2011-05-03
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 10 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that I have given approval for sound technicians for the new sound and vision system to be on the floor of the Chamber during the next couple of days at the Serjeant-at-Arms’ desk and in the corner over there.
I remind honourable members that they now do not have a mute button; however, soft conversation between members will not be picked up by Hansard.
Members need to wait for the call from the Chair prior to speaking so the cameras and microphones can be activated. I would appreciate any feedback on the sound system and will raise any matters of concern at the next meeting of the House Committee.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received Message No 25 from His Honour the Administrator notifying assent to bills passed in the March sitting of the Assembly.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Message No 26
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table Message No 26 recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act authorising the issuing and expending of public monies of the Territory in respect of the year ending 30 June 2012.
The CLERK: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 100A, I inform honourable members that a response to petition No 52 has 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.
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move –
Motion agreed to.
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business) (by leave): Madam Speaker, I move –
Motion agreed to.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Presentation of Budget 2011-12
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that at 11 am, during Government Business, I will call on the Treasurer to deliver the budget. The member speaking at the time will be asked to continue their remarks after Question Time.
Continued from 31 March 2011.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, it goes without saying that members on this side of the House, as well as the government, know the importance of education and what it will achieve in the future if we get it right at this stage.
I thank the minister for the way this legislation was brought to the House in the previous form before the introduction so we were well aware of the amendments. For the briefings from the department, thank you, minister – they were thorough and we appreciate why the changes are needed. We believe there needs to be consequences for those people who fail in their duty to ensure children get to school in the first place.
The Education Legislation Amendment Bill was introduced to the Legislative Assembly on 29 March 2011, by the Attorney-General. The purpose of this bill is to amend the attendance and enrolment provisions, and expand the department’s capacity to deal with non-attendance. The Country Liberals certainly agree on that point; that is, we must, as a society, do all we can to ensure children are provided with the best education possible. To do that, children must attend school and, in cases where children are not, that consequences follow.
The government hopes to achieve this in a number of ways through this legislation. If the conduct of a child 14 years and over is unable to be controlled by their parent, they will be considered a child living independently. Responsibility for enrolment, attendance, etcetera, falls to that child. This, in itself, is going to create a problem, more in the mechanics than on the surface as, like most of this bill, it looks good on the surface. It is not until you consider some of the ramifications, or the likely scenarios, that you ponder how the hell it is going to work. I do not think it is going to transpire easily.
According to the information I received during the briefing, and further research, the legislation tells me if the CEO responsibly believes a child of compulsory school age is not enrolled, or attending school or an eligible option, they may issue an information notice or a compliance notice to the parents, or the child, if they are living independently. The CEO may also require the parent, or the child if they are living independently, to attend a compulsory conference if the act is not being complied with. Information that is considered personal or sensitive under the IPPs of the Information Act will be able to be shared between agencies to assist the CEO in locating families and children not complying with the act. This amendment makes sense, and I am sure the wider community questions why it does not already happen across agencies.
The sharing of information is an amazing dichotomy in this world of privacy. I recall from the years I worked with the Bureau of Statistics that every time you asked the same questions, people asked: ‘You are the government. Why don’t you know this stuff already? Surely, you know my date of birth. Surely, you know my name. Surely, you know all this information’. So, I was very encouraged by this particular area of the act.
Since becoming a member of parliament I have seen, time and time again, how this government attempts to strengthen legislation, specifically penalties, where there is clear evidence the previous legislation was never enforced. Again, we see a hardening of penalties - some may say too hard. However, even in their former range, a $200 fine for not sending a child to school was never enforced. This undermines the community’s expectations of what would be any different when the penalties are increased. What makes you think fines will be issued when a mere $200 fine was never issued in the first place? These are points to consider.
In my opinion, there is no objective way to measure the extent to which a child is unable to be controlled by their parent in relation to truancy. It seems an easy out for a parent who takes no responsibility for their child in the first place. An option open to parents could be that the parent, possibly after reaching a certain benchmark, can apply to the CEO - maybe with input from the child’s principal - to have their child declared a child who lives independently.
I also have some concern that the definition of ‘parent’ in the legislation is very narrow, and seems to assume a parent is only a biological parent. I welcome the minister, at some point, covering all the permutations of people who have, or have been given, parental responsibility such as an aunty, grandma, other extended family, or foster carer. In addition to the arbitrary way of determining if a child is living independently, this has the effect of removing the onus of responsibility from a large group of non-parent guardians, who may have adequate control of the child, and placing it squarely on the child at an age when even society recognises they have few rights or privileges, such as voting, drinking, or driving a car. What gives government the perception that the child would have the mental or physical capacity to understand the responsibility now bestowed on them? I suggest the very reason a recalcitrant child could be in that position in the first place is due to a lack of discipline, a lack of understanding, and having no respect for our society, so why does government think they would be any more responsible or be a responsible person today?
In my opinion, the definition of parent in the Youth Justice Act, or the Care and Protection of Children Act, would be more appropriate and reflective of current practices. Perhaps the minister can seek advice on that and provide a reason why the definition appears at odds with other legislation.
The responsibilities placed on a child living independently, who may be as young as 14, are significant. They are responsible for ensuring they are enrolled, attend school, or attend an eligible option, and pay fines for not doing so. They may be given notices demanding specific information, or compliance notices to do specific acts, from the CEO or the Education department, and pay any fines for not complying with the notices. The capacity of a 14-year-old or 15-year-old to adequately understand this type of document and sufficiently comply with it is not guaranteed, particularly if their literacy skills are below standard. This is a huge leap of faith and one that raises hurdles for the minister and the department to deal with, particularly when another agency steps in and provides support for a child who finds itself in this position in the first place.
It is not mandatory for a support person to be present during a compulsory conference under proposed section 23B. The child may request a support person, but the CEO may refuse. A support person need not be a parent or a guardian, but someone who can provide adequate and effective support. It would be grossly unfair for the CEO to prevent a 14-year-old child from having support.
The definition of a parent in the legislation is narrow and assumes that a parent is only a biological parent. Again, I ask the minister to cover all permutations of people who have, or have been given, parental responsibility such as an aunty, grandma, extended family, or foster carers. In addition to the arbitrary way of determining if a child is living independently, this has the effect of removing the onus of responsibility from a non-parent guardian and placing it on the child.
The principal must give a suspension notice under proposed section 21, or exclusion notice, section 21A, to a parent, but, if the person is a child living independently, it is not mandatory to give a notice to the child. This creates the problem, when read with section 21B, because if the child living independently receives a notice of suspension or expulsion, they must not attend school or they will receive a penalty. If the child does not receive a notice in the first place, but is suspended, there is nothing to stop them from attending school.
Government figures show that 2700 children of compulsory school age are not enrolled in school or an eligible option. We need to do all we can to ensure we get these children to school. At the briefing, when it was described to me that we could have fly-in squads going into rural and remote areas, I can see ...
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! If the member for Brennan could just repeat, was it 2200 who are not enrolled or not attending?
Mr CHANDLER: There are 2700 children of compulsory school age who are not enrolled but are eligible to be enrolled.
Dr Burns: Thank you.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, we need to do all we can to ensure we get these children to school. As described in the briefing, I can see merit in the fly-in squads that will be used, but can also see merit in having community based people take on this role, whether it is other parents who are there for the long term and have a connection with the community, rather than a crew that just fly in, make a noise, and leave. I wonder whether that might work for the week or the few days they are there, and then will not work afterwards. If someone is in the community and is connected to the community, they are more likely to have a long-term positive effect.
It would be remiss of me during any education debate not to widen the scope of what education is all about, and it often covers many different things. Without a good education, the scope is much limited in life. It covers mathematics, English, history, geography, and other academic areas. It also covers how we react in society, and how we grow to work, live, and get on with each other.
Bullying happens in schools from time to time and how the department and schools deal with that particular issue - that is why I am an advocate that good discipline needs to start in the home. Going to school every single day provides one of those goal posts that provides early discipline to a child. They get up, they go to school, and they understand why they are going to school.
I would love to see a day where our schools actually include Indigenous culture, far more than they do today, particularly in our remote areas. If they are part of every single day with the Elders coming into schools imparting some of that knowledge, the communities would then value schools so much more. Once you have the Elders, and you have the parents in communities engaged in the actual education of their children, you are more likely to see these children going day in and day out.
It does not stop there. I have looked for some remarkable pathways today. After we get through primary school into the middle school programs, and then into the senior colleges and beyond, those pathways are important. Then what? I recall going to a senior college recently where a couple of young Indigenous chaps were very enthusiastic. They had taken a pathway to motor mechanics. They could pull a car apart and put it back together. However, they were struggling with their academic levels and they understood they needed to improve their educational standards to complete their apprenticeship. It was sad to learn that there was nothing afterwards for one particular child if he was to go back to a community. Unless we create an economy within their communities …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Brennan, I take this opportunity to acknowledge these students.
I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 5/6 students from Bees Creek Primary School accompanied by their teachers, Mrs Alison Holmes and Mrs Linda Brodie. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr CHANDLER: Education starts in the home. It is reinforced in our pre- and primary schools, our middle schools, our secondary colleges, and beyond. Until we can create an economy, particularly in our more remote areas, in our regional areas, that can give these young people a life after education and a real job, we are always going to struggle. This young chap could see himself going back to the community and being locked into a welfare-driven society. It was sad to see the enthusiastic child with a pretty average educational background having a real goal in life. He could actually do something, yet the next part was just sadness because the reality set in that he would go back home with no way to reinforce his chosen vocation.
As a government, we have to commend anything we can do to ensure that we provide education for children, but we must also ensure that education leads somewhere. Without that, we may as well give up. You can be the most educated person in the world, but unless there is something to do at the end, unless someone can use their goals to achieve something further, then as a society we are lost and it is all for nought.
Back to the specifics of the bill, in clause 5 of the bill, proposed section 19C refers to a child living independently. This is a new amendment. In the proposed amendment a child is considered to be living independently if they are 14 years or over and not living with a parent, or living with a parent but the parent is unable to control the child’s behaviour to ensure compliance with the act - the care of the CEO under the CPCA.
Some of the issues I thought about regarding this amendment - for the purposes of this act, a parent is defined as the person who has the actual custody of a child and the person with whom the child resides. I would like confirmation from the minister whether any other classes of person fall into this category, either on a temporary or a permanent basis, as a foster carer arrangement or extended family living arrangements. If it only applies to the actual parent of a child, that would leave a large number of the worst truancy offenders classified as a child living independently. It seems an outdated way to define a parent given the variability in the family unit from when the act was first introduced in 1978.
There is no objective way to measure the extent a child is unable to be controlled by their parent in relation to truancy. It seems like an easy out for a parent who takes no responsibility for the child in the first place, not least because it reduces the amount of any penalty by one tenth, but an option could be for a parent, possibly after reaching a certain benchmark, to apply to the CEO to have their child declared a child that lives independently as a last resort rather than an easy option.
You must also consider how appropriate it is to hold a child of 14 or 15 responsible for school enrolment, attendance, etcetera, particularly when they may live in an area not serviced by public transport. This includes remote areas such as the rural area of Darwin, Batchelor or Katherine. If a child is living alone, is 14, and is responsible to get themselves to school but is not legally allowed to drive, that opens up another area and a difficulty in ensuring compliance with this legislation.
In clause 5, proposed section 20, Compulsory education - this relates to the minimum school age and school leaving age. This section was amended in 2009 to include the requirement for a child who has completed Year 10, but has not attained the age of 17 years, to undergo further education, trade training, or employment, as an eligible option. The CEO may exempt a child from the eligible option due to special circumstances such as a serious illness. In the amendment, apart from renumbering the section, the only change is that if a CEO permits a child living independently to be exempt from the eligible options, the CEO must give the child, rather than the parents, the notice of the exemption – pretty straightforward.
In clause 5, proposed section 21, Compulsory enrolment, - currently the parent who has custody of a child must ensure the child is enrolled in school or provide adequate home schooling. The maximum penalty today is $200. In this amendment, a child must be enrolled in school by the parent who has actual custody of the child and the maximum penalty now is 15 penalty units, which equates to $1995 for a first offence and 20 penalty units, $2660, for a second or subsequent offence.
If a child is classified as living independently, the child is responsible for enrolling themselves in school. Failing to do so will result in the child committing an offence with a maximum penalty of 1 penalty units, or $199.50, for a first offence, and two penalty units, or $266, for a second or subsequent offence. Surely the responsibility for enrolment should lay with the parent or person responsible for the child. There would be very few 14- or 15-year-olds in the Territory not living in the care of an adult.
As raised in the earlier point for proposed section 19C, without objective measures to determine a parent’s control of a child’s conduct, fixing a penalty to a child rather than the parent, particularly at such a reduced level, seems like an easy out to me.
In clause 5, proposed section 20B, Direction about enrolment - section 26 of the current act allows the CEO to direct a child not to be enrolled at a specified school. In this amendment, the basic principles of the current provisions have been retained, but elaborated on. In that regard, the CEO may direct a child to be enrolled in a specified government school, or that a child may not be enrolled in a specified government school. The CEO may make the direction if there is a risk to the safety of the child, staff, or other students, or if a specified school is better able to meet the special needs of a child. That makes sense and I appreciate it.
In clause 5 regarding proposed section 20C, Compulsory attendance at school - in the current act, section 22 contains provisions about compulsory school attendance. A parent must ensure the child attends school on each day, or parts of each day, that instruction is provided at the school for the child, and failure to send a child to school is an offence with a maximum penalty of $200. We all know there have been many of those $200 penalties issued recently. I am being a little cynical, because it certainly does not happen, and has not happened.
Currently, parents of children who are enrolled in School of the Air or correspondence school, or whose absence is due to a day of significance for an ethnic group, or an acceptable excuse, or is exempt from attendance by the minister, do not commit an offence. It is a defence if the parent can demonstrate the child did not attend school through any failure on their part to exercise proper care and control of the child. Under these amendments today, the basic policy of this section remains the same; that is, a child must attend on school days or parts of days that instruction is provided, unless a reasonable excuse has been given or the child is exempted or prohibited from attending school, or the absence is due to cultural reasons. Failure to attend school is an offence with a maximum of 15 penalty units for a first offence, or 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. If a child is living independently, the maximum penalty is 1 penalty units for a first offence, or two penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.
The new defence provision is the parent must demonstrate they are unable to control their child’s behaviour in order to comply with this particular section. It raises a few concerns because there are going to be many situations where it is quite evident a parent has lost control of a particular child. In the way the legislation has been drafted, this provides an easy out. So, a penalty is not going to be issued in the first place, given that is just going to be a defence, which will be well known very quickly across the community.
I have a few issues with this particular area; that is, the defence that the parent must demonstrate failure to attend school was not due to a failure to provide proper care and control of the child. It may be semantics, but the current defence provision gives the impression the parent had to proactively attempt to get their children to attend school, but the new provisions only require them to be capable of controlling their child.
We should also consider how appropriate it is to hold a child of 14 or 15 responsible for school attendance, particularly if they are living in areas out of Darwin, such as Batchelor or Katherine. I have said before, if a child is 14 and unable to drive, if they live in one of these areas, how are they going to get to school when it may be outside the bounds of public transport or school bus services?
In clause 5, proposed section 20D, Compulsory participation at distant education centres - currently children enrolled in School of the Air or non-residential school options are exempt from attendance under the act. Under this amendment, this section makes it mandatory for a child enrolled in a course of distance education to meet all of the course requirements of instruction, unless exempted by the education provider, or a reasonable excuse is provided to the institution. Failure to do so is an offence with a maximum of 15 penalty units for a first offence, or 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. If a child is living independently, the maximum penalty again is 1 penalty units for a first offence, and two penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. Whilst the penalties are different, you must question the fact that current legislation is the $200 fines that are not enforced. This new legislation has increased them quite dramatically for parents and carers, but not so much for the child.
I understand that; however is a $200 or $266 fine outside the capacity of a 14-year-old to pay? In a situation where you have a 14-year-old who is responsible, not only for their own living conditions, which would come at a cost; has to get themselves to school, which comes at a cost; and, if they fail to do so, end up getting a fine of $200, you question how in the world they would have the capacity to pay that fine. I understand the necessity to have stiff penalties to serve a purpose and to prove a point, and there must be consequences, but one must question the level of the penalty and the capacity for anyone to pay that penalty.
Distance education is defined as School of the Air, correspondence school, or the NT Open Education Centre. I would like the minister to further define the course requirements. As it says earlier, if there is a failure by the student in any of the courses, they can be penalised.
I move on to clause 5, proposed section 20E, Home education - provisions for home education are included in the section 21 of the current act. The parent has the option of providing efficient and suitable education for their child. The CEO must give consent for the parents to educate their child in this manner and may have the education program assessed for efficiency and suitability. In this amendment, the parent must apply to the CEO for approval to home school prior to commencing home schooling and provide details of the proposed program.
The CEO may have the program suitability assessed by the department. The approval is for one school year only and the parent must allow departmental officers to inspect from time to time. The CEO may impose any conditions on the notice of approval. I cannot see anything really controversial in this section, but I would like the minister to clarify the inspections - what they might entail, how often they might occur, and whether the department has it within their resources to be able to carry out those inspections.
In clause 5, proposed section 20H, Person not to attend school in certain circumstances - this is section 25 of the current act that allows the head teacher of a government school to direct a parent not to send their child to school for a specified time if that child is suffering from a contagious or infectious disease. The child is permitted to return to school when a certificate of fitness is certified by a medical practitioner. In this amendment, the provisions of the current section 25 have been expanded to include adults enrolled in school and children living independently. I do not believe there is anything controversial in that and completely understand why that amendment needs to occur.
Clause 5, proposed section 21, Suspension by principal - the current section dealing with suspension is section 27, where the head teacher may suspend a student, child, or adult if their conduct is considered injurious to the health or moral welfare of students. The CEO and the parent of the child, or the person if they are over 18, must be given a full report on the circumstances that led to their suspension. The suspension is to remain in force for one month or until the child has been expelled, whichever is earlier. In this amendment, the existing provisions have not been altered by this bill, but rather simply redrafted.
I can understand that, although I do have a couple of comments. The notice to be given to, or for a child that is living independently, is not as clear as the provisions relating to expulsion. It is discretionary for the principal to give a notice of suspension to the person suspended, but mandatory to give a notice to the parent who has actual custody of the child. This is particularly relevant as it is the responsibility of the child living independently to ensure they do not attend school during the suspension period.
In clause 5, proposed section 21A, Expulsion by the Minister - this is currently covered under section 28, and allows the minister to expel a child from school if it is in the best interests of other children attending the school. The child’s parent must be given written notice of the decision to expel the child, and the minister may reverse the decision at any time. In the amendment, the minister may expel a child if it is in the best interests of other students. It is still discretionary for the minister to give notice of the expulsion to the person who is expelled, but compulsory to give notice to the parent if the child is not living independently. The minister may revoke the expulsion and must notify the expelled person, or the parent, if the child is not living independently. Again, nothing too controversial, but I would question the department about why it is discretionary in that particular manner. It is relevant, as it is the responsibility of the child living independently to ensure that he not attend school, once expelled. That is a question I would like answered today.
In clause 5, proposed section 21B, Parent to ensure non-attendance - in the current act, it is the parents’ responsibility to ensure the child who has been suspended, expelled, or directed not to attend school for health reasons, does not attend the school, and failing to do so results in a maximum penalty of $200. In this amendment, the existing provisions remain the same but, if the child is living independently, it is that child’s responsibility to ensure they do not attend school for the specified period, if expelled. Attendance at school is an offence with a maximum of 15 penalty units, which is $1995 for a first offence, or 20 penalty units, $2660, for a second or subsequent offence. If the child is living independently, the maximum penalty is 1 penalty units or two penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.
A child who lives independently must not attend school if they have been given an expulsion or suspension notice. The discretionary nature of a suspension or expulsion notice for children living independently means an unworkable gray area may arise where the principal has not given the child a notice, so the child does not have to ensure their own non-attendance. The same applies if the notice is given to an adult student.
Moving on to clause 5, proposed section 23, Information notice, there is no equivalent in the current act. In this amendment, if the CEO believes a child is not enrolled, attending school or an eligible option, or participating in distance or approved home education, a written notice may be given to the parent or the child living independently. The information notice must detail the provisions of the act the CEO believes are not being complied with, specifically, what information is required, what action needs to be taken to comply with the notice, and the period within which it must be complied with. A parent, or a child living independently, may also be required to provide specified information. Failing to comply with the information notice is an offence with a maximum penalty of 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second; and, for a child living independently, 1 and two penalty units respectively.
I have a couple of issues, but I want to talk about them in clause 5, proposed section 23A, Compliance notice. There is no equivalent in the current act. In this amendment, if the CEO believes a child is not enrolled, attending school or an eligible option, or participating in distance or approved home education, a written notice may be given to the parent or the child living independently. The compliance notice must detail the provisions of the act not being complied with, specify what action needs to be taken to comply with the act, and the period within which it must be complied with. A parent or child living independently may also be required to provide specified information. The penalty for failing to comply is 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second offence; and, for a child living independently, 1 and two penalty units respectively.
An information notice does not need to be issued for the CEO to issue a compliance notice. I have an issue with this because there is very little difference between an information notice under section 23 and a compliance notice under proposed section 23A. The only real difference is that the information notice requires the person given the notice to provide specified information, rather than just to comply with the act.
Moving onto clause 5, proposed section 23B, Compulsory conference - there is no effective equivalent in the current act. In this amendment, if the CEO believes that the provisions relating to enrolment, attendance, or any other provisions of Part 4 are not being complied with, the parent, or child if they are living independently, may be directed to attend a compulsory conference to resolve the issues of non-compliance. The CEO may also permit a child not living independently to attend the conference without one or both of their parents. The child may request another support person attend the conference and this may be approved by the CEO, but only if the CEO believes the conference has a higher chance of success with that support person present. As I said earlier, it would be grossly unfair if a child, particularly of 14 years of age, was denied a support person if that was their wish.
The issue we need to consider is: is it appropriate for a child, living either independently or under parental control, to attend a conference with a departmental officer and possibly other adults such as the principal, teacher, etcetera, without a support person. A better option would be to determine if a child should be considered as living independently rather than the parents not taking responsibility in the first place.
Moving to clause 5, proposed section 23, Authorised persons may direct a child to be enrolled - again, no equivalent in the current act. These new provisions allow an authorised officer who believes a child of compulsory school age is not enrolled in school to direct a parent, or a child living independently, to enrol that child in school within 10 days of that direction. The penalty for a parent not complying with the direction to enrol a child at school is 15 penalty units for a first offence and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. For a child living independently, it is 1 penalty units, and two for a second or subsequent offence. Under the act, the period may be extended by the authorised officer. I read that out because it is one area that makes absolute sense.
Clause 5, proposed section 24A, Obstruction of authorised officers - no provisions in the current act - and there is nothing controversial in that particular area.
Clause 5, proposed section 24B, Misleading information – there is no current provision in the act. The amendment – a person who provides misleading information or a false document to an authorised officer is committing an offence. Pretty straightforward, and I appreciate that amendment.
Clause 5, proposed section 25C, Information sharing – there is no equivalent provision in the current act. Currently, the information privacy principles under the Information Act prevent the sharing of personal and sensitive information between agencies. This limits the ability of the CEO of Education to locate or contact a child who may or may not be enrolled or participating in school or an eligible option. This section allows the CEO to request relevant information, or disclose personal or otherwise confidential information, while making a request of another agency. This is a good initiative and is similar in intent to previous Country Liberals’ private member’s bills. Other amendments with similar intent have been introduced recently by the government in relation to health information, which was supported by the opposition, and this particular area is well-supported.
The minor amendments in clause 5, proposed section 19B - a second or subsequent offence applies only after the commencement of the bill. It relates to the number of offences the parent has been found guilty of, whether in relation to the same child or another child.
Clause 5, proposed section 20G - the equivalent provision is section 23 of the current act. Drafting changes have been made to clarify the existing provisions, which allow a parent to request their child be withdrawn from specified courses.
Clause 5, proposed section 21C, Re-enrolment after expulsion - the intent of this section is not changed from the current section 29A. A note has been added to clarify that a school-aged child must be enrolled, attend school, etcetera, despite the expulsion.
Clause 5, proposed section 22, Parents to ensure participation in eligible options - the intent of this section has not changed from the current section 22A. The penalties, of course, have been increased in line with previous penalties of two penalty units to 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. This is a significant increase considering section 22A commenced a little over 12 months ago – I believe 1 January 2010 - and provisions relating to children living independently have also been included.
Clause 5, proposed section 22A, Inquiries about participation in eligible options - the intent of this section has not changed from the current section 31A. The penalty has been increased from five penalty units to 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.
Clause 5, proposed section 32C, Truancy from schools or eligible options - the equivalent provision in the current act is section 31(3), I believe. The basic intent of the truancy provisions have not changed - they have been worded in accordance with current drafting practices and expanded to include a child who may be participating in an eligible option.
Clause 5, proposed section 23D, Authorised persons may require information about enrolment or eligible option - the equivalent provision in the current act is section 31(4) and 31A with the exception that only a person apparently over the age of 14 years is to be asked for the relevant information. The penalties being increased from $200 to 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence, and 1.5 and two penalty units if the information is asked of a child 14 years or over.
Clause 5, proposed section 24, Employment of children - the equivalent provisions are contained in section 30 of the current act. The penalty has been increased from $500 to 15 penalty units, or $1995, for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence for a person who allows a child of compulsory school age to work when they should be a school. For a person who employs or allows a child to be employed at any time in employment likely to cause the child to be unfit to attend school or unable to understand instruction, the penalty has been set at 50 penalty units or three months in prison for a first offence, and 100 penalty units or six months in prison for a second or subsequent offence. The minister may still grant exemption for a child under special circumstances.
Clause 5, proposed section 24C, Evidentiary certificates - the equivalent provisions in the current act are contained in section 32 with little change, other than modernisation in line with current conventions.
Clause 5, proposed section 25 - and we are nearly there - current provisions in the act are contained in section 31, the same as other legislation.
Clause 5, proposed section 25A, The identity card - the equivalent provision in the current act is contained in section 31(2), including the requirement that the authorised officer show the card to any person they are engaged with in an official capacity. The provisions have been extended to require certain information to be listed on the card such as name, photo, and signature of the person, and that the card must be returned to the CEO within 21 days after the person ceases to be an authorised officer. Failure to do so incurs a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units.
The education infringement notice regulations: values for infringement notices have been set at one-tenth of the maximum for each relevant offence. Schedule 1 amendments are routine changes to wording and drafting style in the current conventions. We worked through each of the …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move that the member be given an extension of time pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr CHANDLER: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
We completely understand why government is trying to do what it is doing. At times, the opposition needs to question the vehicles government pursues and, where necessary, point out issues we think you are going to face. It does not matter what side of politics you sit on, you will applaud good legislation. At the same time, if we find areas we do not think will work, or, in some cases, will go against the philosophy of the opposition party at the time or, indeed, where we think there are going to be real challenges for the department, it would be remiss of us not to raise those particular issues.
Today, I have raised a few issues I hope the minister and the department can work out. I do not think it will be easy, particularly when you are dealing with children of that age where they have the bodies or the physical strength of an adult, and the ideals of a 30- or 40-year-old, but the mind of a 14-year-old. That is an extremely big challenge.
We are certain of one thing: there needs to be consequences. We have to get our children to school, and our community needs to value education. Will it work? There are questions we can look at in 12 months, 18 months from now - and we will. How will it work? This will be up to the department and the minister to ensure it works. I trust the minister can answer some of the questions.
I go back to the point I made earlier; that education starts in the home. Anyone who thinks the first time their child should be educated is in school, is totally wrong. It needs to start in the home. So does discipline and this needs to be reinforced in schools. I hate it when I hear the first time a child ever faces any discipline whatsoever, or consistency in their day, is the first day they go to school. That is unfair to our teachers - it is unfair, perhaps, even for the government to have to deal with what should be a parent’s ultimate responsibility. It starts in the home, and is reinforced in the schools. I implore the government to do all it can to improve our education facilities and curriculum, and our pathways into the future.
I would like to see a day where, with the wonderful VET pathways we have today - and let us be frank: there are some children out there who will never go on to higher academic levels but will become the best mechanics and welders you are ever going to find. They may not become a scientist, or an architect, or a doctor, but they are going to be the ones who fix your car, so those VET pathways are just as important as our higher education areas. One day we could have pathways leading directly into the Army, Navy or Air Force. We have great cadet schemes today and there is a chance we can include Defence in our pathways in future.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy, I advise you that at 11 am I will be asking you to pause so that we can have the delivery of the budget.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the contribution of the member for Brennan and his thorough scrutiny, as it should be, of the bill currently before the House, as it should be. These amendments are extensive and they are very important. I am pleased to hear the member for Brennan say there has to be consequences.
I support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill, which was tabled in the February sittings as an exposure draft and introduced in the last week of March in the Alice Springs sittings. It was also during the Alice Springs sittings in November 2009 that I spoke in support of the Youth Participation Bill, which saw the passage of important amendments to the Education Act. This was and is an important part of COAG reforms, which were implemented to legislate that young people in the Northern Territory, and, indeed, other jurisdictions, must complete minimum Year 10 secondary education, and thereafter continue in full-time education, training, employment, or a combination of those, until they reach the age of 17 years.
Within that bill, there was recognition that we cannot simply allow young people to opt out of school. There was also recognition and, as I mentioned in my speech to this House during that debate, that governments need to ensure the best possible start in life for young people. Requiring them to participate in full-time education, or training, or employment, or a combination of these, the additional opportunities for young people, young Territorians, will translate into enhanced capacity for employment and earning potential in the future.
It is young people’s participation in education, which leads to employment outcomes, which is the key to not only growing our young people, but also growing strong communities and a strong Territory. That is why this government places such strong emphasis on education being at the core of the Territory’s future. It is at the centre of the Territory 2030 strategy and it underpins our A Working Future policy. The latter has been confirmed repeatedly in the local implementation plans signed in our growth towns, not only in my electorate, but across the Northern Territory. Of the seven building blocks in each of the local implementation plans, early childhood and school are front and centre.
The bill before the House today, which proposes further amendments to the Education Act, builds upon and supports the Youth Participation Bill to go to the very heart of addressing and strengthening, not only our resolve, but our responsibility to have a strong and robust legislative framework to address the challenges of attendance and participation that we face in the Territory, particularly in our remote areas.
In his second reading speech and tabled explanatory statement, the minister provided details of the amendments, so it is not my intention to revisit all of these, but rather to speak more generally in support of this bill. As a former educator and as the parent of school-aged children, I place a high value on education and recognise, as I know members on both sides of this House do, how critically important it is for children’s futures. I want to see children, including my own, grow up to be well-educated, well-rounded, self-contained and self-determining, and independent individuals who can take control of their lives because they are educated and, hopefully, one day will have moved on to a good job, possibly through further study.
Importantly, I want to see children, including my own, grow up and have choices in front of them by virtue of having actively participated in and received a sound and balanced education. They need to leave school with core skills, to be literate and numerate.
Schools and education deliver so much more in growing and shaping young people’s lives. As an elected member of this House in a remote bush electorate, and as parliamentary secretary for Education and Training, I place the highest value on education. However, I recognise there are many Territory children who did not, and do not, have the upbringing and the role models associated with education that I had as a child and that my children have. I recognise, and this government recognises, the reasons why children may not attend school are complex. Further, we recognise that we must act to support families to overcome the barriers to attending school. It is the right of every child to have access to an education and, with it, a passport and a pathway to a bright future.
As a government, we can have any number of provisions and encouragements in place, which places the responsibility squarely on parents to ensure that children are enrolled, attending, and participating in education. Those children who do not enrol and participate in education, who do not attend every day for extended periods, are at risk of being relegated to the difficult to break cycle and revolving door of welfare dependency.
The act has been in need of restructuring to make it more workable. In order to effect real change, that real change needs to be measurable by witnessing an increasing attendance
As the Education minister said in his second reading speech, the average attendance at Territory schools is 82% and in urban areas this is higher at around 92% attendance. Attendance at very remote schools, however, not including the 20 growth towns, is 76%, while average attendance in growth towns is clearly unacceptable at 56%.
Data highlights that it is from middle years, which is Years 7, 8 and 9, that we see a steady drop in participation and retention in very remote schools. The Smart Territory strategy has seen widespread reforms implemented across five priority areas, and this includes getting everyone on the same page about understanding the value of education. It is about being strong in improving attendance and placing participation front and centre. It is about ensuring that schools are safe and welcoming places. It is about building and leveraging strong partnerships between home, schools, business, and community, and it is about providing relevant and interesting learning pathways.
The subsequent Every Child, Every Day strategy launched in October last year maps out a clear action plan to assist families to meet their obligations, to provide their children with their right to attend school, and the opportunity for choices for a bright future. This bill aims to make the act more workable and enforceable and the amendments to Part 4 are tough, but also fair, because they need to be. The bill significantly increases penalties for offences against the attendance provisions in the act and brings them into line with other jurisdictions.
We also see the introduction of infringement notices. Many people welcome these increased penalties, hoping that it provides a stronger disincentive to those who do not get their children to school. The elected members of the East Arnhem Shire Council have been vocal about their frustration and concern regarding low attendance in the shire and their criticism is that penalties have not been great enough.
It is worth noting that one of the many schools in East Arnhem shire; one that stands out as a success in turning around poor attendance is Shepherdson College. Its success in attracting and retaining students is due to the strong leadership of the principal, the dedicated and committed staff, and strong community relationships. There are many factors which contribute to this school’s success; highlighting that change in attitude is possible and that the threat of deterrence, whilst if may not necessarily be used, may also be effective. Pockets of success are not isolated to Shepherdson College. I know schools I have visited in recent months, including Ntaria School in Central Australia, Milikapiti School on the Tiwi Islands, and Bakewell Primary School in Palmerston, all enjoy reputations for sustaining healthy attendance and participation figures. I am under no illusion about the hard work from all stakeholders that goes into creating and sustaining success. It demonstrates that through rigorous strategy and planning, this can happen …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy, I will ask you to pause at that point, thank you.
Debate suspended.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have given permission for the Northern Territory News to take photographs during the budget speech.
I also remind members that the Assembly will resume after the luncheon suspension today at 2.30 pm.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of officers of the Northern Territory Treasury, and many guests who have come to listen to the budget. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
APPROPRIATION (2011-2012) BILL
(Serial 163)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
Madam Speaker, I table the 2011-12 Appropriation Bill and related papers.
Budget 2011-12 has at its centre, quality and affordable services to support Territory families to get ahead. It also builds on opportunities, positioning us for the next stage of economic growth in the Northern Territory. Budget 2011-12 is a tight budget - developed in an environment of constrained revenues, but increased service demand. We have responded with a budget which is responsible and responsive to the needs of Territory families and businesses. For a Labor government, quality and affordable healthcare and education are key priorities and we deliver record investment in these areas.
The budget delivers on law and order, targeting the scourge of alcohol misuse and related crime and antisocial behaviour through the Enough is Enough reforms, the second stage of the Growing them strong, together child protection reforms, the important new era in Corrections reforms, A Working Future, and our Territory 2030 targets.
While Australia and the Territory dodged the worst of the global financial crisis, its effects continue with further reduction to GST revenues, limits on credit affecting business activity and, as a consequence, the Territory’s own-source revenue. Territory businesses have felt the lingering effects of the GFC with more cautious consumer behaviour and tightened credit markets. Budget 2011-12 keeps infrastructure spending at historically high levels, with $1.5bn to continue to create and support Territory jobs, and the broader economy, until private sector investment returns to more usual levels.
Affordability for Territory families and businesses is a feature of Budget 2011-12 with power concessions; childcare subsidies; seniors, pensioner, and carer concession scheme funding; and homebuyer assistance to help Territory families tackle the cost of living pressures. Budget 2011-12 also delivers early on the Labor government’s commitment to slash payroll tax, ensuring the Territory remains the lowest taxing jurisdiction for small to medium businesses in the nation.
Budget 2011-12 helps Territory families get ahead. It builds on opportunities and positions the Territory for the economic boom times that are just around the corner.
Australia and the Territory were both impacted by the once in a generation economic downturn, the global financial crisis, though both economies performed remarkably well under the circumstances. The Territory economy was shielded initially from the GFC by a number of major projects approved and financed in 2008-09. However, in 2009-10, economic growth in the Territory slowed as several major projects reached completion and there was an absence of new major projects in a credit-constrained post-GFC world. Our government has a strong economic record, having delivered eight consecutive budget surpluses, positioning us well against the challenges of the GFC. In response to the GFC, our government took a deliberate decision to go into deficit, to fund record infrastructure investment, to inject stimulus into the Territory economy to support jobs. The decision has paid off with economic growth in the Territory estimated to have strengthened to 2.2% in 2010-11 due to significant increases in public sector investment and consumption, which are expected to have more than offset a decline in private investment.
Throughout this period, Territory businesses have remained among the most confident in the nation and the Territory’s unemployment level reached the lowest in Territory history. Importantly, since the GFC, more than 12 000 jobs have been created, with about 90% of these full-time jobs.
The global economy continues to recover from the GFC crisis. Despite strong headline figures, growth is expected to remain uneven with emerging economies including China, India, and Indonesia forecast to grow significantly faster than developed economies, many of which continue to struggle with high rates of unemployment. Strong growth in emerging economies is expected to sustain commodity demand and prices at high levels, and drive mineral and energy exploration and development in Australia and the Territory. Strong demand and higher prices for commodities has already resulted in increased exploration and expansions of several mines in the Territory. Higher demand for the Territory’s mineral and energy exports from emerging economies underpins the Territory’s forecast economic growth rate of 3.2% in 2011-12. This is slightly more conservative than the Deloitte Access Economics economic growth forecasts, which set the Territory as the strongest economic performer in the nation in 2011-12 at 5% growth, an equal first with Western Australia, on average over the next five years.
Household consumption remained relatively subdued in 2010-11 following increased interest rates and a higher household propensity to save. It is forecast to increase by 2.1% in 2011-12 as stronger employment, population, and wage growth improves consumer confidence. This is expected to provide a much-needed boost to the Territory’s retailers.
Employment growth is forecast to strengthen to 2.8% in 2011-12, reflecting improved economic growth and increased construction activity. Construction is expected to increase due to the major oil field developments of Montara and Kitan in the Timor Sea, as well as stronger residential construction growth in the latter half of 2011-12, following the Territory’s accelerated land release in Palmerston East.
The average unemployment rate in the Territory is forecast to remain at historically low levels at 3%. The Territory’s population growth is forecast to remain at 1% in 2011, influenced by the 7RAR personnel relocating south before strengthening to 1.8% in 2012. The increase in 2012 reflects stronger employment growth arising from increased private sector investment and residential construction activity, as well as increased Defence personnel.
Inflation is forecast to moderate to 2.3% in 2011, dampened by an appreciation of the Australian dollar before strengthening to 2.6% in 2012 as household consumption and economy growth strengthens. However, the impact of severe flooding in the eastern states and Cyclone Yasi may result in a spike in food inflation in 2011. These forecasts do not take into account the effect on the Territory economy of the INPEX final investment decision, which is expected by the last quarter of 2011. This is an enormous project with expenditure in excess of $20bn.
The Henderson government has guided the Territory through tough economic times and placed the Territory economy on a firm foundation. Budget 2011-12 positions the Territory to build on opportunities through strategic infrastructure projects and fiscal management to take advantage of our economic potential for Territorians.
In 2010, the prevailing view was that Australia was beginning to emerge from the effects of the GFC. However, as the year developed, a range of economic data indicated that recovery was not as strong as expected. In addition, over recent months, a number of regions in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan have experienced major natural disasters, resulting in lower business and trade activity, and contributing to lower levels of confidence. Australians are more cautious than before; saving more and investing less. These factors have had a marked effect on the Territory’s main revenue source, the GST, as well as our own-source revenues. Since the 2010-11 Budget, the national GST pool was revised down in November by $600m when the Commonwealth released its Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook report. Since that time, a number of consumption indicators, as well as construction activity, have further slowed.
GST collections to date are substantially lower than expected and consumer spending patterns indicate there is a greater proportion of spending on items that are not subject to GST, such as health, education, housing, and food costs. Accordingly, GST revenue has been revised down further to a total of $2.1bn in 2010-11, with significantly lower growth rates in 2011-12, and all forward years. The combined effect results in a loss to the Territory of $137m in 2010-11, and $27m in 2011-12, compared with the 2010-11 Budget. The loss in 2011-12 was lower due to the effect of the Commonwealth Grants Commission 2011 update, which recommended an increase in the Territory’s relativity. Own-source revenue has also reduced; predominantly stamp duty on property transfers, as the result of a lower level of activity in the real estate market.
The government has made a number of substantial expenditure commitments to important areas of service delivery – notably, the new era in Corrections, the Growing them strong, together child protection reforms, and the Enough is Enough alcohol initiative; all of which have added to expenditure in 2010-11 and over the forward estimates. The resulting effect is a total budget of $5.3bn in 2011-12, an estimated cash deficit of $295m for 2010-11, and $387m for 2011-12.
Although the cash deficits are reducing over the forward estimates, the lower GST revenue will make the return to surplus more prolonged. In response to this challenge, the government has constrained expenditure in the budget and forward estimates. The staffing cap was put in place in the last budget and achieved for the March 2011 quarter when increases in child protection staff are excluded. We will continue savings measures for the 2011-12 Budget through reprioritisation of 2% of agency output appropriation towards new initiatives or demand growth, increasing the efficiency dividend to 3% in 2011-12, and continuing the staffing cap. The staffing cap has been adjusted only where significant new programs have been funded.
Total infrastructure spending in 2011-12 is $1.5bn, with a budget sector capital works program of $1.2bn; repairs and maintenance spending of $219m; and infrastructure-related grants of $117m.
The Power and Water Corporation is estimated to spend $375m on infrastructure in 2011-12. These amounts are slightly lower than 2010-11 because the Commonwealth stimulus funding is almost at an end. However, Territory spending remains well above the long-term average and higher than last year, in line with our commitment to boost infrastructure spending to maintain Territory jobs and growth until private sector investment returns to more usual levels.
The continuation of high levels of infrastructure spending has contributed directly to the cash deficits in the budget and forward estimates. The nett debt to revenue ratio is estimated to be 32% in 2011-12, rising to 47% in 2014-15; while the ratio of nett financial liabilities to revenue is estimated to be 102% in 2011-12, rising to 119% in 2014-15. These are below the 2001 debt ratios.
Budget 2011 has met the Territory’s fiscal strategy targets by ensuring that growth in operating expenditure is less than revenue growth, and that there is significant infrastructure investment to maintain territory jobs, a competitive tax environment, and prudent management of liabilities.
The Henderson government has made helping Territorians to buy their own homes a key priority. BuildBonus is a new grant program that will be available from today until 31 December this year. It is specifically designed to encourage the construction of new, affordable housing by providing a one-off $10 000 grant to purchasers of a new home up to the value of $530 000, including off the plan purchases. BuildBonus will be available for new construction that commences after today. BuildBonus will complement the Homestart NT Program, where income and price caps in all regions have been increased, and will encourage more building in new land release areas, as well as the development of more unit complexes across the Territory.
From 1 July 2011, stamp duty rates for property transfers of $3m or more will increase from 4.95% to 5.45%, raising an estimated $2.3m. Even with this increase, the maximum stamp duty rate for property of this value remains lower than the ACT, NSW, Victoria, and South Australia.
The government committed in the 2008 election to reduce its payroll tax from 5.9% to 5.5% by 2012. This commitment is being brought forward to commence on 1 July 2011, and will benefit all payroll taxpayers, ensuring the Territory continues to be the lowest taxing jurisdiction for small to medium-sized businesses. The payroll tax threshold will be increased on 1 July 2011 from $1.25m to $1.5m, removing 40 small Territory businesses from the requirement to pay payroll tax. We will also be adopting a similar system to that used in Queensland where the $1.5m annual deduction is reduced by $1 for every $4 in wages paid above this amount. This means that when total wages exceed $7.5m, no annual deduction is received.
Although not a revenue source for government, motor accident compensation contributions will rise in line with CPI increases, consistent with the new arrangements we put in place for the scheme earlier this year.
The Territory government’s commitment to a significant increase in infrastructure spending through the GFC has protected and created jobs. Budget 2011-12 continues to invest heavily in the Territory’s future with $1.5bn for infrastructure. We are investing in more roads and housing, and better schools and hospitals across the Territory.
Roads continue to be a vital part of the Territory’s budget with $307m for roads infrastructure, including an increase of $14m for Territory roads’ repairs and maintenance to fix our roads following record rainfalls this year. This estimate is likely to be revised when we receive a comprehensive assessment of the flood damage. Improving bridges and flood immunity across the Territory is a focus of the roads budget with $56m for the Port Keats Road; new bridges over the Daly River, Central Arnhem Road, King River, and Cullen River; and flood immunity programs in remote areas. 2011-12 will see the completion of the Tiger Brennan Drive extension project with a rail overpass on Berrimah Road. There are also improvements for our national network roads, particularly the Stuart Highway.
The Territory government continues the investment in power and water assets with $1.8bn over five years, including $375m in 2011-12 to meet increased demand and improve reliability.
Land release is important to grow the Territory. Budget 2011-12 invests $20.3m for headworks to continue the release of land in Palmerston East; $13.5m for headworks to service the new suburb of Kilgariff in Alice Springs; $6m to continue sealing Jenkins Road; and $950 000 to continue investigative studies for the new city of Weddell.
We are also growing the Territory through increased economic infrastructure, with $5m to facilitate the development of a marine supply base, which will support major economic development projects including the Ichthys LNG project. In addition, $28m is provided for industrial land release. The successful Bringing Forward Discovery program has been extended in Budget 2011-12, with an $11.4m three-year investment to stimulate mineral and petroleum exploration, and attract exploration investment into the Territory.
The centrepiece of Budget 2011-12 is the $67m five-year package for the Enough is Enough alcohol reforms, which aim to tackle alcohol misuse and reduce alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour. Enough is Enough will target problem drinkers to turn them off tap and mandate treatment supported by $10.9m in 2011-12. Alcohol misuse costs our community an estimated $642m per year across health, policing, and justice, as well as lost productivity across our economy.
The Henderson government will invest $5.2m to enhance alcohol treatment and rehabilitation options and establish new services to meet the demands of people with significant alcohol problems – the first tranche of a $34m boost. The banned drinker register and ID scanners will cost $4.7m to roll-out across the Territory; without it, problem drinkers will continue to access alcohol, costing our community so much more. Budget 2011-12 also invests $1m to establish the Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal and SMART Court to support the alcohol reforms.
The government’s commitment to improving safety for Territory families delivers a record Police, Fire and Emergency Services budget, up $15m to $328m, and a capital budget of $50m. The investment in Police Beats increases to $7.4m in Budget 2011-12 with offices in Alice Springs, Katherine, Casuarina, Palmerston, Parap, Nightcliff, and soon Karama. $1.3m is provided to improve the capacity of the Forensic Science Branch, with a further $1.2m for a new laboratory and office accommodation. $1.75m, an increase of $600 000, delivers enhanced CCTV services to Darwin and Alice Springs.
Budget 2011-12 will see the construction of the new $12.3m Berrimah Fire Station commencing, with additional funding of $5.4m to resource the Fire and Rescue Service. The new fire station will improve response times to Darwin, Palmerston, and the East Arm Port, and will include an urban search and rescue storage facility and facilities for Darwin’s Emergency Services volunteer unit.
Budget 2011-12 steps up the five-year $120m investment to implement initiatives under the new era in Corrections, including $8.5m in 2011-12 for alternative sentencing options for our non-violent offenders. Work will also commence on the new Darwin Correctional facility with $27m for initial headworks.
Budget 2011-12 again delivers on affordable housing initiatives for Territorians. The BuildBonus scheme will provide incentives for new homes and assist affordable unit developments to meet the tightened post-GFC finance commitment levels. Homestart NT provides further assistance to help low- to middle-income earners gain access to the property market. Both the income limits and price caps have been lifted, with an increase in the Darwin and Palmerston price cap of $55 000 to $530 000, an increase of $50 000 for Alice Springs to a cap of $435 000, and increases in other regional centres.
Budget 2011-12 also sees the establishment of the Territory’s first affordable housing rental company to provide rental housing assistance for low- to middle-income earners at below market rent. The housing infrastructure program in Budget 2011-12 is $539m and delivers urban and remote public housing, land servicing, and government employee housing. This budget continues the $49m commitment to build 150 new homes over three years, including the Larapinta and Bellamack seniors’ villages, and 42 one- and two-bedroom units.
Territory and Commonwealth funding of $6.8m will support homelessness through managed, short-term accommodation in Alice Springs and Darwin, including the Percy Court Transitional Village in Alice Springs housing up to 70 people, and the Crerar Road facility in Berrimah providing 78 beds.
Protecting our children and supporting Territory families is a key priority for this government. Budget 2011-12 continues the significant investment of $130m over five years for the Growing them strong, together outcomes, with $25m in 2011-12. The government continues to support at risk youth with $1.3m to support three Territory youth camps, and $300 000 to develop a response for young people at risk of homelessness in the Palmerston area. There is also $3.7m for Stage 2 of the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan to get young people in Alice Springs back to school and away from antisocial behaviour and crime-related activities. Budget 2011-12 sees the implementation of the second stage of the secure care package, with $11.4m to construct two 16-bed group home facilities in Darwin and Alice Springs. There is also $3.5m for safe places upgrades in 15 remote communities.
Budget 2011-12 delivers a record $930m for quality and affordable education and training to support improved educational outcomes and help more Territorians into jobs. We, in partnership with the Australian government, have upgraded every school across the Territory. Budget 2011-12 continues this focus with $110m to build and maintain our schools, including $7.2m to complete the Henderson government’s four-year initiative to upgrade every primary and group school. There is a $19.4m boost to special education to upgrade and relocate Nemarluk School to Alawa, and upgrade Taminmin College, Palmerston Senior College, and Henbury School, and continue works at Acacia Hill School.
Budget 2011-12 supports more than 3000 teachers with additional funding of $1.2m to establish up to 50 specialist teacher positions, and a further $1.2m to provide additional classroom support in Transition classes.
In partnership with the Commonwealth, Budget 2011-12 delivers:
$16.4m to build and $4.8m to operate four Children and Family Centre services;
$5.9m to ensure that by 2013 every child will have access to a preschool program in the year prior to full-time schooling; and
$2.3m to continue enrolment and attendance initiatives under the Every Child Every Day strategy.
Under Labor, more than 100 young Indigenous Territorians in remote communities have completed Year 12 due to continued investment in remote education.
Budget 2011-12 also delivers for apprentices and trainees, with $1m per annum to enable 10 000 apprentice and trainee commencements between 2009 and 2012. Since 2005, more than 15 500 Territorians have commenced a traineeship or an apprenticeship.
We are delivering $900 000 for the Work Ready program to increase access to apprenticeships and traineeships; $800 000 is provided under Jobs NT 2010-12 for financial incentives for eligible employers to encourage apprentice and trainee jobs in occupational shortage areas and for disadvantaged groups; $250 000 continues to provide vocational education and training and work experience programs for students in the middle years of schooling, especially young Indigenous men. To support Territorians taking up a traineeship or apprenticeship, Budget 2011-12 continues the $1.3m Workwear/Workgear Bonus scheme, providing up to $1000 towards start-up tool and training costs, helping Territorians to get ahead.
Investing in the health of all Territorians through quality and affordable health services is a key priority of this government. Budget 2011-12 delivers a record $1.1bn to improve hospital and primary healthcare services, including $525m for better hospitals. Health infrastructure investment is $193m and includes $20m for a new emergency department for the Alice Springs Hospital; $3.3m for upgrades at Tennant Creek Hospital; and $9.5m for emergency department and operating theatre upgrades at Royal Darwin Hospital.
We recognise that Royal Darwin Hospital is one of the busiest in the nation. That is why we fund the most beds per capita in the nation, and we have continuously upgraded facilities with a new emergency department, Rapid Admission and Planning Unit, new maternity facilities, expanded wards, and upgraded theatre facilities. We also increased funding to create 677 nurse positions and 208 doctor positions across the Territory, including 326 extra nurses and 132 extra doctors at Royal Darwin Hospital since 2002. Budget 2011-12 continues to invest in improving Royal Darwin Hospital - for patients and the 2000 staff that work there.
The Territory government is delivering new initiatives to support people with a mental illness, with $1.6m for additional child and adolescent mental health services, and $1.5m to manage members of the community with exceptional and complex needs.
A funding boost of $3m is provided to St John Ambulance to increase the emergency road ambulance and medical transportation services.
The health of remote Territorians will be improved with an additional $2.5m to continue implementing coordinated patient care and services for Indigenous patients with chronic conditions. A $2m contribution for a new health centre at Umbakumba and an additional $3m to expand renal services in the Top End also delivers improved healthcare. As a result of significant funding increases to primary healthcare, and increasing access to health services, we are seeing improvements in health outcomes. Life expectancy for Aboriginal women has improved by three years and the infant mortality rate has fallen by 35%. With significant boosts to renal services over many years, particularly in regional and remote areas, survival rates for Territory renal dialysis patients are now equivalent to the rest of Australia - an improvement of seven years.
The government’s A Working Future strategy aims to improve the lives of Territorians living in remote areas. Budget 2011-12 delivers $633m for remote infrastructure across the Territory. An important new initiative in this budget is a three-year $30m Indigenous employment package for shire councils to support core local government service delivery. This initiative includes additional Territory funding of $8.4m, with the Commonwealth contributing $1.6m per annum. This package will see an additional 530 Indigenous jobs being supported across our shires.
There is $17.8m for the new gas-fired Wadeye Power Station.
Getting technology into our remote areas is a key element to improve the lifestyle and opportunity for Territorians living there. Budget 2011-12 includes $6.6m as part of a three-year, $16.4m funding package for the Digital Regions Initiative National Partnership Agreement to provide enhanced services to Territory growth towns, including video conferencing, tele-health for clinicians, and e-learning initiatives for students and employees.
$1.15m is provided to implement the second year of regional area bus trials; $1m grants to support the reporting officer function in remote communities with aerodromes; $10m for airstrip upgrades, and $4m for improved barge landings.
The $1.7bn 10-year National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing continues this year with $387.7m to construct new housing, upgrade existing housing, and provide associated infrastructure in remote Indigenous communities.
To improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students as part of A Working Future, Budget 2011-12 includes a $3.5m contribution to an $8.69m investment to continue and expand ‘virtual’ very remote early childhood integrated service hubs and Families as First Teachers programs; and $3.18m to continue and expand student engagement programs such as Clontarf Football Academy to at least 13 sites and Sporting Chance at six sites.
Training programs are also enhanced in the Territory growth towns with $2.6m to implement innovative and flexible training programs in communities that connect Indigenous Territorians to real and sustainable local employment opportunities. We are focused on our responsibility to provide all Territorians with a working future.
The Territory has a unique, pristine environment and the Henderson government plans to keep it that way. Budget 2011-12 delivers record funding to protect our harbour, with $24m to continue works to close the Larrakeyah outfall and $26m to upgrade the port. $1.2m will be spent as part of a three-year program to manage and sustain inshore marine resources. An additional $1m is provided for habitat mapping, monitoring, and research activities in Darwin Harbour, with a further $800 000 ongoing for environmental compliance initiatives.
Budget 2011-12 includes $690 000 for the environmental regulation of mining operations, including the establishment of a Central Australian mining team based in Alice Springs, and other specialist staff; $400 000 to continue the ecoBiz NT program to assist businesses to improve energy efficiency; and $2.1m to deliver increased conservation in parks and Indigenous employment outcomes. Budget 2011-12 invests $490 000 for the delivery of the Henderson government’s container deposit scheme, rolling it out into schools and community groups, and making the Territory cleaner and greener. A new Green Streetscape program will commence in 2011-12, with $2m for urban road landscaping and $1m to work with Greening Australia to improve neighbourhood amenities.
The Territory lifestyle continues to be second to none. Budget 2011-12 delivers more for sporting and other major events, recreational facilities and, of course, fishing. Support continues and increases for the V8 Supercars, Australian Superbikes, AFL, Rugby League and Rugby Union matches, and the BassintheGrass and Alice Springs concert. Improved sporting facilities include: $1m for site works for the development of the Litchfield swimming pool at Freds Pass Reserve; $8.1m for Rugby League in Palmerston; $4m for a 12-court squash facility at Marrara Sporting Precinct; $5.1m for tennis and netball facilities in Palmerston; $4.3m for soccer facilities in Palmerston; and construction of the $10m Defence of Darwin Museum at East Point Reserve continues in 2011-12. Budget 2011-12 doubles government support for the delivery of the Darwin Festival with an additional $500 000 ongoing, taking the total support to $1m per annum
Recreational fishers receive a further boost this year with $1.8m for improved fishing infrastructure and $2m to upgrade secondary local roads, including roads in the Douglas Daly region. Budget 2011-12 delivers support for outdoor recreation with $12.6m for the Palmerston Water Park; $4m to support facilities at the Waterfront precinct; $2.5m for water play and aquatic wildlife viewing at Howard Springs Nature Park; $1.6m to continue works on the Palmerston to Howard Springs cycle path; and $290 000 to continue upgrading two track heads at Larapinta Trail.
Madam Speaker, Budget 2011-12 helps Territory families get ahead and builds on opportunities. It is responsible but responsive, recognising all Territorians need the opportunities of A Working Future and a dynamic Territory 2030. It maintains our commitment to Territory business to keep our infrastructure spending high to protect jobs and grow the economy until private sector investment returns. It delivers tax cuts to support jobs and positions the Territory for future growth. Budget 2011-12 helps more Territorians into their own homes and delivers the most generous concession subsidies in the nation to help Territory families get ahead. Budget 2011-12 delivers on the priorities of the Henderson government to provide affordable and quality health and education services for Territorians.
