2008-10-28
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 10 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received from His Honour the Administrator Message No 2 notifying assent to bills passed in September 2008 sittings of the Assembly.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have given my leave for the member for Araluen to make a personal explanation. I remind honourable members that personal explanations is not a debate and that it is usual to listen in silence.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation. In this House on 22 October, the member for Karama asked whether I had been drinking and the inference was that I was drunk. Upon being asked to do so, the member for Karama, the Treasurer, withdrew unreservedly the question as to whether I had been drinking.
The member’s allegation and imputation was then given currency by one journalist, Nigel Adlam of the NT News when, on Friday last week, he claimed on radio that whilst some members were not drunk, others were. As a result of an article in today’s NT News, I am alleged to have been one of them. The allegation was wrong, offensive, without substance, and amounts to slur on my character. While I accept the robust nature of parliament, I do not accept that it is to be used as a vehicle for slurring the character of members. I reject entirely the implication that I was drunk as has now been alleged thanks to the member for Karama.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before we continue, I remind you of Standing Order 62(1) about offensive or unbecoming words. There have been quite a number of interjections which have been offensive and unbecoming and have been withdrawn by members. I remind you of what Standing Order 62(1) says:
Similarly, Standing Order 62(3):
Honourable members, I ask you to bear those standing orders in mind.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, improving outcomes for Indigenous Territorians is an absolute commitment of the Henderson government. A key element of this commitment is to provide a greater level of transparency and accountability for the revenue that we receive, and our expenditure on Indigenous purposes. The Northern Territory government was the first government in Australia to publish a report on Indigenous-related expenditure, the Indigenous Expenditure Review 2004-05, and continues to remain the only jurisdiction in Australia that publishes data on Indigenous-related expenditure.
The 2004-05 report was prepared by the Northern Territory Treasury and its methodology and content review has been approved by Professor Ken Wiltshire, Professor of Public Administration, and a previous member of the Commonwealth Grants Commission; and Mr Saul Eslake, Chief Economist of the ANZ Bank. All governments are now recognising the need to report on Indigenous expenditure, and COAG is taking a leaf out of our book and considering similar reporting.
Madam Speaker, I table the Indigenous Expenditure Review 2006-07. The review builds on the methodology of the first review and provides a more rigorous examination of expenditure through improved data collection and by drilling down, where possible, to subprogram level data. This report has been audited by the Territory’s Auditor-General and approved as a fair presentation of Indigenous-related expenditure. It is important to note this report precedes this government’s Closing the Gap initiative, a $286m package over five years to continue to address Indigenous disadvantage. It will, however, provide a baseline against which Closing the Gap initiatives can be compared in the future. The key findings of the 2006-07 IER are:
while Indigenous Territorians make up 30.4% of the Territory’s population, over half or 52.4% of the Territory’s expenditure was Indigenous-related;
while expenditure increased by 2.3 percentage points; and
The Territory is different to other states and territories. Indigenous people comprise just over 30% of the Territory’s population and, unlike the states, services provided to Indigenous people in the Territory are our mainstream services. Indigenous people are major users of our services; for example, approximately 67% of the separations in Territory hospitals are for Indigenous people. The IER provides an analysis of the key service agencies. Indigenous-related expenditure across our hospitals and health services, schools and education and policing services was 56.4%.
The 2006-07 Indigenous Expenditure Review highlights the Henderson government’s ongoing commitment to Indigenous Territorians. We spend 52.4% of the Territory’s expenditure on Indigenous Territorians who make up 30.4% of our population. And we have not stopped there. Our Closing the Gap initiative will deliver $286m on specific initiatives to address Indigenous disadvantage - disadvantage resulting from decades of neglect.
While the Territory’s Labor government is committed to addressing this disadvantage, the investment that is needed in our remote areas to address the backlog of housing and core infrastructure and services far exceeds the capacity of the Northern Territory budget. That is why we are working with the Australian government and COAG on reform measures and increased Australian government funding to close the gap and improve outcomes for Indigenous Territorians. Progress is being made. COAG has committed to the Territory government’s Closing the Gap.
I am confident with the new era of cooperation we have with our colleagues in Canberra, that this Labor Territory government and our Labor federal government will be a team that delivers real change for Indigenous Territorians right across the Territory - in our cities, our regions, and our remote areas.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, now you know why this particular process of ministerial reports is such an abusive process. I have never seen this report and, yet, I am supposed to stand up and miraculously know what is in it and be able to debate that in a sensible order. That is why these ministerial reports are an absolute joke and should be expunged from the parliamentary process.
Having said that, without even opening the report delivered by the Treasurer we can glean two things. One is that she does not want to talk about Indigenous expenditure. Why? Because it is a five-minute report and she has spoken about it in parliament. Surely, Indigenous expenditure deserves more than five minutes discussion before it can be taken off the Notice Paper.
There is another important issue which totally betrays this government’s ineptitude in this area. The Treasurer claimed again and again and again – it is even on the cover of the document - this is all about expenditure; that is where you will get your solutions from. Wrong! Expenditure is an input. That is the stuff you put into a problem to see if you can get a result out the other end.
Let us look at the results that increased expenditure has achieved for Indigenous Territorians. Have we seen the MAP testing recently? Oh, my goodness, if you read the annual report from the Education department - awful. Are we safer in our streets? Are Aboriginal people safer in their communities? Not according to the assault statistics.
Let us go to our hospital statistics. Do we have fewer separations from acute care services? Not a chance. What we see is spiralling expenditure on things like renal dialysis and increased assaults presenting at hospitals tying up our Accident and Emergency. There is this huge gap between expenditure and outcomes. In between that gap, there is one word which is missing, and that is ‘leadership’. Until such time as the leadership exists beyond this nine-to-five approach the government takes, this expenditure is condemned to fail ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, your time has expired.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I believe this should have been a statement, maybe in the Auditor-General’s report, or any of the reports which are presented to parliament. On a cursory glance, it says that we are spending 52.4% of the Territory’s expenditure on Indigenous-related issues. Surely, that is a reason for having a proper debate in this parliament to get an understanding of where that money is going?
I am disturbed that sometimes we use the word ‘Indigenous’ as though Indigenous people were just one conglomerate of people who happen to have Indigenous descendents. I believe that that can be an insult to people. We should be putting our efforts and finances into the needy and, if that is mainly Indigenous people, fair enough. However, we need to be careful where we spend that money. There are Indigenous people in urban communities who do not need any help; they are mainstream people who receive a good education, have good jobs, and good houses. What we are looking at are those who live in remote and very remote areas. We know the problems in education, in the areas of literacy and numeracy. We need to target this money. This money is going to people who do not really need it.
They are the questions I would like answered. I do not have the opportunity to ask that because, (1) I have not had the chance to analyse this, and (2) it has not been presented to parliament in the right format. It should have been a statement. It is one of the most important documents that I have seen for a long time. It is fair enough to have this report, use it as the introduction, but I ask the government to bring this back as a statement.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I welcome the contribution from members. I say very clearly that this was directly about tabling and putting the information into the parliamentary domain. Debates, of course, can ensue as every member has the opportunity to debate.
This government stands proudly on the fact we are the only government in our nation that will put a fine toothcomb, a spotlight, on our revenue and our expenditure for Indigenous Territorians. Why? Because, significantly, they are the people in need. We look at urban, regional and remote - we know there is a significant need to spend more.
The shadow Treasurer talked about outcomes. If you are not putting the resources into your schools, health clinics, roads, or services that people need, then you are not going to get the outcomes. That is why we have such an appalling gap between the conditions in which many Indigenous Territorians find themselves living in and the conditions that urban Territorians live in.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, today marks a major landmark in the journey of joint management that this government embarked upon in 2005 with the traditional owners of 27 of the Territory’s parks and reserves.
Today, the traditional owners of the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve and the proposed Davenport Ranges National Park will be granted legal title by the Australian government and, in return, will lease the parks back to the Territory.
When the Parks and Reserves (Framework for the Future) Act came into force in 2005, it marked a new way of the Territory government working with traditional owners and the land councils to provide a certain future for our parks and reserves. This new way was based on negotiation rather than fighting, on working together in a real partnership rather than distrust, and on involvement with traditional owners rather than exclusion. This new way of working recognised that our parks and reserves would be improved if the Territory government worked with traditional owners, and the whole of the Territory would benefit as a result.
Our care of our parks and reserves will be improved by combining traditional and contemporary knowledge of land management. Visitors’ experiences in the parks will be enriched by the sharing of stories and making sure that those stories are correct and appropriate.
Traditional owners’ management of land will provide opportunities for Aboriginal people to strengthen culture, particularly with the young people, and employment and business opportunities for traditional owners will help to address the issues of Indigenous disadvantage that our policy of Closing the Gap is seeking to address.
Joint management is not something that is achieved overnight. Since 2005, the Parks and Wildlife Service and the traditional owners have been working together. This has been a learning process for everyone, but there is a commitment to making this journey together and to making it successful. It builds momentum every day. Some of the work together has been through the flexible employment program. Traditional owners have worked on fencing programs and fire and weed management. Some of the work in the Davenports has involved wonderful examples of combining traditional knowledge of sacred sites and caring for country with contemporary mapping and fire management.
Traditional owners have also started to look at the business opportunities that tourism might offer them. Over 100 000 visitors come to the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve each year. It is an iconic symbol of the Australian outback. Traditional owners want visitors to Karlu Karlu, as the Marbles are known, to understand the proper story of this country and they are interested in exploring employment or business opportunities that tourism to the area brings.
The Parks and Wildlife Service and the traditional owners have also started working on their partnership to oversee the management of these parks. They have completed the Joint Management Plan for the Devils Marbles and I am looking forward to tabling that in the Legislative Assembly soon.
Today is one of the most important days in the joint management journey. The handing of legal title of those two parks to the traditional owners recognises something that the traditional owners have always known and have always held on to: this is their land and they should be involved in the management of their land. Traditional owners have long sought to have their ownership of this country recognised by Territory and Commonwealth governments.
Blackhat’s brother, Mr Foster, was strong in wanting to get land title. He sadly passed away before he could see that happen. But Blackhat and other senior traditional owners have continued to push for the title for their people. Today, they have that title and they deserve to be proud and to enjoy the special moment. We congratulate the traditional owners on gaining legal title to these parks – Waramungu, Kaytetye, Warlpiri and Alyawarra from the Devils Marbles and the Wakaya people from Davenport Ranges. We thank land council staff and the Parks and Wildlife staff who have worked so hard to build this partnership. I know they will continue to work together to look after these special parks.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister. Since arriving in the Territory in 1985, I have had the pleasure of visiting many of the wonderful areas that Parks and Wildlife have here in the Northern Territory. I know a lot of work goes in, and we can be thankful for previous governments and the current government for many of the things that happen in our parks. What we have today is a tribute.
The framework the minister talked about was put together because of some legal opinions, and those legal opinions are still to be made public. My question to the minister is: will those opinions be tabled in parliament? I must admit the framework that we are talking about here was raised in a briefing that I had recently with Parks and Wildlife management. Only yesterday, that framework turned up, so I look forward to reading it and knowing a little more about it.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for her report. I reiterate something I feel may be a little visionary or utopian but, when it comes to our parks we should have one title for all our parks; that is, a Territory title which recognises both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal interests.
A park is not leased; a park is basically forever and recognises the traditional owners and the interests of other Territorians as well. At the moment, we have several forms of title throughout the Territory – the Commonwealth titles like at Cobourg Peninsula and Djukbing National Park. Perhaps in time, we need to review that title system so that we have one special title for our parks throughout the Northern Territory.
It is important that we have these joint management programs. They will create jobs as the minister said. However, I believe if we are going to use these jobs so people can move into jobs such as rangers, we also need to have pathways for those people to improve their qualifications so they are not just rangers who live on that park; they become fully qualified rangers within the parks system.
As the minister may know, I travelled to the Davenport Ranges last year and the sign out the front had the word ‘proposed’ in brackets. I am interested to know if that word has now been deleted. Have we finally come up with a park that now has its own title?
In relation to Devils Marbles, I always go past there and wonder who decided to run the power lines through the middle of one of our most iconic parks in the Territory. If you go there you will see power lines going through the middle. Why could they not be diverted away from that beautiful park where all the tourists go, I do not know. If something could be done about moving those power lines, it would do the Devils Marbles a favour.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for Brennan and Nelson for their comments. I just reiterate that this has been a journey, a long journey, of people fighting for recognition of their land. This government has made it possible for joint management to happen. I take this opportunity to congratulate this government for making possible tourism and employment opportunities. We have had the foresight to get rid of the legal battles we have had and really engage Indigenous people in having joint partnership, ensuring that Indigenous people are working with non-Indigenous people to preserve, through the different knowledge that we have, to make sure we all enjoy Territory parks.
Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Project – Tennant Creek
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Speaker, this morning I update the House on a very significant milestone reached in this government’s ongoing commitment to Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage. As I have said many times in this House, improving housing conditions and standards is absolutely vital in closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
The Northern Territory government is a very proud partner with the Australian government in the $647m five-year Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Project, or SIHIP as it is called. This project, the largest funding commitment to Indigenous housing seen in the Northern Territory, will be delivered across 73 communities and include about 750 new houses and more than 2500 housing upgrades, as well as upgrades to essential infrastructure.
Long-term leases must be in place before we commence. I am pleased to report a significant milestone has been reached in Tennant Creek. The Northern Territory government and the Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation have a lease agreement, the first of its kind in the Northern Territory. The lease means the Northern Territory government will sublease eight community living areas from Julalikari Council for 60 years. These sublease agreements secures a $30m housing and infrastructure program to be delivered in these eight community living areas.
I welcome the commitment from the federal Indigenous Affairs minister, Jenny Macklin, this morning for a further $6.5m to be invested in these same areas. This program will not only benefit those who live in the community living areas but the whole of Tennant Creek community. Pat Braham, Tony Miles and the Julalikari Council are to be truly commended for their vision in reaching this agreement - an agreement that will deliver benefits for generations to come.
I am very pleased that the central element of the SIHIP program, the requirement for contractors to provide training and job opportunities for local Indigenous Territorians, is already delivering results in Tennant Creek. Those of you who know Pat Braham know how committed she is for long-term future of the Barkly and its young people. A job and workforce development plan is currently being developed for this program and I am very pleased that Julalikari has been contracted to provide an interim training and employment development officer. The works package in Tennant Creek’s community living areas will focus on upgrades to houses and improvements to infrastructure and essential services within those community living areas. Julalikari will have a central role providing input into the design of the upgrade works and civil works, which are expected to be under way in the next few weeks.
Improving Indigenous housing conditions is absolutely vital to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage. Julalikari has shown real leadership and vision in securing a $36.5m package, and I look forward to the SIHIP program being rolled out across the Territory.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his statement about Indigenous housing in Tennant Creek. It is a pity the government does not talk more about the public housing situation for the rest of the Territory, in particular Darwin and Alice Springs, where there is very little public housing. In fact, there has been a reduction of 10% of public housing stock in Darwin alone. We have a situation in Alice Springs where there is absolutely no land for any kind of housing, let alone public housing. Whilst it is good that Tennant Creek might be getting some housing, Darwin and the rest of the Territory suffers.
The minister talked about housing conditions. I understand that the government is going to be not only looking after the 6000 public housing situations in the Territory, but they will be managing all the Indigenous housing that has come as a result of the Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Program. They are not doing a very good job of it in the urban areas, so it is unlikely that they will do a particularly good job in the remote areas. That is a shame, really, because we are in desperate need of public housing in the Territory for all walks of life.
I ask that the minister and the government gets on with the business and tries to release some land for all parts of the Territory and tidies up the situation, and their act, in regards to public housing - not only the development and the building of public housing but the maintenance and the putting of people in need into these houses and units that are left vacant all around Darwin area.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his report. This announcement of the huge input into improving the number of houses in Aboriginal communities was announced earlier this year. My concern is that, since its announcement, there has been very little on-ground changes in the number of houses that are actually being built, simply because the government has been trying to work its way through how all this will operate on the ground. I ask the minister whether there has been a stoppage in the number of houses being built over the last, say, nine months and, because of that stoppage, are we further behind in the number of houses that we should have been building?
The question relates more to your own electorate of Port Keats and Wadeye. When I visited, they had a housing association which constructed its own houses. It had a concrete factory there to produce prefabricated walls. They had concerns that there was not enough funding to keep that association going. They could do the job, they could build the houses - there simply was not the funds. Under this new, big, overriding system that has been put in, will communities or associations like the one at Port Keats now be put to one side and other bodies come in and take their place, or are they part of the new scheme to increase the number of houses in these communities?
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Speaker, this ministerial report was talking about the SIHIP program and about the signifiance of the sublease – the first of its kind in the Territory. The opposition spokesperson did not want to talk about this significant event or congratulate Julalikari for showing the vision and the leadership in this area. It is a significant step. The housing need on these communities is dire, and the SIHIP program is something that we all need to get behind. $647m over five years certainly is something of significance.
I move to the member for Nelson. The roll-out of this program is huge. On average, $15m went into Indigenous housing construction in years gone by - frozen since 1996 when the Howard government came to power. This is a huge investment. We want to deliver better packages, better housing programs across those five years.
The tilt-up slab factory is now part of our Thamarrurr Development Corporation, and they will be aligning with one of the partners and will be delivering it through there.
Reports noted pursuant to standing orders.
Ms LAWRIE (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that unless otherwise ordered, the following program of business be agreed to for the afternoon of 30 October 2008:
1. Questions at 2 pm;
Motion agreed to.
Continued from 11 September 2008.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I will be relatively brief. This is another bill that is before us as a result of a promise made during the election campaign. The government promised to make it tougher for offenders who have committed violent offences to get bail. On this side of the House, we believe the government has not, as usual, gone far enough. We think the government could have done better and that the bill could have been better. That is why we have amendments which have been circulated to the Attorney-General.
The existing provision in section 7A(1)(e)(i) states that there is a presumption against gaol for a person charged with a violent offence while on bail, but the amendment is, nevertheless, an improvement. The amendment to section 7A of the Bail Act provides that, if you have been convicted of a serious offence within the last five years and you are alleged to have committed a further serious violent offence, there is a presumption against bail. In relation to the existing section 38, a new clause is proposed, clause 38(2a), that, while bail can be granted in particular circumstances, it must be revoked if, ‘the person was charged with a serious violence offence and released on bail despite a presumption against bail’.
Our amendment, which I will talk to briefly during the committee stages, in essence, goes one step further. It goes one step further by making it a bit tighter and better. Namely, if a person has, after a second or subsequent offence, been granted bail and then breaches the bail, we would remove the court’s ability to grant bail in that instance. In other words, commit a second offence, get bail, then breach it, you will not be granted bail again. We say that this is an improvement on the government’s legislation and meets community expectations.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I support the bill. As members would be aware, we are debating a very serious, very basic principle in this Chamber today. The presumption of bail comes from a presumption that you are innocent until proven guilty. Most people understand the principle behind the presumption that you are innocent until proven guilty. That presumption comes from common law. However, most people probably do not know the difference between common law and statutory law, or even case law, or how that the common law that you are innocent until proven guilty has led to the statutory presumption of bail.
That is why what we are debating today is so important, because the bill before this House is saying, in some cases, repeat offenders who betray the social contract to such an extent have sacrificed their right to a presumption of bail.
The bill will repeal the current provision and replace it with presumption against bail for all offenders, both adult and young offenders who are charged with committing a serious violence offence and who have a previous conviction for a serious violence offence in the past five years. A presumption against bail essentially reverses the onus; rather than the prosecutor showing why there are not grounds for bail, the defence counsel has to show reasons why bail should be granted. The current provision is different in that it provides a middle step before there is a presumption against bail; for example, if you are charged with a serious violence offence while currently on bail for a serious offence, and have a previous conviction for a serious violence offence in the past 10 years, or a serious offence within two years. It also applies only to adults. Being granted bail is a privilege.
The bill also introduces a new provision for the revocation of bail. When a bail condition has been breached bail must - not may, must - be revoked. It should be noted that this does not preclude a further application for bail being made and the onus would still be on the defence to show why bail should be granted. It would be reasonable to say though, that having breached bail and having bail revoked as a result would be a factor for the court’s consideration in any further application. It is also reasonable to say that violent offences are completely unacceptable, and repeat violent offences are a disgrace. That is why we are here today. Enough is enough.
This is not just my opinion, it is a message I have heard very clearly from people living in my electorate in Parap, Fannie Bay, and Stuart Park. People are sick of repeat violent offenders. They are sick of seeing these offences happen. Repeat violent offenders are a significant problem in the Northern Territory. There were 1344 recorded offences against the person last quarter. Assault accounted for 88% or 1180 of these offences, with the recidivism rate over 40%. That means a lot of violent offenders are regularly cycling through the justice system and getting bail every year.
This bill sends a clear message. It does not matter who you are, young or old, we are drawing a line in the sand. The actions we are taking today are very serious. It is not lightly that a parliament considers reversing the onus of presumption of bail; however, I believe this is a measure in line with community sentiment. It is a measure that reflects the serious nature of our problem of repeat violent offenders. It is a measure in line with our government’s tough approach to law and order problems.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to the House.
Dr BURNS (Justice and Attorney-General): I thank all members for their contribution. I believe that these amendments to the Bail Act do represent significant reform in this area, in that the government has always made it clear that those who commit repeat, serious violent offences should suffer the consequences, albeit if it is a presumption against bail.
Under the current regime, until this law comes into effect, people essentially do almost have a second chance in granting of bail. I believe there has been quite a lot of community disquiet in relation to this. The community is concerned that there are people who are granted bail for serious violent offences and then go out and commit a very similar offence again. This is a government which has listened to the community on this particular issue. Despite what the opposition says, I believe we have gone far enough. I believe what we have done is fair - it is fair and I will explain why soon. I thank the member for Fannie Bay who has gone through the legislation and pointed out that this a regime that not only applies to adults, it also applies to juveniles. There has been community concern about the actions of juveniles around violent offences. There is too much violence within our community and a lot of it is being committed by juveniles.
To move to the opposition, the shadow Attorney-General has raised amendments, as she stated in her reply in debate. I will point out something that the shadow wrote to me last week. I quote from the letter that the member for Araluen wrote to me:
I think it was supposed to be ‘far enough’:
Essentially, my advice is that the member for Araluen’s amendment actually applies to anyone who has committed a serious violent offence, whether they have a prior or not. Whereas, with our regime in terms of bail, if someone committed a serious violent offence in the last five years and they commit another one and they are before the courts, there is a presumption against bail. My understanding of what the shadow is proposing here is that it does not matter if you have a prior or not, if you committed a serious violent offence there is a presumption against bail. In the committee stage, the member for Araluen will have the opportunity to speak to her amendment. That is my understanding and my advice regarding what you are proposing here.
There is capacity in there - and, no doubt, we will get to it in the committee stage - for injustices to be done. I used this example last week: someone takes their partner along to a venue, it could be a club, it could be a pub; there is an obnoxious drunk who comes up and starts insulting the person’s partner; the person feels provoked and there is an altercation – punches the person who is doing the provoking in the eye, maybe gives him a black eye - not permanent damage, but gives him a black eye - and there is no previous offence. They come before the court and then there is presumption against bail. They might commit some minor breach of their bail; there could be good reasons why they do that. But there is no discretion for the courts to actually take that into account in this particular case.
We do believe that our regime has gone far enough. We believe the opposition is proposing something which could lead to injustice. What happens to that person I have mentioned in the example; do they then automatically go into remand? They could be found not guilty. So, they will probably spend a considerable time in the gaol house having been found not guilty, not even having a prior offence. Under the sentencing regime that we passed here last week, if there is no physical harm proved, then the mandatory sentencing aspect of our Sentencing Act does not kick into place and the court could use some discretion in what might befall that person. The court may determine, in that particular instance, that that person did not deserve a sentence of gaol, being able to take the provocation into account.
Madam Speaker, we will not be supporting the amendments proposed by the shadow Attorney-General. I commend the bill to the House.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
In committee:
Madam CHAIR: The committee has before it the Serious Violent Offenders (Presumption Against Bail) Amendment Bill 2008 (Serial 6) together with Schedule of Amendments No 2 circulated by the member for Araluen, Ms Carney.
Clauses 1 to 4, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 5:
Ms CARNEY: Madam Chair, I move amendment 2.1. We think this is a reasonably straightforward issue, and the opposition is at one with respect to this issue, hence the amendments. In so many ways, it does not really matter what the Attorney-General says; few, increasingly, believe him. What is troubling, however, is the spin that has come from government with respect to this amendment. Indeed, the sentencing one we discussed last week is extraordinary. We know that this was an election promise: the tough no-nonsense approach to make it harder for violent offenders to get bail. So asserted the Chief Minister in his media release on 14 July 2008. Under his leadership he said – and, of course, who knows how long that is going to go:
However, in relation to those on bail having committed a serious offence, having breached their bail, while there is a presumption against bail, the fact of the matter is that they can still get bail. I suspect the expression ‘presumption against bail’ runs pretty well in the electorate. Most people who are not involved in any way, shape, or form in the legal system think and would be entitled to think: ‘Gee, that sounds tough’. Well, it might sound tough but, in relation to what it is the government claims it is going to achieve, we say - as I said in my earlier comments - it just does not go far enough.
There are improvements in the bill and, obviously, we are supportive of them. However, the bill before us today does not, in my view - and, indeed, the collective view of my colleagues - mirror the spin contained in numerous media releases. The Chief Minister, the Treasurer and the Attorney-General have all issued media releases giving the public of the Northern Territory the very clear impression that this is a government that is prepared to change the presumption in favour of bail to a presumption against bail. As I said, it probably runs reasonably well in the electorate. However, I suspect it will not run well in the electorate when, as I feel certain it will, regrettably, occur at some point when a person commits a second offence, is granted bail then breaches it, then goes before the court again and is able, notwithstanding the presumption against bail, to be bailed once again. We say: commit a second offence, get bail then breach it, you will not be granted bail again. That is the difference. That is really the pointy end of the discussion. It is a relatively small bill, of course, but a significant one - a significant one.
No doubt, lawyers in the Territory will be polarised as to their views on it. Indeed, in parliament last week the Attorney-General admitted that he did not get out much anymore. Presumably, he got out a little during the election campaign. Presumably, he does not propose to spend the next four years in this great building. I urge him to get out more and to meet with the community at large, in particular victims of crime, and see what they have to say, because I feel certain that a majority of them - a vast majority of them - will be supportive of our amendment.
In any event, I do not think there is anything I can add at this stage, Madam Chair, so I will leave it at that.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, just to pick up on the last bit by the member for Araluen about me not getting out much. I did say that in reference to a wonderful drive that I had with Mr Ren Kelly, going out to watch and inspect the juvenile camps out of Alice Springs. It was probably a 1 hour drive …
Ms Carney: You did not say you do not get out in Alice Springs. You said you do not get out much any more. That is what you said.
Dr BURNS: Well, I do not get out for drives like that much any more, member for Araluen.
Ms Carney: No, that is not what you said, last week. You said …
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Dr BURNS: I am sorry, that is what I meant. So, it would be good …
Ms Carney: Right. Why did you not say that?
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Dr BURNS: It was good to get out with Ren Kelly, for a drive for a while. That is what I was alluding to. It was a very pleasant drive in very pleasant company and country. The member for Araluen is just twisting a little what I said and what I meant there. But, I am glad to give …
Ms Carney: No. Have a look at the Hansard.
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Dr BURNS: Well, I can look at the Hansard, and I also know what I said, and I also know the context in which I said it, member for Araluen. I do get out, I do mix with a lot of people and I do listen very carefully to what people tell me.
However, returning to the main issue of the proposed amendments by the opposition. I have read out the paragraph of the letter that was written to me by the shadow, and I am prepared to read it out again. It says:
If you look at the actual amendments, here is proposed new section 38(2A):
Really, the amendment goes to bail conditions. It goes to bail conditions. The member for Araluen, here today and in her letter, is talking about repeat offences. In my view, the letter does not stack up with the amendments. I believe that is a very important aspect.
The other thing I have mentioned previously is the amendment, in terms of revocation of bail, applies to first time offenders, not just prior offenders. Serious violence offence includes aggravated assault, so such a person would be subject to imprisonment if they breach the bail condition awaiting hearing, even though it would be unlikely the substantial term of actual imprisonment would be the ultimate sentence imposed, assuming the person is found guilty in the first place and if they are a first-time offender. People who are ultimately found not guilty, therefore, would have served a long period in custody. The injustice, I am advised, is likely to be exacerbated, because the more people in remand await a hearing, the longer they will have to wait for that hearing. In hearings or trials like this, the people who remain in custody generally get precedence over people on bail – the more in custody, the longer the wait.
I have outlined the advice I have had on this particular matter, and this is why the government will not be supporting the amendment.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Chair, I am taken by the argument that I have just been caught in. Whilst I am not going to go into the minutiae or detail of this particular debate, the response from the minister actually demonstrates the gap between what he thinks and what public expectations are.
If I understood the minister correctly, he basically said: ‘Look, when you breach your bail, you find yourself up in the slot for a long period of time, much longer than is likely if it was a first attempt in the slammer’. Did I understand that correctly, minister, in reference to your bill?
Dr Burns: I said it was likely.
Mr ELFERINK: Okay, that is fine. There is a public expectation that, when somebody commits a violent serious assault - and we are talking about the ugly end of assault, not just a smack in the mouth in the pub because two blokes have had a disagreement - we are talking about people hospitalised; blindness being incurred; glass being shoved into people’s faces; broken bones; fractured skulls – this is end of the spectrum that we are talking about. I find it curious that the minister runs a defence in relation to his bill, as I understand it, that, if a person breaches their bail and ends up in the slot, they will spend more time in the slot because of a breach of bail than they will because of the offence they committed, once they are convicted of it.
Surely, the public have a right, an expectation, to expect from the courts that, when a person comes before them for committing an offence of such obnoxious violence that a normal and average person would find it repugnant beyond words and expression, the courts would respond in kind. Yet, what we hear from the minister is it is very unlikely that a first offender who finds themself in front of the court in these circumstances would, indeed, serve a custodial sentence. Perhaps that reflects why the crime statistics in relation to violent assault continue tracking up and up and up; because the courts themselves are unwilling or incapable of applying the sentences that this House hands down. From memory, even for an aggravated assault - which is not at this end of the assault debate I might add - carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. Yet, how rarely do we see people go to gaol for being convicted for aggravated assaults?
I expect that it is not only the exception rather than the rule; it is a very remote exception. It would have to be a very unfortunate person who, on their first time before a court for an aggravated assault, would find themselves in the slot. Yet, government keeps proposing tougher maximum penalties. Tougher maximum penalties and, now, this approach, still do not send a message to the courts - which is the message that should be being sent to the courts - that there is a public expectation that thump merchants and villains such as the dreadful little fellow who gave Todd Trainer a hiding - and I know that he has gotten off on a technicality - or the fellow or the chaps who attacked Les Platt, do some real time - and I am talking about real time.
That, sadly, is missed in this whole debate because, once again, the people who are expected to respond on our behalf as citizens who live in the community - these are the judges and the magistrates that sit in our courts - are expected to respond with some firmness in their decision-making process. That firmness, to this day, has disappointed the majority of the people out there in the public arena. Do we know it in this place on both sides of the House? Absolutely, we know it. That is why both sides of this House come out with tougher crime policies and tougher sentencing regimes all the time. However, the fact of the matter is that whilst the courts continue to ignore the demands of the public who, basically, pay their bills, then the courts will always be in peril of this House trying to find other mechanisms such as mandatory sentencing, which has now been approved by both sides of this House in various policies, to be applied to their sentencing regimes.
The courts, whilst they demand a certain freedom to sentence as they see fit, must be mindful of the public expectation, as we are on both sides of this House. I am just disappointed to hear that the process we are discussing is a mechanism by which a person, who is still technically innocent, is actually the vehicle by which we are going to increase incarceration, rather than the appropriate legal vehicle after the person has been convicted and that person is serving their sentence which reflects the community expectations when they punch the crap out of some poor soul in the street.
Dr BURNS: I thank the member for Port Darwin. There is much in what the member had to say that I certainly agree with but, fundamentally, as I have said before, the government will not be supporting this amendment because we believe that it has a potential for injustice.
The member for Port Darwin was entirely correct when he pointed to the very serious offences that are part of the regime for amendments to the Bail Act. It also applies to aggravated assault and, once again, there is the example that I used: someone at a venue, some obnoxious drunk or someone, for whatever reason, insults their partner, insults their wife or whoever and, then, that person retaliates - they are provoked and they retaliate - they punch them in the eye, and there is no serious lasting damage under the definition of physical harm. It is that person’s offence and so they come in to the system. They are granted bail and, then, for some reason there is a breach of bail. It may be that they had to report at a specific time to a police station. There could be a very good reason why the person was not able to come - possibly a sick child, or an accident, there could be a whole range of reasons why that person could not fulfil every condition within their bail condition - but there is no discretion under the regime proposed by the opposition for that to be taken into account.
Here we have a first time offender at the lower end of the offending spectrum who, for possibly some quite valid reason, has breached their bail condition. They then go into remand and they could spend an extended time in remand. There are two scenarios: first, they may be found not guilty of the offence; and the second scenario is, under the sentencing regime that was brought in here last week, because the harm done to the other party did not fall within the definition of physical harm, the court then has the discretion to put what sentence they deem fit on that particular person. It may very well be that it is a very light sentence, or it may be that they are sentenced to the rising of the court. It is in the purview of the court.
What the government is arguing is that whilst we appreciate the intent of what the opposition is trying to do, we believe that there are flaws in it. We believe that there is potential for manifest injustice, particularly because it involves first-time offenders. We believe our regime that we discussed and reviewed a number of times, is the right regime, and that is why we will not be supporting this amendment.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Chair, the Attorney-General has just captured the essence of what a political campaign is and what the truth is. The minister just said that there is a discretionary capacity in the court, and the court may well issue a light sentence until the rising of the court - it is the capacity outlined in the statement last week. One would be forgiven, having looked at the ALP advertisements prior to the last Territory election, that they were not only going to lock them all up, they were going to throw away the key. The chasm between what is said in here and what was said by the Chief Minister when he was standing in front of a prisoner in the campaign advertisement is un-breachable when those two positions exist.
This is the issue that concerns me most. I have no problem with the Attorney-General saying: ‘We have the voice of the people because we have the majority of the people in this House, and we have the right to introduce legislation which we believe in’. I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is when they go out and tell Territorians during a campaign that they are going to do one thing and, then, we hear from the lips of the Attorney-General himself in this House that they are intending to do entirely another thing. It is all to do with how we spin our way through these various policies.
These amendments that were brought in last week and have been brought in now are to reflect the policies enunciated by the CLP during the last Territory election campaign. I do not remember hearing anywhere or reading in any of the material that was put out by the ALP that they were going to send a clear message to villains in the community because they are going to allow the discretion of the court to operate, which is what the Attorney-General just said. If that is what you mean, then that is what you should tell Territorians. That really is the thrust of my critique.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, I have been very clear in the discussions around election time, and post that time, that this is a presumption against bail and the courts still have that capacity. I would have to go through all of my statements, member for Port Darwin, but I have a recollection that I was asked this question. Basically, it is a presumption against bail and, even with a presumption against bail, courts can still grant bail. I do not ever think I have resiled from that. However, there is a fundamental issue here of what you are saying; that the person - in my instance and I think what you are talking about - has never been found guilty of committing a crime. What you are actually proposing fundamentally alters the balance of the justice system. That is around the presumption of innocence to some degree, and I have outlined to you what I think is a very practical example of an injustice that could occur under your regime. I have outlined why the government will not be supporting this amendment.
Mr ELFERINK: You are right, you are absolutely right. It changes the balance of the justice system. But you agree with doing that because that is what you are doing by this amendment. You have just told this House that this is about reversing the presumption of bail. That changes the balance of the justice system. So, we are not talking for one moment as to whether it is right or wrong to change the balance of the justice system; what we are talking about is how far. That is what this debate is about.
Ms CARNEY: Minister, you are aware, obviously, that the government’s amendment to section 7A(1)(e) stands, and that the opposition’s amendment seeks to replace clause 5. In essence, what it means is: if you have committed a crime in the last five years and you commit a second offence, you get bail; you breach the bail, you, as an offender, can go back to the court and expect bail. Notwithstanding the presumption against bail, as asserted by your government, you know - do you not? - that it is probable or possible that such an offender will get bail if they have a good lawyer.
You use words like ‘potential for injustice’ and ‘no discretion’. We say, minister, that is the difference between us with respect to these amendments and the issue we are discussing. Can you say why it is that the government is supportive of violent offenders being granted bail if they have committed a serious offence while on bail? Why should those people get bailed again?
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, the member for Araluen is raising very hypothetical cases, and she is also putting forward a very cynical view of our court and justice system. To quote her, she said: ‘If you get a good lawyer you can get off’. Well, I do not hold that view. Our justice system, whilst it has flaws, has been tried and tested with time. Obviously, government is sending a message to the courts of the presumption in regard to bail on this particular matter, and the courts will determine.
As the member for Araluen said, there is nothing precluding someone from making a further application, but there is clearly a presumption against bail. Therefore, under our regime, firstly you have repeat offenders or potentially repeat offenders - you have someone who has been found guilty of a serious violent offence in the last five years. That is in our regime. They are before the courts again on the basis that they have committed a serious violent offence and, basically, it is alleged that they have committed such an offence. That matter is before the courts and there would be a presumption against bail. As I acknowledged previously, it is within the discretion of the court, even in that case, to grant bail.
Nonetheless, if that person who is a repeat offender does breach their bail conditions, there is automatic revocation of the bail. The member for Araluen is saying there is nothing precluding that person from making a further application. Well, that is right, member for Araluen. However, you seem to be giving some sort of guarantee regarding the court that, if this person has a good lawyer, they will be granted bail. I do think anything is further from the truth. In the presumption against bail, the onus is really on the person seeking the bail to satisfy the court that bail should not be refused. That is a fundamental shift in the presumption of bail.
Basically, it is very important to note that our regime, I believe; goes to the fact that someone has a previous offence. However, under your regime, someone who possibly does not have a previous offence but is swept up into your regime would, as I pointed out, be subject to manifest injustice.
Ms CARNEY: Minister, I reckon I would give you probably eight out of 10 for ducking the question. You are aware that your amendment in relation to section 7A(1)(e) stands; then we go to the opposition’s amendment, I am not sure how well you are really arguing your case. I ask you again, how is it reasonable, or acceptable, given that your Chief Minister, by media release dated 11 September 2008 said: ‘The community expects the judicial sentencing regime to be in line with their expectations’? How is it reasonable for someone who is already on bail, commits a second offence, gets bail, then breaches it, to get bail again?
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, we have been very clear about our regime. The member for Araluen seems intent on pursuing a very cynical view of our justice system and the courts. I have faith in our courts. Sometimes they do get things wrong, there is no doubt about that; no system is a perfect system. However, I am prepared to put some faith in the courts. Government is setting the parameter here and setting the framework; we are saying there is a presumption against bail in these cases.
Ms CARNEY: Minister, for the record, I have faith in our juridical system as well. I note your comment that government is setting the parameter. The difference between us is that there is a difference as to the parameters. An observer would probably say - and unfortunately there is not a person in the gallery - I feel certain, that that is the difference between us.
We confidently say that in the circumstances I have outlined - that is, someone who is already on bail commits a second offence, gets bail, then breaches it - we do not think that the community supports such a person getting bail again. I hope that it does not happen; that such a person who has committed a violent assault does not get bail. When it does, I reckon your office will be getting some phone calls, and one of them will be from me. I will be inviting you to come back into this Chamber and put the amendments again.
We know you have form, minister. Your form, and, indeed, the government’s form, is that you are issuing your media releases - I have found four and I feel certain there are more on this particular point – which give the public the impression you give them what they want and, then, you come in, slipping and sliding, slithering away, with something that does not entirely mirror - and, in some cases, historically - barely resembles what the intention was in the media releases.
I love that Australian expression, ‘flogging a dead horse’. I will not continue to flog a dead horse, minister. I know your position and that of your government. There is such a difference between your side of the House and ours when it comes to sentencing and the position we take with respect to violent offenders. It is no small coincidence, and how would we ever know? Everyone can have their views, but I do not think it is a small coincidence that our views on sentencing and justice and the judicial system were more favoured or considerably favoured by the electorate at the last election.
Labor has done really badly when it comes to addressing the crime rates. That is why we proffered the amendments we did last week; that is why we proffer these today. You will go to bed at night feeling convinced, as no doubt you invariably do, that you are perfect and that you are doing everything the right way. I do not think of you when I am going to bed at night, minister, you will be very pleased to know but, when I go to bed at night I similarly sleep well, truly believing that our view is the better one and that our view should prevail. But, alas, we only just do not have the numbers, so I will put the horse to bed and please rest assured that I never think of you when I am about to go to bed or even when I sleep.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, I have been through it before. We believe that there could be manifest injustice. I talked about the instance where someone may have had as a bail condition to report to a police station but was unable, for very valid and documented reason, to do it. I believe those are issues that the court should be able to take in to consideration.
In relation to the shadow Attorney-General not thinking of me at night and whatever, I have to tell this place that the shadow Attorney-General sent me a note in the last Assembly that said: ‘I love you, Chris’. I still have it upstairs. I have not got around to framing it yet, but it is going to be one of the great mementos of my time in this place - a note, handwritten by the member for Araluen: ‘I love you, Chris, Jodeen’.
Ms CARNEY: I have framed some of the ones I have from your side - they are all framed. You believed it - how sad you believed it. What a hoot.
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Mr BOHLIN: Madam Chair, some people consider some of my speeches may be emotive or emotional, but the reality is that society suffers those emotions. The victims of the crimes that occur on our streets feel those emotions, Attorney-General. Those victims bleed on our streets, Attorney-General. Is it the intent that we close some areas of opportunity for those people who commit these violent crimes to be back on the street? When they have shown the propensity for extreme violence surely we, as a government, need to take reasonable action to protect the public? Currently, Attorney-General, we are failing on many sides to do that. I can take you to many places where people have suffered greatly.
It is a change, it is an alteration that is going to affect the court systems, but it will make the victims feel safer at home? Does your position change if that victim happens to be the same person’s wife who has been bashed to near death twice, has been sent to hospital, may be flown hundreds of kilometres from her family to receive treatment? One needs to start thinking that these people do need to be kept in a secure place until their court trial comes around. Earlier it was mentioned that bail is a privilege - it is a privilege - and it should be treated as such. So, when you have proven by your actions that you will continue to break bail, you will continue to flout the laws of this Territory and the rights of victims of this Territory, you need to be brought to heel. You need to be left behind the bars because you are proving again and again that you are a violent person.
I accept – you have mentioned the potential that they could have simply forgotten to turn up to the police station and that supposedly happens. Maybe there should be a little clause to allow, if there is a reasonable excuse, provision that maybe we do not have. The reality is it is a privilege to have your right to freedom and, when you have impinged on someone else’s right to freedom – that is, to not have their skull caved in - you should have your right to freedom taken away. Because, unfortunately, I have had to assist, treat, comfort, and nurture families that have been affected by crime of this nature, and it is not the most pleasant of things. It is not pleasant to tell these people: ‘Listen, I cannot guarantee you that he or she will not be out on bail in a matter of hours’.
Having locked a person up maybe a day prior or, in fact, hours prior - which does happen - and then had to respond to them trying to cave someone’s head in again; it is just closing and giving security to our community. If you do not want to go to gaol, do not break the law. That is what the law is about. So, do not take to someone with a big stick. Do not club them to death. Do not pummel them outside a night club because, if you are doing that, you deserve to be behind bars. It is our responsibility in this House to set the standards. The standards are not being set somewhere else.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, I am certainly interested to hear the member for Drysdale on this issue. He is speaking very passionately, as a former police officer who has a wealth of experience in this particular area. I agree with much of what he had to say. Certainly, if someone does stove someone’s head in outside a night club or whatever, and has been found guilty of that offence, they deserve to go to gaol. The sentencing regime that we brought in last week has upped the ante in that regard.
To some degree there is - well, confusion could be the word. But you seem to aligning sentencing with bail, and they are two different things - they may be related to some degree. The regime that we have really does try to strike a balance in the presumption against bail and, so, we have shifted the focus there of the court; that there is actually a presumption against bail if someone has been found guilty of a previous violent offence. We do not want to see perpetrators back on the street,. The framework of our amendments to the Sentencing Act and what we bring in here to the Bail Act will send a very strong message to the perpetrators of violence that it is not going to be tolerated by the community, and that we are very focused on ensuring that people who are found guilty of committing these offences do serve actual time in gaol.
I can only go back, member for Drysdale, to the example I used. Someone who has committed an aggravated assault with provocation, first offence; may, for a very good reason, breach their bail conditions; a reason that most reasonable people would accept as a reasonable excuse - maybe they had to take their child to the hospital; there is a whole range of things, and they have documentation and they can prove this is what actually happened. However, under your regime proposed by the shadow Attorney-General, that person, even though it may be a fairly trivial breach of their bail conditions, would go straight to remand -- a bit like a monopoly square. So they go to gaol and, basically, there is a potential for them to be incarcerated for a significant period. There is also the potential for them to come back into the court and be found not guilty or, under the Sentencing Act, if there was not demonstrable physical harm done to the person in a legal sense, then the courts could deal with that in a discretionary way.
Once again, the government has its position. We have heard what the opposition had to say about this, but believe our amendments to the Bail Act are balanced. They will shift the onus of bail in the presumption of bail, and it is a very clear message to the courts.
Amendment negatived.
Clause 5 agreed to.
Remainder of the bill, by leave, taken as whole and agreed to.
Bill reported; report adopted.
Dr BURNS (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Continued from 16 September 2008.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, the contents of this report are a matter of notable concern to members on this side of the House. As the shadow Treasurer of the Northern Territory, I have to say that I read this report with a particularly grim eye as to what the Auditor-General was reporting on.
It reflects a great malaise which seems to be occurring in the public service, not least of which was the Department of the Chief Minister, which came under particular criticism in the last Auditor-General’s report in relation to contracts being issued to a company called Sprout Created, with some surprising links underlying that which have since came to light between the public service and Sprout Created itself. I am continuing to investigate that particular matter because there are still elements in that which are of particular concern. It is an issue which Territorians should be made aware of. However, without having a complete investigation into the matter at my finger tips, I will defer my comments on that particular issue to a later date.
However, I do wish to speak about some of the problems that the Auditor-General had turned his mind to in this particular report. Specifically, there are two areas of concern to the Auditor-General which are also of concern to me. The first of those issues is credit cards, and the second is internal audit controls, to which I will return later.
It is with no little surprise that I read this report only to discover that somewhere in the order of $2m worth of government credit card transactions were uncleared or unaccounted for. $2m will buy you several nurses or several policemen. It might buy you some police cars. It might buy you all sorts of things. There is no suggestion in this report that any criminal activity has gone on as a result of the use of government or corporate credit cards. However, the reason that suggestion is absent from this report is not because it has not happened but, rather …
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr ELFERINK: … the fact of the matter is that the Auditor-General has been unable to determine whether it has happened or not. How on earth can he determine if a credit card transaction is unlawful or a breach of the Treasurer’s Guidelines if he is unable to locate or lay his hands on the documentation that supports the credit card transaction?
I will give you some quotes from the Auditor-General which are worth noting in relation to these matters. I turn members’ attention to page 21 of the report where, in his key findings, the Auditor-General observed:
Ms Lawrie: You heard wrong.
Mr ELFERINK: … was unable to determine as to whether the purchases were exercised for lawful uses or not. The Auditor-General himself said: ‘No supporting documentation is available for a statistically significant number of transactions’. If that is not a damning indictment on a government which is losing control of its own auditing processes, surely a comment like that should be of great concern. In fact, this comment is a shiver that should be running up the Treasurer’s spine. For her to simply sit here and say: ‘It is wrong, it is wrong’, hardly edifies me with the belief that she is comfortable, or capable, of pursuing these matters and that she is currently comfortable with the status quo ...
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr ELFERINK: I can tell you, if I were in her shoes, I would not be comfortable with the status quo. I would not be comfortable at all.
The Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines, and the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts also comes in for some criticism, and this is where it overlaps into the area of procurement. I quote the Auditor-General:
The reason that is done is because it saves you paperwork. It is just easier to go round that process because, if you go over a certain limit, you then have to go through the normal procurement process, bearing in mind, of course, that credit cards are essentially there for the purposes of procuring services; they are not actually there at all to circumvent the procurement process. It is a process which causes enormous grief in the business community in the Northern Territory, often because of its complexity, but often because it is seen to be unfair.
Many of those opinions may be unjustified, some may be completely justified about the process being unfair, but the fact of the matter is that this process of procurement should be like Caesar’s wife - not only beyond redemption, but seen to be beyond redemption. When people start using the credit cards they have at their fingertips to split the purchases of particular items which should have gone through the normal procurement process, small wonder there are people in our community who are bleating and crying about the injustices the procurement process perpetrates on them as small business operators.
This should be a matter of great concern to the Treasurer as well because, ultimately, it is her responsibility to ensure that these processes are properly followed. The point is reiterated, also on page 21 of the report, and I quote the Auditor-General yet again:
This resonates with the point I was trying to make earlier that credit cards are a convenience; otherwise we used to have to use these things called purchase orders. I am sure former public servants in this House will remember such documents. Often, they were annoying documents that had to be filled out, and then you would have to send it through the line to get a rubber stamp on it because it was of a particular value. If you were working in a particularly remote bush station or whatever, those things were often a pain in the bottom.
The credit cards were introduced to assist public servants in becoming more efficient in the work they do. I have no truck with that; they have a place in the public service. However, they are not there to sidestep the procurement processes of the Northern Territory. I am interested in some of the responses from the departments themselves. I quote the response from the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, which commented:
A good point and one that I agree with:
There is a matter of some concern raised by this particular response. The department itself acknowledges that the number of credit cards available to its staff poses a risk and acknowledges that there are problems.
I then turn to a much more concerning part of the report which deals with three particular agencies. The agencies to which I will refer, and the Auditor-General refers can be found on pages 24 and 25 of the report. I draw honourable member’s attention to the Department of Employment Education and Training, Northern Territory Police, Fire, and Emergency Services and Tourism NT. It is worth visiting the issues in each of these instances.
In the case of DEET, the value of unsupported expenditure in respect the Department of Employment Education and Training at 30 April 2008 was $443 199, of which $139 765 was incurred during April of 2008. I then turn honourable members’ attention to the next paragraph which says about the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, quote:
Tourism NT also comes in for comments and at 30 April 2008 had $325 642 of unsupported expenditure, of which $103 168 was incurred during April 2008. I have a question out of this: what is so important about April 2008, that three departments suddenly run off and incur large amounts of unsupported expenditure in one month? Is it the same for organisations where the expenditure has been incurred and put through the system, such as the Department of Chief Minister? I am very curious to know if there was sudden spike in credit card usage in the Department of the Chief Minister during April 2008, which has simply been cleared off the system because somebody rubber stamped the expenditure and, therefore, it did not become subject to this audit.
I am very interested to know how many other departments and how much other expenditure went through in April 2008 which suddenly saw a spike significant enough for the Auditor-General to comment on. I ask the Treasurer now if she would be so kind as to make available to this House all expenditure through the Department of the Chief Minister for the financial year 2007-08 on credit cards ...
Dr Burns: That is for the Auditor-General.
Mr ELFERINK: It is a job for us, picking up on the interjection. This government is accountable to this House, something that they seem to totally forget and misunderstand.
All we want to do is get from government the promises they made in relation to being open, honest, and accountable. I ask for a list of credit card transactions from a government department so that I may examine those records, as a person whose job it is - as it is the job of every person in this House - to protect the public interest, and to give myself comfort that nothing untoward is being spent. The response from the Attorney-General was: ‘It is the Auditor-General’s job’. This is how it works for the advice of the Attorney-General: parliament and then the Auditor-General underneath; parliament on top and the Auditor-General reports to the parliament.
Look at that, his report is to the parliament. What do you know! He even writes it up.
I do not expect the Auditor-General to go through every single credit card transaction or every other transaction the government makes on an annual basis. Surely, that should not prevent me, as a person who is concerned about the expenditure from the public purse, to be asking the government to come into this place with information so I might satisfy myself, and go out to the community to satisfy those people who voted in the last Territory election, for either side, that the money they pay in taxes is actually being spent in accordance with their expectations?
Surely, that is not too much to ask? However, this is a secretive government. This is a government that acts secretively. What evidence do I have? Multiple gag motions where the government is more than happy to gag or adjourn debates simply because they do not want to talk about stuff. They do it all the time. We saw it again this morning with the introduction of a report on Indigenous Expenditure Review - a significant report which will get five minutes of oxygen in this House unless we drive it through on the side of the House and raise the issue. I currently have three briefings which are still under request with the Treasurer’s office, which remain to this day unanswered. Suffice to say one says: ‘You will get a briefing after the TAFR comes down’. A simple request to travel with the police in my own electorate to see the amount of violence in the electorate was met with the retort: ‘The commissioner said no’.
Goodness gracious me, this government is supposed to be honest, open and accountable, and they bunker down behind their desks and hide from Territorians and, when a negative report comes down, they do not want to have a fulsome debate. You can tell there will not be a mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, out of this particular Treasurer; there will be a tirade of abuse saying what a horrible person, or people, we are on this side of the House for having the audacity to ask questions.
Two of the agencies advised, in the absence of proper supporting documentation, that they relied upon statutory declarations to support the contention that the expenditure was incurred for official purposes, while the third agency advised that suppliers were asked to provide copies of relevant tax invoices which confirm that expenses were properly incurred.
So, here I am, little Mr Joe Business. I get a little credit card chit, I go through the process of providing the service or the goods which are required, and the transaction is made and I am happy. A year later, or two years later, because this audit goes back to 2006, I get a phone call saying: ‘Oh, mate, can you go back through your records? We are trying to find this credit card transaction and we cannot find it here in the government so we thought we would give you a call and see if you could dredge it up for us, please?’ It must be frustrating for the business owners who receive those telephone calls to have to trawl back through their records to try to assist in supporting documentation for a mistake not of their making. That is exactly what the Auditor-General suggests has occurred.
Of even more concern to me is the use of statutory declarations to qualify expenditure. Under no interpretation of the Oaths Act, from my understanding, was the Oaths Act constructed to enable government departments to sidestep the reporting processes on their use of credit cards. It is a broad use of the Oaths Act and it should be a matter the Treasurer is saying to her department: ‘This will not happen. Make sure you get it right the first time’.
If you then go through the rest of the Auditor-General’s report, he then turns his attention to issues of the internal audit function of particular departments. The Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development, the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines, and the Department of Health and Community Services copped this shellacking from the Auditor-General, and I quote:
Basically, what the Auditor-General said - and there is an element of audit speak in this - if you remove the double negative, in his opinion there is not, in material respect, an adequate internal audit function. These are government departments, and it is not like they cropped up last week. It not as though the minister strolled into Cabinet last week and went: ‘Oh, my God, look, there is the department of Health; I did not know that existed’. These departments have been around since the day we attained self-government. One would hope that these departments would have in place effective internal audit controls so that they were able to review what happens, particularly in the movement of money, but also in other areas inside their departments in an effective way, which would have the Auditor-General at least make a comment that the audit process could be improved in this area or might be tweaked in that area. But, no, what he suggests in his report is: ‘I cannot suggest any improvement because there is no effective system to improve’.
This, then, comes back to how government does business. I often wonder how this government approaches the work that it does. I often start to get the impression that behind closed doors on the fifth floor in Cabinet, they actually turn to these departments and say: ‘What should we do?’ Which is a fair question. However, what that entails is that they may get an answer and act on that answer, often without question. The problem with that is that you have to bring a critical eye to anything you are told by anybody and ask yourself: ‘Is this really what I want to do?’
Better still, as community leaders it is incumbent upon us to actually show some leadership. What that implies is that, yes, by all means listen to the advice of the department. However, it is we in this place - or they on that side of the House who form government as ministers - who are actually suppose to lead. That means being across your departments and across the issues that exist in your departments. What it also means is that, if you are of a mind to continually ask people for policy advice and you get policy advice from them, the process, subtly and over time, leads to a situation where they are actually setting the policy and the minister becomes little more than a front for what the public service thinks should be happening.
Leadership is not a nine-to-five job. You cannot clock off at 5 pm and say: ‘I am going home now; I have done my bit for the day’. Leadership means that you have to be critical of your own CEOs and senior management to find out exactly what you can and cannot do. Leadership also implies that when you make a decision you stick to it, but you do not point the finger at other people when it goes wrong. Certainly, take advice from the department - the department are the experts. However, if you have a philosophy or a political belief or a policy belief, then grab it and drive it. Do not go home at 5 pm. If you are charged with a ministry, then minister. Ministering means going into your department and finding out how the machine works.
When I read reports like this, what I see is that the grip of government on the public service is slipping, and that there is no real respect for ministers when it slips to the degree where you start getting these sorts of reports. The minister should be in a position to walk in this House and say: ‘My department is being well managed; the audit protocols are in place; and I am satisfied, bar a couple of glitches around the edges, that the thing is running efficiently and smoothly’. That is how government works and that means taking time. That means sometimes even working at night. That means sometimes going into the department, walking through the department, and actually asking people inside the department what their roles are - because what management says and what they perceive to be their roles might not necessarily be the same thing. It is up to the minister to provide the glue that holds that whole situation together. Sadly, that glue is absent.
Madam Speaker, there is also the other issue here, which is that, when a department is left without leadership and clear guidance, it will find work for itself to do. They always do. That is what departments are effective at doing. However, for a department to be effective, you just cannot sit there and say if you are spending more money then the outcome will be at the other end. There has to be something in between.
This is what I alluded to before during ministerial reports - that something in between is leadership, something that is driving that expenditure, and saying that expenditure will be made to work by a minister who is not disinterested in the work that they do and have a passion, a lust even, for doing that job effectively and doing that job well. It should course through the ministers’ veins that that job is their reason for getting out of bed in the morning and the thing that keeps them out of bed at night. Sadly, a rather more pedestrian approach is reflected in the government’s approach to what it does.
I find it astonishing that we stand in here with all of the technology that is available to us, and all of the controls that are supposed to be in place, that we are still scratching around trying to find a couple of million bucks lying around in a desk drawer somewhere, or whatever, that has been expended incorrectly. I do not believe that the vast majority of these credit card transactions have been used for any other purpose but the purpose for which they are intended to be used, because I know that the good people who have these credit cards in their possession are, indeed, exactly that - good people.
However, there may well be an example or several examples or many examples in the missing credit card transactions that may well be a fraud on the taxpayer of the Northern Territory. The sheer fact is: I do not know that. The fact is the Auditor-General does not know that, and the Treasurer does not know that.
Debate suspended.
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I welcome the report from the Auditor-General and recognise the importance of this report in maintaining accountability and transparency within government agencies. The Department of Education and Training and the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, Heritage and the Arts have both taken this report seriously, and the information within the report is being used to improve the systems and controls within the department.
First, I will outline the actions being taken by the Department of Education and Training. The department has taken swift action to address the areas of concern raised by the Auditor-General. Already, additional resources have been provided to enable the implementation of improved policies and processes and internal controls. The department has also tasked an audit committee to ensure that all audit observations are properly addressed.
The report noted that the department did not have an up-to-date accounting and property manual that addressed the changes to procurement directions. This has already been addressed and a draft manual is currently under consideration for publication.
The other area of concern raised by the Auditor-General which relates to the Department of Education and Training is the use of corporate credit cards. The Auditor-General noted the value of unsupported expenditure for the Department of Education, Employment and Training at 30 April 2008 was $443 199. $139 756 was incurred during April 2008. Of the balance, $150 268 has been incurred during the 2007 calendar year, while $86 783 had been incurred during the 2006 calendar year. Unsupported expenditure refers to the lack of invoices and purchase authorities for credit card transactions. The department has acted swiftly to address this concern.
On 24 July 2008, the Chief Financial Officer sent a letter to all card holders reminding them of their responsibility to complete paperwork and provide invoices for all credit card transactions. Card holders were also required to sign a revised agreement in which they undertook, amongst other important control issues, to process transactions in a timely manner. Card holders have been advised that should they fail to use the card as agreed, then the card will be recalled or cancelled.
Transactions are now monitored on a monthly basis. At the end of June 2008, the balances of 2006 and 2007 uncleared accounts have been reduced to less than $50 000. At the end of August 2008, this was reduced to less than $3000. There are no outstanding 2006 transactions. As you can see, the Department of Education and Training has addressed the report very seriously and has acted quickly to address the concerns raised by the Auditor-General.
The Department of Natural Resources, Environment, Environment, Heritage and the Arts has also acted swiftly. The report highlighted the lack of an internal audit function within the department. The department is currently in the process of addressing this deficiency. To appropriately address this issue, the department has acted quickly to undertake a formal risk assessment. Following the risk assessment, a strategic audit plan will be developed for the department.
The department has also established an Audit and Risk Management Committee. This committee will ensure that internal audit responsibilities are achieved. It will also provide independent assurance and assistance to the chief executive to ensure that audit and risk management processes are followed properly. The Audit and Risk Management Committee is chaired by Iain Summers, a former Auditor-General.
Madam Deputy Speaker, as you can see, both departments have used the information in the Auditor-General’s report to improve the internal processes within our departments.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Deputy Speaker, I sincerely thank the Auditor-General for his August 2008 report. As a government, we are pleased the Auditor-General is so thorough in his investigations. That is why we have that very important independent office.
The Auditor-General’s report looked at internal agencies’ audit compliance. The objective of the audit was to ascertain the extent to which internal control procedures that are required by me, as Treasurer, were in place and whether those controls were operating effectively.
As part of this, an audit of corporate credit card controls and the frequency of the use of the cards was undertaken across three agencies to determine whether expenditure incurred on corporate credit cards was appropriate. It is important to point out that the Auditor-General found no cases of fraud or misappropriation in his investigation. However, of absolute concern is that he did find some compliance discrepancies. The government has made it clear that we expect this to be fixed. Each individual minister will report to this House as to the nature of the discrepancies within their respective agencies. The major discrepancy found related to a lack of internal audit functions within some agencies. The issues relate to paperwork and acquittal. There is no suggestion from the Auditor-General that any money was wasted or misspent.
The government has made it absolutely clear that we expect all agencies to comply with all of the Auditor-General’s findings and recommendations within his report. The government takes this matter seriously and, as Treasurer, I take this matter extremely seriously. That is why this issue of internal agency auditing has been referred to the Public Accounts Committee of this parliament for further investigation.
In relation to my own departments, Treasury and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure, the Auditor-General undertook an initial assessment and determined that further examination was not warranted.
I sincerely thank the Auditor-General for his report and I know that all ministers of this government, and I as Treasurer, take his report and all the matters raised in his report seriously. Unlike previous practices of the CLP governments, we will ensure that the matters raised by the Auditor-General are taken very seriously and the absolute internal audit processes are adhered to and are improved so that, quite appropriately, the taxpayer can rest assured that money is being appropriately spent on their behalf across all departments.
I look forward to the Public Accounts Committee’s investigations, and I look forward to a report back from the Public Accounts Committee and any recommendations they want to make. Again, I thank the Auditor-General for the Northern Territory. Frank McGuiness does a tremendous job scrutinising, on behalf of taxpayers, the activities of the government. I recognise the diligence and thoroughness with which he goes about his job. As Treasurer, he has my full support and that of my Treasury, ensuring that government agencies do take on board, with seriousness, the matters raised by the Auditor-General and effect all changes that should be effected to improve their internal auditing. This has been a matter, I know, that the Auditor-General has pursued for some years in strengthening the internal auditing of agencies. I commend him wholeheartedly for the pursuit of this very important issue.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I look forward to the Public Accounts Committee, very ably chaired by our member for Barkly, investigating the referral that this government has made, and I look forward to their advice. I commend the Auditor-General for his report.
Dr BURNS (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the Auditor-General once again for thoroughly assisting government to ensure agencies operate efficiently and transparently. The Auditor-General did not find any cases of fraud or misappropriation. The government requires all agencies to quickly implement the Auditor-General’s findings regarding compliance issues so that they are fixed in a timely fashion.
In relation to Health, this report covers two audits of the agency on special purpose payments and the internal audit function. I also speak on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Families, as the report covers both sides of the agency.
The special purpose payments audit was found to be satisfactory, with comments made about the lack of consistency in the Australian government’s reporting and acquittal requirements, rather than this agency. The Auditor-General also made the generally positive comment about the review of the Department of Health and Families’ internal audit function, but made a few suggestions which the agency is currently addressing. Regarding the noted lack of failure to revise the Audit Committee’s terms of reference and the audit charter at the last meeting of the DHF Audit Committee in August 2008, there were revised and updated terms of reference and a new audit charter that were endorsed with the chief executive’s approval.
The department is currently drawing up an Audit Procedures Manual. The new terms of reference and charter make reporting lines to the executive clear, and increase the independence of the internal audit function. The Audit Committee and Audit Services are in the process of drawing up a strategic audit plan following an organisational strategic risk assessment.
A training budget will be provided to Audit Services’ staff. However, Audit Services within DHF tend to be more of a contract manager than an actual auditor, therefore, the agency also ensures that consultants are fully qualified to carry out the audits they are employed to do.
The Auditor-General reports on issues arising from annual compliance audits. The Department of Justice has moved to immediately implement the Auditor-General’s recommendations. The Auditor-General found the Accounting and Property Manual, the APM, does not provide sufficient guidance in relation to ex gratia payments. In accordance with the recommendation, the Accounting and Property Manual has been amended at section 31.4. Ex gratia payments and an ex gratia register is now maintained by the department. The department’s staff has been advised of section 30 of the Accounting and Property Manual and the required forms are available on the Intranet.
The executive director’s personal assistant maintains a record of hospitality approvals to ensure documented procedures are adhered to. The department is implementing the Travel Request and Information Processing System, otherwise known as TRIPS, to ensure travel documentation procedures are adhered to. The department also conducted a financial interest survey at the 30 June 2008. The survey result was nil.
Madam Speaker, I once again thank the Auditor-General for his thorough report and his ongoing commitment to improving government financial processes.
Mr VATSKALIS (Business and Employment): Madam Speaker, I welcome the Auditor-General’s report. The Auditor-General examined the extent of which internal control procedures are in place and operating effectively. An audit of credit card controls was undertaken across a range of agencies, auditing the effectiveness of internal audit functions across five agencies.
In my portfolio responsibilities, the Auditor-General found the value of the unsupported expenditure in respect of Tourism NT at 30 April 2008 was $325 642, of which $103 168 was incurred during April 2008. Of the balance, $48 000 related to expenditure incurred during the 2007 calendar year. The issue centres on the time taken by staff to acquit those expenses, causing the delay in processing. It is not that Tourism NT had unsubstantiated expenses. The outstanding amount, as reported by the Auditor-General, has since been cleared and acquitted by Tourism NT.
Tourism NT has reviewed its systems and implemented processes to ensure credit cards are acquitted in a timely manner. Effective credit card management has also been incorporated as an element of Tourism NT’s annual staff performance reviews.
The member for Port Darwin queried the level of expenses throughout the month of April. As members would be well aware, April falls within a period which is one of Tourism NT’s busiest times of the year - leading into our peak tourism season. It is during this time that staff undertakes campaign launches, promotional activity, and trade and consumer shows to promote the Territory as the leading natural and cultural destination. These costs also include hosting media and travel trade personnel, who travel to the Territory to showcase the destination during the major campaign period.
In respect to the former Department of Corporate Information Services, the Auditor-General conducted a post-implementation audit of the management of the telecommunications contract. The scope included an assessment of the adequacy of controls in place regarding ongoing management including: service level monitoring; reporting and relationship management; issue identification, escalation, and resolution, including the dispute resolution processes; and financial management processes including, invoicing and cost monitoring.
The audit found that the agency’s approach to managing the outsourcing contract with Telstra was appropriate. However, the audit raised three issues for further consideration. First, while risks are considered on a day-to-day operational and service delivery basis, there is no formal risk management framework and corresponding risk assessment processes relating to contract management and strategic risks. Contract management and strategic risks are currently considered on a regular basis and appropriate action taken, but it is acknowledged that this does not take place within a formal risk management framework. The Department of Business and Employment will formalise this process. The Department of Business and Employment is in the process of finalising an agency risk management framework. A specific risk management framework/plan for contract management and strategic risks has commenced development.
The second audit finding was that service credits have not been provided to agencies since the commencement of the contract, much of which appears to be due to reporting inaccuracies provided by the contractor. Appropriate measures are in place to resolve the issue of outstanding service credits with the contractor on a monthly basis. The Department of Business and Employment and Telstra have made significant efforts towards resolving the issue of service credits, and this matter is ongoing.
The third finding identified that there are potential opportunities for improvements surrounding the incorporation of the performance linked payments for future contracts. The Department of Business and Employment (DBE) will consider the option of performance linked payments in the development of future contracts. This matter will be considered during the sourcing process for the next telecommunications contract.
I now turn to the Auditor-General’s findings in respect of the former Department of Business, Economics and Regional Development. An agency compliance audit has been undertaken to ascertain the extent to which accountable officers have implemented, maintained and ensured compliance with legislated and delegated responsibilities. Three issues raised specifically related to the former Department of Business, Economics and Regional Development. The first was a weakness in the recording of fixed assets. DBERD had six items on its fixed assets register under the $5000 threshold. DBERD has been working with the former Department of Corporate Information Services to remove them from the register.
The second finding was a receipt and tracking system that allowed for the deletion of receipts after processing, and also incorrectly rounded off GST amounts. DBERD is currently in contract negotiations to update its receipt and tracking system. It was also found that agency Accounting and Property Manuals were incomplete and did not comply fully with the Treasurer’s directions. DBERD updated its Accounting and Property Manuals during the audit. These issues have now been addressed within the broader context of establishing policies and procedures for the new Department of Business and Employment agency.
