2011-11-23
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 10 am.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Year 2/3 and 3/4 Berry Springs Primary School students accompanied by Ms Hayley Currington, Mr Robert Bonnar, Ms Cheryl Scott, and Ms Wendy Burgemeister. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the Mayor of Alice Springs, Mr Damien Ryan. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr McCARTHY (Construction): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills titled Building Amendment (Registration and Other Matters) Bill 2011 (Serial 187) and Building Amendment (Residential Building Consumer Protection) Bill 2011 (Serial 188):
(a) being presented and read a first time together and one motion being put in regard to, respectively, the second readings, the committee’s report stage, and the third readings of the bills together; and
(b) the consideration of the bills separately in the Committee of the Whole.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We appreciate the motion; there might be a very good reason for the motion. However, we do not have a reason from the minister. I am wondering if he can explain to the House why he wants to cognate the two bills.
Madam SPEAKER: It is a motion. Minister, did you wish to speak to the motion?
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, Madam Speaker, I would like to explain that these are very complex bills and they are intertwined; they work together to deliver a very good result for the Territory. We have put them together as cognate bills and they are presented together today to provide the framework for the establishment of the residential building insurance and an orderly transition for industry.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, we do not generally have a problem with cognate bills; we are doing it with the national harmonisation legislation. However, there was communication between the minister’s office and this side of the House well before that legislation came into this House. Yesterday, the minister gave notice of this motion. He made no attempt to describe what he has just described. He tells us now that these are complex and difficult matters and they need to be dealt with together. We have no request, no evidence.
It is indicative of government members who think they can waltz into this place and get whatever they want done, done, without talking to this side of the House. We have a motion before the House, and that was hardly what you would call a full explanation. The motion the minister moved gives him as much as 30 minutes to explain to this House why he wants to cognate these bills.
Any communication from the Leader of Government Business? No. Any communication from the Whip? No. Any communication from the minister? No. And the answer will be: ‘You should have come and spoken to us’. No. This is your bill. You have to come and speak to us. This business about just expecting process is not something we are going to necessarily tolerate. Quite frankly, the explanation we just received from the minister was hardly a great guide to us. As a consequence of that, without any further information available to us, we will not be supporting this motion to cognate the bills.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, except for what I heard yesterday, that is all I heard as well. At times, I have concerns about cognating bills. Generally speaking, I would allow it to occur, but when the minister said there are complex matters in each stage, it concerns me that there is more in this than I would have thought.
Normally, when you cognate bills, one will be the main bill and the other will be smaller bills that ride along with it. If the minister is saying each one of these particular matters is complex - and this is an issue that is dear to my heart, because it relates to the failing of an Alice Springs building company where we looked at trying to find alternative ways to save people’s livelihoods that, unfortunately, had been destroyed by the failure of a particular building company. Even though the government did not agree with the solution I put forward, it said it would bring forward this legislation. It has taken a long time for this legislation to come before parliament. We expected the government to bring forward its solution to those particular matters that had caused problems in Alice Springs and elsewhere in the Darwin region - the member for Goyder would remember a particular building company that went broke and caused much pain for a number of people in the rural area.
I did not take much notice of this particular legislation from the point of view of whether it should be cognated or not, simply because I thought these matters would be like some of the other bills, as I said, where you get a main bill, and others just tend to tag along with it as, more or less, support bills. However, if the minister is saying each one of these is complex then I would rather have more time to debate each one - not because I want to muck up what the government’s project is, but I believe the government should ensure it has ample time to explain the complexities of these bills. We want to ensure we get this right.
I remember earlier this year we had a bill come before parliament - sorry, it might not have been this year; it was some time ago – where the government looked at having a building insurance bill, and it did not get off the ground. For various reasons, it was not going to work. That bill was put to one side, and I presume this bill is replacing that particular bill. There is probably a bigger onus on the government, if it did not get the first one right, to ensure the second attempt is going to be right. Therefore it should, I believe, be subject to more scrutiny than the first bill. If the minister is saying this is complex, then just on that word, I believe the government should allow us to debate each one of these bills separately.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, of course, it is up to the parliament to decide whether to approve cognate or not. Cognate is not unusual in these matters; they are intrinsically linked. The first bill goes to the administrative changes and powers of the registration of builders, the powers of the Builders Registration Board, and the second bill linked to this is around the consumer rights and protections. It is an entire package, complementary to each other. It is quite normal where you have a package of legislation where each piece is intrinsically linked to the other legislation, you do them as cognate.
It does not prevent scrutiny of the legislation to deal with them cognate; it is a procedural way that this parliament normally operates where you have a package that is intrinsically linked, but you have to deal with it through several pieces of legislation because of the requirements of Parliamentary Counsel in the process of separate bills. It is normal process in this parliament to deal with it as cognate. It is an intrinsically linked package. To do one without the other would weaken the entire package of reforms.
The second bill is linked to the first one in regard to the registration process, improved powers and scrutiny of the Builders Registration Board. The second one deals with the consumer rights and protection, so it is an intrinsically linked package.
That being said, it is always up to the will of this parliament as to whether we deal with it procedurally as cognate and be able to scrutinise thoroughly, entirely, and completely the entire raft of proposals within this package together, which would procedurally make sense. It has been the practice of this parliament for the 10 years I have been here. This is normal and is not about trying to diminish, in any way, the scrutiny of what is a fundamentally important reform to provide improved protections to consumers in the event a builder is not operating as they should be.
There are several elements to it. The first bill deals with the elements of the builders registration processes, the improved powers and scrutiny, and the improved requirements on builders. The second element deals with the consumer protection elements. They are intrinsically linked, which is why they have come forward as cognate bills. It makes sense. It does not prevent scrutiny in any way; it is a procedural way we normally deal with legislation which is intrinsically linked.
That being said, it is always up to the will of the parliament whether to deal with bills as cognate or otherwise. Regardless, this government is proud of the work and the effort it has undertaken, under the guidance of this minister, working step by step collaboratively with industry. The Building Industry Reference Group and several agencies of government have worked collaboratively through this process and we have come forward with a greater raft of protections for consumers to protect them from - there is a very small element in the Territory - any builders who are not operating in the way in which they should do.
Madam Speaker, by nature they should be cognate. They are linked together and form an entire package. Of course, it is always up to the parliament as to whether we proceed in a sensible, administrative process of cognating these bills or whether you want to separate.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, will the real minister for Lands and Planning please stand up? I support the comments made by my colleague, the member for Port Darwin, and the member for Nelson. I thank the Treasurer for jumping in and saving the skin of the Minister for Lands and Planning …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order Madam Speaker! As Treasurer, because it is a warranty insurance scheme, of course I have been involved in this process.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: Thank you very much for that. As the member for Port Darwin said, we do not have an issue, generally, supporting cognate bills. However, to come here on some whim and ask us to trust the minister and everything will be right is not good enough. When the member for Port Darwin said you have 30 minutes to explain this motion, educate the parliament and the people of the Northern Territory about the reasons for this, it is very important to do so.
This minister has presided over a portfolio where we have seen debacles such as Red Rooster in Tennant Creek, caravan legislation, and the continuing issue of certification of buildings in the Northern Territory. We are still waiting on the implementation of the home builders warranty insurance. We have the continued debacle about Carey Builders where the government turned its back on all the victims of Carey Builders in Alice Springs, and people’s pain continues. This is the minister who presided over the registration of an undischarged bankrupt to become a licensed builder in the Northern Territory who caused untold pain to families in Alice Springs. Now, we see the growing issue of Finbuilt in Tennant Creek, his own town. Perhaps the minister could explain the situation of Finbuilt and whether DCI has made any overpayments to a now defunct builder. These are the things we need to understand and have explained in this motion. We need to know exactly what the motion is all about, not just ‘Trust us; I have everything right so far’. I believe the victims of Carey Builders would be questioning how we can trust this minister in this instance.
Madam Speaker, I stand by my colleague, the member for Port Darwin, who said we will not be supporting this motion. Until we get some information on what this is about, we cannot sit here on a wing and a prayer and trust the member for Barkly, the Minister for Lands and Planning, who seems to get everything so wrong! This is the minister who does not know how much a carbon tax will affect the price of a litre of milk. If he does not understand a carbon tax on a litre of milk, how can we trust him with a motion which has no detail at all? The Country Liberals will not be supporting this motion.
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Speaker, I confirm I have not heard boo from the minister, either. You would think a government that says it works collaboratively would, at least, talk to the shadow spokesman on the area. But, no, they are not like that. The Treasurer said: ‘We have worked very collaboratively’. Look at them now; they are scurrying around like headless chooks trying to convince the member for Nelson to jump on board with this. It is ridiculous!
Madam Speaker, we find out now the Treasurer is involved with the legislation; she wants to lump it all on to the Minister for Lands and Planning. I believe the whole thing is a debacle. Look at the way they are carrying on at the moment; they are at sixes and sevens, and completely lost.
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I support this cognate motion. As the Treasurer and the Deputy Chief Minister said, it is not all too prevalent but, often in this parliament, we have seen cognate bills come into this House.
The reasons were outlined very eloquently by my colleague. The fact is they are linked bills and, basically, what is probably destined to happen now, if this vote were to be lost, we would be dealing with them as separate bills. The minister would then have a second reading speech for each, and there would be ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Dr BURNS: There would be separate second reading speeches, there would be separate debates ...
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Maybe the Leader of Government Business might look at deferring some of these meaningless ministerial statements they keep running, and actually get down to doing a bit of business here.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, resume your seat.
Mr Conlan: Four days he had this week to get through it.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, you do not have the call!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, what I am cautioning this parliament about is – obviously, the opposition is running headlong into a spoiling campaign for this particular bill ...
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: A spoiling campaign about a set of bills that would give protections for homeowners. It has been a complex issue, member for Nelson. Part of the journey started when I was Minister for Lands and Planning. I was the minister who gave a commitment to implement this scheme.
However, regarding the market and getting a provider, it has become quite complex. Also, we have been listening to the concerns of industry for some time. This will, inevitably, mean a delay to this process. That is the first thing. The opposition does not really care. They have had a horrible week so far. You talk about so far this week - they have had an absolutely horrible week. This is part of the push back. I actually anticipated the member for Port Darwin would run this issue about cognate bills ...
Mr Conlan: Oh, rubbish! Why did you leave the room?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! The member for Greatorex will cease interjecting!
Dr BURNS: There was always a chance he would not, member for Greatorex. Here we have a political campaign by the opposition about what they want.
The member for Nelson is very genuine in his concerns about complexities. That is exactly the reason why these bills have been put forward as cognate bills. We should not, as a parliament and parliamentarians, shy away from complexity. Many times I commend you, member for Nelson, because you are the hardest-working member in this place by far. The way you contribute to debate, do your homework, ask reasonable questions - sometimes quite profound questions that, as minister, I struggle to have an answer for at times - you have an important role in this parliament. The undertaking I give to you, member for Nelson, as Leader of Government Business, is we will not, in any way, try to truncate this debate. We will give you - and other members if they seek a briefing - a complete briefing about this, and we will have an extended debate on this very important issue.
I do not think we should shy away from treating these as cognate bills. There are reasons and the member for Karama has articulated those reasons far better than I can. We have been around this parliament long enough to know there are instances when cognate bills are genuinely required, and it is, in this case. I urge you and I implore you, member for Nelson, to support this motion for these bills to be treated as cognate bills.
Mr McCARTHY (Construction): Madam Speaker, I would like to make a few comments because it is fine to throw mud - and the member for Braitling is one of the best mud throwers on that side. But, I will tell you a little about me and the work I have done in preparing this legislation. It relates to a journey as the minister for …
A member: A journey!
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, it is a journey. I remember meeting with the member for Braitling in Alice Springs to try to settle an issue where a builder was operating illegally. This will not help people operating illegally, member for Braitling …
Mr Giles: How do we know?
Mr McCARTHY: … it will not help in that respect, but it will help Territorians. It will provide security.
This journey for me has been 18 months. Last night, the opposition walked out of this parliament at approximately 7.30 pm. This place shut down at 7.30 pm …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Braitling. Order!
Mr McCARTHY: This place had a matter of importance before …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please resume your seat.
Honourable members, I remind you this is, in fact, a parliament; it is not a place where people are brawling or behaving in a completely ridiculous fashion. If a person has the call, they are entitled to be heard. Our standing orders require me to keep other members as quiet as possible. That is what the standing orders are about; that is what each of you, as a member of parliament, has signed up to.
People of the Northern Territory do not expect their members of parliament to behave like juvenile delinquents, which is what I have just witnessed. It is atrocious! I am going to call the minister again and I would appreciate people listening. This is a serious debate about a serious matter, and members of this parliament need to decide how they are going to vote on this.
Minister, I call you, and please direct your comments through the Chair.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
What I was saying about the closure of parliament was that I gave notice of this at 2 pm and I have been approached by no one from the opposition. No one from the opposition wants to speak to me. They certainly want to make their mischief and play their games.
What I have in front of me is two bills that are intertwined. They are specifically linked. I mentioned it is a complex matter and no member of the opposition came near me. From 7.30 pm last night, I sat in my office and continued to work on electorate issues until after 10 pm. I was contacted by no one. Yet …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! For the information of the minister, this is his bill; it is his job to negotiate his way through this, not ours to come to you.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, resume your seat. That is not a point of order.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! It is quite normal for the opposition to flag any concerns with a cognate motion, if they have any concerns with that, prior to a cognate motion being moved.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, that is not a point of order either.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, you have the call.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
They are quick to throw mud, but they cannot take it. That offer is always open, and I have made it very clear that my door is open. The member for Braitling came looking for information on another very important matter about the national regulator of heavy vehicles. He spent 15 minutes with a team of department people I pulled together that worked on this for months and months – 15 minutes. He is the champion mud thrower. He wants to throw mud; he is not prepared to put in the work and to learn.
He raised the issue of Finbuilt. This is about protecting residential building, and I compliment the Department of Construction and Infrastructure which moved in and is completing the Finbuilt project in Tennant Creek - and completing it admirably. If he wants to throw mud at DCI, then throw as much as he likes, because the renal centre upgrade in Tennant Creek is being completed. It is being completed because of a very good strategy employed by the Department of Construction and Infrastructure that kept locals in jobs and kept Tennant Creek people working. That represents major infrastructure development in the town he just visited ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance to the motion.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, can you keep to the motion, please. It is a …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, can you keep to the motion? It is a motion simply about cognating bills. If you can keep to that, please.
Mr Conlan: He does not know much about it.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, I have already called on you several times this morning.
Mr McCARTHY: These bills relate to each other. They support each other in, first of all, an introduction of the bill so then we can debate the nature of these bills. An introduction also supports more consultation with industry. They work together. This is a process I assumed would be supported because it is supporting Territorians. Outlined by the Leader of Government Business, this has been a long journey for government to provide protection and surety in a period of Territory growth we are witnessing. In record land release and, now, what we will see as record construction in the residential sector, we need this surety. That is what these bills are about.
I made the mistake of coming in here in good faith and facing a hostile opposition which wants to score points. That is fine, because my life is way too busy to be concerned with that approach. I welcome a debate. I ask that members in this House consider the nature of what we are doing, as government, with this very important matter.
We have cognated these bills because they are interlinked. There are two specific parts. One represents a first stage of consumer protection. I will outline exactly what that means if I am able to conduct this introductory speech. The second part is the matter of the residential building protection. They work together, they have been prepared together, and I have brought them to this House in good faith.
I do not mind the mudslinging, because the mudslinging is as good as it gets. If you had the job of government, you would understand. I hope you never get to understand, because I would hate to see the Territory in the hands of people who behave as you do - and behave ad infinitum with the same approach, the same story, the same abuse …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister has strayed way off the cognate debate and is now having a meander. You have given him a specific instruction …
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you very much, member for Port Darwin. Minister, can you just stick to the business relating to the cognate motion? This is not a debate about the bill. It is only a debate about whether the Assembly will accept the cognate motion. The only comments you can make relate to that.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. You have given me some latitude. I have not used half the latitude those on the other side use every time they get to their feet.
These bills are linked. They are presented as cognate bills, and I ask that the House accept that. Should they support this motion, then we will be able to move on to inform Territorians exactly what the legislation proposes. We will be able to get on with further consultation with industry, and with a debate in this House that is the most important business we can do for the Northern Territory.
The Assembly divided:
Ayes 13 Noes 12
Mrs Aagaard Ms Anderson
Dr Burns Mr Bohlin
Mr Gunner Mr Chandler
Mr Hampton Mr Conlan
Mr Henderson Mr Elferink
Mr Knight Mr Giles
Ms Lawrie Mrs Lambley
Mr McCarthy Mr Mills
Ms McCarthy Ms Purick
Ms Scrymgour Mr Styles
Mr Vatskalis Mr Tollner
Ms Walker Mr Westra van Holthe
Mr Wood
Motion agreed to.
BUILDING AMENDMENT (REGISTRATION AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL
(Serial 187)
BUILDING AMENDMENT (RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONSUMER PROTECTION) BILL
(Serial 188)
Bills presented and read a first time.
Mr McCARTHY (Construction): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.
On 2 December 2010, I tabled in the Legislative Assembly a consultation bill to amend the Building Act for a residential building insurance (RBI) consumer package. This followed government’s announcement in July 2010 that it would move to introduce consumer protection measures following the collapse of a number of builders in the residential market.
Key elements of the RBI package in the consultation bill included regulated progress payments, consumer guarantees, a dispute resolution process, and residential building insurance. Industry feedback was sought on the consultation bills across the Territory in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin. The period for submissions ended in April 2011.
Government is committed to the objectives of the consumer package and has reviewed the package to address particular concerns. This comprehensive process has resulted in the introduction of two bills to support a two-stage commencement of the package. The two stages will allow a more manageable transition for industry. It is proposed to commence the first bill in the near future. Commencement of the second bill will be when the providers have residential building cover in place, and the building industry is ready.
The first stage indicates providing consumer information, and I am pleased to announce that the Consumer Guide to Building and Renovating in the NT is currently being finalised. The guide will assist consumers to be informed on the many matters that need to be considered when building or renovating a house. A dedicated website where the guide will be accessed will also contain related information and links to consumer affairs, registration of building practitioners, building regulation, industry peak bodies, interstate resources, and the like. The website will go live in December 2011.
The first stage of the consumer package also includes legislation to strengthen the requirement for defined assets to be maintained by a registered builder for the term of registration, and to regulate the quantum of progress payments. The second stage of the package is legislation for consumer guarantees, dispute resolution, and residential building cover.
I welcome comment from industry on the draft regulations by the end of January 2012 to inform debate in this House. I will now address the contents of each bill in turn.
The first bill is titled Building Amendment (Registration and Other Matters) Bill. The bill provides for the assets required for a builder to obtain registration to be maintained for the duration of the registration. The current asset requirement is $50000. Not maintaining their assets can adversely impact on a builder’s capacity to do business and, as a result, they can become higher risk builders. As this provision required changes to the sections dealing with registration, the opportunity has been taken to address three miscellaneous matters.
The first is the removal of provisions to register firms as building practitioners for other than building contractors. When the category of building contractor was added in 2006, firms were deliberately excluded. This was based on legal advice that a firm is not a legal entity and, therefore, registration of a firm was pointless at the best and misleading at the worst. When private certification commenced in 1993, provision for firms was in the legislation. There are no firms currently registered and it is considered appropriate for all categories of building practitioner to be either individuals or corporations.
The second miscellaneous matter relates to an existing provision for registered building contractors that are corporations. They are required to notify the Building Practitioner’s Board of any change to directors or nominees who are registered practitioners, and on whom the registration of the corporation depends. The bill expands this requirement to corporations in all categories of building practitioners.
The last miscellaneous matter is to remove a requirement for nominees of companies in the category of building contractor to reside in the Northern Territory. Legal advice is this is unconstitutional and must be removed. For a corporation to be registered as a building contractor, it must have a director or nominee who is registered as a building contractor in his or her own right.
The provisions in the bill require the Building Practitioners Board to be satisfied the registered director or nominee can provide adequate supervision of building work.
The opportunity is being taken in this bill to include a further miscellaneous matter. For some time, the Building Practitioners Board has been requesting the power of delegation to streamline the process to register practitioners. Powers of delegation are usual for statutory bodies, and the proposed delegation will also apply to the Building Appeals Board and the Building Advisory Committee.
The bill provides for the regulation of progress payments. Existing provisions require that there must be a contract for houses, and that the contract covers progress payments. There are no limitations on the quantum except that the deposit cannot be more than 5%.
Consumers who suffered most from the collapse of builders in recent years had made, sometimes under pressure, progress payments well in excess of the value of the works actually completed. In determining a system most appropriate to the Northern Territory, it has been determined to specify in the regulations the percentages for the maximum of each progress payment. The percentages are set for standard-type construction, and there are provisions to vary them for building works that are non-standard. The draft regulations I will table provide for this approach. They specify a maximum percentage of the contract that is payable for each stage of construction. Based on interstate norms, they are: 5% deposit, 10% base stage, 15% frame stage, 35% lock-up stage, 25% fixing stage, 7% practical completion, and 3% on the issue of an occupancy permit that completes certification under the Building Act.
The parties must adhere to a defined process in order to modify the percentages for non-standard building works. This will give significant additional consumer protection when the first bill commences and will reduce the risk to government in any underwriting of residential building cover that may be required when the second bill commences. I invite comment from industry on the draft regulations for progress payments.
The bill provides for guidelines to be published, and requires persons taking action under the Building Act to have regard to them. This gives formal recognition to building notes that are currently issued from time to time. In addition, guidelines on tolerances and standards for building work are proposed to assist in resolving consumer disputes.
The second bill is titled Building Amendment (Residential Building Consumer Protection) Bill. This bill provides for consumer protection through three components: consumer guarantees, residential building cover, and consumer dispute resolution.
Consumer guarantees provide a statutory backdrop for consumers and builders in resolving disputes, or processing claims under residential building cover. They provide documentation for the consumer and builder on the standard of works required and underwritten by the residential building cover. Consumer guarantees will specify such matters as the use of new materials unless specifically stated otherwise in the contract, work to be in accordance with a building permit, and work to be in a workman-like manner. They will be complemented by practice guidelines that will quantify the tolerance range of acceptable work, provision for which I have covered in commenting on the first bill.
The guarantees provide the measures of what is acceptable practice when resolving residential building cover claims and other building disputes. The guarantees will run for the same prescribed period as for non-compliance under residential building cover. The periods proposed in regulations are six years for structural matters and two years for non-structural. However, they are not to replace any other rights the consumer has to make a claim under the reasonable life of a product and other general consumer laws.
Regarding residential building cover, the consultation bill tabled last year was drafted with regard to national insurers withdrawing from the market at the time, and state governments underwriting insurance. The consultation bill proposed a government-underwritten scheme in the Northern Territory to give certainty that an affordable product will always be available. As is the case for the current Home Building Certification Fund, it was proposed the Territory Insurance Office be the fund manager for residential building insurance on behalf of government. As unlikely as it seemed, at least in the short-term, should any private insurers wish to enter the market, they would be able to do so.
As I mentioned, government has reviewed the consumer package in response to concerns expressed by industry on the consultation bill. Through that review, the Master Builders Association has expressed interest in managing a fidelity fund similar to the one it manages in the Australian Capital Territory. The Housing Industry Association has also expressed interest in offering insurance through an arrangement with AON and QBE. Both require assistance from government in underwriting the risk, at least for a period of establishment. Government is in negotiations with these industry peak bodies.
The bill provides for all options. The term ‘residential building cover’ is one I am using to include both residential building insurance and a residential building fidelity fund product which is not technically insurance. The term ‘residential building’ aligns with terms used for building permits and builders registration. Residential building cover is to be mandatory and last resort. The triggers for claims are proposed to be insolvency or bankruptcy, disappearance or death, and loss of registration under certain circumstances. Under these triggers, the provider would honour a claim and seek to recover the costs from the assets of the failed builder.
Residential building cover will consist of two components: non-completion and non-compliance.
Non-completion covers the construction stage and is designed to meet the additional costs if another builder needs to be engaged to complete the building works. It will only apply to new houses or house extensions that require a registered builder - currently works over $12 000. Caps will be set for claims in the regulations. Subject to negotiations with prospective providers of residential building cover, and having regard to interstate practice, they are proposed to be up to 20% of the contract price to a maximum of $200 000. For example, a consumer with a contract for $400 000 could claim up to $80 000. Claims on any contracts over $1m would be capped at $200 000. The cover is designed to protect the consumer; therefore, governments, owner builders and developers will not be required to take out the non-completion cover.
Non-compliance relates to defects covered by consumer guarantees that become evident within periods prescribed in the regulations. They are proposed to be six years for structural defects, and two years for non-structural. The cover is proposed to apply to new houses, extensions over $12 000, and some new flats.
Flats that require the cover will be in solely residential buildings that are no more than three storeys in addition to any underground or undercroft car parks. The height limits proposed for flats are the same as for the existing Home Building Certification Fund and elsewhere in Australia. Above that height, the body corporate is considered to have the capacity to take civil action in the courts. Developers and owner builders will be required to take out this cover at the time a building permit is issued so that, in the event of sale and any of the circumstances that could trigger a claim, future owners are protected during the non-compliance period. Government will not be required to take out non-compliance cover as, by definition, governments continue to exist and generally self-insure.
The non-compliance cover is proposed to be capped at $200 000, less any payments made for non-completion. For example, if the maximum of 20% for non-completion was paid for a $400 000 house, up to $120 000 could be claimed for non-compliance, which is $200 000 less $80 000 already paid. Any contract with a second builder would be subject to a new policy relating to the balance of the works and new caps.
The non-compliance component will replace the existing Home Building Certification Fund established in 1993 with the introduction of private certification. This fund is managed by the Territory Insurance Office on behalf of government. While its purpose was to underpin the certification process, in practice it has underpinned the building process, giving unlimited cover for 10 years for non-compliance with the Building Code. The Home Building Certification Fund is first resort and is unable to recover funds from a building practitioner, including the builder. This product has been overtaken by events, and needs to be wound up. It will have liabilities for 10 years after the last policy is issued.
However, renovations are covered by the Home Building Certification Fund but will not be covered by residential building cover. To function effectively, residential building cover requires prescribed contracts that have regulated progress payments and registered builders who are subject to financial assessment. Currently, renovations may be done without a mandatory contract and by a person who is not registered. The matter of registration of renovators will be the subject of further negotiation with industry.
Consumers not covered by residential building cover and the related provisions in the bill will continue to have recourse through general consumer and contract legislation and established processes and, ultimately, through the courts. Providers of residential building cover will assess builders for their assets and business capacity in order to determine the risk and manage the turnover.
Dispute resolution: the third consumer protection component in the second bill is a residential statutory dispute resolution process. The first step in the process will be mediation and conciliation. In any dispute, it is desirable that the parties reach their own agreement, and every encouragement will be given to that end. Technical information and advice on industry practice will be provided to parties in dispute. If mediation and conciliation fail to resolve the dispute, there is provision in the bill to make a binding decision. This is, in effect, a rectification order. The proposed dispute resolution process closes the gap between last resort and first resort cover by giving the consumer a way forward when the builder is still in business.
To improve government services to the community and industry it is proposed all complaints related to building works be received by one agency, namely, Consumer Affairs. The bill establishes the statutory position of Commissioner of Residential Building Disputes. If no other appointment is made by the minister, the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs holds the position.
If a complaint cannot be resolved at the inquiry stage through information, advice, mediation and conciliation, the commissioner will determine whether the complaint is to be managed under existing powers and processes, or under the proposed statutory residential dispute resolution process in the bill.
The proposed statutory dispute resolution process will only apply to prescribed work done by a prescribed practitioner. It is proposed the regulations prescribe the work to be work that is subject to residential building cover. The complainant can only be the consumer who had a contract which has been terminated or completed, or a successor in title.
Either party may appeal a decision by the commissioner to the Lands, Planning and Mining Tribunal. The tribunal has the power to obtain independent expert advice. A builder in breach of a decision by the commissioner - or, in the case of an appeal, an order of the tribunal - will be subject to disciplinary action by the Building Practitioners Board. Such a builder is likely to be refused further residential building cover by a provider.
If a builder is unable to do the work through loss of registration or other reasons and a trigger for a claim exists, the work would be done under residential building cover. The provider of the cover will be able to seek to recover costs of claims from the assets of the former builder.
It is proposed to place on the public record an appropriate summary of disputes.
For disputes that do not qualify for the statutory dispute resolution process I have described, particular provision has been made for a builder or a consumer. For a fee, they can request a technical report on work being done under a contract that is still active. This will assist in resolving payment and other disputes under existing processes.
Transitional arrangements are necessary for consumers and builders who have just entered into contracts or are part way through construction when the proposed consumer package commences. If a building permit exists nothing changes, and the related building work can be commenced or, if commenced, can continue to be carried out. If, on the commencement date, a consumer and builder have a contract and a Home Building Certification Fund policy, as required under the existing legislation, they will be able to continue, and a building permit may be issued.
If only a signed contract exists on the commencement date, it will not be able to progress, as it would require a Home Building Certification Fund policy and a building permit to proceed. A Home Building Certification Fund policy is currently required to make an application for a building permit. No new Home Building Certification Fund policies are proposed to be issued after the commencement date. In practice, builders will be well aware in advance of when the commencement date will be, and can either obtain a Home Building Certification Fund policy in advance of that date, or sign a contract before the date that complies with the residential building cover requirements.
Should a consumer with a contract and a Home Building Certification Fund policy wish to access the benefits of the proposed consumer package, the parties may come to an agreement to, effectively, restart the process. On surrendering the Home Building Certification Fund policy, reimbursement of the premium would be made.
Prior to the commencement date, an existing registered builder will be able to apply to a provider for assessment and determination of turnover limits.
Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I commend the bills to honourable members, and table the two explanatory statements to accompany the bills, the draft regulations for the first bill, and an outline of what is proposed in the regulations for the second bill.
Debate adjourned.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I will move this particular procedural motion and then speak to it.
I move that Government Business, Orders of the Day No 2 relating to a motion noting the Remuneration Tribunal Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members and Determination No 1 of 2011, be called on forthwith
That is the technical stuff. What I am asking for is support to defer this legislation until tomorrow. I have tabled committee stage amendments this morning, but they were not circulated on Monday. They should have been circulated on Monday, so I defer this and apologise to the opposition and the member for Nelson, and will provide briefings on the committee stage amendment this afternoon to debate the legislation tomorrow.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I acknowledge and thank the Chief Minister for speaking to us about this. We have no issue with the deferral of this legislative instrument until tomorrow. We look forward to the briefing being provided this afternoon.
Motion agreed to.
Continued from 20 October 2011.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank the Remuneration Tribunal for the latest determination. As always, it was a very significant body of work undertaken by the tribunal, and it will, I believe, be acknowledged by this Assembly in debate this morning.
The report was tabled on 20 October 2011 and there are a number of key features of the report, including the following provisions:
the electoral allowance has been increased by 3%, consistent with CPI;
each member is now coming more into the Apple age with an iPad. Of course, it is becoming an indispensible part of people’s computer armoury these days;
the global entitlement to 16 days travelling allowance for intra-Territory travel is no longer confined to the four trips permitted as additional travel under clause 3.2(a)(i) of the determination, but also can now be used for other inter-Territory trips at the members’ volition, permitted under clause 5(1)(a) providing for more flexibility;
the amount a member may received in lieu of a motor vehicle has been increased to $19 500 per annum, and has been denoted as an additional electorate allowance. I believe that is consistent with other senior EC Commonwealth public servants;
the member for the electorate of Stuart has an entitlement to a part-time liaison officer based in Katherine. This entitlement has been expanded to allow that officer to work 30 hours a week and the provision of a modest office in Katherine. Of course, it is the largest electorate and significantly different constituencies at the top of the electorate that are serviced through Katherine; the bottom of the electorate is serviced through Alice Springs. So, that picks up the ability to service the electorate better;
rates of travel allowance have been adjusted on the basis of the amounts currently considered reasonable by the Australian Tax Office; and
Following amendments to the Assembly Members and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act earlier this year, the tribunal no longer has a role in setting additional salary for office holders, as changes to these rates are now linked to movements in the NT public sector wages.
Madam Speaker, I thank the Remuneration Tribunal. It is a significant body of work every year that he conducts. I commend the report to the House.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Katherine): Madam Speaker, I echo the words of the Chief Minister in thanking the Remuneration Tribunal for the work put into this. Both sides of the House and others have made submissions to the Remuneration Tribunal with respect to changes we all thought would make our jobs better, more flexible, and able to better serve the people of the Northern Territory. Many of those submissions were incorporated this year. They will make our job much easier to perform over the length and breadth of the Northern Territory. Once again, I reiterate the Chief Minister’s words in thanking the Remuneration Tribunal.
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, I also join in talking to this report. The Remuneration Tribunal is an independent statutory body that undertakes inquiries into the remuneration and entitlements of some of the Northern Territory office holders. It is responsible for conducting annual reviews of the entitlements of Northern Territory magistrates and making determinations or recommendations about those entitlements. It is responsible for conducting annual reviews of the entitlements of members of the Legislative Assembly, including office holders such as the Speaker of the Assembly, ministers, and the Leader of the Opposition, and making determinations or recommendations about those entitlements. It is responsible for conducting reviews and making recommendations about entitlements of members of the Northern Territory statutory bodies and statutory officers, including judges, as requested by the Administrator from time to time.
As the member for Stuart, I have been extremely proud to have had this opportunity to represent the people of Stuart in this parliament since September 2006. A little about my wonderful electorate as it has had determinations made in relation to it in this report. Stuart covers a vast area from the Tanami Desert, and extends from Pine Creek and the edge of Arnhem Land, all the way through to communities such as Nyirripi, Yuendumu, Willowra, and Ti Tree in Central Australia; also Laramba and Mt Allan, and other centres including Timber Creek, Kalkarindji, Lajamanu, and Mataranka. The electorate of Stuart surrounds but does not include Katherine, but takes in places such as Mataranka, Beswick, Barunga, and Manyallaluk on the eastern side of Katherine.
The electorate covers some 326 000 km. As I say to many people in the electorate, it is about the size of Germany and larger than some other European countries. It covers parts of the Victoria Daly Shire, the Roper Gulf Shire, and the Central Desert Shire. It has a diversity of environments from the arid zone in Central Australia to the tropical zone in the Top End.
Just a little more about the southern part of Stuart: it is in the Central Australian region, just north of Alice Springs through places such as Aileron. It also takes in growth towns such as Yuendumu and Lajamanu which are developing as central hubs in their regions and really developing with this government’s A Working Future policy. The people of these growth towns are keen to progress in areas such as education, economic development, health, governance, and community safety. Under local implementation plans, the communities have outlined how they want to improve services and conditions in the growth towns. As their local member, I am committed to assisting them in achieving their goals and visions for their future.
I also spend a great deal of time talking to and visiting residents in smaller communities such as Nyirripi, Yuelamu, Laramba, Ti Tree, Willowra, Mulga Bore, Wilora or Stirling, and the many outstations in the region.
The mining and pastoral industries are important economic drivers in the southern part of my electorate and more opportunities are being created through the tourism sector.
The northern part of my wonderful electorate surrounds the township of Katherine, from the King River to the south, Scott Creek to the east, to the Edith River to the north. The area is commonly known as the Big Rivers Region. As you can see, there are some wonderful rivers in that part of my electorate. This is where almost half of my electorate constituents reside.
In this part of the electorate, there is a wide range of economies that include Defence at Bradshaw, pastoral, mining, small towns, tourism and horticulture. The art and culture and social environment is very vibrant. We also have some wonderful parks in that part of my electorate such as Judbarra and Nitmiluk.
It is a region where communication options are still limited for many. In providing an office in Katherine, I will now be able to better service the needs of my constituents in this vast region. Katherine is a regional hub for me and my constituents, and a meeting place for the Stuart electorate. This is recognised by many organisations in Katherine which often provide valuable services to my constituents. Those organisations include the Katherine Regional Community Bank or Bendigo Bank, the Katherine School of the Air, the new Katherine Regional Art and Cultural Precinct, the Katherine West Health Board, Sunrise Health and the Katherine Regional Hospital, to name a few.
Katherine is central to the lives of many of my constituents through economic, business, education, sport, social and cultural ties. I intend to make my Katherine office a hub for the region. By doing this, I can give my constituents of Stuart better representation and better service. I also welcome the increased hours for my Katherine-based electorate officer, which will now be raised to 30 hours per week. Only 18 months ago, that was only 12 hours a week working from home.
Madam Speaker, I welcome the determination in this Remuneration Tribunal report. In 2006, the Administrator requested the tribunal inquire into and determine the entitlements of members each year under the privileges of the Assembly Members and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act. This report of the tribunal has recognised that the electorate of Stuart is
Just north of Alice Springs:
Madam Speaker, I welcome this determination by the tribunal which recognises the uniqueness of Stuart, and the opportunity this presents to better service my constituents.
Motion agreed to.
Continued from 22 November 2011.
Dr BURNS (Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I checked with the Clerks before and there has not been one speaker from the opposition on this important statement. I believe it is important for the future of the Territory, but not one opposition member has the interest to speak on it.
These are very important policy issues which cross portfolios, and thereby going across shadow portfolios. For the opposition to be credible, seeing we are on the cusp of major development in the Northern Territory, I believe the public and industry have a right to hear what their policies are, what their views are, and how they would handle these major developments. So far, we have had silence. I imagine, seeing they are over yesterday, hopefully, they will find their way back into the Chamber to talk to this. I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, withdraw, thank you.
Dr BURNS: Perhaps they will have the inspiration to put forth their policies in relation to this very important statement. However, I digress, Madam Speaker.
It is an exciting time to live in the Territory. The economic forecasters tell you the Territory is the envy of the nation if you look at the position we are in. As we look ahead on the horizon, we can see the opportunities driven off the back of major projects in northern Australia. North Australia will be significant, as many have been saying, in the next century. With the final investment decision on the Ichthys development through INPEX pending, we are also anticipating further investment in other significant resource projects. It is clear everyone is talking about the fact the Territory is the place to be.
Last week, we hosted President Barack Obama and, as we said in our debate earlier this week, that was a monumental stage marking the importance of Darwin in its role in economic growth in northern Australia. Also, the commitment of 2500 marines to use Darwin as a training base for six months of the year will see more local businesses benefiting from the dollars they will be spending in the Territory.
Gearing up for major projects involves a number of my portfolios not least of which is Public and Affordable Housing. A strong economy cannot function without appropriate housing. Workers from these major projects will require accommodation and many will see themselves in workers villages for their time in the Territory. It is very interesting to see the plan in the NT News today in relation to that. Many people will choose to live in the suburbs with their families and call the Territory home, and we welcome them.
With strong economic growth, there will also be the call for more workers in service industries to support these major project jobs. There needs to be housing to accommodate those people moving to the Territory and supporting the major projects. We have the responsibility to ensure there is not a squeeze on other Territorians. That is why we have our Housing the Territory strategy which is approaching housing and accommodation requirements from a number of different angles.
Delivering a balanced housing market is also an immediate priority under the 2030 strategic plan. Two weeks ago, I attended the Territory 2030 Conference – A Balanced Housing Market held at the Darwin Convention Centre. It was the first of its kind and extremely well attended. Local and interstate experts looked at the current and future needs of the Territory housing market and ways in which meaningful partnerships can be made to meet the diverse needs for housing all Territorians. It was clear there was a great deal of enthusiasm to meet the challenges in delivering a more balanced housing market. Many of the right levers are already in place.
The common message we continue to get from developers and builders is that land release is the key to delivering more housing. We have made significant investment in turning off land at a rate five times faster than ever before. Palmerston East is blazing ahead, with Bellamack well established and more housing popping up in Johnston every day. Zuccoli is also tracking ahead. We know that Mitchell and the new city of Weddell are still to follow. Muirhead, in the northern suburbs, is also well under way and we are continuing to encourage appropriate infill developments to make the best use of our land.
Madam Speaker, if I could digress here for a minute. One of the themes that came through strongly in the Territory 2030 Conference – A Balanced Housing Market is the notion of providing a whole variety of products in the marketplace - from the first dwelling people have, which might be quite modest on what we would call a relatively small block of land, up to those established houses on large blocks of land – four bedrooms, two bathrooms, etcetera. It was made very plain that we need to provide that variety of product in the marketplace. There is actually a demand at – if you want to call it the lower end of the marketplace for that variety of dwelling that might be situated on quite a small block, to allow people to get equity in the housing market and, basically, make their start in life. That was very important.
The Territory 2030 Conference – A Balanced Housing Market will be bringing forward to government a range of issues and discussions they had, and that will be very important for the public debate on this very important issue.
We are also turning off land in Katherine and Tennant Creek. The subdivision of 38 residential lots and one commercial lot has been completed at Casuarina Street in Katherine. In Tennant Creek, we have completed a 54 lot residential subdivision off Peko Road; 28 lots were sold at auction in October 2010, and the remaining lots will be released early next year.
Regarding the Affordable Rental Housing Company, I have worked very hard this year to establish the Northern Territory’s first affordable rental housing program and company. It has great potential. We have seen their potential interstate. It has taken longer than I would have liked, but there have been a number of legal and contractual issues that the Affordable Rental Housing Company wanted to settle. These are very experienced operators from Melbourne and Adelaide, and they have some very heavy hitters on their board, let me tell you. They wanted to examine the contractual arrangements, discuss them, and negotiate over them, and that has taken some time. However, we are there. I believe the ink is almost dry on the paper.
Basically, we will have a presence towards the end of this year of that Affordable Rental Housing Company in Darwin, with them ready to take on the Wirrina development midway through 2012, and also looking at some properties in Palmerston as well. We are looking to try to bring some of those developments forward for the Affordable Rental Housing Company. They were a bidder in the latest round of NRAS and they received subsidies from the Commonwealth as well. They are already working hard; they are making their presence felt. I believe it will be a great thing for the Territory.
It was also pleasing to hear from the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water and Population and Communities, Tony Burke, that the Affordable Rental Housing Company will be allocated 256 NRAS incentives that will help encourage more development in the Northern Territory. It is very satisfying that they were successful, along with other Territory entities including Charles Darwin University.
Becoming a homeowner is one of the most significant events in a person’s life. We want to ensure as many Territorians as possible can become homeowners. To make sure low- to middle-income earning families can get a foot in the door and buy their own home, the Territory government has the Homestart NT program. It is one of the best home ownership programs in the country and the envy of other jurisdictions. More than 1400 families across the Territory have been helped to achieve the dream of owning their own home through shared equity purchases, low deposit, and no interest fee assistance loan.
I was very interested to hear the member for Brennan inferring these programs were of no use and government should step out of that area and let the free market take control. I am very interested to hear what the opposition’s policies are on housing. It seems, from the start, they want to withdraw funding for Homestart NT and other programs operated by government that I believe have been very successful, which we have revised with time, both in the income limits and the price limits. We are continually looking at that. The Treasurer, in a number of budgets now, has revised the limits in that program to better suit Territorians. It will be interesting to hear what policies the opposition has and how it is going to approach this very important issue, and what support it is going to give to low- and middle-income earning families.
Regarding affordable housing projects, the Territory government has delivered some exciting initiatives to help low- and middle-income earners purchase brand new properties in our newer suburbs. As more land is turned off, this will continue. So far, this has seen 28 townhouses between $253 000 and $368 000 at Bellamack Gardens.
It was interesting in Bellamack Gardens. I was minister for Business at that time and had portfolio responsibilities for the Land Development Corporation. Public comments in the media and this parliament from the opposition and the Independent member were quite negative. However, I commend the Independent member for Nelson who visited the development. I believe he said he was quite impressed by what he saw. That was a pilot project and government will be looking to do more in that area.
For Bellamack house and land packages, there are 21 lots between $342 000 and $420 000; Johnston land release ballots, 19 lots at $140 000 each; Johnston affordable units, 21 units between $320 000 and $390 000; and at Rydges Estate, Larapinta, six house and land packages for first homebuyers for $385 000.
There is a great deal happening in Alice Springs with the development of the suburb of Kilgariff on the horizon. That will be very exciting for Alice Springs, and I am interested to hear what Alice Springs members have to say about those developments, or if they have alternative proposals for house and land developments in Alice Springs.
In relation to seniors housing, more and more Territorians are choosing to retire in the Northern Territory. As we experience economic and population growth driven off the major projects, it is important we also ensure our seniors are well looked after and not pushed out of the housing market. In fact, seniors in many ways, hold the key to freeing up larger properties for young families. We have set up incentives for seniors in the private housing market to purchase their own home or downsize into smaller, easier to manage homes through the $8500 stamp duty concession for pensioners.
We are also increasing public housing stock for seniors as they are our largest group of tenants. I am really looking forward to welcoming new tenants to the Bellamack Seniors Village very soon. I commend the department because they have been trying to encourage seniors who are in larger houses to move into these seniors villages. Whilst we may not have filled it as quickly as I would like, I know that is balanced against the fact we are encouraging seniors - we are not forcing, but encouraging seniors - to move out of larger buildings and take up residence in a seniors village.
The Chief Minister and I will be officially opening the Bellamack Seniors Village soon – 40 new units for senior Territorians to add to seniors villages which are already established in Leanyer, Fannie Bay, Wanguri, and Nightcliff. There are another 18 units under construction in Larapinta which will be opened early next year. That is a great construction program.
More on public housing: it is also well-known that in times of significant economic growth, often it is the most vulnerable who struggle. That is why we are working to deliver more accommodation and housing for this group. There is work to replenish public housing stock, with $49m for 150 new dwellings over three years. We are also looking at ways to redevelop ageing stock. That would be a role, I believe, of the Affordable Rental Housing Company. I have inspected developments in Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. They are going for more mixed-style developments: a mix of public housing, social and affordable housing, as well as the private market. That has worked, I am advised, quite well. We need to be moving away from concentrations of public housing.
The moratorium I have had on the sale of public housing has been a contentious issue. With more housing stock coming online government, with a strategic plan, has tasked the Housing department, with Treasury, to work together to look at a replenishment plan over the next 10 to 20 years. That plan is coming together. I hope, sometime in the near future, to make a formal announcement about the lifting of that moratorium. As a government, we want more Territorians to get equity in their houses. We want to encourage them to do that.
I was faced with a conundrum, in that quite a lot of our public housing had been sold off over the past 15 to 20 years - over 2000 public housing stock had been sold. I needed to conserve the stock whilst we built it up, to some degree, and have a plan into the future about the replenishment and further stock being built. We are very close to that, which is an important element.
The Northern Territory recently received a substantial boost to our social housing funding under the stimulus package. I am running out of time with this address. I have detailed before in this House the type of expenditure across the Territory on a whole range of housing modes, including public housing for which there was funding. For transitional housing, there is a range of projects under the stimulus package that have been constructed in Alice Springs, particularly in Bath Street.
Regrettably, the opposition opposed it. They fell into line with Tony Abbott, so none of that stock in Bath Street, Alice Springs, for example, would have been built if they had had their way. I urge them not to fall into line with Tony Abbott every time he clicks his fingers, but to think about the Territory. Think about the benefits to the Territory, the BER, and the stimulus package in social and public housing, and not just jump whenever Tony tells you to jump. That is my advice to the opposition.
With respect to education and training, I have mentioned centres of excellence. They are very important for training and growing our own professionals in the Territory across a whole range of disciplines - I mentioned that in relation to a question the other day regarding a centre of excellence - developing relationships with major industry and projects. We have developed a corporate engagement and partnerships team to facilitate partnerships with industry to deliver pathways to employment. I have mentioned in this House that I visited Borroloola in the Barkly electorate to see the partnership between MRM and the school and training, and to see those young people engaged in …
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move an extension of time so the minister can conclude his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Dr BURNS: I visited Borroloola, where there were over 20 kids at school engaged in work. They had a school uniform that was also a work uniform. That really underlined the fact that they were spending time at school and in the workplace - and from a relatively young age, so people got used to the work environment. They were not just suddenly exposed to it at the end of their schooling. There is wonderful support for those students. Government is building a new building next to the school which will support those kids, both boys and girls, in their life’s journey.
I mentioned VET in Schools the other day. It is a very important priority of government. We have invested $6.25m to provide Get VET, Get a Future program, and VET in the Middle program for schools across the Northern Territory. The programs are focused on delivery of the national standard Vocational Education and Training to students in the middle and senior years of education. The training is directed towards pathways leading to employment and the completion of full qualification at Certificate II and above. High priorities have been given to construction, engineering and mining, transport, automotive and warehousing, as well as hospitality and community services.
It is great, as I travel through the schools - I appreciate the words in adjournment last night by the member for Brennan. As you go through the schools one place I always head to is the kitchen. I am a bit of an amateur cook and I did not have the opportunity growing up - we did manual arts, but I did more academic qualifications. I would have loved to have done a program about cooking and nutrition. Seeing those kids and tasting the wonderful food - not too much of it for me, I am a small eater – it was delicious, high quality food, prepared lovingly and enthusiastically by those kids. I always like the kitchen. One of these days I will be able to spend more time with the kids, perhaps cook something with them and take it home and give it to the family. There you go, I reckon that is great.
This year, over 800 students have undertaken structured work placements in industries related to the training packages they are studying as part of the VET course. I take on board some of the words from local chefs about kids going through our VET - they feel they could be better prepared. I have asked the department to take that advice on board from the professionals who are interacting with these kids. We will do whatever we can to take their advice and make these kids ready and support them for a career in the hospitality industry.
We want to maintain a strong teaching workforce and grow more teachers to keep up with population growth. We want the best teachers, so we are offering generous financial support through the teacher education scholarship and more Indigenous teachers program. I met a number of those Indigenous teachers who have been through that program as I have moved through the Territory. That is a great program and I commend it.
Planning for new schools and investment in our existing infrastructure, we built the school at Rosebery, Darwin Middle School, and Nemarluk Special School, and carried out significant upgrades to every single school across the Territory. Every school has received a $300 000 upgrade, or is in the process of carrying out that upgrade, and I commend schools for that. There is a $5m project currently under way at Casuarina Senior College and $1m being invested in Sanderson Middle School.
I have mentioned before if it was up to the opposition the BER would not have happened. They were quite critical. I was going through some paperwork the other day where I saw unfortunate criticism of the BER project at Larrakeyah Primary School. A comparison was made in The Australian newspaper about getting better value for a McDonald’s than the BER project.
The member for Port Darwin was not anywhere near that particular article, but I note it segued into comments by the member for Braitling, which I thought were quite hurtful towards the school. Of course, they are all saying: ‘We had nothing to do with the first part of the story’, but it is hard to believe, a bit hard to swallow. I am sure the member for Port Darwin agrees that is a great project. We inspected it together one day and saw the work that had been done. The value for money at Larrakeyah Primary School is fantastic and the school is very happy with that BER development.
If it had been up to Tony Abbott: ‘No, we are not going to spend that money on schools’. Every school across the Territory has benefitted from the BER project.
It was great to see the member for Sanderson the other day at one of the schools in his electorate, so he could hear how enthusiastic the school and the school council were about that particular project. The thing about the BER is each school has made decisions about what is best for it. Wulagi school really wanted to build up their early childhood education to make it the main centre in the school, and that is what they have done. They have made that facility more than just for the early childhood but one that the whole school can use, and they are very happy with it.
At Moil the other day - yet another one – a different function, but suiting the needs of the school.
Over $200m was spent in the Territory. I commend the officers and departments in the Northern Territory that established and built that BER. The time lines were short. It is complex working with school councils, with people who, in many cases, have no experience of projects of that magnitude, and carrying out their wishes. I commend the departments for their work.
A new special school for 100 students is being planned for Bellamack with a targeted opening of 2013. A new middle school is being built in Palmerston by the Catholic Education Office with funding assistance from the Northern Territory government and scheduled to open in 2012. New schools are in the planning stage for Muirhead and Zuccoli. Enrolment and population projections to coincide with the stages and timing of new developments will determine the need for new schools at Weddell and Kilgariff. DET has established a precinct group, which includes the Durack school principal, to carefully monitor the planning and approvals for the proposed CDU village. The department is ensuring there are adequate enrolment places available. That is it for housing and education.
I need to mention public employment. As I said in this House yesterday, we are a government that values our public service - some 19 000 of them. We have completed a number of EBAs which has been difficult because of the financial situation. We certainly have not been like some of the governments in southern states. I mentioned yesterday that Mr O’Farrell, the Premier of New South Wales, has certainly thinned down a bit since he has become Premier. It is probably the workload. He has announced drastic cuts to public service. Of course, Joe Hockey - many more thousands in the Commonwealth public service. One thing is evident. In Victoria, Ted Baillieu the Premier of Victoria, promised teachers they would be the best paid in the country. Now, it appears he has reneged on that deal.
I caution all Territory public servants who are listening to this broadcast that, should the CLP attain government in 2012 - just watch out ...
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! Perhaps the Leader of Government Business could explain to the House how many climate change scientists the Northern Territory government employs?
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order, member for Braitling. Resume your seat.
Dr BURNS: What I do know is Ted Baillieu has reneged on his election promise to make them the best paid in Australia. There is a dispute going on now. I hope it is resolved because it will be hurting the kids of Victoria. He is in dispute with his nurses.
We will have industrial battlegrounds in the Northern Territory if the Country Liberal Party was to attain power; there would be massive slashes in our public service. Their policy says they will slash at least 800 - I suspect more in getting a balanced budget. From memory, the Leader of the Opposition said he would cut $50m in the first year from the public service. That is a substantial cut. We know they have had ERC committees, razor gangs before. Col Fuller is up there now hatching it all in the office. I say to Territory public servants: beware!
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to support the Chief Minister’s statement on Gearing Up for Major Projects. This side of the House is fully aware of the importance of gearing up and getting ready for the big boom that is coming.
Major construction and resource projects have long been a mainstay of growth and development for the Territory’s economy. Today, the opportunities to leverage off major developments - whether proposed, ongoing, or recently completed - are greater than ever. The Territory is undergoing an unprecedented level of expansion as a major international oil and gas hub, and a key trade gateway to Asia. This government understands the importance of gearing up for major projects, and the Department of Business and Employment’s industry development program is designed to help businesses prepare for the major projects that are coming to the Northern Territory.
Similarly, the government understands the important role of information and communications technology and the role it will play in supporting these major projects well into the future. The ability to connect, to shrink the distances between relatives and business interests, and to do it at an affordable cost is, and will continue to be, a fundamental in driving the Northern Territory and Australia’s economies.
Although a significant industry sector in its own right, it is the impact of ICT across government, community, and other industry sectors which identifies the ICT industry as a critical proponent in the development and growth of the Northern Territory’s economy. As in other Australian jurisdictions, ICT is a major driver of productivity growth. The Northern Territory’s ICT industry has the skills and capability to service all business sectors and, as an enabler to government, industry, and community, ICT has a critical impact on the economic and social wellbeing of society.
Some key facts about the Northern Territory’s very vibrant ICT industry: there are around 200 or more businesses in the ICT industry in the Northern Territory alone - more than 200. They have between them over 2000 employees. There are multinational and national ICT companies well represented in the Northern Territory, and there are strong and highly capable small- to medium-sized local businesses in the sectors as well.
Regional and remote areas are well serviced by our ICT industry. Multinationals mainly service government, Defence, and petroleum sectors. Local business and industry is serviced by local ICT companies, with the exception of telecommunications.
We are doing what we can to harness the opportunities created by ICT and assist Territory businesses to make best use of those opportunities. For example, in 2008, the Northern Territory government signed an agreement with Telstra to connect northern Arnhem Land to the nation’s optic fibre network. The $32m project delivered over 800 km of optic fibre connecting Nhulunbuy and Jabiru with the Australian network. Funding for the Arnhem Land fibre-optic project was provided by Telstra, Rio Tinto, the Northern Territory government, and the Northern Land Council through the Aboriginal Benefits Account. At the conclusion of the project, this government’s investment in the future of the Arnhem Land area was around $6.5m. The Northern Land Council funded $5m. The land councils understand the importance and value of communications to their communities and made recommendations to the federal minister responsible for the Aboriginal Benefits Account. It is understood that, at that time, this was the largest single program funded through the Aboriginal Benefits Account.
Along the route, nine communities were connected, bringing reliable broadband communications to more than 10 000 people throughout Arnhem Land. The Arnhem Land telecommunications enhancement project was the largest integrated build of core and access network infrastructure that Telstra had undertaken in one of the most remote and challenging areas of this country. Over 800 km of optic fibre was laid in 10 weeks, and that is incredible - a significant project, which I am sure you are aware of, Madam Deputy Speaker. It also provides services to the island communities to the north via radio links from the mainland.
This project was only possible because of the value placed on communications by all stakeholders, which resulted in significant levels of collaboration and cooperation. The project has been the subject of numerous awards, nationally and internationally. Telstra did a fantastic job. The traditional owners were full of praise for the way Telstra delivered on the project.
The benefits to the communities are evident, including improved health and education services for all those communities connected by this project. Health clinics are able to access applications and services denied to them previously because of overstressed and slow communications. Schools are now connected to the optic fibre of speeds of up to 20 MBps and are able to provide students with access to the Internet and educational material that has not been possible before.
This project connected seven of the Territory’s 20 growth towns to high-speed broadband and provided ADSL broadband for the communities. Two of the growth towns - the island communities on Milingimbi and Galiwinku - were connected by high-speed radio services, and the rest of the growth towns by optic fibre. This project brought the number of growth towns connected to optic fibre to 17. This is only the start of the story.
As part of the October Business Month, we hosted an ICT Expo to showcase how ICT can benefit your Territory businesses. There were keynote speakers, workshop seminars, and a range of Northern Territory ICT companies which demonstrated the latest computer and communication technologies to help drive productivity, efficiency, and profitability in their business.
David Murray, General Manager of IBM Australia, discussed how the Territory could utilise the NBN to develop a smarter city and the associated impacts and opportunities to business owners, as well as deliver improved health and education services to remote areas, and what the Northern Territory will need to do to benefit from those opportunities. The National Broadband Network - something the mob on the other side opposed - represents the largest-ever nation building infrastructure project undertaken in this country. It is one we on this side of the House strongly support. We know greater digital engagement can boost productivity, and can bridge distances and improve service delivery for regional, remote, and rural Australians. It can improve educational and health outcomes, allow for better management of the country’s growing and ageing population, promote social inclusion, and facilitate more environmentally sustainable management of the built and natural environment.
The federal Labor government’s commitment to build the enabling infrastructure for the digital economy - in particular the commitment to build the NBN - will allow Australia to participate in and enjoy the benefits of the global digital economy. The National Broadband Network will offer coverage which will allow households and businesses to participate in the digital economy regardless of where they live. It will support high-speed, symmetrical services, giving more people access to new tools to manage their business and receive educational services. It will also offer greater stability and reliability of broadband services to support a growing number of critical applications such as health.