We are tackling law and order issues through targeted measures to tackle alcohol misuse that costs our community an estimated $642m per year. We are continuing to invest in infrastructure and services to make the Territory a great place to live, work, and raise a family. We are providing quality schools and hospitals, and supporting all Territorians wherever they live.
Madam Speaker, I commend Budget 2011-12 to the House.
Debate adjourned.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Charles Darwin University ESL students, accompanied by Ms Jill Rathbone and Ms Annie Grivell; and staff of the Department of Education and Training Strategic Policy Performance Unit. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, like the member for Brennan, I note the proposed changes to the act introduce many new provisions. One which I would like to highlight is the proposed section 25C regarding information sharing. This provision enables the CEO of the Department of Education and Training to request information about a child and their family from another body or agency, including other jurisdictions, which will ensure the collection and use of pertinent information to support families to meet their obligations under the act.
The issue of sharing information in the interests of the wellbeing and welfare of children was highlighted in the Growing them strong, together report in chapter 11. That chapter was titled ‘Interagency Collaboration’ and I will quote from that report in response to what the authors had to say about education:
I heard one of the authors of the report, Dr Rob Roseby, address principals at the invitation of our minister at a principals’ conferences held in the Top End and Centre in November last year. Dr Roseby recognised and thanked principals and their staff for the enormous role they play in looking out for the interests of children, and recognition that the responsibility for the protection of children must be shared across agencies. That includes non-government organisations which have a role to play in the welfare and wellbeing of children.
I will quote from that chapter. The authors wrote:
I will include a couple of further quotes from a submission to the report from an unnamed NGO highlighting that:
and further:
This needs to change, and will change with the proposed amendments, and the Minister for Health and Families undertook that we would also make this change.
Sharing of information is a critical step forward in the interests of children, not just concerning their attendance and participation at school, but right across the board. The opposition may well challenge aspects of those amendments, but it does beg the question: what did the CLP do during its 27 years for education in promoting enrolment, attendance and participation? What was their strategy for delivering education to all Territory kids? What provisions did they make for the interests of Indigenous education? The reality is they are best remembered for the fact that they did so little for students in remote areas. Under the CLP, no Indigenous students completed secondary education in the bush.
In preparing for this debate, I read what the Country Liberals had to say on the website about education. The CLP education platform includes five dot points about what it would do for education and is followed by an online questionnaire of 10 questions, but there is no mention or recognition specifically of Indigenous students, of remote areas, of language and cultural differences, and no reference to attendance and participation. Similarly, in their media release titled ‘The Way Forward, Education for a Strong Future’, we do not see any reference to Indigenous education, but I am certainly pleased to hear from the member for Brennan this morning that he acknowledges and recognises the needs of remote students. The opposition is long on complaint but short on ideas when it comes to so many areas of government services, especially and alarmingly so in education.
This government has seen enormous progress and reforms in delivering education equitably and inclusively across the Territory. I thank the Territory’s first Labor Education Minister in 2001, the former member for Nhulunbuy, Syd Stirling; the member for Wanguri; the member for Arafura, noting the member for Arafura’s contribution particularly in the area of Indigenous education; and now the member for Johnston, for their strong leadership in the area of education and their aim to continuously strive for improvements, and to improve the outcomes for children through participation and attendance to get those children on to a pathway to a future.
Madam Speaker, we continue to celebrate the successes we see in education but, at the same time, we recognise and do not shy away from the challenges. We tackle them head on, and these amendments are an important part of dealing with those challenges. I commend the bill to the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I support the bill and thank the member for Brennan for a full response to an issue that governments have struggled with for many years. I was watching the Four Corners report last night about Aurukun and I was interested in their approach. I would like a response from the minister as to whether this legislation being put forward at the present time would encompass some of the methods they are trying at Aurukun to encourage children to come back to school. They appeared to have a small core group of people, including the principal, recognise that some children were not at school and immediately act upon it. They did not wait and have a big conference; a lady went straight to the house and knocked on the door - if she could get to the door - and asked why that child was not at school. Not everyone was happy to see that person arrive. That consistent approach was a key factor to not only bring kids back to school and improve attendances, but it was sending a message that there is a group of people in that community who believe education is important and they are going to try to turn things around. It was a great attempt by the community to turn things around in a community that has been through some rough stages.
The other issue raised was getting kids to school early so you got them into the habit. I was impressed by that group of women - I think they are called the FRC - who asked some of the women why their children were not at school. They were probably more than threatening that: ‘Your income will be managed if your child is not at school’. Again, I thought this is coming from Aboriginal people on a community that has been through some tough times, as you would have seen from the Four Corners report. We can learn from the experiences of other places like that. Their idea was if you do not get kids into a habit of going to school at an early age, it would be very difficult when they are 10, 11 or 12, which was obvious from one of the families the teacher visited - the door was shut and they were told to go away.
Whether or not you like Noel Pearson, Noel is working very hard. You do not have to agree with everything he says. His heart is in the right place. He is willing to open his mouth and say things and try things. The idea of boarding schools for kids needs to be looked at seriously in the Northern Territory. I have asked this before: the Aboriginal people in this House, where did they get their secondary education. I gather most of them went to boarding school. That says the Aboriginal people we have in this parliament obtained a good education by going to boarding school. We have some great boarding schools in the Northern Territory – Kormilda, St John’s, St Philip’s, Marrara Christian College, and others. There are also others interstate and an advantage of sending children interstate is to see a bigger world they will not see in Darwin and Alice Springs.
My children repeated Year 12 in North Queensland, and I believe it was the best thing I ever did. They spent one year in Herberton in the Atherton Tablelands. They met people from other parts of Australia – Thursday Islanders and people from Cairns. There is a broader reason for sending children away from communities, as they see other lifestyles and other opportunities. What Noel Pearson is about is getting people off welfare and getting them jobs, and those jobs, more than likely, are not going to occur in those communities because there is not enough work for people. There will be work for some but by sending these people away, they will see opportunities for work and hopefully take those up as they continue their education. That does not stop them knowing their home is still out bush; however, it is the reality of life that there will not be enough jobs for people in those communities.
One of the issues the member for Brennan raised, an important issue in the context of the new amendments, is the practicalities of what you are trying to do. The government should be congratulated for attempting to make things better. I am uncertain if previous amendments to the legislation have achieved much, but I am not going to knock the government for trying. The point we are all worried about is you can put things down on paper, you can write legislation, but will it have an effect.
I have not had a chance to look through the figures of attendance in the budget. It is one of the areas I used to always look at and I was very annoyed that there were some statistics in the budget that were removed some years ago. They used to give statistics for remote communities and those statistics disappeared. They were in the budget for about three years …
Dr Burns: They are on the website.
Mr WOOD: That is right. They were in the budget and you could compare them each year ...
Ms Scrymgour: Lazy. It is on the website.
Mr WOOD: They were in the budget and were removed. Do not tell me the print cost that much money you could not leave them in there. The excuse to go to the website is a poor excuse. They were in the budget and they were removed. Why were they removed? They were so shocking that they were an embarrassment. I do not dig up the website every minute – I am still an old fuddy-duddy who opens a book. They were in there and they were a disgrace, and I said that before. I am not trying to go back on old ground or knock the government for what happened previously. I just want to know whether these changes to the legislation are going to be effective.
We introduced five main points in this legislation. You introduced increasing the penalties for parents not sending their children to school. How many parents have been fined for not sending their children to school? I would like to see how effective that is if we came back in six months and asked: ‘How is this operating? Is it actually working?’
Regarding the issue with 14-year-old children not going to school because their parents have no power over them and they are telling their parents to go away, you say you will fine them. I understand what you are trying to do but how will it actually work in practice? These are difficult kids and it is not going to be easy. If we are going to say we are going to do it, let us see whether we can do it. That is the point of what I am saying. We are introducing these changes - and there have been changes before; we have seen legislation come to this parliament before. By introducing this new legislation are we saying that what we put forward before has not worked, and we are trying to have another go? If that is the case, the government should say so. It should say: ‘It has not done that well previously. We have introduced these changes because we think they need to be tightened and we are not succeeding at the present time’.
It is not about knocking government; it is saying good on you, you have brought in some new changes. Some of these concepts have come from interstate, from Queensland, and that might have something to do with the CEO. I believe the CEO is a very practical person who has had plenty of experience in education. Education in Queensland, in many cases, is not much different to education in the Northern Territory, especially when it comes to remote communities.
I support this legislation because it is at least worth trying. We have to do everything we can to turn things around because education is the key. Noel Pearson said that yesterday. He said the one thing we must strive for is to give, especially Aboriginal kids, a good education. That is the No 1 priority, otherwise they will never have a job and they will never lift themselves out of poverty. If those goals can be achieved by these changes to the amendments, good on the government. I do not want to talk up in the clouds. I want to see, in six months, 12 months, the government come back and say: ‘Attendance at our schools has increased. The number of kids who are not going to school has decreased. The literacy and numeracy standards have increased’. That is not going to be easy. It is very hard to turn around a 10-year-old boy or girl who has never been to school and get them to catch up with all the kids who have been to school. That is no easy task as well.
When I was on a CTC trip going out to one of the communities in Arnhem Land, the teacher said there were about 800 kids who should have been at school, and there were only about 270, I think he said, who turned up regularly. There were about another 240 who turned up irregularly. That is a dismal performance for a school. There are some schools that do very well. I could name schools, Milikapiti and Pirlangimpi where, at primary level, they do exceptionally well and they have high rates. However, when it hits the secondary school, they go straight down. You get part of the way there but the bit that is going to change the lives of many of the young people will be a good, solid secondary education.
I just say one thing about secondary education. I know the government has said it is the government that introduced secondary education to many of the remote communities and the CLP did not. That is fine, you can argue the case and that is what you have done. The reality is you need to dig deeper than that. Are we training young people in physics and chemistry? Are they studying law? Do they have a Year 12 English level? Or are we just putting them through courses like tourism and cooking – which are fine courses – but are we just saying that because we want to appear as if we have secondary education?
I am not knocking the people who have done those courses, but sometimes in the spin you can say: ‘Look, this is what we have done’. What I want to see is lawyers, teachers, doctors, chemists, scientists, whatever, with real equal education with the rest of society. It is all very well to say secondary education is out there, and I am not saying it is not, but it should be proper of anyone who says that, to analyse where that level of secondary education is, not to be a knocker. You have to ask the real questions. Are we achieving what we really want to achieve? Are we just putting up false aspirations? Or are we just putting up a bit of advertising to say what a great job we did? In the end, when it comes to education, the reality will be that unemployment in Aboriginal communities drops right down.
We talked about the budget today, and I can bet you the budget will talk about the unemployment in the Northern Territory without pulling it outright. I bet you it says we have a relatively low unemployment rate in the Northern Territory, but no one offsets that by the CDEP. I welcome the Territory government propping up the CDEP, along with the Commonwealth government, for the next three years. But it still, to some extent, clouds the issue. The word in the second reading that always concerns me is ‘real’ jobs. The reality is, in many of these communities, there are no real jobs. They will have to be propped up by governments of all sorts, and we have to realise that to some extent those artificial jobs are just masking what is unemployment.
If we want people to have real jobs we have to have good education. In many cases, those people will have to find jobs elsewhere, because there simply are not the jobs in those communities because there is not the industry for people to be employed unless they are part of the service industry, which is, in just about all cases, funded by either the Commonwealth or the Territory government.
I support what is here, and I say that genuinely. We need a commitment from government that it will have a set of figures today when it passes this legislation, it will have them written down, be able to say today the numbers of kids at school are this – that is regular kids at school, not the kids that might come one day a week – and if we have to analyse those figures, so be it, but we need good statistics to see if this legislation is actually working.
Accrual accounting was rammed into me when I first got into parliament; I do not think I ever saw a cash accounting budget. They said the importance of accrual accounting was that you saw inputs, outputs, and outcomes. So the question is, okay, the input is writing this down here, today you have written it down; the output will be delivering it, the outcome will be what will be the results. It is very much the responsibility of this government to not tell us nice stories. Tell us the stories as they are, tell us exactly how many kids are going to school, tell us what level of education they are at, at this time, and show us in six months, 12 months, whatever, how that has changed. If it has not changed, be courageous enough to say: ‘This is the difficulty we have; we are still struggling with this. We might change the legislation. It is not working’. Alternatively, say it is working and show us exactly where it is working. Give us the statistics, show us the improvement in literacy and numeracy, show us the improvements in attendance, and show us that young people are now getting better-paid jobs.
I was thinking about this debate last night. Some people do not necessarily agree with me, but I have a problem with the so-called diversity factor that has been put forward as part of the changes to the public service act. One of the problems could be - not that people are supposedly discriminated against in the public service - there are simply not enough Aboriginal people with the education level required. I would be extremely disappointed if a person was knocked on the head for a job in the public service because they were black - that would be a disgrace. I wonder if it is more a case that some of our Aboriginal people do not have the education level required to take up those jobs. Instead of skipping to a diversity factor, I skip to a promoting education factor. Let us get those skills up to a standard where people can be equal to the rest of the workforce. This legislation is an attempt to do that.
Let us look at the facts in six or 12 months time, and then we can make a judgment as to whether this was successful or not, and whether the government had the will to make some difficult decisions. It is not easy chasing up parents, chasing up kids - especially kids who are a bit wild. It is not easy to get kids who do not want to go to school, to go to school. There is a lot of hard work, and it is going to require many good people. In the gallery today I saw some of the good people who are committed to changing things around. I mentioned the CEO, and the past principal of Taminmin College, who is very much involved in the VET program in the Territory. Much of this will depend not just on the government, but also on the commitment of the staff. We need good staff who have good knowledge of what has to be done to turn things around. If we can give them support, it will be good as a parliament to say we are behind you. We want to see the facts and figures, and how it is going in the future because, in the end, we want as many kids in the Northern Territory to have a good education.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, notwithstanding the concerns about the details of how certain aspects of this would work in how a child is declared and determined to be independent, around the age of a child being declared, or possibly being declared, independent, 14 years, in my view, is too young. There are questions around responsibility and how that is defined. I give government the benefit of the doubt, and the opposition would give government the benefit of the doubt with regards to the need for a response.
A number of concerns have been outlined by my colleague, the member for Brennan, over the points that I have raised, and I commend the member for Nelson for bringing our focus to the results of this. It needs to be measurable in real terms. That is getting to the nub of this issue, but the general issue of this government and governance. For example, the number referred to by the member for Brennan the Bureau of Statistics has identified -34 367 school-aged children from six to 15 years of age as of June 2009. It says that is an estimate, but the number of enrolments for the very same period is 31 664. That is a difference of just over 2700. That represents a concern; a number that indicates those that are not on a school roll. That adds to the other problem of those who have facilities built for them, those who are on rolls, those who have teachers waiting for them who just do not turn up, and this is not a difficult thing to adjudicate. Who has responsibility? It is the parent and there needs to be the capacity and the willingness to deliver on that need to be held accountable if you actually have responsibility.
Not only do we have those who are on the roll and not attending, but also it appears there are a large and concerning number who may not even be on the roll. It is figures that we are going to be looking at for a result. We have had much government talk about mechanisms that are put in place, particularly their great enthusiasm for amounts of money that are directed at solving a problem. They draw more enthusiasm from the size of the dollar rather than the capacity of the machinery being invested in to produce a result. The commitment is to see that these numbers are going to change, and change for the better.
I also saw the Four Corners program last night and I see elements that could work in that space provided the work on the ground does not diminish in any way, and - this is what I have seen with Labor – move away from holding someone responsible to easily finding an opportunity to provide an excuse for someone. We should go the other way and push harder to ensure the notion of responsibility is strengthened and reinforced. That transaction should take place as close to that school community and those people as possible. That is possible here, but there should not be a holding back of the imposition of a penalty for those who fail to assume their responsibility.
Given the framework can work, given some of the definitions around a parent, about the mechanisms to declare a child independent - that is possibly a door open to provide an excuse. I have seen too often that which is crafted in here is actually crafted in a way to provide greater capacity for excuse-making rather than holding one responsible. I am concerned about a child too easily being declared independent at 14 years. If they are independent, what has happened to responsibility? Do not abrogate the notion of responsibly too easily. Provided we can have assurances on that, this is your legislation. We point out those concerns and there must now be the capacity and willingness to impose a penalty. One penalty imposed is going to send a very strong message. I have learnt of our community - Indigenous, remote, and urban – that there is a desire for strength shown by those who have responsibility for safeguarding the principles and values in our community, such as getting a child to school. If we keep holding back, making excuses, finding ways to address the underlying needs, and not impose a penalty, we send the wrong message. You breed contempt and disregard for standards and values that the majority of our community hold dear.
The member for Brennan has outlined a number of concerns and the member for Nelson has also identified elements that need to be considered - that being the accountability over those specific numbers and we will actually see a result; that is where our focus should be. I look forward to the minister providing some response to that which has occurred already in this debate
Dr BURNS (Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I thank all members who have contributed to this debate.
The member for Brennan was comprehensive in his review of the proposed amendments to the act. He researched this carefully. He was briefed by the department and asked some very important questions. Likewise, the member for Nelson. He came back for a couple of briefings and had a range of questions he put to the department. I believe most of those questions in relation to the amendments have been satisfactorily addressed.
However, as the member for Brennan, the member for Nelson, and now the member for Blain, said, the proof is going to be in the pudding about how many children we can get back to school as a result of this legislation. The feeling I get from the Assembly today is that broadly, in principle, there is support. There are question marks about the process and the intent of government, and the intent of the minister, in relation to this particular issue. I can assure the House I am committed to this because I recognise the importance of school. There is not only anecdotal evidence, but there is more than sufficient evidence about school and education being the very foundation, as the member for Brennan said, for a person’s life, for a person’s future employment, for their interaction with the criminal justice system.
That is why education is very important and why, when I addressed principals at the convention centre just a couple of weeks ago, I said I saw education as the key for the Northern Territory. What I fear about what is happening in the Northern Territory is a polarisation of the haves and have nots within the Northern Territory; a situation we have seen in the United States and in the United Kingdom, where there are disenfranchised, alienated youth who are angry, who are lashing out, probably with no reason, and destructive in their behaviour - not only to themselves - but to the community generally. It is a very serious issue once polarisation gets to that point. We are at a point in history now in the Northern Territory where we do not want to see that level of polarisation within our community. I believe we have to work to get those kids into school so they can be productive members of the Northern Territory community.
Regarding attendance and prosecutions over non-attendance - and this is the advice I have had from the department - there has not been a prosecution for non-enrolment or non-attendance since at least 1994. I know it was an emerging problem in those days as well. When this was researched it was difficult to find any reliable information, and the best corporate recollection indicates there was an unsuccessful prosecution sometime in the late 1980s. The reasons for that are twofold. First, there was a general reluctance on the part of authorities to prosecute those regarded as being at the end of the socioeconomic spectrum, penalising the most disadvantaged, and it was preferable to work with families and communities to try to get those kids to school. That is probably a view I held strongly as well. Before I became Education minister, the feedback I was getting from Indigenous communities, particularly the eldership in those communities was they wanted to see a penalty associated with non-attendance at school. They wanted to see a strong message sent to those parents and individuals who were not attending schools.
Second, the act - and the member for Blain was partially right - really afforded an opportunity for parents to have a defence that the child was beyond their control - the easy out as the member for Brennan said. These amendments put a process in place and parents, if they are trying to squib out, it will become very evident that the parent is trying to use an easy out for why their child is not going to school. The parent will be provided an opportunity and support to get that child to school and, if that child is beyond the control of the parent, that child will then be responsible.
The member for Brennan asked how you define an objective measure of a child not being under the control of parents - I think that was the question you asked. The advice I have is if the child is not living at home without a valid reason – and sometimes, there will be a valid reason why a child is not living at home - it becomes relatively straightforward. Where the child lives at home, this would be informed by extensive procedures and meetings involving the parents, families, and school personnel. It is not new as it exists under the current act. However, there is actually a process now with the compulsory conferences and the compliance notices to determine which parents are abrogating their responsibilities and trying to find an easy way out.
There will be some cases where the child is beyond the control of the parent, and that child needs to be responsible for those actions. Some people have said to me, as the member for Brennan has said, you put out the exposure draft, and it is good that we have had some discussions about it. Some people have said to me they do not think it is right that we are penalising parents two penalty units for an infringement notice for having a child not attending school - or $200 approximately - or a child, a tenth of that. What I say to those people is this: if a parent does not restrain a child in a car with a seat belt, they can be fined somewhere between $400 and $500 for not restraining their child. Everyone in this community recognises that if a child is not restrained in a vehicle, that poses a threat and a danger to that child, and that parent needs to take responsibility for properly restraining the child in a car.
When they are not sending their kids to school, they are doing permanent damage to the future of that child, putting that child’s future at risk by not sending them to school, so why not inflict a $200 fine in that instance? Then people say, these are the most disadvantaged people in our community, how are they ever going to pay $200, let alone a fine - if it goes to court - of up to several thousand dollars? I say, in that case, those parents can go through the fines recovery process and they can do community service, just as they can with any other fine they get through the system. I say to those parents, if you do not have the money, and that is fair enough if it is ascertained through the Fines Recovery Unit, you will do community service. Similarly, I am advised that a child can do community services. Currently, a child committing a criminal offence can be fined. Depending on the offence, they can be fined, and they are subject to the Fines Recovery Unit.
Another analogy: if a kid is not wearing a bicycle helmet, particularly if they have been provided with one, and they are a repeat offender, I believe police have every right to pull that kid over and give them a Traffic Infringement Notice. I have the regime of fines for that somewhere here, which I would be willing to let the House know. Maybe someone close by has that bit of information. According to this, a person who does not have their child restrained is $480, and for a bicycle rider without their helmet it could be $25. Children are already subject to fines under the Traffic Act and other acts, so I do not believe it is unreasonable regarding school attendance for us to insist that kids face a penalty if they are not doing the right thing.
There was a whole range of issues raised by the member for Brennan and I will try to address them as quickly as I can. He was concerned about informing a child living independently, so that they will know they have been suspended. The advice I have is that the notices will be issued to the child who is suspended. The child will know they have been suspended because they will have been issued with a notice of suspension. The letter of suspension will inform them that they are not allowed to come on to school grounds. This is the first time we have had the capacity to take action in relation to an independent child.
A very important question that he asked was the definition of a parent. My advice from the legal people in the department is that the definition is unchanged from the previous legislation, and has a broad interpretation, just not a narrow biological definition, and it will remain broad to meet Territory circumstances. It includes those who have custody of the child, or who the child resides with, and includes foster care and extended family when the child is residing with these. It is not just the biological parents; my advice is that it is actually wider than that.
He was concerned, and I was concerned when I heard his view about the Chief Executive Officer’s discretion, as to whether they have a support person during an interview. I was aware of this particular clause and the way it was explained to me is that sometimes you have a negative dynamic between the child and the parent. Sometimes the two of them together escalates the situation and makes it very hard to get a reason for an interview with a parent or with a child. In those cases, the Chief Executive Officer would be looking to have the child, in a way, separate from the parent if that was the dynamic. In no way do we want to limit a child’s ability to have a support person, whether it is an aunt or uncle, a grandparent, a sporting coach, or someone they trust and is supportive of them, present during an interview.
This is not all about separating the child so they are alone and at the mercy of the CEO - so that they do not have a support person for an important interview. This is about trying to deal with situations that we all know occur - and I have seen it in my office as an MLA. You get a parent come in with a child who has been suspended from school and sometimes the whole thing goes into meltdown as the parent and the child have an argument in your meeting office about who is responsible, and who has done what, and who has not done the other thing. Sometimes it is necessary to calm the situation down and that is why that proposal is in the legislation.
The member for Brennan and the member for Blain raised the issue about 2700 kids not enrolled in the Territory. My advice is that the difference between the ABS statistics for those children who should be enrolled and the actual enrolments is closer to 800. The advice from the department is that there are probably around 850 kids in the Territory who, we believe, are not enrolled and, of course, this is always an approximation, it is always an estimate. That 850-odd, as I am advised, actually includes those children who might be having their schooling interstate. We do not have information about those children who, as the member for Nelson said, might be going to school in Cairns or a range of places other than the Northern Territory.
It is true, member for Brennan, and you are spot on in your media releases when you say: ‘Probably on any one day, there are literally thousands of kids who are not at school’. I concede that kids may be enrolled but not attending school on any one day. They might attend school one day in every four. It is hard to estimate the total of this on any one day, but it is too many. That is why I brought this legislation in, to attempt to address that issue.
The member for Nelson mentioned that school attendance figures are not in the budget books. I undertake now, on the floor of the parliament, that next year there will be figures in the budget books about performance measures and targets for attendance. I will reiterate and discuss that with the department. I suppose there are many estimates in there. I do not know how solid an estimate or target it would be, but I agree that we need to have some sort of targets for attendance. I will say, as I did interject on the member for Nelson, that we publish our attendance figures on the Internet.
The member for Nhulunbuy gave a great presentation based on her history, not only as a bush member of this parliament, but also as someone who has lived in the East Arnhem region for many years and has been a teacher, and is also a parliamentary secretary. I thank her for her support. I hope I am quoting you correctly, member for Nhulunbuy. You said 83% overall attendance and, excluding growth towns in terms of our remote and very remote, 76%, and then 56% in our growth towns - all of which are clearly unacceptable. I have nailed my colours to the mast where I have said I want over 90% attendance. That is my goal, and we have a long way to go with that.
The members for Nelson and Brennan said how effective this is going to be on the ground, particularly in the remote communities. They used the words, ‘fly-in squads of truancy officers’. There will be about 26 people employed to focus on attendance throughout the Territory. They will have the statutory powers under this act to issue all sorts of notices with infringements remedies associated with them. We are putting the resources there. You said it was your view that when the fly-in squads went, things would go back to where they were before. There is always a risk of that. I commend the work of our school attendance officers in the remote communities. In the main, they are Indigenous people, and they try very hard. I have seen them broken-hearted as they have gone, as the member for Nelson said, from house to house. It is not just happening in Aurukun; it is happening in our remote communities now with people going from house to house.
Someone I have known for many years, Colin Dudanga at Maningrida, is a school attendance officer and so is his wife. The last time I was there, I sat down with Colin and his wife and they were upset because they go from house to house every day imploring parents to send their kids to school, imploring the kids to come to school, and they are not getting a result. If we can get some teeth into this legislation, if we can get some enforcement in there, it will better support our school attendance officers, because it will not so much be them with the big stick, but people will know there is a big stick and it will facilitate the work of our school attendance officers on remote communities who are doing a fantastic job against the odds.
Lord knows, I wish we did not have to introduce this legislation - I really do. Two years ago, I would not have been in favour of it; I am certainly in favour of it now. As minister, I am committed to getting results with this legislation. I have not had a chance to share with this parliament, but since we introduced the infringement notices, which were the very first step, there has been re-engagement as the attendance and truancy officers have been working with families in Alice Springs, Palmerston, and Darwin for a start. Unfortunately, there are some families now, to answer your question member for Brennan, on the brink of receiving an infringement notice.
I said at the outset with infringement notices that there would be a process. First, to try to work with families to give people every opportunity - but if people are recalcitrant, if people continue to refuse to send their kids to school, they will receive an infringement notice. There are a few on the brink as we speak. As a minister, you do not get involved in that. You do not say to your department: ‘Get a few on the books and I will be able to tell parliament a few have had an infringement’. I do not want people to get infringement notices; however, if they continue to refuse, they will. I am advised that there are a few people on the brink of receiving an infringement notice.
This legislation not only has infringement notices around non-attendance at school, but it has infringement notices around information notices. That was one thing you were incorrect about with the information notice - the relationship between that and the compliance notice, member for Brennan. The information notice is all about compelling the parent, or the child, to give necessary information to enable some work to be done with the family to ascertain whether they are complying with the act or not. The compulsory conference is when they are not complying with the act, and they need to sit down and work together with the appropriate people to ensure the kid is attending school. If that falls down, if they do not attend the conference, if they make no effort whatsoever to comply with what they have agreed to, then they get a compliance notice. Then, they will go on the path of prosecution, which, of course, is the higher-level fine.
Our attendance and truancy officers will have teeth through this legislation at a range of points along this process. If it does come to court, what the courts will see is the department has actually engaged in a process to ascertain a whole range of things about that child, that family, so it is less easy for the court to give that parent the easy way out you talked about before. We are putting a process around all of this that will stack up as evidence in a prosecution in a court of law.
You asked many questions so I am going to try to answer them as best I can. What about life after school for people who complete their education? I was very interested. I assume you met those kids when you went to Centralian Middle School - or senior college was it?
Mr Chandler interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Kormilda. Well, it is probably a common story, a common thread, throughout the Territory. What government is doing in our growth towns is giving a beyond school guarantee of employment for all those kids who complete Year 12. If they do not have the right qualifications for the job they are going for, if they are past Year 12, we will assist them with further training. We have given a commitment to those kids on those remote communities and growth towns that we will work with them and their community to get them employment. In the larger towns and cities, we are offering many traineeships and apprenticeships. We are on track to deliver 10 000 traineeship and apprenticeship commencements over the four-year period of this government. I commend, as the member for Nhulunbuy did, the former member for Nhulunbuy who introduced this whole system about traineeships with financial support. It was a great idea, and we have carried it through, through successive governments, in an endeavour to get jobs for those kids.
We have already talked about the objective measure of a child not being under the control of parents. I hope I have answered the question of how appropriate it is to hold a child responsible. I have given some narrative on that, but the legal advice I have is a 14-year-old is considered responsible under the law and can be charged with a criminal offence. They could, for example, be issued with an infringement notice for not wearing a bike helmet. I hope we have covered your concerns about a child’s and a parent’s capacity to pay a large fine.
Transport to and from school is a factor and it would not be reasonable to penalise a student who makes every effort to get to school but is impacted by unexpected events or lack of services. That is where I expect the department to be working with communities and families to ensure every child can get to school.
Distance education students who study by correspondence have flexibility as to when they do their work, but they must also complete their course requirement. What that particular amendment is all about is we know on some pastoral properties the kids go out with their parents on a muster - and what a great adventure for a kid to do that! They are helping the family enterprise. We are saying that as long as the kid and the parent can give evidence they are working around those commitments so the child receives all the instruction they are supposed to receive, we think that is a great idea. We want to see flexibility.
Home schooling is an issue, but we need to ensure those courses kids are doing through their home schooling are accredited; that they have the curriculum, which is at least parallel with the Northern Territory curriculum framework.
Expulsion of a child is a similar question: how is a child going to know they have been expelled? The notice is issued to the person who has been expelled. Like suspension, the child is issued with a notice. The letter will tell them they are not allowed to come on to the school grounds. I have already dealt with the difference between the information notice and compliance notice. The information notice is used to get information from a person or child to determine if they are complying with the legislation. A compliance notice effectively tells the person or student what they must do to comply with the act and informs them that they are committing an offence if they do not comply with the notice.
Compulsory school age - children are considered to be of compulsory school age until they have completed Year 10 or until they have reached 17 years of age.
I hope I have answered most of your questions. I will just have another quick flick through, member for Brennan, as you did have many questions. Have I answered most of your questions?
Mr Chandler: … infringement notice, if some kind of agreement …
Dr BURNS: That is a good question. I am not a lawyer, but I would say there might be the same capacity as exists under the Traffic Act, but if you would just excuse me, Madam Speaker, I will confer.
My advice is that there is capacity, albeit limited capacity, to withdraw an infringement notice. I hope that answers your question.
I commend all members on their participation in this debate. I am not sure if we are going into committee – we are not going into committee - so I extra commend members. I commend the department and Craig Drury and other members of the legal team, Ms Rayner and the CEO of the department. When I became minister, I brought these concerns to the CEO and the department, and I believe we have moved along this path.
Everyone recognises the importance of school attendance. Tony Abbott visited Central Australia and, amongst other things, he said: ‘Kids have to go to school’. I believe we are all in agreement with that. I am making an effort. I know the member for Nelson commended Noel Pearson for having a go but, hopefully, someone some day will commend Chris Burns, the member for Johnston, for having a go. I am going to give it a red hot go. No doubt, in estimates and through the process of these parliaments, you will reasonably question me on the results or lack of them and, if it is not working, we will be back here with further amendments or further processes.
Madam Speaker, I commend this bill to the House. It is probably unique in Australia, but it underscores the resolve of both sides of this parliament and the community in general to get every kid to school every day.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Dr BURNS (Education and Training)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Continued from 31 March 2011.
Mr CONLAN (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, it is a shame the minister did not bring this bill in two years ago as he suggested. Imagine how far down the track we might be, the education bill that is, if he brought it in perhaps five years ago or 10 years ago. They always leave their run a little too late - just like the Melbourne Cup champion that fails at the last hurdle, so to speak. Just like that, he cannot quite get there. It is pretty much like that right across the board with the Northern Territory Labor government; leaving it just a little too late, member for Johnston.
It is important, as elected members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, to take every opportunity to speak when we get the chance during our 35 days a year. It is not a long time that we sit here in the NT. Some parliaments sit double that and some parliaments even triple, well over 100 days, so it is important to never miss an opportunity to maximise the time allocated to us. The people of the Northern Territory deserve no less.
I see the member for Nhulunbuy is now in the Speaker’s Chair so I do not like my chances of dragging this out for 45 minutes, but I will do my best because the people of the Northern Territory need to know exactly the sort of government they are dealing with.
This is a straightforward bill so it may be a stretch to talk about Labor’s failures on a raft of areas. It is a straightforward bill that we will support. To tie in Labor’s failures on a raft of issues may be a stretch and might test the patience of the Deputy Speaker, the member for Nhulunbuy. I feel, Madam Deputy Speaker, there is not a lot of love between us. I know you rule with an iron fist and there are not many parameters. There is not much leeway when it comes to debate. You are a stickler for the rules and the standing orders and that may be due to your short period there as, opposed to the Speaker.
It may be personal; I do not know. You do not like to wander too far off the topic. It is important that while we debate a bill that is pretty straightforward and is important, there is no doubt that I am still allocated 45 minutes. It is very important to utilise and maximise every second we have in this Chamber. We do not get much time, and we do not get many opportunities to get on our feet and represent our community. I felt I was forever on my feet in the Alice sittings over those three days, 30 hours of parliament, but it was only about three hours. The opportunities are few and far between, and we need to ensure we maximise those opportunities.
As I stand here debating this straightforward bill, the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Amendment Bill, it may be a stretch and not relevant to mention Labor’s failures on law and order. It may not be relevant to mention that assaults in the Northern Territory in the last 10 years have risen by 80%. That might not be relevant to this bill and I understand the frustrations it might cause the government. I understand the frustrations it might cause your good self, Madam Deputy Speaker, to hear such figures and to hear me wandering off the topic. It may be wandering a little outside the boundaries of relevance so I say, yes, it may not be relevant to mention that assaults in the Northern Territory have risen by 80%. That is 18 crimes a day against a person in the Northern Territory.
You might also be alarmed to learn that 36% of all Northern Territory adults feel unsafe in their homes and communities. I know it might be wandering outside the parameters of the bill but time is precious in this Chamber. Time is precious for us to get up and represent the people who put us here. We must maximise that time and seize those opportunities. I have 45 minutes allocated to me to debate a bill and I am the first to admit that some of these points, figures, and areas I am wandering into might be a little murky when it comes to relevance.
It might not suit the government to hear that during the year 2009-10, over 11 000 patients left Northern Territory emergency departments without seeking treatment, some at very grave risk because they were not seen; 11 000 left Northern Territory emergency departments without being seen because they were fed up with waiting. That is one in six …
A member interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: It might be stretching your patience, Madam Deputy Speaker; you are a stickler for the rules and do not like to see debates wander beyond the bounds of relevance. I push it because I like to see us maximising our time. I have been allocated 45 minutes to speak and if I do not speak for 45 minutes I would hate to think this parliament closed 45 minutes early, which seems to be the case more often than not. The parliament tends to shut down at a maximum of 9 pm as a result of a new rule brought in a couple of years ago, but we are seeing it shut down earlier and earlier.
If it was not for General Business Day, we would not even reach 9 pm or 10 pm. At least one in three days we are seeing a parliament that comes at great cost and great expense to the Northern Territory taxpayer. It is important for people in the Northern Territory, who rely on us to represent them and pass good laws for them so they can live safe, secure and happy, healthy lives, see us maximising our time here. Our families would like to see us maximising our time here. The member for Stuart’s family would not like him to be disappearing up here - he is a minister, for crying out loud. How much time would he be spending up here? Enormous amounts of time away from his family. I am sure his wife would be saying: ‘I do not mind you going, Karl, just make the most of it. Get up there and achieve something’. It is important and imperative we do.
I will never miss an opportunity, and I will not be missing this opportunity, to paint this government for what it is. It has had 10 years and has wasted 10 years. If there was ever an opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the Territory, you have had 10 years. We have said it before. We have seen what has happened in the past, seen what has happened in New South Wales where the government failed to consolidate its position in electorates, and look what happened. Those electorates would never have dreamed of going anywhere else, but good, old-fashioned, solid Labor heartlands are now gone, some might say lost forever, because of wasted opportunities.
We now have 10 years of this government introducing alcohol bills before this parliament. After 10 years, the government brings in the toughest alcohol reforms ever. Why did you not bring them in 10 years ago? Where would we be? How far down the track would we be if you had done this then? In debate on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill, the minister said: ‘I do not think I could have stomached this two years ago; it is right to do it now’. Why? What has happened in the last two years? Why not do it two years ago? The statistics have only become worse, why not do it two years ago? Why not do it five years ago? Why not do it when you first came in - you have had 10 years? This could be a great place if we had tackled alcohol. If you had brought all this alcohol stuff in 10 years ago, if you had brought this hard-hitting Education Legislation Amendment Bill in 10 years ago, imagine where we could be now? No, another missed opportunity – 10 years.
Territorians expect no less of me than to utilise this time. I am sorry; I know the advisors probably have things they need to be doing. However, this is the people’s time, and the people need to be heard. They do not get much of an opportunity to be heard in the Northern Territory with this lot over there. Their voice is silenced in many ways and on many levels, so they need to be heard - and I will do just that.
Of patients who are admitted for elective surgery, 5.9% waited more than 12 months - most of those in areas such as ophthalmology, orthopaedic, and plastic surgery, that is, facial reconstruction. We all know why that is. It is pretty serious stuff to be waiting more than 12 months, over 365 days, for elective surgery. We have spoken about this as a Private Hospital Nursing Home Amendment Bill.
I mentioned last sittings the Country Liberals’ position about investigating public/private partnerships with the Royal Darwin Hospital, with the hope of possibly expanding it further across the Territory. Okay, it might be a long shot to expect that sort of thing in Tennant Creek or Katherine, but why not? Why can we not dream? You have to have an aspiration. In Alice Springs, there has to be an avenue. It might not be today or next year, or in the next couple of years. You need growth and, to demonstrate growth, the private hospitals need support and encouragement from the government. If you were able to encourage that sort of thing, that is, purchase elective surgery from the private sector in advance, get the best price for it, purchase a whole stack, get people with their elective surgery going through the private hospital without obsessing about what facility the procedure is performed at, then you would make some serious inroads into the elective surgery waiting list.
What we are seeing there, for a facial reconstruction, a 12-month wait - for crying out loud! Ophthalmology and orthopaedics – of course, they are pretty simple procedures that can be done through the private sector. It should be explored. Once that is explored and encouraged and you get it off the ground in Darwin, there is no reason why it cannot be expanded throughout some of the regions, in particular Alice Springs. There would be a strong market. About 40% to 45% of people in Alice Springs have private health insurance.
We have talked about some areas of Labor’s failure within health, and law and order. We know where they stand on that. A serious concern came to my attention earlier in the week about infection control and infection rates at the Alice Springs Hospital - dismissed out of hand by the minister. It is of vital public interest to the people of Alice Springs. They should be provided with those infection control rates. If the minister and the department do not have anything to hide they should be providing the Territory public - that is those users, the clients and, indeed, the Territory opposition - with those infection control rates for 2008-09 and the latest figures, just to compare. There seems to be some pretty straightforward procedures performed in Alice Springs Hospital and, as a result, subsequent infections. There is a breakdown, or there would appear to be a breakdown. It has been denied there was no investigation going on. Okay, fair enough. The department has denied that. I would not suspect they would be lying about it. However, the infection control rate at a hospital like Alice Springs should be 1% - less than 1%, so one in every 100. If you are getting 2% to 3%, that is extremely high – way too high, even for a First World hospital under those unique conditions Alice Springs operates under – pardon the pun.
If we can see those infection control rates …
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! I know the member has 45 minutes to speak on the bill, but in the past 15 minutes, he has not said anything about the bill.
He talked about Alice Springs law and order; he talks about infection control, which he can do in adjournment debates or other areas such as Question Time. We have in front of us the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Amendment Bill …
Mr CONLAN: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! What is the point of order?
Mr VATSKALIS: The question is of relevance, or lack of.
Mr CONLAN: That is all you need to say! Stop wasting everyone’s time.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, the minister is quite within his rights to raise relevance as a point of order. I ask you to bring your comments back to the bill before the House. That is why standing orders are in place, in particular the standing order regarding relevance. I ask you to please direct your comments to the bill that is currently before the House, with regard to private hospitals and nursing homes.
Mr CONLAN: Certainly, Madam Deputy Speaker. I probably pushed my luck with you in particular, because I know that you are a stickler for the rules. That is fair enough. That is why you are there. I have probably been wandering off, but I know the minister does not like to hear it, and all he can do is diminish people’s past professions. That is all he wants to do! In the paper today, it was: ‘Conlan might be a good shock jock’, and somehow, that is supposed to be offensive. That is like if I say the reason the Chief Minister is so arrogant and so sloppy and so lazy is because he was a marine fitter - I mean, how absurd! You have lost the shock jock vote, minister. I do not think any shock jocks will be voting for the minister anymore. I think they have all gone.
Nevertheless, it is actually a compliment, and this is what is so funny. It is a compliment to be tied in with the greats like the John Laws, the Alan Jones, and the Neil Mitchell; all the legends, the kings of radio, and there are many out there. There are many shock jocks, and there are many would-be’s. The Labor Party has this thing that anyone who is slightly right, or slightly picks on a policy that is leftist, must be a shock jock. There are many guys out there tarred as shock jocks but are not shock jocks. They are would-be-if-they-could-be shock jocks! I was a real shock jock. I was one of the real ones! I set the benchmark in the Northern Territory, and I had you guys bouncing against the studio wall every day! No doubt about it! It is a compliment. Please, keep it up.
It is important to paint government for what it is when given the opportunity on a pretty straightforward bill such as this. If it was simply to say that it was great that the Commonwealth was buying into this part of the bill, that the Northern Territory is relinquishing this part of the nursing homes and the aged care and the whole bit, and it is happening right around the country, they said we support it, bang, and sit down - what is the point of that? You would finish 45 minutes early, but what a wasted opportunity.
I am probably pushing the boundaries but I have to continue to highlight where we are at with this government about the state of the nation. Yes, this is the bill and just to make sure there is some relevance, the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Amendment Bill is very important. It is a bill that we will be supporting. However, in the 26 minutes I have remaining, I believe it is important to highlight to the people of the Northern Territory, those in Alice Springs, and those in Greatorex, who will be making a decision in 2012, those people in Stuart and those people in Casuarina, Fannie Bay, Wanguri, Karama and across the Northern Territory, exactly where this government is at and what it has been up to.
There have been 17 ministerial reshuffles since it came to office. Seventeen ministerial reshuffles in the last 10 years. That amounts to 141 ministerial appointments since 2001, it is hardly solid ground.
How do we know that this bill has been thought through and is actually on the table in one piece? You have some cluey advisors over there, minister, and they are always there to provide a helping hand to me and to anyone who wants to know about health. Your senior advisor is always pleasant and happy to help. I believe that with that sort of support and those sorts of resources, these guys make you look good. There is no doubt about it.
I suspect this bill is pretty much in one piece and it should have reasonable effect across the Northern Territory, but 141 ministerial appointments since 2001 is a shame job. Seventeen ministerial reshuffles and I have not even begun to talk about child protection failures. The tsunami of need in child protection is so bad that the member for Araluen has tabled a matter of public importance regarding the unacceptably low standards of child protection. That is an understatement if I have ever heard one: the unacceptably low standards of child protection set by the current Territory government that sees an infant child returned to parents after being left alone in a lane way in Tennant Creek.
If it was not so serious, it would be funny. I hate to use that clich but I am trying to maximise my time here and stretch it out because it is time allocated to me and the people of Greatorex to paint this government for what it is and demonstrate its failures. We have this sort of thing going on that sees an infant child returned to parents after being left alone in a lane way in Tennant Creek, for crying out loud. Of course, we have the Deborah Melville stuff, which is abhorrent to even talk about, what happened through all that, that poor girl, I mean, fair dinkum.
You were so reluctant to embark on the child protection inquiry. It took the opposition and the former member for Araluen, who was at the forefront, and thank God she was for the children of the Territory. It has been taken up with gusto and enormous enthusiasm by the current member for Araluen, as well.
The numbers - the stats, facts and figures around child protection are terrible. Of course, we know it comes on the back of the Little Children are Sacred report. Now we have an intervention and what have you.
We have had 10 years of hard labour and a stack of failures. There were a couple of good things, there is no doubt about it. The Alan Walker Cancer Centre is fantastic. I went out there the other day, minister. Did you know I have been there? Yes. It is a really good facility. It took you 10 years to get there and you finally got there. How many Health ministers did it take to get that thing up and running? Was it four? I think it might have been four. Poor old Bungles, he could not quite cut the ribbon at the end of the day. All the work he did to get that thing going, but you came in on your white horse, cut the ribbon, yahoo, look what I have done, so I suppose you can notch that up on your belt as some sort of achievement. That is okay, it is a very important facility and it is a fantastic facility.
It is interesting the numbers surrounding how many people are utilising it and how it flies in the face of all the rhetoric you had been telling us with regard to the PATS and the Central Australians utilising Royal Adelaide Hospital to continue their cancer treatment. That is a story for another day. It seems to me that it is very viable as it is.
We did speak, and we touched on this briefly in the previous sittings that the cross-border stuff with Western Australia is what you really need to be looking at. Again, you have left your run too late. How can you get this off the ground now? Don’t worry, if we are elected in 2012, we will do it. We will get those cross-border arrangements going so those in the Kimberley can utilise the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre. We will even try to get people from South East Asia to utilise it. We could get some money from them, for crying out loud. We charge people and we charge the Western Australian government to utilise it …
Madam SPEAKER: Please pause, member for Greatorex. Resume your seat.
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! While I do not mind him praising us for the good things we do, clearly there is no relevance. Also, he refers to the 45 minutes, but clearly Standing Order 77 refers to 45 minutes to speak on the bill, not about Alice Springs crime and law and order, or the oncology unit. Let us show some respect for the public servants who worked on this bill. They have been waiting for 45 minutes and have heard nothing about the bill. I am happy to sit down and hear about the bill, but if he is going to talk about oncology, child protection …
Mr Conlan: Madam Speaker, he has made his point of order …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, the minister is quite entitled to raise the point of order, and indeed, you are quite entitled to 45 minutes to speak to this House. However, those 45 minutes, under Standing Order 67, asks you to not digress from the subject matter before the House, which is the bill. You are in breach of Standing Order 67. Your contribution has, as you have admitted yourself, strayed from relevance. I am asking you to bring your comments back to the bill before the House. If you fail to do so, no doubt, the member will call another point of order and you may be asked to resume your seat. Thank you, member for Greatorex. You have the floor.
Mr CONLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I know I am pushing the boundaries and testing your patience. I know the minister does not like to hear it. I am giving you some good news; I am giving you a pat on the back, minister, and telling you some of the good things you have done. I would be flat out spending 45 minutes talking about all the good things you have done. That is why I have waited until there is only 18 minutes left. I have been flat out using half of that to highlight all the achievements of this government. I am trying to do it. I am trying to do something nice and highlight some of the achievements of this government. I am simply using this bill as a vehicle to do that - I am entitled. Standing orders mentions relevance – I do not have them here but I heard you say it. I am entitled to the time and to use the time to develop the argument. I am simply developing an argument to highlight the issue of where this government is. I am using this bill as a vehicle to do that.
I again compliment the government on the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre. It is a fabulous facility. The member for Johnston did not get the opportunity to cut the ribbon on that one - he only has himself to blame.
We will move into alcohol reform - alcohol policy - an area of great need in the Northern Territory and the biggest issue facing us. Alcohol relates to everything: education, health, law and order, and, of course, jobs. The government has taken 10 long years to address alcohol in the Northern Territory. We have had three bills introduced before the House - I think they are cooking up something over there …
Mr Vatskalis: I am not cooking.
Mr CONLAN: Sounds like they are cooking up something over there. If the government wants to deprive the member for Greatorex of his opportunity to speak on behalf of his constituents, that is fine, no problems. There is only 17 minutes. Do you not want to hear it? What is wrong? What time do you want to get out of here, minister? What time do you want to go? Are we not here until 9 pm? We can extend it if you like. That is all right, that is okay; let it be known they are shutting down the parliament. They are shutting down the members of the opposition because they do not like to hear not only the bad news, but also the good news.
As I say, 10 years later we have three of the toughest alcohol bills. We keep hearing how tough the alcohol measures have been - the toughest in the country. However, we are not seeing any inroads. We will be debating these as they come up. I would not like to pre-empt the debate, the concerns of the opposition with regard to that - no real end consequence. If you read any report – I will refer to this in my speech with regard to those bills too as they come through – it talks about a heavy focus on interventions such as restrictions, with very little focus on rehabilitation. The Country Liberals are a bit the other way - obviously, you have to have some restrictions. That is okay. That is perfect there …
Mr Vatskalis: Tony Abbott would like it.
Mr CONLAN: That is perfectly okay. All Tony Abbott said was the restrictions should be enforced. There is nothing wrong with enforcing restrictions. That is the problem: we have not seen any enforcement. There has been no enforcement of any restrictions. If you enforced the restrictions we have, and we started to see some inroads, then people would not mind. We would be saying: ‘Gee, what a government. You have done a great job. Look at the inroads, look at the results we are seeing on the streets. Look at the people in mandatory rehabilitation, or in rehabilitation. Look at the crime statistics and how much they have reduced as a result of the enforcement’. There is nothing wrong with enforcement. In fact, we agree. If you are going to have the restrictions, for crying out loud, utilise them, maximise them ...
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker!
Mr CONLAN: Okay, I will finish. I will finish up.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, there is a point of order before the Chair, so resume your seat, please, member for Greatorex.
Mr VATSKALIS: I do not mind him praising the government; we enjoy it. But, let us talk about the bill in front of us. He can praise us another day. If he is going to talk about the bill, I am happy to sit down and listen. If he talks about everything else but the bill, it is embarrassing to this House.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, you are now on a warning. I remind you of Standing Order 70, which allows me to ask you to resume your seat. You are on a warning.
Mr CONLAN: I understand, Madam Deputy Speaker. I know I have pushed you beyond the boundaries. I will not …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: I will not be here any longer.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, please pause. It is not my boundaries. It is the integrity of this Chamber and this parliament, and the Standing Orders of this parliament, you are pushing. You have the call, member for Greatorex.
Mr CONLAN: That is your opinion, Madam Deputy Speaker. You have the final say.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you reflecting on the Speaker, member for Greatorex?
Mr CONLAN: I am not reflecting on the Speaker by any stretch. I am simply saying that …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: … to suggest that it is reflecting on the integrity of the parliament is an opinion; and that is the Speaker’s opinion. You have the final say as to what happens ...
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is my opinion and you are reflecting on it. You are on a warning!
Mr CONLAN: I understand that. I understand that, but I …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: I ask you to resume your comments on the bill.
Mr CONLAN: ... but I also have a right to sit here in this Chamber and speak.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are on a warning. You will be asked to leave the House.
Mr CONLAN: Okay. I understand that; you made that very clear, but it has nothing to do …
A member: Get on with it!
Mr CONLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. You made that very clear and I respect that, but it has nothing to do with the integrity of the parliament. I am entitled to 45 minutes to speak …
Mr Vatskalis: On the bill!
Mr CONLAN: … and I am speaking, utilising the bill as a vehicle to speak and utilise that 45 minutes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it whatsoever. You say: ‘God, you are wasting everyone’s time’. Meanwhile, you knock off at 7.30. For crying out loud, you already shut the place down at 9 pm ...
Mr Knight: What time did you get here today?
Mr CONLAN: Oh, ease up, pal, ease up. For goodness sake!
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex! In accordance with Standing Order 70, I ask you to resume your seat.
Mr CONLAN: If you had any idea, mate - if you had any idea ...
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, resume your seat!
Mr VATSKALIS (Heath): Madam Deputy Speaker, I was going to thank the member for his contribution, but he has not made any because he did not speak about the bill – he mentioned the title of the bill.
The bill is straightforward. What we are trying to avoid is duplication of inspections for nursing homes and private hospitals. The Commonwealth has already undertaken this role. They do it extensively; there is a framework in place. It is onerous to impose two inspections by two different officials to the private nursing homes and private hospitals. We have not relinquished our right. We can still do it any time we want; any time we receive a complaint. However, for accreditation, we believe the most appropriate authority is the Commonwealth. This has been recognised, not only by the Commonwealth authorities, the Commonwealth government, and our own government, but also by all other jurisdictions.
We try to make life easier for business. The opposition, in the past, has called for us to cut red tape. This is exactly what we are doing. One organisation will do the inspections. The Commonwealth has in place a framework, and this is the most appropriate authority to conduct the inspections, as required by the Commonwealth legislation. It is a straightforward bill. I know the member digressed. I am happy for him to say some things, bad or good, for the government. However, the 45 minutes he keeps claiming - it is clear under Standing Order 77 - are allocated for speakers to speak on the bill, not to speak on any other issues - not to speak on crime, and law and order, not to speak about child protection. I do not have a problem hearing about it, and I do not mind …
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms Scrymgour: What is happening, Matt? Are you having a meltdown? You cannot go threatening another member across the table.
A member: It is all right, just let it go.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr VATSKALIS: Madam Deputy Speaker, I am really disappointed because I respect what happens on political sides. I had a lot of respect for the member for Greatorex; I have a lot of respect. I have a lot of respect for every member here, and I am really disappointed when sometimes things can heat up and we react the way we should not be reacting. There is no reflection on your personal qualities. You are a shock jock. I was a shock jock for 20 years in different areas. However, I tend not to get involved in areas in which I am not familiar, or if I have some information or some problems, I put these problems to the person who is responsible. I welcome any comments from you about infection controls in hospitals or in any nursing home, but I do not want to digress from the bill.
I am staying with the bill, and I said clearly and plainly, this bill is a bill that we brought to the House to cut red tape for private business, and to allow only the Commonwealth authorities to conduct inspections and investigations in nursing homes and private hospitals.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health) (by leave): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Continued from 31 March 2011.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! The sound system did not appear to work in my room between the two bills. I am not asking for the debate to continue, but I just thought I would say that I did not hear the end of the previous bill and the beginning of this bill because the sound was not coming through on the television. I am not sure what happened there.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Clerk, if we could have that reported and investigated. It is important that members be able to hear, outside of the Chamber, the proceedings as they unfold.
The CLERK: We will be attending to that.
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I rise to support the Appropriation Bill and congratulate the Treasurer for the very good budget she presented to parliament today. Once again, the Henderson Labor government is growing the health budget to ensure we meet increasing demand for health services by Territorians. Budget 2011-12 delivers record health funding to help Territory families get ahead through affordable and quality health services.
The Henderson Labor government is providing a 2011-12 health budget totalling $1.12bn from all funding sources. This health budget is an increase of 149% since 2001 under Labor’s governance and we continue a record of expanding this essential frontline health workforce. We have added over 677 nurses and 208 doctors to the health workforce since 2002. Budget 2011-12 is not only a massive investment, but also a strong vote of confidence in a large scheme of people, doctors, nurses, primary healthcare professionals, and support staff who passionately care about the patients’ lives and their health every day.
I turn now to some of the specifics of the health budget. In 2011-12, we will continue with the implementation of the national health reform centre. This year, $14.6m will be provided to reduce the waiting times for elective surgery and emergency department treatment through the National Partnership Agreement on improving public hospital performance.
In Budget 2011-12, Acute Services will receive an additional $32.2m in funding. It includes an additional $2.5m to continue the implementation of a coordinated approach to patient care from hospital to community for Indigenous patients treated for chronic disease, including ear, nose, and throat conditions. The Territory’s hospitals receive a record $525m in Budget 2011-12 with all hospitals receiving increased funds compared to last year’s budget - Royal Darwin Hospital, $315m, an additional $22m; Alice Springs Hospital, $143m, an additional $14m; $31.6m for Katherine District Hospital, up $3m; $22.3m for Gove District Hospital, up $1.8m; and $13.3m for Tennant Creek Hospital, up $0.8m from Budget 2010-11.
As part of this government’s ongoing program to improve renal service to all Territorians, the expanded Tennant Creek renal facility will soon be operational. Construction of a new satellite renal facility in Katherine is also due to commence in 2011, a facility the CLP did not want and does not want.
A new five-year, $100m contract will be finalised with St John Ambulance Service providing an additional $3.1m in 2010-11 and $2.5m in 2011-12. This delivers an expanded service in Katherine, and medical transport service for non-emergency patients in Darwin and Alice Springs to free up ambulances for more urgent cases, and improved support for high-priority emergency responses.