The audit found that, in corporate credit card controls and usage, there were transactions where no tax invoice could be produced to support the recorded expenditure. DBERD agreed with the findings and the recommendation that processes require appropriately evidenced and authorised paperwork before verification can take place. Meetings have been held with DCIS to try to reduce the instances of missing paperwork. Statutory declarations were completed only because the original paperwork had been mislaid. DBE is currently leading a whole-of-government review of credit card policies and procedures, which will respond to the identified credit card control and usage issues.
In respect to internal audit function, areas of non-compliance with and executive override of the Internal Audit Charter were observed. DBERD confirmed that business continuity arrangements had always been included in the scope of the internal audit function. It was also reported that the delineation of reporting lines from the Internal Audit Committee to the executive had the potential to reduce the independence of the internal audit function.
DBERD reviewed its Audit Committee structure, charter, audit, and review protocols as a result of this audit and the chief executive no longer forms part of this committee. It was found that a strategic audit plan should be completed after conducting a formal agency-wide risk assessment. DBERD has agreed to undertake an agency-wide risk assessment.
The Auditor-General found that greater emphasis should be given in the agency’s Audit and Review Protocols Manual to the need for independence from line management of the internal audit/review team members. DBERD agreed with this recommendation. It was found that there was no formal training provided to staff in the internal audit function.
DBERD acknowledged this, but it does have a performance development program for all of its employees where training is identified. DBERD has since registered with the Institute of Internal Auditors to participate in any formal training provided in the Northern Territory. There were occasions where DBERD staff members had not cooperated fully with reasonable requests by internal staff, suggesting that operational staff did not have a sound understanding of the role of internal audit within the agency.
DBERD senior management rectified this situation as soon as it was aware of it. DBERD agreed it was necessary to regularly remind staff of the importance of the internal audition function. These issues have now been addressed within the broader context of establishing policies and procedures for the new DBE. DBE has reviewed and amended its Risk Management and Audit Committee terms of reference and has recently finalised formal corporate governance and risk management models.
An agency compliance audit was performed in the former Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines. The matters raised in the report were not considered significant in nature and have already been dealt with. Any weaknesses identified relating to services provided by another agency under a service level agreement have been jointly worked on to improve processes.
An audit was also performed on corporate credit card controls and usage in the former DPIFM. In one instance, a corporate credit card transaction was split to circumvent the credit card transaction limit. There were areas where controls and processes could be improved.
The audit opinion confirmed that processes and internal controls within the former DPIFM were adequate and capable of ensuring public monies are not misappropriated through inappropriate use of corporate credit cards. Follow-up reviews on credit card controls and their usage have been scheduled in the newly formed Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources internal audit programs. A further audit report confirmed that the former DPIFMs internal audit functions were adequate.
Madam Deputy Speaker, in conclusion, I welcome the report. Agencies have responded to the report and have accepted the findings and implemented measures to ensure compliance.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I note the work of the Auditor-General and appreciate receiving a copy of the report. I acknowledge how important it is that the Auditor-General provides us information such that we can be accountable to not only the parliament but also to the Northern Territory community.
I just want to make reference to one part of the report, which is page 31. It references the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines and it is very encouraging to read:
I ask also that, perhaps, at the next round of audits the Auditor-General looks closely at how the government and the department go about the business of reshaping, reforming and remodelling Berrimah Farm and exactly what is done with that, given that it is a large asset of the Northern Territory community.
I also note that, in some of this auditing it looks at staffing. It is disappointing to note, and I put in on the public record, that we have now lost another senior veterinary specialist from the department. It brings the total to about six in the last six months. I question whether the minister and the government is going to seriously look at this agency to ensure that it keeps its professional and scientific base for the benefit of all the industries and the Northern Territory people.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the Auditor-General for his report.
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Deputy Speaker, I, too, thank the Auditor-General for his August 2008 report. He certainly does a great job.
The report indicates that the former Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport did not maintain an adequate internal audit function during part of 2007-08. We are pleased the Auditor-General is so thorough in his investigations into these matters. This is why we have the Auditor-General.
The government makes it absolutely clear that we expect all agencies to comply with the Auditor-General’s findings and recommendations. While he found no cases of fraud or misappropriation, he did find some compliance discrepancies. The government expects these to be fixed. The government will refer the issues of internal agency auditing to the Public Accounts Committee for further investigation.
The Department of Local Government and Housing agreed with the findings, and the recommendations were accepted. The previous chief executive of the agency instituted a review of corporate services in September 2007. Since that time, many of the recommendations have already been implemented. The position of Manager Corporate Governance has since been filled and will focus on public sector governance and ongoing internal audits.
The development of a new strategic plan, business plan, and a risk management plan will also follow. An external chair will also be appointed to head a revamped Audit Committee with a new charter to provide independent assurance and assistance on the risk and control and compliance framework. The new Audit Committee replaces the existing framework of multiple audit committees to provide single auditing and reporting across the department. The committee will operate under a new charter to ensure it provides independent assurance and assistance on the risk control and compliance framework of the agency.
Another aspect of internal control, such as integrity of financial reporting and timely disclosure, has not faulted during the absence of the internal audit capacity. Corporate support areas such as finance, human resources, procurement and information technology have continued to fulfil their individual responsibility, albeit without the ongoing oversight of a specific and active Corporate Governance Unit.
There have been considerable changes in the agency over the last 12 months; however, the framework and staff are now in place to ensure that the Auditor-General’s recommendations are adhered to.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased the Auditor-General is so thorough in his investigations into these matters; that is why we have an Auditor-General.
The Auditor-General has made a number of findings in respect of NRETAS. In particular, the Auditor-General has made comment on the adequacy of the internal audit function within the department. While he found no case of fraud or misappropriation, he did find some compliance discrepancies in the agency. As the new minister, I expect this to be fixed and fixed quickly. I am advised that since receiving the Auditor-General’s report, my department has taken action and will implement effective internal audit capacity by the end of this calendar year.
I am further advised that an Audit Commission was established in June 2007, and is chaired by Iain Summers, the former Auditor-General. The committee met most recently in August this year and has established appropriate terms of reference. Divisions within the department have been asked to identify the key risks that might prevent achievement of outcomes, and to then identify action.
On the issue of credit cards, I acknowledge the recommendations to review the number of credit cards issued and expect this to be addressed quickly.
This government makes it absolutely clear that we expect all agencies to comply with the Auditor-General’s findings and recommendations. For that reason, I strongly support the decision to refer the issue of internal agency auditing to the Public Accounts Committee for further investigation. I commend the report to the House.
Mr HAMPTON (Regional Development): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to add my thanks to the Auditor-General, Mr Frank McGuiness, for his August 2008 report. The Auditor-General plays a crucial role in the governance and management of agencies, safeguarding the financial integrity of the Northern Territory government. As a new minister, this is the first time I have had the responsibility for portfolios mentioned in the Auditor-General’s report. I would like to begin with my portfolio of Regional Development.
The former Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development received mention in the Auditor-General’s August 2008 report. The Auditor-General said processes and internal controls were not adequate in relation to the use of credit cards. An examination revealed there were a significant number of transactions where no tax invoice could be produced. Also, there were instances where credit cards were used for procurement when they should only have been used for payment.
I am advised that the new Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources has taken steps to improve the filing and tracking of all credit card transactions, and to obtain the recommended exception reports.
Turning to my portfolio of Information, Communications and Technology Policy, the Auditor-General conducted a post-implementation audit of the management of the telecommunications contract. As the minister for ICT policy, I am certainly interested in such issues. However, responsibility for managing the outsourcing contract with Telstra rests with the Department of Business and Employment and lays within the portfolio of my colleague, the Minister for Business and Employment.
Finally, within my portfolio of Sport and Recreation, there were no specific sports issues raised. The former Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport was mentioned in the Auditor-General’s report. The Auditor-General commented on the adequacy of the internal audit function within the former department. The Sports section has now moved to the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport. I have been advised that the new department has established an Audit Committee and Sport is included in this process.
The Auditor-General’s recommendations in respect to internal audit procedures, documented standard operating procedures, independence of the internal audit function, and completion of a strategic audit plan will be addressed by the department by the end of this year. A position to coordinate the conduct of the internal audit and the training of staff will be operational in the near future.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I acknowledge the work of Mr McGuiness and pay tribute to his staff for all their hard work.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Deputy Speaker, this is one agency that is critical for the reinforcing of the words that are spoken from governments about the need for openness, honesty and transparency because of the independent nature of the assessment that the Auditor-General conducts on the public account. I acknowledge the fine work of the Auditor-General. He serves this parliament and this Territory well.
My colleague, the shadow Treasurer, the member for Port Darwin, has gone into significant detail on aspects of the Auditor-General’s report and many comments of concern to the opposition. The Deputy Leader has also spoken on the shadow Treasurer’s comments.
To reinforce a point, the combination of deficiencies in internal audits with questions regarding the management of credit cards, is a most concerning combination. With the assurances that have been made by the relevant ministers in the Chamber, it is beholden, particularly upon the opposition, to ensure that the words that are spoken in response to that combination of the deficiency in internal audits, plus the problems with the use of credit cards in a number of these agencies, is actually followed through. Therefore, the next Auditor-General’s report will be read with great interest, particularly with a strengthened opposition, which is determined to hold government to account for the words that they use about openness, honesty, and transparency. They are good slogans and for them to have meaning, we need agencies such as the Auditor-General to conduct a proper scrutiny of the public record. I hope that the Public Accounts Committee continues to seek the advice of the Auditor-General and follows through on the issues that have been raised, particularly by the ministers. I can assure government that opposition will be taking these matters very seriously.
Finally, the combination of internal audits being found wanting in a number of cases, plus what appears to be undisciplined or unaccounted use of credit cards, is not a good look. It is a very unfortunate combination and, therefore, it is very hard to take assurances alone. You need to ensure that these assurances are followed through, and the opposition will be holding government to account.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank all members who contributed in debate this afternoon regarding the Auditor-General’s August 2008 report.
I agree, obviously, as Chief Minister, with everyone who has spoken; that the Auditor-General has an enormously important role in the Westminster parliamentary system regarding having independent powers to audit the financial affairs of government agencies. I thank our Auditor-General for the great job that he does in ensuring that the government agencies manage their financial affairs with integrity and with accurate record keeping and adherence to all required legislative standards and auditing standards. He does a very significant job.
When the Auditor-General’s report is tabled in this parliament, it is a report that all of us immediately reach out for. There are a number of reports that are tabled in this parliament that may take some time before they come to members’ attention. However, everyone immediately reaches for the Auditor-General’s report. I know, as ministers, we pick it up and quickly go and see if there is anything untoward within our agencies. Obviously, opposition spokespeople and independents look for areas where the Auditor-General has been critical of government agencies and, by obvious alignment, ministers’ carriage of those responsibilities.
This is an important report. The Auditor-General does tend to have themes running through his report. He, obviously, looked at the use of credit cards across government agencies. I agree with the Leader of the Opposition in his concluding remarks; that there has been, right across government agencies, an unfortunate laxity regarding ensuring appropriate transparency and acquittal processes are in place in regard to those transactions. All CEOs are very much on notice to ensure that they respond and close those loopholes that may have been identified.
I go to comments made by the member for Port Darwin, who made the most significant contribution from members opposite. He claimed the report reflects a ‘great malaise’ - I think was the rhetorical flourish used by him – occurring in the public service.
We have some 16 000 public servants who do a magnificent job, by and large, delivering services across the Northern Territory and implementing government policy. An all encompassing statement that there is a ‘great malaise’ occurring across the public service in regards to the transparency and accountability of government expenditure is not offensive, but it is over the top. We do have a professional public service and, whilst there is evidence of non-compliance in the report, it is not endemic and systematic. There have been incidences highlighted where internal controls have broken down. It is the job of the Auditor-General to identify those to ensure things get tightened up. He did not point to a great malaise or systemic breakdown of internals controls. He pointed out different agencies had different problems and there needed to be things tightened up and those agencies had responded appropriately.
He also suggested the Department of the Chief Minister had, somehow, rubber stamped all credit card expenditure to avoid being audited - again, absolute nonsense ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! What I asked for was the Department of the Chief Minister make that material available so that determination could be made. I did not make a judgment.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr HENDERSON: If the Auditor-General wants to inquire into the Department of the Chief Minister’s accounts in these matters, he would have asked and those documents would have been made available. With these comments talking about rubber stamping, I hope the member for Port Darwin is not suggesting the Auditor-General is not completely impartial in where he chooses to shine his torch looking at financial transactions of government agencies. It is the Auditor-General who selects which agencies are to be audited and for what purpose they are to be audited. He is not guided, authorised or instructed by the Department of the Chief Minister. He is totally independent.
The member for Port Darwin also noted the report highlighted an instance within DPIFM where a credit card transaction was split to circumvent the procurement process. I agree that practice is improper and it is not condoned. The procurement act is very specific in regard to how government should procure goods and services in delivering government programs and services. I believe it was an isolated example and it was not found to be a systemic practice. I agree with the member for Port Darwin that it was improper. It is not condoned and it should not have happened.
He criticised agencies for having to resort to using statutory declarations to support the contention that expenditure was incurred for official purposes. I agree with the member for Port Darwin; that should occur very occasionally or rarely. Agencies should keep proper records. However, there are occasions where documentation does go missing. I am sure all of us in our personal lives have documents go missing from time to time. It is something that is very annoying but, again, given goodness knows how many tens of thousand purchasing transactions would occur across government agencies, records should be kept - I agree with the member for Port Darwin - and agencies should not, as a rule of operation, rely on providing statutory declarations to cover expenditure. Again, that is what we have the Auditor-General for; to really look into these issues and require agencies to lift their game in regard to the keeping of official records so statutory declarations do not have to be relied upon.
The member for Port Darwin also - again with rhetorical flourish - insinuated there could be many examples of fraud on the taxpayer committed by public servants in missing paperwork relating to credit card transactions. Again, there was absolutely nothing in the Auditor-General’s report that even remotely reflected that fraud could be occurring. These are accounting issues, they are record-keeping issues, and they are certainly issues that I expect, as the Chief Minister, CEOs will address. However, to take from that that there could be many examples of fraud committed on the taxpayer by public servants in relation to missing paperwork is, again, a very long bow to draw and, I would say in this instance, absolutely offensive to many public servants that he could insinuate that …
Mr Elferink: Go back and read what I said and you will actually find out what I was referring to.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: … there could be many examples of fraud on the taxpayer …
Mr Elferink: The point is you do not know.
Mr HENDERSON: The Auditor-General …
Mr Elferink: You do not know, and that is what the Auditor-General’s problem is.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: The member for Port Darwin wants to set up – talk about the Spanish Inquisition - myriads of committees and inquiries and draw people in and cross-examine people and compel documents to be provided. That is why we have an Auditor-General ...
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: That is why we have an Auditor-General ...
Mr Tollner: I distinctly recall someone talking about transparency …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim!
Mr HENDERSON: … not a kangaroo court of parliament while we have an independent statutory officer who has the powers to investigate into every nook and cranny and corner of the financial delegations and operations of government and government agencies. He has a whole office resource. He has access to external audit capacity such as auditors who have forensic capacity in looking into transactions - far greater capacity, with all due respect to the member for Port Darwin and other members of this House, than any one of us here would have in professional capacity, to be able to look into the financial transactions of government. With all of the capacity that the Auditor-General has through his own office and also through external accounting firms that he can bring in to look into transactions of government agencies, he did not mention in his report that he had any concerns about examples of potential fraud on the taxpayer identified through his report.
That was a leap of imagination by the member for Port Darwin, expanding on the findings of the Auditor-General and, somehow, trying to create some sort of alarm in the public that here we have - I do not know how many; dozens, hundreds, a handful - of public servants who were systemically committing fraud by purchasing goodness knows what and providing false statutory declarations. He has no evidence for that - none at all. Again, that is offensive to the professional integrity of our public service.
Having said that, if there is or was any public servant who was committing fraud on the taxpayer by making purchases and false declarations, then I would expect that that public servant would be not only dealt with by the public service, but reported to police and appropriate charges should be laid, and would be dealt with by courts of the Northern Territory on the evidence provided, not some sort of kangaroo court system set up by a committee of this parliament.
In conclusion, I again thank the Auditor-General for the enormous service that he provides to the people of the Northern Territory. I commend him on his report.
Picking up on the Leader of the Opposition’s comments, I too expect that our public service and our CEOs will take the recommendations made by the Auditor-General, ensure that they are implemented, and where we have issues of improper or lax transactions by the use of credit cards, that these are cleaned up, and the Auditor-General’s recommendations get implemented across the public service.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the Auditor-General’s report.
Motion agreed to; report noted.
Continued from 21 October 2008.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Deputy Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I support the statement by the Chief Minister on the Ichthys LNG Project and the exciting announcement that Darwin is the preferred onshore location for the INPEX LNG plant.
As the Chief Minister said, this is, indeed, an historic announcement for the Territory. I congratulate the Chief Minister for showing impressive leadership and taking the Territory from being the underdog to becoming the preferred location for INPEX’s $20bn investment. This is no small achievement. It took hard work, determination and a strong leader to provide INPEX with the certainty and cooperation necessary to choose Darwin over the Maret Islands.
However, the commitment and dedication the Chief Minister and this government have to building economic certainty for the Territory does not end with INPEX. We are working to produce real economic results. The Territory has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, business confidence is high, and the Territory is continuing to enjoy strong economic growth. But this no time for complacency. INPEX will create thousands of jobs for Territorians and this demand for skilled workers will bring challenges. We must address these challenges to be ready to make the most of job opportunities.
As the Chief Minister said, we are working to meet the rise in demand for skilled workers when construction begins on the INPEX LNG site in 2010. We have a well developed Jobs Plan. It is the first comprehensive policy for training and employment in the Northern Territory. Our focus is on strategies which are producing results. We are strengthening partnerships between government agencies and business and industry. We are building pathways which provide the opportunity for Territory children to move easily from school to training and apprenticeships.
We are ensuring that government has the best information possible about the labour market and the economy so we can respond quickly to changing needs. We are focused on training Indigenous Territorians to build our workforce and close the gap in remote communities; 24% of our apprentices and trainees are Indigenous. Only last week, 16 Indigenous trainees graduated from a course in essential skills for the gas industry. These young people are now entering employment and will continue their training and will be ready to make the most of the job opportunities at INPEX.
Four years ago, we set a target of 10 000 apprenticeships and trainee commencements. We have reached that goal and we are striving for more. We have now committed to another 10 000 apprenticeships and trainee commencements. This is an important step in developing a skilled workforce ready for INPEX.
The Territory has the highest VET participation rate in Australia. I am proud to say, 22 000 Territorians undertook Vocational and Educational Training in 2007. Many of these people are already in the workforce and are training to improve their skills, ready for job opportunities in areas of skills shortage. To support people who are upskilling, we announced an annual commitment of $1m for Build Skills. That is a $500 000 increase. We recognise the importance of improving skills within the workforce.
It is not just about providing initial training. Building a skilled workforce is also about providing training opportunities for people already engaged in the workforce. We are supporting Territorians who want to improve their current skills base. The Territory has the second highest labour force participation rate in the country, with more than 110 000 participants. We value our workforce, and encourage people to upskill,
We support Territory employers. We want Territory employers, Territory businesses, to make the most of every opportunity INPEX will bring to the Territory. We are helping employers to support employees who want to learn and train. Our government provides $16m for training support, and this is in addition to the $45m we provide in annual support to CDU and $10m for VET training at the Bachelor Institute. Part of our commitment to training and supporting business includes the $1.25m annual commitment for the Workwear/Workgear Bonus program. This is a practical way we can help Territorians training in skills shortage areas. In fact, the biggest growth area in training is across traditional trade occupations, where there are the most acute skills shortages. Almost half of our apprentices and trainees are studying in trades in the shortage occupations.
Since 2001, the number of apprentices and trainees taking up training opportunities in skills shortage areas has doubled. Recognising this fantastic uptake, we announced during the election that we will be more than doubling the Workready program, taking the funding from $400 000 to $900 000. This program is proving successful in providing students with work experience so that they are better prepared for school-based apprenticeships and traineeships. Attitudes have changed in the Territory. Leaving school to complete an apprenticeship is now a strongly admired career path which brings great opportunity for Territory kids.
INPEX has the potential to secure the Territory’s economic future and provide great opportunities for all Territorians. Through strategic planning and careful implementation over the past seven years, we have built a skilled workforce. We are investing in the future of training and apprenticeships to ensure we continue to build our workforce, ready to make the most of the opportunities INPEX will bring. I know Territorians are excited about INPEX and the Chief Minister has done a great job to bring this project one step closer to Darwin.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, sorry, I was not quite expecting such a short contribution from the minister. However, brevity is welcome in this House from time to time. I am not particularly good at it myself and perhaps I should follow the minister’s fine example. I followed with some interest the development of …
Ms Scrymgour: God, he is a dag.
Mr ELFERINK: I said something nice.
Ms Scrymgour: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you. Order!
Mr ELFERINK: I said something nice, they still beat me up. Wounded.
Ms Scrymgour: I was going to say worse than that, but …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, you have the call.
Mr ELFERINK: I have completely lost my train of thought. Oh yes, this project, which has been delivered to the people of the Northern Territory, is a fine project and I personally am very supportive of the expansion of the existing gas industry in the Northern Territory. It is worth noting that I have lived in Darwin since 1969, with the exception of the time that I spent in Alice Springs, and I have seen the town grow from being mildly larger than Alice Springs is today to the metropolis that we see around us now. However, I expect that in the next 39 years, Darwin will be unrecognisable from the town that it is today, largely as a result of the developments from the gas that will come onshore from the Browse Basin.
The Chief Minister is justifiably proud of bringing this forward. However, one could be forgiven, if one was reading the Northern Territory News, for thinking that the Chief Minister mounted this horse all by himself and led the cavalry charge in a knowledge vacuum in the sense that there was no knowledge of gas and the potentiality for gas in Darwin prior to Clare Martin becoming Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.
The history of gas development - and I know the government is particularly keen on dwelling on what happened in the Northern Territory before the change of government, so it is worth going there - goes back a long, long way. It predates Clare Martin, predates Denis Burke and goes back as far as Shane Leslie Stone, the Chief Minister who, with the help of Premier Court of Western Australia, assisted …
Mr Henderson: He was the last person to dissent against the Speaker, 10 years ago.
Mr ELFERINK: … found gas customers in South-East Asia which enabled the development of the Bayu-Undan field by ConocoPhillips. If you look across the harbour today there is a monument to that work. Also, if you track the recent news article - I pick up on the one which was written quite recently about Paul Tyrrell being the driving force behind this. I actually believe that Paul Tyrrell had a huge contribution to make in relation to this particular project. Paul Tyrrell was also well supported by other public servants going back to the CLP days. It was clear that he was building on the knowledge he obtained during that period.
It is also clear that INPEX as a company was not ignorant of the location of the Northern Territory as some of the press and, I suspect, even government, would have you believe. It is interesting to read the annual reports of some of these companies. If you take, for example, the last annual report I read from ConocoPhillips, it is curious to note that amongst their major shareholders is a company called INPEX. It appears all of these companies have shareholdings in each other’s interests and, therefore, it would be very unlikely to assume they are ignorant of each other’s activities.
I also note - and I could be corrected on this, but I believe I am correct – that the pipeline which is coming in from the Browse Basin will be a 42-inch pipeline. It is also my understanding that on the horizon Greater Sunrise may yet be touched, which is a massive gas field in the shared zone of cooperation just north of us.
I note in the Financial Review that Shell Woodside, the developer of Greater Sunrise, has said they will not go to Timor. There are engineering reasons why that would occur, you cannot swing a gas pipeline through empty space, which is effectively what you are being asked to do when you cross one of those major trenches just south of the Timorese islands. Technically, there are huge problems with bringing gas to Timor. Shell Woodside, of course, has still not discounted offshore production, but also have not yet discounted Darwin.
It is my belief that when the former CLP government suddenly had the opportunity to tap into Bayu-Undan, or when that opportunity came up, the former CLP government was caught unawares. This is only me reading between the lines, I do not have any direct evidence from Cabinet members at the time. I suspected they may have been caught slightly unawares, because it would have been a case of: ‘Well, where can you take us to?’ Middle Arm became the only possible option that was available at the time. I remember at the time it caused some community disquiet that Middle Arm was chosen as a location for the development of the Bayu-Undan ConocoPhillips field. In that instance, if it was a case of: ‘Gee whiz, I would like to locate it elsewhere; however, if it is a choice between gas coming onshore and gas not coming onshore, then we will always have to support gas coming onshore for the development of the people of the Northern Territory’.
However, the response from the government at the time was to shore up or start doing preparatory work for the arrival, I believe, of Greater Sunrise - and not to send them into the middle of Darwin Harbour. Work was done and it was identified that there were two other very good locations where gas could have been brought onshore. One was called Point Margaret which is at the mouth of Bynoe Harbour, a natural scour, as I understand it, caused by tidal movements which are sufficiently deep to allow passage of large LNG vessels, almost to the point itself. However, land title issues over that location precluded it from being further developed. The other particular option was Glyde Point. Work was done to firm up Glyde Point. We hear from the members of government that it is all too expensive; it is going to cost $500m. Well, if you are going to reproduce the current wharf facilities at East Arm, yes, I imagine it would cost about $500m. But I suspect that was not actually what was intended, which is evidenced by the fact that transport corridors were to be developed between the industrial area developed at Glyde Point and the East Arm port here in Darwin.
The decision by government not to throw any money at that development beyond the preparatory work that has been done at that stage, not to develop the downstream industrial area which would have been physically located behind the gas installation should they come onshore at that point, and not to do any more development work for the town of Murrumujuk, which was going to be built nearby, was a decision of this government. This government decided that, because Greater Sunrise was not a particularly promising option, and because there were no other gas development projects on the horizon, they mothballed the Glyde Point development ...
Ms Lawrie: No, that was not our reason, actually.
Mr ELFERINK: They would mothball the development and allow for a small amount of development, and allow the harbour to develop as had been planned with low-level industry being earmarked for the rest of Middle Arm. Then, quite out of left field, and as a bit of a surprise to the then Chief Minister, Clare Martin, she had an opportunity from this company called INPEX, which was not having a comfortable time under the then administration of the West Australian government. As a consequence - and quite rightly, I might add, and full credit to Clare Martin - she said: ‘Here is an opportunity. It is a bit of a long shot, but here is an opportunity. Let us go for it’. As time passed, this government was able to make the Northern Territory increasingly attractive to INPEX. We have all seen the fruits of those labours. As I said, full credit where credit is due.
I remember that we have, from time to time, as an accident of our offices, the opportunity to ride the train of other people’s achievement, not least of which was the view I had one day of Clare Martin driving into Darwin on a train which she once described to be a faded dream. That was an accident of political history. I notice that the new Chief Minister would shroud himself in congratulations for his enormous achievement when, I suggest, if he can see into the future, he should check his feet, because he is clearly standing on the shoulders of people who came before him. I am not talking just about Clare Martin; he should acknowledge the work that was done even prior to the arrival of Clare Martin on the scene.
I return now to the comments about the 42-inch pipe coming from the Browse Basin and in relation to all of these gas companies having an interest in each other. I am speaking figuratively there. It is my understanding that, should Greater Sunrise come online, a similar size pipe will also come out of Greater Sunrise which will go past - what is it, the Bart field in that area Kon? Yes, the Bart field and other gas fields in that area. Something that has not been articulated yet, but I hope the Chief Minister would take a moment to reflect on, is that the 42-inch pipe, as I understand it – and I am not an engineer, I could be corrected - is physically probably pretty much the largest pipe you can build for these sorts of purposes, and may actually be larger than that immediately required by INPEX for the field that they are developing at the moment, the Ichthys field.
However, if that is true, and all of these gas companies know what the others are up to, and there are more and more of these head wells starting to come online, it is not inconceivable that these gas companies will be looking for rental space in these very large pipelines from each other. So, if INPEX builds this pipeline all the way from the Browse Basin to Middle Arm, it is not inconceivable that, if other fields come online out of the Browse Basin, rather than go to Western Australia they may very well put little T-intersections into this massive pipeline and move their gas down the pipeline as well. If that occurs - and this is purely my personal speculation, I might add - and if Greater Sunrise comes onshore, in the next 10 years this will be much bigger than just INPEX. It will be huge beyond words.
The reassurances we have from government that Middle Arm is the place where all this stuff is going gives me pause for thought. The reason is that I can imagine if all these fields decide to come to the Northern Territory, because we are just the better place to do business than Western Australia. Then, I am mindful of what Middle Arm will look like and, as night follows day, once you get gas of those proportions coming to this city, then you will find major industry will follow that gas and seek to set up nearby. Dow Chemical Company has made it abundantly clear, as I understand it, that that is exactly their intention.
Whilst I am very supportive of gas - and you will not find me unsupportive of the appropriate legislative instruments to enable this particular project to go ahead - the fact remains that I wish there had been better planning done than we have seen at the moment. I am drawn to the same observation I made earlier in relation to the development of Middle Arm to receive gas from Bayu-Undan. If it is a choice between gas coming to the Northern Territory and not coming, and the only option available is Middle Arm, then Middle Arm is where it goes. However, there is still an opportunity to do effective planning further downstream in the area. I know the minister for Planning has trotted out the line that they said they wanted to go to Middle Arm - that was the only place that was offered to them – the only place. They were not given an opportunity to consider another area, so, consequently, Middle Arm it is. Okay, so be it.
Let us get ready for the next round of planning for the major chemical companies and the mining companies which will suddenly say: ‘We are going to evaluate our product in Darwin and so we will set up smelters in Darwin rather than moving all our ore offshore’; and let us find them a location. Gas will come to Middle Arm, and I suspect that a lot more than we currently believe is on its way; that is the potential. We need to engage in proper planning, and I hear the minister for Planning when she says that it is not entirely unlikely Wickham Point being a Nightcliff and the industry being at Karama in terms of the physical distance between Wickham Point and where the downstream industry will go. I have some reservations that if a lot more gas comes to the Northern Territory than the astonishing amount that already seems to be in the pipeline – no pun intended – then we will have a lot more heavy industry coming to Darwin, and the planning needs to be done now.
It is urgent that we do this planning because we need to be able to demonstrate to those people who are coming that there is a place for them to go other than simply pointing at Middle Arm, which was never ever contemplated as being a zone of heavy industry. The original industrial zoning for the Middle Arm area was contemplated as another Winnellie, not a Botany Bay, and that is a fundamental difference which is still not too late to address.
It is my understanding that industries which use LNG for their downstream purposes need the gas in its gaseous form, not in its liquid form, which means if it is easier to move then it is easier for them to consume remotely from the gas installations themselves. The only reason the gas installations need to be close to the shore is that, in its liquid form, the gas has to be kept at minus-162C …
Mr Vatskalis: Minus-183C.
Mr ELFERINK: Sorry?
Mr Vatskalis: Minus-183C.
Mr ELFERINK: I thought it was 163C or 162C. Well, I stand corrected – minus-183C. In other words, it has to be bloody cold and, if you stick it down a pipeline which is too long it regasifies and, therefore, you cannot transport it because the ratio of gaseous gas to liquid is 600:1 or thereabouts, which means that a cubic foot of liquid gas turns into 600 cubic feet of gaseous gas.
However, although the vessels need gas in its liquid form for the purpose of transport, industry at the other end needs the gasified version of that gas, and so it is possible to pipe that over much longer distances. If you doubt that, look at the length of the pipeline which is being proposed between the Ichthys field and Middle Arm.
I ask that the government, as a matter of urgency, turn its mind to planning the future industrial development of Darwin beyond Middle Arm and find locations which are acceptable to downstream customers, because the opportunity to have a gas industry, as well as have a harbour which is not going to be condemned by future generations of Territorians as a monument to bad planning, is still before us. We have, in part, lost that opportunity because gas is coming to Middle Arm. Well, so be it.
At the risk of anticipating the debate, I note in the bill before the House a right for the proponent to claim specific performance, which is a term out of contract law. It means that, essentially, we cannot offer them – once the contract and the deal has been struck – a place other than Middle Arm. That means, by its very nature, Middle Arm is where that gas will go. I do not suspect any future downstream users of gas are going to – extension of time, somebody?
Mr BOHLIN: Madam Speaker, I move an extension of time for the member for Port Darwin pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK: I thank and acknowledge honourable members for their kindness in giving me the extension of time.
Regarding the planning issue, I urge and plead with government to look at different options. Do not roll the shutters down. I do not want to hear my children saying to me: ‘Dad, exactly what did happen in Darwin Harbour 30 years ago when it was a pristine harbour and now it has turned into this industrial development of mammoth size?’
I note from the legislation which is before the House the right to claim specific performance, which is an equitable remedy under contract law which, basically, says that under normal breaches of contract you will get compensation paid or you will have some claim of right in compensatory payment. However, when a contract is signed for the purchase of something which is inherently unique - for argument’s sake, I purchase a Claude Monet painting and, then for some reason the person who sells me that painting – God, I wish I had the money for that, but that is an aside - then tries to say: ‘I cannot sell you, I am not going to sell you the painting’ - I can ask for specific performance, because specific performance says: ‘No, what you are offering me is unique and, therefore, it cannot be compensated; it is a one-off’. That is, essentially, the structure of the bill that is before this House, so I will not dwell on that any further.
This is good news for the Northern Territory. I, with some trepidation, have some concerns about what Darwin will look like and the amount of planning being done to accommodate these changes into the future. The government has demonstrated there is a chasm between what they say and what happens in planning issues; not least of which is, for argument’s sake, the assurances by the minister for Planning during the election campaign that Bellamack would be turned off in early 2009. That has subsequently changed to 2009 and, now, the language is starting to drift away to early 2010 ...
Mr Henderson: She has not said that.
Mr ELFERINK: Well, it is drifting in that direction.
Mr Henderson: When did she say early 2010?
Mr ELFERINK: It is drifting - well, give us a guarantee.
Ms Lawrie: No, he is making it up.
Mr Henderson: You said that she said 2010.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: Drifting in the direction of 2010. It gets later and later and later. Well, give us a date. Stand up on your feet and give us a not-later-than date.
Madam SPEAKER: This is not Question Time, member for Port Darwin; just continue your comments through the Chair, please.
Mr ELFERINK: The government, all of a sudden, has now announced Johnston, Zuccoli and one of the others – Mitchell - when, not 12 months ago, the minister was in this House bleating that to turn off blocks at that rate would flood the marketplace with land, and would cause the prices to crash through the floor. All of a sudden, the very thing we were calling for turns out to be good government policy.
I concern myself with the planning capacity of this government because, like so much of what they do, it is done in a pedestrian, nine-to-five sort of way. If it is not sorted out by 5 o’clock tonight, ‘That is all right, we will come back tomorrow and have another look at it and see how we are going’.
I urge this government to take planning a lot more seriously than they have done. It is probably, outside of crime, health and education in the Darwin area, one of the most pressing issues that has people talking. The government’s planning capacity is widely criticised, not just by me and not just inside this House; it gets criticism from all sorts of areas. Government, I suspect is aware of this, hence the Buildstart program announcement over the last couple of days.
I finish by saying this. The well was dug, the spring was tapped many years ago and it took successive governments, both CLP and ALP, to develop that spring. Yet, when it was tapped, opportunities arose that were not even dreamed of back in those days. Now, the opportunities are upon us and, I suspect, we will become the gas hub of north Australia for the reasons that I have outlined here today. If that occurs, planning really needs to be done and needs to be done well.
Whilst I congratulate the government and give the government a bouquet on their role in securing this process - may I say largely assisted by a hung parliament in Western Australia, which would give little comfort to INPEX - the fact is they deserve the bouquet. They will also, if they do not get it right in all these other areas which have been discussed by members here today, deserve brickbats. I suspect if they do not get it right, next time at the ballot box will not be a pleasant one for them.
Mr VATSKALIS (Business and Employment): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his contribution. I support the Chief Minister’s statement on INPEX LNG processing facility which has been proposed for Blaydin Point in Darwin Harbour. I congratulate the Chief Minister and the previous Chief Minister, and Mr Paul Tyrrell, because the reality is Mr Paul Tyrrell was the one person who sniffed out the opportunity and advised Cabinet and the then Chief Minister, Clare Martin, and started travelling to Japan to talk to INPEX and to the people in Perth about the possibility of the Northern Territory becoming the centre for the establishment of the facility for LNG. With the change of leadership, I was very encouraged to see that the member for Wanguri, the Chief Minister, did not miss a beat - one of the first trips he took was to Japan to ensure he continued the trend to bring INPEX here to the Territory.
It is the establishment of an industry like LNG, and other relevant industries, which will actually underpin the economic future of the Territory. Since quite a few of us have come from somewhere else, very few of us were actually born and originate from here, we all remember coming to Darwin. I remember when I first came to Darwin in 1993 it was a fantastic provincial town. The highest building was NT House with 14 storeys. The harbour was fantastic; it was a working harbour. I remember the port then was the wharf down here, and the other port was under construction. It was quite a while before we started to see the first signs of economic activity with one of the visionary plans for the Territory - the train. From the very beginning, I said the construction of the railway from Alice Springs to Darwin was a visionary plan that will open the road to Asia.
I also remember very well the debate about the establishment of the ConocoPhillips LNG plant, and the reaction and support from people. Before, it was interesting to see people complaining that young Territorians could not wait to get out of Darwin and go south and, when they got down south, you might as well kiss them goodbye; they would never come back; not only because of the big city but because there were no opportunities. Who would come back to Darwin if the opportunities leading into service provision or public service or construction were limited and, at the same time, Port Hedland and Karratha were absolutely booming? Even then, in 1990 to 1993, they could not find workers and, when they did find workers, they paid them really well.
In 1990, I learned the train drivers from Newmont Mining were being paid $150 000 a year; they used to call them koalas because they were treated like protected species. I learned that when I worked for the council. I visited the mine one day where they were preparing food for the day workers. I saw a stack of eskies and I asked what the eskies where for. They said they were for the train driver. I said: ‘What, five eskies?’ They said, ‘Yes, the first one is for cool drinks; the second one is for bread and fruit and the third one is the hot food; the fourth one is for desert …’ These guys never went shopping; they just got off the train when they got back from Port Hedland, picked up the esky and took them home. That is what they used to pay them
I remember when they first planned the LNG plant here in Darwin and the member for Port Darwin, previously the member Macdonnell, will remember the debate we had in and outside the House, with the scaremongering about how the harbour was going to change; that was the end of life as we knew it; nobody could go fishing in the harbour anymore because the …
Mr Elferink: But it has changed; that is the point. It has changed.
Mr VATSKALIS: You can still go fishing in the harbour. Our harbour is still in very good condition. Our harbour has not been affected by the LNG plant installation because, considering all the other industry, LNG plants are some of the most benign because they simply strip the liquids and refrigerate gas to minus-183C to export. I agree with you, as you said before, it is the law of physics, if you are going to export something in liquid form at minus-183C you cannot transport it for 5 km or 10 km, it has to be transported to a boat as soon as possible. I also agree with you that, if it has to be a downstream industry, it does need liquified natural gas in its gaseous form so it can be transported for 10 km to 20 km. I absolutely support that argument.
However, the LNG INPEX figures are staggering. The size of this plant and the effect it is going to have on the economy of the Territory and of Australia and, certainly, in the development of Darwin, is staggering. When I first announced the proposed construction, we quoted $US13bn which, today, translates to $A21bn. Things change drastically by changing one little figure in the value, but it is still a significant amount of money; it is the biggest investment in Australia.
The other thing that is staggering is that INPEX will be producing about 60% of all liquefied natural gas in Australia - 40% of all liquids produced currently in Australia. Just one gas field will produce enormous quantities. Ichthys is the Greek word for fish, so if the gas is in the sea, it must be a fish. Ichthys is 12 TCF, trillion cubic feet, compared with Sunrise which is 7 TCF. So Ichthys is one-and-a-half times as big as Sunrise, so it is an enormous gas field. If Sunrise is going to be big, INPEX is enormous; it is gigantic.
The other thing, of course, is that the number of workers in full construction will be about 3000, and the expenditure will be, from 2010 to 2014, $2bn in each of these years. Construction per year to 2011, 2012, and 2013 will be $3bn per year. The sale of gas overseas will have effects, not only to our economy, but positive effects on the environment. This gas will replace coal-fired power stations; it will actually produce four times less pollution than the best quality coal will produce if it is used for the production of energy.
However, the effects it will have on our business in the Territory are enormous. The government commissioned ACIL Tasman to draft a report, The Impact of LNG processing on the Northern Territory economy. I would like to quote from this report:
It continued:
The biggest problem for INPEX was there was nothing in the area where they wanted to establish their LNG plant - no towns, no airports, no ports, no power, no water, no sewerage, and no people. In addition to that, the Maret Islands are some of the most unique islands in Western Australia which are actually utilised by fishermen and tourists. To try to land the pipeline in the pristine environment of the Kimberleys would certainly have quite a few greenies running around in circles screaming their heads off. We were in the right position, at the right time, and we worked very hard to take the gas from Western Australia, much to their surprise, because I do not think they ever believed Darwin would actually get the gas from Western Australia.
The other thing was that Darwin and the Northern Territory, in some respects, are a competitive location for development of major resources projects. Construction costs are an important factor, but they are not necessarily the prime determinants of the final investment decision. Nevertheless, the competitiveness of Darwin and the Northern Territory in construction costs, relative to other locations, is important in any decision reached in the minds of developers as an option worthy of consideration. It is not the fact we are getting INPEX here, it is the fact that we proved to the rest of the world we can manage, assist and help in the construction and servicing of these big projects.
In the past 10 years, we have seen a significant increase in activities to support and service the oil and gas industry, not only in the waters of the Territory, but the waters to the east and west of the Territory. That has opened enormous opportunities for our industries, and more and more industries now consider Darwin and the Northern Territory as a base to support the oil and gas industry. That is what it is going to be.
It is not only INPEX, because if you look at ConocoPhillips, the life of the gas might be 20 to 25 years. It is not just 25 years which is going to actually contribute to the economic security of the Territory, it is the fact that, in this 25 years, there will be other associated industries that will support ConocoPhillips, INPEX, and Sunrise when and if it comes to Darwin. Also, people out there realise they do not have to drive to town to Karratha, which is 2500 km south; they can get what they want from Darwin which is much closer to where they produce the oil and gas.
The important thing is we get this enormous opportunity and do not sit back and do nothing and gain very little for the Northern Territory. We want Territory business to be able to put a tender to INPEX for the construction, for the support of the plant during construction, and during operation. That is the reason we are working very closely with the Northern Territory Industry Capability Network to ensure that businesses throughout the Territory have the ability and know how to tender correctly, because some of the contracts this company sends out are not just one piece of paper, they are pages and pages. As I have been told, when you put in an application - let us say to supply housing modules, residential modules - you have to talk about capacity, policies in place, the environmental policies in place, and about all these things which not many people in the Territory have ever tendered before, or know or are familiar with.
We want to ensure that Territory businesses are benefiting from INPEX. That Territory businesses can be there successfully getting some of these contracts. If Territory businesses get these contracts that means Territorians will welcome this business and they will benefit for the next three, four, five, 10 years. Many people say it is only big businesses which will benefit, but the reality is that even the small businesses, the supportive businesses, the businesses that provide services, will benefit.
A typical example was the guy from the pizza place in Palmerston. He said that due to the construction of the ConocoPhillips plant, when the workers’ camp was near Palmerston, he did the best business he had done for four years because people who have disposable income will buy things - they will buy pizza, they will service their car, they will buy everything - so that money will flow back to the Territory.
We are working very closely with the Northern Territory Industry Capability Network. The reality is that we are not going to get all the workers from Darwin; we know that. There is no way we are going to find workers from Darwin, because some of the skills required are not here. I recall very well when ConocoPhillips wanted specialist welders; they had to import 15 Filipino specialist welders from the Middle East for the simple reason they could not find them here. They told me they interviewed 100 people – there was only one successful applicant. It was a mother who used to work in Karratha in the gas industry and she moved to Darwin. One female from the Territory out of 100 applicants got a job with ConocoPhillips.
So, we have to face the reality; some of these people will not come from here for the simple reason we do not have the skills or the expertise. But, many people who come here will decide to stay and to get an alternative job here. There will be plenty of jobs around even when the plant is finished because some of the skills will be required by the resources sector and the mining industry. With the mining industry in the Territory now demanding more and more workers, there will be good and well-paid opportunities for these people to stay here in the Territory.
If we are not going to find these people in the Territory, the department is going to work very closely with INPEX, first of all to identify people in the Territory who can do these jobs, to profile these people and, if we cannot find these people, get information from INPEX where they want us to go to find them. There are plenty of people who want to get out of their countries. I will give you an example – people from South Africa.
My department recently held an expo in Johannesburg and Cape Town and they had in excess of 8000 people turning up and putting in their CVs, very well-qualified people with university degrees, with trade degrees, simply because they want to get out of South Africa. The Territory is a very good country for them because climatic conditions are very similar. It is very similar geographically and it is said Australia is actually one of the safest countries in the world. In addition to that, the department has collected all this information and collated it into a database which is open to businesses who want to get workers.
The other thing that is very important is one-third of the population of the Territory is Indigenous and another one-third is young men and women. The resources sector is one of the places where these people can get a job. I am very pleased that McArthur River Mine is employing about 16 or 17 new apprenticeships and other people to work in the mine. Thirty percent of the staff of Compass Resources, that delivered today the first copper to be exported from Darwin, is Indigenous. Newmont employs a large number of Indigenous people from Yuendumu, and ConocoPhillips trained a number of young Indigenous men during construction. We will encourage INPEX to do the same.
Another action we take whenever we realise there are some problems down south – car factories closing down, car parts factories closing down - we immediately fly there and have an expo to present these workers with opportunities. Recently, people from my department visited southern states and spoke to executives of the Ford factory, because Ford is restructuring and, I believe, they are going to close the factory in Geelong. That means 800 people will not have a job. If we can attract some of these qualified people to the Territory, we will gain something: we will get people who are already trained and have skills who can find a job and become good Territorians.
As I said before, INPEX is the biggest project in Australia’s history; the biggest project in the Territory. However, INPEX is only the beginning. As the President of INPEX said, if someone makes a good offer for the gas he is prepared to sell it, not only for power generation, but for downstreaming. That is the important thing about downstreaming- the government has not said it will take place near the harbour. The government has put in place a Growth Planning Unit in order to look at all these issues for the future. There is the issue of the Pechiney smelter being established at Glyde Point. The Leader of the Opposition said many times that Glyde Point will be the ideal position. The reality is that Glyde Point is not the ideal position because of many environmental problems. There are the additional problems with the coral fields and the fact they have to be dredged continually in order to maintain the depths, and also the strong currents near the Vernon Islands.
We have to identify a new area because the chemical companies will come. If the gas is here they will come like they went to Karratha, Port Hedland, Geraldton and Carnarvon. We are working very closely to identify an area where we can safely establish a downstream company which will not be so much visually polluting as the real pollution which might come. I do not think an aluminium smelter will be a solution here in Darwin when the alumina is produced 1000 km to the north-east of Darwin. There might be other industries more polluting than LNG. The work has already started. The Chief Minister has directed his department to have a look at areas that can be identified for the construction of a downstream industry.
I am very pleased that we have managed as Territorians, despite political differences, to get INPEX to come to Darwin; it is a win/win situation. It is a situation which makes sure that young Territorians who go down south to study will come back because there will be a job for them; not only a job in INPEX but all the other industries which will follow INPEX, and which will continue to come now the Territory has stamped itself on the map. This is a place you can do business, this is a government that is prepared to do business, this is a government that is prepared to look favourably in establishing gas and related oil industries.
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Deputy Speaker, I start off by saying congratulations again to the Chief Minister on his work in bringing INPEX to the Northern Territory. As has been stated by a number of speakers on both sides of the Chamber, the work that goes into getting a company to consider establishing a project of this size in a place like Darwin cannot be underestimated. Well done, Chief Minister.
At the same time, it is a terrible shame that the Chief Minister chose to politise the project by running to an early election based on INPEX. It is my strong view that the reasons for running to an early election had nothing to do with INPEX and a lot to do with disasters which the government saw coming - disasters such as the failure of Power and Water to supply power; the nursing health crisis; the Coronial inquest and more to come; the complete breakdown of law and order; and the escalation of crime rates. It is a strongly held view by many people in the community that that was, indeed, the fact for the Chief Minister’s call for an early election.
I managed to pull up a media release that was issued by Ian Macfarlane, the former Howard government Resources minister. I will quote from that. The headline of Ian Macfarlane’s media release is ‘Henderson a Fraud on Early Election Reason’:
Ian Macfarlane certainly spotted, early in the piece, the fraudulent nature of the last election campaign, inasmuch as it was not about INPEX at all; more about hiding and covering up failures of government in many other areas. The way the Chief Minister was determined to politicise the INPEX deal was an awful shame.
Of course, this government’s failure to plan is well known. The opposition, led by the member for Blain, was very keen to point out that Glyde Point was written off by the government as a place that gas development could happen, simply because they failed to plan for it. There was no option apart from sending INPEX to Blaydin Point. This lack and failure is apparent in a whole range of different areas. You wonder where this failure to plan is going to lead us in relation to INPEX gas.
For example, I call members’ attention to the Tiger Brennan Drive extension, Stage 2. I had quite a bit to do with Tiger Brennan Drive, of course, when I was the federal member in relation to funding negotiations between the federal and Territory governments. Those negotiations were like pulling teeth, by the way, because you could never actually get a firm idea on when and if the Territory government was ever going to commit to the project. It got pushed back and pushed back, to the point now where, several years later, the costs of that extension have massively exploded, I think, from somewhere around $25m originally four or five years ago, to the point where we are now at $110m, more than four times the cost of what was originally envisaged, simply because of this government’s failure to adequately plan and be prepared to do projects.
In relation to the Tiger Brennan Drive extension, I am reliably informed that the original plan, or the most recent original plan, was to have a start date somewhere around October this year. That is around now we were expecting a start on Stage 2 of the Tiger Brennan Drive extension. The tender processes that have been conducted by this government are overly weighed down in bureaucracy and other problems, I am led to understand. Now, it looks like the start date will be somewhere around the end of next Dry Season, almost a full 12 months after they were first envisaged to start, which means the completion date for the Tiger Brennan Drive extension will be somewhere around the end of 2011 ...
A member: Maybe the same time as the oncology unit.
Mr TOLLNER: Maybe the same time as the oncology unit; maybe the same time as Bellamack when they are going to be turning off blocks of land ready for new houses ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We are wondering what is the relevance to the INPEX debate?
Mr Tollner: This is all about INPEX.
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Please pause while I confer with the Clerk.
Member for Fong Lim, I ask you to address your comments through the Chair, please.
Mr TOLLNER: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I will take up on the point of order called by the Leader of Government Business. She asked what this has to do with INPEX. Well, it has quite a lot do with INPEX because, at some stage, INPEX is going to be hunting around for workers, trying to find people to do this multibillion dollar job.
We all remember when the ConocoPhillips gas plant was being constructed. Bechtel were the construction company and they had quite a large workers’ camp. During the construction of the ConocoPhillips plant, local business was hard pressed to find workers for neither love nor money. It was a very difficult stage for a lot of local businesses which were not working on that particular plant. Members of the public would understand, at that time, you could not get a plumber around to fix your toilet at home; it was difficult to find an electrician because the majority of the tradespeople were taken away to the construction of that ConocoPhillips gas plant. What is happening with this INPEX gas plant is the same thing.
The minister for Business just talked about the scarcity of workers who will be available for the INPEX project. In fact, he acknowledged that the Territory cannot possibly supply all of those workers. The fact is, the Territory will not be able to supply all of those workers, but the Territory will supply many of them because I bet INPEX wants to employ people locally before they have to start flying them in and flying them out. A lot of the labour of local business will be dragged to the INPEX project at the same time as the Bellamack blocks of land are being turned off for sale; as people will be wanting to build houses on those blocks of land at Bellamack; workers will be wanting to build the Tiger Brennan Drive extension; people will be required to be putting in water, sewerage and electricity in all these wonderful houses that are coming online - and you wonder where the workers are going to come for all this.
Quite clearly, there has been a lack of planning by this government because it has foreseen none of this. It is a dreadful shame that calls from the Country Liberals, business, and other people in the community to get their planning procedures and their planning goals in order were not taken seriously by this government some time ago. It is a dreadful shame that we are talking about pushing out the release of blocks of land at Bellamack until 2010, when, at that time, building businesses, will be looking for tradesmen to start constructing houses on those blocks that are being turned off.
It would be good to hear the Planning minister tell us exactly where the company which wins the tender for the Tiger Brennan Drive extension Stage 2 is going to find workers, given the fact that INPEX will be taking quite a number of workers out of the Darwin business community. It will be quite interesting to hear the minister for Planning tell us where they are going to find construction industry workers while the oncology unit is being constructed. By the way, that unit that was first promised back in 2001 as their original election campaign promise and it was promised again in the 2005 election. Now, we are somewhat into the third term of the Labor government and construction still has not started on that oncology unit.
It will be interesting to know where the Planning minister expects companies to find workers who are charged with putting sewerage systems into the Bellamack development, the workers’ camp for INPEX and the range of other housing developments that are going on. Where is the minister going to find electricians who will be called upon to go to the INPEX plant but will be working tirelessly to correct Darwin’s power crisis? These things I am sure have never been planned for by this government. I am sure that they knew the power crisis was coming because that is the reason they went to an early election.
This INPEX development is a wonderful development for the Northern Territory, but I find it is a crying shame that the Territory, and particularly this government, is not better prepared for INPEX’s arrival or the arrival, for that matter, of a range of other projects. They now seem to run around like chooks with their heads cut off demanding people rush in tenders and organise themselves, simply because of their lack of planning and foresight. Congratulations to the Chief Minister - shame he politicised it - but I am very keen to support this legislation.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on this very important project for the Northern Territory. The Henderson government believes that it is possible to have development and, at the same time, protect our precious environment. The reality, however, is that many governments have said much the same and, as the state of the environment elsewhere in Australia would suggest, many have failed to live up to the challenge. It is a big challenge, so we need to do things the right and proper way and it is a responsibility I take very seriously.
With any major development such as INPEX, the environment will be best protected by getting the fundamentals right beforehand: preventing environmental problems through good design and appropriate safeguards, rather than trying to fix the problems afterwards. To do this the existing environment needs to be carefully described, the project documented and analysed in detail, possible impacts predicted and assessed, and safeguards developed to either avoid or reduce those impacts.
This, in essence, is the process of environmental assessment. It is a very important process and one that has already commenced in respect of the INPEX development. Earlier this year, the former minister directed INPEX to prepare an environmental impact assessment, or an EIS as it is more commonly termed, on the company’s proposal to establish an LNG plant at Blaydin Point. An EIS is the highest level of environmental assessment and, in this case, it will involve both the Territory and Australian governments.
INPEX’s proposals involve gas extractions offshore in Commonwealth waters, piping the gas through these waters and Territory waters, building the processing plant at Blaydin Point, and shipping off the product back through the harbour and then through Commonwealth and international waters. As a result, the Australian and Territory governments will have quite distinct responsibilities for the EIS.
In respect of the different elements of the project, the Australian government will address all of the environmental impact of offshore activity and any impacts of near-shore and onshore activity that may impact on matters of national environmental significance under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. In this case, the Commonwealth has determined the relevant matters of nationally environmental significance and have listed certain species and communities of migratory species, and the marine environment in Commonwealth waters. The Territory government will be focusing on all the environmental impacts of the near-shore pipeline, onshore construction and operation of the plant, and the shipping through the harbour.
It may sound like a complex arrangement and, to a point, it is. This is unavoidable given that the project will operate over a very large area where different governments have responsibilities and different laws apply. I am very pleased, however, that officers from my department and their counterparts in the Australian government worked tirelessly to ensure that all the complex processes, while freely available to those who wish to examine this assessment in detail, are also presented to the public in a way that is easy to understand. This required significant coordination.
I put on record my thanks to those officers. Their work commenced with the preparation of the draft EIS guidelines for the development prepared by my department with input from the federal Environment department, and released for community comment. Comments received on the draft guidelines were addressed in finalising the document, and I have now issued these guidelines to INPEX. The guidelines scoped the nature of the investigations and the issues to be addressed in the EIS. They do not tell INPEX how to address these issues; that will be for INPEX and their consultants to determine as they analyse the issues, collect information and draft their EIS.
The process to be followed under both Territory and Commonwealth law will firstly require INPEX to prepare a draft EIS covering the issues and the guidelines. Through the coordinated efforts of my department and their federal counterparts, a single draft EIS will be prepared by INPEX that satisfy the requirements of both governments. The draft EIS will be made available for a period of eight weeks, twice as long as the minimum provided under the legislation. I understand that many in the community want to inform themselves about this project and have a say in the decision. The extra time will allow this to happen. Public comments on the draft EIS will then be received by my department and forwarded on to INPEX who will prepare a supplement to the EIS responding to issues raised.
The draft EIS will also undergo extensive review by experts in both Territory and Australian government agencies, covering diverse fields such as marine ecology, engineering and water quality. These comments will also be forwarded to INPEX for response in the supplement. During this stage, INPEX will have opportunity to adjust these plans and practices to accommodate concerns and further reduce environmental impacts. Alternatively, for some issues, INPEX may choose to further explain and justify their preferred way of managing a potential environmental impact. Together, the draft EIS and the supplement form the final EIS. After the supplement is received, my department will review the final EIS, drawing on the expertise of other NT government agencies. The assessment of environmental impacts and commitments made by INPEX in the EIS will be very carefully and thoroughly examined.
On the basis of this review, my department will prepare a report advising me as to whether, in their view, INPEX has demonstrated the environmental impacts can be managed within acceptable limits. This report will form the basis for a set of recommendations about the project. It is on the basis of these recommendations that I will advise the minister for Planning and Infrastructure, and this advice will be critical in determining approval of the project. Likewise, the final EIS will provide the grounds for the Australian government to consider approval of the project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Madam Deputy Speaker, when done rigorously, the environmental assessment process is a powerful way to test the environmental credentials of a major development, to understand the environment implications and develop robust safeguards; all with the benefit of significant public input and scrutiny. In this House, I give the commitment to all Territorians that this assessment will be just that - rigorous, thorough and consultative. I commend the minister’s statement to the House.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Deputy Speaker, today I talk in relation to the Chief Minister’s statement about INPEX. First, congratulations for the Northern Territory because it is a very important project that will have long-lasting benefits. It is certainly a timely event with current global circumstances.
However, people still have many concerns about certain issues. Many of those issues really will not be changed because there is not going to be much change happening from this government. I am impressed by Clare Martin, the former Chief Minister, and her vision in leading the way on a trip to Japan to push forward opportunities for Territory people. Unlike the current Chief Minister just sailing through the breeze with some hot air behind him and perhaps with the Planning minister at the helm of the boat as they steer across rough waters, leadership was demonstrated, in this case, by the former Chief Minister who stepped out and led the way for the Territory. I commend her for those actions at that very important time. History will show that that was the key turning point.
I further commend the Leader of the Opposition, Terry Mills, for showing his bipartisan support when we have come under fire, particularly during the election campaign, for not supporting this. That was as far from the truth as possible. We do support this because it is important for the Territory people to have certainty and to have job prospects. It cannot be ignored that there is a boom side to INPEX, as there was with ConocoPhillips. We need to ensure that we manage those steps and processes through the Territory’s time. Unfortunately, I do not think we have. We have failed to plan the release of enough land in time. Now people have seen the potential boom coming, the rush to buy the houses and the land - what land there is, and I am still confused as to where all this land is on the market – has driven up the prices and the rental costs. It has caused, already, some discomfort to many people.
It is concerning that that lack of planning was missed because there was plenty of time to do that planning. To bury your head in the sand like an ostrich was quite foolish at the time. It is refreshing to see there has been some changes in those thought patterns, and it is great to see the government is pushing out land. But again, we do not have a roll-out time. As a community, we need to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel because, whilst people cannot see that light at the end of the tunnel, the panic will continue to drive prices up, and that affects everyone. So, yes, it is a concern that we are going to have prices driven up by INPEX. It has happened already. Although it is good for some investors, it is not great for the average family of the Northern Territory who still struggle to get their first home.
I hope, as part of this planning, we have the vision to train many young Territorians, specifically in the fields pertaining to work in the gas plants. We talked of welders having to come from overseas. Two years is plenty of time to train some welders. I hope those positions will be fielded through to Territory people who are already here. I know of many good welders already in existing jobs who are keen to take on other positions and, if they do not have the current skills, let us upskill them; that is part of planning. I hope that is part of the plan. I look forward to seeing those plans roll out, clearly, not just in talk or a throw around of more cash.
I went to the Save Darwin Harbour forum the other day at the wharf. I was actually quite concerned to hear the people of Larrakia Nation claim that they have not been consulted. What they are saying - and this is only what they are saying - is that the Larrakia Development Corporation was consulted. Two different groups, similar names, but different groups, and they were quite offended. So I hope and urge this government to step forward to mend those bridges because, again, it is a vital part of our society. We stand on Larrakia Nation ground, and we do our business on their ground. I urge the government to get out there and mend those bridges, because they appear to be extremely burnt.
I must admit that the gas plant, in a general sense, has a low likelihood of environmental impact. We are not going to have another Exxon Valdez incident occur on our doorstep, thankfully - we hope. However, there is still going to be the large yield of light oil from this gas, which is a great thing, but it needs to be considered and it is of danger. The light oil is not going to make a great deal of difference to the harbour’s wildlife, but it is still a concern The minister for Business brushed off the visual impact of this and that, in itself, is a form of pollution.
When I go to the harbour, as many people do, and look out across our extremely beautiful harbour, I see a set of gas tanks. Those who were around at the time saw the drawings which came out in the newspaper that suggested these gas tanks were going to be a blip. I would like to know which person got the crayons out that day to do those drawings. I hope it is not the same person who is going to draw the next plans, because that little blip, which barely broke the horizon of the tree canopies, is now a massive gas tank, and it does offend people. People have grown accustomed to the fact that it is now there, so that is part of our lifestyle now - it is there. It has not brought an end to our life in the Territory, but it has made a permanent change. From a visual point of view, it has affected our environment of the Northern Territory and the Northern Territory people, and that needs to be considered when we make these decisions. That is why the government needs to continue to look for more alternative places, like Glyde Point.
It is strange - and I may have missed a lot of things in my time whilst I was running around chasing bad people - but we talked of excessive currents through the various islands and such things, which is why we have pilot vessels. Dredging is, obviously, a consideration, but we are going to dredge part of the harbour to do INPEX. So, which one is the lesser of two evils? Had the planning been done? I do not know. I have a bet on where the lesser of the two evils would have been.
We need to plan. We need to continue to plan for the development of Glyde Point, or a much more suitable area, if it is found. We need to get off our hands and do something about it because if we do not, we will be caught wanting again when the opportunity next knocks. The opportunities will knock because, as was mentioned earlier, we have now demonstrated to the world that we can deal with this, and we have done a very fine job of it in the past. I am sure with INPEX we will continue to do a fine job of it and deliver for those companies coming to our shorelines for our services. However, we certainly need to plan for that next step; we need not wait two or three years for that. We need to plan today for tomorrow because failing to plan leaves you with egg on your face, and sometimes that is what we have around here.
So, congratulations to the Territory and its people for having this great opportunity to further develop in this stage of the world, but shame we did not plan it better.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Madam Deputy Speaker, I also congratulate the Chief Minister and the government. First, I want to talk about change. People embrace change in different ways, and I congratulate the Chief Minister for his proactive stance on grabbing change and moving forward. I am concerned about those members who, challenged by change, resort to hesitation, uncertainty, and resistance. Changes will happen. As a visitor to the Top End and this fair city over many years, I have seen changes to the harbour, and I foresee future changes. I have seen changes to the city, and I foresee future and exciting changes. Changes represent growth - social growth and cultural growth - but we must remember they need to be underpinned by economic growth.
The INPEX LNG project represents an economic development previously unwitnessed in the Northern Territory. The planning stage, the construction stage and the production stage go right through the Territory and reverberate into regional areas with great, positive potential. Training for employment for the youth of the Barkly, let alone the youth of the Northern Territory, is phenomenal. For once I can say to the young people of the Barkly: ‘We have a project that is emerging in the Northern Territory unsurpassed in our history’. To be colloquial, Madam Speaker, I encourage them to get a piece of the action. We have sustainability for the youth of the Barkly that represents training to traineeships, to apprenticeships, to trades people.
Frankly, the tradespeople will come. I do not care where they come from, as long as the youth of the Barkly have a position and an opportunity to stand next to them. The best boilermakers in the world will be in Darwin and the youth of the Barkly and beyond, the youth of the Territory, will be standing next to them. That represents a great future for us as parliamentarians, for our families, for our community, but, most importantly, for our youth.
Upskilling is another important concept we will see emerge. I am really looking forward to that transitional process where we can offer unskilled workers sustainable and managed opportunities to move forward, to gain real skills and experience, real work in real jobs that equates to careers.
I see this project for the youth of the Territory, particularly the youth in regional and remote areas, as breaking the vicious cycle of welfare. This offers our people real opportunities to move forward. I commend the project, I commend the Chief Minister, and I encourage all members of the House to move forward with this and embrace it with both hands.
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Deputy Speaker, I appreciate you acknowledge me as the member for Daly because the INPEX proposed site is in the electorate of Daly, and I will first direct my comments around being a local member. The proposal on Middle Arm sits within the Daly electorate and affects my constituents who live in the area around Berry Springs through to Southport, the Cox Peninsula and Noonamah.
Something that has come up during debate is that people want development, but they want balanced development. We want jobs for our children, but we also want to protect the environment at the same time. I believe we are doing that. This government has acknowledged we have to have that balance in this project, a project which will see the Territory rise above its current economic strength to a new level and sustain it into the future. It will change the Territory forever, from a place where we were a relatively small jurisdiction with a small capital city, where our isolation has worked against us in the past, but is now actually working for us. We are the gateway to Asia, the gateway for natural resources into Asia: China, Japan, and all those other thriving economies. Our location will actually assist us. I will be looking very closely, with the minister for Environment, at this environmental assessment process to ensure we get that right. It is a very thorough process, and one which this government will be taking very seriously.
We all enjoy the harbour for so many reasons. I, for one, can claim to be the most travelled person on that harbour, because I travel on it most mornings and evenings on my way to and from home. I get to see the wildlife - the birds, dolphins, the odd turtle now and again - and I see the harbour is alive. What I also see is a harbour which is a working harbour.
From my home, I see many ships you do not see when you live in the northern suburbs, because they are situated out and around the harbour, waiting to come in. It is very much a working harbour. Over the last decades in the Northern Territory, we have been able to balance that economic situation with ships coming in and out for a whole range of reasons, while ensuring the protection of the harbour. We have put a ban on any more clearing of mangroves, and that is one area where we have the fish stocks breeding, around those mangroves.
We have also seen the waterfront development, where we have cleaned up a very contaminated site which has, obviously, been used for, I would say, heavy industry over the last 30 to 40 years. We had the old Stokes Hill Power Station there. I am not intimately aware of the exact chemicals that were dredged out of that waterfront area, but I understand there was a whole range of heavy metals and chemicals in the silt there. We have actually rehabilitated an area within the harbour which, previously, had been accepted and utilised. There is an example of rehabilitation of the harbour. I look forward to that environmental assessment process, and so do my constituents.
The pipeline construction will be another area to which I will be paying a great deal of attention. The people of the Cox Peninsula at Belyuen and Wagait Beach, obviously, care about the quality of the wildlife and sea life in that area, and also about what happens to the sea floor, because a lot of disturbance actually washes up on the beaches of the Cox Peninsula. We will be looking for some protections and guarantees within the environmental protection assessment of how the actual pipeline will be constructed. We have already had an example with the current pipeline going in there and also other pipelines going across the harbour which have, obviously, been constructed quite well and are probably endearing themselves to the fish life there, where they can hide or whatever.
This is a good project. I hope to see the development of the Middle Arm area to enhance the rural area. This government has flagged a commitment to sealing the Channel Island connector road through to Cox Peninsula Road. That alignment has been done and is in the forward budgets to come online. So that will run a bitumen road from the top of Channel Island Road, down past Jenkins Road and then down on to the Cox Peninsula Road, which will give great access to the people of the rural area back to the end of Palmerston and cut about 10 km off their journey. About a third of the travelling distance is cut off for the people of Berry Springs going into Palmerston. It will also give people from the rural area the opportunity to actually work at these projects in Middle Arm. There are great opportunities for the rural area in that regard.
I move quickly to a couple of other areas of my portfolio which, obviously, INPEX affects. Much has been said about the power supply and whether we have the capacity to meet this demand of growth with the construction phase and also the workers coming into town. I recently made a visit to Weddell Power Station, where we have the first of our three generators up and running, and the second one is on-site being tested at the moment, with a third coming in the next few months. That power station, when the three gensets are actually working, will give us the capacity for another 100 000 homes. That is significant and far exceeds our current growth and gives us plenty of room to move in the years to come.
If INPEX desires construction power, we think that will be around 10 MW to 15 MW, so that will reduce Weddell’s capacity to about 80 000 homes, but we will still be able to power up the construction phase of INPEX for the period they are operating. We do not expect they will ask us to generate the power for them in the operational phase. It will be expected, as was the case with ConocoPhillips, they construct their own power station there, and is a significant operation for INPEX. With respect to Power and Water and their workforce, we realise that a significant power station there will obviously need to attract workers, so we are very conscious of that and we are working very closely with INPEX in that regard.
My office is having regular discussions with the Electoral Trades Union on how we can actually build our workforce, not only for Power and Water, but also projects that are coming online over a number of years, so we actually cater for the workforce and we have that capacity there. Traineeships and apprenticeships are something I am very interested in. These will be well paying jobs, so not only are we looking at traineeships and apprenticeships for young people, but we will also be looking very strongly at adult apprenticeships for people who have a family, have a need to support a mortgage, and their children going to school and who need a higher income. We are actually generating the workforce for ourselves and for any sort of industry coming into the marketplace.