The National Broadband Network will bring high-speed broadband to many more of our remote communities. The benefits we have seen in the communities connected to the Arnhem Land fibre project will start to flow to all remote communities across the Northern Territory. While the roll-out to the remote areas of the Northern Territory is not expected to begin for two years, an interim satellite service is available to qualifying households, and the fixed wireless services are expected to begin in our remote communities around the same time.
The benefits that reliable telecommunications will bring to our remote communities cannot be underestimated. The role of information and communications technology will play into the future, including the National Broadband Network, is crucial to the growth and development of the Northern Territory.
Turning to Central Australia in this statement, we had an MPI yesterday about tourism and businesses in Alice Springs. Over the October Business Month, I attended a breakfast with representatives of some 250 local businesses. There was much optimism and confidence at that breakfast. I have also since met with Julie Ross and Kay Eade from the Chamber of Commerce in Alice Springs. They are aware of many things businesses need to do to participate and to stay involved in some of these major projects which are coming. Business also needs to gear up. Only the other week, we talked about how businesses in Alice Springs can actually benefit from the INPEX project. How can they gear up? How can they work closer together in collaboration to take advantage of these opportunities that may come from the INPEX project? Alice Springs may miss out on it.
In talking to Kay Eade during the lunch I attended to celebrate export industry winners, there is a real enthusiasm to look at that. It is an opportunity for INPEX to get to Central Australia and run some workshops to explain to Alice Springs and Central Australian businesses that a major project like INPEX can provide opportunities for those businesses outside of Darwin. Much of the focus has been on Darwin, and so it should be. However, there are still many opportunities for businesses down the track. I encourage INPEX and our government, to engage those businesses outside of Darwin. Workshops to identify those opportunities would be worthwhile in Central Australia.
Talking about Central Australia, the other week I had the opportunity to visit the redevelopment of the accident and emergency services area of the Alice Springs Hospital, which is a fantastic project. It will deliver improved health services to the people of Central Australia - a major project for Alice Springs. There is a lot of Commonwealth and Territory money going into that. The spin-offs for local contractors and subbies is positive. We need more of those types of projects in our remote and regional centres like Alice Springs.
Another business coming to Alice Springs is Bunnings. I drove past the site the other day and there is a great deal of work under way to clear it and get it ready. Top Enders are used to having a Bunnings store in Darwin, but we are looking forward to that in Alice Springs.
The revitalisation of the Todd Mall - I understand the council is not too far away in moving that project ahead, which will be a fantastic stimulus to Central Australia and Alice Springs. My electorate office is in the Todd Mall in Alice Springs and I talk to many businesses there. This project will be very welcome to those local businesses and the Todd Mall traders. We are looking forward to that; it will be an exciting time for Alice Springs once that project is under way.
My colleague, the member for Johnston, talked about the Building the Education Revolution. Many of those projects have been completed in my electorate of Stuart, and I have had the opportunity to get out to many of those openings. It has been a significant project for the Northern Territory. The member for Lingiari has worked hard in getting many of those projects up and running and getting support for that in his electorate. An enormous number of dollars through the Building the Education Revolution has gone into the Northern Territory, particularly to the electorate of Lingiari. I attended openings at Hermannsburg, Lajamanu, and Kalkarindji to name a few, and the additions to those schools are invaluable. Warren Snowdon also gets along to many of these openings. He has lobbied hard to see many of these classrooms built. Some of the Alice Springs members have been to openings in their electorates and they celebrate it, even though in here they oppose it.
I have been to openings at Gillen, Braitling - all fantastic additions. There has been a great deal of economic drivers and opportunities come from that for local businesses. We on this side of the House welcomed the Building the Education Revolution. The additions those classrooms and halls are bringing to the young kids and families throughout the Northern Territory have been invaluable. So, hear, hear, to the Building the Education Revolution and to Warren Snowdon for delivering such fantastic facilities.
Turning to my electorate and the regions of Stuart, the Chief Minister talked about jobs and training. I agree with what the Chief Minister said about the need to build our labour force. It also has to be said about our kids in the bush and in our regions that it is important to get these kids to school every day to get a good education and also to build those local and regional economies – that is very important.
Part of the announcement of Stronger Futures I endorse is the $19m or so that will be going into ranger jobs. These are real jobs for people on country. Jobs and training are important to upskilling and developing our labour force and growing our own labour in the Northern Territory.
I totally agree with what the Chief Minister had to say about jobs and training, jobs for our kids, the next generation. As local member of a bush seat, a regional seat, I agree with those sentiments and the importance of that.
Through our growth towns, the local implementation plans my colleague, the member for Arnhem, is driving through A Working Future is a real vision for the bush. These plans are real; they are not gammon. We see many great projects in those local implementation plans which will deliver real change and opportunities such as jobs and major projects for those communities in those growth towns.
At Yuendumu and Lajamanu there are some fantastic projects which will be embarked upon for those communities, those growth towns, through the local implementation plans working with the Commonwealth government. We really want to deliver real jobs for people in the bush over the next five or 10 years, and give those kids in our schools some real hope and a light at the end of the tunnel that there are jobs through the local implementation plans, the shires, and driving local and regional economies. We need to continue down that path.
There is a great deal of optimism on this side. Getting on with major projects, it is about putting that vital infrastructure into things such as the NBN. That ICT infrastructure is so important in closing the gap in Indigenous health and education, and driving these major projects in the bush we see throughout some of the regional centres. I am very proud to be ICT minister delivering on some of these major projects. We are seeing unprecedented levels of infrastructure coming through the Northern Territory in ICT, through digital regions, eHealth towns, the National Broadband Network, and getting a second competitive fibre line through the Northern Territory.
These things would not be happening if we had a CLP government in power in the Northern Territory. They would just oppose everything, as the member for Johnston said, for the sake of politics, and for the sake of joining Tony Abbott and his crew in Canberra in just opposing everything. Opposing these millions of dollars of investment, particularly through the National Broadband Network, for the sake of politics, is just irresponsible.
They would just oppose the BER for the sake of politics. Do not worry about the infrastructure going into our children’s education, supporting families, getting these kids to school every day. For the sake of politics, I believe it is irresponsible. They need to grow up a lot on that side and get behind some of these major projects.
Madam Speaker, we on this side of the House support gearing up for major projects. We have a real vision for the Northern Territory. As a very united and close team, we will continue to deliver for Territorians.
Debate suspended.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have a document before me relating to pairs between the member for Wanguri and the member for Blain for the period 6 pm to 8 pm tonight. It is signed by both Whips.
I table that document.
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I welcome the statement from the Chief Minister about gearing up for major projects. It is a great subject to talk about. It is great for anyone in Australia to be talking about major projects, about gearing up for major projects; not talking about shutting shop, closing down, trying to find jobs for people who have been retrenched. It is about gearing up.
The biggest problem facing our business community is finding workers. That is what came through to me from the caf through to the major manufacturing businesses in the Northern Territory, when I was Business minister. They know this economy is really taking off. We have several major infrastructure projects occurring as we speak. We are awaiting the final investment decision of the INPEX gas project, which will supercharge our economy as we have never seen before. Aside from that, we have growth in our mining sector with a number of mines expanding and new mines commencing - except for Angela Pamela; or maybe it is? We look forward to that mining sector to continue to expand. The pastoral sector is growing and we are looking at future developments in the pastoral sector.
Across the Territory, across the spectrum of the economy, there is business growth and there are major projects coming up. We have to get ready for that because our economy is relatively small and gets buffeted by these major projects when they do occur. It is quite difficult to gear up for either the infrastructure or the labour force because of that relatively small size we have compared to what is needed for the major project which comes along. However, that work is under way; it has been under way for quite some time.
The gearing up for major projects task force, which I started, is continuing. That is a great collaboration where we have industry, the unions, major project proponents involved with heads of departments, the training and business area, and infrastructure area - all in the same room talking about how we can foresee the requirements of major projects as they emerge and what we need to do as a government, and what the private sector needs to do. The most critical part of major projects is that human labour force which is required to make all this happen. That collaboration has been welcomed by INPEX and ConocoPhillips which are on that task force. ENI is looking at getting on that task force as well, because it has a number of major gas fields off our northern shore. It is buying into MEO Australia Ltd, which has the Blackwood gas field, and is looking at that development.
The Marine Supply Base, another government initiative, is a critical piece of infrastructure which will, again, underwrite our economy. It will put another layer into our base economy into the future. Having visited the Marine Supply Base in Bergen, the ASCO Marine Supply Base just outside of Aberdeen, and the Toll Marine Supply Base in Singapore, you can really see the great truckloads of work and dollars that come in by just having that facility available for the industry. Many people are unaware of what goes on in those marine supply bases. We currently have around 400 to 500 ship movements annually for the oil and gas industry. We would like to see that increase. The base in Aberdeen has something like 2200 movements a year. When you look at how many marine supply bases there are in Norway, there must be at least a dozen up the west coast, and all of them are private. Through Scotland and parts of England there are also marine supply bases.
When you look at the north coast of Australia, once we get this one established in Darwin, there will only be really one international-standard Marine Supply Base that is sitting smack bang in the middle of a vibrant, beautiful capital city, where you have any school that you would like to imagine to go to, great health and recreational services, and the choice of private sector housing to whichever standard you require. For business, this is a great location. Darwin is in the best location in the north. It is the north which is going to take advantage of the oil and gas industry to our north. As that acreage starts to get developed, there will be further acreage developed to the east into the Arafura Sea, and in through the Gulf. You will see further development, more and more floating LNG plants, and also other infrastructure out there which require a marine supply base.
We should be looking forward to getting the repairs and maintenance, and the major overhauls. It can add up to something like $50m to do a major overhaul of these big rig tenders. That is a significant amount of work coming into Darwin over the life of that facility. We will start to get specialised industry moving here. It is a very attractive proposition to establish in Darwin as we get to that critical mass of capability where we have many businesses setting up here because the major ones are set up here as well. Things will keep on growing. We will continue to get close to that critical mass, and then it is just going to take off from there.
It has been this Labor government that has been chasing the INPEX Ichthys project to get it to the Northern Territory. It could easily not have happened for the Northern Territory; we could have missed that project. Apart from that, there was not much going at the time.
The government also went out for the Marine Supply Base and that, coupled with other major projects - the expansion of Darwin LNG is going to happen in the future - much downstream industry is coming off the back of those two major projects. The expansion of those two major projects is going from two trains, to four trains, to six trains and will keep growing and growing, and those are worth millions of dollars to the Northern Territory economy. It is something we need to gear ourselves up for.
One area in my portfolio is the Power and Water Corporation. It is a government owned corporation so it is really up to the government to see where the organisation is going and whether it has the capability to meet the emerging sectors coming online. That is why we have committed $1.6bn over the next four years for those critical areas of vital infrastructure of power, water and sewerage.
Without those essentials you cannot run your economy. You will not attract business and you will not attract people to work in our economy; it is blatantly obvious. If you ignore it for decades and decades it all comes back to bite you on the proverbial backside, which is exactly what happened with the Power and Water Corporation from its NTEC days to the Power and Water Authority. It was run down and prepared for sale. That came out in a report commissioned by the previous CLP government. The report came back saying: ‘Tidy it up, make it look good and flog it off’.
That is what happened. Approximately 130 very experienced technical and professional staff were let go. There was a death row mentality in the organisation because they could see they were all about to get the chop through privatisation. Luckily for the Power and Water Corporation, there was a change of government and the organisation continued. However, the damage had been done: the rundown of the organisation had occurred and a culture had developed in the organisation which was not seen until that critical incident at the Casuarina Zone Substation. A subsequent review by a very experienced professional, Mervyn Davies, highlighted the problem as far as the culture of no one taking responsibility and no asset management.
That has now changed and I am very proud of the organisation, the management, and the staff for embracing this change. I can assure the parliament and the people of the Northern Territory that we are in a very good place with the asset condition, whether it is our generators at Channel Island, through our high voltage and low voltage reticulation line, to our little electrical kiosks throughout the suburbs. We know what condition they are in and we are actively managing that infrastructure which needs, over time, to be replaced or given a major overhaul. That has occurred.
What was needed was money put into the organisation. This government chose not to sell it off but to invest in the organisation, which underwrote the fundamentals of a good economy having a power supply, a water supply and sanitation. Over this period, we have had some great achievements. In Alice Springs the old power station was noisy and in the wrong spot in Brewer Estate. We invested in the Owen Springs Power Station, and what a fabulous facility that is, with the great work many Territory companies have put in. Ross Engineering, for one, has done a magnificent job, together with a number of other companies, and the Power and Water staff worked tirelessly to make it all happen. That has been a total investment of $153m into the population of Alice Springs. That gives us a great deal of current, new capacity, new equipment, and also the ability to grow, with land available to expand for more generators. We have also put in the Lovegrove Zone Substation in Alice Springs to give us ability for some redundancy in the system; to be able to switch around any problems with other zone substations. We have three new gas turbines installed there, for which we look forward to a long life. Those generators at the Brewer Estate are museum pieces, but they still seem to tick over. There will be some back-up power available.
It has injected something like $10.5m into the local economy. This has meant 100 jobs to 16 businesses in the local economy. Obviously, these big generators are a big cost item; we do not build them in the Northern Territory or even in Australia. We saw them come through the Port of Darwin and be transported all the way to Alice Springs. It was an amazing journey and some memorable photos were taken. It is a great facility at Owen Springs.
Still on the power generation side, the Weddell Power Station is a fabulous facility - $124m was invested into that brand new power station at Weddell. There are three new turbines, and these are very highly efficient generators. We have the capacity, the redundancy there, to allow us to do further augmentation of the Channel Island Power Station. We have put in new generators and are doing mid-life refurbishments on a great many of the current generators. Around $234m is going into this project of refurbishment of the Channel Island Power Station.
This gives us a great deal of diversity. With our gas supplies now, we have Blacktip gas coming up from Wadeye, we also have an interconnect into Darwin LNG, and we hope to secure a deal with INPEX to get interconnect into INPEX as well. We also have the line going to Alice Springs. So there are four possible sources of gas supplies. We have three redundancy supplies if we ever get that type of problem in the future.
Further augmentation upgrades have been undertaken at Katherine Power Station, Yulara, and Tennant Creek Power Station. I have met the guys there quite a few times, and they do a great job.
Investing in zone substations is important as they are a critical part of the power network. The new Archer Zone Substation at the bottom end of Moulden on the way to the Channel Island Road is a brand new, state-of-the-art facility. It is nearly completed. That gives us redundancy and contingency in the whole system of Palmerston, Weddell and the rural area as well.
There is a new substation going in at Snell Street at a cost of around $43m. That work has commenced. This is about strengthening the capacity and the durability of our power system for a very harsh environment. There are new feeder cables being installed to this zone substation. It will also provide additional power supplies back to Palmerston as well.
Further work is going on in the water area. The Darwin River Dam is the major water supply for the greater Darwin area with supplementary water coming from the Howard East bore field. The raising of the Darwin River Dam wall has given us an extra 20% capacity and was a significant project - $13m was invested in upgrading our water capacity. Sadly, Territorians use around three times the national average of water for the Top Enders where we have rain for six months of the year. Even with that, we still use a lot of water. We have the lowest water prices in the country, the second lowest power prices in the country, and I think the lowest sewerage prices in the country. We have done this work with Darwin River Dam that gives us a great deal of water supply. The future plans of bringing Manton Dam back online will give us even greater yields.
I get many questions about the future Warrai Dam. The land has been secured, the design work has been done but, like any business - and Power and Water is a business …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the minister be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr KNIGHT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the member for his indulgence. The work has occurred with the Warrai Dam and that will give us considerable capacity in the future. However, like any business, you do not overcapitalise. At the moment, we have adequate water storage capacity and will continue with that until such time as we get to the point where we need much more water for our growing economy.
It is quite perplexing when you hear the other side of the House talking about people leaving town and, at the same time, there being land shortages, housing shortages, and things like that, because people are coming to the Northern Territory. They are coming here in droves, and they will continue to come here in droves.
Mr Westra van Holthe: Coming here in droves? We are losing 2500. People cannot afford to come here to live.
Mr KNIGHT: There are new subdivisions going in at Katherine. The member for Katherine knows that, and he knows people are coming to Katherine. It really does grate the members of the opposition that this economy is going well; this government has handled the economy very well. In the good times we invested and, now, in the global economic downturn, we have done quite well, and we have a great light coming over the horizon with major projects.
This is what we are doing; gearing up for them, preparing ourselves for them, and looking ahead. We are not just sitting on our laurels, we are looking into the future to take advantage of these major projects - and creating major projects and being open to these projects.
The minister for Resources is always out there chasing proponents. They know if they come to the Northern Territory, they will get a meeting with the Chief Minister and with a minister, and we will be looking at ways to facilitate that economic development. We are a can-do government, a government which sees that we have to grow and we have to expand our economy. We are extremely willing to do that within the bounds of protecting our social life and also our environment in the Territory.
There are things we cannot compromise, but we can accommodate much of the time; we can make everything come together. Those proponents know they can get things done in the Northern Territory. They can get to the top, they can get some answers, and they can get things under way. The Northern Territory is sitting in the best place in Australia to take advantage of the economic growth into the future into Asia.
Madam Speaker, just another couple of points. There will be a new zone substation at Leanyer for $26m accommodating future growth of Muirhead and providing the redundancy within that side of Darwin.
The Larrakeyah sewage outfall has been there for 35 years. There was a lot of carping and moaning on the other side about it, but we have been in government for 10 years. When we came to government, we started the investigation of what was required. Money was committed in about 2007-08 for the design work. That work has occurred and work has commenced. People in Larrakeyah would know too well that work has commenced with a lot of drilling going on underneath their homes. It was a Labor government that did this work, investing in improving the environment of our beautiful harbour.
There were any number of CLP local members from self-government - including a Chief Minister - who failed to do anything about the Larrakeyah outfall in their time. It has been this government that has stumped up $57m to rectify this problem. That sewage from the city will be pumped to the Ludmilla Treatment Plant. The Ludmilla Treatment Plant will be upgraded and it will be state of the art. We will not burn the other solids as the CLP used to do; we will be capturing those and they will be put back into landfill. Scientific studies on the outfall of the treated sewage are under way. I have seen some of the studies which have occurred and there will be no impact on Darwin Harbour or the beaches for the public. It is a great, timely project.
There are other projects this government is investing in. The Wadeye Power Station is a great local project. As it expands, we will see that power station providing power to Palumpa and Peppimenarti. It is moving from diesel to gas, and moving out of that community as well. I have some good friends who live within a stone’s throw of that power station. When I visit them, you can hardly hear yourself talk to them. So, moving the power station out of the community, putting it on to gas, is a great project. That is something we have invested in and it is money well spent.
I thank the Chief Minister for bringing this statement forward. It has been this Chief Minister who has pursued the objective of getting major projects to the Northern Territory with the INPEX project, taking over from the great work Clare Martin did, and getting through all the issues. It is a complex project; lots of hurdles get thrown in your way. We have worked through them. We have focused our government, focused our public service on getting through the projects, valuing our environment, and valuing the social aspects of our society, and making this project come to fruition. There really is nothing in the way of the INPEX project.
With other projects which are coming online, there is much work going on. We look forward to further opportunities coming to light. Having the task force there and having the commitment of government can make these projects happen, instead of them deciding to go elsewhere.
Madam Speaker, I congratulate the Chief Minister on his statement. It is a timely statement. Next year is going to be very exciting. I look forward to the opportunities which exist for the people of the Northern Territory, and that includes everyone outside of Darwin as well. It is a real opportunity for people who live in remote areas to come in and do some work, earn your money to go home to support your family. It is a real opportunity to do that. For all the young people, including my son - he can get a job on the gas project and probably earn more money than his father. It is a great opportunity for young people to get onto these projects, because they will take them all around the world. Some people are challenged by that, but it is a great opportunity and it is occurring in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Ms McCARTHY (Local Government): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak today in support of the Chief Minister’s statement on the many exciting opportunities ahead as the Northern Territory continues to develop strong economic growth.
The Chief Minister has, in particular, highlighted some of the major projects scheduled to boost the Northern Territory economy and how we, as a Labor government, will work to ensure maximum benefit for all Territorians.
Territory 2030 sets an overarching framework for ensuring the Territory’s economic future is well planned, secure, and sustainable. This includes the resources, manufacturing, primary industries, tourism, and community sectors.
As Minister for Regional Development and Indigenous Development, I am working with government and industry colleagues to ensure we see benefits flowing from our major projects to the regional and remote areas of the Northern Territory, including the benefits of new and upgraded infrastructure and increased opportunities for economic participation, employment and training. Our government has always been very focused on creating a vision for the Northern Territory of that sense of equality and opportunity for all people, irrespective of where they live in the Northern Territory.
This is really headlined with 2030. In the area I have, which is A Working Future, the growth towns and the regional hubs will support smaller communities and outstations across the Territory. We have had this vision for a number of years, and have followed this vision through with the financial commitment in the previous Northern Territory budget when we allocated close to $1bn to our regions across the Northern Territory. One of the fundamental statements we made is how we turn around the decades of neglect across the regions, in particular for Indigenous people, and look at decades of prosperity. In order to do that, we need to tackle this issue from every angle.
There is no one specific cause; each area is affected by another: if you do not have a job, if you do not have a house, if you do not have enough rooms in a house, if you do not have education, if you do not have access to education, if you do not have a school or teachers to teach in the school. All these things are an holistic need for every single person across Australia, and our government has recognised and acted on the need to ensure there is a vision across our regions which allows us that sense of equality, as any citizen in this country, to have access to opportunity and choice to make decisions about our lives in employment, education, and housing without having to lose cultural identity.
As Minister for Regional Development and Indigenous Development, these are the key areas I particularly focus on. One example of where new major projects can value add with new infrastructure to the Territory can already be seen in the Larrakia Trade Training Centre. INPEX, and its Ichthys project joint venture participant, Total, committed $3m to the construction of the centre within the Darwin Business Park at East Arm. The centre opened in February this year and is run by Advanced Training International, with project partners Larrakia Development Corporation and Kormilda College. The centre provides industrial trade apprenticeship training and employment opportunities for all Territorians. An important aim of the centre is to create a pool of skilled workers needed in rural and remote parts of the Territory. This is a great example of where a project developer is directly contributing to the development of our social capital and providing flow-on benefits for the Territory.
We have heard in this House on a number of occasions, when my colleagues, especially my bush colleagues, have expressed the view that when we look at the potential for economic growth we need to also look at the opportunity for choice. If you are a resident living in Wadeye, Utopia, Ngukurr, or Maningrida, you should have the opportunity to fly in to Darwin to be involved in a major project and then fly home again. This is the vision we want to not only encourage, but also sustain, because we have local people across the Northern Territory who are very capable, if given the opportunity to excel in this areas of expertise. It is a great deal of work but we are not afraid of a lot of work or hard work, and we have invested the financial dollars to show our commitment.
The key aim is to create strong regional and remote economies underpinned by profitably sustainable and job-creating industries. A key focus of regional development is activities increasing economic development and work participation in Territory growth towns, as outlined in the local implementation plan for each town. This ranges from opportunities to link with major projects through to the development of small businesses.
The LIP process for the growth towns has been another step in this important foundation building for decades of prosperity. By that, I mean encouraging all groups to be working together and identifying how it is they wish to grow Maningrida, Numbulwar, Angurugu, Yuendumu, and Lajamanu. Again, this has to be about the way we are trying to encourage choice and opportunity. The way our government does it, yes, it could be accused of being very slow or of too much talking. However, we are about consultation and working with people, not over the top of them. We want to continuously work with people so, regardless of how these places grow, the people who live in them can be proud of the direction they are growing, and can very much have the input.
There are 29 remote service delivery sites across Australia; 15 of those are right here in the Northern Territory. I mention it because the remote service delivery sites are about the engagement with the Commonwealth. This engagement has always been crucial from an investment point of view, because we absolutely need the financial support. It also about looking at the partnership and relationships that take place between the federal government, the Northern Territory government, the local government, and the traditional owners, and people of the very places which we are trying to improve with them.
Of those 15 remote service delivery sites in the Northern Territory, we have signed with 13 of those growth towns. This document - as I said to all people involved in the putting together the LIP for their respective places - is by no means the perfect solution. It has to be a living document we are all accountable to - a document the people of Milingimbi can hold up and say to the Northern Territory government: ‘What has happened to our health clinic?’ Or we can say to the people of Milingimbi: ‘We have just opened a new science lab BER building with support from the Commonwealth. Why are the children not going to school?’ It is that kind encouraging relationship we are trying to have; of mutual respect but also expectation and responsibility.
People need to take responsibility for those things they are responsible for - and that includes the families and clan groups who need to take responsibility for encouraging their children to get to the schools; that the investment has been put into their respective places. At the same time, it is also reminding the Northern Territory and federal governments we have a responsibility to ensure those schools are well built, maintained, and staffed adequately to give the support to those children and families that should be provided, and is provided, elsewhere in the country.
Community-based Future Forums are also a key aspect of this work, and help showcase to local communities the possible, and a full picture of resources, employment, and development opportunities within each growth town. The Future Forums help to set a vision for what each growth town can have. The Future Forums are also about the next step; that is, engaging private enterprise. While we look at the local implementation plans and say this is about the partnership between local people on the ground in the growth town with the Territory, federal, and local governments and, in this case, the shires, the next step has to be about engaging private sector because, as we all know, governments cannot and should not be paying for everything.
This has to be about stimulation and encouragement into the private sector and breaking down any kind of barriers with that kind of negotiation and partnership that can, and does, occur across the rest of the country but, for reasons that are well-documented, have not occurred in the Northern Territory as well as they could have. That comes down to a number of things: cultural issues, but also a sense of security about the tenure of the land. That is something our government has also courageously embarked on; recognising if we are going to encourage investment and economic development in all these areas that these areas are located on nearly 50% of Aboriginal land. So, naturally, the tenure of those lands is very much in question regarding private investment.
What we have done is continue to work with the land councils. It is an imperfect road, simply because it is the first time in the history of this nation there has been a real attempt to try to look at the ownership of land and the financial benefits that go to those who own that land. It is a courageous step by our government to take regarding the rental and leasing issue with the land councils across the Northern Territory.
Across the regions of the Territory, there are many examples of the resources industry strongly contributing to regional economies. As the Chief Minister has said, there are a number of existing projects that generate construction, service, and maintenance activity. These include ERA’s Ranger uranium mine, Alcan’s Gove bauxite and alumina plant, GEMCO’s manganese mine, Xstrata’s MRM lead and zinc mine, and Newmont’s Tanami gold mine. Ensuring agreements for all major projects include Indigenous employment and training, as well as establishment of local business opportunities is another crucial step in ensuring local people benefit from major projects in the Northern Territory.
I take an example here of the McArthur River Mine. Earlier this week, I attended the funeral of a very well-respected Gudanji Elder who fought long and hard to see the benefits of his country and the richness that comes from the economic resources of his land flow on to his children, grandchildren, and to the clan groups of that region. He also stood for not only the economic benefits of what could come from his country, but the protection and maintenance of the cultural and spiritual significance of his country.
That is something our government recognises is crucial regarding the identity of Indigenous people of the Northern Territory: that relationship to land and culture. It is one we will continuously wrestle with. Our government has always maintained the importance of ownership and identity of land for Indigenous people. That is our starting point. We have always proceeded to negotiate, not litigate, and that has been an extraordinary step in the history of the Northern Territory and this parliament - that a Labor government has consistently maintained it is important to negotiate, not litigate.
As a result of this Gudanji leader making a stand for his people, there have been significant developments in opportunities for the people of that region - opportunities that would not have occurred and now do. They were opportunities that had to be examined, supported, and worked through concerning the community benefits package for that area. What we see in Borroloola today is the goal of the strategies to sustain and grow the Indigenous workforce at McArthur River Mine above 20% of the total permanent employee base. Part of the strategy is a trainee program that provides nine career pathways within the organisation in areas such as mining operations, environmental management, and administration and support services such as catering. This is the kind of investment in local people and building the regional economy from a major project that can make a real difference to the lives of people who live there.
Another example is in Arnhem on Groote Eylandt where the Anindilyakwa Land Council, with the federal government, Northern Territory government, East Arnhem Shire and GEMCO, through the regional partnership agreement, has committed to provide a training and mentoring program to the value of $1.5m for Indigenous Groote Eylandt and Bickerton people for employment into GEMCO. Groote Eylandters are also developing economic opportunities beyond the mine and are venturing into tourism and other cultural-based operations. This is another great example of the springboard that major project investment can provide.
The Yugul Mangi Aboriginal Development Association received $1.5m from the Aboriginal Benefits Account to establish a mobile concrete batching plant in Ngukurr. The grant aims to provide employment and economic development opportunities, including those arising from government investment in remote housing. It includes funding for plant, equipment, vehicles and storage facilities.
Ensuring that workers are retained and have ongoing employment opportunities flowing from major projects is crucial to the success of our regions, particularly for Indigenous employees. I was recently at Yulara for the Indigenous Economic Development Taskforce, a task force that comes under my portfolio of Regional Development and is chaired by Ron Moroney. One of the reasons I instructed the task force to have its next meeting at Yulara was to get a full briefing from Yulara and the Indigenous Land Corporation about the $300m investment into Yulara. The things we want to ensure comes of such an extraordinary amount of investment is (a) it is successful, and (b) there is not only success for the local people, the Anangu, and others who call that region home, but there are flow-on benefits clearly to the businesses of Central Australia and the Northern Territory as a whole.
While in Yulara, we were given many briefings about the plans of the place and how they really do aspire to make it a national Indigenous hospitality training centre. They talked about the employment of local people currently, and they are good numbers. I did say to them it is not about how many people they have now, because there is always enthusiasm at the beginning of a new project - whether it is a new course or a new employment project, you usually do have quite a number of people who sign up for it. The real challenge is whether you keep them. Do they stay on for the whole time? Are they there 12 months, two years, three years, or five years later? What kind of long-term employment strategies are in place to maintain a consistent workforce so that employees - whether they are from the Anangu people or from other areas in Central Australia - can take the wealth they earn back to their families as a flow-on effect over a period of time?
This is the real challenge that faces the Northern Territory as we grow into the future, and in our partnership with major investment and major projects; that it is not about the first three months and saying: ‘Yes, we have 200 people, isn’t that wonderful’, it is about saying in three years time: ‘We still have 200 people and they are still the same 200 people’.
Clearly, with the attrition rate, you will not always have the 100%. However, we would rather have out of that 200 people at least 150 stay on, knowing you will lose a certain number of people for different reasons. That is the challenge: how we maintain and sustain that local Indigenous employment at every level, and help them move up the ladder to those opportunities that are very much there for them.
I also said to …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move an extension of time for the member to complete her remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Ms McCARTHY: I thank the member for Barkly. It is quite exciting being able to share these stories.
At Yulara, they are looking at expanding their tourism opportunities to give tourists other added events while they are there. For example, establishing a golf course was on their minds and in their plans, also looking at setting up so they can cater for conferences. All of these things are ahead of them.
In regard to the structure of the resort at Yulara, they are also considering some major renovation and improvements. I told them that in Alice Springs there is work going on in the town camps and there are people employed in our communities across the Centre who are part of the building program. Regarding those people who have built any of those houses in the town camps in Alice Springs or who are involved in any of the building development around Central Australia, they have to ensure there is a connection between providing employment for them to these opportunities that are now beginning to open up in the Uluru/Yulara region.
That is something I will be keeping an eye on, and will be working with my colleague, the Minister for Central Australia, to ensure there is that continual flow-on so, when one project stops, we have skilled workers who are starting to progress and move on to other areas. Those people in Central Australia may wish to fly to Darwin to be part of any fly-in/fly-out. These are the opportunities that should be possible if people wish to pursue them.
In the tourism sector, new workers are coming to the Territory for these developments. Visitors who travel to the Territory to see friends and relatives spend $110m here, and have spent that in the 2010-11 year. Additionally, people residing in the Northern Territory took 124 000 holiday trips within the Northern Territory. So, it is an incredibly lucrative sector of the tourism industry.
Once INPEX’s final investment decision is made, we will be working through opportunities to sell NT holidays to INPEX workers and their families. The $30bn project will also stimulate investment in hotels and other major tourism infrastructure across the Top End. A number of significant hotel brands have identified Darwin as a destination in which they would like to expand their network, and several are actively pursuing potential partnership with local developers.
We recently saw the announcement of Darwin as one of the top 10 cities to visit in 2012. We have to capitalise on all things that will help encourage those projects to the Northern Territory.
Major projects offer opportunity for businesses to diversify their tourism accommodation assets into new markets such as workers’ accommodation. I alert the House, for example, that the Cavenagh Hotel has removed its 85 rooms from the tourism accommodation market to provide accommodation for Serco employees. This diversification provides dual benefits of maintaining returns for property owners, especially during the current tourism downturn, and the challenges we are facing, which I have expressed in this House on a number of occasions. It also encourages refurbishments which will refresh these properties when they return to the tourism pool.
The Chief Minister provided information on the importance of the oil and gas industry to Aberdeen. Annual passenger figures at Aberdeen airport doubled between 1987 and 2006 when they exceeded three million a year for the first time. Aberdeen is Europe’s busiest commercial heliport.
Developing the oil and gas industry in the Territory provides opportunities to expand the Darwin international aviation hub, something we have been very persistent about and committed to. In my two years as Tourism minister, I have worked very closely with Tourism NT, our Aviation Director, Justin Vaughan, who does a tremendous job in tourism and the aviation sector in working with the many different airlines and with Darwin International Airport, and with the team at both Darwin and Alice Springs.
It is a key target for the Territory 2030 strategy in expanding the Darwin aviation hub. In the past two years, Jetstar has spent over $90m with local suppliers of fuel, catering, and ground handling, and other suppliers, to support its hubbing operations. In order to cater for growth across the diverse areas of business events, corporate fly in/fly out workers, and leisure travel, we will need a diverse mix of aviation options and choices. Improving competition on aviation sectors to the Northern Territory is an absolute priority for the Henderson government.
Our other key focus is on encouraging a dual service international carrier to Darwin. I recently met with China Southern Airlines and Cathay Pacific to discuss opportunities for a new service. Tourism NT is continuing this work by demonstrating the business case for sustainable services. The Ichthys project will be a key facet in the encouragement of a major international airline to Darwin. Even last week’s visit by the United States President, Barack Obama, and the announcement he brought of the United States’ interests in developing and increasing its Defence relationship with Australia is pivotal to the way we market the Northern Territory, the Darwin International Airport hub, and the opportunities for major international carriers to seriously consider their growth in this region.
We have renewed our business events strategy by focusing on an holistic approach that leverages key Territory strength industries, including renewable energy, mining, oil and gas, remote and emergency health, and desert knowledge. Extensive work is being done to demonstrate the capacity of the Northern Territory from a technical perspective, as well as build commercial reasons for businesses to hold events in the Northern Territory.
As part of the push with China, I have built on that groundwork in my recent visit by announcing two charter flights from China to Darwin in January next year. They are part of a major campaign to promote the Northern Territory in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. Chinese tourists will be able to choose from a number of itineraries newly created by the Chinese wholesalers, Yueqiao Travel that will have stops at Uluru, Watarrka, Alice Springs and/or Darwin. All of these things we have ahead of us.
Madam Speaker, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to support the Chief Minister’s statement. I see 2012 being an important year for the people of the Northern Territory.
Mr McCARTHY (Lands and Planning): Madam Speaker, it is with pleasure that I add my support to the Chief Minister’s statement on maximising the opportunity for major projects for the benefit of the whole of the Northern Territory. Is it not a wonderful time we are in? If I reflect, the new millennium signalled the change. There was another big change in the Northern Territory I saw with the new millennium; there was a different government in the saddle. They were certainly hooking the spurs into the Northern Territory to move it along. There has been an incredible story so far, with some amazing benchmarks along the way.
This statement by the Chief Minister is telling Territorians it is another major jump we are going to make. It is another major milestone, and it needs good planning, it needs to be prepared and planned for. This is not only in infrastructure, but also very clear and strategic fiscal strategies. It is the managing of infrastructure, budgets and resources, and positioning the Territory so it can take, and will gain, the best advantages from the private sector development as well.
I am a bit surprised there have not been many contributions from the other side of the House ...
Ms Purick: There have been none.
Mr McCARTHY: I have just been advised by the opposition there have been no contributions.
I will talk about the greater Darwin Land Use Plan - a big body of work from government I am very proud to be involved with. I suppose if we want to make comparisons with policy, the other side dusted off a 20-year-old document and trotted it out, and we never heard another word about it. That, to me, is not good planning. Our government is certainly planning and preparing for what is the major next jump for the Territory; that is, not only in resources, but also equity across the Northern Territory, and the development of all areas, which includes all Territorians.
It was wonderful to watch the whole episode of a visit from the President of the United States to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory and, really, what is the capital of northern Australia. To see that unfold was fabulous. I chose Borroloola and Kiana Station to visit at that time. It was great to be engaged with constituents in Borroloola and on Kiana Station, and they were very interested in the visit. We had some interesting conversations which related to the whys and wherefores of a United States President visiting Darwin in the Northern Territory. It was good to be able to throw around ideas about Darwin being a very important place and that Darwin is strategically a very important place in its position in northern Australia and the Northern Territory. The President of the United States recognises that the relationship with Australia and the Northern Territory is an important one, that this area of the world, strategically, is very important. It is very important in the resources and development it will generate, and it is also very important in its political stability. Constituents were very interested in that; I continually tell the story.
Being able to speak about a statement which has been delivered by the Chief Minister is an important part of my work. I will take this message back to my constituents. In relation to growth, it is an important story. I represent Barkly, I live in Tennant Creek; we are very much a small part of the Territory in population, but very much a potential part of the growth the Chief Minister talks about.
It is important that we all participate in this debate and, as I said, I am a little disappointed there is not much coming from the opposition. I am very interested in their ideas about growth for the Northern Territory and what they see. I am very interested to see that non-participation means, to me, I assume, there is no communication with their electorates; there is no going back and talking about what happens in this place, and the important debates which take place in parliament.
I will give you an example of part of my job. This is a story I am telling in Barkly about what happens in this place. It is a story constituents will be reading this week in the local and regional newspaper. It starts off:
What an incredible figure that is:
The story went on, and those opposite are most welcome to take that back to their electorates and share it with their constituents, because it is an important story about what government is doing about growth, which reflects what is happening with the Territory and what is a potential for Territorians.
The Territory is no stranger to growth spurts. It is very much a teenager in an economic sense, but it is now blossoming into adulthood. One of those teenage stages we saw was about 10 years ago when we saw the change in the economy triggered by the ConocoPhillips LNG project at Wickham Point. The Territory learnt many lessons from that step change. We now understand, as a government, that there is more to come; that these projects will be substantially bigger, and will be ongoing. They also move the focus offshore as well with great opportunities for capturing growth, development, and economic returns for Territorians.
That is why this government has been so proactive in preparing for the opportunities before us, both in promoting the Territory as a place for major projects to establish, and in supporting Territory businesses to grow their capabilities and target opportunities. We are working to ensure all Territorians benefit from a bright future. I suppose while the Country Liberal Party continues to sit back and throw negative comments from the sideline, it compares to what Territorians should see and hear clearly; that this government is about getting on with the job. We are at work and we are acting on our plans for the future.
I will share a quick anecdote. I was in a radio station this morning sitting with three young Territorians. They were conducting a radio program, and they were positive, funny, and inspiring. It was a really good workplace. As I left, I started to reflect on my journey in here to Parliament House. I thought what a fantastic workplace that was, where everyone was really engaged, with purpose, with meaning, and enjoying their work. I was heading off to a workplace where I knew I was going to cop abuse. I was going to be in an environment where I would be abused, and it would go on all day and into the night - and it goes on day after day. The thing that really alarms me is that the abuse is the same sort of abuse I witnessed in here three years ago. The abuse has not changed. It has turned a bit more personal, but that does not worry me. If anyone understands my life, well, they are wasting their time with personal abuse. I roll with punches from my life experience.
I really do now question the opposition and whether this strategy is worth pursuing any longer, because it really is not gaining them any points. It does not contribute to debate. In political point scoring, I think the Territory is a bit tired of that approach and the gutter politics that continues to masquerade as the championing of opposition and keeping the government accountable. I will be showing my grandchildren, and they will be showing their grandchildren the Parliamentary Record, and they will be able to deconstruct it. I hope I produce a couple of authors out of the family, because they might like to do a bit of a research project on the social history of the Northern Territory. I will be encouraging them to read the Parliamentary Record very carefully of this term of government, to reflect on all those wonderful contributions from the opposition.
In the words of a learned colleague of mine, I digress. I will get back to supporting the Chief Minister’s statement and statements about preparing for growth.
As a government, we understand that small business is the backbone of our economy, and opportunities flow from major projects for business to be involved directly, as not only subcontractors and suppliers, but also major players, firms, and companies. There is no doubt we have seen some great developments in the last few years and the last decade. That ConocoPhillips project had a significant impact on the local workforce. In addition to injecting significant growth and opportunities into our economy, it has also provided a real challenge for many businesses to maintain their workforce. We are saying that it is not going to be easy, but we are up for challenges.
The Chief Minister continually leads a united team with that mantra of take on the challenges, work as a united front, and deliver for Territorians because, at the end of the day, you want to look back on a political career that shows you delivered for the Territory.
With this lesson in mind, the Henderson government is clearly focused on building the skills in our current workforce, growing our workforce, and attracting additional workers to the Territory. Speaking of growing our workforce, we have heard from a number of members on the government team of the importance of growing our Indigenous workforce across the Territory, and providing prosperity and equity across the regions that will deliver real outcomes for the future in not only health, but education, wellbeing and prosperity.
The government’s infrastructure program is a major driver of the Territory economy and a great supporter of the Territory’s construction industry. The infrastructure program helps ease the pressure and bridge the gap between the boom cycles of major projects providing contracts that keep the Territory’s workforce in the Territory.
I have been made aware of this important fiscal strategy that has not only been adopted in the Northern Territory, but nationally and, to a larger degree, internationally, where the finance sector says in tough times, if you want to feed the economy and distribute wealth and opportunity in an equitable sense, you must stimulate construction, keep people in jobs, and concentrate on not only infrastructure that supports good social outcomes and recreational outcomes, but infrastructure that is strategically targeted to support development.
When you can see good developments on the horizon - and the Territory horizon is cluttered with opportunities for development - this government has taken that opportunity to develop infrastructure that will be supportive of these major projects. It translates, in fiscal terms, to record infrastructure budgets of $1.8m in Budget 2010-11, backed up with another record budget the following year purely planned to stimulate, to create jobs, to support existing jobs, and support an infrastructure program that will benefit Territorians into the future.
When we talk about infrastructure, it is across the board not only in key services such as roads, schools, hospitals and community safety, but also in recreation infrastructure, that important part of maintaining good community wellbeing and sense of community that makes us tick and binds us together, that adds that extra layer into a healthy society. The Northern Territory is a great society, a great bunch of diverse people – fresh, exciting and challenging, with a great sense of humour. This government’s strategic investment is looking at all aspects of the Territory community.
On average, about 95% of all tenders awarded by the Department of Construction and Infrastructure go to Territory businesses. We have a clear focus on Territory businesses. Using September 2011 as a snapshot, the Department of Construction and Infrastructure awarded 100% in its public quotes between $50 000 and $200 000 to Territory businesses. The Department of Construction and Infrastructure awarded 94% of its tenders valued at more than $200 000 to Territory businesses. That translates to locals and is the way to do business in the Territory.
In regard to roads, preparing for and supporting the growth of major projects and the Territory economy as a whole, the Territory government invests strategically in our road network. This year, we are delivering $375m worth of road projects, up 213% since the last millenia under a different management, a different regime. It not only reflects a new millennium but reflects, once again, the philosophy and the strategic approach by this government to setting up infrastructure that will support new projects.
One of those projects is the port. It is important that the Territory’s road network, the arteries of our economy, concentrates on moving resources from mines to port, cattle to export; supporting the movement of goods and services to Territorians and supporting our great tourism industry.
With 36 000 km of roads in the Territory network, 22 000 km is managed by the government. It is a job that we cannot do alone. That is why this government’s sound working relationship with the Australian government is central in securing funding for our road network. It is a partnership that supports significant roadworks for the benefit of Territorians, particularly in remote areas. To highlight some examples over the last five years, more than $21m has been invested in the Arnhem Highway. We know the Arnhem Highway fits perfectly the policy of beef, mining, and community. That is why this government is investing in that highway, as well as many other highways.
We have invested more than $29m into the Tanami Road over the last five years. Everyone who understands the bush knows that important key link for mining and pastoral industries. That work includes sealing priority sections. As I said recently to the Northern Territory Road Transport Association dinner’s audience, under my watch there have been 4 km more of the Tanami Road sealed ...
Ms Purick: About time!
Mr McCARTHY: People may scoff at and laugh at that but, as I said - and I am sure the road transport operators agree with it - it is 4 km more than last year.
This is a strategic policy; this supports development. We have projects we can talk about such as the $7m McArthur River bridge which is a growth town project - an infrastructure project in our A Working Future policy. There is work on the Daly River bridge that is currently under way. The Cullen River bridge is nearing completion. We can talk about that major roads infrastructure project of Tiger Brennan Drive and the Berrimah Road rail overpass.
It was wonderful to be at the Berrimah rail overpass the other day, talking to the contractors about the importance of that infrastructure - once again, strategic infrastructure that links the port with major arterial roads and the rest of the Territory. Those contractors are doing a fantastic job. I asked what was next, and they were very confident to tell me about the next project they will be moving on to, which is part of the Marine Supply Base project. That is another very strategic investment by the Territory government in setting the opportunities for the future.
If we talk about the East Arm port and recognise the growing strategic importance of trade and trade routes, we must then focus on our oil and gas sector in the north. In …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! I move that the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McCARTHY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Johnston.
The East Arm port is an incredible story. In 2010, we saw the release of the Darwin Port Corporation’s East Arm Wharf Facilities Master Plan to 2030. The plan provides a strategic framework for the growth of the port to 2030, covering its strategic land and sea areas. It is part of $150m infrastructure program to upgrade the port’s facilities so it is better positioned to meet future demand from a growing trade market, particularly in the resources sector.
It is incredible to see the Land Development Corporation’s flyover when it markets this precinct - which is what it really is - to the rest of the world. The flyover shows a vision of that whole area growing, factories and businesses rising out of the ground, the port infrastructure growing, the reclamation work delivering new hardstand area, and the Marine Supply Base. You can just see a new, state-of-the-art, innovative, commercial precinct that is taking shape and capturing a whole new level of economy that is not only onshore, but is servicing all those industries that are operating offshore in that important oil and gas sector.
It is a proud moment for the Territory, with the strategic investment from an infant project basically designed as a container port, to now a multiuser facility with real aspiration to be world-class and to provide that gateway to the rest of the world. I have very much enjoyed working with all those incredible people at the Darwin Port Corporation who strive every day for excellence. That is not only with the MUA guys who are on the job on the wharf, but the admin people and the executives - all with that same outlook which is: this is the true gateway for the Territory’s growth, and that growth will deliver prosperity and a fantastic future for their kids and their kids after that.
In the Barkly electorate, the Bootu Creek manganese mine, about 120 km north of Tennant Creek, has recently commissioned a secondary processing plant. That expansion gives it capacity to produce one million tonnes per annum of manganese ore for export through the port. It is great to understand those transport logistics. When I worked with a group of alternative education program students - I had better use the formal terminology - we worked with BJB rail maintenance contractors. We were doing work on that rail spur and saw all those transport logistics where Bootu Creek was shipping manganese to the port.
Since then, Bootu Creek has expanded its operation, employed more people - employed more local people from Tennant Creek and more Indigenous people - and it shifts that manganese to the port. In this job, a very privileged job, I get to see the other end of that supply chain where it is stockpiled at East Arm and then exported to deliver real economic benefits for the Northern Territory.
The member for Arnhem, a Borroloola local, spoke very proudly about the McArthur River Mine and the relationships the traditional owners and the Indigenous community there have with the mine. The recent passing of that elder was a very sad occasion because that elder’s wisdom was also part of this government’s policy; that is, you have to use opportunities to deliver prosperity, but you do it with sensitivity. Yesterday, I was part of a contingent from our government - three local members; the members for Stuart, Arnhem, and myself as the member for Barkly – which met traditional owners, the Mara people, who are involved in the development of a potential iron ore project in the Limmen Bight area of the Barkly electorate. Those traditional owners, with their families and friends, came to Parliament House to present a petition.
One of those respected elders took me aside and quietly spoke to me and said: ‘You have to understand the message we want you to tell is not about banning this project, it is about supporting this project because we know this project will deliver prosperity and outcomes for our kids and their kids after that. But, you have to be sensitive about the way you do business’. That sensitivity was around protecting sacred sites, acknowledging Aboriginal cultural traditions and places and, importantly, understanding and acknowledging ceremony and ceremonial obligations. Not only did I take that advice, and my colleagues understood that advice, as Indigenous Territorians, but it was also great to see the proponents of this project, Western Desert Resources, have also accepted that advice.
It is about working together, which is a fantastic way to do business. It is great to see it from the grassroots right to the big end of town where people can share their aspirations and deliver real outcomes for the Territory and for Territory people in a sense of cooperation and mutual respect. It is a pleasure to be part of a government that focuses on doing business like that with all Territorians. We are good listeners, we do take on board the concerns of Territorians, and we are prepared to work our way through challenges. Yesterday was a time in space I will remember for the rest of my life. Not only because there were some young people out there who I had the pleasure of working with as a schoolteacher, but there were respected elders who were giving me as a local member, our government, and the rest of the Territory, a very clear message that they are also open for business and also want to be part of this growth the Chief Minister talks about, but they want to give us good advice about how to do it sensitively.
Another great story from the Barkly is Emerson Resources, an exploration company that has now been working for about four years and has invested more than $18m in exploration over the past three years in exploring for gold and copper mineralisation in the Tennant Creek goldfields. Emerson Resources should be particularly commended for their relationship with the local community. One aspect of that is their work with the Clontarf Academy at the Barkly College. There are a number of students from the Clontarf program who go to work after school at Emerson Resources. That exploration company should be commended for that, because it goes back to an age-old tradition of a high school kid having a job after school and making some pocket money.
There is even more at stake than that, because the Clontarf Foundation is supporting these students to get an education, to stabilise their attendance, and to build on good educational outcomes. They are also introducing them to the workplace, to the real world, and making contacts with important elements of our business sector that will then offer jobs, offer a future and, basically, create a whole normalising of saying to locals: ‘You guys live here, you grew up here, you can be part of this as well, and our company values that’.
Minemakers Limited, with their Wonarah phosphate deposit, are the same. They are currently working on an MOU with a big Indian company. They are telling the same story in the community: it is about jobs, economy, getting that product to market, and about how locals can be involved in that.
I have run out of time, Madam Deputy Speaker. There is so much more I can talk about to do with my portfolio areas, but I would like to conclude in saying I thank the Chief Minister and members of government for working as a great team together. We are in a really good space. This is an exciting space for the Territory. It is about the whole of the Territory, which is what is most exciting for me. This time around, the next big jump in this new millennium under a Henderson Labor government, will deliver for all Territorians.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement about gearing up for major projects, about the 21st century being the century of north Australia. We are in a very exciting time. It is quite evident from the people you meet and what they like to talk about. I was out visiting homes just this weekend. There were questions at the door, as there always are, about major projects.
When you talk major projects, the one that always comes to most people’s minds is INPEX. They want to know what INPEX is: ‘What is it? What is it going to mean to me?’ It is one of the biggest projects in Australia’s history. It will be one of the biggest pipelines in the world. One thing I find often helps people understand the scope or the size of INPEX is a statistic the Chief Minister once told me, which is that one of those LNG tankers that leave Darwin to go to Japan has enough gas, enough energy, on board to fuel 240 000 homes for one year, which is quite an extraordinary statistic. We are going to be sending many LNG tankers from Darwin to Japan. It is a huge project.
However, most people you talk to realise they are not going to be a primary beneficiary, they are not necessarily going to be working for INPEX, they are going to be secondary beneficiaries. They want to talk about the challenges, the opportunities, and how they will benefit. All that is going to be in changes to the area in which they live. Whether it is upgraded roads, schools or hospital, those benefits are going to flow over a period of many years. These projects are not one-year wonders, they are here to run and run and run.
There are some very big logistics and very large income streams around these projects. There are, obviously, going to be people in Darwin - this is what we want to see - who will be working on these projects. We have a very capable Northern Territory Industry Capability Network whose responsibility is matching business to business, working out what we can do, how you can do it better, what you need to do to change your business in order to be able to tender, compete or undertake work for people like INPEX.
We realise for some of the things INPEX will be using there might be one factory in the world that produces that bit. There is, obviously, R&M that can be done here, we need to do here. INPEX is conducting very good briefings for business and the NTICN also takes on much of that work in matching business for major projects so we get those benefits locally.
Another really exciting development is the work Charles Darwin University is doing to ensure we are skilling and training people to work on these projects - and the Chief Minister covered that. That was one of the outcomes from his meeting people in Aberdeen - some of the lessons they learnt from their boom. They have gone through events similar to ours. They are much further down the track and it is important to learn those lessons to ensure we make the most of these opportunities.
Getting back to what I was touching on at the start, those things people want to see, want to know about - as people often say, politics is local. When you are knocking on someone’s door saying hello and are talking to them about local issues, they want to know local outcomes. Many people are interested in seeing what is going to happen to the inner city of Darwin over the next few years. You can already see the regeneration that is occurring at the moment; it is quite evident down the Stuart Highway in Stuart Park, for example, starting with the upgrade of Kerry Holden and the most recent development of Officeworks on the old Britz car park rental site. There is, obviously, a very clear regeneration happening through the inner city of Darwin which is what happens when you have a growing city.
We have major projects on the horizon. Businesses are confident, people are confident about where the Territory is going, and they want to make an investment into the future of Darwin because we have a very exciting future. It is more than just the people I visit at home who want to talk about this. Members of the Property Council of Australia were interested enough in what was happening in the inner city of Darwin, what our plans were. In some respects, the minister touched on the town plan. They want to know what our plans are for regeneration, how we are complementing it, how we are complementing private sector investment.
They invited me to talk to the Property Council of Australia. The Leader of the Opposition was there; it was great to see him taking an interest. He might have been there for the speed networking afterwards. It was a great night and I was happy to talk to the Property Council of Australia about the regeneration of Parap, what is happening in the local area, and how we are planning for the future.
As we grow, as more major projects come online, more people are going to want to live and work in Darwin and we need to ensure we are planning for that. One of the real challenges, outcomes, consequences, or opportunities of these major projects is growth and how we handle that. The Chief Minister touched on it towards the end of his statement. It is something you have to think about when you are gearing up for major projects.
In some respects, our Housing the Territory strategy has four key elements that go a long way to addressing accelerated land release, making the housing market more competitive and redeveloping public housing and affordable rental. That is happening in my electorate. Parap is probably the best example of many of those elements coming together. What is happening in Parap is straightforward: more people want to live and work in our inner city, and Parap is the best place to meet that demand.
Our shopping village embraces Caf Parap, Cyclone, Parap Fine Foods and Saffrron. It is a short walk to Bogarts and the Railway Club. You can get a beer at the Parap Tavern and quality art at Nomad. It is the greatest electorate in the Territory. It is a cultural hub. Around the village we have a town plan that has allowed people to invest into that village, from accommodation at Quest to office space at Arnhemica and units at Wirrina.
The member for Nelson is putting his hand up to say he loves his electorate. I am sure we all love our electorates, but I am particularly fond of mine. More people want to live and work in Parap, and it is the vibe. It is a short drive to the CBD, East Point is around the corner, and we have community clubs like the sailing club and more. I find it hard to believe people would live anywhere else.
I always find it interesting when I talk with people about Parap - what is happening, what it offers now, what it will offer – they often refer to a personal inner city experiences they have had in another large cities – Subiaco, Arnhemica, Norwood, or Paddington. It goes beyond people’s understanding of the importance of a thriving inner city, of having an alternative to the CBD. The fact is people enjoy it; they have an emotional connection to their inner cities. They enjoy eating, drinking and shopping there; they like living and working there. That is why, as Darwin has grown, we have seen the regeneration of Parap and an investment by business, locals, and government - as much an emotional investment as it is a physical investment. People love the place and they want to see it get better.
We want Parap to be a better place to live, work, and raise a family. We want to see people living and working around the village, supporting the village. As you cascade out from the village, you move into quiet suburbia. I believe that is a very important planning principle; putting people within walking distance of the shopping village to encourage and create a better atmosphere at the shopping village, better services, better customer experience, better provision of retail and dining. Then, as you move away from the shopping village, you get outside within walking distance and move back into quiet suburbia. That is what is happening in Parap. It is not a revolutionary concept; the more people who live and work in and around the village, the better the village will be.
Parap traders are thinking about how they can take advantage of our weather, the amazing space we have available in the village, and the things people want to do in Parap. This is an exciting time. People now have the opportunity to decide what some of those things are: do we have a mid-week fruit and veg market; do we use the Parap square where the markets are for piazza style dining? I am confident we are going to see outdoor dining in the evening in the Dry. We should be able to eat al fresco in Parap. I believe that is something that is definitely on the cards.
We are going to see more emerging, such as the inaugural Parap Festival where we had people, bands, and the Parap Primary School Choir play live in the square. These are some of the things that will emerge as Darwin grows, we gear up for major projects, and as we develop our plans for an inner city. These are some of the exciting things you will see emerge from that: enough people to support some really positive community entertainment, options, and lifestyle choices.
While the traders think about those opportunities, we have plans, as a government, for Parap to complement what is happening naturally in Parap. What can we do to make Parap a better place to live, work, and raise a family? There are many government strategies which are being met in Parap; things we have said are important for Darwin as we go forward. We want to provide better public housing. Medium density public housing complexes do not work. We have a responsibility to do better for tenants, neighbours, and businesses. I have really enjoyed working with the minister for Public Housing on a range of things but, in particular, what we are doing on Parap Road.
We want more seniors housing. In public housing, we have around 600 seniors living in three- and four-bedroom homes through Darwin. We need to provide them with a quality alternative which then frees those homes up for families. I believe that is a really important policy challenge for us, and it is something we need in Parap. Regarding more affordable housing, we know people can be priced out of the inner city market, either renting or buying. One of the great things about growing up in Darwin is we all come from different places. I loved that when I went to school in Darwin; I had the full spectrum of the community in my classroom. We do not need to lose that. We do not want to lose workers from our CBD and our inner city. I have to say that was probably an experience I enjoyed going to school in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, as well: the mix in the classroom was fantastic. I believe it is something rather special about the Northern Territory - more than just the education we see, but the social experiences you have in the Northern Territory classrooms are fantastic.
We want to use our green space smarter. We are a beautiful tropical city with a great deal of green space, but how much of it is actually active space? That is something we are looking to change in Parap. We want to provide community parking and better public transport. Traffic and on-street parking are known issues which emerge when more people want to live and work somewhere. I believe it is important we get ahead of that problem that is evident.
