Indigenous education strategy, A share in the future, will begin this year and will provide a strategic direction to create future success for all Territory Indigenous children.
The Our School, Our Future plan aims to provide greater autonomy for schools. It gives parents and communities increased opportunities for input into the decision-making that shapes their school’s strategic direction. As part of this plan, the global schools budget model was announced in September 2014 with implementation to commence in all Northern Territory schools for the 2015 school year. The new school resourcing model will improve the targeting of resources and provide schools with greater flexibility in decision-making and a clear framework for forward planning. For the first time, principals and their school communities have a line of sight to their full resourcing package and can make decisions about how to utilise these resources in line with their local priorities and needs.
Six schools were successful in their applications to become independent public schools in 2015: Braitling, Larrakeyah, Leanyer and Wulagi Primary Schools, Darwin High School and Palmerston Senior College.
We are building a new school for students with special needs. The Northern Territory Open Education Centre and a new childcare centre at Ntaria, or Hermannsburg, will also be constructed.
In response to improved school student attendance, funding has been provided through improved infrastructure at five schools involved in the Remote School Attendance Strategy, being Maningrida, Borroloola, Ntaria, Ali Curung and Shepherdson College.
The NT government is committed to expanding the availability of regional boarding schools for remote and very remote students, and has committed $40.5m to the establishment of these boarding facilities, including one in Nhulunbuy which will be supplemented by Australian government funding.
A total of $52m has also been allocated over the 10-year life of the National Partnership Agreement on Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory to establish and upgrade teacher housing in remote and very remote areas.
In regard to keeping Territorians safe, under the Country Liberals the Territory has seen property crime figures drop to their lowest level since current records began. Unlike Delia Lawrie’s failed Labor government, the Country Liberals take law and order seriously. Our policies are delivering, driving down crime and cutting alcohol consumption. The government has introduced a suite of alcohol measures, including Alcohol Protection Orders, stationing police at bottle shops and paperless arrests which are driving down violent crime.
Alcohol-related assaults were down 16% Territory-wide over the past year alone. The effects have been especially visible in Alice Springs where alcohol-related assaults are down 30%, and Tennant Creek, where they are down a staggering 53%. We hope to see similar results from expansion of the policy of having police based at bottle shops in Katherine. Anecdotal evidence to date suggests that intervention is working substantially well, with early figures indicating an average of more than 35 domestic violence cases attended to by police each day now down to one a day. We are already protecting women and children in Katherine as a result of that measure.
Territorians are safer on our streets under the Country Liberals government. Alcohol Mandatory Treatment is helping to turn the tide of damage caused by alcohol abuse. More than 600 people have been referred to alcohol mandatory treatment since the program started in July 2013. Lives are being changed; people are obtaining work and life skills, reconnecting with families and their health is improving. This year we will expand the AMT program in Alice Springs and we are looking to build a secure treatment facility in Katherine.
Property crime is currently at the lowest level since we were last in government in the 1990s. Commercial break-ins are down 21% in Darwin and house break-ins are down 22% in Alice Springs. House break-ins have halved in Tennant Creek and are down 16% in Katherine.
The government is investing heavily in the Territory’s CCTV network. We are using it as a crime-fighting tool with 180 cameras soon to be operating NT-wide.
We understand youth crime is an issue in many Territory towns and communities. We have heard this message and have just announced a $4.2m funding package for regional youth programs focused on early intervention and prevention, which we believe is the key to tackling this issue.
We are also keen to ensure we take Territorians with us as we embark on new policies like this. That is why we have decided to tap into the local knowledge of regional coordination committees in each of the major centres to decide how the money will be allocated. Local people have the best idea of community needs, where there are gaps in services and where there is a risk of duplication.
Keeping Territorians healthy is a priority. Work is continuing on Palmerston Regional Hospital on two fronts, with the Northern Territory government assessing expressions of interest from a number of private health providers to design, build, operate and maintain the public hospital. This means for the first time Territory families will be able to access a fully functioning level three hospital close to Palmerston and the rural area. There is also the potential to increase the scope of private hospital services in the Territory.
Major earthworks on the Stuart Highway and Temple Terrace intersection are currently under way to improve safety and relieve congestion in the local area. The $150m investment into Palmerston Regional Hospital is a capital investment jointly funded by the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments. We are also investing in existing health infrastructure and look forward to announcing the next tender for fire rectification program works to Alice Springs hospital early next year. The $26m building program is anticipated to continue for the next four years.
The Northern Territory government has also introduced measures to help increase the number of Aboriginal Health Practitioners employed in the NT, both in government and Aboriginal community controlled health organisational sectors.
The government is committed to improving regional health and empowering the transition of health services in our remote communities to the community-controlled sector. We are leading this reform through the Pathways to Community Control program.
Through its chronic disease programs the Northern Territory has seen a significant improvement in life expectancy, especially for Aboriginal women, which is a positive step. Remote primary healthcare teams have increased their access to adult health checks, enabling identification of risk and prevention of early onset of chronic disease.
The government has increased women’s choices for birthing in the Northern Territory by introducing legislation that allows privately practising midwives to care for women birthing in the home.
Patients in Central Australia can now receive an MRI scan for the first time with the installation of a new magnetic resonance imaging machine at Alice Springs Hospital, and we have opened a new emergency department in Tennant Creek providing a GP service at the hospital.
In addition, the expansion of the Telehealth NT network means increased access to health services for those living in remote communities. A total of 56 government remote sites are connected, and 85 remote sites and five hospital sites are all on the road to participating. Work continues to add further connections, a fantastic outcome for the health sector.
In 2015 my government will continue to implement a coordinated approach to tackling domestic violence, a heinous crime. More than 60% of assault offences in the Northern Territory are associated with domestic violence with 82% of the victims being women. Minister Bess Price knows only too well the pain and suffering caused by this terrible and violent crime and has made a huge contribution to this policy. Enough is enough when it comes to domestic violence.
We will tackle domestic violence head-on and give government agencies all the support they need to remove this scourge on society. The NT government’s Domestic and Family Violence Reduction Strategy 2014-17: Safety Is Everyone’s Right is a victim focused integrated strategy which aims to create an improved coordinated approach. Safety is a basic human right and is at the core of the approach. The strategy is jointly funded by the Australian and Northern Territory governments and will see 11 government departments and non-government organisations working together. The long-term commitment to reduce domestic and family violence is strengthened by increasing funding for support services.
The Northern Territory public service is the largest employer in the Territory, with 20 000 people working across 30 agencies. I understand across other jurisdictions in Australia cuts to the public service have been hugely unpopular and unproductive, which is why we bucked the trend in the Northern Territory and have increased the number of employees our Northern Territory public service has since we came to government. There are more employees in the NT public service now than when we came to office, so let us remove one of the Labor lies continuously peddled ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker!
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, please withdraw that comment in regard to lies.
Mr GILES: I withdraw. It is continuously peddled that public servants have been sacked. That is untrue. There are more public employees in the Northern Territory now than when we came to government.
Last year we unveiled a package of measures to make the Northern Territory public service a more attractive place to work, on top of having more employees than when we came to government. The changes were aimed at modernising our public service, promoting training and staff development, as well as giving staff more flexibility in their working lives. The changes include the ability for staff to accrue leave to use over a Christmas period shutdown. This will bring the Territory into line with other jurisdictions across the country.
There is provision for more flexible work hours. There will be better outcomes for part-time work and we will also simplify the process of recruitment to make it easier to apply for government jobs. We are keen to build our skill base within the NT public service and will offer a training guarantee for all public servants at the AO2 to AO5 levels to assist employees with their professional development.
Today I would also like to unveil a new plank of these public service reforms by setting a new Aboriginal employment target. We have reviewed Aboriginal employment across the public service. A total of 30% of the Territory’s population is Aboriginal, yet when we came to government only 8% of the Territory public service was of Aboriginal descent. In my book that is unacceptable. Today I announce that by 2020 we will double the proportion of Aboriginal employees in the public service from 8% to 16%. I will have more to say at a later date on the strategies …
Ms Lawrie: No one believes you.
Mr GILES: … to produce that, but we are setting the target today.
I note the interjection from the Leader of the Opposition, who does not support the 16% target for Indigenous employees and criticised it from across the Chamber. We will stand up for Aboriginal employment in the public service and …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I said no one believes you.
Madam SPEAKER: Sit down. It is not a point of order.
Mr GILES: For eleven-and-a-half years Labor had an opportunity to improve the lives of Aboriginal Territorians and did not. We will double the Indigenous employment rate in the Territory from 8% to 16% by 2020, and will have more to say about it as we unveil some of our strategies to achieve that target. Thank you very much to those working inside the public service commission for their support in coordinating the review and the report – the Callaghan report – into Indigenous employment. I look forward to working with the public service commissioner, the office of the public service commissioner, and all agencies and staff to see a positive outcome in doubling Aboriginal employment in the Northern Territory by 2020 from 8% to 16%.
Fundamentally, I want to give Indigenous people – Aboriginal Territorians – an opportunity to have a real job in government and a chance to contribute to breaking the cycle of welfare dependency that has crippled Aboriginal people for so long.
No government in the Territory’s history has stood up for the economic rights of Aboriginal Territorians like we have since coming to government. This will continue to change and is why we brought back the Indigenous Affairs portfolio. We are setting up the enabling framework to empower Aboriginal people and give them a voice.
We have already abolished Labor’s toxic shires. We have put in place the regional council model and established 63 local authorities across the Territory. We funded them so local authorities can have a say in their communities and start driving reform.
Indigenous affairs will see new life in the Northern Territory like never before, standing up for Indigenous Territorians, Aboriginal economic rights, jobs and business. We are getting rid of centralisation, the Labor way of taking the voice away from Aboriginal Territorians, and are giving it back to the people on the ground. We are empowering Aboriginal Territorians to take control of their lives and driving reform in an effort to improve educational outcomes, employment outcomes and business opportunities.
During 2015 my government will continue to defend our unique Territory lifestyle and protect the environment. We want to make it easy for Territorians to enjoy our great outdoors, whether it is fishing on our world famous rivers or swimming in a waterhole.
We are investing in CCTV at our boat ramps and infrastructure in our national parks. I know the member for Blain is excited to see CCTV at boat ramps. It was one of his key election commitments in the Blain by-election.
We also know how much Territorians love their sport. That is why we are investing millions of dollars in bringing first-class sporting teams to our back yard. Since coming to government we have started building an impressive calendar of fixtures. In partnerships like this, created by the Country Liberals government, we now see soccer, AFL, cricket and NRL on a regular basis. The Eels were in Alice Springs last Friday night.
It is not just about games or Territorians watching games, it is about investment in the community. It is about going to hospital and talking to the sick kids, going to schools and encouraging sporting participation and healthy eating. It is about creating pathways for Territorians to make it to the big league. A couple of weeks ago we saw a Palmerston rugby league player join the Parramatta Eels in the Jersey Flegg. Congratulations. That is what it is all about.
In June 2014 this government created Festivals NT. This is a new initiative to expand the Northern Territory’s annual program of cultural, sporting and business events by having a key focus on attracting visitors from overseas and interstate. This will strengthen the Territory’s role as a gateway and meeting place between Australia and Asia, promote the Northern Territory as a tourist destination, develop and showcase the arts, expand the reach and range of sporting events in competitions and build on celebrated Northern Territory events.
Festivals NT includes a year-round Territory-wide festival calendar which builds on existing events and incorporates new sporting, business and cultural elements. It is already proving to be an enormous success. Not only have we seen additional events in the arts, including an expanded program of events in the 2014 Darwin Festival, but also some great sporting events, including the Adelaide United partnership and the inaugural Mitchel Street Mile.
Festivals NT will continue building on existing festivals across the Territory in 2015 with a particular focus on Asian engagement. A new director has just been appointed within the Department of the Chief Minister to oversee Festivals NT. She joins the government later this month and comes with broad experience, having relocated from Indonesia where she was working in the Australian Embassy producing the recent Oz Fest program.
One of the key tasks will be to develop signature events to celebrate Territory Day based on research we conducted last year. The key message from the community consultation was people believe Territory Day is important and should be celebrated. We are proud to be Territorian and of the Territory’s heritage. Territory Day should be a celebration belonging to the people and should recognise our history, our heroes, our achievements, our lifestyle and our future.
Most accept that fireworks are part and parcel of Territory Day celebrations, but there are mixed views on whether gazetting a public holiday is essential to celebrating Territory Day. We asked the question and the community responded with roughly a 50:50 view – slightly in favour of a public holiday. It is clear there is not a strong enough desire from the community to create a public holiday to celebrate Territory Day at this time.
The government has listened to Territorians and decided not to introduce a public holiday at present. However, we want to build on the It’s Our Day campaign we started last year. As such, Territory Day 2015 will be a time where we expand on our family-friendly public firework displays. We will also work to create a sense of local celebration and Territory-wide unity through some new events to be held in regional areas.
Between 2014 and 2018 Australia will commemorate the Anzac Centenary – 100 years since World War I. The Northern Territory government has announced its support for a Northern Territory Anzac Centenary program with a highlight being The Borella Ride, a re-enactment of Albert Borella’s 1915 …
Ms Walker: You did not even go to the opening.
Mr GILES: … enlistment journey from Tennant Creek to Darwin ...
Members interjecting.
Mr GILES: I know people across the Chamber have no respect for fallen diggers and past history, but could you be quiet during this …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Standing Order 62. That is offensive. I ask the Chief Minister to withdraw.
Madam SPEAKER: Chief Minister, you can withdraw that comment please.
Mr GILES: I withdraw. I point out to those listening and reading that talking about the centenary of Anzac is something I would not be rudely interrupting.
I get back to The Borella ride and the re-enactment of Albert Borella’s 1915 enlistment journey from Tennant Creek to Darwin. It starts in Tennant Creek on Friday, and I will be there with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister, the member for Drysdale. I look forward to travelling with her, amongst other ministerial colleagues. It will culminate in Darwin on 3 March.
We also recently hosted the arrival of Albert Borella’s Victoria Cross. This is proudly displayed in our Main Hall and will then be moved into the State Library for a month to join the Borella display.
The NT government has committed funding of $4.5m over four years for the Anzac Centenary program, including the Chief Minister’s Anzac Spirit Study Tour. There will also be special commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the Bombing of Darwin in 2017.
We must maintain clear air, water and land. Water is one of our most valuable resources and we must do all we can to manage it wisely. We must ensure sound scientific knowledge is in place as we seek to harness the benefits of important resources. We must put proper measures in place to allow for sustainable projects and we must listen and work with those whose knowledge of country is profound.
In 2015 the government is developing a balanced environment strategy. This is a framework to ensure the Territory has an environment that is sustainable, balances use with protection and is well-managed, including urban design and public spaces.
The Northern Territory has high standards overseen by the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority, which ensures the protection of our environmental values as we look to the past and the future. For example, we have negotiated an environmental assessment bilateral agreement with the Commonwealth to reduce the regulatory burden on developers without compromising environmental outcomes by partnering on the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. This objective is to ensure an integrated coordinated approach that minimises duplication and ensures an efficient and effective process.
In 2015 my government will continue to work with the Commonwealth to further reduce duplication and unnecessary green tape, while putting foremost the priority of protecting our environment.
We have also been making the lives of Territorians easier by cutting more than 200 pieces of red tape since coming to government, and there is still a lot more to do. Labor’s disgraceful red tape legacy was laid bare in a report by Deloitte last year, which showed how the burden on local business exploded between 2006 and 2011.
The Deloitte report titled Building the Lucky Country showed that red tape grew exponentially under Labor’s watch and that legacy is now costing local businesses an estimated $4bn every year. It is a mess, and one we have been trying to tackle. We are trying to drive down the cost of doing business by slashing dumb rules and regulations that put the brakes on development and investment and, ultimately, stopped jobs being created for Territorians. This campaign covers a range of areas including construction, mining, motor vehicle registration, licensing for trades, property conveyancing, building approvals, land titles, tourism and government procurement.
We have established a red tape abolition squad, and our procurement reforms are making it easier for businesses to tender and supply goods and services to government. We now have a one-stop website for the tracking of invoices, making it quicker and easier for businesses to get their government bills paid – overturning the old asset management system which was a complete debacle by the former minister, the member for Barkly. We have also launched a website for the public to report unnecessary bureaucracy.
Some of our most important reforms have been in the construction sector, helping fast-track new residential development across the Territory to increase housing supply and drive down the cost of living. We have introduced Australia’s first online integrated building approval lodgement system, shaved three months off rezoning approval times and started a one-stop shop for development applications.
In especially welcome news for local construction projects, new developments now only need one utilities clearance to secure title instead of the current two clearances for the same project. This has been a huge cash flow issue for many developers, and has previously slowed release of properties onto the market. I am pleased we have listened to the concerns of the industry and delivered on this important change. I promise Territorians will see more of the same red tape cuts throughout 2015.
In 2015-16 my government will continue to implement the biggest residential, commercial and industrial land release program in the Territory’s history – it will get bigger. We understand the cost of housing has become a huge burden for many Territorians and adds to the cost of living. This is a product of Labor’s failure to release enough land or have enough units built across the Territory. This is part of planning for a bigger future and a better tomorrow. They fell asleep at the wheel and we are quickly overcoming that enormous shortfall in housing demand.