I will wrap up with housing. Much has been talked about housing and we currently have a number of housing projects being set up around Palmerston - some 4000 blocks, so roughly 4000 homes. That will certainly cater for the growth, but more, obviously, needs to be released in the future, and that is a natural occurrence of the growth of Darwin and the growth of our economy. There have also been indications about workers’ camps, and that is a natural occurrence. I do acknowledge there is stress on the housing areas in rental, purchase, and construction. It is a difficult situation. I guess people who are going into housing purchase should have a lot of confidence that the value of their properties will go up over time, because Darwin will have a very strong economy. I do hope those people who are renting are able to find well paid jobs in these industries which are coming to Darwin.
With the new developments at Bellamack, Johnston, Zuccoli and Mitchell, we will be looking at that 15% for affordable and rental housing so we can actually get more stock out there for people who need that lower rental, or who do not have the capacity currently to actually get into the home purchase market. The HomeNorth Xtra scheme is a good scheme, one we have continually tried to improve over time, adjusting to where the market is. However, I am very cognisant of the pressures that INPEX puts on the marketplace and we are reacting as we need to, to try to address those factors.
I welcome the project. It is one which will put Darwin fair and square on the map. It is something that really was not on the radar for anybody. I disagree with some of the members over there; they certainly were not expecting the likes of a $20bn project landing here in Darwin. It has been the vision and the fortitude of this government to chase this project down and put everything in place to make it happen.
I congratulate the Chief Minister and the former Chief Minister, and all the many public servants who have worked tirelessly to make this project become a reality. I do look forward to it, and I look forward to ongoing discussion in this House about this development.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank all honourable members for their contribution to this debate. 26 September 2008 was an historic day when Mr Kuroda, the President of INPEX, advised Territorians and Australians that INPEX had chosen Darwin for the site for the Ichthys LNG project.
I have been thinking since then and watching what has been happening on the global financial markets and seeing what is likely to occur around the world in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and many European countries which are about to move formally into a recession. I have seen the Australian dollar lose 40% of its value in the last four months, and the horror of many Australians who have, essentially, all their superannuation tied up in investments in the Australian Stock Exchange. I have seen the value of Australian savings significantly deteriorate as a result of the global financial crisis and the lack of confidence amongst investors around the world. This particular project could not be a better insurance policy for the Northern Territory economy and maintain confidence of investors in the Northern Territory economy.
I have been out and about over the last week around Darwin talking to some business people and a number of them said to me: ‘Geez, I would not want to be running a business anywhere else in Australia than Darwin at the moment’. So, things are looking good and this project will be underpinning the confidence of our business community. I am very thankful.
Members opposite seem to think I have this amazing crystal ball and I can foresee into the future and could foresee the Casuarina substation problems and, somehow, I have some great visionary powers ...
Dr Burns: Got a winner for the Melbourne Cup?
Mr HENDERSON: I wish I did, member for Johnston. I do not have extraordinary visionary powers and nobody could predict what is happening on global financial markets. This project has come at a very important time for the Northern Territory. I know that, had we faltered at any point in our pursuit of this project, we would not be where we are today.
I pay tribute to my predecessor, Clare Martin, the then Chief Minister, seeing the opportunity for this project; to Paul Tyrrell who really did engender some very solid relationships with key people in INPEX and Total over two or three years; and the many public servants who worked very hard on this project.
This really has been a Team NT effort. It has not been the effort of any people as individuals. It has been a Team NT effort. If we looked uncertain at any point or wavered about what land we were prepared to offer, this project would not have come to Darwin. What we delivered for the company is certainty, which is something investors probably value amongst all else apart from what their projected return is going to be. They want certainty in that investment climate and we did provide certainty over land. I will get to some comments that people have made during the debate tonight.
The Leader of the Opposition, in his contribution to the debate, talked a lot about the challenges. Yes, there are challenges, but challenges also create opportunities. One of the great opportunities which will be provided for the Northern Territory is that more people will come and live here. I recall when we came to government in 2001 that people were leaving the Territory in droves. We could not get people to come and make a decision to live in the Territory. We had a nett migration loss for many years.
As I campaigned in my electorate in 2001, a number of families I met had their main breadwinner, for the first time, on the dole. They were very distressed about that. A couple of families were forced into selling their homes because the main breadwinner was out of work and they could not meet the mortgage repayments. In the challenges that you have in governments, I would much rather have the challenges of trying to accommodate a growing population than trying to stem the haemorrhage of an economy that was flat lining at zero percent, that was due to go into a recession, with people leaving the Territory in droves. So the challenges …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Elferink: You are a factory of lies. I withdraw that, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes. Thank you, member for Port Darwin
Mr HENDERSON: All of the information is there. We had nett migration losses from the Northern Territory – from Darwin, in particular, for a number of years ...
Mr Elferink interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: If the member for Port Darwin for some reason does not remember those pretty dark times in Darwin, I do give him a rationale for not remembering those times because he was resident in Alice Springs in those days. My friend and colleague, the member for Casuarina, and I still talk about those days back in 2001.
The member for Port Darwin talked about the challenges of delivering services. Yes, an expanding economy and population provide challenges in keeping services up. They are challenges, indeed, but geez, they are good challenges to have, not only here in Darwin but right across the Northern Territory. Our regions are growing, our remote communities are growing and we have to rethink our service delivery models in how we provide health and education services and economic opportunities. We are doing a major body of work within Cabinet and government to look at, with expanding populations and the challenges they present, how we reform service delivery to provide better services and opportunities for people. That is the challenge of government and it is a good challenge to have.
He talked about the challenges of police numbers - and the list goes on. Every one of those challenges provides an opportunity. The way I look at these things as Chief Minister is that growth does provide opportunities for Territorians. We have a land release program that is five times as fast as the normal land release program. If you include Lyons and Muirhead, driven by the Defence Housing Authority, we have six new suburbs planned and in the pipeline and $1bn invested to upgrade power, water and sewerage services right across the Northern Territory, including a major expansion of capacity in the Darwin and Palmerston area. We are looking at how we manage this growth right across the Northern Territory.
It was really great to hear my colleague, the member for Barkly, very enthusiastically talk about this project. It is not just about jobs for people in Darwin, there is going to be jobs for people from all over the Territory if they want jobs on this particular project. We will ensure Territorians get the training opportunities, so it will be absolutely fantastic. I will be the first person to be with the member for Barkly and all my colleagues who represent regional and remote communities if people from those communities get jobs on this project - what a fantastic thing.
As an ex–fitter by trade, I was pleased to hear the member for Barkly talk about us having the best boilermakers and welders in the world working on this project - and we will. What a great opportunity it will be for young Territorians to have apprenticeships and be learning from some of the best tradespeople in the country and the world who are coming to work on this project - very exciting opportunities for Territorians.
I would like to address some of the comments that the member for Port Darwin made in regard to his version of history regarding the developments of oil and gas projects in the Northern Territory. He did have a version, some of which was correct, but let us revisit Glyde Point where the opposition had a number of policy positions on the INPEX project. First of all, they were going to campaign against the project going to Middle Arm. Then, they said the project should go to Glyde Point and INPEX came out and said: ‘Well, if you were to force us to go to Glyde Point there would be no project, and we would only be looking at Western Australia’. A letter was then circulated to every householder in the northern suburbs by the Leader of the Opposition saying if the project was to go ahead on the Middle Arm Peninsula, this was a disgrace and would be akin to a 19th century project. I do not have the letter here with me, but I have kept it on my files for the record. That was their position.
Then, during the election campaign, they committed to spending around $50m to establish infrastructure at Glyde Point. We pointed out that if you were going to put sufficient infrastructure at Glyde Point that would be attractive to INPEX to invest there, you would need to spend around $500m to put that infrastructure there. Why on earth would you use $500m worth of taxpayers’ money to duplicate perfectly good infrastructure we already have at Middle Arm? You would have to be in cloud cuckoo land. That $500m could go to schools, health, education, roads - it could go to any number of infrastructure projects across the Northern Territory. Why you would duplicate that infrastructure at Glyde Point, heaven only knows.
The opposition talked about the government looking at Glyde Point as a potential opportunity to land further LNG developments and Sunrise. This is where the member for Port Darwin probably does not fully understand why Glyde Point was under consideration for a time. It was not for the Sunrise projects, it was if Sunrise was developed as a domestic gas project as opposed to a LNG project - and there was some talk about that at the time. There was talk about connecting Sunrise to the national grid and actually having an alternative source of supply to the national grid and the east coast of Australia. Team NT was established to look at those opportunities. It was regarding a domestic gas supply. For the companies to actually make that domestic gas supply option work financially, they were looking at a heavy base load consumer in an industrial customer. At the time, there was a French company by the name of Pechiney which the government was talking to and which was looking to build an aluminium smelter here in Darwin.
During much of the election campaign, people were talking about heavy industry as a terrible, appalling thing to have in our economy. The government recognised that industry such as aluminium smelters are not suitable for the Middle Arm Peninsula, and we were looking at Glyde Point at the time. There was baseline environmental studies done, and Pechiney were looking at us versus a site in South Africa, if my memory serves me correctly. We arrived at a point in time where Pechiney decided they were not going to pursue their investment in Australia, and it was taken offshore. At the time, when Glyde Point was being considered, it was not for other LNG projects.
Middle Arm has always been identified as an industrial area, going back to 1984. Planning documents are in a regime established by the CLP going back to 1984 - so nothing new. The CLP planned for Middle Arm to be used for industrial purposes, and that was everything they put in place during their time in government. We agreed with that; it absolutely has to meet the highest levels of environmental approvals. I believe we all agree that, if somebody was to come along in the future looking to invest in an aluminium smelter, then Middle Arm Peninsula is not the appropriate place. I can say, from my basic understanding of the economics of those types of industries, they could only work with large amounts of very cheap gas which could be supplied to those projects to generate the enormous amounts of power and electricity needed for the operations of a smelter. The days of very cheap gas are long gone, and that is because gas is now very significantly in demand as an energy source for LNG, predominantly to combat global warming. The opposition may ask: ‘Well, if it is not at Glyde Point and if it is not at Middle Arm, where will they go?’ Well, those types of heavy industries, just on the economics, are very unlikely to come to the Northern Territory in the foreseeable future, because the days of cheap gas for high energy intensive industries are long gone.
That is the history around Glyde Point. The government took the decision that we were going to preserve Glyde Point for the environment, and that was widely applauded by the Environment Centre of the Northern Territory, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Amateur Fishermen’s Association which all applauded government for having the foresight to preserve Glyde Point for the environment and to consolidate development on what has been identified for industrial land, going back to 1984.
It was not a lack of planning that led to INPEX being offered the site at Middle Arm; it was actually considered planning going back many years. I congratulate the CLP for identifying Middle Arm as an industrial site in 1984. However, it was as a result of considered planning knowing it was a very attractive site for INPEX. The member for Port Darwin said that we could have offered them some other site, and this is the only one offered. I can tell the member for Port Darwin that there is only one gas-ready site in the whole of Northern Australia out of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. We are the only place where land is appropriately zoned, cleared of native title, with a defined environmental process, with access to a deep water port, and a government with a can-do attitude to attract a project for the benefit of Territorians for decades to come. There was no other site anywhere else in Northern Australia, and we created this one.
Madam Speaker, I commend colleagues on this side of the House who spoke in support. The minister for the Environment has a very big job in ensuring that all the appropriate Territory and Australian government legislation is absolutely complied with to the spirit and the letter of that legislation, and to engage the community and engender confidence in the community about that environmental process - because I acknowledge people have concerns. I am very confident that the company and the processes they will go through, administered by the Territory on behalf of the Commonwealth and for the Territory, will be open, transparent, and very rigorous. It is a very important part of the project, and I know my colleague, the Environment minister, will do a great job with her responsibilities in environmental legislation.
Members talked about upskilling and, yes, that is a great opportunity for Territorians to gain skills to work on this project. We all look forward to that. I say to the member for Drysdale and those people, with all due respect, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They see a horrible gas tank over there which it is really offensive and is visual pollution. I must say, from an ex-tradesman’s perspective, I look over at that Wickham Point plant and the drilling rig that is in our harbour today and I see jobs. I see jobs for Territorians and a future for Territorians. I thank members for their contribution to the debate.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received the following letter from the member from Goyder.
Member for Goyder.
Is the matter of public importance supported? I call the member for Goyder.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, yes, the matter of public importance is a matter that is extremely important to people in Darwin and the Top End and coastal regions of the Northern Territory. We have seen on television, read about it in reports, in journals, and heard at various conferences we have had even here in Darwin, scientists telling us for some 10 years now that tropical cyclones will become more intense, more severe, and more destructive. They know this from research over the decades into climate variability and climate change.
In association with governments, community and relevant experts, they are trying to understand the changes so that clear and proper planning can be undertaken to minimise, if not eliminate, loss of property and, more importantly, loss of lives. We know that sea temperatures are rising, resulting in more energy generation, further resulting in more intense activity, and that cyclones are travelling further in their paths in the Top End, as well as elsewhere, due to these increased energy levels. That is fact, and that has been well documented not only by our own Bureau of Meteorology but by other recognised institutions.
This is the point in question and why this matter of public importance is being discussed now. We need proper planning to prepare for another cyclone to the level of Cyclones Tracy and/or Monica. It is not a possibility or a probability that Darwin or its hinterlands will be hit by a cyclone, it is a guarantee that we will be hit by another cyclone in the future - if not the near future. We know that Darwin and the coastal lands are in cyclone country and our history shows serious cyclones in 1878, 1881 and in 1897 when the cyclone dubbed ‘the great hurricane’ hit Darwin resulting in the loss of 15 lives, and extensive damage and destruction as the cyclone coincided with high tides and storm surges. Then, we had cyclones in 1915, 1917, 1919 and another real biggie in 1937, resulting again in high loss of life and more destruction to public and personal property.
I have looked around the House today in regard to this matter of public importance and, to the best of my knowledge, there are only four people in this Chamber who went through Cyclone Tracy. On my side, there is me and the member for Port Darwin and, on the opposite benches, the members for Karama and Arafura. By my calculations, that is about 16% of this Chamber. This is an indication, I assert, of the same percentage of the population in Darwin who were here for Cyclone Tracy. In fact, I actually argue it is much less than 16%, I argue less than 10% in town today went through Cyclone Tracy, so have some familiarity and understanding of what a Category 4 to 5 can actually do to our town.
Those of us who survived Cyclone Tracy know only too well the destruction, the loss of life and the trauma that occurred during and subsequent to this terrible event. I was reading something today and doing some research in regard to this, and the trauma was probably greater than we actually realised in regard to how people reacted and responded to and after Cyclone Tracy, particularly those who were separated from not only their families, but from Darwin the township. The people who stayed were probably the ones who were better off in regard to how they adjusted to the upheaval and the trauma.
Even today, I know people who start to panic at the first hint of a cyclone coming towards Darwin. It is an understandable reaction, given that those people survived Cyclone Tracy. Some survived better than others but, understandably, they are older people now and they do fear another cyclone coming to Darwin. Of course, just before Cyclone Tracy, we had Cyclone Thelma, which was heading towards Darwin and, at the last minute, veered off. This only reinforces our thinking and our understanding that cyclones are sneaky buggers and they are extremely unreliable and unpredictable. That is partly why some of the complacency snuck into the town before Cyclone Tracy, because we expected Cyclone Tracy to also veer off and disappear down the western coast.
As a long-term local, it is encouraging that people in Darwin nowadays do take cyclones seriously, and do not view them as some sort of celebration such as embarking on a new adventure, as has been put to me in the past. Perhaps it is because, in recent years, we have seen what happens from cyclones which are destructive at Category 5 level. Only recently, we saw the destruction of Cyclone Ingrid on the Arnhem Land coast in 2005, and Cyclone Monica in 2006, which went across the Maningrida region. Both times, the damage and the destruction were enormous. With the latter cyclone the damage was extensive; vegetation damage extended 200 km-plus inland, including the township of Jabiru. I did not go to Jabiru, but I saw photographs of the Jabiru township after the cyclone had passed by and the damage was extensive, particularly to the native vegetation and the large trees.
Maningrida itself suffered serious structural damage, including problems with their water infrastructure. Upwards of 70% of native vegetation was lost in that region. In many ways, we should be thankful the path of Monica did not pass directly over Maningrida, because there would have been far more damage and, potentially, loss of life. I know the damage to a major exploration camp that is in the Maningrida/Oenpelli region was extensive. Thankfully, it was in the off-season, so no personnel were at this camp. The Category 5 Cyclone Monica uplifted 20-foot demountables and turned them on their sides and roof. Some of these demountables weighed in excess of eight tonnes, and they had been secured properly with coding for a Category 5 with concrete footings. They were completely wrecked.
The damage that can be done by a cyclone Category 4, 5 and possibly even greater, given that cyclone intensities are building because of the issues with how they develop offshore and then come on land, should never be underestimated.
In Darwin, we have cyclone shelters - emergency shelters as they are called - for people only. The ones we have in Darwin are at the Supreme Court; Nightcliff and Dripstone High Schools; Casuarina Secondary College; Palmerston High School; Girraween Primary School; Taminmin High School; and a community government council building at Cox Peninsula. There are only four shelters that take pets, mostly dogs and cats: the Casuarina Shopping Square; Palmerston, The Hub; and also the car park underneath the Holiday Inn Esplanade.
We have a population in Darwin of about 100 000 people, perhaps 110 000 people, but we only have spaces for 20 000 people in these shelters. Not everyone will want to go to a shelter, nor will everyone plan to go to a shelter, given that they will believe, and rightly so, that their accommodation - their house or their unit - is built to code. However, we know, as a reality of life, that not all structures are built soundly. People who now are being educated about cyclones perhaps have a fear of the unknown. They have seen photos and they have talked perhaps to some of the locals to understand the damage. So, more people will go to cyclone shelters than perhaps they can cope with.
That is of concern to us; that there is not any planning as to how we are going to expand these shelters, what new shelters are on the agenda or the drawing board by government. If more than 20 000 people want to go to cyclone shelters, how will they be accommodated? I guess you could probably squeeze more people into the shelters than is allowed, given the fire regulations and other safety and hygiene regulations, but that is not the point. The point is that there should be adequate cyclone shelters for all people who choose or wish to go to a shelter, with their personal belongings and, perhaps with their pet, as long as it is not a horse or something of that size.
In the past, there has been money committed to upgrading some of these cyclone shelters, but I argue that it is not sufficient; that we need to seriously consider allocating more funds and designing more shelters so that if the bulk of our population - even 50% of our population - chooses to go to a cyclone shelter, then they know that they will be accommodated safely and securely until the cyclone passes.
I argue it is just a matter of time before we do get another cyclone that passes, if not over Darwin, very close to Darwin. If I was a betting person, which I am not, I would say we will suffer substantial damage, regardless of whether most of our buildings are Category 5 coded or not. There still is an enormous amount of debris that would fly around and, depending on what time of the day or night it hits, there could also be a lot of people out and about in town.
Most of the population take cyclone preparedness seriously. We have all the councils now getting right behind the situation, having had rubbish days so there is minimal material in our yards that could become flying debris. Members and I know fully what flying debris did to houses and dwellings from Cyclone Tracy. It was one of the serious contributors to the damage that we suffered in Cyclone Tracy, apart from the seriousness and the high velocity of the winds.
We need more cyclone shelters and we need them to be undertaken and planned now, so we do protect and preserve the life of not only our Northern Territory residents, but also any visitors; and to have a plan for animal management. I know from going around my electorate the number of dogs, in particular, has increased dramatically from when I wandered the streets with my mother some 15 years ago. I am sure the same is true for the urban areas. Now …
A member: The population has gone up a bit, too.
Ms PURICK: Yes, the population has gone up a little too, but I am sure we have the highest dog population per capita in Australia. I do not want to see a repeat of what happened after Cyclone Tracy, where in the emergency response period, we had squads from New South Wales and Victoria come to Darwin, who were not perhaps the most genteel of people, shooting dogs in front of families, threatening to shoot dogs and, basically, being pretty harsh in the situation. Some of it may have been warranted, but I know of incidents where it was not warranted, and I do not want to see a repeat of that.
I want to see good animal management regarding what people can do in preparedness for cyclones, not only for their own personal safety and the safety of their families and loved ones, but the pets that form so much part of their family. I ask the government - I urge the government - to have a bipartisan approach, so we can protect our lives and our property in Darwin, and around the coastline of the Northern Territory, where cyclones will impact in the near future.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for the opportunity to discuss our preparedness for the coming cyclone season. We are ready for the cyclone season but, like all Territorians, we hope that a cyclone does not come this way. Cyclone Tracy has left an indelible impression on the memory of all Territorians. That is a moment in our history, in Australia’s history, that is well known by all. People who move here from down south are very aware of the power of a cyclone - a power that was made very clear by Cyclone Tracy.
This is one reason why there was such active participation in the council’s recent cyclone cleanup. Territorians understand the serious nature of cyclones and I know that this government takes our responsibilities in being prepared for a cyclone very seriously. The minister for Infrastructure will speak in more detail of the measures our government has taken, and is taking, as part of our preparations for cyclones.
However, it is important to note what we have done to improve and construct new cyclone shelters. We have already delivered $2.6m in major upgrades on shelters in Darwin and Litchfield, and we plan to deliver more cyclone shelters, with a $3m-a-year program for four years to upgrade and construct new shelters in Darwin and across the Top End. When I heard about this MPI, I looked up all the election commitments the CLP made to build cyclone shelters in the recent election campaign. I am still looking and I have not finished counting, but so far the total is zero - not a single commitment so far. However, I will let the House know when I find one. There must be several, because the CLP has put this forward as a matter of public importance. Surely, if they were committed to this as much as they claim, they would have a raft of commitments. By contrast, this government has already invested more than $5.5m on cyclone shelters across the Top End, plus another $9m to come. We are committing funds and delivering real outcomes.
As part of being ready for a cyclone, we should not overlook the important work of the Northern Territory Emergency Services. They are ready to respond to a cyclone and that is stating the obvious. In my view, the Northern Territory Emergency Service plays an important role and does a fantastic job. In addition to the small team of full-time professionals, there are over 300 volunteers who operate across each region of the Territory from 36 regional units. Emergency Services provide a valuable capability to respond to emergency events such as cyclones. Depending on the nature of the event, they may respond independently or in support of other sections of the Police, Fire and Emergency Tri-Services.
We are ready to respond to a cyclone. One reason why I am so confident in stating that is because I know the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes each year to constantly review our procedures and policy and to audit our resources. Importantly, the Northern Territory Emergency Services are responsible for facilitating emergency planning within the Territory and they do this in close consultation and cooperation with both the Northern Territory government and local government agencies and community groups. To enable communities to prepare for an emergency such as an impending cyclone, the Northern Territory Emergency Services broadcast detailed information.
The Northern Territory Emergency Services produce a number of their own publications, including brochures, a cyclone tracking map, and fact sheets and guides in multiple languages. It also promotes the use of other documents, such as the fact sheet Is your house safe in a cyclone? produced by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. This is an invaluable fact sheet that provides guidance and how to inspect your property to ensure its structural integrity.
The NT Emergency Services work in conjunction with the Bureau of Meteorology, which declares cyclone watches and cyclone warnings. When a cyclone warning is announced the regional controller launches the counter-disaster planning and, at the appropriate time, will set up the emergency operation centre to coordinate the disaster response to the cyclone. One of the important responsibilities the NT Emergency Services has is to order equipment supplied to cyclone shelters, such as the wirelesses to ensure a good level of preparedness.
I have touched on what the NT Emergency Services do, but what should never be missed in a debate of this nature are responsibilities individuals need to take when preparing for cyclones. Many people shelter at home or at the home of a family member or friend. Just around the corner from me live Benny and Sandra Lew Fatt. I am sure most members of this House know the Lew Fatts; they have lived in the same home for 50 years. Sandra and Benny are a perfect example of Territorians who undertake every preparation they can in the lead-up to a cyclone. They thoroughly clean up their yard and ensure there are no loose items - we all know the potential they have as missiles. They pack up all photos and personal items and take picture frames off walls. Their emergency kit is always fully stocked, they have powdered milk and tinned food on standby. They have ample blankets and warm clothes ready in garbage bags to keep dry. They listen to all radio warnings and never underestimate the power of a cyclone.
When Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin, the Lewfatts parked their three cars on the front lawn in a straight line in front of their home to create a buffer zone between their house and any missile objects. During Cyclone Tracy, 18 people gathered at the Lewfatts. They took shelter under the billiard table and in the bathroom. After the eye of the cyclone, when they knew the storm was coming back the other way, they decided to be safer and moved into an L-shaped bedroom. Suitcases and mattresses were stacked up against the louvres to stop objects flying into the room. The roof was beginning to come off, so during the eye of the cyclone, Benny, a carpenter by trade, got on top of the roof and nailed it back down. The roof just held on for the next onslaught, which most likely was stronger than the first. The house suffered some damage, such as broken louvres, water and roof damage, but, overall, remained intact. Sandra believes this is partly due to careful cyclone preparation and Benny’s knowledge of cyclones.
Benny’s mother and father lived through the 1937 cyclone in Darwin and taught Benny to always be prepared to open up and not close up, meaning to leave all louvres open so the air can pass through the house without it building up inside. Sandra described Cyclone Tracy as the most terrifying experience of her life, and vividly remembers the elevated house behind them being completely blown away right over the top of theirs. To this day, she still cannot visit the Cyclone Tracy exhibit at the Darwin Museum.
Over the years, the Lew Fatts have renovated their home but have never wanted to disturb the design and structure of the house. They are currently building a new ensuite which will be known as Sandra’s bunker. Builders have been told that it must be big enough for 15 people and six dogs. The ensuite will contain louvres which will remain open during the cyclone, just as they had done during every cyclone they have experienced in Darwin. The emergency kit will be stored in this bunker and the Lew Fatts will continue to welcome their friends and family who do not feel safe in their own homes to bunk down with them.
This is something that is really important to remember. There needs to be a balance between what the government does in preparing for a cyclone and what an individual does in preparing for a cyclone. There are many people out there who want to shelter at home or at the homes of friends and family. During a crisis like a cyclone, people like the comfort of familiar surroundings, especially if they have to look after children. The reality, too, is with building codes we now have a much greater percentage of houses being built to withstand a cyclone than we did in 1974.
Recent examples of Cyclones Ingrid and Monica, which hit some coastal communities hard, highlight buildings constructed under the code remain largely unscathed. We are ready for the cyclone season. I congratulate the NT Emergency Services for the work they do and all the other people out there who, in their official capacity, ensure that we are ready to deal with a cyclone.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for Fannie Bay and Goyder. My talk this evening will focus on the animal management side of things. In my experience working with animals, it is more about people management than it is animal management. I have had more problems with people in the past than I have ever had with dogs and so forth that I dealt with.
The current situation is a little strange, as the member for Goyder pointed out. In regard to animals and where we can take our animals in a cyclone, we have Casuarina Square, Palmerston Shopping Centre - this is the underground car parks we are talking about - the Hub and the Holiday Inn on the Esplanade. I acknowledge the government of the day, the RSPCA and both Darwin and Palmerston Councils for working hard to make those things happen in the late 1990s
This is where planning could get involved a little more. We know that there is a proposed new commercial development at the airport. I understand there are about 1500 underground car parking spaces available, or will be available in that time. Good planning would probably ensure that a facility like that could be made available, as well as what we have today. We know and recognise that Darwin and the Top End is a growing place.
I need to say, if it was not for the fantastic, and often largely unrewarded, role that animal management officers undertake in Australian municipalities each and every day, our streets and communities would not be as they are. I understand the difficulties in the work that they do; the difficulty they face in the community. What I do not understand is why this industry is still often seen as just an awkward appendage that many councils and governments - including this government - still feel so uncomfortable and uncertain about. The truth is, it is so much more. Today, I think the Department of Animal Welfare sits with the Water Safety Branch, and I have never been able to work that one out.
By comparison, in the United Kingdom the RSPCA is recognised as the only national fully-equipped and trained organisation with the capability to coordinate a professional and safe response to animals involved in a major crisis. As a result, they have given the society lead animal welfare response status under the National Civil Contingencies Plan. How did this happen? The answer is found and based on the need and resources and training. Each year, the RSPCA in the UK undertakes around 14 000 animal rescues. Each year, a group of student RSPCA inspectors complete a seven month - soon to be nine month - course, including boat training, rope rescue and working with heights. Staff are trained to cope with as many different situations as possible. Refresher training for the specialist teams is carried out once a year and is reviewed regularly. These specialists teams, placed in different regions, are trained in fast water and flood rescues and dealing with trapped and injured animals. All of this experience has enabled the society to train and equip its officers to respond quickly, offering help and support to the government agencies and emergency services.
In the Top End, we do not have anything like this. We do not support the RSPCA; we do not support local government when it comes to dealing with animals in disaster situations. However, there are some very simple measures that we can take. First of all, we can take and heed the lesson from other regions, include animal management in disaster planning, and take on those planning opportunities such as new developments when they come up – such as mentioned at the airport.
As an example of how urban animal management and animal control officers are used in an emergency situation, I form part of the Disaster Management Team in Palmerston. Last year, after Cyclone Helen had left the area and we were going out to clear streets and so forth, all the animal control officers - this is the regulatory officers - were tasked to take photos of trees on fences in the likelihood there might be third claim damages and so forth. All the time, there were dogs wandering the streets that the officers were directed not to pick up. Many of these dogs did not find their way home. Many of these animals were never returned. You had fully-trained and competent officers out there not able to do their job. Why? Because of the importance that government, local government, places on animal management.
Because of the experience New Orleans had with Hurricane Katrina - and being fortunate enough to visit New Orleans last year as part of a fellowship tour, I can say there were many lessons learnt from Hurricane Katrina. In the first 45 days, the LASPCA established the official Animal Rescue Centre at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. It is approximately 97 km from New Orleans, and this became its temporary shelter for the first 45 days. The reason they lost their shelter was because it was under about six or seven feet of water and, had they left the animals in there and not evacuated, all those animals would have drowned.
There are a lot of lessons, and I will go through some of them because they are very important. People learnt from this, and we can take on and heed some of their lessons. They rescued an estimated 15 000 animals, and they only returned to their owners about 20% of those animals in the end. Of the 15 000 animals collected only 20% were able to be reunited with their owners. As I said, there were many lessons. People died because they refused to leave pets behind. That is probably one of the most important things I learnt from my trip because, if your true mandate is to save humans, you need to realise that if 44% of the population are prepared to give up their own lives for their animals, then you need to include animals in any disaster plans to evacuate.
People who left pets behind risked their lives to re-enter the city afterwards in the hopes of rescuing their companions. People trying to re-enter the city hindered human rescue efforts. The military was ill-equipped to deal with roaming and scared animals. Roaming dogs would disrupt rescue efforts as the free-roaming dogs would approach cadaver dogs that were being used to recover bodies. Without planning and coordination, pets and people may never get reunited, and people and service animals became separated. The dollar cost and emotional toll for not managing the pet aspect is incredibly high - the associated trauma was catastrophic. Some of the lessons I would like to recount here include animals and planning.
In New Orleans, they never planned for extreme devastation or the need for outside help and, although they were responsible for disasters involving animals, they operated independently from the search and rescue teams. The lessons include providing staff in incident condemned structure and systems with some animal management training. Municipalities must appoint an animal agency to serve as the official lead in animal rescue and response. Animal responders must be included in planning and practice drills alongside human search and rescue teams.
Another lesson was developing partnerships, and this is also true with the human aspect of things. We know - and I thoroughly agree, as I have been involved in a lot of disaster management planning in the NT on the human side - other than perhaps the need for more shelters, we do a good job. We do it because we have had the experience and we have done it time and time again as each threat approaches. These partnerships should include people working with urban animals, and not forget our rural friends and some of the bigger animals that we deal with.
Lesson three was to develop communication plans and systems. Many of the greatest challenges experienced during Katrina were related to communication. Mobile phone systems were inoperable across the region. They had a limited ability to speak to one another, and no ability to speak to fellow first responders. They recommended the development of a crisis communication plan so staff may communicate with key stakeholders in times of crisis. They also decided that communication, pre-storm, was just as important, and to employ backup inter-operative systems so that first responders may communicate with one another. One of the lessons they learnt was that these people who are out there responding to animal crisis did not have communication with the local police or other emergency services, and these were the very people who sometimes needed the animal control officers to help them out. What they have now is basic radio communication between each of these agencies.
Educate the public. The better the public is prepared for disaster, the less panic they may feel at the time of an impending crisis. It would also reduce the potential burden that may be placed upon the government and the community. Develop ready-to-travel kits for pets, integrated public service announcements, participate in disaster awareness, or raise any events occurring in the community.
Lesson five was to prepare for the unexpected. Stash ready-to-use supplies with partner agencies that are not likely to be affected by the same disaster. Develop a plan for managing unsolicited supply donations. Develop a plan for managing unsolicited volunteers. Establish an inventory system for managing supplies on hand.
Lesson six was to establish a public relations communications plan.
Lesson seven, probably the most important: legislation does help. Each municipality or shire, if it has an animal disaster plan, basically has separate emergency roles and responsibilities. Disasters, however, do not adhere to political boundaries. A regional approach is more conducive to effective disaster management and response. In the United States, draft legislation was introduced with the SPCA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They are the ones which helped to draft the legislation to include animals in disaster planning. Part of that legislation includes: animals are included in the local and state plans; pets are allowed on public buses during evacuation; and businesses that house pets, including veterinarians and boarding facilities, must develop and file an evacuation plan with the state.
Last year Maningrida, as we know, suffered a horrible time, and I have details from Dr Ted Donelan. Dr Donelan has a veterinary clinic in Melbourne and he also has a clinic at Maningrida. I will read from a document dated two weeks ago when we had an animal management conference here in Darwin and disaster planning was one of the things that we spoke of. We came up with some great strategies and plans, not only for the Darwin area but for right across this country. I will not go through living through it. I really want to touch on that because it is a good indication of some of the things they went through, but tonight enough has been said and the member for Fannie Bay told a wonderful and sad story of what happened, and I will not go over that again. I will share some of the aftermath, I quote:
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr CHANDLER: I continue:
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Brennan, your time has expired.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her matter of public importance. There is a range of people who know about cyclones. There are people like me who lived on Bathurst Island and missed it by a whisker, but suffered the effects of what Cyclone Tracy did because we could not get off the island for three months. We saw the problems that it caused. A Taiwanese fishing boat was beached on the south side of Bathurst Island ...
A member: They were marooned on a good island.
Mr WOOD: Yes, they were, but they were not sure where they were, and had to stay on that island for quite a while because of quarantine issues. Communication to the outside world was very difficult for quite a while. Not only did Darwin not have any communication, but Bathurst Island did not have anyone to talk to.
There are issues that cyclones can cause outside of those people immediately affected by the strong winds. There were people like Brother Fry who lived at St John’s College in Darwin and slept right through the cyclone. He did not know the cyclone had occurred until he woke in the morning. There are some people who lived through the cyclone and were not traumatised. There are other people like my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who lived at Wanguri. Luckily, to some extent, their house only lost its roof; the basic shell of the house remained. It was a ground-level house. I remember when I came in from Bathurst Island to have a look at where their house was – in Wanguri nearly all houses were two-storey - it was total devastation. There was one house at the beginning of the street which I turned down to see my brother-in-law’s house which had practically no damage and there was a lady out in her swimming costume watering the front lawn, as if nothing had happened. Yet, the rest of Wanguri was just like a war zone.
People will have different feelings and memories and trauma about Cyclone Tracy. My sister-in-law would not want to go through a cyclone again. It is something, for those people who have been through it, they never wish to repeat. I live in a house which is now 28 years old and was probably built under an older code. I am not particularly confident it would stand up to a major cyclone. We took our grandchildren to stay overnight with relations in Batchelor when the last cyclone started heading that way. Luckily, it did not reach that far, but my grandchildren wanted to stay; they thought it would be great fun. That is the issue that would relate to a lot of new people in Darwin. It might sound like it would be fun, but talk to those people who have been through it and you will understand it was a very traumatic time. We have to remember over 50 people died. It was a very tragic time and it is not to be taken lightly.
There has been discussion - and I am interested to hear what the minister says - by a certain group of scientists who believe perhaps the government is underestimating the potential of so-called super cyclones that might hit Darwin. Perhaps we are underestimating the design of our houses and cyclones shelters in the future. We have to emphasise we do not necessarily need everyone going to cyclone shelters. One would hope that new houses are being built to a code which is quite sufficient to withstand the ferocity of any cyclones that may strike Darwin.
I hope houses still have a core where people can stay safely with their cyclone survival kits. That is the best place to stay. You, then, of course, can stay with your own pets, which is an issue the member for Brennan raised.
There were parts of Darwin - even parts of inner Darwin and, as the Speaker would know, parts of Nightcliff - which were badly hit by Cyclone Tracy. There are houses in that part of the city which are the original houses. They would not be the best place to stay, even though they might have survived Cyclone Tracy. They are now nearly 34 years on and are different houses than they were at that time. We need our cyclones shelters and, having been a cyclone shelter manager for a while, they require good organisation and have to be well managed. You get people turning up at cyclone shelters who are not the sort of people you really want there. They think it is going to be an evening of having a few beers and settling down for the night, and you find they cause problems. Then, you need not only the emergency services people to help out, but you certainly need the police as well to ensure the cyclone shelters are run well and people are not under any extra stress except for the cyclone that is coming their way.
The other option is the option you see in the United States quite a bit. I am not saying it is the option we should over-promote but, for people like my sister-in-law, driving out of town is still a realistic option if a cyclone is coming. I do not see any problem with places like Katherine establishing a place for people who want to get away of the cyclone to be able to camp. It might be on the football ground; the Katherine football ground has toilets and showers. Places like that could be opened for people who wish to simply avoid going through the cyclone. I do not see it as a case of being chicken or staying behind to be brave; that is a silly outlook. Look at Miami, and the latest hurricane scare in New Orleans - people do not hang around, they know what damage it can do, and they drive out of town. That is a reasonable option. For those people who have been traumatised by Cyclone Tracy, why put people through that again? We should use the drive-out option as a reasonable option for those people who do not particularly want to go through that type of cyclone again.
In summing up, I am interested to hear what the minister has to say about this issue. The speculation has been around for a couple of years as to whether our engineering is up to scratch for the so-called super cyclones. As the member for Goyder rightly mentioned, sea temperatures are changing. Is there a possibility that we are going to get bigger and more intense cyclones, and are we prepared? Is the government looking at whether we need any changes in our regulations regarding housing to cope with that?
Of course, the other side of the equation is you can build a fortress. However, who can afford it? To some extent, one has to find a balance between a reasonable approach to cyclone-proof housing, as against making houses so strong and so structurally sound they simply become cost-prohibitive. We need to find that balance.
I was also very interested in what the member for Brennan said regarding the way we handle animals. It is a difficulty in a rural area, regardless of what people think about whether the rural area should have animal legislation or not. A place like that is very hard for a council to manage. Usually, the advice is to leave your animals at home with water; do not lock them up. Most people have fences around their block, so at least you hope their animals can find shelter. It is a difficult thing to leave your animals and pets behind because, for many people, they are their best mates. Maybe the rules and regulations in regard to what people can do with pets needs to be reviewed. I know you are not allowed to take animals to a cyclone shelter, but you can take them to the underground car parks. I still see that, sometimes, there may be some allowance for pensioners who have a dog who is a companion animal, or a cat. They simply are not going to sit in the car park under Target or somewhere they might want to go to a shelter. Perhaps there has to be some flexibility when it comes to animals.
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her matter of public importance. I would like to hear what the minister has to say as well.
Ms LAWRIE (Infrastructure and Transport): Madam Speaker, I also thank the member for Goyder for this matter of public importance today - a very timely matter of public importance. We are in the build-up and we are heading to our cyclone season.
As we know, cyclones are a fact of life in the Top End. It is important that all families and individuals have a cyclone plan. It is also important, picking up on the contribution from the member for Brennan, that plan includes the care for their pets. The advice that is issued - whether it is written advice or advice on the radio - contains the prompt for a cyclone plan, and to think about how you are going to keep your pets; where they will be and what their circumstances will be during a cyclone. So, a very important contribution.
Families should check their houses are built to the building code and that they are well maintained. The member for Fannie Bay talked about the fact sheet that my Department of Planning and Infrastructure has. It is a very practical guide for looking at your own home and your own circumstances, and a very good checklist, so I urge all members to become acquainted with it. Preparation, preparation, preparation - that is the key to a cyclone season. We have seen the cleanup by Darwin City Council, and Palmerston City Council had their first cleanup, and I commend them for that. Again, all important preparation.
What we know is if you make a decision well beforehand where to shelter, it is the best plan that you could have. Homes that are built after Cyclone Tracy are built to the Building Code, they are required to be built to the Building Code, and many will have those strengthened areas where families can shelter at home. We heard the member for Fannie Bay talk about the example of Benny and Sandra Lewfatt.
Yes, I am a survivor of Cyclone Tracy. Our elevated house in Nightcliff was completely demolished in Cyclone Tracy, so I am all too aware of the trauma and the devastation and destruction a cyclone can bring. However, our family has its own version of a bunker - it is my mother’s place in Nightcliff. She has built a concrete module home. It is a bunker. It is cyclone and earthquake proof, and all of her adult children, her grandchildren and their pets have their particular bunker they can go to, which is my mother’s house in Nightcliff.
For those families who decide not to shelter at home, again, cyclone shelters are about people. Cyclone shelters, firstly, were predominantly provided for people in caravans and in very poor standard housing post Cyclone Tracy, and I will go to that a bit further. However, for those who decide not to shelter at home, they need to decide beforehand, in their cyclone plan, where they will shelter. As we have heard in the debate, those public shelters are located at the new Supreme Court building in the city; Nightcliff and Dripstone High Schools, both have had significant work done on them; Casuarina Senior College, again, has had significant work; Palmerston High School; Girraween Primary School, upgraded; Taminmin High School at Humpty Doo; and the community government council building at Cox Peninsula. All these have been assessed and they have had structural strengthening where required, so I can assure people they are of the best standard possible for cyclone shelters.
As we have heard, domestic pets cannot be taken to these shelters; however, we do have those underground car parks which have been identified as places where residents can shelter in their cars with their pets, provided the pets are properly constrained. Those sites are located at Casuarina Shopping Square; Palmerston Shopping Square; The Hub at Palmerston, and the Holiday Inn Esplanade, next to the Darwin Entertainment Centre in Darwin.
Public cyclone shelters were first established in Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. As Darwin recovered, many residents lived in temporary accommodation, including caravans, demountable housing, and poorly repaired housing. The government created a number of public cyclone shelters in case the city experienced another severe cyclone while it was being rebuilt. As Darwin’s reconstruction progressed and new buildings were built to new standards, the need for public cyclone shelters proportionally diminished.
In recent years, the north of Australia has experienced a number of severe cyclones. As we have heard, in 2005, we saw Category 5 Cyclone Ingrid which struck Elcho Island, moved over Croker Island as a Category 4, and then over the Tiwi Islands as a Category 3. Again, Category 5 Cyclone Monica hit Elcho Island in 2006, and then passed very close to Maningrida. Also that year, Category 4 Cyclone Larry struck Innisfail in Queensland, causing widespread damage. Cyclone Larry prompted the Queensland government to consider its options in creating public cyclone shelters.
The Territory government also considered it timely to review its shelter arrangements. The government recently upgraded six cyclone shelters in Darwin and the rural area. Those major upgrades have been completed at Nightcliff High School. Casuarina Senior College, and Taminmin High School - a $2.6m commitment in those upgrades which involved new roof cladding and screening of windows at all three shelters to protect the buildings from flying debris during a cyclone. This government has committed a further $3m program this financial year to upgrade Marrara Indoor Sports Complex, and shelters at Sanderson, Maningrida, Galiwinku, and Milingimbi.
The government is committed to increasing the capacity of public cyclone shelters and will provide ongoing funding of $3m per annum over the next four years to upgrade and construct new cyclone shelters. This funding for cyclone shelters is unprecedented. It is something that I have personally pursued both as the minister for Infrastructure and, more recently, as Treasurer. I guess it is no coincidence - I am a Cyclone Tracy survivor and I am acutely aware of the government’s capacity to put all-important funding into cyclone shelters.
Not moving away from the need for every individual to have a cyclone plan, that plan can include sheltering at home, and I go to the very valid point the member for Nelson made about an evacuation plan, if that is the preferred course people want to take.
In new public buildings the government builds, predominately schools etcetera, we will ensure that they are built to cyclone shelter capacity, where it is an appropriate building to do so. For example, in the construction of the two new schools at Rosebery, we will incorporate a public cyclone shelter in the gymnasium. It will be built to cyclone shelter code. It does cost more to build to that level, but it is a policy directive that our government is taking. This will provide all important additional capacity at Palmerston in the event of a cyclone, for both Palmerston and rural residents.
Regarding the very appropriate matter the member for Nelson raised - the building code standards - the Northern Territory has adopted the National Building Code of Australia and the relevant Australian standards as the Technical Building Standards for the Territory. The Building Code of Australia calls up, as part of its structural requirements, the technical standards AS1170 - the Australian wind loading code. The codes have been reviewed in recent years and the standards in Australia for cyclonic areas are some of the highest in the world.
Under the Building Code, residential structures in cyclonic regions are designed for a one in 500 event; that is, a risk of 0.2% of an event happening in any particular year. This is consistent with Northern Queensland and most of Western Australia. There is a part of the Western Australian coast between Port Hedland and Carnarvon which is classified as a higher risk category.
These design parameters have been generally accepted as the reasonable balance, based on the assessment of the risk and the ability of the community to pay for the desired level of protection across all cyclonic regions of Australia. That is the point the member for Nelson was making - you look at the risk and at the costs associated. These standards meet the standards in Australia for cyclonic areas and they are some of the highest in the world and they are designed for a one in 500 event.
There is no common method of construction that can guarantee 100% protection from a cyclone. What the code provides for is cyclone resistant construction to certain levels, commensurate with that reasonable risk you heard the member for Nelson talk about, and that assessment of risk.
Experiences with Cyclones Ingrid and Monica, both very powerful cyclones in the Category 5 and Category 4, have shown that buildings built to the code can withstand severe conditions very well. After the cyclones hit, we sent engineers out to the communities to do some structural assessments of the buildings. We saw that the buildings built to code - that is, our newer public housing and our newer government buildings in those coastal communities - withstood well. There was very minor damage. They were safe, people were fine, we did not have the fatalities and we did not have the serious injuries. Why? Because the buildings built to code were safe. I believe that is important, because we heard the member for Goyder in her contribution talk about panic, fear, trauma, and complacency.
It is important that people are aware of what is safe, and buildings built to code are designed for that one in 500 event. They are amongst the highest standards in the world and they have been recently tested with severe cyclones, Category 4 and Category 5, and they withstood, and we went back and checked their structural integrity. They are safe - built to code.
If you are looking at making any changes they need to be based on the Building Code and assessment of the risk, any decision to generally increase the standards would need to demonstrate a reasonable balance had been struck between the benefits gained and those all important building costs. This issue is broader than just the Northern Territory and requires a national approach based on scientific research. That would be research on the impacts of climate change in cyclonic regions, and that research is occurring across Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. On the basis of the current evidence and experience of buildings built to code, it is very difficult to present an argument requiring strengthening of the current Building Code in relation to cyclones. Nevertheless, if climatic change leads to increased activity and increased intensity of cyclonic events, the codes would need to be reviewed in light of the likely increased risk.
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure has submitted a proposal to the Australian Building Codes Board and the board is undertaking a specific study examining climate change and the impact climate change may have on the frequency and intensity of cyclonic events. We are not just satisfied with what we have, we are also participating in national scientific research on climate change and looking at increasing intensity and frequency of cyclones. This is on the basis that this issue is broader than the Northern Territory. As I said, it requires a national approach and we are participating in that national approach affecting the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.
The outcome of the project will be an evaluation of whether the current design wind load criteria is adequate for expected changes in cyclone activity. Following completion of the project, the adequacy of the current code provisions for the structural design of buildings in cyclone areas will either be supported - that is, stay as is - or modelling on higher intensity and/or higher frequency of cyclones done, and there could be recommendations coming forward regarding further upgrading of the code provisions. But, again, as I stressed, this scientific research is being conducted under the auspices of the Australian Building Codes Board, in which we are participating.
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure also arranged a two-day seminar in Darwin in 2007 to discuss the current standards - members alluded to that seminar - and examined options for an appropriate way forward in dealing with climate change. We heard from a number of recognised Australian experts in the field who participated in the workshop. The workshop concluded that while there may be no doubt that atmospheric change and warming temperatures are occurring, there are still no firm conclusions that can be reached on the impact of this change on cyclonic events. It is important that the research is ongoing.
We will await the outcome of that study being undertaken by the Australian Building Codes Board and consider any necessary standards that may need to be increased. I say that is an ‘if’ and a ‘may’ based on important research. In the meantime, the government will continue with our program to upgrade existing cyclone shelters and with our commitment to provide new cyclone shelters in the cyclone affected areas in the Top End.
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for recognising the all important work done by the Northern Territory Emergency Services. They work very closely, as we heard, with the Bureau of Meteorology. I also thank and recognise the work that Defence plays in the Top End. They are key partners in the approach. I had firsthand experience as Acting Chief Minister in January this year with Cyclone Helen and saw just how effective our police force is in working with NT Emergency Services.
Discussion concluded.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
On Saturday, 18 October, I attended the Hellenic Athletic Club’s 50th year celebrations at the Kalymnian Hall in Marrara. It was a fantastic night. The club was formed in 1958 when a group of Greek immigrants, who loved the game, decided they wanted to play soccer to socialise and keep each other company, as not all migrants could speak English. These migrants were Elefterios Milliarakis, Nick Zikos, Andreas Dimitriadis, Steve Politis, John Katapodis and John Vrondos.
They named the club Hellenic Athletic Club because it competed in other sports, including volleyball and basketball, not just soccer. The club developed, with its own money, the Greek School ground by installing lights and posts in the early 1980s, and it now uses the ground as its home clubhouse and training ground. The club also financially contributed to the construction of the Greek Hall in the 1970s. The Hellenic Athletic Club participates in all Greek community and church activities.
The major Greek community event the club participates in is the annual Greek Glenti. The Glenti is a major fundraising event for the club that attracts approximately 35 000 people each year. The Hellenic Club runs a stall, in a prime location, to provide maximum exposure for their sponsors’ advertising, and they raise $7000 to $9000 two years out of every three. This year, they sold souvlaki for the first time, and it was absolutely magnificent.
The Hellenic Athletic Club founders and major sponsors are some of Darwin’s most prominent businessmen: John Vrodos, the Paridisis family, Halkitis Brothers and John Halikos. The Hellenic Club has always attracted sponsors as it was, and still is, an attractive advertising tool. In fact, I am told many Greek businesses consider it an honour to support the Hellenic Athletic Club. Some of the sponsors include: Readymix Concrete, Humes, Cerbis Ceramics, General Excavators, the Halkitis Group, Northern Cement, Expansive, Kosmos Foods, Allcraft Cabinet Works, M & G Painters, Smorgan Steel, JGA, The Cool Spot, CNI Builders, Fannie Bay Supermarket, Wulagi Supermarket, PTM Homes, T & M Concreters, and the Halikos Group. As we all know, clubs like the Hellenic Athletics Club would not survive if it was not for the wonderful contribution their sponsors make.
The club has had a number of office holders who have made significant contributions over the years. The current president of the club is Michael Melas, elected in 2007, and past presidents have been Steve Gialloris in 2006, Matthew Boubaris in 2004 and 2005, John Vrondos, Jim Kandis, Kerry Kourounis, Steve Melas, who is the current president’s father, Arthur Paradisis and Savvas Christodoulou.
The Hellenic Club has had many different home grounds over the years: Gardens Oval, the Crisp Street ground, Nightcliff Oval, Fannie Bay Oval, RAAF Base, Richardson Park, Moil Oval, Showgrounds, Arafura Stadium, the Italian Club and the Greek School ground. To date, according to their official records, the Hellenic Soccer Club has won 19 League championships, nine grand finals and 13 cups in the seniors. In the Reserve Grade, the club won five League championships, two grand finals and one cup, whilst in the Colts, the club has won five League campionships, eight grand finals, and three cups. The Hellenic Soccer Club senior side has finished in the top four placings in 90% of its history. The 2006 season was considered as the club’s worst, with the seniors finishing fifth.
The Hellenic Athletic Club has produced some wonderful players. Andrew Papazoglou was an outstanding player from the late 1960s right through to the early 1980s. Spiro Makrylos broke into the seniors in the 1970s and played right through to the 1980s. Len Kilmartin holds the unique distinction of being the first player to have a transfer fee paid in 1977 when he left the defunct Larrakeyah Soccer Club, which had debts to the League. Hellenic stepped in and paid the debt, and Lennie played with Hellenic right through until 2004, and holds the record number of senior games in Darwin. Kon Kosifologos – Kon, you will have to help me with that – came from Greece direct to Darwin and, in the space of 10 years, proved to be one of the greatest players to play in Darwin. Artemi Stavros played for both Hellenic and Olympic from the 1960s until the 1980s and was a goal poacher of exceptional ability. Pedro Politis, the younger brother of Steve Politis, one of the club’s founders, was sensational and finished playing in the 1970s. Nick Boubaris arrived in Darwin in 1959 and went straight into the Hellenic senior side and stayed there for over 20 years; he could challenge Lennie Kilmartin as record games holder. Sam Papas proved an excellent talent in four years whilst in Darwin. Sam now resides in Perth, and has done since 1964.
Some of their players have had enormous achievements, playing in state, national and even Greek and European Leagues: Kon Kosifologos played in Greece with Kalamata; Foti Hatzi played with Parramatta Star in the New South Wales State League; Michael Kathopoulis played with Fiorentina in Italy and now manages an Australian Soccer Academy finding talent for overseas clubs; Pedro Stefanidakis trialled with Sydney Olympic but, unfortunately, became homesick and returned to Darwin without making an appearance; Vageli Papazoglou made the Australian Under 21 squad as a goal keeper; and Spiro Makrylos and Len Kilmartin were both chosen in the 1981 Australian Amateur Squad, following the Northern Territory’s Australian Amateur Title win.
In 1987, long-time club stalwart, Matthew Boubaris and a friend of his named Ron, thought of the idea of developing a junior club for the Hellenic Club. Matthew’s children were then playing for a junior team called Alawa after the suburb they lived in. After discussions with parents, most of the players came across and the most successful junior soccer team came into being. Steve Billias then took over as President in 1993 and steered the junior players to enormous success. Hellenic players made up most of the NT junior representative teams and won many under-age championships, grand finals and cups. Steve Giallouris took over the presidency in 2003 and in 2005. The club won a record four divisional championships, four divisional grand finals, and won every under-age grand final or topped the ladder for the ones which did not have finals.
The club peaked that year with over 260 registered players, whilst the lowest number of registered players was 130. The junior arm of the club has produced the vast majority of senior players since that time in 1987. The only other club to compare is the Timorese/Portuguese-backed club, Casuarina, which also produces its own senior players.
Some of the great moments in the Hellenic Athletic Club’s history include beating their eternal rivals Olympic 10-0 in 1983, and travelling to Brunei and drawing with its national team 1-1 in 1986.
Soccer is the third largest spectator sport in Darwin; however, potentially it can become the second largest with the majority of support coming from the ethnic communities of Darwin, particularly if the Greek community continues to grow in Darwin. It is estimated there are approximately 10 000 people of Greek descent in Darwin, mainly from Kalymnos. It is a clear fact that when the Hellenic Club plays its games, the crowd swells up and, before or after Hellenic games, drops dramatically. In Darwin, all three senior games are played on the same day and at the same venue. On average, 300 people pay to attend the three games. This figure does not include over 100 players who also attend the day.
It really was a fantastic evening, with over 700 people at the Kalymnian Hall, a real celebration of a club that has made an enormous contribution to the sporting and social capital of Darwin. It was an absolute privilege to be there, to work my way through the crowd and talk to so many people. As a Casuarina supporter myself, the rivalry between Casuarina and Hellenic is a very intense sporting rivalry, but one that stays on the field as it should do, and we all get together afterwards.
I again congratulate the Hellenic Athletic Club and the Soccer Club for 50 amazing years in Darwin; and Shorty Boubaris, whom I had the pleasure of presenting with a framed commemoration from the club. Shorty has either been playing for Hellenic or working on the committee for the team for 49 of the 50 years, so a huge contribution. It certainly was a wonderful evening.
Leanyer Primary School was officially opened on 15 September 1983. Leanyer was a new school in the middle of a brand new suburb. Over the years, Leanyer and the school have grown and flourished. Mr Henry Gray has been the Principal at Leanyer Primary School for over 17 years. Henry has played a major role at the school, steering and guiding it to the well-recognised and successful school it is today.
I recently attended the huge celebration at Leanyer Primary School’s 25th anniversary. The school put on a fete to rival all other fetes. There were many stalls and people buzzing around. I had the great pleasure of opening the new walkway, which is filled with bricks that have been inscribed by students, past and present, as well as staff and other friends of Leanyer Primary School. It really is an avenue of honour. It was a great fundraising initiative from the school and certainly brings a lot of pleasure to people looking for their names on this walkway.
There were so many things to do on the day. I was lucky to avoid being dunked on the dunking machine, although some of the kids there were rather enthusiastic to dunk the teachers who put their hands up. It was great to see the Army there with one of their vehicles open and available to climb through. The Northern Territory Emergency Services was there with one of the rescue boats on display. The Beat choir performed beautifully, as always. Leanyer school set up a wonderful display in the library and showed off all the school achievements since 1983. All of the photos, year books and artworks really showed a snapshot of the times.
I was also very proud to present to Leanyer Primary School a copy of Goyder’s 1869 Survey Plan. I gave this to Leanyer primary because, way back in 1869, Goyder mapped out the Leanyer Swamp and it was the first record of Leanyer on any public documents in the Territory’s history. I thought it was appropriate to give to the school to show how far back in the Northern Territory’s history the name of Leanyer goes.
I thank all the staff and students at Leanyer who worked so hard, and a huge thank you to the fete organising committee and to all the families and friends who supported the school on the day. I have spent a lot of time at Leanyer school over my years as the local MLA and was delighted to be there last Friday to hand out book vouchers to two very worthy recipients: Manual Klonaris and Joannah Faulkner. Both of these students have demonstrated their love of reading and I was very happy to reward them for their reading efforts. I told the students how important reading was and, when I asked them how many of them liked reading, I was happy to see almost every hand at the assembly shoot up.
I found out last week that Leanyer Primary School is the only Northern Territory school selected to take place in a University of Melbourne study. This project is called Childhood, Tradition and Change and Leanyer primary is one of 30 schools around Australia taking part. The project aims to study how children interact and engage with each other during play. This is the first nationwide study of children’s playground socialisation since the 1950s, and it aims to see if the many changes in the world since then have changed the way our children interact with each other. According to the University of Melbourne, the study will assist educationalists and health and social workers to better understand how our children treat each other and will, hopefully, help shape future learning programs. Two field workers will be at Leanyer Primary next week observing the children and their interactions. I wish them all the best and I commend Leanyer primary for taking part in such important research.
Much has been happening at Wanguri Primary School. Wanguri Primary School has moved into the future with their very first edition of their e-newsletter. The e-newsletter came out in Term 3 and was chock full of school news and events. The idea behind the newsletter is that parents and families can be kept up-to-date with school happenings in a way that suits them. The e-newsletter means no more soggy newsletters dug out of the bottom of school bags. I congratulate the Wanguri School Council and particularly Clio Marah, for all her hard work in putting the first edition together.
Along with many other schools, Wanguri Primary recently took park in the Beat choir concert, DreamBeat. Two people, Kathleen Whitson and Kaye Baldock, have been involved with the choir kids from Wanguri, and I thank them for their fantastic work. Wanguri had many star performers who did the school proud with their behaviour and their performances, and they were: Freya Cox, Evodokia Louloudias, Niamh Marah, Liza Lotfali, Amelia Dalrymple, Te Ani Kahu Leedie, Michaela Marshall, Mikaela Hudson, Taliesha Peckham, Erin Smillie, David Danson, Nathan Tran, Jaiden Baker, Nikki Coggins, Faneromeni Koulouriotis, and Nyoaka Bell Peckham. Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s Beat performance.
A group of students from Wanguri recently visited our nation’s capital as part of their learning journey. The children were often praised for their exemplary manners and great behaviour. They visited most of the sites around Canberra, including Parliament House, where they debated a bill on rainwater tanks. And, a first for many of the kids, they hit the slopes and enjoyed some skiing. Well done to Wanguri School for organising these trips, and thank you to Michelle Gilligan, Lisa Rothwell, and my lovely wife, Stacey, for volunteering to help keep the kids under control. My son, Liam, also went on the trip.
Wanguri students also took part in the Giant Walk which was held around Australia. The aim of the Giant Walk was to break the world record of 231 000 people simultaneously walking, which was held by the Canadians. Wanguri Primary took part in the Giant Walk at 1.30 pm, in the heat of the day, and 156 students walked three laps of the oval. That is an amazing amount of walkers considering the short notice. Well done to Wanguri and the walking champions. Here ends my contribution and adjournment.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I give some positive information on the performance of children at the Bees Creek Primary School, which is a tribute to the teachers and the support staff. Bees Creek Primary School is located off Bees Creek Road and was officially opened in 1997. It is a lovely setting for a primary school it is in quiet bushland and, I would say, a safe and sound location from the hustle and bustle of high-density living in the suburbs.
The school is a very clean, neat and tidy school and, when I visited, it was very green. The school has sound community values which are a safe and welcoming learning environment, a high standard of teaching and learning, and family and community involvement. The classes are multilevel and cater for the diverse needs of students. The school offers rich programs in music, information technology and horticulture, as well as a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills. The CBL classes are particularly popular and each child has their own computer.
The school has an organic garden which is used by special interest groups, as well as classes across the school. The garden is regularly checked and assisted by the well-known horticulturalist/agriculturalist, Chris Nathaniel, who gives his time freely and happily to help the children with the garden and to understand about growing vegetables. The garden is also accessed by parents and many of the staff.
The school is ably guided by the principal, John Tate, and deputy principal, Ken Brodie. They are filled with enthusiasm, and support the students, parents and the school council and encourage them everything they do. The teachers are friendly, open and dedicated to providing the best possible teaching for their students.
Recently, I attended their school assembly where the principal announced some of the students had performed well in the Westpac Maths Competition in which 36 students competed. All students who entered the competition received a certificate of participation and a performance report. A big congratulation goes to the students at the school who received a credit which placed them in the top 50% in Australia. Students who received the credit certificates included: Year 3 - Sian Wright, Mitchell Reid, James Halse and Ashley Ferguson; Year 4 – Grace Goodman, Martha Hepburn and Courtney Stanwix; Year 5 – Bronte Pearson and Curt Stanwix; and Year 6 – Ashleigh Ainslie and Tayla Barrett.
It is good to see schools like Bees Creek encourage and support students to participate in these scholastic activities; particularly activities in mathematics and science. Well done to Bees Creek Primary School for being involved in this competition. I am sure they will be involved in future competitions such as the Westpac Maths Competition.
Another clever initiative I thought the school has is their student merit awards. This is a system that rewards good behaviour and encourages children to respect their fellow students, property and the school. It could be a simple act such as picking up litter, helping a teacher carry a load, or presenting with a big smile. The awards are called mini, maxi and mega awards. When a student has five mini awards they get a maxi award; when they get five maxi awards they get a mega award. This is the most sought after award as it includes a mega sized certificate and a $20 book voucher.
My first assembly was lovely as there were over 30 students receiving these awards. The smiles when they received the certificate and voucher, if they got a voucher, were priceless. Congratulations to all the students, Bees Creek Primary School, the teaching staff, parents and the council.
Yesterday, in my office we had a morning tea for Pink Ribbon Day where I invited various people from the electorate to have a cup of tea, purchase some merchandise and just talk about issues. We also visited all the shops in Coolalinga and, in the space of about an hour-and-a-half, we raised just over $260 for the Pink Ribbon Day Cancer Foundation. Most people enjoyed it. Even the fellows who attended the morning tea as well as the ones I visited in their businesses were very supportive and quite happily and freely gave donations to the cause. I know that tomorrow is Pink Day in the parliament
A member: Men suffer breast cancer, too.
Ms PURICK: Pardon?
A member: Men suffer breast cancer, too.
Ms PURICK: Men do suffer breast cancer and that is why they were happy to contribute. Perhaps they are aware this can afflict them as well as women. I hope to be able to assist in a better way and a bigger way next year to raise more funds for this worthy cause.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Madam Deputy Speaker, tonight I pay tribute to the organisers of two wonderful festivals recently held at communities within my electorate of Arnhem – Milingimbi’s Gattjirrk Festival and Ramingining’s Bak'bididi Festival.
These festivals are a wonderful celebration of a strong culture, art, music and dance or bugul to use the Gapapuyu word which can mean either dance, song, music or ceremony. This is because the Yolngu Matha language makes no real distinction between those artistic and ceremonial occasions when people come together to celebrate life and teach their law.
As members on this side of the House are well aware, particularly my colleagues, the members for Nhulunbuy and Arafura whose electorate incorporates the Yolngu lands, Gapapuyu is the main language of Milingimbi and has been selected by all the Yolngu clans as the language that is taught in the Yolngu languages and culture studies at Charles Darwin University School of Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
The CDU, though small in comparison to other universities in Australia, has built up a reputation for excellence and is the nation’s leader in this field. Much of that is due to the dedicated and highly-skilled work over many years of linguists Michael Christie, Waymamba Gaykamangu, John Greatorex, and Marrnganyin who, unfortunately, passed away earlier this year, which is why I will not use her other name.
I pause here and pay tribute to Marrnganyin who was originally from Elcho Island in the member for Nhulunbuy’s electorate. Due to ill-health, she had to live in Darwin for the last years of her life to receive renal dialysis treatment. During this period, she came into my office quite a lot and worked closely with my electorate officer, Charles. I quote a passage from the memorial he wrote at the time of her death to others who knew and loved her. I quote from Charles Powling:
We will all miss Marrnganyin who, even when very ill towards the end, showed so much dignity in life. However, her remarkable linguistic skills have left a legacy that lives on in the contribution she made to the School of Australian Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
I was privileged to attend Milingimbi’s Gattjirrk Festival last month, which was funded by contributions of $15 000 from Festivals Australia, $10 000 from the East Arnhem Shire, $10 000 from Arnhem Land Progress Association, $2000 from Power and Water, and $2000 from Rio Tinto. Of this money, a small balance is left over and will go towards next year’s festival. On behalf of the community, I thank those sponsors for being so generous and making it such a success. The $10 000 from our new East Arnhem Shire is significant. In previous years, the local government council simply could not afford to make a serious financial contribution towards their festival. I remember in 2006, the Chief Minister, when he was Minister for Regional Development, came to the rescue of the festival with a $25 000 grant from the Regional Economic Development Fund. From then, the Milingimbi Festival and its organisers have not looked back and I know it will grow in prestige and reputation over the years to come.
The festival has strong cultural roots and celebrates and merges traditional bugul with contemporary music. It also highlights athletic prowess for the Australian Rules football on the Saturday afternoon. For the clans of the region, it is a celebration of survival of their unique culture. For those unfamiliar with the region, Milingimbi is located in Yirritja moiety land belonging to the Batjimurrungu and Walamangu clans. The northern part of the island is Dhuwa moiety land belonging to the Gorryindin and Gamalangga clans. Milingimbi is the name of both the island and the main settlement on the island, and it was one of the first missions established in the NT by the Methodist Overseas Mission in 1923.
The festival first started around 1986 as a way to establish a local band, spearheaded by Keith Lapulung, and it slowly grew into a festival over the years attracting more and more performers, initially as the Milingimbi Music Sound and Light Competition and, then, in 1990 it evolved into the Gattjirrk Festival. It now attracts musicians and dancers from all across the region. At last year’s festival, there were seven bands and 18 dancing groups involved over three nights. I have not seen any final figures, but I think this year they did even better. Whether they outdid last year or not, it really does not matter, because I and everyone who attended had a wonderful weekend. I congratulate everyone involved. I also urge members of this House, and the general public, to put it in your diaries for next year as a must attend.
Another must attend is a Ramingining’s Bak'bididi Festival, which was held only one-and-a-half weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but I am advised it was also a great success. It was sponsored by Arts NT, Arnhem Land Progress Association Stores, Traditional Credit Union, FAHCSIA, YouthWorX, Drug and Alcohol, NBC Building Consultants, Perkins, Airnorth, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Ramingining School and, again, East Arnhem Shire Council made a significant contribution. The feedback I received is the festival was able to showcase the artistic, musical, and sporting talent that is so evident throughout the region, and as many as 1000 visitors from outside of the region travelled to Ramingining for the weekend. This meant that Ramingining doubled in size and was bursting at the seams for those few days, but everyone got along and pulled together to make it a very successful weekend.
There was also the inclusion of an art competition this year, which highlighted contemporary, visual and fine arts, and multimedia works, including the recent short films Yaka Nhumul Petrol and Connection Kids that received awards at the recent Connecting Through Film competition. Of course, the Chooky Dancers also came back to Ramingining to perform a rendition to their own dance by Ramingining’s own ‘Liya watu’. The crowd was very amused, so I am told, and there has been a realisation through the success of the Chooky Dancers that their own unique dance style is valued and appreciated by other people, which has been a positive motivating factor, and I am sure we will certainly see much, much more of them in the future. It was actually at the Ramingining Festival last year that the Chooky Dancers became known, not only to the rest of Arnhem Land, but also the Territory and indeed, the world, through YouTube.
So many community members, both Yolngu and Balanda, gave their time and energy to ensure the festival ran smoothly. They volunteered their time and they are very proud of what Ramingining has achieved on the Australian and world stage in recent years, particularly with Rolf de Heer’s Ten Canoes, co-directed by Peter Djigirr. They were also hoping to celebrate the recently released follow-up series of short stories produced and starring many of the same participants from Ten Canoes – Twelve Canoes. Unfortunately, there was some problem with getting the copyright permission to enable that to happen, so they are holding that treat over until next year’s festival.