In 2010-11, an additional $11.7m was provided to increase the remuneration for doctors working in the Territory to ensure we continue to be amongst the highest paying jurisdictions in Australia. It means we can attract and retain the medical practitioners we need. The full-year cost of this increase is in 2011-12 and that will be $24.8m.
As often happens in the community health sector, many of our services are funded through specific time-limited agreements with the Australian government. The Health and Wellbeing Output group shows a modest decrease due to funding agreements with the Commonwealth that are yet to be finalised. One of the highlights of Budget 2011-12 is the funding allocated to expand mental health support services. An additional $7.8m over three years has been allocated for suicide prevention strategies and enhanced child and adolescent services.
Our investment in services to support frail aged people and people with disabilities has grown to over $82.4m for 2011. Public Health Services has been given an additional $5.2m in 2011-12 for the implementation of alcohol treatment services to support our Enough is Enough reforms. This commitment will support enhancement of the existing referral and treatment services and establish new services. Over the five-year reform program, an extra $34.2m will be allocated for increased treatment options across the continuum of care.
The government is continuing with major additional capital works projects, many of which have programs spread over three to four years. In total, new infrastructure projects of $7m have been added to the 2010-11 programs, and additional projects amounting to $37m will commence in 2011-12. Construction of the new $20m emergency department for Alice Springs Hospital will commence in June 2011, and a program of works for fire safety continues in all other hospitals. Our government is proud to deliver a record funding commitment to improve the health of all Territorians.
I now turn to Children and Families. In the last budget, we announced the largest ever injection of frontline staff for children and family services that included a $14.7m boost for an extra 76 specialised staff. It was the Henderson government’s ‘down payment’ in boosting child protection and family support services in the lead-up to the most comprehensive inquiry ever undertaken in the Northern Territory. The government responded immediately to the findings of the most comprehensive review of children services, announcing a $130m five-year reform agenda in October.
In the last sittings, held in Alice Springs, we commenced legislative reform in expanding the powers of the Children’s Commissioner. I note that members opposite opposed the legislation that provides greater powers for the Children’s Commissioner - contrary to the CLP’s earlier media releases. This is the first in a raft of changes the government is seeking to implement in affording protection to children; they must be provided with every opportunity to thrive. It took some weeks for the members opposite to have a position on the outcomes of the most comprehensive review of child protection. A member made allegations in parliament about children in danger, but refused to make a report to the police. Member for Araluen, the community is expecting much more than your media release.
We have proceeded at lightning speed to progress the inquiry’s recommendations. I was pleased to release the first six-month report on the implementation of each and every one of the 34 urgent recommendations made. As a result, in Budget 2011-12 we deliver the biggest ever injection of funding into child protection and children and family services. The Northern Territory government will invest $182m in improving services in 2011-12, compared to $135m in 2010-11. In just four years, the budget has increased by $100m. This is a 30% average year-on-year increase.
In 2011-12, funding enhancements are as a result of:
a $25m increase in funding to allow the reforms required to roll out our child protection system;
$6.1m in Commonwealth funding enhancements; and
I can advise funding will be allocated in the following areas:
$3.6m to reform the child protection intake system, increase family support programs, and expand the roll-out of community Child Safety and Wellbeing teams in Territory growth towns;
$5m for a range of comprehensive practice reforms such as increased payments for foster carers and funding for Foster Care NT, clearing the backlog, reform residential care services, enhance the complaints process, improve systems, employ practice advisors, and increase therapeutic programs;
In addition to these initiatives, I can advise that $3.5m in capital works will commence in the 2011-12 financial year for safe place upgrades in 15 remote communities, as well as $1.1m of revoted funding for capital works upgrades at the youth hub in Alice Springs.
I will now highlight some of the achievements of the past six months as part of the government’s response to the board of inquiry. What we have done so far includes:
reducing the initial backlog in child protection notification from 870 in October 2010 to just 10 as at 14 April 2011 - from 870 to 10;
establishing three operational regions across the Territory to improve coordination and integration of services in a more local culturally appropriate way;
I now turn to the Department of Resources, which is responsible for developing and implementing the government’s priorities for the Territory’s resource-based industries of Primary Industry, Fisheries, and Minerals and Energy. In working with its resource-based industry partners, the government supports, stimulates and sustains economic development throughout the Territory.
As we all well know, the Northern Territory’s economy is underpinned by the strength of its mining and petroleum sectors that currently account for more than 25% of the Territory’s gross state product. As Australia’s largest producer of manganese and uranium, and with world-class bauxite, lead- zinc and gold mines, the Territory is endowed with outstanding mineral wealth. We know that new mining developments to sustain and grow the industry are reliant on a vibrant exploration industry.
It is particularly encouraging that, in the past five years, there has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of exploration expenditure in the Territory, which is being spent in greenfields areas. The critical factor in this greenfields exploration boom has been the Territory government’s four-year $14.4m Bringing Forward Discovery initiative, which has strongly focused on stimulating greenfields exploration. In the past year, around 60% of the record $166m in expenditure in the Territory was greenfields, showing an increased appetite for exploration risk in the Territory. In contrast, the national average remains steady at around 35% to 40%.
Due to the success of the four-year Bringing Forward Discovery program in stimulating exploration in the Territory, I am pleased to announce another three year, $11.4m renewal of the initiative in the 2011-12 Territory budget. Renewal of this initiative will ensure the Territory continues to undertake the programs that support and stimulate exploration, to ensure a sustainable future for the Territory’s largest industry.
My Fisheries Division is also looking to grow the Territory beyond its well-known charismatic charm of luring tourists to the Territory. The Fisheries Division also has ongoing funding of $2.6m which is provided for research and management programs to support the sustainable management of the Northern Territory’s aquatic resources.
We all know that fishing is the lure of the Territory, and we will continue to invest $1m to improve recreational fishing facilities for anglers. In addition to the Palmerston boat ramp, there will be upgrades at Saltwater Arm, located near the mouth of the Adelaide River, resurfacing the ramp at Southport in Darwin Harbour, a new ramp at Hardies Billabong, and repairs to Buffalo Creek ramp.
Fisheries has again this year allocated funding to support this program of $640 000 to meet financial and administrative costs of the eight Indigenous ranger groups that undertake monitoring and coastal surveillance activities. The Northern Territory government is a strong supporter of the Northern Territory’s Indigenous Marine and Sea Rangers. These programs and projects have improved employment prospects for Indigenous Territorians living along the coastline. Being a marine or sea ranger is now a desired career choice and gives individuals and communities the opportunity to be directly involved in marine resource management.
The Agribusiness Strategy highlighted the need for research and support for the primary industry sector. New initiatives within the Primary Industry Division of my department include:
$320 000 to survey producers to better focus resources and service delivery to the pastoral industry, and develop new technologies for improved pastoral decision-making;
$370 000 to improve market access for mangoes through field trials of new genetics and evaluate alternative pest management practises;
You can see from my comments, my Department of Resources is playing a major role in driving the Territory’s economy ahead. The 2011-12 Budget will continue to build on previous good work, as well as ushering in a number of significant new initiatives.
Madam Speaker, in closing, Budget 2011-12 is a tough budget. This budget will continue to see record expenditure in improving the health outcomes for all Territorians, and ongoing investment for children and families. When it comes to the resources and energy sectors, we will continue with Bringing Forward Discovery to punch well above our weight in attracting national and international explorers to invest here in the Territory. Our commitment to the Agribusiness Strategy continues with a raft of resources and programs to assist primary producers, and given the popularity of fishing in the Territory, and the contribution of our fishing and aquaculture industry in creating jobs in the regions, we will continue to invest.
Mr KNIGHT (Business and Employment): Madam Speaker, I congratulate the Treasurer on Budget 2011-12. It is all about helping families get the most out of the generous subsidies we have; and the concessions here are the best in the country. As well, the budget is supporting jobs for families and businesses, and looking at the future opportunities for the Northern Territory. It is a responsible and effective budget for the position the Northern Territory is in.
Budget 2011-12 supports Territory business through slashing taxes, targeted training programs to attract skilled workers, and continuing the strong public investment into the future. Budget 2011-12 maintains our commitment to Territory businesses as we enter into the next stage of the Territory’s growth. The enduring effects of the global financial crisis on consumer spending, tight credit markets, and the winding down of several major projects created challenging conditions for our local businesses. The Territory government has responded decisively to these factors and kept infrastructure funding high to protect the local industry and jobs until the private sector investment returns. This approach has been vindicated with record low unemployment rates continuing, and an economy tipped to lead the nation’s growth over the next five years.
Budget 2011-12 delivers tax cuts, and certainly puts the Territory in a good financial position. The Territory remains the lowest-taxing jurisdiction for small and medium businesses. That means money in the pockets of these businesses to reinvest in their businesses, and if you want to get into business, the Northern Territory is the best place to be.
Budget 2011-12 continues the Northern Territory government’s commitment to provide the most business-friendly conditions in the country. From 1 July this year, payroll tax will be cut from 5.9% to 5.5%, and the annual threshold increased from $1.25m to $1.5m. This initiative will save those small to medium businesses $6.6m per year. That adds to the accumulated savings, which we have not taken out of local businesses, and which those local businesses have kept in their pockets, with some $365m since we came to government in 2001.
This budget supports local jobs and local businesses with a heavy spend on infrastructure and encouraging business activity. A $1.5bn investment in the Territory’s future includes $307m on Territory roads, so this enables the pastoral industry to expand, and certainly for tourism activity as well.
Some $375m is going into the Power and Water Corporation. The Power and Water Corporation supplies power, water and sewerage - vital services for not only our community, but for our business community as well.
Almost $40m is going into land release across the Northern Territory. This is fuelled by population growth and is leading to improved housing affordability, so that is our investment in that area. $28m is going into industrial land release, so with major projects coming up, we are not only getting residential housing well on board, but also allowing for business growth for those new businesses coming to the Territory to have industrial land available for them.
A major project is the marine supply base. We have committed $5m in this budget to facilitate that project coming online. This project will have major impacts on a broad range of services throughout the Territory’s economy and will put Darwin and the Northern Territory on the map for the Timor Sea and Browse Basin region.
Budget 2011-12 helps grow and build our skilled workforce for the future with targeted jobs plans and training incentives. This includes $1m per annum for the 10 000 apprentice and trainee commencements from 2009 to 2012. It is great to see that we are on track for achieving the 10 000 target, and that young people have a real opportunity to gain jobs in those high-income areas.
A further $900 000 will go to the Workready program. I recently visited a business that is making use of it. They have four new apprentices starting. It helps them ease the burden of getting apprentices on board and they can receive up to $1000 per trainee or apprentice for those skilled occupational shortage areas. A further financial incentive is $800 000 under Jobs NT 2010-12 for eligible employers to encourage apprentices and trainee jobs in the skilled shortage area. It also targets disadvantaged groups. A quarter of a million dollars continues to provide vocational education and training, and work experience programs for students in the middle years of schooling, especially for young Indigenous men. $1.3m is going into Workwear/Workgear Bonus to support those Territory businesses.
The Territory economy is very much poised to reap huge rewards from the upcoming resources boom with Access Economics predicting our economy leading the country in growth over the next five years. This budget puts Territory business in the box seat to capitalise on huge opportunities just around the corner.
The Henderson Labor government is investing in Power and Water infrastructure and services and continues in this Budget 2011-12 with $375m. That is part of a five-year plan of $1.8bn investing in vital infrastructure and vital which will power our business community. The government is committed to keeping the costs down for Territory families by providing power prices that are the second lowest in the country. They are cheaper than the major centres of Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. We are actually the lowest in the country for our water prices as well, by a fair margin.
The government provides an $820 subsidy per household per year on their power bill. This helps to ease the cost of living for Territorians and, furthermore, the power prices are frozen at the 2008 level for senior Territorians who have signed up to the Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme.
Construction is now under way - actually halfway completed - for the closure of the Larrakeyah outfall and, with a $24m investment in this year’s budget, it is a $66m project in total for the closure of Larrakeyah, upgrading of the Ludmilla treatment plant, and extension of East Arm outfall. That is a huge injection into improving the water quality in the harbour. The Ludmilla treatment plant has progressively been upgraded. Further tenders will go out this year and that will enable Territory businesses to make use of those and to keep many of those tradies on until next year when the INPEX project starts to fire up.
Another project dear to my heart is the $17.8m new Wadeye power station. Currently, the power station runs on diesel. They use something like 2.5 million litres per year. This is about 57 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and it is also located right in the middle of the township. Moving it out of town and converting it to gas will improve the environmental and social outcomes for that community. Across the Northern Territory, this government is investing over $1.8bn over five years to deliver electricity generation, distribution, and better water and sewerage infrastructure and services.
Other key projects I should highlight are: $1.7m to Channel Island for upgrading of the power supply; nearly $40m to the Palmerston water pumping station mains and tanks - that is increased capacity for the land release in Palmerston; Weddell power station - some $32m; $30m to the Darwin City substation; $25m to build a new Leanyer Zone substation; $23m to the McMinns Zone substation; $15m to Snell Street Zone substation; $19m to upgrade the Katherine power station; and $15m going into the much needed sewerage system in Borroloola.
I turn now to senior Territorians. The Northern Territory continues to be a place many seniors are pleased to call home. The Northern Territory Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme is the most attractive scheme in Australia when the combination of its benefits is taken into account. In this budget, there is an increase of $1.2m in the scheme, bringing it to a total of almost $20m.
For young Territorians, this budget provides around $18m for youth services, including ongoing funding for the following programs and services: the family support centres at around $1.3m; grants to the non-government sector to deliver youth-related programs, including youth diversion programs, some $6m; the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan - it is great to see that program really starting to kick goals there - almost $1.5m; the youth homeless services - much needed in this changing society - around $4m being invested there. Also, National Youth Week, the Youth Round Table, youth engagement grants, the Youth Rehabilitation Council, Youth Justice Advisory committees, and the youth justice support units. That is around $1m investment into those vital organisations where youth can engage and have a say.
One of the important areas is Asian relations and trade - our development to the north. The growing international trade strategy provides the blueprint for trade growth for the Territory to 2013. The strategy underpins the government’s efforts to provide a clear and concise approach for developing new trade links and expanding existing trade links. The strategy targets new international markets for strategic interest including China, Japan, and Indonesia, and those emerging markets of Vietnam, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and our close neighbour, Timor-Leste.
The ongoing development of the Australasian trade route positioning Darwin as the gateway with Asia and expanding the bulk minerals exports continues to be an important focus of the plan. There is $2.8m in this budget for this key area of developing our trade links, including positioning Darwin and local industry as a preferred oil and gas maintenance and operations base, including the International Business Council’s visit to Papua New Guinea to look at the mining markets and opportunities there. Also, visits to Singapore and Scotland to look at the marine supply bases. There is continuing work with the Charles Darwin University and the Department of Education and Training to attract international students.
I had the opportunity, whilst in the Philippines, to meet an organisation that brings many international students in. They see Darwin as being a couple of hours away and a fairly cheap flight with Jetstar. The government wants to increase the capacity to bring in Filipino students who have a strong English background and to see that market grow.
We continue our work with the pastoral industry through the NT Lifestyle Exporters’ Association and the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to develop new markets, particularly those in Indonesia where we have a strong market, but also Vietnam and, more recently, opportunities in the Philippines province of Negros Occidental. I hope to see those markets open up and broaden that market base as well.
We are showcasing Indigenous art and crafts in new markets in the regions of China, and that is leveraging off some work done at the Shanghai World Expo. The Chinese were enthralled by the art that was taken over, and there are great opportunities there. We are continuing to look at new business events and expos to complement our existing economic and industry sector profile, and promoting Darwin as the gateway to Asia. In Japan, when they think of Australia, they think of Darwin. They really see that we are making the huge effort there.
Madam Deputy Speaker, this is a comprehensive, targeted budget. It dips into deficit but rightly so. This is the time where businesses are less than 12 months away from one of the biggest projects to hit Australia, and the biggest project to hit the Northern Territory. Territory businesses, large and small, will take advantage of the INPEX gas project, the marine supply base, the prison project, and whatever comes off the back of that. There has been consideration for a while for expansion of the Darwin LNG plant facility. Darwin has grown, and the Northern Territory has grown, in capacity and competency. This is the time, and this is the budget, to enable businesses to keep going. The investment is happening in our young people, in the people who want to switch to those high-paying areas. I certainly hope we see that grow. I commend the Treasurer on Budget 2011-12.
Ms McCARTHY (Local Government): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to support Budget 2011-12, a budget that continues the Henderson government’s agenda of supporting Territory families, planning for growth, and creating jobs. I am pleased with the positive impact Budget 2011-12 will have on the areas I have portfolio responsibility for; in particular, the continued effort and support for A Working Future. A Working Future is about a future connecting people in the bush to the services people in other places take for granted. It is about proper infrastructure supporting growth and wellbeing for people in the bush. It is also about developing local economies and economic wellbeing for families through support for business and creation of real jobs.
The Territory government’s Budget 2011-12 provides more money to boost growth towns to improve services and facilities, while maintaining their unique culture and history. Under A Working Future, growth towns will become the economic and service delivery centres for their regions. The Territory government is spending more than $1bn to deliver health services across the Northern Territory. About 60% of health funding delivers services to Aboriginal Territorians at remote health clinics and in hospitals. A key target of A Working Future is enhancing health services to improve Indigenous health outcomes to a level comparable with the broader population.
In 2011, A Working Future will continue to enhance healthcare in remote communities including: $3m to deliver increased renal facilities in the Top End; $2m towards the construction of a new health centre at Umbakumba; $2.5m to continue the implementation of a coordinated approach to patient care from hospital to community for Indigenous patients with chronic illnesses; and $0.45m for the upgrade of Oenpelli Health Centre.
Safe, secure housing is a fundamental requirement needed to support healthy, happy, working families, and the Territory and Commonwealth governments are delivering the biggest ever housing program in the Territory with a $1.7bn package over 10 years. Budget 2011-12 provides $290m for new remote Indigenous housing and related infrastructure under SIHIP, and land servicing and essential services infrastructure in remote communities over $97m to continue upgrades to remote Indigenous housing and related infrastructure. Improved remote housing will be supported by $1.6m in 2011-12 as part of a $3.6m, three-year project to survey new and existing housing and infrastructure in Territory growth towns. Budget 2011-12 also provides $41m to build and upgrade government employee housing to support more teachers, nurses, and police in remote communities.
Increasing the number of Indigenous people from remote areas in jobs is A Working Future priority for the Northern Territory government. The Australian and Northern Territory governments are funding a $30m, three-year package to support real and sustainable jobs in delivering core local government services. The package supports 530 jobs per annum to deliver core local government services such as road construction and maintenance, parks and gardens, grass and weed management, waste collection, and dump management. These jobs are in addition to around 300 jobs provided in housing maintenance and tenancy services, as well as those supporting essential services.
The development of the Territory growth towns into economic hubs in their regions requires the growth of commerce and industry, supported by a skilled workforce. Budget 2011-12 provides $30m over three years, including: $10m for Indigenous employment packages; $6.43m to support Territory workforce development with particular focus on Indigenous employment, including over $2m for the Indigenous Training Employment Program to support employment opportunities for working-age Indigenous Territorians in regional and remote communities, particularly the growth towns; $1.2m per annum for the Northern Territory Public Sector Apprenticeship Program, employing up to 140 apprentices per year, including 40 school-based apprentices, and $0.5m for the NTPS Entry Level Indigenous Employment Program, employing up to 80 Indigenous recruits; $2.1m to increase Indigenous employment outcomes and involvement in conservation management and parks; $1m to support training and development opportunities for NTPS employees in remote localities; and $6.4m to continue and enhance training programs in Territory growth towns.
Road transport services are critical to the conduct of business, creating new jobs, and connecting the residents of our regions to the rest of the Territory. Budget 2011-12 continues to deliver improved access to and from remote areas for Territorians, with $12.8m for Central Arnhem Road to continue stream crossing upgrades at Goyder River, Donydji Creek, and Mainoru Creek; $12m for Port Keats Road to continue flood immunity improvements, including a new high-level bridge over the Daly River; $2m to upgrade barge landings to provide all-weather protection and allow day and night capabilities; and $1.15m to continue the trial of additional passenger bus services to remote communities. Without strong transport connections for local people, the potential of our regions will never be realised.
The Tourism Budget 2011-12 will strengthen tourism development, assist local tourism operators, and provide for global marketing campaigns and conversion activities with airlines, trade, and tourism distribution partners. Tourism NT will remain active in the Northern Territory’s key markets with a range of marketing activities and campaigns providing tactical and price-point opportunities for national and local partners. The Henderson government clearly understands the significance of tourism as a key economic driver of the Northern Territory economy and the positive impact of tourism on other industry sectors. This year, the government is responding to the issues facing the local industry, such as increased competition, unpredictability of the airline industry, changes in consumer behaviour, and economic factors affecting the Territory’s major tourism source markets.
The tourism industry provides real job opportunities and currently supports some 18 000 jobs right across the Northern Territory. That accounts for around one in six Territorians employed as a result of the tourism sector. This government has a strong track record of supporting the tourism industry in the Northern Territory, and Budget 2011-12 sees a continuation of that support with an allocation of $41.4m for Tourism NT. Our continuing strong funding of Tourism NT in a tight fiscal environment is a clear demonstration of our ongoing commitment to the industry. The Northern Territory remains a highly attractive destination amongst our key target market, based on our nature and cultural tourism assets.
The funding will underpin innovative and integrated marketing campaigns, support airline services, and enhance the development of new products from emerging Indigenous entrepreneurs. The recent challenges for the tourism industry are well-known and it is vital the Territory remains in the minds of consumers.
Key initiatives for Budget 2011-12 include: $1.6m towards a global Kakadu marketing program; $1.4m towards a global Red Centre marketing program; $1m for cooperative marketing and conversion programs with airlines, trade, and other distribution partners; $1.6m for business development and marketing support to improve airline access from key source markets; $1m to facilitate the development of Indigenous tourism experiences; $1.1m to attract business events to the Northern Territory, including conferences, exhibitions, corporate meetings, and incentive travel; $0.2m for environmental sustainability initiatives; and $2.1m for digital marketing and development, including the redevelopment of Tourism NT’s consumer website, e-marketing campaigns, and the use of social media, such as Facebook and YouTube.
We have enjoyed a relatively strong 12 months in a very challenging, ever changing environment worldwide. This was achieved through the tireless efforts of many people in the industry throughout the Northern Territory. Budget 2011-12 builds on maintaining our market share nationally and focuses on innovative and integrated marketing campaigns, as well as ensuring we work smarter, ensuring more efficient, effective spending of the funding allocation.
In the area of women’s policy, I note our funding continues for the work of the Office of Women’s Policy. The centenary of International Women’s Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the extraordinary women who have broken down many barriers throughout the last 100 years, but also to consider areas where we have not seen sufficient progress, to reflect on the reasons for this, and decide what we will do. The Northern Territory government, together with the Australian government, will continue to give a high priority to women’s issues, including reducing violence against women, ensuring women’s economic security, and supporting women’s leadership.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend Budget 2011-12 to the House.
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am delighted to support the Treasurer’s budget announcement. It is a budget that is both responsible and responsive. It helps families to get ahead, while building on our unique Territory opportunities. From my perspective, the allocations for my portfolio areas illustrate this very clearly.
My ministerial responsibilities include Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage, Parks and Wildlife, Climate Change, Sport and Recreation, Information and Communications Technology, and Central Australia. My ministerial responsibilities are broad, so I will not attempt to read the budget papers into the Hansard now, as the Treasurer has already tabled the budget. I will instead focus on some highlights in my portfolio areas in which this budget delivers.
In my Environment portfolio, we are taking the most effective approach to protecting our magnificent natural environment. We are pursuing landscape scale ecological management, which is world’s best practice. The Territory Eco-Link is the ultimate expression of landscape scale ecological management stretching from the Arafura Sea to the Central Desert. A major part of Eco-Link is our parks. Economically, our parks underpin our tourism industry drawing around 2.8 million visitors to parks across the Northern Territory each year. Our parks directly employ Territorians in our regions and generate export income for local Territory economies and sustain our natural resources economy.
Socially, they provide the ecosystems we enjoy, through our great Territory lifestyle, by camping, fishing, or boating. Environmentally, our parks conserve our natural capital, biodiversity, and deliver invaluable eco-services. In this budget, we are delivering $57m for our protected areas, and allocating $30.6m to our conservation management programs. There is $600 000 for the final year of a $1.8m program specifically to link parks and conservation areas in Eco-Link. There is $22.3m allocated to the parks visitor management programs, so Territorians and tourists can enjoy our natural environment even more.
Our natural resources are precious and Budget 2011-12 allocates $36m to natural resource management, including $12.6m in water management. I am delighted to report additional funding of $1.1m for habitat mapping, monitoring, and research activities in Darwin Harbour to ensure we keep this magnificent waterway as healthy as possible. This is in addition to $24m invested to close the Larrakeyah sewage outfall as part of the $66.2m project that will further protect Darwin’s Harbour. The Territory government takes protecting and preserving our environment and heritage seriously. Budget 2011-12 allocates $9.9m to improving environmental protection, sustainability, and regulatory reform, including: $800 000 ongoing funding for environmental compliance initiatives; an additional $300 000 for the ongoing support and development of more efficient environmental assessment; and support for pollution control through a range of measures such as the Cash for Containers scheme and the plastic bag ban.
These initiatives are also important for taking action on climate change. This government takes climate change seriously through our fully-costed whole-of-government $34m Northern Territory Climate Change Policy. This government is taking action. Specifically, Budget 2011-12 supports implementation and administration of a Northern Territory container deposit scheme. It supports the Centre for Renewable Energy and low emissions energy at Alpurrurulam, Ti Tree, and Daguragu, and it also supports the Alice Solar City project, Solar Champions Program, the Government Energy Efficiency Program, and the Energy Smart Schools Program across 60 government schools. Also, the Environment NT grants, rebate schemes, the ecoBiz NT program, and the establishment of land-based carbon offset opportunities in the Northern Territory.
One of the predicted impacts of climate change is shorter Dry Seasons and more rain. This means more flooding and bigger fire loads because of the bigger fuel loads. Budget 2011-12 allocates $1.1m towards the flood forecasting service to the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, the Department of Lands and Planning, and the Bureau of Meteorology to minimise risk to life and property in the event of flooding. To help mitigate the incidence of bushfires in the Territory, we have committed $4.7m towards Bushfires NT in Budget 2011-12. This government established the independent Environment Protection Authority. We then increased its powers, and this year we are providing $1.5m for the EPA’s important role in monitoring and protecting the environment.
It is the aim of this government to ensure Territorians have a lifelong involvement in sport and active recreation at whatever level they choose. I am pleased to announce that Budget 2011–12 delivers $25.8m towards sport and recreation, including: $3.6m towards the Northern Territory Institute of Sport to enhance the Centre for Sporting Excellence; the Palmerston sporting community will also be training and competing in first-class facilities with the Territory government delivering $33m to the Palmerston Sporting Complex, which encompasses Rugby League, AFL, tennis, netball, and soccer facilities in the 2011-12 Budget. Another sporting highlight under this budget is $4m for a new 12-court squash facility at the Marrara sport precinct.
The Territory government is committed to bringing top-class sport to the Territory for families to enjoy. This will continue with funding through Budget 2011–12 to bring exciting events like three AFL matches, the ACT Brumbies pre-season match, the North Queensland Cowboys pre-season match, and community engagement into the Territory.
The Territory government’s new $12.6m Palmerston water park will receive an additional $2.8m to construct an access road and upgrade the intersection.
ICT policy is an area where government can make real savings and productivity gains, and make a real difference to people’s lives. Two examples in this budget are the Health e-Towns and the Business Online Services initiatives. The digital regions health program will, in partnership with the Australian government, the Northern Territory Department of Health, and Northern Territory Department of Education and Training, use high-speed broadband over optic fibre. Health e-towns will contribute to closing the healthcare and education gap, and provide enhanced services to the Territory growth towns. More importantly, it will deliver the improvements in health and education for 17 of our Territory growth towns. I welcome the allocation of $6.6m for the Digital Regions Initiative national partnership agreement.
I also welcome $1.2m to develop a one-stop online service for business registrations, licences, and other government-provided services in the Northern Territory. Territorians live in some of the most remote places on earth. Initiatives like this open opportunities for Territorians in our regions. Through technology and training, we can shrink those distances by providing better health, education, and job prospects for people in the bush.
In my Central Australia portfolio, we are working to ensure Territory families can get ahead in one of the most remote places on earth. As you know, I live in Alice Springs, and I welcome the way this budget builds on opportunities in Central Australia by helping families get ahead by delivering extra infrastructure and more funding to key areas such as health, education, law and order, and jobs. This includes $143m for Alice Springs Hospital, as part of the $238m investment in acute care services. Budget 2011-12 also contains $20.5m for the construction of the new Alice Springs Hospital emergency department.
Central Australia will benefit from a safer community with $47.5m for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and $30.8m for enhanced Corrections programs. Alcohol is the key cause of crime, and this budget delivers the first tranche of the $67m five-year alcohol reforms to turn problem drinkers off tap and mandate treatment through the government’s banned drinkers register.
This budget also invests $15.9m for the continuation of the Territory and Commonwealth funded $150m Alice Springs transformation plan to enhance social support services and implement measures to reduce homelessness.
We are making a significant investment to infrastructure in Central Australia including: $2m to upgrade the Tanami Road; $5m to revitalise the CBD in Alice Springs; and $4.5m for new chilled water air conditioning systems at Araluen Art Centre. This government is also continuing its commitment to the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan, with $1.1m for capital works at the youth hub and $3.6m for a new boarding facility for students.
Budget 2011-12 continues our commitment to release land in Alice Springs, with a further $3.5m to continue the $13.5m development of the suburb of Kilgariff. Lifting the purchase price cap under Homestart NT in Alice Springs to $435 000 will also have a big impact, allowing more first homebuyers to enter the market and stimulating the economy.
As a bush member of this Assembly, I understand the need to deliver opportunities for families in the bush. My portfolios, as with all portfolios across this government, are stepping up to the challenge of delivering these opportunities through this budget. By June 2012, we are aiming to have 25 joint management plans in operation across the Territory. Joint management plans have many benefits. It recognises the traditional connections to country and the traditional owners’ rights and interests. It results in improved land management by fusing together traditional Indigenous knowledge with scientific approaches. It also aids the social development and employment opportunities for traditional owners and their communities, and it delivers rich visitor experiences due to increased cultural opportunities. It establishes equitable partnerships with local traditional owners to manage, maintain, and protect the biodiversity of a park or reserve and, at the same time, serve the needs of visitors and the wider community.
Budget 2011-12 commits $4.2m on the Parks Joint Management Programs output. I am delighted to announce that an additional $2.1m in ongoing funding will be delivered under Budget 2011-12 to deliver improved conservation in parks, and Indigenous employment and training outcomes. This funding will be used towards more Indigenous jobs and apprenticeships for our parks and reserves, with a key focus on better fire management and reduction in feral animals and weeds.
I am also pleased to highlight that $1m funding is going towards the support of employment of over 50 community sport and recreation officers in our remote communities under the Closing the Gap initiatives in Budget 2011-12. Over the next three years, we will be reducing the isolation of 40 of our remote Indigenous communities with access to free public Internet, mainly through their local library or resource centre. In addition, local staff will be trained to provide support to the community to use computers and the Internet, in particular how to electronically record and store their local history and culture.
This budget delivers opportunities to Territory families and secures the foundations on which we can pursue opportunities for a better life, not just today, not just until the next financial year, or until the next election, but into the future, so we can all enjoy the opportunities of the Territory, and our kids can have a fair go at their future as well.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend Budget 2011-12 to the House.
Mr McCARTHY (Lands and Planning): Madam Deputy Speaker, it is with pleasure that I rise to add my comments to the debate on Budget 2011-12. I commend the Treasurer for the delivery of a budget developed in tight fiscal times, a budget that is helping Territory families get ahead and keep ahead. The Territory Labor government has a strong economic record, delivering eight consecutive surplus budgets. That sound and strategic economic management positioned the Territory well to meet the challenges of the global financial crisis.
In the face of the global financial crisis, this government took the tough decision to go into deficit. The government lifted infrastructure spending to historic levels to protect Territory jobs and the Territory economy, and it has delivered for the Territory. More than 12 000 jobs have been created since the global financial crisis and 90% of those are full-time jobs. Deloitte Access Economics forecast 5% growth in the Territory in 2011-12, the strongest economic performer in the country, and the average unemployment rate is forecast to stay at 3%. We are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities before us and we will.
In relation to infrastructure, as the Minister for Construction, I am proud to say the Budget 2011-12 continues this government’s sound economic management and strong record of infrastructure spending. It delivers a $1.5bn infrastructure program, a 300% increase in funding since 2001. It is important to place on the record my thanks to the hard-working staff of the Department of Construction and Infrastructure for delivering the massive capital works program. The department has responded, over the past few years, to the government’s infrastructure program and this year has had close to 2800 contracts out the door. That is delivering for Territory businesses.
With a number of Australian government programs winding up, the Territory government is shouldering more of the infrastructure budget spend, up from 54% of the cost to 70% or $1.02bn. The total $1.5bn program delivers key infrastructure to build on the Territory’s opportunities and will sustain 3000 jobs. This strategic spending will also leverage private sector investment and prepare the Territory for opportunities around the corner. Among the highlights of the program are $539m for housing; $375m for power, water, and sewerage upgrades; $143m to upgrade hospitals; $110m for education infrastructure; $61m for Police, Fire and Emergency Services infrastructure; and $24m for land release. In an historical sense, this government is turning off land five times faster than ever seen before in the Northern Territory.
Budget 2011-12 delivers $20.3m for headworks to continue release of land in Palmerston East. I encourage all members to drive through the new suburbs of Palmerston East to see the opportunity on offer for Territory families. It is exciting to see future homes unfolding from the start of headworks to land turning off, the homes under construction, and Territorians moving in. It is about helping families to get ahead.
Alice Springs will also benefit from a $13.5m commitment for headworks for the new suburb of Kilgariff. The recent inquiry by design forum for Kilgariff highlighted the excitement in the Alice Springs community for this new suburb and how it might take shape. The start of the development is now under way with local contractors, Sitzler, on the ground and getting the headworks into place. Progressing the master planning is the next stage and I look forward to working with the Alice community to deliver the project.
The government is also investing $950 000 to continue investigative studies for the future city of Weddell which, one day, will be the home for up to 50 000 Territorians. The development of Weddell also gets a boost in the roads budget with $6m to upgrade Jenkins Road.
Budget 2011-12 delivers a $307m investment in our roads. That represents a 213% increase in funding since 2001. This year, the Territory government is again working closely with the Australian government to deliver important works for Territory road users. I spend a great deal of time driving on the Territory’s road network, 220 000kms of which is controlled by the Territory government, and I am pleased to say that we have injected an extra $14m into the Territory road repairs and maintenance budget. Territorians who have spent any time on the highways and main networks in recent weeks will have seen, firsthand, the huge amount of work under way to repair our roads after this year’s record rainfalls. There are 23 crews out there working seven days a week, and I take this opportunity to commend them on their effort. I came from Tennant Creek to Darwin via four main highways this last trip and the amount of work that has been progressed since the record rainfall is incredible. Those crews are doing an outstanding job. The priority for work is: first, national highway; second, rural arterial roads; and then local sealed roads.
This government is committed to providing an accessible, safe road network. Budget 2011-12 delivers a number of strategic roads projects that will build opportunities for the future of the Territory; projects such as construction of a new high-level bridge over the Daly River; further upgrading of the Tanami Road; a new high-level bridge over the King River near Katherine; and $20m to seal the Umbakumba Road. We will also see the completion of the $127m Tiger Brennan Drive project. This project has grown in scope to deliver an even better road network for commuters and for businesses needing fast access to our growing port.
Our road network keeps the Territory connected and grows the Territory by providing the links to health, education and employment opportunities.
As a bush member and Minister for Transport, I am very proud that Budget 2011-12 will support the delivery of the government’s integrated regional transport strategy. A $3.1m investment will support seven new commercial bus services across regional and remote communities linking 13 of our Territory growth towns. This is a practical initiative, which will make a difference in helping families get ahead. We will also invest $2.3m to improve public transport services around Darwin, Palmerston, and the rural areas, building on our investment, and improving services in Alice Springs. Budget 2011-12 delivers record investment to tackle alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour. This government knows alcohol abuse causes crime.
The Territory has a record number of prisoners in our gaols, and almost 48% of those prisoners will reoffend within two years. It is an unacceptable statistic, which is why the Chief Minister and I announced the new era in Corrections package last September. This government made it clear there will be a strong focus on rehabilitation, education, and training to break that unacceptable cycle of reoffending. Budget 2011-12 delivers the next stage of the new era in Corrections, which includes $3.5m to support community corrections in the delivery of new court orders to get non-violent offenders into rehabilitation and training. $1.9m will see the recruitment of an extra 18 community corrections officers to be stationed in Katherine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Casuarina, and Palmerston.
A further $1.4m will support the introduction of an electronic monitoring network, including ankle bracelets, allowing for greater surveillance of offenders. $3.1m will be allocated to support the operation of the new Barkly work camp, which will deliver improved rehabilitation outcomes, and $1.7m in capital works will support the construction of additional alcohol and drug rehabilitation beds to help break the cycle of reoffending.
The centrepiece of the new era in Corrections will be the new Darwin Correctional Services precinct. This government has committed $27m to deliver the headworks to the site in Holtze, which will include the Doug Owston Correctional Centre and a secure mental health facility. Construction on the precinct is expected to generate 1000 direct and indirect jobs, backing Territory business and building on the Territory’s opportunities.
East Arm Port is a key link in the Territory’s trade route with more than $3bn worth of cargo moved through the wharf annually. Budget 2011-12 supports the continued expansion and growth at East Arm wharf to build on the Territory’s opportunities. Strategic projects to be developed this year include: $3m to improve the bulk loading system to enhance environmental sustainability in operations; $3m for design works for the overland conveyor; and $600 000 to improve wash-down facilities at East Arm.
Darwin Port Corporation will also undertake maintenance and upgrades on its assets at Frances Bay mooring basin, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Stokes Hill Wharf. Strategically, Darwin Port Corporation will continue its focus on improving environmental practices and exploring alternate bulk loading options with stakeholders to develop Darwin as the port of choice for bulk mineral exports. As the Darwin Port Corporation maintains its focus on growing its operation, it will continue to develop a marine management and training centre equipped with modern technology. Training delivered through the centre will improve the efficiency and safety in the delivery of vessel traffic services within the Port of Darwin.
Budget 2011-12 delivers funding for a range of programs and initiatives in our Arts and Culture sector that will enhance our great Territory lifestyle. Within the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport is $40.9m for the Arts and Culture Output Group. This is a great part of the department, picking up our museums and art galleries, libraries, archives, and the arts and screen sector. These areas play pivotal roles in showcasing the Territory’s culture, heritage, and vibrant community.
To highlight some of the projects and programs funded in Budget 2011-12: $7.9m to complete construction of the Defence of Darwin Museum at East Point - this interactive museum will showcase and record our World War II history and be a great attraction for locals and tourists alike; local company, AJ Holdings, will continue its work on the $7.4m Katherine Cultural Precinct, a joint project between the Territory and Australian governments and Katherine Town Council; $9.2m for the NT Library; and $4.5m for a state-of-the-art air conditioning system to protect exhibits and artefacts at the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs. Budget 2011-12 will also deliver $10.5m to support the arts and screen sector and $6.81m for arts grant funding to grow our arts sector.
Budget 2011-12 builds on the great opportunities on offer in the Territory. It delivers a $1.5bn infrastructure program that will support 3000 Territory jobs. It has been strategically crafted in the face of tight financial times and is helping Territory families to get ahead.
Madam Speaker, I commend the Treasurer, her office, and the Treasury for the hard work on the development of Budget 2011-12. It is a budget focused on the Territory’s future and, therefore, should be supported by all members of this Chamber.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I support Budget 2011-12, a good budget, put together in difficult circumstances. Governments have to deliver responsible budgets that reflect the needs of Territorians, the circumstances of the Territory’s economy, and meet the social and economic objectives of the Territory and Territorians.
The No 1 priority in the Territory, both socially and economically, is jobs, jobs, and jobs. We are between major projects. Private investment is still a little soft post the global financial crisis. That puts a real emphasis on the importance of government maintaining high levels of infrastructure spending. $1.5bn, historically high, is for both capital works and repairs and maintenance. It includes delivering close to $400m in infrastructure upgrades for Power and Water. The $1.5bn is critical money, which will get assets built, see people in work, and get money pumped around our economy. It will keep people in the Territory, in a job, ready to go, as major projects start up again. We can all agree that is critical. That is a critical spend, a critical decision by the Treasurer, going into this financial year: building key infrastructure for our developing economy to position for growth, to take advantage of opportunities going forward - and there are plenty of opportunities. We need to build into job creation with those projects to maintain our existing workforce and create opportunities for Territorians, especially as major projects start ramping up again.
In a similar vein, BuildBonus is a great idea that creates jobs by helping to get people into a home, helping people to make one of the most important investments of their lives. We can all agree that the decision to buy a home, to put a roof over your head for the first time – I do not think this is capped for first homebuyers - is a critical one. We are very happy to help people with up to $530 000 as long as the contract is signed by the end of the financial year. That helps get people into a home and it helps address the fact we have a housing sector that needs a boost. It will help create and maintain jobs, and maintain our Territory workforce.
There are projects in my electorate that will qualify for BuildBonus. Village at Parap is one. I understand that qualifies - a great project in a great location; a new housing model for affordable rental for social housing for the private market. It will be great to see people assisted with moving there through BuildBonus. Village at Parap was the site of medium-density public housing, and the new homes were part of our plans to reform Parap Road. We need to reform public housing to create a better living environment for tenants and neighbours. There is a little more work to go along Parap Road in reforming public housing. We are on our way with that.
Probably the biggest problem along Parap Road – and it is certainly not a problem confined to Parap Road - is the misuse of alcohol and antisocial behaviour related to alcohol. The Territory government, the community, has said enough is enough, and we have seen some fantastic community campaigns run along that line. We need to turn off the tap to problem drinkers. Much consultation, much policy work, has gone into the legislation for tackling alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour, and those bills will be debated during these sittings.
This budget backs that policy. It puts the dollars into mandatory rehabilitation for problem drinkers. That money goes into existing services and new services. That is a critical spend, because this is a community problem that we must tackle, and this budget goes a long way towards tackling that problem. There is money in this budget to make the banned drinker register and ID scanners work. I sat in on one of the implementation discussion sessions with a trader in my electorate. They talked him through what was going to happen in his premises. It was a positive meeting about what tools will be coming into those workplaces, into those takeaway licences, to make sure we stop the primary supply of alcohol to problem drinkers, to banned drinkers.
That is not the only community problem this budget is tackling. We had the debate earlier today, with the member for Brennan and the member for Johnston, and the passage of education reforms making sure all kids go to school. This budget puts money into our Every Child, Every Day strategy. Every child must go to school. There can be no excuses. Improving student enrolment, attendance, and participation is everyone’s responsibility and everyone’s business. I support the minister in his reforms to make sure the current generation of school-aged kids, and future school-aged kids, go to school, get an education, and have the opportunities all Australians should have to enter the workforce and provide for their families, to make a contribution.
In Budget 2011-12, as the minister said in the House, and publicly, we have invested over $6.2m in programs to ensure kids get the proper support to stay in school. Things like Clontarf, which has been a huge success and continues to be a big success. Wraparound services, like the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan, and enrolment and attendance initiatives such as Every Child, Every Day. It is going to be a big year in education.
That is not the only education investment in this year’s budget. There is also $300 000 in infrastructure for Parap Primary School, and $300 000 in infrastructure for Stuart Park Primary School. That honours an election promise, and the school councils are very excited about seeing that investment happen in their schools. Parap and Stuart Park Primary are fantastic schools. They have excellent relationships with the local community. They are even better after federal government stimulus spending; they are seeing new school halls, new classrooms, and more. The results at Parap and Stuart Park have been sensational. Everyone has their own primary school and they have seen a real boost too. The schools are fantastic and they will be even better after this $300 000 is invested. I am working with both schools to see that investment get great results.
At Stuart Park Primary School, they are looking at carpet, painting, and some further shade, and perhaps an open verandah area in Early Childhood. Stuart Park Primary School has excellent school grounds and the principal, Bernie Bree, and the school council, over a number of years, made a series of excellent decisions and investments to open up the school to use those grounds to provide the opportunity for classrooms to break out into those open areas. It really is a fantastic school.
Parap Primary School has had some excellent discussion on where its $300 000 will go, and, in particular, has been looking at how it can maximise the benefit from the new school hall. It is an amazing asset. It has already been accessed by the general community. The Darwin Symphony Orchestra held a concert there, a program designed for kids, and it was a ripper of a day. The kids enjoyed it a lot. It was a little tongue in cheek. It was not the kind of orchestra performance you would get if you went to the Darwin Entertainment Centre, but was pitched to its target market and was great to have in the school hall. It went really well.
Madam Speaker, something that is very exciting for schools in my electorate, and I am sure exciting for all schools in the Territory, is the Cash for Containers program. It is an exciting program for all Territorians, but it has the potential to be a real winner for students to learn from the scheme, to work out how to set it up in their school, how to raise money from it, maybe even be part of the decision-making, to help the school council reinvest the returns into the school. It is an excellent opportunity.
Parap Primary School has a rare opportunity with the location of their school, with the Parap Shopping Village - the Parap Markets on a Saturday - and the number of people who go through that area. It provides an opportunity for people to deposit and donate their containers to the school for fundraising. It will be investigated by the school to see if it can take advantage of that opportunity. There is funding in the budget for the delivery of the container deposit scheme, rolling it out into schools and community groups.
With our scheme to ban plastic bags, these are grassroots environment initiatives to make the Territory a greener, cleaner place and I think would be welcomed by all. It is important to see in this budget the funding of many of those policy areas that we have spent a great deal of time on to get right. They have been rolled out legislatively and now we are seeing, in this budget, the financial backing to make sure they work.
Madam Speaker, I want to touch on a few specific projects. The first is the progress of the Defence of Darwin Museum at East Point. There are still a few hurdles to jump but we are on track for 2012. I thank the minister for the excellent work he has been doing in consultation with stakeholders like the Royal Australian Artillery Association to deliver a quality museum. I have been out on-site a few times with the minister. It is a fantastic site for many reasons. Historically, it is a great site but, also, aesthetically, it is a beautiful site. It is going to be one of the best-located museums in the world together with the current Darwin museum, which is in a great location. We have a good museum environment in Darwin and the one at East Point is going to be fantastic.
The second project I want to talk about is the delivery of a 12-court squash facility at Marrara referred to by the minister. This is the culmination of a community partnership that has seen $4m provided in a capital grant, which will see the maximum return on investment. I thank Norbuilt and the squash community. This is an excellent result and it is going to be a much-needed facility at the Marrara sporting precinct. It seems a sensible resolution to a problem that has been bubbling away. It is going to be a good outcome; having it located at Marrara with a number of other sports and fitting into the sporting precinct there.
This is a responsible budget that delivers socially and economically for the Territory. It builds on the opportunities that are emerging in the Territory. It focuses on jobs, job creation, and maintaining the workforce we have in the Northern Territory. It focuses on employment through that infrastructure spend, in particular, critical infrastructure spend that is building on the Territory’s asset base at the same time as creating jobs. The timing for that infrastructure has been just right for when the next major project comes along, when that private investment starts happening again, post GFC. That has been where the critical decision-making has been made and done by the Treasurer in tailoring this budget to the current Territory circumstances to ensure, economically and socially, we deliver what the Territory needs. That is what the Treasurer has done. It is a good budget delivered in difficult circumstances. I commend the Treasurer and the bill to the House.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I support the Treasurer’s budget statement for Budget 2011-12 delivered this morning. The Treasurer made no bones about the fact that this has been a tough budget to put together, but this is a responsible budget, and a budget that aims to help families get ahead. It builds on opportunities for businesses, most importantly, to continue to generate and keep people in jobs.
Around the world, we see countries struggling to recover from the global financial crisis. Australia has fared, as we know, far better than most countries, and the Northern Territory has fared better than other jurisdictions in Australia. This is because the Australian government’s response to the global financial crisis was a fiscal strategy designed to create jobs through the economic stimulus package announced in 2009, which meant capital spending on infrastructure. We will continue to see the benefit of that spend in Budget 2011-12 with $1.5bn for infrastructure, supporting some 3000 jobs. Whilst not quite the record spend of last year’s budget, it is significant and, overall, has increased by some 300% since 2001.
At lunchtime today, the business community and other interested stakeholders, including most members of this House, attended a luncheon hosted by the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Prior to the Treasurer’s address, guest presenter, David De Garis, a senior economist with the National Australia Bank gave a snapshot of the state of the economy on a global, national, and local level. He ventured to say that the Northern Territory budget handed down today has struck a balance of economic and social obligations, and he described the deficit as modest. Modest, we note, not monstrous, as the Leader of the Opposition claimed at Question Time.
Keeping people in jobs is critical. As the Treasurer said during Question Time today, if we were to ask families if they want a surplus or a job, we can be fairly certain about how they will respond. It is all about jobs and it is what goes to the heart of what the Labor Party quite literally stands for. Labor means jobs.
In spite of the fact that this is a tough budget, we see a record spend across the key areas of education, health, and safety. The record spend in education - $930m - will benefit students regardless of where they live. We have heard the commitment from the Treasurer and the Education minister that teacher aide positions will be funded across transition classes in government schools. The early childhood years are critical in a child’s development, and funding these positions assists teachers and students to achieve the best outcomes. As we heard the minister say in Question Time today, these teacher aides are already working in transition classes in our remote schools.
We see funding of $2.28m to support the initiatives of the Every Child, Every Day strategy. This is welcome funding and will support the important amendments to the Education Act passed earlier today, because this government is serious about best outcomes for young Territorians. We need to do everything we can to engage these young people and their families to participate in education. Further, we will see $3.18m to continue and expand student engagement programs like Clontarf and Sporting Chance. With Clontarf having started in my electorate at Yirrkala, I can say unreservedly what a success it has been, even though it has only very recently started. It is attracting young fellows into Clontarf, and is a great way to get those young fellows into school.
We see $3.5m in the Education budget allocated to expanding the ‘virtual’ very remote early childhood integrated service hubs, and the Families as First Teachers program. We recognise those early years are critical in a child’s development. Families as First Teachers is not just about engaging little ones; it is about engaging their parents and families to be actively involved in their learning and development.
With regard to special education, I am delighted to see we have $11.9m for the new Nemarluk School at Alawa; $7.5m for special education upgrades to Acacia Hill and Henbury schools, Palmerston Senior School, and Taminmin College. Special education programs in my electorate of Nhulunbuy, particularly at Nhulunbuy Primary School and high school are very strong, but we welcome the additional funding that goes into special education in our schools.
We know the federal government’s investment in education through the Building the Education Revolution program, whilst getting towards the end of the program, has delivered, and will continue to deliver improvements to school infrastructure. This includes in my own electorate at Nhulunbuy Primary School, which has progressed a tender for its share of the BER funding of around $2.5m for an upgrade to its school hall. The design is based on the upgrade to the Millner Primary school hall and I have been with the Education minister to look through that facility. In fact, students at Millner Primary School proudly showed the minister and me. It is a fantastic asset for that school and we cannot wait for it to be delivered in our community.
I sincerely hope we see a local business from Nhulunbuy named as the successful tenderer so we can continue to support the local economy because the local economy in Nhulunbuy and jobs for local businesses is critical. It is about keeping families there and keeping kids in our schools. I have my fingers and toes crossed for a local tenderer.
We see a record spend in the area of health. As the Minister for Health outlined, we have $1.15bn being delivered in this current budget: $51m to upgrade the emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital; $55.7m for construction of the new emergency department and continuing fire protection and associated works at Alice Springs Hospital - that is fantastic news; and $3.3m for my colleague, the member for Barkly, for upgrades at Tennant Creek Hospital. In my own electorate, I note $22.3m for Gove Hospital for its ongoing operating costs associated with acute services. That includes things like patient travel. Obviously, in an area like northeast Arnhem Land where we have people spread across homelands, there is considerable cost associated with transport and ensuring we are delivering the best possible healthcare to people in those remote areas.
We will continue to see the construction of six two-bedroom staff units at Gove District Hospital on the campus of the hospital; there is $1.29m towards the continued construction of those units. The tender has gone out, but there will be delays to the start-up due to the incredible Wet Season weather we have had – it only stopped raining in Nhulunbuy just over a week ago. Delivering those units of accommodation at Gove Hospital will go a long way toward attracting and retaining good doctors and allied health staff who are critical to the support and delivery of health services in the region.
We also see a record spend in the area of safety - Police, Fire and Emergency Services with some $328m. I welcome the spend on alcohol reforms, the Enough is Enough strategy recognising that the cost of alcohol and alcohol-related issues to taxpayers in the Northern Territory is $642m a year, which is an incredibly high figure. That is money we would love to spend on other areas of the budget in a preventative sense, so the introduction of these alcohol reforms is certainly welcome. Sixty percent of all crime in the Northern Territory is caused by alcohol, and that figure is way too high. This is about going to the heart of the problem, which is about addressing alcohol. There is expenditure of $4.7m on a banned drinker register and ID scanners - I believe this money is very well spent - and investing $1m to establish the Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal and SMART Court. These bills will go before the House on Thursday for debate.
As an elected member from East Arnhem Land, we have had very successful, very effective alcohol management plans in place for three years - one on Groote Eylandt and one in my electorate of Nhulunbuy, which encompasses all of the homeland areas. It has been a highly successful program in the reduction of alcohol-related issues, domestic violence, a dramatic reduction in the number of police lock ups, a dramatic reduction in the number of presentations to accident and emergency, and a reduction in the number of call-outs for St John Ambulance. Basically, our town and the surrounding communities are cleaner, happier, and healthier. That is not to say that it is not without its issues. Secondary supply continues to be an issue that we will try to solve. I can say unreservedly that having an alcohol management plan that puts problem drinkers off tap is effective and benefits the entire community.
People have talked about and objected to the inconvenience of the banned drinker register, the fact people have to have an ID, and it taking seven seconds to swipe a card. I can assure people it is something you get used to. You soon recognise the wider benefits outweigh any inconvenience. We have had that system in place for three years in northeast Arnhem Land. If I were to conduct a straw poll in the streets of downtown Nhulunbuy and ask people would they like to do away with the system, I reckon I will get a 99% return that would say: ‘No, no, no, let us keep it the way we are’.
Regarding infrastructure such as roads, we listened to the Minister for Lands and Planning talk about the significant spend in that area. We have an extensive road network in the Northern Territory. In my electorate, and in other bush members’ electorates, such as Arafura and Arnhem, the vast majority of our roads are unsealed. They are not all-weather roads. They are problematic every Wet Season, and especially so in the Wet Season we have just had. Whilst the rain has stopped, we have roads in considerable disrepair, and there is significant effort going into these roads to try to make them safe.
The Central Arnhem Road as a major arterial road is not sealed, but is the road that stretches from outside Katherine through to Nhulunbuy, passing through Bulman Station. The road was earmarked last year for significant spending and we will continue to see that spend this year. We have in the highlights $12.8m for the continued stream crossing upgrades at the Goyder River, Donydji Creek, and work has already started on Mainoru River, which is in the member for Arafura’s electorate. That is an important upgrade because that affects Bulman Station’s ability to get big trucks in and out carrying cattle.
I am delighted to see, in addition to that, we have some extra funding allocated for the Central Arnhem Road: $250 000 is being invested to improve safety and traffic flow by providing new pull-off areas for heavy vehicles. Being a dirt road, certainly during the Dry Season, and it is only a Dry Season road, we do get an additional volume of traffic. We get trucks on the road, and if you are in a four-wheel-drive vehicle stuck behind a truck, it can be very frustrating. It can be dangerous, and creating these pull-off areas will make the road safer. Trucks will have a bay so they can pull over and allow vehicles behind them to pass safely. We will also see $200 000 invested in another crossing along the Central Arnhem Road at Rocky Bottom Creek, which is just the other side of the Gapuwiyak turn-off. That $200 000 will improve drainage at the crossing and make crossing that much safer.
These improvements in the Central Arnhem Road, once they are completed, and seeing them completed is an involved process. We are on an Aboriginal land trust, so there are negotiations to be had with the traditional owners through the Northern Land Council to ensure the crossings do not affect areas of significance or sacred sites. When the upgrades are completed, the Central Arnhem Road, which currently only opens about six months of the year, will be open perhaps all bar six weeks of the year, although that is contingent upon what sort of Wet Season we have. That will make access and freight competition available to people for a much longer part of the year, and that is something that we certainly welcome. It is important for the economic activity of the region. We have a number of Territory growth towns that rely on the Central Arnhem Road for access and, within those Territory growth towns and some of the surrounding homeland communities, we have little hubs of economic activity, particularly eco-cultural tourism businesses, which are heavily reliant on safe road access, so that is a really critical one.
The Minister for Local Government and Indigenous policy talked about the package under the A Working Future banner. This year’s budget delivers $633m for the A Working Future policy. It is about supporting the infrastructure in our growth towns, our remote areas, and our bush areas. I am delighted to see, in particular, the $30m jobs package. This is a critical package for creating and sustaining employment and training in these communities for Indigenous people. It is particularly important for the shires. Part of this jobs package will keep some 530 jobs in the shires across the Northern Territory in those critical areas such as roads construction, maintenance, waste collection, management of waste dumps, parks and gardens, and other maintenance activity roles within the shires. We are all delighted to see that employment continuing to be funded with some support from the Australian government.