Palmerston is the centre of growth in the Top End, with Zuccoli stage 2 expected to deliver land for 600 dwellings and stages 3 and 4 a further 1700 dwellings. Proposals for the final instalment, stage 5, are currently being assessed and will supply land for a further 400 dwellings. Works on the site will commence sometime this year.
In 2015 the Darwin Regional Land Use Plan will be incorporated into the Northern Territory Planning Scheme. This framework provides greater certainty on future land uses for facilitating growth and increased population. It identifies the location of strategic infrastructure, for example ports, airports and water catchments, including future transport and utility corridors and sites for essential services.
The government has released the Territory’s largest ever brownfield site – 160 ha at Berrimah Farm. Three proponents have been shortlisted and invited to submit detailed proposals for redevelopment of the site which could yield up to 3000 dwellings. The initial stages of Holtze will be released during 2015 providing for approximately 1200 new dwellings. This stage will support the new Palmerston Regional Hospital and the surrounding health precinct.
Industrial land in 2014-15 includes Darwin Business Park north, Muramats Road East Arm and Middle Arm for development of commercial and industrial land for downstream gas processing, extractive industries and commercial support industries.
Twenty-four affordable lots have been sold in Kilgariff stage 1A in Alice Springs, and stage 1B has now been released bringing the total amount of lots available to 80. A review of the NT Planning Scheme provisions is currently under way, focusing primarily on the Alice Springs CBD.
The member for Katherine would be pleased to know the Katherine Land Use Plan was introduced into the NT Planning Scheme last year. The Katherine East 19 ha site is expected to yield over 100 lots and supply more than 200 dwellings. Construction and sales off the plan for the first 71-lot stage will commence in early 2015, and land in Kalkarindji and Tennant Creek will also be released for development later this year as part of the last budget.
There is no doubt our massive land release program is stimulating the building activity. This is vitally important for our future to ensure our population grows and there are affordable homes for our young people. Helping Territorians buy a home in the city and the bush is an important element of this government’s platform. Pride is important, and owning your own home helps to build a culture that is proud and confident of its future.
The government is selling up to 50% of all remote public housing stock back to tenants. As of 1 July 2014 housing on a 40- or 99-year lease became available for sale to tenants which will help restore pride in home ownership and further break the cycle of dependence on government. We said we would build a better future for all Territorians and what better way than through education and owning your own home.
We have increased the First Home Owner Grant for new homes by $1000 to $26 000 and altered the eligibility to encourage construction of new housing and create jobs. New housing creates jobs and helps keep down the cost of living by increasing the supply of homes, something we have been doing quite successfully.
Under the Real Housing for Growth plan the government is delivering 2000 new dwellings over the four-year term of government. The Department of Housing has already supported delivery of 50 new affordable rental units in Karama and nine in Tennant Creek. These properties have been made available to eligible key service industry workers at 30% below market rents, helping drive down the cost of living.
The public housing complex currently being developed at Runge Street will deliver 59 two-bedroom dwellings, 15 affordable rental units for key service industry workers and 10 units reserved for eligible purchasers through the homebuyer initiative.
In the first quarter of this year there will be 122 new affordable rental dwellings available under the head leasing initiative to support the attraction and retention of key service industry workers in the Northern Territory – 60 at Coolalinga, 37 at Farrar and 25 units in Braitling. Another 116 affordable rental units are also under construction across the Darwin/Palmerston region. The homebuyer initiative provides opportunities for eligible Territorians to purchase their own home at affordable prices.
HomeBuild Access provides low deposit and low interest loans for Territorians, targeted at new dwellings. An amount of $4.5m has been set aside over the next three years to enable Territorians in remote communities to become homeowners. What sort of opportunity is that?
The Department of Housing is also working with Defence Housing Australia on a joint redevelopment initiative trial in Darwin to address the increasing social goals of Framing the Future by redeveloping older public housing assets. The development will be funded wholly by Defence Housing Australia in exchange for land provided by the Department of Housing.
Key reforms over the next three years will focus on: improved tenancy and property management practices; consistent management practice across remote and urban public housing; enforcing tenant obligations – paying rent and paying for tenant responsibility damage that may occur; supporting mobility initiatives so there are no barriers to remote community residents transferring their public housing allocation to a regional centre if they gain employment; allocation of housing to families whose children attend school regularly or to families where the tenants are employed; and increased Indigenous employment in property and tenancy management.
In regard to helping vulnerable Territorians, the Northern Territory government recognises the important role the non-government sector plays in providing services to Territorians. Several new initiatives have been, and will continue to be, introduced to build the working relationship between the government and the non-government organisation sector, including a partnership group initially focusing on how both parties can work together in a more streamlined way.
Last Thursday I signed a Statement of Principles with NTCOSS to underpin the working relationship – which has now ratified that working relationship – and had a meeting with the non-government organisation sector in Alice Springs yesterday morning and displayed that shared set of principles. It reaffirms our shared commitment to working together to achieve outcomes for those most vulnerable and at risk within the Northern Territory. I thank those from the NGO sector who come around the table every six months to chat with government, identify issues and find solutions on how we can move forward.
In 2015 we will be creating jobs for the future by building a strong economy. When we came to government the Northern Territory finances had been run down to such a point it was difficult to fund any new initiative. The Labor Party had done its best to bankrupt the Northern Territory and the Leader of the Opposition, as former Treasurer, should hang her head in shame for her role in placing the Territory at almost bankruptcy levels.
In the 2013-14 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report we delivered a net operating surplus three years ahead of schedule, no applause from the opposition there. By reducing waste, tightening our belts and staying focused on outcomes, by the end of 2013-14 we had already reduced the debt burden on the Territory by $1.5bn which was a result of Labor incompetence and inertia.
By reducing Labor debt by $1.5bn we reduced interest repayments by $32m a year. We can now spend that on delivering infrastructure and services to Territorians, such as the popular Back to School vouchers or the sports vouchers. The projections for 2015-16 are to have further reduced the Labor debt burden by $1.8bn and $80m in interest repayments respectively.
The latest Deloitte Access Economics report gives a glowing outlook for the Territory’s economy, with inflation moderating to the second lowest in the country and our economic performance expected to remain strong, growing by an average of 4.2% per annum between 2014-15 and 2018-19. That is the highest average annual growth forecast of all jurisdictions in the nation. The recent message from the CEO of the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce dated 29 January 2015 summed it up completely when he said the recent Sensis Business Index showed NT businesses are the most positive in the country.
How that would change if there was a Labor government! That outstanding achievement is allowing us to get on with business and look forward to 2015, 2016, 2017 and beyond.
This year we continue with the hard work to ensure the economic settings are correct and we can create jobs for Territorians. The Territory has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, the highest year-on-year employment growth and the highest participation rate of 71.9% compared to 64.7%. The participation rate is generally under the radar, but it shows Territorians want to work and are getting jobs.
We will continue to develop the Territory’s tourism potential. With than in mind, I would like to thank the member for Greatorex for his hard work on arresting the decline in tourism after 10 years of the former Labor government and turn it around to an increase in tourist numbers. Member for Greatorex, I am sure all Territorians thank you for arresting that decline. We have returned the Territory’s tourism industry to a position of growth and will continue that focus throughout 2015-16.
Independent research shows holiday visitor numbers and expenditure have increased, with visitor expenditure increasing by 18% to $896m. This translates to an additional $135m for the Territory’s economy, a return on investment of almost $17 for every extra dollar invested in tourism by this Country Liberals government since 2012. These results represent a significant turnaround and are a clear sign Tourism NT’s revitalised marketing strategy is working. However, there is much to do over the coming years to return the tourism sector to the position it was during the early 2000s before Labor ruined it.
In 2015 my government, through Tourism NT, will focus on maintaining and building visitor growth into the Territory. For that we need game changers to attract more visitors, enhance their experiences in the NT and encourage regional dispersal. We need investment in tourism infrastructure to deliver diversified and innovative experiences. Image a cultural centre of national and global significance based in Darwin or Alice Springs providing insight into the arts, culture and philosophies of Australian Indigenous peoples. What about a major attraction in the Top End that capitalises on the resurgence of interest in Australia’s involvement in both world wars and the Anzacs in general. It would complement our Defence of Darwin Experience, its museum, but broaden it to include interactive experiences on land and water utilising advancements in technology to bring history to life. For example, there could be holograms to tell stories through the eyes of those who were here during the bombing of Darwin.
There is also the upgrading of the Darwin port facility to position the city as not just the successful short visit destination it already is, but a base for the quality cruise experiences that explore the magic of the Spice Islands and other countries to our north.
Along with that we need effective integration of the Waterfront Precinct with Darwin city itself as a welcoming gateway for our cruise ship visitors. Not only is a cruise activation plan to maximise the NT cruise sector in the final stages of development, but the major Cruise Down Under Conference will be held in Darwin in September 2015, putting an additional spotlight on this increasingly popular cruise destination.
Imagine the Territory as a leading backdrop for self-drive or guided tours, renowned for routes to both popular and little-explored locations. For example, Alice Springs to Tennant Creek being on everyone’s bucket list as a must-do for an Australian drive.
This range of diverse projects demonstrates the potential of the resources industry to underpin economic development in our remote areas. We want to reposition the Territory in the adventure space, linking our natural wonders such as Katherine Gorge and Karlu Karlu whilst opening up spectacular country to cater a well-managed way for the four-wheel drive market. This includes breathing new life into the Savannah Way, famous for linking 15 national parks and five world heritage areas across the Northern Territory.
Over this year and next my government aims to turn such ideas into reality and introduce circuit breakers that will change our thinking about what attracts visitors and turn thinking into attractions that are compelling and not to be missed. We must revamp the sense of welcome visitors experience when they arrive in Darwin or Alice Springs, make them feel excited and sense they are arriving somewhere special. We must use our strengths to leverage our opportunities. This is already happening in east Arnhem Land with forward-thinking traditional owners offering customised educational stays in their homelands.
Approximately 70% of recreational fishing occurs in regional areas where it is often the primary economic and development driver. New venues include Dhipirri Lodge near Milingimbi, where charters experience fishing the Glyde and the Woolen Rivers for barramundi.
A new Northern Territory Aboriginal Tours and Experiences brochure was launched in November 2014. We must encourage new destinations such as the Tiwi Islands by facilitating an environment that fosters tourism investment to provide diversified inspirational experiences for the discerning traveller. I would also like to see places like Wadeye, Groote Eylandt, Baniyala, Milingimbi, Ramingining – Aboriginal communities – taking that opportunity for economic advancement.
We must open up the Territory’s world heritage listed national parks – Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta – by providing new and exciting experiences to attract more visitors, creating more jobs for Territorians – particularly Indigenous Territorians – in these regional and remote locations.
Imagine an accommodation habitat on a remote billabong in Kakadu National Park with a stairway to a construction below the water line so those staying in it can view and sleep with underwater wildlife. What an experience that would be! This is the thinking we need to put out there.
Traditional owners are concerned about falling visitation numbers to Kakadu as it affects their livelihood and that of their children. The fewer visitors the less spend, fewer jobs, fewer opportunities and less hope for people living in those areas. My government is already working with them on this new concept and will continue the work in 2015 and beyond to provide opportunities.
We are also working on new experiences such as a two-day walk and high-quality swag experience between Kata Tjuta – the Olgas – and Uluru accompanied by traditional owners and park rangers to help travellers understand and appreciate the country, setting off at sunrise one day one and finishing at sunset on day two. The Larapinta Trail in Central Australia already has a world-class reputation and we are intent on establishing walks in Kakadu and other parts to rival Larapinta.
We must expand our natural offerings. The Jawoyn people are interested in expanding beyond Nitmuluk National Park to the south end of Kakadu. This area, including Katherine itself, is rich in natural, cultural, pioneering and pastoral history. Let us help others to explore, learn and enjoy by attracting investment for tourism development.
We must unlock the land with care and create accommodation and experiences in secluded but accessible unique settings such as, for instance, a boutique lodge within easy reach of the Devils Marbles or a luxury lodge experience on the shores of the Mary Ann Dam north of Tennant Creek. We must always keep at the front of our mind it is about creating jobs for Territorians – something that matters to people – and creating those jobs in regional and remote areas so Aboriginal Territorians can be part of it.
My government is ready to support investors with visionary concepts outside the square which complement the uniqueness of the Northern Territory and realise the Territory’s full potential as a compelling tourist destination. This will be a focus of ours over the next few years.
It is important the bush shares equally in the benefits of this extraordinary economic growth we are experiencing. Therefore, we will continue to support and supplement regional economic development opportunities, programs and initiatives at every opportunity and are not ashamed to say so.
In 2015 we will continue to remove the road blocks to regional development and pursue real economic opportunities with a number of communities. We have seen fantastic progress and partnership on the Tiwi Islands. I know the member for Arafura is very happy with those partnerships.
We will continue that model to other regions in 2015, working with communities to connect them with investors and projects which suit their vision for the local economy and maximise job creation. The Tiwi people are looking forward. The affordable ferry service to the Tiwi Islands carried nearly 5500 passengers last year. The first woodchip harvest is planned for March 2015, creating up to 100 jobs on the Tiwi Islands. The Port Melville redevelopment will provide marine-based support, including a 30 million litre tank farm, and $0.5m was allocated in the 2014-15 Budget for pontoon development.
Potential for a tourism precinct is also being explored. The government’s focus is on creating jobs in regional and remote areas and working to expand this. I call on those in other communities who see what is happening on the Tiwi Islands, if you want similar development to occur in your country, on your land, in your community we are more than happy to assist you drive this forward. This is about change, economic advancement, hope and opportunity, and it all starts with education and a job.
The resources sector plays a vital part in the Territory’s economy and jobs market, and will continue to do so in the future. The effects of the current downturn are fully recognised. This is the time to put in place planning and infrastructure for the future.
Short-term fluctuations in the oil price should not distract us. The global economy is, and will remain, hungry for oil, gas and other resources. Natural gas currently accounts for a quarter of global energy consumption. The mainstay of power generation is moving away from coal towards gas fired, and the international energy agency expects the global LNG market to grow 40% in the next five years with half of all new exports coming from Australia.
It is vital Darwin is fully prepared to play its part as a strategic hub for servicing the region’s oil, gas, marine and Defence industries. This government is progressing development of just under 100 ha of waterfront land within the East Arm Logistics Precinct in order to capture this market opportunity, and the master plan will be completed during the course of 2015.
There is no doubt LNG will displace iron ore as the main source of Australia’s export growth within this decade, but the Northern Territory government is not only focused on LNG exports to our markets north. With the dynamics currently facing gas supply in New South Wales in particular, the importance of investment cannot be underestimated. That is one of our priorities for 2015, and was clearly stated in the most recent COAG communique in October 2014 when it was stated:
- COAG supported the work being undertaken by the Northern Territory to establish a competitive process for the private sector to bring forward proposals for the construction and operation of a pipeline to connect the Northern and Eastern Gas Markets. COAG agreed that connecting these gas markets is the next step to developing a national gas grid and will contribute to the development of a more national and competitive domestic gas market, helping to improve supply security.
However, we must ensure gas is also utilised in the Northern Territory to support industry development, particularly downstream petrochemical opportunities, and that is something we are working quite hard on. We have many eggs in many different baskets, all with the intent of creating jobs for the Territory’s future.
The pipeline carries major project status and 11 companies have been shortlisted to proceed to the next stage of the bid process. In 2015 the pipeline will be a priority for the government.
Before I move away from the oil and gas industry I would like to re-emphasise the employment and training opportunities for Territorians.
A few months ago I opened the onshore supply base for Shell Prelude at East Arm Industrial Business Park. At the same time Charles Darwin University launched a Prelude to the Future training and employment program, a unique four-way partnership between the Prelude joint venture, the Northern Territory government, Charles Darwin University and Group Training NT. It will run for two years providing participants with 20 weeks of auto-mechanic training, work experience and ongoing mentoring.
We are currently in talks with other major resource companies about future projects that will build on the Territory’s proven track record as a reliable source of LNG and as a supplier of a service industry to the LNG sector.
Major projects like INPEX and Prelude create jobs. They create a future for the next generation of apprentices and tradies, plus widespread business opportunities for local companies, all of which this government will rigorously pursue in 2015.
The Northern Territory government is committed to assisting businesses to access skilled workers. It is good for business and for Territorians who want to work.
In 2015 the Northern Territory Employment and Training Advisory Board will prepare reforms to deliver a training system to be introduced at the start of next year which is more responsive to the needs of business and industry and delivers better outcomes for workers and future workers of the Northern Territory.
In 2015 the Department of Business will finalise arrangements with the Australian government for a second stage of the Designated Area Migration Agreement, providing an increased number of places in a greater range of occupations identified by Northern Territory employers as suffering from a labour shortage.
The Territory will also look to expand the pilot project established between Australia and Greece to other priority nations with significant migrant communities in the Northern Territory.