I congratulate everyone involved on what, from all accounts, was a wonderful weekend.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to speak of a couple of very enjoyable events. As the Chief Minister mentioned, I actually took part in the Giant Walk some months ago at Woodroffe Primary School with many children, around and round and the oval. To tell you the truth, I cannot remember exactly how many children took part even though I was judge, in fact, for the Guinness Book of World Records attempt. I cannot remember exactly the number we counted, but there was a lot and it was fantastic. It was a very hot time. I thank Woodroffe primary for allowing me to come along to that and be judge for their school.
I was at one of the meetings at Durack Primary School on a Friday morning at assembly and listened to a lot of good things the students are doing, such as competitions within classes to see who is best at recycling. I thought this was a brilliant idea. They give little presentations to go with it, so that is a great way of getting the kids involved in a better society and a better earth.
I went to Driver Primary School two weeks ago and took part in the assembly. They have a brilliant idea where, unlike kids being caught naughty, they are caught being good. They have created a game out of it, and there are rewards for those who are good in school. I am very pleased to say that I supported that with a book voucher. I support the idea where, giving something to a school like that, I can aid in the education of that student by supplying a voucher so they can get themselves a book. That is a great thing. It is great to see Driver Primary School doing such a program.
In saying that, I am a little distressed, because Driver Primary School comes under my area in Drysdale. They have a brilliant in-house keeper, night watchman - I do not know what you would like to call him – who lives on-site. Nearly every single night, he records some sort of disturbance happening on the school grounds - every single night. He is very diligent; he records it in a book. Sometimes, some of those things he records are quite humorous, almost. The reality is that there are little gangs that run through the school and cause damage which means that we, as taxpayers, the providers for the public, keep shelling out more money for damage. Not everything is recorded and the book does display his discontent, at times, with police in the area. It is part of the way things are; when people are busy dealing with domestics and the like, they are not likely to go a disturbance with a group of young people. However, every single night, basically, there is a reference to unwanted people being on or around that school causing trouble. He can identify them - that is one of that gang and that is one of those gangs. It is shameful that is the case in Palmerston. We have some beautiful walkways, parks, and drain ways that become walkways, and it is a shame that they are overrun with gangs at times.
To make a point, if we listen to that side, crime is down - there is no problem with crime. To add to some of my other points about statistics, you can interpret statistics any way you like - even the statistics that are given by the Northern Territory government. For crime recorded over the June 2008 quarter under Key Findings, there is a string here. If we look from 2002-03 to current times, 2007-08, crime might be down. It is about interpreting figures; if we change the parameters on it. I point out that you do tend to pick on those parameters of 2002 quite well. If we just go a couple of years forward to 2004-05, we see a whole different picture. It must mean that either you, as the government at the time, did a fantastic job at sorting out crime, or the police were in a better position and they better managed their resources, got better outcomes for the public, perhaps were under a little less stress at the time. I will read some figures because they are interesting.
In 2004-05, motor vehicle thefts - and for those who have not read the newspaper or seen a bit of television, there have been quite a few of those of late, so one has to ask: who is back on the street who may not have been for a while? It is hard to read the fine print and, maybe, a lot of people do not bother reading these types of reports. However, from 2004-05 to today’s date, motor vehicle thefts are up 451. That is a lot of cars. At $30 000 a car, you work out the figures yourself; it is not cheap, it is a lot of money. I bet those people who are getting caught are not serving the many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage time in gaol. That is a difference of 451 cars this year compared to 2004-05.
Last year was actually quite a good year and there was a fall, so, between last year and this year, there were 557 extra motor vehicles stolen, this year alone. Another astounding thing we forget, if we go back to the 2003 figures. Commercial break-ins in 2004-05 compared to now - and I mentioned this in another adjournment some time ago and an MPI - are of growing concern and it has been very consistent. From 2004-05 to now, 894 more break-ins this year than in 2005. That is a lot of break-ins and, if you are in business, how do you wear those costs? I know of businesses in this area of Darwin that do not even bother to claim because it is not worth it - it is not even worth reporting. When there is thousands of dollars worth of damage done and you cannot claim on every piece, it adds up to a lot for any business to carry; let alone the poor lady that owns the takeaway shop and caf in Nightcliff. My God, what an absolute disgrace; to think she has been broken into so many times. But the Chief Minister says there are no problems, so let us keeping going with it - there are no problems.
We go to the good news: house break-ins. From 2004-05 to today there are 76 fewer break-ins. Thankfully, we have a good news story – 76 fewer break-ins. Does that count for the 894 extra commercial break-ins? Does that count for the 451 extra cars knocked off in that time frame? I do not think it does, and the people on the street know this. You must listen. The Chief Minister must listen because this is getting out there; people know it. It is not like it can be hidden. They know it because they can feel it.
Sexual assaults are very insidious, nasty pieces of work. From 2004-05 to today there were 37 extra sexual assaults in the Territory - down eight compared to last year. I am glad of that. This is also probably a very understated area of crime because the victims are extremely violated people. They are scared of the perpetrator coming back. They are scared of the process they are put through to get a conviction. It is most likely - this is an Australian-wide trend – that it is very understated. Sexual assault numbers are much higher than that. It is disgusting to think that crime is down as far as the Chief Minister is concerned.
Then the one we have been pushing: from 2004-05 to today, for assaults, there are 1515 extra assaults this year. They are pretty damning figures. I have not fudged any of these figures. They are the government’s documents.
I heard the Chief Minister say the war on crime is better than it has ever been; it is not a problem. These figures alone are disgusting. For anyone to stand here in this parliament and say: ‘No, no, it is all right, your business is fine’, is embarrassing. Any reasonable person in this Territory can read what I have said tonight, refer to these figures and understand that it is not fine. It is not all right. It is not acceptable.
Someone must start taking responsibility for that instead of hiding behind figures that go back two years. It is easy to modify what you read in figures if you wish to. You interpret the figures the way you want them. It is important to note that the people on the street know that there is a difference. The fight against crime is not better; it is in a very bad shape.
I look at another chart about property offences for 2004-05 through to 2006-07. We saw a difference of a bit over 2200 offences being committed in the areas of house break-ins, commercial break-ins, motor vehicle thefts, other thefts, property damage, and other property damage. In a light-hearted sense, 2006 is when I went to the desert. I wonder whether when I left things went to pot. The reality is it had nothing to do with me; I am just one person. However, as someone involved in dealing with crime, knowing the processes within and, unfortunately, having been touched by crime by having to deal with it, I could see the difference when I came back. When I came back to Darwin, instead of being excited by my return journey, I was disgusted by the level of crime.
I went into the Crime Prevention Unit and was dealing with Neighbourhood Watch as one of the coordinators for the Territory. The Neighbourhood Watch people do a great job. I was able to assist the Malak Neighbourhood Watch program kick off again. It is now probably the most proactive of all the Neighbourhood Watch schemes in the Territory
There is a huge community need - and there is a groundswell. It the Chief Minister does not see it, he needs to get out more, because it is vital that we take action. It is vital that he takes the responsibility and leads in a very strong way. That is not by just standing behind any of these benches here, but getting out there and showing leadership. The people know, the people are hurting, the victims are hurting. They will never forget.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am very happy and excited to see the new police shopfront open up in Casuarina Square Shopping Centre. I am informed it is to be open before Christmas - just in time for Christmas shoppers. I have spoken to Ben Gill the Casuarina Square Centre Manager, who is very excited about this initiative. He told me the Police Beat will feature as a permanent police presence at Casuarina and is expected to be open in time for the December school holidays. As well, the police presence at Casuarina Square will be on top of the 60 extra police announced in the Safer Streets program. The office will be open all core hours Casuarina Square is open.
In the past, I have been very pleased to see the police have been very proactive in actually patrolling Casuarina Shopping Square and the Casuarina precinct. As a result, we immediately see a reduction of incidents, mostly caused by students and - surprise, surprise - after 3.15 pm when the high schools and Casuarina Senior College finish.
Ben Gill also advised me this initiative will be one of Casuarina Square’s 30 community initiatives planned for the next 12 months. The Casuarina Shopping Square management is very proactive and working very closely with the Casuarina police, and also with the management of the Casuarina Shopping Village, in order to address some of the issues of antisocial behaviour.
Regarding Dripstone Middle School’s annual exchange trip to Kibi Cho in Japan; once again, 16 students and three teachers went on the education exchange to Kibi Cho Junior High School in Japan. The trip was an enormous success, with students undertaking local tours as well as attending classes in the junior high school. Students spent part of their time billeted with local families, and had an excellent time. I must add, students from the Kibi Cho Junior High School were here in Darwin a few months ago and did exactly the same; they attended classes at Dripstone Middle School and also went on local tours, and they were billeted with local families. I was very pleased to have two Japanese boys staying in our house.
Dripstone Middle School’s annual Dripstone Day fundraising celebrations are scheduled for Friday, 31 October. This special day each year gives the students an opportunity to showcase their talents and raise funds for the school and various charities such as the Cancer Council. The event will start about 10.30 am with stalls and displays, followed by a Crop and Colour activity, and will finish with a talent quest in the afternoon.
The Dripstone Middle School Principal, Lyn Elphinstone, advised me that Dripstone is pleased with the number of nominations received for Excellence in Teaching Awards, and wished to thank students and the community for nominating teachers and support staff for these awards.
Teaching Team of the Year nominations were: Year 7 teachers: Jan McCarthy, Margaret McPherson, Kelly Nottle, Robyn Gulliver, Bianca Raby, Sarah Belsham, Maxine Flett, and Chrissy Hunter; Early Career Teacher of the Year nomination was Bianca Raby; Teacher of the Year nominations: Rebecca Glasby and Nektaria Pikoulos; Support Staff of the Year nominations: Anne Cox (Special Needs Assistant), Debbie Rossiter (Administration Officer), and Kevin Remfrey (Groundsman).
I am also very proud to be the patron of the Darwin Surf Life Saving Club, a club with a talented group of over 70 competitors who retained ‘champion club’ status on Broome’s Cable Beach a few weeks ago at the Surf Life Saving Championships. The championships saw traditional rivals, Broome and Darwin, throw everything they had in this event, producing some of the most exciting finishes seen in years. In the Westpac Junior Championship, Darwin finished only 13 points ahead of Broome, in an amazingly close contest over 60 events. I am proud to announce the following winners of the 2008 Age Champions are: Darwin Under 9 boys: Alex Storey; Under 11 boys: Domenic Kay; Under 12 girls: Zoe Nibbs; Under 12 boys: James Parry, Under 13 girls: Clodagh Mackechnie; Under 13 boys: Zac Incerti; Under 14 girls: Hanna Mitchener; and Under 14 boys: Robert Gerlach. These young people certainly have a great future in surf lifesaving competition.
In the Thrifty Senior Championship, the Lifesaver Relay and Taplin Relay were special highlights, with teams battling for medal places. Rachel McLean, Darwin Surf Life Saving Club’s Under 19 competitor, was unbeatable, despite being up against some talented, experienced female surf women, winning the Open Ironwoman event. Beach specialist John Brown’s lightning fast reflexes saw him take out the Open Beach Flags title. Sam Creek and Sherie Tracy won the Open Male and Female Surf Ski race respectively, and Sam backed up to add the Open Board race title as well. I am pleased to say the final score for the weekend was Darwin on 727 points, and their nearest rival, Broome, on 558 points.
The 2008 Senior Champions were: Under 15 Men: Robert Gerlach; Under 17 Women: Megan Gallagher; Under 19 Women: Rachel McLean; Masters Women: Jo Gardiner; and Open Men: Sam Creek.
The Darwin Surf Life Saving Club is based in Casuarina. People in the club spent enormous hours and effort training young Territorians, boys and girls, in swimming, lifesaving and other skills. I have always said there is no reason for us to complain about our young children unless we ourselves fail to put in the effort to provide some leaders, some guidance, and the opportunity for these kids to be trained. Of course, we do complain about young people. The member for Drysdale referred to gangs. You have to remember this gang of kids probably belongs to people like us; they might be our sons, they might be our daughters. The responsibility stays with us; it does not stay with anybody else. Blame the kids as much as you like but, first, blame the parents.
On the other hand, with statistics, of course you can translate the statistics any way you like. Certainly, we have had a growth in the numbers of crimes between 2004-05 to 2007-08 but, unfortunately, the statistics do not say how many of these crimes have actually been solved, and how many have actually been covered. A good example is that, despite the fact the Chief Minister was accused of doing nothing about the Nightcliff situation this afternoon, what was omitted to this House was that seven of the young offenders were captured within 48 hours of the event which took place.
We can say that crime is going through the roof, but the reality is, if you really want to see what crime is all about, I suggest next time you go down south, pick up any newspaper in Sydney, Melbourne, or Adelaide. When a newspaper in a capital city reports a murder on page 5, then they have problems. We have problems with gangs, and with some juveniles. Let us not forget our own kids sometimes, who probably get up to some mischief, but probably not as bad as these guys. One thing we have to remember is, yes, crimes are committed but, thanks to the police efforts, crimes are solved. It probably would be better education if the statistics the police issue not only reports the crimes that are committed, but also reports the crimes that have been solved, and the figures of those charged with the crimes committed. Then we might be able to get a better and clearer picture.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Deputy Speaker, I speak again tonight, as much I do not like using my adjournment debates for this purpose, on the same issue that has been running for several days since the last parliamentary sittings in this place. I preface my words again with what I was trying to say the other night about how we conduct ourselves in this House, when I was interrupted by an interjection which was, ultimately, in the final wash - although I misunderstood it on the night because of the noise in the room - accusing the member for Araluen of being drunk which, I might add, she was not. When challenged to provide evidence or any form of supporting material to that end - well, actually no, she was not even challenged - when the Treasurer was confronted with that issue, she immediately withdrew the allegation …
Ms Carney: Knowing it to be untrue.
Mr ELFERINK: And it was untrue - knowing it to be untrue.
What this presents us with is an ongoing problem and the potential for a turf war where there are going to be causalities on all sides. Before we engage in this turf war, I signal by this speech a certain amount of counsel suggesting that we do not need to go down this path.
On page 479 of the House of Representatives Practice, a book that people are becoming more and more familiar with every day …
Ms Carney: For those in the Chamber who are really good readers.
A member interjecting.
Ms Carney: Probably not you.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: This is a House where we rely on speaking to get our message across. On page 479, there is a most eloquent argument for the powers that we are given by this House in terms of the speeches we make. I will not quote the whole of it because of time, but I urge members to read the whole of it:
It does go on as to the importance of speech in this House. However, there is a counsel directly below that quote on the same page, which says:
What has occurred is that in the past, the repeated interjections about members being drunk, members needing to be breathalysed, have been used as a weapon on the fifth floor. How it works – I suspect it is the fifth floor - is that once the interjection is made, it has been picked up - or comment has been made and not picked up on; it gets filtered out to the press. Then, you start seeing articles like the one we saw today in the Northern Territory News. Without repeating the article on page 4 of today’s Northern Territory News, it goes under the title: ‘Lawrie took aim at ‘drunk’ Carney’; despite the fact that the member for Araluen was not drunk and the withdrawal was made immediately afterwards. The media hold a privileged position. I draw honourable members to these comments in House of Representatives Practice.
The absence of the withdrawal from the Treasurer for the slur against the member for Araluen is not fair. The problem we have is this is on the tail end of several articles. The other one that particularly jumps into my mind, of concern in relation to allegations about some sort of gesture that was made in the House was, in that article, I read to my dismay, an assertion which was not supported by an accuser, by a victim, or by any form of independent witness.
I urge the media to consider how they go about their business of reporting, because what there are non-parliamentary people who work in this building who see everything that is said in this House in terms of one thing only: an opportunity to bash up on the other side. What happens is that there is this gleeful rubbing of hands, ‘Here we go. Here is the opportunity and slip out some nice little message about who has been accused of drinking and who has not been accused of drinking’, and the bombs start to fall. Media enjoys running these sorts of stories; you hear it. I was listening to the radio the other day when a media commentator said: ‘Yeah, yeah, no, no, those particular issues were withdrawn, but I know (nod, nod, wink, wink), there are two or three other people with serious problems’. Not a single shred of evidence to support that assertion in that particular radio interview.
The problem with the media being prepared to report in such a fashion and such flimsy evidence is that sadly, members of staff and their parliamentary leaders are inclined to try to use those things. What happens is it breaks out a turf war and, as both sides of the House become more and more entrenched in their positions as they try to score this particular point simply to try to capture a media cycle the next day, it ends up being a pox on both our houses. On the whole House.
I urge Madam Speaker to reconsider her policy of not talking to the media, because I suspect some of this could have been avoided had Madam Speaker pointed out to the media when she was approached - mind you, she has not been approached in more recent times - that all of these allegations had either been apologised for or withdrawn or, in some cases, both.
I acknowledge the Deputy Chief Minister who, although she apologised the first time she made the allegation towards me that I should be breath tested, she actually sought me out afterwards and attempted again to apologise in private. I acknowledge that and I am grateful to her for that. She understands that if we engage in this turf war there will be casualties on both sides. No matter how this plays out in the public mind, this whole place becomes lesser for it.
The problem is that we rely on that media cycle and the government is the past master of it. It is interesting to note an observation by Nicholas Rothwell recently who said, in relation to spin - and there is a whole speech he delivered quite recently, last Friday night as I understand it; I have just read it. The thrust of spin, he says in conclusion, is:
It fascinates me that we think we can win some points by doing this and going down this path.
Okay, the government has had a few wins, they have scored a few points in the press. However, I ask government to sit back and consider how this plays out; how people who are being forced to respond to an increasingly isolated position are going to respond. I include myself in that list; however, I am fairly immune from it because I have been passionate in my resistance to these allegations when they have been made. Whilst we try to pander to this media cycle and score a single point here and a single point there, there will be causalities in this war. Those causalities will be on both sides of this House.
I do not want to live in a parliamentary environment where I, and other members, have to spend so much time on our feet defending allegations which are merely nonsensical. I have been urged to engage in precisely the same allegation as part of my response and I refuse point blank. I will not engage in making those allegations. If a member walks into this House and they are clearly drunk, if it is a matter of fact they are drunk, I will happily point out they are drunk. But I will not engage in conduct which is slanderous and, outside of this Chamber, would be actionable.
It needs to be thought about before we go down this path. I urge, in the strongest possible terms, that we cease and desist from this particular approach. I close on these comments by Nicholas Rothwell. They need to be padded in because it talks about the mindset of a government we currently have. I suspect that he might be reflecting on the Territory government:
That is a worthwhile speech and I urge as many people as possible to read it. I urge government to reconsider this approach that they have taken to making these allegations, withdrawing them, and only having allegations been made sent out into the public domain. It is not a fight I want to have. I want to have a fight on policy grounds; I want to have a fight on grounds that matter to Territorians - not on stupid little bitch fights between both sides of the House.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Deputy Speaker, last Saturday, I attended the AGM of the Milne Volunteer Bushfire Brigade and was very proud to have been given the opportunity of officially opening the storage container and playground, together with Senator Trish Crossin, who officially opened the new verandah area which was granted from a federal government program.
The Milne Bushfire Brigade is a relatively new brigade, is well administered, committed to high-quality fire management and firefighting services, and has a strong community focus.
I am very pleased to report that I have written many support letters on behalf of the brigade towards their application for funding and community grants, of which they have been very successful in their quests. Members of the voluntary committee all contributed to fundraising, and give much of their own time to ensure the continued success of the brigade.
In the absence of suitable public infrastructure in the Bynoe area, the brigade’s building is fast becoming a focal point for the local community, and the brigade is conscientiously developing the building and surrounds for use by the community. The building surrounds have been extensively landscaped and an undercover area has been constructed and, now, a children’s playground has been developed. Congratulations to the Milne Bushfire Brigade. It was a great morning out there for those volunteers, and I hope they have success in the future.
I move on now to World Teachers’ Day. I place on the record and recognise the fantastic contribution that teachers make in the lives of our children. World Teachers’ Days will be celebrated this Friday, 31 October. This is special day to acknowledge the contribution teachers make to education development and to the community as a whole. I understand that World Teachers’ Day started in 1994 and is celebrated in over 100 countries. Australia celebrates World Teachers’ Day on the last Friday of October.
I acknowledge the hard work done by all teachers, not only in my electorate, but teachers in every one of our schools here in the Northern Territory. To assist our teachers, there are a number of behind-the-scenes people who volunteer in the classroom, the ISAs and, of course, school councils. School councils are made up of teachers and parents working together to make their individual schools the very best they can be. Those school councils also play an important role in the education development of school policies. I wish all teachers a great day on Friday. The theme for 2008 is ‘Teachers Matter’. I am quite sure all members will agree with me that our teachers do matter.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I raise a few points that will highlight the day in parliament; they are related to one another. One is that today we had a motion of dissent against the Speaker and, at the same time, the Chief Minister also issued a media release saying that the Henderson government reforms parliament. I believe the two are related.
I need to put something into context in relation to a question someone asked: ‘Why did you not vote on the motion of dissent?’ I am quite happy to tell people why I did not: because I did not agree with the motion of dissent and, second, I did not have a chance to because, on the other side, I was gagged. I feel, sometimes, we can lose the plot in parliament. I believe there are issues which do need debating and this is a political House. I remember being told by the member for Nhulunbuy, quite straight out, that when you are in here you are dealing with politics. But, sometimes, that hides the fact that there are issues which need debating and, occasionally, they are debated in the wrong way.
The issue we were talking about during Question Time related to Standing Order 113 of this parliament, which is the matter in relation to answers. It simply says an answer shall be relevant to the question.
I have many times complained about the relevance of answers given to my questions. In some cases, I have asked questions of people hoping I would get a relevant answer, but I did not quite get a relevant answer. When you look up the dictionary, you will see that ‘relevant’ is such a broad word, that if you were to ask the minister for Primary Industry to give us a rundown of the cheese industry in the Northern Territory, he could rightly start off with talking about the moon, because it possibly is relevant if you believe in fairy tales.
I believe that the issue of whether the Speaker was derelict in her duty, etcetera, was not the issue we should have been debating. I have also been in the Chair where you are, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. There was a previous Speaker who was an Independent. I know that this issue is a constant problem for any Speaker, because if you just read out Standing Order 113 it says it shall be relevant. I ask anyone to pick up the dictionary to find what relevance is; and it is very broad. That is an issue that should be debated, and it should be part of the Henderson government’s reforms on parliament, because it is an important issue. I do believe we should be more relevant in our answers; we could get through a lot more questions. I might even get past my one question for question 13. If I had a complaint to make, I would not move a dissent against the Speaker. However, I can tell you now that the one question I get in parliament at question 13 is not what people out there would like to happen.
In the case of Question Time, generally, the opposition has a theme - I understand that - and they use that theme to attack the government. The government fills it up with dorothy dixers, such as the other day, when there was an attack on the minister. It was a discussion about INPEX. We discussed two subjects for the whole of Question Time. If someone tells me that is what Question Time is about, I will go he. Today, I even felt like I was out of order because I asked a question on gamba grass. Heaven help me, who ever heard of that particular problem? It is an important issue, but it looks light when you hear some of the matters that are being debated.
What I am really getting at is that the Chief Minister has brought forward this statement today, and there are some good things in there. The one thing that concerns me is that the Chief Minister has already decided certain things will happen. I would have thought this was a great opportunity for all of us, as members of parliament, as members representing our electorates, to be able to put even our own personal thoughts about how parliament could be improved. The Chief Minister has already said we will turn up at 9 am and go to bed at 10 pm. Well, what a joke. I must admit, believe it or not, the 10 am start is not because I want to start late - I actually start much earlier than that - but I need time to prepare, because statements come in at night and there are speeches to be done. I need to organise my questions. A lot of that is done previously. I have to ensure it is right, it has been analysed. I also have to look at what is on the Notice Paper, so I am prepared.
I try to prepare as best I can and maybe 9 am is not suitable for me. I do not mind starting earlier, but the fact is that the Chief Minister has already made up his mind that 9 am will be the start. What I am really trying to get at is, I would have liked the Chief Minister to say: ‘Here are some options that we are going to look at. I would like the whole of parliament, because we are all parliamentarians, to come up with some comments, with some other suggestions and, through the Standing Orders Committee, which is the way to go about it, and we will consider them all’.
If the Chief Minister really believes in reforming to parliament, he must bring the other half of parliament along with him. Otherwise, it will be one side setting the agenda against the other. Much of the debate that has held had here recently, is about one side saying: ‘The other side is not doing as much work so we are going hit them with matters of public importance; we are going to hit them with more motions tomorrow than you can poke a stick at; we are going to make sure that a lot of the issues are fully debated’.
I do not have a problem with that, because there are some things that are not properly debated. However, we need to look at a whole range of issues. One is reports. How many times have I stood in this House and heard complaints about reports? Five minutes to the government, two minutes to the opposition, and I do get a privilege in this place, Independents are allowed two minutes as well. That is not much time. The classic example today was when the minister put forward the review on Indigenous expenditure - a very important document. There is not enough time to really give that a great deal of debate. Yet, we are still debating INPEX today, which was debated last week. We still have on the Notice Paper the Economic Direction of the Third Labor Government - one which I wanted to speak about at the last sittings and now I am not sure the government wants to bring it on at the moment, because there are certain things that will probably make them a bit embarrassed, especially when it comes to things like the power and what effect it is having on the economic direction of a third Labor government.
There is a whole range of issues. How should statements be run? Are we filling up time with useless statements? Sometimes we get broad statements like: ‘The economy of the Northern Territory’ - so big, so huge, you have to wonder whether it has any great benefit to the community to be debated in such a forum. Should we be targeting much more what we debate in this parliament?
I ask the government to hold back, even if it means next year. I would not rush this. The Labor Party has been running the parliament for the last eight years. I ask the minister to rethink what he has put here and ask us all - Labor, CLP, and the Independent - for their viewpoints.
I like the idea of radio and television full-time coverage. I have spoken here before, and this is exactly what should happen. This place should be as open to the public as possible. There are issues involved with that. We need to know how much it would cost. It might be that we gradually do it according to what the budget is. I do not know what it would cost, or if the money is already allocated - great. In relation to extended time, the minister says this will make parliament more productive and accessible to the public, improve the quality of debate and, hopefully, encourage more people to enter politics.
I do not believe we will improve the quality of the debate just based on the time we are here. We can waffle on for ages. Anyone who has been here for a while knows that that can be done quite easily - even I get accused of that occasionally.
If we want to improve the quality of the debate, then we should be looking at the length of reports. We should be looking at the statements. We should be looking at Question Time. I would be quite happy to say: ‘All right, if I can only get one question, can we extend it for another half-an-hour?’ I get stacks of questions, and I think Question Time is a great part of this parliament because people listen to it. You would be surprised how many people listen to it. Yet, sometimes it is full of one question in several different forms from this side, followed by a whole lot of very similar questioning on that side, which puts people to sleep because you already had a statement or report earlier on the day about that very same question.
I sit here, and think, ‘What am I doing here?’, because I would rather get stuck into some of these issues and hear some good, robust debate. This is not the case of whether I like what the government is doing sometimes, or whether I agree with the CLP. I believe people want to see a vibrant parliament that puts forward different points of view. I know that, generally speaking, the government will always get what it wants. But you would be surprised. Sometimes, the government actually does what this side wants, but it comes back later on in a different form. So it is about perseverance, but it is also about good policies and good arguments.
I ask the government not to predetermine what these reforms will be. That is not a terrible request. There are people here tonight who will take that message back to the Chief Minister. I congratulate him for at least getting up and saying: ‘We need some reform’. It is a bit like an audit. We have done lots of audits. There are talks about audits in all the departments, but has anyone audited this place to see whether it is effective? Maybe it is time we looked at ourselves, or even got someone in and asked: ‘How effective are we? How effective is our time spent here in doing what we should be doing?’
Another classic example is when a person on this side of parliament wants to introduce a bill into parliament. If you can do that, it is a great thing, but what a slow mechanism. The government might say: ‘Well, it is our job, the government’s place, so too bad for you. You introduce it at the General Business Day’. That is, you put it on notice. The next GBD, 12 sitting days later, you do your second read and then, in another 12 sitting days, you might actually debate it in parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has asked on urgency whether he could close that gap a fraction - still a long way before it is finally debated. No, they think that kind of urgency is too urgent. They want to leave it for three-quarters of a year before it is finally debated. That is another area that could be looked at.
There is a whole range of matters. Coming back to where I started: why can we not look at tightening up the answers to questions? Surely, the public wants to know the answer. If someone says: ‘Could the Chief Minister tell me what time clubs close in Mitchell Street?’ Instead of saying: ‘They close at 3 am’, the minister will say: ‘Under the previous regime they never had any closing time at all and we are doing a study and we have done several studies on this, which the other party never did’. And it goes on and on. The question was: ‘Could you please tell us what time the clubs close?’ If we had stricter guidelines as to what relevance means, we could get through a lot more questions, people would get the answers they want to hear, and we would have a better government.
I cannot move a motion, but I implore the government not to just say this is the predetermined reforms, but to leave it wide open. Set a date when we have our comments in so we can all get behind reforms of parliament for the benefit of the people of the Northern Territory.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, on Tuesday, 7 October 2008, I attended the official opening of St John’s College Middle School upgrade, the Hartzer Campus, together with other special guests, Damian Hale MP, member for Solomon; Michael Avery, Director of Catholic Education; Carol Muller, School Chaplain and Noel Muller, Property Manager. Damian and I are both past students. It was excellent to be back at the school and catch up with past teachers and share stories with new staff.
Over the past five years, the school population of St John’s has increased by 70%. With additional Year 7 classes, refurbishments were greatly needed to the Year 7 block. All classrooms have been upgraded including desks, chairs, whiteboards, carpet and airconditioners. The boy’s toilets have been refurbished, water bubblers replaced and slip-proof flooring has been included in the undercover sports area. All the buildings have been freshly painted in bright colours, reflecting the school’s tropical environment. The upgrades are fantastic and it is wonderful to see teachers and students proud of their middle school campus.
This was clearly evident during the official assembly to mark the opening. The most impressive moments during the assembly involved the students. Year 9 leaders, Bonnie Batton and Patrick Ballasteros, addressed the assembly about the upgrades to the middle school campus and what it means to the students. Their poise and maturity was evident and I am sure they will go on to be community leaders.
I also take this opportunity to recognise the St John’s College Choir, led by teacher, Caroline Paech, who gave us a fantastic performance of an Australian medley. Those students were: Alexis Morris-Lovell, Anna Lemon, Caitlin O’Connor, Caitlin Tranter, Cassandra Fraser-Bell, Clancy Wakefield, Eugene Moyo, Heather Morris-Lovell, Jennalee Chambers, Laura Seymon, Lian Carter, Libnus Ballesteros, Mathew Jeffery, Natalie Charlie, Noble Msimanga, Rachael Lee, and Simoa McKinnon-Barbosa. Once the assembly was complete, Damian Hale and Carol Muller undertook the cutting of the ribbon to officially open the Hartzer Campus upgrades, which were then blessed.
Another event also took place that morning. St John’s College was awarded a 2008 Anzac Day Schools’ Award as Northern Territory Secondary School winner. The plaque was presented to Sister Philippa Murphy by Damian Hale on behalf of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The Anzac Day Schools’ Awards are designed to encourage initiative and creative ways in which schools commemorate Anzac Day, with emphasis still focused on tradition. Each year, St John’s College commemorates Anzac Day with a Liturgy and it is a moving a special part of the college’s calendar. There is a large number of students with parents serving in the Australian Defence Force, and staff and students felt that it was important to formally acknowledge in the Liturgy the values of the ANZACs which our forces continue to uphold.
This year, the Year 9 students, under the guidance of the Year Level Coordinator, Ms Lauren Edwards, and the Assistant Principal Religious Education, Mr John Cenko, prepared and led the Liturgy for the whole school. Special guests, Captain Morgan Batt, a Catholic priest and full-time serving member of the Australian Regular Army, and Mr Warren Hue, of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, attended the Liturgy and all serving ADF members with students enrolled at St John’s were invited to the service as special guests. For the first time, students enrolled at St John’s participating in either the Air Force or Army Cadets formed the honour guard in this year’s Liturgy. Patrick Ballesteros, Jamie Shaw and Ashlee Martin represented the cadets and did a great job.
It is important to recognise Year 12 Coordinator, Mrs Beckley, and college leaders who showed their respect on April 25 at the Darwin service. They laid a wreath at the Cenotaph before progressing on to the Anzac Day Mass held at the cathedral, where they gave readings and carried the offerings. These students were: Mario de Venansius, Shannon Ellis, Rebecca Hill, Joshua Everett, Tasha Victor, Billy Yunupingu, Tony Francis, Rafael Wu, Amber Johns, Zoe Johns, and Blair Flynn.
St John’s College was determined the winner of the Secondary School category because its entry demonstrated a strong commitment to respectful commemorations each year by students, many of whom have parents serving in the Australian Defence Force. Year 8 students also wrote essays on the topic of Anzac Day; what it means to them and the history and significance of commemoration. The students were: Jamie Collins, Jessica Grumelart, Brandon Smith, Heather Morris-Lovell and Ben Lyons.
I congratulate St John’s College and everyone who helped and participated in the Anzac Day Liturgy. The award is a significant achievement. Melissa Roth did a great job in putting together and submitting the school’s entry in the 2008 Anzac Day Schools’ Award. On behalf of St John’s, I thank her for her valuable efforts.
Mr CONLAN (Greatorex): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I want to quickly mention a few things. First, a couple of weeks ago – it must have been a month ago; it was actually before the first sittings of parliament – I had the honour, together with the members for Araluen and Braitling, to attend the opening of the new Central Australian Stolen Generations and Families Aboriginal Corporation. They have a new office complex in the Centrepoint Building in Hartley Street. They have been around since - just looking at their flyer here - 20 February 1999. They were incorporated in Central Australia as the Central Australian and Tennant Creek region. It represents peoples from nine electorates across the Northern Territory, as well as Central Australia and Tennant Creek and other institutional groups across the Northern Territory. They moved into a wonderful new premises in the Centrepoint Building in Hartley Street, which is fantastic and is testament to the great work that they do.
I was unaware of a lot of the work they do. I have to say that I was probably one of many Australians who did not really appreciate the Stolen Generations and the depth of what the apology has meant to Aboriginal people, particularly the Stolen Generations. That was not until this year. In fact, I was perhaps a bit ambivalent towards what it meant. I was not critical of the fact that there should be one or that there should not be one; as I say, I was just ambivalent. I guess I lived in, perhaps, ignorant bliss.
It was not until I came into this parliament for the start of the 2008 year after the apology from the Prime Minister and I heard the stories from many parliamentarians, particularly some of our Indigenous parliamentarians. The depth of how much it meant really struck me quite deeply, I must admit. I can sincerely appreciate how much an apology has meant to those people who were taken from their families, and to many of our parliamentarians in this House who have been personally touched by that.
I believe the former member for Barkly came from a Stolen Generations family. I stand corrected on that, but he made a very emotional, good speech when he spoke about the apology from the Prime Minister in February. I wanted to speak on this because I really did not understand how much it meant to the people of the Stolen Generations and subsequent families. I wanted to congratulate the people at the Central Australian Stolen Generations Families Aboriginal Corporation. They are: Michelle Tilmouth, Charlene Swan, Donna McMasters, Cynthia Mellard, Valerie Dearman, Stephen Johns, Charlie Ward and Joanne Taylor, and it is headed up by a great bloke, Scott Lonard - a big congratulations.
I have learnt a lot in the last 12 months - the last 18 months I suppose, being in this parliament - particularly about this issue. As I say, it was not really up until the Prime Minister said sorry at the beginning of the year and, subsequently, we saw how much that affected the Indigenous population of the Northern Territory positively, and those parliamentarians in this House. I know that, when I am telling my children about the history of Australia - that is the tall ships in 1788 and Captain Cook and the Gallipoli landings and the like - I will also be making sure that I include some of those darker parts of our past - the Stolen Generations, or the forceful removal of children from their families. It is a very important part of our past and it needs to be recognised, so I will certainly be passing that on to my children when talking about the history of this great country.
Again, congratulations to the Stolen Generations Centre, as it is known, its full title is the Central Australian Stolen Generations and Families Aboriginal Corporation, for the great work they do - Scott Lonard and all the gang there in their brand new, wonderful premises at the Centrepoint building. I urge anyone to have a look at the website, that is centralstolengens.org.au, and have a look at some of the great work they do. I would like to leave that on the Parliamentary Record.
Also, a couple of quick things. The Masters Games has been spoken about a lot, and I know the member for Fong Lim had a wonderful time down there, no medals …
Mr Tollner: I did, I got a silver medal.
Mr CONLON: Okay, he won a silver medal, and I think it was 44 runs, two wickets and a couple of catches in one game, which was terrific. We have spoken about individual performances, and the great work by Judith Dickson and the team at the Alice Springs Masters Games.
Generally, the Masters Games itself was a great success. We had 1200 local participants, which is just incredible and shows how much Central Australia and Alice Springs embrace the Alice Springs Masters Games. Congratulations to all involved. I congratulate 8HA for a wonderful coverage; they did do a terrific broadcast this year. In fact, they did the Saturday and Sunday, both days, which they normally do not, so that was terrific and great to see. Les Garraway, formerly of Sport and Recreation, I believe - -he was certainly with the Northern Territory government for a long time - has now retired, but comes back every year to lend his experience with the broadcasting. Congratulations to Les.
All in all, a great Masters and my team, the Rover Relics, had 38 people in the side for an eight-man competition. Everyone got at least one game and they really epitomised the spirit of the games, just having a good time. Former A grade champions and gumbies, you might say - those who really cannot play cricket at all - so we mix it all up and have a great time. Congratulations to all the gang at Rover Relics and, again, to the Masters Games.
Finally, I pay tribute to Bernie Kilgariff - in fact, Sir Bernie Kilgariff. He was actually knighted about two weeks ago. He is now the Order of St John. After many years with St John Ambulance, he was given a knighthood, the Knight Grand Cross of St John. I believe that is the correct title. I was there at Madigan’s at the Desert Park with the Administrator and other dignitaries as he was dubbed. I was very interested as I had never seen a knighthood bestowed on someone before. It is just as we read about - he gets down and the sword is touched on each shoulder. I am not sure if he is officially addressed as Sir Bernie; I believe he is. However, Bernie has stipulated that it is nothing personal, it is purely about St John Ambulance and all the volunteers and the great work that they do.
We know Bernie. He is such a legend around these parts. He was the first Speaker of this House and then went on to become part of the Australian Senate. He has now retired. He is part of the Kilgariff family, a big family in Central Australia and, indeed, across the Northern Territory. Congratulations to Sir Bernie Kilgariff, OAM, and to all involved, as well.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, first, I praise the efforts of a small group of people in Katherine who met this morning at the rather - well, at least for some - early hour of 7 am for the Big Pink Breakfast. Held at the Katherine Sports and Recreation Club this year, about 30 women turned up adorned in their very best pink attire. The function could be described, at least in part, as a celebration of the survival of many breast cancer sufferers over the years. And what a celebration it was. There were door prizes, games and raffles, all of which went to raise funds for the Katherine Hospital. All who attended, I am reliably informed, had a wonderful time and this is a testament to the efforts of a former member of this House, Mrs Fay Miller, and my current electorate officer, Pat Witte.
I was delighted to have the opportunity to donate prizes for the day, or be part of that, including a pink stationery pack. I had a novel way of donating a family cinema pass. I provided a letter to all the attendees, provocatively suggesting that to see what pink apparel I was wearing they had to reach under their seats and recover an envelope containing a photo. Contained in one of the envelopes was a cinema voucher ...
A member: Be careful.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: I am being careful. I cannot speak for the attendees as to their expectations of what apparel I was wearing in the photo, but I hope I did not disappoint - I was conservatively dressed wearing a nice, bright, pink tie. It was all part of the fun of the breakfast. But the serious side to all of this, of course, was the raising of the funds for the Katherine Hospital. I am pleased to announce that the morning’s efforts, and some efforts put in prior to that, raised more than $2000 and there are many people who need to be thanked in relation to that.
I thank everyone who attended the breakfast and, in particular, Fay Miller and Pat Witte for organising it. I thank Airborne Solutions for donating a helicopter flight over the gorge, which was won by a young couple who are currently saving for their marriage and would ordinarily not have been able to afford such a luxury. Well done. There is just such a strong sense of community in Katherine to have prizes of that magnitude donated. It is excellent.
I would be remiss in not mentioning other businesses and individuals who made donations and I join in thanking Katherine businesses and individuals named herein: the Katherine Sport and Recreation Club, Woolworths, Nitmiluk Tours, Pat Witte, NT Rare Rocks, Hourglass Jewellers, Whitehouse Furnishers, Betta Electrical, Johnny’s Electrical, Terrace Emporium, Katherine Flowers and Gourmet Gifts, Teresa Cummings, Katherine Hospital, Top News, Cutting Edge, Fe’s Variety Store, Astral Contracting, Terrace Pharmacy, Mitre 10, Home Timber and Hardware, The Top Saddlery, Gallop-Thru-Time Gallery, the Never Never Ladies Beef Steak and Burgundy Club, Hohn’s Sheetmetal, Carol Dellow from Cleopatrasskin; You’re Kidding; Katherine Community Radio; and Mike Miller Finance. Special thanks to the Katherine Sport and Recreation Club for providing the venue and breakfast this morning. Thanks also to Kim Oliver and Raquel Holt, Claire Carr and Tamara Huxley, the Woolworths employee whose Christian name is Alison - I do not know her surname, Kevin Horan of the Katherine Hotel who last week raised nearly $800, and Alison and Deb Huxley. Well done to all.
Some well wishes to a good friend of mine in Katherine, Lara Brennan, who was involved in a motor vehicle accident near Ngukurr a week or 10 days ago. Unfortunately, she broke both her ankles in the accident. She is stuck in Katherine Hospital for the next couple of weeks until she can get around. Well wishes to her for a speedy recovery.
The other issue I would like to bring to the debate tonight relates to some of the ‘goings on’, I will call them, which I have observed in parliament over the last few weeks. It was not so long ago I was doorknocking in my electorate and I came across a lady who was at home with a couple of kids. I said to her: ‘I am just out and about meeting people in the electorate, if you have any issues about Katherine you would like to raise with me’. She said: ‘Oh, I have only been here for a couple of weeks so I really do not have much that I can put forward to you’. I said: ‘Your opinion to me is extremely valuable. The reason for that is you are new to town and you come here with a fresh set of eyes and you are able to see things in our community which we become quite accustomed to, which are still issues. You are not suffering from parochialism; you are not jaded. So I really do value your opinion’. We had a chat for about 20 minutes or so and it was good to get feedback from her.
I would like to think that everybody in this parliament would have the same attitude towards people who are new to their community; that they would be able to go out and take advice and information from those people and treat it seriously because that information is not tainted with the jaded and parochial views one would acquire from being in a community for a long time.
I also hope this parliament, for the very same reasons, would take information conveyed to it by a person who is not jaded and has not had the time to have their views tainted by convention or parochialism. That is why I am putting my views forward to you tonight regarding Question Time.
I sincerely believed that Question Time was a time when - and forgive me if I am wrong - questions were asked and answered. To me, that makes absolutely perfect sense. Yet, what I have discovered over the past nine or 10 sitting days is that many questions put are simply not answered in a way that is meaningful to the people of the Northern Territory. It is clear what is going on here; that the people of the Northern Territory cannot get the answers to the burning questions they have in their everyday lives. Every question put by the opposition, the government tends to fill in time with political rhetoric that fails, in most cases, to answer the question put.
I hope it is not the case, but the government is failing to realise that after the 9 August elections this year, the people on this side of the House - and I will include the Independent member, Mr Wood - represent nearly half the population of the Northern Territory. I suggest that a vast proportion of those people would like to have the questions answered. It does not seem that difficult to me.
I represent more than 4500 voters. I guess that is around about the size of the electorate, some 10 000 people in total. Some of those people, in fact, right across the Territory, will be died-in-the-wool Labor supporters, and they may not care to hear the answers to the questions. However, I can assure you, because I get this feedback from people, for everyone of those people who is not really interested or does not want to know what the answers to the questions are, there is a person who does want to know. I believe the Henderson government is treating those people - the people who want the answers to those questions - with contempt by not answering the questions that are put to them about their policy decisions and their failure to address the concerns of Territorians.
As a new member in parliament, I believe the government might actually be called to account through questions asked during Question Time. I must say, I am totally outraged and disappointed that this just does not occur. The government is allowing this parliament to descend into a rabble. The opposition might be a little more vocal than most are used to, particularly through our numbers; yet, our intentions are nothing short of a desire to represent the interests of all Territorians. If the questions that are asked are not answered, then we will be in a position of having to try to force the government’s hand to get them to answer the questions. The only way, it would seem to do that, is to make noise in Question Time.
I believe the government treats Question Time as a joke. They are happy to answer questions of a good news nature from their own members, but they dance and prance around the issues that are raised by the opposition. In fact, they are more than dancing and prancing; it is ducking and weaving of the highest order. I believe it truly shows a lack of intestinal fortitude on the part of the government, and an unwillingness to make public commitments to the people of the Northern Territory. Their behaviour in not answering the questions that are put to them in a meaningful way is reprehensible behaviour. The people of the Northern Territory would like to see government operate efficiently, effectively and do what it was elected to do.
If the government makes decisions, that is their job, but it is part of the opposition’s job to ask questions of government. Nearly half of the people in the Northern Territory expect us to do that - nearly half by virtue of the number of electorates held by the Country Liberals. It is time the government steps up to the plate on this. They need to become more accountable for their actions and to put aside the political movements - and I mean physical movements in ducking and weaving - to be able to come down to the real issues that are here in the parliament, and questions that need to be answered.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, this evening I talk about a number of issues the constituents in the seat of Brennan have brought to my attention. I will be succinct as I can; there are a number of issues to get through. The first one, I also reiterate what the member for Daly said and congratulate and welcome World Teachers’ Day on 31 October. We all know that teachers do a fabulous job in our community.
I congratulate Bakewell Primary School. It is their 10th anniversary this year. They have had a lot of celebrations through the year, culminating in a cutting of the cake a couple of weeks ago. Helen Armstrong is a teacher at Bakewell. She is the library teacher and, this year, she was nominated for National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA) Teacher of the Year. I really encourage parents of teachers to nominate teachers for this award, and I do not say that lightly.
In the many years I have been at Bakewell, I have only ever nominated two teachers, because I believe it is a great honour to be nominated, and the teachers that have been nominated have stepped outside the square. In regard to Helen Armstrong, she has been instrumental in organising and running the Space Camp, and I take my hat off to Helen for that. It is about teachers who are doing more than just what is happening in the school each day, but doing more and stepping out, doing something for the community and for the kids. It is not just what happens in the classroom each day. So it does not benefit just their class – it could benefit the school or the whole community.
I have had many people come into the office and talk about issues such as Defence families and access to the promised medical services for their families. At the last federal election, the Rudd government promised that Defence families in all areas of Australia would be given free medical service for their families. That looks like it has fallen by the wayside, particularly for those Defence families living in Palmerston.
Another issue that was brought to my attention was medical referrals, and how some families, not through any fault they have been involved in, have been referred to a specialist. There are processes, I suppose, to go through, there are tests to be done on their children, on their families and so forth. Then, the results of those tests come through in months and month’s time, and then it is time to see the specialist again, only to be told they have to go back to their GP to get another referral. So, they have to pay $50 or $60, perhaps losing a day’s pay, take a child out of the school for the day, to go back to a GP to get a referral for the same issue. I can understand if somebody had different medical issues, but if it is for the same thing, I do not quite understand why people have to continually get medical referrals from GPs.
Issues have also been brought up about the election promises by the Labor government at the last election, such as additional ambulance, the water park, land releases, schools in Rosebery and, of course, the police presence in the Palmerston Shopping Centre. Many of these people have said they are not interested in more glossy brochures; they would like to see dates. If we are talking a term of government, and if this government is so adamant that it spends a lot of time planning, they must have some idea when each of these issues are going to be brought into place for Palmerston. They must know when the additional ambulance service will be up and running. They must have an idea of when the proposed water park will be constructed. They must know firm dates when the land is being released in Bellamack, and, of course, dates for the schools to be opened.
On the police presence in the Palmerston Shopping Centre, I have had a walk around the Palmerston Shopping Centre and, at present, there is not another store or shopfront available. My question is: will the shop which is the Office of the Chief Minister become our future police shopfront in Palmerston Shopping Centre?
The last thing I want to mention tonight - and it is one of concern - is an animal issue, which might surprise a few. Two weeks ago, at the Australian Institute of Animal Management’s annual conference, a veterinarian approached me and provided me with some information that he is very concerned about. I raise it here this evening hoping that someone on the other side will at least look into this a little further. It relates to the recent death of an Aboriginal woman at Yuendumu due to hydatids. To the vet’s knowledge, this is the first case in the Territory and, hence, it is of great concern.
I apologise in advance if I cannot get the pronunciation of these disease, or this particular tapeworm, right – it is why I will never become a veterinarian. Hydatids is a disease caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. This is a very nasty parasite. The tapeworm normally resides in the stomach and intestines of dogs or dingoes releasing egg parcels into faeces. The egg parcels then break open leaving the eggs in the environment. Normally, a sheep or a cow would come along and eat the eggs through grazing. The eggs then hatch inside the stomach of the new host, ie the sheep or the cow, and then migrate through the wall of the intestine into the body and form a cyst - sometimes the size of a grapefruit or larger.
Many cysts can form throughout the body which will make the animal weak and ill. Dogs will then be able to attack it more easily. The animal, once killed, is eaten, including these cysts. The contents of the cysts have baby tapeworms which, on contact with the acid of the stomach, become active and start producing eggs again, completing its lifecycle. The biggest concern is that if a dog rolls in its faeces or on grass with eggs, it can then pick up these eggs in its fur. A human can then pat the dog and become infected, similar to the sheep or the cow; that is, the human will get cysts in their body. These cysts can occur anywhere including the liver, the lungs, the brain, the spinal cord, muscles, etcetera. They can be potentially fatal in humans. The only way to cure this problem is by surgical removal of the cysts.
In the Territory we have not had this disease before. In 2006, a paper in the Australian Veterinary Journal showing that hydatids occurred between dogs, dingoes and macropods, wallabies and kangaroos. This has been a concern as this could occur in the Territory, especially if someone brought their dog from north Queensland into the Northern Territory. The human case in Yuendumu is of great concern. The lady, to the vet’s knowledge, was misdiagnosed with a metastatic cancer and, on post mortem, was found to be riddled with hydatid cysts - she died from this disease.
This could be the first case of many in the community if the hydatid tapeworm is present in the community. There are several factors that need to be determined: (1) did she ever live anywhere else besides Yuendumu, and has she been to any other states?; (2) the dogs should be tested in the communities to determine the presence of this parasite; and (3) if the parasite is present in the community, there is extremely high risk that there will be many more human cases of this disease. The treatment of people is a great expense, not to mention the risk, the trauma and discomfort of going through such procedures. An intensive worming program should be regularly performed to ensure there are no hydatids present. The vet has offered to send me some photos of human cases, if I like. I have not taken him up on that offer as yet. I raise it because it is important and something needs to be done about it.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, since the government does not answer the opposition’s questions, and since the government with increasing regularity sees fit to gag the opposition, I thought I would use my adjournment tonight to see if I could illicit some sort of response from government about an important issue.
As we know, adjournment debates are normally used by members to talk about electorate matters. Unfortunately, I am not going to talk about my electorate because the government steadfastly refuses to answer my questions in relation to another matter that pertains to one of my shadow portfolios, so I thought I would raise the matter now.
I was in my office in Alice Springs on Monday checking correspondence. I can say that, as at Monday this week, I have still not received a response from the Attorney-General to my letter to him dated 5 September about the Fines Recovery Unit. I said in the letter, and I will quote it as it is only a couple of paragraphs:
I ask myself: why did this article find itself in the Northern Territory News? I do not doubt for a moment that the government obligingly provided the Northern Territory News with that information. Nothing wrong with that. It was, no doubt, in response to the comments made by, I assume, acting Magistrate Hugh Bradley, who had a bit to say about the Fines Recovery Unit and the outstanding number of fines in the Territory. The article says and I quote:
Then I realised why it was the government and the Northern Territory News arranged to get the figures. However, while this newspaper article on information provided by government and, rightly so, states 5000 Territorians owe a total of $5m and more than 3800 convicted criminals have their driving licence suspended, I, as a member of the opposition and, indeed, the shadow Attorney-General, was not afforded the courtesy - and am still not afforded the courtesy - of a response to my letter addressed well over a month before this newspaper article. That is the first point and it is not good enough. I will come back to why it is not good enough, particularly noting the so-called reforms announced by the Chief Minister today a little later. However, I will make a few points about the Fines Recovery Unit.
When the bill was introduced in 2001, it was the early days of the government. The then Attorney-General, Peter Toyne, said when he introduced the bill on 25 October 2001, when he talked about the Fines Recovery Unit, it would be:
Sounds good and he went on to say and this is the important part:
He then went on to say:
And so he went on.
The government represented to all and sundry – and, in 2001 after they were elected more people listened to them than listen to them today. Much was promised about the Fines Recovery Unit.
Thankfully, the former member for Sanderson is no longer in this parliament. Members will recall that I questioned his fitness to be a member of this parliament on more than one occasion. In any event, the former member for Sanderson, Len Kiely, said when we debated the bill on 22 November 2001:
A couple of obvious points arise. The Fines Recovery Unit is responsible for making sure that people pay their fines but, on the basis of the article prompted by a magistrate’s comments, it is blindingly obvious that with approximately $5m owing, something in the system is not working properly. So, much was promised. It was meant to achieve all sorts of things, and now there is a significant amount of money owing. The magistrate said he wished someone would take some action on the outstanding debts and so do I because, as a former member of this parliament said, the money collected from fines could be put to good use in schools, hospitals, and communities. Maybe this is why we are not seeing the results we should be seeing in our schools, hospitals, and communities.
However, we will never know exactly how much is owing because the Attorney-General does not like to give us information. He certainly is more willing to provide information, it would appear, to a newspaper than to a member of the opposition, a member of this parliament, and his shadow Attorney-General. I believe that is rude. I expect these days increasingly little from the Attorney-General, but I do expect the courtesy of a response. I do expect that when I ask questions that pertain not only to my electorate but to my portfolio, that I am entitled to a response and I should receive one.
I note in Budget Paper No 3 for 2008, on page 168, there is a component of that part of the Department of Justice that deals with the Fines Recovery Unit. ‘New enforcement process’, which is a term used in this budget paper, is estimated $21 000 in 2008-09. It is not entirely clear what a ‘new enforcement process’ is, but I assume it is an infringement or some other debt in relation to which a person owes money that goes to the Fines Recovery Unit, and the Fines Recovery Unit liaises with that person to repay it.
We do not know exactly how many people are involved. It could be a handful of people with numerous infringements. I ask the Attorney-General to tell us how many Territorians owe fines to the Fines Recovery Unit. I ask him to provide me with the information I sought in my letter of 5 September 2008; that is, how many penalties in the form of fines have been issued from Magistrates Courts Territory-wide in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 financial years? I ask the Attorney-General again, in respect of those fines during those dates, to provide the total financial amount of the fines issued, together with how many have paid, including the amount, and the value of the fines that had been written off.
That was what I asked for in my letter and during this debate tonight I am asking for some additional information, which is understandable, of course, given the information, scant though it was, that was published in the Northern Territory News. It refers to the number of people who had their driver licences suspended. Well, I would like to know how many people are repeat offenders when it comes to not paying their fines. I would like to know why the number of enforcements processed appears to be rising, yet there is such a significant amount of money owed. I also ask the Attorney-General, as I have said, to advise how many are repeat non-fine payers. Also, what was the total value of fines recovered in the 2007-08 year and to date, and how does that compare to the preceding two financial years?
There are a range of other questions, but I certainly do not have time to go through them tonight. I suspect, with the increasing arrogance of this government, and particularly some of its ministers who should know better, that I am unlikely to get a clear response to my letter of 5 September, if at all.
This is a very serious issue. I know my colleagues have talked about the parliament and how it seems not to be operating terribly well these days, but I cannot help but note the irony that, today, the Chief Minister issued a media release in which he said that he announced major reforms to quote, ‘increase the transparency, productivity and accessibility of the Northern Territory parliament’. He said: ‘We want to make parliament open and accountable’. Open and accountable! I cannot even get a letter answered, dated 5 September, with quite straightforward information I just cannot get from anywhere else. Then, something comes up in a court, and the government thinks: ‘Oh well, we better give some information to the NT News, maybe that might keep the magistrates off our back’. I am the shadow Attorney-General, we are the opposition, much was promised about the Fines Recovery Unit, and it would appear as though the results are far from satisfactory.
I also note, in the Chief Minister’s media release, he said in relation to reforms: ‘It will provide the opposition with more opportunities to scrutinise the work government is doing’. Well, writing letters to government seeking information is, in fact, part of the process of scrutinising the work the government is doing. There can be no doubt about it; those opposite are increasingly arrogant and extremely hypocritical. They have the audacity, as the Chief Minister does, to issue this media release today and, yet, not even have the courage to answer a letter from a member of the opposition. It is a disgraceful situation and, if members opposite are sitting there smiling, feeling happy, then they should not, because they will be judged on their appalling behaviour which, unfortunately, I assume will continue ...
Mr Acting DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Araluen, your time has expired.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I place on the Parliamentary Record the record of life of two constituents, much loved in Palmerston and widely.
The first is Mr Hughie Victor McIntosh, born 8 December 1923, who passed away on 15 October 2008. In placing this on the Parliamentary Record, I, members opposite, and the member for Fong Lim particularly, pass our sincere condolences to Beryl, Pamela and Kevin. It was a lovely service and farewell to Hughie. At that service, a eulogy was presented by James Spriggs, and a part of the RSL service was conducted by the RSL President, Bill Simpkins. I would like to place on the record the eulogy that was presented by Daryl Salathiel. He presented on behalf of the RSL. It was a fine bit of research and it outlines one remarkable life. I am reading from this eulogy from Daryl.
Another dear lady who passed away recently and so quietly - and it was only later that many of us learnt, and the cause for that is something quite touching, too - was Eunice Ida Dudley – 90 years of age, born 30 April 1918 and passed away 2 October 2008. Eunice had seven sisters and one brother – May, Marg, Dawn, Ivy, Stan, Betty, June and Lilah. They were all born in Horsham, Victoria.
Eunice began her working life in a cake shop in Horsham before marrying her first husband Bill Strickland. They had five children – Peter, Ron, Doug, Jeffrey and Judy. Eunice does not speak much of this time but she described it as a very difficult marriage and, knowing Eunie, she meant every one of those words.
She left the marriage. She then became head waitress at Yarrawonga in Victoria where she met her beloved Phil, who was 18 years younger than her. Forty-two years later, Phil said goodbye to her. Eunice, in her typical fashion, described the courtship where Phil was taken by Eunice. It took him a very long time to convince Eunice to go out with him. She said: ‘I told him to nick off, I am too old for you’. But he never gave up. Finally, love prevailed and they travelled the country together enjoying life for 42 years. They picked apples in Tasmania and moved around the east coast picking up work along the way. The reason many friends never knew that Eunice had passed away - although they knew she was increasingly frail - was that Phil just did not know what to do. She was the love of his life.
They came to the Territory in the early 1970s, prior to Cyclone Tracy, working at the Aralia Street shops for Herbert Wong and his family. They moved to Alice Springs where they worked at the Papunya community - Phil working for housing corporation and Eunice running the motel and helping out at the store. Phil and Eunie had many wonderful memories of the people at Papunya who, in turn, loved them both dearly and, knowing these people, you could understand why. After 14 months at Papunya, they moved on and joined McMahon’s, working at 60 Mile Camp, 90 Mile Camp and 120 Mile Camp with Eunie running the kitchens for the workers.
After a brief time interstate caring for two quadriplegic adults, Phil and Eunice made their way back to the Territory, this time settling in Palmerston 21 years ago. Phil and Eunice were together for 48 years and were married for 42.
She was a very special person; very dry. She gave me a call every now and again, and the sweet thing about Eunice was she did not want to speak to the secretary - dare not divulge anything to the secretary; she wanted to talk to the local member. I said: ‘That’s Eunice, don’t worry’. She wanted to go straight to me and tell something of great concern. At one stage, she was concerned that she had heard the Labor government were giving away all the parks. She phoned to express her grave concern to me, because the park across the road from her place was a park that she did not think the government had any right giving away. I had to reassure her that Strawbridge Park was safe. ‘It is going to stay there, Eunice, they are not going to take it off you’.
She spent the last year or so in a wheelchair; a tiny, frail lady but, gee, she had a great strength in her. She helped out at election campaigns. She made a point of insisting on it. I said: ‘It doesn’t matter, Eunice’, but she replied: ‘I want to help’.
Mr Tollner: She helped in the former federal Member for Solomon’s campaign.
Mr MILLS: She helped in your campaign; those blue eyes and that smile. She made sure she did her bit. She helped out with barbecues we had in the local park – getting the young kids and the families together to try to resolve some of the problems that were in Moulden. She saw that effect and she played a part in that. She came across and spoke to people. It made a big difference in that area.
I want to say thank you, Eunice. Phil, you and your marriage have been an inspiration to others who are married - after 42 years - in the way you have shown your great love for her all the way along. We wish you all the best, and say farewell to Eunice.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Message No 2
Message No 2
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received from His Honour the Administrator Message No 2 notifying assent to bills passed in September 2008 sittings of the Assembly.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Member for Araluen
Member for Araluen
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have given my leave for the member for Araluen to make a personal explanation. I remind honourable members that personal explanations is not a debate and that it is usual to listen in silence.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation. In this House on 22 October, the member for Karama asked whether I had been drinking and the inference was that I was drunk. Upon being asked to do so, the member for Karama, the Treasurer, withdrew unreservedly the question as to whether I had been drinking.
The member’s allegation and imputation was then given currency by one journalist, Nigel Adlam of the NT News when, on Friday last week, he claimed on radio that whilst some members were not drunk, others were. As a result of an article in today’s NT News, I am alleged to have been one of them. The allegation was wrong, offensive, without substance, and amounts to slur on my character. While I accept the robust nature of parliament, I do not accept that it is to be used as a vehicle for slurring the character of members. I reject entirely the implication that I was drunk as has now been alleged thanks to the member for Karama.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Standing Order 62 – Offensive or Unbecoming Words
Standing Order 62 – Offensive or Unbecoming Words
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before we continue, I remind you of Standing Order 62(1) about offensive or unbecoming words. There have been quite a number of interjections which have been offensive and unbecoming and have been withdrawn by members. I remind you of what Standing Order 62(1) says:
- No Member shall use offensive or unbecoming words against the Assembly or any Member of the Assembly or against any House or Member of another Australian Parliament or against
any member of the Judiciary, or against any Northern Territory statute unless for the purpose of moving for its repeal, nor shall a Member attribute directly or by innuendo to another
Member unbecoming conduct or motives; and all offensive references to a Member’s private affairs and all personal reflections on Members shall be deemed to be highly disorderly.
Similarly, Standing Order 62(3):
- The provisions of this Standing Order relating to unbecoming conduct shall not apply where a substantive motion on notice brings a charge of misconduct against a Member.
Honourable members, I ask you to bear those standing orders in mind.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Indigenous Expenditure Review 2006-07
Indigenous Expenditure Review 2006-07
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, improving outcomes for Indigenous Territorians is an absolute commitment of the Henderson government. A key element of this commitment is to provide a greater level of transparency and accountability for the revenue that we receive, and our expenditure on Indigenous purposes. The Northern Territory government was the first government in Australia to publish a report on Indigenous-related expenditure, the Indigenous Expenditure Review 2004-05, and continues to remain the only jurisdiction in Australia that publishes data on Indigenous-related expenditure.
The 2004-05 report was prepared by the Northern Territory Treasury and its methodology and content review has been approved by Professor Ken Wiltshire, Professor of Public Administration, and a previous member of the Commonwealth Grants Commission; and Mr Saul Eslake, Chief Economist of the ANZ Bank. All governments are now recognising the need to report on Indigenous expenditure, and COAG is taking a leaf out of our book and considering similar reporting.
Madam Speaker, I table the Indigenous Expenditure Review 2006-07. The review builds on the methodology of the first review and provides a more rigorous examination of expenditure through improved data collection and by drilling down, where possible, to subprogram level data. This report has been audited by the Territory’s Auditor-General and approved as a fair presentation of Indigenous-related expenditure. It is important to note this report precedes this government’s Closing the Gap initiative, a $286m package over five years to continue to address Indigenous disadvantage. It will, however, provide a baseline against which Closing the Gap initiatives can be compared in the future. The key findings of the 2006-07 IER are:
while Indigenous Territorians make up 30.4% of the Territory’s population, over half or 52.4% of the Territory’s expenditure was Indigenous-related;
while expenditure increased by 2.3 percentage points; and
The Territory is different to other states and territories. Indigenous people comprise just over 30% of the Territory’s population and, unlike the states, services provided to Indigenous people in the Territory are our mainstream services. Indigenous people are major users of our services; for example, approximately 67% of the separations in Territory hospitals are for Indigenous people. The IER provides an analysis of the key service agencies. Indigenous-related expenditure across our hospitals and health services, schools and education and policing services was 56.4%.
The 2006-07 Indigenous Expenditure Review highlights the Henderson government’s ongoing commitment to Indigenous Territorians. We spend 52.4% of the Territory’s expenditure on Indigenous Territorians who make up 30.4% of our population. And we have not stopped there. Our Closing the Gap initiative will deliver $286m on specific initiatives to address Indigenous disadvantage - disadvantage resulting from decades of neglect.
While the Territory’s Labor government is committed to addressing this disadvantage, the investment that is needed in our remote areas to address the backlog of housing and core infrastructure and services far exceeds the capacity of the Northern Territory budget. That is why we are working with the Australian government and COAG on reform measures and increased Australian government funding to close the gap and improve outcomes for Indigenous Territorians. Progress is being made. COAG has committed to the Territory government’s Closing the Gap.
I am confident with the new era of cooperation we have with our colleagues in Canberra, that this Labor Territory government and our Labor federal government will be a team that delivers real change for Indigenous Territorians right across the Territory - in our cities, our regions, and our remote areas.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, now you know why this particular process of ministerial reports is such an abusive process. I have never seen this report and, yet, I am supposed to stand up and miraculously know what is in it and be able to debate that in a sensible order. That is why these ministerial reports are an absolute joke and should be expunged from the parliamentary process.
Having said that, without even opening the report delivered by the Treasurer we can glean two things. One is that she does not want to talk about Indigenous expenditure. Why? Because it is a five-minute report and she has spoken about it in parliament. Surely, Indigenous expenditure deserves more than five minutes discussion before it can be taken off the Notice Paper.
There is another important issue which totally betrays this government’s ineptitude in this area. The Treasurer claimed again and again and again – it is even on the cover of the document - this is all about expenditure; that is where you will get your solutions from. Wrong! Expenditure is an input. That is the stuff you put into a problem to see if you can get a result out the other end.
Let us look at the results that increased expenditure has achieved for Indigenous Territorians. Have we seen the MAP testing recently? Oh, my goodness, if you read the annual report from the Education department - awful. Are we safer in our streets? Are Aboriginal people safer in their communities? Not according to the assault statistics.
Let us go to our hospital statistics. Do we have fewer separations from acute care services? Not a chance. What we see is spiralling expenditure on things like renal dialysis and increased assaults presenting at hospitals tying up our Accident and Emergency. There is this huge gap between expenditure and outcomes. In between that gap, there is one word which is missing, and that is ‘leadership’. Until such time as the leadership exists beyond this nine-to-five approach the government takes, this expenditure is condemned to fail ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, your time has expired.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I believe this should have been a statement, maybe in the Auditor-General’s report, or any of the reports which are presented to parliament. On a cursory glance, it says that we are spending 52.4% of the Territory’s expenditure on Indigenous-related issues. Surely, that is a reason for having a proper debate in this parliament to get an understanding of where that money is going?
I am disturbed that sometimes we use the word ‘Indigenous’ as though Indigenous people were just one conglomerate of people who happen to have Indigenous descendents. I believe that that can be an insult to people. We should be putting our efforts and finances into the needy and, if that is mainly Indigenous people, fair enough. However, we need to be careful where we spend that money. There are Indigenous people in urban communities who do not need any help; they are mainstream people who receive a good education, have good jobs, and good houses. What we are looking at are those who live in remote and very remote areas. We know the problems in education, in the areas of literacy and numeracy. We need to target this money. This money is going to people who do not really need it.
They are the questions I would like answered. I do not have the opportunity to ask that because, (1) I have not had the chance to analyse this, and (2) it has not been presented to parliament in the right format. It should have been a statement. It is one of the most important documents that I have seen for a long time. It is fair enough to have this report, use it as the introduction, but I ask the government to bring this back as a statement.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I welcome the contribution from members. I say very clearly that this was directly about tabling and putting the information into the parliamentary domain. Debates, of course, can ensue as every member has the opportunity to debate.
This government stands proudly on the fact we are the only government in our nation that will put a fine toothcomb, a spotlight, on our revenue and our expenditure for Indigenous Territorians. Why? Because, significantly, they are the people in need. We look at urban, regional and remote - we know there is a significant need to spend more.
The shadow Treasurer talked about outcomes. If you are not putting the resources into your schools, health clinics, roads, or services that people need, then you are not going to get the outcomes. That is why we have such an appalling gap between the conditions in which many Indigenous Territorians find themselves living in and the conditions that urban Territorians live in.
Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve and Davenport Ranges National Park
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, today marks a major landmark in the journey of joint management that this government embarked upon in 2005 with the traditional owners of 27 of the Territory’s parks and reserves.