Other highlights from my region include $600 000 for vocational education and training infrastructure for the Indigenous People Program, which we delivered with Building the Education Revolution projects in the Laynhapuy Homelands. The homelands are an important part of our bush electorates and especially so in my electorate where I know Laynhapuy Homelands is an incredibly hard-working organisation working hard to support Indigenous Yolngu people to remain and thrive on their homelands. In my electorate, the majority of homelands are fully occupied year-round. They are quick to tell me they are not outstations. They are not holiday weekenders. These are people’s homes, where they live, they work, they send their children to school, and they have cultural obligations on maintaining that country.
There is another important highlight here for the East Arnhem region and it is $500 000 to establish an East Arnhem Indigenous Fisheries Network, which will coordinate, mentor, and train Indigenous people in commercial fishing, aquaculture, and fisheries-related business. Caring for country and caring for sea country is a large part of what organisations such as Laynhapuy Homelands and DhimurruRangers do. Both DhimurruRangers and Yirralka Rangers – Yirralka working under Laynhapuy Homelands - look after a sizeable IPA, Indigenous Protected Area, and for the Yirralka Rangers it is something like 640 km of beautiful, pristine coastline. I am delighted to see that funding has been made available and hope to see it continue to increase over the next few years.
Madam Speaker, there are many things I could talk about, but I will leave it there. I thank the Treasurer, and commend her, and her staff, and Treasury, knowing this has been a difficult budget to put together. It is a responsible budget. Importantly, it focuses on keeping people in jobs and continues to deliver in key government service areas of education, health, and safety. I commend the bill to the House.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Madam Speaker, I support the Henderson government’s Budget 2011-12. The budget is one that again recognises the pivotal role our regions and remote communities play in the broader Northern Territory economy. It is also a family-friendly budget. As the Treasurer said, the budget is fiscally responsible. The Treasurer outlined the difficulties facing Australia as the global economy is slowly recovering from the deepest economic downturn since World War II.
The Treasurer has again delivered a fantastic Budget 2011-12. How will this budget deliver now for families and how will Budget 2011-12 invest in the future of the Territory? If we look at the Budget 2011-12, it has delivered for the future of the Territory, but also for families.
The record spending in education, health, and police is certainly welcome. Our great investment in child protection continues under a Labor government, and our commitment to deal with a complex issue that many governments have struggled to get right. The record investment in child protection goes well over $180m.
Turning to my electorate, I was delighted to be with the Minister for Transport when we made the pre-budget announcement of $6.3m to upgrade and strengthen the Arnhem Highway. The Arnhem Highway is a major highway going to my electorate and, with the record Wet Season, the Arnhem Highway has had its fair share of damage. I was delighted to be with the minister when he made that announcement.
In relation to education, I am looking forward to continuing the great program the member for Nhulunbuy mentioned. The minister in an earlier debate today when summing up the Education bill before the House, talked about a community that is close to his heart, and also my heart - Maningrida. Since the Families as First Teachers program commenced under this government and was implemented in Maningrida, and with some changes they made in the school, we have seen attendance, which is a major issue for that community, increase. The minister can correct me, but I am sure it was below 30% and now it is over 60%. The community, the school, the principal, and the truancy officers at Maningrida are all working together, and one of the programs assisting families to recognise the value of education is the Families as First Teachers program.
It is great to see the continuing investment in that program for many of our remote communities. That program simply did not exist under the CLP, but has been a continuing investment under this government. It is an important link between those communities, the families that live in those communities, and those children getting access to a good education, and ensuring they stay in school. It is great to see the continued investment with the early childhood program, Families as First Teachers. I welcome the continued investment in early childhood services in remote communities. Maningrida and Gunbalanya in my electorate have investment in this budget to continue their early childhood programs.
Health services: the investment in health is welcome, particularly the money being given to the Maningrida Health Centre to build and continue the extensions to the health centre, a generator for the Warruwi Health Clinic, and extensions and upgrades for Gunbalanya. All those investments are welcome and are getting the message out to the communities that we continue to invest in health.
I welcome the investment in Police, Fire and Emergency Services to continue the Themis stations in Minjilang and Warruwi. Those communities were concerned that, with the exodus of the federal police from those communities, there would no longer be any policing. It was great to see in this budget both those communities will have continued investment by police to ensure that presence will continue. I was at a meeting with both communities and the police when, particularly, the women said they were concerned about the police being pulled out of the community because, having the Themis stations and the police on the ground had certainly reduced the levels of violence and, in Minjilang, it has actually eliminated the levels of violence that were there. I thank the government for continuing that investment in Minjilang and Warrawi.
I was listening to the member for Nelson’s speech this morning when he talked about Noel Pearson. The Four Corners program had a fantastic story last night. He said whether you agree or disagree with Noel Pearson - and I agree to disagree with many people in this Chamber, but that is okay. What Noel Pearson has done with his advocacy and his push, particularly in the Cape, to turn around education in those communities has to be recognised and applauded. He has done a fantastic job trying to get those communities to see the value of education. That is why I was pleased to see this budget, because there is a strong investment in education.
As Noel Pearson said in that program last night, economic development or economic viability for communities will only come about with those children getting a strong education. That is very true. The investment in our communities in the Northern Territory has to be an investment in education. That is working with the schools, but also working with the community, for the mums and dads to see the value of that education and to get their kids to school every single day.
I am looking forward to taking the minister for Education to Gunbalanya. They have commenced a fantastic three to nine program, trialling an adult education program to bring back many of the young people. To see that continued investment with government and non-government schools in this budget is fantastic. If we can get it right in Gunbalanya and Maningrida, across our regional and remote communities, we will see a turnaround. Many children will see a bright future.
I am delighted to see the $700 000 to continue the upgrade of Minjilang aerodrome to provide an all-weather capability for that community. I remember when I was first elected in 2001, at the polling booth there were a couple of CLP ministers and they could not believe the aerodrome was 20 km out of the community and was a dirt airstrip. They said: ‘This is a long way from the community’. I said: ‘You guys have been in government for the last 26 years and this is the first time you have come to this community’. When I looked across my electorate, there were five major communities with dirt airstrips. In the Wet Season, old people died because they could not get evacuated from those communities.
I am pleased to see Budget 2011-12 continues the commitment our government has for sealing those dirt airstrips, particularly across the Top End where we have inundation and the Wet Seasons are getting greater and greater. We have seen a record Wet Season this year. So, to see the investment to continue the upgrading of those community aerodromes is an important essential service for those communities, and essential infrastructure that is needed. I thank the Treasurer and the government for continuing this program. I think the Minjilang Airstrip was the last airstrip that needed sealing, so it was great to see that airstrip being finished.
The jobs in the future, across A Working Future, and the matched funds that have been put in there for local government - like the member for Nhulunbuy and all of my bush colleagues, I congratulate not just the Treasurer but also the Minister for Indigenous Development who did a lot of hard work. It was her persistent lobbying of the federal minister to get that support, and the funding from the Northern Territory government to match that, so we can keep those 500 jobs in local government. That will consolidate and make the shire stronger. Yes, there are problems but, with any major reform that happens across the bush, there are always going to be teething problems. Getting that funding to sustain those shires, or going in some part to sustaining those shires, is good. Hopefully, we will see the shires becoming more consistent and working to deliver local government across the region.
The SIHIP funding continues with housing. Maningrida and Gunbalanya are recipients in my electorate. New houses and refurbishments are happening, which is good to see. Most of the work on the Tiwi Islands has been completed. All the new houses have been delivered. I am looking forward to getting the houses, in particular in Gunbalanya, worked on in this Dry Season. Maningrida is happening, although the Wet Season at Maningrida caused some delay with some of the houses. The minister for Housing came with me, because he loves Maningrida, and we both had a look at that. Territory Alliance is continuing its work with the new subdivision and the refurbishments that are happening. For both of those communities, it is good news. People were glad to see the Wet Season over because, with the end of the Wet Season, it meant that work could commence, or recommence.
Like the member for Nhulunbuy, I welcome the marine ranger program and the financial and training support to those Indigenous rangers. They play an important role in our coasts. The other night I was watching television and they were talking about our border protection and how the illegal fishing that used to come into many of our coastal communities has reduced. There has been record investment in Customs, but what was missing from all of that was the role coastal Aboriginal marine rangers have played in the protection and conservation of our coastline. They get funding and support, and they work in quite well with Customs, so it is great to see the continuing Northern Territory investment in marine rangers.
With regard to Corrections in Jabiru and the Tiwi Islands, the funding for monitoring and supervision for both those communities is ongoing. I am pleased to see the funding for the community courts at Jabiru. That is an important link within western Arnhem Land with both Maningrida courts and Gunbalanya that Jabiru will also be picked up as part of that regional response.
Madam Speaker, in Budget 2011-12, it was good to see the continuing investment with A Working Future. You could not get a more passionate minister than the Minister for Indigenous Development when it comes to A Working Future and making sure we are delivering across our remote communities and our homelands. It is not just rhetoric; it is not just talking about A Working Future; we are actually delivering. It is a good budget. It invests in families and, like Budget 2010-11, it invests in our regional and remote communities. That is an important investment. It is not just a budget in the northern suburbs of Darwin, or in Alice Springs, but a budget that has invested in the regional and remote communities. I commend the budget and the Treasurer.
Debate adjourned
TABLED PAPER
Remuneration Tribunal Determination – Interstate Travel Report –
Member for Katherine
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table the member for Katherine’s travel report, pursuant to section 3.15 of the Remuneration Tribunal, for travel to Cairns between 10 and 13 April 2011.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I table a report of the Public Accounts Committee into NT government agencies’ internal controls dated May 2011.
MOTION
Note paper - Public Accounts Committee –
NT Government Agencies’ Internal Controls
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the report and that I have leave to continue my remarks at a later hour.
Leave granted.
Debate adjourned.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received the following letter from the member for Araluen:
Is the proposed discussion supported? It is supported.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness and regret that I stand before you today to talk about this matter of public importance. It relates specifically to a case drawn to the attention of the public of the Northern Territory last week. I am sure most of you will be aware of the case I am alluding to. I will read the police media report pertaining to this incident involving a child. The media release is titled Baby Found - Tennant Creek:
The Northern Territory News reported: Baby Ditched in Cold Alley:
This case about a baby dumped in a lane way at Tennant Creek last week, a neonate, a newborn child dumped in a lane way, abandoned, at approximately midnight, possibly before - how long the child had been there we do not really know. Perhaps the police have more information than what has been provided by the media. The lane way was described as isolated. The cyclist who went down the lane way and found the baby described it as not often used. The baby was lying on the ground. It was dirty and smelly, which would indicate it was not particularly well cared for at that point in time, apart from the fact it was dumped there. Two people were directly affected by this apart from the baby - Ms Butterworth, and the cyclist, Mitch Dawson. The baby was taken to the hospital, the police were called, and the Department of Children and Families workers were involved. The boy, the infant, the neonate, was returned directly to its parents. Within hours of the baby being found, it was returned to the mother, a 22-year-old woman, and the father, a 29-year-old man.
We have major concerns about the management of this case, how it indicates again, still, a system that is failing the children of the Northern Territory. We have major concerns about reports we hear from the government saying reforms of the Northern Territory child protection system are well under way. We heard the progress report from the Minister for Child Protection a few weeks ago. Every ‘i’ was dotted, every ‘t’ was crossed. There was no stone left unturned in that report. Everything was squeaky clean, according to the government. They had addressed everything that was required of them within the Growing them strong, together report. All urgent recommendations had been addressed, according to the Minister for Child Protection.
I have major concerns, as shadow minister for child protection, that this is not so. This case demonstrates this. This case is probably not unique. In many ways, it is probably not different from many other cases that exist in the Northern Territory. This case has come to the attention of the Northern Territory people because it was reported by the media. It has been a focus of media attention. For that, I am grateful, because we have a case which has been poorly handled because of an unsatisfactory system in place - a system that has been well-documented over the years as not equipped, and not managed well. The maladministration of child protection in the Northern Territory has been documented in numerous reports we are all aware of. The Little Children are Sacred report - the state of denial report in the early part of the last decade. There are many reports that have said the same thing repeatedly: this government has failed to protect children in the Northern Territory.
What this case specifically highlights is aspects of the Growing them strong, together report that seem to be failing. It illustrates a dysfunctional system in the statutory intervention process around child protection. One aspect of the Growing them strong, together report was looking at the critical issues relating to the effectiveness and competence in the intake system; and how there was a divergence of opinions of what is child abuse and neglect. The allegation within the board of inquiry report, over and over again, was the bar is too high in the Northern Territory. What we consider to be abuse and neglect in the Northern Territory is an incredibly severe and serious case elsewhere. What we consider to be normal is completely abnormal elsewhere.
This case of this poor baby dumped in a lane way in Tennant Creek sadly demonstrates that. Why was the child returned immediately to its parents? What compelling information led to that decision being made? The only conclusion I can come to is the child protection workers, the well-meaning representatives of the statutory body, were not resourced adequately. Throughout the Growing them strong, together report, there are many references to the fact that foster care and out-of-home care is very difficult to access. In many cases, it does not exist.
There seems to be some major fault in the process by which the child was assessed. We can only speak hypothetically about this case because we do not know how it was assessed, but the bottom line is, the fact the child was returned immediately, or within hours of it being found, back to the family, would indicate that things are not the way they should be within child protection services in Tennant Creek.
In the Growing them strong, together report, many submissions and community service providers addressed the question of different perceptions of the level of risk experienced by notified children and the threshold being used in the Central Intake to determine harm. Perceptions that the department uses high thresholds for intervention have also been raised in the two reports prepared by the Children’s Commissioner for the Minister for Child Protection. What someone is charged with for torture in the eastern states, we accept as normal in the Northern Territory, and staff of the department have confirmed this high threshold of neglect. It becomes demoralising on a daily basis to witness the needless death and suffering that Territory children live with, knowing there is no point in notifying the department as the notifications will be closed at intake.
This case demonstrates this point, and the fact that we still have cases in the Northern Territory in which children are quickly returned to their parents after such an appalling situation like this, or a child is subjected to an appalling situation like this, is unacceptable. It is a clear indicator that, although every ‘i’ was dotted and every ‘t’ was crossed in the progress report from the minister, there are still systemic problems within child protection. Elsewhere around the country, around the world, I doubt whether a child dumped in a lane way, a small baby that could have been crushed, could have been savaged, anything could have happened to that child, would have been immediately returned to its parents. It is unacceptable. It is beyond belief.
The man who rode the bike along the lane way and who found the abandoned child said:
This is a layman; this is not a professional person. This guy was on the way to some sort of party or celebration for Anzac Day with his mates. He happened to come across this kid, and that is what he said to the media. Great wisdom and insight from the man who just happened to be at the right place at the right time: ‘I cannot believe they gave the kid back’, and just about everyone I have spoken to has said the same thing. It is common sense. If parents abandon or dump a child in a lane way at midnight, and it takes them three hours minimum to go to the hospital to find that child, there is something deeply and sadly wrong. There is something amiss.
There is something wrong with the parents, whether they be drug-affected or alcohol-affected, whether there is some sort of violent interaction going on that is well-documented in communities throughout the Northern Territory as being a high incident matter, whether there is family breakdown, whether there is some sort of business going on that we are not aware of, it does not matter. Those parents demonstrated a clear lack of capability, intention, or will to care for that child, that neonate, that child that has just entered the world. They showed a total lack of responsibility, yet they were rewarded by having that child placed back into their care.
Let us think about the child. The government has released this wonderful – and they are wonderful, I take my hat off to them – early childhood development in the Northern Territory. There is a series of fantastic evidence, and it is a fantastic report on the needs of children in their early part of life, their early stage of life in the Northern Territory. This is a report that talks about the need for proper care, proper recognition of the developmental requirements of children. We have a department that obviously produces, distributes and holds these sorts of documents in high regard but there is still, within this government, a huge gap between what it says it is going to do and actually doing it.
We all recognise this is an incredibly difficult area but I would have thought that, at this stage in the history of child protection in the Northern Territory, this would not be happening. That we would not have children quickly being returned to parents who are obviously not equipped, for whatever reason, to look after this child. If the child was given to a family member, we know through the reports in the Growing them strong, together report, we know from anecdotal reports, that what often happens is the family members will give the child back to the parents anyway. Those family placements are recognised as not always being effective, particularly when those placements are done at three o’clock in the morning under duress.
So what is going on in Tennant Creek? Why was this child returned in no time? There was another article in today’s Centralian Advocate:
She also said that in other parts of Australia this would cause outrage:
Signed, Sandra Cooper, Alice Springs.
Why has this happened, minister? Explain to me; I am sure you are going to jump to your feet in a few minutes and tell me all the information that is not in the media reports, but I do note there is a discrepancy between the police media report and the report you issued a few days later - it back steps. The police media report said the child was almost immediately given back to the family. Your report suggests there was some sort of process put in place, and it took a little longer, and you felt extremely confident that it was a good decision to return the child to its family.
I am sure we are going to hear some tap dancing and quick shuffles to get out of this one. The bottom line is this is evidence that things are not as good as you would have us believe, minister. This is evidence that the Growing them strong, together report should be put back fairly and squarely on your desk, that you need to read it, your staff need to read it, the staff in Tennant Creek need to be supported and reminded of the recommendations of that report.
Mr VATSKALIS (Child Protection): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her comments and strongly recommend she sits down and reads the report because I have a suspicion she actually read the executive summary and nothing else. One thing I agree with the member for Araluen is that she does not have all her facts with her. She only has the media news report. The best thing to do is to look at the facts, the way things happened.
I have been advised by my department that, on 26 April 2011, Central Intake was advised of an abandoned three-month-old baby in Tennant Creek. The child was taken to Tennant Creek Hospital and examined by medical staff. A doctor at the Tennant Creek Hospital found the baby generally appeared healthy. This matter was assessed as a child in danger and action was taken immediately to place this child into care. The parents attended the hospital that night. A decision was made for the child to remain in care until an appropriate assessment could be made. So, the child was not given back to the parents within hours. The advice I received was that the child was not given to his parents straight away. Instead, he was put into care.
On 27 April 2011, all relevant individuals were interviewed, including hospital staff, and the maternal grandmother who had agreed to take on a protective role for the child. With this additional family support in place, it was assessed that at the time there was no immediate risk to the child. Bear in mind at no time the police, or the medical staff, detected any involvement with alcohol or that the child may have been abused. They said the child appeared to be healthy.
The child’s safety and wellbeing is the overriding priority for the department and the government. It should be for every government. The child has been returned to the care of the parents and a safety plan has been agreed to. Six face-to-face contacts by departmental staff to date have occurred since the child’s return, and a follow-up appointment with the infant health nurse will occur on Friday.
It was not just handing the child back, but a process was put in place. A visit took place by departmental staff to the house where the family lives, and nearly every day the family was visited in their home by departmental staff. In addition to that, on Friday, the infant health nurse examined the child. However, the child protection case is still open on this family and will remain open until a more thorough assessment of the strength and needs of the family is complete to ensure a proper intervention of care and to monitor the situation.
I also advise the House that I have been advised the child had no prior history with the Department of Children and Families, the baby was healthy, and both parents showed the appropriate regret and remorse. Staff from the Department of Children and Families are satisfied that appropriate supports are in place from the child’s extended family. There is no evidence that alcohol is involved in this incident.
Follow-up by the Department of Children and Families staff with the family and child, including supportive home measures, are ongoing and will be ongoing. In addition, after I spoke with the acting CEO of the department, the case has been overseen by a senior children and family staff member. These are the plain facts.
I was concerned when I heard about the incident; I was not here, I was on holidays. When I returned the first thing I did was ask the department to provide me with a full brief of the situation. I believe, in this situation, the department acted quite reasonably because our intention is to keep families together. It is very easy to take kids away - it is keeping families together. This case was the first incident for this family. I understand it is a very young mother, there were some strange circumstances with a fight with the boyfriend, and no alcohol involved. The family had never had a case with the department. The child was detected by the doctor to be healthy, and the child was not given back to the family immediately, but only after measures were taken and put into place. The department acted quite rightly to give the child back to the family.
I would like to make mention of the board of inquiry’s report as it provides specific recommendations on supporting children and families. The board of inquiry highlighted the importance of family preservation and the importance of working with families, and I quote:
It is easy to take kids. It is a very simplistic approach taking the kids away. Fantastic, we will take the kids away. What have we achieved? We have achieved kids growing up away from families, and it is nothing to do with the Stolen Generations. That would happen to any family; it does not matter whether it is Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal. That would happen to a Greek family, a Chinese family, anyone. It has nothing to do with the Stolen Generations. It has to do with the safety of children, and I have been on the public record saying the safety of children is paramount. An Aboriginal child would not be put with an Aboriginal family if we could not guarantee the safety of the child. A Greek child would not be put in a Greek family unless we could guarantee the safety of the child. If we can satisfy ourselves that this is the best place to be, and a safe place to be, then the department would do that.
Madam Speaker, the member for Araluen is right: there were a number of reports written during various times. The ones she referred to, the specific report she was referring to before – sorry, I forget …
Ms Scrymgour: State of denial.
Mr VATSKALIS: State of denial was actually referring to the 10 years of lack of child protection under the CLP government. So, it was not only the Labor government that somehow managed to forget the children of the Territory; it was the CLP government before our government was even elected ...
Mrs Lambley: It is not your fault.
Mr VATSKALIS: Madam Speaker, I did not say it was actually her fault or my fault. The problem here is not a problem for a Labor or Liberal government; it is a problem of our society. It is a problem that not only happens in the Northern Territory but happens throughout Australia, throughout the world. That is the reason, following the board of inquiry’s report, I called every society, organisation, community organisation, non-government organisation, including the churches, and put to them that this has to be resolved by all of us. Governments do not make good parents. We can throw them money but we cannot solve the problem. It has to be done properly. I spoke to CatholicCare, Anglicare, Somerville, the Catholic church, the Anglican church, the Pentecostal church, and AMSANT, because this is an issue we have to address as a community - not as a political party or a Cabinet of a certain political persuasion.
Talking about children’s services, how can the members opposite lecture about children’s services when the budget for the whole year for children’s services when they were in government was $7m - $7m! How can we talk about child protection when they did not have any after-hours service for child protection? How can we talk about child protection under the CLP government when, if anything was out of Darwin and Alice Springs, it did not exist? It was a big carpet, because they used to sweep it under the carpet - out of sight, out of mind. The only government that took seriously the child protection issue is the Labor government.
There are a number of members around here who served as ministers for Child Protection, and every single member tried to do the best they could to increase the number of people working in child protection from 100 under the CLP government, to what is now nearly 500 people - from $7m from the CLP government to today’s announced budget of $182m, the budget for the Department of Children and Families …
Mr Elferink: That is not true. This is quite deceptive.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr VATSKALIS: The member for Port Darwin can jump up and down and say it is not true. This is not made up by us. It was written in their budget books under the CLP government. You do not have to go far, the library is over there. Go and pick up the budget books of the CLP governments and you will find the child protection budget was extremely limited.
Madam Speaker, we put the Children’s Commissioner into place. There was never one under the CLP - ever. We are trying to increase the powers of the commissioner and, in Alice Springs, the members of the opposition opposed our amendments to increase his powers to investigate complaints. Where do I stop? Every single time! When we announced the board of inquiry, they came up with a policy in which the only thing they did was actually try to extend the power of the commissioner to investigate any complaint - no additional money for child protection, no additional money for people to actually work in child protection. Nothing at all. Their policy was two pages, with $9m. That was it - $9m!
We have put $130m over the next five years. We employed stacks of new people to fill the gaps of a service that was in crisis when we came to government, and we are trying to fix it. Yes, it will take time. It is not going to happen in a year, in five years; it is going to happen in the next 10 years. I tell you it does not matter what government will be in place, any government of any political persuasion will face the same challenges we face today, because the problems with child protection in the Territory are deeper than we see today.
There was never a presence in the community. Now, we are trying to have people in the communities addressing child protection issues. There was never child protection workers in the communities - non-Indigenous child protection workers. To their credit, previous CLP governments thought hard and they established a parallel Indigenous-controlled health system that worked very closely with our system. Why did they not do the same with the child protection system? This is what we are trying to do now: a community-controlled child protection service that works in parallel with our mainstream child services to address the big issues in the communities.
The most appropriate people to work with the communities are the people who understand the communities, the people who come out of the communities. We are the first government to introduce specific training courses for Indigenous people to be qualified child protection officers. If we are going to address the issue with Indigenous children, we have to have Indigenous people delivering these services in the Indigenous communities, the same way we do with the Aboriginal medical services in Darwin, with Danila Dilba and Wurli Wurlinjang, with these Indigenous agencies that deliver such services we have seen all these improved outcomes. What really rubs me the wrong way is how they have now become holier than thou, and they now lecture the government that somehow there was this Utopia in the Territory before 18 August 2001, and since 19 August 2001, everything is going downhill and, of course, the child protection service.
Well, some of us were here in the Territory before 2001 and we remember very well what was happening and what the situation was with children’s services, and even health services. It would not take much to have a look at the newspapers of the time to find out how wonderful this place was, because it was not. I say to you that the comparison is clear: $7m is what the CLP government put into child protection services against $182m today in the budget.
Madam Speaker, there is $25m extra for child protection reforms, including $3.6m to reform the child protection intake system, to increase family support programs, and expand the roll-out of community child safety and wellbeing teams in Territory growth towns. They live in places outside of Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs, the places the CLP never visited or never bothered to visit. There is $5m for increased payments for foster carers to clear system backlogs: from 870 cases backlog in October, we now have 10, so we must be doing something right. There is $700 000 to provide resources to increase the functions and powers of the Children’s Commissioner - the one the Labor government put in place that the CLP did not want to know about. There is $6.4m for additional child protection workers and to increase training and support for Aboriginal employees; $1.5m for an Aboriginal child, youth and families peak body, an Aboriginal childcare agency in Darwin and Alice Springs; and $5.6m to support implementation of new legislation, policies, and workforce reform.
Yes, member for Araluen, I agree with you: the incident in Tennant Creek was despicable. It should never have happened. At the same time, I was not there, I do not know the family personally, and I do not know what crisis the family was in and why that kid was left there. The good thing is the child was not harmed, the child was not abused, the child was not hungry, and there was no alcohol involved. The child was put in a lane way. The woman involved had some personal problems and the child was left there. It was fortunate that people discovered the child, and I am very grateful to the person who was riding the bike and found the child. I am also grateful to the woman who looked after the child and took the child to hospital. I believe any good citizen would do the same, and I am very proud that person decided to become an emergency foster carer. This is a really good community working together because, as I said before, it is not the government that will solve the problems; it is all of us as a community.
When someone reviews the facts to see why it happened and how it happened, then it becomes clear that the department acted reasonably and logically, following the advice of the board of inquiry’s report to keep families together, and to monitor the situation as it develops. If there is any issue of child protection, rest assured that I will be the first one to ask for a different mode of action and different explanation from the department, and if that is not followed, then someone will have to explain to me why it did not happen.
Madam Speaker, I said before that I do not care if they are Indigenous kids, I do not care if they are white kids, and I do not care if they are purple kids. What is important to me is safe kids, and I will ensure that to the best of my ability. I will try to make the necessary changes so things like that do not happen, but if it happens, we will keep a close eye to make sure the children of the Territory do not suffer.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I have listened carefully to the minister and I acknowledge at the outset that this stuff ain’t easy. If it were, the government of the day would have fixed it, and clearly the government has not been able to fix it, in spite of what I think are genuine efforts to do so. Moreover, I would go so far as to say that I understand the government’s frustration. I know the former Health minister in the last CLP government, Steve Dunham, also wrestled with this. If he has one lamentation with regard to his time as a Health minister it is that he did not do more for the kids. He was a genuine, decent bloke who cared very much but, unfortunately, circumstances in the real world of budgets limited the then minister in relation to the government’s capacity to respond, as this government’s capacity is limited.
I acknowledge this government has dedicated more resources to this particular area and, with the amount of pressure that has been on this government with this particular issue, it behoves them well to do so. It would be difficult to imagine circumstances where there is this much pressure on a government and it was not able to respond in fiscal terms.
I want to keep my comments within the parameters of what the minister suggested and not turn this into a political football. However, I cannot sit here and listen to a minister who simply misrepresents the amount of expenditure. The minister knows very well that when he quotes the figure of $180m, he is talking about the output group of child services, of which child protection is a single line item. If memory serves me - in fact, I will flick to it in the budget papers. The Children and Family Output Group gets $182m, of which Child Protection Services get a little more than 25%. They get $51.3m.
It is unfortunate that the government would take the old line item, the $7m, and then say it is spending $180m as a comparator. That is not true. The original output group, I think, was about $35m and I acknowledge that you are spending much more in the area of Child Protection Services, but do not try to mislead Territorians for political gain by saying you are spending $180m. No, you are not. You are spending $51m. That is a substantial increase and you can be proud of that. You do not have to spin those numbers, but you choose to.
That brings me to my point of greatest concern, which is the response from a government that believes it is still necessary to use spin as its vehicle to deal with these issues, rather than speaking about the facts. I am grateful to the minister for taking the time out to inform the House more fulsomely than the Northern Territory News did about what occurred that evening. What it also betrays is that there is a system in place which is still struggling to deal with these sorts of issues. The system is, in part, beyond the capacity of this government to deal with because there are aspects of this system that are the product of federal government decisions.
Ever since the early 1970s, in this jurisdiction and other jurisdictions, we have taken it upon ourselves to try to correct the decisions made by colonial and post-colonial governments. Our response has always been, and continues to be, almost exclusively a welfare response. We talk about children’s welfare, we have welfare concepts that drive our policies. If you listen to what the minister had to say about the response from the department, it was an entirely welfare-oriented response.
I want to make a distinction here between the welfare of the child in this instance and the welfare system that surrounds Aboriginal people. I am going to go out on a limb here and presume this child was an Aboriginal child because - well, I am not presuming. I have been informed by other sources that that was actually the case and that the mother, in this case, was under some pressure and, as a result of that pressure, had left her child in the middle of the lane way.
As a parent of two young children myself - it was not that long ago they were babies - I find that to be utterly incomprehensible. I cannot imagine any circumstances in which my wife or I would have left our infant children lying in a lane way in the middle of a small town - but perhaps she was under some form of duress. I suspect, and the minister has not given me any comfort in this area, if the mother was of such a distracted disposition that she was no longer capable of remembering to pick up her child, or to leave her child in a lane way, the question the minister has not answered or addressed is: why was the mother subsequently deemed capable of looking after the child, or had the continuing capacity to look after the child?
It is unlikely that a person suffering from an emotional, perhaps even mental, trauma would recover sufficiently well in the space of a few hours. To be in such a mental state at one point that they can simply forget - that is the best possible description applicable in this instance; it could be much worse, but I will use the word ‘forget’ - a child in a public place and then a few hours later be deemed by the authorities to be sufficiently well-disposed to be able to look after the child successfully. I appreciate the minister says that with this child there has been ongoing monitoring and all the assistance we can possibly muster is being given to the parents, but this gets back to the problem I have with our overall approach and the assumption underlying all of this is we have to deal with this as a welfare approach.
The priority of course is the child; however, unfortunately, in our anxiety to look after that priority, to deal with the immediate priority, we continue as policy-makers to amplify the very nature of the problem that has led to these outcomes, which is, unfortunately, a welfare process.
We look for the short-term solutions in relation to welfare, but struck away from welfare by philosophical construct is the concept of responsibility. People are saying to this mother: ‘You are responsible for the child. You have to look after the child’, but with responsibility there also comes a consequence.
Nothing I have heard from the minister today gives me the impression that there is a consequence flowing to the mother, other than increased support. Increased support will generate increased dependence on the part of the mother and, at that point, you have set about amplifying the welfare process even more.
If the mother is becoming dependent on welfare sources, that is exactly where the mother will turn - and the father as I understand it - to continue getting help. There is no policy or structure in place that makes the parents truly responsible. We tend to remove the responsibility by increasing amounts, the more desperate the case. If there is no employment, we give unemployment benefits, but we then have no expectation on the person who receives those benefits to provide anything constructive to their community. If we provide childcare services or child protection services to a family like this, where is the evidence that these parents are going to be more responsible in future for the care of their child, rather than less responsible?
The message, as I understand it, is if I abandon my child in a public place, not only will the child be returned to me, but I will also receive more government support. Will there be an offer of better housing attached to it? Will there be an offer of other forms of support attached to it? Perhaps some of the non-government agencies and charities, which the minister described, will provide better services as a result. At a more cynical level, one could well understand why the signal we send to bad parents as a community is there is nothing that really flows from bad parenting other than better services.
Trapped in the middle of all of these thoughts, of course, is the child. I, for one, believe the first port of call for a child should be with its family, but some families are so profoundly dysfunctional. I go out on a limb here and suggest a child who is three months old and abandoned at night in a lane way is from a family in a dysfunctional state and that child needs to have its interests looked after.
Whilst I appreciate the staff feel that placing the child back with the family is the best possible outcome, I harbour reservations about that. Of course, we could be better informed by a minister who read from his briefing note some of the facts, but there is not sufficient in that briefing note and the minister’s comments to convince me the child is in the best possible place it could be.
The lady who was involved with the recovery of that child was so confronted with the enormity of what she had seen that she offered herself as a foster carer - and good on her. Will the child protection services bypass her in the future, in a similar set of circumstances, when she is offering a loving and cherishing household, in favour of the default position of the child is better off with its family?
I have noted the comments from the member for Macdonnell in relation to this issue in the past; that the quality of love in a family does not necessarily know a colour barrier. I expect a person who is moved by their compassion and, indeed, charity to look after a child would possibly show more care and responsibility than a mother who abandons her child at 1 am in a lane way in a small country town. That is probably heresy as far as many child protection services are concerned. I know the Growing them strong, together report made quite a bit of ensuring there is an element of cultural integrity in these considerations, but I much more concern myself with love, care, and protection than cultural integrity. Whilst a factor, it cannot become the primary contributor to our thought processes.
I am not convinced, as a result of listening to the minister, that appropriate action has been taken. I hope the policymakers in the department, and the minister as a policymaker, continue to be mindful of the fact that the child’s need for love and care are more important than other needs described in the Growing them strong, together report. I continue to have reservations about the way these policies are being wheeled out. I can tell Territorians, under a Country Liberals’ government, the child’s welfare, in terms of their love and needs, will be paramount over cultural considerations.
Discussion concluded.
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
I rise tonight to pay tribute to a man who was a true Central Australian legend, Bill Hayes. Bill was killed in a tragic accident on his station, Deep Well, on Saturday. He was a well-known pastoralist, tourism operator, and a gentleman. Bill was a member of the pioneering Hayes family in Central Australia.
William and Mary Hayes arrived in the Centre in 1884 with horse and bullock teams loaded with steel poles to replace the original wooden poles on the Overland Telegraph Line. The Hayes family have played a key role in the pastoral development of Central Australia, and Bill was well-regarded as a skilled stockman. He was made a life member of the Stockman’s Hall of Fame last year, an honour he was thrilled to accept and one that paid tribute to his contribution to the pastoral industry and his skills as a stockman.
Bill Hayes was born in Alice Springs on 19 November 1943 and grew up on family-owned stations in Central Australia. He bought Deep Well Station in 1960, a place he loved and lived on for the next 51 years. Bill and his wife, Jan, were not only pastoral pioneers; they broke new ground in the tourism industry as well. In 1995, during a slow time in the cattle industry, they created their now renowned Ooraminna Homestead on a block excised from Deep Well. I am sure most of us in this House have enjoyed the hospitality of Bill and Jan at Ooraminna. There is nothing quite like sitting under the stars enjoying a wonderful feed, and the company of Bill and Jan topped it off quite well. Ooraminna has developed a first-class reputation around the world, and Bill, in partnership with his wife, Jan, made it what it is.
While he was justly proud of Ooraminna, it was the work on the land that Bill loved the most. He also had a keen appreciation of the history of Central Australia, and last year he played a lead role in the re-enactment of John McDouall Stuart’s entry into Central Australia to mark 150 years since the first Europeans entered Central Australia. I understand that Bill played the role with relish, including a fake beard and all.
I will miss catching up with Bill, whether it is at the show, as I have done over the past four or five years, or at the beautiful Ooraminna Homestead. I have had a couple of meetings in Alice Springs with visitors from interstate and had the pleasure of taking those visitors to Ooraminna Homestead to enjoy the company of Bill and Jan and the wonderful scenery there. I enjoyed sitting down with Bill over the years and having a chat and listening to his stories and insights, particularly stories he told me about attending the Hartley Street School with my father and uncles.
I offer my condolences to Bill’s beloved wife, Jan, to his children, Billy, Jenny and Matthew, and to his family and many friends. I will leave you with a few lines from a well-known poem by Murray Hartin; I am not sure if people know it but I will quote the first couple of lines:
I will not read the whole poem but it is a great one that immortalises Bill Hayes.
Madam Deputy Speaker, moving to my electorate of Stuart, I would like to inform parliament of a great youth initiative happening at the moment. It is a collaboration between the Roper Gulf Shire and the Council for Aboriginal and Alcohol Program Services, known as CAAPS, seeing 10 youth workers from remote communities, including Beswick, complete a Certificate III in Community Services. The new youth workers are based in remote Aboriginal communities around the shire and will use these new skills to mentor remote youth to employment and education pathways.
I extend my congratulations to all 10 youth workers for successfully completing this course and, in particular, Justin Fuller, from the Beswick community. I also mention Jake Quinlivan, the regional manager for youth services from the Roper Gulf Shire for his great work on this initiative.
I commend Michael Underwood, from Riveren Station on the Buntine Highway near the Western Australia border, in my electorate, on his recent selection into the Australian Rural Leadership program. Two leaders were selected from the Northern Territory, Michael and Alice Beilby from Katherine. They were part of a highly competitive national selection process and will undertake a 17-month program, which provides a unique opportunity to develop high-level leadership skills, as well as business, strategic planning, and interpersonal skills. Michael and Alice were selected based on their commitment and interest in addressing complex issues in rural Australia and will use this opportunity to become more effective leaders.
The Australian Rural Leadership program is a highly sought after program with over 80 applications received. It is a tremendous achievement to be selected on this highly prestigious, internationally respected, program. I wish Michael and Alice the best of luck and look forward to hearing of their progress.
I would now like to mention a great football achievement in the community of Kalkarindji. Kalkarindji has rallied together and formed a men’s AFL team to enter the Katherine competition. The team will be known as the Gurindji Eagles. I can say that the guys from Kalkarindji have entered teams in the competition in previous years, however, they have had a break from the last few seasons and it is great to see them back. It is a huge commitment for a community to enter a team into this football competition as it requires a great deal of organising and travelling. I congratulate the community members of Kalkarindji on forming this team and look forward to watching their progress. Best of luck to them.
Travelling south of Kalkarindji to the community of Lajamanu, I congratulate a young man, Caleb Japanangka Patrick, who was recently selected as a finalist in the prestigious NT Young Achiever Awards. Caleb is a young professional Indigenous dancer who has established himself as an inspirational leader for the young people in Lajamanu. Caleb has worked very hard to develop Milpirri, a cultural festival that aims to empower and educate local Warlpiri people. Caleb has provided an invaluable opportunity for Lajamanu youth to participate in this festival through dance, workshops, and cultural activities. This year’s organisers of the NT Young Achiever Awards noted a record number of nominations across all categories. For Caleb to be nominated as a finalist from such a competitive field of applicants is an extraordinary achievement and one that he, and his family, should be very proud of.
The community of Barunga, outside Katherine, recently won the Territory’s Tidiest Town for the second year running. According to the Australian Tidy Towns national judges, Barunga has maintained the prestigious honour of being the Territory’s tidiest town for the last two years. It is the individual and community cultural pride and self-esteem within Barunga that maintains this standard. The judges also commented that there is a total community focus on litter control with ‘Do the Right Thing’ signs posted on bins throughout the community to raise continual awareness and assist in reducing unwanted litter in this unique outback environment.
The community of Barunga works hard to implement litter prevention and resource recovery measures that not only aim to keep litter off the streets, but also educate locals on the need to reduce and recycle their waste. It is an outstanding achievement for Barunga to lead the way on being tidy in the Northern Territory. Keep up the great work.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a fairly informal report on the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees meeting I attended in Perth last week.
I will make a few comments because I need to write something in more detail in reply to our own Public Accounts Committee; however, a few matters were raised that would be broader than the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees and probably relate to a general discussion about our parliament and how committees operate.
There was one interesting paper; unfortunately I arrived just as it was finishing because the plane was late. It was given by Andrew Murray, who people might remember was an Australian Senator - a Democrat from memory - for Western Australia from July 1996 to June 2008. He presented a paper titled ‘Parliamentarians, Politicians and Accountability’. I seek leave to table the paper.
Leave granted.
Mr WOOD: There were some very interesting issues raised by former Senator Andrew Murray and I will read a few of those:
There is a section headed ‘Politics is Partisan’, which is where that comes from. He also has a section on ‘Lending a Hand’, which says:
This certainly could be debated. It may not be suitable for a small parliament like ours but that parliament should be in control of its own budget helps advance the separation of powers. He mentions:
You have to remember Andrew Murray is coming from a background of a much larger parliament, in this case the Senate. He also says:
That was also discussed at the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees meeting - the idea of the Auditor-General having his or her budget set by parliament rather than the Executive has much merit. Naturally, an executive could squeeze the power of the Auditor-General financially simply by not giving the Auditor-General enough power to take on the role he is supposed to.
There is also the issue of parliamentarians’ standards needing to be lifted. It said:
I must admit I have read this to my personal assistant, and she certainly got a chuckle out of it. It said:
The staff I have …
Mr Elferink: She has more hair than you.
Mr WOOD: Yes. They certainly make up for that and I appreciate the work they do, because it is not the easiest job. When you have people who have experience in other fields, it makes a good team. I am just bringing that forward.
This is a very good paper that would be worth everyone reading. Former Senator Murray has a very good knowledge of the parliamentary systems in Australia, and it was one of the highlights of the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees conference.
A couple of other things I noticed - and this is something that would need more debate - it seems that in most other states, and I cannot say which ones do not have it, except I know the Territory generally does not have it – non-government members chair committees. This is the way it should be. After all, committees only give recommendations to government, so governments should not be scared of a non-government chair. It opens it up as reflecting the bipartisanship of most committees.
If you read this paper by Andrew Murray, he says that, generally speaking, most committees are made up of parliamentarians, as distinct from most parliaments being made up of politicians, so when people get on committees they tend to start to work together, because they have something in mind that they are all working for.
So, having a non-government chair on committees is something we should discuss.
Meetings are open to the public: the Council of Territory Cooperation is probably - and I stand to be corrected - the only committee that is generally open to the public. How many other committees are open to the public?
Mr Elferink: Estimates.
Mr WOOD: Estimates, true. But, our Public Accounts Committee, in general, is not necessarily open to the public. We should work on the premise that all our committees should be open to the public, but for exceptional reasons. So, we work on the idea they are part of parliament, they should be open to the public. Unless you have really good reasons to say they should not be open to the public, let us keep them open. If the public and the media want to turn up, so they should.
Unfortunately, I missed the non-debate on the audit bill tonight. I was going to talk about it. In the changes to the Audit Act, there is talk about being able to give powers to the Auditor-General to follow the dollars - where the government puts money into non-government organisations, to have the power to follow that right through. If it gives money to an alcohol rehabilitation centre, he can follow the money right through, even if not all the money they spent is ours, but if the Northern Territory’s money is being spent on that particular association, you can follow it right through. This was highlighted during the meetings in Perth by other speakers.
When I had a chance to give a report from the Northern Territory - we did not have much time to give a report, three minutes in fact - I mentioned the issue about SIHIP and how the Auditor-General had raised the issue that he could not follow the money any further. I actually got a comment from the Commonwealth Auditor-General, who was there, who also said this is an important issue for the Commonwealth government as well. It is something that is on the radar of many governments; that they need to have the powers of their Auditor-General to be able to check up where all money goes regardless of whether it is a government entity or, as mentioned in the second reading, a government-owned corporation, a Territory company, a subsidiary company, or an NGO. If they are spending Northern Territory taxpayers’ money, the Auditor-General should have the right to look at that, and the issue of commercial-in-confidence should not stop the Auditor-General having the right to look at that. That excuse is commonly used; it is used in the Council of Territory Cooperation, and probably in other committees, as an excuse for not being able to give out all the information a committee needs to make a thoughtful recommendation to government based on what it has learnt.
It was a good meeting. I was a little doubtful when I went. I thought, oh, a boring old meeting down there. It was very good. It was good to meet the PACs from other countries outside of Australia. I will give a fulsome report at a later stage.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to talk about several issues tonight. The first one I wish to raise is that I recently had cause to travel to St John’s College, which had opened, as part of the Building the Education Revolution package, a new area and classrooms, which looked fine, there is no problem with those. However, whilst I was at St John’s College, I was invited by the senior staff to visit the areas dedicated to metalwork and woodwork. I have to say, I am somewhat disappointed at the condition of those two areas at St John’s College, and they are the first to acknowledge that they are far from perfect.
Indeed, under normal circumstances, I would not be encouraging government of any persuasion to be stepping outside the normal processes of funding for private and public schools. But, St John’s College is a bit of an exceptional case, in the sense that St John’s College provides education to many students who are Indigenous, who come from remote communities. Frankly, the skills you learn from woodwork and metal workshops are often more important to those remote communities than some of the more abstract education that is available through the college.
I in no way seek to diminish an academic education, but the needs of some of these students, for practical purposes, would be well-met by a proper set of facilities at St John’s College. I realise that it is outside the normal protocols of funding to be discussing this matter in the House. However, I ask the Education minister to turn his benevolent eye upon the circumstances surrounding these facilities at St John’s College, because if the Northern Territory government were able in any way to assist the college with these services and these particular sorts of classes, then I believe there is a good cause for them to do so, considering the stated objectives of this government in terms of Indigenous education, not only in the bush, but also in our major colleges. I will seek to open a dialogue with the minister on this particular issue. I hope that he has paid attention to my comments here. These will not be the last comments I make in relation to what is occurring at St John’s.
I thank and place on the record my thanks to Rhys Simlesa. Rhys recently sent me, in fact, some time ago, sadly, an e-mail. I will quote it into the Hansard record, and I presume that Rhys has a few mates with him, because it is written:
I have subsequently spoken to Rhys, and his mum, about this issue. It is a fine example of the thinking that needs to be applied to that strip of land. It is not the first time I have discussed that strip of land in this House and probably will not be the last, because it is a substantial piece of land, which is essentially lying fallow and unused for want of a little bit of infrastructure spending.
It will probably be a disappointment for Rhys to discover that, by the time you went through the budgetary processes of starting a new project of this nature, he will probably have his driver’s licence. However, it does him good and it does this House good to remember that with the increasing population in the Darwin CBD and surrounds, we are not accommodating the kids who live in this area in the same way that we have accommodated the kids in Leanyer, Palmerston and other places.
Whilst I am not advocating for a splendid construction which will surpass any other skate park in the Northern Territory, it is not an unreasonable request that Rhys has suggested. I am taking the matter up on his behalf and adding it to my list of things that I would like to see done with that strip of land in front of Tipperary Waters on the sea side of Tiger Brennan Drive.
I congratulate Rhys in his endeavours and I will be contacting him again shortly to get his mates together and see if we can set about bringing some pressure on a government which has neglected to build a skate park in the Darwin CBD for these kids. Of course, I will be encouraging Rhys to do some more lobbying and expand on the lobbying that he has started with me.
I also rise tonight to talk about public drunkenness, one of my most irritating bugbears. I acknowledge the work that has been done by the Northern Territory Police in the area of Harriet Place. The advice I have received from residents in the area is that it has improved somewhat. Nevertheless, I have seen some drunks there. Full credit to Superintendent Jamie O’Brien for his efforts but, sadly, what was once Harriet Place’s problem is now the Esplanade’s problem. One of the problems is the police tend to move drunks on, and they move probably a few hundred metres.
Most recently, I have seen swags rolled out on the Esplanade. I have seen large numbers of people sleeping on the Esplanade. I have seen people begging on the Esplanade, and humbugging people for money on the Esplanade. Moreover, such is the level of people’s comfort on the Esplanade, I have recently seen an old man in his electric wheelchair hooked up to the power points on the Esplanade charging up his wheelchair while he is there.
Many of these people - I am not saying all of them - are simply itinerant drunks who come out of the communities, come to our parks and gardens, and cause the problems which we are now all so familiar with in our communities. On a closer inspection of the Esplanade, you will see or smell human faeces, urine, people will expectorate and, in one instance at the rear of my office, which is not far from the Esplanade, fornicate.
This problem needs to be dealt with by a government which is more responsive than simply empowering a police force to shuffle these people around. These people were, at one stage, at the Fannie Bay shops and, when that became an issue, they moved to Harriett Place. When that became an issue they moved on to the Esplanade, and little more than that is done. The Country Liberals have a comprehensive policy which involves intervening in the lives of these habitual drunks, and dealing with them so they are removed from circulation for three months at a time if need be.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I encourage the government to continue to work hard to deal with these drunks because the efforts that are now being made are not sufficient to meet the requirements of the residents of the Esplanade who have to put up with the noise that these people make, their language, and the fights. I encourage the Northern Territory government to find better policies such as the ones the Country Liberals are offering in an effort to clean up these issues once and for all.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to talk about an unusual case that has happened to one of my constituents, a lovely couple living in Gunn, Palmerston. They are in the unfortunate situation where they are in a relatively new home. At the time the home was constructed they had a pool installed, which has subsequently popped out of the ground after the record rainfall in the Greater Darwin area.
Tonight, I hope I can get some clarification from the minister regarding the proposed builders warranty insurance legislation and where the government is going with that. I am still not certain if the proposed changes the government is looking at it will cover this particular situation. I am hoping they will, and I have a letter, which was sent to the member for Nelson regarding this matter, and I will read that letter in a second.
To explain what has happened: when the pool was constructed three years ago, by all accounts a reputable, local pool company installed the pool and, reading their warranty, it says the pool was installed to Australian standards. In this particular case there is evidence from a reputable engineer to suggest the pool was not installed to the latest Australian standards, and some might question who is responsible in this case.
Unfortunately, the insurance company for this lovely couple has walked away from the issue suggesting their insurance warranty does not cover this. The wording was: it was not through the occurrence of something like an earthquake or some sudden event; it was a buildup of water under the pool structure that caused it to pop out of the ground. In the Northern Territory, where pools are a common feature of many homes, particularly some of the newer areas in Palmerston and back onto the escarpment, there needs to be more than what is considered acceptable.
I know hydrostatic valves are placed in pools and proper plumbing or drainage is supposed to be put in to prevent this from occurring. However, in this particular case, you have an insurance company that has walked away, a local installation company which to date has not been as fair as it possibly could have, and a situation where good residents have to go as far as Consumer Affairs to have this looked at.
I will read out the letter that was sent to the member for Nelson, Mr Wood. It basically says:
I would like the minister to advise whether this is something the proposed changes would cover. These people have done nothing wrong. They have purchased the house, it has a pool, and three years after the house and the pool were constructed, the pool has popped out of the ground. Apparently it was put in as per Australian standards, yet we have the insurance company walk away from it; the company that installed it looks like they have walked away from it at this stage; and they could be left with a bill of many thousands of dollars, in fact, tens of thousands of dollars to have this situation rectified.
The question is: can the minister provide some kind of assurance that the government is seriously looking at changes to the legislation, which will cover situations like this.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Deputy Speaker, I attended the Young Achiever Awards to celebrate our young people on Saturday, 2 April. The Young Achiever Awards is an opportunity for us to recognise and reward the contribution young Territorians make to our community.
I also had the pleasure of officially launching the National Youth Week at this event with the Northern Territory National Youth Week ambassador, Larnie McClintock. The Northern Territory is proud to support this valuable event sponsoring the Northern Territory Government Career Achievement Award, the Department of Children and Families’ Young Carer’s Award, and Minister for Young Territorians Excellence in Youth Leadership Award. I congratulate every young person nominated for these awards. It is testament to their leadership skills, talent, compassion, and dedication that others felt compelled to nominate them. They and their families should be extremely proud.
I congratulate each of the category winners and I will list them:
Daniel Walton won the NT Government Career Achievement Award and was winner of the overall Channel 9 Young Achiever Award. Daniel is the lessee of the restaurant at the Hidden Valley Tavern and is only a young man. He has worked overseas, and has worked diligently to get a lot of experience. He now has his own restaurant at the Hidden Valley Tavern. Well done to Daniel.
Rebecca Healy won the McArthur River Mining Regional and Rural Initiative Award. Honeylyn Lisson won the Minister for Young Territorians Excellence in Youth Leadership Award. Daly Kelly won the Somerville Community Service Award. Samantha Penny won the Department of Health and Families Young Carers Award. Those young carers are amazing young people for what they do for their families and other people at such a young age.
Matt Cornell won the Charles Darwin University Arts Award. Jacinta Kelly, who is married to Daly Kelly, won the Power and Water Science and Engineering Award. Des Abbott, who was not there on the evening, won the Perkins Shipping Sports Award. He has certainly taken out a lot of awards recently. Benjamin Campbell won the ConocoPhillips Environment Award.
I thank Larnie McClintock, the outgoing NT Young Member of the National Youth Week who has promoted and taken part in the week with great enthusiasm and passion for the role over the last two years. She has done a great job. She recently became engaged, and we wish her all the best with her future marriage.
I thank the awards organisers. It was a wonderful event. Everyone who attended - and it was a large crowd, bigger than the previous year - were very impressed with all the nominations. Just to get a nomination is great recognition for those young people and they do the Territory proud.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Sound and Vision System
Sound and Vision System
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that I have given approval for sound technicians for the new sound and vision system to be on the floor of the Chamber during the next couple of days at the Serjeant-at-Arms’ desk and in the corner over there.
I remind honourable members that they now do not have a mute button; however, soft conversation between members will not be picked up by Hansard.
Members need to wait for the call from the Chair prior to speaking so the cameras and microphones can be activated. I would appreciate any feedback on the sound system and will raise any matters of concern at the next meeting of the House Committee.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Message No 25
Message No 25
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received Message No 25 from His Honour the Administrator notifying assent to bills passed in the March sitting of the Assembly.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Message No 26
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table Message No 26 recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act authorising the issuing and expending of public monies of the Territory in respect of the year ending 30 June 2012.
RESPONSE TO PETITION
The CLERK: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 100A, I inform honourable members that a response to petition No 52 has 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 52
Basketball Stadium at Centralian Middle School
Date presented: 30 March 2011
Presented by: Mrs Lambley
Referred to: Minister for Education and Training
Date response due: 18 August 2011
Date response received: 29 April 2011
Response:
The upgrade of facilities at Centralian Middle School is a significant part of the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan and over $9.5 m has been committed already in order to provide students with a first-class education facility.
While notification of residents about construction on school sites is desirable, school councils are not required to advise of developments if the project is within the permitted use and height of the planning scheme, which this facility is.
Mediation was recently facilitated by the Department of Justice with the two major complainants, the DET Executive Director Central Australia Region and the Principal of Centralian Middle School. The basketball courts will now be closed on a trial basis from 5 pm to 7.30 am on weekdays and all weekends, preventing access to the wider community.
MOTION
Routine of Business – Budget 2011-12
Routine of Business – Budget 2011-12
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move –
- That the Routine of Business of the Assembly Government Business Notices and Orders of the Day be rearranged or suspended if a question or debate is before the Chair, so as to permit the Treasurer to deliver Budget 2011-12 at 11 am this day.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Routine of Business – Response to Budget
Routine of Business – Response to Budget
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business) (by leave): Madam Speaker, I move –
- That the Routine of Business of the Assembly Government Business Notices and Orders of the Day be rearranged or suspended if a question or debate is before the Chair, so as to permit a response to Budget 2011-12 by the Leader of the Opposition at 11 am on Wednesday, 4 May 2011.
Motion agreed to.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Presentation of Budget 2011-12
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that at 11 am, during Government Business, I will call on the Treasurer to deliver the budget. The member speaking at the time will be asked to continue their remarks after Question Time.
EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 160)
(Serial 160)
Continued from 31 March 2011.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, it goes without saying that members on this side of the House, as well as the government, know the importance of education and what it will achieve in the future if we get it right at this stage.
I thank the minister for the way this legislation was brought to the House in the previous form before the introduction so we were well aware of the amendments. For the briefings from the department, thank you, minister – they were thorough and we appreciate why the changes are needed. We believe there needs to be consequences for those people who fail in their duty to ensure children get to school in the first place.
The Education Legislation Amendment Bill was introduced to the Legislative Assembly on 29 March 2011, by the Attorney-General. The purpose of this bill is to amend the attendance and enrolment provisions, and expand the department’s capacity to deal with non-attendance. The Country Liberals certainly agree on that point; that is, we must, as a society, do all we can to ensure children are provided with the best education possible. To do that, children must attend school and, in cases where children are not, that consequences follow.
The government hopes to achieve this in a number of ways through this legislation. If the conduct of a child 14 years and over is unable to be controlled by their parent, they will be considered a child living independently. Responsibility for enrolment, attendance, etcetera, falls to that child. This, in itself, is going to create a problem, more in the mechanics than on the surface as, like most of this bill, it looks good on the surface. It is not until you consider some of the ramifications, or the likely scenarios, that you ponder how the hell it is going to work. I do not think it is going to transpire easily.