There are a few things which are happening at the moment, such as the exceptional development permit around 3 Parap Road, to address future parking needs. We want to get ahead of that problem, and I believe there are some very important steps being made in that respect.
We have plans for all these things. We know more people want to live and work in Parap, and we want Parap to be a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
I should point out, when we talk about the Parap Shopping Village, in many respects that services Fannie Bay too. Many people are quite surprised how close to Fannie Bay the Parap boundaries are. There is only a block difference, and many things in Parap are actually services for Fannie Bay, such as the Parap Primary School. There is, obviously, not a Fannie Bay primary school. The Parap Primary School services families living in the Parap and Fannie Bay areas. Much of what is in Parap is actually a service hub for people living in Fannie Bay or Ludmilla as well.
Before we get to our plans, let us talk some numbers briefly. Over the last few years, we have seen over 400 units approved and over 4000 m of office space approved. Southern Cross Care has recently completed their 65-bed aged care facility at the old Waratah Oval site and is currently developing the retirement village. This will provide 49 retirement villas and 36 flexi-care apartments. That is providing more and better retirement options for senior Territorians because we want to keep our senior Territorians. We do not want them to leave the Territory.
Unfortunately, my grandparents have had to recently leave Alice Springs because they required healthcare in Adelaide that is not currently available to them in Alice Springs. I want to see a future in the Territory where they do not have to leave, where they can choose to stay, and we are slowly working towards that. Buildings like the Southern Cross aged care retirement village in Darwin are one step towards that, so other people’s grandparents in the future do not have to leave the Territory.
Obviously, I wish my grandparents all the best. They had their 60th wedding anniversary the other day. All the family went to Adelaide. I think half the population of Alice Springs left for the weekend. They had all the aunts and uncles, and most of the cousins. Apparently, it was a conversational nightmare - for those people who know my aunts, uncles, and grandparents; they talk a lot. It sounds like it was a fantastic weekend. However, I am digressing.
Ross Smith Guesthouse is gone. It was on Parap Road opposite the primary school. It was 42 units, short-term accommodation, and mainly single men. Going up in its place is Kingston Green, with 48 two-bedroom units and 72 three-bedroom units. The Quest Apartments has 42 serviced apartments that opened for business at the start of the Dry. My advice is bookings have been very good. I know quite a few people who have stayed at those Quest apartments and they have said very positive things. Providing a serviced apartment in the inner city is a fantastic idea. They are next door to the old Parap Village Serviced Apartments, which have always done good business. It is something that is very necessary in the inner city.
Fred’s Fuel on the corner of Gregory Street and Parap Road has been replaced by offices built by Norbuilt, providing 2279 m of office space. Next door to them is even more office space, and opposite is Arnhemica, providing 1900 m of office space. As people know, the Department of Lands and Planning is moving there mid-January, I think, which is part of another government plan about trying to provide opportunities for people to work near where they live and trying to provide – well, there are a whole lot of reasons for this - but we have a very broad policy about trying to provide more work opportunities for people outside the CBD so, over time, people can have opportunities to work closer to where they live. Not all businesses have to be in the CBD.
Perhaps the most important point with those numbers and these developments is there were no rezones. This is all as to the original town plan, which is a rather interesting point. We have a town plan. We have a discussion paper out at the moment talking about the future town plan we need moving towards 2030. However, we do have a town plan at the moment, and that town plan is serving the inner city quite well. All I just talked about happening around Parap and Fannie Bay is happening as per the original town plan. As we are growing at the moment, we are being able to accommodate that within the town plan. We are seeing a natural planned evolution of Parap.
What are we doing? Parap is as famous for the markets on a Saturday morning as it is for social order problems along Parap Road. We want to keep that which makes Parap special while fixing that which is a problem and meeting the emerging needs of the area. Stepping back, we should look first at what government owns along Parap Road. We, basically, have all of Parap Road between the shops and the Stuart Highway on the left-hand side, and it is all essentially public housing, apart from Arnhemica. We think we have that mix wrong. Obviously, these are decisions made over a large number of years that have accumulated this level of public housing.
Medium-density public housing does not work. While hard to measure, there can be times where there is a nexus between Territory Housing tenants and visitors that can create a problem along Parap Road. That is not unique to Parap Road; that is something that happens in many parts of the Territory. We want to find a way to overcome what is, essentially, a very large Territory problem. We believe we have a responsibility to find a better way to do public housing; one that looks after our tenants and, by extension, their neighbours and other local businesses.
The first stage of our plan was to redevelop Wirrina. If anyone has driven through the area lately, it is going up at a rate of knots. That is the public housing that was on the corner of Parap Road and Gregory Street. Sitzler is building on-site right now; it will be finished next Dry. It is called Village at Parap. We have replaced 66 units, six townhouses and a single dwelling with 100 units, providing a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. There will be 10 units for public housing prioritised for seniors. There will be 35 units for the Affordable Housing Rental Company which will, basically, be some of the initial stock. Rents will be up to 80% of the market rate as determined by the Valuer-General. There will be 55 units for sale to the private market. The Affordable Housing Rental Company is, essentially, targeted at low-income workers. We have talked a lot about this in the House. Village at Parap is going to ensure we keep a mixture of demographics living in Parap.
There are a few things I like about Village at Parap. It will have a green top, not a black top. That means there is basement parking, and there are site lines through the project. You can see them on the maps when we release them. That is there to promote people being able to physically see through the site, walk through the site, and it is part of crime prevention through environmental design.
We understand the pressures on the Parap Shopping Village, especially on market day. The concerns that exist as we move forward is that there will not be enough parking in the area. We want to ensure there are enough car parks, at the same time as we want to ensure public transport is available and improved. The government introduced orbital bus routes last October, delivering on an election commitment to provide semi-express trips in peak periods between Casuarina, Darwin and Palmerston.
We are also the first jurisdiction to offer free public bus travel for students, seniors and pensioners, which I know is being very well received. I have many senior Territorians living in my electorate and it is something they genuinely appreciate. It is also something that often comes up in conversation when you talk to visiting seniors. They are often pleasantly surprised by the fact that they can just jump on buses for free and get around Darwin. There are almost 400 bus services running through Parap and around its outskirts at the moment each week, and that is not to mention the school buses …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker! I move the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr GUNNER: Thank you, members. With the increase in residential density and more commercial space through Parap, it is logical that there is going to be a greater demand for public transport. We are monitoring those passenger numbers. Where there is an increase in demand, we will respond, because we want to ensure we are servicing those needs, and we want to encourage public transport.
As part of our next stage at 10 Parap Road, we want to find a way to address emerging parking needs. We believe community parking should be part of 10 Parap Road. We have the land and the council has the funds. I have spoken with people from council, local alderman and council staff. I have had informal conversations with them. I cannot have official negotiations. I have had informal negotiations with them around the principle of it. They said they are definitely interested and open to the idea of community parking as part of that redevelopment at 10 Parap Road. That has to be officially negotiated at some stage. I am sure there will be lots of discussion on that.
There are grounds that parking is needed, and traders in that area have contributed to the council parking fund. They have paid - I will not name names, but there have been some new buildings at Parap recently where people have paid X amount of dollars for X car parks. There are not X new car parks in the area, so they have contributed towards the parking fund. I believe there is a genuine argument for that parking. It is located next door to Arnhemica. I know the future tenants at Arnhemica are interested in having more car parking. At the moment, they are going through an EDP process at 3 Parap Road to provide that parking. There is a very open understanding between the owners of that land, Arnhemica, and the department that that is not a permanent solution.
Everyone is interested in it for about five years; their contracts are five plus five, plus five, so we will see how things go. Essentially, everyone knows there is a capacity at 10 Parap Road to provide community parking. Arnhemica is interested in doing that and it all seems to be timing okay at the moment. It makes sense for Arnhemica to be talking about that parking provision at 10 Parap Road.
That will be the first block where we will have to go through a rezone, in some respects, to get that. I believe it is a logical rezone, though. In my conversations with locals around that area, they have been quite open about this. I believe this is something we need to work towards. Traders and locals are very interested in that, and they see the sense of taking that forward planning approach. We will reach that point some stage next year when we will go through a rezone.
Finally, when it comes to parking, the Railway Club - which is a great spot - has a strange triangular car park. If anyone has been to the Railway Club they will know what I am talking about. It is a strange triangle gravel car park which does not quite work. You cannot fit that many cars in it. It makes sense to turn that into green space. Let us be smart about some of the areas we have, turn that into green space, accommodate Railway Club parking at 10 Parap Road when we redevelop, and try to turn that space into public community space. You have to be smart sometimes about how we use green space. They are open to that conversation as well.
The next stage, talking about 10 Parap Road, has to include Pitcheneder Court. It makes sense to bundle it all up to make it commercially feasible is the advice we have. The Wirrina site was quite large. When you look at it at first blush from Parap Road, you think those two other sites would be comparable - they are not. Once you combine them they become commercially viable. As we did at Wirrina - we do not know the exact process yet - we are going to have to go through a process with a private sector company and we need to ensure it is commercially viable. At that stage, we are working on things like seniors at Pitcheneder - which is the point I mentioned earlier about trying to free up three- and four-bedroom homes in Darwin’s northern suburbs and provide seniors a quality unit they are happy to live in to ensure we free up Territory Housing tenancies.
The other thing I would like to see at Pitcheneder – in some respects it is becoming a little crazy, but we need to use our green space smarter - is to push Pitcheneder back into the Stuart Highway verge. There is space there, and we can pull some of that green space on to Parap Road where it is friendlier. You do not let your kids play on the Stuart Highway verge. It helps break up the frontage along Parap Road, and it provides park that will be used. That is quite a sensible approach to green space. We have to be smarter about how we use some of existing open space in Darwin. We are a beautiful green tropical city, but we do not always use our green space well.
At Pitcheneder, as I said, we are going to look at providing quality housing for senior Territorians, and at 10 Parap Road we are probably looking at something similar to what we did at Wirrina - a mixture of public housing and affordable housing for rent, and even private housing. We have to look through all those numbers and crunch them. At Pitcheneder, our promise was for public, and I would like to see if we can find a way to make that public/private. Many senior Territorians are asset rich and cash poor and do not qualify for public housing senior villages. They cannot buy themselves a retirement village home and they need a choice. If we can find a way to make that a public/private seniors village and give them that opportunity, it will be fantastic. There are some real challenges there because you do not want someone 65, 70 or 80 years old buy that unit and then sell it to a 25-year-old. It is meant to be a seniors village, so there are some challenges we need to work through.
We have 1000 senior Territorians aged 60 and over living in Parap, Fannie Bay and Stuart Park. It is a genuine challenge we need to think about. We need to provide more options than just Pearl at Fannie Bay and the Kurringal Seniors Village. We need to think about providing other options for senior Territorians.
It is a critical policy issue because we want to slow the rate of people leaving Darwin. We are a very transient place - this is true for all the Territory – and we want people to stay. One of the best ways to do that is to retain senior Territorians and many of them live in my patch. If you keep the grandparents you often keep the parents and the grandkids. We want to keep the whole family tree - root, stick and branch.
We are having chats with council and are working through those issues internally with government about progressing those sites and how to make smarter decisions around our green space.
As we grow as a city we are providing a variety of quality housing choices. We maintain a mixed demographic in the inner city. We do not want to lose our workers out of the inner city. Those are some of the challenges we need to embrace when we are talking about major projects and how to handle the growth of major projects. There is a whole string of things we are doing through that area to ensure we are proving those options for people.
Another one of the consequences of density around the shopping village of providing opportunities for people to live in and around that shopping village is lifestyle. You have to provide active community space. You have to be good and smart with how you use those spaces we have.
Something that often comes up that people talk about is the old netball courts at Parap and the Parap pool. It is council land and the netball courts are vacant because we built netball a new home at Marrara. We have partnered with council to develop a plan for the site. The Chief Minister and the Lord Mayor are discussing those draft plans as part of their capital city meetings. That is where it is at. In many respects, I probably cannot talk about it in too much detail because it is being handled at that level between the Chief Minister and the Lord Mayor.
I can say, because we were quite public about this going out into consultation, as it is both council and government, we want a public pool to remain at Parap. We want that space to be active community sporting space. That is the basis for which council and government commenced consultation and planning. I am talking about the challenges of adapting growth in the inner city and ensuring we are meeting those demands that are going to be, or are already being, made on the area.
What will emerge from the planning for that site is essentially, I believe, going to be the same but better - which is not much of an answer in some respects. The three things holding priority are: the public pool, the community tennis courts, and we use this rare opportunity to provide more land for the Parap Preschool which is next door. It is a great little preschool but it has been there for a long time and it is constrained by space. We have more people with kids moving into the area, and we need to find a way to ensure provision of choices for those kids. We are going to have this rare opportunity to provide more land to that preschool. Even looking quite a few years forward, at some stage that Parap Preschool is probably going to need to be rebuilt as it is going to reach the end of its economic life. You can see it; there is a horizon there. If you provide more land at the old Parap netball courts site you can stage manage a development where you do not have to move those kids and you can work around them, where we adjust and do not throw them out, which is a great opportunity.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, the story of what is happening in the inner city is pretty straightforward. More people want to live and work there. We want to make it a better place to live and work. We have plans to complement the natural evolution of the inner city and provide an alternative to the CBD. I am excited about what the consequences of gearing up for major projects in Darwin will mean, and I am looking forward to seeing those challenges and opportunities over the next few years.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I paused for a moment because I just wondered if someone from the other side might get to their feet to say a few words. But, no, they are absent from the debate; they are not interested. They are not interested in major projects in the Northern Territory, in the future of the Northern Territory, how we will continue to grow the Territory, and the imperative need to be able to attract major projects to be able to do that. Anyway, I will just let them all go back to sleep or whatever it is they are doing ...
A member: We are listening. We are enthralled. We are all ears.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms WALKER: We all know when we are elected as members of this House there is more than just listening. Your constituents expect you to get up and speak. I reckon every one of you, in your maiden speech, probably has a line in there about how you are in this House to speak on behalf of your constituents in the Northern Territory. You are not doing that. But, anyway, we have become used to that.
I am very keen to participate and contribute to this debate because I know that is what I have been elected to do; that is what my constituents expect me to do. So, I do that. I do it because I am genuinely interested in major projects in the Northern Territory. It is a really important subject. I thank the Chief Minister for bringing this statement before the House …
Members interjecting.
Ms WALKER: I might suggest, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, if they have something to say they might wait until I have made my contribution and then they can rise to their feet …
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Brennan!
Ms WALKER: … then take their entitlement of 20 minutes plus 10 if they wish to have the floor to themselves. I will not interrupt them and I will be very interested to hear what they have to say. But, do you know what? They have nothing to say. They have no ideas in this area because they are just not interested; they are basically lazy.
We know that seeking out, supporting, and securing major projects - and minor projects for that matter - are absolutely critical for the Territory’s future. Major projects provide jobs, training, opportunities for other businesses in the supply chain and, in doing so, provide some certainty to the strong economic future of the Territory, which is absolutely critical. It is these major projects - and minor projects - which will bring in revenue to enable us to continue to build things such as better schools, better hospitals, social housing, roads, and all the other very necessary infrastructure which government is responsible for, and to also be able to resource these essential core services government delivers.
I will start where I nearly always do, as a member of the backbench on the Henderson Labor government. I will start with my electorate of Nhulunbuy in northeast Arnhem Land. I start with a bit of a history lesson in relation to the importance of the mining and resources sector. I start here because the region of northeast Arnhem Land was opened up because of major projects. In fact, in the Gove area, the initial phase of opening up that region came during World War II when quite a bit of military activity, both Army and Air Force, was based on the Gove Peninsula.
Right on the tip of Mr Galarrwuy Yunupingu’s home country is a place known as Catalina Beach. It is called that because that is where the flying boats, the Catalina’s, were based. I have gleaned many stories over the years from any number of returned servicemen who have come back to Gove for Anzac Day or Remembrance Day services about what life was like when forces were based there during World War II.
In fact, people always get a little confused and ask: ‘Why is the place called Gove and Nhulunbuy? Which one do we call it?’ Well, we answer to both. Nhulunbuy is the Indigenous name, and is the name of the large hill at the centre of the town; that is, Nhulun. It is called Gove because it was named after Flight Navigator Bill Gove, an Australian airman killed in a midair collision above Milingimbi in 1942, I think it was - I would have to check my history books to verify that. As we know - and the member for Nelson knows - airstrips around the Top End were named after servicemen who were killed during the war. So, the airstrip became known as the Gove airstrip and is on exactly the same location where Gove Airport is today. From there, the Gove airstrip became known as the Gove Peninsula and when the town was being built it became known as Gove the township. That is a little history lesson for you.
It highlights that Australia’s Top End is a strategic base for defence of the country. It was then, and it is now. The announcement made by US President Barack Obama last week about deploying US Defence personnel here is a very important announcement, bolstering not only the strategic Defence position in this region, but clearly there are economic benefits that will flow to our local businesses and service providers. Knowing that very soon we will see 250 Marines initially deployed here which will build eventually to around 2500 extra Defence personnel based here is, for some people, worrying. I hear people talking about ‘lock up your daughters’. However, the vast majority of people in Darwin and across the Top End recognise it is a very positive thing. If they did not, they might have been swayed by the very charismatic Barack Obama on his whistlestop tour through Darwin last week. Many people have asked me whether I was there, did I get to meet him, did I get his autograph? As you know, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I was not in Darwin last week, much as I would have liked to have been, because I was out in my electorate chairing the committee investigating youth suicide in the Northern Territory.
I will return to the days of World War II in Gove because it was during this time that bauxite was discovered. Obviously, with the increased activity, with people in and out of the region, someone amongst them knew a little about geology and recognised that the red dirt they were looking at with the little round pisolites was characteristic of bauxite deposits. Someone recognised this was a mineral that existed, needed to be explored and, potentially, exploited. That exploration happened in the 1950s and 1960s in order to explore the extent and the quality of the ore body.
Then things escalated in the late 1960s and the Gove Joint Venture was formed under the management of the initial company called Nabalco. For people who do not know, bauxite is the ore from which, when processed, you extract alumina. It is quite uncanny to know that what you extract from a bit of red dirt is a fine white powder, which is alumina, and alumina is what you feed into smelters. It involves a lot of heat and energy to turn it into aluminium. Of course, there is a strong demand for aluminium.
Whilst there has been a downturn in the market during the global financial crisis and the resources sector generally, there does remain …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I call attention to the state of the House.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ring the bells. We have a quorum.
Ms WALKER: Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I was talking about the establishment of the Gove Joint Venture, one of the earliest and probably the first major project for the Northern Territory - very significant. It was the Commonwealth government which had charge of negotiating leases and operations. Under the terms of the lease conditions, the Commonwealth government, obviously, wanted more than the establishment of a mining and a processing venture. What they were looking for was a commitment from a company that would build and operate a town. That included not just building houses for its workers, but establishing a hospital, establishing a school, and also establishing a retail precinct and office space.
That was quite an undertaking in the late 1960s. It involved an awful lot of money in establishing a township. The reason the Commonwealth had specified that under the terms of the lease was, basically, having the vision that they wanted to establish a regional centre to open up this remote part of the Northern Territory. Whilst few non-Indigenous people lived out there, there were large populations of Indigenous people there. Obviously, those communities were needing the services we would expect in other parts of the Northern Territory. That was an economic opportunity itself; to build a town servicing the mining operations, but also servicing those areas out across the region that were, and still are, where we have many Indigenous communities with, certainly at that time, limited infrastructure and limited access to schools and health services other than what had probably been provided by missionaries in those days.
It was around that time - in fact, a couple of years earlier actually - that similar developments were progressing on Groote Eylandt with the establishment of a manganese mining operation, which continues to thrive today. It sits in the member for Arnhem’s electorate. It is operated by BHP Billiton. They also went through a significant upgrade a couple of years ago, and that business continues to grow and prosper. At the same time the benefits, certainly for Groote Eylandt, spread out across to Bickerton Island as well.
Given the vast space of the Territory, with relatively small populations outside the major cities of Darwin and Cairns, the need to grow our regions like the East Arnhem region, both economically and socially, are critical. It is the same for the member for Arafura in the West Arnhem region. The need to grow our regions is completely our focus at the moment, certainly in bush electorates. In Central Australia, the member for Stuart works hard with his communities in seeking out and promoting those economic opportunities. However, it is not just the economic opportunities; it is also about growing communities through schools and businesses that will support this.
When the Gove project was under way in the late 1960s, around 1969 approval was received to commence construction. I understand it was the second biggest construction in the history of the nation, second only to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. During my time working for Nabalco, I got to know the long-serving employees who had been there from day dot. Some of them were there as contractors before they joined the company when it started up. I knew that because, of the many things I looked after in my community relations role, one was looking after service anniversaries for employees. Many of them had come straight out of the Snowy Mountain scheme into Gove. If you can imagine the middle of the year, June, they would come straight from minus-5C and snowy weather into the tropics of Gove. It was quite a shock for people but one they enjoyed by the time they landed in Gove.
The operations at Gove - the project when it started in the 1960s, the challenges, the logistics - were absolutely monumental. There was no road out to Gove. A track developed, and in those days it would take you anything from a week to 10 days to get on the track from Gove out to the Stuart Highway, compared to today where you can be out safely in around 10 hours. The logistics of establishing that operation when there was no road, and everything had to come in by sea meant a wharf had to be built. There was a bit of a tent city to start with and then, very quickly, prefabricated buildings appeared and the town took shape. The whole place was built and functioning within the space of two-and-a-half years which was, for its time, quite a phenomenal project.
We are probably about 33 years down the road now from the official opening of the mining operations at Gove today. Cumulatively over those years, it has contributed billions of dollars in export earnings, providing thousands of jobs, and hundreds upon hundreds of apprenticeships.
Gove, under new ownership - that was with Alcan which took over the running of the place in 2000-01 - went through a major expansion known as G3 which looked to increase the capacity of alumina production from around two million tonnes per annum to just over three million tonnes per annum. This expansion, for a region as small as Gove and a township as small as Nhulunbuy, was huge. There was a construction workforce of some 1700 people who mobilised to site. There was a purpose-built construction camp put in place, and the town boomed.
During that time, a new airport was built by Alcan. That was an investment of approximately $4m to $5m. They had to, first of all, upgrade the runway so it could take larger aircraft such as the Boeing 717s. We had more people traffic in and out of Nhulunbuy so we needed the airline services to cater for that. They ended up extending the runway in one direction by 1 km because what had long been known is that when the airstrip was first built in World War II it was actually on one of the richest deposits of bauxite. It was opportune, whilst upgrading the airstrip, to move it 1 km in one direction so the other end of the airstrip could be mined and the bauxite extracted.
The final investment decision by INPEX has yet to be announced, but there have been huge bodies of work undertaken to gear up for this project. I read in the NT News today about the workers’ village in the rural area. There was a picture of the architectural design and a story that went with it. It tweaked my memory about when the workers’ village was being planned for Gove, as I said, to accommodate 1700 construction workers.
In Gove, in 2003 or so, there were all kinds of speculation about the impacts it would have, and there was a bit of a ‘lock up your daughters’ fear from some elements around Nhulunbuy. The village did become home to 1700 very decent and hard-working people, predominantly men, but there were females housed there as well. These were all individuals who, as I said, were hard-working. They spent a great deal of money in the community while they were fly-in/fly-out people; they were on a roster that saw them in town for five weeks on, one week off. So, when they were not at work they certainly shopped at the local businesses, had beers at the local pub, and were also a very generous workforce in support of the community when it came to any kind of fundraising. In their spare time, if they were contractors who could put their skills into assisting community facilities, or put their hands deep in their pockets to pull out cash, then they certainly did.
Once the G3 project was finished and people started to leave the site, many of those fly-in/fly-out contractors looked for permanent work at Gove with the mine. I know that because I was working in the HR department at the time and used to work closely with our recruitment people and met all of our new recruits. Many of these people wanted to stay on because they recognised that it was a fantastic place to live, a very family-friendly place with great schools, great shops, great services. Also at that time, some of our employees who had been working at Gove for a few years, chose to move on to the next big project which was here in Darwin with the LNG gas project.
There is no doubt that when these major projects are afoot, you see workforces moving around the country and following the projects from one place to another …
Ms SCRYMGOUR: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr Henderson: I used to work there. I worked at Nabalco.
Ms WALKER: Chief Minister, that is right. You used to work there so I know you would recognise much of what I am talking about. You were there before my time. It was a great place then and it is a great place now.
There is hope on both sides of this House that the INPEX project will go ahead although, having said that, I am not sure because the members opposite have not contributed to this debate so far, so I do not know what their hopes are for INPEX and the future of the Northern Territory. I know from my experiences at Gove that these projects bring so much to the communities they operate in, and the opportunities are enormous.
Those of us who live in mining communities, or have mining communities in our electorates, know only too well the benefits that flow to the people who live there. I have heard the Minister for Indigenous Development talk about the mines in her electorate and how she has recognised the opportunities which come through jobs and training and the opportunities to develop, and also grow strong relationships between traditional owners, the company, and the community. I have seen that out in Nhulunbuy. Whether it has been Nabalco, Alcan or now Rio Tinto Alcan, there has always been that commitment to partner and to work together.
Just over a year ago would have been one of the first official duties I carried out as Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Training, which was to announce around $8m was being invested in trade training centres in Groote Eylandt, in West Arnhem Land, because these are places where there are mining operations, skill shortages, and opportunities. Those trade training centres are under way. I have my fingers and toes crossed we will see an announcement soon that will deliver for Yirrkala, so we can see a trade training centre in that mining community as well.
I wanted to mention as well - because I heard the member for Arnhem talking about the relationships between mining companies and traditional owners - the willingness, certainly on the part of TOs - actually both sides of the fence - to negotiate rather than litigate. If I go back to the start-up of the Gove project, it was certainly fraught for traditional owners. Effectively, the landowners back then had no legal recognition of their ownership of the land and this, in fact, precipitated the very first land rights case in an Australian court. It was a court case the traditional owners lost and Nabalco won.
If we fast forward to today, we now have recognition of land ownership enshrined in law and, of course, the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. Quite obviously, the traditional owners are in a far stronger position to negotiate. As such, the end of the first 42-year leases that were granted at Gove have been successfully renegotiated for a further 42 years. This is a real win/win for all parties. The significance of this was marked by the fact that no one less than the Prime Minister travelled to Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala in June to sign these historic leases with traditional owners representing the landowners of the Gumatj, Rirratjingu, and Djapu clans. That was a really important day for Yirrkala people, and those of us who live in Nhulunbuy, to see those leases signed and the enormous goodwill that goes with that.
Given we have had the announcement about the mining resources rent tax, I add that I have supported that tax from Day 1. I believe it is a very fair tax which delivers back to our regions a greater share of the wealth that comes from mining. That sort of wealth will go back into our regions for the benefit of the people who live there through important infrastructure projects such as roads, for instance, which is so important in our remote areas.
Unlike the negotiations in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the agreement for the next 42 years in Gove provides confidence for all stakeholders. For local business people, it provides confidence to be able to continue to invest with some certainty and, for their banks, with that certainty, to be able to provide the mortgages they need. It also provides the opportunity for new land to be opened up to build new businesses and much-needed new houses as well. I know there are plans afoot for new retail space. I am hoping there might be some office space within that retail space.
As you know, I am probably the only member who has an electorate office with no shopfront, no visibility to my constituents. I am stuck up the top of a flight of stairs which is difficult for people to get to if they are elderly, disabled, or mums pushing prams. There are a whole heap of reasons as to why we look forward to land opening up. Government would welcome the opening of new housing estates as we seek to grow our services out in the region. To do that, we need to be able to house our public servants, as well as provide social housing for those who are eligible because there is quite a shortage of social housing in my electorate.
For traditional owners, the lease renewals offer no shortage of economic opportunities. I have good confidence that it is the investment arm of the clans which will be a developer of the proposed new housing subdivision in Nhulunbuy. This will, obviously, provide opportunities through construction jobs, apprenticeships, training opportunities, and the maintenance opportunities once they are built. This a very positive thing.
I am optimistic we will see lease agreements at Yirrkala make positive progress in coming months, so we can see the $16m investment from the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program roll out with new refurbished and rebuilt homes to address the overcrowding issues we have out at Yirrkala, which makes people’s lives out there quite difficult. Yirrkala is one of the last communities in the Northern Territory to reach an agreement, but I am sure it will be reached.
Further to the north of my electorate, on Elcho Island, SIHIP is going along absolutely gangbusters. That community is destined for 90 new houses, I think 53 rebuilds, and I cannot remember how many refurbishments. Many of those houses are built to lock-up stage. I am going up there after these sittings to visit the new subdivision and see how things are looking. Hopefully, we will have news very soon of handing over some of these houses in the same way that houses at Maningrida have also been handed over to residents who are very happy to accept keys to those houses, understandably.
There are many things that have been happening in Gove parallel to what has been happening with the lease renewals at Gove in gearing up for the opportunities. Our schools have strong VET programs and are certainly well positioned to provide training in a number of different areas. Nhulunbuy High School, in fact, runs it own RTO very successfully. They would like more money to be able to do that. They have written to me just recently about that. I will be talking to the minister to see what we can do to continue to support the RTO, because they are meeting the demands to train up young people to meet the skills shortage areas in their communities. With the mining community at their heart, and with all of this construction work that is going to be happening, there will certainly be a demand for people to take up those jobs.
Similarly, we know that in gearing up for the INPEX project, the Larrakia Trade Training Centre has been created to ensure there is comprehensive training going on for people in a wide range of the skills shortage areas, and there is a cohort of apprentices and tradesmen who will be ready to step up and take on the jobs. It is obvious we need, and we want to, grow our own, and not bring in imports for jobs which we can do here. I had a very comprehensive tour of the Larrakia Trade Training Centre earlier this year. It is certainly a really impressive facility, with what they are doing out there, so all power to them. No doubt they too have fingers and toes crossed that the final investment decision from INPEX will not be too far away.
If we look at the village that is going to accommodate the workforce for INPEX, there is another huge employer as well. There are all those people who need to be involved with the catering and the servicing of rooms, so it is going to be huge.
Madam Speaker, time is running out, so I need to wind up here …
Mr Tollner: Do you want an extra 10 minutes?
Ms WALKER: I have already had the extra 10 minutes, thank you, member for Fong Lim.
I thank the Chief Minister for bringing this statement before the House. It is a fantastic opportunity for people to participate in a debate about the Northern Territory and what it holds for us, and how we are going to get there. It is just disappointing the members opposite have chosen not to participate.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Madam Speaker, I was going to speak but, if it is nearly GBD, I will wait.
Madam SPEAKER: All right, we will say it is 5.30 pm. Pursuant to standing …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Pursuant to standing orders …
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr Conlan: Sorry.
Mr Tollner: Madam Speaker, it is coming from both sides.
Madam SPEAKER: I beg your pardon?
Mr Tollner: It is coming from both sides.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting, thank you.
It now being 5.30 pm, pursuant to standing orders, General Business takes precedence over Government Business.
Debate adjourned.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I move - That due to the number of blocks of land flooded in the Litchfield Shire this year:
Madam Speaker, I suppose it is a bit unusual, but I have been in consultation with the department over the motion. They have some concerns about the accuracy of the 1% AEP being used in the context of which I am to debate this motion. I am happy for the debate to go ahead, and to either vote against it at the end or ask for it to be noted. It is still an extremely important debate that needs to occur. What I am hoping will come out of this is, if the department is saying I am wrong, is the government has a solution to fix the problem. If part of my motion is, possibly, technically inaccurate, I would like the government to answer the question: ‘What are you going to do about it?’
I should state at the beginning this motion is about justice for people, especially families, who have spent considerable amounts of money buying land, passed by the Development Consent Authority, backed on the analysis of this subdivision by the Department of NRETAS, the Department of Lands and Planning, and also by a subdivision map submitted by the developer. There is a whole group of people - when it comes to the subdivision of land - who need to understand this is simply not just a matter of keeping up appearances; this is a matter for many people – families – of whether their life savings are literally going to go down the drain. A number of blocks were flooded this year when Cyclone Carlos occurred, and those people are still looking for satisfaction from the government. They have had quite a number of meetings with government but, as yet, they still have not reached a solution although we hope that will occur fairly soon.
Before self-government there were blocks subdivided in the rural area which, I presume, did not require any approvals at all. A classic example is in the Howard Springs area, specifically along Whitewood Road, Stowe Road and Westall Road. Blocks of land were subdivided around 1964. This year, a number of those blocks were flooded. Houses were flooded and, unfortunately, those people have very little recourse except to ask the council if the drainage could be expanded to lower the water level. The council has to look at the cost of that, and also the effects downstream from increasing the flow of water. Land was also developed on Power Road, Humpty Doo around 1970. Again, that was before self-government, and …
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, there are many mobile phones ringing in here. If you could turn them off, thank you.
Mr WOOD: There was no self-government in those days. This year, unfortunately, a family built a brand new house on a block of land. The land cost them $250 000 and was at McMinns Lagoon. They built a brand new house, a shed, and chook shed and, in around March this year, the sheds went under water, and the house, luckily on stilts, was completely surrounded by water. In fact, the whole 2 ha block went under water. The neighbouring block went about three-quarters under water. I know that block very well, because about six or seven years ago, it went under water not long after a young person had bought it for $200 000 which, at that time, was a huge amount of money.
That is when I started the move to improve the way land could be sold in the Northern Territory, where the seller of the land had to declare the condition of the land. It was from that particular incident, where I saw someone’s $200 000 go down the drain, that I believed purchasers had to have some protection. However, they have to have some protection from the government.
Since the 1990s at least, there have been rules and regulations which have been improved as time goes on, which define clearly that land cannot be sold in the rural area - that is Litchfield in this case, and possibly applies to other areas of the Northern Territory – if there is not 1 ha of land above the 1% AEP flood line or seepage line. It is not necessarily put in that term.
We have a series of rules under the Northern Territory Planning Scheme and they clearly state what should happen. I will just give you an idea what is required by the Development Consent Authority before it signs off on a subdivision. Under the Northern Territory Planning Scheme which is the law, clause 11.4.3 lot size and configuration in subdivision of rural and unzoned land under, clause 2(b) says:
It also says in 2(d):
Normally known in plain English as a bore.
It also talks about roads in rural subdivisions should be located above the 1% AEP or in any seepage line which is higher. Then, in clause 11.4.1 it talks about subdivision design of rural and unzoned land should, under 2(d):
There are some other issues in there related to land that should not be subdivided such as natural drainage systems. I do not particularly want to go down that path. It does apply to the Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court area where land that is subject to seasonally waterlogging was subdivided against the rules of the Northern Territory Planning Scheme. However, I want to stress the Development Consent Authority, under these Northern Territory Planning Scheme rules, is required to see there is 1 ha of dry land, so when they tick off the approval for the subdivision, a purchaser would expect, after the government has given the tick to a subdivision, they will find there will be a minimum of 1 ha of dry land on which they can out their house, their septic, and their bore.
The cases I referred to today show that was not the case. The people in Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court in Herbert bought land which was subdivided by Mr Graeme Chrisp, who has been a developer for a long time in the rural area and knows the rural area very well. He put out a subdivision plan, which I have here, which showed an area with a line around it with nothing to say what it was. One could only presume that it was meant to be the wet area. It was found after Cyclone Carlos had gone through, that this plan was highly inaccurate. In fact, it was so inaccurate there are blocks of land there which had no water marked on them, which were three-quarters covered in water. One block probably was at least 75% covered in water.
Because of the problems associated with these people finding their blocks underwater, eventually the government required a proper survey of the land. The wet area was shown to be at least double the size of what the developer had put forward as land that was wet. The government also did a vegetation map. Vegetation is a fairly accurate and easy way for those people trained in native vegetation to recognise those species which live in water or close to water - an easy way to find out whether land is subject to waterlogging or seepage.
The government spent some money and brought out a vegetation assessment in the vicinity of Lorikeet Court, suburb of Herbert, Darwin, Northern Territory. That plan from NRETAS showed immediately that this original plan from the developer was wrong. The sad thing is the department passed this development in 2006 with none of that information. It did a cursory inspection of the property, basically said it dug a hole in the ground and it appeared the land did have some water, but there was no reference to say this land was subject to major flooding.
So, this subdivision was ticked off and young families moved into this area. They paid between $290 000 and $295 000 for a block of land and found the next year either their house was inundated, their demountable was sitting in water, or they could not use their septic tanks because they were under about 1.5 m of water. These people have since tried to find a way to pick up their lives and start again. The negotiations they are having with the government is about that. Of course, this is costing quite a bit of money for those people who cannot build their houses because they are paying a mortgage, but they cannot live in the house.
It is costing the government and the developer money to look at putting a drain in that area to at least lower the subdivision. All this happened because there was not due care taken by the departments and the developer when giving advice to the Development Consent Authority. I do not take all blame away from the Development Consent Authority. My information is it is, basically, not responsible; it is an authority that cannot be sued. In my time on the Planning Authority, when it was called the Planning Authority and the Development Consent Authority, that members of the Planning Authority would go around and physically look at the subdivision they were going to give approval for. They would not just rely on a few photographs and an aerial picture and some contour maps. They would physically have a look. It seems that does not even occur today.
I am interested to know how many members of the Development Consent Authority go out and get their feet wet when it comes to these developments to ensure what they are looking at is an area they understand, and to check to see whether the advice that has been given to them is accurate. It boils down to an issue of social justice. It is not an issue of technical details about planning - of course, that is the basis of this debate – it is about protecting those people who are most vulnerable. They are most vulnerable because they are putting their entire life savings into buying a block of land which, through no fault of their own, goes under water.
I mentioned the earlier blocks from 1960 and 1970. I admit because they are old blocks then there was, you would think, the requirement by those people to try to get some advice on why those particular blocks were still vacant after all these years. It would be a bit suspicious to understand why every other block in the street had a house on it, except the last two. Of course, people sometimes would have taken up the bargain in July or August - it was nice and dry and there was a cheap price - bought the land and, unfortunately, those blocks went under water.
However, we are talking about today, when you should be able to have faith in the department and the Development Consent Authority because you know they checked out the land and there was at least 1 ha of land above the flood line, or seepage line.
Unfortunately, some people who bought older blocks went to the department of Natural Resources. A schoolteacher at Girraween went to the Department of NRETAS and asked them: ‘Did this block of land go under water?’. They took her inside, sat her down and pulled out the waterlogging maps and said: ‘No, that is fine’. That is the lady whose block went totally under water. Unfortunately, the advice was not in writing.
They are going to stay there, they will live there knowing that possibly every few years their block will go totally under water, the chooks will have to sit on the veranda, and they will have to drive their four-wheel drive for about 300 m or 400 m down a flooded road to a house that is completely surrounded by water. I hope the government will be able to help them, along with the council, to get a road that is an all-weather road to the block. There is very little you can do about that situation.
I ask the minister for NRETAS to see whether it is the case that his department gave verbal advice that this block was okay because, if that was the case, then I believe the government has some responsibility towards those people who have now put their life savings into buying the land and building a house there.
There is another block of land on Madsen Road in Howard Springs which was subdivided as part of a five-lot subdivision about three years ago. That block of land went under probably 80% to 85% this year during Cyclone Carlos. The people came to me and said: ‘We just paid $420 000 for that block of land. It was going to be our dream home, swimming pool, nice house. We did not intend to go anywhere; love the rural area’. Nearly the entire block went under water. I have photos of the blocks next door, some of which are old blocks. However, this block was included in a new development, and only one of the blocks was showing a seepage line out of those five. The reason it was showing a seepage line was because the person who owned the land had an argument about whether there was 1 ha of dry land. I have looked at the maps the Development Consent Authority looked at. There is not a contour on any of the blocks nearby. It is as flat as flat can be, yet no one in the department seemed to query whether this land could go under water. It is the floodplain of the Wadham Lagoon. It always has been. Yet, no one required the developer to prove this land would not go under water.
I would have thought the departments would have pulled out their waterlogging maps. These waterlogging maps are not necessarily that accurate, because they are taken from a large scale. That is a waterlogging map of Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court. If you took this map, just as a bit of a guide, Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court is in the light blue area, which means it has a high seepage or water problems. You would think the Development Consent Authority or the department would say: ‘We better check that out to see if this is accurate’. These are not that accurate, because they are done from a very big scale and you cannot get down to metres; you might get down to hundreds of metres. However, it gives an indication the land is wet. It is put out by the department as a guide to what land is wet. Yet, if the department does not use it as a guide, then you ask what is the point in having them.
There is another block of land, $420 000, and that gentleman wants out. The problem he has is the government says the Development Consent Authority cannot be sued, so you cannot talk to them. I ask: did the Department of NRETAS and the Department of Lands and Planning do their job when giving advice? Did the developer put forward an accurate map? Did the developer’s agent, which is one of our leading survey companies in the Territory, do their job properly? Where else can these people go? I am told if the department did its job in good faith - which is a great word for lawyers - then you cannot touch them either. If a person wanted to take the government to court, you know who would win. A single person is not going to have the financial capability to take the government to task.
I know this might sound an issue that is fairly local, but it is more than that. It is about governments doing their job so Territorians can have faith in the system. There is another requirement - and it is interesting when the flooding occurred at Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court, the department conveniently decided to call the lagoon out there ‘not a waterway’. What is a waterway? A waterway is body of water that fills up and flows out, which is exactly what this does. They have continued to use that definition.
The report from the EPA queries how they could make that statement without any scientific back-up. The EPA did a report on this particular site and have queried whether the department has done the work it should have done in allowing this subdivision to occur, and whether the definition of a lagoon as ‘not being part of a wetland’ is accurate.
I was trying to find the section on that. The EPA report was in March this year. I must admit the speed at which the EPA got on to the job of investigating this was a bit faster than the Ombudsman, who still has not brought out a report. The EPA suggested we continue this investigation through the Ombudsman. The EPA said - and they have looked at all the facts regarding the Beddington area flooding:
I do not know if that is meant to be interrogation at the Development Consent Authority hearing.
The EPA is saying exactly what I am saying; there has not been sufficient effort put in to ensuring these subdivisions will be suitable for the people who will spend their money purchasing them. I hope the government - both the Minister for Lands and Planning and the Minister for NRETAS - does something about that because the EPA is telling them something needs to be done.
There is another area which has been missed out, and the EPA raises this issue. You cannot live in the rural area without a septic tank. There is a requirement that a developer shall indicate the exact position of the Q100 - which is the old fashioned term for the 1% AEP. It used to be called the one-in-100-year flood line:
It is the responsibility of the Building Board to ensure that happens. The reason for that is, under the planning scheme, it says - and I actually read the section before which says you must allow for effluent disposal systems to be sited at least 50 m up slope from any seepage line and above the 1% AEP flood event. The rules say there must be 1 ha of dry land. They also say the Building Board should show a Q100 line on the map. Then, so your septic tank actually works, does not go under water, and does not interfere with the environment, it should be 50 m above that line.
If I come along as an average person and there is a block of land up for sale which has just been developed in 2011 - you can buy it now in this area for over $300 000. It has been approved, thank you. I know it has been approved, it has a government tick on it. So, technically, I know if we have 1 ha of dry land, it should have a Q100 marked under it according to the Code of Practice for Small On-Site Sewage and Sullage Treatment Systems and the Disposal or Reuse of Sewage Effluent. This is the document that is used and says you should have a Q100 line, so you can then know your septic tank has to be 50 m above that.
So, I do this. I give my money to the developer. The developer goes away; he has done his bit. Next year, Cyclone Dave comes along and we have the same problem as last year and so cyclone - oh sorry, Dave, I did not see you there …
Ms Purick: He is such a small bloke, too.
Mr WOOD: He is at times cyclonic, and sometimes he does talk under water.
Madam Speaker, the issue I have here is I have presumed in my good faith that the government has done the right thing. My block goes under water. How am I supposed to know where the Q100 is if the departments do not put it on their blocks? How am I supposed to know where the 1 ha of dry land is? I presume the DCA knows because they would have to give approval knowing there was at least 1 ha. If there are no maps showing this line, then how does anyone prove the decision was correct? The developer puts a line; he might not put a line. If no one goes out and checks, then you just accept the developer as being right. It seems then it is passed. Can anyone tell me what happens then? My block goes under water: the maps were not done properly and ...
Ms PURICK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move that the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: Thank you, member for Goyder. What I see here are two things. There needs to be a change from the government. I need to hear from the government that they will implement a policy change. That is not to say there are not rules already; it is a matter of whether they are being implemented. If they say my motion has some technical difficulties and it could not be passed as it is, I am happy for that - I will come back another day and try to look at it again.
If they are saying that, then they need to give 100% assurance to me and the people out there who are buying land that the land that is being subdivided, approved by the Development Consent Authority, checked by the departments, given over by a developer with a map normally done by a licensed surveyor, is the truth, so that those people’s money and those livelihoods will not go down the drain.
That is what I need from the government. I want that for the people in the future. For the people who are now flooded there is very little we can do about it, except, I believe, the government has a moral responsibility - it does not always like this path because it always sees itself having a precedent - to do everything it can to help those people who have been flooded; that is, the blocks on Pelly, Lorikeet and on Madsen. They are the ones which have been flooded under the Northern Territory Planning Scheme regulations. They were flooded when they should have known there was 1 ha of dry land - and there was not.
The government can say: ‘Legally, we are not bound; the Development Consent Authority cannot be sued. Our Departments of Lands and Planning and NRETAS did it in good faith - too bad’. That is what is really coming out. I know we are working and, hopefully, there will be a solution. However, that solution has been long and painful. I believe the government should look at helping these people - whether it is financially or with new land - and doing it quickly. This has taken - Cyclone Carlos occurred in February, March. The EPA had its report done by 9 March. It took so long to get a vegetation report; I am not sure when the vegetation report came out. The vegetation report just says 2011. It does not have a date on it, but it certainly was the latter half of the year. It was the same with the contour maps.
It has taken ages to get to where we are today. The government really needs to sit down - and I hope the Cabinet - and say: ‘How can we help these people’. It is our government - because the government runs all these things - that has stuffed up in relation to this land. Pardon me, Madam Speaker. The government needs to take some moral responsibility. Government might say: ‘It is too bad, this is a legal issue under the law. You really have to take us to court’. As I said before, these people have no chance - they have no chance. If you try to take a government to court, someone will run out of money before the other side runs out of money.
I hope the minister and the government seriously consider these blocks as an exception. It is not entirely an exception because, in the CLP days, there was a subdivision of land on Fitzgerald Road in Howard Springs, which was called the Yates subdivision. It had two blocks of land go totally under water; two houses were flooded. What did the government do? It spent $450 000 - which was a lot of money in 1993-94 - to put in an expanded drain and buy one of the blocks. Because it lowered the water, it was able to hold on to the block, and sold it later as a dry block. However, those people were flooded out. It did the right thing by those people. It paid them out which allowed them to start again. It is very hard for people to go back to a block of land, even if the water has been lowered, because they fear they have lost the value of the land and all they dream of is the bad times.
I am happy for this motion to be defeated, but I am using it as a means of debating something which is vitally important. It might sound, for many people in the Territory, a minor thing. I have four people out there who have spent a huge amount of money - their life savings - on a block of land that at this present time is useless. It has been done in good faith because they believed the government has done their job correctly. The proof is in the pudding: it was not done correctly. The proof in the pudding is simply the contour maps and the vegetation maps which show clearly the land the developer put up as being wet was no way near the amount of land that went under water.
That is why, for instance, if you want further proof, the developer has offered to help pay for a drain. If he did not believe this went under water, why would the developer come back and all of a sudden say: ‘I will pay for a drain’? He must have known this land was wet and this is his way of trying to get out of a problem. Unfortunately, the government has approached him and asked whether he would give these people a new block of land because there is much more land in this area, and he said no. That, to me, shows the quality of the person. It is about subdivisions in his case; it is not really about the people who purchase land from him.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I put it to the government that there are problems out there. I would like a guarantee there is going to be, as the EPA said, some rigour put into the analysis of these developments. That is what the EPA is about; it wants robust evidentiary processes. Am I going to get a guarantee from the government that they will take what the EPA has said seriously? Will they do that? Will they protect the life savings of Territorians so they do not have their money going down the drain? That is what I want to hear out of this debate today. I am not particularly worried about the motion in the sense of whether it is passed or not; I want to hear some positives come from the government in relation to this.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support this motion by the member for Nelson in regard to the number of blocks that were flooded in the last Wet Season, particularly in this area of Herbert. I thank the member for Nelson for bringing this to the attention of the parliament. I, too, look forward to the minister’s reply as to how government is going to go about addressing these serious issues in the rural area.
This is one that is a current issue, but there are potentially other situations such as this one that is currently being experienced at Herbert. Notably, I point to Gulnare Road in Bees Creek, where the government sought to rezone two of those blocks to allow them to be developed into smaller blocks. Prior to putting the notice out to rezone these blocks, government did not undertake any land capability studies or any assessment whatsoever. I was interested in what the member for Nelson said, that in days gone by the Development Consent Authority people actually went on to the land and looked at the land where developments, subdivisions, or rezonings were proposed. Presumably, that was to see if the land was capable of sustaining that proposed development.
The Gulnare Road blocks in question are waterlogged. They are waterlogged most of the year. That is clearly shown on the Litchfield Council and the government’s waterlog maps. The other area around that area is wet. There are creeks that cross through those roads. It is close and it is in the storm surge line area, particularly on the new maps. It was only through the efforts of the residents - and me and other interested people helping the residents - that the government withdrew their rezoning for those two large blocks on Gulnare Road. I thank the minister for that because he did listen to what the people’s concerns were and he took advice from his department and, perhaps, from others.
It goes to show there was no real thought or consideration given prior to the rezoning application as to whether the two blocks would be capable of sustaining such a proposed development. The other thing that was not clear was - let us assume those two blocks had been developed, with all their waterlog and flooding issues, and the creek running through the two blocks - what would it have done to the surrounding blocks and the people who lived in the surrounding areas? I suspect it would have created damning effects for those people who backed onto those blocks.
I have written to the minister about the Gulnare Road blocks and I have yet to receive a reply, which is disappointing. I hope I get a reply soon, because the government said it would be undertaking land capability studies for the Gulnare Road blocks. However, I have yet to receive any details in that regard.
My view, and the view of the constituents and residents who live in that surrounding area, is there should be some serious consideration given to rezoning, or allocating the land in regard to conservation land, or Landcare land, that is managed properly and managed well. We talk and we hear much from government about land being set aside and building corridors for wildlife. This is a classic example of two large blocks of land - two sections - that should be turned into exactly that kind of status. They are very close to the Elizabeth River. As I said, they are waterlogged most of the year. I believe - and so do many of the residents and other people who are experts in these kind of hydrology matters - it is inappropriate for a subdivision into small acre blocks.
There are also issues across the rural area - not only in my electorate, but elsewhere - of legacies of subdivisions and planning in the past. There are axe handle subdivisions, subdivisions that have been built across or close to billabongs and to watercourses which have been inappropriate. They are done; we have the legacy of them. However, what we can do is plan carefully and properly for the future. Sadly, the issue the member for Nelson refers to in the Herbert area is one of those issues where the planning and the advice given by the experts - the scientists, the water people - was not taken up. If it had been taken up perhaps we would not be standing here tonight talking about this issue.
I believe there should be more work done between government and Litchfield Council in regard to the future development of areas in the rural area. There is nothing to suggest we will not get more Wet Seasons like we did last year. I hope government, somewhere in the large system, did some work to look at exactly what was flooded where and the impacts of that kind of flooding on future developments in the rural area.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the greatest challenges and pressure are going to be felt in the greater rural area outside Darwin. I commend the member for Nelson for bringing this to the attention of the House. I look forward to the minister’s reply in regard to not only this particular issue, but also the broader issues of how we address the serious planning and development issues in the greater rural area.
Mr McCARTHY (Lands and Planning): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her participation in the debate and good advice around the rural area and rural residents. I thank the member for Nelson for bringing this motion to the House. The member for Nelson spoke about the technical issues around our differences. Whilst government supports the principle - the member for Nelson explained to this House we are all trying to achieve better outcomes and better systems to protect Territorians - the technical difficulties are around the Northern Territory Planning Scheme already providing for what the member for Nelson’s motion is saying.
Government will be supporting the motion. In explanation, I will go through some important points. The Northern Territory Planning Scheme provides certainty and a level of standard for subdivisions and development across the Territory. This certainty exists in rural subdivisions and what is termed the 1% AEP or Annual Exceedance Probability. What this means is that the land, the subject of a subdivision, has a 1% chance in any year of inundation that is above the levels that would otherwise be expected in a river locality.
By way of specifics, the Northern Territory Planning Scheme clause 11.4, Subdivision of Rural and Unzoned Land, sets out prescriptively the site characteristics of rural land and what should be avoided. For example, this extends to avoiding development on rural land in what would be classified as unsuitable soils - for example, seasonally waterlogged land - through to avoiding development of land that is affected by the 1% AEP flood or storm surge event.
Developers are required, as part of lodging their development application for Development Consent Authority consideration, to address in detail the requirements in clause 11.4 of the Northern Territory Planning Scheme including showing any 1% AEP levels. On this basis, government supports the member for Nelson’s motion as the 1% AEP requirement is already in existence in the Northern Territory Planning Scheme as it relates to river localities.
I need to clarify for members that the 1% AEP relates to flooding only as a result of a river flow event. The 1% AEP does not relate to low-lying areas of land that may experience some seasonal periods of waterlogging as a result of extraordinary events. In February 2011, the Territory experienced an extraordinary Wet Season where Cyclone Carlos generated a series of heavy rainfall events which saturated the entire Darwin Harbour catchment. It led to several hundred properties being adversely affected by flood events in the rural area.
It is important to note the Northern Territory Planning Scheme requires 1 ha of developable land, and that this information must be provided by a developer at the time a development application is lodged with the Development Consent Authority. This requirement enables low-lying areas to be identified, and developers are required to demonstrate this requirement can be met. During this process, developers can also identify potential engineering solutions, such as drains, to achieve this outcome.
The 1% AEP is not a magic fix in ensuring lots are not impacted upon by a storm event. The 1% AEP is as good as the data provided at a point in time on the basis of the modelling and estimations. It is not an exact science, as water will always find its own levels. While I acknowledge this does not provide 100% certainty and comfort to residents, I acknowledge there are improvements that can be made to the nature and extent of this information captured by government.
It is on this basis, I am advised, agencies will be discussing and working together on how this data can be extended or enhanced, particularly in the areas of greatest risk across the Territory, and identifying the costs associated with progressing this important work.
Drainage flooding - the rate at which water may drain from a site - and periodic seasonal inundation of low-lying areas are very complex matters and can vary, depending on the general landscape and the weather patterns, not only within the subdivided land, but the general landscape outside of that immediate area. As members would appreciate, there are no controls on how people undertake minor earthworks in landscaping their yards and properties, which may or may not inadvertently negatively impact on drainage flows in a wider subdivision.
The issue of 1% AEP has also attracted national attention, as a result of rain events in other states experienced earlier this year. The Department of Natural Resources, the Environment, the Arts and Sport and the Department of Lands and Planning are represented in the national forums to ensure the Territory’s interests in this matter are advanced and feed into the national agenda.
There is currently a review of the national Australian rainfall and runoff guidelines in progress to enhance the scientific base behind calculating flood risks. This work is expected to be completed in 2012 and the Territory will take a great interest in such work.
In addition, education also plays an important part in land purchase. This is a very important point, not only in relation to purchasing of land, but also the developing of land. As I mentioned today in the House, the Department of Lands and Planning has been developing a guide to assist buyers in purchasing land and building new homes. I look forward to being in a position to share this guide with members. The release in the near future will support all Territorians - and the Territorians the member talks about who can be vulnerable and need good advice before they enter into purchase agreements.
To conclude, the Northern Territory Planning Scheme already requires 1% AEP levels to be provided by the developer at the time a development application is lodged. In addition, developers must also demonstrate the subdivision meets the Northern Territory Planning Scheme as it relates to having 1 ha of developable, dry land. The maps provided as part of this process should be made available by developers for viewing if required by a prospective purchaser. I have, however, asked that agencies work together to identify what improvements can be made to the current system.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for the motion and say in good faith this motion also supports the work we will do to continue to refine the systems and provide that good advice and educational awareness for the consumer. However, we cannot really take on the responsibility of giving 100% surety. That, as I said, relates to not only land forms, but also extraordinary weather events.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder and the minister for their responses. I understand where the minister is coming from. His support of this motion is the very reason I was concerned about this motion actually having the teeth it needed to have. The idea that the 1% AEP technically is a figure in relation to flooding on a river is a convenient way of avoiding the issue before us. In the Top End, we have lagoons. Lagoons flow from one lagoon into another and, eventually, into a river. The department has conveniently said these lagoons are just storm water, which means they are exempt from that definition. Where does that leave people when they have water lying around their house? One cannot say that is waterlogging; that is flooding.
These are the blocks of land. That is the house on Beddington Road - that is Potts’ house - and that water is about half an inch from going through the house. This is Saunders’ demountable. Water goes right through under the demountable. The shed at the back is full of water, and their air-conditioner is sitting in water. That is flooding; that is not waterlogging. Waterlogging is where you get in your gum boots, and you go squelch, squelch, squelch, and the water just bubbles out of the ground.
The government is just getting away for a technical reason, from what is the issue. It is, first of all, saying that lagoons are not waterways. Therefore, it removes any responsibility from the Department of NRETAS, to look after those areas. That is why Mr Chrisp was able to freely pump masses of water out of that lagoon over three to four weeks, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I have great concerns this lagoon is going to be partially destroyed. I have to live with the fact that, for some people to live there still, that has to be lowered. I do not like it. To me, it is a sign of exactly what I am saying - very poor planning!
The minister is saying the requirement is 1 ha of dry land. However, what the minister has forgotten is you are supposed to have 1 ha of unconstrained land - and that is not via drainage, or not via fill. Those requirements are not recommended within the NT Planning Scheme for the rural area. We do not promote drainage of wetlands and we do not promote fill; you can only get permission to do that through the DCA. The reason is because we live in the rural area and we are trying to protect the environment, as well as live with it. We are not trying to get developers to have 100% of their land developed, so they can make enormous profits out of carving up wetlands. That is what happened in this case.
This developer wanted the maximum number of blocks out of this land. He was told by me, he was told by one of the neighbours. When I say ‘he’ – the Development Consent Authority was told - this land was not suitable for subdivision. That is why I am involved in this debate. It is the member for Goyder’s electorate, if someone thinks I am trying to pick up brownie points from my constituents …
Ms Purick: Looking after my constituents. I like that!
Mr WOOD: Yes. I will say now the member for Goyder and I work together as a good team because we have our constituents at heart. The block of land on Power Road, is not – it used to be in my electorate - in my electorate. That lady from Girraween Primary School, which is in my electorate, has basically spent all that money on a house that goes under water. We - that is, the member for Goyder and I - believe something has to change.