Today, the traditional owners of the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve and the proposed Davenport Ranges National Park will be granted legal title by the Australian government and, in return, will lease the parks back to the Territory.
When the Parks and Reserves (Framework for the Future) Act came into force in 2005, it marked a new way of the Territory government working with traditional owners and the land councils to provide a certain future for our parks and reserves. This new way was based on negotiation rather than fighting, on working together in a real partnership rather than distrust, and on involvement with traditional owners rather than exclusion. This new way of working recognised that our parks and reserves would be improved if the Territory government worked with traditional owners, and the whole of the Territory would benefit as a result.
Our care of our parks and reserves will be improved by combining traditional and contemporary knowledge of land management. Visitors’ experiences in the parks will be enriched by the sharing of stories and making sure that those stories are correct and appropriate.
Traditional owners’ management of land will provide opportunities for Aboriginal people to strengthen culture, particularly with the young people, and employment and business opportunities for traditional owners will help to address the issues of Indigenous disadvantage that our policy of Closing the Gap is seeking to address.
Joint management is not something that is achieved overnight. Since 2005, the Parks and Wildlife Service and the traditional owners have been working together. This has been a learning process for everyone, but there is a commitment to making this journey together and to making it successful. It builds momentum every day. Some of the work together has been through the flexible employment program. Traditional owners have worked on fencing programs and fire and weed management. Some of the work in the Davenports has involved wonderful examples of combining traditional knowledge of sacred sites and caring for country with contemporary mapping and fire management.
Traditional owners have also started to look at the business opportunities that tourism might offer them. Over 100 000 visitors come to the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve each year. It is an iconic symbol of the Australian outback. Traditional owners want visitors to Karlu Karlu, as the Marbles are known, to understand the proper story of this country and they are interested in exploring employment or business opportunities that tourism to the area brings.
The Parks and Wildlife Service and the traditional owners have also started working on their partnership to oversee the management of these parks. They have completed the Joint Management Plan for the Devils Marbles and I am looking forward to tabling that in the Legislative Assembly soon.
Today is one of the most important days in the joint management journey. The handing of legal title of those two parks to the traditional owners recognises something that the traditional owners have always known and have always held on to: this is their land and they should be involved in the management of their land. Traditional owners have long sought to have their ownership of this country recognised by Territory and Commonwealth governments.
Blackhat’s brother, Mr Foster, was strong in wanting to get land title. He sadly passed away before he could see that happen. But Blackhat and other senior traditional owners have continued to push for the title for their people. Today, they have that title and they deserve to be proud and to enjoy the special moment. We congratulate the traditional owners on gaining legal title to these parks – Waramungu, Kaytetye, Warlpiri and Alyawarra from the Devils Marbles and the Wakaya people from Davenport Ranges. We thank land council staff and the Parks and Wildlife staff who have worked so hard to build this partnership. I know they will continue to work together to look after these special parks.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister. Since arriving in the Territory in 1985, I have had the pleasure of visiting many of the wonderful areas that Parks and Wildlife have here in the Northern Territory. I know a lot of work goes in, and we can be thankful for previous governments and the current government for many of the things that happen in our parks. What we have today is a tribute.
The framework the minister talked about was put together because of some legal opinions, and those legal opinions are still to be made public. My question to the minister is: will those opinions be tabled in parliament? I must admit the framework that we are talking about here was raised in a briefing that I had recently with Parks and Wildlife management. Only yesterday, that framework turned up, so I look forward to reading it and knowing a little more about it.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for her report. I reiterate something I feel may be a little visionary or utopian but, when it comes to our parks we should have one title for all our parks; that is, a Territory title which recognises both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal interests.
A park is not leased; a park is basically forever and recognises the traditional owners and the interests of other Territorians as well. At the moment, we have several forms of title throughout the Territory – the Commonwealth titles like at Cobourg Peninsula and Djukbing National Park. Perhaps in time, we need to review that title system so that we have one special title for our parks throughout the Northern Territory.
It is important that we have these joint management programs. They will create jobs as the minister said. However, I believe if we are going to use these jobs so people can move into jobs such as rangers, we also need to have pathways for those people to improve their qualifications so they are not just rangers who live on that park; they become fully qualified rangers within the parks system.
As the minister may know, I travelled to the Davenport Ranges last year and the sign out the front had the word ‘proposed’ in brackets. I am interested to know if that word has now been deleted. Have we finally come up with a park that now has its own title?
In relation to Devils Marbles, I always go past there and wonder who decided to run the power lines through the middle of one of our most iconic parks in the Territory. If you go there you will see power lines going through the middle. Why could they not be diverted away from that beautiful park where all the tourists go, I do not know. If something could be done about moving those power lines, it would do the Devils Marbles a favour.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for Brennan and Nelson for their comments. I just reiterate that this has been a journey, a long journey, of people fighting for recognition of their land. This government has made it possible for joint management to happen. I take this opportunity to congratulate this government for making possible tourism and employment opportunities. We have had the foresight to get rid of the legal battles we have had and really engage Indigenous people in having joint partnership, ensuring that Indigenous people are working with non-Indigenous people to preserve, through the different knowledge that we have, to make sure we all enjoy Territory parks.
Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Project – Tennant Creek
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Speaker, this morning I update the House on a very significant milestone reached in this government’s ongoing commitment to Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage. As I have said many times in this House, improving housing conditions and standards is absolutely vital in closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
The Northern Territory government is a very proud partner with the Australian government in the $647m five-year Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Project, or SIHIP as it is called. This project, the largest funding commitment to Indigenous housing seen in the Northern Territory, will be delivered across 73 communities and include about 750 new houses and more than 2500 housing upgrades, as well as upgrades to essential infrastructure.
Long-term leases must be in place before we commence. I am pleased to report a significant milestone has been reached in Tennant Creek. The Northern Territory government and the Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation have a lease agreement, the first of its kind in the Northern Territory. The lease means the Northern Territory government will sublease eight community living areas from Julalikari Council for 60 years. These sublease agreements secures a $30m housing and infrastructure program to be delivered in these eight community living areas.
I welcome the commitment from the federal Indigenous Affairs minister, Jenny Macklin, this morning for a further $6.5m to be invested in these same areas. This program will not only benefit those who live in the community living areas but the whole of Tennant Creek community. Pat Braham, Tony Miles and the Julalikari Council are to be truly commended for their vision in reaching this agreement - an agreement that will deliver benefits for generations to come.
I am very pleased that the central element of the SIHIP program, the requirement for contractors to provide training and job opportunities for local Indigenous Territorians, is already delivering results in Tennant Creek. Those of you who know Pat Braham know how committed she is for long-term future of the Barkly and its young people. A job and workforce development plan is currently being developed for this program and I am very pleased that Julalikari has been contracted to provide an interim training and employment development officer. The works package in Tennant Creek’s community living areas will focus on upgrades to houses and improvements to infrastructure and essential services within those community living areas. Julalikari will have a central role providing input into the design of the upgrade works and civil works, which are expected to be under way in the next few weeks.
Improving Indigenous housing conditions is absolutely vital to closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage. Julalikari has shown real leadership and vision in securing a $36.5m package, and I look forward to the SIHIP program being rolled out across the Territory.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his statement about Indigenous housing in Tennant Creek. It is a pity the government does not talk more about the public housing situation for the rest of the Territory, in particular Darwin and Alice Springs, where there is very little public housing. In fact, there has been a reduction of 10% of public housing stock in Darwin alone. We have a situation in Alice Springs where there is absolutely no land for any kind of housing, let alone public housing. Whilst it is good that Tennant Creek might be getting some housing, Darwin and the rest of the Territory suffers.
The minister talked about housing conditions. I understand that the government is going to be not only looking after the 6000 public housing situations in the Territory, but they will be managing all the Indigenous housing that has come as a result of the Strategic Indigenous Housing Infrastructure Program. They are not doing a very good job of it in the urban areas, so it is unlikely that they will do a particularly good job in the remote areas. That is a shame, really, because we are in desperate need of public housing in the Territory for all walks of life.
I ask that the minister and the government gets on with the business and tries to release some land for all parts of the Territory and tidies up the situation, and their act, in regards to public housing - not only the development and the building of public housing but the maintenance and the putting of people in need into these houses and units that are left vacant all around Darwin area.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his report. This announcement of the huge input into improving the number of houses in Aboriginal communities was announced earlier this year. My concern is that, since its announcement, there has been very little on-ground changes in the number of houses that are actually being built, simply because the government has been trying to work its way through how all this will operate on the ground. I ask the minister whether there has been a stoppage in the number of houses being built over the last, say, nine months and, because of that stoppage, are we further behind in the number of houses that we should have been building?
The question relates more to your own electorate of Port Keats and Wadeye. When I visited, they had a housing association which constructed its own houses. It had a concrete factory there to produce prefabricated walls. They had concerns that there was not enough funding to keep that association going. They could do the job, they could build the houses - there simply was not the funds. Under this new, big, overriding system that has been put in, will communities or associations like the one at Port Keats now be put to one side and other bodies come in and take their place, or are they part of the new scheme to increase the number of houses in these communities?
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Speaker, this ministerial report was talking about the SIHIP program and about the signifiance of the sublease – the first of its kind in the Territory. The opposition spokesperson did not want to talk about this significant event or congratulate Julalikari for showing the vision and the leadership in this area. It is a significant step. The housing need on these communities is dire, and the SIHIP program is something that we all need to get behind. $647m over five years certainly is something of significance.
I move to the member for Nelson. The roll-out of this program is huge. On average, $15m went into Indigenous housing construction in years gone by - frozen since 1996 when the Howard government came to power. This is a huge investment. We want to deliver better packages, better housing programs across those five years.
The tilt-up slab factory is now part of our Thamarrurr Development Corporation, and they will be aligning with one of the partners and will be delivering it through there.
Reports noted pursuant to standing orders.
MOTION
Routine of Business to Facilitate an Address by the President of Timor-Leste
Routine of Business to Facilitate an Address by the President of Timor-Leste
Ms LAWRIE (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that unless otherwise ordered, the following program of business be agreed to for the afternoon of 30 October 2008:
1. Questions at 2 pm;
- uptohere
Motion agreed to.
SERIOUS VIOLENT OFFENDERS (PRESUMPTION AGAINST BAIL) AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 6)
(Serial 6)
Continued from 11 September 2008.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I will be relatively brief. This is another bill that is before us as a result of a promise made during the election campaign. The government promised to make it tougher for offenders who have committed violent offences to get bail. On this side of the House, we believe the government has not, as usual, gone far enough. We think the government could have done better and that the bill could have been better. That is why we have amendments which have been circulated to the Attorney-General.
The existing provision in section 7A(1)(e)(i) states that there is a presumption against gaol for a person charged with a violent offence while on bail, but the amendment is, nevertheless, an improvement. The amendment to section 7A of the Bail Act provides that, if you have been convicted of a serious offence within the last five years and you are alleged to have committed a further serious violent offence, there is a presumption against bail. In relation to the existing section 38, a new clause is proposed, clause 38(2a), that, while bail can be granted in particular circumstances, it must be revoked if, ‘the person was charged with a serious violence offence and released on bail despite a presumption against bail’.
Our amendment, which I will talk to briefly during the committee stages, in essence, goes one step further. It goes one step further by making it a bit tighter and better. Namely, if a person has, after a second or subsequent offence, been granted bail and then breaches the bail, we would remove the court’s ability to grant bail in that instance. In other words, commit a second offence, get bail, then breach it, you will not be granted bail again. We say that this is an improvement on the government’s legislation and meets community expectations.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I support the bill. As members would be aware, we are debating a very serious, very basic principle in this Chamber today. The presumption of bail comes from a presumption that you are innocent until proven guilty. Most people understand the principle behind the presumption that you are innocent until proven guilty. That presumption comes from common law. However, most people probably do not know the difference between common law and statutory law, or even case law, or how that the common law that you are innocent until proven guilty has led to the statutory presumption of bail.
That is why what we are debating today is so important, because the bill before this House is saying, in some cases, repeat offenders who betray the social contract to such an extent have sacrificed their right to a presumption of bail.
The bill will repeal the current provision and replace it with presumption against bail for all offenders, both adult and young offenders who are charged with committing a serious violence offence and who have a previous conviction for a serious violence offence in the past five years. A presumption against bail essentially reverses the onus; rather than the prosecutor showing why there are not grounds for bail, the defence counsel has to show reasons why bail should be granted. The current provision is different in that it provides a middle step before there is a presumption against bail; for example, if you are charged with a serious violence offence while currently on bail for a serious offence, and have a previous conviction for a serious violence offence in the past 10 years, or a serious offence within two years. It also applies only to adults. Being granted bail is a privilege.
The bill also introduces a new provision for the revocation of bail. When a bail condition has been breached bail must - not may, must - be revoked. It should be noted that this does not preclude a further application for bail being made and the onus would still be on the defence to show why bail should be granted. It would be reasonable to say though, that having breached bail and having bail revoked as a result would be a factor for the court’s consideration in any further application. It is also reasonable to say that violent offences are completely unacceptable, and repeat violent offences are a disgrace. That is why we are here today. Enough is enough.
This is not just my opinion, it is a message I have heard very clearly from people living in my electorate in Parap, Fannie Bay, and Stuart Park. People are sick of repeat violent offenders. They are sick of seeing these offences happen. Repeat violent offenders are a significant problem in the Northern Territory. There were 1344 recorded offences against the person last quarter. Assault accounted for 88% or 1180 of these offences, with the recidivism rate over 40%. That means a lot of violent offenders are regularly cycling through the justice system and getting bail every year.
This bill sends a clear message. It does not matter who you are, young or old, we are drawing a line in the sand. The actions we are taking today are very serious. It is not lightly that a parliament considers reversing the onus of presumption of bail; however, I believe this is a measure in line with community sentiment. It is a measure that reflects the serious nature of our problem of repeat violent offenders. It is a measure in line with our government’s tough approach to law and order problems.
Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to the House.
Dr BURNS (Justice and Attorney-General): I thank all members for their contribution. I believe that these amendments to the Bail Act do represent significant reform in this area, in that the government has always made it clear that those who commit repeat, serious violent offences should suffer the consequences, albeit if it is a presumption against bail.
Under the current regime, until this law comes into effect, people essentially do almost have a second chance in granting of bail. I believe there has been quite a lot of community disquiet in relation to this. The community is concerned that there are people who are granted bail for serious violent offences and then go out and commit a very similar offence again. This is a government which has listened to the community on this particular issue. Despite what the opposition says, I believe we have gone far enough. I believe what we have done is fair - it is fair and I will explain why soon. I thank the member for Fannie Bay who has gone through the legislation and pointed out that this a regime that not only applies to adults, it also applies to juveniles. There has been community concern about the actions of juveniles around violent offences. There is too much violence within our community and a lot of it is being committed by juveniles.
To move to the opposition, the shadow Attorney-General has raised amendments, as she stated in her reply in debate. I will point out something that the shadow wrote to me last week. I quote from the letter that the member for Araluen wrote to me:
- The opposition is of the view that the bill that has been introduced does not go far …
I think it was supposed to be ‘far enough’:
- … in dealing with repeat serious violent offenders who are currently on bail. Thus our amendments specifically target those repeat offenders in denying them access to bail if they commit a further offence while on bail for their first offence.
Essentially, my advice is that the member for Araluen’s amendment actually applies to anyone who has committed a serious violent offence, whether they have a prior or not. Whereas, with our regime in terms of bail, if someone committed a serious violent offence in the last five years and they commit another one and they are before the courts, there is a presumption against bail. My understanding of what the shadow is proposing here is that it does not matter if you have a prior or not, if you committed a serious violent offence there is a presumption against bail. In the committee stage, the member for Araluen will have the opportunity to speak to her amendment. That is my understanding and my advice regarding what you are proposing here.
There is capacity in there - and, no doubt, we will get to it in the committee stage - for injustices to be done. I used this example last week: someone takes their partner along to a venue, it could be a club, it could be a pub; there is an obnoxious drunk who comes up and starts insulting the person’s partner; the person feels provoked and there is an altercation – punches the person who is doing the provoking in the eye, maybe gives him a black eye - not permanent damage, but gives him a black eye - and there is no previous offence. They come before the court and then there is presumption against bail. They might commit some minor breach of their bail; there could be good reasons why they do that. But there is no discretion for the courts to actually take that into account in this particular case.
We do believe that our regime has gone far enough. We believe the opposition is proposing something which could lead to injustice. What happens to that person I have mentioned in the example; do they then automatically go into remand? They could be found not guilty. So, they will probably spend a considerable time in the gaol house having been found not guilty, not even having a prior offence. Under the sentencing regime that we passed here last week, if there is no physical harm proved, then the mandatory sentencing aspect of our Sentencing Act does not kick into place and the court could use some discretion in what might befall that person. The court may determine, in that particular instance, that that person did not deserve a sentence of gaol, being able to take the provocation into account.
Madam Speaker, we will not be supporting the amendments proposed by the shadow Attorney-General. I commend the bill to the House.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
In committee:
Madam CHAIR: The committee has before it the Serious Violent Offenders (Presumption Against Bail) Amendment Bill 2008 (Serial 6) together with Schedule of Amendments No 2 circulated by the member for Araluen, Ms Carney.
Clauses 1 to 4, by leave, taken together and agreed to.
Clause 5:
Ms CARNEY: Madam Chair, I move amendment 2.1. We think this is a reasonably straightforward issue, and the opposition is at one with respect to this issue, hence the amendments. In so many ways, it does not really matter what the Attorney-General says; few, increasingly, believe him. What is troubling, however, is the spin that has come from government with respect to this amendment. Indeed, the sentencing one we discussed last week is extraordinary. We know that this was an election promise: the tough no-nonsense approach to make it harder for violent offenders to get bail. So asserted the Chief Minister in his media release on 14 July 2008. Under his leadership he said – and, of course, who knows how long that is going to go:
- … it’s … going to be much tougher to get bail if you commit a serious violent offence - the presumption will be against bail, instead of for it.
However, in relation to those on bail having committed a serious offence, having breached their bail, while there is a presumption against bail, the fact of the matter is that they can still get bail. I suspect the expression ‘presumption against bail’ runs pretty well in the electorate. Most people who are not involved in any way, shape, or form in the legal system think and would be entitled to think: ‘Gee, that sounds tough’. Well, it might sound tough but, in relation to what it is the government claims it is going to achieve, we say - as I said in my earlier comments - it just does not go far enough.
There are improvements in the bill and, obviously, we are supportive of them. However, the bill before us today does not, in my view - and, indeed, the collective view of my colleagues - mirror the spin contained in numerous media releases. The Chief Minister, the Treasurer and the Attorney-General have all issued media releases giving the public of the Northern Territory the very clear impression that this is a government that is prepared to change the presumption in favour of bail to a presumption against bail. As I said, it probably runs reasonably well in the electorate. However, I suspect it will not run well in the electorate when, as I feel certain it will, regrettably, occur at some point when a person commits a second offence, is granted bail then breaches it, then goes before the court again and is able, notwithstanding the presumption against bail, to be bailed once again. We say: commit a second offence, get bail then breach it, you will not be granted bail again. That is the difference. That is really the pointy end of the discussion. It is a relatively small bill, of course, but a significant one - a significant one.
No doubt, lawyers in the Territory will be polarised as to their views on it. Indeed, in parliament last week the Attorney-General admitted that he did not get out much anymore. Presumably, he got out a little during the election campaign. Presumably, he does not propose to spend the next four years in this great building. I urge him to get out more and to meet with the community at large, in particular victims of crime, and see what they have to say, because I feel certain that a majority of them - a vast majority of them - will be supportive of our amendment.
In any event, I do not think there is anything I can add at this stage, Madam Chair, so I will leave it at that.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, just to pick up on the last bit by the member for Araluen about me not getting out much. I did say that in reference to a wonderful drive that I had with Mr Ren Kelly, going out to watch and inspect the juvenile camps out of Alice Springs. It was probably a 1 hour drive …
Ms Carney: You did not say you do not get out in Alice Springs. You said you do not get out much any more. That is what you said.
Dr BURNS: Well, I do not get out for drives like that much any more, member for Araluen.
Ms Carney: No, that is not what you said, last week. You said …
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Dr BURNS: I am sorry, that is what I meant. So, it would be good …
Ms Carney: Right. Why did you not say that?
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Dr BURNS: It was good to get out with Ren Kelly, for a drive for a while. That is what I was alluding to. It was a very pleasant drive in very pleasant company and country. The member for Araluen is just twisting a little what I said and what I meant there. But, I am glad to give …
Ms Carney: No. Have a look at the Hansard.
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Dr BURNS: Well, I can look at the Hansard, and I also know what I said, and I also know the context in which I said it, member for Araluen. I do get out, I do mix with a lot of people and I do listen very carefully to what people tell me.
However, returning to the main issue of the proposed amendments by the opposition. I have read out the paragraph of the letter that was written to me by the shadow, and I am prepared to read it out again. It says:
- The opposition is of the view that the bill which has been introduced does not go far enough in dealing with serious violent offenders who are currently on bail. Thus, our amendments specifically target those repeat offenders in denying them access to bail if they commit a further offence while on bail for their first offence.
If you look at the actual amendments, here is proposed new section 38(2A):
- However, the court must revoke … bail if:
(a) the person was charged with a serious violent offence and released on bail; and
(b) the court finds that the person has breached a bail undertaking or a condition of bail.
Really, the amendment goes to bail conditions. It goes to bail conditions. The member for Araluen, here today and in her letter, is talking about repeat offences. In my view, the letter does not stack up with the amendments. I believe that is a very important aspect.
The other thing I have mentioned previously is the amendment, in terms of revocation of bail, applies to first time offenders, not just prior offenders. Serious violence offence includes aggravated assault, so such a person would be subject to imprisonment if they breach the bail condition awaiting hearing, even though it would be unlikely the substantial term of actual imprisonment would be the ultimate sentence imposed, assuming the person is found guilty in the first place and if they are a first-time offender. People who are ultimately found not guilty, therefore, would have served a long period in custody. The injustice, I am advised, is likely to be exacerbated, because the more people in remand await a hearing, the longer they will have to wait for that hearing. In hearings or trials like this, the people who remain in custody generally get precedence over people on bail – the more in custody, the longer the wait.
I have outlined the advice I have had on this particular matter, and this is why the government will not be supporting the amendment.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Chair, I am taken by the argument that I have just been caught in. Whilst I am not going to go into the minutiae or detail of this particular debate, the response from the minister actually demonstrates the gap between what he thinks and what public expectations are.
If I understood the minister correctly, he basically said: ‘Look, when you breach your bail, you find yourself up in the slot for a long period of time, much longer than is likely if it was a first attempt in the slammer’. Did I understand that correctly, minister, in reference to your bill?
Dr Burns: I said it was likely.
Mr ELFERINK: Okay, that is fine. There is a public expectation that, when somebody commits a violent serious assault - and we are talking about the ugly end of assault, not just a smack in the mouth in the pub because two blokes have had a disagreement - we are talking about people hospitalised; blindness being incurred; glass being shoved into people’s faces; broken bones; fractured skulls – this is end of the spectrum that we are talking about. I find it curious that the minister runs a defence in relation to his bill, as I understand it, that, if a person breaches their bail and ends up in the slot, they will spend more time in the slot because of a breach of bail than they will because of the offence they committed, once they are convicted of it.
Surely, the public have a right, an expectation, to expect from the courts that, when a person comes before them for committing an offence of such obnoxious violence that a normal and average person would find it repugnant beyond words and expression, the courts would respond in kind. Yet, what we hear from the minister is it is very unlikely that a first offender who finds themself in front of the court in these circumstances would, indeed, serve a custodial sentence. Perhaps that reflects why the crime statistics in relation to violent assault continue tracking up and up and up; because the courts themselves are unwilling or incapable of applying the sentences that this House hands down. From memory, even for an aggravated assault - which is not at this end of the assault debate I might add - carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. Yet, how rarely do we see people go to gaol for being convicted for aggravated assaults?
I expect that it is not only the exception rather than the rule; it is a very remote exception. It would have to be a very unfortunate person who, on their first time before a court for an aggravated assault, would find themselves in the slot. Yet, government keeps proposing tougher maximum penalties. Tougher maximum penalties and, now, this approach, still do not send a message to the courts - which is the message that should be being sent to the courts - that there is a public expectation that thump merchants and villains such as the dreadful little fellow who gave Todd Trainer a hiding - and I know that he has gotten off on a technicality - or the fellow or the chaps who attacked Les Platt, do some real time - and I am talking about real time.
That, sadly, is missed in this whole debate because, once again, the people who are expected to respond on our behalf as citizens who live in the community - these are the judges and the magistrates that sit in our courts - are expected to respond with some firmness in their decision-making process. That firmness, to this day, has disappointed the majority of the people out there in the public arena. Do we know it in this place on both sides of the House? Absolutely, we know it. That is why both sides of this House come out with tougher crime policies and tougher sentencing regimes all the time. However, the fact of the matter is that whilst the courts continue to ignore the demands of the public who, basically, pay their bills, then the courts will always be in peril of this House trying to find other mechanisms such as mandatory sentencing, which has now been approved by both sides of this House in various policies, to be applied to their sentencing regimes.
The courts, whilst they demand a certain freedom to sentence as they see fit, must be mindful of the public expectation, as we are on both sides of this House. I am just disappointed to hear that the process we are discussing is a mechanism by which a person, who is still technically innocent, is actually the vehicle by which we are going to increase incarceration, rather than the appropriate legal vehicle after the person has been convicted and that person is serving their sentence which reflects the community expectations when they punch the crap out of some poor soul in the street.
Dr BURNS: I thank the member for Port Darwin. There is much in what the member had to say that I certainly agree with but, fundamentally, as I have said before, the government will not be supporting this amendment because we believe that it has a potential for injustice.
The member for Port Darwin was entirely correct when he pointed to the very serious offences that are part of the regime for amendments to the Bail Act. It also applies to aggravated assault and, once again, there is the example that I used: someone at a venue, some obnoxious drunk or someone, for whatever reason, insults their partner, insults their wife or whoever and, then, that person retaliates - they are provoked and they retaliate - they punch them in the eye, and there is no serious lasting damage under the definition of physical harm. It is that person’s offence and so they come in to the system. They are granted bail and, then, for some reason there is a breach of bail. It may be that they had to report at a specific time to a police station. There could be a very good reason why the person was not able to come - possibly a sick child, or an accident, there could be a whole range of reasons why that person could not fulfil every condition within their bail condition - but there is no discretion under the regime proposed by the opposition for that to be taken into account.
Here we have a first time offender at the lower end of the offending spectrum who, for possibly some quite valid reason, has breached their bail condition. They then go into remand and they could spend an extended time in remand. There are two scenarios: first, they may be found not guilty of the offence; and the second scenario is, under the sentencing regime that was brought in here last week, because the harm done to the other party did not fall within the definition of physical harm, the court then has the discretion to put what sentence they deem fit on that particular person. It may very well be that it is a very light sentence, or it may be that they are sentenced to the rising of the court. It is in the purview of the court.
What the government is arguing is that whilst we appreciate the intent of what the opposition is trying to do, we believe that there are flaws in it. We believe that there is potential for manifest injustice, particularly because it involves first-time offenders. We believe our regime that we discussed and reviewed a number of times, is the right regime, and that is why we will not be supporting this amendment.
Mr ELFERINK: Madam Chair, the Attorney-General has just captured the essence of what a political campaign is and what the truth is. The minister just said that there is a discretionary capacity in the court, and the court may well issue a light sentence until the rising of the court - it is the capacity outlined in the statement last week. One would be forgiven, having looked at the ALP advertisements prior to the last Territory election, that they were not only going to lock them all up, they were going to throw away the key. The chasm between what is said in here and what was said by the Chief Minister when he was standing in front of a prisoner in the campaign advertisement is un-breachable when those two positions exist.
This is the issue that concerns me most. I have no problem with the Attorney-General saying: ‘We have the voice of the people because we have the majority of the people in this House, and we have the right to introduce legislation which we believe in’. I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is when they go out and tell Territorians during a campaign that they are going to do one thing and, then, we hear from the lips of the Attorney-General himself in this House that they are intending to do entirely another thing. It is all to do with how we spin our way through these various policies.
These amendments that were brought in last week and have been brought in now are to reflect the policies enunciated by the CLP during the last Territory election campaign. I do not remember hearing anywhere or reading in any of the material that was put out by the ALP that they were going to send a clear message to villains in the community because they are going to allow the discretion of the court to operate, which is what the Attorney-General just said. If that is what you mean, then that is what you should tell Territorians. That really is the thrust of my critique.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, I have been very clear in the discussions around election time, and post that time, that this is a presumption against bail and the courts still have that capacity. I would have to go through all of my statements, member for Port Darwin, but I have a recollection that I was asked this question. Basically, it is a presumption against bail and, even with a presumption against bail, courts can still grant bail. I do not ever think I have resiled from that. However, there is a fundamental issue here of what you are saying; that the person - in my instance and I think what you are talking about - has never been found guilty of committing a crime. What you are actually proposing fundamentally alters the balance of the justice system. That is around the presumption of innocence to some degree, and I have outlined to you what I think is a very practical example of an injustice that could occur under your regime. I have outlined why the government will not be supporting this amendment.
Mr ELFERINK: You are right, you are absolutely right. It changes the balance of the justice system. But you agree with doing that because that is what you are doing by this amendment. You have just told this House that this is about reversing the presumption of bail. That changes the balance of the justice system. So, we are not talking for one moment as to whether it is right or wrong to change the balance of the justice system; what we are talking about is how far. That is what this debate is about.
Ms CARNEY: Minister, you are aware, obviously, that the government’s amendment to section 7A(1)(e) stands, and that the opposition’s amendment seeks to replace clause 5. In essence, what it means is: if you have committed a crime in the last five years and you commit a second offence, you get bail; you breach the bail, you, as an offender, can go back to the court and expect bail. Notwithstanding the presumption against bail, as asserted by your government, you know - do you not? - that it is probable or possible that such an offender will get bail if they have a good lawyer.
You use words like ‘potential for injustice’ and ‘no discretion’. We say, minister, that is the difference between us with respect to these amendments and the issue we are discussing. Can you say why it is that the government is supportive of violent offenders being granted bail if they have committed a serious offence while on bail? Why should those people get bailed again?
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, the member for Araluen is raising very hypothetical cases, and she is also putting forward a very cynical view of our court and justice system. To quote her, she said: ‘If you get a good lawyer you can get off’. Well, I do not hold that view. Our justice system, whilst it has flaws, has been tried and tested with time. Obviously, government is sending a message to the courts of the presumption in regard to bail on this particular matter, and the courts will determine.
As the member for Araluen said, there is nothing precluding someone from making a further application, but there is clearly a presumption against bail. Therefore, under our regime, firstly you have repeat offenders or potentially repeat offenders - you have someone who has been found guilty of a serious violent offence in the last five years. That is in our regime. They are before the courts again on the basis that they have committed a serious violent offence and, basically, it is alleged that they have committed such an offence. That matter is before the courts and there would be a presumption against bail. As I acknowledged previously, it is within the discretion of the court, even in that case, to grant bail.
Nonetheless, if that person who is a repeat offender does breach their bail conditions, there is automatic revocation of the bail. The member for Araluen is saying there is nothing precluding that person from making a further application. Well, that is right, member for Araluen. However, you seem to be giving some sort of guarantee regarding the court that, if this person has a good lawyer, they will be granted bail. I do think anything is further from the truth. In the presumption against bail, the onus is really on the person seeking the bail to satisfy the court that bail should not be refused. That is a fundamental shift in the presumption of bail.
Basically, it is very important to note that our regime, I believe; goes to the fact that someone has a previous offence. However, under your regime, someone who possibly does not have a previous offence but is swept up into your regime would, as I pointed out, be subject to manifest injustice.
Ms CARNEY: Minister, I reckon I would give you probably eight out of 10 for ducking the question. You are aware that your amendment in relation to section 7A(1)(e) stands; then we go to the opposition’s amendment, I am not sure how well you are really arguing your case. I ask you again, how is it reasonable, or acceptable, given that your Chief Minister, by media release dated 11 September 2008 said: ‘The community expects the judicial sentencing regime to be in line with their expectations’? How is it reasonable for someone who is already on bail, commits a second offence, gets bail, then breaches it, to get bail again?
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, we have been very clear about our regime. The member for Araluen seems intent on pursuing a very cynical view of our justice system and the courts. I have faith in our courts. Sometimes they do get things wrong, there is no doubt about that; no system is a perfect system. However, I am prepared to put some faith in the courts. Government is setting the parameter here and setting the framework; we are saying there is a presumption against bail in these cases.
Ms CARNEY: Minister, for the record, I have faith in our juridical system as well. I note your comment that government is setting the parameter. The difference between us is that there is a difference as to the parameters. An observer would probably say - and unfortunately there is not a person in the gallery - I feel certain, that that is the difference between us.
We confidently say that in the circumstances I have outlined - that is, someone who is already on bail commits a second offence, gets bail, then breaches it - we do not think that the community supports such a person getting bail again. I hope that it does not happen; that such a person who has committed a violent assault does not get bail. When it does, I reckon your office will be getting some phone calls, and one of them will be from me. I will be inviting you to come back into this Chamber and put the amendments again.
We know you have form, minister. Your form, and, indeed, the government’s form, is that you are issuing your media releases - I have found four and I feel certain there are more on this particular point – which give the public the impression you give them what they want and, then, you come in, slipping and sliding, slithering away, with something that does not entirely mirror - and, in some cases, historically - barely resembles what the intention was in the media releases.
I love that Australian expression, ‘flogging a dead horse’. I will not continue to flog a dead horse, minister. I know your position and that of your government. There is such a difference between your side of the House and ours when it comes to sentencing and the position we take with respect to violent offenders. It is no small coincidence, and how would we ever know? Everyone can have their views, but I do not think it is a small coincidence that our views on sentencing and justice and the judicial system were more favoured or considerably favoured by the electorate at the last election.
Labor has done really badly when it comes to addressing the crime rates. That is why we proffered the amendments we did last week; that is why we proffer these today. You will go to bed at night feeling convinced, as no doubt you invariably do, that you are perfect and that you are doing everything the right way. I do not think of you when I am going to bed at night, minister, you will be very pleased to know but, when I go to bed at night I similarly sleep well, truly believing that our view is the better one and that our view should prevail. But, alas, we only just do not have the numbers, so I will put the horse to bed and please rest assured that I never think of you when I am about to go to bed or even when I sleep.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, I have been through it before. We believe that there could be manifest injustice. I talked about the instance where someone may have had as a bail condition to report to a police station but was unable, for very valid and documented reason, to do it. I believe those are issues that the court should be able to take in to consideration.
In relation to the shadow Attorney-General not thinking of me at night and whatever, I have to tell this place that the shadow Attorney-General sent me a note in the last Assembly that said: ‘I love you, Chris’. I still have it upstairs. I have not got around to framing it yet, but it is going to be one of the great mementos of my time in this place - a note, handwritten by the member for Araluen: ‘I love you, Chris, Jodeen’.
Ms CARNEY: I have framed some of the ones I have from your side - they are all framed. You believed it - how sad you believed it. What a hoot.
Madam CHAIR: Order!
Mr BOHLIN: Madam Chair, some people consider some of my speeches may be emotive or emotional, but the reality is that society suffers those emotions. The victims of the crimes that occur on our streets feel those emotions, Attorney-General. Those victims bleed on our streets, Attorney-General. Is it the intent that we close some areas of opportunity for those people who commit these violent crimes to be back on the street? When they have shown the propensity for extreme violence surely we, as a government, need to take reasonable action to protect the public? Currently, Attorney-General, we are failing on many sides to do that. I can take you to many places where people have suffered greatly.
It is a change, it is an alteration that is going to affect the court systems, but it will make the victims feel safer at home? Does your position change if that victim happens to be the same person’s wife who has been bashed to near death twice, has been sent to hospital, may be flown hundreds of kilometres from her family to receive treatment? One needs to start thinking that these people do need to be kept in a secure place until their court trial comes around. Earlier it was mentioned that bail is a privilege - it is a privilege - and it should be treated as such. So, when you have proven by your actions that you will continue to break bail, you will continue to flout the laws of this Territory and the rights of victims of this Territory, you need to be brought to heel. You need to be left behind the bars because you are proving again and again that you are a violent person.
I accept – you have mentioned the potential that they could have simply forgotten to turn up to the police station and that supposedly happens. Maybe there should be a little clause to allow, if there is a reasonable excuse, provision that maybe we do not have. The reality is it is a privilege to have your right to freedom and, when you have impinged on someone else’s right to freedom – that is, to not have their skull caved in - you should have your right to freedom taken away. Because, unfortunately, I have had to assist, treat, comfort, and nurture families that have been affected by crime of this nature, and it is not the most pleasant of things. It is not pleasant to tell these people: ‘Listen, I cannot guarantee you that he or she will not be out on bail in a matter of hours’.
Having locked a person up maybe a day prior or, in fact, hours prior - which does happen - and then had to respond to them trying to cave someone’s head in again; it is just closing and giving security to our community. If you do not want to go to gaol, do not break the law. That is what the law is about. So, do not take to someone with a big stick. Do not club them to death. Do not pummel them outside a night club because, if you are doing that, you deserve to be behind bars. It is our responsibility in this House to set the standards. The standards are not being set somewhere else.
Dr BURNS: Madam Chair, I am certainly interested to hear the member for Drysdale on this issue. He is speaking very passionately, as a former police officer who has a wealth of experience in this particular area. I agree with much of what he had to say. Certainly, if someone does stove someone’s head in outside a night club or whatever, and has been found guilty of that offence, they deserve to go to gaol. The sentencing regime that we brought in last week has upped the ante in that regard.
To some degree there is - well, confusion could be the word. But you seem to aligning sentencing with bail, and they are two different things - they may be related to some degree. The regime that we have really does try to strike a balance in the presumption against bail and, so, we have shifted the focus there of the court; that there is actually a presumption against bail if someone has been found guilty of a previous violent offence. We do not want to see perpetrators back on the street,. The framework of our amendments to the Sentencing Act and what we bring in here to the Bail Act will send a very strong message to the perpetrators of violence that it is not going to be tolerated by the community, and that we are very focused on ensuring that people who are found guilty of committing these offences do serve actual time in gaol.
I can only go back, member for Drysdale, to the example I used. Someone who has committed an aggravated assault with provocation, first offence; may, for a very good reason, breach their bail conditions; a reason that most reasonable people would accept as a reasonable excuse - maybe they had to take their child to the hospital; there is a whole range of things, and they have documentation and they can prove this is what actually happened. However, under your regime proposed by the shadow Attorney-General, that person, even though it may be a fairly trivial breach of their bail conditions, would go straight to remand -- a bit like a monopoly square. So they go to gaol and, basically, there is a potential for them to be incarcerated for a significant period. There is also the potential for them to come back into the court and be found not guilty or, under the Sentencing Act, if there was not demonstrable physical harm done to the person in a legal sense, then the courts could deal with that in a discretionary way.
Once again, the government has its position. We have heard what the opposition had to say about this, but believe our amendments to the Bail Act are balanced. They will shift the onus of bail in the presumption of bail, and it is a very clear message to the courts.
Amendment negatived.
Clause 5 agreed to.
Remainder of the bill, by leave, taken as whole and agreed to.
Bill reported; report adopted.
Dr BURNS (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
MOTION
Note Paper - Auditor-General’s August Report 2008
Note Paper - Auditor-General’s August Report 2008
Continued from 16 September 2008.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, the contents of this report are a matter of notable concern to members on this side of the House. As the shadow Treasurer of the Northern Territory, I have to say that I read this report with a particularly grim eye as to what the Auditor-General was reporting on.
It reflects a great malaise which seems to be occurring in the public service, not least of which was the Department of the Chief Minister, which came under particular criticism in the last Auditor-General’s report in relation to contracts being issued to a company called Sprout Created, with some surprising links underlying that which have since came to light between the public service and Sprout Created itself. I am continuing to investigate that particular matter because there are still elements in that which are of particular concern. It is an issue which Territorians should be made aware of. However, without having a complete investigation into the matter at my finger tips, I will defer my comments on that particular issue to a later date.
However, I do wish to speak about some of the problems that the Auditor-General had turned his mind to in this particular report. Specifically, there are two areas of concern to the Auditor-General which are also of concern to me. The first of those issues is credit cards, and the second is internal audit controls, to which I will return later.
It is with no little surprise that I read this report only to discover that somewhere in the order of $2m worth of government credit card transactions were uncleared or unaccounted for. $2m will buy you several nurses or several policemen. It might buy you some police cars. It might buy you all sorts of things. There is no suggestion in this report that any criminal activity has gone on as a result of the use of government or corporate credit cards. However, the reason that suggestion is absent from this report is not because it has not happened but, rather …
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr ELFERINK: … the fact of the matter is that the Auditor-General has been unable to determine whether it has happened or not. How on earth can he determine if a credit card transaction is unlawful or a breach of the Treasurer’s Guidelines if he is unable to locate or lay his hands on the documentation that supports the credit card transaction?
I will give you some quotes from the Auditor-General which are worth noting in relation to these matters. I turn members’ attention to page 21 of the report where, in his key findings, the Auditor-General observed:
- A sample of credit card payments selected for examination revealed a statistically significant number of transactions where no tax invoice could be produced to support the recorded expenditure. The transactions in question should not have been submitted for approval or verified without the appropriate supporting documentation.
Ms Lawrie: You heard wrong.
Mr ELFERINK: … was unable to determine as to whether the purchases were exercised for lawful uses or not. The Auditor-General himself said: ‘No supporting documentation is available for a statistically significant number of transactions’. If that is not a damning indictment on a government which is losing control of its own auditing processes, surely a comment like that should be of great concern. In fact, this comment is a shiver that should be running up the Treasurer’s spine. For her to simply sit here and say: ‘It is wrong, it is wrong’, hardly edifies me with the belief that she is comfortable, or capable, of pursuing these matters and that she is currently comfortable with the status quo ...
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr ELFERINK: I can tell you, if I were in her shoes, I would not be comfortable with the status quo. I would not be comfortable at all.
The Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines, and the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts also comes in for some criticism, and this is where it overlaps into the area of procurement. I quote the Auditor-General:
- In one instance, at the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines, a credit card transaction was split to circumvent the credit card transaction limit.
The reason that is done is because it saves you paperwork. It is just easier to go round that process because, if you go over a certain limit, you then have to go through the normal procurement process, bearing in mind, of course, that credit cards are essentially there for the purposes of procuring services; they are not actually there at all to circumvent the procurement process. It is a process which causes enormous grief in the business community in the Northern Territory, often because of its complexity, but often because it is seen to be unfair.
Many of those opinions may be unjustified, some may be completely justified about the process being unfair, but the fact of the matter is that this process of procurement should be like Caesar’s wife - not only beyond redemption, but seen to be beyond redemption. When people start using the credit cards they have at their fingertips to split the purchases of particular items which should have gone through the normal procurement process, small wonder there are people in our community who are bleating and crying about the injustices the procurement process perpetrates on them as small business operators.
This should be a matter of great concern to the Treasurer as well because, ultimately, it is her responsibility to ensure that these processes are properly followed. The point is reiterated, also on page 21 of the report, and I quote the Auditor-General yet again:
- It was noted that credit cards were often used as a means of procurement where they should have been used as a means of payment.
This resonates with the point I was trying to make earlier that credit cards are a convenience; otherwise we used to have to use these things called purchase orders. I am sure former public servants in this House will remember such documents. Often, they were annoying documents that had to be filled out, and then you would have to send it through the line to get a rubber stamp on it because it was of a particular value. If you were working in a particularly remote bush station or whatever, those things were often a pain in the bottom.
The credit cards were introduced to assist public servants in becoming more efficient in the work they do. I have no truck with that; they have a place in the public service. However, they are not there to sidestep the procurement processes of the Northern Territory. I am interested in some of the responses from the departments themselves. I quote the response from the Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, which commented:
- The need to review the numbers of credit cards on issue is acknowledged, but must be balanced with the challenges of staff operating in remote areas so not to unduly restrict efficient business practices.
A good point and one that I agree with:
- Considerable effort has gone into implementing effective internal control structures to surround the use of credit cards, to address credit card risk and this is evident in the audit opinion.
There is a matter of some concern raised by this particular response. The department itself acknowledges that the number of credit cards available to its staff poses a risk and acknowledges that there are problems.
I then turn to a much more concerning part of the report which deals with three particular agencies. The agencies to which I will refer, and the Auditor-General refers can be found on pages 24 and 25 of the report. I draw honourable member’s attention to the Department of Employment Education and Training, Northern Territory Police, Fire, and Emergency Services and Tourism NT. It is worth visiting the issues in each of these instances.
In the case of DEET, the value of unsupported expenditure in respect the Department of Employment Education and Training at 30 April 2008 was $443 199, of which $139 765 was incurred during April of 2008. I then turn honourable members’ attention to the next paragraph which says about the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services, quote:
- The value of unsupported expenditure in respect of the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services as at 30 April 2008 was $178 896, of which $58 226 was incurred during April 2008.
Tourism NT also comes in for comments and at 30 April 2008 had $325 642 of unsupported expenditure, of which $103 168 was incurred during April 2008. I have a question out of this: what is so important about April 2008, that three departments suddenly run off and incur large amounts of unsupported expenditure in one month? Is it the same for organisations where the expenditure has been incurred and put through the system, such as the Department of Chief Minister? I am very curious to know if there was sudden spike in credit card usage in the Department of the Chief Minister during April 2008, which has simply been cleared off the system because somebody rubber stamped the expenditure and, therefore, it did not become subject to this audit.
I am very interested to know how many other departments and how much other expenditure went through in April 2008 which suddenly saw a spike significant enough for the Auditor-General to comment on. I ask the Treasurer now if she would be so kind as to make available to this House all expenditure through the Department of the Chief Minister for the financial year 2007-08 on credit cards ...
Dr Burns: That is for the Auditor-General.
Mr ELFERINK: It is a job for us, picking up on the interjection. This government is accountable to this House, something that they seem to totally forget and misunderstand.
All we want to do is get from government the promises they made in relation to being open, honest, and accountable. I ask for a list of credit card transactions from a government department so that I may examine those records, as a person whose job it is - as it is the job of every person in this House - to protect the public interest, and to give myself comfort that nothing untoward is being spent. The response from the Attorney-General was: ‘It is the Auditor-General’s job’. This is how it works for the advice of the Attorney-General: parliament and then the Auditor-General underneath; parliament on top and the Auditor-General reports to the parliament.
Look at that, his report is to the parliament. What do you know! He even writes it up.
I do not expect the Auditor-General to go through every single credit card transaction or every other transaction the government makes on an annual basis. Surely, that should not prevent me, as a person who is concerned about the expenditure from the public purse, to be asking the government to come into this place with information so I might satisfy myself, and go out to the community to satisfy those people who voted in the last Territory election, for either side, that the money they pay in taxes is actually being spent in accordance with their expectations?
Surely, that is not too much to ask? However, this is a secretive government. This is a government that acts secretively. What evidence do I have? Multiple gag motions where the government is more than happy to gag or adjourn debates simply because they do not want to talk about stuff. They do it all the time. We saw it again this morning with the introduction of a report on Indigenous Expenditure Review - a significant report which will get five minutes of oxygen in this House unless we drive it through on the side of the House and raise the issue. I currently have three briefings which are still under request with the Treasurer’s office, which remain to this day unanswered. Suffice to say one says: ‘You will get a briefing after the TAFR comes down’. A simple request to travel with the police in my own electorate to see the amount of violence in the electorate was met with the retort: ‘The commissioner said no’.
Goodness gracious me, this government is supposed to be honest, open and accountable, and they bunker down behind their desks and hide from Territorians and, when a negative report comes down, they do not want to have a fulsome debate. You can tell there will not be a mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, out of this particular Treasurer; there will be a tirade of abuse saying what a horrible person, or people, we are on this side of the House for having the audacity to ask questions.
Two of the agencies advised, in the absence of proper supporting documentation, that they relied upon statutory declarations to support the contention that the expenditure was incurred for official purposes, while the third agency advised that suppliers were asked to provide copies of relevant tax invoices which confirm that expenses were properly incurred.
So, here I am, little Mr Joe Business. I get a little credit card chit, I go through the process of providing the service or the goods which are required, and the transaction is made and I am happy. A year later, or two years later, because this audit goes back to 2006, I get a phone call saying: ‘Oh, mate, can you go back through your records? We are trying to find this credit card transaction and we cannot find it here in the government so we thought we would give you a call and see if you could dredge it up for us, please?’ It must be frustrating for the business owners who receive those telephone calls to have to trawl back through their records to try to assist in supporting documentation for a mistake not of their making. That is exactly what the Auditor-General suggests has occurred.
Of even more concern to me is the use of statutory declarations to qualify expenditure. Under no interpretation of the Oaths Act, from my understanding, was the Oaths Act constructed to enable government departments to sidestep the reporting processes on their use of credit cards. It is a broad use of the Oaths Act and it should be a matter the Treasurer is saying to her department: ‘This will not happen. Make sure you get it right the first time’.
If you then go through the rest of the Auditor-General’s report, he then turns his attention to issues of the internal audit function of particular departments. The Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development, the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines, and the Department of Health and Community Services copped this shellacking from the Auditor-General, and I quote:
- In my opinion, nothing has come to my attention that causes me to believe that these Agencies had not maintained, in all material respects, an adequate internal audit function.
Basically, what the Auditor-General said - and there is an element of audit speak in this - if you remove the double negative, in his opinion there is not, in material respect, an adequate internal audit function. These are government departments, and it is not like they cropped up last week. It not as though the minister strolled into Cabinet last week and went: ‘Oh, my God, look, there is the department of Health; I did not know that existed’. These departments have been around since the day we attained self-government. One would hope that these departments would have in place effective internal audit controls so that they were able to review what happens, particularly in the movement of money, but also in other areas inside their departments in an effective way, which would have the Auditor-General at least make a comment that the audit process could be improved in this area or might be tweaked in that area. But, no, what he suggests in his report is: ‘I cannot suggest any improvement because there is no effective system to improve’.
This, then, comes back to how government does business. I often wonder how this government approaches the work that it does. I often start to get the impression that behind closed doors on the fifth floor in Cabinet, they actually turn to these departments and say: ‘What should we do?’ Which is a fair question. However, what that entails is that they may get an answer and act on that answer, often without question. The problem with that is that you have to bring a critical eye to anything you are told by anybody and ask yourself: ‘Is this really what I want to do?’
Better still, as community leaders it is incumbent upon us to actually show some leadership. What that implies is that, yes, by all means listen to the advice of the department. However, it is we in this place - or they on that side of the House who form government as ministers - who are actually suppose to lead. That means being across your departments and across the issues that exist in your departments. What it also means is that, if you are of a mind to continually ask people for policy advice and you get policy advice from them, the process, subtly and over time, leads to a situation where they are actually setting the policy and the minister becomes little more than a front for what the public service thinks should be happening.
Leadership is not a nine-to-five job. You cannot clock off at 5 pm and say: ‘I am going home now; I have done my bit for the day’. Leadership means that you have to be critical of your own CEOs and senior management to find out exactly what you can and cannot do. Leadership also implies that when you make a decision you stick to it, but you do not point the finger at other people when it goes wrong. Certainly, take advice from the department - the department are the experts. However, if you have a philosophy or a political belief or a policy belief, then grab it and drive it. Do not go home at 5 pm. If you are charged with a ministry, then minister. Ministering means going into your department and finding out how the machine works.
When I read reports like this, what I see is that the grip of government on the public service is slipping, and that there is no real respect for ministers when it slips to the degree where you start getting these sorts of reports. The minister should be in a position to walk in this House and say: ‘My department is being well managed; the audit protocols are in place; and I am satisfied, bar a couple of glitches around the edges, that the thing is running efficiently and smoothly’. That is how government works and that means taking time. That means sometimes even working at night. That means sometimes going into the department, walking through the department, and actually asking people inside the department what their roles are - because what management says and what they perceive to be their roles might not necessarily be the same thing. It is up to the minister to provide the glue that holds that whole situation together. Sadly, that glue is absent.
Madam Speaker, there is also the other issue here, which is that, when a department is left without leadership and clear guidance, it will find work for itself to do. They always do. That is what departments are effective at doing. However, for a department to be effective, you just cannot sit there and say if you are spending more money then the outcome will be at the other end. There has to be something in between.
This is what I alluded to before during ministerial reports - that something in between is leadership, something that is driving that expenditure, and saying that expenditure will be made to work by a minister who is not disinterested in the work that they do and have a passion, a lust even, for doing that job effectively and doing that job well. It should course through the ministers’ veins that that job is their reason for getting out of bed in the morning and the thing that keeps them out of bed at night. Sadly, a rather more pedestrian approach is reflected in the government’s approach to what it does.
I find it astonishing that we stand in here with all of the technology that is available to us, and all of the controls that are supposed to be in place, that we are still scratching around trying to find a couple of million bucks lying around in a desk drawer somewhere, or whatever, that has been expended incorrectly. I do not believe that the vast majority of these credit card transactions have been used for any other purpose but the purpose for which they are intended to be used, because I know that the good people who have these credit cards in their possession are, indeed, exactly that - good people.
However, there may well be an example or several examples or many examples in the missing credit card transactions that may well be a fraud on the taxpayer of the Northern Territory. The sheer fact is: I do not know that. The fact is the Auditor-General does not know that, and the Treasurer does not know that.
Debate suspended.
MOTION
Note Paper - Auditor-General’s August Report 2008
Note Paper - Auditor-General’s August Report 2008
Continued from earlier this day.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I welcome the report from the Auditor-General and recognise the importance of this report in maintaining accountability and transparency within government agencies. The Department of Education and Training and the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, Heritage and the Arts have both taken this report seriously, and the information within the report is being used to improve the systems and controls within the department.
First, I will outline the actions being taken by the Department of Education and Training. The department has taken swift action to address the areas of concern raised by the Auditor-General. Already, additional resources have been provided to enable the implementation of improved policies and processes and internal controls. The department has also tasked an audit committee to ensure that all audit observations are properly addressed.
The report noted that the department did not have an up-to-date accounting and property manual that addressed the changes to procurement directions. This has already been addressed and a draft manual is currently under consideration for publication.
The other area of concern raised by the Auditor-General which relates to the Department of Education and Training is the use of corporate credit cards. The Auditor-General noted the value of unsupported expenditure for the Department of Education, Employment and Training at 30 April 2008 was $443 199. $139 756 was incurred during April 2008. Of the balance, $150 268 has been incurred during the 2007 calendar year, while $86 783 had been incurred during the 2006 calendar year. Unsupported expenditure refers to the lack of invoices and purchase authorities for credit card transactions. The department has acted swiftly to address this concern.
On 24 July 2008, the Chief Financial Officer sent a letter to all card holders reminding them of their responsibility to complete paperwork and provide invoices for all credit card transactions. Card holders were also required to sign a revised agreement in which they undertook, amongst other important control issues, to process transactions in a timely manner. Card holders have been advised that should they fail to use the card as agreed, then the card will be recalled or cancelled.
Transactions are now monitored on a monthly basis. At the end of June 2008, the balances of 2006 and 2007 uncleared accounts have been reduced to less than $50 000. At the end of August 2008, this was reduced to less than $3000. There are no outstanding 2006 transactions. As you can see, the Department of Education and Training has addressed the report very seriously and has acted quickly to address the concerns raised by the Auditor-General.
The Department of Natural Resources, Environment, Environment, Heritage and the Arts has also acted swiftly. The report highlighted the lack of an internal audit function within the department. The department is currently in the process of addressing this deficiency. To appropriately address this issue, the department has acted quickly to undertake a formal risk assessment. Following the risk assessment, a strategic audit plan will be developed for the department.
The department has also established an Audit and Risk Management Committee. This committee will ensure that internal audit responsibilities are achieved. It will also provide independent assurance and assistance to the chief executive to ensure that audit and risk management processes are followed properly. The Audit and Risk Management Committee is chaired by Iain Summers, a former Auditor-General.
Madam Deputy Speaker, as you can see, both departments have used the information in the Auditor-General’s report to improve the internal processes within our departments.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Deputy Speaker, I sincerely thank the Auditor-General for his August 2008 report. As a government, we are pleased the Auditor-General is so thorough in his investigations. That is why we have that very important independent office.
The Auditor-General’s report looked at internal agencies’ audit compliance. The objective of the audit was to ascertain the extent to which internal control procedures that are required by me, as Treasurer, were in place and whether those controls were operating effectively.
As part of this, an audit of corporate credit card controls and the frequency of the use of the cards was undertaken across three agencies to determine whether expenditure incurred on corporate credit cards was appropriate. It is important to point out that the Auditor-General found no cases of fraud or misappropriation in his investigation. However, of absolute concern is that he did find some compliance discrepancies. The government has made it clear that we expect this to be fixed. Each individual minister will report to this House as to the nature of the discrepancies within their respective agencies. The major discrepancy found related to a lack of internal audit functions within some agencies. The issues relate to paperwork and acquittal. There is no suggestion from the Auditor-General that any money was wasted or misspent.
The government has made it absolutely clear that we expect all agencies to comply with all of the Auditor-General’s findings and recommendations within his report. The government takes this matter seriously and, as Treasurer, I take this matter extremely seriously. That is why this issue of internal agency auditing has been referred to the Public Accounts Committee of this parliament for further investigation.
In relation to my own departments, Treasury and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure, the Auditor-General undertook an initial assessment and determined that further examination was not warranted.
I sincerely thank the Auditor-General for his report and I know that all ministers of this government, and I as Treasurer, take his report and all the matters raised in his report seriously. Unlike previous practices of the CLP governments, we will ensure that the matters raised by the Auditor-General are taken very seriously and the absolute internal audit processes are adhered to and are improved so that, quite appropriately, the taxpayer can rest assured that money is being appropriately spent on their behalf across all departments.
I look forward to the Public Accounts Committee’s investigations, and I look forward to a report back from the Public Accounts Committee and any recommendations they want to make. Again, I thank the Auditor-General for the Northern Territory. Frank McGuiness does a tremendous job scrutinising, on behalf of taxpayers, the activities of the government. I recognise the diligence and thoroughness with which he goes about his job. As Treasurer, he has my full support and that of my Treasury, ensuring that government agencies do take on board, with seriousness, the matters raised by the Auditor-General and effect all changes that should be effected to improve their internal auditing. This has been a matter, I know, that the Auditor-General has pursued for some years in strengthening the internal auditing of agencies. I commend him wholeheartedly for the pursuit of this very important issue.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I look forward to the Public Accounts Committee, very ably chaired by our member for Barkly, investigating the referral that this government has made, and I look forward to their advice. I commend the Auditor-General for his report.
Dr BURNS (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the Auditor-General once again for thoroughly assisting government to ensure agencies operate efficiently and transparently. The Auditor-General did not find any cases of fraud or misappropriation. The government requires all agencies to quickly implement the Auditor-General’s findings regarding compliance issues so that they are fixed in a timely fashion.
In relation to Health, this report covers two audits of the agency on special purpose payments and the internal audit function. I also speak on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Families, as the report covers both sides of the agency.
The special purpose payments audit was found to be satisfactory, with comments made about the lack of consistency in the Australian government’s reporting and acquittal requirements, rather than this agency. The Auditor-General also made the generally positive comment about the review of the Department of Health and Families’ internal audit function, but made a few suggestions which the agency is currently addressing. Regarding the noted lack of failure to revise the Audit Committee’s terms of reference and the audit charter at the last meeting of the DHF Audit Committee in August 2008, there were revised and updated terms of reference and a new audit charter that were endorsed with the chief executive’s approval.
The department is currently drawing up an Audit Procedures Manual. The new terms of reference and charter make reporting lines to the executive clear, and increase the independence of the internal audit function. The Audit Committee and Audit Services are in the process of drawing up a strategic audit plan following an organisational strategic risk assessment.
A training budget will be provided to Audit Services’ staff. However, Audit Services within DHF tend to be more of a contract manager than an actual auditor, therefore, the agency also ensures that consultants are fully qualified to carry out the audits they are employed to do.
The Auditor-General reports on issues arising from annual compliance audits. The Department of Justice has moved to immediately implement the Auditor-General’s recommendations. The Auditor-General found the Accounting and Property Manual, the APM, does not provide sufficient guidance in relation to ex gratia payments. In accordance with the recommendation, the Accounting and Property Manual has been amended at section 31.4. Ex gratia payments and an ex gratia register is now maintained by the department. The department’s staff has been advised of section 30 of the Accounting and Property Manual and the required forms are available on the Intranet.
The executive director’s personal assistant maintains a record of hospitality approvals to ensure documented procedures are adhered to. The department is implementing the Travel Request and Information Processing System, otherwise known as TRIPS, to ensure travel documentation procedures are adhered to. The department also conducted a financial interest survey at the 30 June 2008. The survey result was nil.
Madam Speaker, I once again thank the Auditor-General for his thorough report and his ongoing commitment to improving government financial processes.
Mr VATSKALIS (Business and Employment): Madam Speaker, I welcome the Auditor-General’s report. The Auditor-General examined the extent of which internal control procedures are in place and operating effectively. An audit of credit card controls was undertaken across a range of agencies, auditing the effectiveness of internal audit functions across five agencies.
In my portfolio responsibilities, the Auditor-General found the value of the unsupported expenditure in respect of Tourism NT at 30 April 2008 was $325 642, of which $103 168 was incurred during April 2008. Of the balance, $48 000 related to expenditure incurred during the 2007 calendar year. The issue centres on the time taken by staff to acquit those expenses, causing the delay in processing. It is not that Tourism NT had unsubstantiated expenses. The outstanding amount, as reported by the Auditor-General, has since been cleared and acquitted by Tourism NT.
Tourism NT has reviewed its systems and implemented processes to ensure credit cards are acquitted in a timely manner. Effective credit card management has also been incorporated as an element of Tourism NT’s annual staff performance reviews.
The member for Port Darwin queried the level of expenses throughout the month of April. As members would be well aware, April falls within a period which is one of Tourism NT’s busiest times of the year - leading into our peak tourism season. It is during this time that staff undertakes campaign launches, promotional activity, and trade and consumer shows to promote the Territory as the leading natural and cultural destination. These costs also include hosting media and travel trade personnel, who travel to the Territory to showcase the destination during the major campaign period.
In respect to the former Department of Corporate Information Services, the Auditor-General conducted a post-implementation audit of the management of the telecommunications contract. The scope included an assessment of the adequacy of controls in place regarding ongoing management including: service level monitoring; reporting and relationship management; issue identification, escalation, and resolution, including the dispute resolution processes; and financial management processes including, invoicing and cost monitoring.
The audit found that the agency’s approach to managing the outsourcing contract with Telstra was appropriate. However, the audit raised three issues for further consideration. First, while risks are considered on a day-to-day operational and service delivery basis, there is no formal risk management framework and corresponding risk assessment processes relating to contract management and strategic risks. Contract management and strategic risks are currently considered on a regular basis and appropriate action taken, but it is acknowledged that this does not take place within a formal risk management framework. The Department of Business and Employment will formalise this process. The Department of Business and Employment is in the process of finalising an agency risk management framework. A specific risk management framework/plan for contract management and strategic risks has commenced development.
The second audit finding was that service credits have not been provided to agencies since the commencement of the contract, much of which appears to be due to reporting inaccuracies provided by the contractor. Appropriate measures are in place to resolve the issue of outstanding service credits with the contractor on a monthly basis. The Department of Business and Employment and Telstra have made significant efforts towards resolving the issue of service credits, and this matter is ongoing.
The third finding identified that there are potential opportunities for improvements surrounding the incorporation of the performance linked payments for future contracts. The Department of Business and Employment (DBE) will consider the option of performance linked payments in the development of future contracts. This matter will be considered during the sourcing process for the next telecommunications contract.
I now turn to the Auditor-General’s findings in respect of the former Department of Business, Economics and Regional Development. An agency compliance audit has been undertaken to ascertain the extent to which accountable officers have implemented, maintained and ensured compliance with legislated and delegated responsibilities. Three issues raised specifically related to the former Department of Business, Economics and Regional Development. The first was a weakness in the recording of fixed assets. DBERD had six items on its fixed assets register under the $5000 threshold. DBERD has been working with the former Department of Corporate Information Services to remove them from the register.
The second finding was a receipt and tracking system that allowed for the deletion of receipts after processing, and also incorrectly rounded off GST amounts. DBERD is currently in contract negotiations to update its receipt and tracking system. It was also found that agency Accounting and Property Manuals were incomplete and did not comply fully with the Treasurer’s directions. DBERD updated its Accounting and Property Manuals during the audit. These issues have now been addressed within the broader context of establishing policies and procedures for the new Department of Business and Employment agency.
The audit found that, in corporate credit card controls and usage, there were transactions where no tax invoice could be produced to support the recorded expenditure. DBERD agreed with the findings and the recommendation that processes require appropriately evidenced and authorised paperwork before verification can take place. Meetings have been held with DCIS to try to reduce the instances of missing paperwork. Statutory declarations were completed only because the original paperwork had been mislaid. DBE is currently leading a whole-of-government review of credit card policies and procedures, which will respond to the identified credit card control and usage issues.
In respect to internal audit function, areas of non-compliance with and executive override of the Internal Audit Charter were observed. DBERD confirmed that business continuity arrangements had always been included in the scope of the internal audit function. It was also reported that the delineation of reporting lines from the Internal Audit Committee to the executive had the potential to reduce the independence of the internal audit function.
DBERD reviewed its Audit Committee structure, charter, audit, and review protocols as a result of this audit and the chief executive no longer forms part of this committee. It was found that a strategic audit plan should be completed after conducting a formal agency-wide risk assessment. DBERD has agreed to undertake an agency-wide risk assessment.
The Auditor-General found that greater emphasis should be given in the agency’s Audit and Review Protocols Manual to the need for independence from line management of the internal audit/review team members. DBERD agreed with this recommendation. It was found that there was no formal training provided to staff in the internal audit function.
DBERD acknowledged this, but it does have a performance development program for all of its employees where training is identified. DBERD has since registered with the Institute of Internal Auditors to participate in any formal training provided in the Northern Territory. There were occasions where DBERD staff members had not cooperated fully with reasonable requests by internal staff, suggesting that operational staff did not have a sound understanding of the role of internal audit within the agency.
DBERD senior management rectified this situation as soon as it was aware of it. DBERD agreed it was necessary to regularly remind staff of the importance of the internal audition function. These issues have now been addressed within the broader context of establishing policies and procedures for the new DBE. DBE has reviewed and amended its Risk Management and Audit Committee terms of reference and has recently finalised formal corporate governance and risk management models.
An agency compliance audit was performed in the former Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines. The matters raised in the report were not considered significant in nature and have already been dealt with. Any weaknesses identified relating to services provided by another agency under a service level agreement have been jointly worked on to improve processes.
An audit was also performed on corporate credit card controls and usage in the former DPIFM. In one instance, a corporate credit card transaction was split to circumvent the credit card transaction limit. There were areas where controls and processes could be improved.
The audit opinion confirmed that processes and internal controls within the former DPIFM were adequate and capable of ensuring public monies are not misappropriated through inappropriate use of corporate credit cards. Follow-up reviews on credit card controls and their usage have been scheduled in the newly formed Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources internal audit programs. A further audit report confirmed that the former DPIFMs internal audit functions were adequate.
Madam Deputy Speaker, in conclusion, I welcome the report. Agencies have responded to the report and have accepted the findings and implemented measures to ensure compliance.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I note the work of the Auditor-General and appreciate receiving a copy of the report. I acknowledge how important it is that the Auditor-General provides us information such that we can be accountable to not only the parliament but also to the Northern Territory community.
I just want to make reference to one part of the report, which is page 31. It references the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines and it is very encouraging to read:
- The Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines was the only Agency of those examined to have conducted an Agency-wide strategic business risk assessment. This provides an opportunity for the Agency to develop a strategic audit plan based on the risks identified.
I ask also that, perhaps, at the next round of audits the Auditor-General looks closely at how the government and the department go about the business of reshaping, reforming and remodelling Berrimah Farm and exactly what is done with that, given that it is a large asset of the Northern Territory community.
I also note that, in some of this auditing it looks at staffing. It is disappointing to note, and I put in on the public record, that we have now lost another senior veterinary specialist from the department. It brings the total to about six in the last six months. I question whether the minister and the government is going to seriously look at this agency to ensure that it keeps its professional and scientific base for the benefit of all the industries and the Northern Territory people.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the Auditor-General for his report.
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Deputy Speaker, I, too, thank the Auditor-General for his August 2008 report. He certainly does a great job.
The report indicates that the former Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport did not maintain an adequate internal audit function during part of 2007-08. We are pleased the Auditor-General is so thorough in his investigations into these matters. This is why we have the Auditor-General.
The government makes it absolutely clear that we expect all agencies to comply with the Auditor-General’s findings and recommendations. While he found no cases of fraud or misappropriation, he did find some compliance discrepancies. The government expects these to be fixed. The government will refer the issues of internal agency auditing to the Public Accounts Committee for further investigation.
The Department of Local Government and Housing agreed with the findings, and the recommendations were accepted. The previous chief executive of the agency instituted a review of corporate services in September 2007. Since that time, many of the recommendations have already been implemented. The position of Manager Corporate Governance has since been filled and will focus on public sector governance and ongoing internal audits.
The development of a new strategic plan, business plan, and a risk management plan will also follow. An external chair will also be appointed to head a revamped Audit Committee with a new charter to provide independent assurance and assistance on the risk and control and compliance framework. The new Audit Committee replaces the existing framework of multiple audit committees to provide single auditing and reporting across the department. The committee will operate under a new charter to ensure it provides independent assurance and assistance on the risk control and compliance framework of the agency.
Another aspect of internal control, such as integrity of financial reporting and timely disclosure, has not faulted during the absence of the internal audit capacity. Corporate support areas such as finance, human resources, procurement and information technology have continued to fulfil their individual responsibility, albeit without the ongoing oversight of a specific and active Corporate Governance Unit.