According to the information I received during the briefing, and further research, the legislation tells me if the CEO responsibly believes a child of compulsory school age is not enrolled, or attending school or an eligible option, they may issue an information notice or a compliance notice to the parents, or the child, if they are living independently. The CEO may also require the parent, or the child if they are living independently, to attend a compulsory conference if the act is not being complied with. Information that is considered personal or sensitive under the IPPs of the Information Act will be able to be shared between agencies to assist the CEO in locating families and children not complying with the act. This amendment makes sense, and I am sure the wider community questions why it does not already happen across agencies.
The sharing of information is an amazing dichotomy in this world of privacy. I recall from the years I worked with the Bureau of Statistics that every time you asked the same questions, people asked: ‘You are the government. Why don’t you know this stuff already? Surely, you know my date of birth. Surely, you know my name. Surely, you know all this information’. So, I was very encouraged by this particular area of the act.
Since becoming a member of parliament I have seen, time and time again, how this government attempts to strengthen legislation, specifically penalties, where there is clear evidence the previous legislation was never enforced. Again, we see a hardening of penalties - some may say too hard. However, even in their former range, a $200 fine for not sending a child to school was never enforced. This undermines the community’s expectations of what would be any different when the penalties are increased. What makes you think fines will be issued when a mere $200 fine was never issued in the first place? These are points to consider.
In my opinion, there is no objective way to measure the extent to which a child is unable to be controlled by their parent in relation to truancy. It seems an easy out for a parent who takes no responsibility for their child in the first place. An option open to parents could be that the parent, possibly after reaching a certain benchmark, can apply to the CEO - maybe with input from the child’s principal - to have their child declared a child who lives independently.
I also have some concern that the definition of ‘parent’ in the legislation is very narrow, and seems to assume a parent is only a biological parent. I welcome the minister, at some point, covering all the permutations of people who have, or have been given, parental responsibility such as an aunty, grandma, other extended family, or foster carer. In addition to the arbitrary way of determining if a child is living independently, this has the effect of removing the onus of responsibility from a large group of non-parent guardians, who may have adequate control of the child, and placing it squarely on the child at an age when even society recognises they have few rights or privileges, such as voting, drinking, or driving a car. What gives government the perception that the child would have the mental or physical capacity to understand the responsibility now bestowed on them? I suggest the very reason a recalcitrant child could be in that position in the first place is due to a lack of discipline, a lack of understanding, and having no respect for our society, so why does government think they would be any more responsible or be a responsible person today?
In my opinion, the definition of parent in the Youth Justice Act, or the Care and Protection of Children Act, would be more appropriate and reflective of current practices. Perhaps the minister can seek advice on that and provide a reason why the definition appears at odds with other legislation.
The responsibilities placed on a child living independently, who may be as young as 14, are significant. They are responsible for ensuring they are enrolled, attend school, or attend an eligible option, and pay fines for not doing so. They may be given notices demanding specific information, or compliance notices to do specific acts, from the CEO or the Education department, and pay any fines for not complying with the notices. The capacity of a 14-year-old or 15-year-old to adequately understand this type of document and sufficiently comply with it is not guaranteed, particularly if their literacy skills are below standard. This is a huge leap of faith and one that raises hurdles for the minister and the department to deal with, particularly when another agency steps in and provides support for a child who finds itself in this position in the first place.
It is not mandatory for a support person to be present during a compulsory conference under proposed section 23B. The child may request a support person, but the CEO may refuse. A support person need not be a parent or a guardian, but someone who can provide adequate and effective support. It would be grossly unfair for the CEO to prevent a 14-year-old child from having support.
The definition of a parent in the legislation is narrow and assumes that a parent is only a biological parent. Again, I ask the minister to cover all permutations of people who have, or have been given, parental responsibility such as an aunty, grandma, extended family, or foster carers. In addition to the arbitrary way of determining if a child is living independently, this has the effect of removing the onus of responsibility from a non-parent guardian and placing it on the child.
The principal must give a suspension notice under proposed section 21, or exclusion notice, section 21A, to a parent, but, if the person is a child living independently, it is not mandatory to give a notice to the child. This creates the problem, when read with section 21B, because if the child living independently receives a notice of suspension or expulsion, they must not attend school or they will receive a penalty. If the child does not receive a notice in the first place, but is suspended, there is nothing to stop them from attending school.
Government figures show that 2700 children of compulsory school age are not enrolled in school or an eligible option. We need to do all we can to ensure we get these children to school. At the briefing, when it was described to me that we could have fly-in squads going into rural and remote areas, I can see ...
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! If the member for Brennan could just repeat, was it 2200 who are not enrolled or not attending?
Mr CHANDLER: There are 2700 children of compulsory school age who are not enrolled but are eligible to be enrolled.
Dr Burns: Thank you.
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Speaker, we need to do all we can to ensure we get these children to school. As described in the briefing, I can see merit in the fly-in squads that will be used, but can also see merit in having community based people take on this role, whether it is other parents who are there for the long term and have a connection with the community, rather than a crew that just fly in, make a noise, and leave. I wonder whether that might work for the week or the few days they are there, and then will not work afterwards. If someone is in the community and is connected to the community, they are more likely to have a long-term positive effect.
It would be remiss of me during any education debate not to widen the scope of what education is all about, and it often covers many different things. Without a good education, the scope is much limited in life. It covers mathematics, English, history, geography, and other academic areas. It also covers how we react in society, and how we grow to work, live, and get on with each other.
Bullying happens in schools from time to time and how the department and schools deal with that particular issue - that is why I am an advocate that good discipline needs to start in the home. Going to school every single day provides one of those goal posts that provides early discipline to a child. They get up, they go to school, and they understand why they are going to school.
I would love to see a day where our schools actually include Indigenous culture, far more than they do today, particularly in our remote areas. If they are part of every single day with the Elders coming into schools imparting some of that knowledge, the communities would then value schools so much more. Once you have the Elders, and you have the parents in communities engaged in the actual education of their children, you are more likely to see these children going day in and day out.
It does not stop there. I have looked for some remarkable pathways today. After we get through primary school into the middle school programs, and then into the senior colleges and beyond, those pathways are important. Then what? I recall going to a senior college recently where a couple of young Indigenous chaps were very enthusiastic. They had taken a pathway to motor mechanics. They could pull a car apart and put it back together. However, they were struggling with their academic levels and they understood they needed to improve their educational standards to complete their apprenticeship. It was sad to learn that there was nothing afterwards for one particular child if he was to go back to a community. Unless we create an economy within their communities …
__________________________
Visitors
Visitors
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Brennan, I take this opportunity to acknowledge these students.
I advise honourable members of the presence in the gallery of Year 5/6 students from Bees Creek Primary School accompanied by their teachers, Mrs Alison Holmes and Mrs Linda Brodie. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
__________________________
Mr CHANDLER: Education starts in the home. It is reinforced in our pre- and primary schools, our middle schools, our secondary colleges, and beyond. Until we can create an economy, particularly in our more remote areas, in our regional areas, that can give these young people a life after education and a real job, we are always going to struggle. This young chap could see himself going back to the community and being locked into a welfare-driven society. It was sad to see the enthusiastic child with a pretty average educational background having a real goal in life. He could actually do something, yet the next part was just sadness because the reality set in that he would go back home with no way to reinforce his chosen vocation.
As a government, we have to commend anything we can do to ensure that we provide education for children, but we must also ensure that education leads somewhere. Without that, we may as well give up. You can be the most educated person in the world, but unless there is something to do at the end, unless someone can use their goals to achieve something further, then as a society we are lost and it is all for nought.
Back to the specifics of the bill, in clause 5 of the bill, proposed section 19C refers to a child living independently. This is a new amendment. In the proposed amendment a child is considered to be living independently if they are 14 years or over and not living with a parent, or living with a parent but the parent is unable to control the child’s behaviour to ensure compliance with the act - the care of the CEO under the CPCA.
Some of the issues I thought about regarding this amendment - for the purposes of this act, a parent is defined as the person who has the actual custody of a child and the person with whom the child resides. I would like confirmation from the minister whether any other classes of person fall into this category, either on a temporary or a permanent basis, as a foster carer arrangement or extended family living arrangements. If it only applies to the actual parent of a child, that would leave a large number of the worst truancy offenders classified as a child living independently. It seems an outdated way to define a parent given the variability in the family unit from when the act was first introduced in 1978.
There is no objective way to measure the extent a child is unable to be controlled by their parent in relation to truancy. It seems like an easy out for a parent who takes no responsibility for the child in the first place, not least because it reduces the amount of any penalty by one tenth, but an option could be for a parent, possibly after reaching a certain benchmark, to apply to the CEO to have their child declared a child that lives independently as a last resort rather than an easy option.
You must also consider how appropriate it is to hold a child of 14 or 15 responsible for school enrolment, attendance, etcetera, particularly when they may live in an area not serviced by public transport. This includes remote areas such as the rural area of Darwin, Batchelor or Katherine. If a child is living alone, is 14, and is responsible to get themselves to school but is not legally allowed to drive, that opens up another area and a difficulty in ensuring compliance with this legislation.
In clause 5, proposed section 20, Compulsory education - this relates to the minimum school age and school leaving age. This section was amended in 2009 to include the requirement for a child who has completed Year 10, but has not attained the age of 17 years, to undergo further education, trade training, or employment, as an eligible option. The CEO may exempt a child from the eligible option due to special circumstances such as a serious illness. In the amendment, apart from renumbering the section, the only change is that if a CEO permits a child living independently to be exempt from the eligible options, the CEO must give the child, rather than the parents, the notice of the exemption – pretty straightforward.
In clause 5, proposed section 21, Compulsory enrolment, - currently the parent who has custody of a child must ensure the child is enrolled in school or provide adequate home schooling. The maximum penalty today is $200. In this amendment, a child must be enrolled in school by the parent who has actual custody of the child and the maximum penalty now is 15 penalty units, which equates to $1995 for a first offence and 20 penalty units, $2660, for a second or subsequent offence.
If a child is classified as living independently, the child is responsible for enrolling themselves in school. Failing to do so will result in the child committing an offence with a maximum penalty of 1 penalty units, or $199.50, for a first offence, and two penalty units, or $266, for a second or subsequent offence. Surely the responsibility for enrolment should lay with the parent or person responsible for the child. There would be very few 14- or 15-year-olds in the Territory not living in the care of an adult.
As raised in the earlier point for proposed section 19C, without objective measures to determine a parent’s control of a child’s conduct, fixing a penalty to a child rather than the parent, particularly at such a reduced level, seems like an easy out to me.
In clause 5, proposed section 20B, Direction about enrolment - section 26 of the current act allows the CEO to direct a child not to be enrolled at a specified school. In this amendment, the basic principles of the current provisions have been retained, but elaborated on. In that regard, the CEO may direct a child to be enrolled in a specified government school, or that a child may not be enrolled in a specified government school. The CEO may make the direction if there is a risk to the safety of the child, staff, or other students, or if a specified school is better able to meet the special needs of a child. That makes sense and I appreciate it.
In clause 5 regarding proposed section 20C, Compulsory attendance at school - in the current act, section 22 contains provisions about compulsory school attendance. A parent must ensure the child attends school on each day, or parts of each day, that instruction is provided at the school for the child, and failure to send a child to school is an offence with a maximum penalty of $200. We all know there have been many of those $200 penalties issued recently. I am being a little cynical, because it certainly does not happen, and has not happened.
Currently, parents of children who are enrolled in School of the Air or correspondence school, or whose absence is due to a day of significance for an ethnic group, or an acceptable excuse, or is exempt from attendance by the minister, do not commit an offence. It is a defence if the parent can demonstrate the child did not attend school through any failure on their part to exercise proper care and control of the child. Under these amendments today, the basic policy of this section remains the same; that is, a child must attend on school days or parts of days that instruction is provided, unless a reasonable excuse has been given or the child is exempted or prohibited from attending school, or the absence is due to cultural reasons. Failure to attend school is an offence with a maximum of 15 penalty units for a first offence, or 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. If a child is living independently, the maximum penalty is 1 penalty units for a first offence, or two penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.
The new defence provision is the parent must demonstrate they are unable to control their child’s behaviour in order to comply with this particular section. It raises a few concerns because there are going to be many situations where it is quite evident a parent has lost control of a particular child. In the way the legislation has been drafted, this provides an easy out. So, a penalty is not going to be issued in the first place, given that is just going to be a defence, which will be well known very quickly across the community.
I have a few issues with this particular area; that is, the defence that the parent must demonstrate failure to attend school was not due to a failure to provide proper care and control of the child. It may be semantics, but the current defence provision gives the impression the parent had to proactively attempt to get their children to attend school, but the new provisions only require them to be capable of controlling their child.
We should also consider how appropriate it is to hold a child of 14 or 15 responsible for school attendance, particularly if they are living in areas out of Darwin, such as Batchelor or Katherine. I have said before, if a child is 14 and unable to drive, if they live in one of these areas, how are they going to get to school when it may be outside the bounds of public transport or school bus services?
In clause 5, proposed section 20D, Compulsory participation at distant education centres - currently children enrolled in School of the Air or non-residential school options are exempt from attendance under the act. Under this amendment, this section makes it mandatory for a child enrolled in a course of distance education to meet all of the course requirements of instruction, unless exempted by the education provider, or a reasonable excuse is provided to the institution. Failure to do so is an offence with a maximum of 15 penalty units for a first offence, or 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. If a child is living independently, the maximum penalty again is 1 penalty units for a first offence, and two penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. Whilst the penalties are different, you must question the fact that current legislation is the $200 fines that are not enforced. This new legislation has increased them quite dramatically for parents and carers, but not so much for the child.
I understand that; however is a $200 or $266 fine outside the capacity of a 14-year-old to pay? In a situation where you have a 14-year-old who is responsible, not only for their own living conditions, which would come at a cost; has to get themselves to school, which comes at a cost; and, if they fail to do so, end up getting a fine of $200, you question how in the world they would have the capacity to pay that fine. I understand the necessity to have stiff penalties to serve a purpose and to prove a point, and there must be consequences, but one must question the level of the penalty and the capacity for anyone to pay that penalty.
Distance education is defined as School of the Air, correspondence school, or the NT Open Education Centre. I would like the minister to further define the course requirements. As it says earlier, if there is a failure by the student in any of the courses, they can be penalised.
I move on to clause 5, proposed section 20E, Home education - provisions for home education are included in the section 21 of the current act. The parent has the option of providing efficient and suitable education for their child. The CEO must give consent for the parents to educate their child in this manner and may have the education program assessed for efficiency and suitability. In this amendment, the parent must apply to the CEO for approval to home school prior to commencing home schooling and provide details of the proposed program.
The CEO may have the program suitability assessed by the department. The approval is for one school year only and the parent must allow departmental officers to inspect from time to time. The CEO may impose any conditions on the notice of approval. I cannot see anything really controversial in this section, but I would like the minister to clarify the inspections - what they might entail, how often they might occur, and whether the department has it within their resources to be able to carry out those inspections.
In clause 5, proposed section 20H, Person not to attend school in certain circumstances - this is section 25 of the current act that allows the head teacher of a government school to direct a parent not to send their child to school for a specified time if that child is suffering from a contagious or infectious disease. The child is permitted to return to school when a certificate of fitness is certified by a medical practitioner. In this amendment, the provisions of the current section 25 have been expanded to include adults enrolled in school and children living independently. I do not believe there is anything controversial in that and completely understand why that amendment needs to occur.
Clause 5, proposed section 21, Suspension by principal - the current section dealing with suspension is section 27, where the head teacher may suspend a student, child, or adult if their conduct is considered injurious to the health or moral welfare of students. The CEO and the parent of the child, or the person if they are over 18, must be given a full report on the circumstances that led to their suspension. The suspension is to remain in force for one month or until the child has been expelled, whichever is earlier. In this amendment, the existing provisions have not been altered by this bill, but rather simply redrafted.
I can understand that, although I do have a couple of comments. The notice to be given to, or for a child that is living independently, is not as clear as the provisions relating to expulsion. It is discretionary for the principal to give a notice of suspension to the person suspended, but mandatory to give a notice to the parent who has actual custody of the child. This is particularly relevant as it is the responsibility of the child living independently to ensure they do not attend school during the suspension period.
In clause 5, proposed section 21A, Expulsion by the Minister - this is currently covered under section 28, and allows the minister to expel a child from school if it is in the best interests of other children attending the school. The child’s parent must be given written notice of the decision to expel the child, and the minister may reverse the decision at any time. In the amendment, the minister may expel a child if it is in the best interests of other students. It is still discretionary for the minister to give notice of the expulsion to the person who is expelled, but compulsory to give notice to the parent if the child is not living independently. The minister may revoke the expulsion and must notify the expelled person, or the parent, if the child is not living independently. Again, nothing too controversial, but I would question the department about why it is discretionary in that particular manner. It is relevant, as it is the responsibility of the child living independently to ensure that he not attend school, once expelled. That is a question I would like answered today.
In clause 5, proposed section 21B, Parent to ensure non-attendance - in the current act, it is the parents’ responsibility to ensure the child who has been suspended, expelled, or directed not to attend school for health reasons, does not attend the school, and failing to do so results in a maximum penalty of $200. In this amendment, the existing provisions remain the same but, if the child is living independently, it is that child’s responsibility to ensure they do not attend school for the specified period, if expelled. Attendance at school is an offence with a maximum of 15 penalty units, which is $1995 for a first offence, or 20 penalty units, $2660, for a second or subsequent offence. If the child is living independently, the maximum penalty is 1 penalty units or two penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.
A child who lives independently must not attend school if they have been given an expulsion or suspension notice. The discretionary nature of a suspension or expulsion notice for children living independently means an unworkable gray area may arise where the principal has not given the child a notice, so the child does not have to ensure their own non-attendance. The same applies if the notice is given to an adult student.
Moving on to clause 5, proposed section 23, Information notice, there is no equivalent in the current act. In this amendment, if the CEO believes a child is not enrolled, attending school or an eligible option, or participating in distance or approved home education, a written notice may be given to the parent or the child living independently. The information notice must detail the provisions of the act the CEO believes are not being complied with, specifically, what information is required, what action needs to be taken to comply with the notice, and the period within which it must be complied with. A parent, or a child living independently, may also be required to provide specified information. Failing to comply with the information notice is an offence with a maximum penalty of 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second; and, for a child living independently, 1 and two penalty units respectively.
I have a couple of issues, but I want to talk about them in clause 5, proposed section 23A, Compliance notice. There is no equivalent in the current act. In this amendment, if the CEO believes a child is not enrolled, attending school or an eligible option, or participating in distance or approved home education, a written notice may be given to the parent or the child living independently. The compliance notice must detail the provisions of the act not being complied with, specify what action needs to be taken to comply with the act, and the period within which it must be complied with. A parent or child living independently may also be required to provide specified information. The penalty for failing to comply is 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second offence; and, for a child living independently, 1 and two penalty units respectively.
An information notice does not need to be issued for the CEO to issue a compliance notice. I have an issue with this because there is very little difference between an information notice under section 23 and a compliance notice under proposed section 23A. The only real difference is that the information notice requires the person given the notice to provide specified information, rather than just to comply with the act.
Moving onto clause 5, proposed section 23B, Compulsory conference - there is no effective equivalent in the current act. In this amendment, if the CEO believes that the provisions relating to enrolment, attendance, or any other provisions of Part 4 are not being complied with, the parent, or child if they are living independently, may be directed to attend a compulsory conference to resolve the issues of non-compliance. The CEO may also permit a child not living independently to attend the conference without one or both of their parents. The child may request another support person attend the conference and this may be approved by the CEO, but only if the CEO believes the conference has a higher chance of success with that support person present. As I said earlier, it would be grossly unfair if a child, particularly of 14 years of age, was denied a support person if that was their wish.
The issue we need to consider is: is it appropriate for a child, living either independently or under parental control, to attend a conference with a departmental officer and possibly other adults such as the principal, teacher, etcetera, without a support person. A better option would be to determine if a child should be considered as living independently rather than the parents not taking responsibility in the first place.
Moving to clause 5, proposed section 23, Authorised persons may direct a child to be enrolled - again, no equivalent in the current act. These new provisions allow an authorised officer who believes a child of compulsory school age is not enrolled in school to direct a parent, or a child living independently, to enrol that child in school within 10 days of that direction. The penalty for a parent not complying with the direction to enrol a child at school is 15 penalty units for a first offence and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. For a child living independently, it is 1 penalty units, and two for a second or subsequent offence. Under the act, the period may be extended by the authorised officer. I read that out because it is one area that makes absolute sense.
Clause 5, proposed section 24A, Obstruction of authorised officers - no provisions in the current act - and there is nothing controversial in that particular area.
Clause 5, proposed section 24B, Misleading information – there is no current provision in the act. The amendment – a person who provides misleading information or a false document to an authorised officer is committing an offence. Pretty straightforward, and I appreciate that amendment.
Clause 5, proposed section 25C, Information sharing – there is no equivalent provision in the current act. Currently, the information privacy principles under the Information Act prevent the sharing of personal and sensitive information between agencies. This limits the ability of the CEO of Education to locate or contact a child who may or may not be enrolled or participating in school or an eligible option. This section allows the CEO to request relevant information, or disclose personal or otherwise confidential information, while making a request of another agency. This is a good initiative and is similar in intent to previous Country Liberals’ private member’s bills. Other amendments with similar intent have been introduced recently by the government in relation to health information, which was supported by the opposition, and this particular area is well-supported.
The minor amendments in clause 5, proposed section 19B - a second or subsequent offence applies only after the commencement of the bill. It relates to the number of offences the parent has been found guilty of, whether in relation to the same child or another child.
Clause 5, proposed section 20G - the equivalent provision is section 23 of the current act. Drafting changes have been made to clarify the existing provisions, which allow a parent to request their child be withdrawn from specified courses.
Clause 5, proposed section 21C, Re-enrolment after expulsion - the intent of this section is not changed from the current section 29A. A note has been added to clarify that a school-aged child must be enrolled, attend school, etcetera, despite the expulsion.
Clause 5, proposed section 22, Parents to ensure participation in eligible options - the intent of this section has not changed from the current section 22A. The penalties, of course, have been increased in line with previous penalties of two penalty units to 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence. This is a significant increase considering section 22A commenced a little over 12 months ago – I believe 1 January 2010 - and provisions relating to children living independently have also been included.
Clause 5, proposed section 22A, Inquiries about participation in eligible options - the intent of this section has not changed from the current section 31A. The penalty has been increased from five penalty units to 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.
Clause 5, proposed section 32C, Truancy from schools or eligible options - the equivalent provision in the current act is section 31(3), I believe. The basic intent of the truancy provisions have not changed - they have been worded in accordance with current drafting practices and expanded to include a child who may be participating in an eligible option.
Clause 5, proposed section 23D, Authorised persons may require information about enrolment or eligible option - the equivalent provision in the current act is section 31(4) and 31A with the exception that only a person apparently over the age of 14 years is to be asked for the relevant information. The penalties being increased from $200 to 15 penalty units for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence, and 1.5 and two penalty units if the information is asked of a child 14 years or over.
Clause 5, proposed section 24, Employment of children - the equivalent provisions are contained in section 30 of the current act. The penalty has been increased from $500 to 15 penalty units, or $1995, for a first offence, and 20 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence for a person who allows a child of compulsory school age to work when they should be a school. For a person who employs or allows a child to be employed at any time in employment likely to cause the child to be unfit to attend school or unable to understand instruction, the penalty has been set at 50 penalty units or three months in prison for a first offence, and 100 penalty units or six months in prison for a second or subsequent offence. The minister may still grant exemption for a child under special circumstances.
Clause 5, proposed section 24C, Evidentiary certificates - the equivalent provisions in the current act are contained in section 32 with little change, other than modernisation in line with current conventions.
Clause 5, proposed section 25 - and we are nearly there - current provisions in the act are contained in section 31, the same as other legislation.
Clause 5, proposed section 25A, The identity card - the equivalent provision in the current act is contained in section 31(2), including the requirement that the authorised officer show the card to any person they are engaged with in an official capacity. The provisions have been extended to require certain information to be listed on the card such as name, photo, and signature of the person, and that the card must be returned to the CEO within 21 days after the person ceases to be an authorised officer. Failure to do so incurs a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units.
The education infringement notice regulations: values for infringement notices have been set at one-tenth of the maximum for each relevant offence. Schedule 1 amendments are routine changes to wording and drafting style in the current conventions. We worked through each of the …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move that the member be given an extension of time pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr CHANDLER: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
We completely understand why government is trying to do what it is doing. At times, the opposition needs to question the vehicles government pursues and, where necessary, point out issues we think you are going to face. It does not matter what side of politics you sit on, you will applaud good legislation. At the same time, if we find areas we do not think will work, or, in some cases, will go against the philosophy of the opposition party at the time or, indeed, where we think there are going to be real challenges for the department, it would be remiss of us not to raise those particular issues.
Today, I have raised a few issues I hope the minister and the department can work out. I do not think it will be easy, particularly when you are dealing with children of that age where they have the bodies or the physical strength of an adult, and the ideals of a 30- or 40-year-old, but the mind of a 14-year-old. That is an extremely big challenge.
We are certain of one thing: there needs to be consequences. We have to get our children to school, and our community needs to value education. Will it work? There are questions we can look at in 12 months, 18 months from now - and we will. How will it work? This will be up to the department and the minister to ensure it works. I trust the minister can answer some of the questions.
I go back to the point I made earlier; that education starts in the home. Anyone who thinks the first time their child should be educated is in school, is totally wrong. It needs to start in the home. So does discipline and this needs to be reinforced in schools. I hate it when I hear the first time a child ever faces any discipline whatsoever, or consistency in their day, is the first day they go to school. That is unfair to our teachers - it is unfair, perhaps, even for the government to have to deal with what should be a parent’s ultimate responsibility. It starts in the home, and is reinforced in the schools. I implore the government to do all it can to improve our education facilities and curriculum, and our pathways into the future.
I would like to see a day where, with the wonderful VET pathways we have today - and let us be frank: there are some children out there who will never go on to higher academic levels but will become the best mechanics and welders you are ever going to find. They may not become a scientist, or an architect, or a doctor, but they are going to be the ones who fix your car, so those VET pathways are just as important as our higher education areas. One day we could have pathways leading directly into the Army, Navy or Air Force. We have great cadet schemes today and there is a chance we can include Defence in our pathways in future.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy, I advise you that at 11 am I will be asking you to pause so that we can have the delivery of the budget.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the contribution of the member for Brennan and his thorough scrutiny, as it should be, of the bill currently before the House, as it should be. These amendments are extensive and they are very important. I am pleased to hear the member for Brennan say there has to be consequences.
I support the Education Legislation Amendment Bill, which was tabled in the February sittings as an exposure draft and introduced in the last week of March in the Alice Springs sittings. It was also during the Alice Springs sittings in November 2009 that I spoke in support of the Youth Participation Bill, which saw the passage of important amendments to the Education Act. This was and is an important part of COAG reforms, which were implemented to legislate that young people in the Northern Territory, and, indeed, other jurisdictions, must complete minimum Year 10 secondary education, and thereafter continue in full-time education, training, employment, or a combination of those, until they reach the age of 17 years.
Within that bill, there was recognition that we cannot simply allow young people to opt out of school. There was also recognition and, as I mentioned in my speech to this House during that debate, that governments need to ensure the best possible start in life for young people. Requiring them to participate in full-time education, or training, or employment, or a combination of these, the additional opportunities for young people, young Territorians, will translate into enhanced capacity for employment and earning potential in the future.
It is young people’s participation in education, which leads to employment outcomes, which is the key to not only growing our young people, but also growing strong communities and a strong Territory. That is why this government places such strong emphasis on education being at the core of the Territory’s future. It is at the centre of the Territory 2030 strategy and it underpins our A Working Future policy. The latter has been confirmed repeatedly in the local implementation plans signed in our growth towns, not only in my electorate, but across the Northern Territory. Of the seven building blocks in each of the local implementation plans, early childhood and school are front and centre.
The bill before the House today, which proposes further amendments to the Education Act, builds upon and supports the Youth Participation Bill to go to the very heart of addressing and strengthening, not only our resolve, but our responsibility to have a strong and robust legislative framework to address the challenges of attendance and participation that we face in the Territory, particularly in our remote areas.
In his second reading speech and tabled explanatory statement, the minister provided details of the amendments, so it is not my intention to revisit all of these, but rather to speak more generally in support of this bill. As a former educator and as the parent of school-aged children, I place a high value on education and recognise, as I know members on both sides of this House do, how critically important it is for children’s futures. I want to see children, including my own, grow up to be well-educated, well-rounded, self-contained and self-determining, and independent individuals who can take control of their lives because they are educated and, hopefully, one day will have moved on to a good job, possibly through further study.
Importantly, I want to see children, including my own, grow up and have choices in front of them by virtue of having actively participated in and received a sound and balanced education. They need to leave school with core skills, to be literate and numerate.
Schools and education deliver so much more in growing and shaping young people’s lives. As an elected member of this House in a remote bush electorate, and as parliamentary secretary for Education and Training, I place the highest value on education. However, I recognise there are many Territory children who did not, and do not, have the upbringing and the role models associated with education that I had as a child and that my children have. I recognise, and this government recognises, the reasons why children may not attend school are complex. Further, we recognise that we must act to support families to overcome the barriers to attending school. It is the right of every child to have access to an education and, with it, a passport and a pathway to a bright future.
As a government, we can have any number of provisions and encouragements in place, which places the responsibility squarely on parents to ensure that children are enrolled, attending, and participating in education. Those children who do not enrol and participate in education, who do not attend every day for extended periods, are at risk of being relegated to the difficult to break cycle and revolving door of welfare dependency.
The act has been in need of restructuring to make it more workable. In order to effect real change, that real change needs to be measurable by witnessing an increasing attendance
As the Education minister said in his second reading speech, the average attendance at Territory schools is 82% and in urban areas this is higher at around 92% attendance. Attendance at very remote schools, however, not including the 20 growth towns, is 76%, while average attendance in growth towns is clearly unacceptable at 56%.
Data highlights that it is from middle years, which is Years 7, 8 and 9, that we see a steady drop in participation and retention in very remote schools. The Smart Territory strategy has seen widespread reforms implemented across five priority areas, and this includes getting everyone on the same page about understanding the value of education. It is about being strong in improving attendance and placing participation front and centre. It is about ensuring that schools are safe and welcoming places. It is about building and leveraging strong partnerships between home, schools, business, and community, and it is about providing relevant and interesting learning pathways.
The subsequent Every Child, Every Day strategy launched in October last year maps out a clear action plan to assist families to meet their obligations, to provide their children with their right to attend school, and the opportunity for choices for a bright future. This bill aims to make the act more workable and enforceable and the amendments to Part 4 are tough, but also fair, because they need to be. The bill significantly increases penalties for offences against the attendance provisions in the act and brings them into line with other jurisdictions.
We also see the introduction of infringement notices. Many people welcome these increased penalties, hoping that it provides a stronger disincentive to those who do not get their children to school. The elected members of the East Arnhem Shire Council have been vocal about their frustration and concern regarding low attendance in the shire and their criticism is that penalties have not been great enough.
It is worth noting that one of the many schools in East Arnhem shire; one that stands out as a success in turning around poor attendance is Shepherdson College. Its success in attracting and retaining students is due to the strong leadership of the principal, the dedicated and committed staff, and strong community relationships. There are many factors which contribute to this school’s success; highlighting that change in attitude is possible and that the threat of deterrence, whilst if may not necessarily be used, may also be effective. Pockets of success are not isolated to Shepherdson College. I know schools I have visited in recent months, including Ntaria School in Central Australia, Milikapiti School on the Tiwi Islands, and Bakewell Primary School in Palmerston, all enjoy reputations for sustaining healthy attendance and participation figures. I am under no illusion about the hard work from all stakeholders that goes into creating and sustaining success. It demonstrates that through rigorous strategy and planning, this can happen …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nhulunbuy, I will ask you to pause at that point, thank you.
Debate suspended.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Media Arrangements – Budget 2011-12Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have given permission for the Northern Territory News to take photographs during the budget speech.
I also remind members that the Assembly will resume after the luncheon suspension today at 2.30 pm.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of officers of the Northern Territory Treasury, and many guests who have come to listen to the budget. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
APPROPRIATION (2011-2012) BILL
(Serial 163)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
Madam Speaker, I table the 2011-12 Appropriation Bill and related papers.
Budget 2011-12 has at its centre, quality and affordable services to support Territory families to get ahead. It also builds on opportunities, positioning us for the next stage of economic growth in the Northern Territory. Budget 2011-12 is a tight budget - developed in an environment of constrained revenues, but increased service demand. We have responded with a budget which is responsible and responsive to the needs of Territory families and businesses. For a Labor government, quality and affordable healthcare and education are key priorities and we deliver record investment in these areas.
The budget delivers on law and order, targeting the scourge of alcohol misuse and related crime and antisocial behaviour through the Enough is Enough reforms, the second stage of the Growing them strong, together child protection reforms, the important new era in Corrections reforms, A Working Future, and our Territory 2030 targets.
While Australia and the Territory dodged the worst of the global financial crisis, its effects continue with further reduction to GST revenues, limits on credit affecting business activity and, as a consequence, the Territory’s own-source revenue. Territory businesses have felt the lingering effects of the GFC with more cautious consumer behaviour and tightened credit markets. Budget 2011-12 keeps infrastructure spending at historically high levels, with $1.5bn to continue to create and support Territory jobs, and the broader economy, until private sector investment returns to more usual levels.
Affordability for Territory families and businesses is a feature of Budget 2011-12 with power concessions; childcare subsidies; seniors, pensioner, and carer concession scheme funding; and homebuyer assistance to help Territory families tackle the cost of living pressures. Budget 2011-12 also delivers early on the Labor government’s commitment to slash payroll tax, ensuring the Territory remains the lowest taxing jurisdiction for small to medium businesses in the nation.
Budget 2011-12 helps Territory families get ahead. It builds on opportunities and positions the Territory for the economic boom times that are just around the corner.
Australia and the Territory were both impacted by the once in a generation economic downturn, the global financial crisis, though both economies performed remarkably well under the circumstances. The Territory economy was shielded initially from the GFC by a number of major projects approved and financed in 2008-09. However, in 2009-10, economic growth in the Territory slowed as several major projects reached completion and there was an absence of new major projects in a credit-constrained post-GFC world. Our government has a strong economic record, having delivered eight consecutive budget surpluses, positioning us well against the challenges of the GFC. In response to the GFC, our government took a deliberate decision to go into deficit, to fund record infrastructure investment, to inject stimulus into the Territory economy to support jobs. The decision has paid off with economic growth in the Territory estimated to have strengthened to 2.2% in 2010-11 due to significant increases in public sector investment and consumption, which are expected to have more than offset a decline in private investment.
Throughout this period, Territory businesses have remained among the most confident in the nation and the Territory’s unemployment level reached the lowest in Territory history. Importantly, since the GFC, more than 12 000 jobs have been created, with about 90% of these full-time jobs.
The global economy continues to recover from the GFC crisis. Despite strong headline figures, growth is expected to remain uneven with emerging economies including China, India, and Indonesia forecast to grow significantly faster than developed economies, many of which continue to struggle with high rates of unemployment. Strong growth in emerging economies is expected to sustain commodity demand and prices at high levels, and drive mineral and energy exploration and development in Australia and the Territory. Strong demand and higher prices for commodities has already resulted in increased exploration and expansions of several mines in the Territory. Higher demand for the Territory’s mineral and energy exports from emerging economies underpins the Territory’s forecast economic growth rate of 3.2% in 2011-12. This is slightly more conservative than the Deloitte Access Economics economic growth forecasts, which set the Territory as the strongest economic performer in the nation in 2011-12 at 5% growth, an equal first with Western Australia, on average over the next five years.
Household consumption remained relatively subdued in 2010-11 following increased interest rates and a higher household propensity to save. It is forecast to increase by 2.1% in 2011-12 as stronger employment, population, and wage growth improves consumer confidence. This is expected to provide a much-needed boost to the Territory’s retailers.
Employment growth is forecast to strengthen to 2.8% in 2011-12, reflecting improved economic growth and increased construction activity. Construction is expected to increase due to the major oil field developments of Montara and Kitan in the Timor Sea, as well as stronger residential construction growth in the latter half of 2011-12, following the Territory’s accelerated land release in Palmerston East.
The average unemployment rate in the Territory is forecast to remain at historically low levels at 3%. The Territory’s population growth is forecast to remain at 1% in 2011, influenced by the 7RAR personnel relocating south before strengthening to 1.8% in 2012. The increase in 2012 reflects stronger employment growth arising from increased private sector investment and residential construction activity, as well as increased Defence personnel.
Inflation is forecast to moderate to 2.3% in 2011, dampened by an appreciation of the Australian dollar before strengthening to 2.6% in 2012 as household consumption and economy growth strengthens. However, the impact of severe flooding in the eastern states and Cyclone Yasi may result in a spike in food inflation in 2011. These forecasts do not take into account the effect on the Territory economy of the INPEX final investment decision, which is expected by the last quarter of 2011. This is an enormous project with expenditure in excess of $20bn.
The Henderson government has guided the Territory through tough economic times and placed the Territory economy on a firm foundation. Budget 2011-12 positions the Territory to build on opportunities through strategic infrastructure projects and fiscal management to take advantage of our economic potential for Territorians.
In 2010, the prevailing view was that Australia was beginning to emerge from the effects of the GFC. However, as the year developed, a range of economic data indicated that recovery was not as strong as expected. In addition, over recent months, a number of regions in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan have experienced major natural disasters, resulting in lower business and trade activity, and contributing to lower levels of confidence. Australians are more cautious than before; saving more and investing less. These factors have had a marked effect on the Territory’s main revenue source, the GST, as well as our own-source revenues. Since the 2010-11 Budget, the national GST pool was revised down in November by $600m when the Commonwealth released its Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook report. Since that time, a number of consumption indicators, as well as construction activity, have further slowed.
GST collections to date are substantially lower than expected and consumer spending patterns indicate there is a greater proportion of spending on items that are not subject to GST, such as health, education, housing, and food costs. Accordingly, GST revenue has been revised down further to a total of $2.1bn in 2010-11, with significantly lower growth rates in 2011-12, and all forward years. The combined effect results in a loss to the Territory of $137m in 2010-11, and $27m in 2011-12, compared with the 2010-11 Budget. The loss in 2011-12 was lower due to the effect of the Commonwealth Grants Commission 2011 update, which recommended an increase in the Territory’s relativity. Own-source revenue has also reduced; predominantly stamp duty on property transfers, as the result of a lower level of activity in the real estate market.
The government has made a number of substantial expenditure commitments to important areas of service delivery – notably, the new era in Corrections, the Growing them strong, together child protection reforms, and the Enough is Enough alcohol initiative; all of which have added to expenditure in 2010-11 and over the forward estimates. The resulting effect is a total budget of $5.3bn in 2011-12, an estimated cash deficit of $295m for 2010-11, and $387m for 2011-12.
Although the cash deficits are reducing over the forward estimates, the lower GST revenue will make the return to surplus more prolonged. In response to this challenge, the government has constrained expenditure in the budget and forward estimates. The staffing cap was put in place in the last budget and achieved for the March 2011 quarter when increases in child protection staff are excluded. We will continue savings measures for the 2011-12 Budget through reprioritisation of 2% of agency output appropriation towards new initiatives or demand growth, increasing the efficiency dividend to 3% in 2011-12, and continuing the staffing cap. The staffing cap has been adjusted only where significant new programs have been funded.
Total infrastructure spending in 2011-12 is $1.5bn, with a budget sector capital works program of $1.2bn; repairs and maintenance spending of $219m; and infrastructure-related grants of $117m.
The Power and Water Corporation is estimated to spend $375m on infrastructure in 2011-12. These amounts are slightly lower than 2010-11 because the Commonwealth stimulus funding is almost at an end. However, Territory spending remains well above the long-term average and higher than last year, in line with our commitment to boost infrastructure spending to maintain Territory jobs and growth until private sector investment returns to more usual levels.
The continuation of high levels of infrastructure spending has contributed directly to the cash deficits in the budget and forward estimates. The nett debt to revenue ratio is estimated to be 32% in 2011-12, rising to 47% in 2014-15; while the ratio of nett financial liabilities to revenue is estimated to be 102% in 2011-12, rising to 119% in 2014-15. These are below the 2001 debt ratios.
Budget 2011 has met the Territory’s fiscal strategy targets by ensuring that growth in operating expenditure is less than revenue growth, and that there is significant infrastructure investment to maintain territory jobs, a competitive tax environment, and prudent management of liabilities.
The Henderson government has made helping Territorians to buy their own homes a key priority. BuildBonus is a new grant program that will be available from today until 31 December this year. It is specifically designed to encourage the construction of new, affordable housing by providing a one-off $10 000 grant to purchasers of a new home up to the value of $530 000, including off the plan purchases. BuildBonus will be available for new construction that commences after today. BuildBonus will complement the Homestart NT Program, where income and price caps in all regions have been increased, and will encourage more building in new land release areas, as well as the development of more unit complexes across the Territory.
From 1 July 2011, stamp duty rates for property transfers of $3m or more will increase from 4.95% to 5.45%, raising an estimated $2.3m. Even with this increase, the maximum stamp duty rate for property of this value remains lower than the ACT, NSW, Victoria, and South Australia.
The government committed in the 2008 election to reduce its payroll tax from 5.9% to 5.5% by 2012. This commitment is being brought forward to commence on 1 July 2011, and will benefit all payroll taxpayers, ensuring the Territory continues to be the lowest taxing jurisdiction for small to medium-sized businesses. The payroll tax threshold will be increased on 1 July 2011 from $1.25m to $1.5m, removing 40 small Territory businesses from the requirement to pay payroll tax. We will also be adopting a similar system to that used in Queensland where the $1.5m annual deduction is reduced by $1 for every $4 in wages paid above this amount. This means that when total wages exceed $7.5m, no annual deduction is received.
Although not a revenue source for government, motor accident compensation contributions will rise in line with CPI increases, consistent with the new arrangements we put in place for the scheme earlier this year.
The Territory government’s commitment to a significant increase in infrastructure spending through the GFC has protected and created jobs. Budget 2011-12 continues to invest heavily in the Territory’s future with $1.5bn for infrastructure. We are investing in more roads and housing, and better schools and hospitals across the Territory.
Roads continue to be a vital part of the Territory’s budget with $307m for roads infrastructure, including an increase of $14m for Territory roads’ repairs and maintenance to fix our roads following record rainfalls this year. This estimate is likely to be revised when we receive a comprehensive assessment of the flood damage. Improving bridges and flood immunity across the Territory is a focus of the roads budget with $56m for the Port Keats Road; new bridges over the Daly River, Central Arnhem Road, King River, and Cullen River; and flood immunity programs in remote areas. 2011-12 will see the completion of the Tiger Brennan Drive extension project with a rail overpass on Berrimah Road. There are also improvements for our national network roads, particularly the Stuart Highway.
The Territory government continues the investment in power and water assets with $1.8bn over five years, including $375m in 2011-12 to meet increased demand and improve reliability.
Land release is important to grow the Territory. Budget 2011-12 invests $20.3m for headworks to continue the release of land in Palmerston East; $13.5m for headworks to service the new suburb of Kilgariff in Alice Springs; $6m to continue sealing Jenkins Road; and $950 000 to continue investigative studies for the new city of Weddell.
We are also growing the Territory through increased economic infrastructure, with $5m to facilitate the development of a marine supply base, which will support major economic development projects including the Ichthys LNG project. In addition, $28m is provided for industrial land release. The successful Bringing Forward Discovery program has been extended in Budget 2011-12, with an $11.4m three-year investment to stimulate mineral and petroleum exploration, and attract exploration investment into the Territory.
The centrepiece of Budget 2011-12 is the $67m five-year package for the Enough is Enough alcohol reforms, which aim to tackle alcohol misuse and reduce alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour. Enough is Enough will target problem drinkers to turn them off tap and mandate treatment supported by $10.9m in 2011-12. Alcohol misuse costs our community an estimated $642m per year across health, policing, and justice, as well as lost productivity across our economy.
The Henderson government will invest $5.2m to enhance alcohol treatment and rehabilitation options and establish new services to meet the demands of people with significant alcohol problems – the first tranche of a $34m boost. The banned drinker register and ID scanners will cost $4.7m to roll-out across the Territory; without it, problem drinkers will continue to access alcohol, costing our community so much more. Budget 2011-12 also invests $1m to establish the Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal and SMART Court to support the alcohol reforms.
The government’s commitment to improving safety for Territory families delivers a record Police, Fire and Emergency Services budget, up $15m to $328m, and a capital budget of $50m. The investment in Police Beats increases to $7.4m in Budget 2011-12 with offices in Alice Springs, Katherine, Casuarina, Palmerston, Parap, Nightcliff, and soon Karama. $1.3m is provided to improve the capacity of the Forensic Science Branch, with a further $1.2m for a new laboratory and office accommodation. $1.75m, an increase of $600 000, delivers enhanced CCTV services to Darwin and Alice Springs.
Budget 2011-12 will see the construction of the new $12.3m Berrimah Fire Station commencing, with additional funding of $5.4m to resource the Fire and Rescue Service. The new fire station will improve response times to Darwin, Palmerston, and the East Arm Port, and will include an urban search and rescue storage facility and facilities for Darwin’s Emergency Services volunteer unit.
Budget 2011-12 steps up the five-year $120m investment to implement initiatives under the new era in Corrections, including $8.5m in 2011-12 for alternative sentencing options for our non-violent offenders. Work will also commence on the new Darwin Correctional facility with $27m for initial headworks.
Budget 2011-12 again delivers on affordable housing initiatives for Territorians. The BuildBonus scheme will provide incentives for new homes and assist affordable unit developments to meet the tightened post-GFC finance commitment levels. Homestart NT provides further assistance to help low- to middle-income earners gain access to the property market. Both the income limits and price caps have been lifted, with an increase in the Darwin and Palmerston price cap of $55 000 to $530 000, an increase of $50 000 for Alice Springs to a cap of $435 000, and increases in other regional centres.
Budget 2011-12 also sees the establishment of the Territory’s first affordable housing rental company to provide rental housing assistance for low- to middle-income earners at below market rent. The housing infrastructure program in Budget 2011-12 is $539m and delivers urban and remote public housing, land servicing, and government employee housing. This budget continues the $49m commitment to build 150 new homes over three years, including the Larapinta and Bellamack seniors’ villages, and 42 one- and two-bedroom units.
Territory and Commonwealth funding of $6.8m will support homelessness through managed, short-term accommodation in Alice Springs and Darwin, including the Percy Court Transitional Village in Alice Springs housing up to 70 people, and the Crerar Road facility in Berrimah providing 78 beds.
Protecting our children and supporting Territory families is a key priority for this government. Budget 2011-12 continues the significant investment of $130m over five years for the Growing them strong, together outcomes, with $25m in 2011-12. The government continues to support at risk youth with $1.3m to support three Territory youth camps, and $300 000 to develop a response for young people at risk of homelessness in the Palmerston area. There is also $3.7m for Stage 2 of the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan to get young people in Alice Springs back to school and away from antisocial behaviour and crime-related activities. Budget 2011-12 sees the implementation of the second stage of the secure care package, with $11.4m to construct two 16-bed group home facilities in Darwin and Alice Springs. There is also $3.5m for safe places upgrades in 15 remote communities.
Budget 2011-12 delivers a record $930m for quality and affordable education and training to support improved educational outcomes and help more Territorians into jobs. We, in partnership with the Australian government, have upgraded every school across the Territory. Budget 2011-12 continues this focus with $110m to build and maintain our schools, including $7.2m to complete the Henderson government’s four-year initiative to upgrade every primary and group school. There is a $19.4m boost to special education to upgrade and relocate Nemarluk School to Alawa, and upgrade Taminmin College, Palmerston Senior College, and Henbury School, and continue works at Acacia Hill School.
Budget 2011-12 supports more than 3000 teachers with additional funding of $1.2m to establish up to 50 specialist teacher positions, and a further $1.2m to provide additional classroom support in Transition classes.
In partnership with the Commonwealth, Budget 2011-12 delivers:
$16.4m to build and $4.8m to operate four Children and Family Centre services;
$5.9m to ensure that by 2013 every child will have access to a preschool program in the year prior to full-time schooling; and
$2.3m to continue enrolment and attendance initiatives under the Every Child Every Day strategy.
Under Labor, more than 100 young Indigenous Territorians in remote communities have completed Year 12 due to continued investment in remote education.
Budget 2011-12 also delivers for apprentices and trainees, with $1m per annum to enable 10 000 apprentice and trainee commencements between 2009 and 2012. Since 2005, more than 15 500 Territorians have commenced a traineeship or an apprenticeship.
We are delivering $900 000 for the Work Ready program to increase access to apprenticeships and traineeships; $800 000 is provided under Jobs NT 2010-12 for financial incentives for eligible employers to encourage apprentice and trainee jobs in occupational shortage areas and for disadvantaged groups; $250 000 continues to provide vocational education and training and work experience programs for students in the middle years of schooling, especially young Indigenous men. To support Territorians taking up a traineeship or apprenticeship, Budget 2011-12 continues the $1.3m Workwear/Workgear Bonus scheme, providing up to $1000 towards start-up tool and training costs, helping Territorians to get ahead.
Investing in the health of all Territorians through quality and affordable health services is a key priority of this government. Budget 2011-12 delivers a record $1.1bn to improve hospital and primary healthcare services, including $525m for better hospitals. Health infrastructure investment is $193m and includes $20m for a new emergency department for the Alice Springs Hospital; $3.3m for upgrades at Tennant Creek Hospital; and $9.5m for emergency department and operating theatre upgrades at Royal Darwin Hospital.
We recognise that Royal Darwin Hospital is one of the busiest in the nation. That is why we fund the most beds per capita in the nation, and we have continuously upgraded facilities with a new emergency department, Rapid Admission and Planning Unit, new maternity facilities, expanded wards, and upgraded theatre facilities. We also increased funding to create 677 nurse positions and 208 doctor positions across the Territory, including 326 extra nurses and 132 extra doctors at Royal Darwin Hospital since 2002. Budget 2011-12 continues to invest in improving Royal Darwin Hospital - for patients and the 2000 staff that work there.
The Territory government is delivering new initiatives to support people with a mental illness, with $1.6m for additional child and adolescent mental health services, and $1.5m to manage members of the community with exceptional and complex needs.
A funding boost of $3m is provided to St John Ambulance to increase the emergency road ambulance and medical transportation services.
The health of remote Territorians will be improved with an additional $2.5m to continue implementing coordinated patient care and services for Indigenous patients with chronic conditions. A $2m contribution for a new health centre at Umbakumba and an additional $3m to expand renal services in the Top End also delivers improved healthcare. As a result of significant funding increases to primary healthcare, and increasing access to health services, we are seeing improvements in health outcomes. Life expectancy for Aboriginal women has improved by three years and the infant mortality rate has fallen by 35%. With significant boosts to renal services over many years, particularly in regional and remote areas, survival rates for Territory renal dialysis patients are now equivalent to the rest of Australia - an improvement of seven years.
The government’s A Working Future strategy aims to improve the lives of Territorians living in remote areas. Budget 2011-12 delivers $633m for remote infrastructure across the Territory. An important new initiative in this budget is a three-year $30m Indigenous employment package for shire councils to support core local government service delivery. This initiative includes additional Territory funding of $8.4m, with the Commonwealth contributing $1.6m per annum. This package will see an additional 530 Indigenous jobs being supported across our shires.
There is $17.8m for the new gas-fired Wadeye Power Station.
Getting technology into our remote areas is a key element to improve the lifestyle and opportunity for Territorians living there. Budget 2011-12 includes $6.6m as part of a three-year, $16.4m funding package for the Digital Regions Initiative National Partnership Agreement to provide enhanced services to Territory growth towns, including video conferencing, tele-health for clinicians, and e-learning initiatives for students and employees.
$1.15m is provided to implement the second year of regional area bus trials; $1m grants to support the reporting officer function in remote communities with aerodromes; $10m for airstrip upgrades, and $4m for improved barge landings.
The $1.7bn 10-year National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing continues this year with $387.7m to construct new housing, upgrade existing housing, and provide associated infrastructure in remote Indigenous communities.
To improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students as part of A Working Future, Budget 2011-12 includes a $3.5m contribution to an $8.69m investment to continue and expand ‘virtual’ very remote early childhood integrated service hubs and Families as First Teachers programs; and $3.18m to continue and expand student engagement programs such as Clontarf Football Academy to at least 13 sites and Sporting Chance at six sites.
Training programs are also enhanced in the Territory growth towns with $2.6m to implement innovative and flexible training programs in communities that connect Indigenous Territorians to real and sustainable local employment opportunities. We are focused on our responsibility to provide all Territorians with a working future.
The Territory has a unique, pristine environment and the Henderson government plans to keep it that way. Budget 2011-12 delivers record funding to protect our harbour, with $24m to continue works to close the Larrakeyah outfall and $26m to upgrade the port. $1.2m will be spent as part of a three-year program to manage and sustain inshore marine resources. An additional $1m is provided for habitat mapping, monitoring, and research activities in Darwin Harbour, with a further $800 000 ongoing for environmental compliance initiatives.
Budget 2011-12 includes $690 000 for the environmental regulation of mining operations, including the establishment of a Central Australian mining team based in Alice Springs, and other specialist staff; $400 000 to continue the ecoBiz NT program to assist businesses to improve energy efficiency; and $2.1m to deliver increased conservation in parks and Indigenous employment outcomes. Budget 2011-12 invests $490 000 for the delivery of the Henderson government’s container deposit scheme, rolling it out into schools and community groups, and making the Territory cleaner and greener. A new Green Streetscape program will commence in 2011-12, with $2m for urban road landscaping and $1m to work with Greening Australia to improve neighbourhood amenities.
The Territory lifestyle continues to be second to none. Budget 2011-12 delivers more for sporting and other major events, recreational facilities and, of course, fishing. Support continues and increases for the V8 Supercars, Australian Superbikes, AFL, Rugby League and Rugby Union matches, and the BassintheGrass and Alice Springs concert. Improved sporting facilities include: $1m for site works for the development of the Litchfield swimming pool at Freds Pass Reserve; $8.1m for Rugby League in Palmerston; $4m for a 12-court squash facility at Marrara Sporting Precinct; $5.1m for tennis and netball facilities in Palmerston; $4.3m for soccer facilities in Palmerston; and construction of the $10m Defence of Darwin Museum at East Point Reserve continues in 2011-12. Budget 2011-12 doubles government support for the delivery of the Darwin Festival with an additional $500 000 ongoing, taking the total support to $1m per annum
Recreational fishers receive a further boost this year with $1.8m for improved fishing infrastructure and $2m to upgrade secondary local roads, including roads in the Douglas Daly region. Budget 2011-12 delivers support for outdoor recreation with $12.6m for the Palmerston Water Park; $4m to support facilities at the Waterfront precinct; $2.5m for water play and aquatic wildlife viewing at Howard Springs Nature Park; $1.6m to continue works on the Palmerston to Howard Springs cycle path; and $290 000 to continue upgrading two track heads at Larapinta Trail.
Madam Speaker, Budget 2011-12 helps Territory families get ahead and builds on opportunities. It is responsible but responsive, recognising all Territorians need the opportunities of A Working Future and a dynamic Territory 2030. It maintains our commitment to Territory business to keep our infrastructure spending high to protect jobs and grow the economy until private sector investment returns. It delivers tax cuts to support jobs and positions the Territory for future growth. Budget 2011-12 helps more Territorians into their own homes and delivers the most generous concession subsidies in the nation to help Territory families get ahead. Budget 2011-12 delivers on the priorities of the Henderson government to provide affordable and quality health and education services for Territorians.
We are tackling law and order issues through targeted measures to tackle alcohol misuse that costs our community an estimated $642m per year. We are continuing to invest in infrastructure and services to make the Territory a great place to live, work, and raise a family. We are providing quality schools and hospitals, and supporting all Territorians wherever they live.
Madam Speaker, I commend Budget 2011-12 to the House.
Debate adjourned.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Charles Darwin University ESL students, accompanied by Ms Jill Rathbone and Ms Annie Grivell; and staff of the Department of Education and Training Strategic Policy Performance Unit. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
EDUCATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 160)
(Serial 160)
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, like the member for Brennan, I note the proposed changes to the act introduce many new provisions. One which I would like to highlight is the proposed section 25C regarding information sharing. This provision enables the CEO of the Department of Education and Training to request information about a child and their family from another body or agency, including other jurisdictions, which will ensure the collection and use of pertinent information to support families to meet their obligations under the act.
The issue of sharing information in the interests of the wellbeing and welfare of children was highlighted in the Growing them strong, together report in chapter 11. That chapter was titled ‘Interagency Collaboration’ and I will quote from that report in response to what the authors had to say about education:
- The Inquiry is of the view that school non-attendance, a highly prevalent, highly significant child wellbeing problem, particularly among Aboriginal children on remote communities, requires the most urgent attention and intervention, particularly at an interagency whole of government level.
I heard one of the authors of the report, Dr Rob Roseby, address principals at the invitation of our minister at a principals’ conferences held in the Top End and Centre in November last year. Dr Roseby recognised and thanked principals and their staff for the enormous role they play in looking out for the interests of children, and recognition that the responsibility for the protection of children must be shared across agencies. That includes non-government organisations which have a role to play in the welfare and wellbeing of children.
I will quote from that chapter. The authors wrote:
- There is consistent recognition that it is impossible for one agency to do all that is necessary to protect children and promote their safety and wellbeing.
I will include a couple of further quotes from a submission to the report from an unnamed NGO highlighting that:
- Confidentiality is prioritised, rather than the child’s wellbeing.
and further:
- Duty of care and confidentiality sit on either end of a poorly balanced seesaw.