The minister says the department has done its job. Minister, I used to walk the blocks in Litchfield when I was the President. I was the Chair of the Planning Committee in Litchfield Shire, from the day I started on the council, which was in 1986. I walked with Mr Chrisp, gumboots and all, on many of his subdivisions to find out where the seepage line was. It was done simply by walking through and marking the area with pink tape.
That did not require great scientific knowledge. It required knowledge of what went squelch, squelch. It also required a simple knowledge of vegetation. This vegetation report was done by the Department of NRETAS, by Peter Brocklehurst. He is a local man, a very good person who knows his vegetation. He drew a basic map of the wet areas by using vegetation. He did not need to survey; he just needed observation. The observation was not done by the department. If it had been done by the department, you would not have this trouble. If the DCA had stuck to its rules about not allowing subdivision of natural drainage areas, which this is, you would not have this block of land subdivided into six blocks, and you probably would not have had anyone being flooded. You would have protected the environment, and the purchasers of this land.
I believe the government has to accept it did a poor job on this particular subdivision – it did an extremely poor job. I say that from a background of experience, because I have seen other blocks which were poorly subdivided. From those poorly subdivided blocks we got changes to the development, NT Planning Scheme.
This particular developer subdivided land in Howard Springs at the end of Melaleuca Road. He bought a very large block of land; a fair proportion of which was wet. We took his Q100 line, or his seepage line, as gospel and, when the next Wet Season came, we found it was totally inaccurate. From that day on, I said we just cannot accept what a developer puts forward as being right; you need to go out. I would go out with the Department of NRETAS, or the department of Planning, and physically walk the land. The reason was to protect the people who were to purchase it. This did not really happen in this case. There was not what I call the vigour that the EPA talked about. They did not do it in this case. The same with Madsen Road; it was not done. Now, we have to face the consequences of that.
What am I supposed to tell those people? Oh well, too bad, your block goes under water. Sell it for half the price. The next people cannot live on it because the septic tank goes under water. What do they do? What do they do? They have relied on the government for help, and they have not received that help. The help has not come in the form of good planning decisions, and it really has not come in ‘Well, we understand where the problem is and we are going to try to help you fix it, either financially or looking at some other option’. I am not saying the government is not looking at another option but, by gee, it is slow at getting there, and that makes it disheartening for people when they see the big clouds overheard.
Another group of people from the member for Daly’s electorate wrote to me earlier this year, and I have not had a chance to investigate the site. They live next to a block of land that was given subdivision approval at Dundee. They have shown me pictures of that block. It goes totally under water when there is a big heavy rain. The water goes entirely through the block. I believe it is down the monsoon vine thicket. It was given approval by the minister or the minister’s delegate, and they have pictures to say this land is not suitable; it just goes totally under water in a big rain. I admit that rain is probably passing rain, but there is a lot of water that goes through that land. They are concerned people who buy it will find they will have water going through their house as well. I have a real concern that there is not enough effort being made.
I understand the minister said he would support this motion. Well, of course, that is nice. However, in fact, if the minister supports it from the context that there will be a 1% AEP line drawn only from rivers, well, then, there is only a handful of rivers in Litchfield Shire, but there is a monumental area of wetlands. If the government or the department is pushing that wetlands are not waterways, then the motion is pretty well useless. Unless you take the Darwin River, the Elizabeth River, and the Howard River, the rest of the country which I showed in that waterlogging map is made up of wetlands. That is the area that is causing the problem.
This area has a lagoon. Up until this year, that was a lagoon. For some reason, a statement was made the department - and the EPA quotes it. It was so disappointing to hear what the department had to say:
The department failed, the government failed. I am disappointed to hear the government has not made a statement in this debate saying it will consider helping those people who are financially disabled by this poor planning decision. I have not heard from the minister what happens to someone who is affected by a poor planning decision that can be proven. You can prove the department, the DCA, and the developer made a poor planning decision in the case of Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court, and the case of Madsen Road. You can get lawyers; they cost money. However, the reality and the facts before us are that a poor decision was made and people in that area are now out of pocket.
I hope the government reconsiders and understands if decisions were made, it could fix things quickly. This would make the government put that energy into the subdivisions - that rigour that is required - because it would not have this happen again. It does not want to be forking out $300 000 or $400 000. It would ensure it does not happen again, and be sending a message to the department: ‘You have to do better’.
That is what the EPA has said, I am saying, and what I hope the government will be saying. I hope out of this, even though it has not been said here, perhaps somewhere up there on the fifth floor, the government will realise it has a moral obligation to fix a problem caused by poor planning, poor advice, and an omission of doing what should have been done - adequately checking the facts and figures required to make a good planning decision in the case of Pelly Road, Lorikeet Court, and Madsen Road.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the minister for his support for the motion. It does not cover, from what I heard, the areas I am talking about. It covers rivers, it does not cover wetlands. I am happy for it to be supported but I am not happy for it to be confined to the area the minister is talking about. I thank again the member for Goyder for her contribution. She loves the rural area as we all do. We want to ensure people can live there without these issues coming up every Wet Season.
Motion agreed to.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the NT government notes the serious deficiencies in the delivery of services and programs into the greater Darwin rural area in the important areas of youth, mental healthcare, aged care, and sport and recreation.
This motion seeks to highlight the issues facing the greater rural area and for the government to take seriously what is happening in the rural area, or what is not happening as the case may be.
The rural area I refer to in this motion includes land and people from Berrimah through to Adelaide River and beyond in the Top End, which I call the greater rural area. The rural area - or as it is colloquially known, the bush - has a place in the lives of its people and in the areas of social, political, and economic capital. Words such as ‘country’, ‘the bush’ and ‘the rural area’ are used in every day parlance. Sometimes it is difficult to know where the city finishes and the bush begins.
Just look at what is being called Palmerston East and the new suburb of Zuccoli. It backs onto an old area of Howard Springs, Radford Road. On one side of Radford Road are Litchfield Council residents and my constituents, and very much rural people with rural thinking. On the other side of the road and down that little hill, will be a high density housing project of Zuccoli, and what I say is city or urban people. One way of categorising regions is the road distances from services. While this is a standard method to define rural and remoteness for statistical purpose in Australia, it does not really identify the key issues facing the greater rural area of Darwin.
While some places in the rural area may be close to services, many are not and that is what this motion is all about. The rural area is an area of immense importance to the history and future of Darwin, Palmerston and the proposed city of Weddell. It needs to be seriously considered and have careful planning and development principles applied such that the past is preserved, the present accommodated in a sustainable way, and the future is a time when Territorians can enjoy what today’s rural people enjoy.
The rural area has so much to offer and provides so much to urban Darwin and Palmerston, yet has limited services compared to urban areas, lacks sound and proper infrastructure, and seems to lack clear vision as to its future shape, size and scope of where it is heading over the next 10 to 20 years. It is important in the regional context regarding water resources and extractive materials. Indeed, it provides all of the water requirements for all urban residents and businesses from Darwin River Dam and bore extraction at Girraween. It is home to the horticultural and plant industries and is facing increasing pressure from growth and development.
The rural area provides a high level of recreation for many urban people and is viewed as a desirable place to buy, rent, and live with the high-quality amenity and lifestyle. Much of the development in the greater rural area has come about through historical activities or ad hoc past development. I will give some brief examples. The Australian Army created Howard Springs and Berry Springs as recreational sites for the personnel and provided much relief from the rigours of military life in the tropics. Today, they are just our recreational facilities. Fogg Dam was developed by American business people and, while it is not known for its agricultural success, it has become the lovely park and environment attraction it is today, thanks to a combination of both community work and government support.
Two of the rural area’s oldest hotels were built by pioneering families. Some of those people and those families still reside in the rural today. These places, of course, are the Humpty Doo and Noonamah pubs. Good places, too, are they not, member for Nelson?
There is much more to tell in regard to the history of the rural area. Many people have made it the place it is today, including those behind the building of the Humpty Doo Golf Course; those who were instrumental in setting up the Volunteer Fire Brigades; those who have worked towards making the rural area a better place for families by setting up sporting clubs and recreational groups; those who have provided care to the elderly and the frail; those who have worked hard to reinvigorate the Country Women’s Association only recently; and all of those families who have worked countless hours working to make schools institutions of excellence they are today.
Having said all of that, it sounds as if the rural area is Utopia and we want for nothing. That is partially true. We often are not wanting for much other than our block of land, a couple of fridges full of liquid refreshments, a bike or two, a good rubbish pile, a few chooks, geese, horse and dogs and the occasional patch of interesting herbs. However, there is another part to the story; that is, the rural area is growing - and growing quickly. With that growth will come challenges and it is my belief that government is not fully comprehending exactly what is going on in the rural area, apart from the stories that get broadcast across the media with the sensational slant.
The rural area is the food bowl for Darwin and Palmerston, yet where is the planning for the expansion of the horticultural industry? Where is the next Lambells Lagoon, which is home to the melon, banana and nursery industries? Lambells Lagoon and Berry Springs have soils that have been identified as having high capability for horticulture, and both of these areas are fully occupied. Yes, there is horticulture at Acacia Hills. However, more work needs to be done to ensure the land capability, with sustainable water resources, is identified for our future.
What work has been done, or is being done, to identify the future for the horticultural activities outside of those areas I have just mentioned? All of industry knows – as I do and I presume the departmental people do - there is great scope for increased production, economic benefits, and community benefits for all. However, where is the master plan across the greater rural area? The village document that government has released is not that master plan.
The rural area is home to the extractive resources and industries, and we know these industries need to be relatively close to their markets. Where is the planning for the extractive industries and their future? Already, we have had clashes between the extractive industries and the contractors for the builders of the new gaol who are trying to deny access to the extractive operators. They are trying to deny them their legal rights to access their tenements - not a good situation. I know the government is aware of this matter, so I say to you, minister for Corrections and Infrastructure: sort out the contractors and this issue as quickly as possible, as one thing is for sure - the sight of an angry extractive operator is not a good thing to see.
Associated with the extractive industries is the key issue of roads. What is going to happen to the future of the Arnhem Highway when there are triple, if not quad, road trains travelling down the road every 10 minutes for upwards of 10 hours per day to provide armour rock for the INPEX gas plant? Let me repeat that – every 10 minutes, triple and quad road trains down the Arnhem Highway. It is a busy highway already, servicing the rural area, the Jabiru township, the Ranger mine. Something needs to be well thought out as to the future of that road for the safety of everyone.
The rural area provides water supply to all urban areas, plus some areas in the rural area. However, I have serious concerns about the future of our water supply. Not because there is a lack of water, but rather how the water will be harvested and managed going into the future, given the growth in the rural area and the proposed industrialisation of Darwin with projects such as INPEX’s gas plant. For example, can the government tell me exactly how much water INPEX intends to use in the setup of its plant and on an annual basis? I have received information that the consumption will be enormous. I ask where is the planning so rural bores are not affected by the extraction from the government bores if it has to be increased to meet this demand from industry? Talking about government bores, I sought details on the bores’ capacity and extraction through Questions on Notice and I thank the minister for supplying answers.
My questions now are: what would be the impact on the Howard River East aquifer of an increase in extraction to supply additional water for the operations of INPEX? What work has been undertaken by the Power Water Corporation or NRETAS of this development and its water requirements?
While I am on questions: what work has the major project group of the Chief Minister’s Department done in regard to the water supply for the proposed industrial projects other than INPEX? What growth scenarios have been developed by the Power and Water Corporation or government departments to have water supplied to these proposed projects?
Finally, on water questions: where is the work at in regard to the return of Manton Dam into the water supply infrastructure as has been detailed in the answers to my Question on Notice?
Madam Deputy Speaker, the motion referenced aged and mental healthcare and facilities, so I turn my attention briefly to those areas. I have spoken on these previously in this House. In the area of mental health support services, there is limited delivery of services into the rural area from government. headspace Top End is based at Palmerston. It targets 14- to 25-year-olds and provides many valuable services, but does not have a base in the rural area - a growing rural area. Top End Mental Health Services provides specialist mental health services and, while there are some services to the rural area, it does not have a base there. TEAMHealth provides a recovery assistance program on an outreach basis, but does not have a base in the rural area. Top End Mental Health Consumer Organisation provides consumer support and does have some services into the rural area but, again, does not have a base there. Other mental health teams provide services, mostly from the Tamarind Centre and the hospitals, but no services similar to these services are based in the greater rural area.
In the area of supported accommodation, there is Anglicare youth housing program and Health Connections for Youth which caters for and provides emergency and crisis accommodation for young people 15 to 20 years of age and helps those based in the rural area. It does not have a base in the area. There is also an extensive waiting list for these services, and rural youth are required to travel to Palmerston to initially access the services. Again, health connections such as these are overworked and under-resourced and, as a consequence, those further afield are left out.
There is a group in the rural area called the Bush Baptist Church that provides emergency accommodation, food relief, and counselling. Their resources are stretched and they operate on limited grants and funds, and a small band of volunteers. There is pretty much nothing else.
In the area of aged care, there are limited services. Yes, there are many recreational activities for seniors, and they are all good fun activities; however, there is limited, if nothing, in the area of actual aged heathcare. Again, people in need of such care have to travel to Royal Darwin Hospital or elsewhere in the urban town areas, or perhaps Palmerston. I am interested to hear from government what they think is in the rural area in the areas of recovery assistance programs, subacute care, family youth services, day-to-day living programs, long-term residential Manse programs and community aged-care packages.
Government needs to seriously work on delivering mental health services to the rural area, more so than what is happening at the moment. While people can travel to either Palmerston or other town areas, why should they have to? There are upwards of 18 000 people living in the greater rural area, and we know from the information I have provided previously to this House, the rural area has a high incidence of suicide and self-harm. Yes, the select committee is addressing this very issue and meeting in the rural area. However, the government needs to tell me and the people in the rural area where those in need can get help if they need it.
Another issue is the rural area is taking on foster children at a greater rate than in the urban areas. That information has been given to me by someone who works in that care industry. This is placing greater stress on the schools and, of course, families and the services.
That brings me to another key issue in the rural area; that is, the schools, particularly Taminmin College, which is bursting at the seams. Classes are held on courts and squeezed into the library, and limited resources exist to cater for the 1200 students. Taminmin College is over capacity and needs new classrooms, more resources, and a study area for senior students with study lights, particularly for students in Year 12. The long-term solution is a separate campus for senior school. However, I know this is not going to happen in the short term. The government will claim that it will be part of the Weddell master plan. However, where is that master plan, and planning for future schools in the rural area?
I will not speak on sport and recreation, as that is a whole subject matter in itself. I may well reserve that for a separate motion somewhere down the line …
Mr Wood: I can do it.
Ms PURICK: The member for Nelson will talk about sport and recreation. Thank you, member for Nelson.
I want to talk on the document, Rural Centre Plans, which the member for Nelson and I prepared in response to the government’s Rural Villages Discussion Paper. I know the minister believes that his plan is the best - well, it is not. It does have some good points, but it is flawed as there is no serious consideration to supporting infrastructure, growth of service delivery, community living areas and, more importantly, did not actually seem to show the current land uses or land capability. The plan I put together with the member for Nelson is a positive and practical alternative to the government’s plans. I can tell you, not one person has said they think our plans are not good - indeed, quite to the contrary. Yes, I know a couple of large landowners down Noonamah way are not happy with me and have lobbied my leader to get me off these alternative plans. However, I will not, because the majority of people support our proposal.
My job is to represent all constituents’ views, not just the views of a select few who have vested interests and want to operate contrary to zoning, rural amenity, and the good future of the rural area. It is my job to stand up and speak for the people who want to preserve the rural amenity and who want to keep the rural area rural. I have no opposition to development - not at all.
I will highlight the key points in regard to keeping the rural, rural. The main difference between the alternate plan the member for Nelson and I have put together and the government plans are:
the rural lifestyle is shown as a legitimate lifestyle as opposed to living in the suburbs of Darwin, Palmerston or the future city of Weddell;
rural living is protected, will be protected under these proposed plans;
These rural centre plans are based on a principle of good planning rather than vested interest. In previous speeches before the House, the minister welcomed these documents from the member for Nelson and me, and I hope the minister and government is looking at them seriously. We look forward to more dialogue with the government in that regard.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I will leave it at that for now because other speakers will want to talk on this matter, perhaps in slightly different ways. It is my firm view the government needs to look more carefully and seriously at the services and the programs delivered into the rural area, particularly in the area of mental healthcare and aged care. We know we have an ageing population, an abundant and growing young population, and our schools are bursting at the seams. We need to ensure the services and planning for the greater rural area accommodates the needs of these family groups and individuals such that they can continue to enjoy into the future, the rural lifestyle so many of us want to protect and preserve for future generations.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her, to some extent, nearly emotional discussion about the rural area. Those of us who live there get a little emotional about the area because it is a good area. I sometimes think people do not realise what a great place we have. We can live fairly close to services in the city but can go home and have a bit of space around our community. I have said before, the good thing about the rural community is, generally speaking, we have low crime rates which I put down to we have space …
A member: Because we have guns.
Mr WOOD: Yes, we do have some crime. Sometimes, we have big crimes, but the kids in the rural area have opportunities kids do not have in the blocks of land now in parts of Palmerston where the back yard is about – well, I do not know how big it is but you are no longer allowed to have a clothes line, you have to tie it up against the wall.
One of the advantages of living in the rural area is you can have chooks, a dog, a horse, or you can have some bush and wake up in the morning, probably at the moment watching those silly birds called magpie geese sitting in the top of a gum tree. I will never understand why a goose that normally swims and wanders around wetlands goes to bed balancing on a very delicate branch way up in the top of gum tree. It amazes me. I can think of eagles, galahs, cockatoos, but with magpie geese it does not seem quite right. I will leave the good Lord to work that out; he invented them, so he can work it out.
The member for Goyder has highlighted we are in a growing area and the rural area should not, because of its diversity and rural nature, miss out on some of the services often expected in suburban areas. She touched on keeping our rural area, rural. I will not go into the detail she did, but I agree with everything she said. What we want is sensible development within district centres or towns, ensuring that does not spread out into the rural area as proposed by the government’s plans.
One of the key issues to be looked at urgently by the government is the high school. We have two high schools in the rural area. One is the Good Shepherd Lutheran School at Howard Springs, which is expanding and already has a large number of students.
Our biggest school, which is the biggest high school in the Northern Territory, is Taminmin College with a population around 1200. There is a desperate need for planning for that to change. There are too many kids in one place. That school has developed so quickly in a way that is not conducive to good education although it is bringing out champions. Eighteen students from Taminmin recently won science awards - a great achievement by that school. Much of the credit goes to the teacher, Greg Owens, who has shown that kids out there can achieve just as much kids can in the town.
The school is big and I believe the idea that has been floating around that perhaps the middle school be built at Freds Pass district centre is an idea that should be seriously looked at. Otherwise, you should at least look at building a school at Weddell right now. You do not have to wait for the city to be built; if you have the planning done - and I am interested to know where we are at with Weddell - you can build a school now. You might say it is out in the sticks but, eventually, the houses will come to the school. That is certainly an area that needs looking at.
The library at Taminmin College is a community library. Community libraries are a great way to get maximum benefits out of libraries. However, that service has not been expanded since that school started, which was way back in the early 1980s. You have a school which has a population of 1200 and a library that has stayed static. There is definitely a requirement by government to put some effort into rebuilding the library. Computers were hardly around at the beginning of 1980. They are around now, yet you only have a very small space of that library for students to use computers. We certainly need a major rebuild of the library at Taminmin so it satisfies the requirements of a large high school and also a large population that uses it as part of the community facilities in the area. That is something that certainly needs looking at.
With regard to a retirement village, the member for Goyder mentioned aged care. There is no doubt that both retirement and aged care are a concern for people living in the rural area. The rural area was developed, both in Humpty Doo and Howard Springs, around 1960. That was when the first, I suppose, subdivisions occurred and the population built up further. It was around about the time of Cyclone Tracy when quite a few people moved out. They are also concerned at that time - I remember plans being put forward that the boundaries of Darwin City Council go to the township of Adelaide River. Well, that scared the living day lights out of many people. They decided to shift out of town. Thankfully, Darwin City Council’s boundaries did not go that far. They moved out in that area.
Those people now are getting into their 60s and 70s and they are looking for a place to stay in the rural area. They do not want to move into Tiwi. They do not want to go to Bellamack. They do not want to go to Fannie Bay if they can afford it. It is a fairly expensive retirement village there, member for Fannie Bay. The more moderately financial people in the rural area want a place where they can sell up their 5 acre or 2 ha block, purchase a small retirement unit in, say, Humpty Doo, and have some money left over to put in the bank.
There is a desperate need for the government to do something. There is land in Humpty Doo. It just requires a little willpower for the government to allow that land to be developed. I know the government is putting out a survey at the moment to see what the demand is. However, I also think they really need to bite the bullet, because I know, anecdotally, there are people who want to live and stay in the rural area. They are now in their 60s and they do not want to go …
Mr Elferink: With your support, Gerry, we will organise it next week.
Mr WOOD: Okay. They do not want to go and live in the suburbs. That is something that needs to be done. I hope the government will move positively in the next budget to show us it is fair dinkum about looking after older people in the rural area.
The other area in relation to that is industrial land. The industrial development in Humpty Doo has come to a dead stop. There is a large area set aside for industry. The area that has been developed is full – it has been full for a number of years. I have asked and nearly begged the government to develop this land. It will sell. They tell me there are some technical issues. Well, I am not sure there are not technical issues everywhere. If a private developer can develop the land near the old piggery on Gulnare Road and sell one acre blocks for $1m, I am sure the government can do something which has services right next to it - that is, sewerage, water, and electricity, and open up the land so people who want to run small or large businesses in the rural area can do so.
The problem you have is that by being slow in opening up that industrial land, you are encouraging people to develop industrial projects on rural blocks. That was the very reason the Humpty Doo District Centre had an area set aside for industrial development. So, there is a definite need to do something. The government - I do not know whether it was the government or Power and Water - has just doubled the size of the sewage ponds in Humpty Doo. We have land available; it just needs someone to say ‘Let us go’. The rural area is growing, as people know, yet the services are not keeping up with it. That is why the government has issued out a plan which is tending to take the responsibility away from it by asking other people to cut up their rural blocks, when they have land sitting at Humpty Doo. They have had it there for years, and they are not doing anything about it. They need to do something about it.
Regarding public transport, I congratulate the government on its park-ride facilities and its express bus service. We are up to 15 cars now at the Coolalinga park-ride - it has gone from four to 15. I have asked the government to install a sign. I have not been past there recently because I have been here, but I gather they have now put a sign up - I hope the minister can confirm this - which encourages people to catch the bus from Coolalinga for $2 a trip, $4 a day, $15 a week. What better thing could you promote? If you are all about greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, getting cars off the road, and trying to get people to work in a relaxed manner, what better way, if you are going to the CBD of Darwin every day on an air-conditioned bus - sit down and read the paper, read a book, save money on your car?
It is not just about building the facilities and putting the buses on the road; it is about encouraging the use of buses. I say Northern Territory people are the hardest people to get out of cars; they love their cars. However, you would think if people go from point A to point B every day of the week and you can do it for $15 - please, get out there and promote it. The buses are full on the way back to Palmerston, but they are not that full on the way from Palmerston to the rural area, so that needs to be encouraged.
There also needs to be more buses. I know the buses are meant for the workers but, if you live in Humpty Doo or Howard Springs, it is difficult to go to Palmerston if you want to go shopping because there are no buses that go both ways. In the morning, there are three buses from Humpty Doo through to Howard Springs. They only go from Humpty Doo to Howard Springs to Palmerston; they do not go back. In the afternoon, they go Palmerston, Howard Springs, Humpty Doo; they do not go back. It is a one-way trip. If you want to go shopping or go to the pictures at Palmerston, you cannot go unless you go at, say, 7.30 in the morning and wait for the afternoon bus at about 3.30 pm; there is no midday bus. Some of the Palmerston bus services could be extended at least into the Howard Springs area, if they can find some land for the bus to turn around. There is already a bus picking up people from the 15 Mile Aboriginal community, which is only five minutes away from Howard Springs District Centre.
Ambulances: we should start looking at an ambulance centre at Humpty Doo. We have police and fire. We do not have a service for the elderly; the elderly service stops at the Palmerston boundary. The man who runs the bus lives in Howard Springs, but the service is not for rural people. There should be some talk about whether you can combine an ambulance service and an aged care and sick service as one, so it is not just there as an ambulance, but it is giving the opportunity to deliver those people in the rural area who need to be taken to the doctors, or the clinic at Palmerston, or even to Royal Darwin Hospital, if that is needed. That is an area that is certainly missing. I know it is difficult in the rural area to have a service for all seniors because of the distances between residents but, if you could combine it with another service like an ambulance service, that would be great.
Cycle paths: I am very pleased the government has taken the cycle path down to Howard Springs; it is very popular. I was talking to the owner of the bakery at Howard Springs and he said he gets these people every weekend now coming down for a cup of coffee and something to chew on at his bakery, just because you have enabled people to extend the bicycle path out, probably through the nicest part of that whole railway line where it goes through the bush and through some cuttings and across bridges, and people are enjoying it. It is great to see people taking advantage of it. It is also used for getting people to work and, hopefully, it will be extended to Coolalinga in the next financial year.
I notice the secure care centre is being built at Holtze at the moment. There was much fuss and hullaballoo about it at the time, but it is good to see it is now up and running - or not quite running, but it is nearly at completion. I believe that is a good thing as well. It is there, more or less, to allow people from Palmerston and Darwin to have a facility, but it is in the rural area. It is near the Aboriginal Development Foundation in Holtze in a nice bushing setting, which is fantastic.
I should mention sport and recreation. The member for Goyder said she would talk about it another time. I understand the government has put money in as part of the agreement - $3.6m I believe it is, over three years. As much as I believe that is a good start and our local clubs will benefit from that, I note around $14m went into the facilities at Palmerston. Of course, I get people in my electorate saying: ‘Well, how come they got this much and how come we got that much?’ The thing we, hopefully, will have very soon is the pool. I am not going to go into all the controversy over the pool, but I do know that a new site has been selected. I am not saying it will be the site, but they have already done planning for the pool on that site. Hopefully, that will be up and running - at least started - very soon. It is important people have access to a pool and a water park. The early plans I have seen, which are between Freds Pass and Coolalinga, I believe, will work just as well as if it was on Freds Pass itself.
We have great sport and recreation facilities, and I believe the government needs to recognise that as well. One of the unfortunate things, from the equestrian side of sport and recreation in the rural area, is the stables have been condemned by the Building Board. Those stables, of course, provide shelter for the pony clubs, the show jumping people, and the polocrosse. The amount of money required to actually rebuild those stables is quite high. It was not planned in the $3.6m that was agreed to; it is going to have to be extra money.
We have a great facility in the AFL oval; it is probably one of the best ovals in Darwin. It had inches of rain on it on the weekend. I know it was wet, but not too much mud on that ground. If you looked at the grounds last year when Cyclone Carlos was on, Gardens Oval was actually just a mud heap, Marrara was also a mud heap - and actually it smelt, it was that bad - and TIO 1 was in a bad way. But Southern Districts, the Norbuilt Oval, stood all that rain and was in very good nick. You could play on that any time of the year …
Dr Burns: And umpire on it.
Mr WOOD: And umpire, yes. I would have had to take my spikes. I did not umpire last weekend, but I would have had to have spikes, because I would have fallen over with normal running shoes. Fev – Brendan Fevola - was there, yes. A great crowd was there, a terrific football match, two points the difference. It was a big crowd.
Freds Pass Reserve is not recognised as much as it should be, because Marrara is the big centre, but you have just as many facilities at Freds Pass. There is archery, paintball, Rugby Union, and two new soccer pitches. They already have one soccer pitch under lights. Much of this work is being done voluntarily. It has been done with some grants from the government, but much of the work is done by volunteers. We have 270 kids playing soccer. We have probably the same playing Aussie Rules in the Wet Season. We have Rugby League - huge numbers of kids. We have people, young girls especially, riding horses every Saturday and Sunday during the Dry Season.
We have polocrosse. If you want to watch a great sport, come down and watch polocrosse; it is a vigorous sport, especially the A Graders who take it seriously. You might think the horses get a hard time. My understanding is the horses love it. When they are actually out there racing against one another, they are really in the mood and they seem to enjoy it as well. It is a great sport, but probably needs more promotion. We are hosting the nationals. The Australian National Polocrosse is coming in two years’ time and they are already developing an extra field.
We have great sporting facilities. It is unfortunate the swimming pool is not going there with it, because there is a building there that is going to be used for indoor sport. I was hoping that would complement that. However, that is life and we move on and hope to have the pool built nearby.
They are the good things that are happening, but I encourage the government to not just rely on the agreement I had with the Chief Minister. There is need for continual financial support because those sporting bodies need help. Lights are really important, especially as it enables more games to be held in the cool of the night. I do 12 noon matches and it is hot. I even do 8 am to 12 noon and it is hot. Perhaps I am used to it and drink lots of water, but it would be much better if you could play more matches in the evening - and better for the spectators. I say to the government those services still need to be supported by government.
Regarding youth, the member for Goyder mentioned the Bush Baptists at Humpty Doo. They have boxing matches there every now and then. Yes, member for Johnston, I understand, but I am a supporter of amateur boxing as long as it is well run. We have people like – his name escapes me now …
Dr Burns: Boyd Scully.
Mr WOOD: Yes, Boyd Scully, a great person with kids at heart. He has always had kids at heart. He has trained Olympians and he loves kids because he wants kids to not get into trouble. He sees boxing as a way of doing that.
We can look at boxing as something that is dangerous to health if it is poorly run. If you want to be a professional and go 15 rounds, each round for three minutes, and end up looking like Mohammed Ali, that is where the sport is dangerous. However, for amateur boxing it is well run, the rules are strict, and you have to wear a helmet. I have watched quite a bit of amateur boxing in the Territory. It is great because you have to be disciplined to be a boxer and you have to be fit. You think you could handle three two-minutes rounds. I see these young blokes come off nearly dead with exhaustion. It is hard work, and you require good discipline if you want to be a boxer.
It is good to see people like Boyd still promoting it but, again, it needs promotion from the government. The government is probably reluctant to support boxing because, somewhere out there in the great unwashed, it is a dangerous sport and a terrible thing. In reality, it is not if it is well run and well policed. Boyd has been trying to get more money from the government to help because it is a sport that has a good following and helps kids. In this day and age, when we talk about whole-of-government and intervention so kids do not get into trouble, boxing is one of those ways of early intervention so kids do not get into trouble and do not get into crime. That is why it has always been a good sport.
The Police Boys Club used to have boxing behind Parliament House for many years. It is an area that we should still promote as long as it is run by the right people. Boyd Scully would certainly be one of the right people. Of course, it is in the Arafura Games so why not encourage people? We see some terrific boxing at the Arafura Games. It is one of the most popular sports people go along to watch.
Much as we have some facilities for youth, we should not forget services for young people should still be provided. When I talk about buses, we only have a few buses on the weekend and they are a long way apart. We have no buses on Sundays or public holidays so it is difficult if people have no car and have to rely on mum and dad to help.
Day care: I recently mentioned the development of Girraween District Centre. It is a classic example of the government promoting the district centre and then, all of a sudden, it stopped dead because of problems with sewerage. We have a developer, Graham Churcher, who owns land there. If the issue of sewerage could be sorted out that land could be sold. I was talking to the Principal of Girraween Primary School recently and it would be a great place to develop a day care centre because there are so many people living in that area using that school. They are some of the things that need looking at.
Roads will be a big problem in the rural area. I mentioned yesterday the amount of development that is going to occur in the rural area: INPEX; INPEX camp; the abattoirs; the Good Shepherd Lutheran School, which I did not mention last night, is turning into a fully-fledged high school; the possible development of the forestry land into residential development; the prison; the development around Girraween Lagoon of 80 blocks; and the shopping centre at Coolalinga with about 40 to 90 dwellings being built behind it. There is enormous development happening in my area, and one of the big issues will be whether the roads are capable of taking this big increase in traffic.
The member for Goyder mentioned other things about water. Water is, of course, one of the most important things we have to worry about. What is the future of our water supply, not only for the rural area, but for Darwin itself? With the expansion of Weddell and possibly Cox Peninsula in the future, where are we going with our water supply? The existing water supply will definitely not be able to keep up with demand if those cities go ahead.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for putting this motion. She is asking for the government to note, but it is more than just note, it is saying to the government that we, as local rural members, are saying there is a need for services in the rural area. Do not forget us. Do not leave the industrial areas to Palmerston. Do not leave the retirement villages to Palmerston and the city. Develop some of those facilities in the rural area, so rural people can continue to live and work in the rural area and be part of the future development which is occurring at this moment for the benefit of the Northern Territory.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I guess the last two speakers have indulged themselves in a bit of rural nostalgia. I will talk about my part of the rural area now. It is a wonderful place. I had a five-acre block on Burdens Creek Road for a while. Now I am living on a 1.3-acre block at Wagait Beach. It is a beautiful lifestyle. It is not unusual to wake up in the morning - and the member for Nelson mentioned the magpie geese in the trees - when you get a big bang on the roof and it sounds like someone is running down the roof. The next minute, a few Burdekin ducks come flying off and they are into the mangoes on the ground. Over my way at the moment, there are wallabies everywhere because of the new shoots of green grass coming through. It certainly is a wonderful place.
It presents its challenges to families who have to run kids around. It is a fair old way into town for practice or actual playing of the sport, even if you are playing at Freds Pass. So it provides certain challenges, but they are compensated by the lifestyle you lead outside of that.
We just had the Berry Springs schoolkids in this morning. They are great kids, and I had them on the Chief Minister’s balcony, singing the Berry Springs School song, which is probably the best school song I have ever heard …
Mr Wood: How does it go, member for Daly?
Mr KNIGHT: I do not think I would do it justice. Some 40-odd young, six-year-olds singing would sound much better than I would.
It talks about the rural area, opening up their minds, opening up the doors for opportunity, and about the great rural lifestyle of hay in the paddocks. So, it is a great place, but it does provide challenges.
We will not be supporting this motion. I sympathise, as a rural member, with the other two rural members, regarding the challenges for services. As everyone in this Chamber, they go to bat for their particular areas. There was much talk about five-acre blocks, and 2.5-acre blocks. However, I have the 20-acre, 180-acre and 320-acre blocks. I have the people of Dundee and Adelaide River and Batchelor - all those places ...
A member: All the Mahonys.
Mr KNIGHT: All the Mahonys there, yes. I have not heard from them for a while. Yes, there have been quite a number of representations from a certain person at Dundee over many years about the services in those particular areas. So, there is representation, there is always the aspirational thing. That is what I am noticing with the rural area now. Many new people go to Dundee now for the rural lifestyle, but demand those city services. We should aspire to those, and I always make representations for them for those things. However, it all has to fit within the financial constraints of the Northern Territory Budget, but we always go in there to bat.
The only reason we will not be supporting this is because it talks about ‘serious’ deficiencies. There are services being provided in the rural area. The member for Goyder touched on some of the services, but she talked about everything else other than services. She talked about water - and perhaps I will pick up on a few of those things. Water is a challenge for the Top End. Everything from Palmerston in comes from Darwin River Dam, with a bit of supplementation from the Howard East bore fields. Howard East bore fields; there is a licence. Power and Water only use half their licence quota and they have done that for the reasons of protecting that aquifer.
There is work occurring with the Berry Springs aquifer water advisory group, I think it is called. That is to try to get to an allocation plan because, at the moment, the Minister for Lands and Planning is flying blind when someone comes to him and says: ‘I want to subdivide this 320-acre block into five-acre blocks or 20-acre blocks. Whether the extra 20 bores or extra 100 bores that go into the ground, is going to start to have detriment on the aquifer, which is, basically, a water tank in the ground. Every single year, it fills up, and then people draw out of it. The more the people draw out of it, the more likely it is to run dry.
The work that NRETAS is doing with the water allocation plans is vital. I have attended one of the most hairy public meetings I have ever had in my life. I had the member for Goyder’s mother come all the way from …
Ms Purick: All the way?
Mr KNIGHT: … from Holtze, all the way down to Berry Springs just to come to the public meeting. Very interested, she was …
Ms Purick: She needs to get out more.
Mr KNIGHT: Yelled and screamed at me. That was about the water measuring gauges; water meters they were called. That was just about trying to get an idea of what a particular household would typically use in a year and then extrapolate that over the rural area to see what it would actually get to. Those water allocation plans will help. There has been much work done with INPEX about what water usage they will have. Power and Water is doing a lot of work with the demand and supply analysis going forward. We have raised the Darwin River Dam; the next big project is Manton. They have done water testing; there is water at the bottom of Manton Dam that has not been touched since before the war. The new water is going straight over and the old water is sitting there, so they are looking at ways of bringing that back …
A member: Stir it up.
Mr KNIGHT: Basically stirring it up to bring it to the surface and getting a bit more air into it, I think. So, there is much work going on.
The plan is to bring that back online. It is going to be costly because of the work that needs to be done. We also want to protect the water skiing opportunities there as well. Also, there is a high cost of transporting that water. What people actually pay for when they pay for water is the transportation of the water, not the water itself. That is all in hand, and Warrai Dam will go up after that. By the time we get to the Warrai Dam, it is going to be a $1bn project, so it is something you obviously try to push further into the future as much as you can.
The member for Goyder talked about the bush, not about the rural area. I guess my area is the rural area; it has the bigger blocks. The bush is a bit further out.
The member for Goyder talked about mental health services, and I will just touch on some of these services. She mentioned the Top End Mental Health Services which provides services to the residents of the Litchfield Shire. This team is staffed by a multidiscipline team of nurses, psychiatrists, and allied health staff. They provide outreach to clients where appropriate. Government also funds a number of NGOs to provide services in the Darwin rural area including headspace providing mental health prevention, promotional services, as well as clinical services for young people. headspace has links with the schools in the rural area for health promotion and counselling services. Also, there are personal helpers and mentors, and Family and Youth Services provide respite and individual support to clients with disabilities related to mental health issues. This service is also provided to the Darwin rural area.
In the 2009-10 year, the Darwin Family Support Centre received funding for a dedicated case worker to service families in the Palmerston and the Darwin rural area, provided in the Family Responsibility Program. This position was based in a small team operating from a family support centre, and supports parental responsibility capacity in relation to their child’s behaviour. There are services there. There will be a further allocation in this year’s budget for a second case worker, so there is work going on.
In the aged care area, there are 50 aged-care packages and seven extended aged care in the home packages in the Darwin rural area. It is a small number. I acknowledge the ageing population in the rural area. When I was doorknocking, some of the places you go into can be a scary situation, for many reasons. One of those reasons is you come upon some very old and frail people with a car that probably may not get them down the road, with a great deal of gamba grass growing up to their house - they do not have the capacity to mow it - with not many support siblings around them as well, I imagine. It is a bit confronting, knowing that person is on these 20-acre blocks, and you probably would not hear your neighbour if they did try to scream out, let alone an older person trying to get help. I acknowledge the comments made by the member for Nelson about trying to get some aged care or retirement villages in the rural area, without the burden of chasing a mower or having to drive large distances to get food.
The minister for Housing well knows the public housing dollars we get are very tight. I would like to see the private sector step up, and that is something we have struggled with. We had the survey in Alice Springs. I just do not think our private sector developers really see this as an opportunity - which it really is. It is something we are going to have to keep on pushing, and hope that once these rural villages get going, we can allocate some land for the private sector to develop some independent living retirement villages. You can sell a 20-acre block for $300 000 - or, if someone has some development on it, for more - to try to retire into a nice little flat, something like you see in Humpty Doo, where you have your friends around you, the services within walking distance or scooter distance. It is something we need to work on.
There are aged-care services being provided into the rural area. The Home and Community Care Program is available to residents in the rural area as well. They provide meals, domestic assistance, social support, centre-based day care, personal care, assessment, care coordination case management, and also counselling and respite for frail, aged and young people with disabilities. So, there are services being provided. There are service providers that cover the rural area such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Red Cross, Anglicare, Carers NT, United Church Frontier Services, D&R Community Services and Community Support Incorporated.
There are services through the Rural Seniors. They do a fabulous job. We have had a number of seniors events funded for the rural area. They certainly hit me up on a regular basis, and I donate some fuel money for their little minibus to pick up seniors. There are activities out there. However, again, as rural members, it is our job to keep bashing on the door of Treasury to get more services out there, and we continue to do that together. I know we share the same interests in that respect.
The member for Nelson touched on the sport and recreation services and facilities. Certainly, there has been a great deal of money go in. It really is a great facility at Freds Pass. I was there on the weekend. We go there from time to time. There was an amazing number of kids that, I guess, you do not see because they are on rural blocks. They come out of the woodwork for sport and are active kids and really get stuck into their sport. It is great to see a facility that provides such an immense amount of variety of sport. I could reel them all off: the pony clubs, the footy clubs, the soccer, and a whole range of things. I do not know how the paintball is going out that way, but the pistol clubs seem to be very popular as well.
With respect to the library, member for Nelson, it is about what it is. Is it a school library? Is it a public library? This is the great conundrum ...
Mr Wood: It is a community library.
Mr KNIGHT: I know it is a community library, but we had the situation at Batchelor of a dual purpose institute and the primary school using it. Concerns were raised and, in the end, it went back to the institute and the school. We built a new library for the primary and middle school because it is an area school. If it is a school library, the government would fund it within its capacity. If it is a community library, local government takes on that responsibility ...
Mr Wood: It has country borrowers. It is …
Mr KNIGHT: Country borrowers, from the country?
Mr Wood: … actually the Northern Territory Library.
Mr KNIGHT: I know what you are saying. I struggled with it as Local Government Minister, and as a rural member ...
Mr Wood: There still needs to be a bigger library.
Mr KNIGHT: Yes, and they do a great job. They come with all their books to the Berry Springs markets. They unload boxes and boxes of books. They do a great job and I will leave it up to the Local Government Minister to handle. It is a challenge. What is it? Is it a school library or is it a local government library? The Palmerston City Council and the Darwin City Council run their own libraries ...
Mr Wood: They do not get enough money.
Mr KNIGHT: It is different out there in the rural area, I know.
Mr Wood: You need to be a Litchfield ratepayer.
Mr KNIGHT: Do you want to start on Litchfield?
I am quite supportive of the industrial land issue at Humpty Doo you talked about. We would like to see development out there and keep many of those businesses local. I do not know what the holdup is there, but I am happy to lend my support to bashing up the Planning minister on this. It is great to see development is happening in Humpty Doo, and I would like to see it spill out.
With respect to the rural villages, I have looked at your submission. I thought the submission that came out and consultation I went to with the government’s submission was well thought out. The lack of disagreement, certainly at Berry Springs, was a little staggering to me. There were many people there and many mixed groups. It is not miles apart, it is very close.
The CLP came up with urbanising the rural area – those were the words in their document. I do not think we want to urbanise the rural area. The model you have with Humpty Doo is a fairly good one. I would like to see smaller blocks around the Noonamah area; not in the pocket of anyone. It needs a degree of size. Tony and Janina run a great pub and have developed the pub area …
Mr Wood: Make that a town.
Mr KNIGHT: Make it a town, yes. We are not miles apart. It is a good result, but we are going to struggle with the viability issue. That is the big thing. Berry Springs has had a business district plan for many years and it has not gone anywhere except for that first bit. That really has not gone too far either.
It needs to be attractive enough for developers to come in and stump up the headworks costs because, for Berry Springs, they are going to have to come up with a package sewerage plant initially, then bring in the water supply and upgrade the power supply. They are going to have to …
Mr Wood: Do not worry, wait for Weddell.
Mr KNIGHT: Well, that is partly true. The people of Berry Springs do not want to go all the way into Weddell either. Berry Springs is a really nice little location …
Mr Wood: Keep it little.
Mr KNIGHT: Yes. The rural area is a great place. There are services going out there. Could there be more? Yes, there could. There could be more services at Adelaide River, Batchelor, Dundee, Daly River, or Wagait Beach. We certainly go to bat for each one of those communities. I acknowledge there needs to be more recognition within government - not just the elected members but also within the wider public service - about what the rural area is about. It is changing; it is maturing; it will continue to change. I guess that creep out from the rural area will continue to happen. Berrimah used to be classed as a rural area a few decades ago. Who knows, in the next few decades, what Howard Springs, Bees Creek or Virginia will be classed as? That is a matter of time before we see it all happen.
I thank the member for Goyder for bringing her motion to the House. I sympathise, but our position is there are services going there. We will keep trying to get more out there, but there certainly is not a serious deficiency in the services in the rural area.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I place on the record my thanks to the member for Nelson for his constructive comments in regard to this motion. I also thank the member for Daly for his contribution and comments and constructive points of view. There will be areas of difference between me and the member for Daly, but I understand and acknowledge there are many areas where we have much in common regarding to the rural area, and what the rural area needs and where it needs to go; that is has to have good sound planning.
Yes, I accept we will never have all the same services as you get in an urban area - and for many different reasons. However, we have to be very aware of the needs that are going to face us in the near future in regard to aged care and mental healthcare for the reasons I articulated previously.
I pick up on one comment made by the member for Nelson. He spoke about public transport into the rural area. We know it is a balancing act for government in the provision of services and making them cost-effective. However, we need more public transport. When government comes up with public transport special bus routes or bus services, the rural area is invariably overlooked.
I point to a particular case as an example - and I have written to the Minister for Transport. The government wants us to drive carefully, drive safely, do not drink and drive - who is your sober Bob? The Christmas Express has just been advertised. The poster says:
Saturday 26 November to Sunday 25 December
…
Darwin $5/person
Northern suburbs $10/person
Palmerston $15/person
I do not see any mention on that poster of the bus services going down into the rural area - not even to the government-sponsored Coolalinga park and drive, not even to Humpty Doo. I have written to the minister in the last two weeks in this regard, because I understand a tender was put out to providing Christmas express services for people in the top part of the Territory, so if they want to go out and have parties and, perhaps, have a wine or a beer or two, they can catch the bus home. There is no mention here of the service going any further than Palmerston. What happens after Palmerston lights? Is it an area that is just forgotten?
There is a route 440 Humpty Doo to Humpty Doo, Coolalinga, Virginia, Noonamah, Palmerston. So, you can get a bus from Palmerston to take you down to these sites. It says here it does not go on Good Friday or Christmas Day. Yet, the good people of Darwin, northern suburbs and Palmerston can get an express bus on Christmas Day - but not people in the rural area. If there was ever an example of services not being delivered to the rural area that is clearly one of them.
Minister, presumably you would have received my letter by now. It is just alarming and appalling. You want people to do the right thing - and some people just need a little help to do the right thing. Providing buses to the Coolalinga exchange and also into the Humpty Doo area will just give that incentive to people to be a little more responsible.
What I find disappointing is the government says it cannot support this motion. All this motion is asking is the government notes the deficiencies in the delivery of services and programs into the greater rural area. I am not asking you to do anything; I just want you to note it. The member for Daly noted that, yes, there could be more services there, and better services. The member for Nelson highlighted areas where there could be better, improved services. Yes, I did deviate and talk about many other issues in the rural area in regard to agriculture, horticulture, the future water supply, and the future of the extractive industries. They are all wrapped up into it. That is where the challenges are going to be in the near future in regard to the growth and development of the greater Darwin area.
I find it very churlish of the government that it cannot even note this motion. It is not a political motion. It is just bringing it to the attention of the House, the people of the Northern Territory, and the people in the rural area because their voices are just as important as any other voice in the Northern Territory.
I thank the members for Nelson and Daly for their comments, and I move this motion be noted and accepted.
Motion agreed to.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I move –
I commended and complimented the minister when he said that he did not accept what the Australian Marine Conservation Society wanted to do - and we do not accept it either. I believe that is good because their claim was just outrageous. I just want to hear from the minister exactly what he and the government are doing in regard to these proposed areas.
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources): Madam Speaker, I want to explain first that the federal government has released two different documents. The first one is the proposed marine reserve network which proposes closing all fishing in an area north of Gove and some restrictions on some commercial fishers in other areas. This document is the one that has attracted media attention and the one for which the government was criticised - in some areas quite rightly so - for not consulting with stakeholders. To their credit, they extended the consultation period for another 90 days. The only area now that is going to be closed will be an area 125 miles north of Nhulunbuy near the Wessel Islands.
That is nothing to what was proposed by previous governments, particularly the Howard government which proposed to close up to 70% of the waters around the Territory. It was so bad even Senator Scullion stood up in the AFANT meeting and said there was no way he was going to support it.
The government also released a draft bioregional plan for the north marine region. The program is primarily about biodiversity conservation objectives, and not fisheries management. This plan does not stipulate the zoning arrangement for the marine reserve network. Rather, the draft plan describes objectives, conservation values, and regional priorities for the north marine area to assist decision-making under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. That is in the ‘never-never’, probably in the very distant future. This one will not have any immediate impact on our fisheries in the Territory, either commercial or amateur. It clearly states there is only one area; that is, 150 km north of Nhulunbuy, just off the Wessel Islands.
I have repeated many times, I do not have a problem to do something based on science. I have a serious problem when a particular interest group comes here, pretends to present a scientific report, and demands a closure – no-go, no-take areas in the waters around the Territory.
My understanding from the proposed marine reserve network is the only area which is closed, will be available only to Indigenous, not commercial fishing. Of course, that will exclude mining, oil and gas activity and commercial fisheries, which is far enough. There are some areas that are sensitive. There are some areas you can do things, some areas you cannot do things. Our government has had numerous discussions with the Commonwealth government. I personally made clear my feelings to the previous minister responsible for fisheries in the Commonwealth government, and I continue to do so. I will continue the discussion about what the situation is with fisheries in the Territory.
The fishing reserves in the Territory are very healthy. That is not because I said so as a minister, but because internationally known scientists have proven our resources are healthy. Our resources are so healthy because we only choose to take about 8% of the available resources. In other jurisdictions, they take 20% to 30%m and they consider that to be healthy.
We are very well known to oppose any wholesale closures of areas of the Territory. Fishing in the Territory, both recreational and commercial, brings a significant income. Actually, amateur fishing brings more income into the Territory than commercial fishing, for the simple reason it is not only Territorians who fish, but also people come from down south, because we do not have the restrictions as they have in other states, such as, say, Western Australia. If anyone has visited Western Australia and has attempted to go fishing, you have to have a licence to put a boat in the water, and a licence to catch a particular fish in a certain distance from the coast line. If you go further out, you have to have another licence. People complain to me that if they really want to go out and catch different species, they have to have four or five licences - something that does not occur in the Territory …
Mr Elferink: And nor should it.
Mr VATSKALIS: Well, there is an argument over that; being that the fisheries have not been managed correctly from the very beginning.
There was a very good example in some of the northwest coastline. Because of the development of technology, new boats with bigger engines can go further out. Also, let us not forget the GPS. We can actually pinpoint the place where fish tend to congregate. In a particular area in the northwest, one species of snapper was nearly completely wiped out because people marked where it congregated and over-fished. The result was the population was decimated. The Western Australian government prohibited any fishing for a period of time in that particular area.
We do not do that. We actually assess our fisheries. We had a limit of five barramundi; now you can only take three. That applies on the Daly River. In the Mary River, where the fish stock is very healthy, we actually went from two barramundi to three as the limit, but we maintained the closures during the breeding season.
There are calls now from the amateur fishermen to put restrictions on the size of barramundi you can take home. They say taking the big barramundi will actually destroy the future population, because these are the barramundi that will reproduce and put the fingerlings in the water. They are probably right. I am not afraid to take hard decisions. I went against the wishes of the industry with regard to mud crabs. The industry told me it was the end of the world as we know it. Two years later, they came back and told me it was a wise decision and they were happy I did not listen to them, because the mud crab fishery is now much better than it was before. We are managing our fisheries very well; they are very healthy.
The interesting thing you see in the commercial sector when, in other jurisdictions such as Western Australia the shark fishery has collapsed, in the Northern Territory it was the commercial shark fishermen who came up with the proposal to restrict the days of the year they can go fishing and the length of the hooks. In fact, the Territory is the only jurisdiction where every shark fisherman has to bring back not only the carcasses and the fins, but the appropriate percentage of carcasses. Finning is what they do in other jurisdictions: fishers cut out the fin, throw the body overboard and keep the fin, which is a waste of resource. They find this carcass can be exported to Southeast Asian countries and can be utilised to produce fish balls in the Philippines. We do not just take the fins and throw the rest of it back; people are obliged to bring back the appropriate percentage of carcasses.
That is the reason why the Territory is the only jurisdiction in Australia where you are still allowed to go fishing for sharks. As I have been advised by scientists, it is the only place where you will find numerous sharks very close to the coastline, or even in the deep water - something you do not see in other jurisdictions.
There was not going to be any impact on shipping; shipping is allowed. The area, which is now closed, is a very small area - it is not big so it is not going to impact on shipping. Much of the marine based tourism industry comes to the Territory to go out fishing with charters. As I said before, the only area proposed by the Commonwealth to be closed is near the Wessel Islands, a small area considering the length of the coastline in the Territory and how far these boats can travel.
One commitment I give to this House is I will resist strongly any attempt for other closures and any demands by interested groups to close areas, especially when these demands are not supported by industry. I will not support non-scientific nonsense; I will only support scientific evidence. I am prepared to take action if the scientists come to me and say: ‘This particular fish is in danger’. For example, we are very concerned about the Jewfish because they tend to aggregate during certain periods of time and fishermen use to hammer them. We considered putting a significant limit on them - we did and it works well. If necessary in the future we need to do something we will.
I will argue with the federal government and any other group for closure of areas in the Territory as no-go, no-tag areas.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his reply and considered comments. I take heart from what he said. I agree with him completely in regard to basing decisions on science and factual items, not on the emotional feelings we sometimes get out of interest groups that really do not have the best interest of the Northern Territory, its industry and its livelihood at heart.
Thank you, minister, for your comments. I will continue to monitor this issue and work with the industries and various groups involved in the offshore industry. If there are any issues I will bring them back to the House for discussion.
Motion agreed to.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): A point of order, Madam Speaker! It may assist the Chamber - and I have described this to the Leader of Government Business who has indicated there is no problem – regarding Item No 4 standing in the name of Mr Mills. He has sought leave to have the matter withdrawn. He is not in the House at the moment. We can either withdraw it or allow it to lapse; I do not much mind. It is for your information. I thank the House for its indulgence, Madam Speaker.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Failure by Northern Territory and Federal Governments to Address Crime and Antisocial Behaviour in Alice Springs
Continued from 10 August 2011.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): To assist the House, Madam Speaker, Mr Mills is not present in the House today. He has 17 minutes in continuation and has indicated he will allow that to lapse so the debate can continue.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you very much.
Mr GILES (Braitling): This is closing debate Madam Speaker. I thought this was an important issue government would want to be involved in. They stood here all day with their puff piece statement talking about how we were not talking, then something important comes up and nothing, zip, zero - and on this important day. We are talking about Alice Springs issues and antisocial behaviour on this very important day, 23 November 2011, a day that will go down in history as when Labor introduced legislation into the federal Parliament for Labor’s second intervention. You would think they would have something to say on this debate but no, they sit back quietly.
These are the people who speak with forked tongue. In federal opposition, they were very keen to comment when John Howard was still Prime Minister and Mal Brough was the federal Indigenous Affairs minister - they screamed from the rooftops. This current government complained until they were blue in the face. The member for Arafura was talking about the black kids’ Tampa - about child abuse, the Little Children Are Sacred report. But now they have their same-coloured brothers of the Labor Party in the federal government, in power, they sit back like little chickens, not saying a thing.
This week we have heard the Territory rights debate and how Labor pontificated about the federal member for Solomon and the CLP Senator for the Northern Territory, and who stood up for what rights. When you look through the legislation introduced into federal parliament today, you see the feds are trampling all over Territory rights, once again. We have this statehood debate going on at the same time. But, today in federal parliament, Labor introduced legislation to stamp all over Territory rights once again. So, which side of the tongue are they speaking on, this forked-tongue Labor government?
The interesting thing when you have a look through the statements that were made today, the speeches and the legislation, there is not a skerrick of evidence about children - nothing about child protection or abused children at all. That is what the intervention was about at the start. Mal Brough who was the former minister, and Senator Nigel Scullion, who was the assistant minister during that time, made it clear that was what this was about. That was the housing measures were supposed to be about until the Territory Labor government got it so wrong. That is what the policing was supposed to be about. That is what the quarantining was about - to protect children. However, today, Jenny Macklin, the federal minister for Indigenous Affairs, did not even talk about children. This impacts Alice Springs just as much as anywhere else in the Northern Territory.
I am not surprised this Labor government is sitting quietly because we remember the 2007 federal election when Labor ran around campaigning against the nuclear waste repository at Muckaty Station; how they were going to get rid of it. We have had two elections, 2007 and 2011, and the federal member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, has had every opportunity to overturn that decision. He has not done it. Speaking with forked tongue, he says one thing in opposition, and another thing when in government. We see now that the Labor mob is all out there campaigning against uranium mines - then Julia Gillard talks about the desire to export uranium to India. You just cannot take these people on face value. They say one thing and do another, whether they are in government or in opposition.
Now, we see what has been introduced today in the federal parliament in Canberra about Labor’s second intervention, which tramples all over Territory rights. Some measures of that intervention are good measures, but you have to ask why they are stepping into the Territory once again. Once again, it is because this government have failed to act in a number of areas. It is very interesting when you go through the second reading speech of the minister, Jenny Macklin, when she talks about the Northern Territory evaluation report. She says it shows us there has been no overall improvement in school attendance. They are talking about the intervention over the last four years: no overall improvement in school attendance.
There are only a couple of things left for this government to do in Indigenous affairs. One of them was housing. The federal government under the national partnership agreement, gave them $1.7bn - and didn’t they get that wrong!
Then, have a look at education. The minister here has said there has been no overall improvement in school attendance. Over four years, how many billions of dollars have been spent? And you have had no overall improvement in school attendance! You stand here and talk about education being the most important element. You have done nothing at all in four years – nothing at all. It is an absolute disgrace.
I look at the measures that are being introduced in this legislation that was introduced today such as alcohol management plans. You would think the Northern Territory government could introduce alcohol management plans themselves. But no, they did not do that, did not get around to that, despite the success in Queensland, and what is happening in Western Australia. They could not do it themselves, so the feds have had to intervene and do that. Now, they are bringing in licensing for community stores, and some sort of socialist, communist model to try to protect the food.
Sure, we all want to have good food security in these stores. However, do we really need to go in and apply a whole bunch load more bureaucrats to run around testing the quality of apples, ruling out any private sector enterprise that is possible? This is about driving out the private sector and making sure the Outback Stores are so successful. These are the Outback Stores that have buildings of bureaucrats in Canberra trying to oversee the management of community stores in the Northern Territory. This is just amazing.