Despite the current challenges in commodity markets the value of mineral production in the Northern Territory continued to increase last year. The Territory has a strong pipeline of emerging mining projects moving forward including, I am pleased to say, projects in Central Australia.
The first new gold mine in the Tanami in more than a decade is scheduled to commence soon, with ABM Resources Old Pirate project having received all government approvals. At the Mount Peake project near Barrow Creek TNG is developing one of the largest strategic metals vanadium-titanium-iron projects in Australia. TNG is in the final stages of feasibility studies with plans to begin construction in 2015, and production and exports from 2017.
KGL Resources Jervois project on the Plenty Highway began a drilling project in September last year and is working towards the pre-feasibility study at one of the highest grade copper open pit projects in Australia with significant silver and lead/zinc potential.
There is also an underground salt mine on the cards and the brand new Teena zinc discovery near Borroloola.
This range of diverse projects demonstrates the potential of the resources industry to again underpin economic development in our regional and remote areas, but also provide economic injection to our urban centres such as Darwin and Palmerston.
Another project on the major projects list is the Ord River expansion which represents enormous potential for economic development and employment, not only in agriculture but also other opportunities in the area, particularly around mining and resources. It is a challenge moving forward on the Ord River expansion at the moment. Government is still weighing up whether it will continue with this project but, hopefully, will be able to reach a resolution and move forward with the Ord expansion.
During 2015 and beyond government remains committed to ensuring all these projects have the maximum opportunity to proceed to development so we can create jobs for Territorians. However, at all stages of any development we are mindful of keeping our unique lifestyle – it is the envy of many – and also protecting the environment. Getting the balance right is important not just to government, but to everyone across the Territory.
In 2015 we will continue to actively encourage growth of Defence services in the Territory. We currently have 20% of the RAAF’s air combat capability based in the NT, and DHA will be commencing work on 80 houses on the RAAF Base Darwin and 50 houses at RAAF Tindal shortly.
There are 700 or so personnel at Larrakeyah Barracks operating the patrol boat fleet from HMAS Coonawarra, and new wharf facilities are currently under consideration by Defence. The multiuser barge facilities and common area in the Marine Industry Park will proceed through the parliamentary works committee with capital provided by the Royal Australian Navy. A decision on this is expected mid-2015, with works hopefully commencing by the end of the year.
The Combat Brigade – 1st Brigade – is at Robertson Barracks and will grow incrementally when it enters the ‘readying’ rotation phase in July 2015. This includes relocation of the 9th Field Squadron from Adelaide to Darwin. The Northern Territory is a key strategic location to support future defence, border security and humanitarian operations, particularly within the Asia-Pacific region.
In 2015 I will release the government’s strategic plan to maximise the economic benefit of Defence’s evolving presence in the Northern Territory. This report titled Northern Territory and Defence: A Strategy for Security and Prosperity will outline our plan to integrate future ADF presence and infrastructure spending with the US Force Posture initiative for the economic benefit and regional stability of all Territorians, northern Australians and Australians. The US initiative will see the continued presence of 1175 Marines from April 2015 and the planning for this number to grow to 2500 in 2017-18.
In addition, 2015 will be a major year for international exercises in training areas across the Territory, including a significant influx of United States Army, Navy, and Marines, in conjunction with the Australian Defence Force, for exercise Talisman Sabre.
In 2015-16 my government will be focused on the benefits of the Defence spend in the Northern Territory and this will be a significant area of growth and opportunity.
During 2015 we will continue our work building an economy that is strengthened by new private and public infrastructure projects critical to delivering the long-term infrastructure requirements of the Northern Territory. We are investing a record $377.8m on roads this financial year because we know better roads open up the Territory to people being better connected, business being connected with new investment opportunities being the result.
The Outback Way, stretching from Laverton in Western Australia to Winton in Queensland, has a total program for the Northern Territory of $40m over three years. It is jointly funded by the Australian and Territory governments and construction is expected to commence on the straight road between Yulara and Docker River in May. The Plenty Highway component will commence in June.
Other projects include the Leviathan Creek crossing on Fog Bay Road, expected to be completed in December 2015, much to the delight of the member for Daly no doubt, and sealing sections of the access road between Kalkarindji and Lajamanu will be pleasant news for the member for Stuart.
Joint projects through the Regional Roads Productivity Package the government is rolling out include upgrading and sealing of sections of road between Alice Springs Airport and Santa Teresa, including Yam Creek crossing, with completion expected in May 2015. An upgrade of sections of the Arnhem Link Road is dependent on the outcome of stakeholder consultation, much to the delight, no doubt, of the members for Arnhem and Nhulunbuy. Work on the Buntine Highway has an anticipated completion of September 2015. Port Keats Road flood immunity improvement through the Moyle River floodplain is expected to be completed in November 2015. Construction of a bridge over Rocky Bottom Creek on the Central Arnhem Road is expected to be completed in December 2015. New bridges at the Roper and Wilton River crossings are due for completion by December 2016.
Another significant project is the Alice Springs rail overpass under construction right now and anticipated for completion in May this year. Also, substantial new investment into the Tanami Road will see sealing and upgraded sections, and a project to extend the seal will continue.
We are investing in remote aerodromes this year with Utopia, Docker River and Yarralin having upgrades throughout 2015. The Port Keats and Bathurst Island aerodromes are the next priority subject to budget allocations. I am sure I will be lobbied by the members for Arafura and Daly.
Legislation enabling a possible lease of Darwin port will be referred to a parliamentary committee through a motion in parliament this week. That is to ensure the proposed model offers the best outcome for Territorians. The member for Blain will be leading that parliamentary inquiry. We have heard loud and clear that people do not want the port sold. I reiterate that we are talking about leasing the port not selling it. I will sign in blood if need be that the port is not for sale despite what Labor says.
Our port must grow to meet the needs and opportunities of the future. I want Territorians to be confident any lease arrangement we enter into is in the best interests of all Territorians.
There are different ways to structure a lease. I want Territorians to have faith that the model ultimately chosen is the best one available after considering all evidence. That is the role of the members for Blain, Drysdale, Fannie Bay and Nelson, who are all on the committee.
As such, debate on the enabling bills currently before the Assembly will be deferred until that parliamentary select committee has been established and had the opportunity to examine what is proposed, as well as alternate models from Australia and around the world.
The committee will look at options to enhance the model to ensure any partner is focused on growth and development of the port, has competitive prices and follows international best practice in safety, environmental standards and operational efficiency. The committee will also consider existing Northern Territory public private partnerships such as the Labor Marine Supply Base, and what lessons can be learnt from the process undertaken by the former Labor government when it outsourced part of the port.
I am particularly keen to see the committee’s recommendations about the duration of any lease. Whilst a 99-year lease has been floated previously as part of the legislative agenda on the table in parliament, many time frames are used around the world. I am interested in feedback on the preferred length of any lease. The key to this will be giving sufficient certainty to any potential partner while retaining the government’s ability to consider the partner’s performance against pre-agreed benchmarks. Ultimately, we want to maximise the benefit to Territorians from any partnership, both in ongoing financial returns and long-term expansion of the port. Our economy needs a port that is efficient and competitive, and any lease agreement must be focused on achieving that goal. The inquiry will run for five weeks with a final report to be presented by 20 March 2015.
The Territory government will establish an infrastructure fund to directly invest in infrastructure to support future development of the Northern Territory. The fund will comprise a share of the proceeds from sales of government assets. It will support economic investment for social and economic advancement in the Territory, leverage private sector investment where viable and access contributions from available Commonwealth funding for infrastructure purposes.
The overarching objective of the fund will be to promote investment in infrastructure which supports the longer-term economic growth and development of the Territory and the social wellbeing of Territorians.
Already $50m from the proceeds of the sale of TIO has been set aside for flood mitigation initiatives in high-risk areas. Flood mitigation is expensive work and no government has been willing or able to tackle the problem before.
My government has begun work and in 2015 is getting on with the job. Last month I announced the draft terms of reference and membership details of the Darwin and Katherine flood mitigation committees being established to make recommendations on how the funding can best be spent, ensuring value for money for taxpayers. A total of $25m is set aside for works in Rapid Creek and the Darwin rural area, while another $25m has been allocated to Katherine, including $7.6m to move the town’s ambulance centre out of the flood zone. After calling for public expressions of interest the government has announced membership of both committees, and together we will focus our efforts in 2015-16 to ameliorate the effects of future flood damage to people and property.
In addition to dealing with matters of significant infrastructure and flood mitigation, this government is implementing a number of reforms to make people’s lives easier and improve convenience. The much welcomed reforms at MVR will continue in 2015, providing more options for service access and greater convenience for customers and industry.
The start of the school year has seen commencement of a trial for a new Alice Springs school bus in consultation with local operator ATG Downunder.
In 2015 the government will finalise the review of the taxi industry and the regulatory framework for the commercial passenger vehicle industry to improve services to the community and the tourism sector, and access into the industry, while maintaining quality and safety standards.
In conclusion, 2015 will see a government that: listens to Territorians about how they want to see the Territory grow; is focused on law and order and continuing to drive down crime across the Territory, as has been seen through the continued publication of crime statistics; is committed to the priorities of good healthcare and good education; ensures land release continues so home ownership can be achieved by more Territorians and homes are affordable whether renting or buying; supports small business and local industries, encouraging training and creating jobs for all Territorians; pursues capital investment in improved infrastructure that will lead to regional development; is promoting international trade and Asian engagement which will create more investment opportunities for the Territory from our friends to the north; will find ways to enable traditional owners to attract private sector investment and finance to develop their own land to create jobs and economic advancement for Indigenous people; is making the most of our strategic position within northern Australia in every aspect, from agribusiness to Defence to international education and LNG.
I will be proud to lead the Northern Territory in the year ahead to make the lives of Territorians easier, safer and simpler. I hope we have an Opposition Leader and an opposition soon which talks about Territorians rather than muckraking, mudslinging, spreading scurrilous rumours and innuendo.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Ms LAWRIE (Opposition Leader): I did not notice that last part in your written statement, Chief Minister. You strayed from the script distributed to the Chamber this afternoon a few times. I guess those parts speak volumes for the person you have descended to ...
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Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Opposition Leader, can you pause so I can welcome some people in the gallery. Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of a group from the Future NT Cattlemen’s Association Leadership Development Program. On behalf of honourable members, welcome to Parliament House. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Members: Hear, hear!
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Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, I hope the government goes back to providing ministerial statements. It used to provide them the evening before then moved to the morning of. We did not see this statement until the Chief Minister was on his feet. If you want a considered policy debate and discourse it is a simple courtesy to distribute details of the policy you want to speak to the night before, or the morning of, so some research and work can be done. That is just a suggestion.
I am picking up on the attempt by the Chief Minister to cloak himself in a new cloak: he is consultative, engaging and will be inclusive. There is a challenge to see how you manage in the parliamentary convention process as Chief Minister.
Regardless of the lack of notice I welcome the statement from the Chief Minister. Much of it we have heard before. A few new items are glimmers of the Chief Minister’s musings and a whole lot of imagination. The Chief Minister likes to think big. I guess the problem is Territorians do not trust what he says, have not seen him deliver on anything other than chaos and dysfunction and no longer believe him. At a time when Territorians should be reaping the rewards of a strong economy they are struggling under the burden of a CLP leader unfit to govern.
Power bills are rolling in from your increased tariffs and taking their toll on families and businesses are heading backwards financially while you fatten Power and Water profits to sell crucial assets. Your privatisation agenda is ideologically-driven rather than responding to market and Territory needs. Your pursuit of power and greed shows an arrogant lack of empathy for the impact it has on Territorians.
Labor would halt this privatisation push and immediately review crippling tariff increases imposed by your decisions that were not backed up by detailed analysis. We would halt the sale of the port and work with industry to expand business opportunities with Asia. Our existing port operates well under capacity and we would work with trade and resources industries to grow opportunities.
We would initiate a high-level task force to review the impact of the TIO sale and work with the federal, Queensland and Western Australia governments to implement the recommendations of Pivot North to deliver an affordable public insurance model which promotes investment in northern Australia, giving families and businesses the insurance coverage they need.
Building our regions means understanding the needs on the ground. Peak regional committees will identify social, economic and environment priorities for a whole-of-government response and will report directly to me. Local government will be at the table and engaged in the outcomes. The stripping of education and walking away from the investment in choices for Indigenous education has been disgraceful and must end. Labor would work with school communities, the Australian Education Union, COGSO and our educators to invest in education to secure a better future for our children. A civilised and smart society places education as a priority not a blunt budget-slashing exercise.
People who built the Territory will be valued and listened to. We will abandon your arrogant ‘my way or the highway approach’ and reinstate engagement across all key industry groups to heed their innovative ideas. We believe in partnerships not the self-serving approach of taking care of a select few mates. We would restore integrity and appointments based on good governance rather than the job-for-the-mates approach of this government.
Health would once again become a partnership where we engage with surgeons, doctors, nurses and allied health practitioners to promote care models based on evidence and best practice. We would build Palmerston hospital, fast-tracking construction rather than bogging it down in the quicksand of a private operator model that fails to meet the needs of Territorians. We would address the tragedy of the ice epidemic by immediately installing an ice room at Royal Darwin Hospital and establishing an inter-agency task force of police, Health and Children and Families to report within six weeks on action which can be taken to combat the scourge of ice in our communities.
We would reinstate the moratorium on pokies and review current CLP action to expand the rivers of grog in the Territory. As we have done in the past, we would again work with all stakeholders to minimise grog-related harm. Yes, we would reinstate the Banned Drinker Register and remove the expensive policy failure of temporary Beat locations. We would return to working with our fine police and restore the separation of powers so disgracefully torn down by the CLP. We would restore confidence in our electoral system by having an inquiry into Foundation 51 and strengthen electoral laws to ensure integrity in the system.
With a failure in planning and a crisis in housing urgent restoration work needs to occur with a root and branch repair. The NT Planning Commission has been an expensive failure and added to bureaucratic red tape. We would immediately embark on consultation on the Greater Darwin Strategic Land Use Plan you foolishly shelved to restore confidence and certainty in planning. The need to deliver social and affordable housing has increased with the CLP sale of public housing and failure to deliver on the NPARIH housing program in remote regions. Families across the Territory have been plunged into a housing crisis that needs to be tackled and turned around. Shelter is a basic need and this has been a major failing of your CLP dysfunction.
Working with our local construction sector and encouraging innovation must occur to deliver affordable and social housing. We will be innovative and bold. Labor introduced affordable rental stock, but more needs to be done. Unlike your government, Labor recognises the importance of both social and economic development. We will establish peak, social and economic advisory committees to drive reforms. They will not be an exclusive mates club; they will be inclusive.
The first legislation we will introduce will be retrospective compensation for our firefighters. It will help firefighters who have acquired cancer as a result of their job. It will be retrospective so those firies with cancer now get the coverage and support they need. Our firefighters have been seeking that support from this government for two-and-a-half years.
We will establish a jobs task force of both industries and unions to deliver jobs and training opportunities for locals. Territorians will come first. Our training institutions at Charles Darwin University and Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education will be at the table with leaders of industry and unions. Inclusive government delivers better outcomes. We will work in partnership with Indigenous organisations and land councils to realise the vast potential of Indigenous Territorians, restoring respect rather than the CLP divide and conquer mentality.
Labor will reinstate funding to the environment sector and establish an office of climate change to drive investment in renewable energy. We can do this and continue to support the oil and gas industry to promote energy security while enhancing the importance of protecting our beautiful environment. Natural resources will not be a commodity used by the CLP to enhance the profits of a few mates. Strategic Indigenous reserves for water will be reinstated, as will water advisory councils and local water allocation plans.
We will continue to seek tourism opportunities and work with the sector to improve domestic and international visitation and restore our relationship with our neighbours by bringing back the much loved Arafura Games.
Nhulunbuy structural adjustment opportunities will be pursued to return health to this vibrant community and region. We would be a government for all Territorians, promoting harmony and cultural diversity, and would introduce 18C legislation to make racial vilification unlawful in the Northern Territory.
These are just some of the clear policy differences between the Giles approach of arrogance, exclusiveness and dishonesty. Territorians deserve a better government and Labor stands ready to govern. We are united, stable and willing to embrace innovation while pursuing an inclusive agenda with the many Territorians who have built the economic and social fabric of our Territory.
We will encourage debate and be accountable for our decisions. We will restore decency to government and care for the people of our great Territory. My team is working on a raft of policy announcements and these are just some areas that highlight our fundamental differences with your two-and-a-half years of policy failure.
We stand in stark contrast to you, Chief Minister. You have continued as you began. In the words of one of your own you lack honesty, respect and integrity.
Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): Mr Deputy Speaker, I listened carefully to the election portfolio articulated by the Leader of the Opposition and heard a very expensive exercise. It was clearly a structuring of her future as leader of the Labor Party, resting heavily on the stability of the Labor Party as the vehicle moving forward.
It is not what I, many other people or the media have heard in relation to stability of the Labor Party. However, I do not want to talk about that because that is us talking amongst ourselves. I would like to talk about what matters to Territorians. I stridently refute some of the things the Leader of the Opposition says are not being done by this side of the House.