There have been considerable changes in the agency over the last 12 months; however, the framework and staff are now in place to ensure that the Auditor-General’s recommendations are adhered to.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased the Auditor-General is so thorough in his investigations into these matters; that is why we have an Auditor-General.
The Auditor-General has made a number of findings in respect of NRETAS. In particular, the Auditor-General has made comment on the adequacy of the internal audit function within the department. While he found no case of fraud or misappropriation, he did find some compliance discrepancies in the agency. As the new minister, I expect this to be fixed and fixed quickly. I am advised that since receiving the Auditor-General’s report, my department has taken action and will implement effective internal audit capacity by the end of this calendar year.
I am further advised that an Audit Commission was established in June 2007, and is chaired by Iain Summers, the former Auditor-General. The committee met most recently in August this year and has established appropriate terms of reference. Divisions within the department have been asked to identify the key risks that might prevent achievement of outcomes, and to then identify action.
On the issue of credit cards, I acknowledge the recommendations to review the number of credit cards issued and expect this to be addressed quickly.
This government makes it absolutely clear that we expect all agencies to comply with the Auditor-General’s findings and recommendations. For that reason, I strongly support the decision to refer the issue of internal agency auditing to the Public Accounts Committee for further investigation. I commend the report to the House.
Mr HAMPTON (Regional Development): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to add my thanks to the Auditor-General, Mr Frank McGuiness, for his August 2008 report. The Auditor-General plays a crucial role in the governance and management of agencies, safeguarding the financial integrity of the Northern Territory government. As a new minister, this is the first time I have had the responsibility for portfolios mentioned in the Auditor-General’s report. I would like to begin with my portfolio of Regional Development.
The former Department of Business, Economic and Regional Development received mention in the Auditor-General’s August 2008 report. The Auditor-General said processes and internal controls were not adequate in relation to the use of credit cards. An examination revealed there were a significant number of transactions where no tax invoice could be produced. Also, there were instances where credit cards were used for procurement when they should only have been used for payment.
I am advised that the new Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources has taken steps to improve the filing and tracking of all credit card transactions, and to obtain the recommended exception reports.
Turning to my portfolio of Information, Communications and Technology Policy, the Auditor-General conducted a post-implementation audit of the management of the telecommunications contract. As the minister for ICT policy, I am certainly interested in such issues. However, responsibility for managing the outsourcing contract with Telstra rests with the Department of Business and Employment and lays within the portfolio of my colleague, the Minister for Business and Employment.
Finally, within my portfolio of Sport and Recreation, there were no specific sports issues raised. The former Department of Local Government, Housing and Sport was mentioned in the Auditor-General’s report. The Auditor-General commented on the adequacy of the internal audit function within the former department. The Sports section has now moved to the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport. I have been advised that the new department has established an Audit Committee and Sport is included in this process.
The Auditor-General’s recommendations in respect to internal audit procedures, documented standard operating procedures, independence of the internal audit function, and completion of a strategic audit plan will be addressed by the department by the end of this year. A position to coordinate the conduct of the internal audit and the training of staff will be operational in the near future.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I acknowledge the work of Mr McGuiness and pay tribute to his staff for all their hard work.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Deputy Speaker, this is one agency that is critical for the reinforcing of the words that are spoken from governments about the need for openness, honesty and transparency because of the independent nature of the assessment that the Auditor-General conducts on the public account. I acknowledge the fine work of the Auditor-General. He serves this parliament and this Territory well.
My colleague, the shadow Treasurer, the member for Port Darwin, has gone into significant detail on aspects of the Auditor-General’s report and many comments of concern to the opposition. The Deputy Leader has also spoken on the shadow Treasurer’s comments.
To reinforce a point, the combination of deficiencies in internal audits with questions regarding the management of credit cards, is a most concerning combination. With the assurances that have been made by the relevant ministers in the Chamber, it is beholden, particularly upon the opposition, to ensure that the words that are spoken in response to that combination of the deficiency in internal audits, plus the problems with the use of credit cards in a number of these agencies, is actually followed through. Therefore, the next Auditor-General’s report will be read with great interest, particularly with a strengthened opposition, which is determined to hold government to account for the words that they use about openness, honesty, and transparency. They are good slogans and for them to have meaning, we need agencies such as the Auditor-General to conduct a proper scrutiny of the public record. I hope that the Public Accounts Committee continues to seek the advice of the Auditor-General and follows through on the issues that have been raised, particularly by the ministers. I can assure government that opposition will be taking these matters very seriously.
Finally, the combination of internal audits being found wanting in a number of cases, plus what appears to be undisciplined or unaccounted use of credit cards, is not a good look. It is a very unfortunate combination and, therefore, it is very hard to take assurances alone. You need to ensure that these assurances are followed through, and the opposition will be holding government to account.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank all members who contributed in debate this afternoon regarding the Auditor-General’s August 2008 report.
I agree, obviously, as Chief Minister, with everyone who has spoken; that the Auditor-General has an enormously important role in the Westminster parliamentary system regarding having independent powers to audit the financial affairs of government agencies. I thank our Auditor-General for the great job that he does in ensuring that the government agencies manage their financial affairs with integrity and with accurate record keeping and adherence to all required legislative standards and auditing standards. He does a very significant job.
When the Auditor-General’s report is tabled in this parliament, it is a report that all of us immediately reach out for. There are a number of reports that are tabled in this parliament that may take some time before they come to members’ attention. However, everyone immediately reaches for the Auditor-General’s report. I know, as ministers, we pick it up and quickly go and see if there is anything untoward within our agencies. Obviously, opposition spokespeople and independents look for areas where the Auditor-General has been critical of government agencies and, by obvious alignment, ministers’ carriage of those responsibilities.
This is an important report. The Auditor-General does tend to have themes running through his report. He, obviously, looked at the use of credit cards across government agencies. I agree with the Leader of the Opposition in his concluding remarks; that there has been, right across government agencies, an unfortunate laxity regarding ensuring appropriate transparency and acquittal processes are in place in regard to those transactions. All CEOs are very much on notice to ensure that they respond and close those loopholes that may have been identified.
I go to comments made by the member for Port Darwin, who made the most significant contribution from members opposite. He claimed the report reflects a ‘great malaise’ - I think was the rhetorical flourish used by him – occurring in the public service.
We have some 16 000 public servants who do a magnificent job, by and large, delivering services across the Northern Territory and implementing government policy. An all encompassing statement that there is a ‘great malaise’ occurring across the public service in regards to the transparency and accountability of government expenditure is not offensive, but it is over the top. We do have a professional public service and, whilst there is evidence of non-compliance in the report, it is not endemic and systematic. There have been incidences highlighted where internal controls have broken down. It is the job of the Auditor-General to identify those to ensure things get tightened up. He did not point to a great malaise or systemic breakdown of internals controls. He pointed out different agencies had different problems and there needed to be things tightened up and those agencies had responded appropriately.
He also suggested the Department of the Chief Minister had, somehow, rubber stamped all credit card expenditure to avoid being audited - again, absolute nonsense ...
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! What I asked for was the Department of the Chief Minister make that material available so that determination could be made. I did not make a judgment.
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr HENDERSON: If the Auditor-General wants to inquire into the Department of the Chief Minister’s accounts in these matters, he would have asked and those documents would have been made available. With these comments talking about rubber stamping, I hope the member for Port Darwin is not suggesting the Auditor-General is not completely impartial in where he chooses to shine his torch looking at financial transactions of government agencies. It is the Auditor-General who selects which agencies are to be audited and for what purpose they are to be audited. He is not guided, authorised or instructed by the Department of the Chief Minister. He is totally independent.
The member for Port Darwin also noted the report highlighted an instance within DPIFM where a credit card transaction was split to circumvent the procurement process. I agree that practice is improper and it is not condoned. The procurement act is very specific in regard to how government should procure goods and services in delivering government programs and services. I believe it was an isolated example and it was not found to be a systemic practice. I agree with the member for Port Darwin that it was improper. It is not condoned and it should not have happened.
He criticised agencies for having to resort to using statutory declarations to support the contention that expenditure was incurred for official purposes. I agree with the member for Port Darwin; that should occur very occasionally or rarely. Agencies should keep proper records. However, there are occasions where documentation does go missing. I am sure all of us in our personal lives have documents go missing from time to time. It is something that is very annoying but, again, given goodness knows how many tens of thousand purchasing transactions would occur across government agencies, records should be kept - I agree with the member for Port Darwin - and agencies should not, as a rule of operation, rely on providing statutory declarations to cover expenditure. Again, that is what we have the Auditor-General for; to really look into these issues and require agencies to lift their game in regard to the keeping of official records so statutory declarations do not have to be relied upon.
The member for Port Darwin also - again with rhetorical flourish - insinuated there could be many examples of fraud on the taxpayer committed by public servants in missing paperwork relating to credit card transactions. Again, there was absolutely nothing in the Auditor-General’s report that even remotely reflected that fraud could be occurring. These are accounting issues, they are record-keeping issues, and they are certainly issues that I expect, as the Chief Minister, CEOs will address. However, to take from that that there could be many examples of fraud committed on the taxpayer by public servants in relation to missing paperwork is, again, a very long bow to draw and, I would say in this instance, absolutely offensive to many public servants that he could insinuate that …
Mr Elferink: Go back and read what I said and you will actually find out what I was referring to.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr HENDERSON: … there could be many examples of fraud on the taxpayer …
Mr Elferink: The point is you do not know.
Mr HENDERSON: The Auditor-General …
Mr Elferink: You do not know, and that is what the Auditor-General’s problem is.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: The member for Port Darwin wants to set up – talk about the Spanish Inquisition - myriads of committees and inquiries and draw people in and cross-examine people and compel documents to be provided. That is why we have an Auditor-General ...
Members interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: That is why we have an Auditor-General ...
Mr Tollner: I distinctly recall someone talking about transparency …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim!
Mr HENDERSON: … not a kangaroo court of parliament while we have an independent statutory officer who has the powers to investigate into every nook and cranny and corner of the financial delegations and operations of government and government agencies. He has a whole office resource. He has access to external audit capacity such as auditors who have forensic capacity in looking into transactions - far greater capacity, with all due respect to the member for Port Darwin and other members of this House, than any one of us here would have in professional capacity, to be able to look into the financial transactions of government. With all of the capacity that the Auditor-General has through his own office and also through external accounting firms that he can bring in to look into transactions of government agencies, he did not mention in his report that he had any concerns about examples of potential fraud on the taxpayer identified through his report.
That was a leap of imagination by the member for Port Darwin, expanding on the findings of the Auditor-General and, somehow, trying to create some sort of alarm in the public that here we have - I do not know how many; dozens, hundreds, a handful - of public servants who were systemically committing fraud by purchasing goodness knows what and providing false statutory declarations. He has no evidence for that - none at all. Again, that is offensive to the professional integrity of our public service.
Having said that, if there is or was any public servant who was committing fraud on the taxpayer by making purchases and false declarations, then I would expect that that public servant would be not only dealt with by the public service, but reported to police and appropriate charges should be laid, and would be dealt with by courts of the Northern Territory on the evidence provided, not some sort of kangaroo court system set up by a committee of this parliament.
In conclusion, I again thank the Auditor-General for the enormous service that he provides to the people of the Northern Territory. I commend him on his report.
Picking up on the Leader of the Opposition’s comments, I too expect that our public service and our CEOs will take the recommendations made by the Auditor-General, ensure that they are implemented, and where we have issues of improper or lax transactions by the use of credit cards, that these are cleaned up, and the Auditor-General’s recommendations get implemented across the public service.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the Auditor-General’s report.
Motion agreed to; report noted.
MOTION
Note Statement – Ichthys Joint Venture
Note Statement – Ichthys Joint Venture
Continued from 21 October 2008.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Deputy Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I support the statement by the Chief Minister on the Ichthys LNG Project and the exciting announcement that Darwin is the preferred onshore location for the INPEX LNG plant.
As the Chief Minister said, this is, indeed, an historic announcement for the Territory. I congratulate the Chief Minister for showing impressive leadership and taking the Territory from being the underdog to becoming the preferred location for INPEX’s $20bn investment. This is no small achievement. It took hard work, determination and a strong leader to provide INPEX with the certainty and cooperation necessary to choose Darwin over the Maret Islands.
However, the commitment and dedication the Chief Minister and this government have to building economic certainty for the Territory does not end with INPEX. We are working to produce real economic results. The Territory has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, business confidence is high, and the Territory is continuing to enjoy strong economic growth. But this no time for complacency. INPEX will create thousands of jobs for Territorians and this demand for skilled workers will bring challenges. We must address these challenges to be ready to make the most of job opportunities.
As the Chief Minister said, we are working to meet the rise in demand for skilled workers when construction begins on the INPEX LNG site in 2010. We have a well developed Jobs Plan. It is the first comprehensive policy for training and employment in the Northern Territory. Our focus is on strategies which are producing results. We are strengthening partnerships between government agencies and business and industry. We are building pathways which provide the opportunity for Territory children to move easily from school to training and apprenticeships.
We are ensuring that government has the best information possible about the labour market and the economy so we can respond quickly to changing needs. We are focused on training Indigenous Territorians to build our workforce and close the gap in remote communities; 24% of our apprentices and trainees are Indigenous. Only last week, 16 Indigenous trainees graduated from a course in essential skills for the gas industry. These young people are now entering employment and will continue their training and will be ready to make the most of the job opportunities at INPEX.
Four years ago, we set a target of 10 000 apprenticeships and trainee commencements. We have reached that goal and we are striving for more. We have now committed to another 10 000 apprenticeships and trainee commencements. This is an important step in developing a skilled workforce ready for INPEX.
The Territory has the highest VET participation rate in Australia. I am proud to say, 22 000 Territorians undertook Vocational and Educational Training in 2007. Many of these people are already in the workforce and are training to improve their skills, ready for job opportunities in areas of skills shortage. To support people who are upskilling, we announced an annual commitment of $1m for Build Skills. That is a $500 000 increase. We recognise the importance of improving skills within the workforce.
It is not just about providing initial training. Building a skilled workforce is also about providing training opportunities for people already engaged in the workforce. We are supporting Territorians who want to improve their current skills base. The Territory has the second highest labour force participation rate in the country, with more than 110 000 participants. We value our workforce, and encourage people to upskill,
We support Territory employers. We want Territory employers, Territory businesses, to make the most of every opportunity INPEX will bring to the Territory. We are helping employers to support employees who want to learn and train. Our government provides $16m for training support, and this is in addition to the $45m we provide in annual support to CDU and $10m for VET training at the Bachelor Institute. Part of our commitment to training and supporting business includes the $1.25m annual commitment for the Workwear/Workgear Bonus program. This is a practical way we can help Territorians training in skills shortage areas. In fact, the biggest growth area in training is across traditional trade occupations, where there are the most acute skills shortages. Almost half of our apprentices and trainees are studying in trades in the shortage occupations.
Since 2001, the number of apprentices and trainees taking up training opportunities in skills shortage areas has doubled. Recognising this fantastic uptake, we announced during the election that we will be more than doubling the Workready program, taking the funding from $400 000 to $900 000. This program is proving successful in providing students with work experience so that they are better prepared for school-based apprenticeships and traineeships. Attitudes have changed in the Territory. Leaving school to complete an apprenticeship is now a strongly admired career path which brings great opportunity for Territory kids.
INPEX has the potential to secure the Territory’s economic future and provide great opportunities for all Territorians. Through strategic planning and careful implementation over the past seven years, we have built a skilled workforce. We are investing in the future of training and apprenticeships to ensure we continue to build our workforce, ready to make the most of the opportunities INPEX will bring. I know Territorians are excited about INPEX and the Chief Minister has done a great job to bring this project one step closer to Darwin.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, sorry, I was not quite expecting such a short contribution from the minister. However, brevity is welcome in this House from time to time. I am not particularly good at it myself and perhaps I should follow the minister’s fine example. I followed with some interest the development of …
Ms Scrymgour: God, he is a dag.
Mr ELFERINK: I said something nice.
Ms Scrymgour: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you. Order!
Mr ELFERINK: I said something nice, they still beat me up. Wounded.
Ms Scrymgour: I was going to say worse than that, but …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, you have the call.
Mr ELFERINK: I have completely lost my train of thought. Oh yes, this project, which has been delivered to the people of the Northern Territory, is a fine project and I personally am very supportive of the expansion of the existing gas industry in the Northern Territory. It is worth noting that I have lived in Darwin since 1969, with the exception of the time that I spent in Alice Springs, and I have seen the town grow from being mildly larger than Alice Springs is today to the metropolis that we see around us now. However, I expect that in the next 39 years, Darwin will be unrecognisable from the town that it is today, largely as a result of the developments from the gas that will come onshore from the Browse Basin.
The Chief Minister is justifiably proud of bringing this forward. However, one could be forgiven, if one was reading the Northern Territory News, for thinking that the Chief Minister mounted this horse all by himself and led the cavalry charge in a knowledge vacuum in the sense that there was no knowledge of gas and the potentiality for gas in Darwin prior to Clare Martin becoming Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.
The history of gas development - and I know the government is particularly keen on dwelling on what happened in the Northern Territory before the change of government, so it is worth going there - goes back a long, long way. It predates Clare Martin, predates Denis Burke and goes back as far as Shane Leslie Stone, the Chief Minister who, with the help of Premier Court of Western Australia, assisted …
Mr Henderson: He was the last person to dissent against the Speaker, 10 years ago.
Mr ELFERINK: … found gas customers in South-East Asia which enabled the development of the Bayu-Undan field by ConocoPhillips. If you look across the harbour today there is a monument to that work. Also, if you track the recent news article - I pick up on the one which was written quite recently about Paul Tyrrell being the driving force behind this. I actually believe that Paul Tyrrell had a huge contribution to make in relation to this particular project. Paul Tyrrell was also well supported by other public servants going back to the CLP days. It was clear that he was building on the knowledge he obtained during that period.
It is also clear that INPEX as a company was not ignorant of the location of the Northern Territory as some of the press and, I suspect, even government, would have you believe. It is interesting to read the annual reports of some of these companies. If you take, for example, the last annual report I read from ConocoPhillips, it is curious to note that amongst their major shareholders is a company called INPEX. It appears all of these companies have shareholdings in each other’s interests and, therefore, it would be very unlikely to assume they are ignorant of each other’s activities.
I also note - and I could be corrected on this, but I believe I am correct – that the pipeline which is coming in from the Browse Basin will be a 42-inch pipeline. It is also my understanding that on the horizon Greater Sunrise may yet be touched, which is a massive gas field in the shared zone of cooperation just north of us.
I note in the Financial Review that Shell Woodside, the developer of Greater Sunrise, has said they will not go to Timor. There are engineering reasons why that would occur, you cannot swing a gas pipeline through empty space, which is effectively what you are being asked to do when you cross one of those major trenches just south of the Timorese islands. Technically, there are huge problems with bringing gas to Timor. Shell Woodside, of course, has still not discounted offshore production, but also have not yet discounted Darwin.
It is my belief that when the former CLP government suddenly had the opportunity to tap into Bayu-Undan, or when that opportunity came up, the former CLP government was caught unawares. This is only me reading between the lines, I do not have any direct evidence from Cabinet members at the time. I suspected they may have been caught slightly unawares, because it would have been a case of: ‘Well, where can you take us to?’ Middle Arm became the only possible option that was available at the time. I remember at the time it caused some community disquiet that Middle Arm was chosen as a location for the development of the Bayu-Undan ConocoPhillips field. In that instance, if it was a case of: ‘Gee whiz, I would like to locate it elsewhere; however, if it is a choice between gas coming onshore and gas not coming onshore, then we will always have to support gas coming onshore for the development of the people of the Northern Territory’.
However, the response from the government at the time was to shore up or start doing preparatory work for the arrival, I believe, of Greater Sunrise - and not to send them into the middle of Darwin Harbour. Work was done and it was identified that there were two other very good locations where gas could have been brought onshore. One was called Point Margaret which is at the mouth of Bynoe Harbour, a natural scour, as I understand it, caused by tidal movements which are sufficiently deep to allow passage of large LNG vessels, almost to the point itself. However, land title issues over that location precluded it from being further developed. The other particular option was Glyde Point. Work was done to firm up Glyde Point. We hear from the members of government that it is all too expensive; it is going to cost $500m. Well, if you are going to reproduce the current wharf facilities at East Arm, yes, I imagine it would cost about $500m. But I suspect that was not actually what was intended, which is evidenced by the fact that transport corridors were to be developed between the industrial area developed at Glyde Point and the East Arm port here in Darwin.
The decision by government not to throw any money at that development beyond the preparatory work that has been done at that stage, not to develop the downstream industrial area which would have been physically located behind the gas installation should they come onshore at that point, and not to do any more development work for the town of Murrumujuk, which was going to be built nearby, was a decision of this government. This government decided that, because Greater Sunrise was not a particularly promising option, and because there were no other gas development projects on the horizon, they mothballed the Glyde Point development ...
Ms Lawrie: No, that was not our reason, actually.
Mr ELFERINK: They would mothball the development and allow for a small amount of development, and allow the harbour to develop as had been planned with low-level industry being earmarked for the rest of Middle Arm. Then, quite out of left field, and as a bit of a surprise to the then Chief Minister, Clare Martin, she had an opportunity from this company called INPEX, which was not having a comfortable time under the then administration of the West Australian government. As a consequence - and quite rightly, I might add, and full credit to Clare Martin - she said: ‘Here is an opportunity. It is a bit of a long shot, but here is an opportunity. Let us go for it’. As time passed, this government was able to make the Northern Territory increasingly attractive to INPEX. We have all seen the fruits of those labours. As I said, full credit where credit is due.
I remember that we have, from time to time, as an accident of our offices, the opportunity to ride the train of other people’s achievement, not least of which was the view I had one day of Clare Martin driving into Darwin on a train which she once described to be a faded dream. That was an accident of political history. I notice that the new Chief Minister would shroud himself in congratulations for his enormous achievement when, I suggest, if he can see into the future, he should check his feet, because he is clearly standing on the shoulders of people who came before him. I am not talking just about Clare Martin; he should acknowledge the work that was done even prior to the arrival of Clare Martin on the scene.
I return now to the comments about the 42-inch pipe coming from the Browse Basin and in relation to all of these gas companies having an interest in each other. I am speaking figuratively there. It is my understanding that, should Greater Sunrise come online, a similar size pipe will also come out of Greater Sunrise which will go past - what is it, the Bart field in that area Kon? Yes, the Bart field and other gas fields in that area. Something that has not been articulated yet, but I hope the Chief Minister would take a moment to reflect on, is that the 42-inch pipe, as I understand it – and I am not an engineer, I could be corrected - is physically probably pretty much the largest pipe you can build for these sorts of purposes, and may actually be larger than that immediately required by INPEX for the field that they are developing at the moment, the Ichthys field.
However, if that is true, and all of these gas companies know what the others are up to, and there are more and more of these head wells starting to come online, it is not inconceivable that these gas companies will be looking for rental space in these very large pipelines from each other. So, if INPEX builds this pipeline all the way from the Browse Basin to Middle Arm, it is not inconceivable that, if other fields come online out of the Browse Basin, rather than go to Western Australia they may very well put little T-intersections into this massive pipeline and move their gas down the pipeline as well. If that occurs - and this is purely my personal speculation, I might add - and if Greater Sunrise comes onshore, in the next 10 years this will be much bigger than just INPEX. It will be huge beyond words.
The reassurances we have from government that Middle Arm is the place where all this stuff is going gives me pause for thought. The reason is that I can imagine if all these fields decide to come to the Northern Territory, because we are just the better place to do business than Western Australia. Then, I am mindful of what Middle Arm will look like and, as night follows day, once you get gas of those proportions coming to this city, then you will find major industry will follow that gas and seek to set up nearby. Dow Chemical Company has made it abundantly clear, as I understand it, that that is exactly their intention.
Whilst I am very supportive of gas - and you will not find me unsupportive of the appropriate legislative instruments to enable this particular project to go ahead - the fact remains that I wish there had been better planning done than we have seen at the moment. I am drawn to the same observation I made earlier in relation to the development of Middle Arm to receive gas from Bayu-Undan. If it is a choice between gas coming to the Northern Territory and not coming, and the only option available is Middle Arm, then Middle Arm is where it goes. However, there is still an opportunity to do effective planning further downstream in the area. I know the minister for Planning has trotted out the line that they said they wanted to go to Middle Arm - that was the only place that was offered to them – the only place. They were not given an opportunity to consider another area, so, consequently, Middle Arm it is. Okay, so be it.
Let us get ready for the next round of planning for the major chemical companies and the mining companies which will suddenly say: ‘We are going to evaluate our product in Darwin and so we will set up smelters in Darwin rather than moving all our ore offshore’; and let us find them a location. Gas will come to Middle Arm, and I suspect that a lot more than we currently believe is on its way; that is the potential. We need to engage in proper planning, and I hear the minister for Planning when she says that it is not entirely unlikely Wickham Point being a Nightcliff and the industry being at Karama in terms of the physical distance between Wickham Point and where the downstream industry will go. I have some reservations that if a lot more gas comes to the Northern Territory than the astonishing amount that already seems to be in the pipeline – no pun intended – then we will have a lot more heavy industry coming to Darwin, and the planning needs to be done now.
It is urgent that we do this planning because we need to be able to demonstrate to those people who are coming that there is a place for them to go other than simply pointing at Middle Arm, which was never ever contemplated as being a zone of heavy industry. The original industrial zoning for the Middle Arm area was contemplated as another Winnellie, not a Botany Bay, and that is a fundamental difference which is still not too late to address.
It is my understanding that industries which use LNG for their downstream purposes need the gas in its gaseous form, not in its liquid form, which means if it is easier to move then it is easier for them to consume remotely from the gas installations themselves. The only reason the gas installations need to be close to the shore is that, in its liquid form, the gas has to be kept at minus-162C …
Mr Vatskalis: Minus-183C.
Mr ELFERINK: Sorry?
Mr Vatskalis: Minus-183C.
Mr ELFERINK: I thought it was 163C or 162C. Well, I stand corrected – minus-183C. In other words, it has to be bloody cold and, if you stick it down a pipeline which is too long it regasifies and, therefore, you cannot transport it because the ratio of gaseous gas to liquid is 600:1 or thereabouts, which means that a cubic foot of liquid gas turns into 600 cubic feet of gaseous gas.
However, although the vessels need gas in its liquid form for the purpose of transport, industry at the other end needs the gasified version of that gas, and so it is possible to pipe that over much longer distances. If you doubt that, look at the length of the pipeline which is being proposed between the Ichthys field and Middle Arm.
I ask that the government, as a matter of urgency, turn its mind to planning the future industrial development of Darwin beyond Middle Arm and find locations which are acceptable to downstream customers, because the opportunity to have a gas industry, as well as have a harbour which is not going to be condemned by future generations of Territorians as a monument to bad planning, is still before us. We have, in part, lost that opportunity because gas is coming to Middle Arm. Well, so be it.
At the risk of anticipating the debate, I note in the bill before the House a right for the proponent to claim specific performance, which is a term out of contract law. It means that, essentially, we cannot offer them – once the contract and the deal has been struck – a place other than Middle Arm. That means, by its very nature, Middle Arm is where that gas will go. I do not suspect any future downstream users of gas are going to – extension of time, somebody?
Mr BOHLIN: Madam Speaker, I move an extension of time for the member for Port Darwin pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK: I thank and acknowledge honourable members for their kindness in giving me the extension of time.
Regarding the planning issue, I urge and plead with government to look at different options. Do not roll the shutters down. I do not want to hear my children saying to me: ‘Dad, exactly what did happen in Darwin Harbour 30 years ago when it was a pristine harbour and now it has turned into this industrial development of mammoth size?’
I note from the legislation which is before the House the right to claim specific performance, which is an equitable remedy under contract law which, basically, says that under normal breaches of contract you will get compensation paid or you will have some claim of right in compensatory payment. However, when a contract is signed for the purchase of something which is inherently unique - for argument’s sake, I purchase a Claude Monet painting and, then for some reason the person who sells me that painting – God, I wish I had the money for that, but that is an aside - then tries to say: ‘I cannot sell you, I am not going to sell you the painting’ - I can ask for specific performance, because specific performance says: ‘No, what you are offering me is unique and, therefore, it cannot be compensated; it is a one-off’. That is, essentially, the structure of the bill that is before this House, so I will not dwell on that any further.
This is good news for the Northern Territory. I, with some trepidation, have some concerns about what Darwin will look like and the amount of planning being done to accommodate these changes into the future. The government has demonstrated there is a chasm between what they say and what happens in planning issues; not least of which is, for argument’s sake, the assurances by the minister for Planning during the election campaign that Bellamack would be turned off in early 2009. That has subsequently changed to 2009 and, now, the language is starting to drift away to early 2010 ...
Mr Henderson: She has not said that.
Mr ELFERINK: Well, it is drifting in that direction.
Mr Henderson: When did she say early 2010?
Mr ELFERINK: It is drifting - well, give us a guarantee.
Ms Lawrie: No, he is making it up.
Mr Henderson: You said that she said 2010.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: Drifting in the direction of 2010. It gets later and later and later. Well, give us a date. Stand up on your feet and give us a not-later-than date.
Madam SPEAKER: This is not Question Time, member for Port Darwin; just continue your comments through the Chair, please.
Mr ELFERINK: The government, all of a sudden, has now announced Johnston, Zuccoli and one of the others – Mitchell - when, not 12 months ago, the minister was in this House bleating that to turn off blocks at that rate would flood the marketplace with land, and would cause the prices to crash through the floor. All of a sudden, the very thing we were calling for turns out to be good government policy.
I concern myself with the planning capacity of this government because, like so much of what they do, it is done in a pedestrian, nine-to-five sort of way. If it is not sorted out by 5 o’clock tonight, ‘That is all right, we will come back tomorrow and have another look at it and see how we are going’.
I urge this government to take planning a lot more seriously than they have done. It is probably, outside of crime, health and education in the Darwin area, one of the most pressing issues that has people talking. The government’s planning capacity is widely criticised, not just by me and not just inside this House; it gets criticism from all sorts of areas. Government, I suspect is aware of this, hence the Buildstart program announcement over the last couple of days.
I finish by saying this. The well was dug, the spring was tapped many years ago and it took successive governments, both CLP and ALP, to develop that spring. Yet, when it was tapped, opportunities arose that were not even dreamed of back in those days. Now, the opportunities are upon us and, I suspect, we will become the gas hub of north Australia for the reasons that I have outlined here today. If that occurs, planning really needs to be done and needs to be done well.
Whilst I congratulate the government and give the government a bouquet on their role in securing this process - may I say largely assisted by a hung parliament in Western Australia, which would give little comfort to INPEX - the fact is they deserve the bouquet. They will also, if they do not get it right in all these other areas which have been discussed by members here today, deserve brickbats. I suspect if they do not get it right, next time at the ballot box will not be a pleasant one for them.
Mr VATSKALIS (Business and Employment): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his contribution. I support the Chief Minister’s statement on INPEX LNG processing facility which has been proposed for Blaydin Point in Darwin Harbour. I congratulate the Chief Minister and the previous Chief Minister, and Mr Paul Tyrrell, because the reality is Mr Paul Tyrrell was the one person who sniffed out the opportunity and advised Cabinet and the then Chief Minister, Clare Martin, and started travelling to Japan to talk to INPEX and to the people in Perth about the possibility of the Northern Territory becoming the centre for the establishment of the facility for LNG. With the change of leadership, I was very encouraged to see that the member for Wanguri, the Chief Minister, did not miss a beat - one of the first trips he took was to Japan to ensure he continued the trend to bring INPEX here to the Territory.
It is the establishment of an industry like LNG, and other relevant industries, which will actually underpin the economic future of the Territory. Since quite a few of us have come from somewhere else, very few of us were actually born and originate from here, we all remember coming to Darwin. I remember when I first came to Darwin in 1993 it was a fantastic provincial town. The highest building was NT House with 14 storeys. The harbour was fantastic; it was a working harbour. I remember the port then was the wharf down here, and the other port was under construction. It was quite a while before we started to see the first signs of economic activity with one of the visionary plans for the Territory - the train. From the very beginning, I said the construction of the railway from Alice Springs to Darwin was a visionary plan that will open the road to Asia.
I also remember very well the debate about the establishment of the ConocoPhillips LNG plant, and the reaction and support from people. Before, it was interesting to see people complaining that young Territorians could not wait to get out of Darwin and go south and, when they got down south, you might as well kiss them goodbye; they would never come back; not only because of the big city but because there were no opportunities. Who would come back to Darwin if the opportunities leading into service provision or public service or construction were limited and, at the same time, Port Hedland and Karratha were absolutely booming? Even then, in 1990 to 1993, they could not find workers and, when they did find workers, they paid them really well.
In 1990, I learned the train drivers from Newmont Mining were being paid $150 000 a year; they used to call them koalas because they were treated like protected species. I learned that when I worked for the council. I visited the mine one day where they were preparing food for the day workers. I saw a stack of eskies and I asked what the eskies where for. They said they were for the train driver. I said: ‘What, five eskies?’ They said, ‘Yes, the first one is for cool drinks; the second one is for bread and fruit and the third one is the hot food; the fourth one is for desert …’ These guys never went shopping; they just got off the train when they got back from Port Hedland, picked up the esky and took them home. That is what they used to pay them
I remember when they first planned the LNG plant here in Darwin and the member for Port Darwin, previously the member Macdonnell, will remember the debate we had in and outside the House, with the scaremongering about how the harbour was going to change; that was the end of life as we knew it; nobody could go fishing in the harbour anymore because the …
Mr Elferink: But it has changed; that is the point. It has changed.
Mr VATSKALIS: You can still go fishing in the harbour. Our harbour is still in very good condition. Our harbour has not been affected by the LNG plant installation because, considering all the other industry, LNG plants are some of the most benign because they simply strip the liquids and refrigerate gas to minus-183C to export. I agree with you, as you said before, it is the law of physics, if you are going to export something in liquid form at minus-183C you cannot transport it for 5 km or 10 km, it has to be transported to a boat as soon as possible. I also agree with you that, if it has to be a downstream industry, it does need liquified natural gas in its gaseous form so it can be transported for 10 km to 20 km. I absolutely support that argument.
However, the LNG INPEX figures are staggering. The size of this plant and the effect it is going to have on the economy of the Territory and of Australia and, certainly, in the development of Darwin, is staggering. When I first announced the proposed construction, we quoted $US13bn which, today, translates to $A21bn. Things change drastically by changing one little figure in the value, but it is still a significant amount of money; it is the biggest investment in Australia.
The other thing that is staggering is that INPEX will be producing about 60% of all liquefied natural gas in Australia - 40% of all liquids produced currently in Australia. Just one gas field will produce enormous quantities. Ichthys is the Greek word for fish, so if the gas is in the sea, it must be a fish. Ichthys is 12 TCF, trillion cubic feet, compared with Sunrise which is 7 TCF. So Ichthys is one-and-a-half times as big as Sunrise, so it is an enormous gas field. If Sunrise is going to be big, INPEX is enormous; it is gigantic.
The other thing, of course, is that the number of workers in full construction will be about 3000, and the expenditure will be, from 2010 to 2014, $2bn in each of these years. Construction per year to 2011, 2012, and 2013 will be $3bn per year. The sale of gas overseas will have effects, not only to our economy, but positive effects on the environment. This gas will replace coal-fired power stations; it will actually produce four times less pollution than the best quality coal will produce if it is used for the production of energy.
However, the effects it will have on our business in the Territory are enormous. The government commissioned ACIL Tasman to draft a report, The Impact of LNG processing on the Northern Territory economy. I would like to quote from this report:
- The high level of involvement of Northern Territory businesses in the ConocoPhillips DLNG project and Alcan G3 project demonstrated that local business can develop the capacity to participate in major projects.
It continued:
- The ability of local business and labour to service both construction and operation phases of large scale projects helps to make Darwin a competitive location relative to more remote areas of Western Australia.
The biggest problem for INPEX was there was nothing in the area where they wanted to establish their LNG plant - no towns, no airports, no ports, no power, no water, no sewerage, and no people. In addition to that, the Maret Islands are some of the most unique islands in Western Australia which are actually utilised by fishermen and tourists. To try to land the pipeline in the pristine environment of the Kimberleys would certainly have quite a few greenies running around in circles screaming their heads off. We were in the right position, at the right time, and we worked very hard to take the gas from Western Australia, much to their surprise, because I do not think they ever believed Darwin would actually get the gas from Western Australia.
The other thing was that Darwin and the Northern Territory, in some respects, are a competitive location for development of major resources projects. Construction costs are an important factor, but they are not necessarily the prime determinants of the final investment decision. Nevertheless, the competitiveness of Darwin and the Northern Territory in construction costs, relative to other locations, is important in any decision reached in the minds of developers as an option worthy of consideration. It is not the fact we are getting INPEX here, it is the fact that we proved to the rest of the world we can manage, assist and help in the construction and servicing of these big projects.
In the past 10 years, we have seen a significant increase in activities to support and service the oil and gas industry, not only in the waters of the Territory, but the waters to the east and west of the Territory. That has opened enormous opportunities for our industries, and more and more industries now consider Darwin and the Northern Territory as a base to support the oil and gas industry. That is what it is going to be.
It is not only INPEX, because if you look at ConocoPhillips, the life of the gas might be 20 to 25 years. It is not just 25 years which is going to actually contribute to the economic security of the Territory, it is the fact that, in this 25 years, there will be other associated industries that will support ConocoPhillips, INPEX, and Sunrise when and if it comes to Darwin. Also, people out there realise they do not have to drive to town to Karratha, which is 2500 km south; they can get what they want from Darwin which is much closer to where they produce the oil and gas.
The important thing is we get this enormous opportunity and do not sit back and do nothing and gain very little for the Northern Territory. We want Territory business to be able to put a tender to INPEX for the construction, for the support of the plant during construction, and during operation. That is the reason we are working very closely with the Northern Territory Industry Capability Network to ensure that businesses throughout the Territory have the ability and know how to tender correctly, because some of the contracts this company sends out are not just one piece of paper, they are pages and pages. As I have been told, when you put in an application - let us say to supply housing modules, residential modules - you have to talk about capacity, policies in place, the environmental policies in place, and about all these things which not many people in the Territory have ever tendered before, or know or are familiar with.
We want to ensure that Territory businesses are benefiting from INPEX. That Territory businesses can be there successfully getting some of these contracts. If Territory businesses get these contracts that means Territorians will welcome this business and they will benefit for the next three, four, five, 10 years. Many people say it is only big businesses which will benefit, but the reality is that even the small businesses, the supportive businesses, the businesses that provide services, will benefit.
A typical example was the guy from the pizza place in Palmerston. He said that due to the construction of the ConocoPhillips plant, when the workers’ camp was near Palmerston, he did the best business he had done for four years because people who have disposable income will buy things - they will buy pizza, they will service their car, they will buy everything - so that money will flow back to the Territory.
We are working very closely with the Northern Territory Industry Capability Network. The reality is that we are not going to get all the workers from Darwin; we know that. There is no way we are going to find workers from Darwin, because some of the skills required are not here. I recall very well when ConocoPhillips wanted specialist welders; they had to import 15 Filipino specialist welders from the Middle East for the simple reason they could not find them here. They told me they interviewed 100 people – there was only one successful applicant. It was a mother who used to work in Karratha in the gas industry and she moved to Darwin. One female from the Territory out of 100 applicants got a job with ConocoPhillips.
So, we have to face the reality; some of these people will not come from here for the simple reason we do not have the skills or the expertise. But, many people who come here will decide to stay and to get an alternative job here. There will be plenty of jobs around even when the plant is finished because some of the skills will be required by the resources sector and the mining industry. With the mining industry in the Territory now demanding more and more workers, there will be good and well-paid opportunities for these people to stay here in the Territory.
If we are not going to find these people in the Territory, the department is going to work very closely with INPEX, first of all to identify people in the Territory who can do these jobs, to profile these people and, if we cannot find these people, get information from INPEX where they want us to go to find them. There are plenty of people who want to get out of their countries. I will give you an example – people from South Africa.
My department recently held an expo in Johannesburg and Cape Town and they had in excess of 8000 people turning up and putting in their CVs, very well-qualified people with university degrees, with trade degrees, simply because they want to get out of South Africa. The Territory is a very good country for them because climatic conditions are very similar. It is very similar geographically and it is said Australia is actually one of the safest countries in the world. In addition to that, the department has collected all this information and collated it into a database which is open to businesses who want to get workers.
The other thing that is very important is one-third of the population of the Territory is Indigenous and another one-third is young men and women. The resources sector is one of the places where these people can get a job. I am very pleased that McArthur River Mine is employing about 16 or 17 new apprenticeships and other people to work in the mine. Thirty percent of the staff of Compass Resources, that delivered today the first copper to be exported from Darwin, is Indigenous. Newmont employs a large number of Indigenous people from Yuendumu, and ConocoPhillips trained a number of young Indigenous men during construction. We will encourage INPEX to do the same.
Another action we take whenever we realise there are some problems down south – car factories closing down, car parts factories closing down - we immediately fly there and have an expo to present these workers with opportunities. Recently, people from my department visited southern states and spoke to executives of the Ford factory, because Ford is restructuring and, I believe, they are going to close the factory in Geelong. That means 800 people will not have a job. If we can attract some of these qualified people to the Territory, we will gain something: we will get people who are already trained and have skills who can find a job and become good Territorians.
As I said before, INPEX is the biggest project in Australia’s history; the biggest project in the Territory. However, INPEX is only the beginning. As the President of INPEX said, if someone makes a good offer for the gas he is prepared to sell it, not only for power generation, but for downstreaming. That is the important thing about downstreaming- the government has not said it will take place near the harbour. The government has put in place a Growth Planning Unit in order to look at all these issues for the future. There is the issue of the Pechiney smelter being established at Glyde Point. The Leader of the Opposition said many times that Glyde Point will be the ideal position. The reality is that Glyde Point is not the ideal position because of many environmental problems. There are the additional problems with the coral fields and the fact they have to be dredged continually in order to maintain the depths, and also the strong currents near the Vernon Islands.
We have to identify a new area because the chemical companies will come. If the gas is here they will come like they went to Karratha, Port Hedland, Geraldton and Carnarvon. We are working very closely to identify an area where we can safely establish a downstream company which will not be so much visually polluting as the real pollution which might come. I do not think an aluminium smelter will be a solution here in Darwin when the alumina is produced 1000 km to the north-east of Darwin. There might be other industries more polluting than LNG. The work has already started. The Chief Minister has directed his department to have a look at areas that can be identified for the construction of a downstream industry.
I am very pleased that we have managed as Territorians, despite political differences, to get INPEX to come to Darwin; it is a win/win situation. It is a situation which makes sure that young Territorians who go down south to study will come back because there will be a job for them; not only a job in INPEX but all the other industries which will follow INPEX, and which will continue to come now the Territory has stamped itself on the map. This is a place you can do business, this is a government that is prepared to do business, this is a government that is prepared to look favourably in establishing gas and related oil industries.
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Deputy Speaker, I start off by saying congratulations again to the Chief Minister on his work in bringing INPEX to the Northern Territory. As has been stated by a number of speakers on both sides of the Chamber, the work that goes into getting a company to consider establishing a project of this size in a place like Darwin cannot be underestimated. Well done, Chief Minister.
At the same time, it is a terrible shame that the Chief Minister chose to politise the project by running to an early election based on INPEX. It is my strong view that the reasons for running to an early election had nothing to do with INPEX and a lot to do with disasters which the government saw coming - disasters such as the failure of Power and Water to supply power; the nursing health crisis; the Coronial inquest and more to come; the complete breakdown of law and order; and the escalation of crime rates. It is a strongly held view by many people in the community that that was, indeed, the fact for the Chief Minister’s call for an early election.
I managed to pull up a media release that was issued by Ian Macfarlane, the former Howard government Resources minister. I will quote from that. The headline of Ian Macfarlane’s media release is ‘Henderson a Fraud on Early Election Reason’:
- ‘Northern Territory Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, is not being honest with the people of the Northern Territory when outlining his reasons to go to an early election,’ shadow Trade Minister and former Howard government Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said today.
‘To suggest that INPEX will only come to Darwin if there is a Labor government in power is absolute nonsense and flies in the face of the facts of history.
‘The Country Liberal Party have been at the leading edge of Territory gas resource development for decades, constantly urging the federal government to bring new gas projects ashore in Darwin.
- ‘Former Chief Ministers Shane Stone and Denis Burke were instrumental in laying the foundations for the LNG facility at Wickham Point and former federal member Dave Tollner was constantly lobbying the Prime Minister John Howard, Alexander Downer and me about getting gas onshore.
‘As well, Dave Tollner insisted on being present at the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty to ensure that the interests of the Northern Territory were protected’, Mr Macfarlane said.
- ‘I also well remember the many times the Opposition Leader Terry Mills arrived in Canberra to push us on Territory gas development.
- ‘Paul Henderson, on the other hand, is somewhat of a Johnny-come-lately on these issues and still needs to establish his credentials as the right person to lead this latest bid to bring INPEX gas to Darwin.
‘It is also worth remembering that the reason INPEX is considering Darwin is because of the policies and actions of the Labor government in Western Australia - policies which are also supported by the Rudd Labor government.
‘Labor governments have a long history of discouraging exploration and investment in gas projects of Australia, and to suggest that a Henderson-led Labor government in the Northern Territory is the best option for attracting INPEX to Darwin is surely a joke.
- ‘For Paul Henderson to try and run the line that he is the driving force on bringing gas development to Darwin proves he wants the issue front and centre in the campaign in order to hide his government’s failures in other areas’ Mr Macfarlane said.
Ian Macfarlane certainly spotted, early in the piece, the fraudulent nature of the last election campaign, inasmuch as it was not about INPEX at all; more about hiding and covering up failures of government in many other areas. The way the Chief Minister was determined to politicise the INPEX deal was an awful shame.
Of course, this government’s failure to plan is well known. The opposition, led by the member for Blain, was very keen to point out that Glyde Point was written off by the government as a place that gas development could happen, simply because they failed to plan for it. There was no option apart from sending INPEX to Blaydin Point. This lack and failure is apparent in a whole range of different areas. You wonder where this failure to plan is going to lead us in relation to INPEX gas.
For example, I call members’ attention to the Tiger Brennan Drive extension, Stage 2. I had quite a bit to do with Tiger Brennan Drive, of course, when I was the federal member in relation to funding negotiations between the federal and Territory governments. Those negotiations were like pulling teeth, by the way, because you could never actually get a firm idea on when and if the Territory government was ever going to commit to the project. It got pushed back and pushed back, to the point now where, several years later, the costs of that extension have massively exploded, I think, from somewhere around $25m originally four or five years ago, to the point where we are now at $110m, more than four times the cost of what was originally envisaged, simply because of this government’s failure to adequately plan and be prepared to do projects.
In relation to the Tiger Brennan Drive extension, I am reliably informed that the original plan, or the most recent original plan, was to have a start date somewhere around October this year. That is around now we were expecting a start on Stage 2 of the Tiger Brennan Drive extension. The tender processes that have been conducted by this government are overly weighed down in bureaucracy and other problems, I am led to understand. Now, it looks like the start date will be somewhere around the end of next Dry Season, almost a full 12 months after they were first envisaged to start, which means the completion date for the Tiger Brennan Drive extension will be somewhere around the end of 2011 ...
A member: Maybe the same time as the oncology unit.
Mr TOLLNER: Maybe the same time as the oncology unit; maybe the same time as Bellamack when they are going to be turning off blocks of land ready for new houses ...
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We are wondering what is the relevance to the INPEX debate?
Mr Tollner: This is all about INPEX.
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Please pause while I confer with the Clerk.
Member for Fong Lim, I ask you to address your comments through the Chair, please.
Mr TOLLNER: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I will take up on the point of order called by the Leader of Government Business. She asked what this has to do with INPEX. Well, it has quite a lot do with INPEX because, at some stage, INPEX is going to be hunting around for workers, trying to find people to do this multibillion dollar job.
We all remember when the ConocoPhillips gas plant was being constructed. Bechtel were the construction company and they had quite a large workers’ camp. During the construction of the ConocoPhillips plant, local business was hard pressed to find workers for neither love nor money. It was a very difficult stage for a lot of local businesses which were not working on that particular plant. Members of the public would understand, at that time, you could not get a plumber around to fix your toilet at home; it was difficult to find an electrician because the majority of the tradespeople were taken away to the construction of that ConocoPhillips gas plant. What is happening with this INPEX gas plant is the same thing.
The minister for Business just talked about the scarcity of workers who will be available for the INPEX project. In fact, he acknowledged that the Territory cannot possibly supply all of those workers. The fact is, the Territory will not be able to supply all of those workers, but the Territory will supply many of them because I bet INPEX wants to employ people locally before they have to start flying them in and flying them out. A lot of the labour of local business will be dragged to the INPEX project at the same time as the Bellamack blocks of land are being turned off for sale; as people will be wanting to build houses on those blocks of land at Bellamack; workers will be wanting to build the Tiger Brennan Drive extension; people will be required to be putting in water, sewerage and electricity in all these wonderful houses that are coming online - and you wonder where the workers are going to come for all this.
Quite clearly, there has been a lack of planning by this government because it has foreseen none of this. It is a dreadful shame that calls from the Country Liberals, business, and other people in the community to get their planning procedures and their planning goals in order were not taken seriously by this government some time ago. It is a dreadful shame that we are talking about pushing out the release of blocks of land at Bellamack until 2010, when, at that time, building businesses, will be looking for tradesmen to start constructing houses on those blocks that are being turned off.
It would be good to hear the Planning minister tell us exactly where the company which wins the tender for the Tiger Brennan Drive extension Stage 2 is going to find workers, given the fact that INPEX will be taking quite a number of workers out of the Darwin business community. It will be quite interesting to hear the minister for Planning tell us where they are going to find construction industry workers while the oncology unit is being constructed. By the way, that unit that was first promised back in 2001 as their original election campaign promise and it was promised again in the 2005 election. Now, we are somewhat into the third term of the Labor government and construction still has not started on that oncology unit.
It will be interesting to know where the Planning minister expects companies to find workers who are charged with putting sewerage systems into the Bellamack development, the workers’ camp for INPEX and the range of other housing developments that are going on. Where is the minister going to find electricians who will be called upon to go to the INPEX plant but will be working tirelessly to correct Darwin’s power crisis? These things I am sure have never been planned for by this government. I am sure that they knew the power crisis was coming because that is the reason they went to an early election.
This INPEX development is a wonderful development for the Northern Territory, but I find it is a crying shame that the Territory, and particularly this government, is not better prepared for INPEX’s arrival or the arrival, for that matter, of a range of other projects. They now seem to run around like chooks with their heads cut off demanding people rush in tenders and organise themselves, simply because of their lack of planning and foresight. Congratulations to the Chief Minister - shame he politicised it - but I am very keen to support this legislation.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on this very important project for the Northern Territory. The Henderson government believes that it is possible to have development and, at the same time, protect our precious environment. The reality, however, is that many governments have said much the same and, as the state of the environment elsewhere in Australia would suggest, many have failed to live up to the challenge. It is a big challenge, so we need to do things the right and proper way and it is a responsibility I take very seriously.
With any major development such as INPEX, the environment will be best protected by getting the fundamentals right beforehand: preventing environmental problems through good design and appropriate safeguards, rather than trying to fix the problems afterwards. To do this the existing environment needs to be carefully described, the project documented and analysed in detail, possible impacts predicted and assessed, and safeguards developed to either avoid or reduce those impacts.
This, in essence, is the process of environmental assessment. It is a very important process and one that has already commenced in respect of the INPEX development. Earlier this year, the former minister directed INPEX to prepare an environmental impact assessment, or an EIS as it is more commonly termed, on the company’s proposal to establish an LNG plant at Blaydin Point. An EIS is the highest level of environmental assessment and, in this case, it will involve both the Territory and Australian governments.
INPEX’s proposals involve gas extractions offshore in Commonwealth waters, piping the gas through these waters and Territory waters, building the processing plant at Blaydin Point, and shipping off the product back through the harbour and then through Commonwealth and international waters. As a result, the Australian and Territory governments will have quite distinct responsibilities for the EIS.
In respect of the different elements of the project, the Australian government will address all of the environmental impact of offshore activity and any impacts of near-shore and onshore activity that may impact on matters of national environmental significance under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. In this case, the Commonwealth has determined the relevant matters of nationally environmental significance and have listed certain species and communities of migratory species, and the marine environment in Commonwealth waters. The Territory government will be focusing on all the environmental impacts of the near-shore pipeline, onshore construction and operation of the plant, and the shipping through the harbour.
It may sound like a complex arrangement and, to a point, it is. This is unavoidable given that the project will operate over a very large area where different governments have responsibilities and different laws apply. I am very pleased, however, that officers from my department and their counterparts in the Australian government worked tirelessly to ensure that all the complex processes, while freely available to those who wish to examine this assessment in detail, are also presented to the public in a way that is easy to understand. This required significant coordination.
I put on record my thanks to those officers. Their work commenced with the preparation of the draft EIS guidelines for the development prepared by my department with input from the federal Environment department, and released for community comment. Comments received on the draft guidelines were addressed in finalising the document, and I have now issued these guidelines to INPEX. The guidelines scoped the nature of the investigations and the issues to be addressed in the EIS. They do not tell INPEX how to address these issues; that will be for INPEX and their consultants to determine as they analyse the issues, collect information and draft their EIS.
The process to be followed under both Territory and Commonwealth law will firstly require INPEX to prepare a draft EIS covering the issues and the guidelines. Through the coordinated efforts of my department and their federal counterparts, a single draft EIS will be prepared by INPEX that satisfy the requirements of both governments. The draft EIS will be made available for a period of eight weeks, twice as long as the minimum provided under the legislation. I understand that many in the community want to inform themselves about this project and have a say in the decision. The extra time will allow this to happen. Public comments on the draft EIS will then be received by my department and forwarded on to INPEX who will prepare a supplement to the EIS responding to issues raised.
The draft EIS will also undergo extensive review by experts in both Territory and Australian government agencies, covering diverse fields such as marine ecology, engineering and water quality. These comments will also be forwarded to INPEX for response in the supplement. During this stage, INPEX will have opportunity to adjust these plans and practices to accommodate concerns and further reduce environmental impacts. Alternatively, for some issues, INPEX may choose to further explain and justify their preferred way of managing a potential environmental impact. Together, the draft EIS and the supplement form the final EIS. After the supplement is received, my department will review the final EIS, drawing on the expertise of other NT government agencies. The assessment of environmental impacts and commitments made by INPEX in the EIS will be very carefully and thoroughly examined.
On the basis of this review, my department will prepare a report advising me as to whether, in their view, INPEX has demonstrated the environmental impacts can be managed within acceptable limits. This report will form the basis for a set of recommendations about the project. It is on the basis of these recommendations that I will advise the minister for Planning and Infrastructure, and this advice will be critical in determining approval of the project. Likewise, the final EIS will provide the grounds for the Australian government to consider approval of the project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Madam Deputy Speaker, when done rigorously, the environmental assessment process is a powerful way to test the environmental credentials of a major development, to understand the environment implications and develop robust safeguards; all with the benefit of significant public input and scrutiny. In this House, I give the commitment to all Territorians that this assessment will be just that - rigorous, thorough and consultative. I commend the minister’s statement to the House.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Deputy Speaker, today I talk in relation to the Chief Minister’s statement about INPEX. First, congratulations for the Northern Territory because it is a very important project that will have long-lasting benefits. It is certainly a timely event with current global circumstances.
However, people still have many concerns about certain issues. Many of those issues really will not be changed because there is not going to be much change happening from this government. I am impressed by Clare Martin, the former Chief Minister, and her vision in leading the way on a trip to Japan to push forward opportunities for Territory people. Unlike the current Chief Minister just sailing through the breeze with some hot air behind him and perhaps with the Planning minister at the helm of the boat as they steer across rough waters, leadership was demonstrated, in this case, by the former Chief Minister who stepped out and led the way for the Territory. I commend her for those actions at that very important time. History will show that that was the key turning point.
I further commend the Leader of the Opposition, Terry Mills, for showing his bipartisan support when we have come under fire, particularly during the election campaign, for not supporting this. That was as far from the truth as possible. We do support this because it is important for the Territory people to have certainty and to have job prospects. It cannot be ignored that there is a boom side to INPEX, as there was with ConocoPhillips. We need to ensure that we manage those steps and processes through the Territory’s time. Unfortunately, I do not think we have. We have failed to plan the release of enough land in time. Now people have seen the potential boom coming, the rush to buy the houses and the land - what land there is, and I am still confused as to where all this land is on the market – has driven up the prices and the rental costs. It has caused, already, some discomfort to many people.
It is concerning that that lack of planning was missed because there was plenty of time to do that planning. To bury your head in the sand like an ostrich was quite foolish at the time. It is refreshing to see there has been some changes in those thought patterns, and it is great to see the government is pushing out land. But again, we do not have a roll-out time. As a community, we need to be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel because, whilst people cannot see that light at the end of the tunnel, the panic will continue to drive prices up, and that affects everyone. So, yes, it is a concern that we are going to have prices driven up by INPEX. It has happened already. Although it is good for some investors, it is not great for the average family of the Northern Territory who still struggle to get their first home.
I hope, as part of this planning, we have the vision to train many young Territorians, specifically in the fields pertaining to work in the gas plants. We talked of welders having to come from overseas. Two years is plenty of time to train some welders. I hope those positions will be fielded through to Territory people who are already here. I know of many good welders already in existing jobs who are keen to take on other positions and, if they do not have the current skills, let us upskill them; that is part of planning. I hope that is part of the plan. I look forward to seeing those plans roll out, clearly, not just in talk or a throw around of more cash.
I went to the Save Darwin Harbour forum the other day at the wharf. I was actually quite concerned to hear the people of Larrakia Nation claim that they have not been consulted. What they are saying - and this is only what they are saying - is that the Larrakia Development Corporation was consulted. Two different groups, similar names, but different groups, and they were quite offended. So I hope and urge this government to step forward to mend those bridges because, again, it is a vital part of our society. We stand on Larrakia Nation ground, and we do our business on their ground. I urge the government to get out there and mend those bridges, because they appear to be extremely burnt.
I must admit that the gas plant, in a general sense, has a low likelihood of environmental impact. We are not going to have another Exxon Valdez incident occur on our doorstep, thankfully - we hope. However, there is still going to be the large yield of light oil from this gas, which is a great thing, but it needs to be considered and it is of danger. The light oil is not going to make a great deal of difference to the harbour’s wildlife, but it is still a concern The minister for Business brushed off the visual impact of this and that, in itself, is a form of pollution.
When I go to the harbour, as many people do, and look out across our extremely beautiful harbour, I see a set of gas tanks. Those who were around at the time saw the drawings which came out in the newspaper that suggested these gas tanks were going to be a blip. I would like to know which person got the crayons out that day to do those drawings. I hope it is not the same person who is going to draw the next plans, because that little blip, which barely broke the horizon of the tree canopies, is now a massive gas tank, and it does offend people. People have grown accustomed to the fact that it is now there, so that is part of our lifestyle now - it is there. It has not brought an end to our life in the Territory, but it has made a permanent change. From a visual point of view, it has affected our environment of the Northern Territory and the Northern Territory people, and that needs to be considered when we make these decisions. That is why the government needs to continue to look for more alternative places, like Glyde Point.
It is strange - and I may have missed a lot of things in my time whilst I was running around chasing bad people - but we talked of excessive currents through the various islands and such things, which is why we have pilot vessels. Dredging is, obviously, a consideration, but we are going to dredge part of the harbour to do INPEX. So, which one is the lesser of two evils? Had the planning been done? I do not know. I have a bet on where the lesser of the two evils would have been.
We need to plan. We need to continue to plan for the development of Glyde Point, or a much more suitable area, if it is found. We need to get off our hands and do something about it because if we do not, we will be caught wanting again when the opportunity next knocks. The opportunities will knock because, as was mentioned earlier, we have now demonstrated to the world that we can deal with this, and we have done a very fine job of it in the past. I am sure with INPEX we will continue to do a fine job of it and deliver for those companies coming to our shorelines for our services. However, we certainly need to plan for that next step; we need not wait two or three years for that. We need to plan today for tomorrow because failing to plan leaves you with egg on your face, and sometimes that is what we have around here.
So, congratulations to the Territory and its people for having this great opportunity to further develop in this stage of the world, but shame we did not plan it better.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Madam Deputy Speaker, I also congratulate the Chief Minister and the government. First, I want to talk about change. People embrace change in different ways, and I congratulate the Chief Minister for his proactive stance on grabbing change and moving forward. I am concerned about those members who, challenged by change, resort to hesitation, uncertainty, and resistance. Changes will happen. As a visitor to the Top End and this fair city over many years, I have seen changes to the harbour, and I foresee future changes. I have seen changes to the city, and I foresee future and exciting changes. Changes represent growth - social growth and cultural growth - but we must remember they need to be underpinned by economic growth.
The INPEX LNG project represents an economic development previously unwitnessed in the Northern Territory. The planning stage, the construction stage and the production stage go right through the Territory and reverberate into regional areas with great, positive potential. Training for employment for the youth of the Barkly, let alone the youth of the Northern Territory, is phenomenal. For once I can say to the young people of the Barkly: ‘We have a project that is emerging in the Northern Territory unsurpassed in our history’. To be colloquial, Madam Speaker, I encourage them to get a piece of the action. We have sustainability for the youth of the Barkly that represents training to traineeships, to apprenticeships, to trades people.
Frankly, the tradespeople will come. I do not care where they come from, as long as the youth of the Barkly have a position and an opportunity to stand next to them. The best boilermakers in the world will be in Darwin and the youth of the Barkly and beyond, the youth of the Territory, will be standing next to them. That represents a great future for us as parliamentarians, for our families, for our community, but, most importantly, for our youth.
Upskilling is another important concept we will see emerge. I am really looking forward to that transitional process where we can offer unskilled workers sustainable and managed opportunities to move forward, to gain real skills and experience, real work in real jobs that equates to careers.
I see this project for the youth of the Territory, particularly the youth in regional and remote areas, as breaking the vicious cycle of welfare. This offers our people real opportunities to move forward. I commend the project, I commend the Chief Minister, and I encourage all members of the House to move forward with this and embrace it with both hands.
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Deputy Speaker, I appreciate you acknowledge me as the member for Daly because the INPEX proposed site is in the electorate of Daly, and I will first direct my comments around being a local member. The proposal on Middle Arm sits within the Daly electorate and affects my constituents who live in the area around Berry Springs through to Southport, the Cox Peninsula and Noonamah.
Something that has come up during debate is that people want development, but they want balanced development. We want jobs for our children, but we also want to protect the environment at the same time. I believe we are doing that. This government has acknowledged we have to have that balance in this project, a project which will see the Territory rise above its current economic strength to a new level and sustain it into the future. It will change the Territory forever, from a place where we were a relatively small jurisdiction with a small capital city, where our isolation has worked against us in the past, but is now actually working for us. We are the gateway to Asia, the gateway for natural resources into Asia: China, Japan, and all those other thriving economies. Our location will actually assist us. I will be looking very closely, with the minister for Environment, at this environmental assessment process to ensure we get that right. It is a very thorough process, and one which this government will be taking very seriously.
We all enjoy the harbour for so many reasons. I, for one, can claim to be the most travelled person on that harbour, because I travel on it most mornings and evenings on my way to and from home. I get to see the wildlife - the birds, dolphins, the odd turtle now and again - and I see the harbour is alive. What I also see is a harbour which is a working harbour.
From my home, I see many ships you do not see when you live in the northern suburbs, because they are situated out and around the harbour, waiting to come in. It is very much a working harbour. Over the last decades in the Northern Territory, we have been able to balance that economic situation with ships coming in and out for a whole range of reasons, while ensuring the protection of the harbour. We have put a ban on any more clearing of mangroves, and that is one area where we have the fish stocks breeding, around those mangroves.
We have also seen the waterfront development, where we have cleaned up a very contaminated site which has, obviously, been used for, I would say, heavy industry over the last 30 to 40 years. We had the old Stokes Hill Power Station there. I am not intimately aware of the exact chemicals that were dredged out of that waterfront area, but I understand there was a whole range of heavy metals and chemicals in the silt there. We have actually rehabilitated an area within the harbour which, previously, had been accepted and utilised. There is an example of rehabilitation of the harbour. I look forward to that environmental assessment process, and so do my constituents.
The pipeline construction will be another area to which I will be paying a great deal of attention. The people of the Cox Peninsula at Belyuen and Wagait Beach, obviously, care about the quality of the wildlife and sea life in that area, and also about what happens to the sea floor, because a lot of disturbance actually washes up on the beaches of the Cox Peninsula. We will be looking for some protections and guarantees within the environmental protection assessment of how the actual pipeline will be constructed. We have already had an example with the current pipeline going in there and also other pipelines going across the harbour which have, obviously, been constructed quite well and are probably endearing themselves to the fish life there, where they can hide or whatever.
This is a good project. I hope to see the development of the Middle Arm area to enhance the rural area. This government has flagged a commitment to sealing the Channel Island connector road through to Cox Peninsula Road. That alignment has been done and is in the forward budgets to come online. So that will run a bitumen road from the top of Channel Island Road, down past Jenkins Road and then down on to the Cox Peninsula Road, which will give great access to the people of the rural area back to the end of Palmerston and cut about 10 km off their journey. About a third of the travelling distance is cut off for the people of Berry Springs going into Palmerston. It will also give people from the rural area the opportunity to actually work at these projects in Middle Arm. There are great opportunities for the rural area in that regard.
I move quickly to a couple of other areas of my portfolio which, obviously, INPEX affects. Much has been said about the power supply and whether we have the capacity to meet this demand of growth with the construction phase and also the workers coming into town. I recently made a visit to Weddell Power Station, where we have the first of our three generators up and running, and the second one is on-site being tested at the moment, with a third coming in the next few months. That power station, when the three gensets are actually working, will give us the capacity for another 100 000 homes. That is significant and far exceeds our current growth and gives us plenty of room to move in the years to come.
If INPEX desires construction power, we think that will be around 10 MW to 15 MW, so that will reduce Weddell’s capacity to about 80 000 homes, but we will still be able to power up the construction phase of INPEX for the period they are operating. We do not expect they will ask us to generate the power for them in the operational phase. It will be expected, as was the case with ConocoPhillips, they construct their own power station there, and is a significant operation for INPEX. With respect to Power and Water and their workforce, we realise that a significant power station there will obviously need to attract workers, so we are very conscious of that and we are working very closely with INPEX in that regard.
My office is having regular discussions with the Electoral Trades Union on how we can actually build our workforce, not only for Power and Water, but also projects that are coming online over a number of years, so we actually cater for the workforce and we have that capacity there. Traineeships and apprenticeships are something I am very interested in. These will be well paying jobs, so not only are we looking at traineeships and apprenticeships for young people, but we will also be looking very strongly at adult apprenticeships for people who have a family, have a need to support a mortgage, and their children going to school and who need a higher income. We are actually generating the workforce for ourselves and for any sort of industry coming into the marketplace.
I will wrap up with housing. Much has been talked about housing and we currently have a number of housing projects being set up around Palmerston - some 4000 blocks, so roughly 4000 homes. That will certainly cater for the growth, but more, obviously, needs to be released in the future, and that is a natural occurrence of the growth of Darwin and the growth of our economy. There have also been indications about workers’ camps, and that is a natural occurrence. I do acknowledge there is stress on the housing areas in rental, purchase, and construction. It is a difficult situation. I guess people who are going into housing purchase should have a lot of confidence that the value of their properties will go up over time, because Darwin will have a very strong economy. I do hope those people who are renting are able to find well paid jobs in these industries which are coming to Darwin.
With the new developments at Bellamack, Johnston, Zuccoli and Mitchell, we will be looking at that 15% for affordable and rental housing so we can actually get more stock out there for people who need that lower rental, or who do not have the capacity currently to actually get into the home purchase market. The HomeNorth Xtra scheme is a good scheme, one we have continually tried to improve over time, adjusting to where the market is. However, I am very cognisant of the pressures that INPEX puts on the marketplace and we are reacting as we need to, to try to address those factors.
I welcome the project. It is one which will put Darwin fair and square on the map. It is something that really was not on the radar for anybody. I disagree with some of the members over there; they certainly were not expecting the likes of a $20bn project landing here in Darwin. It has been the vision and the fortitude of this government to chase this project down and put everything in place to make it happen.
I congratulate the Chief Minister and the former Chief Minister, and all the many public servants who have worked tirelessly to make this project become a reality. I do look forward to it, and I look forward to ongoing discussion in this House about this development.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank all honourable members for their contribution to this debate. 26 September 2008 was an historic day when Mr Kuroda, the President of INPEX, advised Territorians and Australians that INPEX had chosen Darwin for the site for the Ichthys LNG project.
I have been thinking since then and watching what has been happening on the global financial markets and seeing what is likely to occur around the world in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and many European countries which are about to move formally into a recession. I have seen the Australian dollar lose 40% of its value in the last four months, and the horror of many Australians who have, essentially, all their superannuation tied up in investments in the Australian Stock Exchange. I have seen the value of Australian savings significantly deteriorate as a result of the global financial crisis and the lack of confidence amongst investors around the world. This particular project could not be a better insurance policy for the Northern Territory economy and maintain confidence of investors in the Northern Territory economy.
I have been out and about over the last week around Darwin talking to some business people and a number of them said to me: ‘Geez, I would not want to be running a business anywhere else in Australia than Darwin at the moment’. So, things are looking good and this project will be underpinning the confidence of our business community. I am very thankful.
Members opposite seem to think I have this amazing crystal ball and I can foresee into the future and could foresee the Casuarina substation problems and, somehow, I have some great visionary powers ...
Dr Burns: Got a winner for the Melbourne Cup?
Mr HENDERSON: I wish I did, member for Johnston. I do not have extraordinary visionary powers and nobody could predict what is happening on global financial markets. This project has come at a very important time for the Northern Territory. I know that, had we faltered at any point in our pursuit of this project, we would not be where we are today.