The positive effect that has come out of this legislation, so far as I have read today – and I do need to read a little more into it and see what happens with the parliamentary inquiry – is the land reform measure about town camps; something that I have been calling for, for a long time. My colleague, the member for Fong Lim has called for it. The Leader of the Opposition, Terry Mills, has called for it. Even the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory has spoken about how we would like to see Bagot normalised, turned into a beautiful vibrant community, part of everyday suburbs. However, they did not do that. The Minister for Central Australia even had the hide to ask me what my plan was for town camps in Alice Springs. He is the Minister for Central Australia, being led by the Chief Minister who says he wants to normalise town camps. What are they doing? Absolutely nothing! Despite lobbying, despite pleading from people living on town camps to be able to purchase their own home, the federal government has now had to come in - Madam Speaker, it is directly relevant to the motion …
Madam SPEAKER: I am giving a lot of latitude, member for Braitling, but I have to say …
Mr GILES: Absolutely relevant.
Madam SPEAKER: … it is actually totally irrelevant. However, no one has called a point of order, so I will leave it.
Mr GILES: It is totally relevant because the federal government has introduced legislation today on how to overturn Northern Territory legislation on town camps in Alice Springs. That is exactly what they did today because these guys here would not do anything; they sat on their hands. They sat on their hands when children were being abused. They have sat on their hands while kids were not going to school. They talk about Indigenous home ownership but sit on their hands and do nothing. In fact, they are kicking people out of Darwin homes left, right, and centre; people who are trying to buy their homes. Long-term Aboriginal families in Darwin; you are kicking them out of their homes - left, right, and centre. There is a long list of family names I will not read out.
You say you are doing good things. You talk about all the things that matter to get you the headline. I note the minister for Indigenous policy has just issued a media release talking about how they are going to pay their rent on leases. Well, that is your job. That is not a landmark decision; that is your job. That is what you signed up for.
Dr Burns: Is that CLP policy?
Mr GILES: You are in government to pay the rental on those leases. Pay your rent that you are supposed to. The question is: where did you get the money from? Did you get it from the ABA? Did you take it from the mining account? Is that where you got the money from? They are the questions that need to be asked, minister.
You can come up with these little sly comments here, but you are the minister for Education. If you want to improve things in Alice Springs, get kids to school. What did Jenny Macklin say? ‘After four years of the intervention, there has been no overall improvement in school attendance’. Hundreds and millions of dollars, bureaucrats everywhere, and no improvement. She called you out. She called you out for your litany of failures. You are the same minister who presides over SIHIP - albeit, the member for Daly got it wrong for you in the first place and before that, the member for Casuarina, when they were Housing minister. Then you got stuck with this rotten egg, so to speak. But, you have those two portfolios. The two responsibilities for the Northern Territory government in Indigenous affairs - the two biggest ones - both a failure. When you have 15% of Aboriginal kids who are actually attending school in the middle years as per Budget Paper No 3, there is a real failure - a real failure.
When you are looking at addressing or identifying short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to address antisocial behaviour in Alice Springs, you cannot look to this government. The reason you cannot look to this government is because they cannot get any of this stuff right. That is why the federal government intervened on 23 November 2011 – today - with Labor’s second intervention because Labor in the Northern Territory has it so wrong again. Over all the social indicators - over all of them.
You talk about your tough alcohol measures, and we still have John Boffa in Alice Springs talking about floor prices on grog. Nothing has worked. Try the free market. Try getting people into jobs and developing businesses. Give them responsibility to own their own homes. I know people in Alice Springs who are desperate to buy their own homes on town camps. You will not even listen to them, so the feds have had to intervene. Jenny Macklin gave people in Alice Springs town camps a heads up a couple of months ago when she wrote to them, saying there was going to be changes. There was an indication in that correspondence that they would have to make a job of the Northern Territory laws because you guys will not do the job. This is the proof; this is the result. This is actually the result. They have had to come in here and intervene.
You would think when you had Labor/Labor, you would actually do something. I am looking at you, minister, because the two bush members will not look up. So, I apologise for directing all my comments to you, but I know you are listening where the other two just do not care. One of them is Indigenous policy minister and one is the member for Stuart, the Minister for Central Australia, who has no contribution to add in this debate at all. He has nothing to add for vision and direction of Indigenous affairs in the Northern Territory - nothing at all. Not a bright word has come from him in finding solutions. He has his Youth Hub in Alice Springs that is not open at night - no one can get in there, and no one knows who stays there. How many millions of dollars is it, member for Araluen? Hundred and whatever millions of dollars. No one knows what it is. It is just this ether that sucks up money. And he asks me for my plan! What are you doing, being transparent? You keep announcing federal government money, why do you not tell us exactly what you are doing?
I find it funny that this federal legislation comes down this week, when Labor is all in a tiff about statehood, and the feds have just come in with a second Labor intervention. There was a motion here the other day about Territory rights. I have not heard you say one thing today. You walked in here at Question Time all prepared to talk about Indigenous policy and ‘We have it right’. Did you say: ‘That damn federal government, they have trodden on our toes’? Not one word! You hypocrites! Non-performing hypocrites - completely non-performing hypocrites. We will get the member for Daly in here next talking about how he is building the bridge over the Daly River - federal government money. You are quick to announce …
Mr Westra van Holthe: Five years too late.
Mr GILES: Yes, announced in 2005, still not ready for the Wet Season, mind you - just like most of the roads that are getting repaired at the moment during the start of the Wet Season. Smart move. You might want to put your tenders out earlier next year. However, this is Labor.
Madam Speaker, I welcome the attempts by the federal government to make land tenure reforms on town camps in the Northern Territory. I believe it is a defining moment for change in the Northern Territory, and something that can move towards eradicating the apartheid approach of town camps in our suburban areas; the separatism that drives differences between whole communities.
If we do want to get change, people have to take on responsibility, and be able to buy their own home and have a job to service those debts. A part of that reform means we have to change the land tenure on town camps. It is something I have been working on for a long period of time with a couple of my colleagues. I really look forward to that coming into the future. However, I am disgusted that the Territory Labor government has done nothing in the last four years, and that the federal government has had to intervene again. It is good that the federal government has intervened to try to fix the Territory Labor government’s failures, but what was introduced today is a real congratulations to Senator Nigel Scullion and Mal Brough for the initiative they took four years ago in the interests of protecting children. I believe it has been ratified today by Jenny Macklin following that up.
For the member for Lingiari to go into hiding once again - the person who was so opposed to quarantining and to the intervention - having to eat humble pie again, or cower in a corner like normal, is just the way things go. This legislation, if its land tenure reform component works the way I would like to see it work - and I am very keen to work with the federal Indigenous Affairs minister, whether that be Jenny Macklin or Nigel Scullion or a Coalition government, to implement this process.
Food security may be well intentioned but, if we are going to have millions of dollars spent on bureaucrats assessing supermarkets or community stores, that is a failure. The legislation does not even identify who they can assess. It looks like they can assess roadhouses or pretty much anyone between Darwin and Alice Springs, including Darwin and Alice Springs. It needs some clarity, and I hope the parliamentary committee looks at that.
I would also like them to look at the area on alcohol, particularly where it talks about venues which, clearly, have concerns around those venues, of people going in there with a view to trying to close them down. It is a very poor regulatory response to this issue, and there needs to be a great deal more consideration put into this. I hope the parliamentary committee has a good look at that aspect of it too.
Quite frankly, the Minister for Central Australia should be condemned for failing to provide leadership on any short-, medium-, or long-term strategies for Central Australia. He has not done anything. He has not done anything to address antisocial behaviour. As crime is, once again, getting out of control in Alice Springs - and I spoke about it this week at length - we still have to live in an environment where things are not pleasant for anyone. People in other parts of the country would not want to live in an environment like that.
I commend this motion to the House, Madam Speaker. We will see whether or not the member for Stuart votes to condemn the Minister for Central Australia.
The Assembly divided:
Motion negatived.
Continued from 17 August 2011.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, this motion was brought to the House in August, some few months back, not long after, from memory, the ban had lifted. Perhaps it had not, I cannot recall now. However, I thank the minister for his comments and I thank all other members who spoke to this motion.
There is no doubt the suspension of the live export trade had a devastating effort on the Northern Territory, in the industries as well as the communities across the Northern Territory, if not across northern Australia. Whilst the ban has been lifted and the trade resumed, there still is much work to be done to get us back to the position that we, as the Northern Territory in the industry, were in, prior to the suspension.
It was a poor decision by the Commonwealth government, and it was badly managed by both the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments. I fully expect many lessons have been learnt from this incident, and that such poor decisions are never taken again in the future without consultation with the Northern Territory government. I look forward to hearing, at future dates and times, of the progress of the resumption of the trade, and also work by the government in finding new markets for our live export trade. It is very important, not only to those industries involved - notably the pastoral industry, the agricultural industry, the helicopter industry and the transport industry - but to all of the Northern Territory.
Motion agreed to.
Continued from 19 October 2011.
Madam SPEAKER: Do we have someone to speak on that?
Ms Purick: Where is he?
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I oppose this particular bill raised by the member for Port Darwin. Madam Speaker, the …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
A member: They are not used to getting through so much business.
Madam SPEAKER: The Leader of Government Business has the call.
Mr Elferink: You must be embarrassed, Chris. Do you know what you are arguing against? Do you have the vaguest?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: I do. Member for Port Darwin, our argument will be that we appreciate the seriousness and the intent of the bill you have proposed here …
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: No, but…
A member: He is here now!
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: We also understand there are similar bills operating in other jurisdictions. However, we want to refer this bill to the Law Reform Committee of the Northern Territory to get a view on it, because whilst we understand its importance and the intent of what the member for Port Darwin is proposing, we believe there should be an expert view put on this for further consideration. Having said that, Madam Speaker, I will now hand to the Attorney-General.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, the government is aware that this type of legislation does exist in four other jurisdictions in Australia, and this particular legislation appears to be the Queensland version of that legislation.
The government supports the protection of our community from sexual predators. However, this type of post-sentence regulation requires careful analysis and consideration, particularly in regard to the suitability within the Northern Territory jurisdiction. I have concerns about simply picking up the Queensland version, as the member for Port Darwin seems to have done, and settling it down into the Northern Territory without considering the local needs and issues here. The context in which the legislation will operate is setting the legislation up for failure. This government does not want to see any legislation fail and, in particular, legislation which is intended to prevent the commissioning of any further offences.
This is why the former Minister for Justice and Attorney-General referred the question of whether this type of legislation is appropriate or suitable to the Northern Territory to the Law Reform Committee, as the Education minister has highlighted. She did that in August of this year, so it is with them at the moment - headed up by Austin Asche - and they will be getting together an expert panel with experience for this particular matter.
The government recognises that this type of legislation is not something that can be translated easily into the Northern Territory context. It certainly is not a cut-and-paste option for us. It has taken a more prudent and careful approach to developing such a policy within the Northern Territory. The Law Reform Committee is equipped to undertake thorough research and analysis on all issues surrounding the construction and implementation of such a regime within the Territory. Following the committee’s report, we will consider whether we go ahead with it or not.
In the meantime, this is not to say during the intervening period our victims of crime or concerned community members have no protections available in the Northern Territory. For offenders who have committed sexual offences against children, the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Registration) Act mandates reportable offenders report to police after their release. The failure to comply with those reporting obligations is currently punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years, which will shortly be raised to a maximum of five years of imprisonment following passage of the government’s Criminal Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 that was passed in October this year.
This act also allows police to apply to the Court of Summary Jurisdiction, the Magistrates Court, for a prohibition order. These prohibition orders can prohibit the offender from engaging in certain types of behaviours, contacting certain people, being in certain places, and working in certain types of employment - a fairly broad range of measures that can contain people who are given these prohibition orders.
If that person fails to comply with the prohibition order, they will be punishable currently for two years imprisonment. Again, that will rise to a five-year maximum penalty with the passage of the legislation I mentioned previously.
The government is committed to protecting our community, but it needs to be done in a way that is carefully considered and examines the sufficiency of existing safeguards already in place, such as the Care and Protection of Children Act, and ensures the policy instruments chosen are the most effective vehicles in the particular circumstances within the Northern Territory. The government does not wish to set such a scheme up for failure by failing to take into account all the issues that are involved, including whether you can actually deliver the intended purpose of controlling and rehabilitating offenders and protecting the community.
Although I can see where the member for Port Darwin is coming from, it is something we want to get right. It needs to be considered. The Law Reform Committee is the correct vehicle for that investigation and appropriate recommendations to come back to government. We do look forward to that work coming back in a timely manner so we can thoroughly consider it.
Madam Speaker, we will not be supporting this bill. We look forward to the work of the Law Reform Committee coming back into the House.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, never in the history of this parliament has a minister been so poorly prepared to respond to a legislative instrument brought before this House, as we have just seen. He was so poorly prepared the Leader of Government Business had to talk about a bill he knew, effectively, nothing about for some five minutes whilst the Attorney-General got organised. Moreover, I do not actually believe the Attorney-General has the vaguest inkling of what is in this bill. That is evidenced by the fact that he has given a speech dealing with what I and many Territorians consider to be a very serious issue, in the most vague possible terms. He then talked about other legislation which is unrelated to this and, then, finished by saying: ‘Oh, we are going to flick it off to the Law Reform Commission’.
I did not expect government to support this. They do not, as a matter of policy, tend to support opposition bills. I accept that; that is a natural part of the process we have. However, to treat this genuine attempt of bringing a bill before this House with the contempt I have seen here tonight just demonstrates how poorly organised this government is. What I witnessed here tonight was embarrassing. Frankly, I have personally put much work, with the assistance of a number of other people, into bringing this bill before the House. This is not an insubstantial document. This is a bill which is some 38 pages long; it is not something that you just whip up the night before, put together, and walk into parliament with. It is a bill which was genuinely intended to protect victims of crime in the Northern Territory before they even became victims of crime.
I am thunderstruck at the lack of preparation I have seen here tonight because, as a matter of courtesy, if nothing else - not to me necessarily, but to the House and to the people of the Northern Territory - you could at least do a decent dissection of the bill before you just simply dismiss it. It is clear the minister was thoroughly, utterly, and completely unprepared for the debate here tonight, and that the Leader of Government Business did not have the vaguest idea what he was talking about, simply because he could only refer to it in the most general terms.
This is a genuine attempt to deal with issues. I would have been more than happy to give the minister and the Leader of Government Business a full and complete briefing. I am forever being told on this side of the House to get a briefing, and I get many of them. I try to find out as much information as I possibly can about government bills as a general rule, unless they are so screamingly obvious in their intent you do not need a briefing. I would have been happy to provide the ministers and law officers with a briefing, but none of them bothered to even pick up the telephone.
The minister is correct; this is modelled largely on the Queensland model. I had looked at the other models prior to bringing this model into the House, and the Queensland model was the one I thought would work the best in the Northern Territory. Did the minister discuss the four models available? No, he simply said there were four models available because that is what his briefing note said.
One of the reasons we looked at the Queensland model is because it does work in rural and remote communities just as well.
This bill was intended to keep people in custody beyond the expiration of their prison sentence with a view to preventing those people, where they showed a high likelihood of becoming sexual offenders, from offending again. A version of this law was introduced in the New South Wales parliament many years ago and, from it, came one of the most famous constitutional law cases in this country’s history; namely, the Kable’s case. It is right up there with Boilermakers’ case with regard to fame in the constitutional structure of this nation. It, ultimately, meant the New South Wales law was determined to be ultra vires. However, as a consequence of that, Queensland introduced a similar legislative instrument which addressed the issues identified in Kable’s case and that, too, found itself in the High Court having its validity challenged.
One of the other things that made the Queensland legislation so attractive is because its validity was challenged in the High Court, and the High Court determined it was a valid piece of law, which meant the legal instrument I was offering to the House here was, in every likelihood, going to be a legal instrument which would be able to survive a challenge. I am fully aware of the - for lack of better words - flirtation with the principles of double jeopardy this type of legal instrument suggests.
I am fully aware one of the fundamental principles of double jeopardy is you cannot be punished twice for the same offence. Which is why this bill goes to so much trouble and so much detail to make certain the person who is subject to an order under this legislative instrument is not being punished but, rather, restrained from raping children, women, and men, if the case may be, again.
I do not walk into this House lightly with a legislative instrument that would suggest we would keep people in custody beyond the term of the expiration of their sentence, because I believe in the rule of law. I also believe in victim protection. If either minister could have stood on their hind legs in this House and had the courtesy to describe how the bill worked, I would have been at least satisfied they had done more than the merest of cursory investigations into this matter, and asked someone on the fifth floor of Parliament House to scratch out some notes on the back of a beer coaster and say: ‘This is how we dismiss legislation from the Country Liberals’.
I do not mind the fact this has been referred to the Law Reform Commission - I will be checking with the Law Reform Commission as to whether, indeed, that referral has taken place - because that is probably not such a bad suggestion. However, no one from the department of Law, or the minister’s office, has telephoned me and said: ‘This is what we want to do with this because the Country Liberals have a point that might be worth exploring’. No one has bothered to do that. The contempt with which this bill has been treated disappoints me, to say the least. It is not as though I am working in a vacuum here; there will be people who read this Parliamentary Record who have an expectation of this Parliamentary Record.
I asked victims of crime organisations to comment on this bill and get their support, including organisations in other states which deal with offences against children in particular. They will be shattered when they see, not only the government has resisted this bill - something that I expected, and warned them to expect - but, moreover, the fact the government was so poorly organised the Attorney-General had to be covered by the Leader of Government Business, to deal with this matter. Then, the Attorney-General gave a five-minute dismissive little meandering speech. I am gravely and profoundly disappointed, because this government has failed to offer the courtesy it has a duty to do, not only to members of this House, but to the people who look to this House for leadership when it comes to these sorts of things.
What I am terrified of is that, whilst we muck about with this, some prisoner at the end of their sentence, even despite of the fact their parole has been extended as far as it possibly could be - they have served their full term, have not been granted parole - now has to be released. That prisoner leaves that prison and, within a few days, is busy raping a child or a woman. That is what this bill would have prevented from occurring. It is not going to happen now. There is no potential; there is no legal vehicle where we can restrain those sort of people.
I have spoken to prison officers about this bill. There are prison officers who today stand in prisons and look at prisoners as they walk out the door, and say: ‘We will be seeing that person shortly’. They are talking about rapists. They know there is a high likelihood these people will go back and reoffend within moments of being released. I am desperately upset that the government could not find its way to bring in some amendments. Gosh, I would have accepted this: ‘John, we cannot really support your bill, we want to find some problems with it, but we have another bill that we will bring into the House and we will replace it with our version of the same thing’. I would have said, ‘Okay, that is cool’, because that would have been a genuine attempt.
I have seen this stuff happen: the number of times I have seen prisoners come out of prisons and reoffend. It does not make headlines, more often than not because, sadly, it often occurs in remote Aboriginal communities where the victims are not heard as much as victims in town. However, they are victims just the same. If you consider the problems we continue to have - and a future CLP government will continue to have - with the rape of children in remote communities, as well as in our towns - but particularly in remote communities - this bill was intended to give comfort. The government gives no comfort.
I am disappointed because I now fear that within the next few days, weeks, months, I will open a newspaper and, in that newspaper, will see ‘prisoner X released a few weeks ago from custody went out and raped a child’. This House, with this bill, had an opportunity to stop that from happening. This government has chosen to not grasp that opportunity, by whatever means available to it. They could have introduced their own bill. They could have supported this bill with amendments. They could have taken over this bill. I would have walked across the House and given it to them and said: ‘Stick it in your own name and say it is ALP policy’. I would have accepted all of that.
However, I sat here and watched what just happened, which was a three-ring circus of disorganisation. It sends all the wrong messages to the people who have come to me with these issues. I am going to go back and explain to them what I saw here tonight, and I know they are going to be desperately disappointed.
Madam Speaker, should there be a change of government, it will be one of my priorities, should I be the Attorney-General - should I get re-elected; there is no guarantee of any of this - that this will become one of the primary drivers of my Attorney-Generalship. It will become a primary driver of the CLP to bring legislation like this into force in the Northern Territory.
Again, I am just staggered with the contempt with which this government has dealt with this legislation. It was a genuine attempt to make a real difference. To see the government deal with it in the way that they have, speaks volumes about the people who sit on the other side of this House.
The Assembly divided:
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, there being 12 ayes and 12 noes, the result is an equality of votes. Pursuant to section 27(1) of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act, as there is not a majority of votes, the question is resolved in the negative.
Motion negatived.
Continued from 19 October 2011.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, this opposition bill proposes to amend the Criminal Code to introduce a new section 189B. Section 189B would provide that a person who has committed the offence of an unlawful assault causing death when a person unlawfully assaults another person and that assault results in a death. That penalty would be a maximum of 16 years imprisonment.
The government has previously considered this issue, and whether a new offence such as the one proposed by the opposition is required. In doing this, we identified a number of complex issues, particularly regarding how much such an offence could fit within the structure of the existing Criminal Code Act. This government supports improvements to our judicial system and we are constantly reviewing and amending the statute books with this particular objective.
It has been brought to our attention that the new offence proposed by the opposition has the potential to create a number of inconsistencies with the current structure of the Criminal Code Act. It is my understanding that these inconsistencies focus around whether the offence should be considered a homicide offence such as manslaughter, or as a lesser offence such as an assault or serious harm.
For example, on the current drafting, this offence relies on the criminal responsibility provision of Part II, and not Part IIAA which applies to all other homicide offences. As this is labelled an assault offence, the prosecution will need to prove an absence of consent in relation to the proposed offence where the consent is not an element of manslaughter or serious harm. This will cause difficulties for jury trials where manslaughter is charged and unlawful assault causing death is an alternative verdict, as a jury will need to understand and distinguish between different elements.
There are concerns regarding the appropriateness of the maximum penalty and again, whether it appropriately reflects the homicide or the lesser, non-fatal offence. The maximum penalty for this offence is 16 years; however, under the current laws, a person who unlawfully assaults a person causing their death may be tried and convicted of manslaughter, which attracts a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
I have not sought advice on how sentencing would be affected by this reduction in penalties. However, a reduction in the maximum penalty can only limit the sentencing options of the sentencing judge and, potentially, result in a lesser sentence than may currently be obtained. So, that discretion is limited to the judges. It is because of these concerns that my predecessor referred this matter to the Law Reform Committee in August this year - several months ago. I believe it is appropriate that, again, we rely on the Law Reform Committee, which is headed up by Hon Austin Asche, to consider this matter thoroughly. They will get together a committee which will look at this area, and it will consult with the profession and also guide the government with its recommendations.
Accordingly, the government cannot support this bill until we get those recommendations. This bill has been circulated across several departments within the Northern Territory government: the Department of the Chief Minister, the Department of Children and Families; Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and the DPP. The DPP is of the view that consideration of the bill should be deferred until such time as the Law Reform Committee comes back with its report. The police have come up with similar advice about the way forward; that is, waiting for the Law Reform Committee to come back.
I understand, again, what the opposition is trying to do but, as I have highlighted, your current bill limits the capacity of judges with sentencing, and there are some inconsistencies in it as well.
Madam Speaker, the government will not be supporting this legislation.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I have to say I am somewhat surprised to hear the minister saying in this House he is going to defer the bill, and then not support it. He just said this should be deferred …
Mr Knight: The DPP.
Mr ELFERINK: This should be deferred, and then he says: ‘By the way, we are not going to support it’. If the Law Reform Committee has not reported back, I would actually say, come and talk to me and I will happily defer the bill until the Law Reform Committee comes back. If you defer the bill until the Law Reform Committee reports back, and they actually come back and say this is workable legislation then, in that case, you would find yourself in a circumstance where the Northern Territory government could adopt this bill after receiving positive advice - if that positive advice was forthcoming.
Rather than give the consistent message to us and the parties who are interested in this matter - not least of whom was Amee Meredith, the widow of Sergeant Brett Meredith, who has been pushing this particular issue since her husband’s death - you would be able at least say: ‘We are looking at it seriously’. However, for you to say you are going to defer the bill and, in the next breath say ‘Oh, by the way, we will not be supporting this bill’ sends the wrong message to the people who have interest in this particular issue.
I am fully aware the matter in relation to the death of Sergeant Meredith as a result of being king hit in a pub one night has been dealt with by the courts, and the matter of sentencing has been dealt with by the courts. I am also fully aware that the offender in that matter was found guilty of manslaughter.
However, the hole this bill is trying to fix in our legislative instruments is if the evidence had been only a small amount weaker against the accused there would have been a finding, quite possibly, of not guilty. I am led to understand the determination of guilt in that particular instance relied fairly heavily on the CCTV footage which was picked up in the hotel where the death occurred. If, however, that evidence had not been available, it is entirely conceivable that in a similar circumstance where a similar death had occurred, a person accused of the homicide death – that is, manslaughter of another person - may well be found not guilty.
If they are found not guilty what happens then? There is no doubt the punch was thrown. There was no doubt the accused person had king hit another person. However, because of insufficient evidence to prove negligence - one of the two required elements of manslaughter is either negligence or recklessness - if neither of those two elements could be established in a manslaughter case, the person walks; they are not guilty. Whilst there might be a dozen witnesses who say ‘I saw him punch him’, if the requisite evidence of recklessness or negligence is not there, what you end up with is a not guilty verdict.
If you then go cascading down through the offences, the next available offence is aggravated assault. If you are charged in a case of manslaughter and the only available offence after that was aggravated assault, you would find yourself in the astonishing position, quite conceivably, where the court could hear evidence of the aggravated assault – that is, he fell over and he had a fractured skull - but you could not consider the death in the sentencing process, assuming you could even make aggravated assault stick.
What I was hoping this legislation would do is fill in the same gap other jurisdictions have found themselves in with similar legislative instruments. The problem is, when Amee Meredith spoke to me about this particular issue she was aware, in the instance of the death of her husband, it did not apply in that case any longer because manslaughter had been established. She has, nevertheless, become a strong advocate for this concept of one-punch homicide because there are so many other examples that fall between the cracks. This is a legislative instrument aimed at picking up what falls between the cracks.
Justice Barr, in his sentencing submissions in relation to the Meredith matter, touched on the broadness of the offence of manslaughter. He said, from memory, that it could be anywhere from anything just shy of murder to a prank gone wrong, so long as you could demonstrate the requisite elements of recklessness or negligence.
This legislative instrument sought to remove that particular challenge or, at least, part of that challenge. I note in the sentencing remarks of the court reviewing the sentence that had been handed down to the accused in that matter that they make some comments about one-punch homicide - and they are not particularly flattering comments in relation to one-punch homicide. However, if I now about those sorts of comments why does the Attorney-General talk not about those comments? Surely, those comments are available to him as well? Surely, he is keeping an eye on one of the most high-profile cases that has gone through the courts of the Northern Territory in the last 10 years? He makes no reference to that; no reference to the comments being made off the benches. He simply says they are going to flick it off to the Law Reform Committee and have them look at it.
Not everything this government does goes before the Law Reform Committee. In fact, only a fraction of what this government does goes before the Law Reform Committee. So, I do not see, in any way, that this government is at all genuine about dealing with this law. They want it to go away, but they are sensitive to what they consider to be a political attitude; that is, the political attitude that they have to deal with this as a political problem. Rather than simply saying they do not like it and do not approve of it, and giving us some good reasons for why they do not like it and do not approve of it, they simply say they are going to flick it off to the Law Reform Committee. The reason is they do not want to be seen to be rejecting a plea from the widow of Sergeant Brett Meredith.
What is really happening here and behind the scenes is this is a political obfuscation. It is not really dealing with a legislative issue, which I believe it should be dealing with. If this government did not approve of this particular legislation, they would do what they normally do, which is to just walk in here and say so. However, the point is they do not want to have to deal with this issue. They would rather flick it off to someone else and get someone else to reject it on their behalf. They have become so flaccid and so insipid as a government that even a simple rejection of a legislative instrument, as short and as brief as this one is, is something they just do not want to deal with.
I am thoroughly disappointed the government has failed to understand what Mrs Meredith is attempting to achieve. I am thoroughly disappointed they have not taken the comments we have brought into this House under consideration. I am thoroughly disappointed I did not hear even a brief dissertation, if you like, from the minister and the Attorney-General, in the law surrounding manslaughter and the law surrounding one-punch homicide as it operates in other jurisdictions, so as to convince Territorians they have even bothered to look at how this legislation works in other jurisdictions or, for that matter, bothered to do any homework into homicide at all.
The minister has 45 minutes in which to respond to a bill like this, as the minister with carriage. He was on his feet for about eight or nine minutes and then said: ‘Oh well, it is all too hard. We will flick it off to the Law Reform Committee’. The Law Reform Committee is suddenly the only source of Northern Territory government policy? Is that what we are meant to believe? The Law Reform Committee is the only source the Northern Territory government will take advice from …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, I am sorry, it is 9 pm. Do you wish to continue for up to 10 minutes, or would you prefer to have it deferred to the next General Business Day?
Mr ELFERINK: I think we will defer it to the next General Business Day, Madam Speaker. The reason being that Mrs Meredith wanted to be here to watch the government’s attitude to this bill. Unfortunately, it has come on tonight unexpectedly. I would like to hold it over so, when we divide the House, she can see those people who vote against the policy she wants to protect.
Debate adjourned.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, pursuant to standing orders the Assembly is now adjourned.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, tonight I wish to talk about The Nutcracker Ballet, held last Saturday night, 19 November 2011, in association with The Palmerston Association for Dancing at the Darwin Entertainment Centre, in the Playhouse Theatre.
The Palmerston Association for Dancing is an association in my electorate; the electorate of Drysdale, and captures many dancers from right across Darwin, including those mentioned by the member for Fannie Bay two days ago in this House. Two of those dancers who are going to Western Australia come from The Palmerston Association for Dancing and, trust me; they are fantastic young dancers doing a great job. They are Cameron Goodman and Nicole Kershaw particularly; they are fantastic young dancers.
One of the dancers who was here last year has skipped away to Paris, to further her skills. This time, we had two international dancers come across.
Before I table the document for posterity, I would like to quickly read some information for everyone to share:
The Director’s Introduction
That is written by Jan Hedenig. Jan is the Principal for The Palmerston Association for Dancing. Some members may like to know that I actually participated as an artist last Saturday in this lovely ballet.
First scene, up there on stage dancing around having a great time - it was fantastic. A great many rehearsals went into that and, as any performing artist know, it does take a great deal to either get it right or get it wrong on the night. Either way, you are still up there having a great time.
I would like to quickly mention the production team. Artistic Director and Choreographer, Jan Hedenig; Musical Director, Dr Martin Jarvis OAM; Producer, Palmerston Association for Dancing; Production Manager, Chris Osborne; Sound Production, Darwin Entertainment Centre; Make-Up Design, Jane Marshall; Wardrobe Management, Lara Kershaw; Costume Construction, Maxine Way, Lara Kershaw, Pam McLeod, Margaret Carroll, Veronica Statham; Christmas Tree Artist, which I have to say was an amazing Christmas tree that went all the way to the top of the Darwin Entertainment Centre. It was a massive tree that grew as part of the actual production - it was an amazing tree in itself - created by Darren Williams. Other members of the production team were: Castle Artist, Stacey Albano; Poster Artist, Catherine Paton; and Resident Musician, Doug Loft.
Guest Principal Artists included: Sugar Plum Fairy, Madison Keesler, and she appeared courtesy of San Francisco Ballet Company. Now, this is somewhat like AFL players; they have to get approval from the dance companies they are involved with, so many thanks to the San Francisco Ballet Company. Prince of Land of Sweets, Adam Thurlow of the Australian Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet.
Local Principal Artists: Clara, who is the young girl in the Nutcracker, Michelle Wilson; the Nutcracker himself, Cameron Goodman; the Magician, who is Drosselmeyer, Nick Manly; the Mouse King, Nick Manly; Herr Stahlbaum, Ross Bohlin MLA, so I was the father of the family; Frau Stahlbaum, Sheree Higgins; Fritz Stahlbaum, Kaiden Oats; Harlequin Doll, Michelle Buse; Columbine Doll, Terri-Anne van Cuylenburg; Spanish Dancer, Crystal Loft; Arabian Dancer, Nicole Kershaw; Chinese Dancers, Sau-Ching Leung and Georgia Chin.
Adult Party Guests, Adam Falconer, Nadine Mellor, John Phillips, Karina Osborne, Emily Corpus, and Morris Pitt.
There are many more names you could mention, because there were over 100 artists involved. Many of them were, as the member for Nelson mentioned, the little pint-sized children, the Snowflakes and the like, who danced energetically across the stage in their beautiful white outfits. It was absolutely fantastic to see so many.
Really, for a small local association, everyone I have spoken to has really been captivated by this particular performance. I was involved in another performance two years ago as King Triton in Little Mermaid, by the same dance company, also at the Darwin Entertainment Centre, and that was a fantastic performance, but this one just seemed to have a little bit more magic to it, for whatever reason - whether it was the different themes involved or the colours and the people involved - it was just amazing. I was wearing a suit of the period 1800, more like a curtain than what we would call a suit today.
The association, the mums and dads and the families, just think about the logistics of carefully bringing all these kids in, getting them dressed up in their various costumes, make-up on, the whole thing. No one misses out here. It really is amazing to be involved in such a big production. Full house, over 800 people rocked up. You cannot see the people out there in the crowd, but you know when you finish a particular set and the crowd wildly cheers and claps; then you do another piece, and the same thing happens again. Of course, it is not just you, but it is the fact that everyone has done their bit to really pull off an amazing performance.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I seek leave to table the program.
Leave granted.
Mr BOHLIN: Thank you very much. I will quickly sign that for Mr Mills. There you go, Mr Mills.
Thank you very much to the association for allowing me to be involved. Thank you to Donna Ellice, my electorate officer, for helping out with some of the set design and getting people involved; much of the work our electorate office does is to help this local organisation. There are many sponsors listed in here as well. Well done; it was an amazing night - a night to remember.
Mr HAMPTON (Stuart): Madam Deputy Speaker, that is going to be a hard act to follow.
Tonight I acknowledge the achievements of some great Central Australians. These people are inspiring and courageous and, to my mind, no one exemplifies these attributes more than Centralian cattleman, Rob Cook.
Many in the House may know Rob, even though he is not a bloke who seeks the spotlight. Rob has shown the country that having a disability need never hold you back; his terrible helicopter accident in 2008 left him a quadriplegic, and made national headlines. However, it is his recovery and determination to achieve, despite his disability, that is the real story.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Rob a few times, most recently when he was on his trek across the Tanami to raise funds, at a large fundraising event held on Mount Doreen Station in my electorate. Part of his message was to encourage other farmers with disabilities to stay productive.
Rob Cook became the first person to travel the Tanami track, more than 700 km from his home on remote Suplejack Station near the WA border to Alice Springs, in a wheelchair. He has been determined to continue his working life on the station and, with the support of his wife, Sarah, his family and friends, he is doing that.
I might add, Rob is also a very talented artist and I am proud to say I have one his pieces of art in my electorate office in Alice Springs.
Rob Cook has been travelling the world lately on his Nuffield scholarship studying innovation and technology within the beef industry and looking at ways to encourage injured producers and farmers to remain actively involved in their business. Last night, he was awarded the National Pride of Australia Courage Medal in recognition of his amazing achievements. He was also recognised recently in the Territory’s section of the Australian of the Year awards as the Local Hero winner.
I pass my congratulations on to Rob Cook, and I am sure his family, his wife and children, are very proud of him. Rob, you certainly are a Territory inspiration.
Also, Central Australians figured largely in the NT Australian of the Year awards. Alcohol reform campaigner, Dr John Boffa, was recognised as the NT Australian of the Year for his years of work in getting grog reforms on the national agenda. I have had many discussions with John on the topic and his passion and dedication, as well as his commitment to improving the lives of Territorians, is to be commended.
John first came to the Territory 23 years ago when he went to work at Anyinginyi Congress in Tennant Creek. Now a GP and the Public Health Medical Officer at the Central Australian Aboriginal Health Congress in Alice Springs, John has devoted his career to changing alcohol use patterns in Indigenous communities.
Over the years, John has played an active and inspirational role in changing attitudes towards alcohol in Northern Territory communities through supply reduction, early learning and mental health programs. He continues his remarkable contribution as the spokesperson for the People’s Alcohol Action Coalition reform group. He has been a representative on the Alice Springs Alcohol Reference Group and played a strong role in the development of the Alcohol Management Plans in the Red Centre.
Again, I pass on my, and the government’s, congratulations on his award.
The Northern Territory could not have had better representatives in the national Australian of the Year Awards for 2012 than Rob Cook and Dr John Boffa. We are very proud of them.
It is not just individual Centralians who have been getting the gongs. My favourite radio station, CAAMA Radio, won the Contribution to Indigenous Broadcasting award at the 2011 Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Awards Ceremony on the weekend. The award, known as the Voxie, represents a big year of reporting, broadcasting and hard work by a dedicated team. I pass on my congratulations to GMAN and all the CAAMA mob in Alice Springs on a job well done.
While I am recognising these achievers, I would also like to congratulate Marion Swift from the Ntaria Community and Alison Andrews from Manyallaluk in my electorate of Stuart who were recipients of this year’s Aboriginal Health Worker Excellence Awards. Marion is part of the Child Health Development Program at Ntaria Health Clinic and was presented with the highest honour, the Legend Award, as well as winning the Remote Health category.
Ms Swift has been an Aboriginal Health Worker for 28 years and during this time she has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to her community of Ntaria and to the wellbeing of children and young people.
Ms Andrews won the category of New Practitioner for her work at the Manyallaluk Clinic. She completed her Certificate IV in Aboriginal Health Work last year and was nominated by Sunrise Health staff from Katherine. Her sister, Andrea Andrews, also works at the clinic and says Alison loves her job and is really good at it.
Again, congratulations to all these award winners; they are certainly inspirations to us all.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker and star of The Nutcracker ballet.
Tonight I would like to read a letter from a constituent. I said I would raise this in parliament because he has raised some concerns about service in a particular government department. I raise it because I believe government departments sometimes forget there is a public out there and if people who are servicing those departments feel the service is bad, or people are actually rude or bad mannered, they find that quite upsetting, and this particular letter is about that.
The reason I am reading it is because there may be times the government has to step back and say: ‘Are we providing a good service to the public? Or are we just treating the public as people who just drop in?’ I know there are many good public servants who treat the public well, but there are times when I hear, as I will quote from this letter, there is not always good service and, if I were the minister, I would be asking questions as to why that was happening, because it does reflect on the government and, of course, the government does not want bad publicity. So I am putting it forward to the government tonight to see if this particular issue can be addressed and the service could be improved.
This is letter he wrote to me:
I worked for 16 years at Howard Springs Hardware, every day behind the counter, and the worst thing you can do is be short and sharp with people, because you want those customers to come back, so you treat those customers fairly. There were a few customers that probably did not need to be treated fairly because they were rude and arrogant themselves but, in general, one respected the people on the other side, tried to help them, said hello, had a smile on your face, and dealt with them properly.
I believe, reflecting on this letter, it might be time all government departments where people serve the public, may need to have an audit.
It may be a method I remember BP used. I used to supply eggs to many small shops in Darwin and many of them were BP service stations and you get to know that BP was probably one of the cleanest and best-looking companies, when it came to service stations, in the Darwin region. Why? Because every now and again they sent out an anonymous person; you knew they were coming at some stage, but that person went into the shop and asked a few questions, checked the cobwebs, looked at the shelves, and did all those types of things. They reported back to BP, and BP would report back to the owner of the shops if the standard of service was not up to scratch.
Perhaps that would be good for government to do. You could employ an anonymous person to go round to government departments, do some transactions with various facilities; it does not have to be MVR, the Receiver of Territory Monies, or it could be at the hospital, it could be any government department where members of the public go to get advice. I believe it would be worth doing to see whether standards are slipping.
The gentleman who wrote this letter believes standards are slipping. He obviously has a reasonable complaint - you would hope you could get your car registered in a reasonable time. There is nothing worse than sitting on the phone for 20 minutes and end up with someone who is grumpy and rude at the end of it. You really think: I am not going to have a happy day.
I put the suggestion to the government that, first of all, they take this particular complaint seriously and investigate the reason this gentleman had so much trouble getting his car registered.
Second, it would be good if the government did an audit of all those sections of their departments that deal directly with the public. Planning, that is one area that deals continually with the public; the Building Board deals directly with the public; the bus service deals directly with the public. It would be good to see if the standards of service we hope are used in dealing with the public are what most people would find acceptable - a happy, cheerful, service that is polite and efficient at the same time.
I ask the government to take notice of this letter, and take on those suggestions I have made tonight.
Dr BURNS (Johnston): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, child protection is, of course, is an extremely important issue in the Northern Territory, and it is a matter being debated, quite rightly so, in this parliament in a robust manner. I believe that is the way it has to be.
Tonight I want to talk about the adjournment debate given last night by the member for Araluen. My underlying message here is I believe a few rocks were thrown last night against organisations and, ultimately, individuals, that are quite hurtful and, I believe, ill-directed. I am not going to get savage about this, member for Araluen, but I want to talk about it.
In your adjournment speech last night you talked about the annual report from the department, and about $700 000 that had been granted to the Menzies School of Health Research for research into chlamydia. The underlying assertion of your speech was there was an agenda going on, particularly on the part of the department, to explain away the high rates of reporting for chlamydia within the Northern Territory and this research project was a vehicle, because it was examining possibly alternate sources of infection or issues to do with the diagnostic tests, a Trojan horse, if you like, to explain away high rates of reports of STDs.
You said things like: ‘They are using $700 000 of federal government funds or taxpayers’ money to try and find a non-sexual abuse reason for children in the Northern Territory having chlamydia’. You talked about the fact, which is correct, that questions have been raised about whether other modes of transmission were possible, and that this mechanism would determine whether a child protection police response is required. You also said towards the end of your speech that in the annual report: ‘The government endorses expenditure of $700 000 to try to prove that children with chlamydia may not have acquired it through non-sexual means or through vaginal birth, is mightily suspicious from your perspective’.
I hope I have put forward the arguments you raised here last night. I would like to talk about these assertions, and encourage you to visit the Menzies School of Health Research, and talk with the researchers there and find out about their work and what this particular project is all about.
I will also speak about the Menzies School of Research in and its importance to the Northern Territory. I want to talk about it as an ethical organisation.
I have a conflict of interest here, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, in that I spent about seven years at the Menzies School of Health Research. Actually, the chief investigator of this research project alluded to by the member for Araluen was my boss, and is a friend of mine, Professor Bart Currie, someone I admire greatly. The Director of the Menzies School of Research is Professor Jonathon Carapetis, who was a colleague of mine there; he is a paediatrician and he investigated and brought about changes in service provision for rheumatic heart disease across the Northern Territory. Bart Currie, of course, is well-known as an infectious diseases physician and someone who gives much of his time to travel to remote communities as a physician within the hospital. He is also one of the world’s foremost toxinologists and expert on meliodosis. He is the chief investigator here.
The first point to make is chlamydia causes both genital infections as well as eye infections. There are two different serovars of Chlamydia trachomatis which cause the eye infection and the genital infection. The wisdom over many years is these were two completely separate serovars that cause these infections, they were not interchangeable; but that notion is coming into question as to whether a child with an eye infection could inadvertently transfer that infection, or even organisms, from their eye to their genital area. That is part of what this project is looking at, and looking at the veracity. As well as this, it comes down to the testing for chlamydia and how accurate the DNA tests are in separating these two serovars; and there are questions about that.
There are also large questions about possible sample contamination, and work has been done overseas which shows, in environments where there is contamination with chlamydia, there can often be contamination of samples for analysis.
I hope I have summarised the questions asked about this research project. It is crucially important because there may be reliance in legal cases on this particular testing, so it has to be right. The whole issue of false positives is a very important issue that has to be settled for many reasons and, of course, there are often court proceedings along with that.
I also want to say in relation to the National Health and Medical Research Council which is funding this project to the tune of approximately $700 000 over a couple of years, this is an independent, autonomous body established under Commonwealth legislation. It is very difficult to get research projects funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. I know, because I got two of them when I was a researcher, and only 20% of projects actually are funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. There is a very rigorous process of choosing, and those projects chosen have to be scientifically valid; they have to be ethical in nature; and they have to answer very important questions.
Member for Araluen, I noticed in your speech last night you talked about this particular project as if it was a confabulation of the department; however, what you did not read in the annual report was the project is trying to get a better scientific understanding of whether there is any basis to concerns expressed by a range of professionals including doctors, child protection workers, police, and the courts in relation to possible sources of false positive tests for chlamydia in children and diagnostic test malfunction.
I am advised that the impetus for this particular project came from clinicians themselves, from people working in the field themselves, to answer a very important question. There are divided views amongst professionals about whether there are false positives, whether there is the possibility of cross-contamination or chlamydia being transferred from the eyes to the genital region, etcetera. There is debate about this professionally; however, there is consensus that this issue needs to be settled impartially and scientifically.
I encourage you, member for Araluen, to make contact with the Menzies School of Health Research and go out there to talk not only about this project, but they have some fantastic work going on there particularly in childhood development. There is a range of areas they are operating in, not just infectious disease. I believe they are a jewel of the Territory.
The Menzies School of Health Research was established by Paul Everingham’s government back in those days and has had some very fine people serve on the board including, I might add, Dr Richard Lim, the former member for Greatorex.
I will finish by saying that we throw stones in this place, and sometimes the unintended consequence is that we hurt others. These people are prestigious; they are honest; they are ethical; they are trying to do the right thing.
I suggest, member for Araluen, you go to the Menzies school and find out, not only about this project, but about the entire gamut of their work, the entire breadth and depth of their work which is recognised nationally and internationally. I believe you will come away from there with a very positive attitude to the Menzies School of Health Research and their research. I encourage you to do that.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Araluen): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I stand here tonight to respond to the comments made by the Leader of Government Business. He has picked up on my adjournment speech from last night in which I talked about the fairly unusual part of the Department of Children and Families Annual Report 2010–11 about research into false positive in the diagnosis of sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis infection in children.
I did read this article with some concern and suspicion, and I expressed that in parliament last night. This article I felt was not fitting; it did not really fit into the context of an annual report which usually reflects the business and the performance of the department. As the shadow minister for Child Protection, I thought it was highly unusual that this piece was even in the report, and I made note of that in my adjournment speech.
My concern was, given the context of this report on child protection, this piece was really saying that the department was supporting this research into the incidents of chlamydia infection in children and how it impacted, presumably, on the Department of Children and Families and the work it undertakes.
Now, what I am hearing from the Leader of Government Business is he feels a need to protect and defend the Menzies School of Health Research. My comments were not at all directed at the Menzies School of Health Research. My comments were directed fairly and squarely at the Department of Children and Families, asking questions about why they had included this piece on the research that the Menzies School of Health and Research was undertaking in terms of child protection and the incidents of chlamydia in children.
I do not believe this piece about the research has been put in the proper context, if I take on board what the Leader of Government Business has just said. It does not make sense that it should even be there if what he is saying is correct. I do not believe it has done the Menzies School of Health Research any favours by including it in there, if I believe what the Leader of Government Business has just reported because it really is a piece about health research, if what the Leader of Government Business is saying is correct; it is not really about child protection, apparently.
So, I do not believe you have done any favours by including this piece in the annual report of the Department of Children and Families. You have made no mention of eye infections in this piece. We hear tonight it has all types of implication, and there are many details missing.
For someone who does not know a great deal about the subject most people would read it and think: ‘Gee whiz, the department is putting a great deal of money into finding alternative reasons for why children have chlamydia, apart from it being contracted through sexual contact’. I have read it several times since I gave my adjournment speech last night, and I have had other people read it and everyone is saying: ‘Yes, Robyn, that is how I would read it, too. The department is spending a great deal of federal government money trying to find an alternative explanation as to how chlamydia is passed onto children.’
I will leave it there. The department needs to consider why they put this piece in the annual report for child protection. It apparently does not fit, and perhaps the government needs to give the Menzies School of Health Research an explanation as to why they have worded it the way they have, why they have included it in the report, and even apologise to the Menzies School of Health Research for, perhaps, misleading people like me who read it, as it does read, without much knowledge of the exact nature of the research and the condition.
The second part of my speech, I would like to pay tribute to a great Central Australian woman who passed away last week. Mrs Iris Harvey, known by most people as Mrs Harvey, passed away in Adelaide on 10 November 2011. Mrs Harvey was 94 years of age, and she leaves behind grandchildren and many people in Alice Springs who will forever love and remember this great Central Australian character.
Mrs Harvey owned and ran the Arunta Art Gallery and Bookshop in Alice Springs for 50 years. She was born in 1917. She lived in Renmark, South Australia until the age of 40, when she moved to Alice Springs. In Alice Springs, she took on the role as postmistress and also opened Territory Business Supplies. She operated both businesses on the same site. Mrs Harvey opened the Arunta Art Gallery and a bookshop next door in 1949 and it became a magnet for anthropologists, artists, geologists, and historians over the years. On the ABC website is a piece placed there by Marie Bout on 20 January, 2010 just after the Arunta Gallery closed after 50 years of operation. She says:
Ted Egan sent me a story about Mrs Harvey a couple of days ago. He says:
I am running out of time, but I pay tribute to this strong, committed, fierce businesswoman. She was a battler, a great entrepreneur, and a pioneer of Central Australia. Mrs Harvey was the owner and operator of the famous Arunta Gallery. Mrs Harvey will be remembered as a true Centralian, a great woman of the outback. I pay my respects to Mrs Harvey’s family and bid her a very fond farewell from the people of the Northern Territory who knew her, respected her and loved her. Thank you, Mrs Harvey.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I take this opportunity to acknowledge and congratulate Dennis Powley on successfully receiving the Chief Minister’s Public Sector Medal award at the Darwin Convention Centre on Thursday, 17 November.
A Territorian for 50 years, Dennis is very highly regarded by all his colleagues and throughout industry, and is known as a true bushy with a great sense of humour and vast outback knowledge. I have been told he is always willing to share this knowledge and experience with other staff and acquaintances. Dennis has high quality expertise with great interpersonal and communication skills, and he is renowned for achieving relationships with regional coordinators, DCI personnel and stakeholder groups.
Dennis is a qualified and capable civil maintenance supervisor and has become DCI’s troubleshooter in the Katherine region. The majority of Dennis’s career with the organisation was spent as a project officer in civil maintenance servicing remote areas, checking boat ramps, airstrips and road access across the Territory, and he is renowned for knowing the regions like the back of his hand. He has worked his way through the government since commencing his employment with the public service in Tennant Creek in 1985, where he worked for six years. Dennis and his family then relocated to Katherine, where he worked for 10 years, continuing to work in civil maintenance.
Dennis took time out from this full-time position and worked in Port Keats, liaising with the Indigenous community for a number of months gaining valuable skills which now assist him with his current position. Dennis has built significant relationships with the Northern Land Council and traditional owners across the Territory. That relationship has been further strengthened by Dennis’s role as DCI’s representative working with the NLC, a position he has held for three years. Dennis has demonstrated wonderful initiative over the years, including developing mapping skills and experience in the DCI environment.
A recent achievement for Dennis was the diversion for the Daly River Bridge construction. Dennis managed to form a land swap agreement with the traditional owners allowing the diversion across Indigenous land for the construction of the Daly River Bridge and, in return, took back the portion of land where the road had been. These mutually beneficial agreements have assisted both parties to achieve their objectives.
Dennis plays a lead role in communicating future projects with traditional owners, and liaises with them on the consultation for road projects, which include changing roads, taking out bends, laying asphalt, building bridges and making improvements.
Congratulations, Dennis, your contribution to DCI and the Northern Land Council is greatly appreciated.
Last weekend I had the privilege of attending and presenting the awards to the winners of six categories at the Fist Full of Films held at the Darwin Entertainment Centre. It was a great event, and once again reminded me of the huge talent we have in the Territory. The talent of emerging filmmakers across the Territory in remote communities and in our major centres is undeniable. Our unique cultural and physical landscape results in films that are distinctively Territorian.
The showcased works at Fist Full of Films varied from stories from town camps in Alice Springs, interviews in the Darwin Mall, to amusing insights of life in the Wet Season in Ramingining.
Screen Territory, the Northern Territory government’s agency for screen development, continues to support the development of Territory screen stories. Through Screen Territory, government offers a range of support to the industry, including the $286 000 Screen Territory grants program and intensive skill development programs.
A key focus of mine, as the minister for Arts, is the further development of practical ways Screen Territory can support amateur filmmakers to further hone their talents. Supporting these talented Territorians will help share the Territory’s stories and lead to the growth of our professional screen sector. 2011 has been a big year for our screen industry; two historical Territory documentaries have just completed filming, both supported with screen grants from the Northern Territory government, with combined budgets of almost $1.5m.
Croker Island Exodus tells the story of children during WW II who, with their carers, walked for miles through Arnhem Land to escape the war. It was filmed in Darwin and the Top End, directed and produced by Territorians, Mr Steven McGregor and Ms Danielle MacLean, with many Territorians employed in its creation.
Coniston: Telling it True tells the story from a Warlpiri perspective of the terrible massacres in Central Australia of Aboriginal people during the droughts of the late 1920s. It has been produced by PAW Media and Communications out of Yuendumu and brings together Mr Francis Kelly and Mr David Batty of Bush Mechanics fame, as creative directors.
The documentary development program, REALISATOR was attended by 20 Territorians and brought mentors from broadcasters ABC and SBS to Darwin. As a result of REALISATOR, one documentary project has been commissioned to be made in the Territory which will result in increased jobs and expenditure. Other documentaries are being further developed.
The feature-winning program IGNITE has resulted in the development of 10 screenplays by Territorians, and 30 Territorians attending specialised screen writing workshops. Sixteen Territorians have been supported to travel to attend screen markets that assist them in raising finance for their screen projects.
The Northern Territory government supports events that provide opportunities for Territorians to see films. Events that have been supported with grants include the Darwin International Film Festival, which is in its second year and had a total audience of almost 2000, a 36% increase compared to 2010. Also supported were the Sydney Travelling Film Festival, and Flickerfest.
This is a really vibrant part of our arts community, and I encourage Territorians to see it for themselves.
It is great to see Territory documentaries featuring in our screen vision projects and take an interest in what was happening with the documentary regarding the Coniston massacre. First of all, in meeting people at PAW Media at Yuendumu on a visit with the member for Stuart and my parliamentary colleagues from the Henderson Labor government, talking about that project and now following it through and seeing it in the production stage reminded me of a reflection I want to share with other Territorians, so I put it on the record as a reflection.
The commencement of the first school I started in the Northern Territory in 1981 on Epenarra Station. About 46 kids started there and the infrastructure was phenomenal. We were provided with one Silver Bullet caravan - one Silver Bullet for the teacher to live in, and one Silver Bullet as an ablution block. Those were the days!
It thinned out when the Canteen Creek community started to develop, but we always had well and truly over 25 kids there. Being their first school was an interesting experience, and it was my job not only to liaise with the community and the owners of the cattle station, but also to guide these children into their first experience of formal schooling. I did it pretty formally, and I reflected on the experience I had from teacher’s college and my work in western New South Wales, much advice from family and professional colleagues. It was a pretty formal affair, but we also had a great deal of fun and cultural exchange.
There was a very old woman living on that cattle station who, as a child, had firsthand experience of the Coniston massacre. It was a reflection I took home and, sitting alone in a Silver Bullet caravan on a beautiful water frontage block, looking out over the Frew River, I started to reflect that the community had put these children in my care. I was the teacher in charge and every day they were coming into that school, into a formal school education program, and adapting well to the discipline and rigour of a government school, yet returning home to humpies and sitting down with traditional people - their family and countrymen - and possibly listening to stories from that grandmother figure who I suggest was saying: ‘Be very careful of those whitefellas because they are very cheeky people’. I have taken that reflection with me over 30 years, and beyond, as an educator and still share it today because that was certainly a moment of reflection.
Now as a minister of the Crown and a local member representing many constituents, it is still as relevant today as it was then. In translating that into good government policy, it is very applicable. It is a very sensitive road, a very sensitive journey and we should exercise that sensitivity on all occasions when dealing with our constituents.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to mention a few happenings in my electorate.
I congratulate Tim Watson from Taminmin College who won the certificate in my name; I congratulate Tim for his great effort.
Tim has had a pretty tough year this year. One of his really close mates, Ben Witham, from Adelaide River - people would know the circumstances at Mt Bundy with young Ben and his lovely family and the trauma that occurred this year. Tim was a good mate of his, and was pretty traumatised by the events surrounding Ben’s death.
It was great to see the school community encouraging him and his friends getting around him and supporting him through Year 12. He did quite well; he had some really good marks and he completed his Year 12 certificate.
Well done Tim, a great effort, and I hope you go on to bigger and better things in the future.
I would like to mention the Volunteer Bushfire Brigade which is winding down at the moment. There were a few lightening strikes and fires around, but great work goes on at Dundee. The captain is Trevor Cockin and I was delighted to be there for the opening of the Dundee Bushfire Brigade earlier this year; it is a community rallying together and getting facilities. On the same site we have the first aid post as well.
All the staff are volunteers and they made a small amount of money go a long way at the Dundee Bushfire Brigade headquarters, and I look forward to attending many more functions there in the future. We have some Christmas drinks coming up and a Christmas party.
I also attended the Acacia Hills brigade headquarters, too, and it was a great opening of that facility. The member for Nelson was there, and it is another community coming together. Those bush fire brigade headquarters are real social facilities as well, bringing the community together. Once you get to know your neighbour you can appreciate concerns about fuel loads on their property and start to respect one another and try to look after one another.
Well done to all the volunteers at the Acacia Hills Bushfire Brigade.
Back to Dundee, I congratulate Alan ‘Kiwi’ Walker for gaining presidency of the Dundee Progress Association once more; he has done a fabulous job. He has had a few health issues of late and high work demands - he works away - but he has certainly done a great job in 2011, and I look forward to working with him in the future. We have much to do there and with the rest of the committee, and the sub-committees, we look forward to doing a great deal of planning work.
The Dundee Social and Recreation Club is another great organisation out there, and I am the patron of the organisation.
It was great to hand over a cheque for $50 000, the contribution for setting up the new clubhouse there. I thank all the current members, and special thanks go to the President, Peter Pin and all the members. Keith and Lyn Hill have done a fabulous job; they put in the submission and they lobbied me, and much of the credit goes to them for their tireless work since 2008. I have attended many of their functions around the place in people’s backyards and tents, and now they have their own block of land, which we granted to them, and given them some money to get started. I saw the fence go up the other day. They have a security fence around, they have cleared the block and they have got a pad down, so I certainly hope to see work going on through the Wet Season as well.
I acknowledge the new licensees at Dundee Lodge, Scotty and Summer, his partner. They have done a really great job there and look forward to the development of the lodge. The Halkitis family have bought the lodge and I look forward to all the events going on there. We had the rodeo; we have their birthday party coming up; there have been many fishing competitions, and the kids fishing competition was highly successful, and I look forward to helping Scotty in the future with that.