Starting with what has been achieved already in the Attorney-General’s department, despite being in government for a decade with repeated calls by the CLP – namely yours truly when in opposition – to introduce a civil appeals tribunal in the Northern Territory, Labor steadfastly refused to do so. Whilst it is as politically sexy as a sock in a tumble dryer, civil and administrative appeals tribunals have been established in every other jurisdiction. I was anxious to introduce one and have done so in the brief two-and-a-half years of government.
Under the former Labor government the situation with domestic violence was clear. It was a major problem in our community and, sadly, continues to be so. On this side of the House – I have worked closely with Minister Bess Price in this area – we have developed a domestic violence policy which, in my opinion and that of many people who observe what we are doing, will become the benchmark in this country for the response to domestic violence situations. It leads to, ultimately, a case management structure surrounding families and individuals who find themselves caught up in a domestic violence situation.
That case management is done locally – Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine, Palmerston and the northern suburbs – where we can surround not only the perpetrator but also the family with the appropriate responses. That means 11 government departments, as well as NGOs, making sure when domestic violence occurs families are properly surrounded, the perpetrators are brought to justice and the victims are properly looked after.
The national uniform legislation in relation to the rules of evidence – something the former government stridently ignored over a number of years – were changes I made as Attorney-General. We then had a much larger body of law surrounding the rules of evidence to touch on, and it has finally led to changes in the process in which evidence is interpreted that has seen at least one person brought to account for an act of homicide they stand accused of.
That matter, I understand, is still before the courts. The rules of evidence are now structured in such a way that the accused is actually the accused, not somebody who has not been brought to account before a court of law.
I have also introduced something the former government refused to introduce or paid no attention to: the structure surrounding the presumptions of multiple trials where there are multiple victims of child sex offences. This legislation was frowned upon by the members opposite and received certain negative comments. However, the idea that if you have 12 victims of a paedophile you have a presumption in favour of 12 trials was inherently unfair. Fortunately, in the opinion of the CLP government it was unfair.
We changed that legislation so under current Northern Territory law when you have 12 victims there is one trial in which all 12 victims give evidence unless there is a good reason not to go down that process. This was left abandoned by the members opposite.
Whilst they tell us how they will rescue all puppies and pussy cats into the future, where is the capacity to deliver? I am pointing out a few things to demonstrate that members opposite have struggled in their capacity to deliver.
In the not-so-distant future there will be amendments before this House to the summary procedure rules which will see pre-trial disclosure of defences as reflected in places like Victoria, something the former government could have done many years ago but failed to acknowledge the importance of it. Many trials will no longer be necessary because defence and prosecution will be required to speak to each other before they walk into a hearing room. This model of trial has long been accepted in the civil domain. The government will bring this forward despite the fact Labor never looked at the issue in 10 or 11 years.
The Chief Minister has created the Mental Health Services portfolio under the Health portfolio, of which I have carriage. A number of areas need attention here. There is scant intersection between the current mental health systems and services that exist in the Northern Territory and the criminal justice system. The two are surprisingly closely related when you consider that – in my opinion and that of every professional I have spoken to – many people with mental health issues find themselves in the criminal justice system when they come to the attention of the state rather than in the mental health system. This has not been attended to for far too long.
Palmerston Regional Hospital is something I am also tasked to work on. We will be working with the private sector to assist help us design and construct the hospital. We will also be closely dealing with the private sector in how it is managed into the future because there are efficiencies to be gained. This means when you have an efficiency you have more health dollars to spend on patients rather than systems. That is a fundamental and vitally important process of which I am acutely aware.
Going back to the mental health issue, I am also concerned about some of the other gaps that exist. I am concerned there is insufficient communication of primary mental healthcare, particularly in regional and remote areas. In the not-so-distant future I will announce a suicide prevention policy as a result of my role as Minister for Mental Health Services. Stay tuned for details on that.
I am also concerned about a gap which was allowed to grow under the former government between good outpatient services and inpatient services in the mental health system. If you have a mental health issue, perhaps depression, you can seek assistance from the Tamarind Centre. They do not do a bad job at all. In fact, it is clear the occupants of the building have worked very hard over the years and continue to do so.
Those outpatient services are useful, but we need to address what happens beyond them. At the other end of the scale you have the inpatient-type services. These people have profound episodes, perhaps psychotic episodes, and need to be restrained for their own protection. Between those two extremes there is not much and there is a lot more we can do. I will be doing a whole lot more work on that.
In the 30-odd days since becoming Health minister I have travelled over 1000 km, visited a number of remote clinics and spoken to many remote nurses, both in the public sector and the private sector, and organisations such as Sunrise. It has become clear the quality of primary mental healthcare services can be improved on.
In relation to Aboriginal Health Workers, I echo the comments of the Chief Minister in relation to his desire to see more Aboriginal people in employment. One of the great tragedies over the last 20 to 30 years – probably closer to 40 – is we have seen a far more superficial presence of non-Aboriginal people in remote communities. If you go back to the days of the missions, many of the people who worked on them were there for decades. People like Gary Stoll or Pastor Albrecht would spend their whole life committed to a community.
I reckon you are flat out getting a public servant to stay in a community for 18 months to two years now. That is not necessarily championing the missions, but lots of babies were thrown out with the bath water when it came to missions. We can revisit the commitment we expect to see in those communities. Who better to turn to for a long-term commitment to health work in a community than somebody who was born there, lives there and has been related to the community for a long time? I am concerned the number of Aboriginal Health Workers has fallen away over the last decade and it is something I will turn my attention to.
In the area of Corrections, the Sentenced to a Job program I am passionate about and have been a strident champion of since the day I took over Corrections – I have been driving it and once again remain critical of the former government’s desire to build prison Mahal. It is doubtless a spectacular prison; however, a prison, whilst a necessary evil, should be less about the buildings and more about what you do inside them.
I travelled to the United States in recent times. About 12 months ago I also travelled to the United States for a Prisons Conference. Not only was Sentenced to a Job well received, but I had a chance to see other prisons around the world. In fact, on my most recent trip I looked at Maricopa County – this is Sheriff Joe stuff – which is as much window dressing as anything else, but for me it is about trying to change the hearts and minds of the people we have in custody. Some people point-blank refuse to do so and there is not much you can do for them, but other people should and will be encouraged under this government to make the most of their time in incarceration so they do not return.
I still do not trust this figure but will quote it for the sake of this debate because it is almost too good to be true. The normal recidivism rate remains stubbornly at around 57%, but Sentenced to a Job prisoners return to custody at a rate of 14% after leaving prison. I have asked CDU to find some students prepared to do their doctorate on this program because if we are to promote Sentenced to a Job to other jurisdictions, both nationally and internationally, we need some intellectual and academic rigour around it. I am grateful to CDU because they are fishing around for students to look at what we are doing in the Corrections system and, hopefully, we can find better ways forward.
We are also placing prisoners in remote communities and that has had an effect. That is a hybrid of prisons and the Sentenced to a Job program, and we see it successfully operate in places like Nhulunbuy. Now I am Minister for Correctional Services again I will be re-exploring what we can do in the Borroloola area because I believe much can be done. We had identified an outstation to locate a camp but, unfortunately, the traditional landowner has passed on, God rest his soul, and now there are three other traditional owners and we have to find our way through that. If we can we will.
Across the range of portfolios I have carriage of I hope I am demonstrating to members it is not just about saying we love puppies and will be nice to everybody; it is about delivering on the services and promises we have committed to.
Moreover, in the area of child protection we have restored the integrity of the system. So much was placed on the shoulders of child protection as a system and child protection workers in competing expectations that in many respects the organisation lost its way. You can well imagine my dismay when I discovered in some instances arrangements for foster carers and carers of children when that child was removed from their home were expensive to the point of being ridiculous, including a $300 000 contract for a compliant 17-year-old to be looked after by an adult.
In essence, in a year we were paying off the carer’s house and he was looking after a compliant 17-year-old who drove himself to school. That is too expensive, and if we spend money like that in some areas of child protection we have failed children in other areas because it is money we do not have. The sad truth is you have to rationalise your expenditure and it is about money.
If you do not believe it is about money you end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars every year in interest payments alone. That is money you do not have for child protection work, health work, mental health work or disability service work. There are a number of areas where money is a concern. You cannot spend more than you earn indefinitely.
Perhaps I risk a point of order, but as part of this government’s strident effort to protect children coming before the House this week will be legislation dealing with permanent care orders. I heard some noise about that on the radio this morning while listening to the news bulletins. Permanent care orders are about enabling stability around children.
I do not care if people think it is about this notion, that notion, this bunch of people doing something, the government doing something, the opposition doing something or the public service doing something. It is about creating a stable and safe environment for children. If that stability can be underwritten with a permanent care order then we are not only bound to look at it, we are duty bound to implement it. Where a person is looking after a child and there is no reasonable prospect that child can find its way back to a family, and if the person looking after that child wants to take that child to adulthood, they can seek a permanent care order in the absence of other options being available. Surely that makes sense.
To give a child security in life – something in many instances they never had until coming into the child protection system – as a state surely that is the least we can offer them.
This government has done things. Yes there has been noise in recent times, but we have done many good things of which I am personally proud. This has been a rare and precious opportunity to be a minister of the Crown and pursue a number of things I believe worthwhile. Some of them were not politically sexy, such as the NT Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal, but if you speak to people in the system you realise how much fairer and more accessible the justice system is to them and you know you have done the right thing.
If victims do not have to relate to courts on multiple occasions, what happened to them in sexual crimes because of changes we have made to the law, that makes it worthwhile. If we create a mental health environment better than the one bequeathed to us surely it is worthwhile and worth pursuing.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we say a prayer every time this Assembly sits. It finishes with the line, ‘For the true welfare of the people of the Northern Territory’. I listened to the prayers of the good Anglican bishop this morning and I echo the sentiment of those prayers with the final line of the prayer we say, ‘For the true welfare of the people of the Northern Territory’.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and welcome to the Chair.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you.
Mr McCARTHY: The Chief Minister wants to turn over a new leaf. The Leader of the Opposition gave him some great advice. This lengthy statement about his plans to turn over a new leaf, dropped on the opposition and Independent benches while the Chief Minister was speaking, is not only an insult to members opposite, it is an insult to the people who have elected me.
As member for Barkly I want the opportunity to respond to the Chief Minister’s litany of new stories about turning over a new leaf. The Chief Minister has not only offended me, he has also offended the constituents I represent in the lengthy statement about what a good bloke he will be for however long and has shown complete contempt for Territorians. It is a failure from the start but we will get over that; we will move on. Let us talk about the Chief Minister’s promises.
I am distressed with a Chief Minister leading a Country Liberal government over the last couple of months which has become the laughing stock of the nation. I am disappointed and offended because the conversation in the constituency has now grown to all politicians; we are all labelled with the same negativity. I am dealing with it at a grassroots level in the regional towns and the bush because of the behaviour and choices of the member for Braitling, Chief Minister Adam Giles.
When I reflect on this laughing stock it goes to the global end of our Territory partners, the INPEX group, which is delivering one of the biggest projects ever seen in the Northern Territory. It goes right through the business community, which has lost confidence. It goes to the public sector, which is struggling to implement government policy, and to the constituency. How dare the Chief Minister drag our reputations down!
Comments were made about the member for Katherine, now Deputy Chief Minister. The member for Katherine lacked capability, capacity, tenacity and professionalism. That is extremely damaging not only to the member for Katherine, but also the government and members of this Legislative Assembly.
After the member for Araluen was sacked she said the Chief Minister lacked honesty, respect and integrity. This is in the public domain, this is commentary about the government ...
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! I am curious about what this has to do with setting the agenda for the year ahead. It seems the member for Barkly is keen to get back into the gutter rather than talk about the agenda for the year ahead. He is straying wide of the topic.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fong Lim. Member for Barkly, We are only a few minutes into your 20-minute reply. I am sure you are developing your argument, but could you get back to the subject please.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I know how it must hurt and how embarrassed you must be. We have an opportunity next Tuesday to remove the Chief Minister. You guys will not lose government but you will remove the Chief Minister. He needs to go and nine of you agree with that. We heard the member for Port Darwin, one of the hardest working members of the government, give his litany of achievements. The member for Katherine was ready to step up to the post. You need to get rid of this guy because he is bringing us down.
I will get to the point of the statement, turning over a new leaf and what he will do for the Territory. Because this lengthy statement was delivered at the last minute I will add a preamble to it. It starts with the CLP government chaos and dysfunction continuing, with the 14th Cabinet reshuffle in just two-and-a-half years. Cabinet represents executive government, the most important decision-making authority; however, since August 2012 the CLP lauds two Chief Ministers, five Deputy Chief Ministers, five Treasurers, three Police ministers, five Education ministers …
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! Whilst the member for Barkly might find this entertaining, the Chief Minister did not have a preamble to his speech. Whilst the member for Barkly might want to add something and talk to that, this is about setting the agenda for the future of the Northern Territory. I ask you to again remind him to get back to the subject at hand.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fong Lim.
Member for Barkly, there is a question on relevance. Remain within the bounds of the statement please.
Mr McCARTHY: Mr Deputy Speaker, before I was so rudely interrupted … three Police ministers, five Education ministers, five Housing ministers, six Business ministers and six Sport ministers. Member for Fong Lim, let us refer to Hon Shane Stone, one of the founding fathers of the CLP, who basically sent a clear message to this Chief Minister. The national press reported Shane Stone as saying the NT government was languishing after time-wasting bickering and the CLP has established no clear agenda during its first 18 months in power …
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker! I know it is difficult for the opposition to look at the year and the agenda ahead and would rather dwell in the past and roll in the mud. I remind the member for Barkly this is about setting the agenda for the year ahead, not harking back to the days of Shane Stone or adding preambles to the statement. Let us look forward, member for Barkly. Let us talk about the agenda for the year ahead. Mr Deputy Speaker, perhaps he should be reminded again.
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Fong Lim. Member for Barkly, you have been shown some latitude in the first few minutes of your response to the ministerial statement. I ask you to remain relevant, please.
Mr McCARTHY: I will start with something I am passionate about, having devoted over 30 years – more than half my life – to building education in the Northern Territory.
The Chief Minister was very light on in his promises, so let us hark back to what he can redo. Let us face it, the first two-and-a-half years have been a disaster in education. Let us talk about the promises the CLP made to improve education outcomes in the bush. What has been delivered in two-and-a-half years? An Indigenous education review.
However, we have lost 185 teaching positions. We had a global school budget policy implemented which was $23m short in funding. That was revised by the new minister – one of the revolving doors of ministers who was then sacked. The Chief Minister did not put on the record that he would be reinstating 185 teaching positions, that the $23m originally short in the global school budget policy from the CLP will be honoured, and the CLP will look to the regional remote schools that have shared local jobs. When this debacle was rolling out principals had no alternative but to look at who they could afford in their global school budget. Unfortunately, in my travels throughout a number of electorates, the message was they would lose school support positions. This relates to local jobs.
The Chief Minister, in his new leaf statement, says he is all about jobs. Unfortunately, there has been much damage done in two-and-a-half years in the bush and it needs to be addressed. Chief Minister, there was no message or commitment in that lengthy statement. It was, once again, ‘just trust me’ promises.
He put figures towards boarding facilities. Chief Minister, look at the response from your government to the people of Mt Liebig community. They have great concerns about your policy of bussing or flying kids to boarding schools with no opportunity for those kids in remote communities. They will not survive the experience you are mandating when you say you will listen to Territorians, and will make things simpler and life safer and better.
Go to the response to the petition. That is one tiny community in Central Australia desperate to get a message to you. They want you to listen. Drop the rhetoric with your new leaf and all your promises and go back to what we need to do to address some of the issues over the past two-and-a-half years. There was no mention of the boarding school facility at Borroloola in your statement. However, you have seriously dropped off any commitments or promises to Borroloola, and the community is asking serious questions. No doubt the next statement will deal with that.
When we talk about health, the Chief Minister lauds his relationship with Canberra and the Liberals. At the last estimates we saw $33m in cuts to the Northern Territory health budget from the Abbott Liberal government. The member for Araluen, who was Health minister, worked with incredible public servants from the Health department and clawed that back to an $11m cut to Northern Territory health services by the Liberals in Canberra. We have not heard what the Chief Minister has done about that. We have not heard how the Chief Minister will champion the cause of health outcomes for people in town and in the bush. He could start by announcing it is not good enough from his Liberal mates in Canberra and he will do something about it.
We have seen the report card of two-and-a-half years – Palmerston hospital delayed, added months to elective surgery and we have bed block at RDH and regional hospitals. Once again the Chief Minister trotted out in his new book that they delivered an accident and emergency ward at Tennant Creek Hospital with a GP clinic. That was done under Labor, and I was the only guy not invited to the opening. I will not dwell on that, but the regional hospitals, including Nhulunbuy, which got nothing – it was on the program for an upgrade to its accident and emergency ward – $13m servicing the northeast Arnhem region – but received nothing.
There you go, Chief Minister. If you want to turn over a new leaf let us see some reparation into the regional areas not only to deliver health outcomes, but also to deliver regional economic development in the bush.