This needs to change, and will change with the proposed amendments, and the Minister for Health and Families undertook that we would also make this change.
Sharing of information is a critical step forward in the interests of children, not just concerning their attendance and participation at school, but right across the board. The opposition may well challenge aspects of those amendments, but it does beg the question: what did the CLP do during its 27 years for education in promoting enrolment, attendance and participation? What was their strategy for delivering education to all Territory kids? What provisions did they make for the interests of Indigenous education? The reality is they are best remembered for the fact that they did so little for students in remote areas. Under the CLP, no Indigenous students completed secondary education in the bush.
In preparing for this debate, I read what the Country Liberals had to say on the website about education. The CLP education platform includes five dot points about what it would do for education and is followed by an online questionnaire of 10 questions, but there is no mention or recognition specifically of Indigenous students, of remote areas, of language and cultural differences, and no reference to attendance and participation. Similarly, in their media release titled ‘The Way Forward, Education for a Strong Future’, we do not see any reference to Indigenous education, but I am certainly pleased to hear from the member for Brennan this morning that he acknowledges and recognises the needs of remote students. The opposition is long on complaint but short on ideas when it comes to so many areas of government services, especially and alarmingly so in education.
This government has seen enormous progress and reforms in delivering education equitably and inclusively across the Territory. I thank the Territory’s first Labor Education Minister in 2001, the former member for Nhulunbuy, Syd Stirling; the member for Wanguri; the member for Arafura, noting the member for Arafura’s contribution particularly in the area of Indigenous education; and now the member for Johnston, for their strong leadership in the area of education and their aim to continuously strive for improvements, and to improve the outcomes for children through participation and attendance to get those children on to a pathway to a future.
Madam Speaker, we continue to celebrate the successes we see in education but, at the same time, we recognise and do not shy away from the challenges. We tackle them head on, and these amendments are an important part of dealing with those challenges. I commend the bill to the House.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I support the bill and thank the member for Brennan for a full response to an issue that governments have struggled with for many years. I was watching the Four Corners report last night about Aurukun and I was interested in their approach. I would like a response from the minister as to whether this legislation being put forward at the present time would encompass some of the methods they are trying at Aurukun to encourage children to come back to school. They appeared to have a small core group of people, including the principal, recognise that some children were not at school and immediately act upon it. They did not wait and have a big conference; a lady went straight to the house and knocked on the door - if she could get to the door - and asked why that child was not at school. Not everyone was happy to see that person arrive. That consistent approach was a key factor to not only bring kids back to school and improve attendances, but it was sending a message that there is a group of people in that community who believe education is important and they are going to try to turn things around. It was a great attempt by the community to turn things around in a community that has been through some rough stages.
The other issue raised was getting kids to school early so you got them into the habit. I was impressed by that group of women - I think they are called the FRC - who asked some of the women why their children were not at school. They were probably more than threatening that: ‘Your income will be managed if your child is not at school’. Again, I thought this is coming from Aboriginal people on a community that has been through some tough times, as you would have seen from the Four Corners report. We can learn from the experiences of other places like that. Their idea was if you do not get kids into a habit of going to school at an early age, it would be very difficult when they are 10, 11 or 12, which was obvious from one of the families the teacher visited - the door was shut and they were told to go away.
Whether or not you like Noel Pearson, Noel is working very hard. You do not have to agree with everything he says. His heart is in the right place. He is willing to open his mouth and say things and try things. The idea of boarding schools for kids needs to be looked at seriously in the Northern Territory. I have asked this before: the Aboriginal people in this House, where did they get their secondary education. I gather most of them went to boarding school. That says the Aboriginal people we have in this parliament obtained a good education by going to boarding school. We have some great boarding schools in the Northern Territory – Kormilda, St John’s, St Philip’s, Marrara Christian College, and others. There are also others interstate and an advantage of sending children interstate is to see a bigger world they will not see in Darwin and Alice Springs.
My children repeated Year 12 in North Queensland, and I believe it was the best thing I ever did. They spent one year in Herberton in the Atherton Tablelands. They met people from other parts of Australia – Thursday Islanders and people from Cairns. There is a broader reason for sending children away from communities, as they see other lifestyles and other opportunities. What Noel Pearson is about is getting people off welfare and getting them jobs, and those jobs, more than likely, are not going to occur in those communities because there is not enough work for people. There will be work for some but by sending these people away, they will see opportunities for work and hopefully take those up as they continue their education. That does not stop them knowing their home is still out bush; however, it is the reality of life that there will not be enough jobs for people in those communities.
One of the issues the member for Brennan raised, an important issue in the context of the new amendments, is the practicalities of what you are trying to do. The government should be congratulated for attempting to make things better. I am uncertain if previous amendments to the legislation have achieved much, but I am not going to knock the government for trying. The point we are all worried about is you can put things down on paper, you can write legislation, but will it have an effect.
I have not had a chance to look through the figures of attendance in the budget. It is one of the areas I used to always look at and I was very annoyed that there were some statistics in the budget that were removed some years ago. They used to give statistics for remote communities and those statistics disappeared. They were in the budget for about three years …
Dr Burns: They are on the website.
Mr WOOD: That is right. They were in the budget and you could compare them each year ...
Ms Scrymgour: Lazy. It is on the website.
Mr WOOD: They were in the budget and were removed. Do not tell me the print cost that much money you could not leave them in there. The excuse to go to the website is a poor excuse. They were in the budget and they were removed. Why were they removed? They were so shocking that they were an embarrassment. I do not dig up the website every minute – I am still an old fuddy-duddy who opens a book. They were in there and they were a disgrace, and I said that before. I am not trying to go back on old ground or knock the government for what happened previously. I just want to know whether these changes to the legislation are going to be effective.
We introduced five main points in this legislation. You introduced increasing the penalties for parents not sending their children to school. How many parents have been fined for not sending their children to school? I would like to see how effective that is if we came back in six months and asked: ‘How is this operating? Is it actually working?’
Regarding the issue with 14-year-old children not going to school because their parents have no power over them and they are telling their parents to go away, you say you will fine them. I understand what you are trying to do but how will it actually work in practice? These are difficult kids and it is not going to be easy. If we are going to say we are going to do it, let us see whether we can do it. That is the point of what I am saying. We are introducing these changes - and there have been changes before; we have seen legislation come to this parliament before. By introducing this new legislation are we saying that what we put forward before has not worked, and we are trying to have another go? If that is the case, the government should say so. It should say: ‘It has not done that well previously. We have introduced these changes because we think they need to be tightened and we are not succeeding at the present time’.
It is not about knocking government; it is saying good on you, you have brought in some new changes. Some of these concepts have come from interstate, from Queensland, and that might have something to do with the CEO. I believe the CEO is a very practical person who has had plenty of experience in education. Education in Queensland, in many cases, is not much different to education in the Northern Territory, especially when it comes to remote communities.
I support this legislation because it is at least worth trying. We have to do everything we can to turn things around because education is the key. Noel Pearson said that yesterday. He said the one thing we must strive for is to give, especially Aboriginal kids, a good education. That is the No 1 priority, otherwise they will never have a job and they will never lift themselves out of poverty. If those goals can be achieved by these changes to the amendments, good on the government. I do not want to talk up in the clouds. I want to see, in six months, 12 months, the government come back and say: ‘Attendance at our schools has increased. The number of kids who are not going to school has decreased. The literacy and numeracy standards have increased’. That is not going to be easy. It is very hard to turn around a 10-year-old boy or girl who has never been to school and get them to catch up with all the kids who have been to school. That is no easy task as well.
When I was on a CTC trip going out to one of the communities in Arnhem Land, the teacher said there were about 800 kids who should have been at school, and there were only about 270, I think he said, who turned up regularly. There were about another 240 who turned up irregularly. That is a dismal performance for a school. There are some schools that do very well. I could name schools, Milikapiti and Pirlangimpi where, at primary level, they do exceptionally well and they have high rates. However, when it hits the secondary school, they go straight down. You get part of the way there but the bit that is going to change the lives of many of the young people will be a good, solid secondary education.
I just say one thing about secondary education. I know the government has said it is the government that introduced secondary education to many of the remote communities and the CLP did not. That is fine, you can argue the case and that is what you have done. The reality is you need to dig deeper than that. Are we training young people in physics and chemistry? Are they studying law? Do they have a Year 12 English level? Or are we just putting them through courses like tourism and cooking – which are fine courses – but are we just saying that because we want to appear as if we have secondary education?
I am not knocking the people who have done those courses, but sometimes in the spin you can say: ‘Look, this is what we have done’. What I want to see is lawyers, teachers, doctors, chemists, scientists, whatever, with real equal education with the rest of society. It is all very well to say secondary education is out there, and I am not saying it is not, but it should be proper of anyone who says that, to analyse where that level of secondary education is, not to be a knocker. You have to ask the real questions. Are we achieving what we really want to achieve? Are we just putting up false aspirations? Or are we just putting up a bit of advertising to say what a great job we did? In the end, when it comes to education, the reality will be that unemployment in Aboriginal communities drops right down.
We talked about the budget today, and I can bet you the budget will talk about the unemployment in the Northern Territory without pulling it outright. I bet you it says we have a relatively low unemployment rate in the Northern Territory, but no one offsets that by the CDEP. I welcome the Territory government propping up the CDEP, along with the Commonwealth government, for the next three years. But it still, to some extent, clouds the issue. The word in the second reading that always concerns me is ‘real’ jobs. The reality is, in many of these communities, there are no real jobs. They will have to be propped up by governments of all sorts, and we have to realise that to some extent those artificial jobs are just masking what is unemployment.
If we want people to have real jobs we have to have good education. In many cases, those people will have to find jobs elsewhere, because there simply are not the jobs in those communities because there is not the industry for people to be employed unless they are part of the service industry, which is, in just about all cases, funded by either the Commonwealth or the Territory government.
I support what is here, and I say that genuinely. We need a commitment from government that it will have a set of figures today when it passes this legislation, it will have them written down, be able to say today the numbers of kids at school are this – that is regular kids at school, not the kids that might come one day a week – and if we have to analyse those figures, so be it, but we need good statistics to see if this legislation is actually working.
Accrual accounting was rammed into me when I first got into parliament; I do not think I ever saw a cash accounting budget. They said the importance of accrual accounting was that you saw inputs, outputs, and outcomes. So the question is, okay, the input is writing this down here, today you have written it down; the output will be delivering it, the outcome will be what will be the results. It is very much the responsibility of this government to not tell us nice stories. Tell us the stories as they are, tell us exactly how many kids are going to school, tell us what level of education they are at, at this time, and show us in six months, 12 months, whatever, how that has changed. If it has not changed, be courageous enough to say: ‘This is the difficulty we have; we are still struggling with this. We might change the legislation. It is not working’. Alternatively, say it is working and show us exactly where it is working. Give us the statistics, show us the improvement in literacy and numeracy, show us the improvements in attendance, and show us that young people are now getting better-paid jobs.
I was thinking about this debate last night. Some people do not necessarily agree with me, but I have a problem with the so-called diversity factor that has been put forward as part of the changes to the public service act. One of the problems could be - not that people are supposedly discriminated against in the public service - there are simply not enough Aboriginal people with the education level required. I would be extremely disappointed if a person was knocked on the head for a job in the public service because they were black - that would be a disgrace. I wonder if it is more a case that some of our Aboriginal people do not have the education level required to take up those jobs. Instead of skipping to a diversity factor, I skip to a promoting education factor. Let us get those skills up to a standard where people can be equal to the rest of the workforce. This legislation is an attempt to do that.
Let us look at the facts in six or 12 months time, and then we can make a judgment as to whether this was successful or not, and whether the government had the will to make some difficult decisions. It is not easy chasing up parents, chasing up kids - especially kids who are a bit wild. It is not easy to get kids who do not want to go to school, to go to school. There is a lot of hard work, and it is going to require many good people. In the gallery today I saw some of the good people who are committed to changing things around. I mentioned the CEO, and the past principal of Taminmin College, who is very much involved in the VET program in the Territory. Much of this will depend not just on the government, but also on the commitment of the staff. We need good staff who have good knowledge of what has to be done to turn things around. If we can give them support, it will be good as a parliament to say we are behind you. We want to see the facts and figures, and how it is going in the future because, in the end, we want as many kids in the Northern Territory to have a good education.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, notwithstanding the concerns about the details of how certain aspects of this would work in how a child is declared and determined to be independent, around the age of a child being declared, or possibly being declared, independent, 14 years, in my view, is too young. There are questions around responsibility and how that is defined. I give government the benefit of the doubt, and the opposition would give government the benefit of the doubt with regards to the need for a response.
A number of concerns have been outlined by my colleague, the member for Brennan, over the points that I have raised, and I commend the member for Nelson for bringing our focus to the results of this. It needs to be measurable in real terms. That is getting to the nub of this issue, but the general issue of this government and governance. For example, the number referred to by the member for Brennan the Bureau of Statistics has identified -34 367 school-aged children from six to 15 years of age as of June 2009. It says that is an estimate, but the number of enrolments for the very same period is 31 664. That is a difference of just over 2700. That represents a concern; a number that indicates those that are not on a school roll. That adds to the other problem of those who have facilities built for them, those who are on rolls, those who have teachers waiting for them who just do not turn up, and this is not a difficult thing to adjudicate. Who has responsibility? It is the parent and there needs to be the capacity and the willingness to deliver on that need to be held accountable if you actually have responsibility.
Not only do we have those who are on the roll and not attending, but also it appears there are a large and concerning number who may not even be on the roll. It is figures that we are going to be looking at for a result. We have had much government talk about mechanisms that are put in place, particularly their great enthusiasm for amounts of money that are directed at solving a problem. They draw more enthusiasm from the size of the dollar rather than the capacity of the machinery being invested in to produce a result. The commitment is to see that these numbers are going to change, and change for the better.
I also saw the Four Corners program last night and I see elements that could work in that space provided the work on the ground does not diminish in any way, and - this is what I have seen with Labor – move away from holding someone responsible to easily finding an opportunity to provide an excuse for someone. We should go the other way and push harder to ensure the notion of responsibility is strengthened and reinforced. That transaction should take place as close to that school community and those people as possible. That is possible here, but there should not be a holding back of the imposition of a penalty for those who fail to assume their responsibility.
Given the framework can work, given some of the definitions around a parent, about the mechanisms to declare a child independent - that is possibly a door open to provide an excuse. I have seen too often that which is crafted in here is actually crafted in a way to provide greater capacity for excuse-making rather than holding one responsible. I am concerned about a child too easily being declared independent at 14 years. If they are independent, what has happened to responsibility? Do not abrogate the notion of responsibly too easily. Provided we can have assurances on that, this is your legislation. We point out those concerns and there must now be the capacity and willingness to impose a penalty. One penalty imposed is going to send a very strong message. I have learnt of our community - Indigenous, remote, and urban – that there is a desire for strength shown by those who have responsibility for safeguarding the principles and values in our community, such as getting a child to school. If we keep holding back, making excuses, finding ways to address the underlying needs, and not impose a penalty, we send the wrong message. You breed contempt and disregard for standards and values that the majority of our community hold dear.
The member for Brennan has outlined a number of concerns and the member for Nelson has also identified elements that need to be considered - that being the accountability over those specific numbers and we will actually see a result; that is where our focus should be. I look forward to the minister providing some response to that which has occurred already in this debate
Dr BURNS (Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I thank all members who have contributed to this debate.
The member for Brennan was comprehensive in his review of the proposed amendments to the act. He researched this carefully. He was briefed by the department and asked some very important questions. Likewise, the member for Nelson. He came back for a couple of briefings and had a range of questions he put to the department. I believe most of those questions in relation to the amendments have been satisfactorily addressed.
However, as the member for Brennan, the member for Nelson, and now the member for Blain, said, the proof is going to be in the pudding about how many children we can get back to school as a result of this legislation. The feeling I get from the Assembly today is that broadly, in principle, there is support. There are question marks about the process and the intent of government, and the intent of the minister, in relation to this particular issue. I can assure the House I am committed to this because I recognise the importance of school. There is not only anecdotal evidence, but there is more than sufficient evidence about school and education being the very foundation, as the member for Brennan said, for a person’s life, for a person’s future employment, for their interaction with the criminal justice system.
That is why education is very important and why, when I addressed principals at the convention centre just a couple of weeks ago, I said I saw education as the key for the Northern Territory. What I fear about what is happening in the Northern Territory is a polarisation of the haves and have nots within the Northern Territory; a situation we have seen in the United States and in the United Kingdom, where there are disenfranchised, alienated youth who are angry, who are lashing out, probably with no reason, and destructive in their behaviour - not only to themselves - but to the community generally. It is a very serious issue once polarisation gets to that point. We are at a point in history now in the Northern Territory where we do not want to see that level of polarisation within our community. I believe we have to work to get those kids into school so they can be productive members of the Northern Territory community.
Regarding attendance and prosecutions over non-attendance - and this is the advice I have had from the department - there has not been a prosecution for non-enrolment or non-attendance since at least 1994. I know it was an emerging problem in those days as well. When this was researched it was difficult to find any reliable information, and the best corporate recollection indicates there was an unsuccessful prosecution sometime in the late 1980s. The reasons for that are twofold. First, there was a general reluctance on the part of authorities to prosecute those regarded as being at the end of the socioeconomic spectrum, penalising the most disadvantaged, and it was preferable to work with families and communities to try to get those kids to school. That is probably a view I held strongly as well. Before I became Education minister, the feedback I was getting from Indigenous communities, particularly the eldership in those communities was they wanted to see a penalty associated with non-attendance at school. They wanted to see a strong message sent to those parents and individuals who were not attending schools.
Second, the act - and the member for Blain was partially right - really afforded an opportunity for parents to have a defence that the child was beyond their control - the easy out as the member for Brennan said. These amendments put a process in place and parents, if they are trying to squib out, it will become very evident that the parent is trying to use an easy out for why their child is not going to school. The parent will be provided an opportunity and support to get that child to school and, if that child is beyond the control of the parent, that child will then be responsible.
The member for Brennan asked how you define an objective measure of a child not being under the control of parents - I think that was the question you asked. The advice I have is if the child is not living at home without a valid reason – and sometimes, there will be a valid reason why a child is not living at home - it becomes relatively straightforward. Where the child lives at home, this would be informed by extensive procedures and meetings involving the parents, families, and school personnel. It is not new as it exists under the current act. However, there is actually a process now with the compulsory conferences and the compliance notices to determine which parents are abrogating their responsibilities and trying to find an easy way out.
There will be some cases where the child is beyond the control of the parent, and that child needs to be responsible for those actions. Some people have said to me, as the member for Brennan has said, you put out the exposure draft, and it is good that we have had some discussions about it. Some people have said to me they do not think it is right that we are penalising parents two penalty units for an infringement notice for having a child not attending school - or $200 approximately - or a child, a tenth of that. What I say to those people is this: if a parent does not restrain a child in a car with a seat belt, they can be fined somewhere between $400 and $500 for not restraining their child. Everyone in this community recognises that if a child is not restrained in a vehicle, that poses a threat and a danger to that child, and that parent needs to take responsibility for properly restraining the child in a car.
When they are not sending their kids to school, they are doing permanent damage to the future of that child, putting that child’s future at risk by not sending them to school, so why not inflict a $200 fine in that instance? Then people say, these are the most disadvantaged people in our community, how are they ever going to pay $200, let alone a fine - if it goes to court - of up to several thousand dollars? I say, in that case, those parents can go through the fines recovery process and they can do community service, just as they can with any other fine they get through the system. I say to those parents, if you do not have the money, and that is fair enough if it is ascertained through the Fines Recovery Unit, you will do community service. Similarly, I am advised that a child can do community services. Currently, a child committing a criminal offence can be fined. Depending on the offence, they can be fined, and they are subject to the Fines Recovery Unit.
Another analogy: if a kid is not wearing a bicycle helmet, particularly if they have been provided with one, and they are a repeat offender, I believe police have every right to pull that kid over and give them a Traffic Infringement Notice. I have the regime of fines for that somewhere here, which I would be willing to let the House know. Maybe someone close by has that bit of information. According to this, a person who does not have their child restrained is $480, and for a bicycle rider without their helmet it could be $25. Children are already subject to fines under the Traffic Act and other acts, so I do not believe it is unreasonable regarding school attendance for us to insist that kids face a penalty if they are not doing the right thing.
There was a whole range of issues raised by the member for Brennan and I will try to address them as quickly as I can. He was concerned about informing a child living independently, so that they will know they have been suspended. The advice I have is that the notices will be issued to the child who is suspended. The child will know they have been suspended because they will have been issued with a notice of suspension. The letter of suspension will inform them that they are not allowed to come on to school grounds. This is the first time we have had the capacity to take action in relation to an independent child.
A very important question that he asked was the definition of a parent. My advice from the legal people in the department is that the definition is unchanged from the previous legislation, and has a broad interpretation, just not a narrow biological definition, and it will remain broad to meet Territory circumstances. It includes those who have custody of the child, or who the child resides with, and includes foster care and extended family when the child is residing with these. It is not just the biological parents; my advice is that it is actually wider than that.
He was concerned, and I was concerned when I heard his view about the Chief Executive Officer’s discretion, as to whether they have a support person during an interview. I was aware of this particular clause and the way it was explained to me is that sometimes you have a negative dynamic between the child and the parent. Sometimes the two of them together escalates the situation and makes it very hard to get a reason for an interview with a parent or with a child. In those cases, the Chief Executive Officer would be looking to have the child, in a way, separate from the parent if that was the dynamic. In no way do we want to limit a child’s ability to have a support person, whether it is an aunt or uncle, a grandparent, a sporting coach, or someone they trust and is supportive of them, present during an interview.
This is not all about separating the child so they are alone and at the mercy of the CEO - so that they do not have a support person for an important interview. This is about trying to deal with situations that we all know occur - and I have seen it in my office as an MLA. You get a parent come in with a child who has been suspended from school and sometimes the whole thing goes into meltdown as the parent and the child have an argument in your meeting office about who is responsible, and who has done what, and who has not done the other thing. Sometimes it is necessary to calm the situation down and that is why that proposal is in the legislation.
The member for Brennan and the member for Blain raised the issue about 2700 kids not enrolled in the Territory. My advice is that the difference between the ABS statistics for those children who should be enrolled and the actual enrolments is closer to 800. The advice from the department is that there are probably around 850 kids in the Territory who, we believe, are not enrolled and, of course, this is always an approximation, it is always an estimate. That 850-odd, as I am advised, actually includes those children who might be having their schooling interstate. We do not have information about those children who, as the member for Nelson said, might be going to school in Cairns or a range of places other than the Northern Territory.
It is true, member for Brennan, and you are spot on in your media releases when you say: ‘Probably on any one day, there are literally thousands of kids who are not at school’. I concede that kids may be enrolled but not attending school on any one day. They might attend school one day in every four. It is hard to estimate the total of this on any one day, but it is too many. That is why I brought this legislation in, to attempt to address that issue.
The member for Nelson mentioned that school attendance figures are not in the budget books. I undertake now, on the floor of the parliament, that next year there will be figures in the budget books about performance measures and targets for attendance. I will reiterate and discuss that with the department. I suppose there are many estimates in there. I do not know how solid an estimate or target it would be, but I agree that we need to have some sort of targets for attendance. I will say, as I did interject on the member for Nelson, that we publish our attendance figures on the Internet.
The member for Nhulunbuy gave a great presentation based on her history, not only as a bush member of this parliament, but also as someone who has lived in the East Arnhem region for many years and has been a teacher, and is also a parliamentary secretary. I thank her for her support. I hope I am quoting you correctly, member for Nhulunbuy. You said 83% overall attendance and, excluding growth towns in terms of our remote and very remote, 76%, and then 56% in our growth towns - all of which are clearly unacceptable. I have nailed my colours to the mast where I have said I want over 90% attendance. That is my goal, and we have a long way to go with that.
The members for Nelson and Brennan said how effective this is going to be on the ground, particularly in the remote communities. They used the words, ‘fly-in squads of truancy officers’. There will be about 26 people employed to focus on attendance throughout the Territory. They will have the statutory powers under this act to issue all sorts of notices with infringements remedies associated with them. We are putting the resources there. You said it was your view that when the fly-in squads went, things would go back to where they were before. There is always a risk of that. I commend the work of our school attendance officers in the remote communities. In the main, they are Indigenous people, and they try very hard. I have seen them broken-hearted as they have gone, as the member for Nelson said, from house to house. It is not just happening in Aurukun; it is happening in our remote communities now with people going from house to house.
Someone I have known for many years, Colin Dudanga at Maningrida, is a school attendance officer and so is his wife. The last time I was there, I sat down with Colin and his wife and they were upset because they go from house to house every day imploring parents to send their kids to school, imploring the kids to come to school, and they are not getting a result. If we can get some teeth into this legislation, if we can get some enforcement in there, it will better support our school attendance officers, because it will not so much be them with the big stick, but people will know there is a big stick and it will facilitate the work of our school attendance officers on remote communities who are doing a fantastic job against the odds.
Lord knows, I wish we did not have to introduce this legislation - I really do. Two years ago, I would not have been in favour of it; I am certainly in favour of it now. As minister, I am committed to getting results with this legislation. I have not had a chance to share with this parliament, but since we introduced the infringement notices, which were the very first step, there has been re-engagement as the attendance and truancy officers have been working with families in Alice Springs, Palmerston, and Darwin for a start. Unfortunately, there are some families now, to answer your question member for Brennan, on the brink of receiving an infringement notice.
I said at the outset with infringement notices that there would be a process. First, to try to work with families to give people every opportunity - but if people are recalcitrant, if people continue to refuse to send their kids to school, they will receive an infringement notice. There are a few on the brink as we speak. As a minister, you do not get involved in that. You do not say to your department: ‘Get a few on the books and I will be able to tell parliament a few have had an infringement’. I do not want people to get infringement notices; however, if they continue to refuse, they will. I am advised that there are a few people on the brink of receiving an infringement notice.
This legislation not only has infringement notices around non-attendance at school, but it has infringement notices around information notices. That was one thing you were incorrect about with the information notice - the relationship between that and the compliance notice, member for Brennan. The information notice is all about compelling the parent, or the child, to give necessary information to enable some work to be done with the family to ascertain whether they are complying with the act or not. The compulsory conference is when they are not complying with the act, and they need to sit down and work together with the appropriate people to ensure the kid is attending school. If that falls down, if they do not attend the conference, if they make no effort whatsoever to comply with what they have agreed to, then they get a compliance notice. Then, they will go on the path of prosecution, which, of course, is the higher-level fine.
Our attendance and truancy officers will have teeth through this legislation at a range of points along this process. If it does come to court, what the courts will see is the department has actually engaged in a process to ascertain a whole range of things about that child, that family, so it is less easy for the court to give that parent the easy way out you talked about before. We are putting a process around all of this that will stack up as evidence in a prosecution in a court of law.
You asked many questions so I am going to try to answer them as best I can. What about life after school for people who complete their education? I was very interested. I assume you met those kids when you went to Centralian Middle School - or senior college was it?
Mr Chandler interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Kormilda. Well, it is probably a common story, a common thread, throughout the Territory. What government is doing in our growth towns is giving a beyond school guarantee of employment for all those kids who complete Year 12. If they do not have the right qualifications for the job they are going for, if they are past Year 12, we will assist them with further training. We have given a commitment to those kids on those remote communities and growth towns that we will work with them and their community to get them employment. In the larger towns and cities, we are offering many traineeships and apprenticeships. We are on track to deliver 10 000 traineeship and apprenticeship commencements over the four-year period of this government. I commend, as the member for Nhulunbuy did, the former member for Nhulunbuy who introduced this whole system about traineeships with financial support. It was a great idea, and we have carried it through, through successive governments, in an endeavour to get jobs for those kids.
We have already talked about the objective measure of a child not being under the control of parents. I hope I have answered the question of how appropriate it is to hold a child responsible. I have given some narrative on that, but the legal advice I have is a 14-year-old is considered responsible under the law and can be charged with a criminal offence. They could, for example, be issued with an infringement notice for not wearing a bike helmet. I hope we have covered your concerns about a child’s and a parent’s capacity to pay a large fine.
Transport to and from school is a factor and it would not be reasonable to penalise a student who makes every effort to get to school but is impacted by unexpected events or lack of services. That is where I expect the department to be working with communities and families to ensure every child can get to school.
Distance education students who study by correspondence have flexibility as to when they do their work, but they must also complete their course requirement. What that particular amendment is all about is we know on some pastoral properties the kids go out with their parents on a muster - and what a great adventure for a kid to do that! They are helping the family enterprise. We are saying that as long as the kid and the parent can give evidence they are working around those commitments so the child receives all the instruction they are supposed to receive, we think that is a great idea. We want to see flexibility.
Home schooling is an issue, but we need to ensure those courses kids are doing through their home schooling are accredited; that they have the curriculum, which is at least parallel with the Northern Territory curriculum framework.
Expulsion of a child is a similar question: how is a child going to know they have been expelled? The notice is issued to the person who has been expelled. Like suspension, the child is issued with a notice. The letter will tell them they are not allowed to come on to the school grounds. I have already dealt with the difference between the information notice and compliance notice. The information notice is used to get information from a person or child to determine if they are complying with the legislation. A compliance notice effectively tells the person or student what they must do to comply with the act and informs them that they are committing an offence if they do not comply with the notice.
Compulsory school age - children are considered to be of compulsory school age until they have completed Year 10 or until they have reached 17 years of age.
I hope I have answered most of your questions. I will just have another quick flick through, member for Brennan, as you did have many questions. Have I answered most of your questions?
Mr Chandler: … infringement notice, if some kind of agreement …
Dr BURNS: That is a good question. I am not a lawyer, but I would say there might be the same capacity as exists under the Traffic Act, but if you would just excuse me, Madam Speaker, I will confer.
My advice is that there is capacity, albeit limited capacity, to withdraw an infringement notice. I hope that answers your question.
I commend all members on their participation in this debate. I am not sure if we are going into committee – we are not going into committee - so I extra commend members. I commend the department and Craig Drury and other members of the legal team, Ms Rayner and the CEO of the department. When I became minister, I brought these concerns to the CEO and the department, and I believe we have moved along this path.
Everyone recognises the importance of school attendance. Tony Abbott visited Central Australia and, amongst other things, he said: ‘Kids have to go to school’. I believe we are all in agreement with that. I am making an effort. I know the member for Nelson commended Noel Pearson for having a go but, hopefully, someone some day will commend Chris Burns, the member for Johnston, for having a go. I am going to give it a red hot go. No doubt, in estimates and through the process of these parliaments, you will reasonably question me on the results or lack of them and, if it is not working, we will be back here with further amendments or further processes.
Madam Speaker, I commend this bill to the House. It is probably unique in Australia, but it underscores the resolve of both sides of this parliament and the community in general to get every kid to school every day.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Dr BURNS (Education and Training)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
PRIVATE HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 155)
(Serial 155)
Continued from 31 March 2011.
Mr CONLAN (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, it is a shame the minister did not bring this bill in two years ago as he suggested. Imagine how far down the track we might be, the education bill that is, if he brought it in perhaps five years ago or 10 years ago. They always leave their run a little too late - just like the Melbourne Cup champion that fails at the last hurdle, so to speak. Just like that, he cannot quite get there. It is pretty much like that right across the board with the Northern Territory Labor government; leaving it just a little too late, member for Johnston.
It is important, as elected members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, to take every opportunity to speak when we get the chance during our 35 days a year. It is not a long time that we sit here in the NT. Some parliaments sit double that and some parliaments even triple, well over 100 days, so it is important to never miss an opportunity to maximise the time allocated to us. The people of the Northern Territory deserve no less.
I see the member for Nhulunbuy is now in the Speaker’s Chair so I do not like my chances of dragging this out for 45 minutes, but I will do my best because the people of the Northern Territory need to know exactly the sort of government they are dealing with.
This is a straightforward bill so it may be a stretch to talk about Labor’s failures on a raft of areas. It is a straightforward bill that we will support. To tie in Labor’s failures on a raft of issues may be a stretch and might test the patience of the Deputy Speaker, the member for Nhulunbuy. I feel, Madam Deputy Speaker, there is not a lot of love between us. I know you rule with an iron fist and there are not many parameters. There is not much leeway when it comes to debate. You are a stickler for the rules and the standing orders and that may be due to your short period there as, opposed to the Speaker.
It may be personal; I do not know. You do not like to wander too far off the topic. It is important that while we debate a bill that is pretty straightforward and is important, there is no doubt that I am still allocated 45 minutes. It is very important to utilise and maximise every second we have in this Chamber. We do not get much time, and we do not get many opportunities to get on our feet and represent our community. I felt I was forever on my feet in the Alice sittings over those three days, 30 hours of parliament, but it was only about three hours. The opportunities are few and far between, and we need to ensure we maximise those opportunities.
As I stand here debating this straightforward bill, the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Amendment Bill, it may be a stretch and not relevant to mention Labor’s failures on law and order. It may not be relevant to mention that assaults in the Northern Territory in the last 10 years have risen by 80%. That might not be relevant to this bill and I understand the frustrations it might cause the government. I understand the frustrations it might cause your good self, Madam Deputy Speaker, to hear such figures and to hear me wandering off the topic. It may be wandering a little outside the boundaries of relevance so I say, yes, it may not be relevant to mention that assaults in the Northern Territory have risen by 80%. That is 18 crimes a day against a person in the Northern Territory.
You might also be alarmed to learn that 36% of all Northern Territory adults feel unsafe in their homes and communities. I know it might be wandering outside the parameters of the bill but time is precious in this Chamber. Time is precious for us to get up and represent the people who put us here. We must maximise that time and seize those opportunities. I have 45 minutes allocated to me to debate a bill and I am the first to admit that some of these points, figures, and areas I am wandering into might be a little murky when it comes to relevance.
It might not suit the government to hear that during the year 2009-10, over 11 000 patients left Northern Territory emergency departments without seeking treatment, some at very grave risk because they were not seen; 11 000 left Northern Territory emergency departments without being seen because they were fed up with waiting. That is one in six …
A member interjecting.
Mr CONLAN: It might be stretching your patience, Madam Deputy Speaker; you are a stickler for the rules and do not like to see debates wander beyond the bounds of relevance. I push it because I like to see us maximising our time. I have been allocated 45 minutes to speak and if I do not speak for 45 minutes I would hate to think this parliament closed 45 minutes early, which seems to be the case more often than not. The parliament tends to shut down at a maximum of 9 pm as a result of a new rule brought in a couple of years ago, but we are seeing it shut down earlier and earlier.
If it was not for General Business Day, we would not even reach 9 pm or 10 pm. At least one in three days we are seeing a parliament that comes at great cost and great expense to the Northern Territory taxpayer. It is important for people in the Northern Territory, who rely on us to represent them and pass good laws for them so they can live safe, secure and happy, healthy lives, see us maximising our time here. Our families would like to see us maximising our time here. The member for Stuart’s family would not like him to be disappearing up here - he is a minister, for crying out loud. How much time would he be spending up here? Enormous amounts of time away from his family. I am sure his wife would be saying: ‘I do not mind you going, Karl, just make the most of it. Get up there and achieve something’. It is important and imperative we do.
I will never miss an opportunity, and I will not be missing this opportunity, to paint this government for what it is. It has had 10 years and has wasted 10 years. If there was ever an opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the Territory, you have had 10 years. We have said it before. We have seen what has happened in the past, seen what has happened in New South Wales where the government failed to consolidate its position in electorates, and look what happened. Those electorates would never have dreamed of going anywhere else, but good, old-fashioned, solid Labor heartlands are now gone, some might say lost forever, because of wasted opportunities.
We now have 10 years of this government introducing alcohol bills before this parliament. After 10 years, the government brings in the toughest alcohol reforms ever. Why did you not bring them in 10 years ago? Where would we be? How far down the track would we be if you had done this then? In debate on the Education Legislation Amendment Bill, the minister said: ‘I do not think I could have stomached this two years ago; it is right to do it now’. Why? What has happened in the last two years? Why not do it two years ago? The statistics have only become worse, why not do it two years ago? Why not do it five years ago? Why not do it when you first came in - you have had 10 years? This could be a great place if we had tackled alcohol. If you had brought all this alcohol stuff in 10 years ago, if you had brought this hard-hitting Education Legislation Amendment Bill in 10 years ago, imagine where we could be now? No, another missed opportunity – 10 years.
Territorians expect no less of me than to utilise this time. I am sorry; I know the advisors probably have things they need to be doing. However, this is the people’s time, and the people need to be heard. They do not get much of an opportunity to be heard in the Northern Territory with this lot over there. Their voice is silenced in many ways and on many levels, so they need to be heard - and I will do just that.
Of patients who are admitted for elective surgery, 5.9% waited more than 12 months - most of those in areas such as ophthalmology, orthopaedic, and plastic surgery, that is, facial reconstruction. We all know why that is. It is pretty serious stuff to be waiting more than 12 months, over 365 days, for elective surgery. We have spoken about this as a Private Hospital Nursing Home Amendment Bill.
I mentioned last sittings the Country Liberals’ position about investigating public/private partnerships with the Royal Darwin Hospital, with the hope of possibly expanding it further across the Territory. Okay, it might be a long shot to expect that sort of thing in Tennant Creek or Katherine, but why not? Why can we not dream? You have to have an aspiration. In Alice Springs, there has to be an avenue. It might not be today or next year, or in the next couple of years. You need growth and, to demonstrate growth, the private hospitals need support and encouragement from the government. If you were able to encourage that sort of thing, that is, purchase elective surgery from the private sector in advance, get the best price for it, purchase a whole stack, get people with their elective surgery going through the private hospital without obsessing about what facility the procedure is performed at, then you would make some serious inroads into the elective surgery waiting list.
What we are seeing there, for a facial reconstruction, a 12-month wait - for crying out loud! Ophthalmology and orthopaedics – of course, they are pretty simple procedures that can be done through the private sector. It should be explored. Once that is explored and encouraged and you get it off the ground in Darwin, there is no reason why it cannot be expanded throughout some of the regions, in particular Alice Springs. There would be a strong market. About 40% to 45% of people in Alice Springs have private health insurance.
We have talked about some areas of Labor’s failure within health, and law and order. We know where they stand on that. A serious concern came to my attention earlier in the week about infection control and infection rates at the Alice Springs Hospital - dismissed out of hand by the minister. It is of vital public interest to the people of Alice Springs. They should be provided with those infection control rates. If the minister and the department do not have anything to hide they should be providing the Territory public - that is those users, the clients and, indeed, the Territory opposition - with those infection control rates for 2008-09 and the latest figures, just to compare. There seems to be some pretty straightforward procedures performed in Alice Springs Hospital and, as a result, subsequent infections. There is a breakdown, or there would appear to be a breakdown. It has been denied there was no investigation going on. Okay, fair enough. The department has denied that. I would not suspect they would be lying about it. However, the infection control rate at a hospital like Alice Springs should be 1% - less than 1%, so one in every 100. If you are getting 2% to 3%, that is extremely high – way too high, even for a First World hospital under those unique conditions Alice Springs operates under – pardon the pun.
If we can see those infection control rates …
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! I know the member has 45 minutes to speak on the bill, but in the past 15 minutes, he has not said anything about the bill.
He talked about Alice Springs law and order; he talks about infection control, which he can do in adjournment debates or other areas such as Question Time. We have in front of us the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Amendment Bill …
Mr CONLAN: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! What is the point of order?
Mr VATSKALIS: The question is of relevance, or lack of.
Mr CONLAN: That is all you need to say! Stop wasting everyone’s time.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, the minister is quite within his rights to raise relevance as a point of order. I ask you to bring your comments back to the bill before the House. That is why standing orders are in place, in particular the standing order regarding relevance. I ask you to please direct your comments to the bill that is currently before the House, with regard to private hospitals and nursing homes.
Mr CONLAN: Certainly, Madam Deputy Speaker. I probably pushed my luck with you in particular, because I know that you are a stickler for the rules. That is fair enough. That is why you are there. I have probably been wandering off, but I know the minister does not like to hear it, and all he can do is diminish people’s past professions. That is all he wants to do! In the paper today, it was: ‘Conlan might be a good shock jock’, and somehow, that is supposed to be offensive. That is like if I say the reason the Chief Minister is so arrogant and so sloppy and so lazy is because he was a marine fitter - I mean, how absurd! You have lost the shock jock vote, minister. I do not think any shock jocks will be voting for the minister anymore. I think they have all gone.
Nevertheless, it is actually a compliment, and this is what is so funny. It is a compliment to be tied in with the greats like the John Laws, the Alan Jones, and the Neil Mitchell; all the legends, the kings of radio, and there are many out there. There are many shock jocks, and there are many would-be’s. The Labor Party has this thing that anyone who is slightly right, or slightly picks on a policy that is leftist, must be a shock jock. There are many guys out there tarred as shock jocks but are not shock jocks. They are would-be-if-they-could-be shock jocks! I was a real shock jock. I was one of the real ones! I set the benchmark in the Northern Territory, and I had you guys bouncing against the studio wall every day! No doubt about it! It is a compliment. Please, keep it up.
It is important to paint government for what it is when given the opportunity on a pretty straightforward bill such as this. If it was simply to say that it was great that the Commonwealth was buying into this part of the bill, that the Northern Territory is relinquishing this part of the nursing homes and the aged care and the whole bit, and it is happening right around the country, they said we support it, bang, and sit down - what is the point of that? You would finish 45 minutes early, but what a wasted opportunity.
I am probably pushing the boundaries but I have to continue to highlight where we are at with this government about the state of the nation. Yes, this is the bill and just to make sure there is some relevance, the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Amendment Bill is very important. It is a bill that we will be supporting. However, in the 26 minutes I have remaining, I believe it is important to highlight to the people of the Northern Territory, those in Alice Springs, and those in Greatorex, who will be making a decision in 2012, those people in Stuart and those people in Casuarina, Fannie Bay, Wanguri, Karama and across the Northern Territory, exactly where this government is at and what it has been up to.
There have been 17 ministerial reshuffles since it came to office. Seventeen ministerial reshuffles in the last 10 years. That amounts to 141 ministerial appointments since 2001, it is hardly solid ground.
How do we know that this bill has been thought through and is actually on the table in one piece? You have some cluey advisors over there, minister, and they are always there to provide a helping hand to me and to anyone who wants to know about health. Your senior advisor is always pleasant and happy to help. I believe that with that sort of support and those sorts of resources, these guys make you look good. There is no doubt about it.
I suspect this bill is pretty much in one piece and it should have reasonable effect across the Northern Territory, but 141 ministerial appointments since 2001 is a shame job. Seventeen ministerial reshuffles and I have not even begun to talk about child protection failures. The tsunami of need in child protection is so bad that the member for Araluen has tabled a matter of public importance regarding the unacceptably low standards of child protection. That is an understatement if I have ever heard one: the unacceptably low standards of child protection set by the current Territory government that sees an infant child returned to parents after being left alone in a lane way in Tennant Creek.
If it was not so serious, it would be funny. I hate to use that clich but I am trying to maximise my time here and stretch it out because it is time allocated to me and the people of Greatorex to paint this government for what it is and demonstrate its failures. We have this sort of thing going on that sees an infant child returned to parents after being left alone in a lane way in Tennant Creek, for crying out loud. Of course, we have the Deborah Melville stuff, which is abhorrent to even talk about, what happened through all that, that poor girl, I mean, fair dinkum.
You were so reluctant to embark on the child protection inquiry. It took the opposition and the former member for Araluen, who was at the forefront, and thank God she was for the children of the Territory. It has been taken up with gusto and enormous enthusiasm by the current member for Araluen, as well.
The numbers - the stats, facts and figures around child protection are terrible. Of course, we know it comes on the back of the Little Children are Sacred report. Now we have an intervention and what have you.
We have had 10 years of hard labour and a stack of failures. There were a couple of good things, there is no doubt about it. The Alan Walker Cancer Centre is fantastic. I went out there the other day, minister. Did you know I have been there? Yes. It is a really good facility. It took you 10 years to get there and you finally got there. How many Health ministers did it take to get that thing up and running? Was it four? I think it might have been four. Poor old Bungles, he could not quite cut the ribbon at the end of the day. All the work he did to get that thing going, but you came in on your white horse, cut the ribbon, yahoo, look what I have done, so I suppose you can notch that up on your belt as some sort of achievement. That is okay, it is a very important facility and it is a fantastic facility.
It is interesting the numbers surrounding how many people are utilising it and how it flies in the face of all the rhetoric you had been telling us with regard to the PATS and the Central Australians utilising Royal Adelaide Hospital to continue their cancer treatment. That is a story for another day. It seems to me that it is very viable as it is.
We did speak, and we touched on this briefly in the previous sittings that the cross-border stuff with Western Australia is what you really need to be looking at. Again, you have left your run too late. How can you get this off the ground now? Don’t worry, if we are elected in 2012, we will do it. We will get those cross-border arrangements going so those in the Kimberley can utilise the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre. We will even try to get people from South East Asia to utilise it. We could get some money from them, for crying out loud. We charge people and we charge the Western Australian government to utilise it …
Madam SPEAKER: Please pause, member for Greatorex. Resume your seat.
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! While I do not mind him praising us for the good things we do, clearly there is no relevance. Also, he refers to the 45 minutes, but clearly Standing Order 77 refers to 45 minutes to speak on the bill, not about Alice Springs crime and law and order, or the oncology unit. Let us show some respect for the public servants who worked on this bill. They have been waiting for 45 minutes and have heard nothing about the bill. I am happy to sit down and hear about the bill, but if he is going to talk about oncology, child protection …
Mr Conlan: Madam Speaker, he has made his point of order …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, the minister is quite entitled to raise the point of order, and indeed, you are quite entitled to 45 minutes to speak to this House. However, those 45 minutes, under Standing Order 67, asks you to not digress from the subject matter before the House, which is the bill. You are in breach of Standing Order 67. Your contribution has, as you have admitted yourself, strayed from relevance. I am asking you to bring your comments back to the bill before the House. If you fail to do so, no doubt, the member will call another point of order and you may be asked to resume your seat. Thank you, member for Greatorex. You have the floor.
Mr CONLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I know I am pushing the boundaries and testing your patience. I know the minister does not like to hear it. I am giving you some good news; I am giving you a pat on the back, minister, and telling you some of the good things you have done. I would be flat out spending 45 minutes talking about all the good things you have done. That is why I have waited until there is only 18 minutes left. I have been flat out using half of that to highlight all the achievements of this government. I am trying to do it. I am trying to do something nice and highlight some of the achievements of this government. I am simply using this bill as a vehicle to do that - I am entitled. Standing orders mentions relevance – I do not have them here but I heard you say it. I am entitled to the time and to use the time to develop the argument. I am simply developing an argument to highlight the issue of where this government is. I am using this bill as a vehicle to do that.
I again compliment the government on the Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre. It is a fabulous facility. The member for Johnston did not get the opportunity to cut the ribbon on that one - he only has himself to blame.
We will move into alcohol reform - alcohol policy - an area of great need in the Northern Territory and the biggest issue facing us. Alcohol relates to everything: education, health, law and order, and, of course, jobs. The government has taken 10 long years to address alcohol in the Northern Territory. We have had three bills introduced before the House - I think they are cooking up something over there …
Mr Vatskalis: I am not cooking.
Mr CONLAN: Sounds like they are cooking up something over there. If the government wants to deprive the member for Greatorex of his opportunity to speak on behalf of his constituents, that is fine, no problems. There is only 17 minutes. Do you not want to hear it? What is wrong? What time do you want to get out of here, minister? What time do you want to go? Are we not here until 9 pm? We can extend it if you like. That is all right, that is okay; let it be known they are shutting down the parliament. They are shutting down the members of the opposition because they do not like to hear not only the bad news, but also the good news.
As I say, 10 years later we have three of the toughest alcohol bills. We keep hearing how tough the alcohol measures have been - the toughest in the country. However, we are not seeing any inroads. We will be debating these as they come up. I would not like to pre-empt the debate, the concerns of the opposition with regard to that - no real end consequence. If you read any report – I will refer to this in my speech with regard to those bills too as they come through – it talks about a heavy focus on interventions such as restrictions, with very little focus on rehabilitation. The Country Liberals are a bit the other way - obviously, you have to have some restrictions. That is okay. That is perfect there …
Mr Vatskalis: Tony Abbott would like it.
Mr CONLAN: That is perfectly okay. All Tony Abbott said was the restrictions should be enforced. There is nothing wrong with enforcing restrictions. That is the problem: we have not seen any enforcement. There has been no enforcement of any restrictions. If you enforced the restrictions we have, and we started to see some inroads, then people would not mind. We would be saying: ‘Gee, what a government. You have done a great job. Look at the inroads, look at the results we are seeing on the streets. Look at the people in mandatory rehabilitation, or in rehabilitation. Look at the crime statistics and how much they have reduced as a result of the enforcement’. There is nothing wrong with enforcement. In fact, we agree. If you are going to have the restrictions, for crying out loud, utilise them, maximise them ...
Mr VATSKALIS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker!
Mr CONLAN: Okay, I will finish. I will finish up.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, there is a point of order before the Chair, so resume your seat, please, member for Greatorex.
Mr VATSKALIS: I do not mind him praising the government; we enjoy it. But, let us talk about the bill in front of us. He can praise us another day. If he is going to talk about the bill, I am happy to sit down and listen. If he talks about everything else but the bill, it is embarrassing to this House.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, you are now on a warning. I remind you of Standing Order 70, which allows me to ask you to resume your seat. You are on a warning.
Mr CONLAN: I understand, Madam Deputy Speaker. I know I have pushed you beyond the boundaries. I will not …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: I will not be here any longer.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, please pause. It is not my boundaries. It is the integrity of this Chamber and this parliament, and the Standing Orders of this parliament, you are pushing. You have the call, member for Greatorex.
Mr CONLAN: That is your opinion, Madam Deputy Speaker. You have the final say.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you reflecting on the Speaker, member for Greatorex?
Mr CONLAN: I am not reflecting on the Speaker by any stretch. I am simply saying that …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr CONLAN: … to suggest that it is reflecting on the integrity of the parliament is an opinion; and that is the Speaker’s opinion. You have the final say as to what happens ...
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is my opinion and you are reflecting on it. You are on a warning!
Mr CONLAN: I understand that. I understand that, but I …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: I ask you to resume your comments on the bill.
Mr CONLAN: ... but I also have a right to sit here in this Chamber and speak.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are on a warning. You will be asked to leave the House.
Mr CONLAN: Okay. I understand that; you made that very clear, but it has nothing to do …
A member: Get on with it!
Mr CONLAN: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. You made that very clear and I respect that, but it has nothing to do with the integrity of the parliament. I am entitled to 45 minutes to speak …
Mr Vatskalis: On the bill!
Mr CONLAN: … and I am speaking, utilising the bill as a vehicle to speak and utilise that 45 minutes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it whatsoever. You say: ‘God, you are wasting everyone’s time’. Meanwhile, you knock off at 7.30. For crying out loud, you already shut the place down at 9 pm ...
Mr Knight: What time did you get here today?
Mr CONLAN: Oh, ease up, pal, ease up. For goodness sake!
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex! In accordance with Standing Order 70, I ask you to resume your seat.
Mr CONLAN: If you had any idea, mate - if you had any idea ...
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, resume your seat!
Mr VATSKALIS (Heath): Madam Deputy Speaker, I was going to thank the member for his contribution, but he has not made any because he did not speak about the bill – he mentioned the title of the bill.
The bill is straightforward. What we are trying to avoid is duplication of inspections for nursing homes and private hospitals. The Commonwealth has already undertaken this role. They do it extensively; there is a framework in place. It is onerous to impose two inspections by two different officials to the private nursing homes and private hospitals. We have not relinquished our right. We can still do it any time we want; any time we receive a complaint. However, for accreditation, we believe the most appropriate authority is the Commonwealth. This has been recognised, not only by the Commonwealth authorities, the Commonwealth government, and our own government, but also by all other jurisdictions.
We try to make life easier for business. The opposition, in the past, has called for us to cut red tape. This is exactly what we are doing. One organisation will do the inspections. The Commonwealth has in place a framework, and this is the most appropriate authority to conduct the inspections, as required by the Commonwealth legislation. It is a straightforward bill. I know the member digressed. I am happy for him to say some things, bad or good, for the government. However, the 45 minutes he keeps claiming - it is clear under Standing Order 77 - are allocated for speakers to speak on the bill, not to speak on any other issues - not to speak on crime, and law and order, not to speak about child protection. I do not have a problem hearing about it, and I do not mind …
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms Scrymgour: What is happening, Matt? Are you having a meltdown? You cannot go threatening another member across the table.
A member: It is all right, just let it go.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call.
Mr VATSKALIS: Madam Deputy Speaker, I am really disappointed because I respect what happens on political sides. I had a lot of respect for the member for Greatorex; I have a lot of respect. I have a lot of respect for every member here, and I am really disappointed when sometimes things can heat up and we react the way we should not be reacting. There is no reflection on your personal qualities. You are a shock jock. I was a shock jock for 20 years in different areas. However, I tend not to get involved in areas in which I am not familiar, or if I have some information or some problems, I put these problems to the person who is responsible. I welcome any comments from you about infection controls in hospitals or in any nursing home, but I do not want to digress from the bill.
I am staying with the bill, and I said clearly and plainly, this bill is a bill that we brought to the House to cut red tape for private business, and to allow only the Commonwealth authorities to conduct inspections and investigations in nursing homes and private hospitals.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health) (by leave): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
AUDIT AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 157)
(Serial 157)
Continued from 31 March 2011.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! The sound system did not appear to work in my room between the two bills. I am not asking for the debate to continue, but I just thought I would say that I did not hear the end of the previous bill and the beginning of this bill because the sound was not coming through on the television. I am not sure what happened there.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Clerk, if we could have that reported and investigated. It is important that members be able to hear, outside of the Chamber, the proceedings as they unfold.
The CLERK: We will be attending to that.
APPROPRIATION (2011-2012) BILL
(Serial 163)
(Serial 163)
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I rise to support the Appropriation Bill and congratulate the Treasurer for the very good budget she presented to parliament today. Once again, the Henderson Labor government is growing the health budget to ensure we meet increasing demand for health services by Territorians. Budget 2011-12 delivers record health funding to help Territory families get ahead through affordable and quality health services.
The Henderson Labor government is providing a 2011-12 health budget totalling $1.12bn from all funding sources. This health budget is an increase of 149% since 2001 under Labor’s governance and we continue a record of expanding this essential frontline health workforce. We have added over 677 nurses and 208 doctors to the health workforce since 2002. Budget 2011-12 is not only a massive investment, but also a strong vote of confidence in a large scheme of people, doctors, nurses, primary healthcare professionals, and support staff who passionately care about the patients’ lives and their health every day.
I turn now to some of the specifics of the health budget. In 2011-12, we will continue with the implementation of the national health reform centre. This year, $14.6m will be provided to reduce the waiting times for elective surgery and emergency department treatment through the National Partnership Agreement on improving public hospital performance.
In Budget 2011-12, Acute Services will receive an additional $32.2m in funding. It includes an additional $2.5m to continue the implementation of a coordinated approach to patient care from hospital to community for Indigenous patients treated for chronic disease, including ear, nose, and throat conditions. The Territory’s hospitals receive a record $525m in Budget 2011-12 with all hospitals receiving increased funds compared to last year’s budget - Royal Darwin Hospital, $315m, an additional $22m; Alice Springs Hospital, $143m, an additional $14m; $31.6m for Katherine District Hospital, up $3m; $22.3m for Gove District Hospital, up $1.8m; and $13.3m for Tennant Creek Hospital, up $0.8m from Budget 2010-11.
As part of this government’s ongoing program to improve renal service to all Territorians, the expanded Tennant Creek renal facility will soon be operational. Construction of a new satellite renal facility in Katherine is also due to commence in 2011, a facility the CLP did not want and does not want.
A new five-year, $100m contract will be finalised with St John Ambulance Service providing an additional $3.1m in 2010-11 and $2.5m in 2011-12. This delivers an expanded service in Katherine, and medical transport service for non-emergency patients in Darwin and Alice Springs to free up ambulances for more urgent cases, and improved support for high-priority emergency responses.
In 2010-11, an additional $11.7m was provided to increase the remuneration for doctors working in the Territory to ensure we continue to be amongst the highest paying jurisdictions in Australia. It means we can attract and retain the medical practitioners we need. The full-year cost of this increase is in 2011-12 and that will be $24.8m.
As often happens in the community health sector, many of our services are funded through specific time-limited agreements with the Australian government. The Health and Wellbeing Output group shows a modest decrease due to funding agreements with the Commonwealth that are yet to be finalised. One of the highlights of Budget 2011-12 is the funding allocated to expand mental health support services. An additional $7.8m over three years has been allocated for suicide prevention strategies and enhanced child and adolescent services.
Our investment in services to support frail aged people and people with disabilities has grown to over $82.4m for 2011. Public Health Services has been given an additional $5.2m in 2011-12 for the implementation of alcohol treatment services to support our Enough is Enough reforms. This commitment will support enhancement of the existing referral and treatment services and establish new services. Over the five-year reform program, an extra $34.2m will be allocated for increased treatment options across the continuum of care.
The government is continuing with major additional capital works projects, many of which have programs spread over three to four years. In total, new infrastructure projects of $7m have been added to the 2010-11 programs, and additional projects amounting to $37m will commence in 2011-12. Construction of the new $20m emergency department for Alice Springs Hospital will commence in June 2011, and a program of works for fire safety continues in all other hospitals. Our government is proud to deliver a record funding commitment to improve the health of all Territorians.