I pay tribute to my predecessor, Clare Martin, the then Chief Minister, seeing the opportunity for this project; to Paul Tyrrell who really did engender some very solid relationships with key people in INPEX and Total over two or three years; and the many public servants who worked very hard on this project.
This really has been a Team NT effort. It has not been the effort of any people as individuals. It has been a Team NT effort. If we looked uncertain at any point or wavered about what land we were prepared to offer, this project would not have come to Darwin. What we delivered for the company is certainty, which is something investors probably value amongst all else apart from what their projected return is going to be. They want certainty in that investment climate and we did provide certainty over land. I will get to some comments that people have made during the debate tonight.
The Leader of the Opposition, in his contribution to the debate, talked a lot about the challenges. Yes, there are challenges, but challenges also create opportunities. One of the great opportunities which will be provided for the Northern Territory is that more people will come and live here. I recall when we came to government in 2001 that people were leaving the Territory in droves. We could not get people to come and make a decision to live in the Territory. We had a nett migration loss for many years.
As I campaigned in my electorate in 2001, a number of families I met had their main breadwinner, for the first time, on the dole. They were very distressed about that. A couple of families were forced into selling their homes because the main breadwinner was out of work and they could not meet the mortgage repayments. In the challenges that you have in governments, I would much rather have the challenges of trying to accommodate a growing population than trying to stem the haemorrhage of an economy that was flat lining at zero percent, that was due to go into a recession, with people leaving the Territory in droves. So the challenges …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Elferink: You are a factory of lies. I withdraw that, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes. Thank you, member for Port Darwin
Mr HENDERSON: All of the information is there. We had nett migration losses from the Northern Territory – from Darwin, in particular, for a number of years ...
Mr Elferink interjecting.
Mr HENDERSON: If the member for Port Darwin for some reason does not remember those pretty dark times in Darwin, I do give him a rationale for not remembering those times because he was resident in Alice Springs in those days. My friend and colleague, the member for Casuarina, and I still talk about those days back in 2001.
The member for Port Darwin talked about the challenges of delivering services. Yes, an expanding economy and population provide challenges in keeping services up. They are challenges, indeed, but geez, they are good challenges to have, not only here in Darwin but right across the Northern Territory. Our regions are growing, our remote communities are growing and we have to rethink our service delivery models in how we provide health and education services and economic opportunities. We are doing a major body of work within Cabinet and government to look at, with expanding populations and the challenges they present, how we reform service delivery to provide better services and opportunities for people. That is the challenge of government and it is a good challenge to have.
He talked about the challenges of police numbers - and the list goes on. Every one of those challenges provides an opportunity. The way I look at these things as Chief Minister is that growth does provide opportunities for Territorians. We have a land release program that is five times as fast as the normal land release program. If you include Lyons and Muirhead, driven by the Defence Housing Authority, we have six new suburbs planned and in the pipeline and $1bn invested to upgrade power, water and sewerage services right across the Northern Territory, including a major expansion of capacity in the Darwin and Palmerston area. We are looking at how we manage this growth right across the Northern Territory.
It was really great to hear my colleague, the member for Barkly, very enthusiastically talk about this project. It is not just about jobs for people in Darwin, there is going to be jobs for people from all over the Territory if they want jobs on this particular project. We will ensure Territorians get the training opportunities, so it will be absolutely fantastic. I will be the first person to be with the member for Barkly and all my colleagues who represent regional and remote communities if people from those communities get jobs on this project - what a fantastic thing.
As an ex–fitter by trade, I was pleased to hear the member for Barkly talk about us having the best boilermakers and welders in the world working on this project - and we will. What a great opportunity it will be for young Territorians to have apprenticeships and be learning from some of the best tradespeople in the country and the world who are coming to work on this project - very exciting opportunities for Territorians.
I would like to address some of the comments that the member for Port Darwin made in regard to his version of history regarding the developments of oil and gas projects in the Northern Territory. He did have a version, some of which was correct, but let us revisit Glyde Point where the opposition had a number of policy positions on the INPEX project. First of all, they were going to campaign against the project going to Middle Arm. Then, they said the project should go to Glyde Point and INPEX came out and said: ‘Well, if you were to force us to go to Glyde Point there would be no project, and we would only be looking at Western Australia’. A letter was then circulated to every householder in the northern suburbs by the Leader of the Opposition saying if the project was to go ahead on the Middle Arm Peninsula, this was a disgrace and would be akin to a 19th century project. I do not have the letter here with me, but I have kept it on my files for the record. That was their position.
Then, during the election campaign, they committed to spending around $50m to establish infrastructure at Glyde Point. We pointed out that if you were going to put sufficient infrastructure at Glyde Point that would be attractive to INPEX to invest there, you would need to spend around $500m to put that infrastructure there. Why on earth would you use $500m worth of taxpayers’ money to duplicate perfectly good infrastructure we already have at Middle Arm? You would have to be in cloud cuckoo land. That $500m could go to schools, health, education, roads - it could go to any number of infrastructure projects across the Northern Territory. Why you would duplicate that infrastructure at Glyde Point, heaven only knows.
The opposition talked about the government looking at Glyde Point as a potential opportunity to land further LNG developments and Sunrise. This is where the member for Port Darwin probably does not fully understand why Glyde Point was under consideration for a time. It was not for the Sunrise projects, it was if Sunrise was developed as a domestic gas project as opposed to a LNG project - and there was some talk about that at the time. There was talk about connecting Sunrise to the national grid and actually having an alternative source of supply to the national grid and the east coast of Australia. Team NT was established to look at those opportunities. It was regarding a domestic gas supply. For the companies to actually make that domestic gas supply option work financially, they were looking at a heavy base load consumer in an industrial customer. At the time, there was a French company by the name of Pechiney which the government was talking to and which was looking to build an aluminium smelter here in Darwin.
During much of the election campaign, people were talking about heavy industry as a terrible, appalling thing to have in our economy. The government recognised that industry such as aluminium smelters are not suitable for the Middle Arm Peninsula, and we were looking at Glyde Point at the time. There was baseline environmental studies done, and Pechiney were looking at us versus a site in South Africa, if my memory serves me correctly. We arrived at a point in time where Pechiney decided they were not going to pursue their investment in Australia, and it was taken offshore. At the time, when Glyde Point was being considered, it was not for other LNG projects.
Middle Arm has always been identified as an industrial area, going back to 1984. Planning documents are in a regime established by the CLP going back to 1984 - so nothing new. The CLP planned for Middle Arm to be used for industrial purposes, and that was everything they put in place during their time in government. We agreed with that; it absolutely has to meet the highest levels of environmental approvals. I believe we all agree that, if somebody was to come along in the future looking to invest in an aluminium smelter, then Middle Arm Peninsula is not the appropriate place. I can say, from my basic understanding of the economics of those types of industries, they could only work with large amounts of very cheap gas which could be supplied to those projects to generate the enormous amounts of power and electricity needed for the operations of a smelter. The days of very cheap gas are long gone, and that is because gas is now very significantly in demand as an energy source for LNG, predominantly to combat global warming. The opposition may ask: ‘Well, if it is not at Glyde Point and if it is not at Middle Arm, where will they go?’ Well, those types of heavy industries, just on the economics, are very unlikely to come to the Northern Territory in the foreseeable future, because the days of cheap gas for high energy intensive industries are long gone.
That is the history around Glyde Point. The government took the decision that we were going to preserve Glyde Point for the environment, and that was widely applauded by the Environment Centre of the Northern Territory, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Amateur Fishermen’s Association which all applauded government for having the foresight to preserve Glyde Point for the environment and to consolidate development on what has been identified for industrial land, going back to 1984.
It was not a lack of planning that led to INPEX being offered the site at Middle Arm; it was actually considered planning going back many years. I congratulate the CLP for identifying Middle Arm as an industrial site in 1984. However, it was as a result of considered planning knowing it was a very attractive site for INPEX. The member for Port Darwin said that we could have offered them some other site, and this is the only one offered. I can tell the member for Port Darwin that there is only one gas-ready site in the whole of Northern Australia out of Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. We are the only place where land is appropriately zoned, cleared of native title, with a defined environmental process, with access to a deep water port, and a government with a can-do attitude to attract a project for the benefit of Territorians for decades to come. There was no other site anywhere else in Northern Australia, and we created this one.
Madam Speaker, I commend colleagues on this side of the House who spoke in support. The minister for the Environment has a very big job in ensuring that all the appropriate Territory and Australian government legislation is absolutely complied with to the spirit and the letter of that legislation, and to engage the community and engender confidence in the community about that environmental process - because I acknowledge people have concerns. I am very confident that the company and the processes they will go through, administered by the Territory on behalf of the Commonwealth and for the Territory, will be open, transparent, and very rigorous. It is a very important part of the project, and I know my colleague, the Environment minister, will do a great job with her responsibilities in environmental legislation.
Members talked about upskilling and, yes, that is a great opportunity for Territorians to gain skills to work on this project. We all look forward to that. I say to the member for Drysdale and those people, with all due respect, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They see a horrible gas tank over there which it is really offensive and is visual pollution. I must say, from an ex-tradesman’s perspective, I look over at that Wickham Point plant and the drilling rig that is in our harbour today and I see jobs. I see jobs for Territorians and a future for Territorians. I thank members for their contribution to the debate.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
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The sitting suspended.
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MATTER OF PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
Adequate Cyclone Shelters
Adequate Cyclone Shelters
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received the following letter from the member from Goyder.
- Madam Speaker
I propose for discussion this day the following definite matter of public importance. As scientists are predicting more frequent and higher intensity cyclones in the Top End, the lack of adequate numbers of shelters in Darwin for people and animals in the event of a Category 4 or Category 5 cyclone hitting Darwin.
Member for Goyder.
Is the matter of public importance supported? I call the member for Goyder.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, yes, the matter of public importance is a matter that is extremely important to people in Darwin and the Top End and coastal regions of the Northern Territory. We have seen on television, read about it in reports, in journals, and heard at various conferences we have had even here in Darwin, scientists telling us for some 10 years now that tropical cyclones will become more intense, more severe, and more destructive. They know this from research over the decades into climate variability and climate change.
In association with governments, community and relevant experts, they are trying to understand the changes so that clear and proper planning can be undertaken to minimise, if not eliminate, loss of property and, more importantly, loss of lives. We know that sea temperatures are rising, resulting in more energy generation, further resulting in more intense activity, and that cyclones are travelling further in their paths in the Top End, as well as elsewhere, due to these increased energy levels. That is fact, and that has been well documented not only by our own Bureau of Meteorology but by other recognised institutions.
This is the point in question and why this matter of public importance is being discussed now. We need proper planning to prepare for another cyclone to the level of Cyclones Tracy and/or Monica. It is not a possibility or a probability that Darwin or its hinterlands will be hit by a cyclone, it is a guarantee that we will be hit by another cyclone in the future - if not the near future. We know that Darwin and the coastal lands are in cyclone country and our history shows serious cyclones in 1878, 1881 and in 1897 when the cyclone dubbed ‘the great hurricane’ hit Darwin resulting in the loss of 15 lives, and extensive damage and destruction as the cyclone coincided with high tides and storm surges. Then, we had cyclones in 1915, 1917, 1919 and another real biggie in 1937, resulting again in high loss of life and more destruction to public and personal property.
I have looked around the House today in regard to this matter of public importance and, to the best of my knowledge, there are only four people in this Chamber who went through Cyclone Tracy. On my side, there is me and the member for Port Darwin and, on the opposite benches, the members for Karama and Arafura. By my calculations, that is about 16% of this Chamber. This is an indication, I assert, of the same percentage of the population in Darwin who were here for Cyclone Tracy. In fact, I actually argue it is much less than 16%, I argue less than 10% in town today went through Cyclone Tracy, so have some familiarity and understanding of what a Category 4 to 5 can actually do to our town.
Those of us who survived Cyclone Tracy know only too well the destruction, the loss of life and the trauma that occurred during and subsequent to this terrible event. I was reading something today and doing some research in regard to this, and the trauma was probably greater than we actually realised in regard to how people reacted and responded to and after Cyclone Tracy, particularly those who were separated from not only their families, but from Darwin the township. The people who stayed were probably the ones who were better off in regard to how they adjusted to the upheaval and the trauma.
Even today, I know people who start to panic at the first hint of a cyclone coming towards Darwin. It is an understandable reaction, given that those people survived Cyclone Tracy. Some survived better than others but, understandably, they are older people now and they do fear another cyclone coming to Darwin. Of course, just before Cyclone Tracy, we had Cyclone Thelma, which was heading towards Darwin and, at the last minute, veered off. This only reinforces our thinking and our understanding that cyclones are sneaky buggers and they are extremely unreliable and unpredictable. That is partly why some of the complacency snuck into the town before Cyclone Tracy, because we expected Cyclone Tracy to also veer off and disappear down the western coast.
As a long-term local, it is encouraging that people in Darwin nowadays do take cyclones seriously, and do not view them as some sort of celebration such as embarking on a new adventure, as has been put to me in the past. Perhaps it is because, in recent years, we have seen what happens from cyclones which are destructive at Category 5 level. Only recently, we saw the destruction of Cyclone Ingrid on the Arnhem Land coast in 2005, and Cyclone Monica in 2006, which went across the Maningrida region. Both times, the damage and the destruction were enormous. With the latter cyclone the damage was extensive; vegetation damage extended 200 km-plus inland, including the township of Jabiru. I did not go to Jabiru, but I saw photographs of the Jabiru township after the cyclone had passed by and the damage was extensive, particularly to the native vegetation and the large trees.
Maningrida itself suffered serious structural damage, including problems with their water infrastructure. Upwards of 70% of native vegetation was lost in that region. In many ways, we should be thankful the path of Monica did not pass directly over Maningrida, because there would have been far more damage and, potentially, loss of life. I know the damage to a major exploration camp that is in the Maningrida/Oenpelli region was extensive. Thankfully, it was in the off-season, so no personnel were at this camp. The Category 5 Cyclone Monica uplifted 20-foot demountables and turned them on their sides and roof. Some of these demountables weighed in excess of eight tonnes, and they had been secured properly with coding for a Category 5 with concrete footings. They were completely wrecked.
The damage that can be done by a cyclone Category 4, 5 and possibly even greater, given that cyclone intensities are building because of the issues with how they develop offshore and then come on land, should never be underestimated.
In Darwin, we have cyclone shelters - emergency shelters as they are called - for people only. The ones we have in Darwin are at the Supreme Court; Nightcliff and Dripstone High Schools; Casuarina Secondary College; Palmerston High School; Girraween Primary School; Taminmin High School; and a community government council building at Cox Peninsula. There are only four shelters that take pets, mostly dogs and cats: the Casuarina Shopping Square; Palmerston, The Hub; and also the car park underneath the Holiday Inn Esplanade.
We have a population in Darwin of about 100 000 people, perhaps 110 000 people, but we only have spaces for 20 000 people in these shelters. Not everyone will want to go to a shelter, nor will everyone plan to go to a shelter, given that they will believe, and rightly so, that their accommodation - their house or their unit - is built to code. However, we know, as a reality of life, that not all structures are built soundly. People who now are being educated about cyclones perhaps have a fear of the unknown. They have seen photos and they have talked perhaps to some of the locals to understand the damage. So, more people will go to cyclone shelters than perhaps they can cope with.
That is of concern to us; that there is not any planning as to how we are going to expand these shelters, what new shelters are on the agenda or the drawing board by government. If more than 20 000 people want to go to cyclone shelters, how will they be accommodated? I guess you could probably squeeze more people into the shelters than is allowed, given the fire regulations and other safety and hygiene regulations, but that is not the point. The point is that there should be adequate cyclone shelters for all people who choose or wish to go to a shelter, with their personal belongings and, perhaps with their pet, as long as it is not a horse or something of that size.
In the past, there has been money committed to upgrading some of these cyclone shelters, but I argue that it is not sufficient; that we need to seriously consider allocating more funds and designing more shelters so that if the bulk of our population - even 50% of our population - chooses to go to a cyclone shelter, then they know that they will be accommodated safely and securely until the cyclone passes.
I argue it is just a matter of time before we do get another cyclone that passes, if not over Darwin, very close to Darwin. If I was a betting person, which I am not, I would say we will suffer substantial damage, regardless of whether most of our buildings are Category 5 coded or not. There still is an enormous amount of debris that would fly around and, depending on what time of the day or night it hits, there could also be a lot of people out and about in town.
Most of the population take cyclone preparedness seriously. We have all the councils now getting right behind the situation, having had rubbish days so there is minimal material in our yards that could become flying debris. Members and I know fully what flying debris did to houses and dwellings from Cyclone Tracy. It was one of the serious contributors to the damage that we suffered in Cyclone Tracy, apart from the seriousness and the high velocity of the winds.
We need more cyclone shelters and we need them to be undertaken and planned now, so we do protect and preserve the life of not only our Northern Territory residents, but also any visitors; and to have a plan for animal management. I know from going around my electorate the number of dogs, in particular, has increased dramatically from when I wandered the streets with my mother some 15 years ago. I am sure the same is true for the urban areas. Now …
A member: The population has gone up a bit, too.
Ms PURICK: Yes, the population has gone up a little too, but I am sure we have the highest dog population per capita in Australia. I do not want to see a repeat of what happened after Cyclone Tracy, where in the emergency response period, we had squads from New South Wales and Victoria come to Darwin, who were not perhaps the most genteel of people, shooting dogs in front of families, threatening to shoot dogs and, basically, being pretty harsh in the situation. Some of it may have been warranted, but I know of incidents where it was not warranted, and I do not want to see a repeat of that.
I want to see good animal management regarding what people can do in preparedness for cyclones, not only for their own personal safety and the safety of their families and loved ones, but the pets that form so much part of their family. I ask the government - I urge the government - to have a bipartisan approach, so we can protect our lives and our property in Darwin, and around the coastline of the Northern Territory, where cyclones will impact in the near future.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for the opportunity to discuss our preparedness for the coming cyclone season. We are ready for the cyclone season but, like all Territorians, we hope that a cyclone does not come this way. Cyclone Tracy has left an indelible impression on the memory of all Territorians. That is a moment in our history, in Australia’s history, that is well known by all. People who move here from down south are very aware of the power of a cyclone - a power that was made very clear by Cyclone Tracy.
This is one reason why there was such active participation in the council’s recent cyclone cleanup. Territorians understand the serious nature of cyclones and I know that this government takes our responsibilities in being prepared for a cyclone very seriously. The minister for Infrastructure will speak in more detail of the measures our government has taken, and is taking, as part of our preparations for cyclones.
However, it is important to note what we have done to improve and construct new cyclone shelters. We have already delivered $2.6m in major upgrades on shelters in Darwin and Litchfield, and we plan to deliver more cyclone shelters, with a $3m-a-year program for four years to upgrade and construct new shelters in Darwin and across the Top End. When I heard about this MPI, I looked up all the election commitments the CLP made to build cyclone shelters in the recent election campaign. I am still looking and I have not finished counting, but so far the total is zero - not a single commitment so far. However, I will let the House know when I find one. There must be several, because the CLP has put this forward as a matter of public importance. Surely, if they were committed to this as much as they claim, they would have a raft of commitments. By contrast, this government has already invested more than $5.5m on cyclone shelters across the Top End, plus another $9m to come. We are committing funds and delivering real outcomes.
As part of being ready for a cyclone, we should not overlook the important work of the Northern Territory Emergency Services. They are ready to respond to a cyclone and that is stating the obvious. In my view, the Northern Territory Emergency Service plays an important role and does a fantastic job. In addition to the small team of full-time professionals, there are over 300 volunteers who operate across each region of the Territory from 36 regional units. Emergency Services provide a valuable capability to respond to emergency events such as cyclones. Depending on the nature of the event, they may respond independently or in support of other sections of the Police, Fire and Emergency Tri-Services.
We are ready to respond to a cyclone. One reason why I am so confident in stating that is because I know the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes each year to constantly review our procedures and policy and to audit our resources. Importantly, the Northern Territory Emergency Services are responsible for facilitating emergency planning within the Territory and they do this in close consultation and cooperation with both the Northern Territory government and local government agencies and community groups. To enable communities to prepare for an emergency such as an impending cyclone, the Northern Territory Emergency Services broadcast detailed information.
The Northern Territory Emergency Services produce a number of their own publications, including brochures, a cyclone tracking map, and fact sheets and guides in multiple languages. It also promotes the use of other documents, such as the fact sheet Is your house safe in a cyclone? produced by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. This is an invaluable fact sheet that provides guidance and how to inspect your property to ensure its structural integrity.
The NT Emergency Services work in conjunction with the Bureau of Meteorology, which declares cyclone watches and cyclone warnings. When a cyclone warning is announced the regional controller launches the counter-disaster planning and, at the appropriate time, will set up the emergency operation centre to coordinate the disaster response to the cyclone. One of the important responsibilities the NT Emergency Services has is to order equipment supplied to cyclone shelters, such as the wirelesses to ensure a good level of preparedness.
I have touched on what the NT Emergency Services do, but what should never be missed in a debate of this nature are responsibilities individuals need to take when preparing for cyclones. Many people shelter at home or at the home of a family member or friend. Just around the corner from me live Benny and Sandra Lew Fatt. I am sure most members of this House know the Lew Fatts; they have lived in the same home for 50 years. Sandra and Benny are a perfect example of Territorians who undertake every preparation they can in the lead-up to a cyclone. They thoroughly clean up their yard and ensure there are no loose items - we all know the potential they have as missiles. They pack up all photos and personal items and take picture frames off walls. Their emergency kit is always fully stocked, they have powdered milk and tinned food on standby. They have ample blankets and warm clothes ready in garbage bags to keep dry. They listen to all radio warnings and never underestimate the power of a cyclone.
When Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin, the Lewfatts parked their three cars on the front lawn in a straight line in front of their home to create a buffer zone between their house and any missile objects. During Cyclone Tracy, 18 people gathered at the Lewfatts. They took shelter under the billiard table and in the bathroom. After the eye of the cyclone, when they knew the storm was coming back the other way, they decided to be safer and moved into an L-shaped bedroom. Suitcases and mattresses were stacked up against the louvres to stop objects flying into the room. The roof was beginning to come off, so during the eye of the cyclone, Benny, a carpenter by trade, got on top of the roof and nailed it back down. The roof just held on for the next onslaught, which most likely was stronger than the first. The house suffered some damage, such as broken louvres, water and roof damage, but, overall, remained intact. Sandra believes this is partly due to careful cyclone preparation and Benny’s knowledge of cyclones.
Benny’s mother and father lived through the 1937 cyclone in Darwin and taught Benny to always be prepared to open up and not close up, meaning to leave all louvres open so the air can pass through the house without it building up inside. Sandra described Cyclone Tracy as the most terrifying experience of her life, and vividly remembers the elevated house behind them being completely blown away right over the top of theirs. To this day, she still cannot visit the Cyclone Tracy exhibit at the Darwin Museum.
Over the years, the Lew Fatts have renovated their home but have never wanted to disturb the design and structure of the house. They are currently building a new ensuite which will be known as Sandra’s bunker. Builders have been told that it must be big enough for 15 people and six dogs. The ensuite will contain louvres which will remain open during the cyclone, just as they had done during every cyclone they have experienced in Darwin. The emergency kit will be stored in this bunker and the Lew Fatts will continue to welcome their friends and family who do not feel safe in their own homes to bunk down with them.
This is something that is really important to remember. There needs to be a balance between what the government does in preparing for a cyclone and what an individual does in preparing for a cyclone. There are many people out there who want to shelter at home or at the homes of friends and family. During a crisis like a cyclone, people like the comfort of familiar surroundings, especially if they have to look after children. The reality, too, is with building codes we now have a much greater percentage of houses being built to withstand a cyclone than we did in 1974.
Recent examples of Cyclones Ingrid and Monica, which hit some coastal communities hard, highlight buildings constructed under the code remain largely unscathed. We are ready for the cyclone season. I congratulate the NT Emergency Services for the work they do and all the other people out there who, in their official capacity, ensure that we are ready to deal with a cyclone.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I thank the members for Fannie Bay and Goyder. My talk this evening will focus on the animal management side of things. In my experience working with animals, it is more about people management than it is animal management. I have had more problems with people in the past than I have ever had with dogs and so forth that I dealt with.
The current situation is a little strange, as the member for Goyder pointed out. In regard to animals and where we can take our animals in a cyclone, we have Casuarina Square, Palmerston Shopping Centre - this is the underground car parks we are talking about - the Hub and the Holiday Inn on the Esplanade. I acknowledge the government of the day, the RSPCA and both Darwin and Palmerston Councils for working hard to make those things happen in the late 1990s
This is where planning could get involved a little more. We know that there is a proposed new commercial development at the airport. I understand there are about 1500 underground car parking spaces available, or will be available in that time. Good planning would probably ensure that a facility like that could be made available, as well as what we have today. We know and recognise that Darwin and the Top End is a growing place.
I need to say, if it was not for the fantastic, and often largely unrewarded, role that animal management officers undertake in Australian municipalities each and every day, our streets and communities would not be as they are. I understand the difficulties in the work that they do; the difficulty they face in the community. What I do not understand is why this industry is still often seen as just an awkward appendage that many councils and governments - including this government - still feel so uncomfortable and uncertain about. The truth is, it is so much more. Today, I think the Department of Animal Welfare sits with the Water Safety Branch, and I have never been able to work that one out.
By comparison, in the United Kingdom the RSPCA is recognised as the only national fully-equipped and trained organisation with the capability to coordinate a professional and safe response to animals involved in a major crisis. As a result, they have given the society lead animal welfare response status under the National Civil Contingencies Plan. How did this happen? The answer is found and based on the need and resources and training. Each year, the RSPCA in the UK undertakes around 14 000 animal rescues. Each year, a group of student RSPCA inspectors complete a seven month - soon to be nine month - course, including boat training, rope rescue and working with heights. Staff are trained to cope with as many different situations as possible. Refresher training for the specialist teams is carried out once a year and is reviewed regularly. These specialists teams, placed in different regions, are trained in fast water and flood rescues and dealing with trapped and injured animals. All of this experience has enabled the society to train and equip its officers to respond quickly, offering help and support to the government agencies and emergency services.
In the Top End, we do not have anything like this. We do not support the RSPCA; we do not support local government when it comes to dealing with animals in disaster situations. However, there are some very simple measures that we can take. First of all, we can take and heed the lesson from other regions, include animal management in disaster planning, and take on those planning opportunities such as new developments when they come up – such as mentioned at the airport.
As an example of how urban animal management and animal control officers are used in an emergency situation, I form part of the Disaster Management Team in Palmerston. Last year, after Cyclone Helen had left the area and we were going out to clear streets and so forth, all the animal control officers - this is the regulatory officers - were tasked to take photos of trees on fences in the likelihood there might be third claim damages and so forth. All the time, there were dogs wandering the streets that the officers were directed not to pick up. Many of these dogs did not find their way home. Many of these animals were never returned. You had fully-trained and competent officers out there not able to do their job. Why? Because of the importance that government, local government, places on animal management.
Because of the experience New Orleans had with Hurricane Katrina - and being fortunate enough to visit New Orleans last year as part of a fellowship tour, I can say there were many lessons learnt from Hurricane Katrina. In the first 45 days, the LASPCA established the official Animal Rescue Centre at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. It is approximately 97 km from New Orleans, and this became its temporary shelter for the first 45 days. The reason they lost their shelter was because it was under about six or seven feet of water and, had they left the animals in there and not evacuated, all those animals would have drowned.
There are a lot of lessons, and I will go through some of them because they are very important. People learnt from this, and we can take on and heed some of their lessons. They rescued an estimated 15 000 animals, and they only returned to their owners about 20% of those animals in the end. Of the 15 000 animals collected only 20% were able to be reunited with their owners. As I said, there were many lessons. People died because they refused to leave pets behind. That is probably one of the most important things I learnt from my trip because, if your true mandate is to save humans, you need to realise that if 44% of the population are prepared to give up their own lives for their animals, then you need to include animals in any disaster plans to evacuate.
People who left pets behind risked their lives to re-enter the city afterwards in the hopes of rescuing their companions. People trying to re-enter the city hindered human rescue efforts. The military was ill-equipped to deal with roaming and scared animals. Roaming dogs would disrupt rescue efforts as the free-roaming dogs would approach cadaver dogs that were being used to recover bodies. Without planning and coordination, pets and people may never get reunited, and people and service animals became separated. The dollar cost and emotional toll for not managing the pet aspect is incredibly high - the associated trauma was catastrophic. Some of the lessons I would like to recount here include animals and planning.
In New Orleans, they never planned for extreme devastation or the need for outside help and, although they were responsible for disasters involving animals, they operated independently from the search and rescue teams. The lessons include providing staff in incident condemned structure and systems with some animal management training. Municipalities must appoint an animal agency to serve as the official lead in animal rescue and response. Animal responders must be included in planning and practice drills alongside human search and rescue teams.
Another lesson was developing partnerships, and this is also true with the human aspect of things. We know - and I thoroughly agree, as I have been involved in a lot of disaster management planning in the NT on the human side - other than perhaps the need for more shelters, we do a good job. We do it because we have had the experience and we have done it time and time again as each threat approaches. These partnerships should include people working with urban animals, and not forget our rural friends and some of the bigger animals that we deal with.
Lesson three was to develop communication plans and systems. Many of the greatest challenges experienced during Katrina were related to communication. Mobile phone systems were inoperable across the region. They had a limited ability to speak to one another, and no ability to speak to fellow first responders. They recommended the development of a crisis communication plan so staff may communicate with key stakeholders in times of crisis. They also decided that communication, pre-storm, was just as important, and to employ backup inter-operative systems so that first responders may communicate with one another. One of the lessons they learnt was that these people who are out there responding to animal crisis did not have communication with the local police or other emergency services, and these were the very people who sometimes needed the animal control officers to help them out. What they have now is basic radio communication between each of these agencies.
Educate the public. The better the public is prepared for disaster, the less panic they may feel at the time of an impending crisis. It would also reduce the potential burden that may be placed upon the government and the community. Develop ready-to-travel kits for pets, integrated public service announcements, participate in disaster awareness, or raise any events occurring in the community.
Lesson five was to prepare for the unexpected. Stash ready-to-use supplies with partner agencies that are not likely to be affected by the same disaster. Develop a plan for managing unsolicited supply donations. Develop a plan for managing unsolicited volunteers. Establish an inventory system for managing supplies on hand.
Lesson six was to establish a public relations communications plan.
Lesson seven, probably the most important: legislation does help. Each municipality or shire, if it has an animal disaster plan, basically has separate emergency roles and responsibilities. Disasters, however, do not adhere to political boundaries. A regional approach is more conducive to effective disaster management and response. In the United States, draft legislation was introduced with the SPCA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They are the ones which helped to draft the legislation to include animals in disaster planning. Part of that legislation includes: animals are included in the local and state plans; pets are allowed on public buses during evacuation; and businesses that house pets, including veterinarians and boarding facilities, must develop and file an evacuation plan with the state.
Last year Maningrida, as we know, suffered a horrible time, and I have details from Dr Ted Donelan. Dr Donelan has a veterinary clinic in Melbourne and he also has a clinic at Maningrida. I will read from a document dated two weeks ago when we had an animal management conference here in Darwin and disaster planning was one of the things that we spoke of. We came up with some great strategies and plans, not only for the Darwin area but for right across this country. I will not go through living through it. I really want to touch on that because it is a good indication of some of the things they went through, but tonight enough has been said and the member for Fannie Bay told a wonderful and sad story of what happened, and I will not go over that again. I will share some of the aftermath, I quote:
In the cold light of a wet dawn, Maningrida was a sorry sight. A few houses had been completely demolished, the school had lost its roof and 70% of houses suffered some damage from wind and falling trees. In many cases trees seemed to have miraculously just missed buildings. Many streets were impassable with tangles of trees, branches and power lines. Many trees had been blown down and any remaining ones were totally devoid of leaves and stripped of most of their branches. The ground was strewn with leaves and branches.
The major problems were now damage to community infrastructure. Communications in the area depend on a network of solar powered towers and microwave repeaters which were extensively damaged, hence, there were no radio, television or telephone communications. Apart from the inability to pass on messages to loved ones or obtain information about the current position and activities of the cyclone, this situation created a feeling of isolation and abandonment.
The electricity wiring grid had been extensively damaged with many power lines down and most power poles lurching at strange angles, hence the power station could not be used to generate power and portable generators could not be connected to existing wiring. No electricity meant no lights, refrigeration or airconditioning
The local roads were impassable as a result of multiple fallen trees and the effects of the flooding rains on the local creeks and river crossings. We were completely cut off.
On Tuesday, 25 April, Anzac Day, people were gingerly emerging from the shelter and took stock of the damage. Everyone was buoyed by the adrenalin rush of the experience and the euphoria of survival. After an initial assessment strategic plans were made for the recovery effort. The situation was potentially quite critical.
By the afternoon of Wednesday 26 most of the town’s power poles were again pointing skywards and most of the major tree debris had been cleared.
We knew the situation was under control when a chartered planeload of politicians arrived to survey the scene. Not surprisingly they did not bring one chainsaw, portable generator or satellite telephone or anything else of any material use. They drove through the community in a minibus, cameras dangling out windows, they got back into their chartered plane and flew back to the comforts of Darwin ...
Ms Lawrie: Not true.
Mr CHANDLER: I continue:
- Living through a Category 5 cyclone in a remote location is a once in a lifetime experience. For anyone who thinks they might like to do it for some macho reasons or to experience it, I would strongly advise them not to do it ...
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Brennan, your time has expired.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her matter of public importance. There is a range of people who know about cyclones. There are people like me who lived on Bathurst Island and missed it by a whisker, but suffered the effects of what Cyclone Tracy did because we could not get off the island for three months. We saw the problems that it caused. A Taiwanese fishing boat was beached on the south side of Bathurst Island ...
A member: They were marooned on a good island.
Mr WOOD: Yes, they were, but they were not sure where they were, and had to stay on that island for quite a while because of quarantine issues. Communication to the outside world was very difficult for quite a while. Not only did Darwin not have any communication, but Bathurst Island did not have anyone to talk to.
There are issues that cyclones can cause outside of those people immediately affected by the strong winds. There were people like Brother Fry who lived at St John’s College in Darwin and slept right through the cyclone. He did not know the cyclone had occurred until he woke in the morning. There are some people who lived through the cyclone and were not traumatised. There are other people like my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who lived at Wanguri. Luckily, to some extent, their house only lost its roof; the basic shell of the house remained. It was a ground-level house. I remember when I came in from Bathurst Island to have a look at where their house was – in Wanguri nearly all houses were two-storey - it was total devastation. There was one house at the beginning of the street which I turned down to see my brother-in-law’s house which had practically no damage and there was a lady out in her swimming costume watering the front lawn, as if nothing had happened. Yet, the rest of Wanguri was just like a war zone.
People will have different feelings and memories and trauma about Cyclone Tracy. My sister-in-law would not want to go through a cyclone again. It is something, for those people who have been through it, they never wish to repeat. I live in a house which is now 28 years old and was probably built under an older code. I am not particularly confident it would stand up to a major cyclone. We took our grandchildren to stay overnight with relations in Batchelor when the last cyclone started heading that way. Luckily, it did not reach that far, but my grandchildren wanted to stay; they thought it would be great fun. That is the issue that would relate to a lot of new people in Darwin. It might sound like it would be fun, but talk to those people who have been through it and you will understand it was a very traumatic time. We have to remember over 50 people died. It was a very tragic time and it is not to be taken lightly.
There has been discussion - and I am interested to hear what the minister says - by a certain group of scientists who believe perhaps the government is underestimating the potential of so-called super cyclones that might hit Darwin. Perhaps we are underestimating the design of our houses and cyclones shelters in the future. We have to emphasise we do not necessarily need everyone going to cyclone shelters. One would hope that new houses are being built to a code which is quite sufficient to withstand the ferocity of any cyclones that may strike Darwin.
I hope houses still have a core where people can stay safely with their cyclone survival kits. That is the best place to stay. You, then, of course, can stay with your own pets, which is an issue the member for Brennan raised.
There were parts of Darwin - even parts of inner Darwin and, as the Speaker would know, parts of Nightcliff - which were badly hit by Cyclone Tracy. There are houses in that part of the city which are the original houses. They would not be the best place to stay, even though they might have survived Cyclone Tracy. They are now nearly 34 years on and are different houses than they were at that time. We need our cyclones shelters and, having been a cyclone shelter manager for a while, they require good organisation and have to be well managed. You get people turning up at cyclone shelters who are not the sort of people you really want there. They think it is going to be an evening of having a few beers and settling down for the night, and you find they cause problems. Then, you need not only the emergency services people to help out, but you certainly need the police as well to ensure the cyclone shelters are run well and people are not under any extra stress except for the cyclone that is coming their way.
The other option is the option you see in the United States quite a bit. I am not saying it is the option we should over-promote but, for people like my sister-in-law, driving out of town is still a realistic option if a cyclone is coming. I do not see any problem with places like Katherine establishing a place for people who want to get away of the cyclone to be able to camp. It might be on the football ground; the Katherine football ground has toilets and showers. Places like that could be opened for people who wish to simply avoid going through the cyclone. I do not see it as a case of being chicken or staying behind to be brave; that is a silly outlook. Look at Miami, and the latest hurricane scare in New Orleans - people do not hang around, they know what damage it can do, and they drive out of town. That is a reasonable option. For those people who have been traumatised by Cyclone Tracy, why put people through that again? We should use the drive-out option as a reasonable option for those people who do not particularly want to go through that type of cyclone again.
In summing up, I am interested to hear what the minister has to say about this issue. The speculation has been around for a couple of years as to whether our engineering is up to scratch for the so-called super cyclones. As the member for Goyder rightly mentioned, sea temperatures are changing. Is there a possibility that we are going to get bigger and more intense cyclones, and are we prepared? Is the government looking at whether we need any changes in our regulations regarding housing to cope with that?
Of course, the other side of the equation is you can build a fortress. However, who can afford it? To some extent, one has to find a balance between a reasonable approach to cyclone-proof housing, as against making houses so strong and so structurally sound they simply become cost-prohibitive. We need to find that balance.
I was also very interested in what the member for Brennan said regarding the way we handle animals. It is a difficulty in a rural area, regardless of what people think about whether the rural area should have animal legislation or not. A place like that is very hard for a council to manage. Usually, the advice is to leave your animals at home with water; do not lock them up. Most people have fences around their block, so at least you hope their animals can find shelter. It is a difficult thing to leave your animals and pets behind because, for many people, they are their best mates. Maybe the rules and regulations in regard to what people can do with pets needs to be reviewed. I know you are not allowed to take animals to a cyclone shelter, but you can take them to the underground car parks. I still see that, sometimes, there may be some allowance for pensioners who have a dog who is a companion animal, or a cat. They simply are not going to sit in the car park under Target or somewhere they might want to go to a shelter. Perhaps there has to be some flexibility when it comes to animals.
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her matter of public importance. I would like to hear what the minister has to say as well.
Ms LAWRIE (Infrastructure and Transport): Madam Speaker, I also thank the member for Goyder for this matter of public importance today - a very timely matter of public importance. We are in the build-up and we are heading to our cyclone season.
As we know, cyclones are a fact of life in the Top End. It is important that all families and individuals have a cyclone plan. It is also important, picking up on the contribution from the member for Brennan, that plan includes the care for their pets. The advice that is issued - whether it is written advice or advice on the radio - contains the prompt for a cyclone plan, and to think about how you are going to keep your pets; where they will be and what their circumstances will be during a cyclone. So, a very important contribution.
Families should check their houses are built to the building code and that they are well maintained. The member for Fannie Bay talked about the fact sheet that my Department of Planning and Infrastructure has. It is a very practical guide for looking at your own home and your own circumstances, and a very good checklist, so I urge all members to become acquainted with it. Preparation, preparation, preparation - that is the key to a cyclone season. We have seen the cleanup by Darwin City Council, and Palmerston City Council had their first cleanup, and I commend them for that. Again, all important preparation.
What we know is if you make a decision well beforehand where to shelter, it is the best plan that you could have. Homes that are built after Cyclone Tracy are built to the Building Code, they are required to be built to the Building Code, and many will have those strengthened areas where families can shelter at home. We heard the member for Fannie Bay talk about the example of Benny and Sandra Lewfatt.
Yes, I am a survivor of Cyclone Tracy. Our elevated house in Nightcliff was completely demolished in Cyclone Tracy, so I am all too aware of the trauma and the devastation and destruction a cyclone can bring. However, our family has its own version of a bunker - it is my mother’s place in Nightcliff. She has built a concrete module home. It is a bunker. It is cyclone and earthquake proof, and all of her adult children, her grandchildren and their pets have their particular bunker they can go to, which is my mother’s house in Nightcliff.
For those families who decide not to shelter at home, again, cyclone shelters are about people. Cyclone shelters, firstly, were predominantly provided for people in caravans and in very poor standard housing post Cyclone Tracy, and I will go to that a bit further. However, for those who decide not to shelter at home, they need to decide beforehand, in their cyclone plan, where they will shelter. As we have heard in the debate, those public shelters are located at the new Supreme Court building in the city; Nightcliff and Dripstone High Schools, both have had significant work done on them; Casuarina Senior College, again, has had significant work; Palmerston High School; Girraween Primary School, upgraded; Taminmin High School at Humpty Doo; and the community government council building at Cox Peninsula. All these have been assessed and they have had structural strengthening where required, so I can assure people they are of the best standard possible for cyclone shelters.
As we have heard, domestic pets cannot be taken to these shelters; however, we do have those underground car parks which have been identified as places where residents can shelter in their cars with their pets, provided the pets are properly constrained. Those sites are located at Casuarina Shopping Square; Palmerston Shopping Square; The Hub at Palmerston, and the Holiday Inn Esplanade, next to the Darwin Entertainment Centre in Darwin.
Public cyclone shelters were first established in Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. As Darwin recovered, many residents lived in temporary accommodation, including caravans, demountable housing, and poorly repaired housing. The government created a number of public cyclone shelters in case the city experienced another severe cyclone while it was being rebuilt. As Darwin’s reconstruction progressed and new buildings were built to new standards, the need for public cyclone shelters proportionally diminished.
In recent years, the north of Australia has experienced a number of severe cyclones. As we have heard, in 2005, we saw Category 5 Cyclone Ingrid which struck Elcho Island, moved over Croker Island as a Category 4, and then over the Tiwi Islands as a Category 3. Again, Category 5 Cyclone Monica hit Elcho Island in 2006, and then passed very close to Maningrida. Also that year, Category 4 Cyclone Larry struck Innisfail in Queensland, causing widespread damage. Cyclone Larry prompted the Queensland government to consider its options in creating public cyclone shelters.
The Territory government also considered it timely to review its shelter arrangements. The government recently upgraded six cyclone shelters in Darwin and the rural area. Those major upgrades have been completed at Nightcliff High School. Casuarina Senior College, and Taminmin High School - a $2.6m commitment in those upgrades which involved new roof cladding and screening of windows at all three shelters to protect the buildings from flying debris during a cyclone. This government has committed a further $3m program this financial year to upgrade Marrara Indoor Sports Complex, and shelters at Sanderson, Maningrida, Galiwinku, and Milingimbi.
The government is committed to increasing the capacity of public cyclone shelters and will provide ongoing funding of $3m per annum over the next four years to upgrade and construct new cyclone shelters. This funding for cyclone shelters is unprecedented. It is something that I have personally pursued both as the minister for Infrastructure and, more recently, as Treasurer. I guess it is no coincidence - I am a Cyclone Tracy survivor and I am acutely aware of the government’s capacity to put all-important funding into cyclone shelters.
Not moving away from the need for every individual to have a cyclone plan, that plan can include sheltering at home, and I go to the very valid point the member for Nelson made about an evacuation plan, if that is the preferred course people want to take.
In new public buildings the government builds, predominately schools etcetera, we will ensure that they are built to cyclone shelter capacity, where it is an appropriate building to do so. For example, in the construction of the two new schools at Rosebery, we will incorporate a public cyclone shelter in the gymnasium. It will be built to cyclone shelter code. It does cost more to build to that level, but it is a policy directive that our government is taking. This will provide all important additional capacity at Palmerston in the event of a cyclone, for both Palmerston and rural residents.
Regarding the very appropriate matter the member for Nelson raised - the building code standards - the Northern Territory has adopted the National Building Code of Australia and the relevant Australian standards as the Technical Building Standards for the Territory. The Building Code of Australia calls up, as part of its structural requirements, the technical standards AS1170 - the Australian wind loading code. The codes have been reviewed in recent years and the standards in Australia for cyclonic areas are some of the highest in the world.
Under the Building Code, residential structures in cyclonic regions are designed for a one in 500 event; that is, a risk of 0.2% of an event happening in any particular year. This is consistent with Northern Queensland and most of Western Australia. There is a part of the Western Australian coast between Port Hedland and Carnarvon which is classified as a higher risk category.
These design parameters have been generally accepted as the reasonable balance, based on the assessment of the risk and the ability of the community to pay for the desired level of protection across all cyclonic regions of Australia. That is the point the member for Nelson was making - you look at the risk and at the costs associated. These standards meet the standards in Australia for cyclonic areas and they are some of the highest in the world and they are designed for a one in 500 event.
There is no common method of construction that can guarantee 100% protection from a cyclone. What the code provides for is cyclone resistant construction to certain levels, commensurate with that reasonable risk you heard the member for Nelson talk about, and that assessment of risk.
Experiences with Cyclones Ingrid and Monica, both very powerful cyclones in the Category 5 and Category 4, have shown that buildings built to the code can withstand severe conditions very well. After the cyclones hit, we sent engineers out to the communities to do some structural assessments of the buildings. We saw that the buildings built to code - that is, our newer public housing and our newer government buildings in those coastal communities - withstood well. There was very minor damage. They were safe, people were fine, we did not have the fatalities and we did not have the serious injuries. Why? Because the buildings built to code were safe. I believe that is important, because we heard the member for Goyder in her contribution talk about panic, fear, trauma, and complacency.
It is important that people are aware of what is safe, and buildings built to code are designed for that one in 500 event. They are amongst the highest standards in the world and they have been recently tested with severe cyclones, Category 4 and Category 5, and they withstood, and we went back and checked their structural integrity. They are safe - built to code.
If you are looking at making any changes they need to be based on the Building Code and assessment of the risk, any decision to generally increase the standards would need to demonstrate a reasonable balance had been struck between the benefits gained and those all important building costs. This issue is broader than just the Northern Territory and requires a national approach based on scientific research. That would be research on the impacts of climate change in cyclonic regions, and that research is occurring across Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. On the basis of the current evidence and experience of buildings built to code, it is very difficult to present an argument requiring strengthening of the current Building Code in relation to cyclones. Nevertheless, if climatic change leads to increased activity and increased intensity of cyclonic events, the codes would need to be reviewed in light of the likely increased risk.
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure has submitted a proposal to the Australian Building Codes Board and the board is undertaking a specific study examining climate change and the impact climate change may have on the frequency and intensity of cyclonic events. We are not just satisfied with what we have, we are also participating in national scientific research on climate change and looking at increasing intensity and frequency of cyclones. This is on the basis that this issue is broader than the Northern Territory. As I said, it requires a national approach and we are participating in that national approach affecting the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.
The outcome of the project will be an evaluation of whether the current design wind load criteria is adequate for expected changes in cyclone activity. Following completion of the project, the adequacy of the current code provisions for the structural design of buildings in cyclone areas will either be supported - that is, stay as is - or modelling on higher intensity and/or higher frequency of cyclones done, and there could be recommendations coming forward regarding further upgrading of the code provisions. But, again, as I stressed, this scientific research is being conducted under the auspices of the Australian Building Codes Board, in which we are participating.
The Department of Planning and Infrastructure also arranged a two-day seminar in Darwin in 2007 to discuss the current standards - members alluded to that seminar - and examined options for an appropriate way forward in dealing with climate change. We heard from a number of recognised Australian experts in the field who participated in the workshop. The workshop concluded that while there may be no doubt that atmospheric change and warming temperatures are occurring, there are still no firm conclusions that can be reached on the impact of this change on cyclonic events. It is important that the research is ongoing.
We will await the outcome of that study being undertaken by the Australian Building Codes Board and consider any necessary standards that may need to be increased. I say that is an ‘if’ and a ‘may’ based on important research. In the meantime, the government will continue with our program to upgrade existing cyclone shelters and with our commitment to provide new cyclone shelters in the cyclone affected areas in the Top End.
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Fannie Bay for recognising the all important work done by the Northern Territory Emergency Services. They work very closely, as we heard, with the Bureau of Meteorology. I also thank and recognise the work that Defence plays in the Top End. They are key partners in the approach. I had firsthand experience as Acting Chief Minister in January this year with Cyclone Helen and saw just how effective our police force is in working with NT Emergency Services.
Discussion concluded.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
On Saturday, 18 October, I attended the Hellenic Athletic Club’s 50th year celebrations at the Kalymnian Hall in Marrara. It was a fantastic night. The club was formed in 1958 when a group of Greek immigrants, who loved the game, decided they wanted to play soccer to socialise and keep each other company, as not all migrants could speak English. These migrants were Elefterios Milliarakis, Nick Zikos, Andreas Dimitriadis, Steve Politis, John Katapodis and John Vrondos.
They named the club Hellenic Athletic Club because it competed in other sports, including volleyball and basketball, not just soccer. The club developed, with its own money, the Greek School ground by installing lights and posts in the early 1980s, and it now uses the ground as its home clubhouse and training ground. The club also financially contributed to the construction of the Greek Hall in the 1970s. The Hellenic Athletic Club participates in all Greek community and church activities.
The major Greek community event the club participates in is the annual Greek Glenti. The Glenti is a major fundraising event for the club that attracts approximately 35 000 people each year. The Hellenic Club runs a stall, in a prime location, to provide maximum exposure for their sponsors’ advertising, and they raise $7000 to $9000 two years out of every three. This year, they sold souvlaki for the first time, and it was absolutely magnificent.
The Hellenic Athletic Club founders and major sponsors are some of Darwin’s most prominent businessmen: John Vrodos, the Paridisis family, Halkitis Brothers and John Halikos. The Hellenic Club has always attracted sponsors as it was, and still is, an attractive advertising tool. In fact, I am told many Greek businesses consider it an honour to support the Hellenic Athletic Club. Some of the sponsors include: Readymix Concrete, Humes, Cerbis Ceramics, General Excavators, the Halkitis Group, Northern Cement, Expansive, Kosmos Foods, Allcraft Cabinet Works, M & G Painters, Smorgan Steel, JGA, The Cool Spot, CNI Builders, Fannie Bay Supermarket, Wulagi Supermarket, PTM Homes, T & M Concreters, and the Halikos Group. As we all know, clubs like the Hellenic Athletics Club would not survive if it was not for the wonderful contribution their sponsors make.
The club has had a number of office holders who have made significant contributions over the years. The current president of the club is Michael Melas, elected in 2007, and past presidents have been Steve Gialloris in 2006, Matthew Boubaris in 2004 and 2005, John Vrondos, Jim Kandis, Kerry Kourounis, Steve Melas, who is the current president’s father, Arthur Paradisis and Savvas Christodoulou.
The Hellenic Club has had many different home grounds over the years: Gardens Oval, the Crisp Street ground, Nightcliff Oval, Fannie Bay Oval, RAAF Base, Richardson Park, Moil Oval, Showgrounds, Arafura Stadium, the Italian Club and the Greek School ground. To date, according to their official records, the Hellenic Soccer Club has won 19 League championships, nine grand finals and 13 cups in the seniors. In the Reserve Grade, the club won five League championships, two grand finals and one cup, whilst in the Colts, the club has won five League campionships, eight grand finals, and three cups. The Hellenic Soccer Club senior side has finished in the top four placings in 90% of its history. The 2006 season was considered as the club’s worst, with the seniors finishing fifth.
The Hellenic Athletic Club has produced some wonderful players. Andrew Papazoglou was an outstanding player from the late 1960s right through to the early 1980s. Spiro Makrylos broke into the seniors in the 1970s and played right through to the 1980s. Len Kilmartin holds the unique distinction of being the first player to have a transfer fee paid in 1977 when he left the defunct Larrakeyah Soccer Club, which had debts to the League. Hellenic stepped in and paid the debt, and Lennie played with Hellenic right through until 2004, and holds the record number of senior games in Darwin. Kon Kosifologos – Kon, you will have to help me with that – came from Greece direct to Darwin and, in the space of 10 years, proved to be one of the greatest players to play in Darwin. Artemi Stavros played for both Hellenic and Olympic from the 1960s until the 1980s and was a goal poacher of exceptional ability. Pedro Politis, the younger brother of Steve Politis, one of the club’s founders, was sensational and finished playing in the 1970s. Nick Boubaris arrived in Darwin in 1959 and went straight into the Hellenic senior side and stayed there for over 20 years; he could challenge Lennie Kilmartin as record games holder. Sam Papas proved an excellent talent in four years whilst in Darwin. Sam now resides in Perth, and has done since 1964.
Some of their players have had enormous achievements, playing in state, national and even Greek and European Leagues: Kon Kosifologos played in Greece with Kalamata; Foti Hatzi played with Parramatta Star in the New South Wales State League; Michael Kathopoulis played with Fiorentina in Italy and now manages an Australian Soccer Academy finding talent for overseas clubs; Pedro Stefanidakis trialled with Sydney Olympic but, unfortunately, became homesick and returned to Darwin without making an appearance; Vageli Papazoglou made the Australian Under 21 squad as a goal keeper; and Spiro Makrylos and Len Kilmartin were both chosen in the 1981 Australian Amateur Squad, following the Northern Territory’s Australian Amateur Title win.
In 1987, long-time club stalwart, Matthew Boubaris and a friend of his named Ron, thought of the idea of developing a junior club for the Hellenic Club. Matthew’s children were then playing for a junior team called Alawa after the suburb they lived in. After discussions with parents, most of the players came across and the most successful junior soccer team came into being. Steve Billias then took over as President in 1993 and steered the junior players to enormous success. Hellenic players made up most of the NT junior representative teams and won many under-age championships, grand finals and cups. Steve Giallouris took over the presidency in 2003 and in 2005. The club won a record four divisional championships, four divisional grand finals, and won every under-age grand final or topped the ladder for the ones which did not have finals.
The club peaked that year with over 260 registered players, whilst the lowest number of registered players was 130. The junior arm of the club has produced the vast majority of senior players since that time in 1987. The only other club to compare is the Timorese/Portuguese-backed club, Casuarina, which also produces its own senior players.
Some of the great moments in the Hellenic Athletic Club’s history include beating their eternal rivals Olympic 10-0 in 1983, and travelling to Brunei and drawing with its national team 1-1 in 1986.
Soccer is the third largest spectator sport in Darwin; however, potentially it can become the second largest with the majority of support coming from the ethnic communities of Darwin, particularly if the Greek community continues to grow in Darwin. It is estimated there are approximately 10 000 people of Greek descent in Darwin, mainly from Kalymnos. It is a clear fact that when the Hellenic Club plays its games, the crowd swells up and, before or after Hellenic games, drops dramatically. In Darwin, all three senior games are played on the same day and at the same venue. On average, 300 people pay to attend the three games. This figure does not include over 100 players who also attend the day.
It really was a fantastic evening, with over 700 people at the Kalymnian Hall, a real celebration of a club that has made an enormous contribution to the sporting and social capital of Darwin. It was an absolute privilege to be there, to work my way through the crowd and talk to so many people. As a Casuarina supporter myself, the rivalry between Casuarina and Hellenic is a very intense sporting rivalry, but one that stays on the field as it should do, and we all get together afterwards.
I again congratulate the Hellenic Athletic Club and the Soccer Club for 50 amazing years in Darwin; and Shorty Boubaris, whom I had the pleasure of presenting with a framed commemoration from the club. Shorty has either been playing for Hellenic or working on the committee for the team for 49 of the 50 years, so a huge contribution. It certainly was a wonderful evening.
Leanyer Primary School was officially opened on 15 September 1983. Leanyer was a new school in the middle of a brand new suburb. Over the years, Leanyer and the school have grown and flourished. Mr Henry Gray has been the Principal at Leanyer Primary School for over 17 years. Henry has played a major role at the school, steering and guiding it to the well-recognised and successful school it is today.
I recently attended the huge celebration at Leanyer Primary School’s 25th anniversary. The school put on a fete to rival all other fetes. There were many stalls and people buzzing around. I had the great pleasure of opening the new walkway, which is filled with bricks that have been inscribed by students, past and present, as well as staff and other friends of Leanyer Primary School. It really is an avenue of honour. It was a great fundraising initiative from the school and certainly brings a lot of pleasure to people looking for their names on this walkway.
There were so many things to do on the day. I was lucky to avoid being dunked on the dunking machine, although some of the kids there were rather enthusiastic to dunk the teachers who put their hands up. It was great to see the Army there with one of their vehicles open and available to climb through. The Northern Territory Emergency Services was there with one of the rescue boats on display. The Beat choir performed beautifully, as always. Leanyer school set up a wonderful display in the library and showed off all the school achievements since 1983. All of the photos, year books and artworks really showed a snapshot of the times.
I was also very proud to present to Leanyer Primary School a copy of Goyder’s 1869 Survey Plan. I gave this to Leanyer primary because, way back in 1869, Goyder mapped out the Leanyer Swamp and it was the first record of Leanyer on any public documents in the Territory’s history. I thought it was appropriate to give to the school to show how far back in the Northern Territory’s history the name of Leanyer goes.
I thank all the staff and students at Leanyer who worked so hard, and a huge thank you to the fete organising committee and to all the families and friends who supported the school on the day. I have spent a lot of time at Leanyer school over my years as the local MLA and was delighted to be there last Friday to hand out book vouchers to two very worthy recipients: Manual Klonaris and Joannah Faulkner. Both of these students have demonstrated their love of reading and I was very happy to reward them for their reading efforts. I told the students how important reading was and, when I asked them how many of them liked reading, I was happy to see almost every hand at the assembly shoot up.
I found out last week that Leanyer Primary School is the only Northern Territory school selected to take place in a University of Melbourne study. This project is called Childhood, Tradition and Change and Leanyer primary is one of 30 schools around Australia taking part. The project aims to study how children interact and engage with each other during play. This is the first nationwide study of children’s playground socialisation since the 1950s, and it aims to see if the many changes in the world since then have changed the way our children interact with each other. According to the University of Melbourne, the study will assist educationalists and health and social workers to better understand how our children treat each other and will, hopefully, help shape future learning programs. Two field workers will be at Leanyer Primary next week observing the children and their interactions. I wish them all the best and I commend Leanyer primary for taking part in such important research.
Much has been happening at Wanguri Primary School. Wanguri Primary School has moved into the future with their very first edition of their e-newsletter. The e-newsletter came out in Term 3 and was chock full of school news and events. The idea behind the newsletter is that parents and families can be kept up-to-date with school happenings in a way that suits them. The e-newsletter means no more soggy newsletters dug out of the bottom of school bags. I congratulate the Wanguri School Council and particularly Clio Marah, for all her hard work in putting the first edition together.
Along with many other schools, Wanguri Primary recently took park in the Beat choir concert, DreamBeat. Two people, Kathleen Whitson and Kaye Baldock, have been involved with the choir kids from Wanguri, and I thank them for their fantastic work. Wanguri had many star performers who did the school proud with their behaviour and their performances, and they were: Freya Cox, Evodokia Louloudias, Niamh Marah, Liza Lotfali, Amelia Dalrymple, Te Ani Kahu Leedie, Michaela Marshall, Mikaela Hudson, Taliesha Peckham, Erin Smillie, David Danson, Nathan Tran, Jaiden Baker, Nikki Coggins, Faneromeni Koulouriotis, and Nyoaka Bell Peckham. Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s Beat performance.
A group of students from Wanguri recently visited our nation’s capital as part of their learning journey. The children were often praised for their exemplary manners and great behaviour. They visited most of the sites around Canberra, including Parliament House, where they debated a bill on rainwater tanks. And, a first for many of the kids, they hit the slopes and enjoyed some skiing. Well done to Wanguri School for organising these trips, and thank you to Michelle Gilligan, Lisa Rothwell, and my lovely wife, Stacey, for volunteering to help keep the kids under control. My son, Liam, also went on the trip.
Wanguri students also took part in the Giant Walk which was held around Australia. The aim of the Giant Walk was to break the world record of 231 000 people simultaneously walking, which was held by the Canadians. Wanguri Primary took part in the Giant Walk at 1.30 pm, in the heat of the day, and 156 students walked three laps of the oval. That is an amazing amount of walkers considering the short notice. Well done to Wanguri and the walking champions. Here ends my contribution and adjournment.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I give some positive information on the performance of children at the Bees Creek Primary School, which is a tribute to the teachers and the support staff. Bees Creek Primary School is located off Bees Creek Road and was officially opened in 1997. It is a lovely setting for a primary school it is in quiet bushland and, I would say, a safe and sound location from the hustle and bustle of high-density living in the suburbs.
The school is a very clean, neat and tidy school and, when I visited, it was very green. The school has sound community values which are a safe and welcoming learning environment, a high standard of teaching and learning, and family and community involvement. The classes are multilevel and cater for the diverse needs of students. The school offers rich programs in music, information technology and horticulture, as well as a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills. The CBL classes are particularly popular and each child has their own computer.
The school has an organic garden which is used by special interest groups, as well as classes across the school. The garden is regularly checked and assisted by the well-known horticulturalist/agriculturalist, Chris Nathaniel, who gives his time freely and happily to help the children with the garden and to understand about growing vegetables. The garden is also accessed by parents and many of the staff.
The school is ably guided by the principal, John Tate, and deputy principal, Ken Brodie. They are filled with enthusiasm, and support the students, parents and the school council and encourage them everything they do. The teachers are friendly, open and dedicated to providing the best possible teaching for their students.
Recently, I attended their school assembly where the principal announced some of the students had performed well in the Westpac Maths Competition in which 36 students competed. All students who entered the competition received a certificate of participation and a performance report. A big congratulation goes to the students at the school who received a credit which placed them in the top 50% in Australia. Students who received the credit certificates included: Year 3 - Sian Wright, Mitchell Reid, James Halse and Ashley Ferguson; Year 4 – Grace Goodman, Martha Hepburn and Courtney Stanwix; Year 5 – Bronte Pearson and Curt Stanwix; and Year 6 – Ashleigh Ainslie and Tayla Barrett.
It is good to see schools like Bees Creek encourage and support students to participate in these scholastic activities; particularly activities in mathematics and science. Well done to Bees Creek Primary School for being involved in this competition. I am sure they will be involved in future competitions such as the Westpac Maths Competition.
Another clever initiative I thought the school has is their student merit awards. This is a system that rewards good behaviour and encourages children to respect their fellow students, property and the school. It could be a simple act such as picking up litter, helping a teacher carry a load, or presenting with a big smile. The awards are called mini, maxi and mega awards. When a student has five mini awards they get a maxi award; when they get five maxi awards they get a mega award. This is the most sought after award as it includes a mega sized certificate and a $20 book voucher.
My first assembly was lovely as there were over 30 students receiving these awards. The smiles when they received the certificate and voucher, if they got a voucher, were priceless. Congratulations to all the students, Bees Creek Primary School, the teaching staff, parents and the council.
Yesterday, in my office we had a morning tea for Pink Ribbon Day where I invited various people from the electorate to have a cup of tea, purchase some merchandise and just talk about issues. We also visited all the shops in Coolalinga and, in the space of about an hour-and-a-half, we raised just over $260 for the Pink Ribbon Day Cancer Foundation. Most people enjoyed it. Even the fellows who attended the morning tea as well as the ones I visited in their businesses were very supportive and quite happily and freely gave donations to the cause. I know that tomorrow is Pink Day in the parliament
A member: Men suffer breast cancer, too.
Ms PURICK: Pardon?
A member: Men suffer breast cancer, too.
Ms PURICK: Men do suffer breast cancer and that is why they were happy to contribute. Perhaps they are aware this can afflict them as well as women. I hope to be able to assist in a better way and a bigger way next year to raise more funds for this worthy cause.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Madam Deputy Speaker, tonight I pay tribute to the organisers of two wonderful festivals recently held at communities within my electorate of Arnhem – Milingimbi’s Gattjirrk Festival and Ramingining’s Bak'bididi Festival.
These festivals are a wonderful celebration of a strong culture, art, music and dance or bugul to use the Gapapuyu word which can mean either dance, song, music or ceremony. This is because the Yolngu Matha language makes no real distinction between those artistic and ceremonial occasions when people come together to celebrate life and teach their law.
As members on this side of the House are well aware, particularly my colleagues, the members for Nhulunbuy and Arafura whose electorate incorporates the Yolngu lands, Gapapuyu is the main language of Milingimbi and has been selected by all the Yolngu clans as the language that is taught in the Yolngu languages and culture studies at Charles Darwin University School of Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
The CDU, though small in comparison to other universities in Australia, has built up a reputation for excellence and is the nation’s leader in this field. Much of that is due to the dedicated and highly-skilled work over many years of linguists Michael Christie, Waymamba Gaykamangu, John Greatorex, and Marrnganyin who, unfortunately, passed away earlier this year, which is why I will not use her other name.
I pause here and pay tribute to Marrnganyin who was originally from Elcho Island in the member for Nhulunbuy’s electorate. Due to ill-health, she had to live in Darwin for the last years of her life to receive renal dialysis treatment. During this period, she came into my office quite a lot and worked closely with my electorate officer, Charles. I quote a passage from the memorial he wrote at the time of her death to others who knew and loved her. I quote from Charles Powling:
- I’m proud to say she was a good friend of mine, and source of amusement when I’d sometimes forget, and then be surprised all over again, that her grasp and understanding of English was far better than mine, despite the fact that it was only one of numerous languages she spoke.
She sometimes made the silly Balanda feel very foolish if I subconsciously made allowance for English not being her first language during our conversations. But it was always done with a forgiving smile. I will miss her.
We will all miss Marrnganyin who, even when very ill towards the end, showed so much dignity in life. However, her remarkable linguistic skills have left a legacy that lives on in the contribution she made to the School of Australian Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
I was privileged to attend Milingimbi’s Gattjirrk Festival last month, which was funded by contributions of $15 000 from Festivals Australia, $10 000 from the East Arnhem Shire, $10 000 from Arnhem Land Progress Association, $2000 from Power and Water, and $2000 from Rio Tinto. Of this money, a small balance is left over and will go towards next year’s festival. On behalf of the community, I thank those sponsors for being so generous and making it such a success. The $10 000 from our new East Arnhem Shire is significant. In previous years, the local government council simply could not afford to make a serious financial contribution towards their festival. I remember in 2006, the Chief Minister, when he was Minister for Regional Development, came to the rescue of the festival with a $25 000 grant from the Regional Economic Development Fund. From then, the Milingimbi Festival and its organisers have not looked back and I know it will grow in prestige and reputation over the years to come.
The festival has strong cultural roots and celebrates and merges traditional bugul with contemporary music. It also highlights athletic prowess for the Australian Rules football on the Saturday afternoon. For the clans of the region, it is a celebration of survival of their unique culture. For those unfamiliar with the region, Milingimbi is located in Yirritja moiety land belonging to the Batjimurrungu and Walamangu clans. The northern part of the island is Dhuwa moiety land belonging to the Gorryindin and Gamalangga clans. Milingimbi is the name of both the island and the main settlement on the island, and it was one of the first missions established in the NT by the Methodist Overseas Mission in 1923.
The festival first started around 1986 as a way to establish a local band, spearheaded by Keith Lapulung, and it slowly grew into a festival over the years attracting more and more performers, initially as the Milingimbi Music Sound and Light Competition and, then, in 1990 it evolved into the Gattjirrk Festival. It now attracts musicians and dancers from all across the region. At last year’s festival, there were seven bands and 18 dancing groups involved over three nights. I have not seen any final figures, but I think this year they did even better. Whether they outdid last year or not, it really does not matter, because I and everyone who attended had a wonderful weekend. I congratulate everyone involved. I also urge members of this House, and the general public, to put it in your diaries for next year as a must attend.
Another must attend is a Ramingining’s Bak'bididi Festival, which was held only one-and-a-half weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, but I am advised it was also a great success. It was sponsored by Arts NT, Arnhem Land Progress Association Stores, Traditional Credit Union, FAHCSIA, YouthWorX, Drug and Alcohol, NBC Building Consultants, Perkins, Airnorth, Mission Aviation Fellowship, Ramingining School and, again, East Arnhem Shire Council made a significant contribution. The feedback I received is the festival was able to showcase the artistic, musical, and sporting talent that is so evident throughout the region, and as many as 1000 visitors from outside of the region travelled to Ramingining for the weekend. This meant that Ramingining doubled in size and was bursting at the seams for those few days, but everyone got along and pulled together to make it a very successful weekend.
There was also the inclusion of an art competition this year, which highlighted contemporary, visual and fine arts, and multimedia works, including the recent short films Yaka Nhumul Petrol and Connection Kids that received awards at the recent Connecting Through Film competition. Of course, the Chooky Dancers also came back to Ramingining to perform a rendition to their own dance by Ramingining’s own ‘Liya watu’. The crowd was very amused, so I am told, and there has been a realisation through the success of the Chooky Dancers that their own unique dance style is valued and appreciated by other people, which has been a positive motivating factor, and I am sure we will certainly see much, much more of them in the future. It was actually at the Ramingining Festival last year that the Chooky Dancers became known, not only to the rest of Arnhem Land, but also the Territory and indeed, the world, through YouTube.
So many community members, both Yolngu and Balanda, gave their time and energy to ensure the festival ran smoothly. They volunteered their time and they are very proud of what Ramingining has achieved on the Australian and world stage in recent years, particularly with Rolf de Heer’s Ten Canoes, co-directed by Peter Djigirr. They were also hoping to celebrate the recently released follow-up series of short stories produced and starring many of the same participants from Ten Canoes – Twelve Canoes. Unfortunately, there was some problem with getting the copyright permission to enable that to happen, so they are holding that treat over until next year’s festival.