Looking at health outcomes, Canteen Creek and Elliott clinics did not get a mention this morning but are back on the infrastructure program after a two-and-a-half year delay. They would have been constructed by now, but were taken off the program on the advice of the old boys from the Renewal Management Board who were paid $1m. They fell off the program, have finally been reinstated but are simply rhetoric. I challenge the Chief Minister, with his new promises, to get serious about this.
I know work is being done in the department and I will tail this. Unfortunately, after two-and-a-half years of delay, you no doubt have incurred considerable increases in the construction costs on CPI alone. Under CLP economic management we have seen CPI balloon out to nearly 4%. We are really talking about a considerable increase in the construction budget. We have talked about serious delays which relate to health outcomes of regional and remote people in Elliott and Canteen Creek who are still waiting.
Chief Minister, we need to talk about the past because there is a litany of failures you need to address which were not in this lengthy statement. It is, once again, all about the Chief Minister and his high-level ideas and thinking.
While we are on the subject the Canteen Creek airstrip, which was funded and should have been constructed, has had a two-and-a-half year delay. So many efficiencies around delivering these infrastructure projects were synchronised in delivering better economic outcomes and more jobs, improved regional economic development, and the real outcomes around health and transport have been lost. Of course it is lost when you see in the last CLP budget a $98m reduction in the infrastructure program.
The Chief Minister continues to talk about spruiking housing and spoke about incentives to get Territorians into housing. However, what we have seen in Treasury reports in the housing area is a $30m saving in changes to the first homeowner scheme. You can rack that up and tell everybody what great economic managers you are, but $30m has disadvantaged young Territorians getting into their first home. That simple policy move has saved a lot of cash but has left people with no opportunity to get into their first home. We will continue to challenge this policy because we want young people to get into their own home.
Low income earners are another category. We have to look at social and affordable housing, and the Chief Minister mentioned 2000 new rental homes but the last Housing minister, the member for Greatorex, said last year out of 2000 only 246 had been delivered. I did not aggregate the figures as the Chief Minister was talking, but 246 after two-and-a-half years with a target of 2000 – a lot of work has to be done. This is supporting a major sector in our Northern Territory community – low income earners.
Once again, the policy seems to be more about talk than delivery, and in the regions people are extremely concerned about housing. What we have in Territory Housing stock in the regions – the CLP government has been making money from the sale of Territory Housing stock – $3.7m public housing stock from the Department of Housing 2013-14.
The Chief Minister lauds the statement of people owning their own home, a great thing. The opposition supports that, but as a policy outcome you have to be careful when you see that sale of stock and the waiting lists to get into public housing increase, particularly in the regional centres. Chief Minister, a lot of work needs to be done there.
I was disappointed recently to see a Sky News story with Senator Nigel Scullion standing in the middle of Garawa 1, a community living area in Borroloola on the east side of the McArthur River. Senator Nigel Scullion was showing empathy with the constituents about the overcrowded housing and was demanding something be done. I challenged Senator Nigel Scullion, as did the member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, when we discovered there had been a $7m cut to the NPARIH budget. Also, the construction time frame for 25 new houses and 75 refurbishments had been pushed out to 2018. I thought, how dare a Liberal senator for the Northern Territory show empathy when it happened through his own actions.
We challenged that and he responded with, ‘No, you have it all wrong. I handed all the cash and the responsibility to the Chief Minister, the member for Braitling, Adam Giles. He has control.’ The people from Borroloola were pushed sideways. Senator Nigel Scullion exposed what had been happening; the money has been given to the Northern Territory government and it had not delivered.
There has been a lot of pressure on housing in Elliott. I thank the previous minister for Lands and Planning, who was inclusive and kept me in the loop about the work the Labor government had done. To his credit this was continued by the CLP minister, the member for Brennan – normalising the land use principles of Elliott and incorporating both the special purpose lease at the south end of Elliott and the outstation, Gurungu, at the north end of Elliott into the town plan. This was the first step in going to the feds to get them onto the NPARIH program – the Indigenous housing infrastructure program – money from the federal government.
I hope the new minister for Lands and Planning will continue the good work of the previous minister, the member for Brennan. We need a serious look at the books to see what is there for new Indigenous housing in Elliott because Senator Nigel Scullion has put the emphasis fair and square on the CLP government with the Chief Minister, the member for Braitling, Hon Adam Giles, in charge of the funds and that important program. It was good to get some clarity from Liberal to Liberal.
The outstation area was not covered. The Chief Minister did not really elaborate, but I ask that the Homelands Extra Allowance – the $5200 per dwelling for outstations – be looked at seriously because I am moving around three electorates advising people on outstations and homelands that this scheme is available. Nobody from the government is helping. The scheme is available but people do not know about it. You need a fair level of comprehension to complete the forms. People need assistance, and I have asked the minister for Community Services, who is now the Minister for Housing, for help. I received some interesting responses. I thank her for her response that the department is liaising with Aboriginal resource organisations to get support for the outstations ...
Ms WALKER: Mr Deputy Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request an extension of time for the member for Barkly.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker and member for Nhulunbuy, this is so important. This is what is available and what we need. This can translate to good jobs but there is a big breakdown. Since entering into a number of negotiations with outstations and homelands to get this moving, I have discovered a few more that are not even on the program. It is saving by default from this government. If you have committed to this policy, we need more support to make sure the information gets out and people are supported. It is a complicated form; a submission-based process. It is not easy for people who are not familiar with bureaucratic processes. If that is policy it needs to be supported.
Chief Minister, if you really want to help people let us make sure people know about these opportunities. We can then make sure they put their applications in and are supported with the minimum of housing repairs. This all started with me. It did not really start with me; I have lobbied for this for years. It started with the Homelands Extra Scheme and an elderly person wanting to get a door on her bathroom for privacy. Chief Minister, there is an example of making life simpler and safer, and delivering for Territorians.
There is much I could say in the housing area but will not because of time. I will go on to the Chief Minister as the architect of the toxic shire strategy which gave him the result he mentioned in this statement – the bush voted in the CLP government. Enormous promises were made to the bush to secure that vote and there is enormous responsibility. The Chief Minister has exhausted two-and-a-half years of infighting, backstabbing, dysfunction and instability. He now turns over a new leaf with a lengthy statement that he will be a good guy, will consult and will get this government back on the road.
From the body language in Question Time today I am not so sure about that. I reckon you guys should think seriously about getting rid of him, and that opportunity is next Tuesday. You will not lose government. You need new leaders and real credibility. The only way to do it is get rid of that guy. He is still in charge. You looked like a happy bunch of campers during Question Time today.
We will go to local government because the Chief Minister has made major announcements but done little in the pragmatic changes on the ground. We have an issue with the new West Daly Regional Council needing $5m in top up just for sustainability. We had extensive debate in this place. The member for Nelson put the opportunity of a boundary commission. We said, ‘Put the brakes on, look at this and do real economic modelling and analysis around this’. No, you went ahead. The Chief Minister led it. You created the West Daly Regional Council and now some serious issues have emerged and it needs support.
The Chief Minister, with his new approach to consultation and helping people, no doubt will support the new West Daly Regional Council. The disadvantage for the original Victoria Daly Council has been enormous. Just before Christmas the Victoria Daly Council had to shed 23 jobs. Once again these are mostly local jobs. These people wanted to get up and get to work, feel good about themselves and be proud mentors of their family and their community. Twenty-three jobs went. That simple change in boundaries and creation of a new council has caused a huge imbalance. The Chief Minister needs to sort that out as soon as possible.
However, in the broader perspective, our Chief Minister, the champion of the Abbott government in Canberra, needs to get to Canberra and fight for the federal financial assistance grants to local government and regional councils. It is important. Everybody in the sector is talking about it. These are important grant programs; they cannot do without them. Canberra is scrapping these financial assistance grant programs. This will be extremely detrimental to the financial sustainability as well as the new projects and programs regional councils want to initiate.
In regard to the cost of living, the Chief Minister is very creative with the figures. It is interesting to read what Treasury produces then hear it spoken about in parliament. There are major shifts across pages of figures in an attempt to tell the good story. Essentially, it is simple economics: go in hard after a big tax grab. That is exactly what you have done. After two-and-a-half years we start to see figures for 2013-14 of $81.8m in tax hikes.
That is a policy, a strategy, but families are hurting. When you pay a lot more for your basic cost of living then add 30% for power, 40% for water and 25% for sewerage you start putting serious pressure on Territory families. Many of the families I represent are on fixed incomes, so it really bites when you have price increases in power cards, car rego and food. Some interesting statistics were issued today on Territory residents in regional and remote areas paying 50% more for food than people in major centres. With the Abbott Liberal government indexation of fuel seeing increases twice a year, people will be in pain.
Chief Minister, I will give you an example of people you need to help. I was talking to people in business on the main street of Tennant Creek – people in the hospitality business. There is a downturn in people visiting restaurants or buying sandwiches for lunch from cafs because consumer confidence has been crushed. In addition, in a town like Tennant Creek with many public servants, people are worried about their jobs because they have seen the severe cuts to public sector jobs. People are nervous and it is having a macro effect on the business economy, which is creating a downturn. That is a micro example of this policy.
The Leader of the Opposition has already issued a policy position that Labor will conduct immediately. If you really want to look after and support people, you might want to pick up on some of the ideas because people are hurting, particularly people in the bush.
I try to empathise with people. As an ex-school teacher after a big holiday the credit card was maxed out, I had to get the kids back to school and I had the biggest power, water and sewerage bill of the year. I would load that onto the credit card and work it out over six months. I was struggling. That is the way I did it, and that meant we were not able to dine out or invest in entertainment for the first couple of months until we got the family back on its feet. That was a few years ago, and now we are talking about massive increases and massive hikes across the policy area of the CLP.
We are talking about cutting construction budgets, the lifeblood of regional and remote areas. This is a high-taxing government with cuts to public service jobs, crushing consumer confidence, and we now see contracts going to interstate companies.
The Chief Minister talked about land release. I have received a lot of complaints in the last few days. The small industrial subdivision to be created in Tennant Creek – I applaud that, it was under our planning – has been given to an interstate company. We do not understand that. Local business people go to restaurants and buy sandwiches, and I am getting more and more complaints about interstate contracts under this CLP government ...
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Barkly, thank you. Your time has expired.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Deputy Chief Minister): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on the Country Liberal government’s direction for 2015-16. As Deputy Chief Minister, I make a commitment to Territorians that I fully support our Chief Minister and all the work this government is doing to further advance the interests of Territorians. We are getting on with the business of governing and doing what is best for Territorians. Our focus is firmly where it should be: on the needs of Territorians.
The Country Liberals is a united team and its goal is to ensure a prosperous future for current and future Territorians. On this side of the House we are focusing on making people’s lives simpler, safer and easier by delivering good governance, sensible policy and sound economic choices. We are working hard to remind Territorians why they put their trust and confidence in us in 2012, and why the Labor Party was so unceremoniously swept from power at that time. We are communicating better and working with Territorians in our decision-making. We are listening to Territorians.
The Chief Minister said we are speaking to Territorians directly about their priorities and local solutions. This government has already done a lot of work in turning around the Territory’s economy, but we need to keep our sleeves rolled up and get on with the job without political distraction.
In his statement the Chief Minister said the Country Liberals team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by strengthening the public service. I consider it a privilege to hold the portfolio of Minister for Public Employment. The Northern Territory public service is the Territory’s largest employer. Over 20 000 Territorians are employed in our public service, working hard and diligently to deliver the services and implement the policies of this government. Recently the Chief Minister announced a package of measures designed to make our public service a more attractive place to work. I will not go into detail because the Chief Minister did a very good job of outlining those changes. Over the next 12 months I will be implementing measures to modernise our public service, promote training and staff development and give staff more flexibility in their working lives.
What a courageous and positive announcement by the Chief Minister today about Indigenous employment targets within the public service. Moving from the current frame of 8% up to 16% is worthy and notable.
The Chief Minister also said this government is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by protecting our great Territory lifestyle. I have said many times in this House and elsewhere that recreational fishing is an important part of our lifestyle. It is also a major tourism drawcard and a growing contributor to the Territory’s economy. In regard to achievements designed to grow and enhance our recreational fishing opportunities this government has already landed some big ones.
As Minister for Primary Industry and Fisheries I have worked with my department to do many things, including closing Finke and Chambers Bays to commercial barramundi fishing, establishing the Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee, implementing the Recreational Fishing Development Plan 2012-2022, and establishing a recreational fishing data survey program to better understand recreational fishing patterns in the Territory. We have reached seven agreements with traditional owners around the Territory for ongoing access by fishers to waters affected by the Blue Mud Bay decision. We have implemented a comprehensive safety and recreational fishing education program in conjunction with marine safety, and late last year we removed the seasonal closure for recreational fishing on the Mary River.
Public consultation overwhelmingly supported the notion, and Territorians and visitors have flocked to the Mary River over the past two months in order to land what is well-known as a ‘Shady Lady’. By all reports the fishing at Shady Camp has been world-class.
Not only has the fishing been excellent, but the knock-on effect from all the visitors to the Mary River region has improved the economy of the region. People drive past the Bark Hut Inn, call into places along the way, stay in hotels, buy from the shops and the anecdotal evidence is that the micro-economy of the region has boomed over the last few months. It is a real success story.
As well, the $2.5m project to upgrade two critical barrages on the Mary River near Shady Camp to reduce saltwater intrusion into the wetlands and protect valuable pastoral land was completed last year.
One of the most important issues for fishing is access. This government continues to work hard to achieve win/win outcomes for traditional owners and recreational fishers through the Blue Mud Bay negotiation process. In order to honour the decision made by the High Court of Australia, negotiations are under way with many community leaders to secure outcomes that allow permit free access to as much of the Territory coastline as possible.
The Chief Minister also said in his statement that the team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by creating jobs in the bush. The government recognises that food production will play an important part in our economic future and we have worked hard to develop our agricultural, horticultural and pastoral industries. While I do not agree with the notion we will be the food bowl of the north, we certainly have the opportunity and the potential to become the delicatessen for Asia.
We are clearly focused on addressing industry priorities and removing roadblocks to industry expansion. Since coming to office we have worked hard to reduce red tape. We have increased exports to our Asian neighbours, enabled greater flexibility for land use on pastoral leases and are researching additional available land for use in primary production. All signs indicate the primary industry and fisheries sector in the Northern Territory will continue to grow, and forecasts indicate a total contribution of $610m next financial year predominantly due to predicted increases in the pastoral sector.
The Northern Territory government is also working closely with the Commonwealth government to develop northern Australia through new infrastructure and new economic activity, particularly through the portfolio sectors I have responsibility for.
A key aspect of northern Australian development is increasing agricultural development and opportunities emerging for investment in the agribusiness sector. Currently my Department of Land Resource Management is actively looking to identify and map soils across the Northern Territory that can be used for more intensive agriculture and horticulture. These projects aim to provide the required land and water information for pastoralists and other landholders to further develop agricultural and horticultural enterprises. The department has also started an investigative bore drilling program to identify new agricultural precincts in areas around Ali Curung, between Mataranka and Larrimah and also around Ngukurr.
This government values our food production industries, in particular our pastoral industry, and we are committed to ensuring its growth and success. Increased live cattle exports, in conjunction with changes to the Pastoral Land Act which allow diversification on pastoral land use, are expected to encourage more mixed farming, especially broadacre cropping over the next few years.
Notwithstanding the announcement by the Chief Minister earlier about Seafarms, one of the most exciting non-pastoral use projects under way is the cultivation of poppies on Tipperary Station for the pharmaceutical industry. Other non-pastoral use applications current being assessed are for tourism, horticulture, forestry and broad scale agricultural activities.
This week, as the Chief Minister mentioned earlier, there was a major media announcement on plans to establish the world’s largest prawn farm on Legune Station near the Western Australia border. The proposed farm, known as Project Sea Dragon, will see development of up to 10 000 ha which is expected to produce over 100 000 tonnes of black tiger prawns every year, and employ 1600 full-time staff at its operations on the land and in various cities.
This is an exciting time to be working on the land and involved with the primary industry sector, especially since this government supports our primary sector so well. We work hard with landholders to give them the best possible opportunities.
Since amending the Pastoral Land Act in 2014 to allow increased diversification on the pastoral estate, the Pastoral Land Board is considering non-pastoral use permits for tourism activities in Central Australia, VRD and the Roper regions, and the cultivation of onions in Central Australia. It is the job of the Pastoral Land Board to ensure the health, economic viability and sustainability of the Northern Territory’s pastoral lands in order for our pastoral industry to thrive.
For many years under the previous Labor government, the Pastoral Land Board did not have the funding or resources to undertake its duties in monitoring our pastoral estate – shame. However, the Country Liberals government recognises the importance of the pastoral industry and the valuable work performed by this board, and has provided the necessary funding to allow the Pastoral Land Board to do its job. In turn, this has supported the pastoral industry through provision of extension services with regard to pastoral land clearing applications, non-pastoral use applications, property inspections and reporting, and more frequent property visits and infrastructure upgrades.
The Chief Minister also mentioned how the Country Liberals team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by promoting international trade. The Northern Territory cattle industry had a bumper year for live cattle sales in 2014, and export numbers through the Darwin port set a new record surpassing the previous high of 364 944 head in 2008. The success is a result of the incredibly hard work of the cattle industry in conjunction with this government to restore and grow the markets for Territory beef.