I now turn to Children and Families. In the last budget, we announced the largest ever injection of frontline staff for children and family services that included a $14.7m boost for an extra 76 specialised staff. It was the Henderson government’s ‘down payment’ in boosting child protection and family support services in the lead-up to the most comprehensive inquiry ever undertaken in the Northern Territory. The government responded immediately to the findings of the most comprehensive review of children services, announcing a $130m five-year reform agenda in October.
In the last sittings, held in Alice Springs, we commenced legislative reform in expanding the powers of the Children’s Commissioner. I note that members opposite opposed the legislation that provides greater powers for the Children’s Commissioner - contrary to the CLP’s earlier media releases. This is the first in a raft of changes the government is seeking to implement in affording protection to children; they must be provided with every opportunity to thrive. It took some weeks for the members opposite to have a position on the outcomes of the most comprehensive review of child protection. A member made allegations in parliament about children in danger, but refused to make a report to the police. Member for Araluen, the community is expecting much more than your media release.
We have proceeded at lightning speed to progress the inquiry’s recommendations. I was pleased to release the first six-month report on the implementation of each and every one of the 34 urgent recommendations made. As a result, in Budget 2011-12 we deliver the biggest ever injection of funding into child protection and children and family services. The Northern Territory government will invest $182m in improving services in 2011-12, compared to $135m in 2010-11. In just four years, the budget has increased by $100m. This is a 30% average year-on-year increase.
In 2011-12, funding enhancements are as a result of:
a $25m increase in funding to allow the reforms required to roll out our child protection system;
$6.1m in Commonwealth funding enhancements; and
I can advise funding will be allocated in the following areas:
$3.6m to reform the child protection intake system, increase family support programs, and expand the roll-out of community Child Safety and Wellbeing teams in Territory growth towns;
$5m for a range of comprehensive practice reforms such as increased payments for foster carers and funding for Foster Care NT, clearing the backlog, reform residential care services, enhance the complaints process, improve systems, employ practice advisors, and increase therapeutic programs;
In addition to these initiatives, I can advise that $3.5m in capital works will commence in the 2011-12 financial year for safe place upgrades in 15 remote communities, as well as $1.1m of revoted funding for capital works upgrades at the youth hub in Alice Springs.
I will now highlight some of the achievements of the past six months as part of the government’s response to the board of inquiry. What we have done so far includes:
reducing the initial backlog in child protection notification from 870 in October 2010 to just 10 as at 14 April 2011 - from 870 to 10;
establishing three operational regions across the Territory to improve coordination and integration of services in a more local culturally appropriate way;
I now turn to the Department of Resources, which is responsible for developing and implementing the government’s priorities for the Territory’s resource-based industries of Primary Industry, Fisheries, and Minerals and Energy. In working with its resource-based industry partners, the government supports, stimulates and sustains economic development throughout the Territory.
As we all well know, the Northern Territory’s economy is underpinned by the strength of its mining and petroleum sectors that currently account for more than 25% of the Territory’s gross state product. As Australia’s largest producer of manganese and uranium, and with world-class bauxite, lead- zinc and gold mines, the Territory is endowed with outstanding mineral wealth. We know that new mining developments to sustain and grow the industry are reliant on a vibrant exploration industry.
It is particularly encouraging that, in the past five years, there has been a dramatic increase in the proportion of exploration expenditure in the Territory, which is being spent in greenfields areas. The critical factor in this greenfields exploration boom has been the Territory government’s four-year $14.4m Bringing Forward Discovery initiative, which has strongly focused on stimulating greenfields exploration. In the past year, around 60% of the record $166m in expenditure in the Territory was greenfields, showing an increased appetite for exploration risk in the Territory. In contrast, the national average remains steady at around 35% to 40%.
Due to the success of the four-year Bringing Forward Discovery program in stimulating exploration in the Territory, I am pleased to announce another three year, $11.4m renewal of the initiative in the 2011-12 Territory budget. Renewal of this initiative will ensure the Territory continues to undertake the programs that support and stimulate exploration, to ensure a sustainable future for the Territory’s largest industry.
My Fisheries Division is also looking to grow the Territory beyond its well-known charismatic charm of luring tourists to the Territory. The Fisheries Division also has ongoing funding of $2.6m which is provided for research and management programs to support the sustainable management of the Northern Territory’s aquatic resources.
We all know that fishing is the lure of the Territory, and we will continue to invest $1m to improve recreational fishing facilities for anglers. In addition to the Palmerston boat ramp, there will be upgrades at Saltwater Arm, located near the mouth of the Adelaide River, resurfacing the ramp at Southport in Darwin Harbour, a new ramp at Hardies Billabong, and repairs to Buffalo Creek ramp.
Fisheries has again this year allocated funding to support this program of $640 000 to meet financial and administrative costs of the eight Indigenous ranger groups that undertake monitoring and coastal surveillance activities. The Northern Territory government is a strong supporter of the Northern Territory’s Indigenous Marine and Sea Rangers. These programs and projects have improved employment prospects for Indigenous Territorians living along the coastline. Being a marine or sea ranger is now a desired career choice and gives individuals and communities the opportunity to be directly involved in marine resource management.
The Agribusiness Strategy highlighted the need for research and support for the primary industry sector. New initiatives within the Primary Industry Division of my department include:
$320 000 to survey producers to better focus resources and service delivery to the pastoral industry, and develop new technologies for improved pastoral decision-making;
$370 000 to improve market access for mangoes through field trials of new genetics and evaluate alternative pest management practises;
You can see from my comments, my Department of Resources is playing a major role in driving the Territory’s economy ahead. The 2011-12 Budget will continue to build on previous good work, as well as ushering in a number of significant new initiatives.
Madam Speaker, in closing, Budget 2011-12 is a tough budget. This budget will continue to see record expenditure in improving the health outcomes for all Territorians, and ongoing investment for children and families. When it comes to the resources and energy sectors, we will continue with Bringing Forward Discovery to punch well above our weight in attracting national and international explorers to invest here in the Territory. Our commitment to the Agribusiness Strategy continues with a raft of resources and programs to assist primary producers, and given the popularity of fishing in the Territory, and the contribution of our fishing and aquaculture industry in creating jobs in the regions, we will continue to invest.
Mr KNIGHT (Business and Employment): Madam Speaker, I congratulate the Treasurer on Budget 2011-12. It is all about helping families get the most out of the generous subsidies we have; and the concessions here are the best in the country. As well, the budget is supporting jobs for families and businesses, and looking at the future opportunities for the Northern Territory. It is a responsible and effective budget for the position the Northern Territory is in.
Budget 2011-12 supports Territory business through slashing taxes, targeted training programs to attract skilled workers, and continuing the strong public investment into the future. Budget 2011-12 maintains our commitment to Territory businesses as we enter into the next stage of the Territory’s growth. The enduring effects of the global financial crisis on consumer spending, tight credit markets, and the winding down of several major projects created challenging conditions for our local businesses. The Territory government has responded decisively to these factors and kept infrastructure funding high to protect the local industry and jobs until the private sector investment returns. This approach has been vindicated with record low unemployment rates continuing, and an economy tipped to lead the nation’s growth over the next five years.
Budget 2011-12 delivers tax cuts, and certainly puts the Territory in a good financial position. The Territory remains the lowest-taxing jurisdiction for small and medium businesses. That means money in the pockets of these businesses to reinvest in their businesses, and if you want to get into business, the Northern Territory is the best place to be.
Budget 2011-12 continues the Northern Territory government’s commitment to provide the most business-friendly conditions in the country. From 1 July this year, payroll tax will be cut from 5.9% to 5.5%, and the annual threshold increased from $1.25m to $1.5m. This initiative will save those small to medium businesses $6.6m per year. That adds to the accumulated savings, which we have not taken out of local businesses, and which those local businesses have kept in their pockets, with some $365m since we came to government in 2001.
This budget supports local jobs and local businesses with a heavy spend on infrastructure and encouraging business activity. A $1.5bn investment in the Territory’s future includes $307m on Territory roads, so this enables the pastoral industry to expand, and certainly for tourism activity as well.
Some $375m is going into the Power and Water Corporation. The Power and Water Corporation supplies power, water and sewerage - vital services for not only our community, but for our business community as well.
Almost $40m is going into land release across the Northern Territory. This is fuelled by population growth and is leading to improved housing affordability, so that is our investment in that area. $28m is going into industrial land release, so with major projects coming up, we are not only getting residential housing well on board, but also allowing for business growth for those new businesses coming to the Territory to have industrial land available for them.
A major project is the marine supply base. We have committed $5m in this budget to facilitate that project coming online. This project will have major impacts on a broad range of services throughout the Territory’s economy and will put Darwin and the Northern Territory on the map for the Timor Sea and Browse Basin region.
Budget 2011-12 helps grow and build our skilled workforce for the future with targeted jobs plans and training incentives. This includes $1m per annum for the 10 000 apprentice and trainee commencements from 2009 to 2012. It is great to see that we are on track for achieving the 10 000 target, and that young people have a real opportunity to gain jobs in those high-income areas.
A further $900 000 will go to the Workready program. I recently visited a business that is making use of it. They have four new apprentices starting. It helps them ease the burden of getting apprentices on board and they can receive up to $1000 per trainee or apprentice for those skilled occupational shortage areas. A further financial incentive is $800 000 under Jobs NT 2010-12 for eligible employers to encourage apprentices and trainee jobs in the skilled shortage area. It also targets disadvantaged groups. A quarter of a million dollars continues to provide vocational education and training, and work experience programs for students in the middle years of schooling, especially for young Indigenous men. $1.3m is going into Workwear/Workgear Bonus to support those Territory businesses.
The Territory economy is very much poised to reap huge rewards from the upcoming resources boom with Access Economics predicting our economy leading the country in growth over the next five years. This budget puts Territory business in the box seat to capitalise on huge opportunities just around the corner.
The Henderson Labor government is investing in Power and Water infrastructure and services and continues in this Budget 2011-12 with $375m. That is part of a five-year plan of $1.8bn investing in vital infrastructure and vital which will power our business community. The government is committed to keeping the costs down for Territory families by providing power prices that are the second lowest in the country. They are cheaper than the major centres of Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. We are actually the lowest in the country for our water prices as well, by a fair margin.
The government provides an $820 subsidy per household per year on their power bill. This helps to ease the cost of living for Territorians and, furthermore, the power prices are frozen at the 2008 level for senior Territorians who have signed up to the Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme.
Construction is now under way - actually halfway completed - for the closure of the Larrakeyah outfall and, with a $24m investment in this year’s budget, it is a $66m project in total for the closure of Larrakeyah, upgrading of the Ludmilla treatment plant, and extension of East Arm outfall. That is a huge injection into improving the water quality in the harbour. The Ludmilla treatment plant has progressively been upgraded. Further tenders will go out this year and that will enable Territory businesses to make use of those and to keep many of those tradies on until next year when the INPEX project starts to fire up.
Another project dear to my heart is the $17.8m new Wadeye power station. Currently, the power station runs on diesel. They use something like 2.5 million litres per year. This is about 57 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and it is also located right in the middle of the township. Moving it out of town and converting it to gas will improve the environmental and social outcomes for that community. Across the Northern Territory, this government is investing over $1.8bn over five years to deliver electricity generation, distribution, and better water and sewerage infrastructure and services.
Other key projects I should highlight are: $1.7m to Channel Island for upgrading of the power supply; nearly $40m to the Palmerston water pumping station mains and tanks - that is increased capacity for the land release in Palmerston; Weddell power station - some $32m; $30m to the Darwin City substation; $25m to build a new Leanyer Zone substation; $23m to the McMinns Zone substation; $15m to Snell Street Zone substation; $19m to upgrade the Katherine power station; and $15m going into the much needed sewerage system in Borroloola.
I turn now to senior Territorians. The Northern Territory continues to be a place many seniors are pleased to call home. The Northern Territory Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme is the most attractive scheme in Australia when the combination of its benefits is taken into account. In this budget, there is an increase of $1.2m in the scheme, bringing it to a total of almost $20m.
For young Territorians, this budget provides around $18m for youth services, including ongoing funding for the following programs and services: the family support centres at around $1.3m; grants to the non-government sector to deliver youth-related programs, including youth diversion programs, some $6m; the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan - it is great to see that program really starting to kick goals there - almost $1.5m; the youth homeless services - much needed in this changing society - around $4m being invested there. Also, National Youth Week, the Youth Round Table, youth engagement grants, the Youth Rehabilitation Council, Youth Justice Advisory committees, and the youth justice support units. That is around $1m investment into those vital organisations where youth can engage and have a say.
One of the important areas is Asian relations and trade - our development to the north. The growing international trade strategy provides the blueprint for trade growth for the Territory to 2013. The strategy underpins the government’s efforts to provide a clear and concise approach for developing new trade links and expanding existing trade links. The strategy targets new international markets for strategic interest including China, Japan, and Indonesia, and those emerging markets of Vietnam, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and our close neighbour, Timor-Leste.
The ongoing development of the Australasian trade route positioning Darwin as the gateway with Asia and expanding the bulk minerals exports continues to be an important focus of the plan. There is $2.8m in this budget for this key area of developing our trade links, including positioning Darwin and local industry as a preferred oil and gas maintenance and operations base, including the International Business Council’s visit to Papua New Guinea to look at the mining markets and opportunities there. Also, visits to Singapore and Scotland to look at the marine supply bases. There is continuing work with the Charles Darwin University and the Department of Education and Training to attract international students.
I had the opportunity, whilst in the Philippines, to meet an organisation that brings many international students in. They see Darwin as being a couple of hours away and a fairly cheap flight with Jetstar. The government wants to increase the capacity to bring in Filipino students who have a strong English background and to see that market grow.
We continue our work with the pastoral industry through the NT Lifestyle Exporters’ Association and the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association to develop new markets, particularly those in Indonesia where we have a strong market, but also Vietnam and, more recently, opportunities in the Philippines province of Negros Occidental. I hope to see those markets open up and broaden that market base as well.
We are showcasing Indigenous art and crafts in new markets in the regions of China, and that is leveraging off some work done at the Shanghai World Expo. The Chinese were enthralled by the art that was taken over, and there are great opportunities there. We are continuing to look at new business events and expos to complement our existing economic and industry sector profile, and promoting Darwin as the gateway to Asia. In Japan, when they think of Australia, they think of Darwin. They really see that we are making the huge effort there.
Madam Deputy Speaker, this is a comprehensive, targeted budget. It dips into deficit but rightly so. This is the time where businesses are less than 12 months away from one of the biggest projects to hit Australia, and the biggest project to hit the Northern Territory. Territory businesses, large and small, will take advantage of the INPEX gas project, the marine supply base, the prison project, and whatever comes off the back of that. There has been consideration for a while for expansion of the Darwin LNG plant facility. Darwin has grown, and the Northern Territory has grown, in capacity and competency. This is the time, and this is the budget, to enable businesses to keep going. The investment is happening in our young people, in the people who want to switch to those high-paying areas. I certainly hope we see that grow. I commend the Treasurer on Budget 2011-12.
Ms McCARTHY (Local Government): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to support Budget 2011-12, a budget that continues the Henderson government’s agenda of supporting Territory families, planning for growth, and creating jobs. I am pleased with the positive impact Budget 2011-12 will have on the areas I have portfolio responsibility for; in particular, the continued effort and support for A Working Future. A Working Future is about a future connecting people in the bush to the services people in other places take for granted. It is about proper infrastructure supporting growth and wellbeing for people in the bush. It is also about developing local economies and economic wellbeing for families through support for business and creation of real jobs.
The Territory government’s Budget 2011-12 provides more money to boost growth towns to improve services and facilities, while maintaining their unique culture and history. Under A Working Future, growth towns will become the economic and service delivery centres for their regions. The Territory government is spending more than $1bn to deliver health services across the Northern Territory. About 60% of health funding delivers services to Aboriginal Territorians at remote health clinics and in hospitals. A key target of A Working Future is enhancing health services to improve Indigenous health outcomes to a level comparable with the broader population.
In 2011, A Working Future will continue to enhance healthcare in remote communities including: $3m to deliver increased renal facilities in the Top End; $2m towards the construction of a new health centre at Umbakumba; $2.5m to continue the implementation of a coordinated approach to patient care from hospital to community for Indigenous patients with chronic illnesses; and $0.45m for the upgrade of Oenpelli Health Centre.
Safe, secure housing is a fundamental requirement needed to support healthy, happy, working families, and the Territory and Commonwealth governments are delivering the biggest ever housing program in the Territory with a $1.7bn package over 10 years. Budget 2011-12 provides $290m for new remote Indigenous housing and related infrastructure under SIHIP, and land servicing and essential services infrastructure in remote communities over $97m to continue upgrades to remote Indigenous housing and related infrastructure. Improved remote housing will be supported by $1.6m in 2011-12 as part of a $3.6m, three-year project to survey new and existing housing and infrastructure in Territory growth towns. Budget 2011-12 also provides $41m to build and upgrade government employee housing to support more teachers, nurses, and police in remote communities.
Increasing the number of Indigenous people from remote areas in jobs is A Working Future priority for the Northern Territory government. The Australian and Northern Territory governments are funding a $30m, three-year package to support real and sustainable jobs in delivering core local government services. The package supports 530 jobs per annum to deliver core local government services such as road construction and maintenance, parks and gardens, grass and weed management, waste collection, and dump management. These jobs are in addition to around 300 jobs provided in housing maintenance and tenancy services, as well as those supporting essential services.
The development of the Territory growth towns into economic hubs in their regions requires the growth of commerce and industry, supported by a skilled workforce. Budget 2011-12 provides $30m over three years, including: $10m for Indigenous employment packages; $6.43m to support Territory workforce development with particular focus on Indigenous employment, including over $2m for the Indigenous Training Employment Program to support employment opportunities for working-age Indigenous Territorians in regional and remote communities, particularly the growth towns; $1.2m per annum for the Northern Territory Public Sector Apprenticeship Program, employing up to 140 apprentices per year, including 40 school-based apprentices, and $0.5m for the NTPS Entry Level Indigenous Employment Program, employing up to 80 Indigenous recruits; $2.1m to increase Indigenous employment outcomes and involvement in conservation management and parks; $1m to support training and development opportunities for NTPS employees in remote localities; and $6.4m to continue and enhance training programs in Territory growth towns.
Road transport services are critical to the conduct of business, creating new jobs, and connecting the residents of our regions to the rest of the Territory. Budget 2011-12 continues to deliver improved access to and from remote areas for Territorians, with $12.8m for Central Arnhem Road to continue stream crossing upgrades at Goyder River, Donydji Creek, and Mainoru Creek; $12m for Port Keats Road to continue flood immunity improvements, including a new high-level bridge over the Daly River; $2m to upgrade barge landings to provide all-weather protection and allow day and night capabilities; and $1.15m to continue the trial of additional passenger bus services to remote communities. Without strong transport connections for local people, the potential of our regions will never be realised.
The Tourism Budget 2011-12 will strengthen tourism development, assist local tourism operators, and provide for global marketing campaigns and conversion activities with airlines, trade, and tourism distribution partners. Tourism NT will remain active in the Northern Territory’s key markets with a range of marketing activities and campaigns providing tactical and price-point opportunities for national and local partners. The Henderson government clearly understands the significance of tourism as a key economic driver of the Northern Territory economy and the positive impact of tourism on other industry sectors. This year, the government is responding to the issues facing the local industry, such as increased competition, unpredictability of the airline industry, changes in consumer behaviour, and economic factors affecting the Territory’s major tourism source markets.
The tourism industry provides real job opportunities and currently supports some 18 000 jobs right across the Northern Territory. That accounts for around one in six Territorians employed as a result of the tourism sector. This government has a strong track record of supporting the tourism industry in the Northern Territory, and Budget 2011-12 sees a continuation of that support with an allocation of $41.4m for Tourism NT. Our continuing strong funding of Tourism NT in a tight fiscal environment is a clear demonstration of our ongoing commitment to the industry. The Northern Territory remains a highly attractive destination amongst our key target market, based on our nature and cultural tourism assets.
The funding will underpin innovative and integrated marketing campaigns, support airline services, and enhance the development of new products from emerging Indigenous entrepreneurs. The recent challenges for the tourism industry are well-known and it is vital the Territory remains in the minds of consumers.
Key initiatives for Budget 2011-12 include: $1.6m towards a global Kakadu marketing program; $1.4m towards a global Red Centre marketing program; $1m for cooperative marketing and conversion programs with airlines, trade, and other distribution partners; $1.6m for business development and marketing support to improve airline access from key source markets; $1m to facilitate the development of Indigenous tourism experiences; $1.1m to attract business events to the Northern Territory, including conferences, exhibitions, corporate meetings, and incentive travel; $0.2m for environmental sustainability initiatives; and $2.1m for digital marketing and development, including the redevelopment of Tourism NT’s consumer website, e-marketing campaigns, and the use of social media, such as Facebook and YouTube.
We have enjoyed a relatively strong 12 months in a very challenging, ever changing environment worldwide. This was achieved through the tireless efforts of many people in the industry throughout the Northern Territory. Budget 2011-12 builds on maintaining our market share nationally and focuses on innovative and integrated marketing campaigns, as well as ensuring we work smarter, ensuring more efficient, effective spending of the funding allocation.
In the area of women’s policy, I note our funding continues for the work of the Office of Women’s Policy. The centenary of International Women’s Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the extraordinary women who have broken down many barriers throughout the last 100 years, but also to consider areas where we have not seen sufficient progress, to reflect on the reasons for this, and decide what we will do. The Northern Territory government, together with the Australian government, will continue to give a high priority to women’s issues, including reducing violence against women, ensuring women’s economic security, and supporting women’s leadership.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend Budget 2011-12 to the House.
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am delighted to support the Treasurer’s budget announcement. It is a budget that is both responsible and responsive. It helps families to get ahead, while building on our unique Territory opportunities. From my perspective, the allocations for my portfolio areas illustrate this very clearly.
My ministerial responsibilities include Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage, Parks and Wildlife, Climate Change, Sport and Recreation, Information and Communications Technology, and Central Australia. My ministerial responsibilities are broad, so I will not attempt to read the budget papers into the Hansard now, as the Treasurer has already tabled the budget. I will instead focus on some highlights in my portfolio areas in which this budget delivers.
In my Environment portfolio, we are taking the most effective approach to protecting our magnificent natural environment. We are pursuing landscape scale ecological management, which is world’s best practice. The Territory Eco-Link is the ultimate expression of landscape scale ecological management stretching from the Arafura Sea to the Central Desert. A major part of Eco-Link is our parks. Economically, our parks underpin our tourism industry drawing around 2.8 million visitors to parks across the Northern Territory each year. Our parks directly employ Territorians in our regions and generate export income for local Territory economies and sustain our natural resources economy.
Socially, they provide the ecosystems we enjoy, through our great Territory lifestyle, by camping, fishing, or boating. Environmentally, our parks conserve our natural capital, biodiversity, and deliver invaluable eco-services. In this budget, we are delivering $57m for our protected areas, and allocating $30.6m to our conservation management programs. There is $600 000 for the final year of a $1.8m program specifically to link parks and conservation areas in Eco-Link. There is $22.3m allocated to the parks visitor management programs, so Territorians and tourists can enjoy our natural environment even more.
Our natural resources are precious and Budget 2011-12 allocates $36m to natural resource management, including $12.6m in water management. I am delighted to report additional funding of $1.1m for habitat mapping, monitoring, and research activities in Darwin Harbour to ensure we keep this magnificent waterway as healthy as possible. This is in addition to $24m invested to close the Larrakeyah sewage outfall as part of the $66.2m project that will further protect Darwin’s Harbour. The Territory government takes protecting and preserving our environment and heritage seriously. Budget 2011-12 allocates $9.9m to improving environmental protection, sustainability, and regulatory reform, including: $800 000 ongoing funding for environmental compliance initiatives; an additional $300 000 for the ongoing support and development of more efficient environmental assessment; and support for pollution control through a range of measures such as the Cash for Containers scheme and the plastic bag ban.
These initiatives are also important for taking action on climate change. This government takes climate change seriously through our fully-costed whole-of-government $34m Northern Territory Climate Change Policy. This government is taking action. Specifically, Budget 2011-12 supports implementation and administration of a Northern Territory container deposit scheme. It supports the Centre for Renewable Energy and low emissions energy at Alpurrurulam, Ti Tree, and Daguragu, and it also supports the Alice Solar City project, Solar Champions Program, the Government Energy Efficiency Program, and the Energy Smart Schools Program across 60 government schools. Also, the Environment NT grants, rebate schemes, the ecoBiz NT program, and the establishment of land-based carbon offset opportunities in the Northern Territory.
One of the predicted impacts of climate change is shorter Dry Seasons and more rain. This means more flooding and bigger fire loads because of the bigger fuel loads. Budget 2011-12 allocates $1.1m towards the flood forecasting service to the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, the Department of Lands and Planning, and the Bureau of Meteorology to minimise risk to life and property in the event of flooding. To help mitigate the incidence of bushfires in the Territory, we have committed $4.7m towards Bushfires NT in Budget 2011-12. This government established the independent Environment Protection Authority. We then increased its powers, and this year we are providing $1.5m for the EPA’s important role in monitoring and protecting the environment.
It is the aim of this government to ensure Territorians have a lifelong involvement in sport and active recreation at whatever level they choose. I am pleased to announce that Budget 2011–12 delivers $25.8m towards sport and recreation, including: $3.6m towards the Northern Territory Institute of Sport to enhance the Centre for Sporting Excellence; the Palmerston sporting community will also be training and competing in first-class facilities with the Territory government delivering $33m to the Palmerston Sporting Complex, which encompasses Rugby League, AFL, tennis, netball, and soccer facilities in the 2011-12 Budget. Another sporting highlight under this budget is $4m for a new 12-court squash facility at the Marrara sport precinct.
The Territory government is committed to bringing top-class sport to the Territory for families to enjoy. This will continue with funding through Budget 2011–12 to bring exciting events like three AFL matches, the ACT Brumbies pre-season match, the North Queensland Cowboys pre-season match, and community engagement into the Territory.
The Territory government’s new $12.6m Palmerston water park will receive an additional $2.8m to construct an access road and upgrade the intersection.
ICT policy is an area where government can make real savings and productivity gains, and make a real difference to people’s lives. Two examples in this budget are the Health e-Towns and the Business Online Services initiatives. The digital regions health program will, in partnership with the Australian government, the Northern Territory Department of Health, and Northern Territory Department of Education and Training, use high-speed broadband over optic fibre. Health e-towns will contribute to closing the healthcare and education gap, and provide enhanced services to the Territory growth towns. More importantly, it will deliver the improvements in health and education for 17 of our Territory growth towns. I welcome the allocation of $6.6m for the Digital Regions Initiative national partnership agreement.
I also welcome $1.2m to develop a one-stop online service for business registrations, licences, and other government-provided services in the Northern Territory. Territorians live in some of the most remote places on earth. Initiatives like this open opportunities for Territorians in our regions. Through technology and training, we can shrink those distances by providing better health, education, and job prospects for people in the bush.
In my Central Australia portfolio, we are working to ensure Territory families can get ahead in one of the most remote places on earth. As you know, I live in Alice Springs, and I welcome the way this budget builds on opportunities in Central Australia by helping families get ahead by delivering extra infrastructure and more funding to key areas such as health, education, law and order, and jobs. This includes $143m for Alice Springs Hospital, as part of the $238m investment in acute care services. Budget 2011-12 also contains $20.5m for the construction of the new Alice Springs Hospital emergency department.
Central Australia will benefit from a safer community with $47.5m for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and $30.8m for enhanced Corrections programs. Alcohol is the key cause of crime, and this budget delivers the first tranche of the $67m five-year alcohol reforms to turn problem drinkers off tap and mandate treatment through the government’s banned drinkers register.
This budget also invests $15.9m for the continuation of the Territory and Commonwealth funded $150m Alice Springs transformation plan to enhance social support services and implement measures to reduce homelessness.
We are making a significant investment to infrastructure in Central Australia including: $2m to upgrade the Tanami Road; $5m to revitalise the CBD in Alice Springs; and $4.5m for new chilled water air conditioning systems at Araluen Art Centre. This government is also continuing its commitment to the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan, with $1.1m for capital works at the youth hub and $3.6m for a new boarding facility for students.
Budget 2011-12 continues our commitment to release land in Alice Springs, with a further $3.5m to continue the $13.5m development of the suburb of Kilgariff. Lifting the purchase price cap under Homestart NT in Alice Springs to $435 000 will also have a big impact, allowing more first homebuyers to enter the market and stimulating the economy.
As a bush member of this Assembly, I understand the need to deliver opportunities for families in the bush. My portfolios, as with all portfolios across this government, are stepping up to the challenge of delivering these opportunities through this budget. By June 2012, we are aiming to have 25 joint management plans in operation across the Territory. Joint management plans have many benefits. It recognises the traditional connections to country and the traditional owners’ rights and interests. It results in improved land management by fusing together traditional Indigenous knowledge with scientific approaches. It also aids the social development and employment opportunities for traditional owners and their communities, and it delivers rich visitor experiences due to increased cultural opportunities. It establishes equitable partnerships with local traditional owners to manage, maintain, and protect the biodiversity of a park or reserve and, at the same time, serve the needs of visitors and the wider community.
Budget 2011-12 commits $4.2m on the Parks Joint Management Programs output. I am delighted to announce that an additional $2.1m in ongoing funding will be delivered under Budget 2011-12 to deliver improved conservation in parks, and Indigenous employment and training outcomes. This funding will be used towards more Indigenous jobs and apprenticeships for our parks and reserves, with a key focus on better fire management and reduction in feral animals and weeds.
I am also pleased to highlight that $1m funding is going towards the support of employment of over 50 community sport and recreation officers in our remote communities under the Closing the Gap initiatives in Budget 2011-12. Over the next three years, we will be reducing the isolation of 40 of our remote Indigenous communities with access to free public Internet, mainly through their local library or resource centre. In addition, local staff will be trained to provide support to the community to use computers and the Internet, in particular how to electronically record and store their local history and culture.
This budget delivers opportunities to Territory families and secures the foundations on which we can pursue opportunities for a better life, not just today, not just until the next financial year, or until the next election, but into the future, so we can all enjoy the opportunities of the Territory, and our kids can have a fair go at their future as well.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend Budget 2011-12 to the House.
Mr McCARTHY (Lands and Planning): Madam Deputy Speaker, it is with pleasure that I rise to add my comments to the debate on Budget 2011-12. I commend the Treasurer for the delivery of a budget developed in tight fiscal times, a budget that is helping Territory families get ahead and keep ahead. The Territory Labor government has a strong economic record, delivering eight consecutive surplus budgets. That sound and strategic economic management positioned the Territory well to meet the challenges of the global financial crisis.
In the face of the global financial crisis, this government took the tough decision to go into deficit. The government lifted infrastructure spending to historic levels to protect Territory jobs and the Territory economy, and it has delivered for the Territory. More than 12 000 jobs have been created since the global financial crisis and 90% of those are full-time jobs. Deloitte Access Economics forecast 5% growth in the Territory in 2011-12, the strongest economic performer in the country, and the average unemployment rate is forecast to stay at 3%. We are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities before us and we will.
In relation to infrastructure, as the Minister for Construction, I am proud to say the Budget 2011-12 continues this government’s sound economic management and strong record of infrastructure spending. It delivers a $1.5bn infrastructure program, a 300% increase in funding since 2001. It is important to place on the record my thanks to the hard-working staff of the Department of Construction and Infrastructure for delivering the massive capital works program. The department has responded, over the past few years, to the government’s infrastructure program and this year has had close to 2800 contracts out the door. That is delivering for Territory businesses.
With a number of Australian government programs winding up, the Territory government is shouldering more of the infrastructure budget spend, up from 54% of the cost to 70% or $1.02bn. The total $1.5bn program delivers key infrastructure to build on the Territory’s opportunities and will sustain 3000 jobs. This strategic spending will also leverage private sector investment and prepare the Territory for opportunities around the corner. Among the highlights of the program are $539m for housing; $375m for power, water, and sewerage upgrades; $143m to upgrade hospitals; $110m for education infrastructure; $61m for Police, Fire and Emergency Services infrastructure; and $24m for land release. In an historical sense, this government is turning off land five times faster than ever seen before in the Northern Territory.
Budget 2011-12 delivers $20.3m for headworks to continue release of land in Palmerston East. I encourage all members to drive through the new suburbs of Palmerston East to see the opportunity on offer for Territory families. It is exciting to see future homes unfolding from the start of headworks to land turning off, the homes under construction, and Territorians moving in. It is about helping families to get ahead.
Alice Springs will also benefit from a $13.5m commitment for headworks for the new suburb of Kilgariff. The recent inquiry by design forum for Kilgariff highlighted the excitement in the Alice Springs community for this new suburb and how it might take shape. The start of the development is now under way with local contractors, Sitzler, on the ground and getting the headworks into place. Progressing the master planning is the next stage and I look forward to working with the Alice community to deliver the project.
The government is also investing $950 000 to continue investigative studies for the future city of Weddell which, one day, will be the home for up to 50 000 Territorians. The development of Weddell also gets a boost in the roads budget with $6m to upgrade Jenkins Road.
Budget 2011-12 delivers a $307m investment in our roads. That represents a 213% increase in funding since 2001. This year, the Territory government is again working closely with the Australian government to deliver important works for Territory road users. I spend a great deal of time driving on the Territory’s road network, 220 000kms of which is controlled by the Territory government, and I am pleased to say that we have injected an extra $14m into the Territory road repairs and maintenance budget. Territorians who have spent any time on the highways and main networks in recent weeks will have seen, firsthand, the huge amount of work under way to repair our roads after this year’s record rainfalls. There are 23 crews out there working seven days a week, and I take this opportunity to commend them on their effort. I came from Tennant Creek to Darwin via four main highways this last trip and the amount of work that has been progressed since the record rainfall is incredible. Those crews are doing an outstanding job. The priority for work is: first, national highway; second, rural arterial roads; and then local sealed roads.
This government is committed to providing an accessible, safe road network. Budget 2011-12 delivers a number of strategic roads projects that will build opportunities for the future of the Territory; projects such as construction of a new high-level bridge over the Daly River; further upgrading of the Tanami Road; a new high-level bridge over the King River near Katherine; and $20m to seal the Umbakumba Road. We will also see the completion of the $127m Tiger Brennan Drive project. This project has grown in scope to deliver an even better road network for commuters and for businesses needing fast access to our growing port.
Our road network keeps the Territory connected and grows the Territory by providing the links to health, education and employment opportunities.
As a bush member and Minister for Transport, I am very proud that Budget 2011-12 will support the delivery of the government’s integrated regional transport strategy. A $3.1m investment will support seven new commercial bus services across regional and remote communities linking 13 of our Territory growth towns. This is a practical initiative, which will make a difference in helping families get ahead. We will also invest $2.3m to improve public transport services around Darwin, Palmerston, and the rural areas, building on our investment, and improving services in Alice Springs. Budget 2011-12 delivers record investment to tackle alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour. This government knows alcohol abuse causes crime.
The Territory has a record number of prisoners in our gaols, and almost 48% of those prisoners will reoffend within two years. It is an unacceptable statistic, which is why the Chief Minister and I announced the new era in Corrections package last September. This government made it clear there will be a strong focus on rehabilitation, education, and training to break that unacceptable cycle of reoffending. Budget 2011-12 delivers the next stage of the new era in Corrections, which includes $3.5m to support community corrections in the delivery of new court orders to get non-violent offenders into rehabilitation and training. $1.9m will see the recruitment of an extra 18 community corrections officers to be stationed in Katherine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Casuarina, and Palmerston.
A further $1.4m will support the introduction of an electronic monitoring network, including ankle bracelets, allowing for greater surveillance of offenders. $3.1m will be allocated to support the operation of the new Barkly work camp, which will deliver improved rehabilitation outcomes, and $1.7m in capital works will support the construction of additional alcohol and drug rehabilitation beds to help break the cycle of reoffending.
The centrepiece of the new era in Corrections will be the new Darwin Correctional Services precinct. This government has committed $27m to deliver the headworks to the site in Holtze, which will include the Doug Owston Correctional Centre and a secure mental health facility. Construction on the precinct is expected to generate 1000 direct and indirect jobs, backing Territory business and building on the Territory’s opportunities.
East Arm Port is a key link in the Territory’s trade route with more than $3bn worth of cargo moved through the wharf annually. Budget 2011-12 supports the continued expansion and growth at East Arm wharf to build on the Territory’s opportunities. Strategic projects to be developed this year include: $3m to improve the bulk loading system to enhance environmental sustainability in operations; $3m for design works for the overland conveyor; and $600 000 to improve wash-down facilities at East Arm.
Darwin Port Corporation will also undertake maintenance and upgrades on its assets at Frances Bay mooring basin, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Stokes Hill Wharf. Strategically, Darwin Port Corporation will continue its focus on improving environmental practices and exploring alternate bulk loading options with stakeholders to develop Darwin as the port of choice for bulk mineral exports. As the Darwin Port Corporation maintains its focus on growing its operation, it will continue to develop a marine management and training centre equipped with modern technology. Training delivered through the centre will improve the efficiency and safety in the delivery of vessel traffic services within the Port of Darwin.
Budget 2011-12 delivers funding for a range of programs and initiatives in our Arts and Culture sector that will enhance our great Territory lifestyle. Within the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport is $40.9m for the Arts and Culture Output Group. This is a great part of the department, picking up our museums and art galleries, libraries, archives, and the arts and screen sector. These areas play pivotal roles in showcasing the Territory’s culture, heritage, and vibrant community.
To highlight some of the projects and programs funded in Budget 2011-12: $7.9m to complete construction of the Defence of Darwin Museum at East Point - this interactive museum will showcase and record our World War II history and be a great attraction for locals and tourists alike; local company, AJ Holdings, will continue its work on the $7.4m Katherine Cultural Precinct, a joint project between the Territory and Australian governments and Katherine Town Council; $9.2m for the NT Library; and $4.5m for a state-of-the-art air conditioning system to protect exhibits and artefacts at the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs. Budget 2011-12 will also deliver $10.5m to support the arts and screen sector and $6.81m for arts grant funding to grow our arts sector.
Budget 2011-12 builds on the great opportunities on offer in the Territory. It delivers a $1.5bn infrastructure program that will support 3000 Territory jobs. It has been strategically crafted in the face of tight financial times and is helping Territory families to get ahead.
Madam Speaker, I commend the Treasurer, her office, and the Treasury for the hard work on the development of Budget 2011-12. It is a budget focused on the Territory’s future and, therefore, should be supported by all members of this Chamber.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I support Budget 2011-12, a good budget, put together in difficult circumstances. Governments have to deliver responsible budgets that reflect the needs of Territorians, the circumstances of the Territory’s economy, and meet the social and economic objectives of the Territory and Territorians.
The No 1 priority in the Territory, both socially and economically, is jobs, jobs, and jobs. We are between major projects. Private investment is still a little soft post the global financial crisis. That puts a real emphasis on the importance of government maintaining high levels of infrastructure spending. $1.5bn, historically high, is for both capital works and repairs and maintenance. It includes delivering close to $400m in infrastructure upgrades for Power and Water. The $1.5bn is critical money, which will get assets built, see people in work, and get money pumped around our economy. It will keep people in the Territory, in a job, ready to go, as major projects start up again. We can all agree that is critical. That is a critical spend, a critical decision by the Treasurer, going into this financial year: building key infrastructure for our developing economy to position for growth, to take advantage of opportunities going forward - and there are plenty of opportunities. We need to build into job creation with those projects to maintain our existing workforce and create opportunities for Territorians, especially as major projects start ramping up again.
In a similar vein, BuildBonus is a great idea that creates jobs by helping to get people into a home, helping people to make one of the most important investments of their lives. We can all agree that the decision to buy a home, to put a roof over your head for the first time – I do not think this is capped for first homebuyers - is a critical one. We are very happy to help people with up to $530 000 as long as the contract is signed by the end of the financial year. That helps get people into a home and it helps address the fact we have a housing sector that needs a boost. It will help create and maintain jobs, and maintain our Territory workforce.
There are projects in my electorate that will qualify for BuildBonus. Village at Parap is one. I understand that qualifies - a great project in a great location; a new housing model for affordable rental for social housing for the private market. It will be great to see people assisted with moving there through BuildBonus. Village at Parap was the site of medium-density public housing, and the new homes were part of our plans to reform Parap Road. We need to reform public housing to create a better living environment for tenants and neighbours. There is a little more work to go along Parap Road in reforming public housing. We are on our way with that.
Probably the biggest problem along Parap Road – and it is certainly not a problem confined to Parap Road - is the misuse of alcohol and antisocial behaviour related to alcohol. The Territory government, the community, has said enough is enough, and we have seen some fantastic community campaigns run along that line. We need to turn off the tap to problem drinkers. Much consultation, much policy work, has gone into the legislation for tackling alcohol-related crime and antisocial behaviour, and those bills will be debated during these sittings.
This budget backs that policy. It puts the dollars into mandatory rehabilitation for problem drinkers. That money goes into existing services and new services. That is a critical spend, because this is a community problem that we must tackle, and this budget goes a long way towards tackling that problem. There is money in this budget to make the banned drinker register and ID scanners work. I sat in on one of the implementation discussion sessions with a trader in my electorate. They talked him through what was going to happen in his premises. It was a positive meeting about what tools will be coming into those workplaces, into those takeaway licences, to make sure we stop the primary supply of alcohol to problem drinkers, to banned drinkers.
That is not the only community problem this budget is tackling. We had the debate earlier today, with the member for Brennan and the member for Johnston, and the passage of education reforms making sure all kids go to school. This budget puts money into our Every Child, Every Day strategy. Every child must go to school. There can be no excuses. Improving student enrolment, attendance, and participation is everyone’s responsibility and everyone’s business. I support the minister in his reforms to make sure the current generation of school-aged kids, and future school-aged kids, go to school, get an education, and have the opportunities all Australians should have to enter the workforce and provide for their families, to make a contribution.
In Budget 2011-12, as the minister said in the House, and publicly, we have invested over $6.2m in programs to ensure kids get the proper support to stay in school. Things like Clontarf, which has been a huge success and continues to be a big success. Wraparound services, like the Alice Springs Youth Action Plan, and enrolment and attendance initiatives such as Every Child, Every Day. It is going to be a big year in education.
That is not the only education investment in this year’s budget. There is also $300 000 in infrastructure for Parap Primary School, and $300 000 in infrastructure for Stuart Park Primary School. That honours an election promise, and the school councils are very excited about seeing that investment happen in their schools. Parap and Stuart Park Primary are fantastic schools. They have excellent relationships with the local community. They are even better after federal government stimulus spending; they are seeing new school halls, new classrooms, and more. The results at Parap and Stuart Park have been sensational. Everyone has their own primary school and they have seen a real boost too. The schools are fantastic and they will be even better after this $300 000 is invested. I am working with both schools to see that investment get great results.
At Stuart Park Primary School, they are looking at carpet, painting, and some further shade, and perhaps an open verandah area in Early Childhood. Stuart Park Primary School has excellent school grounds and the principal, Bernie Bree, and the school council, over a number of years, made a series of excellent decisions and investments to open up the school to use those grounds to provide the opportunity for classrooms to break out into those open areas. It really is a fantastic school.
Parap Primary School has had some excellent discussion on where its $300 000 will go, and, in particular, has been looking at how it can maximise the benefit from the new school hall. It is an amazing asset. It has already been accessed by the general community. The Darwin Symphony Orchestra held a concert there, a program designed for kids, and it was a ripper of a day. The kids enjoyed it a lot. It was a little tongue in cheek. It was not the kind of orchestra performance you would get if you went to the Darwin Entertainment Centre, but was pitched to its target market and was great to have in the school hall. It went really well.
Madam Speaker, something that is very exciting for schools in my electorate, and I am sure exciting for all schools in the Territory, is the Cash for Containers program. It is an exciting program for all Territorians, but it has the potential to be a real winner for students to learn from the scheme, to work out how to set it up in their school, how to raise money from it, maybe even be part of the decision-making, to help the school council reinvest the returns into the school. It is an excellent opportunity.
Parap Primary School has a rare opportunity with the location of their school, with the Parap Shopping Village - the Parap Markets on a Saturday - and the number of people who go through that area. It provides an opportunity for people to deposit and donate their containers to the school for fundraising. It will be investigated by the school to see if it can take advantage of that opportunity. There is funding in the budget for the delivery of the container deposit scheme, rolling it out into schools and community groups.
With our scheme to ban plastic bags, these are grassroots environment initiatives to make the Territory a greener, cleaner place and I think would be welcomed by all. It is important to see in this budget the funding of many of those policy areas that we have spent a great deal of time on to get right. They have been rolled out legislatively and now we are seeing, in this budget, the financial backing to make sure they work.
Madam Speaker, I want to touch on a few specific projects. The first is the progress of the Defence of Darwin Museum at East Point. There are still a few hurdles to jump but we are on track for 2012. I thank the minister for the excellent work he has been doing in consultation with stakeholders like the Royal Australian Artillery Association to deliver a quality museum. I have been out on-site a few times with the minister. It is a fantastic site for many reasons. Historically, it is a great site but, also, aesthetically, it is a beautiful site. It is going to be one of the best-located museums in the world together with the current Darwin museum, which is in a great location. We have a good museum environment in Darwin and the one at East Point is going to be fantastic.
The second project I want to talk about is the delivery of a 12-court squash facility at Marrara referred to by the minister. This is the culmination of a community partnership that has seen $4m provided in a capital grant, which will see the maximum return on investment. I thank Norbuilt and the squash community. This is an excellent result and it is going to be a much-needed facility at the Marrara sporting precinct. It seems a sensible resolution to a problem that has been bubbling away. It is going to be a good outcome; having it located at Marrara with a number of other sports and fitting into the sporting precinct there.
This is a responsible budget that delivers socially and economically for the Territory. It builds on the opportunities that are emerging in the Territory. It focuses on jobs, job creation, and maintaining the workforce we have in the Northern Territory. It focuses on employment through that infrastructure spend, in particular, critical infrastructure spend that is building on the Territory’s asset base at the same time as creating jobs. The timing for that infrastructure has been just right for when the next major project comes along, when that private investment starts happening again, post GFC. That has been where the critical decision-making has been made and done by the Treasurer in tailoring this budget to the current Territory circumstances to ensure, economically and socially, we deliver what the Territory needs. That is what the Treasurer has done. It is a good budget delivered in difficult circumstances. I commend the Treasurer and the bill to the House.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I support the Treasurer’s budget statement for Budget 2011-12 delivered this morning. The Treasurer made no bones about the fact that this has been a tough budget to put together, but this is a responsible budget, and a budget that aims to help families get ahead. It builds on opportunities for businesses, most importantly, to continue to generate and keep people in jobs.
Around the world, we see countries struggling to recover from the global financial crisis. Australia has fared, as we know, far better than most countries, and the Northern Territory has fared better than other jurisdictions in Australia. This is because the Australian government’s response to the global financial crisis was a fiscal strategy designed to create jobs through the economic stimulus package announced in 2009, which meant capital spending on infrastructure. We will continue to see the benefit of that spend in Budget 2011-12 with $1.5bn for infrastructure, supporting some 3000 jobs. Whilst not quite the record spend of last year’s budget, it is significant and, overall, has increased by some 300% since 2001.
At lunchtime today, the business community and other interested stakeholders, including most members of this House, attended a luncheon hosted by the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Prior to the Treasurer’s address, guest presenter, David De Garis, a senior economist with the National Australia Bank gave a snapshot of the state of the economy on a global, national, and local level. He ventured to say that the Northern Territory budget handed down today has struck a balance of economic and social obligations, and he described the deficit as modest. Modest, we note, not monstrous, as the Leader of the Opposition claimed at Question Time.
Keeping people in jobs is critical. As the Treasurer said during Question Time today, if we were to ask families if they want a surplus or a job, we can be fairly certain about how they will respond. It is all about jobs and it is what goes to the heart of what the Labor Party quite literally stands for. Labor means jobs.
In spite of the fact that this is a tough budget, we see a record spend across the key areas of education, health, and safety. The record spend in education - $930m - will benefit students regardless of where they live. We have heard the commitment from the Treasurer and the Education minister that teacher aide positions will be funded across transition classes in government schools. The early childhood years are critical in a child’s development, and funding these positions assists teachers and students to achieve the best outcomes. As we heard the minister say in Question Time today, these teacher aides are already working in transition classes in our remote schools.
We see funding of $2.28m to support the initiatives of the Every Child, Every Day strategy. This is welcome funding and will support the important amendments to the Education Act passed earlier today, because this government is serious about best outcomes for young Territorians. We need to do everything we can to engage these young people and their families to participate in education. Further, we will see $3.18m to continue and expand student engagement programs like Clontarf and Sporting Chance. With Clontarf having started in my electorate at Yirrkala, I can say unreservedly what a success it has been, even though it has only very recently started. It is attracting young fellows into Clontarf, and is a great way to get those young fellows into school.
We see $3.5m in the Education budget allocated to expanding the ‘virtual’ very remote early childhood integrated service hubs, and the Families as First Teachers program. We recognise those early years are critical in a child’s development. Families as First Teachers is not just about engaging little ones; it is about engaging their parents and families to be actively involved in their learning and development.
With regard to special education, I am delighted to see we have $11.9m for the new Nemarluk School at Alawa; $7.5m for special education upgrades to Acacia Hill and Henbury schools, Palmerston Senior School, and Taminmin College. Special education programs in my electorate of Nhulunbuy, particularly at Nhulunbuy Primary School and high school are very strong, but we welcome the additional funding that goes into special education in our schools.
We know the federal government’s investment in education through the Building the Education Revolution program, whilst getting towards the end of the program, has delivered, and will continue to deliver improvements to school infrastructure. This includes in my own electorate at Nhulunbuy Primary School, which has progressed a tender for its share of the BER funding of around $2.5m for an upgrade to its school hall. The design is based on the upgrade to the Millner Primary school hall and I have been with the Education minister to look through that facility. In fact, students at Millner Primary School proudly showed the minister and me. It is a fantastic asset for that school and we cannot wait for it to be delivered in our community.
I sincerely hope we see a local business from Nhulunbuy named as the successful tenderer so we can continue to support the local economy because the local economy in Nhulunbuy and jobs for local businesses is critical. It is about keeping families there and keeping kids in our schools. I have my fingers and toes crossed for a local tenderer.
We see a record spend in the area of health. As the Minister for Health outlined, we have $1.15bn being delivered in this current budget: $51m to upgrade the emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital; $55.7m for construction of the new emergency department and continuing fire protection and associated works at Alice Springs Hospital - that is fantastic news; and $3.3m for my colleague, the member for Barkly, for upgrades at Tennant Creek Hospital. In my own electorate, I note $22.3m for Gove Hospital for its ongoing operating costs associated with acute services. That includes things like patient travel. Obviously, in an area like northeast Arnhem Land where we have people spread across homelands, there is considerable cost associated with transport and ensuring we are delivering the best possible healthcare to people in those remote areas.
We will continue to see the construction of six two-bedroom staff units at Gove District Hospital on the campus of the hospital; there is $1.29m towards the continued construction of those units. The tender has gone out, but there will be delays to the start-up due to the incredible Wet Season weather we have had – it only stopped raining in Nhulunbuy just over a week ago. Delivering those units of accommodation at Gove Hospital will go a long way toward attracting and retaining good doctors and allied health staff who are critical to the support and delivery of health services in the region.
We also see a record spend in the area of safety - Police, Fire and Emergency Services with some $328m. I welcome the spend on alcohol reforms, the Enough is Enough strategy recognising that the cost of alcohol and alcohol-related issues to taxpayers in the Northern Territory is $642m a year, which is an incredibly high figure. That is money we would love to spend on other areas of the budget in a preventative sense, so the introduction of these alcohol reforms is certainly welcome. Sixty percent of all crime in the Northern Territory is caused by alcohol, and that figure is way too high. This is about going to the heart of the problem, which is about addressing alcohol. There is expenditure of $4.7m on a banned drinker register and ID scanners - I believe this money is very well spent - and investing $1m to establish the Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal and SMART Court. These bills will go before the House on Thursday for debate.
As an elected member from East Arnhem Land, we have had very successful, very effective alcohol management plans in place for three years - one on Groote Eylandt and one in my electorate of Nhulunbuy, which encompasses all of the homeland areas. It has been a highly successful program in the reduction of alcohol-related issues, domestic violence, a dramatic reduction in the number of police lock ups, a dramatic reduction in the number of presentations to accident and emergency, and a reduction in the number of call-outs for St John Ambulance. Basically, our town and the surrounding communities are cleaner, happier, and healthier. That is not to say that it is not without its issues. Secondary supply continues to be an issue that we will try to solve. I can say unreservedly that having an alcohol management plan that puts problem drinkers off tap is effective and benefits the entire community.
People have talked about and objected to the inconvenience of the banned drinker register, the fact people have to have an ID, and it taking seven seconds to swipe a card. I can assure people it is something you get used to. You soon recognise the wider benefits outweigh any inconvenience. We have had that system in place for three years in northeast Arnhem Land. If I were to conduct a straw poll in the streets of downtown Nhulunbuy and ask people would they like to do away with the system, I reckon I will get a 99% return that would say: ‘No, no, no, let us keep it the way we are’.
Regarding infrastructure such as roads, we listened to the Minister for Lands and Planning talk about the significant spend in that area. We have an extensive road network in the Northern Territory. In my electorate, and in other bush members’ electorates, such as Arafura and Arnhem, the vast majority of our roads are unsealed. They are not all-weather roads. They are problematic every Wet Season, and especially so in the Wet Season we have just had. Whilst the rain has stopped, we have roads in considerable disrepair, and there is significant effort going into these roads to try to make them safe.
The Central Arnhem Road as a major arterial road is not sealed, but is the road that stretches from outside Katherine through to Nhulunbuy, passing through Bulman Station. The road was earmarked last year for significant spending and we will continue to see that spend this year. We have in the highlights $12.8m for the continued stream crossing upgrades at the Goyder River, Donydji Creek, and work has already started on Mainoru River, which is in the member for Arafura’s electorate. That is an important upgrade because that affects Bulman Station’s ability to get big trucks in and out carrying cattle.
I am delighted to see, in addition to that, we have some extra funding allocated for the Central Arnhem Road: $250 000 is being invested to improve safety and traffic flow by providing new pull-off areas for heavy vehicles. Being a dirt road, certainly during the Dry Season, and it is only a Dry Season road, we do get an additional volume of traffic. We get trucks on the road, and if you are in a four-wheel-drive vehicle stuck behind a truck, it can be very frustrating. It can be dangerous, and creating these pull-off areas will make the road safer. Trucks will have a bay so they can pull over and allow vehicles behind them to pass safely. We will also see $200 000 invested in another crossing along the Central Arnhem Road at Rocky Bottom Creek, which is just the other side of the Gapuwiyak turn-off. That $200 000 will improve drainage at the crossing and make crossing that much safer.
These improvements in the Central Arnhem Road, once they are completed, and seeing them completed is an involved process. We are on an Aboriginal land trust, so there are negotiations to be had with the traditional owners through the Northern Land Council to ensure the crossings do not affect areas of significance or sacred sites. When the upgrades are completed, the Central Arnhem Road, which currently only opens about six months of the year, will be open perhaps all bar six weeks of the year, although that is contingent upon what sort of Wet Season we have. That will make access and freight competition available to people for a much longer part of the year, and that is something that we certainly welcome. It is important for the economic activity of the region. We have a number of Territory growth towns that rely on the Central Arnhem Road for access and, within those Territory growth towns and some of the surrounding homeland communities, we have little hubs of economic activity, particularly eco-cultural tourism businesses, which are heavily reliant on safe road access, so that is a really critical one.
The Minister for Local Government and Indigenous policy talked about the package under the A Working Future banner. This year’s budget delivers $633m for the A Working Future policy. It is about supporting the infrastructure in our growth towns, our remote areas, and our bush areas. I am delighted to see, in particular, the $30m jobs package. This is a critical package for creating and sustaining employment and training in these communities for Indigenous people. It is particularly important for the shires. Part of this jobs package will keep some 530 jobs in the shires across the Northern Territory in those critical areas such as roads construction, maintenance, waste collection, management of waste dumps, parks and gardens, and other maintenance activity roles within the shires. We are all delighted to see that employment continuing to be funded with some support from the Australian government.
Other highlights from my region include $600 000 for vocational education and training infrastructure for the Indigenous People Program, which we delivered with Building the Education Revolution projects in the Laynhapuy Homelands. The homelands are an important part of our bush electorates and especially so in my electorate where I know Laynhapuy Homelands is an incredibly hard-working organisation working hard to support Indigenous Yolngu people to remain and thrive on their homelands. In my electorate, the majority of homelands are fully occupied year-round. They are quick to tell me they are not outstations. They are not holiday weekenders. These are people’s homes, where they live, they work, they send their children to school, and they have cultural obligations on maintaining that country.
There is another important highlight here for the East Arnhem region and it is $500 000 to establish an East Arnhem Indigenous Fisheries Network, which will coordinate, mentor, and train Indigenous people in commercial fishing, aquaculture, and fisheries-related business. Caring for country and caring for sea country is a large part of what organisations such as Laynhapuy Homelands and DhimurruRangers do. Both DhimurruRangers and Yirralka Rangers – Yirralka working under Laynhapuy Homelands - look after a sizeable IPA, Indigenous Protected Area, and for the Yirralka Rangers it is something like 640 km of beautiful, pristine coastline. I am delighted to see that funding has been made available and hope to see it continue to increase over the next few years.