I congratulate everyone involved on what, from all accounts, was a wonderful weekend.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to speak of a couple of very enjoyable events. As the Chief Minister mentioned, I actually took part in the Giant Walk some months ago at Woodroffe Primary School with many children, around and round and the oval. To tell you the truth, I cannot remember exactly how many children took part even though I was judge, in fact, for the Guinness Book of World Records attempt. I cannot remember exactly the number we counted, but there was a lot and it was fantastic. It was a very hot time. I thank Woodroffe primary for allowing me to come along to that and be judge for their school.
I was at one of the meetings at Durack Primary School on a Friday morning at assembly and listened to a lot of good things the students are doing, such as competitions within classes to see who is best at recycling. I thought this was a brilliant idea. They give little presentations to go with it, so that is a great way of getting the kids involved in a better society and a better earth.
I went to Driver Primary School two weeks ago and took part in the assembly. They have a brilliant idea where, unlike kids being caught naughty, they are caught being good. They have created a game out of it, and there are rewards for those who are good in school. I am very pleased to say that I supported that with a book voucher. I support the idea where, giving something to a school like that, I can aid in the education of that student by supplying a voucher so they can get themselves a book. That is a great thing. It is great to see Driver Primary School doing such a program.
In saying that, I am a little distressed, because Driver Primary School comes under my area in Drysdale. They have a brilliant in-house keeper, night watchman - I do not know what you would like to call him – who lives on-site. Nearly every single night, he records some sort of disturbance happening on the school grounds - every single night. He is very diligent; he records it in a book. Sometimes, some of those things he records are quite humorous, almost. The reality is that there are little gangs that run through the school and cause damage which means that we, as taxpayers, the providers for the public, keep shelling out more money for damage. Not everything is recorded and the book does display his discontent, at times, with police in the area. It is part of the way things are; when people are busy dealing with domestics and the like, they are not likely to go a disturbance with a group of young people. However, every single night, basically, there is a reference to unwanted people being on or around that school causing trouble. He can identify them - that is one of that gang and that is one of those gangs. It is shameful that is the case in Palmerston. We have some beautiful walkways, parks, and drain ways that become walkways, and it is a shame that they are overrun with gangs at times.
To make a point, if we listen to that side, crime is down - there is no problem with crime. To add to some of my other points about statistics, you can interpret statistics any way you like - even the statistics that are given by the Northern Territory government. For crime recorded over the June 2008 quarter under Key Findings, there is a string here. If we look from 2002-03 to current times, 2007-08, crime might be down. It is about interpreting figures; if we change the parameters on it. I point out that you do tend to pick on those parameters of 2002 quite well. If we just go a couple of years forward to 2004-05, we see a whole different picture. It must mean that either you, as the government at the time, did a fantastic job at sorting out crime, or the police were in a better position and they better managed their resources, got better outcomes for the public, perhaps were under a little less stress at the time. I will read some figures because they are interesting.
In 2004-05, motor vehicle thefts - and for those who have not read the newspaper or seen a bit of television, there have been quite a few of those of late, so one has to ask: who is back on the street who may not have been for a while? It is hard to read the fine print and, maybe, a lot of people do not bother reading these types of reports. However, from 2004-05 to today’s date, motor vehicle thefts are up 451. That is a lot of cars. At $30 000 a car, you work out the figures yourself; it is not cheap, it is a lot of money. I bet those people who are getting caught are not serving the many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage time in gaol. That is a difference of 451 cars this year compared to 2004-05.
Last year was actually quite a good year and there was a fall, so, between last year and this year, there were 557 extra motor vehicles stolen, this year alone. Another astounding thing we forget, if we go back to the 2003 figures. Commercial break-ins in 2004-05 compared to now - and I mentioned this in another adjournment some time ago and an MPI - are of growing concern and it has been very consistent. From 2004-05 to now, 894 more break-ins this year than in 2005. That is a lot of break-ins and, if you are in business, how do you wear those costs? I know of businesses in this area of Darwin that do not even bother to claim because it is not worth it - it is not even worth reporting. When there is thousands of dollars worth of damage done and you cannot claim on every piece, it adds up to a lot for any business to carry; let alone the poor lady that owns the takeaway shop and caf in Nightcliff. My God, what an absolute disgrace; to think she has been broken into so many times. But the Chief Minister says there are no problems, so let us keeping going with it - there are no problems.
We go to the good news: house break-ins. From 2004-05 to today there are 76 fewer break-ins. Thankfully, we have a good news story – 76 fewer break-ins. Does that count for the 894 extra commercial break-ins? Does that count for the 451 extra cars knocked off in that time frame? I do not think it does, and the people on the street know this. You must listen. The Chief Minister must listen because this is getting out there; people know it. It is not like it can be hidden. They know it because they can feel it.
Sexual assaults are very insidious, nasty pieces of work. From 2004-05 to today there were 37 extra sexual assaults in the Territory - down eight compared to last year. I am glad of that. This is also probably a very understated area of crime because the victims are extremely violated people. They are scared of the perpetrator coming back. They are scared of the process they are put through to get a conviction. It is most likely - this is an Australian-wide trend – that it is very understated. Sexual assault numbers are much higher than that. It is disgusting to think that crime is down as far as the Chief Minister is concerned.
Then the one we have been pushing: from 2004-05 to today, for assaults, there are 1515 extra assaults this year. They are pretty damning figures. I have not fudged any of these figures. They are the government’s documents.
I heard the Chief Minister say the war on crime is better than it has ever been; it is not a problem. These figures alone are disgusting. For anyone to stand here in this parliament and say: ‘No, no, it is all right, your business is fine’, is embarrassing. Any reasonable person in this Territory can read what I have said tonight, refer to these figures and understand that it is not fine. It is not all right. It is not acceptable.
Someone must start taking responsibility for that instead of hiding behind figures that go back two years. It is easy to modify what you read in figures if you wish to. You interpret the figures the way you want them. It is important to note that the people on the street know that there is a difference. The fight against crime is not better; it is in a very bad shape.
I look at another chart about property offences for 2004-05 through to 2006-07. We saw a difference of a bit over 2200 offences being committed in the areas of house break-ins, commercial break-ins, motor vehicle thefts, other thefts, property damage, and other property damage. In a light-hearted sense, 2006 is when I went to the desert. I wonder whether when I left things went to pot. The reality is it had nothing to do with me; I am just one person. However, as someone involved in dealing with crime, knowing the processes within and, unfortunately, having been touched by crime by having to deal with it, I could see the difference when I came back. When I came back to Darwin, instead of being excited by my return journey, I was disgusted by the level of crime.
I went into the Crime Prevention Unit and was dealing with Neighbourhood Watch as one of the coordinators for the Territory. The Neighbourhood Watch people do a great job. I was able to assist the Malak Neighbourhood Watch program kick off again. It is now probably the most proactive of all the Neighbourhood Watch schemes in the Territory
There is a huge community need - and there is a groundswell. It the Chief Minister does not see it, he needs to get out more, because it is vital that we take action. It is vital that he takes the responsibility and leads in a very strong way. That is not by just standing behind any of these benches here, but getting out there and showing leadership. The people know, the people are hurting, the victims are hurting. They will never forget.
Mr VATSKALIS (Casuarina): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am very happy and excited to see the new police shopfront open up in Casuarina Square Shopping Centre. I am informed it is to be open before Christmas - just in time for Christmas shoppers. I have spoken to Ben Gill the Casuarina Square Centre Manager, who is very excited about this initiative. He told me the Police Beat will feature as a permanent police presence at Casuarina and is expected to be open in time for the December school holidays. As well, the police presence at Casuarina Square will be on top of the 60 extra police announced in the Safer Streets program. The office will be open all core hours Casuarina Square is open.
In the past, I have been very pleased to see the police have been very proactive in actually patrolling Casuarina Shopping Square and the Casuarina precinct. As a result, we immediately see a reduction of incidents, mostly caused by students and - surprise, surprise - after 3.15 pm when the high schools and Casuarina Senior College finish.
Ben Gill also advised me this initiative will be one of Casuarina Square’s 30 community initiatives planned for the next 12 months. The Casuarina Shopping Square management is very proactive and working very closely with the Casuarina police, and also with the management of the Casuarina Shopping Village, in order to address some of the issues of antisocial behaviour.
Regarding Dripstone Middle School’s annual exchange trip to Kibi Cho in Japan; once again, 16 students and three teachers went on the education exchange to Kibi Cho Junior High School in Japan. The trip was an enormous success, with students undertaking local tours as well as attending classes in the junior high school. Students spent part of their time billeted with local families, and had an excellent time. I must add, students from the Kibi Cho Junior High School were here in Darwin a few months ago and did exactly the same; they attended classes at Dripstone Middle School and also went on local tours, and they were billeted with local families. I was very pleased to have two Japanese boys staying in our house.
Dripstone Middle School’s annual Dripstone Day fundraising celebrations are scheduled for Friday, 31 October. This special day each year gives the students an opportunity to showcase their talents and raise funds for the school and various charities such as the Cancer Council. The event will start about 10.30 am with stalls and displays, followed by a Crop and Colour activity, and will finish with a talent quest in the afternoon.
The Dripstone Middle School Principal, Lyn Elphinstone, advised me that Dripstone is pleased with the number of nominations received for Excellence in Teaching Awards, and wished to thank students and the community for nominating teachers and support staff for these awards.
Teaching Team of the Year nominations were: Year 7 teachers: Jan McCarthy, Margaret McPherson, Kelly Nottle, Robyn Gulliver, Bianca Raby, Sarah Belsham, Maxine Flett, and Chrissy Hunter; Early Career Teacher of the Year nomination was Bianca Raby; Teacher of the Year nominations: Rebecca Glasby and Nektaria Pikoulos; Support Staff of the Year nominations: Anne Cox (Special Needs Assistant), Debbie Rossiter (Administration Officer), and Kevin Remfrey (Groundsman).
I am also very proud to be the patron of the Darwin Surf Life Saving Club, a club with a talented group of over 70 competitors who retained ‘champion club’ status on Broome’s Cable Beach a few weeks ago at the Surf Life Saving Championships. The championships saw traditional rivals, Broome and Darwin, throw everything they had in this event, producing some of the most exciting finishes seen in years. In the Westpac Junior Championship, Darwin finished only 13 points ahead of Broome, in an amazingly close contest over 60 events. I am proud to announce the following winners of the 2008 Age Champions are: Darwin Under 9 boys: Alex Storey; Under 11 boys: Domenic Kay; Under 12 girls: Zoe Nibbs; Under 12 boys: James Parry, Under 13 girls: Clodagh Mackechnie; Under 13 boys: Zac Incerti; Under 14 girls: Hanna Mitchener; and Under 14 boys: Robert Gerlach. These young people certainly have a great future in surf lifesaving competition.
In the Thrifty Senior Championship, the Lifesaver Relay and Taplin Relay were special highlights, with teams battling for medal places. Rachel McLean, Darwin Surf Life Saving Club’s Under 19 competitor, was unbeatable, despite being up against some talented, experienced female surf women, winning the Open Ironwoman event. Beach specialist John Brown’s lightning fast reflexes saw him take out the Open Beach Flags title. Sam Creek and Sherie Tracy won the Open Male and Female Surf Ski race respectively, and Sam backed up to add the Open Board race title as well. I am pleased to say the final score for the weekend was Darwin on 727 points, and their nearest rival, Broome, on 558 points.
The 2008 Senior Champions were: Under 15 Men: Robert Gerlach; Under 17 Women: Megan Gallagher; Under 19 Women: Rachel McLean; Masters Women: Jo Gardiner; and Open Men: Sam Creek.
The Darwin Surf Life Saving Club is based in Casuarina. People in the club spent enormous hours and effort training young Territorians, boys and girls, in swimming, lifesaving and other skills. I have always said there is no reason for us to complain about our young children unless we ourselves fail to put in the effort to provide some leaders, some guidance, and the opportunity for these kids to be trained. Of course, we do complain about young people. The member for Drysdale referred to gangs. You have to remember this gang of kids probably belongs to people like us; they might be our sons, they might be our daughters. The responsibility stays with us; it does not stay with anybody else. Blame the kids as much as you like but, first, blame the parents.
On the other hand, with statistics, of course you can translate the statistics any way you like. Certainly, we have had a growth in the numbers of crimes between 2004-05 to 2007-08 but, unfortunately, the statistics do not say how many of these crimes have actually been solved, and how many have actually been covered. A good example is that, despite the fact the Chief Minister was accused of doing nothing about the Nightcliff situation this afternoon, what was omitted to this House was that seven of the young offenders were captured within 48 hours of the event which took place.
We can say that crime is going through the roof, but the reality is, if you really want to see what crime is all about, I suggest next time you go down south, pick up any newspaper in Sydney, Melbourne, or Adelaide. When a newspaper in a capital city reports a murder on page 5, then they have problems. We have problems with gangs, and with some juveniles. Let us not forget our own kids sometimes, who probably get up to some mischief, but probably not as bad as these guys. One thing we have to remember is, yes, crimes are committed but, thanks to the police efforts, crimes are solved. It probably would be better education if the statistics the police issue not only reports the crimes that are committed, but also reports the crimes that have been solved, and the figures of those charged with the crimes committed. Then we might be able to get a better and clearer picture.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Deputy Speaker, I speak again tonight, as much I do not like using my adjournment debates for this purpose, on the same issue that has been running for several days since the last parliamentary sittings in this place. I preface my words again with what I was trying to say the other night about how we conduct ourselves in this House, when I was interrupted by an interjection which was, ultimately, in the final wash - although I misunderstood it on the night because of the noise in the room - accusing the member for Araluen of being drunk which, I might add, she was not. When challenged to provide evidence or any form of supporting material to that end - well, actually no, she was not even challenged - when the Treasurer was confronted with that issue, she immediately withdrew the allegation …
Ms Carney: Knowing it to be untrue.
Mr ELFERINK: And it was untrue - knowing it to be untrue.
What this presents us with is an ongoing problem and the potential for a turf war where there are going to be causalities on all sides. Before we engage in this turf war, I signal by this speech a certain amount of counsel suggesting that we do not need to go down this path.
On page 479 of the House of Representatives Practice, a book that people are becoming more and more familiar with every day …
Ms Carney: For those in the Chamber who are really good readers.
A member interjecting.
Ms Carney: Probably not you.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: This is a House where we rely on speaking to get our message across. On page 479, there is a most eloquent argument for the powers that we are given by this House in terms of the speeches we make. I will not quote the whole of it because of time, but I urge members to read the whole of it:
- Without speech the various forms and institutions of parliamentary machinery are destitute of importance and meaning. Speech unites them into an organic whole and gives to parliamentary action self-consciousness and purpose. By speech and reply, expression and reality are given to all the individualities and political forces brought by popular election into the representative assembly.
It does go on as to the importance of speech in this House. However, there is a counsel directly below that quote on the same page, which says:
- … it was never a fight, or an absolute right to unbridled oratory. From the earliest days there was always strict domestic discipline in the House and strict rules as to speaking were always enforced …the principle of parliamentary freedom of speech is far from being a claim of irresponsibility for members; it asserts a responsibility exclusively to the House, where a member sits, and implies that this responsibility is really bought home by the House which is charged with enforcing it.
What has occurred is that in the past, the repeated interjections about members being drunk, members needing to be breathalysed, have been used as a weapon on the fifth floor. How it works – I suspect it is the fifth floor - is that once the interjection is made, it has been picked up - or comment has been made and not picked up on; it gets filtered out to the press. Then, you start seeing articles like the one we saw today in the Northern Territory News. Without repeating the article on page 4 of today’s Northern Territory News, it goes under the title: ‘Lawrie took aim at ‘drunk’ Carney’; despite the fact that the member for Araluen was not drunk and the withdrawal was made immediately afterwards. The media hold a privileged position. I draw honourable members to these comments in House of Representatives Practice.
- Important and useful though they may be, broadcasts and Hansard reports of parliamentary proceedings reach a relatively small proportion of the population. Undoubtedly most people rely on media reports for information about proceedings in the parliament, and about the actions and policies of the government. The effectiveness of parliamentary democracy is therefore in large part dependent on fair and accurate reporting.
The absence of the withdrawal from the Treasurer for the slur against the member for Araluen is not fair. The problem we have is this is on the tail end of several articles. The other one that particularly jumps into my mind, of concern in relation to allegations about some sort of gesture that was made in the House was, in that article, I read to my dismay, an assertion which was not supported by an accuser, by a victim, or by any form of independent witness.
I urge the media to consider how they go about their business of reporting, because what there are non-parliamentary people who work in this building who see everything that is said in this House in terms of one thing only: an opportunity to bash up on the other side. What happens is that there is this gleeful rubbing of hands, ‘Here we go. Here is the opportunity and slip out some nice little message about who has been accused of drinking and who has not been accused of drinking’, and the bombs start to fall. Media enjoys running these sorts of stories; you hear it. I was listening to the radio the other day when a media commentator said: ‘Yeah, yeah, no, no, those particular issues were withdrawn, but I know (nod, nod, wink, wink), there are two or three other people with serious problems’. Not a single shred of evidence to support that assertion in that particular radio interview.
The problem with the media being prepared to report in such a fashion and such flimsy evidence is that sadly, members of staff and their parliamentary leaders are inclined to try to use those things. What happens is it breaks out a turf war and, as both sides of the House become more and more entrenched in their positions as they try to score this particular point simply to try to capture a media cycle the next day, it ends up being a pox on both our houses. On the whole House.
I urge Madam Speaker to reconsider her policy of not talking to the media, because I suspect some of this could have been avoided had Madam Speaker pointed out to the media when she was approached - mind you, she has not been approached in more recent times - that all of these allegations had either been apologised for or withdrawn or, in some cases, both.
I acknowledge the Deputy Chief Minister who, although she apologised the first time she made the allegation towards me that I should be breath tested, she actually sought me out afterwards and attempted again to apologise in private. I acknowledge that and I am grateful to her for that. She understands that if we engage in this turf war there will be casualties on both sides. No matter how this plays out in the public mind, this whole place becomes lesser for it.
The problem is that we rely on that media cycle and the government is the past master of it. It is interesting to note an observation by Nicholas Rothwell recently who said, in relation to spin - and there is a whole speech he delivered quite recently, last Friday night as I understand it; I have just read it. The thrust of spin, he says in conclusion, is:
- The form, the look of things, increasingly, is what matters: the message, the impression, and not substance.
It fascinates me that we think we can win some points by doing this and going down this path.
Okay, the government has had a few wins, they have scored a few points in the press. However, I ask government to sit back and consider how this plays out; how people who are being forced to respond to an increasingly isolated position are going to respond. I include myself in that list; however, I am fairly immune from it because I have been passionate in my resistance to these allegations when they have been made. Whilst we try to pander to this media cycle and score a single point here and a single point there, there will be causalities in this war. Those causalities will be on both sides of this House.
I do not want to live in a parliamentary environment where I, and other members, have to spend so much time on our feet defending allegations which are merely nonsensical. I have been urged to engage in precisely the same allegation as part of my response and I refuse point blank. I will not engage in making those allegations. If a member walks into this House and they are clearly drunk, if it is a matter of fact they are drunk, I will happily point out they are drunk. But I will not engage in conduct which is slanderous and, outside of this Chamber, would be actionable.
It needs to be thought about before we go down this path. I urge, in the strongest possible terms, that we cease and desist from this particular approach. I close on these comments by Nicholas Rothwell. They need to be padded in because it talks about the mindset of a government we currently have. I suspect that he might be reflecting on the Territory government:
- If a government, particularly a small, subsidiary regional government dispensing large amounts of financial patronage, finds itself operating within a thin media environment, perhaps with only one newspaper to deal with, a monopoly newspaper, the tendency for those two realms to intermesh is strong. And in a conventionally adversarial political party system, what could be more natural than for a governing party to develop an ‘us and them’ mentality - the first requirement for a regime of information control. Once you have an inner party elite running the government, the members of that elite hold information rather than dispensing it: they do much more than seek to control what is written or said about the regime; they hide inconvenient facts, and deals, and construct a shining public narrative that has little connection with the true, inner story. Such a regime conducts its soundings of opinion in secret, by detailed polling, and responds to those signals in its own hidden ways: it inculcates a culture of tight management over its public servants, it compels them to silence, and prevents any bureaucrat from speaking to the media: it even prevents its own politicians from speaking publicly without their minders present to give them lines; soon, in fact, it has reduced everyone to a state of actors playing out a predetermined script. The whole political cycle becomes part of the show: elections, the pretexts for elections, the campaigns, the slogans, the interpretation of voting results.
That is a worthwhile speech and I urge as many people as possible to read it. I urge government to reconsider this approach that they have taken to making these allegations, withdrawing them, and only having allegations been made sent out into the public domain. It is not a fight I want to have. I want to have a fight on policy grounds; I want to have a fight on grounds that matter to Territorians - not on stupid little bitch fights between both sides of the House.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Deputy Speaker, last Saturday, I attended the AGM of the Milne Volunteer Bushfire Brigade and was very proud to have been given the opportunity of officially opening the storage container and playground, together with Senator Trish Crossin, who officially opened the new verandah area which was granted from a federal government program.
The Milne Bushfire Brigade is a relatively new brigade, is well administered, committed to high-quality fire management and firefighting services, and has a strong community focus.
I am very pleased to report that I have written many support letters on behalf of the brigade towards their application for funding and community grants, of which they have been very successful in their quests. Members of the voluntary committee all contributed to fundraising, and give much of their own time to ensure the continued success of the brigade.
In the absence of suitable public infrastructure in the Bynoe area, the brigade’s building is fast becoming a focal point for the local community, and the brigade is conscientiously developing the building and surrounds for use by the community. The building surrounds have been extensively landscaped and an undercover area has been constructed and, now, a children’s playground has been developed. Congratulations to the Milne Bushfire Brigade. It was a great morning out there for those volunteers, and I hope they have success in the future.
I move on now to World Teachers’ Day. I place on the record and recognise the fantastic contribution that teachers make in the lives of our children. World Teachers’ Days will be celebrated this Friday, 31 October. This is special day to acknowledge the contribution teachers make to education development and to the community as a whole. I understand that World Teachers’ Day started in 1994 and is celebrated in over 100 countries. Australia celebrates World Teachers’ Day on the last Friday of October.
I acknowledge the hard work done by all teachers, not only in my electorate, but teachers in every one of our schools here in the Northern Territory. To assist our teachers, there are a number of behind-the-scenes people who volunteer in the classroom, the ISAs and, of course, school councils. School councils are made up of teachers and parents working together to make their individual schools the very best they can be. Those school councils also play an important role in the education development of school policies. I wish all teachers a great day on Friday. The theme for 2008 is ‘Teachers Matter’. I am quite sure all members will agree with me that our teachers do matter.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I raise a few points that will highlight the day in parliament; they are related to one another. One is that today we had a motion of dissent against the Speaker and, at the same time, the Chief Minister also issued a media release saying that the Henderson government reforms parliament. I believe the two are related.
I need to put something into context in relation to a question someone asked: ‘Why did you not vote on the motion of dissent?’ I am quite happy to tell people why I did not: because I did not agree with the motion of dissent and, second, I did not have a chance to because, on the other side, I was gagged. I feel, sometimes, we can lose the plot in parliament. I believe there are issues which do need debating and this is a political House. I remember being told by the member for Nhulunbuy, quite straight out, that when you are in here you are dealing with politics. But, sometimes, that hides the fact that there are issues which need debating and, occasionally, they are debated in the wrong way.
The issue we were talking about during Question Time related to Standing Order 113 of this parliament, which is the matter in relation to answers. It simply says an answer shall be relevant to the question.
I have many times complained about the relevance of answers given to my questions. In some cases, I have asked questions of people hoping I would get a relevant answer, but I did not quite get a relevant answer. When you look up the dictionary, you will see that ‘relevant’ is such a broad word, that if you were to ask the minister for Primary Industry to give us a rundown of the cheese industry in the Northern Territory, he could rightly start off with talking about the moon, because it possibly is relevant if you believe in fairy tales.
I believe that the issue of whether the Speaker was derelict in her duty, etcetera, was not the issue we should have been debating. I have also been in the Chair where you are, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker. There was a previous Speaker who was an Independent. I know that this issue is a constant problem for any Speaker, because if you just read out Standing Order 113 it says it shall be relevant. I ask anyone to pick up the dictionary to find what relevance is; and it is very broad. That is an issue that should be debated, and it should be part of the Henderson government’s reforms on parliament, because it is an important issue. I do believe we should be more relevant in our answers; we could get through a lot more questions. I might even get past my one question for question 13. If I had a complaint to make, I would not move a dissent against the Speaker. However, I can tell you now that the one question I get in parliament at question 13 is not what people out there would like to happen.
In the case of Question Time, generally, the opposition has a theme - I understand that - and they use that theme to attack the government. The government fills it up with dorothy dixers, such as the other day, when there was an attack on the minister. It was a discussion about INPEX. We discussed two subjects for the whole of Question Time. If someone tells me that is what Question Time is about, I will go he. Today, I even felt like I was out of order because I asked a question on gamba grass. Heaven help me, who ever heard of that particular problem? It is an important issue, but it looks light when you hear some of the matters that are being debated.
What I am really getting at is that the Chief Minister has brought forward this statement today, and there are some good things in there. The one thing that concerns me is that the Chief Minister has already decided certain things will happen. I would have thought this was a great opportunity for all of us, as members of parliament, as members representing our electorates, to be able to put even our own personal thoughts about how parliament could be improved. The Chief Minister has already said we will turn up at 9 am and go to bed at 10 pm. Well, what a joke. I must admit, believe it or not, the 10 am start is not because I want to start late - I actually start much earlier than that - but I need time to prepare, because statements come in at night and there are speeches to be done. I need to organise my questions. A lot of that is done previously. I have to ensure it is right, it has been analysed. I also have to look at what is on the Notice Paper, so I am prepared.
I try to prepare as best I can and maybe 9 am is not suitable for me. I do not mind starting earlier, but the fact is that the Chief Minister has already made up his mind that 9 am will be the start. What I am really trying to get at is, I would have liked the Chief Minister to say: ‘Here are some options that we are going to look at. I would like the whole of parliament, because we are all parliamentarians, to come up with some comments, with some other suggestions and, through the Standing Orders Committee, which is the way to go about it, and we will consider them all’.
If the Chief Minister really believes in reforming to parliament, he must bring the other half of parliament along with him. Otherwise, it will be one side setting the agenda against the other. Much of the debate that has held had here recently, is about one side saying: ‘The other side is not doing as much work so we are going hit them with matters of public importance; we are going to hit them with more motions tomorrow than you can poke a stick at; we are going to make sure that a lot of the issues are fully debated’.
I do not have a problem with that, because there are some things that are not properly debated. However, we need to look at a whole range of issues. One is reports. How many times have I stood in this House and heard complaints about reports? Five minutes to the government, two minutes to the opposition, and I do get a privilege in this place, Independents are allowed two minutes as well. That is not much time. The classic example today was when the minister put forward the review on Indigenous expenditure - a very important document. There is not enough time to really give that a great deal of debate. Yet, we are still debating INPEX today, which was debated last week. We still have on the Notice Paper the Economic Direction of the Third Labor Government - one which I wanted to speak about at the last sittings and now I am not sure the government wants to bring it on at the moment, because there are certain things that will probably make them a bit embarrassed, especially when it comes to things like the power and what effect it is having on the economic direction of a third Labor government.
There is a whole range of issues. How should statements be run? Are we filling up time with useless statements? Sometimes we get broad statements like: ‘The economy of the Northern Territory’ - so big, so huge, you have to wonder whether it has any great benefit to the community to be debated in such a forum. Should we be targeting much more what we debate in this parliament?
I ask the government to hold back, even if it means next year. I would not rush this. The Labor Party has been running the parliament for the last eight years. I ask the minister to rethink what he has put here and ask us all - Labor, CLP, and the Independent - for their viewpoints.
I like the idea of radio and television full-time coverage. I have spoken here before, and this is exactly what should happen. This place should be as open to the public as possible. There are issues involved with that. We need to know how much it would cost. It might be that we gradually do it according to what the budget is. I do not know what it would cost, or if the money is already allocated - great. In relation to extended time, the minister says this will make parliament more productive and accessible to the public, improve the quality of debate and, hopefully, encourage more people to enter politics.
I do not believe we will improve the quality of the debate just based on the time we are here. We can waffle on for ages. Anyone who has been here for a while knows that that can be done quite easily - even I get accused of that occasionally.
If we want to improve the quality of the debate, then we should be looking at the length of reports. We should be looking at the statements. We should be looking at Question Time. I would be quite happy to say: ‘All right, if I can only get one question, can we extend it for another half-an-hour?’ I get stacks of questions, and I think Question Time is a great part of this parliament because people listen to it. You would be surprised how many people listen to it. Yet, sometimes it is full of one question in several different forms from this side, followed by a whole lot of very similar questioning on that side, which puts people to sleep because you already had a statement or report earlier on the day about that very same question.
I sit here, and think, ‘What am I doing here?’, because I would rather get stuck into some of these issues and hear some good, robust debate. This is not the case of whether I like what the government is doing sometimes, or whether I agree with the CLP. I believe people want to see a vibrant parliament that puts forward different points of view. I know that, generally speaking, the government will always get what it wants. But you would be surprised. Sometimes, the government actually does what this side wants, but it comes back later on in a different form. So it is about perseverance, but it is also about good policies and good arguments.
I ask the government not to predetermine what these reforms will be. That is not a terrible request. There are people here tonight who will take that message back to the Chief Minister. I congratulate him for at least getting up and saying: ‘We need some reform’. It is a bit like an audit. We have done lots of audits. There are talks about audits in all the departments, but has anyone audited this place to see whether it is effective? Maybe it is time we looked at ourselves, or even got someone in and asked: ‘How effective are we? How effective is our time spent here in doing what we should be doing?’
Another classic example is when a person on this side of parliament wants to introduce a bill into parliament. If you can do that, it is a great thing, but what a slow mechanism. The government might say: ‘Well, it is our job, the government’s place, so too bad for you. You introduce it at the General Business Day’. That is, you put it on notice. The next GBD, 12 sitting days later, you do your second read and then, in another 12 sitting days, you might actually debate it in parliament. The Leader of the Opposition has asked on urgency whether he could close that gap a fraction - still a long way before it is finally debated. No, they think that kind of urgency is too urgent. They want to leave it for three-quarters of a year before it is finally debated. That is another area that could be looked at.
There is a whole range of matters. Coming back to where I started: why can we not look at tightening up the answers to questions? Surely, the public wants to know the answer. If someone says: ‘Could the Chief Minister tell me what time clubs close in Mitchell Street?’ Instead of saying: ‘They close at 3 am’, the minister will say: ‘Under the previous regime they never had any closing time at all and we are doing a study and we have done several studies on this, which the other party never did’. And it goes on and on. The question was: ‘Could you please tell us what time the clubs close?’ If we had stricter guidelines as to what relevance means, we could get through a lot more questions, people would get the answers they want to hear, and we would have a better government.
I cannot move a motion, but I implore the government not to just say this is the predetermined reforms, but to leave it wide open. Set a date when we have our comments in so we can all get behind reforms of parliament for the benefit of the people of the Northern Territory.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, on Tuesday, 7 October 2008, I attended the official opening of St John’s College Middle School upgrade, the Hartzer Campus, together with other special guests, Damian Hale MP, member for Solomon; Michael Avery, Director of Catholic Education; Carol Muller, School Chaplain and Noel Muller, Property Manager. Damian and I are both past students. It was excellent to be back at the school and catch up with past teachers and share stories with new staff.
Over the past five years, the school population of St John’s has increased by 70%. With additional Year 7 classes, refurbishments were greatly needed to the Year 7 block. All classrooms have been upgraded including desks, chairs, whiteboards, carpet and airconditioners. The boy’s toilets have been refurbished, water bubblers replaced and slip-proof flooring has been included in the undercover sports area. All the buildings have been freshly painted in bright colours, reflecting the school’s tropical environment. The upgrades are fantastic and it is wonderful to see teachers and students proud of their middle school campus.
This was clearly evident during the official assembly to mark the opening. The most impressive moments during the assembly involved the students. Year 9 leaders, Bonnie Batton and Patrick Ballasteros, addressed the assembly about the upgrades to the middle school campus and what it means to the students. Their poise and maturity was evident and I am sure they will go on to be community leaders.
I also take this opportunity to recognise the St John’s College Choir, led by teacher, Caroline Paech, who gave us a fantastic performance of an Australian medley. Those students were: Alexis Morris-Lovell, Anna Lemon, Caitlin O’Connor, Caitlin Tranter, Cassandra Fraser-Bell, Clancy Wakefield, Eugene Moyo, Heather Morris-Lovell, Jennalee Chambers, Laura Seymon, Lian Carter, Libnus Ballesteros, Mathew Jeffery, Natalie Charlie, Noble Msimanga, Rachael Lee, and Simoa McKinnon-Barbosa. Once the assembly was complete, Damian Hale and Carol Muller undertook the cutting of the ribbon to officially open the Hartzer Campus upgrades, which were then blessed.
Another event also took place that morning. St John’s College was awarded a 2008 Anzac Day Schools’ Award as Northern Territory Secondary School winner. The plaque was presented to Sister Philippa Murphy by Damian Hale on behalf of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The Anzac Day Schools’ Awards are designed to encourage initiative and creative ways in which schools commemorate Anzac Day, with emphasis still focused on tradition. Each year, St John’s College commemorates Anzac Day with a Liturgy and it is a moving a special part of the college’s calendar. There is a large number of students with parents serving in the Australian Defence Force, and staff and students felt that it was important to formally acknowledge in the Liturgy the values of the ANZACs which our forces continue to uphold.
This year, the Year 9 students, under the guidance of the Year Level Coordinator, Ms Lauren Edwards, and the Assistant Principal Religious Education, Mr John Cenko, prepared and led the Liturgy for the whole school. Special guests, Captain Morgan Batt, a Catholic priest and full-time serving member of the Australian Regular Army, and Mr Warren Hue, of the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, attended the Liturgy and all serving ADF members with students enrolled at St John’s were invited to the service as special guests. For the first time, students enrolled at St John’s participating in either the Air Force or Army Cadets formed the honour guard in this year’s Liturgy. Patrick Ballesteros, Jamie Shaw and Ashlee Martin represented the cadets and did a great job.
It is important to recognise Year 12 Coordinator, Mrs Beckley, and college leaders who showed their respect on April 25 at the Darwin service. They laid a wreath at the Cenotaph before progressing on to the Anzac Day Mass held at the cathedral, where they gave readings and carried the offerings. These students were: Mario de Venansius, Shannon Ellis, Rebecca Hill, Joshua Everett, Tasha Victor, Billy Yunupingu, Tony Francis, Rafael Wu, Amber Johns, Zoe Johns, and Blair Flynn.
St John’s College was determined the winner of the Secondary School category because its entry demonstrated a strong commitment to respectful commemorations each year by students, many of whom have parents serving in the Australian Defence Force. Year 8 students also wrote essays on the topic of Anzac Day; what it means to them and the history and significance of commemoration. The students were: Jamie Collins, Jessica Grumelart, Brandon Smith, Heather Morris-Lovell and Ben Lyons.
I congratulate St John’s College and everyone who helped and participated in the Anzac Day Liturgy. The award is a significant achievement. Melissa Roth did a great job in putting together and submitting the school’s entry in the 2008 Anzac Day Schools’ Award. On behalf of St John’s, I thank her for her valuable efforts.
Mr CONLAN (Greatorex): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I want to quickly mention a few things. First, a couple of weeks ago – it must have been a month ago; it was actually before the first sittings of parliament – I had the honour, together with the members for Araluen and Braitling, to attend the opening of the new Central Australian Stolen Generations and Families Aboriginal Corporation. They have a new office complex in the Centrepoint Building in Hartley Street. They have been around since - just looking at their flyer here - 20 February 1999. They were incorporated in Central Australia as the Central Australian and Tennant Creek region. It represents peoples from nine electorates across the Northern Territory, as well as Central Australia and Tennant Creek and other institutional groups across the Northern Territory. They moved into a wonderful new premises in the Centrepoint Building in Hartley Street, which is fantastic and is testament to the great work that they do.
I was unaware of a lot of the work they do. I have to say that I was probably one of many Australians who did not really appreciate the Stolen Generations and the depth of what the apology has meant to Aboriginal people, particularly the Stolen Generations. That was not until this year. In fact, I was perhaps a bit ambivalent towards what it meant. I was not critical of the fact that there should be one or that there should not be one; as I say, I was just ambivalent. I guess I lived in, perhaps, ignorant bliss.
It was not until I came into this parliament for the start of the 2008 year after the apology from the Prime Minister and I heard the stories from many parliamentarians, particularly some of our Indigenous parliamentarians. The depth of how much it meant really struck me quite deeply, I must admit. I can sincerely appreciate how much an apology has meant to those people who were taken from their families, and to many of our parliamentarians in this House who have been personally touched by that.
I believe the former member for Barkly came from a Stolen Generations family. I stand corrected on that, but he made a very emotional, good speech when he spoke about the apology from the Prime Minister in February. I wanted to speak on this because I really did not understand how much it meant to the people of the Stolen Generations and subsequent families. I wanted to congratulate the people at the Central Australian Stolen Generations Families Aboriginal Corporation. They are: Michelle Tilmouth, Charlene Swan, Donna McMasters, Cynthia Mellard, Valerie Dearman, Stephen Johns, Charlie Ward and Joanne Taylor, and it is headed up by a great bloke, Scott Lonard - a big congratulations.
I have learnt a lot in the last 12 months - the last 18 months I suppose, being in this parliament - particularly about this issue. As I say, it was not really up until the Prime Minister said sorry at the beginning of the year and, subsequently, we saw how much that affected the Indigenous population of the Northern Territory positively, and those parliamentarians in this House. I know that, when I am telling my children about the history of Australia - that is the tall ships in 1788 and Captain Cook and the Gallipoli landings and the like - I will also be making sure that I include some of those darker parts of our past - the Stolen Generations, or the forceful removal of children from their families. It is a very important part of our past and it needs to be recognised, so I will certainly be passing that on to my children when talking about the history of this great country.
Again, congratulations to the Stolen Generations Centre, as it is known, its full title is the Central Australian Stolen Generations and Families Aboriginal Corporation, for the great work they do - Scott Lonard and all the gang there in their brand new, wonderful premises at the Centrepoint building. I urge anyone to have a look at the website, that is centralstolengens.org.au, and have a look at some of the great work they do. I would like to leave that on the Parliamentary Record.
Also, a couple of quick things. The Masters Games has been spoken about a lot, and I know the member for Fong Lim had a wonderful time down there, no medals …
Mr Tollner: I did, I got a silver medal.
Mr CONLON: Okay, he won a silver medal, and I think it was 44 runs, two wickets and a couple of catches in one game, which was terrific. We have spoken about individual performances, and the great work by Judith Dickson and the team at the Alice Springs Masters Games.
Generally, the Masters Games itself was a great success. We had 1200 local participants, which is just incredible and shows how much Central Australia and Alice Springs embrace the Alice Springs Masters Games. Congratulations to all involved. I congratulate 8HA for a wonderful coverage; they did do a terrific broadcast this year. In fact, they did the Saturday and Sunday, both days, which they normally do not, so that was terrific and great to see. Les Garraway, formerly of Sport and Recreation, I believe - -he was certainly with the Northern Territory government for a long time - has now retired, but comes back every year to lend his experience with the broadcasting. Congratulations to Les.
All in all, a great Masters and my team, the Rover Relics, had 38 people in the side for an eight-man competition. Everyone got at least one game and they really epitomised the spirit of the games, just having a good time. Former A grade champions and gumbies, you might say - those who really cannot play cricket at all - so we mix it all up and have a great time. Congratulations to all the gang at Rover Relics and, again, to the Masters Games.
Finally, I pay tribute to Bernie Kilgariff - in fact, Sir Bernie Kilgariff. He was actually knighted about two weeks ago. He is now the Order of St John. After many years with St John Ambulance, he was given a knighthood, the Knight Grand Cross of St John. I believe that is the correct title. I was there at Madigan’s at the Desert Park with the Administrator and other dignitaries as he was dubbed. I was very interested as I had never seen a knighthood bestowed on someone before. It is just as we read about - he gets down and the sword is touched on each shoulder. I am not sure if he is officially addressed as Sir Bernie; I believe he is. However, Bernie has stipulated that it is nothing personal, it is purely about St John Ambulance and all the volunteers and the great work that they do.
We know Bernie. He is such a legend around these parts. He was the first Speaker of this House and then went on to become part of the Australian Senate. He has now retired. He is part of the Kilgariff family, a big family in Central Australia and, indeed, across the Northern Territory. Congratulations to Sir Bernie Kilgariff, OAM, and to all involved, as well.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Katherine): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, first, I praise the efforts of a small group of people in Katherine who met this morning at the rather - well, at least for some - early hour of 7 am for the Big Pink Breakfast. Held at the Katherine Sports and Recreation Club this year, about 30 women turned up adorned in their very best pink attire. The function could be described, at least in part, as a celebration of the survival of many breast cancer sufferers over the years. And what a celebration it was. There were door prizes, games and raffles, all of which went to raise funds for the Katherine Hospital. All who attended, I am reliably informed, had a wonderful time and this is a testament to the efforts of a former member of this House, Mrs Fay Miller, and my current electorate officer, Pat Witte.
I was delighted to have the opportunity to donate prizes for the day, or be part of that, including a pink stationery pack. I had a novel way of donating a family cinema pass. I provided a letter to all the attendees, provocatively suggesting that to see what pink apparel I was wearing they had to reach under their seats and recover an envelope containing a photo. Contained in one of the envelopes was a cinema voucher ...
A member: Be careful.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE: I am being careful. I cannot speak for the attendees as to their expectations of what apparel I was wearing in the photo, but I hope I did not disappoint - I was conservatively dressed wearing a nice, bright, pink tie. It was all part of the fun of the breakfast. But the serious side to all of this, of course, was the raising of the funds for the Katherine Hospital. I am pleased to announce that the morning’s efforts, and some efforts put in prior to that, raised more than $2000 and there are many people who need to be thanked in relation to that.
I thank everyone who attended the breakfast and, in particular, Fay Miller and Pat Witte for organising it. I thank Airborne Solutions for donating a helicopter flight over the gorge, which was won by a young couple who are currently saving for their marriage and would ordinarily not have been able to afford such a luxury. Well done. There is just such a strong sense of community in Katherine to have prizes of that magnitude donated. It is excellent.
I would be remiss in not mentioning other businesses and individuals who made donations and I join in thanking Katherine businesses and individuals named herein: the Katherine Sport and Recreation Club, Woolworths, Nitmiluk Tours, Pat Witte, NT Rare Rocks, Hourglass Jewellers, Whitehouse Furnishers, Betta Electrical, Johnny’s Electrical, Terrace Emporium, Katherine Flowers and Gourmet Gifts, Teresa Cummings, Katherine Hospital, Top News, Cutting Edge, Fe’s Variety Store, Astral Contracting, Terrace Pharmacy, Mitre 10, Home Timber and Hardware, The Top Saddlery, Gallop-Thru-Time Gallery, the Never Never Ladies Beef Steak and Burgundy Club, Hohn’s Sheetmetal, Carol Dellow from Cleopatrasskin; You’re Kidding; Katherine Community Radio; and Mike Miller Finance. Special thanks to the Katherine Sport and Recreation Club for providing the venue and breakfast this morning. Thanks also to Kim Oliver and Raquel Holt, Claire Carr and Tamara Huxley, the Woolworths employee whose Christian name is Alison - I do not know her surname, Kevin Horan of the Katherine Hotel who last week raised nearly $800, and Alison and Deb Huxley. Well done to all.
Some well wishes to a good friend of mine in Katherine, Lara Brennan, who was involved in a motor vehicle accident near Ngukurr a week or 10 days ago. Unfortunately, she broke both her ankles in the accident. She is stuck in Katherine Hospital for the next couple of weeks until she can get around. Well wishes to her for a speedy recovery.
The other issue I would like to bring to the debate tonight relates to some of the ‘goings on’, I will call them, which I have observed in parliament over the last few weeks. It was not so long ago I was doorknocking in my electorate and I came across a lady who was at home with a couple of kids. I said to her: ‘I am just out and about meeting people in the electorate, if you have any issues about Katherine you would like to raise with me’. She said: ‘Oh, I have only been here for a couple of weeks so I really do not have much that I can put forward to you’. I said: ‘Your opinion to me is extremely valuable. The reason for that is you are new to town and you come here with a fresh set of eyes and you are able to see things in our community which we become quite accustomed to, which are still issues. You are not suffering from parochialism; you are not jaded. So I really do value your opinion’. We had a chat for about 20 minutes or so and it was good to get feedback from her.
I would like to think that everybody in this parliament would have the same attitude towards people who are new to their community; that they would be able to go out and take advice and information from those people and treat it seriously because that information is not tainted with the jaded and parochial views one would acquire from being in a community for a long time.
I also hope this parliament, for the very same reasons, would take information conveyed to it by a person who is not jaded and has not had the time to have their views tainted by convention or parochialism. That is why I am putting my views forward to you tonight regarding Question Time.
I sincerely believed that Question Time was a time when - and forgive me if I am wrong - questions were asked and answered. To me, that makes absolutely perfect sense. Yet, what I have discovered over the past nine or 10 sitting days is that many questions put are simply not answered in a way that is meaningful to the people of the Northern Territory. It is clear what is going on here; that the people of the Northern Territory cannot get the answers to the burning questions they have in their everyday lives. Every question put by the opposition, the government tends to fill in time with political rhetoric that fails, in most cases, to answer the question put.
I hope it is not the case, but the government is failing to realise that after the 9 August elections this year, the people on this side of the House - and I will include the Independent member, Mr Wood - represent nearly half the population of the Northern Territory. I suggest that a vast proportion of those people would like to have the questions answered. It does not seem that difficult to me.
I represent more than 4500 voters. I guess that is around about the size of the electorate, some 10 000 people in total. Some of those people, in fact, right across the Territory, will be died-in-the-wool Labor supporters, and they may not care to hear the answers to the questions. However, I can assure you, because I get this feedback from people, for everyone of those people who is not really interested or does not want to know what the answers to the questions are, there is a person who does want to know. I believe the Henderson government is treating those people - the people who want the answers to those questions - with contempt by not answering the questions that are put to them about their policy decisions and their failure to address the concerns of Territorians.
As a new member in parliament, I believe the government might actually be called to account through questions asked during Question Time. I must say, I am totally outraged and disappointed that this just does not occur. The government is allowing this parliament to descend into a rabble. The opposition might be a little more vocal than most are used to, particularly through our numbers; yet, our intentions are nothing short of a desire to represent the interests of all Territorians. If the questions that are asked are not answered, then we will be in a position of having to try to force the government’s hand to get them to answer the questions. The only way, it would seem to do that, is to make noise in Question Time.
I believe the government treats Question Time as a joke. They are happy to answer questions of a good news nature from their own members, but they dance and prance around the issues that are raised by the opposition. In fact, they are more than dancing and prancing; it is ducking and weaving of the highest order. I believe it truly shows a lack of intestinal fortitude on the part of the government, and an unwillingness to make public commitments to the people of the Northern Territory. Their behaviour in not answering the questions that are put to them in a meaningful way is reprehensible behaviour. The people of the Northern Territory would like to see government operate efficiently, effectively and do what it was elected to do.
If the government makes decisions, that is their job, but it is part of the opposition’s job to ask questions of government. Nearly half of the people in the Northern Territory expect us to do that - nearly half by virtue of the number of electorates held by the Country Liberals. It is time the government steps up to the plate on this. They need to become more accountable for their actions and to put aside the political movements - and I mean physical movements in ducking and weaving - to be able to come down to the real issues that are here in the parliament, and questions that need to be answered.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, this evening I talk about a number of issues the constituents in the seat of Brennan have brought to my attention. I will be succinct as I can; there are a number of issues to get through. The first one, I also reiterate what the member for Daly said and congratulate and welcome World Teachers’ Day on 31 October. We all know that teachers do a fabulous job in our community.
I congratulate Bakewell Primary School. It is their 10th anniversary this year. They have had a lot of celebrations through the year, culminating in a cutting of the cake a couple of weeks ago. Helen Armstrong is a teacher at Bakewell. She is the library teacher and, this year, she was nominated for National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEiTA) Teacher of the Year. I really encourage parents of teachers to nominate teachers for this award, and I do not say that lightly.
In the many years I have been at Bakewell, I have only ever nominated two teachers, because I believe it is a great honour to be nominated, and the teachers that have been nominated have stepped outside the square. In regard to Helen Armstrong, she has been instrumental in organising and running the Space Camp, and I take my hat off to Helen for that. It is about teachers who are doing more than just what is happening in the school each day, but doing more and stepping out, doing something for the community and for the kids. It is not just what happens in the classroom each day. So it does not benefit just their class – it could benefit the school or the whole community.
I have had many people come into the office and talk about issues such as Defence families and access to the promised medical services for their families. At the last federal election, the Rudd government promised that Defence families in all areas of Australia would be given free medical service for their families. That looks like it has fallen by the wayside, particularly for those Defence families living in Palmerston.
Another issue that was brought to my attention was medical referrals, and how some families, not through any fault they have been involved in, have been referred to a specialist. There are processes, I suppose, to go through, there are tests to be done on their children, on their families and so forth. Then, the results of those tests come through in months and month’s time, and then it is time to see the specialist again, only to be told they have to go back to their GP to get another referral. So, they have to pay $50 or $60, perhaps losing a day’s pay, take a child out of the school for the day, to go back to a GP to get a referral for the same issue. I can understand if somebody had different medical issues, but if it is for the same thing, I do not quite understand why people have to continually get medical referrals from GPs.
Issues have also been brought up about the election promises by the Labor government at the last election, such as additional ambulance, the water park, land releases, schools in Rosebery and, of course, the police presence in the Palmerston Shopping Centre. Many of these people have said they are not interested in more glossy brochures; they would like to see dates. If we are talking a term of government, and if this government is so adamant that it spends a lot of time planning, they must have some idea when each of these issues are going to be brought into place for Palmerston. They must know when the additional ambulance service will be up and running. They must have an idea of when the proposed water park will be constructed. They must know firm dates when the land is being released in Bellamack, and, of course, dates for the schools to be opened.
On the police presence in the Palmerston Shopping Centre, I have had a walk around the Palmerston Shopping Centre and, at present, there is not another store or shopfront available. My question is: will the shop which is the Office of the Chief Minister become our future police shopfront in Palmerston Shopping Centre?
The last thing I want to mention tonight - and it is one of concern - is an animal issue, which might surprise a few. Two weeks ago, at the Australian Institute of Animal Management’s annual conference, a veterinarian approached me and provided me with some information that he is very concerned about. I raise it here this evening hoping that someone on the other side will at least look into this a little further. It relates to the recent death of an Aboriginal woman at Yuendumu due to hydatids. To the vet’s knowledge, this is the first case in the Territory and, hence, it is of great concern.
I apologise in advance if I cannot get the pronunciation of these disease, or this particular tapeworm, right – it is why I will never become a veterinarian. Hydatids is a disease caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus. This is a very nasty parasite. The tapeworm normally resides in the stomach and intestines of dogs or dingoes releasing egg parcels into faeces. The egg parcels then break open leaving the eggs in the environment. Normally, a sheep or a cow would come along and eat the eggs through grazing. The eggs then hatch inside the stomach of the new host, ie the sheep or the cow, and then migrate through the wall of the intestine into the body and form a cyst - sometimes the size of a grapefruit or larger.
Many cysts can form throughout the body which will make the animal weak and ill. Dogs will then be able to attack it more easily. The animal, once killed, is eaten, including these cysts. The contents of the cysts have baby tapeworms which, on contact with the acid of the stomach, become active and start producing eggs again, completing its lifecycle. The biggest concern is that if a dog rolls in its faeces or on grass with eggs, it can then pick up these eggs in its fur. A human can then pat the dog and become infected, similar to the sheep or the cow; that is, the human will get cysts in their body. These cysts can occur anywhere including the liver, the lungs, the brain, the spinal cord, muscles, etcetera. They can be potentially fatal in humans. The only way to cure this problem is by surgical removal of the cysts.
In the Territory we have not had this disease before. In 2006, a paper in the Australian Veterinary Journal showing that hydatids occurred between dogs, dingoes and macropods, wallabies and kangaroos. This has been a concern as this could occur in the Territory, especially if someone brought their dog from north Queensland into the Northern Territory. The human case in Yuendumu is of great concern. The lady, to the vet’s knowledge, was misdiagnosed with a metastatic cancer and, on post mortem, was found to be riddled with hydatid cysts - she died from this disease.
This could be the first case of many in the community if the hydatid tapeworm is present in the community. There are several factors that need to be determined: (1) did she ever live anywhere else besides Yuendumu, and has she been to any other states?; (2) the dogs should be tested in the communities to determine the presence of this parasite; and (3) if the parasite is present in the community, there is extremely high risk that there will be many more human cases of this disease. The treatment of people is a great expense, not to mention the risk, the trauma and discomfort of going through such procedures. An intensive worming program should be regularly performed to ensure there are no hydatids present. The vet has offered to send me some photos of human cases, if I like. I have not taken him up on that offer as yet. I raise it because it is important and something needs to be done about it.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, since the government does not answer the opposition’s questions, and since the government with increasing regularity sees fit to gag the opposition, I thought I would use my adjournment tonight to see if I could illicit some sort of response from government about an important issue.
As we know, adjournment debates are normally used by members to talk about electorate matters. Unfortunately, I am not going to talk about my electorate because the government steadfastly refuses to answer my questions in relation to another matter that pertains to one of my shadow portfolios, so I thought I would raise the matter now.
I was in my office in Alice Springs on Monday checking correspondence. I can say that, as at Monday this week, I have still not received a response from the Attorney-General to my letter to him dated 5 September about the Fines Recovery Unit. I said in the letter, and I will quote it as it is only a couple of paragraphs:
- Will you please advise how many penalties in the forms of fines have been issued from the Magistrates Courts, Territory-wide, in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 financial years? In respect of those fines during those dates, would you provide the total financial amount of the fines issued together with how many have been paid, including the amount, and the value of the fines that have been written off. I look forward to hearing from you.
- About 5000 Territorians owe a total of $5m to the courts in unpaid fines, it was learnt last night. And more than 3800 convicted criminals had their driving licences suspended last financial year for not paying their fines.
I ask myself: why did this article find itself in the Northern Territory News? I do not doubt for a moment that the government obligingly provided the Northern Territory News with that information. Nothing wrong with that. It was, no doubt, in response to the comments made by, I assume, acting Magistrate Hugh Bradley, who had a bit to say about the Fines Recovery Unit and the outstanding number of fines in the Territory. The article says and I quote:
- Magistrate Hugh Bradley said millions of dollars in court-imposed fines had not been paid - and the debt would keep rising if nobody made a stand and forced criminals to pay up. ‘I wish someone would take action on the outstanding debts that come out of this court … There must be millions outstanding’.
Then I realised why it was the government and the Northern Territory News arranged to get the figures. However, while this newspaper article on information provided by government and, rightly so, states 5000 Territorians owe a total of $5m and more than 3800 convicted criminals have their driving licence suspended, I, as a member of the opposition and, indeed, the shadow Attorney-General, was not afforded the courtesy - and am still not afforded the courtesy - of a response to my letter addressed well over a month before this newspaper article. That is the first point and it is not good enough. I will come back to why it is not good enough, particularly noting the so-called reforms announced by the Chief Minister today a little later. However, I will make a few points about the Fines Recovery Unit.
When the bill was introduced in 2001, it was the early days of the government. The then Attorney-General, Peter Toyne, said when he introduced the bill on 25 October 2001, when he talked about the Fines Recovery Unit, it would be:
- … a type of one-stop shop for all aspects of fine recovery including the taking of payments, the making of time to pay arrangements, and providing information to the public about enforcement process. It will liaise and coordinate with other agencies ...
Sounds good and he went on to say and this is the important part:
- The focus of the new regime is in creating a more efficient, centralised and coordinated process for fine enforcement, one that provides the public with certainty of process.
He then went on to say:
- A media campaign will proceed with full operation of the regime so as to inform the general public of the new system, their obligations under it, and the hierarchal range of penalties. The campaign will stress the need for people to pay their fines, but will also make clear the opportunities to seek time and pay arrangements or, in the case of infringement notice penalties, to have the matter dealt with by a court instead.
And so he went on.
The government represented to all and sundry – and, in 2001 after they were elected more people listened to them than listen to them today. Much was promised about the Fines Recovery Unit.
Thankfully, the former member for Sanderson is no longer in this parliament. Members will recall that I questioned his fitness to be a member of this parliament on more than one occasion. In any event, the former member for Sanderson, Len Kiely, said when we debated the bill on 22 November 2001:
- The Fines Recovery Unit will be responsible for making sure that people pay their fines. This makes sure that people take the law seriously, and that our community is safer. Money collected from fines may then be put to good use in our schools, hospitals, and communities.
A couple of obvious points arise. The Fines Recovery Unit is responsible for making sure that people pay their fines but, on the basis of the article prompted by a magistrate’s comments, it is blindingly obvious that with approximately $5m owing, something in the system is not working properly. So, much was promised. It was meant to achieve all sorts of things, and now there is a significant amount of money owing. The magistrate said he wished someone would take some action on the outstanding debts and so do I because, as a former member of this parliament said, the money collected from fines could be put to good use in schools, hospitals, and communities. Maybe this is why we are not seeing the results we should be seeing in our schools, hospitals, and communities.
However, we will never know exactly how much is owing because the Attorney-General does not like to give us information. He certainly is more willing to provide information, it would appear, to a newspaper than to a member of the opposition, a member of this parliament, and his shadow Attorney-General. I believe that is rude. I expect these days increasingly little from the Attorney-General, but I do expect the courtesy of a response. I do expect that when I ask questions that pertain not only to my electorate but to my portfolio, that I am entitled to a response and I should receive one.
I note in Budget Paper No 3 for 2008, on page 168, there is a component of that part of the Department of Justice that deals with the Fines Recovery Unit. ‘New enforcement process’, which is a term used in this budget paper, is estimated $21 000 in 2008-09. It is not entirely clear what a ‘new enforcement process’ is, but I assume it is an infringement or some other debt in relation to which a person owes money that goes to the Fines Recovery Unit, and the Fines Recovery Unit liaises with that person to repay it.
We do not know exactly how many people are involved. It could be a handful of people with numerous infringements. I ask the Attorney-General to tell us how many Territorians owe fines to the Fines Recovery Unit. I ask him to provide me with the information I sought in my letter of 5 September 2008; that is, how many penalties in the form of fines have been issued from Magistrates Courts Territory-wide in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 financial years? I ask the Attorney-General again, in respect of those fines during those dates, to provide the total financial amount of the fines issued, together with how many have paid, including the amount, and the value of the fines that had been written off.
That was what I asked for in my letter and during this debate tonight I am asking for some additional information, which is understandable, of course, given the information, scant though it was, that was published in the Northern Territory News. It refers to the number of people who had their driver licences suspended. Well, I would like to know how many people are repeat offenders when it comes to not paying their fines. I would like to know why the number of enforcements processed appears to be rising, yet there is such a significant amount of money owed. I also ask the Attorney-General, as I have said, to advise how many are repeat non-fine payers. Also, what was the total value of fines recovered in the 2007-08 year and to date, and how does that compare to the preceding two financial years?
There are a range of other questions, but I certainly do not have time to go through them tonight. I suspect, with the increasing arrogance of this government, and particularly some of its ministers who should know better, that I am unlikely to get a clear response to my letter of 5 September, if at all.
This is a very serious issue. I know my colleagues have talked about the parliament and how it seems not to be operating terribly well these days, but I cannot help but note the irony that, today, the Chief Minister issued a media release in which he said that he announced major reforms to quote, ‘increase the transparency, productivity and accessibility of the Northern Territory parliament’. He said: ‘We want to make parliament open and accountable’. Open and accountable! I cannot even get a letter answered, dated 5 September, with quite straightforward information I just cannot get from anywhere else. Then, something comes up in a court, and the government thinks: ‘Oh well, we better give some information to the NT News, maybe that might keep the magistrates off our back’. I am the shadow Attorney-General, we are the opposition, much was promised about the Fines Recovery Unit, and it would appear as though the results are far from satisfactory.
I also note, in the Chief Minister’s media release, he said in relation to reforms: ‘It will provide the opposition with more opportunities to scrutinise the work government is doing’. Well, writing letters to government seeking information is, in fact, part of the process of scrutinising the work the government is doing. There can be no doubt about it; those opposite are increasingly arrogant and extremely hypocritical. They have the audacity, as the Chief Minister does, to issue this media release today and, yet, not even have the courage to answer a letter from a member of the opposition. It is a disgraceful situation and, if members opposite are sitting there smiling, feeling happy, then they should not, because they will be judged on their appalling behaviour which, unfortunately, I assume will continue ...
Mr Acting DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Araluen, your time has expired.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I place on the Parliamentary Record the record of life of two constituents, much loved in Palmerston and widely.
The first is Mr Hughie Victor McIntosh, born 8 December 1923, who passed away on 15 October 2008. In placing this on the Parliamentary Record, I, members opposite, and the member for Fong Lim particularly, pass our sincere condolences to Beryl, Pamela and Kevin. It was a lovely service and farewell to Hughie. At that service, a eulogy was presented by James Spriggs, and a part of the RSL service was conducted by the RSL President, Bill Simpkins. I would like to place on the record the eulogy that was presented by Daryl Salathiel. He presented on behalf of the RSL. It was a fine bit of research and it outlines one remarkable life. I am reading from this eulogy from Daryl.
- I remember the first time I met Hughie McIntosh; it was not long after I became a member of the Palmerston RSL. We had all returned to the old RSL Club after a mid-morning Anzac Day Service for the reunion. It was quite a warm day and some of the older members were taking advantage of the airconditioning in the new club rooms.
I had gone inside to get a round of drinks and passed a table which had two World War II vets bedecked with campaign medals in animated conversation. One was Hughie and the other, I found out later, was Stan Hoare, and knowing Stan Hore …
I stopped to listen to see if everything was okay, because there would have been a lot of loud talking, and I found myself listening to a debate on the merits of light anti-aircraft artillery versus heavy anti-aircraft artillery fire. Hughie, of course, was a light ack-ack operator and Stan heavy ack-ack. I found out later that light ack-ack was of the 40 mm Bofor gun and heavy ack-ack, the 3.7” gun. The end result of this light hearted debate, filled with wit and humour, mesmerised me. They agreed that both supported the other, Stan winged them at high altitude, but when they got down to Hughie’s light ack-ack altitude of 10 000 feet, he finished them off.
- I found myself asking them both where this had all taken place to be proudly told, Darwin. I had just met not one but two Darwin Defenders and they were both members of the Palmerston RSL.
- Hughie was very proud of the McIntosh family military service to Australia beginning with the First World War. The McIntosh’s had served on the sea, on land, and in the air. He said to me on one occasion with a big grin on his face, which I can still see now: ‘We must have all been a little bit mad’. It all began with his father, Alexander, and his uncle, Neil. Alexander saw service at Gallipoli with the 14th Battalion. He was wounded in the thigh and the cheek and was carried out on Simpson’s donkey. After recovering he rejoined the 14th Battalion on the western front in France. Hughie’s Uncle Neil joined up when he found out that Alexander had a cousin and a mate, and they all joined. Neil was posted to the 14th Heavy Trench Mortars and served in France.
- During World War II, 14 McIntoshs served Australia, including twin girls who served with the Women’s Land Army. When Hughie referred to us all being a little bit mad, I believe that he was probably referring to his father and his Uncle Neil who served up again for the Second World War.
- Hughie joined the CMF on 18 December 1941 at the age of eighteen. He was trained as a driver at Werribee in Victoria and then to Yallourn also in Victoria where he trained on Bofor guns. Then back to Dandenong and the next day onto a train to where? Big secret. Up through Sydney, Brisbane, Mt Isa, then trucks to the Stuart Highway and up to Adelaide River and on to a train which took them even further north. Hughie finally finished up at Batchelor and joined the 2nd Battalion 112 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.
In early April 1942 he transferred to the 159th Battery of the same regiment. While with the 159th Battery he volunteered for the AIF and was taken on strength on 16 December 1942. On arriving in Darwin, Hughie was told that there was no position on his old gun and he would take up a position of predictor operator on a 40 mm Bofor gun at the airstrip which he duly accepted. I once asked Hughie what a predictor operator did and this was his answer: ‘After being given the altitudes, speed and direction of the incoming bombers this bit of equipment would help him to tell the gunners how far in front of the aircraft to fire their shells so the aircraft would basically run into them’. Hughie rejoined his old gun crew at the southern end of the Parap airstrip at about the same time the Spitfires arrived.
- One of Hughie’s vivid memories was an attack made on the Parap airfield. It was a practice of the Japs each year to make a raid on Mothers’ Day. On this occasion, three Betty Bomber aircraft came in very low from the northern end then swung sharply around the control tower and headed straight for his gun site, strafing heavily. The firing stopped before reaching the site. Hughie was ordered to go to ground, as it happened so quickly, but no harm was done. The aircraft were gone so quickly they had no time to return fire.
- From this time Hughie’s service began to wind down until he was eventually discharged in Sydney on 23 July 1946. Hughie was awarded the Return from Active Service Badge for service entirely on Australian soil. Hughie is also very proud of his involvement in the Darwin Defenders 1942-1945 Inc.
- At the opening of the Palmerston RSL’s new premises on 18 February 2007, Beryl presented to Palmerston RSL, on behalf of Hughie, a copy of the Darwin Defender’s book, Darwin’s Battle for Australia.
- At the war’s end, the government of the day decreed all documents relating to the attacks on Darwin and North Australia were stamped: Not to be Released until 1995. This became a burden for people who needed documents to avail themselves of government and other services. Later on, Australian History was deleted from the schools’ curriculum, so until a few years ago we had two generations of Australians who did not know that Darwin was bombed.
- Hughie, and many like him, through the Darwin Defenders have worked tirelessly to address this blight on our history. The McIntosh service to Australia is still going on with three great-grandsons of Hughie’s father still serving. One is a sensor operator on Orion aircraft with 11 Squadron and recently returned from the Middle East. Another was deployed to Afghanistan in October 2007 with C Company 2nd Battalion RAR and returned to Australia in April 2008. The other was deployed to the Solomon Islands as a part of Combined Task Force 635 to maintain law and order and bring stability to the islands.
Hughie’s service to his country, to his community, his wonderful wit and humour will never be forgotten
Another dear lady who passed away recently and so quietly - and it was only later that many of us learnt, and the cause for that is something quite touching, too - was Eunice Ida Dudley – 90 years of age, born 30 April 1918 and passed away 2 October 2008. Eunice had seven sisters and one brother – May, Marg, Dawn, Ivy, Stan, Betty, June and Lilah. They were all born in Horsham, Victoria.
Eunice began her working life in a cake shop in Horsham before marrying her first husband Bill Strickland. They had five children – Peter, Ron, Doug, Jeffrey and Judy. Eunice does not speak much of this time but she described it as a very difficult marriage and, knowing Eunie, she meant every one of those words.
She left the marriage. She then became head waitress at Yarrawonga in Victoria where she met her beloved Phil, who was 18 years younger than her. Forty-two years later, Phil said goodbye to her. Eunice, in her typical fashion, described the courtship where Phil was taken by Eunice. It took him a very long time to convince Eunice to go out with him. She said: ‘I told him to nick off, I am too old for you’. But he never gave up. Finally, love prevailed and they travelled the country together enjoying life for 42 years. They picked apples in Tasmania and moved around the east coast picking up work along the way. The reason many friends never knew that Eunice had passed away - although they knew she was increasingly frail - was that Phil just did not know what to do. She was the love of his life.
They came to the Territory in the early 1970s, prior to Cyclone Tracy, working at the Aralia Street shops for Herbert Wong and his family. They moved to Alice Springs where they worked at the Papunya community - Phil working for housing corporation and Eunice running the motel and helping out at the store. Phil and Eunie had many wonderful memories of the people at Papunya who, in turn, loved them both dearly and, knowing these people, you could understand why. After 14 months at Papunya, they moved on and joined McMahon’s, working at 60 Mile Camp, 90 Mile Camp and 120 Mile Camp with Eunie running the kitchens for the workers.
After a brief time interstate caring for two quadriplegic adults, Phil and Eunice made their way back to the Territory, this time settling in Palmerston 21 years ago. Phil and Eunice were together for 48 years and were married for 42.
She was a very special person; very dry. She gave me a call every now and again, and the sweet thing about Eunice was she did not want to speak to the secretary - dare not divulge anything to the secretary; she wanted to talk to the local member. I said: ‘That’s Eunice, don’t worry’. She wanted to go straight to me and tell something of great concern. At one stage, she was concerned that she had heard the Labor government were giving away all the parks. She phoned to express her grave concern to me, because the park across the road from her place was a park that she did not think the government had any right giving away. I had to reassure her that Strawbridge Park was safe. ‘It is going to stay there, Eunice, they are not going to take it off you’.
She spent the last year or so in a wheelchair; a tiny, frail lady but, gee, she had a great strength in her. She helped out at election campaigns. She made a point of insisting on it. I said: ‘It doesn’t matter, Eunice’, but she replied: ‘I want to help’.
Mr Tollner: She helped in the former federal Member for Solomon’s campaign.
Mr MILLS: She helped in your campaign; those blue eyes and that smile. She made sure she did her bit. She helped out with barbecues we had in the local park – getting the young kids and the families together to try to resolve some of the problems that were in Moulden. She saw that effect and she played a part in that. She came across and spoke to people. It made a big difference in that area.
I want to say thank you, Eunice. Phil, you and your marriage have been an inspiration to others who are married - after 42 years - in the way you have shown your great love for her all the way along. We wish you all the best, and say farewell to Eunice.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016