The Country Liberals government, in conjunction with industry associations, has worked hard to rebuild the live cattle trade with Indonesia and establish new long-term markets for Territory cattle and buffalo in other Southeast Asian countries – something the former Labor government did not do.
The trade relationship between the Northern Territory and Indonesia has grown stronger, which is an indication of the solid foundation that existed between these two governments dating back to the 1980s, but sadly let slip by the former Labor government. Indonesia recently elected a new government and it is recognised there will be a settling in period while new ministers get across their portfolios.
Earlier this month I had the honour of meeting with the Indonesian Consul to the Northern Territory, and together we agreed on ongoing areas of cooperation regarding trade between our governments. It is my intention – once the ministry is settled in Indonesia – to visit Jakarta and meet with my counterpart in the Indonesian government so we can continue to rebuild the relationship between the Northern Territory and Indonesia.
Our role as a government is vital in ensuring the northern cattle industry continues to thrive and it is my intention, as Deputy Chief Minister, to work hard to bring certainty to the NT cattle industry and our trading partners.
There is a unique opportunity for the Northern Territory to capitalise on the rapidly increasing demand for quality food in the Asia-Pacific region. New trade relationships with Vietnam and now Cambodia have seen our markets for live cattle increase. The Northern Territory government-led trade missions that helped secure these new trading partners will continue.
Regular visits to our trading partners deliver the assurance and respect required to ensure long term and successful partnerships. Only personal visits allow for relationships to form with our trading partners and they are critical to the trust that can be engendered between our two jurisdictions.
Currently the Northern Territory is the largest supplier of live cattle and buffalo to Southeast Asia and this government is determined to see this continue. Negotiations are under way to expand Australian cattle exports into Vietnam and Cambodia, Thailand is on the list as well, while China in particular stands as a market of significant growth potential once a number of import hurdles have been overcome.
Indonesia remains our largest export market with about 251 000 head of NT cattle exported in 2014, increasing from approximately 244 000 head of cattle in 2013. These are in the years after the recovery of the live cattle trade.
My Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries is also working to strengthen the links into eastern Indonesia and is now exploring opportunities for collaboration in Kalimantan. That is what forming relationships is about. It is about doing the hard yards and putting your feet on the ground to help your trading partners – partnering with them to improve their capability and capacity.
In 2013 this government established a Live Animal Export Development Unit within my Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries. This unit works closely with the NT Cattlemen’s Association and the NT Livestock Exporters Association on a strategic and targeted approach to market development. As well, my department works in partnership with Meat & Livestock Australia and the Department of Business to promote the live export trade and assist importers of NT cattle.
The challenge in the next few years will be determining how to produce the number of cattle the growing markets to our north will require. A number of Northern Territory cattle stations have ambitious development plans and my department is assisting leaseholders to help them expand.
I would like to see the NT herd increase by at least 50% over the next 10 years. However, this government recognises the upgrades needed to existing infrastructure to support the breeding and transportation of another million head will be significant. It is a challenge I throw down and am, on behalf of the government, willing to accept as well.
Imagine what the economy of the Northern Territory, particularly in the pastoral industry, would look like if our herd increases from two million to three million head, that our turn off increases from 600 000 head a year to 900 000, even close to a million. That will make a huge difference to the pastoral sector and the general economy of the Northern Territory.
The infrastructure I am talking about includes upgrading or building additional roads, holding yards and port facilities – all pretty huge projects that cannot and will not happen overnight. There is no doubt the demand for Territory cattle is rising and beef prices are set to continue a steady increase. A few people have said, and I join in the chorus, it is a good time to be in beef.
It is important that industry and government work hand in hand to ensure we have the relevant infrastructure and cattle numbers in place to meet these demands. The opening last year of AACos Darwin meat processing facility presented the first opportunity in many years for Top End producers to market fat cattle.
After many years with few market options there has been a surge of interest in buffalo, particularly for export to Vietnam. Programs to assist the farmed buffalo sector and take sustainable harvest from the Arnhem Land herds are being planned. In 2014, 5055 buffalo were exported through Darwin, up from a total of 800 in 2013.
I will move to a completely different topic and something a little closer to home from me. The Chief Minister said in his statement that our team is working to deliver a better future for Territorians by keeping us all safe. As the local member for Katherine, I applaud and welcome the Country Liberals initiative to establish temporary beat locations outside takeaway outlets in Katherine. At this stage it is just a six-month trial, but I will be having discussions with the Police minister about how the trial can turn into something more sustainable and full time ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I seek an extension of time for the member to complete his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Port Darwin.
At this stage it is just a six-month trial, but statistics already show the drastic measure is effectively reducing alcohol-fuelled violence and antisocial behaviour. Temporary beat locations have already proved successful in Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. In these towns levels of alcohol-related crime have plummeted since temporary beat locations began in early 2014 ...
Mr Elferink: They will get rid of them. The Labor Party will get rid of them.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: That would be the sad part. I pick up on the interjection from the member for Port Darwin. You would almost call them draconian measures, certainly drastic, but we know the Labor Party would get rid of them if ever back in government ...
Mr Elferink: They just announced it. The Leader of the Opposition announced it.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: That would be a sad day for the Territory given how successful TBLs have been.
By employing this highly visible preventative approach at the town’s main takeaway grog outlets assaults and other acts of violence have been reduced. In fact, anecdotally ambulance work has been cut by about 50%, hospital presentations down by about 50% and the work of police has completely changed. Albeit there are police posted at these outlets; it allows other officers to get out and do what they are paid for – police my town, do some proactive work, investigate things, talk to people on the street, chat with shop owners and do all the things they did not have time to previously because they were too busy picking up drunks. The face of the town has changed remarkably and you could notice it from day one. That is how successful these TBLs are. Impressive results are being delivered by our hard-working police, but we still recognise antisocial behaviour is a major issue in the centre of all our towns and work needs to continue to make sure we stay on top of it.
These things are about preventing the public drunkenness which so often leads to criminal offending. It is also about protecting the women and children of Katherine, who are too often the victims of violence flowing from alcohol abuse.
The Chief Minister’s statement also mentioned cutting the cost of living for Territorians by releasing more land. The Country Liberals government has worked hard to overcome the drastic shortage of land release under Labor and has responded to local demand for housing by fast-tracking and releasing suitable land in townships across the Territory.
In my electorate of Katherine, stage one of a new subdivision in Katherine East has been awarded to local company Downes Graderways. Construction and sales are planned to commence this year, and it is expected over 100 lots and more than 200 dwellings will be available.
The Country Liberals has, since coming to government in 2012, made huge progress in making the Territory a better place to live, work and play. It is a better place to raise a family, own a business, go to school, get a job and have a holiday as a result of the policy direction this government has taken since being elected in 2012.
Although the Chief Minister’s statement is about setting the agenda for the year ahead, I look backward and use what has occurred over the past two-and-a-half years under this government as a demonstration of what people of the Territory can look forward to: better living conditions, more jobs and more opportunities. That is what we are about but we are not resting on our laurels. Our sleeves are rolled up and we are working hard to make the Territory the best place in Australia to live, although it really is and we just have to keep it that way.
I support the Chief Minister’s statement on setting this government’s agenda for the year ahead.
Mr CHANDLER (Police, Fire and Emergency Services): Madam Speaker, I am proud to be part of a government that has a plan in progress to advance the Northern Territory. We are committed to placing community best interests in the centre of all decision-making. This Country Liberals government is establishing a framework for the Northern Territory’s future which recognises opportunities and delivers the best outcomes for all Territorians no matter where they live. The Chief Minister said we will make life simpler, easier and safer.
The Chief Minister referenced the tremendous achievements of this government and I am proud of the role I played, and continue to play, in those achievements. What has happened over the last few weeks gives you the opportunity to take stock and look at what has been achieved. Often governments are accused of doing things slowly. I am not just talking about the Northern Territory, but governments around the world are often accused of being slow to act and slow to introduce change.
With a change of ministry you have the opportunity to look back on achievements over the last two-and-a-half years. It is only then you get the chance to take stock and see what a change there has been. So many things have changed for the better and so many things achieved which make the Northern Territory a better place to live. Whilst there might be a lot of rhetoric from time to time, it is based on ideology not stats, not the real difference occurring in the lives of Territorians whether they are in business, on welfare or live in the city or the bush.
I repeat the Chief Minister’s pledge to Territorians: the government will work with you. That means speaking to Territorians about their priorities and local solutions. For a long time this government has spoken about the big picture, as did the previous Labor government. They talked about INPEX all the time and how that big opportunity would change things for the better. In the main that is correct; it has. They spoke about the big end of town. This government could be guilty of the same thing; we continually talk about the big things and big opportunities for the Territory, including the debt levels this government was left to deal with.
Let us touch on that for a minute. What do mums and dads really care about? It is what is happening in their streets, their schools and that they have access to good quality government services. They are not interested in hearing government talk about debt, we know that. They are not interested in us talking about INPEX and other big opportunities that exist in the Northern Territory. Let us face it, for many it is white noise. Even as part of a government listening to some of the things we talk about it is white noise.
This government recognises mums and dads expect us to do those things anyway but not brag about it. Do not constantly talk about the big picture items because for many it is white noise. Let us talk about what can make a difference to the lives of Territorians. Many things have been introduced in the last two-and-a-half years by the Country Liberals government.
Minister Tollner suggested to me earlier today after all the hoo-hah that we should look at what has been achieved. What an amazing feat to have had the hoo-hah and still deliver what this government has over the last two-and-a-half years.
As the Chief Minister said, we cannot lose sight of the fact people are more interested in the state of their kid’s classroom than a Moody’s rating. Our economy is going from strength to strength but we need to work on explaining this to Territorians. We need to explain to the mums and dads in Moulden, Bakewell or and anywhere else what this means to job opportunities for Territorians. When the Country Liberals were elected in 2012 we promised we would make the Territory a better place for everyone. We have a renewed vigour to do that and the obligation is on this government to demonstrate it to Territorians.
What do we have to do differently? We need the same work ethic. We could be accused of having our heads in the sand and our bums up, working hard to change the lives of Territorians. We need to get the messaging right – how to articulate to the mums and dads of the Territory why the government does things and how they will benefit from the actions of this government.
I am no longer minister for Lands and Planning, but we have made a real difference in that area for Territorians. When we came to government land prices in Palmerston were touching $300 000. Today, through changes to policy and contracts, they are between $160 000 and $180 000. That, in itself, is an amazing feat. For many people an average block costing $300 000 is out of reach. How can you afford a mortgage if you are paying $300 000 for a block of land and another $300 000 to $400 000 for a home? To introduce policies and contracts where price points were between $160 000 and $180 000 is real change. It has and will continue to make a difference for Territorians.
People might argue we have changed the planning scheme to allow for smaller blocks and that unit development is happening at a rapid rate. When you have countless families knocking on your door, as a responsible minister you look for easy ways for them to get out of the rent cycle and into their own property. What we have achieved in the last few years is amazing. Yes, land sizes are different than they were a few years ago, but this is about choice. It provides people with choice and, for many, the opportunity to get into their own property for the first time.
This government is releasing land at record rates. Timely release of land is critical to lowering the cost of living and making housing more affordable. Since May 2013 we have released land to accommodate approximately 5500 new homes across the Territory. As part of Budget 2014-15, the Territory government is bringing on land release programs which will deliver a further 6500 dwellings over the next decade. The Northern Territory government has also identified over 70 infill development sites for land release across the Territory, with a potential yield of around 2700 dwellings. In Palmerston we are two to three years ahead of the previous Labor government’s schedule because this government realised we were behind the eight ball. We had to punch through that wave and release land faster than previously.
My colleague, minister Tollner, will no doubt expand on these achievements. I will selfishly focus on the great city of Palmerston. The final stages of Bellamack and Johnston are complete and the focus for greenfield land release is Zuccoli. Stage one of Zuccoli is progressing as scheduled. Stage two achieved its first titles in November 2014 and homes are nearing completion. The second stage of stage two is currently being pre-sold and showing solid sales rates. The development rights for stages three and four have been awarded and the developer is now finalising design and seeking approvals. The first 179 lot sub-stage is expected to go on pre-sale in April 2015, with titles to be achieved by the end of this year. The Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment is finalising the award of Zuccoli stage five, which will also deliver lots to Territorians in 2015.
I pay tribute to the former chief executive, John Coleman, and his team for their can-do attitude whilst I held the reins of Lands and Planning. They did an amazing job. The culture there is certainly can-do. It is amazing what a group of specialist operators have achieved in the last two-and-a-half years. In the four years I was in opposition and living in Palmerston I saw nothing happen out there.
You only have to visit Palmerston today and look at the – there are cranes on the skyline. A new $55m hotel is being built next to a new complex that could touch close to $300m by the time it is finished.
Plans are well under way for the new $150m Palmerston Regional Hospital. The Gateway Shopping Centre – $300m worth of shopping centre. New schools are planned for and construction will start within the next 12 months.
There is about $1bn worth of infrastructure, both government and private, either commenced or about to commence in Palmerston – a satellite city of 30 000 people having over $1bn worth of construction occurring or about to commence. That is amazing and this government is accused of doing nothing – quite unbelievable.
Palmerston is going from strength to strength. My colleagues, the members for Drysdale and Blain, and I look forward to a bright and exciting future for the residents of Palmerston.
I will go to childcare services and the increased funding this government has provided. On 12 December 2014 the Northern Territory government signed an extended National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education for the period 1 January 2015 to 30 June 2016 covering service delivery for the 2015 calendar year.
The agreement increased the Northern Territory standard provision to 480 hours per year, 12 hours a week 40 weeks a year and enabled extended access for more remote communities through multilevel classes and mobile preschool programs.
Under the National Partnership Agreement for Universal Access to Early Childhood Education 2009 to 2014, preschools in the Northern Territory have been working towards providing access to a quality early childhood education program delivered by a degree qualified early childhood teacher for children the year before full-time schooling. The emphasis is on Indigenous children and children from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds for 600 hours per year, which is 15 hours a week 40 weeks a year.
In 2015 the scope of the National Partnership Agreement on Early Childhood Education has been expanded to include support for all preschool participation regardless of whether preschool programs are delivered through the schools – non-government and government – stand-alone preschools or long daycare centres.
The Report on Government Services released on 6 February 2015 showed the Northern Territory has lower approved long daycare service costs than nationally, lower preschool costs after subsidies, a higher proportion of qualified workers delivering preschool programs than nationally, the highest state or territory government expenditure of any jurisdiction per child attending approved childcare services, the highest rate of state or territory government spending on early childhood education and childcare, and lower out of pocket costs for long daycare services than nationally. That is not too bad compared to the national averages. If you listened to the other side you would think we were a horrible government doing wrong in so many areas. When you break down the statistics and see what is happening, it is quite different.
During 2014 four remote family centres were constructed at Gunbalanya, Maningrida, Ngukurr, Yuendumu and one provisional child and family centre at Palmerston. When I took over Education a little over 18 months ago the first time, I discovered we were about three-and-a-half years into a five-year agreement where the federal government wanted to fund five childcare centres. For three-and-a-half years the previous Labor government had failed to take advantage of this federal money to build five childcare centres. With 18 months to run on the agreement we made a bold decision to build all five childcare centres. Some warned against it saying it could not be achieved and we would be left to foot the bill; we would not meet the agreement.
All five of those centres have been built with the help of an active Northern Territory government and the departments involved. Congratulations. You pulled off building five childcare centres that could easily have been built had the previous government taken advantage of the agreement with the federal government. They sat on their hands, yet we achieved that in an 18-month period – new childcare centres at Gunbalunya, Maningrida, Ngukurr, Yuendumu and Palmerston.
I will continue with education as I am so excited to pick up that portfolio again. So much work commenced and it will be nice to see much of it completed in the next 18 months.
The Indigenous education review, a 10-year Indigenous education strategy, makes this government stand out compared to the previous Labor government.
An Indigenous education review had not been undertaken for decades. From that we have a detailed strategy covering the next 10 years, not a 12-month pilot program or something that will start today and finish tomorrow. It is a 10-year strategy to give certainty to the direction we are taking in education. It will give certainly to parents, the wider community and our hard-working teachers about this government’s focus on education for the next 10 years. That was a miserable failure of the previous government, which went from one failed strategy to the next.
Everyone is looking for that silver bullet, I get that. In the first few months I had this portfolio I struggled because I was listening to experts and everyone around me who had far more experience in education than me. I was worried that if these guys did not have this perfected what hope did I have, with little experience in the area. How could I fix some of the huge problems we had in delivering quality education in the Northern Territory, particularly in remote areas.
It was not until I took that trip to north Queensland and met Noel Pearson that I found someone I instantly – do not take this the wrong way – fell in love with because of his passion for education and for taking a child from a remote community and exposing them to an education which provides endless opportunities. We have not been able to deliver that in the Northern Territory.