Madam Speaker, there are many things I could talk about, but I will leave it there. I thank the Treasurer, and commend her, and her staff, and Treasury, knowing this has been a difficult budget to put together. It is a responsible budget. Importantly, it focuses on keeping people in jobs and continues to deliver in key government service areas of education, health, and safety. I commend the bill to the House.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Madam Speaker, I support the Henderson government’s Budget 2011-12. The budget is one that again recognises the pivotal role our regions and remote communities play in the broader Northern Territory economy. It is also a family-friendly budget. As the Treasurer said, the budget is fiscally responsible. The Treasurer outlined the difficulties facing Australia as the global economy is slowly recovering from the deepest economic downturn since World War II.
The Treasurer has again delivered a fantastic Budget 2011-12. How will this budget deliver now for families and how will Budget 2011-12 invest in the future of the Territory? If we look at the Budget 2011-12, it has delivered for the future of the Territory, but also for families.
The record spending in education, health, and police is certainly welcome. Our great investment in child protection continues under a Labor government, and our commitment to deal with a complex issue that many governments have struggled to get right. The record investment in child protection goes well over $180m.
Turning to my electorate, I was delighted to be with the Minister for Transport when we made the pre-budget announcement of $6.3m to upgrade and strengthen the Arnhem Highway. The Arnhem Highway is a major highway going to my electorate and, with the record Wet Season, the Arnhem Highway has had its fair share of damage. I was delighted to be with the minister when he made that announcement.
In relation to education, I am looking forward to continuing the great program the member for Nhulunbuy mentioned. The minister in an earlier debate today when summing up the Education bill before the House, talked about a community that is close to his heart, and also my heart - Maningrida. Since the Families as First Teachers program commenced under this government and was implemented in Maningrida, and with some changes they made in the school, we have seen attendance, which is a major issue for that community, increase. The minister can correct me, but I am sure it was below 30% and now it is over 60%. The community, the school, the principal, and the truancy officers at Maningrida are all working together, and one of the programs assisting families to recognise the value of education is the Families as First Teachers program.
It is great to see the continuing investment in that program for many of our remote communities. That program simply did not exist under the CLP, but has been a continuing investment under this government. It is an important link between those communities, the families that live in those communities, and those children getting access to a good education, and ensuring they stay in school. It is great to see the continued investment with the early childhood program, Families as First Teachers. I welcome the continued investment in early childhood services in remote communities. Maningrida and Gunbalanya in my electorate have investment in this budget to continue their early childhood programs.
Health services: the investment in health is welcome, particularly the money being given to the Maningrida Health Centre to build and continue the extensions to the health centre, a generator for the Warruwi Health Clinic, and extensions and upgrades for Gunbalanya. All those investments are welcome and are getting the message out to the communities that we continue to invest in health.
I welcome the investment in Police, Fire and Emergency Services to continue the Themis stations in Minjilang and Warruwi. Those communities were concerned that, with the exodus of the federal police from those communities, there would no longer be any policing. It was great to see in this budget both those communities will have continued investment by police to ensure that presence will continue. I was at a meeting with both communities and the police when, particularly, the women said they were concerned about the police being pulled out of the community because, having the Themis stations and the police on the ground had certainly reduced the levels of violence and, in Minjilang, it has actually eliminated the levels of violence that were there. I thank the government for continuing that investment in Minjilang and Warrawi.
I was listening to the member for Nelson’s speech this morning when he talked about Noel Pearson. The Four Corners program had a fantastic story last night. He said whether you agree or disagree with Noel Pearson - and I agree to disagree with many people in this Chamber, but that is okay. What Noel Pearson has done with his advocacy and his push, particularly in the Cape, to turn around education in those communities has to be recognised and applauded. He has done a fantastic job trying to get those communities to see the value of education. That is why I was pleased to see this budget, because there is a strong investment in education.
As Noel Pearson said in that program last night, economic development or economic viability for communities will only come about with those children getting a strong education. That is very true. The investment in our communities in the Northern Territory has to be an investment in education. That is working with the schools, but also working with the community, for the mums and dads to see the value of that education and to get their kids to school every single day.
I am looking forward to taking the minister for Education to Gunbalanya. They have commenced a fantastic three to nine program, trialling an adult education program to bring back many of the young people. To see that continued investment with government and non-government schools in this budget is fantastic. If we can get it right in Gunbalanya and Maningrida, across our regional and remote communities, we will see a turnaround. Many children will see a bright future.
I am delighted to see the $700 000 to continue the upgrade of Minjilang aerodrome to provide an all-weather capability for that community. I remember when I was first elected in 2001, at the polling booth there were a couple of CLP ministers and they could not believe the aerodrome was 20 km out of the community and was a dirt airstrip. They said: ‘This is a long way from the community’. I said: ‘You guys have been in government for the last 26 years and this is the first time you have come to this community’. When I looked across my electorate, there were five major communities with dirt airstrips. In the Wet Season, old people died because they could not get evacuated from those communities.
I am pleased to see Budget 2011-12 continues the commitment our government has for sealing those dirt airstrips, particularly across the Top End where we have inundation and the Wet Seasons are getting greater and greater. We have seen a record Wet Season this year. So, to see the investment to continue the upgrading of those community aerodromes is an important essential service for those communities, and essential infrastructure that is needed. I thank the Treasurer and the government for continuing this program. I think the Minjilang Airstrip was the last airstrip that needed sealing, so it was great to see that airstrip being finished.
The jobs in the future, across A Working Future, and the matched funds that have been put in there for local government - like the member for Nhulunbuy and all of my bush colleagues, I congratulate not just the Treasurer but also the Minister for Indigenous Development who did a lot of hard work. It was her persistent lobbying of the federal minister to get that support, and the funding from the Northern Territory government to match that, so we can keep those 500 jobs in local government. That will consolidate and make the shire stronger. Yes, there are problems but, with any major reform that happens across the bush, there are always going to be teething problems. Getting that funding to sustain those shires, or going in some part to sustaining those shires, is good. Hopefully, we will see the shires becoming more consistent and working to deliver local government across the region.
The SIHIP funding continues with housing. Maningrida and Gunbalanya are recipients in my electorate. New houses and refurbishments are happening, which is good to see. Most of the work on the Tiwi Islands has been completed. All the new houses have been delivered. I am looking forward to getting the houses, in particular in Gunbalanya, worked on in this Dry Season. Maningrida is happening, although the Wet Season at Maningrida caused some delay with some of the houses. The minister for Housing came with me, because he loves Maningrida, and we both had a look at that. Territory Alliance is continuing its work with the new subdivision and the refurbishments that are happening. For both of those communities, it is good news. People were glad to see the Wet Season over because, with the end of the Wet Season, it meant that work could commence, or recommence.
Like the member for Nhulunbuy, I welcome the marine ranger program and the financial and training support to those Indigenous rangers. They play an important role in our coasts. The other night I was watching television and they were talking about our border protection and how the illegal fishing that used to come into many of our coastal communities has reduced. There has been record investment in Customs, but what was missing from all of that was the role coastal Aboriginal marine rangers have played in the protection and conservation of our coastline. They get funding and support, and they work in quite well with Customs, so it is great to see the continuing Northern Territory investment in marine rangers.
With regard to Corrections in Jabiru and the Tiwi Islands, the funding for monitoring and supervision for both those communities is ongoing. I am pleased to see the funding for the community courts at Jabiru. That is an important link within western Arnhem Land with both Maningrida courts and Gunbalanya that Jabiru will also be picked up as part of that regional response.
Madam Speaker, in Budget 2011-12, it was good to see the continuing investment with A Working Future. You could not get a more passionate minister than the Minister for Indigenous Development when it comes to A Working Future and making sure we are delivering across our remote communities and our homelands. It is not just rhetoric; it is not just talking about A Working Future; we are actually delivering. It is a good budget. It invests in families and, like Budget 2010-11, it invests in our regional and remote communities. That is an important investment. It is not just a budget in the northern suburbs of Darwin, or in Alice Springs, but a budget that has invested in the regional and remote communities. I commend the budget and the Treasurer.
Debate adjourned
TABLED PAPER
Remuneration Tribunal Determination – Interstate Travel Report –
Member for Katherine
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table the member for Katherine’s travel report, pursuant to section 3.15 of the Remuneration Tribunal, for travel to Cairns between 10 and 13 April 2011.
TABLED PAPER
Public Accounts Committee - NT Government Agencies’ Internal Controls
Public Accounts Committee - NT Government Agencies’ Internal Controls
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I table a report of the Public Accounts Committee into NT government agencies’ internal controls dated May 2011.
MOTION
Note paper - Public Accounts Committee –
NT Government Agencies’ Internal Controls
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the report and that I have leave to continue my remarks at a later hour.
Leave granted.
Debate adjourned.
MATTER OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Standards of Child Protection
Standards of Child Protection
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received the following letter from the member for Araluen:
- Madam Speaker,
I propose for discussion this day the following definite matter of public importance:
The unacceptably low standards of child protection set by the current Territory government that sees an infant child returned to parents after being left alone in a lane way in Tennant Creek.
Is the proposed discussion supported? It is supported.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness and regret that I stand before you today to talk about this matter of public importance. It relates specifically to a case drawn to the attention of the public of the Northern Territory last week. I am sure most of you will be aware of the case I am alluding to. I will read the police media report pertaining to this incident involving a child. The media release is titled Baby Found - Tennant Creek:
- Police are investigating an incident in which a three month old baby was found abandoned in a lane way in Tennant Creek overnight.
- Police said a member of the public found the baby boy in bushes in the lane way connecting Paterson Street and Thompson Street just before midnight last night.
The child was taken to Tennant Creek Hospital for a medical assessment while police tried to locate the baby’s parents. Just before 3 am the baby’s 22-year-old mother and 29-year-old father came to the hospital looking for the child.
The Northern Territory News reported: Baby Ditched in Cold Alley:
- A newborn baby was found dumped in an isolated walkway early yesterday. A cyclist on his way to join mates celebrating Anzac Day found the infant. He picked up the baby boy and took it to Stephanie Butterworth, 24, who was waiting across the street from a Tennant Creek Nightclub.
‘The baby had been screaming his head off’, she said. ‘Otherwise my friend said he probably would have run straight over him. It was a pretty dark night and this was at about one o’clock. So I am not surprised he could not see him. I have got no idea how long he had been there. The poor little thing had been left lying on the ground in the middle of the walkway, so he’s pretty lucky he wasn’t injured or taken by hungry camp dogs’.
Ms Butterworth said the baby was dirty and smelly but looked healthy. He was wearing a warm jumpsuit but he was distressed and hungry. Ms Butterworth said she thought the baby was about three months old. She called the police who took her and the baby to the hospital where the boy was fed, assessed and put into the care of welfare workers.
‘I stayed with him until he was taken to a carer because I felt so sorry for him’, Ms Butterworth said. ‘I didn’t want him to be alone. It was heartbreaking. I went home and cried myself to sleep’. She said the officers did not seem shocked by the find. ‘They said they wouldn’t be able to identify the baby, until someone came into the station the next day looking for him’.
Ms Butterworth said she was so appalled by the ordeal she has decided to become an emergency foster carer because there was a shortage. ‘Finding this little baby has really brought it all home for me so I’m going to put my hand up to help out’, she said.
That was on 27 April - last week.
This case about a baby dumped in a lane way at Tennant Creek last week, a neonate, a newborn child dumped in a lane way, abandoned, at approximately midnight, possibly before - how long the child had been there we do not really know. Perhaps the police have more information than what has been provided by the media. The lane way was described as isolated. The cyclist who went down the lane way and found the baby described it as not often used. The baby was lying on the ground. It was dirty and smelly, which would indicate it was not particularly well cared for at that point in time, apart from the fact it was dumped there. Two people were directly affected by this apart from the baby - Ms Butterworth, and the cyclist, Mitch Dawson. The baby was taken to the hospital, the police were called, and the Department of Children and Families workers were involved. The boy, the infant, the neonate, was returned directly to its parents. Within hours of the baby being found, it was returned to the mother, a 22-year-old woman, and the father, a 29-year-old man.
We have major concerns about the management of this case, how it indicates again, still, a system that is failing the children of the Northern Territory. We have major concerns about reports we hear from the government saying reforms of the Northern Territory child protection system are well under way. We heard the progress report from the Minister for Child Protection a few weeks ago. Every ‘i’ was dotted, every ‘t’ was crossed. There was no stone left unturned in that report. Everything was squeaky clean, according to the government. They had addressed everything that was required of them within the Growing them strong, together report. All urgent recommendations had been addressed, according to the Minister for Child Protection.
I have major concerns, as shadow minister for child protection, that this is not so. This case demonstrates this. This case is probably not unique. In many ways, it is probably not different from many other cases that exist in the Northern Territory. This case has come to the attention of the Northern Territory people because it was reported by the media. It has been a focus of media attention. For that, I am grateful, because we have a case which has been poorly handled because of an unsatisfactory system in place - a system that has been well-documented over the years as not equipped, and not managed well. The maladministration of child protection in the Northern Territory has been documented in numerous reports we are all aware of. The Little Children are Sacred report - the state of denial report in the early part of the last decade. There are many reports that have said the same thing repeatedly: this government has failed to protect children in the Northern Territory.
What this case specifically highlights is aspects of the Growing them strong, together report that seem to be failing. It illustrates a dysfunctional system in the statutory intervention process around child protection. One aspect of the Growing them strong, together report was looking at the critical issues relating to the effectiveness and competence in the intake system; and how there was a divergence of opinions of what is child abuse and neglect. The allegation within the board of inquiry report, over and over again, was the bar is too high in the Northern Territory. What we consider to be abuse and neglect in the Northern Territory is an incredibly severe and serious case elsewhere. What we consider to be normal is completely abnormal elsewhere.
This case of this poor baby dumped in a lane way in Tennant Creek sadly demonstrates that. Why was the child returned immediately to its parents? What compelling information led to that decision being made? The only conclusion I can come to is the child protection workers, the well-meaning representatives of the statutory body, were not resourced adequately. Throughout the Growing them strong, together report, there are many references to the fact that foster care and out-of-home care is very difficult to access. In many cases, it does not exist.
There seems to be some major fault in the process by which the child was assessed. We can only speak hypothetically about this case because we do not know how it was assessed, but the bottom line is, the fact the child was returned immediately, or within hours of it being found, back to the family, would indicate that things are not the way they should be within child protection services in Tennant Creek.
In the Growing them strong, together report, many submissions and community service providers addressed the question of different perceptions of the level of risk experienced by notified children and the threshold being used in the Central Intake to determine harm. Perceptions that the department uses high thresholds for intervention have also been raised in the two reports prepared by the Children’s Commissioner for the Minister for Child Protection. What someone is charged with for torture in the eastern states, we accept as normal in the Northern Territory, and staff of the department have confirmed this high threshold of neglect. It becomes demoralising on a daily basis to witness the needless death and suffering that Territory children live with, knowing there is no point in notifying the department as the notifications will be closed at intake.
This case demonstrates this point, and the fact that we still have cases in the Northern Territory in which children are quickly returned to their parents after such an appalling situation like this, or a child is subjected to an appalling situation like this, is unacceptable. It is a clear indicator that, although every ‘i’ was dotted and every ‘t’ was crossed in the progress report from the minister, there are still systemic problems within child protection. Elsewhere around the country, around the world, I doubt whether a child dumped in a lane way, a small baby that could have been crushed, could have been savaged, anything could have happened to that child, would have been immediately returned to its parents. It is unacceptable. It is beyond belief.
The man who rode the bike along the lane way and who found the abandoned child said:
- ‘I can't believe they gave the kid back … that's a worst case scenario of child abuse and neglect. How bad does it have to be for them to take the kid off them? ... If I didn't go through when I did the child would have died …’
This is a layman; this is not a professional person. This guy was on the way to some sort of party or celebration for Anzac Day with his mates. He happened to come across this kid, and that is what he said to the media. Great wisdom and insight from the man who just happened to be at the right place at the right time: ‘I cannot believe they gave the kid back’, and just about everyone I have spoken to has said the same thing. It is common sense. If parents abandon or dump a child in a lane way at midnight, and it takes them three hours minimum to go to the hospital to find that child, there is something deeply and sadly wrong. There is something amiss.
There is something wrong with the parents, whether they be drug-affected or alcohol-affected, whether there is some sort of violent interaction going on that is well-documented in communities throughout the Northern Territory as being a high incident matter, whether there is family breakdown, whether there is some sort of business going on that we are not aware of, it does not matter. Those parents demonstrated a clear lack of capability, intention, or will to care for that child, that neonate, that child that has just entered the world. They showed a total lack of responsibility, yet they were rewarded by having that child placed back into their care.
Let us think about the child. The government has released this wonderful – and they are wonderful, I take my hat off to them – early childhood development in the Northern Territory. There is a series of fantastic evidence, and it is a fantastic report on the needs of children in their early part of life, their early stage of life in the Northern Territory. This is a report that talks about the need for proper care, proper recognition of the developmental requirements of children. We have a department that obviously produces, distributes and holds these sorts of documents in high regard but there is still, within this government, a huge gap between what it says it is going to do and actually doing it.
We all recognise this is an incredibly difficult area but I would have thought that, at this stage in the history of child protection in the Northern Territory, this would not be happening. That we would not have children quickly being returned to parents who are obviously not equipped, for whatever reason, to look after this child. If the child was given to a family member, we know through the reports in the Growing them strong, together report, we know from anecdotal reports, that what often happens is the family members will give the child back to the parents anyway. Those family placements are recognised as not always being effective, particularly when those placements are done at three o’clock in the morning under duress.
So what is going on in Tennant Creek? Why was this child returned in no time? There was another article in today’s Centralian Advocate:
- I have just finished reading the article in Friday’s paper about the baby in Tennant Creek. As Robyn Lambley put it: ‘I can’t believe the baby was given straight back to the parents’.
She also said that in other parts of Australia this would cause outrage:
- I have been saying the same thing after three years of fostering 17 children. I had children called ‘failing to thrive’. In other states they call it ‘neglect’. It shows that children in the Territory don’t seem to be as important as they are in other states. Instead of throwing more money at the problems, do something positive. We are so scared of upsetting the stolen generation we are creating a neglected generation.
Signed, Sandra Cooper, Alice Springs.
Why has this happened, minister? Explain to me; I am sure you are going to jump to your feet in a few minutes and tell me all the information that is not in the media reports, but I do note there is a discrepancy between the police media report and the report you issued a few days later - it back steps. The police media report said the child was almost immediately given back to the family. Your report suggests there was some sort of process put in place, and it took a little longer, and you felt extremely confident that it was a good decision to return the child to its family.
I am sure we are going to hear some tap dancing and quick shuffles to get out of this one. The bottom line is this is evidence that things are not as good as you would have us believe, minister. This is evidence that the Growing them strong, together report should be put back fairly and squarely on your desk, that you need to read it, your staff need to read it, the staff in Tennant Creek need to be supported and reminded of the recommendations of that report.
Mr VATSKALIS (Child Protection): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for her comments and strongly recommend she sits down and reads the report because I have a suspicion she actually read the executive summary and nothing else. One thing I agree with the member for Araluen is that she does not have all her facts with her. She only has the media news report. The best thing to do is to look at the facts, the way things happened.
I have been advised by my department that, on 26 April 2011, Central Intake was advised of an abandoned three-month-old baby in Tennant Creek. The child was taken to Tennant Creek Hospital and examined by medical staff. A doctor at the Tennant Creek Hospital found the baby generally appeared healthy. This matter was assessed as a child in danger and action was taken immediately to place this child into care. The parents attended the hospital that night. A decision was made for the child to remain in care until an appropriate assessment could be made. So, the child was not given back to the parents within hours. The advice I received was that the child was not given to his parents straight away. Instead, he was put into care.
On 27 April 2011, all relevant individuals were interviewed, including hospital staff, and the maternal grandmother who had agreed to take on a protective role for the child. With this additional family support in place, it was assessed that at the time there was no immediate risk to the child. Bear in mind at no time the police, or the medical staff, detected any involvement with alcohol or that the child may have been abused. They said the child appeared to be healthy.
The child’s safety and wellbeing is the overriding priority for the department and the government. It should be for every government. The child has been returned to the care of the parents and a safety plan has been agreed to. Six face-to-face contacts by departmental staff to date have occurred since the child’s return, and a follow-up appointment with the infant health nurse will occur on Friday.
It was not just handing the child back, but a process was put in place. A visit took place by departmental staff to the house where the family lives, and nearly every day the family was visited in their home by departmental staff. In addition to that, on Friday, the infant health nurse examined the child. However, the child protection case is still open on this family and will remain open until a more thorough assessment of the strength and needs of the family is complete to ensure a proper intervention of care and to monitor the situation.
I also advise the House that I have been advised the child had no prior history with the Department of Children and Families, the baby was healthy, and both parents showed the appropriate regret and remorse. Staff from the Department of Children and Families are satisfied that appropriate supports are in place from the child’s extended family. There is no evidence that alcohol is involved in this incident.
Follow-up by the Department of Children and Families staff with the family and child, including supportive home measures, are ongoing and will be ongoing. In addition, after I spoke with the acting CEO of the department, the case has been overseen by a senior children and family staff member. These are the plain facts.
I was concerned when I heard about the incident; I was not here, I was on holidays. When I returned the first thing I did was ask the department to provide me with a full brief of the situation. I believe, in this situation, the department acted quite reasonably because our intention is to keep families together. It is very easy to take kids away - it is keeping families together. This case was the first incident for this family. I understand it is a very young mother, there were some strange circumstances with a fight with the boyfriend, and no alcohol involved. The family had never had a case with the department. The child was detected by the doctor to be healthy, and the child was not given back to the family immediately, but only after measures were taken and put into place. The department acted quite rightly to give the child back to the family.
I would like to make mention of the board of inquiry’s report as it provides specific recommendations on supporting children and families. The board of inquiry highlighted the importance of family preservation and the importance of working with families, and I quote:
- … Intensive work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families once there has been a notification to build capacity to care for their children, manage in crisis situations and provide intensive support to prevent children being placed in care.
It is easy to take kids. It is a very simplistic approach taking the kids away. Fantastic, we will take the kids away. What have we achieved? We have achieved kids growing up away from families, and it is nothing to do with the Stolen Generations. That would happen to any family; it does not matter whether it is Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal. That would happen to a Greek family, a Chinese family, anyone. It has nothing to do with the Stolen Generations. It has to do with the safety of children, and I have been on the public record saying the safety of children is paramount. An Aboriginal child would not be put with an Aboriginal family if we could not guarantee the safety of the child. A Greek child would not be put in a Greek family unless we could guarantee the safety of the child. If we can satisfy ourselves that this is the best place to be, and a safe place to be, then the department would do that.
Madam Speaker, the member for Araluen is right: there were a number of reports written during various times. The ones she referred to, the specific report she was referring to before – sorry, I forget …
Ms Scrymgour: State of denial.
Mr VATSKALIS: State of denial was actually referring to the 10 years of lack of child protection under the CLP government. So, it was not only the Labor government that somehow managed to forget the children of the Territory; it was the CLP government before our government was even elected ...
Mrs Lambley: It is not your fault.
Mr VATSKALIS: Madam Speaker, I did not say it was actually her fault or my fault. The problem here is not a problem for a Labor or Liberal government; it is a problem of our society. It is a problem that not only happens in the Northern Territory but happens throughout Australia, throughout the world. That is the reason, following the board of inquiry’s report, I called every society, organisation, community organisation, non-government organisation, including the churches, and put to them that this has to be resolved by all of us. Governments do not make good parents. We can throw them money but we cannot solve the problem. It has to be done properly. I spoke to CatholicCare, Anglicare, Somerville, the Catholic church, the Anglican church, the Pentecostal church, and AMSANT, because this is an issue we have to address as a community - not as a political party or a Cabinet of a certain political persuasion.
Talking about children’s services, how can the members opposite lecture about children’s services when the budget for the whole year for children’s services when they were in government was $7m - $7m! How can we talk about child protection when they did not have any after-hours service for child protection? How can we talk about child protection under the CLP government when, if anything was out of Darwin and Alice Springs, it did not exist? It was a big carpet, because they used to sweep it under the carpet - out of sight, out of mind. The only government that took seriously the child protection issue is the Labor government.
There are a number of members around here who served as ministers for Child Protection, and every single member tried to do the best they could to increase the number of people working in child protection from 100 under the CLP government, to what is now nearly 500 people - from $7m from the CLP government to today’s announced budget of $182m, the budget for the Department of Children and Families …
Mr Elferink: That is not true. This is quite deceptive.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr VATSKALIS: The member for Port Darwin can jump up and down and say it is not true. This is not made up by us. It was written in their budget books under the CLP government. You do not have to go far, the library is over there. Go and pick up the budget books of the CLP governments and you will find the child protection budget was extremely limited.
Madam Speaker, we put the Children’s Commissioner into place. There was never one under the CLP - ever. We are trying to increase the powers of the commissioner and, in Alice Springs, the members of the opposition opposed our amendments to increase his powers to investigate complaints. Where do I stop? Every single time! When we announced the board of inquiry, they came up with a policy in which the only thing they did was actually try to extend the power of the commissioner to investigate any complaint - no additional money for child protection, no additional money for people to actually work in child protection. Nothing at all. Their policy was two pages, with $9m. That was it - $9m!
We have put $130m over the next five years. We employed stacks of new people to fill the gaps of a service that was in crisis when we came to government, and we are trying to fix it. Yes, it will take time. It is not going to happen in a year, in five years; it is going to happen in the next 10 years. I tell you it does not matter what government will be in place, any government of any political persuasion will face the same challenges we face today, because the problems with child protection in the Territory are deeper than we see today.
There was never a presence in the community. Now, we are trying to have people in the communities addressing child protection issues. There was never child protection workers in the communities - non-Indigenous child protection workers. To their credit, previous CLP governments thought hard and they established a parallel Indigenous-controlled health system that worked very closely with our system. Why did they not do the same with the child protection system? This is what we are trying to do now: a community-controlled child protection service that works in parallel with our mainstream child services to address the big issues in the communities.
The most appropriate people to work with the communities are the people who understand the communities, the people who come out of the communities. We are the first government to introduce specific training courses for Indigenous people to be qualified child protection officers. If we are going to address the issue with Indigenous children, we have to have Indigenous people delivering these services in the Indigenous communities, the same way we do with the Aboriginal medical services in Darwin, with Danila Dilba and Wurli Wurlinjang, with these Indigenous agencies that deliver such services we have seen all these improved outcomes. What really rubs me the wrong way is how they have now become holier than thou, and they now lecture the government that somehow there was this Utopia in the Territory before 18 August 2001, and since 19 August 2001, everything is going downhill and, of course, the child protection service.
Well, some of us were here in the Territory before 2001 and we remember very well what was happening and what the situation was with children’s services, and even health services. It would not take much to have a look at the newspapers of the time to find out how wonderful this place was, because it was not. I say to you that the comparison is clear: $7m is what the CLP government put into child protection services against $182m today in the budget.
Madam Speaker, there is $25m extra for child protection reforms, including $3.6m to reform the child protection intake system, to increase family support programs, and expand the roll-out of community child safety and wellbeing teams in Territory growth towns. They live in places outside of Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs, the places the CLP never visited or never bothered to visit. There is $5m for increased payments for foster carers to clear system backlogs: from 870 cases backlog in October, we now have 10, so we must be doing something right. There is $700 000 to provide resources to increase the functions and powers of the Children’s Commissioner - the one the Labor government put in place that the CLP did not want to know about. There is $6.4m for additional child protection workers and to increase training and support for Aboriginal employees; $1.5m for an Aboriginal child, youth and families peak body, an Aboriginal childcare agency in Darwin and Alice Springs; and $5.6m to support implementation of new legislation, policies, and workforce reform.
Yes, member for Araluen, I agree with you: the incident in Tennant Creek was despicable. It should never have happened. At the same time, I was not there, I do not know the family personally, and I do not know what crisis the family was in and why that kid was left there. The good thing is the child was not harmed, the child was not abused, the child was not hungry, and there was no alcohol involved. The child was put in a lane way. The woman involved had some personal problems and the child was left there. It was fortunate that people discovered the child, and I am very grateful to the person who was riding the bike and found the child. I am also grateful to the woman who looked after the child and took the child to hospital. I believe any good citizen would do the same, and I am very proud that person decided to become an emergency foster carer. This is a really good community working together because, as I said before, it is not the government that will solve the problems; it is all of us as a community.
When someone reviews the facts to see why it happened and how it happened, then it becomes clear that the department acted reasonably and logically, following the advice of the board of inquiry’s report to keep families together, and to monitor the situation as it develops. If there is any issue of child protection, rest assured that I will be the first one to ask for a different mode of action and different explanation from the department, and if that is not followed, then someone will have to explain to me why it did not happen.
Madam Speaker, I said before that I do not care if they are Indigenous kids, I do not care if they are white kids, and I do not care if they are purple kids. What is important to me is safe kids, and I will ensure that to the best of my ability. I will try to make the necessary changes so things like that do not happen, but if it happens, we will keep a close eye to make sure the children of the Territory do not suffer.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I have listened carefully to the minister and I acknowledge at the outset that this stuff ain’t easy. If it were, the government of the day would have fixed it, and clearly the government has not been able to fix it, in spite of what I think are genuine efforts to do so. Moreover, I would go so far as to say that I understand the government’s frustration. I know the former Health minister in the last CLP government, Steve Dunham, also wrestled with this. If he has one lamentation with regard to his time as a Health minister it is that he did not do more for the kids. He was a genuine, decent bloke who cared very much but, unfortunately, circumstances in the real world of budgets limited the then minister in relation to the government’s capacity to respond, as this government’s capacity is limited.
I acknowledge this government has dedicated more resources to this particular area and, with the amount of pressure that has been on this government with this particular issue, it behoves them well to do so. It would be difficult to imagine circumstances where there is this much pressure on a government and it was not able to respond in fiscal terms.
I want to keep my comments within the parameters of what the minister suggested and not turn this into a political football. However, I cannot sit here and listen to a minister who simply misrepresents the amount of expenditure. The minister knows very well that when he quotes the figure of $180m, he is talking about the output group of child services, of which child protection is a single line item. If memory serves me - in fact, I will flick to it in the budget papers. The Children and Family Output Group gets $182m, of which Child Protection Services get a little more than 25%. They get $51.3m.
It is unfortunate that the government would take the old line item, the $7m, and then say it is spending $180m as a comparator. That is not true. The original output group, I think, was about $35m and I acknowledge that you are spending much more in the area of Child Protection Services, but do not try to mislead Territorians for political gain by saying you are spending $180m. No, you are not. You are spending $51m. That is a substantial increase and you can be proud of that. You do not have to spin those numbers, but you choose to.
That brings me to my point of greatest concern, which is the response from a government that believes it is still necessary to use spin as its vehicle to deal with these issues, rather than speaking about the facts. I am grateful to the minister for taking the time out to inform the House more fulsomely than the Northern Territory News did about what occurred that evening. What it also betrays is that there is a system in place which is still struggling to deal with these sorts of issues. The system is, in part, beyond the capacity of this government to deal with because there are aspects of this system that are the product of federal government decisions.
Ever since the early 1970s, in this jurisdiction and other jurisdictions, we have taken it upon ourselves to try to correct the decisions made by colonial and post-colonial governments. Our response has always been, and continues to be, almost exclusively a welfare response. We talk about children’s welfare, we have welfare concepts that drive our policies. If you listen to what the minister had to say about the response from the department, it was an entirely welfare-oriented response.
I want to make a distinction here between the welfare of the child in this instance and the welfare system that surrounds Aboriginal people. I am going to go out on a limb here and presume this child was an Aboriginal child because - well, I am not presuming. I have been informed by other sources that that was actually the case and that the mother, in this case, was under some pressure and, as a result of that pressure, had left her child in the middle of the lane way.
As a parent of two young children myself - it was not that long ago they were babies - I find that to be utterly incomprehensible. I cannot imagine any circumstances in which my wife or I would have left our infant children lying in a lane way in the middle of a small town - but perhaps she was under some form of duress. I suspect, and the minister has not given me any comfort in this area, if the mother was of such a distracted disposition that she was no longer capable of remembering to pick up her child, or to leave her child in a lane way, the question the minister has not answered or addressed is: why was the mother subsequently deemed capable of looking after the child, or had the continuing capacity to look after the child?
It is unlikely that a person suffering from an emotional, perhaps even mental, trauma would recover sufficiently well in the space of a few hours. To be in such a mental state at one point that they can simply forget - that is the best possible description applicable in this instance; it could be much worse, but I will use the word ‘forget’ - a child in a public place and then a few hours later be deemed by the authorities to be sufficiently well-disposed to be able to look after the child successfully. I appreciate the minister says that with this child there has been ongoing monitoring and all the assistance we can possibly muster is being given to the parents, but this gets back to the problem I have with our overall approach and the assumption underlying all of this is we have to deal with this as a welfare approach.
The priority of course is the child; however, unfortunately, in our anxiety to look after that priority, to deal with the immediate priority, we continue as policy-makers to amplify the very nature of the problem that has led to these outcomes, which is, unfortunately, a welfare process.
We look for the short-term solutions in relation to welfare, but struck away from welfare by philosophical construct is the concept of responsibility. People are saying to this mother: ‘You are responsible for the child. You have to look after the child’, but with responsibility there also comes a consequence.
Nothing I have heard from the minister today gives me the impression that there is a consequence flowing to the mother, other than increased support. Increased support will generate increased dependence on the part of the mother and, at that point, you have set about amplifying the welfare process even more.
If the mother is becoming dependent on welfare sources, that is exactly where the mother will turn - and the father as I understand it - to continue getting help. There is no policy or structure in place that makes the parents truly responsible. We tend to remove the responsibility by increasing amounts, the more desperate the case. If there is no employment, we give unemployment benefits, but we then have no expectation on the person who receives those benefits to provide anything constructive to their community. If we provide childcare services or child protection services to a family like this, where is the evidence that these parents are going to be more responsible in future for the care of their child, rather than less responsible?
The message, as I understand it, is if I abandon my child in a public place, not only will the child be returned to me, but I will also receive more government support. Will there be an offer of better housing attached to it? Will there be an offer of other forms of support attached to it? Perhaps some of the non-government agencies and charities, which the minister described, will provide better services as a result. At a more cynical level, one could well understand why the signal we send to bad parents as a community is there is nothing that really flows from bad parenting other than better services.
Trapped in the middle of all of these thoughts, of course, is the child. I, for one, believe the first port of call for a child should be with its family, but some families are so profoundly dysfunctional. I go out on a limb here and suggest a child who is three months old and abandoned at night in a lane way is from a family in a dysfunctional state and that child needs to have its interests looked after.
Whilst I appreciate the staff feel that placing the child back with the family is the best possible outcome, I harbour reservations about that. Of course, we could be better informed by a minister who read from his briefing note some of the facts, but there is not sufficient in that briefing note and the minister’s comments to convince me the child is in the best possible place it could be.
The lady who was involved with the recovery of that child was so confronted with the enormity of what she had seen that she offered herself as a foster carer - and good on her. Will the child protection services bypass her in the future, in a similar set of circumstances, when she is offering a loving and cherishing household, in favour of the default position of the child is better off with its family?
I have noted the comments from the member for Macdonnell in relation to this issue in the past; that the quality of love in a family does not necessarily know a colour barrier. I expect a person who is moved by their compassion and, indeed, charity to look after a child would possibly show more care and responsibility than a mother who abandons her child at 1 am in a lane way in a small country town. That is probably heresy as far as many child protection services are concerned. I know the Growing them strong, together report made quite a bit of ensuring there is an element of cultural integrity in these considerations, but I much more concern myself with love, care, and protection than cultural integrity. Whilst a factor, it cannot become the primary contributor to our thought processes.
I am not convinced, as a result of listening to the minister, that appropriate action has been taken. I hope the policymakers in the department, and the minister as a policymaker, continue to be mindful of the fact that the child’s need for love and care are more important than other needs described in the Growing them strong, together report. I continue to have reservations about the way these policies are being wheeled out. I can tell Territorians, under a Country Liberals’ government, the child’s welfare, in terms of their love and needs, will be paramount over cultural considerations.
Discussion concluded.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
I rise tonight to pay tribute to a man who was a true Central Australian legend, Bill Hayes. Bill was killed in a tragic accident on his station, Deep Well, on Saturday. He was a well-known pastoralist, tourism operator, and a gentleman. Bill was a member of the pioneering Hayes family in Central Australia.
William and Mary Hayes arrived in the Centre in 1884 with horse and bullock teams loaded with steel poles to replace the original wooden poles on the Overland Telegraph Line. The Hayes family have played a key role in the pastoral development of Central Australia, and Bill was well-regarded as a skilled stockman. He was made a life member of the Stockman’s Hall of Fame last year, an honour he was thrilled to accept and one that paid tribute to his contribution to the pastoral industry and his skills as a stockman.
Bill Hayes was born in Alice Springs on 19 November 1943 and grew up on family-owned stations in Central Australia. He bought Deep Well Station in 1960, a place he loved and lived on for the next 51 years. Bill and his wife, Jan, were not only pastoral pioneers; they broke new ground in the tourism industry as well. In 1995, during a slow time in the cattle industry, they created their now renowned Ooraminna Homestead on a block excised from Deep Well. I am sure most of us in this House have enjoyed the hospitality of Bill and Jan at Ooraminna. There is nothing quite like sitting under the stars enjoying a wonderful feed, and the company of Bill and Jan topped it off quite well. Ooraminna has developed a first-class reputation around the world, and Bill, in partnership with his wife, Jan, made it what it is.
While he was justly proud of Ooraminna, it was the work on the land that Bill loved the most. He also had a keen appreciation of the history of Central Australia, and last year he played a lead role in the re-enactment of John McDouall Stuart’s entry into Central Australia to mark 150 years since the first Europeans entered Central Australia. I understand that Bill played the role with relish, including a fake beard and all.
I will miss catching up with Bill, whether it is at the show, as I have done over the past four or five years, or at the beautiful Ooraminna Homestead. I have had a couple of meetings in Alice Springs with visitors from interstate and had the pleasure of taking those visitors to Ooraminna Homestead to enjoy the company of Bill and Jan and the wonderful scenery there. I enjoyed sitting down with Bill over the years and having a chat and listening to his stories and insights, particularly stories he told me about attending the Hartley Street School with my father and uncles.
I offer my condolences to Bill’s beloved wife, Jan, to his children, Billy, Jenny and Matthew, and to his family and many friends. I will leave you with a few lines from a well-known poem by Murray Hartin; I am not sure if people know it but I will quote the first couple of lines:
- Here’s a tale of Billy Hayes from out near Alice Springs,
A wild young ringer in ‘is day done some crazy things.
I will not read the whole poem but it is a great one that immortalises Bill Hayes.
Madam Deputy Speaker, moving to my electorate of Stuart, I would like to inform parliament of a great youth initiative happening at the moment. It is a collaboration between the Roper Gulf Shire and the Council for Aboriginal and Alcohol Program Services, known as CAAPS, seeing 10 youth workers from remote communities, including Beswick, complete a Certificate III in Community Services. The new youth workers are based in remote Aboriginal communities around the shire and will use these new skills to mentor remote youth to employment and education pathways.
I extend my congratulations to all 10 youth workers for successfully completing this course and, in particular, Justin Fuller, from the Beswick community. I also mention Jake Quinlivan, the regional manager for youth services from the Roper Gulf Shire for his great work on this initiative.
I commend Michael Underwood, from Riveren Station on the Buntine Highway near the Western Australia border, in my electorate, on his recent selection into the Australian Rural Leadership program. Two leaders were selected from the Northern Territory, Michael and Alice Beilby from Katherine. They were part of a highly competitive national selection process and will undertake a 17-month program, which provides a unique opportunity to develop high-level leadership skills, as well as business, strategic planning, and interpersonal skills. Michael and Alice were selected based on their commitment and interest in addressing complex issues in rural Australia and will use this opportunity to become more effective leaders.
The Australian Rural Leadership program is a highly sought after program with over 80 applications received. It is a tremendous achievement to be selected on this highly prestigious, internationally respected, program. I wish Michael and Alice the best of luck and look forward to hearing of their progress.
I would now like to mention a great football achievement in the community of Kalkarindji. Kalkarindji has rallied together and formed a men’s AFL team to enter the Katherine competition. The team will be known as the Gurindji Eagles. I can say that the guys from Kalkarindji have entered teams in the competition in previous years, however, they have had a break from the last few seasons and it is great to see them back. It is a huge commitment for a community to enter a team into this football competition as it requires a great deal of organising and travelling. I congratulate the community members of Kalkarindji on forming this team and look forward to watching their progress. Best of luck to them.
Travelling south of Kalkarindji to the community of Lajamanu, I congratulate a young man, Caleb Japanangka Patrick, who was recently selected as a finalist in the prestigious NT Young Achiever Awards. Caleb is a young professional Indigenous dancer who has established himself as an inspirational leader for the young people in Lajamanu. Caleb has worked very hard to develop Milpirri, a cultural festival that aims to empower and educate local Warlpiri people. Caleb has provided an invaluable opportunity for Lajamanu youth to participate in this festival through dance, workshops, and cultural activities. This year’s organisers of the NT Young Achiever Awards noted a record number of nominations across all categories. For Caleb to be nominated as a finalist from such a competitive field of applicants is an extraordinary achievement and one that he, and his family, should be very proud of.
The community of Barunga, outside Katherine, recently won the Territory’s Tidiest Town for the second year running. According to the Australian Tidy Towns national judges, Barunga has maintained the prestigious honour of being the Territory’s tidiest town for the last two years. It is the individual and community cultural pride and self-esteem within Barunga that maintains this standard. The judges also commented that there is a total community focus on litter control with ‘Do the Right Thing’ signs posted on bins throughout the community to raise continual awareness and assist in reducing unwanted litter in this unique outback environment.
The community of Barunga works hard to implement litter prevention and resource recovery measures that not only aim to keep litter off the streets, but also educate locals on the need to reduce and recycle their waste. It is an outstanding achievement for Barunga to lead the way on being tidy in the Northern Territory. Keep up the great work.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I will make a fairly informal report on the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees meeting I attended in Perth last week.
I will make a few comments because I need to write something in more detail in reply to our own Public Accounts Committee; however, a few matters were raised that would be broader than the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees and probably relate to a general discussion about our parliament and how committees operate.
There was one interesting paper; unfortunately I arrived just as it was finishing because the plane was late. It was given by Andrew Murray, who people might remember was an Australian Senator - a Democrat from memory - for Western Australia from July 1996 to June 2008. He presented a paper titled ‘Parliamentarians, Politicians and Accountability’. I seek leave to table the paper.
Leave granted.
Mr WOOD: There were some very interesting issues raised by former Senator Andrew Murray and I will read a few of those:
- Member of parliament is the formal descriptor for the profession, but politician is the commonly used and (in the eyes of the public) less savoury term. It is not either/or; people are often both politician and parliamentarian, depending on the time, place and issue, but there are differences in perception between the two.
A parliamentarian supports parliament, its institutions, its power, its purpose. A politician is more concerned with government. Politicians are thought to be partisan, parliamentarians not, but being one or the other is a matter of judgment, behaviour and attitude, not of belief or party.
An interesting subtext is that popularly, politicians are thought to be pettier and more self-interested than parliamentarians; to care about winning, about politics and the media cycle, while parliamentarians are thought to care about policy, delivering outcomes and the practical advancement of genuine issues of concern.
There is a section headed ‘Politics is Partisan’, which is where that comes from. He also has a section on ‘Lending a Hand’, which says:
- Parliament is inferior to the executive in its resources. If power is best challenged by countervailing power, what more can be done to lend parliamentarians a hand? I have a few propositions for you
This certainly could be debated. It may not be suitable for a small parliament like ours but that parliament should be in control of its own budget helps advance the separation of powers. He mentions:
- A financially hamstrung or subservient parliament cannot adequately scrutinise or hold accountable the executive. The executive can withhold or limit the funds available for an effective independent committee system, for adequate independent research, and for parliamentary office facilities that foster productivity and efficiency.
You have to remember Andrew Murray is coming from a background of a much larger parliament, in this case the Senate. He also says:
- Parliament should be better serviced.
…
There are four ways in which parliament can be better served on money matters on a non-partisan basis - by
That was also discussed at the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees meeting - the idea of the Auditor-General having his or her budget set by parliament rather than the Executive has much merit. Naturally, an executive could squeeze the power of the Auditor-General financially simply by not giving the Auditor-General enough power to take on the role he is supposed to.
There is also the issue of parliamentarians’ standards needing to be lifted. It said:
- The quality of parliamentarians presently in office is what it is, as delivered by the parties and the electorate. Nothing can be done about that, but something can be done about those who serve those parliamentarians.
I must admit I have read this to my personal assistant, and she certainly got a chuckle out of it. It said:
- If those elected have weaknesses in life and work experience, ability and skills …
- … the political leadership need to ensure they are serviced by staff that have those missing qualities.
The staff I have …
Mr Elferink: She has more hair than you.
Mr WOOD: Yes. They certainly make up for that and I appreciate the work they do, because it is not the easiest job. When you have people who have experience in other fields, it makes a good team. I am just bringing that forward.
This is a very good paper that would be worth everyone reading. Former Senator Murray has a very good knowledge of the parliamentary systems in Australia, and it was one of the highlights of the Australasian Council of Public Accounts Committees conference.
A couple of other things I noticed - and this is something that would need more debate - it seems that in most other states, and I cannot say which ones do not have it, except I know the Territory generally does not have it – non-government members chair committees. This is the way it should be. After all, committees only give recommendations to government, so governments should not be scared of a non-government chair. It opens it up as reflecting the bipartisanship of most committees.
If you read this paper by Andrew Murray, he says that, generally speaking, most committees are made up of parliamentarians, as distinct from most parliaments being made up of politicians, so when people get on committees they tend to start to work together, because they have something in mind that they are all working for.
So, having a non-government chair on committees is something we should discuss.
Meetings are open to the public: the Council of Territory Cooperation is probably - and I stand to be corrected - the only committee that is generally open to the public. How many other committees are open to the public?
Mr Elferink: Estimates.
Mr WOOD: Estimates, true. But, our Public Accounts Committee, in general, is not necessarily open to the public. We should work on the premise that all our committees should be open to the public, but for exceptional reasons. So, we work on the idea they are part of parliament, they should be open to the public. Unless you have really good reasons to say they should not be open to the public, let us keep them open. If the public and the media want to turn up, so they should.
Unfortunately, I missed the non-debate on the audit bill tonight. I was going to talk about it. In the changes to the Audit Act, there is talk about being able to give powers to the Auditor-General to follow the dollars - where the government puts money into non-government organisations, to have the power to follow that right through. If it gives money to an alcohol rehabilitation centre, he can follow the money right through, even if not all the money they spent is ours, but if the Northern Territory’s money is being spent on that particular association, you can follow it right through. This was highlighted during the meetings in Perth by other speakers.
When I had a chance to give a report from the Northern Territory - we did not have much time to give a report, three minutes in fact - I mentioned the issue about SIHIP and how the Auditor-General had raised the issue that he could not follow the money any further. I actually got a comment from the Commonwealth Auditor-General, who was there, who also said this is an important issue for the Commonwealth government as well. It is something that is on the radar of many governments; that they need to have the powers of their Auditor-General to be able to check up where all money goes regardless of whether it is a government entity or, as mentioned in the second reading, a government-owned corporation, a Territory company, a subsidiary company, or an NGO. If they are spending Northern Territory taxpayers’ money, the Auditor-General should have the right to look at that, and the issue of commercial-in-confidence should not stop the Auditor-General having the right to look at that. That excuse is commonly used; it is used in the Council of Territory Cooperation, and probably in other committees, as an excuse for not being able to give out all the information a committee needs to make a thoughtful recommendation to government based on what it has learnt.
It was a good meeting. I was a little doubtful when I went. I thought, oh, a boring old meeting down there. It was very good. It was good to meet the PACs from other countries outside of Australia. I will give a fulsome report at a later stage.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to talk about several issues tonight. The first one I wish to raise is that I recently had cause to travel to St John’s College, which had opened, as part of the Building the Education Revolution package, a new area and classrooms, which looked fine, there is no problem with those. However, whilst I was at St John’s College, I was invited by the senior staff to visit the areas dedicated to metalwork and woodwork. I have to say, I am somewhat disappointed at the condition of those two areas at St John’s College, and they are the first to acknowledge that they are far from perfect.
Indeed, under normal circumstances, I would not be encouraging government of any persuasion to be stepping outside the normal processes of funding for private and public schools. But, St John’s College is a bit of an exceptional case, in the sense that St John’s College provides education to many students who are Indigenous, who come from remote communities. Frankly, the skills you learn from woodwork and metal workshops are often more important to those remote communities than some of the more abstract education that is available through the college.
I in no way seek to diminish an academic education, but the needs of some of these students, for practical purposes, would be well-met by a proper set of facilities at St John’s College. I realise that it is outside the normal protocols of funding to be discussing this matter in the House. However, I ask the Education minister to turn his benevolent eye upon the circumstances surrounding these facilities at St John’s College, because if the Northern Territory government were able in any way to assist the college with these services and these particular sorts of classes, then I believe there is a good cause for them to do so, considering the stated objectives of this government in terms of Indigenous education, not only in the bush, but also in our major colleges. I will seek to open a dialogue with the minister on this particular issue. I hope that he has paid attention to my comments here. These will not be the last comments I make in relation to what is occurring at St John’s.
I thank and place on the record my thanks to Rhys Simlesa. Rhys recently sent me, in fact, some time ago, sadly, an e-mail. I will quote it into the Hansard record, and I presume that Rhys has a few mates with him, because it is written:
- We would like you to build a skate park in the City or Stuart Park area for us kids who live in the City. How about the land in front of the Tipperary shops? Could this be used? Our parents do not like having to drive out to Leanyer or Palmerston because we live in Stuart Park. If we had a skate park, we would use it all the time. What else do we need to get a skate park in the Darwin area? Hope you can help.
I have subsequently spoken to Rhys, and his mum, about this issue. It is a fine example of the thinking that needs to be applied to that strip of land. It is not the first time I have discussed that strip of land in this House and probably will not be the last, because it is a substantial piece of land, which is essentially lying fallow and unused for want of a little bit of infrastructure spending.
It will probably be a disappointment for Rhys to discover that, by the time you went through the budgetary processes of starting a new project of this nature, he will probably have his driver’s licence. However, it does him good and it does this House good to remember that with the increasing population in the Darwin CBD and surrounds, we are not accommodating the kids who live in this area in the same way that we have accommodated the kids in Leanyer, Palmerston and other places.
Whilst I am not advocating for a splendid construction which will surpass any other skate park in the Northern Territory, it is not an unreasonable request that Rhys has suggested. I am taking the matter up on his behalf and adding it to my list of things that I would like to see done with that strip of land in front of Tipperary Waters on the sea side of Tiger Brennan Drive.
I congratulate Rhys in his endeavours and I will be contacting him again shortly to get his mates together and see if we can set about bringing some pressure on a government which has neglected to build a skate park in the Darwin CBD for these kids. Of course, I will be encouraging Rhys to do some more lobbying and expand on the lobbying that he has started with me.
I also rise tonight to talk about public drunkenness, one of my most irritating bugbears. I acknowledge the work that has been done by the Northern Territory Police in the area of Harriet Place. The advice I have received from residents in the area is that it has improved somewhat. Nevertheless, I have seen some drunks there. Full credit to Superintendent Jamie O’Brien for his efforts but, sadly, what was once Harriet Place’s problem is now the Esplanade’s problem. One of the problems is the police tend to move drunks on, and they move probably a few hundred metres.
Most recently, I have seen swags rolled out on the Esplanade. I have seen large numbers of people sleeping on the Esplanade. I have seen people begging on the Esplanade, and humbugging people for money on the Esplanade. Moreover, such is the level of people’s comfort on the Esplanade, I have recently seen an old man in his electric wheelchair hooked up to the power points on the Esplanade charging up his wheelchair while he is there.
Many of these people - I am not saying all of them - are simply itinerant drunks who come out of the communities, come to our parks and gardens, and cause the problems which we are now all so familiar with in our communities. On a closer inspection of the Esplanade, you will see or smell human faeces, urine, people will expectorate and, in one instance at the rear of my office, which is not far from the Esplanade, fornicate.
This problem needs to be dealt with by a government which is more responsive than simply empowering a police force to shuffle these people around. These people were, at one stage, at the Fannie Bay shops and, when that became an issue, they moved to Harriett Place. When that became an issue they moved on to the Esplanade, and little more than that is done. The Country Liberals have a comprehensive policy which involves intervening in the lives of these habitual drunks, and dealing with them so they are removed from circulation for three months at a time if need be.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I encourage the government to continue to work hard to deal with these drunks because the efforts that are now being made are not sufficient to meet the requirements of the residents of the Esplanade who have to put up with the noise that these people make, their language, and the fights. I encourage the Northern Territory government to find better policies such as the ones the Country Liberals are offering in an effort to clean up these issues once and for all.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to talk about an unusual case that has happened to one of my constituents, a lovely couple living in Gunn, Palmerston. They are in the unfortunate situation where they are in a relatively new home. At the time the home was constructed they had a pool installed, which has subsequently popped out of the ground after the record rainfall in the Greater Darwin area.
Tonight, I hope I can get some clarification from the minister regarding the proposed builders warranty insurance legislation and where the government is going with that. I am still not certain if the proposed changes the government is looking at it will cover this particular situation. I am hoping they will, and I have a letter, which was sent to the member for Nelson regarding this matter, and I will read that letter in a second.
To explain what has happened: when the pool was constructed three years ago, by all accounts a reputable, local pool company installed the pool and, reading their warranty, it says the pool was installed to Australian standards. In this particular case there is evidence from a reputable engineer to suggest the pool was not installed to the latest Australian standards, and some might question who is responsible in this case.
Unfortunately, the insurance company for this lovely couple has walked away from the issue suggesting their insurance warranty does not cover this. The wording was: it was not through the occurrence of something like an earthquake or some sudden event; it was a buildup of water under the pool structure that caused it to pop out of the ground. In the Northern Territory, where pools are a common feature of many homes, particularly some of the newer areas in Palmerston and back onto the escarpment, there needs to be more than what is considered acceptable.
I know hydrostatic valves are placed in pools and proper plumbing or drainage is supposed to be put in to prevent this from occurring. However, in this particular case, you have an insurance company that has walked away, a local installation company which to date has not been as fair as it possibly could have, and a situation where good residents have to go as far as Consumer Affairs to have this looked at.
I will read out the letter that was sent to the member for Nelson, Mr Wood. It basically says:
- The Building Code of Australia (BCA) classifies a swimming pool as a Class 10b structure, and is mainly concerned with the protection of children through regulating the pool fence. As you are aware, the NT government regulates pool fencing through the adoption of the Swimming Pool Safety Act.
The NT government is currently considering a range of changes to the building regulation regime, with the current proposed Residential Building Insurance consumer package being the first part of changes that are being considered. Other changes include requests for more registration of practitioners in the building industry and greater coverage of work that is subject to building approval, such as swimming pool construction.
I would like the minister to advise whether this is something the proposed changes would cover. These people have done nothing wrong. They have purchased the house, it has a pool, and three years after the house and the pool were constructed, the pool has popped out of the ground. Apparently it was put in as per Australian standards, yet we have the insurance company walk away from it; the company that installed it looks like they have walked away from it at this stage; and they could be left with a bill of many thousands of dollars, in fact, tens of thousands of dollars to have this situation rectified.
The question is: can the minister provide some kind of assurance that the government is seriously looking at changes to the legislation, which will cover situations like this.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Deputy Speaker, I attended the Young Achiever Awards to celebrate our young people on Saturday, 2 April. The Young Achiever Awards is an opportunity for us to recognise and reward the contribution young Territorians make to our community.
I also had the pleasure of officially launching the National Youth Week at this event with the Northern Territory National Youth Week ambassador, Larnie McClintock. The Northern Territory is proud to support this valuable event sponsoring the Northern Territory Government Career Achievement Award, the Department of Children and Families’ Young Carer’s Award, and Minister for Young Territorians Excellence in Youth Leadership Award. I congratulate every young person nominated for these awards. It is testament to their leadership skills, talent, compassion, and dedication that others felt compelled to nominate them. They and their families should be extremely proud.
I congratulate each of the category winners and I will list them:
Daniel Walton won the NT Government Career Achievement Award and was winner of the overall Channel 9 Young Achiever Award. Daniel is the lessee of the restaurant at the Hidden Valley Tavern and is only a young man. He has worked overseas, and has worked diligently to get a lot of experience. He now has his own restaurant at the Hidden Valley Tavern. Well done to Daniel.
Rebecca Healy won the McArthur River Mining Regional and Rural Initiative Award. Honeylyn Lisson won the Minister for Young Territorians Excellence in Youth Leadership Award. Daly Kelly won the Somerville Community Service Award. Samantha Penny won the Department of Health and Families Young Carers Award. Those young carers are amazing young people for what they do for their families and other people at such a young age.
Matt Cornell won the Charles Darwin University Arts Award. Jacinta Kelly, who is married to Daly Kelly, won the Power and Water Science and Engineering Award. Des Abbott, who was not there on the evening, won the Perkins Shipping Sports Award. He has certainly taken out a lot of awards recently. Benjamin Campbell won the ConocoPhillips Environment Award.
I thank Larnie McClintock, the outgoing NT Young Member of the National Youth Week who has promoted and taken part in the week with great enthusiasm and passion for the role over the last two years. She has done a great job. She recently became engaged, and we wish her all the best with her future marriage.
I thank the awards organisers. It was a wonderful event. Everyone who attended - and it was a large crowd, bigger than the previous year - were very impressed with all the nominations. Just to get a nomination is great recognition for those young people and they do the Territory proud.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016