I also mention the great work that goes on at the Adelaide River Show Society, with the great volunteers and committee members. The President is Sandy McLean, she does a fabulous job, ably assisted by Deb Koch and Jan Powick. I also acknowledge Therese Balanzategui for her great work with the Adelaide River Show and the talent quest.
We recently had Remembrance Day at the war graves, put on by the ‘Nashos’, members of the National Servicemen’s Association; they did a great job getting that together, and it was the Adelaide River Show Society that provided the morning teas - I gave them a few dollars for it – and they certainly put on a great morning tea. Sandy’s chocolate lamingtons were absolutely fabulous. Well done to Sandy and all the crew. That was a great effort.
Just one last mention, we had the opening of the Batchelor Museum the other day. Congratulation to Jan Hills, she does a fabulous job with the Batchelor Museum Development Association. The community really came together in a fabulous way. We had Ally Mills there at the opening, and she sang some great songs.
It is really going to be a fabulous facility. They have the buildings now; they have secured the roofs and improved those facilities. The website will show a prelude to what will be in those buildings in the future; and it was great to be there. Well done to all concerned with the Batchelor Museum.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I wish to briefly talk about a person who runs a business in my electorate; a lady by the name of Carolyn Reynolds. Carolyn is a lady of English descent, but has decided to make Darwin her home and the place where she runs her business. Carolyn runs the Darwin Rock Centre, which is located at Doctors Gully inside one of the old water tanks dating back to pre-World War II, if memory serves me. She is a lady of such generosity of spirit I cannot but mention her in this House for the attention of honourable members.
Carolyn works very hard; she has a great passion for the community she lives in, and she has a great and generous heart when it comes to helping other people. Recently, during the Boating and Camping Expo in Darwin, she not only had her own stall there for the rock climbing facility, but she used the rock climbing facility and ancillary events there to raise money for a disabled young fellow who needed to be sent to Melbourne for eye surgery; and she raised quite a substantial amount of money for the young fellow. Which demonstrates where she could have been making money for herself, what she was actually doing was raising funds for other people.
This shows a generosity of spirit that businesses show all too often in our community, and she exemplifies that generosity of spirit. I believe it is praiseworthy and should be publicly applauded in this place.
She continues to let anyone who will listen know that any kids with disabilities can go onto her new kids climbing rock wall for free until the end of the year. This, again, is a decision that takes money out of her own pocket, but she has such a passion for what she does and for the community she lives in that I cannot forebear but to mention her in this House and let honourable members know that our community is full of people like Carolyn. She stands out, and her enthusiasm and passion for what she does deserves, if you like, a parliamentary scratch behind the ear, and that is precisely what I am giving her.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of Year 2/3 and 3/4 Berry Springs Primary School students accompanied by Ms Hayley Currington, Mr Robert Bonnar, Ms Cheryl Scott, and Ms Wendy Burgemeister. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
DISTINGUISHED VISITOR
Mr Damien Ryan
Mr Damien Ryan
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the gallery of the Mayor of Alice Springs, Mr Damien Ryan. On behalf of honourable members, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Take Two Bills Together
Take Two Bills Together
Mr McCARTHY (Construction): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills titled Building Amendment (Registration and Other Matters) Bill 2011 (Serial 187) and Building Amendment (Residential Building Consumer Protection) Bill 2011 (Serial 188):
(a) being presented and read a first time together and one motion being put in regard to, respectively, the second readings, the committee’s report stage, and the third readings of the bills together; and
(b) the consideration of the bills separately in the Committee of the Whole.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! We appreciate the motion; there might be a very good reason for the motion. However, we do not have a reason from the minister. I am wondering if he can explain to the House why he wants to cognate the two bills.
Madam SPEAKER: It is a motion. Minister, did you wish to speak to the motion?
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, Madam Speaker, I would like to explain that these are very complex bills and they are intertwined; they work together to deliver a very good result for the Territory. We have put them together as cognate bills and they are presented together today to provide the framework for the establishment of the residential building insurance and an orderly transition for industry.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, we do not generally have a problem with cognate bills; we are doing it with the national harmonisation legislation. However, there was communication between the minister’s office and this side of the House well before that legislation came into this House. Yesterday, the minister gave notice of this motion. He made no attempt to describe what he has just described. He tells us now that these are complex and difficult matters and they need to be dealt with together. We have no request, no evidence.
It is indicative of government members who think they can waltz into this place and get whatever they want done, done, without talking to this side of the House. We have a motion before the House, and that was hardly what you would call a full explanation. The motion the minister moved gives him as much as 30 minutes to explain to this House why he wants to cognate these bills.
Any communication from the Leader of Government Business? No. Any communication from the Whip? No. Any communication from the minister? No. And the answer will be: ‘You should have come and spoken to us’. No. This is your bill. You have to come and speak to us. This business about just expecting process is not something we are going to necessarily tolerate. Quite frankly, the explanation we just received from the minister was hardly a great guide to us. As a consequence of that, without any further information available to us, we will not be supporting this motion to cognate the bills.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, except for what I heard yesterday, that is all I heard as well. At times, I have concerns about cognating bills. Generally speaking, I would allow it to occur, but when the minister said there are complex matters in each stage, it concerns me that there is more in this than I would have thought.
Normally, when you cognate bills, one will be the main bill and the other will be smaller bills that ride along with it. If the minister is saying each one of these particular matters is complex - and this is an issue that is dear to my heart, because it relates to the failing of an Alice Springs building company where we looked at trying to find alternative ways to save people’s livelihoods that, unfortunately, had been destroyed by the failure of a particular building company. Even though the government did not agree with the solution I put forward, it said it would bring forward this legislation. It has taken a long time for this legislation to come before parliament. We expected the government to bring forward its solution to those particular matters that had caused problems in Alice Springs and elsewhere in the Darwin region - the member for Goyder would remember a particular building company that went broke and caused much pain for a number of people in the rural area.
I did not take much notice of this particular legislation from the point of view of whether it should be cognated or not, simply because I thought these matters would be like some of the other bills, as I said, where you get a main bill, and others just tend to tag along with it as, more or less, support bills. However, if the minister is saying each one of these is complex then I would rather have more time to debate each one - not because I want to muck up what the government’s project is, but I believe the government should ensure it has ample time to explain the complexities of these bills. We want to ensure we get this right.
I remember earlier this year we had a bill come before parliament - sorry, it might not have been this year; it was some time ago – where the government looked at having a building insurance bill, and it did not get off the ground. For various reasons, it was not going to work. That bill was put to one side, and I presume this bill is replacing that particular bill. There is probably a bigger onus on the government, if it did not get the first one right, to ensure the second attempt is going to be right. Therefore it should, I believe, be subject to more scrutiny than the first bill. If the minister is saying this is complex, then just on that word, I believe the government should allow us to debate each one of these bills separately.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, of course, it is up to the parliament to decide whether to approve cognate or not. Cognate is not unusual in these matters; they are intrinsically linked. The first bill goes to the administrative changes and powers of the registration of builders, the powers of the Builders Registration Board, and the second bill linked to this is around the consumer rights and protections. It is an entire package, complementary to each other. It is quite normal where you have a package of legislation where each piece is intrinsically linked to the other legislation, you do them as cognate.
It does not prevent scrutiny of the legislation to deal with them cognate; it is a procedural way that this parliament normally operates where you have a package that is intrinsically linked, but you have to deal with it through several pieces of legislation because of the requirements of Parliamentary Counsel in the process of separate bills. It is normal process in this parliament to deal with it as cognate. It is an intrinsically linked package. To do one without the other would weaken the entire package of reforms.
The second bill is linked to the first one in regard to the registration process, improved powers and scrutiny of the Builders Registration Board. The second one deals with the consumer rights and protection, so it is an intrinsically linked package.
That being said, it is always up to the will of this parliament as to whether we deal with it procedurally as cognate and be able to scrutinise thoroughly, entirely, and completely the entire raft of proposals within this package together, which would procedurally make sense. It has been the practice of this parliament for the 10 years I have been here. This is normal and is not about trying to diminish, in any way, the scrutiny of what is a fundamentally important reform to provide improved protections to consumers in the event a builder is not operating as they should be.
There are several elements to it. The first bill deals with the elements of the builders registration processes, the improved powers and scrutiny, and the improved requirements on builders. The second element deals with the consumer protection elements. They are intrinsically linked, which is why they have come forward as cognate bills. It makes sense. It does not prevent scrutiny in any way; it is a procedural way we normally deal with legislation which is intrinsically linked.
That being said, it is always up to the will of the parliament whether to deal with bills as cognate or otherwise. Regardless, this government is proud of the work and the effort it has undertaken, under the guidance of this minister, working step by step collaboratively with industry. The Building Industry Reference Group and several agencies of government have worked collaboratively through this process and we have come forward with a greater raft of protections for consumers to protect them from - there is a very small element in the Territory - any builders who are not operating in the way in which they should do.
Madam Speaker, by nature they should be cognate. They are linked together and form an entire package. Of course, it is always up to the parliament as to whether we proceed in a sensible, administrative process of cognating these bills or whether you want to separate.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, will the real minister for Lands and Planning please stand up? I support the comments made by my colleague, the member for Port Darwin, and the member for Nelson. I thank the Treasurer for jumping in and saving the skin of the Minister for Lands and Planning …
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order Madam Speaker! As Treasurer, because it is a warranty insurance scheme, of course I have been involved in this process.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr GILES: Thank you very much for that. As the member for Port Darwin said, we do not have an issue, generally, supporting cognate bills. However, to come here on some whim and ask us to trust the minister and everything will be right is not good enough. When the member for Port Darwin said you have 30 minutes to explain this motion, educate the parliament and the people of the Northern Territory about the reasons for this, it is very important to do so.
This minister has presided over a portfolio where we have seen debacles such as Red Rooster in Tennant Creek, caravan legislation, and the continuing issue of certification of buildings in the Northern Territory. We are still waiting on the implementation of the home builders warranty insurance. We have the continued debacle about Carey Builders where the government turned its back on all the victims of Carey Builders in Alice Springs, and people’s pain continues. This is the minister who presided over the registration of an undischarged bankrupt to become a licensed builder in the Northern Territory who caused untold pain to families in Alice Springs. Now, we see the growing issue of Finbuilt in Tennant Creek, his own town. Perhaps the minister could explain the situation of Finbuilt and whether DCI has made any overpayments to a now defunct builder. These are the things we need to understand and have explained in this motion. We need to know exactly what the motion is all about, not just ‘Trust us; I have everything right so far’. I believe the victims of Carey Builders would be questioning how we can trust this minister in this instance.
Madam Speaker, I stand by my colleague, the member for Port Darwin, who said we will not be supporting this motion. Until we get some information on what this is about, we cannot sit here on a wing and a prayer and trust the member for Barkly, the Minister for Lands and Planning, who seems to get everything so wrong! This is the minister who does not know how much a carbon tax will affect the price of a litre of milk. If he does not understand a carbon tax on a litre of milk, how can we trust him with a motion which has no detail at all? The Country Liberals will not be supporting this motion.
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Speaker, I confirm I have not heard boo from the minister, either. You would think a government that says it works collaboratively would, at least, talk to the shadow spokesman on the area. But, no, they are not like that. The Treasurer said: ‘We have worked very collaboratively’. Look at them now; they are scurrying around like headless chooks trying to convince the member for Nelson to jump on board with this. It is ridiculous!
Madam Speaker, we find out now the Treasurer is involved with the legislation; she wants to lump it all on to the Minister for Lands and Planning. I believe the whole thing is a debacle. Look at the way they are carrying on at the moment; they are at sixes and sevens, and completely lost.
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I support this cognate motion. As the Treasurer and the Deputy Chief Minister said, it is not all too prevalent but, often in this parliament, we have seen cognate bills come into this House.
The reasons were outlined very eloquently by my colleague. The fact is they are linked bills and, basically, what is probably destined to happen now, if this vote were to be lost, we would be dealing with them as separate bills. The minister would then have a second reading speech for each, and there would be ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Dr BURNS: There would be separate second reading speeches, there would be separate debates ...
Mr TOLLNER: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Maybe the Leader of Government Business might look at deferring some of these meaningless ministerial statements they keep running, and actually get down to doing a bit of business here.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, resume your seat.
Mr Conlan: Four days he had this week to get through it.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, you do not have the call!
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, what I am cautioning this parliament about is – obviously, the opposition is running headlong into a spoiling campaign for this particular bill ...
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: A spoiling campaign about a set of bills that would give protections for homeowners. It has been a complex issue, member for Nelson. Part of the journey started when I was Minister for Lands and Planning. I was the minister who gave a commitment to implement this scheme.
However, regarding the market and getting a provider, it has become quite complex. Also, we have been listening to the concerns of industry for some time. This will, inevitably, mean a delay to this process. That is the first thing. The opposition does not really care. They have had a horrible week so far. You talk about so far this week - they have had an absolutely horrible week. This is part of the push back. I actually anticipated the member for Port Darwin would run this issue about cognate bills ...
Mr Conlan: Oh, rubbish! Why did you leave the room?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! The member for Greatorex will cease interjecting!
Dr BURNS: There was always a chance he would not, member for Greatorex. Here we have a political campaign by the opposition about what they want.
The member for Nelson is very genuine in his concerns about complexities. That is exactly the reason why these bills have been put forward as cognate bills. We should not, as a parliament and parliamentarians, shy away from complexity. Many times I commend you, member for Nelson, because you are the hardest-working member in this place by far. The way you contribute to debate, do your homework, ask reasonable questions - sometimes quite profound questions that, as minister, I struggle to have an answer for at times - you have an important role in this parliament. The undertaking I give to you, member for Nelson, as Leader of Government Business, is we will not, in any way, try to truncate this debate. We will give you - and other members if they seek a briefing - a complete briefing about this, and we will have an extended debate on this very important issue.
I do not think we should shy away from treating these as cognate bills. There are reasons and the member for Karama has articulated those reasons far better than I can. We have been around this parliament long enough to know there are instances when cognate bills are genuinely required, and it is, in this case. I urge you and I implore you, member for Nelson, to support this motion for these bills to be treated as cognate bills.
Mr McCARTHY (Construction): Madam Speaker, I would like to make a few comments because it is fine to throw mud - and the member for Braitling is one of the best mud throwers on that side. But, I will tell you a little about me and the work I have done in preparing this legislation. It relates to a journey as the minister for …
A member: A journey!
Mr McCARTHY: Yes, it is a journey. I remember meeting with the member for Braitling in Alice Springs to try to settle an issue where a builder was operating illegally. This will not help people operating illegally, member for Braitling …
Mr Giles: How do we know?
Mr McCARTHY: … it will not help in that respect, but it will help Territorians. It will provide security.
This journey for me has been 18 months. Last night, the opposition walked out of this parliament at approximately 7.30 pm. This place shut down at 7.30 pm …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Braitling. Order!
Mr McCARTHY: This place had a matter of importance before …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please resume your seat.
Honourable members, I remind you this is, in fact, a parliament; it is not a place where people are brawling or behaving in a completely ridiculous fashion. If a person has the call, they are entitled to be heard. Our standing orders require me to keep other members as quiet as possible. That is what the standing orders are about; that is what each of you, as a member of parliament, has signed up to.
People of the Northern Territory do not expect their members of parliament to behave like juvenile delinquents, which is what I have just witnessed. It is atrocious! I am going to call the minister again and I would appreciate people listening. This is a serious debate about a serious matter, and members of this parliament need to decide how they are going to vote on this.
Minister, I call you, and please direct your comments through the Chair.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
What I was saying about the closure of parliament was that I gave notice of this at 2 pm and I have been approached by no one from the opposition. No one from the opposition wants to speak to me. They certainly want to make their mischief and play their games.
What I have in front of me is two bills that are intertwined. They are specifically linked. I mentioned it is a complex matter and no member of the opposition came near me. From 7.30 pm last night, I sat in my office and continued to work on electorate issues until after 10 pm. I was contacted by no one. Yet …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! For the information of the minister, this is his bill; it is his job to negotiate his way through this, not ours to come to you.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, resume your seat. That is not a point of order.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! It is quite normal for the opposition to flag any concerns with a cognate motion, if they have any concerns with that, prior to a cognate motion being moved.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, that is not a point of order either.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, you have the call.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
They are quick to throw mud, but they cannot take it. That offer is always open, and I have made it very clear that my door is open. The member for Braitling came looking for information on another very important matter about the national regulator of heavy vehicles. He spent 15 minutes with a team of department people I pulled together that worked on this for months and months – 15 minutes. He is the champion mud thrower. He wants to throw mud; he is not prepared to put in the work and to learn.
He raised the issue of Finbuilt. This is about protecting residential building, and I compliment the Department of Construction and Infrastructure which moved in and is completing the Finbuilt project in Tennant Creek - and completing it admirably. If he wants to throw mud at DCI, then throw as much as he likes, because the renal centre upgrade in Tennant Creek is being completed. It is being completed because of a very good strategy employed by the Department of Construction and Infrastructure that kept locals in jobs and kept Tennant Creek people working. That represents major infrastructure development in the town he just visited ...
Mr WOOD: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Relevance to the motion.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, can you keep to the motion, please. It is a …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, can you keep to the motion? It is a motion simply about cognating bills. If you can keep to that, please.
Mr Conlan: He does not know much about it.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, I have already called on you several times this morning.
Mr McCARTHY: These bills relate to each other. They support each other in, first of all, an introduction of the bill so then we can debate the nature of these bills. An introduction also supports more consultation with industry. They work together. This is a process I assumed would be supported because it is supporting Territorians. Outlined by the Leader of Government Business, this has been a long journey for government to provide protection and surety in a period of Territory growth we are witnessing. In record land release and, now, what we will see as record construction in the residential sector, we need this surety. That is what these bills are about.
I made the mistake of coming in here in good faith and facing a hostile opposition which wants to score points. That is fine, because my life is way too busy to be concerned with that approach. I welcome a debate. I ask that members in this House consider the nature of what we are doing, as government, with this very important matter.
We have cognated these bills because they are interlinked. There are two specific parts. One represents a first stage of consumer protection. I will outline exactly what that means if I am able to conduct this introductory speech. The second part is the matter of the residential building protection. They work together, they have been prepared together, and I have brought them to this House in good faith.
I do not mind the mudslinging, because the mudslinging is as good as it gets. If you had the job of government, you would understand. I hope you never get to understand, because I would hate to see the Territory in the hands of people who behave as you do - and behave ad infinitum with the same approach, the same story, the same abuse …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The minister has strayed way off the cognate debate and is now having a meander. You have given him a specific instruction …
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you very much, member for Port Darwin. Minister, can you just stick to the business relating to the cognate motion? This is not a debate about the bill. It is only a debate about whether the Assembly will accept the cognate motion. The only comments you can make relate to that.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. You have given me some latitude. I have not used half the latitude those on the other side use every time they get to their feet.
These bills are linked. They are presented as cognate bills, and I ask that the House accept that. Should they support this motion, then we will be able to move on to inform Territorians exactly what the legislation proposes. We will be able to get on with further consultation with industry, and with a debate in this House that is the most important business we can do for the Northern Territory.
The Assembly divided:
Ayes 13 Noes 12
Mrs Aagaard Ms Anderson
Dr Burns Mr Bohlin
Mr Gunner Mr Chandler
Mr Hampton Mr Conlan
Mr Henderson Mr Elferink
Mr Knight Mr Giles
Ms Lawrie Mrs Lambley
Mr McCarthy Mr Mills
Ms McCarthy Ms Purick
Ms Scrymgour Mr Styles
Mr Vatskalis Mr Tollner
Ms Walker Mr Westra van Holthe
Mr Wood
Motion agreed to.
BUILDING AMENDMENT (REGISTRATION AND OTHER MATTERS) BILL
(Serial 187)
BUILDING AMENDMENT (RESIDENTIAL BUILDING CONSUMER PROTECTION) BILL
(Serial 188)
Bills presented and read a first time.
Mr McCARTHY (Construction): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.
On 2 December 2010, I tabled in the Legislative Assembly a consultation bill to amend the Building Act for a residential building insurance (RBI) consumer package. This followed government’s announcement in July 2010 that it would move to introduce consumer protection measures following the collapse of a number of builders in the residential market.
Key elements of the RBI package in the consultation bill included regulated progress payments, consumer guarantees, a dispute resolution process, and residential building insurance. Industry feedback was sought on the consultation bills across the Territory in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and Darwin. The period for submissions ended in April 2011.
Government is committed to the objectives of the consumer package and has reviewed the package to address particular concerns. This comprehensive process has resulted in the introduction of two bills to support a two-stage commencement of the package. The two stages will allow a more manageable transition for industry. It is proposed to commence the first bill in the near future. Commencement of the second bill will be when the providers have residential building cover in place, and the building industry is ready.
The first stage indicates providing consumer information, and I am pleased to announce that the Consumer Guide to Building and Renovating in the NT is currently being finalised. The guide will assist consumers to be informed on the many matters that need to be considered when building or renovating a house. A dedicated website where the guide will be accessed will also contain related information and links to consumer affairs, registration of building practitioners, building regulation, industry peak bodies, interstate resources, and the like. The website will go live in December 2011.
The first stage of the consumer package also includes legislation to strengthen the requirement for defined assets to be maintained by a registered builder for the term of registration, and to regulate the quantum of progress payments. The second stage of the package is legislation for consumer guarantees, dispute resolution, and residential building cover.
I welcome comment from industry on the draft regulations by the end of January 2012 to inform debate in this House. I will now address the contents of each bill in turn.
The first bill is titled Building Amendment (Registration and Other Matters) Bill. The bill provides for the assets required for a builder to obtain registration to be maintained for the duration of the registration. The current asset requirement is $50000. Not maintaining their assets can adversely impact on a builder’s capacity to do business and, as a result, they can become higher risk builders. As this provision required changes to the sections dealing with registration, the opportunity has been taken to address three miscellaneous matters.
The first is the removal of provisions to register firms as building practitioners for other than building contractors. When the category of building contractor was added in 2006, firms were deliberately excluded. This was based on legal advice that a firm is not a legal entity and, therefore, registration of a firm was pointless at the best and misleading at the worst. When private certification commenced in 1993, provision for firms was in the legislation. There are no firms currently registered and it is considered appropriate for all categories of building practitioner to be either individuals or corporations.
The second miscellaneous matter relates to an existing provision for registered building contractors that are corporations. They are required to notify the Building Practitioner’s Board of any change to directors or nominees who are registered practitioners, and on whom the registration of the corporation depends. The bill expands this requirement to corporations in all categories of building practitioners.
The last miscellaneous matter is to remove a requirement for nominees of companies in the category of building contractor to reside in the Northern Territory. Legal advice is this is unconstitutional and must be removed. For a corporation to be registered as a building contractor, it must have a director or nominee who is registered as a building contractor in his or her own right.
The provisions in the bill require the Building Practitioners Board to be satisfied the registered director or nominee can provide adequate supervision of building work.
The opportunity is being taken in this bill to include a further miscellaneous matter. For some time, the Building Practitioners Board has been requesting the power of delegation to streamline the process to register practitioners. Powers of delegation are usual for statutory bodies, and the proposed delegation will also apply to the Building Appeals Board and the Building Advisory Committee.
The bill provides for the regulation of progress payments. Existing provisions require that there must be a contract for houses, and that the contract covers progress payments. There are no limitations on the quantum except that the deposit cannot be more than 5%.
Consumers who suffered most from the collapse of builders in recent years had made, sometimes under pressure, progress payments well in excess of the value of the works actually completed. In determining a system most appropriate to the Northern Territory, it has been determined to specify in the regulations the percentages for the maximum of each progress payment. The percentages are set for standard-type construction, and there are provisions to vary them for building works that are non-standard. The draft regulations I will table provide for this approach. They specify a maximum percentage of the contract that is payable for each stage of construction. Based on interstate norms, they are: 5% deposit, 10% base stage, 15% frame stage, 35% lock-up stage, 25% fixing stage, 7% practical completion, and 3% on the issue of an occupancy permit that completes certification under the Building Act.
The parties must adhere to a defined process in order to modify the percentages for non-standard building works. This will give significant additional consumer protection when the first bill commences and will reduce the risk to government in any underwriting of residential building cover that may be required when the second bill commences. I invite comment from industry on the draft regulations for progress payments.
The bill provides for guidelines to be published, and requires persons taking action under the Building Act to have regard to them. This gives formal recognition to building notes that are currently issued from time to time. In addition, guidelines on tolerances and standards for building work are proposed to assist in resolving consumer disputes.
The second bill is titled Building Amendment (Residential Building Consumer Protection) Bill. This bill provides for consumer protection through three components: consumer guarantees, residential building cover, and consumer dispute resolution.
Consumer guarantees provide a statutory backdrop for consumers and builders in resolving disputes, or processing claims under residential building cover. They provide documentation for the consumer and builder on the standard of works required and underwritten by the residential building cover. Consumer guarantees will specify such matters as the use of new materials unless specifically stated otherwise in the contract, work to be in accordance with a building permit, and work to be in a workman-like manner. They will be complemented by practice guidelines that will quantify the tolerance range of acceptable work, provision for which I have covered in commenting on the first bill.
The guarantees provide the measures of what is acceptable practice when resolving residential building cover claims and other building disputes. The guarantees will run for the same prescribed period as for non-compliance under residential building cover. The periods proposed in regulations are six years for structural matters and two years for non-structural. However, they are not to replace any other rights the consumer has to make a claim under the reasonable life of a product and other general consumer laws.
Regarding residential building cover, the consultation bill tabled last year was drafted with regard to national insurers withdrawing from the market at the time, and state governments underwriting insurance. The consultation bill proposed a government-underwritten scheme in the Northern Territory to give certainty that an affordable product will always be available. As is the case for the current Home Building Certification Fund, it was proposed the Territory Insurance Office be the fund manager for residential building insurance on behalf of government. As unlikely as it seemed, at least in the short-term, should any private insurers wish to enter the market, they would be able to do so.
As I mentioned, government has reviewed the consumer package in response to concerns expressed by industry on the consultation bill. Through that review, the Master Builders Association has expressed interest in managing a fidelity fund similar to the one it manages in the Australian Capital Territory. The Housing Industry Association has also expressed interest in offering insurance through an arrangement with AON and QBE. Both require assistance from government in underwriting the risk, at least for a period of establishment. Government is in negotiations with these industry peak bodies.
The bill provides for all options. The term ‘residential building cover’ is one I am using to include both residential building insurance and a residential building fidelity fund product which is not technically insurance. The term ‘residential building’ aligns with terms used for building permits and builders registration. Residential building cover is to be mandatory and last resort. The triggers for claims are proposed to be insolvency or bankruptcy, disappearance or death, and loss of registration under certain circumstances. Under these triggers, the provider would honour a claim and seek to recover the costs from the assets of the failed builder.
Residential building cover will consist of two components: non-completion and non-compliance.
Non-completion covers the construction stage and is designed to meet the additional costs if another builder needs to be engaged to complete the building works. It will only apply to new houses or house extensions that require a registered builder - currently works over $12 000. Caps will be set for claims in the regulations. Subject to negotiations with prospective providers of residential building cover, and having regard to interstate practice, they are proposed to be up to 20% of the contract price to a maximum of $200 000. For example, a consumer with a contract for $400 000 could claim up to $80 000. Claims on any contracts over $1m would be capped at $200 000. The cover is designed to protect the consumer; therefore, governments, owner builders and developers will not be required to take out the non-completion cover.
Non-compliance relates to defects covered by consumer guarantees that become evident within periods prescribed in the regulations. They are proposed to be six years for structural defects, and two years for non-structural. The cover is proposed to apply to new houses, extensions over $12 000, and some new flats.
Flats that require the cover will be in solely residential buildings that are no more than three storeys in addition to any underground or undercroft car parks. The height limits proposed for flats are the same as for the existing Home Building Certification Fund and elsewhere in Australia. Above that height, the body corporate is considered to have the capacity to take civil action in the courts. Developers and owner builders will be required to take out this cover at the time a building permit is issued so that, in the event of sale and any of the circumstances that could trigger a claim, future owners are protected during the non-compliance period. Government will not be required to take out non-compliance cover as, by definition, governments continue to exist and generally self-insure.
The non-compliance cover is proposed to be capped at $200 000, less any payments made for non-completion. For example, if the maximum of 20% for non-completion was paid for a $400 000 house, up to $120 000 could be claimed for non-compliance, which is $200 000 less $80 000 already paid. Any contract with a second builder would be subject to a new policy relating to the balance of the works and new caps.
The non-compliance component will replace the existing Home Building Certification Fund established in 1993 with the introduction of private certification. This fund is managed by the Territory Insurance Office on behalf of government. While its purpose was to underpin the certification process, in practice it has underpinned the building process, giving unlimited cover for 10 years for non-compliance with the Building Code. The Home Building Certification Fund is first resort and is unable to recover funds from a building practitioner, including the builder. This product has been overtaken by events, and needs to be wound up. It will have liabilities for 10 years after the last policy is issued.
However, renovations are covered by the Home Building Certification Fund but will not be covered by residential building cover. To function effectively, residential building cover requires prescribed contracts that have regulated progress payments and registered builders who are subject to financial assessment. Currently, renovations may be done without a mandatory contract and by a person who is not registered. The matter of registration of renovators will be the subject of further negotiation with industry.
Consumers not covered by residential building cover and the related provisions in the bill will continue to have recourse through general consumer and contract legislation and established processes and, ultimately, through the courts. Providers of residential building cover will assess builders for their assets and business capacity in order to determine the risk and manage the turnover.
Dispute resolution: the third consumer protection component in the second bill is a residential statutory dispute resolution process. The first step in the process will be mediation and conciliation. In any dispute, it is desirable that the parties reach their own agreement, and every encouragement will be given to that end. Technical information and advice on industry practice will be provided to parties in dispute. If mediation and conciliation fail to resolve the dispute, there is provision in the bill to make a binding decision. This is, in effect, a rectification order. The proposed dispute resolution process closes the gap between last resort and first resort cover by giving the consumer a way forward when the builder is still in business.
To improve government services to the community and industry it is proposed all complaints related to building works be received by one agency, namely, Consumer Affairs. The bill establishes the statutory position of Commissioner of Residential Building Disputes. If no other appointment is made by the minister, the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs holds the position.
If a complaint cannot be resolved at the inquiry stage through information, advice, mediation and conciliation, the commissioner will determine whether the complaint is to be managed under existing powers and processes, or under the proposed statutory residential dispute resolution process in the bill.
The proposed statutory dispute resolution process will only apply to prescribed work done by a prescribed practitioner. It is proposed the regulations prescribe the work to be work that is subject to residential building cover. The complainant can only be the consumer who had a contract which has been terminated or completed, or a successor in title.
Either party may appeal a decision by the commissioner to the Lands, Planning and Mining Tribunal. The tribunal has the power to obtain independent expert advice. A builder in breach of a decision by the commissioner - or, in the case of an appeal, an order of the tribunal - will be subject to disciplinary action by the Building Practitioners Board. Such a builder is likely to be refused further residential building cover by a provider.
If a builder is unable to do the work through loss of registration or other reasons and a trigger for a claim exists, the work would be done under residential building cover. The provider of the cover will be able to seek to recover costs of claims from the assets of the former builder.
It is proposed to place on the public record an appropriate summary of disputes.
For disputes that do not qualify for the statutory dispute resolution process I have described, particular provision has been made for a builder or a consumer. For a fee, they can request a technical report on work being done under a contract that is still active. This will assist in resolving payment and other disputes under existing processes.
Transitional arrangements are necessary for consumers and builders who have just entered into contracts or are part way through construction when the proposed consumer package commences. If a building permit exists nothing changes, and the related building work can be commenced or, if commenced, can continue to be carried out. If, on the commencement date, a consumer and builder have a contract and a Home Building Certification Fund policy, as required under the existing legislation, they will be able to continue, and a building permit may be issued.
If only a signed contract exists on the commencement date, it will not be able to progress, as it would require a Home Building Certification Fund policy and a building permit to proceed. A Home Building Certification Fund policy is currently required to make an application for a building permit. No new Home Building Certification Fund policies are proposed to be issued after the commencement date. In practice, builders will be well aware in advance of when the commencement date will be, and can either obtain a Home Building Certification Fund policy in advance of that date, or sign a contract before the date that complies with the residential building cover requirements.
Should a consumer with a contract and a Home Building Certification Fund policy wish to access the benefits of the proposed consumer package, the parties may come to an agreement to, effectively, restart the process. On surrendering the Home Building Certification Fund policy, reimbursement of the premium would be made.
Prior to the commencement date, an existing registered builder will be able to apply to a provider for assessment and determination of turnover limits.
Madam Speaker, in conclusion, I commend the bills to honourable members, and table the two explanatory statements to accompany the bills, the draft regulations for the first bill, and an outline of what is proposed in the regulations for the second bill.
Debate adjourned.
MOTION
Postponement of Business - Electoral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (Serial 179)
Postponement of Business - Electoral and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (Serial 179)
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I will move this particular procedural motion and then speak to it.
I move that Government Business, Orders of the Day No 2 relating to a motion noting the Remuneration Tribunal Report on the Entitlements of Assembly Members and Determination No 1 of 2011, be called on forthwith
That is the technical stuff. What I am asking for is support to defer this legislation until tomorrow. I have tabled committee stage amendments this morning, but they were not circulated on Monday. They should have been circulated on Monday, so I defer this and apologise to the opposition and the member for Nelson, and will provide briefings on the committee stage amendment this afternoon to debate the legislation tomorrow.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I acknowledge and thank the Chief Minister for speaking to us about this. We have no issue with the deferral of this legislative instrument until tomorrow. We look forward to the briefing being provided this afternoon.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Note Paper - Remuneration Tribunal Report
on the Entitlements of Assembly Members
and Determination No 1 of 2011
Note Paper - Remuneration Tribunal Report
on the Entitlements of Assembly Members
and Determination No 1 of 2011
Continued from 20 October 2011.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank the Remuneration Tribunal for the latest determination. As always, it was a very significant body of work undertaken by the tribunal, and it will, I believe, be acknowledged by this Assembly in debate this morning.
The report was tabled on 20 October 2011 and there are a number of key features of the report, including the following provisions:
the electoral allowance has been increased by 3%, consistent with CPI;
each member is now coming more into the Apple age with an iPad. Of course, it is becoming an indispensible part of people’s computer armoury these days;
the global entitlement to 16 days travelling allowance for intra-Territory travel is no longer confined to the four trips permitted as additional travel under clause 3.2(a)(i) of the determination, but also can now be used for other inter-Territory trips at the members’ volition, permitted under clause 5(1)(a) providing for more flexibility;
the amount a member may received in lieu of a motor vehicle has been increased to $19 500 per annum, and has been denoted as an additional electorate allowance. I believe that is consistent with other senior EC Commonwealth public servants;
the member for the electorate of Stuart has an entitlement to a part-time liaison officer based in Katherine. This entitlement has been expanded to allow that officer to work 30 hours a week and the provision of a modest office in Katherine. Of course, it is the largest electorate and significantly different constituencies at the top of the electorate that are serviced through Katherine; the bottom of the electorate is serviced through Alice Springs. So, that picks up the ability to service the electorate better;
rates of travel allowance have been adjusted on the basis of the amounts currently considered reasonable by the Australian Tax Office; and
Following amendments to the Assembly Members and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act earlier this year, the tribunal no longer has a role in setting additional salary for office holders, as changes to these rates are now linked to movements in the NT public sector wages.
Madam Speaker, I thank the Remuneration Tribunal. It is a significant body of work every year that he conducts. I commend the report to the House.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Katherine): Madam Speaker, I echo the words of the Chief Minister in thanking the Remuneration Tribunal for the work put into this. Both sides of the House and others have made submissions to the Remuneration Tribunal with respect to changes we all thought would make our jobs better, more flexible, and able to better serve the people of the Northern Territory. Many of those submissions were incorporated this year. They will make our job much easier to perform over the length and breadth of the Northern Territory. Once again, I reiterate the Chief Minister’s words in thanking the Remuneration Tribunal.
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, I also join in talking to this report. The Remuneration Tribunal is an independent statutory body that undertakes inquiries into the remuneration and entitlements of some of the Northern Territory office holders. It is responsible for conducting annual reviews of the entitlements of Northern Territory magistrates and making determinations or recommendations about those entitlements. It is responsible for conducting annual reviews of the entitlements of members of the Legislative Assembly, including office holders such as the Speaker of the Assembly, ministers, and the Leader of the Opposition, and making determinations or recommendations about those entitlements. It is responsible for conducting reviews and making recommendations about entitlements of members of the Northern Territory statutory bodies and statutory officers, including judges, as requested by the Administrator from time to time.
As the member for Stuart, I have been extremely proud to have had this opportunity to represent the people of Stuart in this parliament since September 2006. A little about my wonderful electorate as it has had determinations made in relation to it in this report. Stuart covers a vast area from the Tanami Desert, and extends from Pine Creek and the edge of Arnhem Land, all the way through to communities such as Nyirripi, Yuendumu, Willowra, and Ti Tree in Central Australia; also Laramba and Mt Allan, and other centres including Timber Creek, Kalkarindji, Lajamanu, and Mataranka. The electorate of Stuart surrounds but does not include Katherine, but takes in places such as Mataranka, Beswick, Barunga, and Manyallaluk on the eastern side of Katherine.
The electorate covers some 326 000 km. As I say to many people in the electorate, it is about the size of Germany and larger than some other European countries. It covers parts of the Victoria Daly Shire, the Roper Gulf Shire, and the Central Desert Shire. It has a diversity of environments from the arid zone in Central Australia to the tropical zone in the Top End.
Just a little more about the southern part of Stuart: it is in the Central Australian region, just north of Alice Springs through places such as Aileron. It also takes in growth towns such as Yuendumu and Lajamanu which are developing as central hubs in their regions and really developing with this government’s A Working Future policy. The people of these growth towns are keen to progress in areas such as education, economic development, health, governance, and community safety. Under local implementation plans, the communities have outlined how they want to improve services and conditions in the growth towns. As their local member, I am committed to assisting them in achieving their goals and visions for their future.
I also spend a great deal of time talking to and visiting residents in smaller communities such as Nyirripi, Yuelamu, Laramba, Ti Tree, Willowra, Mulga Bore, Wilora or Stirling, and the many outstations in the region.
The mining and pastoral industries are important economic drivers in the southern part of my electorate and more opportunities are being created through the tourism sector.
The northern part of my wonderful electorate surrounds the township of Katherine, from the King River to the south, Scott Creek to the east, to the Edith River to the north. The area is commonly known as the Big Rivers Region. As you can see, there are some wonderful rivers in that part of my electorate. This is where almost half of my electorate constituents reside.
In this part of the electorate, there is a wide range of economies that include Defence at Bradshaw, pastoral, mining, small towns, tourism and horticulture. The art and culture and social environment is very vibrant. We also have some wonderful parks in that part of my electorate such as Judbarra and Nitmiluk.
It is a region where communication options are still limited for many. In providing an office in Katherine, I will now be able to better service the needs of my constituents in this vast region. Katherine is a regional hub for me and my constituents, and a meeting place for the Stuart electorate. This is recognised by many organisations in Katherine which often provide valuable services to my constituents. Those organisations include the Katherine Regional Community Bank or Bendigo Bank, the Katherine School of the Air, the new Katherine Regional Art and Cultural Precinct, the Katherine West Health Board, Sunrise Health and the Katherine Regional Hospital, to name a few.
Katherine is central to the lives of many of my constituents through economic, business, education, sport, social and cultural ties. I intend to make my Katherine office a hub for the region. By doing this, I can give my constituents of Stuart better representation and better service. I also welcome the increased hours for my Katherine-based electorate officer, which will now be raised to 30 hours per week. Only 18 months ago, that was only 12 hours a week working from home.
Madam Speaker, I welcome the determination in this Remuneration Tribunal report. In 2006, the Administrator requested the tribunal inquire into and determine the entitlements of members each year under the privileges of the Assembly Members and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Other Entitlements) Act. This report of the tribunal has recognised that the electorate of Stuart is
- ... large and stretches from the north of Katherine to Aileron …
Just north of Alice Springs:
- Communities such as Barunga, Beswick, Mataranka, Timber Creek, Kalkarindji, Daguragu and Lajamanu are within the electorate and people in those communities would see Katherine as the primary regional centre to which they would normally travel to access services. Provision has now been made for a modest office in Katherine and the hours for the ‘liaison’ officer have been increased to 30 hours so that the electorate can be properly served.
Madam Speaker, I welcome this determination by the tribunal which recognises the uniqueness of Stuart, and the opportunity this presents to better service my constituents.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Note Statement – Gearing up for Major Projects
Note Statement – Gearing up for Major Projects
Continued from 22 November 2011.
Dr BURNS (Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I checked with the Clerks before and there has not been one speaker from the opposition on this important statement. I believe it is important for the future of the Territory, but not one opposition member has the interest to speak on it.
These are very important policy issues which cross portfolios, and thereby going across shadow portfolios. For the opposition to be credible, seeing we are on the cusp of major development in the Northern Territory, I believe the public and industry have a right to hear what their policies are, what their views are, and how they would handle these major developments. So far, we have had silence. I imagine, seeing they are over yesterday, hopefully, they will find their way back into the Chamber to talk to this. I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, withdraw, thank you.
Dr BURNS: Perhaps they will have the inspiration to put forth their policies in relation to this very important statement. However, I digress, Madam Speaker.
It is an exciting time to live in the Territory. The economic forecasters tell you the Territory is the envy of the nation if you look at the position we are in. As we look ahead on the horizon, we can see the opportunities driven off the back of major projects in northern Australia. North Australia will be significant, as many have been saying, in the next century. With the final investment decision on the Ichthys development through INPEX pending, we are also anticipating further investment in other significant resource projects. It is clear everyone is talking about the fact the Territory is the place to be.
Last week, we hosted President Barack Obama and, as we said in our debate earlier this week, that was a monumental stage marking the importance of Darwin in its role in economic growth in northern Australia. Also, the commitment of 2500 marines to use Darwin as a training base for six months of the year will see more local businesses benefiting from the dollars they will be spending in the Territory.
Gearing up for major projects involves a number of my portfolios not least of which is Public and Affordable Housing. A strong economy cannot function without appropriate housing. Workers from these major projects will require accommodation and many will see themselves in workers villages for their time in the Territory. It is very interesting to see the plan in the NT News today in relation to that. Many people will choose to live in the suburbs with their families and call the Territory home, and we welcome them.
With strong economic growth, there will also be the call for more workers in service industries to support these major project jobs. There needs to be housing to accommodate those people moving to the Territory and supporting the major projects. We have the responsibility to ensure there is not a squeeze on other Territorians. That is why we have our Housing the Territory strategy which is approaching housing and accommodation requirements from a number of different angles.
Delivering a balanced housing market is also an immediate priority under the 2030 strategic plan. Two weeks ago, I attended the Territory 2030 Conference – A Balanced Housing Market held at the Darwin Convention Centre. It was the first of its kind and extremely well attended. Local and interstate experts looked at the current and future needs of the Territory housing market and ways in which meaningful partnerships can be made to meet the diverse needs for housing all Territorians. It was clear there was a great deal of enthusiasm to meet the challenges in delivering a more balanced housing market. Many of the right levers are already in place.
The common message we continue to get from developers and builders is that land release is the key to delivering more housing. We have made significant investment in turning off land at a rate five times faster than ever before. Palmerston East is blazing ahead, with Bellamack well established and more housing popping up in Johnston every day. Zuccoli is also tracking ahead. We know that Mitchell and the new city of Weddell are still to follow. Muirhead, in the northern suburbs, is also well under way and we are continuing to encourage appropriate infill developments to make the best use of our land.
Madam Speaker, if I could digress here for a minute. One of the themes that came through strongly in the Territory 2030 Conference – A Balanced Housing Market is the notion of providing a whole variety of products in the marketplace - from the first dwelling people have, which might be quite modest on what we would call a relatively small block of land, up to those established houses on large blocks of land – four bedrooms, two bathrooms, etcetera. It was made very plain that we need to provide that variety of product in the marketplace. There is actually a demand at – if you want to call it the lower end of the marketplace for that variety of dwelling that might be situated on quite a small block, to allow people to get equity in the housing market and, basically, make their start in life. That was very important.
The Territory 2030 Conference – A Balanced Housing Market will be bringing forward to government a range of issues and discussions they had, and that will be very important for the public debate on this very important issue.
We are also turning off land in Katherine and Tennant Creek. The subdivision of 38 residential lots and one commercial lot has been completed at Casuarina Street in Katherine. In Tennant Creek, we have completed a 54 lot residential subdivision off Peko Road; 28 lots were sold at auction in October 2010, and the remaining lots will be released early next year.
Regarding the Affordable Rental Housing Company, I have worked very hard this year to establish the Northern Territory’s first affordable rental housing program and company. It has great potential. We have seen their potential interstate. It has taken longer than I would have liked, but there have been a number of legal and contractual issues that the Affordable Rental Housing Company wanted to settle. These are very experienced operators from Melbourne and Adelaide, and they have some very heavy hitters on their board, let me tell you. They wanted to examine the contractual arrangements, discuss them, and negotiate over them, and that has taken some time. However, we are there. I believe the ink is almost dry on the paper.
Basically, we will have a presence towards the end of this year of that Affordable Rental Housing Company in Darwin, with them ready to take on the Wirrina development midway through 2012, and also looking at some properties in Palmerston as well. We are looking to try to bring some of those developments forward for the Affordable Rental Housing Company. They were a bidder in the latest round of NRAS and they received subsidies from the Commonwealth as well. They are already working hard; they are making their presence felt. I believe it will be a great thing for the Territory.
It was also pleasing to hear from the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water and Population and Communities, Tony Burke, that the Affordable Rental Housing Company will be allocated 256 NRAS incentives that will help encourage more development in the Northern Territory. It is very satisfying that they were successful, along with other Territory entities including Charles Darwin University.
Becoming a homeowner is one of the most significant events in a person’s life. We want to ensure as many Territorians as possible can become homeowners. To make sure low- to middle-income earning families can get a foot in the door and buy their own home, the Territory government has the Homestart NT program. It is one of the best home ownership programs in the country and the envy of other jurisdictions. More than 1400 families across the Territory have been helped to achieve the dream of owning their own home through shared equity purchases, low deposit, and no interest fee assistance loan.
I was very interested to hear the member for Brennan inferring these programs were of no use and government should step out of that area and let the free market take control. I am very interested to hear what the opposition’s policies are on housing. It seems, from the start, they want to withdraw funding for Homestart NT and other programs operated by government that I believe have been very successful, which we have revised with time, both in the income limits and the price limits. We are continually looking at that. The Treasurer, in a number of budgets now, has revised the limits in that program to better suit Territorians. It will be interesting to hear what policies the opposition has and how it is going to approach this very important issue, and what support it is going to give to low- and middle-income earning families.
Regarding affordable housing projects, the Territory government has delivered some exciting initiatives to help low- and middle-income earners purchase brand new properties in our newer suburbs. As more land is turned off, this will continue. So far, this has seen 28 townhouses between $253 000 and $368 000 at Bellamack Gardens.
It was interesting in Bellamack Gardens. I was minister for Business at that time and had portfolio responsibilities for the Land Development Corporation. Public comments in the media and this parliament from the opposition and the Independent member were quite negative. However, I commend the Independent member for Nelson who visited the development. I believe he said he was quite impressed by what he saw. That was a pilot project and government will be looking to do more in that area.
For Bellamack house and land packages, there are 21 lots between $342 000 and $420 000; Johnston land release ballots, 19 lots at $140 000 each; Johnston affordable units, 21 units between $320 000 and $390 000; and at Rydges Estate, Larapinta, six house and land packages for first homebuyers for $385 000.
There is a great deal happening in Alice Springs with the development of the suburb of Kilgariff on the horizon. That will be very exciting for Alice Springs, and I am interested to hear what Alice Springs members have to say about those developments, or if they have alternative proposals for house and land developments in Alice Springs.
In relation to seniors housing, more and more Territorians are choosing to retire in the Northern Territory. As we experience economic and population growth driven off the major projects, it is important we also ensure our seniors are well looked after and not pushed out of the housing market. In fact, seniors in many ways, hold the key to freeing up larger properties for young families. We have set up incentives for seniors in the private housing market to purchase their own home or downsize into smaller, easier to manage homes through the $8500 stamp duty concession for pensioners.
We are also increasing public housing stock for seniors as they are our largest group of tenants. I am really looking forward to welcoming new tenants to the Bellamack Seniors Village very soon. I commend the department because they have been trying to encourage seniors who are in larger houses to move into these seniors villages. Whilst we may not have filled it as quickly as I would like, I know that is balanced against the fact we are encouraging seniors - we are not forcing, but encouraging seniors - to move out of larger buildings and take up residence in a seniors village.
The Chief Minister and I will be officially opening the Bellamack Seniors Village soon – 40 new units for senior Territorians to add to seniors villages which are already established in Leanyer, Fannie Bay, Wanguri, and Nightcliff. There are another 18 units under construction in Larapinta which will be opened early next year. That is a great construction program.
More on public housing: it is also well-known that in times of significant economic growth, often it is the most vulnerable who struggle. That is why we are working to deliver more accommodation and housing for this group. There is work to replenish public housing stock, with $49m for 150 new dwellings over three years. We are also looking at ways to redevelop ageing stock. That would be a role, I believe, of the Affordable Rental Housing Company. I have inspected developments in Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. They are going for more mixed-style developments: a mix of public housing, social and affordable housing, as well as the private market. That has worked, I am advised, quite well. We need to be moving away from concentrations of public housing.
The moratorium I have had on the sale of public housing has been a contentious issue. With more housing stock coming online government, with a strategic plan, has tasked the Housing department, with Treasury, to work together to look at a replenishment plan over the next 10 to 20 years. That plan is coming together. I hope, sometime in the near future, to make a formal announcement about the lifting of that moratorium. As a government, we want more Territorians to get equity in their houses. We want to encourage them to do that.
I was faced with a conundrum, in that quite a lot of our public housing had been sold off over the past 15 to 20 years - over 2000 public housing stock had been sold. I needed to conserve the stock whilst we built it up, to some degree, and have a plan into the future about the replenishment and further stock being built. We are very close to that, which is an important element.
The Northern Territory recently received a substantial boost to our social housing funding under the stimulus package. I am running out of time with this address. I have detailed before in this House the type of expenditure across the Territory on a whole range of housing modes, including public housing for which there was funding. For transitional housing, there is a range of projects under the stimulus package that have been constructed in Alice Springs, particularly in Bath Street.
Regrettably, the opposition opposed it. They fell into line with Tony Abbott, so none of that stock in Bath Street, Alice Springs, for example, would have been built if they had had their way. I urge them not to fall into line with Tony Abbott every time he clicks his fingers, but to think about the Territory. Think about the benefits to the Territory, the BER, and the stimulus package in social and public housing, and not just jump whenever Tony tells you to jump. That is my advice to the opposition.
With respect to education and training, I have mentioned centres of excellence. They are very important for training and growing our own professionals in the Territory across a whole range of disciplines - I mentioned that in relation to a question the other day regarding a centre of excellence - developing relationships with major industry and projects. We have developed a corporate engagement and partnerships team to facilitate partnerships with industry to deliver pathways to employment. I have mentioned in this House that I visited Borroloola in the Barkly electorate to see the partnership between MRM and the school and training, and to see those young people engaged in …
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move an extension of time so the minister can conclude his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Dr BURNS: I visited Borroloola, where there were over 20 kids at school engaged in work. They had a school uniform that was also a work uniform. That really underlined the fact that they were spending time at school and in the workplace - and from a relatively young age, so people got used to the work environment. They were not just suddenly exposed to it at the end of their schooling. There is wonderful support for those students. Government is building a new building next to the school which will support those kids, both boys and girls, in their life’s journey.
I mentioned VET in Schools the other day. It is a very important priority of government. We have invested $6.25m to provide Get VET, Get a Future program, and VET in the Middle program for schools across the Northern Territory. The programs are focused on delivery of the national standard Vocational Education and Training to students in the middle and senior years of education. The training is directed towards pathways leading to employment and the completion of full qualification at Certificate II and above. High priorities have been given to construction, engineering and mining, transport, automotive and warehousing, as well as hospitality and community services.
It is great, as I travel through the schools - I appreciate the words in adjournment last night by the member for Brennan. As you go through the schools one place I always head to is the kitchen. I am a bit of an amateur cook and I did not have the opportunity growing up - we did manual arts, but I did more academic qualifications. I would have loved to have done a program about cooking and nutrition. Seeing those kids and tasting the wonderful food - not too much of it for me, I am a small eater – it was delicious, high quality food, prepared lovingly and enthusiastically by those kids. I always like the kitchen. One of these days I will be able to spend more time with the kids, perhaps cook something with them and take it home and give it to the family. There you go, I reckon that is great.
This year, over 800 students have undertaken structured work placements in industries related to the training packages they are studying as part of the VET course. I take on board some of the words from local chefs about kids going through our VET - they feel they could be better prepared. I have asked the department to take that advice on board from the professionals who are interacting with these kids. We will do whatever we can to take their advice and make these kids ready and support them for a career in the hospitality industry.
We want to maintain a strong teaching workforce and grow more teachers to keep up with population growth. We want the best teachers, so we are offering generous financial support through the teacher education scholarship and more Indigenous teachers program. I met a number of those Indigenous teachers who have been through that program as I have moved through the Territory. That is a great program and I commend it.
Planning for new schools and investment in our existing infrastructure, we built the school at Rosebery, Darwin Middle School, and Nemarluk Special School, and carried out significant upgrades to every single school across the Territory. Every school has received a $300 000 upgrade, or is in the process of carrying out that upgrade, and I commend schools for that. There is a $5m project currently under way at Casuarina Senior College and $1m being invested in Sanderson Middle School.
I have mentioned before if it was up to the opposition the BER would not have happened. They were quite critical. I was going through some paperwork the other day where I saw unfortunate criticism of the BER project at Larrakeyah Primary School. A comparison was made in The Australian newspaper about getting better value for a McDonald’s than the BER project.
The member for Port Darwin was not anywhere near that particular article, but I note it segued into comments by the member for Braitling, which I thought were quite hurtful towards the school. Of course, they are all saying: ‘We had nothing to do with the first part of the story’, but it is hard to believe, a bit hard to swallow. I am sure the member for Port Darwin agrees that is a great project. We inspected it together one day and saw the work that had been done. The value for money at Larrakeyah Primary School is fantastic and the school is very happy with that BER development.
If it had been up to Tony Abbott: ‘No, we are not going to spend that money on schools’. Every school across the Territory has benefitted from the BER project.
It was great to see the member for Sanderson the other day at one of the schools in his electorate, so he could hear how enthusiastic the school and the school council were about that particular project. The thing about the BER is each school has made decisions about what is best for it. Wulagi school really wanted to build up their early childhood education to make it the main centre in the school, and that is what they have done. They have made that facility more than just for the early childhood but one that the whole school can use, and they are very happy with it.
At Moil the other day - yet another one – a different function, but suiting the needs of the school.
Over $200m was spent in the Territory. I commend the officers and departments in the Northern Territory that established and built that BER. The time lines were short. It is complex working with school councils, with people who, in many cases, have no experience of projects of that magnitude, and carrying out their wishes. I commend the departments for their work.
A new special school for 100 students is being planned for Bellamack with a targeted opening of 2013. A new middle school is being built in Palmerston by the Catholic Education Office with funding assistance from the Northern Territory government and scheduled to open in 2012. New schools are in the planning stage for Muirhead and Zuccoli. Enrolment and population projections to coincide with the stages and timing of new developments will determine the need for new schools at Weddell and Kilgariff. DET has established a precinct group, which includes the Durack school principal, to carefully monitor the planning and approvals for the proposed CDU village. The department is ensuring there are adequate enrolment places available. That is it for housing and education.
I need to mention public employment. As I said in this House yesterday, we are a government that values our public service - some 19 000 of them. We have completed a number of EBAs which has been difficult because of the financial situation. We certainly have not been like some of the governments in southern states. I mentioned yesterday that Mr O’Farrell, the Premier of New South Wales, has certainly thinned down a bit since he has become Premier. It is probably the workload. He has announced drastic cuts to public service. Of course, Joe Hockey - many more thousands in the Commonwealth public service. One thing is evident. In Victoria, Ted Baillieu the Premier of Victoria, promised teachers they would be the best paid in the country. Now, it appears he has reneged on that deal.
I caution all Territory public servants who are listening to this broadcast that, should the CLP attain government in 2012 - just watch out ...
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! Perhaps the Leader of Government Business could explain to the House how many climate change scientists the Northern Territory government employs?
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order, member for Braitling. Resume your seat.
Dr BURNS: What I do know is Ted Baillieu has reneged on his election promise to make them the best paid in Australia. There is a dispute going on now. I hope it is resolved because it will be hurting the kids of Victoria. He is in dispute with his nurses.
We will have industrial battlegrounds in the Northern Territory if the Country Liberal Party was to attain power; there would be massive slashes in our public service. Their policy says they will slash at least 800 - I suspect more in getting a balanced budget. From memory, the Leader of the Opposition said he would cut $50m in the first year from the public service. That is a substantial cut. We know they have had ERC committees, razor gangs before. Col Fuller is up there now hatching it all in the office. I say to Territory public servants: beware!
Mr HAMPTON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to support the Chief Minister’s statement on Gearing Up for Major Projects. This side of the House is fully aware of the importance of gearing up and getting ready for the big boom that is coming.
Major construction and resource projects have long been a mainstay of growth and development for the Territory’s economy. Today, the opportunities to leverage off major developments - whether proposed, ongoing, or recently completed - are greater than ever. The Territory is undergoing an unprecedented level of expansion as a major international oil and gas hub, and a key trade gateway to Asia. This government understands the importance of gearing up for major projects, and the Department of Business and Employment’s industry development program is designed to help businesses prepare for the major projects that are coming to the Northern Territory.
Similarly, the government understands the important role of information and communications technology and the role it will play in supporting these major projects well into the future. The ability to connect, to shrink the distances between relatives and business interests, and to do it at an affordable cost is, and will continue to be, a fundamental in driving the Northern Territory and Australia’s economies.
Although a significant industry sector in its own right, it is the impact of ICT across government, community, and other industry sectors which identifies the ICT industry as a critical proponent in the development and growth of the Northern Territory’s economy. As in other Australian jurisdictions, ICT is a major driver of productivity growth. The Northern Territory’s ICT industry has the skills and capability to service all business sectors and, as an enabler to government, industry, and community, ICT has a critical impact on the economic and social wellbeing of society.
Some key facts about the Northern Territory’s very vibrant ICT industry: there are around 200 or more businesses in the ICT industry in the Northern Territory alone - more than 200. They have between them over 2000 employees. There are multinational and national ICT companies well represented in the Northern Territory, and there are strong and highly capable small- to medium-sized local businesses in the sectors as well.