When you see children learning at 1.5 the average rate, when you see engaged children in classroom after classroom – I cried tears of joy at the hotel that night because for the first time I had seen something I thought had real opportunity for the Northern Territory. I came back to the Northern Territory excited about what I had seen but I needed to influence people to move the ship a few degrees to the right. I saw the value of that product and the difference it could make for Indigenous kids in the bush. I knew it was the right thing to do and something I will work hard to deliver.
It is too important. Indigenous kids have every right, like kids in our urban centres – whether it is Sydney or Melbourne- to a decent education. I would be damned as a minister if I did not try my best to find a product to do just that. I believe we are onto it and will continue to focus heavily in that area.
Global school budgets and independent public schools are fantastic opportunities for schools where, instead of having central control at the Mitchell Centre, decisions are being made at the school level. I guarantee you, sooner rather than later no school will want to go back ...
Mr HIGGINS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I seek an extension of time for the member.
Motion agreed to.
Mr CHANDLER: I look forward to working with those schools into the future. I knew there would be wrinkles going from a complex budgeting system under the previous funding model to a more robust and streamlined system being introduced with global budgeting. Nobody expected to get out of this without appropriately funding the schools. When I handed the budget to the new minister, minister Lambley, that was approved and additional money was found to put into the schools.
The first independent public schools are Braitling Primary School, Darwin High School, Larrakeyah Primary School, Leanyer Primary School, Palmerston Senior College and Wulagi Primary School. A few more applied, but at the time it was considered these schools had the capability, local support and vision to transit from a public system into the more independent model proposed...
Mr Wood: You did not give them enough money.
Mr CHANDLER: That is not quite correct, member for Nelson. I look forward to the next round later this year as a number of schools were so tempted to apply to become independent public schools. Some took the precautionary approach and will see how the bold schools – the ones that took the challenge on – develop over the next 12 months. I guarantee a number of schools will put their hands up because they recognise the advantages of going down this path.
Watch this space, member for Nelson …
Mr Wood: I will.
Mr CHANDLER: … and I look forward to working with the next group of schools that want to take on the independent process.
One of the biggest things I have tried to influence this government – every member on this side of the House knows a government needs to put more into special needs. Probably no one on the Labor side, or the Independents, would argue against that. I am proud this government has approved building of a new Henbury School and a special needs school in Palmerston. Cabinet ministers approved funding those programs to ensure we provide the best special needs education for our children into the future.
I look forward to seeing a new Henbury School provide ongoing services for decades to come. Similarly, I look forward to seeing a new school built at Bellamack to provide special needs facilities and resources for children in Palmerston and the rural area. Rural children, member for Nelson, will be quite welcome at the special needs school in Palmerston ...
Mr Wood: I hope so
Mr CHANDLER: NTOEC, a jointly funded initiative of this government and our good friends INPEX, will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the first time. It will not be filling an old building with modern equipment; we will build the services we need. The $11.6m this government is investing in NTOEC is something Territorians will no doubt be proud of in the future. Co-locating it with Darwin High School is a great way to involve another high school because they will all benefit from having it there.
The federally-funded Remote School Attendance Strategy is helping lift attendance figures of students in the bush. When children go to school they have a chance to be educated. One of the interesting things coming out of that strategy – as part of the agreement we had to sign with the federal government – was better ways of recording student attendance, and we are so far ahead of the game in the Northern Territory.
If you talk to minister Christopher Pyne, or any federal bureaucrat trying to get information from perhaps the New South Wales government – they could wait for months for it. The Northern Territory would have the information to them the same day because that is how good our process of recording attendance is.
Interestingly, some of the information will show whilst some remote schools had low attendance rates a lot of it was because children were not in the communities at the time. Attendance rates of children in the communities are, in some cases, well above the 80% mark. If the children are in the community there is a high chance they are attending school.
We acknowledge there is a lot to do in that area. I am hopeful Direct Instruction, and derivatives of it being applied in our remote schools, will engage children to the point they want to go to school.
There is a lot to be done with the Remote School Attendance Strategy. Regional boarding schools, another initiative of this government, will help children access far better education than they could before. A child who attends Darwin High School is exposed to far more opportunities than in a remote school. It is not possible to provide the same level of service in a remote school as in a regional or city school.
The remote boarding school model has $40.5m being spent on it. The first school, which will be built in Nhulunbuy, will provide many school students with access to the quality of education they would get at Nhulunbuy High School compared to more remote schools. The national partnership agreement for remote teacher housing is another great agreement this government has signed with the federal government.
Today the Leader of the Opposition said it would scrap TBLs if Labor came to government. There would be pandemonium if you took TBLs away from Alice Springs, Katherine or Tennant Creek. Nurses have sent messages to say they have never seen a Saturday night at Katherine Hospital so quiet in years. Business people on the main street of Katherine contact us to say they have never seen it so quiet when it comes to antisocial behaviour. That is evidence the program is working. Do we think it is the perfect solution? No, but with policing it is about being a step ahead of the game. For those communities TBLs have provided that step ahead of the game.
There is anecdotal evidence it is causing problems in other areas but, like all good policing operations, you focus on the issue. It is no different to a project focused on antisocial driving – hooning. You might have a program focused on drink-driving, or a special squad put together to focus on break and enters. This is no different. TBLs are just one of the measures police are trying to reduce antisocial behaviour in and around our towns and communities. Has it been successful? Yes. Look at the statistics which show where there has been a real difference.
I could talk all day about the good things this government has done in the last two-and-a-half years. I know, with the Chief Minister’s agenda, what we will achieve in the lead-up to the next election. I commend the statement to the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I would be more prepared had I received this last night. It is a bit rough to have 35 pages of a broad statement about the future goals of the Northern Territory government and to have to try to give a reasonable response to some of the issues.
I understand the government’s reason not to release things until the day they come on, but it does not help. There is consultation with the other side of the House, and if you want a good debate people need time to prepare. If I prepare the night before I can listen to some of the debate, such as the member for Brennan talking about education. I can pick up some of the debate …
Mr Elferink: I will get you on the loop.
Mr WOOD: Thank you.
It is good the government starts off the year with an agenda. This is its focus, and probably a good document for me to refer to half way through the year to see if it is doing the things it said.
There are many things in the statement. There is no way, in the time I had, for serious analysis of whether the government is on the right path or whether what it says is real or not.
The member for Brennan mentioned the new independent school model and how a number of schools have joined up. I congratulate the government for that, but schools in my area – Madam Speaker would be the same – I believe the problem was insufficient money to cover some of the costs for this year and that is why they were reluctant to join up.
I understand money was allocated when the new minister took over the job. That signified there had been a shortage of money for schools that wanted to join and the issue these schools had …
Mr Chandler: We recognised that.
Mr WOOD: I am glad you did, but a lot of the pain was that schools felt the shortage of money was not recognised by the government. However, credit where it is due, the government has said it will allocate more money to that area and I welcome that. I will not harp on it, but from discussions with schools and some fairly vigorous discussions with certain school councils the right outcome was achieved. I thank schools that ensured they were not shortchanged if they moved to an independent school model.
There is a section on keeping Territorians safe. The government sometimes forgets it is not all about pubs or domestic violence. I receive a lot of complaints about misuse of vehicles, especially off-road vehicles hooning at night. Some time ago I asked the Chief Minister to look at CCTV cameras.
Palmerston Boat Ramp is getting CCTV cameras. I asked for CCTV cameras on certain intersections in the rural area and was told it is too expensive and to dob people in. CCTV cameras can be connected to WiFi and mobile phones. Why can the rural area not have some security? We have issues in relation to vehicle misuse …
Mr Chandler: Two mobile units are on the way, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: That is great, but there is a big issue with the use of off-road vehicles where they should not be. I recently received a letter from a gentleman – it was to the local council. I replied explaining that quad bikes are not legal on any road in the Northern Territory. If you want more than that, technically there are not legal on Crown land because they cannot be registered and Crown land is regarded, under the Traffic Act, as part of the road.
That raises the issue of people not being covered by insurance or only partially covered. If you do something illegal – legislation came in last year where you get a reduction in employment benefits if you have been injured, and there may be other reductions in what payments you can get through the MAC Scheme. Some of those matters need to be enforced by government through an education program and by catching these people.
It is not easy, but show the rural area it is not left out when it comes to a safe place for Territorians to live. People should be able to enjoy quad bikes and ATVs. I have written to the Minister for Sport and Recreation. I asked the previous government to look at it. I believe it was in the too hard basket, but there is room in the rural area for a well-designed off-road vehicle park. It would take up a fair area and benefit not only local people who want to use ATVs, but people wanting to train children how to use them safely. You could have competitions to attract people from down south, and it could also have a caravan park where people could enjoy off-road vehicles as a recreation or a competition.
I am happy to work with the Minister for Sport and Recreation and the minister for Lands and Planning to find suitable land. I expect people in the industry, the motor sports association or anybody involved with ATVs to partake in discussions. Getting people to a place where they are safe and not breaking the law is a positive initiative rather than coming down heavy on them. They should not be riding illegally, so if we set up a place where it is legal it would be a positive approach and may reduce the number of people riding up and down roads.
Unfortunately people forget ATVs – from a farm point of view – have more fatalities than any other vehicle in Australia. Last year there were about 17 ATV fatalities. The work health website shows a number of people have been injured by quad bikes.
It brings it home that they are not a vehicle to take lightly. They tip over easily and at least two people have died in the rural area, one on Gunn Point Road and one on Gunn Point beach. The government needs to look at this. If we are talking about keeping Territorians safe some good things could be put into place in the rural area.
Making the lives of Territorians simpler by cutting red tape is interesting and one has to be careful here. There are some good reasons for red tape and there is superfluous red tape. When government talks about cutting red tape it has to make sure it cuts unnecessary red tape, but you do not want to cut all red tape because some is important.
In the port legislation to be introduced – I will not debate the legislation as such, but the port legislation has regulations about all ports not just Darwin port.
I have spoken to a company with a port near Borroloola. They do not know much about this legislation but I understand it will introduce regulations about use of ports. One could argue the government is now bringing in red tape. Whilst it is easy to say cut red tape, we need to be careful we do not use the term just to make business operate better. You need some red tape to make sure the environment is protected, businesses are protected and the community is protected. It sounds good, but you have to make sure the balance is there.
The Chief Minister spoke about the shortage of housing in the Darwin region and the Northern Territory. I remember chastising the Labor Party many years ago when it stopped releasing land. In fact, from memory there was a section of the Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment called the housing section which planned well ahead.
At some stage they thought everything was running smoothly and dropped it. Unfortunately, they then got behind the eight ball and it was extremely difficult to pick it up. I do not support the existing Darwin Regional Land Use Plan for many reasons, but I support the government trying to develop more land for urban housing. Those two things do not work against one another. It is good to say we need more housing, but a good government plans things first and develops second.
I will give you an example. The Chief Minister stated the initial stages of Holtze will be released in 2015 and will provide approximately 1200 new dwellings. Is that putting the cart before the horse? The Darwin regional plan has not been approved, yet the minister, and the previous minister for Lands and Planning, will remember that the week before the Freds Pass Show they announced Palmerston north would be developed. We had not had the first draft of the Darwin Regional Land Use Plan. Does something seem out of sync?
The ministerial statement says the land will be developed into small blocks yet the Planning Commission is, supposedly, looking at all the submissions relating to the discussion paper. It has not finalised that or produced its draft plan. In the meantime, the minister said we will have 1200 new dwellings at Holtze.
Why have a process and call it a discussion about the Darwin regional plan if the government has already decided that land will be developed? It has not been through the proper process?
Yes, we need more housing. We need urban housing in urban areas and rural housing in rural areas. They do not need to overlap. People are sometimes called anti-development, a common approach when you have a different opinion about development. That is annoying because I am not anti-development. I am sometimes criticised about the state of Coolalinga, something I supported. It is an urban development with duplexes and flats but it is missing a shopping centre. I am surprised the company meant to build the shopping centre at Coolalinga has enough money to fix up Woolworths on Smith Street.
I am not sure what is happening there, but people in the rural area want to know what has happened to the shopping centre at Coolalinga. I hope it is still on the agenda. Yes, we have McDonalds, a fuel outlet and some small shops supplying stock feed and hire equipment, but we do not have a shopping centre with Kmart and Coles as promised. It is disappointing. It is not about being anti-development; it is about being pro-development in the right place.
The government says Territorians have the opportunity to purchase their own home at affordable prices. I understood the government took away the opportunity for people to buy a second-hand house because it wanted to promote new housing. That is a backwards step. Older houses in the northern suburbs may be affordable to those who cannot afford a new house. Those people could be helped by a government subsidy. Not everyone can afford house and land packages of $500 000 to $600 000. I imagine some of the older houses in areas like Rapid Creek are worth a lot less. Some of the houses are small, but the government believes by removing that assistance more new houses will be built. That is unfair for those who want to start off with a second-hand house.
I have heard about jobs in the bush for many years. There is no doubt development can create jobs. Many places in the bush do not have the opportunity for large-scale development. There is no mining, little tourism and that is only in the Dry Season. You should use local government as your employment agency and build from that when the opportunities come.
We spend millions of dollars on these companies trying to create jobs out bush when there are none. I have seen it year-in and year-out. We pay people to do the training – 12 people do a course in bookkeeping when there is one job. A lot of money has been spent on job promotion where the practical outcome is no jobs. It is good to see the government promoting places like the Tiwi Islands, where there are opportunities.
You still want people to work where there are no opportunities and that is where you invest in local government. It is central to these areas, the equipment is there and people can find work. Once you have work the opportunities come and you can move up the scale.
To not have people working is one of the saddest things. We have big developments in the Top End – INPEX – and people are paid huge salaries. In other parts of the Territory people are on the dole and the cost of everything is high – the cost of food and fuel. You have a ‘them and us’ situation in the Territory and that is something we have to avoid where possible ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I request an extension of time for the member to finish his remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: The Chief Minister said a lot about gas and I understand it is an important part of the economy. I have not made up my mind about fracking and am still waiting for the report.
Renewables are important. I am in favour of promoting the tidal turbine. If we can get that happening in Clarence Strait it has great potential for reducing the amount of greenhouse gases electricity production, especially in this area, produces. We should not look at gas alone. We should keep our options open, whether they are solar, wind or solar thermal.
It is great to hear the South Australian Labor premier talk about a royal commission into uranium. We are also a big producer of uranium. It is refreshing to have a Labor premier say it is time to discuss this. We are trying to reduce coal-fired power stations and reduce omissions.
I understand from talking to Areva, the French energy company, that China will have about 65 nuclear power plants. The reason for that is to get a big reduction in omissions. They will be putting a lot of emphasis on renewable resources, but they understand the quantity of energy they want will rely on a 24-hour source, is a base load and will keep their industries turning over.
Is the Territory government interested in a submission to the royal commission in relation to where Australia should be with uranium use? It could be about what we will do with the waste from uranium, the safety aspects and the practical outcomes it could have from the reduction of carbon omissions into the atmosphere.
There is so much in this document so it is a pity there was not more time to prepare for it. I appreciate the member for Port Darwin assuring me I will receive statements earlier. I like to involve myself in debate not always to be negative; it gives me the opportunity to state my idea on various things.
It is good the government is looking at the port. Chief Minister, I e-mailed you today saying we should give the committee more time to report but you might not agree. I congratulate you. At least you are willing to put some of the issues to a committee. The sale of TIO did not go to a committee, the sale of Darwin buses did not, nor did the sale of the Government Printing Office, but at least you are providing a chance for discussion. If you rush this we may not have time to see all the people we need to because another issue is whether the port should stay as it is.
The Chief Minister is upmarket about the port changing the way it operates. That is fair enough, but if we are to look independently at the future of the port one option is to leave it as is. Another option might be like the port at Wyndham – they manage it on behalf of the government. We should look at the port at present and see if that is a better outcome than what you are considering into the future.
If we are to discuss the port – and we will in the year ahead – we must have adequate time to look at it so we bring a well-thought through document to parliament which covers all the people we need to talk to regarding the future of the port.
The Department of Agriculture – AQIS has changed its name – and Customs, Commonwealth bodies, all use the port. We need to make sure they are involved in these discussions. Defence people, as you know, are not always the easiest to talk to in a hurry. They have their own bureaucracy and if we are discussing the future of Darwin port we need to know if they should be involved.
Hopefully we will discuss these issues later in the year to see if the agenda is working.
Debate adjourned.
TABLED PAPERS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table 10 travel reports from the members for Namatjira, Nelson, Stuart and Arafura pursuant to paragraph 4.12 of the Remuneration Tribunal Determination.
I also table the Members of the Legislative Assembly Fuel Transaction Report.
I also table the Auditor-General for the Northern Territory February 2015 Report to the Legislative Assembly.
MOTION
Changes to Committee Membership
Changes to Committee Membership
Mr ELFERINK (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the following committee membership changes be adopted: the member for Daly is discharged and the member for Greatorex appointed to the Public Accounts Committee; the member for Daly is discharged and the member for Greatorex appointed to the committee on the Northern Territory’s Energy Future; and the member for Daly is discharged and the member for Drysdale appointed to the Fuel Price Disclosure Bill Scrutiny Committee.