Regional and remote areas are well serviced by our ICT industry. Multinationals mainly service government, Defence, and petroleum sectors. Local business and industry is serviced by local ICT companies, with the exception of telecommunications.
We are doing what we can to harness the opportunities created by ICT and assist Territory businesses to make best use of those opportunities. For example, in 2008, the Northern Territory government signed an agreement with Telstra to connect northern Arnhem Land to the nation’s optic fibre network. The $32m project delivered over 800 km of optic fibre connecting Nhulunbuy and Jabiru with the Australian network. Funding for the Arnhem Land fibre-optic project was provided by Telstra, Rio Tinto, the Northern Territory government, and the Northern Land Council through the Aboriginal Benefits Account. At the conclusion of the project, this government’s investment in the future of the Arnhem Land area was around $6.5m. The Northern Land Council funded $5m. The land councils understand the importance and value of communications to their communities and made recommendations to the federal minister responsible for the Aboriginal Benefits Account. It is understood that, at that time, this was the largest single program funded through the Aboriginal Benefits Account.
Along the route, nine communities were connected, bringing reliable broadband communications to more than 10 000 people throughout Arnhem Land. The Arnhem Land telecommunications enhancement project was the largest integrated build of core and access network infrastructure that Telstra had undertaken in one of the most remote and challenging areas of this country. Over 800 km of optic fibre was laid in 10 weeks, and that is incredible - a significant project, which I am sure you are aware of, Madam Deputy Speaker. It also provides services to the island communities to the north via radio links from the mainland.
This project was only possible because of the value placed on communications by all stakeholders, which resulted in significant levels of collaboration and cooperation. The project has been the subject of numerous awards, nationally and internationally. Telstra did a fantastic job. The traditional owners were full of praise for the way Telstra delivered on the project.
The benefits to the communities are evident, including improved health and education services for all those communities connected by this project. Health clinics are able to access applications and services denied to them previously because of overstressed and slow communications. Schools are now connected to the optic fibre of speeds of up to 20 MBps and are able to provide students with access to the Internet and educational material that has not been possible before.
This project connected seven of the Territory’s 20 growth towns to high-speed broadband and provided ADSL broadband for the communities. Two of the growth towns - the island communities on Milingimbi and Galiwinku - were connected by high-speed radio services, and the rest of the growth towns by optic fibre. This project brought the number of growth towns connected to optic fibre to 17. This is only the start of the story.
As part of the October Business Month, we hosted an ICT Expo to showcase how ICT can benefit your Territory businesses. There were keynote speakers, workshop seminars, and a range of Northern Territory ICT companies which demonstrated the latest computer and communication technologies to help drive productivity, efficiency, and profitability in their business.
David Murray, General Manager of IBM Australia, discussed how the Territory could utilise the NBN to develop a smarter city and the associated impacts and opportunities to business owners, as well as deliver improved health and education services to remote areas, and what the Northern Territory will need to do to benefit from those opportunities. The National Broadband Network - something the mob on the other side opposed - represents the largest-ever nation building infrastructure project undertaken in this country. It is one we on this side of the House strongly support. We know greater digital engagement can boost productivity, and can bridge distances and improve service delivery for regional, remote, and rural Australians. It can improve educational and health outcomes, allow for better management of the country’s growing and ageing population, promote social inclusion, and facilitate more environmentally sustainable management of the built and natural environment.
The federal Labor government’s commitment to build the enabling infrastructure for the digital economy - in particular the commitment to build the NBN - will allow Australia to participate in and enjoy the benefits of the global digital economy. The National Broadband Network will offer coverage which will allow households and businesses to participate in the digital economy regardless of where they live. It will support high-speed, symmetrical services, giving more people access to new tools to manage their business and receive educational services. It will also offer greater stability and reliability of broadband services to support a growing number of critical applications such as health.
The National Broadband Network will bring high-speed broadband to many more of our remote communities. The benefits we have seen in the communities connected to the Arnhem Land fibre project will start to flow to all remote communities across the Northern Territory. While the roll-out to the remote areas of the Northern Territory is not expected to begin for two years, an interim satellite service is available to qualifying households, and the fixed wireless services are expected to begin in our remote communities around the same time.
The benefits that reliable telecommunications will bring to our remote communities cannot be underestimated. The role of information and communications technology will play into the future, including the National Broadband Network, is crucial to the growth and development of the Northern Territory.
Turning to Central Australia in this statement, we had an MPI yesterday about tourism and businesses in Alice Springs. Over the October Business Month, I attended a breakfast with representatives of some 250 local businesses. There was much optimism and confidence at that breakfast. I have also since met with Julie Ross and Kay Eade from the Chamber of Commerce in Alice Springs. They are aware of many things businesses need to do to participate and to stay involved in some of these major projects which are coming. Business also needs to gear up. Only the other week, we talked about how businesses in Alice Springs can actually benefit from the INPEX project. How can they gear up? How can they work closer together in collaboration to take advantage of these opportunities that may come from the INPEX project? Alice Springs may miss out on it.
In talking to Kay Eade during the lunch I attended to celebrate export industry winners, there is a real enthusiasm to look at that. It is an opportunity for INPEX to get to Central Australia and run some workshops to explain to Alice Springs and Central Australian businesses that a major project like INPEX can provide opportunities for those businesses outside of Darwin. Much of the focus has been on Darwin, and so it should be. However, there are still many opportunities for businesses down the track. I encourage INPEX and our government, to engage those businesses outside of Darwin. Workshops to identify those opportunities would be worthwhile in Central Australia.
Talking about Central Australia, the other week I had the opportunity to visit the redevelopment of the accident and emergency services area of the Alice Springs Hospital, which is a fantastic project. It will deliver improved health services to the people of Central Australia - a major project for Alice Springs. There is a lot of Commonwealth and Territory money going into that. The spin-offs for local contractors and subbies is positive. We need more of those types of projects in our remote and regional centres like Alice Springs.
Another business coming to Alice Springs is Bunnings. I drove past the site the other day and there is a great deal of work under way to clear it and get it ready. Top Enders are used to having a Bunnings store in Darwin, but we are looking forward to that in Alice Springs.
The revitalisation of the Todd Mall - I understand the council is not too far away in moving that project ahead, which will be a fantastic stimulus to Central Australia and Alice Springs. My electorate office is in the Todd Mall in Alice Springs and I talk to many businesses there. This project will be very welcome to those local businesses and the Todd Mall traders. We are looking forward to that; it will be an exciting time for Alice Springs once that project is under way.
My colleague, the member for Johnston, talked about the Building the Education Revolution. Many of those projects have been completed in my electorate of Stuart, and I have had the opportunity to get out to many of those openings. It has been a significant project for the Northern Territory. The member for Lingiari has worked hard in getting many of those projects up and running and getting support for that in his electorate. An enormous number of dollars through the Building the Education Revolution has gone into the Northern Territory, particularly to the electorate of Lingiari. I attended openings at Hermannsburg, Lajamanu, and Kalkarindji to name a few, and the additions to those schools are invaluable. Warren Snowdon also gets along to many of these openings. He has lobbied hard to see many of these classrooms built. Some of the Alice Springs members have been to openings in their electorates and they celebrate it, even though in here they oppose it.
I have been to openings at Gillen, Braitling - all fantastic additions. There has been a great deal of economic drivers and opportunities come from that for local businesses. We on this side of the House welcomed the Building the Education Revolution. The additions those classrooms and halls are bringing to the young kids and families throughout the Northern Territory have been invaluable. So, hear, hear, to the Building the Education Revolution and to Warren Snowdon for delivering such fantastic facilities.
Turning to my electorate and the regions of Stuart, the Chief Minister talked about jobs and training. I agree with what the Chief Minister said about the need to build our labour force. It also has to be said about our kids in the bush and in our regions that it is important to get these kids to school every day to get a good education and also to build those local and regional economies – that is very important.
Part of the announcement of Stronger Futures I endorse is the $19m or so that will be going into ranger jobs. These are real jobs for people on country. Jobs and training are important to upskilling and developing our labour force and growing our own labour in the Northern Territory.
I totally agree with what the Chief Minister had to say about jobs and training, jobs for our kids, the next generation. As local member of a bush seat, a regional seat, I agree with those sentiments and the importance of that.
Through our growth towns, the local implementation plans my colleague, the member for Arnhem, is driving through A Working Future is a real vision for the bush. These plans are real; they are not gammon. We see many great projects in those local implementation plans which will deliver real change and opportunities such as jobs and major projects for those communities in those growth towns.
At Yuendumu and Lajamanu there are some fantastic projects which will be embarked upon for those communities, those growth towns, through the local implementation plans working with the Commonwealth government. We really want to deliver real jobs for people in the bush over the next five or 10 years, and give those kids in our schools some real hope and a light at the end of the tunnel that there are jobs through the local implementation plans, the shires, and driving local and regional economies. We need to continue down that path.
There is a great deal of optimism on this side. Getting on with major projects, it is about putting that vital infrastructure into things such as the NBN. That ICT infrastructure is so important in closing the gap in Indigenous health and education, and driving these major projects in the bush we see throughout some of the regional centres. I am very proud to be ICT minister delivering on some of these major projects. We are seeing unprecedented levels of infrastructure coming through the Northern Territory in ICT, through digital regions, eHealth towns, the National Broadband Network, and getting a second competitive fibre line through the Northern Territory.
These things would not be happening if we had a CLP government in power in the Northern Territory. They would just oppose everything, as the member for Johnston said, for the sake of politics, and for the sake of joining Tony Abbott and his crew in Canberra in just opposing everything. Opposing these millions of dollars of investment, particularly through the National Broadband Network, for the sake of politics, is just irresponsible.
They would just oppose the BER for the sake of politics. Do not worry about the infrastructure going into our children’s education, supporting families, getting these kids to school every day. For the sake of politics, I believe it is irresponsible. They need to grow up a lot on that side and get behind some of these major projects.
Madam Speaker, we on this side of the House support gearing up for major projects. We have a real vision for the Northern Territory. As a very united and close team, we will continue to deliver for Territorians.
Debate suspended.
TABLED PAPER
Pairing Arrangement –
Members for Wanguri and Blain
Pairing Arrangement –
Members for Wanguri and Blain
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have a document before me relating to pairs between the member for Wanguri and the member for Blain for the period 6 pm to 8 pm tonight. It is signed by both Whips.
I table that document.
MOTION
Note Statement – Gearing up for Major Projects
Note Statement – Gearing up for Major Projects
Continued from earlier this day.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I welcome the statement from the Chief Minister about gearing up for major projects. It is a great subject to talk about. It is great for anyone in Australia to be talking about major projects, about gearing up for major projects; not talking about shutting shop, closing down, trying to find jobs for people who have been retrenched. It is about gearing up.
The biggest problem facing our business community is finding workers. That is what came through to me from the caf through to the major manufacturing businesses in the Northern Territory, when I was Business minister. They know this economy is really taking off. We have several major infrastructure projects occurring as we speak. We are awaiting the final investment decision of the INPEX gas project, which will supercharge our economy as we have never seen before. Aside from that, we have growth in our mining sector with a number of mines expanding and new mines commencing - except for Angela Pamela; or maybe it is? We look forward to that mining sector to continue to expand. The pastoral sector is growing and we are looking at future developments in the pastoral sector.
Across the Territory, across the spectrum of the economy, there is business growth and there are major projects coming up. We have to get ready for that because our economy is relatively small and gets buffeted by these major projects when they do occur. It is quite difficult to gear up for either the infrastructure or the labour force because of that relatively small size we have compared to what is needed for the major project which comes along. However, that work is under way; it has been under way for quite some time.
The gearing up for major projects task force, which I started, is continuing. That is a great collaboration where we have industry, the unions, major project proponents involved with heads of departments, the training and business area, and infrastructure area - all in the same room talking about how we can foresee the requirements of major projects as they emerge and what we need to do as a government, and what the private sector needs to do. The most critical part of major projects is that human labour force which is required to make all this happen. That collaboration has been welcomed by INPEX and ConocoPhillips which are on that task force. ENI is looking at getting on that task force as well, because it has a number of major gas fields off our northern shore. It is buying into MEO Australia Ltd, which has the Blackwood gas field, and is looking at that development.
The Marine Supply Base, another government initiative, is a critical piece of infrastructure which will, again, underwrite our economy. It will put another layer into our base economy into the future. Having visited the Marine Supply Base in Bergen, the ASCO Marine Supply Base just outside of Aberdeen, and the Toll Marine Supply Base in Singapore, you can really see the great truckloads of work and dollars that come in by just having that facility available for the industry. Many people are unaware of what goes on in those marine supply bases. We currently have around 400 to 500 ship movements annually for the oil and gas industry. We would like to see that increase. The base in Aberdeen has something like 2200 movements a year. When you look at how many marine supply bases there are in Norway, there must be at least a dozen up the west coast, and all of them are private. Through Scotland and parts of England there are also marine supply bases.
When you look at the north coast of Australia, once we get this one established in Darwin, there will only be really one international-standard Marine Supply Base that is sitting smack bang in the middle of a vibrant, beautiful capital city, where you have any school that you would like to imagine to go to, great health and recreational services, and the choice of private sector housing to whichever standard you require. For business, this is a great location. Darwin is in the best location in the north. It is the north which is going to take advantage of the oil and gas industry to our north. As that acreage starts to get developed, there will be further acreage developed to the east into the Arafura Sea, and in through the Gulf. You will see further development, more and more floating LNG plants, and also other infrastructure out there which require a marine supply base.
We should be looking forward to getting the repairs and maintenance, and the major overhauls. It can add up to something like $50m to do a major overhaul of these big rig tenders. That is a significant amount of work coming into Darwin over the life of that facility. We will start to get specialised industry moving here. It is a very attractive proposition to establish in Darwin as we get to that critical mass of capability where we have many businesses setting up here because the major ones are set up here as well. Things will keep on growing. We will continue to get close to that critical mass, and then it is just going to take off from there.
It has been this Labor government that has been chasing the INPEX Ichthys project to get it to the Northern Territory. It could easily not have happened for the Northern Territory; we could have missed that project. Apart from that, there was not much going at the time.
The government also went out for the Marine Supply Base and that, coupled with other major projects - the expansion of Darwin LNG is going to happen in the future - much downstream industry is coming off the back of those two major projects. The expansion of those two major projects is going from two trains, to four trains, to six trains and will keep growing and growing, and those are worth millions of dollars to the Northern Territory economy. It is something we need to gear ourselves up for.
One area in my portfolio is the Power and Water Corporation. It is a government owned corporation so it is really up to the government to see where the organisation is going and whether it has the capability to meet the emerging sectors coming online. That is why we have committed $1.6bn over the next four years for those critical areas of vital infrastructure of power, water and sewerage.
Without those essentials you cannot run your economy. You will not attract business and you will not attract people to work in our economy; it is blatantly obvious. If you ignore it for decades and decades it all comes back to bite you on the proverbial backside, which is exactly what happened with the Power and Water Corporation from its NTEC days to the Power and Water Authority. It was run down and prepared for sale. That came out in a report commissioned by the previous CLP government. The report came back saying: ‘Tidy it up, make it look good and flog it off’.
That is what happened. Approximately 130 very experienced technical and professional staff were let go. There was a death row mentality in the organisation because they could see they were all about to get the chop through privatisation. Luckily for the Power and Water Corporation, there was a change of government and the organisation continued. However, the damage had been done: the rundown of the organisation had occurred and a culture had developed in the organisation which was not seen until that critical incident at the Casuarina Zone Substation. A subsequent review by a very experienced professional, Mervyn Davies, highlighted the problem as far as the culture of no one taking responsibility and no asset management.
That has now changed and I am very proud of the organisation, the management, and the staff for embracing this change. I can assure the parliament and the people of the Northern Territory that we are in a very good place with the asset condition, whether it is our generators at Channel Island, through our high voltage and low voltage reticulation line, to our little electrical kiosks throughout the suburbs. We know what condition they are in and we are actively managing that infrastructure which needs, over time, to be replaced or given a major overhaul. That has occurred.
What was needed was money put into the organisation. This government chose not to sell it off but to invest in the organisation, which underwrote the fundamentals of a good economy having a power supply, a water supply and sanitation. Over this period, we have had some great achievements. In Alice Springs the old power station was noisy and in the wrong spot in Brewer Estate. We invested in the Owen Springs Power Station, and what a fabulous facility that is, with the great work many Territory companies have put in. Ross Engineering, for one, has done a magnificent job, together with a number of other companies, and the Power and Water staff worked tirelessly to make it all happen. That has been a total investment of $153m into the population of Alice Springs. That gives us a great deal of current, new capacity, new equipment, and also the ability to grow, with land available to expand for more generators. We have also put in the Lovegrove Zone Substation in Alice Springs to give us ability for some redundancy in the system; to be able to switch around any problems with other zone substations. We have three new gas turbines installed there, for which we look forward to a long life. Those generators at the Brewer Estate are museum pieces, but they still seem to tick over. There will be some back-up power available.
It has injected something like $10.5m into the local economy. This has meant 100 jobs to 16 businesses in the local economy. Obviously, these big generators are a big cost item; we do not build them in the Northern Territory or even in Australia. We saw them come through the Port of Darwin and be transported all the way to Alice Springs. It was an amazing journey and some memorable photos were taken. It is a great facility at Owen Springs.
Still on the power generation side, the Weddell Power Station is a fabulous facility - $124m was invested into that brand new power station at Weddell. There are three new turbines, and these are very highly efficient generators. We have the capacity, the redundancy there, to allow us to do further augmentation of the Channel Island Power Station. We have put in new generators and are doing mid-life refurbishments on a great many of the current generators. Around $234m is going into this project of refurbishment of the Channel Island Power Station.
This gives us a great deal of diversity. With our gas supplies now, we have Blacktip gas coming up from Wadeye, we also have an interconnect into Darwin LNG, and we hope to secure a deal with INPEX to get interconnect into INPEX as well. We also have the line going to Alice Springs. So there are four possible sources of gas supplies. We have three redundancy supplies if we ever get that type of problem in the future.
Further augmentation upgrades have been undertaken at Katherine Power Station, Yulara, and Tennant Creek Power Station. I have met the guys there quite a few times, and they do a great job.
Investing in zone substations is important as they are a critical part of the power network. The new Archer Zone Substation at the bottom end of Moulden on the way to the Channel Island Road is a brand new, state-of-the-art facility. It is nearly completed. That gives us redundancy and contingency in the whole system of Palmerston, Weddell and the rural area as well.
There is a new substation going in at Snell Street at a cost of around $43m. That work has commenced. This is about strengthening the capacity and the durability of our power system for a very harsh environment. There are new feeder cables being installed to this zone substation. It will also provide additional power supplies back to Palmerston as well.
Further work is going on in the water area. The Darwin River Dam is the major water supply for the greater Darwin area with supplementary water coming from the Howard East bore field. The raising of the Darwin River Dam wall has given us an extra 20% capacity and was a significant project - $13m was invested in upgrading our water capacity. Sadly, Territorians use around three times the national average of water for the Top Enders where we have rain for six months of the year. Even with that, we still use a lot of water. We have the lowest water prices in the country, the second lowest power prices in the country, and I think the lowest sewerage prices in the country. We have done this work with Darwin River Dam that gives us a great deal of water supply. The future plans of bringing Manton Dam back online will give us even greater yields.
I get many questions about the future Warrai Dam. The land has been secured, the design work has been done but, like any business - and Power and Water is a business …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move the minister be given an extension of time.
Motion agreed to.
Mr KNIGHT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I thank the member for his indulgence. The work has occurred with the Warrai Dam and that will give us considerable capacity in the future. However, like any business, you do not overcapitalise. At the moment, we have adequate water storage capacity and will continue with that until such time as we get to the point where we need much more water for our growing economy.
It is quite perplexing when you hear the other side of the House talking about people leaving town and, at the same time, there being land shortages, housing shortages, and things like that, because people are coming to the Northern Territory. They are coming here in droves, and they will continue to come here in droves.
Mr Westra van Holthe: Coming here in droves? We are losing 2500. People cannot afford to come here to live.
Mr KNIGHT: There are new subdivisions going in at Katherine. The member for Katherine knows that, and he knows people are coming to Katherine. It really does grate the members of the opposition that this economy is going well; this government has handled the economy very well. In the good times we invested and, now, in the global economic downturn, we have done quite well, and we have a great light coming over the horizon with major projects.
This is what we are doing; gearing up for them, preparing ourselves for them, and looking ahead. We are not just sitting on our laurels, we are looking into the future to take advantage of these major projects - and creating major projects and being open to these projects.
The minister for Resources is always out there chasing proponents. They know if they come to the Northern Territory, they will get a meeting with the Chief Minister and with a minister, and we will be looking at ways to facilitate that economic development. We are a can-do government, a government which sees that we have to grow and we have to expand our economy. We are extremely willing to do that within the bounds of protecting our social life and also our environment in the Territory.
There are things we cannot compromise, but we can accommodate much of the time; we can make everything come together. Those proponents know they can get things done in the Northern Territory. They can get to the top, they can get some answers, and they can get things under way. The Northern Territory is sitting in the best place in Australia to take advantage of the economic growth into the future into Asia.
Madam Speaker, just another couple of points. There will be a new zone substation at Leanyer for $26m accommodating future growth of Muirhead and providing the redundancy within that side of Darwin.
The Larrakeyah sewage outfall has been there for 35 years. There was a lot of carping and moaning on the other side about it, but we have been in government for 10 years. When we came to government, we started the investigation of what was required. Money was committed in about 2007-08 for the design work. That work has occurred and work has commenced. People in Larrakeyah would know too well that work has commenced with a lot of drilling going on underneath their homes. It was a Labor government that did this work, investing in improving the environment of our beautiful harbour.
There were any number of CLP local members from self-government - including a Chief Minister - who failed to do anything about the Larrakeyah outfall in their time. It has been this government that has stumped up $57m to rectify this problem. That sewage from the city will be pumped to the Ludmilla Treatment Plant. The Ludmilla Treatment Plant will be upgraded and it will be state of the art. We will not burn the other solids as the CLP used to do; we will be capturing those and they will be put back into landfill. Scientific studies on the outfall of the treated sewage are under way. I have seen some of the studies which have occurred and there will be no impact on Darwin Harbour or the beaches for the public. It is a great, timely project.
There are other projects this government is investing in. The Wadeye Power Station is a great local project. As it expands, we will see that power station providing power to Palumpa and Peppimenarti. It is moving from diesel to gas, and moving out of that community as well. I have some good friends who live within a stone’s throw of that power station. When I visit them, you can hardly hear yourself talk to them. So, moving the power station out of the community, putting it on to gas, is a great project. That is something we have invested in and it is money well spent.
I thank the Chief Minister for bringing this statement forward. It has been this Chief Minister who has pursued the objective of getting major projects to the Northern Territory with the INPEX project, taking over from the great work Clare Martin did, and getting through all the issues. It is a complex project; lots of hurdles get thrown in your way. We have worked through them. We have focused our government, focused our public service on getting through the projects, valuing our environment, and valuing the social aspects of our society, and making this project come to fruition. There really is nothing in the way of the INPEX project.
With other projects which are coming online, there is much work going on. We look forward to further opportunities coming to light. Having the task force there and having the commitment of government can make these projects happen, instead of them deciding to go elsewhere.
Madam Speaker, I congratulate the Chief Minister on his statement. It is a timely statement. Next year is going to be very exciting. I look forward to the opportunities which exist for the people of the Northern Territory, and that includes everyone outside of Darwin as well. It is a real opportunity for people who live in remote areas to come in and do some work, earn your money to go home to support your family. It is a real opportunity to do that. For all the young people, including my son - he can get a job on the gas project and probably earn more money than his father. It is a great opportunity for young people to get onto these projects, because they will take them all around the world. Some people are challenged by that, but it is a great opportunity and it is occurring in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Ms McCARTHY (Local Government): Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak today in support of the Chief Minister’s statement on the many exciting opportunities ahead as the Northern Territory continues to develop strong economic growth.
The Chief Minister has, in particular, highlighted some of the major projects scheduled to boost the Northern Territory economy and how we, as a Labor government, will work to ensure maximum benefit for all Territorians.
Territory 2030 sets an overarching framework for ensuring the Territory’s economic future is well planned, secure, and sustainable. This includes the resources, manufacturing, primary industries, tourism, and community sectors.
As Minister for Regional Development and Indigenous Development, I am working with government and industry colleagues to ensure we see benefits flowing from our major projects to the regional and remote areas of the Northern Territory, including the benefits of new and upgraded infrastructure and increased opportunities for economic participation, employment and training. Our government has always been very focused on creating a vision for the Northern Territory of that sense of equality and opportunity for all people, irrespective of where they live in the Northern Territory.
This is really headlined with 2030. In the area I have, which is A Working Future, the growth towns and the regional hubs will support smaller communities and outstations across the Territory. We have had this vision for a number of years, and have followed this vision through with the financial commitment in the previous Northern Territory budget when we allocated close to $1bn to our regions across the Northern Territory. One of the fundamental statements we made is how we turn around the decades of neglect across the regions, in particular for Indigenous people, and look at decades of prosperity. In order to do that, we need to tackle this issue from every angle.
There is no one specific cause; each area is affected by another: if you do not have a job, if you do not have a house, if you do not have enough rooms in a house, if you do not have education, if you do not have access to education, if you do not have a school or teachers to teach in the school. All these things are an holistic need for every single person across Australia, and our government has recognised and acted on the need to ensure there is a vision across our regions which allows us that sense of equality, as any citizen in this country, to have access to opportunity and choice to make decisions about our lives in employment, education, and housing without having to lose cultural identity.
As Minister for Regional Development and Indigenous Development, these are the key areas I particularly focus on. One example of where new major projects can value add with new infrastructure to the Territory can already be seen in the Larrakia Trade Training Centre. INPEX, and its Ichthys project joint venture participant, Total, committed $3m to the construction of the centre within the Darwin Business Park at East Arm. The centre opened in February this year and is run by Advanced Training International, with project partners Larrakia Development Corporation and Kormilda College. The centre provides industrial trade apprenticeship training and employment opportunities for all Territorians. An important aim of the centre is to create a pool of skilled workers needed in rural and remote parts of the Territory. This is a great example of where a project developer is directly contributing to the development of our social capital and providing flow-on benefits for the Territory.
We have heard in this House on a number of occasions, when my colleagues, especially my bush colleagues, have expressed the view that when we look at the potential for economic growth we need to also look at the opportunity for choice. If you are a resident living in Wadeye, Utopia, Ngukurr, or Maningrida, you should have the opportunity to fly in to Darwin to be involved in a major project and then fly home again. This is the vision we want to not only encourage, but also sustain, because we have local people across the Northern Territory who are very capable, if given the opportunity to excel in this areas of expertise. It is a great deal of work but we are not afraid of a lot of work or hard work, and we have invested the financial dollars to show our commitment.
The key aim is to create strong regional and remote economies underpinned by profitably sustainable and job-creating industries. A key focus of regional development is activities increasing economic development and work participation in Territory growth towns, as outlined in the local implementation plan for each town. This ranges from opportunities to link with major projects through to the development of small businesses.
The LIP process for the growth towns has been another step in this important foundation building for decades of prosperity. By that, I mean encouraging all groups to be working together and identifying how it is they wish to grow Maningrida, Numbulwar, Angurugu, Yuendumu, and Lajamanu. Again, this has to be about the way we are trying to encourage choice and opportunity. The way our government does it, yes, it could be accused of being very slow or of too much talking. However, we are about consultation and working with people, not over the top of them. We want to continuously work with people so, regardless of how these places grow, the people who live in them can be proud of the direction they are growing, and can very much have the input.
There are 29 remote service delivery sites across Australia; 15 of those are right here in the Northern Territory. I mention it because the remote service delivery sites are about the engagement with the Commonwealth. This engagement has always been crucial from an investment point of view, because we absolutely need the financial support. It also about looking at the partnership and relationships that take place between the federal government, the Northern Territory government, the local government, and the traditional owners, and people of the very places which we are trying to improve with them.
Of those 15 remote service delivery sites in the Northern Territory, we have signed with 13 of those growth towns. This document - as I said to all people involved in the putting together the LIP for their respective places - is by no means the perfect solution. It has to be a living document we are all accountable to - a document the people of Milingimbi can hold up and say to the Northern Territory government: ‘What has happened to our health clinic?’ Or we can say to the people of Milingimbi: ‘We have just opened a new science lab BER building with support from the Commonwealth. Why are the children not going to school?’ It is that kind encouraging relationship we are trying to have; of mutual respect but also expectation and responsibility.
People need to take responsibility for those things they are responsible for - and that includes the families and clan groups who need to take responsibility for encouraging their children to get to the schools; that the investment has been put into their respective places. At the same time, it is also reminding the Northern Territory and federal governments we have a responsibility to ensure those schools are well built, maintained, and staffed adequately to give the support to those children and families that should be provided, and is provided, elsewhere in the country.
Community-based Future Forums are also a key aspect of this work, and help showcase to local communities the possible, and a full picture of resources, employment, and development opportunities within each growth town. The Future Forums help to set a vision for what each growth town can have. The Future Forums are also about the next step; that is, engaging private enterprise. While we look at the local implementation plans and say this is about the partnership between local people on the ground in the growth town with the Territory, federal, and local governments and, in this case, the shires, the next step has to be about engaging private sector because, as we all know, governments cannot and should not be paying for everything.
This has to be about stimulation and encouragement into the private sector and breaking down any kind of barriers with that kind of negotiation and partnership that can, and does, occur across the rest of the country but, for reasons that are well-documented, have not occurred in the Northern Territory as well as they could have. That comes down to a number of things: cultural issues, but also a sense of security about the tenure of the land. That is something our government has also courageously embarked on; recognising if we are going to encourage investment and economic development in all these areas that these areas are located on nearly 50% of Aboriginal land. So, naturally, the tenure of those lands is very much in question regarding private investment.
What we have done is continue to work with the land councils. It is an imperfect road, simply because it is the first time in the history of this nation there has been a real attempt to try to look at the ownership of land and the financial benefits that go to those who own that land. It is a courageous step by our government to take regarding the rental and leasing issue with the land councils across the Northern Territory.
Across the regions of the Territory, there are many examples of the resources industry strongly contributing to regional economies. As the Chief Minister has said, there are a number of existing projects that generate construction, service, and maintenance activity. These include ERA’s Ranger uranium mine, Alcan’s Gove bauxite and alumina plant, GEMCO’s manganese mine, Xstrata’s MRM lead and zinc mine, and Newmont’s Tanami gold mine. Ensuring agreements for all major projects include Indigenous employment and training, as well as establishment of local business opportunities is another crucial step in ensuring local people benefit from major projects in the Northern Territory.
I take an example here of the McArthur River Mine. Earlier this week, I attended the funeral of a very well-respected Gudanji Elder who fought long and hard to see the benefits of his country and the richness that comes from the economic resources of his land flow on to his children, grandchildren, and to the clan groups of that region. He also stood for not only the economic benefits of what could come from his country, but the protection and maintenance of the cultural and spiritual significance of his country.
That is something our government recognises is crucial regarding the identity of Indigenous people of the Northern Territory: that relationship to land and culture. It is one we will continuously wrestle with. Our government has always maintained the importance of ownership and identity of land for Indigenous people. That is our starting point. We have always proceeded to negotiate, not litigate, and that has been an extraordinary step in the history of the Northern Territory and this parliament - that a Labor government has consistently maintained it is important to negotiate, not litigate.
As a result of this Gudanji leader making a stand for his people, there have been significant developments in opportunities for the people of that region - opportunities that would not have occurred and now do. They were opportunities that had to be examined, supported, and worked through concerning the community benefits package for that area. What we see in Borroloola today is the goal of the strategies to sustain and grow the Indigenous workforce at McArthur River Mine above 20% of the total permanent employee base. Part of the strategy is a trainee program that provides nine career pathways within the organisation in areas such as mining operations, environmental management, and administration and support services such as catering. This is the kind of investment in local people and building the regional economy from a major project that can make a real difference to the lives of people who live there.
Another example is in Arnhem on Groote Eylandt where the Anindilyakwa Land Council, with the federal government, Northern Territory government, East Arnhem Shire and GEMCO, through the regional partnership agreement, has committed to provide a training and mentoring program to the value of $1.5m for Indigenous Groote Eylandt and Bickerton people for employment into GEMCO. Groote Eylandters are also developing economic opportunities beyond the mine and are venturing into tourism and other cultural-based operations. This is another great example of the springboard that major project investment can provide.
The Yugul Mangi Aboriginal Development Association received $1.5m from the Aboriginal Benefits Account to establish a mobile concrete batching plant in Ngukurr. The grant aims to provide employment and economic development opportunities, including those arising from government investment in remote housing. It includes funding for plant, equipment, vehicles and storage facilities.
Ensuring that workers are retained and have ongoing employment opportunities flowing from major projects is crucial to the success of our regions, particularly for Indigenous employees. I was recently at Yulara for the Indigenous Economic Development Taskforce, a task force that comes under my portfolio of Regional Development and is chaired by Ron Moroney. One of the reasons I instructed the task force to have its next meeting at Yulara was to get a full briefing from Yulara and the Indigenous Land Corporation about the $300m investment into Yulara. The things we want to ensure comes of such an extraordinary amount of investment is (a) it is successful, and (b) there is not only success for the local people, the Anangu, and others who call that region home, but there are flow-on benefits clearly to the businesses of Central Australia and the Northern Territory as a whole.
While in Yulara, we were given many briefings about the plans of the place and how they really do aspire to make it a national Indigenous hospitality training centre. They talked about the employment of local people currently, and they are good numbers. I did say to them it is not about how many people they have now, because there is always enthusiasm at the beginning of a new project - whether it is a new course or a new employment project, you usually do have quite a number of people who sign up for it. The real challenge is whether you keep them. Do they stay on for the whole time? Are they there 12 months, two years, three years, or five years later? What kind of long-term employment strategies are in place to maintain a consistent workforce so that employees - whether they are from the Anangu people or from other areas in Central Australia - can take the wealth they earn back to their families as a flow-on effect over a period of time?
This is the real challenge that faces the Northern Territory as we grow into the future, and in our partnership with major investment and major projects; that it is not about the first three months and saying: ‘Yes, we have 200 people, isn’t that wonderful’, it is about saying in three years time: ‘We still have 200 people and they are still the same 200 people’.
Clearly, with the attrition rate, you will not always have the 100%. However, we would rather have out of that 200 people at least 150 stay on, knowing you will lose a certain number of people for different reasons. That is the challenge: how we maintain and sustain that local Indigenous employment at every level, and help them move up the ladder to those opportunities that are very much there for them.
I also said to …
Mr McCARTHY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! Pursuant to Standing Order 77, I move an extension of time for the member to complete her remarks.
Motion agreed to.
Ms McCARTHY: I thank the member for Barkly. It is quite exciting being able to share these stories.
At Yulara, they are looking at expanding their tourism opportunities to give tourists other added events while they are there. For example, establishing a golf course was on their minds and in their plans, also looking at setting up so they can cater for conferences. All of these things are ahead of them.
In regard to the structure of the resort at Yulara, they are also considering some major renovation and improvements. I told them that in Alice Springs there is work going on in the town camps and there are people employed in our communities across the Centre who are part of the building program. Regarding those people who have built any of those houses in the town camps in Alice Springs or who are involved in any of the building development around Central Australia, they have to ensure there is a connection between providing employment for them to these opportunities that are now beginning to open up in the Uluru/Yulara region.
That is something I will be keeping an eye on, and will be working with my colleague, the Minister for Central Australia, to ensure there is that continual flow-on so, when one project stops, we have skilled workers who are starting to progress and move on to other areas. Those people in Central Australia may wish to fly to Darwin to be part of any fly-in/fly-out. These are the opportunities that should be possible if people wish to pursue them.
In the tourism sector, new workers are coming to the Territory for these developments. Visitors who travel to the Territory to see friends and relatives spend $110m here, and have spent that in the 2010-11 year. Additionally, people residing in the Northern Territory took 124 000 holiday trips within the Northern Territory. So, it is an incredibly lucrative sector of the tourism industry.
Once INPEX’s final investment decision is made, we will be working through opportunities to sell NT holidays to INPEX workers and their families. The $30bn project will also stimulate investment in hotels and other major tourism infrastructure across the Top End. A number of significant hotel brands have identified Darwin as a destination in which they would like to expand their network, and several are actively pursuing potential partnership with local developers.
We recently saw the announcement of Darwin as one of the top 10 cities to visit in 2012. We have to capitalise on all things that will help encourage those projects to the Northern Territory.
Major projects offer opportunity for businesses to diversify their tourism accommodation assets into new markets such as workers’ accommodation. I alert the House, for example, that the Cavenagh Hotel has removed its 85 rooms from the tourism accommodation market to provide accommodation for Serco employees. This diversification provides dual benefits of maintaining returns for property owners, especially during the current tourism downturn, and the challenges we are facing, which I have expressed in this House on a number of occasions. It also encourages refurbishments which will refresh these properties when they return to the tourism pool.
The Chief Minister provided information on the importance of the oil and gas industry to Aberdeen. Annual passenger figures at Aberdeen airport doubled between 1987 and 2006 when they exceeded three million a year for the first time. Aberdeen is Europe’s busiest commercial heliport.
Developing the oil and gas industry in the Territory provides opportunities to expand the Darwin international aviation hub, something we have been very persistent about and committed to. In my two years as Tourism minister, I have worked very closely with Tourism NT, our Aviation Director, Justin Vaughan, who does a tremendous job in tourism and the aviation sector in working with the many different airlines and with Darwin International Airport, and with the team at both Darwin and Alice Springs.
It is a key target for the Territory 2030 strategy in expanding the Darwin aviation hub. In the past two years, Jetstar has spent over $90m with local suppliers of fuel, catering, and ground handling, and other suppliers, to support its hubbing operations. In order to cater for growth across the diverse areas of business events, corporate fly in/fly out workers, and leisure travel, we will need a diverse mix of aviation options and choices. Improving competition on aviation sectors to the Northern Territory is an absolute priority for the Henderson government.
Our other key focus is on encouraging a dual service international carrier to Darwin. I recently met with China Southern Airlines and Cathay Pacific to discuss opportunities for a new service. Tourism NT is continuing this work by demonstrating the business case for sustainable services. The Ichthys project will be a key facet in the encouragement of a major international airline to Darwin. Even last week’s visit by the United States President, Barack Obama, and the announcement he brought of the United States’ interests in developing and increasing its Defence relationship with Australia is pivotal to the way we market the Northern Territory, the Darwin International Airport hub, and the opportunities for major international carriers to seriously consider their growth in this region.
We have renewed our business events strategy by focusing on an holistic approach that leverages key Territory strength industries, including renewable energy, mining, oil and gas, remote and emergency health, and desert knowledge. Extensive work is being done to demonstrate the capacity of the Northern Territory from a technical perspective, as well as build commercial reasons for businesses to hold events in the Northern Territory.
As part of the push with China, I have built on that groundwork in my recent visit by announcing two charter flights from China to Darwin in January next year. They are part of a major campaign to promote the Northern Territory in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing. Chinese tourists will be able to choose from a number of itineraries newly created by the Chinese wholesalers, Yueqiao Travel that will have stops at Uluru, Watarrka, Alice Springs and/or Darwin. All of these things we have ahead of us.
Madam Speaker, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to support the Chief Minister’s statement. I see 2012 being an important year for the people of the Northern Territory.
Mr McCARTHY (Lands and Planning): Madam Speaker, it is with pleasure that I add my support to the Chief Minister’s statement on maximising the opportunity for major projects for the benefit of the whole of the Northern Territory. Is it not a wonderful time we are in? If I reflect, the new millennium signalled the change. There was another big change in the Northern Territory I saw with the new millennium; there was a different government in the saddle. They were certainly hooking the spurs into the Northern Territory to move it along. There has been an incredible story so far, with some amazing benchmarks along the way.
This statement by the Chief Minister is telling Territorians it is another major jump we are going to make. It is another major milestone, and it needs good planning, it needs to be prepared and planned for. This is not only in infrastructure, but also very clear and strategic fiscal strategies. It is the managing of infrastructure, budgets and resources, and positioning the Territory so it can take, and will gain, the best advantages from the private sector development as well.
I am a bit surprised there have not been many contributions from the other side of the House ...
Ms Purick: There have been none.
Mr McCARTHY: I have just been advised by the opposition there have been no contributions.
I will talk about the greater Darwin Land Use Plan - a big body of work from government I am very proud to be involved with. I suppose if we want to make comparisons with policy, the other side dusted off a 20-year-old document and trotted it out, and we never heard another word about it. That, to me, is not good planning. Our government is certainly planning and preparing for what is the major next jump for the Territory; that is, not only in resources, but also equity across the Northern Territory, and the development of all areas, which includes all Territorians.
It was wonderful to watch the whole episode of a visit from the President of the United States to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory and, really, what is the capital of northern Australia. To see that unfold was fabulous. I chose Borroloola and Kiana Station to visit at that time. It was great to be engaged with constituents in Borroloola and on Kiana Station, and they were very interested in the visit. We had some interesting conversations which related to the whys and wherefores of a United States President visiting Darwin in the Northern Territory. It was good to be able to throw around ideas about Darwin being a very important place and that Darwin is strategically a very important place in its position in northern Australia and the Northern Territory. The President of the United States recognises that the relationship with Australia and the Northern Territory is an important one, that this area of the world, strategically, is very important. It is very important in the resources and development it will generate, and it is also very important in its political stability. Constituents were very interested in that; I continually tell the story.
Being able to speak about a statement which has been delivered by the Chief Minister is an important part of my work. I will take this message back to my constituents. In relation to growth, it is an important story. I represent Barkly, I live in Tennant Creek; we are very much a small part of the Territory in population, but very much a potential part of the growth the Chief Minister talks about.
It is important that we all participate in this debate and, as I said, I am a little disappointed there is not much coming from the opposition. I am very interested in their ideas about growth for the Northern Territory and what they see. I am very interested to see that non-participation means, to me, I assume, there is no communication with their electorates; there is no going back and talking about what happens in this place, and the important debates which take place in parliament.
I will give you an example of part of my job. This is a story I am telling in Barkly about what happens in this place. It is a story constituents will be reading this week in the local and regional newspaper. It starts off:
- Minister for Resources Kon Vatskalis addressed 300 delegates at a Mining in Australia forum as part of the China Mining Congress recently. Minister Vatskalis told the forum that mining investment in northern Australia is booming, and the Territory is open for business. Over the past few years, the Territory has developed excellent relationships with China leading to over $157m in publicly announced investments.
What an incredible figure that is:
- The NT’s Chinese investment attraction strategy is providing enormous benefits for the Territory economy as investment in mining means investment in infrastructure and employment.
The story went on, and those opposite are most welcome to take that back to their electorates and share it with their constituents, because it is an important story about what government is doing about growth, which reflects what is happening with the Territory and what is a potential for Territorians.
The Territory is no stranger to growth spurts. It is very much a teenager in an economic sense, but it is now blossoming into adulthood. One of those teenage stages we saw was about 10 years ago when we saw the change in the economy triggered by the ConocoPhillips LNG project at Wickham Point. The Territory learnt many lessons from that step change. We now understand, as a government, that there is more to come; that these projects will be substantially bigger, and will be ongoing. They also move the focus offshore as well with great opportunities for capturing growth, development, and economic returns for Territorians.
That is why this government has been so proactive in preparing for the opportunities before us, both in promoting the Territory as a place for major projects to establish, and in supporting Territory businesses to grow their capabilities and target opportunities. We are working to ensure all Territorians benefit from a bright future. I suppose while the Country Liberal Party continues to sit back and throw negative comments from the sideline, it compares to what Territorians should see and hear clearly; that this government is about getting on with the job. We are at work and we are acting on our plans for the future.
I will share a quick anecdote. I was in a radio station this morning sitting with three young Territorians. They were conducting a radio program, and they were positive, funny, and inspiring. It was a really good workplace. As I left, I started to reflect on my journey in here to Parliament House. I thought what a fantastic workplace that was, where everyone was really engaged, with purpose, with meaning, and enjoying their work. I was heading off to a workplace where I knew I was going to cop abuse. I was going to be in an environment where I would be abused, and it would go on all day and into the night - and it goes on day after day. The thing that really alarms me is that the abuse is the same sort of abuse I witnessed in here three years ago. The abuse has not changed. It has turned a bit more personal, but that does not worry me. If anyone understands my life, well, they are wasting their time with personal abuse. I roll with punches from my life experience.
I really do now question the opposition and whether this strategy is worth pursuing any longer, because it really is not gaining them any points. It does not contribute to debate. In political point scoring, I think the Territory is a bit tired of that approach and the gutter politics that continues to masquerade as the championing of opposition and keeping the government accountable. I will be showing my grandchildren, and they will be showing their grandchildren the Parliamentary Record, and they will be able to deconstruct it. I hope I produce a couple of authors out of the family, because they might like to do a bit of a research project on the social history of the Northern Territory. I will be encouraging them to read the Parliamentary Record very carefully of this term of government, to reflect on all those wonderful contributions from the opposition.
In the words of a learned colleague of mine, I digress. I will get back to supporting the Chief Minister’s statement and statements about preparing for growth.
As a government, we understand that small business is the backbone of our economy, and opportunities flow from major projects for business to be involved directly, as not only subcontractors and suppliers, but also major players, firms, and companies. There is no doubt we have seen some great developments in the last few years and the last decade. That ConocoPhillips project had a significant impact on the local workforce. In addition to injecting significant growth and opportunities into our economy, it has also provided a real challenge for many businesses to maintain their workforce. We are saying that it is not going to be easy, but we are up for challenges.
The Chief Minister continually leads a united team with that mantra of take on the challenges, work as a united front, and deliver for Territorians because, at the end of the day, you want to look back on a political career that shows you delivered for the Territory.
With this lesson in mind, the Henderson government is clearly focused on building the skills in our current workforce, growing our workforce, and attracting additional workers to the Territory. Speaking of growing our workforce, we have heard from a number of members on the government team of the importance of growing our Indigenous workforce across the Territory, and providing prosperity and equity across the regions that will deliver real outcomes for the future in not only health, but education, wellbeing and prosperity.
The government’s infrastructure program is a major driver of the Territory economy and a great supporter of the Territory’s construction industry. The infrastructure program helps ease the pressure and bridge the gap between the boom cycles of major projects providing contracts that keep the Territory’s workforce in the Territory.
I have been made aware of this important fiscal strategy that has not only been adopted in the Northern Territory, but nationally and, to a larger degree, internationally, where the finance sector says in tough times, if you want to feed the economy and distribute wealth and opportunity in an equitable sense, you must stimulate construction, keep people in jobs, and concentrate on not only infrastructure that supports good social outcomes and recreational outcomes, but infrastructure that is strategically targeted to support development.
When you can see good developments on the horizon - and the Territory horizon is cluttered with opportunities for development - this government has taken that opportunity to develop infrastructure that will be supportive of these major projects. It translates, in fiscal terms, to record infrastructure budgets of $1.8m in Budget 2010-11, backed up with another record budget the following year purely planned to stimulate, to create jobs, to support existing jobs, and support an infrastructure program that will benefit Territorians into the future.
When we talk about infrastructure, it is across the board not only in key services such as roads, schools, hospitals and community safety, but also in recreation infrastructure, that important part of maintaining good community wellbeing and sense of community that makes us tick and binds us together, that adds that extra layer into a healthy society. The Northern Territory is a great society, a great bunch of diverse people – fresh, exciting and challenging, with a great sense of humour. This government’s strategic investment is looking at all aspects of the Territory community.
On average, about 95% of all tenders awarded by the Department of Construction and Infrastructure go to Territory businesses. We have a clear focus on Territory businesses. Using September 2011 as a snapshot, the Department of Construction and Infrastructure awarded 100% in its public quotes between $50 000 and $200 000 to Territory businesses. The Department of Construction and Infrastructure awarded 94% of its tenders valued at more than $200 000 to Territory businesses. That translates to locals and is the way to do business in the Territory.
In regard to roads, preparing for and supporting the growth of major projects and the Territory economy as a whole, the Territory government invests strategically in our road network. This year, we are delivering $375m worth of road projects, up 213% since the last millenia under a different management, a different regime. It not only reflects a new millennium but reflects, once again, the philosophy and the strategic approach by this government to setting up infrastructure that will support new projects.
One of those projects is the port. It is important that the Territory’s road network, the arteries of our economy, concentrates on moving resources from mines to port, cattle to export; supporting the movement of goods and services to Territorians and supporting our great tourism industry.
With 36 000 km of roads in the Territory network, 22 000 km is managed by the government. It is a job that we cannot do alone. That is why this government’s sound working relationship with the Australian government is central in securing funding for our road network. It is a partnership that supports significant roadworks for the benefit of Territorians, particularly in remote areas. To highlight some examples over the last five years, more than $21m has been invested in the Arnhem Highway. We know the Arnhem Highway fits perfectly the policy of beef, mining, and community. That is why this government is investing in that highway, as well as many other highways.
We have invested more than $29m into the Tanami Road over the last five years. Everyone who understands the bush knows that important key link for mining and pastoral industries. That work includes sealing priority sections. As I said recently to the Northern Territory Road Transport Association dinner’s audience, under my watch there have been 4 km more of the Tanami Road sealed ...
Ms Purick: About time!
Mr McCARTHY: People may scoff at and laugh at that but, as I said - and I am sure the road transport operators agree with it - it is 4 km more than last year.
This is a strategic policy; this supports development. We have projects we can talk about such as the $7m McArthur River bridge which is a growth town project - an infrastructure project in our A Working Future policy. There is work on the Daly River bridge that is currently under way. The Cullen River bridge is nearing completion. We can talk about that major roads infrastructure project of Tiger Brennan Drive and the Berrimah Road rail overpass.
It was wonderful to be at the Berrimah rail overpass the other day, talking to the contractors about the importance of that infrastructure - once again, strategic infrastructure that links the port with major arterial roads and the rest of the Territory. Those contractors are doing a fantastic job. I asked what was next, and they were very confident to tell me about the next project they will be moving on to, which is part of the Marine Supply Base project. That is another very strategic investment by the Territory government in setting the opportunities for the future.
If we talk about the East Arm port and recognise the growing strategic importance of trade and trade routes, we must then focus on our oil and gas sector in the north. In …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! I move that the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr McCARTHY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Johnston.
The East Arm port is an incredible story. In 2010, we saw the release of the Darwin Port Corporation’s East Arm Wharf Facilities Master Plan to 2030. The plan provides a strategic framework for the growth of the port to 2030, covering its strategic land and sea areas. It is part of $150m infrastructure program to upgrade the port’s facilities so it is better positioned to meet future demand from a growing trade market, particularly in the resources sector.
It is incredible to see the Land Development Corporation’s flyover when it markets this precinct - which is what it really is - to the rest of the world. The flyover shows a vision of that whole area growing, factories and businesses rising out of the ground, the port infrastructure growing, the reclamation work delivering new hardstand area, and the Marine Supply Base. You can just see a new, state-of-the-art, innovative, commercial precinct that is taking shape and capturing a whole new level of economy that is not only onshore, but is servicing all those industries that are operating offshore in that important oil and gas sector.
It is a proud moment for the Territory, with the strategic investment from an infant project basically designed as a container port, to now a multiuser facility with real aspiration to be world-class and to provide that gateway to the rest of the world. I have very much enjoyed working with all those incredible people at the Darwin Port Corporation who strive every day for excellence. That is not only with the MUA guys who are on the job on the wharf, but the admin people and the executives - all with that same outlook which is: this is the true gateway for the Territory’s growth, and that growth will deliver prosperity and a fantastic future for their kids and their kids after that.
In the Barkly electorate, the Bootu Creek manganese mine, about 120 km north of Tennant Creek, has recently commissioned a secondary processing plant. That expansion gives it capacity to produce one million tonnes per annum of manganese ore for export through the port. It is great to understand those transport logistics. When I worked with a group of alternative education program students - I had better use the formal terminology - we worked with BJB rail maintenance contractors. We were doing work on that rail spur and saw all those transport logistics where Bootu Creek was shipping manganese to the port.
Since then, Bootu Creek has expanded its operation, employed more people - employed more local people from Tennant Creek and more Indigenous people - and it shifts that manganese to the port. In this job, a very privileged job, I get to see the other end of that supply chain where it is stockpiled at East Arm and then exported to deliver real economic benefits for the Northern Territory.
The member for Arnhem, a Borroloola local, spoke very proudly about the McArthur River Mine and the relationships the traditional owners and the Indigenous community there have with the mine. The recent passing of that elder was a very sad occasion because that elder’s wisdom was also part of this government’s policy; that is, you have to use opportunities to deliver prosperity, but you do it with sensitivity. Yesterday, I was part of a contingent from our government - three local members; the members for Stuart, Arnhem, and myself as the member for Barkly – which met traditional owners, the Mara people, who are involved in the development of a potential iron ore project in the Limmen Bight area of the Barkly electorate. Those traditional owners, with their families and friends, came to Parliament House to present a petition.
One of those respected elders took me aside and quietly spoke to me and said: ‘You have to understand the message we want you to tell is not about banning this project, it is about supporting this project because we know this project will deliver prosperity and outcomes for our kids and their kids after that. But, you have to be sensitive about the way you do business’. That sensitivity was around protecting sacred sites, acknowledging Aboriginal cultural traditions and places and, importantly, understanding and acknowledging ceremony and ceremonial obligations. Not only did I take that advice, and my colleagues understood that advice, as Indigenous Territorians, but it was also great to see the proponents of this project, Western Desert Resources, have also accepted that advice.
It is about working together, which is a fantastic way to do business. It is great to see it from the grassroots right to the big end of town where people can share their aspirations and deliver real outcomes for the Territory and for Territory people in a sense of cooperation and mutual respect. It is a pleasure to be part of a government that focuses on doing business like that with all Territorians. We are good listeners, we do take on board the concerns of Territorians, and we are prepared to work our way through challenges. Yesterday was a time in space I will remember for the rest of my life. Not only because there were some young people out there who I had the pleasure of working with as a schoolteacher, but there were respected elders who were giving me as a local member, our government, and the rest of the Territory, a very clear message that they are also open for business and also want to be part of this growth the Chief Minister talks about, but they want to give us good advice about how to do it sensitively.
Another great story from the Barkly is Emerson Resources, an exploration company that has now been working for about four years and has invested more than $18m in exploration over the past three years in exploring for gold and copper mineralisation in the Tennant Creek goldfields. Emerson Resources should be particularly commended for their relationship with the local community. One aspect of that is their work with the Clontarf Academy at the Barkly College. There are a number of students from the Clontarf program who go to work after school at Emerson Resources. That exploration company should be commended for that, because it goes back to an age-old tradition of a high school kid having a job after school and making some pocket money.
There is even more at stake than that, because the Clontarf Foundation is supporting these students to get an education, to stabilise their attendance, and to build on good educational outcomes. They are also introducing them to the workplace, to the real world, and making contacts with important elements of our business sector that will then offer jobs, offer a future and, basically, create a whole normalising of saying to locals: ‘You guys live here, you grew up here, you can be part of this as well, and our company values that’.
Minemakers Limited, with their Wonarah phosphate deposit, are the same. They are currently working on an MOU with a big Indian company. They are telling the same story in the community: it is about jobs, economy, getting that product to market, and about how locals can be involved in that.
I have run out of time, Madam Deputy Speaker. There is so much more I can talk about to do with my portfolio areas, but I would like to conclude in saying I thank the Chief Minister and members of government for working as a great team together. We are in a really good space. This is an exciting space for the Territory. It is about the whole of the Territory, which is what is most exciting for me. This time around, the next big jump in this new millennium under a Henderson Labor government, will deliver for all Territorians.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement about gearing up for major projects, about the 21st century being the century of north Australia. We are in a very exciting time. It is quite evident from the people you meet and what they like to talk about. I was out visiting homes just this weekend. There were questions at the door, as there always are, about major projects.
When you talk major projects, the one that always comes to most people’s minds is INPEX. They want to know what INPEX is: ‘What is it? What is it going to mean to me?’ It is one of the biggest projects in Australia’s history. It will be one of the biggest pipelines in the world. One thing I find often helps people understand the scope or the size of INPEX is a statistic the Chief Minister once told me, which is that one of those LNG tankers that leave Darwin to go to Japan has enough gas, enough energy, on board to fuel 240 000 homes for one year, which is quite an extraordinary statistic. We are going to be sending many LNG tankers from Darwin to Japan. It is a huge project.
However, most people you talk to realise they are not going to be a primary beneficiary, they are not necessarily going to be working for INPEX, they are going to be secondary beneficiaries. They want to talk about the challenges, the opportunities, and how they will benefit. All that is going to be in changes to the area in which they live. Whether it is upgraded roads, schools or hospital, those benefits are going to flow over a period of many years. These projects are not one-year wonders, they are here to run and run and run.
There are some very big logistics and very large income streams around these projects. There are, obviously, going to be people in Darwin - this is what we want to see - who will be working on these projects. We have a very capable Northern Territory Industry Capability Network whose responsibility is matching business to business, working out what we can do, how you can do it better, what you need to do to change your business in order to be able to tender, compete or undertake work for people like INPEX.
We realise for some of the things INPEX will be using there might be one factory in the world that produces that bit. There is, obviously, R&M that can be done here, we need to do here. INPEX is conducting very good briefings for business and the NTICN also takes on much of that work in matching business for major projects so we get those benefits locally.
Another really exciting development is the work Charles Darwin University is doing to ensure we are skilling and training people to work on these projects - and the Chief Minister covered that. That was one of the outcomes from his meeting people in Aberdeen - some of the lessons they learnt from their boom. They have gone through events similar to ours. They are much further down the track and it is important to learn those lessons to ensure we make the most of these opportunities.
Getting back to what I was touching on at the start, those things people want to see, want to know about - as people often say, politics is local. When you are knocking on someone’s door saying hello and are talking to them about local issues, they want to know local outcomes. Many people are interested in seeing what is going to happen to the inner city of Darwin over the next few years. You can already see the regeneration that is occurring at the moment; it is quite evident down the Stuart Highway in Stuart Park, for example, starting with the upgrade of Kerry Holden and the most recent development of Officeworks on the old Britz car park rental site. There is, obviously, a very clear regeneration happening through the inner city of Darwin which is what happens when you have a growing city.
We have major projects on the horizon. Businesses are confident, people are confident about where the Territory is going, and they want to make an investment into the future of Darwin because we have a very exciting future. It is more than just the people I visit at home who want to talk about this. Members of the Property Council of Australia were interested enough in what was happening in the inner city of Darwin, what our plans were. In some respects, the minister touched on the town plan. They want to know what our plans are for regeneration, how we are complementing it, how we are complementing private sector investment.