Motion agreed to.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr GILES (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Today I advise the House of the Australia Day 2015 Honours awarded on 26 January 2015. Three Territorians were recognised as members of the General Division of the Order of Australia.
Kathy Abbott was awarded for her significant service to the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory and for being an advocate for improved health and wellbeing. A central Arrernte women and mother of six, Kathy is one of the longest-serving Aboriginal Health Workers in the Northern Territory. She began her career in 1970 at the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress and went on to train others and advocate for the vital part Aboriginal Health Workers play in caring for their people.
One of her most important roles has been as co-founder of the Akeyulerre, known as the healing centre, which promotes wellbeing through culture and is dedicated to ensuring there is a place for cultural knowledge and that knowledge is promoted and shared with the broader community.
Kathy was instrumental in making the centre a reality, running healing programs at a time when traditional knowledge and healing were dismissed and disregarded in the mainstream.
Kathy was also co-author of an important work summarising the history of Aboriginal Health Workers and community workers in the Territory from 1870, of which I have a copy. This document is a history of Aboriginal Health Workers and Aboriginal community workers in the Territory health sector. It is currently held in the State Library and is a valuable resource. It was a pleasure to see Kathy’s life work recognised on Australia Day.
The second recipient was Mr Mike Burgess, in recognition of his significant service to public administration through governance, co-ordination, and infrastructure development roles.
Mike first arrived in the Territory from Western Australia in 1979 and spent his early career in Katherine, where he helped the government set up outstations and helped Territorians establish themselves on country. Mike’s work also looked to the Territory’s future, as he held a key role in discussions around the INPEX investment in the Top End.
Mike’s many positions have included Cabinet Secretary, CEO of diverse government departments and board member of Darwin Waterfront Corporation, Darwin Port Corporation, the Land Development Corporation as well as the Tourism Advisory and Major Events Boards. Mike Burgess retired from the Public Service in 2013 and continues to contribute to the Northern Territory through community organisations such as the Darwin Symphony Orchestra.
Timothy Nadjowh has been recognised for significant service to the Indigenous communities of West Arnhem Land as leader and elder. Timothy’s endeavours over many decades have supported those living in remote community outstations and small communities on country in Western Arnhem Land.
In 1966 he worked with the Church Missionary Society to found Gumarderr, 70 km from Gunbalanya, the first decentralised Indigenous community in the West Arnhem region. He went on to set up many other outstations including Gumarrirnbang in the stone country, which currently has a school, an airstrip and a medical office.
Timothy is an inspirational traditional owner whose influence has been appreciated by many, including missionaries working in remote regions and those leading the construction of airstrips throughout Arnhem Land. As a translator he has helped spread critical health messages. Timothy is also a highly regarded artist.
Charlie King has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the broadcast media and the Indigenous community of the Northern Territory.
Charlie is well-known to many Territorians due to his many years of presenting Sporttalk and Grandstand. His comprehensive coverage has spread far beyond local events of footy and cricket to the national and international stage, including becoming the first Indigenous Australian to compete at the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing, and then again in 2012 at the London Olympics. However, there is a second equally important strand to Charlie’s life that has been recognised with this award.
Born in Alice Springs, he was the third youngest in a family of eleven from a mother of Gurindgi descent and an Irish father. His initial career was as a youth worker helping to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged young people and victims of domestic violence.
After 20 years he had to leave as he found it too difficult to deal with so many heartbreaking situations. Instead he followed a different career path in sports broadcasting, which he has combined with a strong personal commitment to communicate the zero tolerance to domestic violence message. He is an initiator and ambassador of the Australia-wide campaign entitled NO MORE.
Charlie King has been the recipient of many community awards including the inaugural Children’s Champion, Darwin Citizen of the Year and Northern Territory Indigenous Elder of the Year. He is a long-term ambassador of White Ribbon Australia, coordinator of the Indigenous Men’s Forum, and joint patron of Life Education NT.
Finally, two Public Service Medals and two Australia Police Officers Medals have been awarded as follows.
John Coleman, the new head of the Department of the Chief Minister, for an exemplary career in the Northern Territory Public Service spanning over 35 years.
John played a pivotal role in the coordination of the Territory’s response to the East Timor crisis in 1999. He has served in a range of government departments, particularly in the area of land and economic development, and has been responsible for the design and introduction of innovative administrative and technical programs and policies.
John’s achievements include the establishment of the Land Development Corporation and reinvigoration of destination development in Tourism NT. He has also been involved in the establishment of a spatial mapping system and negotiated the tenure arrangements of the Wickham Point gas plant and the Darwin Industry Fuel Terminal.
Ernie Wanka has been honoured with the Public Service Medal for his outstanding public service to infrastructure planning in the Northern Territory, especially in design, construction and maintenance of the road transport network over 35 years. As Executive Director of the Transport Infrastructure Planning Division, he has managed the Territory’s 22 000 km of communal road network, 72% of which is unsealed.
In times of natural disasters, Ernie has been a steadying influence in getting infrastructure and facilities restored. He has recently been appointed as a government chief engineer for the Department of Transport, with responsibilities for strategic policy development and major infrastructure projects.
Commander Bruce Porter joined the Northern Territory Police Force in 1989 and since that time has served in many locations during his frontline policing career, including with the Darwin Metropolitan Command, Northern Command, and asTerritory Duty Superintendent at Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. He also served with the Territory Response Group for seven years and was part of the Sydney 2000 Olympics Emergency Response contingent.
The final award goes to Superintendent Robert Rennie, who joined the Northern Territory Police Force 33 years ago. He has served in many Territory locations during his career including Tennant Creek, Pine Creek, Nhulunbuy and Jabiru. He has served in a variety of positions including Darwin Metropolitan Command and as manager of the Katherine Showgrounds Evacuation Centre, which housed more than 860 evacuees during the 2011 Victoria River floods.
In 2004 Superintendent Rennie joined the Road Safety Division and set about redesigning and reinvigorating the direction and function of the division. This saw the creation of the Major Crash Investigation Unit. He has served as a representative on the road safety task force and coordination and implementation groups, as well as national and international committees.
It is an honour to acknowledge each of these recipients in this House. I take this opportunity to extend my thanks, on behalf of the citizens of the Northern Territory, for the collective contributions made by the men and women named today.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Madam Speaker, this Friday Tennant Creek will be celebrating the journey Albert Borella made in 1915. He commenced his 1000 km journey from Tennant Creek to Darwin to enlist in World War I. He fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. He was wounded, commissioned on the battlefield and awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest honour for valour in combat.
My grandfather, Frank Geelan was also a Gallipoli veteran and our family has done great research into his exploits on the battlefields of Gallipoli and through the Middle East. It was with an element of excitement I heard the Chief Minister announce today he will be travelling to Tennant Creek on Friday with the parliamentary secretary, the member for Drysdale, on a charter aircraft to attend some of the celebrations and commemorative activities planned in Tennant Creek.
Chief Minister, I humbly request you see fit to offer me a seat on that aircraft. I promise to be on my best behaviour. My ambition is to be home to share that commendable event. I acknowledge the federal and Northern Territory governments in the commemorative programs around the Borella Ride representing the Anzac centenary.
I quote from the Chief Minister’s ministerial statement of 17 February 2015:
- Put simply, it is time for us all to get on with making people’s lives simpler, easier and safer.
All I have had in the six years of being a parliamentarian is an electorate vehicle. I average 50 000 km a year. I cannot make it back for this important commemorative event in Tennant Creek on Friday. It would be irresponsible of me to leave parliament early or drive on Thursday night.
To make it easier for me, it would be a privilege to sit up the back, or wherever you like, in a charter aircraft – I said I will be on my best behaviour – so I can share in this commemorative event with the great constituents of the Barkly and my family.
To make my life safer it would be more sensible to join your party, take a charter aircraft to Tennant Creek and return to Darwin to continue my parliamentary obligations. In your words, Chief Minister it would be simpler, easier and safer.
I hope you will consider my request. I have asked the Leader of the Opposition to formalise that request, if necessary. It would be great to get a response before the end of parliamentary sittings on Thursday night. I will be ready, willing and able. I will have minimal baggage, no swag and will leave the tuckerbox in the Toyota. The Toyota will be safe and sound at Parliament House. It would be a humbling opportunity and I hope to hear from you soon, Chief Minister.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I hope the member for Barkly takes his guitar.
As a member of this parliament I am concerned about what is happening to Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in Indonesia.
I do not speak as a do-gooder but as someone who has visited some of the prisons in the United States. One was the West Central Community Correctional Facility. Many of the prisoners were drug addicts or had problems with alcohol, had been to prison a number of times and were in a pretty tough place where they had to turn their lives around. Basically their motto is ‘repaying’. They were repaying the community for what they had done.
I cannot do nothing about what is happening in Indonesia so I e-mailed the Indonesian Consul, Mr Andre Omer Siregar. I said:
- Dear Sir
I am writing to you in the hope that you might ask your President to spare the lives of two Australians who are currently on death row. While I believe they should be punished severely for heroin trafficking, I do not believe they should be executed for such crimes.
Instead of executing these young men, surely if they can serve a useful life working to help others, especially those trapped in the scourge of drug addiction, that would be an outcome that would give these men a chance to repay society for what they have done.
Killing these people may well serve those who want to look tough politically, but it stops brutally any chance of repatriation and restitution by these young men. It is counterproductive.
Australians have worked with Indonesia in many of the bad times, such as the Aceh tsunami and the Bali bombing, in an attempt to save lives.
This is also a request to save lives. It is a chance to show the world that whilst Indonesia is tough on crime they can balance that with a sense of justice and compassion that not only allows these two men to pay for their crimes, but gives them a second chance to prove they are sorry for what they have done.
Are we all not worthy of forgiveness if we show we are truly sorry for what we have done, accepted our punishment and shown that we have changed our lives? Please do not execute these young men.
Yours sincerely
Gerry Wood
I wrote that on 19 January 2015 and have not had a response.
In the meantime I have also written to the opposition leader in Indonesia and the Jakarta Post. Unfortunately I have not been able to find the President of Indonesia’s e-mail. I have checked the website and it is not that easy.
What gave me some hope was listening to A.M. EarlyMorning at about 6:10 am when Malcolm Turnbull was speaking. I would like to read what he said. I am not sure whose website this is, but it is by Indonesian correspondents George Roberts and Helen Brown. It is on the Yahoo website and says:
Australian Cabinet Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning made another direct appeal to the Indonesian government to spare Chan and Sukumaran from the firing squad.
‘I think it would be a sign of great strength on the part of the Indonesian president to spare the lives of these two men’, he said.
‘I know a lot of people are saying it would be weak of President Jokowi not to proceed with the executions, but I think it would be a sign of great strength, of great love, recognising that Indonesia is a strong, loving country that does not have to kill these two men’.
‘Yes they committed crimes, but the strongest love is when it is extended to those who least deserve it’.
I was moved by those words and believe we should take great heart that one of our senior politicians has been willing to stand up. I know Prime Minister Abbott has too, but I thought the words from Malcolm Turnbull were inspiring. I hope politicians in Indonesia, not just the President and the Opposition Leader, will see this is a great mistake. Hopefully, something good will come out of this. To execute these people will be the end, and in this day and age we can do better than that.
I hope Indonesia listens to the words of Malcolm Turnbull because they are wise and should be listened to.
Ms FYLES (Nightcliff): Madam Speaker, tonight I want to express my concerns about a real threat to Territory democracy. Subject to a couple of provisions, there is nothing wrong with donations to political parties. The first provision is that donations are properly declared in accordance with disclosure laws for donors, political parties and associated entities set out in the Territory and Commonwealth Electoral Acts. The second provision is that donations do not come with strings attached.
The strong donation disclosure provisions set out in both acts are intended to ensure transparency, accountability and integrity in our democratic processes. The substantial penalties for breaches of the disclosure provisions and the strong powers of investigation conferred on both the electoral commissions reflect the intention of our parliaments to protect the integrity and viability of our precious democracy. No excuse or exception should be made for any individual, political party or associated entity which deliberately breaches the disclosure laws.
It is blatantly clear from the late disclosure returns and leaked e-mails that both the CLP and Foundation 51 have breached the disclosure provisions enumerated in both Territory and Commonwealth electoral laws.
We know from a leaked e-mail tabled in this Assembly that Foundation 51 director, Graeme Lewis, discussed Foundation 51 with the Chief Minister on many occasions. More recently, the member for Blain admitted receiving a $10 000 loan from Mr Lewis in the lead-up to the Blain by-election. Also, former magistrate and Foundation 51 director, Peter Maley, disclosed a $50 000 donation to the CLP when he was serving as a magistrate.
Recently, more than two years after the mandated deadline, Foundation 51 has disclosed a donation of $200 000 to the CLP. Until recently the Chief Minister has denied any knowledge of a relationship with Foundation 51. In a rare moment of truthfulness, if not leadership, he said of Foundation 51, ‘I think that it’s time for someone from the CLP to do something in this regard. It obviously smells.’
I understand complaints about breaches of disclosure provisions by both the CLP and Foundation 51 have been referred to the Northern Territory Electoral Commission and the Australian Electoral Commission. I am not aware of the current status of any investigations initiated by the two commissions, but there is a reasonable public expectation they will take strong action to protect our democracy. They certainly have the powers to do so.
A leaked e-mail from Foundation 51 director Graeme Lewis to then CLP President, Braedon Earley, sets out income and expenditure for Foundation 51 over many years. Much of this income and expenditure has never been disclosed as required by the Electoral Act. In the e-mail Mr Lewis states unequivocally, ‘Like you, I’ll be mortified if this information becomes widely known. It must be closely held for obvious reasons.’ This e-mail, together with other documentation on the public record, is prima facie evidence of a conspiracy to circumvent the provisions of both Electoral Acts.
It would be appropriate, in my view, for these matters to be referred to police and the DPP in the relevant jurisdictions.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I say a few words in support of the past Chief Executive of the Department of Children and Families, Jodeen Carney, and express my extreme disappointment, if not despair, at the Labor opposition’s tactics and attack. It is an attack on a former member of this House – a fine, upstanding, and professional person.
Many in this House would know Jodeen Carney was the member for Araluen for some 10 years, and everything she did in her work and her life was to a standard some of us can only aspire to. To see she was used as a pawn in some strategy by Labor is incredibly disappointing to me as the member for Goyder and someone with family and friends here – I like to think I have friends on all sides of parliament – and also as the Speaker.
To ask the type of questions of the government the opposition did today and use language they did – it will be reported out of this parliament. To allege things have happened is incredibly poor form. My opinion of some of the opposition members has been tarnished by what went on today.
In August 2010, when Jodeen Carney retired from parliament, I said a few words in an Adjournment and I want to put them on record again. It speaks volumes for the kind of person I believe she is. I have a conflict of interest because she is a dear friend of mine. This is the second paragraph, quoted from Hansard:
- I was also thankful for meeting someone like Jodeen because in the normal course of our lives, our paths would most likely not have crossed as we are seemingly poles apart in interests, attitudes and backgrounds – or so it would seem.
Let me give you some examples. Jodeen drives a nice clean car; I drive a feral ute. I made Jodeen ride in my old ute in the past, and did she whinge, all the way – about the smells, the look, the accessories; you name it, everything about it was wrong. Jodeen dislikes dogs …
… hence the smells in the ute. Jodeen dislikes firearms; I am a gun owner. Jodeen is an urban dweller; and I am a feral bush person. I have been known to bag lawyers quite a bit, and Jodeen is a lawyer. Jodeen is known for her very fine and probably valuable etchings; I collect Phantom comics which are not that valuable at all. My lack of tolerance for certain social issues is well known to my side of the party; Jodeen embraces a wide range of social issues and does it well. Recently in this House, I referred to Jodeen as our side’s ‘token lefty’ and I am to the right of the Genghis Khan.
Despite what seems to be a chasm of differences, there is much that holds us together. I have always admired Jodeen’s drive and commitment, and level of seriousness she gives to her research, her work, and the causes she supports. There is never ‘near enough is good enough’ with Jodeen, and the people she supports and helps know this. That is why she was a good lawyer and she was good as a local member and a parliamentarian.
Jodeen knew what she wanted and set out to achieve it. There was no thought of failure and, in her success and achievements, there was no overt display for all to see. Rather, Jodeen took on board the successes and continued forward as if the successes were not so much hers as more the people she was seeking to assist, help or represent.
Jodeen’s contribution to Territory politics and legislative reform will be remembered for many years to come. Her work in making legislation dealing with child protection, sexual assault, and justice the best we could possibly have will be her foremost legacy, as will her dedication, commitment, and leadership.
I have learnt much from Jodeen in her work in these areas, and would not have paid any attention previously. I know I will from now on because if Jodeen is trying to make it a better place then so should I.
I have spoken to many people in the community in the last week. Some work in the field of children and families and were devastated. I know in the last few days before she finished she spent a considerable amount of time consoling and counselling people and encouraging them to keep fighting and doing their job to help keep our children safe.
Staff in Alice Springs had two minutes’ silence as a sign of respect for her and her work. There is no doubt she made a difference and for that to be used against her by the Labor opposition to get at the government is appalling. I have definitely changed my view about the opposition.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016