They invited me to talk to the Property Council of Australia. The Leader of the Opposition was there; it was great to see him taking an interest. He might have been there for the speed networking afterwards. It was a great night and I was happy to talk to the Property Council of Australia about the regeneration of Parap, what is happening in the local area, and how we are planning for the future.
As we grow, as more major projects come online, more people are going to want to live and work in Darwin and we need to ensure we are planning for that. One of the real challenges, outcomes, consequences, or opportunities of these major projects is growth and how we handle that. The Chief Minister touched on it towards the end of his statement. It is something you have to think about when you are gearing up for major projects.
In some respects, our Housing the Territory strategy has four key elements that go a long way to addressing accelerated land release, making the housing market more competitive and redeveloping public housing and affordable rental. That is happening in my electorate. Parap is probably the best example of many of those elements coming together. What is happening in Parap is straightforward: more people want to live and work in our inner city, and Parap is the best place to meet that demand.
Our shopping village embraces Caf Parap, Cyclone, Parap Fine Foods and Saffrron. It is a short walk to Bogarts and the Railway Club. You can get a beer at the Parap Tavern and quality art at Nomad. It is the greatest electorate in the Territory. It is a cultural hub. Around the village we have a town plan that has allowed people to invest into that village, from accommodation at Quest to office space at Arnhemica and units at Wirrina.
The member for Nelson is putting his hand up to say he loves his electorate. I am sure we all love our electorates, but I am particularly fond of mine. More people want to live and work in Parap, and it is the vibe. It is a short drive to the CBD, East Point is around the corner, and we have community clubs like the sailing club and more. I find it hard to believe people would live anywhere else.
I always find it interesting when I talk with people about Parap - what is happening, what it offers now, what it will offer – they often refer to a personal inner city experiences they have had in another large cities – Subiaco, Arnhemica, Norwood, or Paddington. It goes beyond people’s understanding of the importance of a thriving inner city, of having an alternative to the CBD. The fact is people enjoy it; they have an emotional connection to their inner cities. They enjoy eating, drinking and shopping there; they like living and working there. That is why, as Darwin has grown, we have seen the regeneration of Parap and an investment by business, locals, and government - as much an emotional investment as it is a physical investment. People love the place and they want to see it get better.
We want Parap to be a better place to live, work, and raise a family. We want to see people living and working around the village, supporting the village. As you cascade out from the village, you move into quiet suburbia. I believe that is a very important planning principle; putting people within walking distance of the shopping village to encourage and create a better atmosphere at the shopping village, better services, better customer experience, better provision of retail and dining. Then, as you move away from the shopping village, you get outside within walking distance and move back into quiet suburbia. That is what is happening in Parap. It is not a revolutionary concept; the more people who live and work in and around the village, the better the village will be.
Parap traders are thinking about how they can take advantage of our weather, the amazing space we have available in the village, and the things people want to do in Parap. This is an exciting time. People now have the opportunity to decide what some of those things are: do we have a mid-week fruit and veg market; do we use the Parap square where the markets are for piazza style dining? I am confident we are going to see outdoor dining in the evening in the Dry. We should be able to eat al fresco in Parap. I believe that is something that is definitely on the cards.
We are going to see more emerging, such as the inaugural Parap Festival where we had people, bands, and the Parap Primary School Choir play live in the square. These are some of the things that will emerge as Darwin grows, we gear up for major projects, and as we develop our plans for an inner city. These are some of the exciting things you will see emerge from that: enough people to support some really positive community entertainment, options, and lifestyle choices.
While the traders think about those opportunities, we have plans, as a government, for Parap to complement what is happening naturally in Parap. What can we do to make Parap a better place to live, work, and raise a family? There are many government strategies which are being met in Parap; things we have said are important for Darwin as we go forward. We want to provide better public housing. Medium density public housing complexes do not work. We have a responsibility to do better for tenants, neighbours, and businesses. I have really enjoyed working with the minister for Public Housing on a range of things but, in particular, what we are doing on Parap Road.
We want more seniors housing. In public housing, we have around 600 seniors living in three- and four-bedroom homes through Darwin. We need to provide them with a quality alternative which then frees those homes up for families. I believe that is a really important policy challenge for us, and it is something we need in Parap. Regarding more affordable housing, we know people can be priced out of the inner city market, either renting or buying. One of the great things about growing up in Darwin is we all come from different places. I loved that when I went to school in Darwin; I had the full spectrum of the community in my classroom. We do not need to lose that. We do not want to lose workers from our CBD and our inner city. I have to say that was probably an experience I enjoyed going to school in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, as well: the mix in the classroom was fantastic. I believe it is something rather special about the Northern Territory - more than just the education we see, but the social experiences you have in the Northern Territory classrooms are fantastic.
We want to use our green space smarter. We are a beautiful tropical city with a great deal of green space, but how much of it is actually active space? That is something we are looking to change in Parap. We want to provide community parking and better public transport. Traffic and on-street parking are known issues which emerge when more people want to live and work somewhere. I believe it is important we get ahead of that problem that is evident.
There are a few things which are happening at the moment, such as the exceptional development permit around 3 Parap Road, to address future parking needs. We want to get ahead of that problem, and I believe there are some very important steps being made in that respect.
We have plans for all these things. We know more people want to live and work in Parap, and we want Parap to be a better place to live, work, and raise a family.
I should point out, when we talk about the Parap Shopping Village, in many respects that services Fannie Bay too. Many people are quite surprised how close to Fannie Bay the Parap boundaries are. There is only a block difference, and many things in Parap are actually services for Fannie Bay, such as the Parap Primary School. There is, obviously, not a Fannie Bay primary school. The Parap Primary School services families living in the Parap and Fannie Bay areas. Much of what is in Parap is actually a service hub for people living in Fannie Bay or Ludmilla as well.
Before we get to our plans, let us talk some numbers briefly. Over the last few years, we have seen over 400 units approved and over 4000 m of office space approved. Southern Cross Care has recently completed their 65-bed aged care facility at the old Waratah Oval site and is currently developing the retirement village. This will provide 49 retirement villas and 36 flexi-care apartments. That is providing more and better retirement options for senior Territorians because we want to keep our senior Territorians. We do not want them to leave the Territory.
Unfortunately, my grandparents have had to recently leave Alice Springs because they required healthcare in Adelaide that is not currently available to them in Alice Springs. I want to see a future in the Territory where they do not have to leave, where they can choose to stay, and we are slowly working towards that. Buildings like the Southern Cross aged care retirement village in Darwin are one step towards that, so other people’s grandparents in the future do not have to leave the Territory.
Obviously, I wish my grandparents all the best. They had their 60th wedding anniversary the other day. All the family went to Adelaide. I think half the population of Alice Springs left for the weekend. They had all the aunts and uncles, and most of the cousins. Apparently, it was a conversational nightmare - for those people who know my aunts, uncles, and grandparents; they talk a lot. It sounds like it was a fantastic weekend. However, I am digressing.
Ross Smith Guesthouse is gone. It was on Parap Road opposite the primary school. It was 42 units, short-term accommodation, and mainly single men. Going up in its place is Kingston Green, with 48 two-bedroom units and 72 three-bedroom units. The Quest Apartments has 42 serviced apartments that opened for business at the start of the Dry. My advice is bookings have been very good. I know quite a few people who have stayed at those Quest apartments and they have said very positive things. Providing a serviced apartment in the inner city is a fantastic idea. They are next door to the old Parap Village Serviced Apartments, which have always done good business. It is something that is very necessary in the inner city.
Fred’s Fuel on the corner of Gregory Street and Parap Road has been replaced by offices built by Norbuilt, providing 2279 m of office space. Next door to them is even more office space, and opposite is Arnhemica, providing 1900 m of office space. As people know, the Department of Lands and Planning is moving there mid-January, I think, which is part of another government plan about trying to provide opportunities for people to work near where they live and trying to provide – well, there are a whole lot of reasons for this - but we have a very broad policy about trying to provide more work opportunities for people outside the CBD so, over time, people can have opportunities to work closer to where they live. Not all businesses have to be in the CBD.
Perhaps the most important point with those numbers and these developments is there were no rezones. This is all as to the original town plan, which is a rather interesting point. We have a town plan. We have a discussion paper out at the moment talking about the future town plan we need moving towards 2030. However, we do have a town plan at the moment, and that town plan is serving the inner city quite well. All I just talked about happening around Parap and Fannie Bay is happening as per the original town plan. As we are growing at the moment, we are being able to accommodate that within the town plan. We are seeing a natural planned evolution of Parap.
What are we doing? Parap is as famous for the markets on a Saturday morning as it is for social order problems along Parap Road. We want to keep that which makes Parap special while fixing that which is a problem and meeting the emerging needs of the area. Stepping back, we should look first at what government owns along Parap Road. We, basically, have all of Parap Road between the shops and the Stuart Highway on the left-hand side, and it is all essentially public housing, apart from Arnhemica. We think we have that mix wrong. Obviously, these are decisions made over a large number of years that have accumulated this level of public housing.
Medium-density public housing does not work. While hard to measure, there can be times where there is a nexus between Territory Housing tenants and visitors that can create a problem along Parap Road. That is not unique to Parap Road; that is something that happens in many parts of the Territory. We want to find a way to overcome what is, essentially, a very large Territory problem. We believe we have a responsibility to find a better way to do public housing; one that looks after our tenants and, by extension, their neighbours and other local businesses.
The first stage of our plan was to redevelop Wirrina. If anyone has driven through the area lately, it is going up at a rate of knots. That is the public housing that was on the corner of Parap Road and Gregory Street. Sitzler is building on-site right now; it will be finished next Dry. It is called Village at Parap. We have replaced 66 units, six townhouses and a single dwelling with 100 units, providing a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. There will be 10 units for public housing prioritised for seniors. There will be 35 units for the Affordable Housing Rental Company which will, basically, be some of the initial stock. Rents will be up to 80% of the market rate as determined by the Valuer-General. There will be 55 units for sale to the private market. The Affordable Housing Rental Company is, essentially, targeted at low-income workers. We have talked a lot about this in the House. Village at Parap is going to ensure we keep a mixture of demographics living in Parap.
There are a few things I like about Village at Parap. It will have a green top, not a black top. That means there is basement parking, and there are site lines through the project. You can see them on the maps when we release them. That is there to promote people being able to physically see through the site, walk through the site, and it is part of crime prevention through environmental design.
We understand the pressures on the Parap Shopping Village, especially on market day. The concerns that exist as we move forward is that there will not be enough parking in the area. We want to ensure there are enough car parks, at the same time as we want to ensure public transport is available and improved. The government introduced orbital bus routes last October, delivering on an election commitment to provide semi-express trips in peak periods between Casuarina, Darwin and Palmerston.
We are also the first jurisdiction to offer free public bus travel for students, seniors and pensioners, which I know is being very well received. I have many senior Territorians living in my electorate and it is something they genuinely appreciate. It is also something that often comes up in conversation when you talk to visiting seniors. They are often pleasantly surprised by the fact that they can just jump on buses for free and get around Darwin. There are almost 400 bus services running through Parap and around its outskirts at the moment each week, and that is not to mention the school buses …
Dr BURNS: A point of order, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker! I move the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr GUNNER: Thank you, members. With the increase in residential density and more commercial space through Parap, it is logical that there is going to be a greater demand for public transport. We are monitoring those passenger numbers. Where there is an increase in demand, we will respond, because we want to ensure we are servicing those needs, and we want to encourage public transport.
As part of our next stage at 10 Parap Road, we want to find a way to address emerging parking needs. We believe community parking should be part of 10 Parap Road. We have the land and the council has the funds. I have spoken with people from council, local alderman and council staff. I have had informal conversations with them. I cannot have official negotiations. I have had informal negotiations with them around the principle of it. They said they are definitely interested and open to the idea of community parking as part of that redevelopment at 10 Parap Road. That has to be officially negotiated at some stage. I am sure there will be lots of discussion on that.
There are grounds that parking is needed, and traders in that area have contributed to the council parking fund. They have paid - I will not name names, but there have been some new buildings at Parap recently where people have paid X amount of dollars for X car parks. There are not X new car parks in the area, so they have contributed towards the parking fund. I believe there is a genuine argument for that parking. It is located next door to Arnhemica. I know the future tenants at Arnhemica are interested in having more car parking. At the moment, they are going through an EDP process at 3 Parap Road to provide that parking. There is a very open understanding between the owners of that land, Arnhemica, and the department that that is not a permanent solution.
Everyone is interested in it for about five years; their contracts are five plus five, plus five, so we will see how things go. Essentially, everyone knows there is a capacity at 10 Parap Road to provide community parking. Arnhemica is interested in doing that and it all seems to be timing okay at the moment. It makes sense for Arnhemica to be talking about that parking provision at 10 Parap Road.
That will be the first block where we will have to go through a rezone, in some respects, to get that. I believe it is a logical rezone, though. In my conversations with locals around that area, they have been quite open about this. I believe this is something we need to work towards. Traders and locals are very interested in that, and they see the sense of taking that forward planning approach. We will reach that point some stage next year when we will go through a rezone.
Finally, when it comes to parking, the Railway Club - which is a great spot - has a strange triangular car park. If anyone has been to the Railway Club they will know what I am talking about. It is a strange triangle gravel car park which does not quite work. You cannot fit that many cars in it. It makes sense to turn that into green space. Let us be smart about some of the areas we have, turn that into green space, accommodate Railway Club parking at 10 Parap Road when we redevelop, and try to turn that space into public community space. You have to be smart sometimes about how we use green space. They are open to that conversation as well.
The next stage, talking about 10 Parap Road, has to include Pitcheneder Court. It makes sense to bundle it all up to make it commercially feasible is the advice we have. The Wirrina site was quite large. When you look at it at first blush from Parap Road, you think those two other sites would be comparable - they are not. Once you combine them they become commercially viable. As we did at Wirrina - we do not know the exact process yet - we are going to have to go through a process with a private sector company and we need to ensure it is commercially viable. At that stage, we are working on things like seniors at Pitcheneder - which is the point I mentioned earlier about trying to free up three- and four-bedroom homes in Darwin’s northern suburbs and provide seniors a quality unit they are happy to live in to ensure we free up Territory Housing tenancies.
The other thing I would like to see at Pitcheneder – in some respects it is becoming a little crazy, but we need to use our green space smarter - is to push Pitcheneder back into the Stuart Highway verge. There is space there, and we can pull some of that green space on to Parap Road where it is friendlier. You do not let your kids play on the Stuart Highway verge. It helps break up the frontage along Parap Road, and it provides park that will be used. That is quite a sensible approach to green space. We have to be smarter about how we use some of existing open space in Darwin. We are a beautiful green tropical city, but we do not always use our green space well.
At Pitcheneder, as I said, we are going to look at providing quality housing for senior Territorians, and at 10 Parap Road we are probably looking at something similar to what we did at Wirrina - a mixture of public housing and affordable housing for rent, and even private housing. We have to look through all those numbers and crunch them. At Pitcheneder, our promise was for public, and I would like to see if we can find a way to make that public/private. Many senior Territorians are asset rich and cash poor and do not qualify for public housing senior villages. They cannot buy themselves a retirement village home and they need a choice. If we can find a way to make that a public/private seniors village and give them that opportunity, it will be fantastic. There are some real challenges there because you do not want someone 65, 70 or 80 years old buy that unit and then sell it to a 25-year-old. It is meant to be a seniors village, so there are some challenges we need to work through.
We have 1000 senior Territorians aged 60 and over living in Parap, Fannie Bay and Stuart Park. It is a genuine challenge we need to think about. We need to provide more options than just Pearl at Fannie Bay and the Kurringal Seniors Village. We need to think about providing other options for senior Territorians.
It is a critical policy issue because we want to slow the rate of people leaving Darwin. We are a very transient place - this is true for all the Territory – and we want people to stay. One of the best ways to do that is to retain senior Territorians and many of them live in my patch. If you keep the grandparents you often keep the parents and the grandkids. We want to keep the whole family tree - root, stick and branch.
We are having chats with council and are working through those issues internally with government about progressing those sites and how to make smarter decisions around our green space.
As we grow as a city we are providing a variety of quality housing choices. We maintain a mixed demographic in the inner city. We do not want to lose our workers out of the inner city. Those are some of the challenges we need to embrace when we are talking about major projects and how to handle the growth of major projects. There is a whole string of things we are doing through that area to ensure we are proving those options for people.
Another one of the consequences of density around the shopping village of providing opportunities for people to live in and around that shopping village is lifestyle. You have to provide active community space. You have to be good and smart with how you use those spaces we have.
Something that often comes up that people talk about is the old netball courts at Parap and the Parap pool. It is council land and the netball courts are vacant because we built netball a new home at Marrara. We have partnered with council to develop a plan for the site. The Chief Minister and the Lord Mayor are discussing those draft plans as part of their capital city meetings. That is where it is at. In many respects, I probably cannot talk about it in too much detail because it is being handled at that level between the Chief Minister and the Lord Mayor.
I can say, because we were quite public about this going out into consultation, as it is both council and government, we want a public pool to remain at Parap. We want that space to be active community sporting space. That is the basis for which council and government commenced consultation and planning. I am talking about the challenges of adapting growth in the inner city and ensuring we are meeting those demands that are going to be, or are already being, made on the area.
What will emerge from the planning for that site is essentially, I believe, going to be the same but better - which is not much of an answer in some respects. The three things holding priority are: the public pool, the community tennis courts, and we use this rare opportunity to provide more land for the Parap Preschool which is next door. It is a great little preschool but it has been there for a long time and it is constrained by space. We have more people with kids moving into the area, and we need to find a way to ensure provision of choices for those kids. We are going to have this rare opportunity to provide more land to that preschool. Even looking quite a few years forward, at some stage that Parap Preschool is probably going to need to be rebuilt as it is going to reach the end of its economic life. You can see it; there is a horizon there. If you provide more land at the old Parap netball courts site you can stage manage a development where you do not have to move those kids and you can work around them, where we adjust and do not throw them out, which is a great opportunity.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, the story of what is happening in the inner city is pretty straightforward. More people want to live and work there. We want to make it a better place to live and work. We have plans to complement the natural evolution of the inner city and provide an alternative to the CBD. I am excited about what the consequences of gearing up for major projects in Darwin will mean, and I am looking forward to seeing those challenges and opportunities over the next few years.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I paused for a moment because I just wondered if someone from the other side might get to their feet to say a few words. But, no, they are absent from the debate; they are not interested. They are not interested in major projects in the Northern Territory, in the future of the Northern Territory, how we will continue to grow the Territory, and the imperative need to be able to attract major projects to be able to do that. Anyway, I will just let them all go back to sleep or whatever it is they are doing ...
A member: We are listening. We are enthralled. We are all ears.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms WALKER: We all know when we are elected as members of this House there is more than just listening. Your constituents expect you to get up and speak. I reckon every one of you, in your maiden speech, probably has a line in there about how you are in this House to speak on behalf of your constituents in the Northern Territory. You are not doing that. But, anyway, we have become used to that.
I am very keen to participate and contribute to this debate because I know that is what I have been elected to do; that is what my constituents expect me to do. So, I do that. I do it because I am genuinely interested in major projects in the Northern Territory. It is a really important subject. I thank the Chief Minister for bringing this statement before the House …
Members interjecting.
Ms WALKER: I might suggest, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, if they have something to say they might wait until I have made my contribution and then they can rise to their feet …
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Brennan!
Ms WALKER: … then take their entitlement of 20 minutes plus 10 if they wish to have the floor to themselves. I will not interrupt them and I will be very interested to hear what they have to say. But, do you know what? They have nothing to say. They have no ideas in this area because they are just not interested; they are basically lazy.
We know that seeking out, supporting, and securing major projects - and minor projects for that matter - are absolutely critical for the Territory’s future. Major projects provide jobs, training, opportunities for other businesses in the supply chain and, in doing so, provide some certainty to the strong economic future of the Territory, which is absolutely critical. It is these major projects - and minor projects - which will bring in revenue to enable us to continue to build things such as better schools, better hospitals, social housing, roads, and all the other very necessary infrastructure which government is responsible for, and to also be able to resource these essential core services government delivers.
I will start where I nearly always do, as a member of the backbench on the Henderson Labor government. I will start with my electorate of Nhulunbuy in northeast Arnhem Land. I start with a bit of a history lesson in relation to the importance of the mining and resources sector. I start here because the region of northeast Arnhem Land was opened up because of major projects. In fact, in the Gove area, the initial phase of opening up that region came during World War II when quite a bit of military activity, both Army and Air Force, was based on the Gove Peninsula.
Right on the tip of Mr Galarrwuy Yunupingu’s home country is a place known as Catalina Beach. It is called that because that is where the flying boats, the Catalina’s, were based. I have gleaned many stories over the years from any number of returned servicemen who have come back to Gove for Anzac Day or Remembrance Day services about what life was like when forces were based there during World War II.
In fact, people always get a little confused and ask: ‘Why is the place called Gove and Nhulunbuy? Which one do we call it?’ Well, we answer to both. Nhulunbuy is the Indigenous name, and is the name of the large hill at the centre of the town; that is, Nhulun. It is called Gove because it was named after Flight Navigator Bill Gove, an Australian airman killed in a midair collision above Milingimbi in 1942, I think it was - I would have to check my history books to verify that. As we know - and the member for Nelson knows - airstrips around the Top End were named after servicemen who were killed during the war. So, the airstrip became known as the Gove airstrip and is on exactly the same location where Gove Airport is today. From there, the Gove airstrip became known as the Gove Peninsula and when the town was being built it became known as Gove the township. That is a little history lesson for you.
It highlights that Australia’s Top End is a strategic base for defence of the country. It was then, and it is now. The announcement made by US President Barack Obama last week about deploying US Defence personnel here is a very important announcement, bolstering not only the strategic Defence position in this region, but clearly there are economic benefits that will flow to our local businesses and service providers. Knowing that very soon we will see 250 Marines initially deployed here which will build eventually to around 2500 extra Defence personnel based here is, for some people, worrying. I hear people talking about ‘lock up your daughters’. However, the vast majority of people in Darwin and across the Top End recognise it is a very positive thing. If they did not, they might have been swayed by the very charismatic Barack Obama on his whistlestop tour through Darwin last week. Many people have asked me whether I was there, did I get to meet him, did I get his autograph? As you know, Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I was not in Darwin last week, much as I would have liked to have been, because I was out in my electorate chairing the committee investigating youth suicide in the Northern Territory.
I will return to the days of World War II in Gove because it was during this time that bauxite was discovered. Obviously, with the increased activity, with people in and out of the region, someone amongst them knew a little about geology and recognised that the red dirt they were looking at with the little round pisolites was characteristic of bauxite deposits. Someone recognised this was a mineral that existed, needed to be explored and, potentially, exploited. That exploration happened in the 1950s and 1960s in order to explore the extent and the quality of the ore body.
Then things escalated in the late 1960s and the Gove Joint Venture was formed under the management of the initial company called Nabalco. For people who do not know, bauxite is the ore from which, when processed, you extract alumina. It is quite uncanny to know that what you extract from a bit of red dirt is a fine white powder, which is alumina, and alumina is what you feed into smelters. It involves a lot of heat and energy to turn it into aluminium. Of course, there is a strong demand for aluminium.
Whilst there has been a downturn in the market during the global financial crisis and the resources sector generally, there does remain …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I call attention to the state of the House.
Madam ACTING DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ring the bells. We have a quorum.
Ms WALKER: Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I was talking about the establishment of the Gove Joint Venture, one of the earliest and probably the first major project for the Northern Territory - very significant. It was the Commonwealth government which had charge of negotiating leases and operations. Under the terms of the lease conditions, the Commonwealth government, obviously, wanted more than the establishment of a mining and a processing venture. What they were looking for was a commitment from a company that would build and operate a town. That included not just building houses for its workers, but establishing a hospital, establishing a school, and also establishing a retail precinct and office space.
That was quite an undertaking in the late 1960s. It involved an awful lot of money in establishing a township. The reason the Commonwealth had specified that under the terms of the lease was, basically, having the vision that they wanted to establish a regional centre to open up this remote part of the Northern Territory. Whilst few non-Indigenous people lived out there, there were large populations of Indigenous people there. Obviously, those communities were needing the services we would expect in other parts of the Northern Territory. That was an economic opportunity itself; to build a town servicing the mining operations, but also servicing those areas out across the region that were, and still are, where we have many Indigenous communities with, certainly at that time, limited infrastructure and limited access to schools and health services other than what had probably been provided by missionaries in those days.
It was around that time - in fact, a couple of years earlier actually - that similar developments were progressing on Groote Eylandt with the establishment of a manganese mining operation, which continues to thrive today. It sits in the member for Arnhem’s electorate. It is operated by BHP Billiton. They also went through a significant upgrade a couple of years ago, and that business continues to grow and prosper. At the same time the benefits, certainly for Groote Eylandt, spread out across to Bickerton Island as well.
Given the vast space of the Territory, with relatively small populations outside the major cities of Darwin and Cairns, the need to grow our regions like the East Arnhem region, both economically and socially, are critical. It is the same for the member for Arafura in the West Arnhem region. The need to grow our regions is completely our focus at the moment, certainly in bush electorates. In Central Australia, the member for Stuart works hard with his communities in seeking out and promoting those economic opportunities. However, it is not just the economic opportunities; it is also about growing communities through schools and businesses that will support this.
When the Gove project was under way in the late 1960s, around 1969 approval was received to commence construction. I understand it was the second biggest construction in the history of the nation, second only to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. During my time working for Nabalco, I got to know the long-serving employees who had been there from day dot. Some of them were there as contractors before they joined the company when it started up. I knew that because, of the many things I looked after in my community relations role, one was looking after service anniversaries for employees. Many of them had come straight out of the Snowy Mountain scheme into Gove. If you can imagine the middle of the year, June, they would come straight from minus-5C and snowy weather into the tropics of Gove. It was quite a shock for people but one they enjoyed by the time they landed in Gove.
The operations at Gove - the project when it started in the 1960s, the challenges, the logistics - were absolutely monumental. There was no road out to Gove. A track developed, and in those days it would take you anything from a week to 10 days to get on the track from Gove out to the Stuart Highway, compared to today where you can be out safely in around 10 hours. The logistics of establishing that operation when there was no road, and everything had to come in by sea meant a wharf had to be built. There was a bit of a tent city to start with and then, very quickly, prefabricated buildings appeared and the town took shape. The whole place was built and functioning within the space of two-and-a-half years which was, for its time, quite a phenomenal project.
We are probably about 33 years down the road now from the official opening of the mining operations at Gove today. Cumulatively over those years, it has contributed billions of dollars in export earnings, providing thousands of jobs, and hundreds upon hundreds of apprenticeships.
Gove, under new ownership - that was with Alcan which took over the running of the place in 2000-01 - went through a major expansion known as G3 which looked to increase the capacity of alumina production from around two million tonnes per annum to just over three million tonnes per annum. This expansion, for a region as small as Gove and a township as small as Nhulunbuy, was huge. There was a construction workforce of some 1700 people who mobilised to site. There was a purpose-built construction camp put in place, and the town boomed.
During that time, a new airport was built by Alcan. That was an investment of approximately $4m to $5m. They had to, first of all, upgrade the runway so it could take larger aircraft such as the Boeing 717s. We had more people traffic in and out of Nhulunbuy so we needed the airline services to cater for that. They ended up extending the runway in one direction by 1 km because what had long been known is that when the airstrip was first built in World War II it was actually on one of the richest deposits of bauxite. It was opportune, whilst upgrading the airstrip, to move it 1 km in one direction so the other end of the airstrip could be mined and the bauxite extracted.
The final investment decision by INPEX has yet to be announced, but there have been huge bodies of work undertaken to gear up for this project. I read in the NT News today about the workers’ village in the rural area. There was a picture of the architectural design and a story that went with it. It tweaked my memory about when the workers’ village was being planned for Gove, as I said, to accommodate 1700 construction workers.
In Gove, in 2003 or so, there were all kinds of speculation about the impacts it would have, and there was a bit of a ‘lock up your daughters’ fear from some elements around Nhulunbuy. The village did become home to 1700 very decent and hard-working people, predominantly men, but there were females housed there as well. These were all individuals who, as I said, were hard-working. They spent a great deal of money in the community while they were fly-in/fly-out people; they were on a roster that saw them in town for five weeks on, one week off. So, when they were not at work they certainly shopped at the local businesses, had beers at the local pub, and were also a very generous workforce in support of the community when it came to any kind of fundraising. In their spare time, if they were contractors who could put their skills into assisting community facilities, or put their hands deep in their pockets to pull out cash, then they certainly did.
Once the G3 project was finished and people started to leave the site, many of those fly-in/fly-out contractors looked for permanent work at Gove with the mine. I know that because I was working in the HR department at the time and used to work closely with our recruitment people and met all of our new recruits. Many of these people wanted to stay on because they recognised that it was a fantastic place to live, a very family-friendly place with great schools, great shops, great services. Also at that time, some of our employees who had been working at Gove for a few years, chose to move on to the next big project which was here in Darwin with the LNG gas project.
There is no doubt that when these major projects are afoot, you see workforces moving around the country and following the projects from one place to another …
Ms SCRYMGOUR: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr Henderson: I used to work there. I worked at Nabalco.
Ms WALKER: Chief Minister, that is right. You used to work there so I know you would recognise much of what I am talking about. You were there before my time. It was a great place then and it is a great place now.
There is hope on both sides of this House that the INPEX project will go ahead although, having said that, I am not sure because the members opposite have not contributed to this debate so far, so I do not know what their hopes are for INPEX and the future of the Northern Territory. I know from my experiences at Gove that these projects bring so much to the communities they operate in, and the opportunities are enormous.
Those of us who live in mining communities, or have mining communities in our electorates, know only too well the benefits that flow to the people who live there. I have heard the Minister for Indigenous Development talk about the mines in her electorate and how she has recognised the opportunities which come through jobs and training and the opportunities to develop, and also grow strong relationships between traditional owners, the company, and the community. I have seen that out in Nhulunbuy. Whether it has been Nabalco, Alcan or now Rio Tinto Alcan, there has always been that commitment to partner and to work together.
Just over a year ago would have been one of the first official duties I carried out as Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Training, which was to announce around $8m was being invested in trade training centres in Groote Eylandt, in West Arnhem Land, because these are places where there are mining operations, skill shortages, and opportunities. Those trade training centres are under way. I have my fingers and toes crossed we will see an announcement soon that will deliver for Yirrkala, so we can see a trade training centre in that mining community as well.
I wanted to mention as well - because I heard the member for Arnhem talking about the relationships between mining companies and traditional owners - the willingness, certainly on the part of TOs - actually both sides of the fence - to negotiate rather than litigate. If I go back to the start-up of the Gove project, it was certainly fraught for traditional owners. Effectively, the landowners back then had no legal recognition of their ownership of the land and this, in fact, precipitated the very first land rights case in an Australian court. It was a court case the traditional owners lost and Nabalco won.
If we fast forward to today, we now have recognition of land ownership enshrined in law and, of course, the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. Quite obviously, the traditional owners are in a far stronger position to negotiate. As such, the end of the first 42-year leases that were granted at Gove have been successfully renegotiated for a further 42 years. This is a real win/win for all parties. The significance of this was marked by the fact that no one less than the Prime Minister travelled to Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala in June to sign these historic leases with traditional owners representing the landowners of the Gumatj, Rirratjingu, and Djapu clans. That was a really important day for Yirrkala people, and those of us who live in Nhulunbuy, to see those leases signed and the enormous goodwill that goes with that.
Given we have had the announcement about the mining resources rent tax, I add that I have supported that tax from Day 1. I believe it is a very fair tax which delivers back to our regions a greater share of the wealth that comes from mining. That sort of wealth will go back into our regions for the benefit of the people who live there through important infrastructure projects such as roads, for instance, which is so important in our remote areas.
Unlike the negotiations in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the agreement for the next 42 years in Gove provides confidence for all stakeholders. For local business people, it provides confidence to be able to continue to invest with some certainty and, for their banks, with that certainty, to be able to provide the mortgages they need. It also provides the opportunity for new land to be opened up to build new businesses and much-needed new houses as well. I know there are plans afoot for new retail space. I am hoping there might be some office space within that retail space.
As you know, I am probably the only member who has an electorate office with no shopfront, no visibility to my constituents. I am stuck up the top of a flight of stairs which is difficult for people to get to if they are elderly, disabled, or mums pushing prams. There are a whole heap of reasons as to why we look forward to land opening up. Government would welcome the opening of new housing estates as we seek to grow our services out in the region. To do that, we need to be able to house our public servants, as well as provide social housing for those who are eligible because there is quite a shortage of social housing in my electorate.
For traditional owners, the lease renewals offer no shortage of economic opportunities. I have good confidence that it is the investment arm of the clans which will be a developer of the proposed new housing subdivision in Nhulunbuy. This will, obviously, provide opportunities through construction jobs, apprenticeships, training opportunities, and the maintenance opportunities once they are built. This a very positive thing.
I am optimistic we will see lease agreements at Yirrkala make positive progress in coming months, so we can see the $16m investment from the Strategic Indigenous Housing and Infrastructure Program roll out with new refurbished and rebuilt homes to address the overcrowding issues we have out at Yirrkala, which makes people’s lives out there quite difficult. Yirrkala is one of the last communities in the Northern Territory to reach an agreement, but I am sure it will be reached.
Further to the north of my electorate, on Elcho Island, SIHIP is going along absolutely gangbusters. That community is destined for 90 new houses, I think 53 rebuilds, and I cannot remember how many refurbishments. Many of those houses are built to lock-up stage. I am going up there after these sittings to visit the new subdivision and see how things are looking. Hopefully, we will have news very soon of handing over some of these houses in the same way that houses at Maningrida have also been handed over to residents who are very happy to accept keys to those houses, understandably.
There are many things that have been happening in Gove parallel to what has been happening with the lease renewals at Gove in gearing up for the opportunities. Our schools have strong VET programs and are certainly well positioned to provide training in a number of different areas. Nhulunbuy High School, in fact, runs it own RTO very successfully. They would like more money to be able to do that. They have written to me just recently about that. I will be talking to the minister to see what we can do to continue to support the RTO, because they are meeting the demands to train up young people to meet the skills shortage areas in their communities. With the mining community at their heart, and with all of this construction work that is going to be happening, there will certainly be a demand for people to take up those jobs.
Similarly, we know that in gearing up for the INPEX project, the Larrakia Trade Training Centre has been created to ensure there is comprehensive training going on for people in a wide range of the skills shortage areas, and there is a cohort of apprentices and tradesmen who will be ready to step up and take on the jobs. It is obvious we need, and we want to, grow our own, and not bring in imports for jobs which we can do here. I had a very comprehensive tour of the Larrakia Trade Training Centre earlier this year. It is certainly a really impressive facility, with what they are doing out there, so all power to them. No doubt they too have fingers and toes crossed that the final investment decision from INPEX will not be too far away.
If we look at the village that is going to accommodate the workforce for INPEX, there is another huge employer as well. There are all those people who need to be involved with the catering and the servicing of rooms, so it is going to be huge.
Madam Speaker, time is running out, so I need to wind up here …
Mr Tollner: Do you want an extra 10 minutes?
Ms WALKER: I have already had the extra 10 minutes, thank you, member for Fong Lim.
I thank the Chief Minister for bringing this statement before the House. It is a fantastic opportunity for people to participate in a debate about the Northern Territory and what it holds for us, and how we are going to get there. It is just disappointing the members opposite have chosen not to participate.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Arafura): Madam Speaker, I was going to speak but, if it is nearly GBD, I will wait.
Madam SPEAKER: All right, we will say it is 5.30 pm. Pursuant to standing …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Pursuant to standing orders …
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex!
Mr Conlan: Sorry.
Mr Tollner: Madam Speaker, it is coming from both sides.
Madam SPEAKER: I beg your pardon?
Mr Tollner: It is coming from both sides.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting, thank you.
It now being 5.30 pm, pursuant to standing orders, General Business takes precedence over Government Business.
Debate adjourned.
MOTION
Northern Territory Planning Scheme – Land Subject to Flooding
Northern Territory Planning Scheme – Land Subject to Flooding
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I move - That due to the number of blocks of land flooded in the Litchfield Shire this year:
- the NT Planning Scheme be amended to require the Development Consent Authority to show the approximate 1% AEP (Annual Exceedance Probability) line on any subdivision plan approved by the authority where the subdivision is subject to flooding or waterlogging.
Madam Speaker, I suppose it is a bit unusual, but I have been in consultation with the department over the motion. They have some concerns about the accuracy of the 1% AEP being used in the context of which I am to debate this motion. I am happy for the debate to go ahead, and to either vote against it at the end or ask for it to be noted. It is still an extremely important debate that needs to occur. What I am hoping will come out of this is, if the department is saying I am wrong, is the government has a solution to fix the problem. If part of my motion is, possibly, technically inaccurate, I would like the government to answer the question: ‘What are you going to do about it?’
I should state at the beginning this motion is about justice for people, especially families, who have spent considerable amounts of money buying land, passed by the Development Consent Authority, backed on the analysis of this subdivision by the Department of NRETAS, the Department of Lands and Planning, and also by a subdivision map submitted by the developer. There is a whole group of people - when it comes to the subdivision of land - who need to understand this is simply not just a matter of keeping up appearances; this is a matter for many people – families – of whether their life savings are literally going to go down the drain. A number of blocks were flooded this year when Cyclone Carlos occurred, and those people are still looking for satisfaction from the government. They have had quite a number of meetings with government but, as yet, they still have not reached a solution although we hope that will occur fairly soon.
Before self-government there were blocks subdivided in the rural area which, I presume, did not require any approvals at all. A classic example is in the Howard Springs area, specifically along Whitewood Road, Stowe Road and Westall Road. Blocks of land were subdivided around 1964. This year, a number of those blocks were flooded. Houses were flooded and, unfortunately, those people have very little recourse except to ask the council if the drainage could be expanded to lower the water level. The council has to look at the cost of that, and also the effects downstream from increasing the flow of water. Land was also developed on Power Road, Humpty Doo around 1970. Again, that was before self-government, and …
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, there are many mobile phones ringing in here. If you could turn them off, thank you.
Mr WOOD: There was no self-government in those days. This year, unfortunately, a family built a brand new house on a block of land. The land cost them $250 000 and was at McMinns Lagoon. They built a brand new house, a shed, and chook shed and, in around March this year, the sheds went under water, and the house, luckily on stilts, was completely surrounded by water. In fact, the whole 2 ha block went under water. The neighbouring block went about three-quarters under water. I know that block very well, because about six or seven years ago, it went under water not long after a young person had bought it for $200 000 which, at that time, was a huge amount of money.
That is when I started the move to improve the way land could be sold in the Northern Territory, where the seller of the land had to declare the condition of the land. It was from that particular incident, where I saw someone’s $200 000 go down the drain, that I believed purchasers had to have some protection. However, they have to have some protection from the government.
Since the 1990s at least, there have been rules and regulations which have been improved as time goes on, which define clearly that land cannot be sold in the rural area - that is Litchfield in this case, and possibly applies to other areas of the Northern Territory – if there is not 1 ha of land above the 1% AEP flood line or seepage line. It is not necessarily put in that term.
We have a series of rules under the Northern Territory Planning Scheme and they clearly state what should happen. I will just give you an idea what is required by the Development Consent Authority before it signs off on a subdivision. Under the Northern Territory Planning Scheme which is the law, clause 11.4.3 lot size and configuration in subdivision of rural and unzoned land under, clause 2(b) says:
- ensure that each lot has a minimum of 1 ha of unconstrained land and that access to that land from a public road is similarly unconstrained;
It also says in 2(d):
- show the location of notional and existing bores, wells and on-site effluent disposal systems and allow for effluent disposal systems to be sited at least 50 m up slope from any seepage line and above the 1% AEP flood event and at least 100 m from any groundwater extraction point;
Normally known in plain English as a bore.
It also talks about roads in rural subdivisions should be located above the 1% AEP or in any seepage line which is higher. Then, in clause 11.4.1 it talks about subdivision design of rural and unzoned land should, under 2(d):
- avoid development of land effected by a 1% AEP flood or storm surge event and be situated above the RL 6.0 AHD contour where subdivision adjoins tidal areas.
There are some other issues in there related to land that should not be subdivided such as natural drainage systems. I do not particularly want to go down that path. It does apply to the Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court area where land that is subject to seasonally waterlogging was subdivided against the rules of the Northern Territory Planning Scheme. However, I want to stress the Development Consent Authority, under these Northern Territory Planning Scheme rules, is required to see there is 1 ha of dry land, so when they tick off the approval for the subdivision, a purchaser would expect, after the government has given the tick to a subdivision, they will find there will be a minimum of 1 ha of dry land on which they can out their house, their septic, and their bore.
The cases I referred to today show that was not the case. The people in Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court in Herbert bought land which was subdivided by Mr Graeme Chrisp, who has been a developer for a long time in the rural area and knows the rural area very well. He put out a subdivision plan, which I have here, which showed an area with a line around it with nothing to say what it was. One could only presume that it was meant to be the wet area. It was found after Cyclone Carlos had gone through, that this plan was highly inaccurate. In fact, it was so inaccurate there are blocks of land there which had no water marked on them, which were three-quarters covered in water. One block probably was at least 75% covered in water.
Because of the problems associated with these people finding their blocks underwater, eventually the government required a proper survey of the land. The wet area was shown to be at least double the size of what the developer had put forward as land that was wet. The government also did a vegetation map. Vegetation is a fairly accurate and easy way for those people trained in native vegetation to recognise those species which live in water or close to water - an easy way to find out whether land is subject to waterlogging or seepage.
The government spent some money and brought out a vegetation assessment in the vicinity of Lorikeet Court, suburb of Herbert, Darwin, Northern Territory. That plan from NRETAS showed immediately that this original plan from the developer was wrong. The sad thing is the department passed this development in 2006 with none of that information. It did a cursory inspection of the property, basically said it dug a hole in the ground and it appeared the land did have some water, but there was no reference to say this land was subject to major flooding.
So, this subdivision was ticked off and young families moved into this area. They paid between $290 000 and $295 000 for a block of land and found the next year either their house was inundated, their demountable was sitting in water, or they could not use their septic tanks because they were under about 1.5 m of water. These people have since tried to find a way to pick up their lives and start again. The negotiations they are having with the government is about that. Of course, this is costing quite a bit of money for those people who cannot build their houses because they are paying a mortgage, but they cannot live in the house.
It is costing the government and the developer money to look at putting a drain in that area to at least lower the subdivision. All this happened because there was not due care taken by the departments and the developer when giving advice to the Development Consent Authority. I do not take all blame away from the Development Consent Authority. My information is it is, basically, not responsible; it is an authority that cannot be sued. In my time on the Planning Authority, when it was called the Planning Authority and the Development Consent Authority, that members of the Planning Authority would go around and physically look at the subdivision they were going to give approval for. They would not just rely on a few photographs and an aerial picture and some contour maps. They would physically have a look. It seems that does not even occur today.
I am interested to know how many members of the Development Consent Authority go out and get their feet wet when it comes to these developments to ensure what they are looking at is an area they understand, and to check to see whether the advice that has been given to them is accurate. It boils down to an issue of social justice. It is not an issue of technical details about planning - of course, that is the basis of this debate – it is about protecting those people who are most vulnerable. They are most vulnerable because they are putting their entire life savings into buying a block of land which, through no fault of their own, goes under water.
I mentioned the earlier blocks from 1960 and 1970. I admit because they are old blocks then there was, you would think, the requirement by those people to try to get some advice on why those particular blocks were still vacant after all these years. It would be a bit suspicious to understand why every other block in the street had a house on it, except the last two. Of course, people sometimes would have taken up the bargain in July or August - it was nice and dry and there was a cheap price - bought the land and, unfortunately, those blocks went under water.
However, we are talking about today, when you should be able to have faith in the department and the Development Consent Authority because you know they checked out the land and there was at least 1 ha of land above the flood line, or seepage line.
Unfortunately, some people who bought older blocks went to the department of Natural Resources. A schoolteacher at Girraween went to the Department of NRETAS and asked them: ‘Did this block of land go under water?’. They took her inside, sat her down and pulled out the waterlogging maps and said: ‘No, that is fine’. That is the lady whose block went totally under water. Unfortunately, the advice was not in writing.
They are going to stay there, they will live there knowing that possibly every few years their block will go totally under water, the chooks will have to sit on the veranda, and they will have to drive their four-wheel drive for about 300 m or 400 m down a flooded road to a house that is completely surrounded by water. I hope the government will be able to help them, along with the council, to get a road that is an all-weather road to the block. There is very little you can do about that situation.
I ask the minister for NRETAS to see whether it is the case that his department gave verbal advice that this block was okay because, if that was the case, then I believe the government has some responsibility towards those people who have now put their life savings into buying the land and building a house there.
There is another block of land on Madsen Road in Howard Springs which was subdivided as part of a five-lot subdivision about three years ago. That block of land went under probably 80% to 85% this year during Cyclone Carlos. The people came to me and said: ‘We just paid $420 000 for that block of land. It was going to be our dream home, swimming pool, nice house. We did not intend to go anywhere; love the rural area’. Nearly the entire block went under water. I have photos of the blocks next door, some of which are old blocks. However, this block was included in a new development, and only one of the blocks was showing a seepage line out of those five. The reason it was showing a seepage line was because the person who owned the land had an argument about whether there was 1 ha of dry land. I have looked at the maps the Development Consent Authority looked at. There is not a contour on any of the blocks nearby. It is as flat as flat can be, yet no one in the department seemed to query whether this land could go under water. It is the floodplain of the Wadham Lagoon. It always has been. Yet, no one required the developer to prove this land would not go under water.
I would have thought the departments would have pulled out their waterlogging maps. These waterlogging maps are not necessarily that accurate, because they are taken from a large scale. That is a waterlogging map of Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court. If you took this map, just as a bit of a guide, Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court is in the light blue area, which means it has a high seepage or water problems. You would think the Development Consent Authority or the department would say: ‘We better check that out to see if this is accurate’. These are not that accurate, because they are done from a very big scale and you cannot get down to metres; you might get down to hundreds of metres. However, it gives an indication the land is wet. It is put out by the department as a guide to what land is wet. Yet, if the department does not use it as a guide, then you ask what is the point in having them.
There is another block of land, $420 000, and that gentleman wants out. The problem he has is the government says the Development Consent Authority cannot be sued, so you cannot talk to them. I ask: did the Department of NRETAS and the Department of Lands and Planning do their job when giving advice? Did the developer put forward an accurate map? Did the developer’s agent, which is one of our leading survey companies in the Territory, do their job properly? Where else can these people go? I am told if the department did its job in good faith - which is a great word for lawyers - then you cannot touch them either. If a person wanted to take the government to court, you know who would win. A single person is not going to have the financial capability to take the government to task.
I know this might sound an issue that is fairly local, but it is more than that. It is about governments doing their job so Territorians can have faith in the system. There is another requirement - and it is interesting when the flooding occurred at Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court, the department conveniently decided to call the lagoon out there ‘not a waterway’. What is a waterway? A waterway is body of water that fills up and flows out, which is exactly what this does. They have continued to use that definition.
The report from the EPA queries how they could make that statement without any scientific back-up. The EPA did a report on this particular site and have queried whether the department has done the work it should have done in allowing this subdivision to occur, and whether the definition of a lagoon as ‘not being part of a wetland’ is accurate.
I was trying to find the section on that. The EPA report was in March this year. I must admit the speed at which the EPA got on to the job of investigating this was a bit faster than the Ombudsman, who still has not brought out a report. The EPA suggested we continue this investigation through the Ombudsman. The EPA said - and they have looked at all the facts regarding the Beddington area flooding:
- These facts lead the EPA to conclude that in this matter the original administrative decisions at the time of the development and consent that the laying water was not a water body for the purposes of the Water Act and that the storm water drainage plan was adequate were not backed up with scientific evidence.
- The EPA considers that a far more robust evaluation should be undertaken and documented in relation to the declaration of land as suitable for development. In addition, the EPA will be recommending to government that they consider expanding the provisions of the NT Planning Scheme as they relate to approvals for land subject to inundation, and this provision be expanded to allow particular recommendation in relation to the positioning of the development on the approved site. This will require a review of the interaction of this particular provision of the NT Planning Scheme and the authorisations under the building code.
- Further, the EPA is providing the Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage with advice to the affect that the land capability assessment stage of the development consent process is not supported by robust, evidentiary processes and, as the development of Darwin and surrounds expands from premium land to more marginal land, there will be increasing environmental health concerns and environmental risks unless this matter is addressed.
- Departments providing advice to the DCA should undertake this task with sufficient rigour and attention to detail as would be required if they are authorising the land use themselves, as this is essentially the weight the consent authority gives their advice. In conjunction with this, the DCA should demand an exacting standard of advice that would withstand integration at the Development Consent Authority.
I do not know if that is meant to be interrogation at the Development Consent Authority hearing.
The EPA is saying exactly what I am saying; there has not been sufficient effort put in to ensuring these subdivisions will be suitable for the people who will spend their money purchasing them. I hope the government - both the Minister for Lands and Planning and the Minister for NRETAS - does something about that because the EPA is telling them something needs to be done.
There is another area which has been missed out, and the EPA raises this issue. You cannot live in the rural area without a septic tank. There is a requirement that a developer shall indicate the exact position of the Q100 - which is the old fashioned term for the 1% AEP. It used to be called the one-in-100-year flood line:
- The developer shall indicate the exact position of the 100-year flood line on a plan at a scale at not less than 1:10 000.
It is the responsibility of the Building Board to ensure that happens. The reason for that is, under the planning scheme, it says - and I actually read the section before which says you must allow for effluent disposal systems to be sited at least 50 m up slope from any seepage line and above the 1% AEP flood event. The rules say there must be 1 ha of dry land. They also say the Building Board should show a Q100 line on the map. Then, so your septic tank actually works, does not go under water, and does not interfere with the environment, it should be 50 m above that line.
If I come along as an average person and there is a block of land up for sale which has just been developed in 2011 - you can buy it now in this area for over $300 000. It has been approved, thank you. I know it has been approved, it has a government tick on it. So, technically, I know if we have 1 ha of dry land, it should have a Q100 marked under it according to the Code of Practice for Small On-Site Sewage and Sullage Treatment Systems and the Disposal or Reuse of Sewage Effluent. This is the document that is used and says you should have a Q100 line, so you can then know your septic tank has to be 50 m above that.
So, I do this. I give my money to the developer. The developer goes away; he has done his bit. Next year, Cyclone Dave comes along and we have the same problem as last year and so cyclone - oh sorry, Dave, I did not see you there …
Ms Purick: He is such a small bloke, too.
Mr WOOD: He is at times cyclonic, and sometimes he does talk under water.
Madam Speaker, the issue I have here is I have presumed in my good faith that the government has done the right thing. My block goes under water. How am I supposed to know where the Q100 is if the departments do not put it on their blocks? How am I supposed to know where the 1 ha of dry land is? I presume the DCA knows because they would have to give approval knowing there was at least 1 ha. If there are no maps showing this line, then how does anyone prove the decision was correct? The developer puts a line; he might not put a line. If no one goes out and checks, then you just accept the developer as being right. It seems then it is passed. Can anyone tell me what happens then? My block goes under water: the maps were not done properly and ...
Ms PURICK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I move that the member be given an extension of time, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: Thank you, member for Goyder. What I see here are two things. There needs to be a change from the government. I need to hear from the government that they will implement a policy change. That is not to say there are not rules already; it is a matter of whether they are being implemented. If they say my motion has some technical difficulties and it could not be passed as it is, I am happy for that - I will come back another day and try to look at it again.
If they are saying that, then they need to give 100% assurance to me and the people out there who are buying land that the land that is being subdivided, approved by the Development Consent Authority, checked by the departments, given over by a developer with a map normally done by a licensed surveyor, is the truth, so that those people’s money and those livelihoods will not go down the drain.
That is what I need from the government. I want that for the people in the future. For the people who are now flooded there is very little we can do about it, except, I believe, the government has a moral responsibility - it does not always like this path because it always sees itself having a precedent - to do everything it can to help those people who have been flooded; that is, the blocks on Pelly, Lorikeet and on Madsen. They are the ones which have been flooded under the Northern Territory Planning Scheme regulations. They were flooded when they should have known there was 1 ha of dry land - and there was not.
The government can say: ‘Legally, we are not bound; the Development Consent Authority cannot be sued. Our Departments of Lands and Planning and NRETAS did it in good faith - too bad’. That is what is really coming out. I know we are working and, hopefully, there will be a solution. However, that solution has been long and painful. I believe the government should look at helping these people - whether it is financially or with new land - and doing it quickly. This has taken - Cyclone Carlos occurred in February, March. The EPA had its report done by 9 March. It took so long to get a vegetation report; I am not sure when the vegetation report came out. The vegetation report just says 2011. It does not have a date on it, but it certainly was the latter half of the year. It was the same with the contour maps.
It has taken ages to get to where we are today. The government really needs to sit down - and I hope the Cabinet - and say: ‘How can we help these people’. It is our government - because the government runs all these things - that has stuffed up in relation to this land. Pardon me, Madam Speaker. The government needs to take some moral responsibility. Government might say: ‘It is too bad, this is a legal issue under the law. You really have to take us to court’. As I said before, these people have no chance - they have no chance. If you try to take a government to court, someone will run out of money before the other side runs out of money.
I hope the minister and the government seriously consider these blocks as an exception. It is not entirely an exception because, in the CLP days, there was a subdivision of land on Fitzgerald Road in Howard Springs, which was called the Yates subdivision. It had two blocks of land go totally under water; two houses were flooded. What did the government do? It spent $450 000 - which was a lot of money in 1993-94 - to put in an expanded drain and buy one of the blocks. Because it lowered the water, it was able to hold on to the block, and sold it later as a dry block. However, those people were flooded out. It did the right thing by those people. It paid them out which allowed them to start again. It is very hard for people to go back to a block of land, even if the water has been lowered, because they fear they have lost the value of the land and all they dream of is the bad times.
I am happy for this motion to be defeated, but I am using it as a means of debating something which is vitally important. It might sound, for many people in the Territory, a minor thing. I have four people out there who have spent a huge amount of money - their life savings - on a block of land that at this present time is useless. It has been done in good faith because they believed the government has done their job correctly. The proof is in the pudding: it was not done correctly. The proof in the pudding is simply the contour maps and the vegetation maps which show clearly the land the developer put up as being wet was no way near the amount of land that went under water.
That is why, for instance, if you want further proof, the developer has offered to help pay for a drain. If he did not believe this went under water, why would the developer come back and all of a sudden say: ‘I will pay for a drain’? He must have known this land was wet and this is his way of trying to get out of a problem. Unfortunately, the government has approached him and asked whether he would give these people a new block of land because there is much more land in this area, and he said no. That, to me, shows the quality of the person. It is about subdivisions in his case; it is not really about the people who purchase land from him.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I put it to the government that there are problems out there. I would like a guarantee there is going to be, as the EPA said, some rigour put into the analysis of these developments. That is what the EPA is about; it wants robust evidentiary processes. Am I going to get a guarantee from the government that they will take what the EPA has said seriously? Will they do that? Will they protect the life savings of Territorians so they do not have their money going down the drain? That is what I want to hear out of this debate today. I am not particularly worried about the motion in the sense of whether it is passed or not; I want to hear some positives come from the government in relation to this.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support this motion by the member for Nelson in regard to the number of blocks that were flooded in the last Wet Season, particularly in this area of Herbert. I thank the member for Nelson for bringing this to the attention of the parliament. I, too, look forward to the minister’s reply as to how government is going to go about addressing these serious issues in the rural area.
This is one that is a current issue, but there are potentially other situations such as this one that is currently being experienced at Herbert. Notably, I point to Gulnare Road in Bees Creek, where the government sought to rezone two of those blocks to allow them to be developed into smaller blocks. Prior to putting the notice out to rezone these blocks, government did not undertake any land capability studies or any assessment whatsoever. I was interested in what the member for Nelson said, that in days gone by the Development Consent Authority people actually went on to the land and looked at the land where developments, subdivisions, or rezonings were proposed. Presumably, that was to see if the land was capable of sustaining that proposed development.
The Gulnare Road blocks in question are waterlogged. They are waterlogged most of the year. That is clearly shown on the Litchfield Council and the government’s waterlog maps. The other area around that area is wet. There are creeks that cross through those roads. It is close and it is in the storm surge line area, particularly on the new maps. It was only through the efforts of the residents - and me and other interested people helping the residents - that the government withdrew their rezoning for those two large blocks on Gulnare Road. I thank the minister for that because he did listen to what the people’s concerns were and he took advice from his department and, perhaps, from others.
It goes to show there was no real thought or consideration given prior to the rezoning application as to whether the two blocks would be capable of sustaining such a proposed development. The other thing that was not clear was - let us assume those two blocks had been developed, with all their waterlog and flooding issues, and the creek running through the two blocks - what would it have done to the surrounding blocks and the people who lived in the surrounding areas? I suspect it would have created damning effects for those people who backed onto those blocks.
I have written to the minister about the Gulnare Road blocks and I have yet to receive a reply, which is disappointing. I hope I get a reply soon, because the government said it would be undertaking land capability studies for the Gulnare Road blocks. However, I have yet to receive any details in that regard.
My view, and the view of the constituents and residents who live in that surrounding area, is there should be some serious consideration given to rezoning, or allocating the land in regard to conservation land, or Landcare land, that is managed properly and managed well. We talk and we hear much from government about land being set aside and building corridors for wildlife. This is a classic example of two large blocks of land - two sections - that should be turned into exactly that kind of status. They are very close to the Elizabeth River. As I said, they are waterlogged most of the year. I believe - and so do many of the residents and other people who are experts in these kind of hydrology matters - it is inappropriate for a subdivision into small acre blocks.
There are also issues across the rural area - not only in my electorate, but elsewhere - of legacies of subdivisions and planning in the past. There are axe handle subdivisions, subdivisions that have been built across or close to billabongs and to watercourses which have been inappropriate. They are done; we have the legacy of them. However, what we can do is plan carefully and properly for the future. Sadly, the issue the member for Nelson refers to in the Herbert area is one of those issues where the planning and the advice given by the experts - the scientists, the water people - was not taken up. If it had been taken up perhaps we would not be standing here tonight talking about this issue.
I believe there should be more work done between government and Litchfield Council in regard to the future development of areas in the rural area. There is nothing to suggest we will not get more Wet Seasons like we did last year. I hope government, somewhere in the large system, did some work to look at exactly what was flooded where and the impacts of that kind of flooding on future developments in the rural area.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the greatest challenges and pressure are going to be felt in the greater rural area outside Darwin. I commend the member for Nelson for bringing this to the attention of the House. I look forward to the minister’s reply in regard to not only this particular issue, but also the broader issues of how we address the serious planning and development issues in the greater rural area.
Mr McCARTHY (Lands and Planning): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her participation in the debate and good advice around the rural area and rural residents. I thank the member for Nelson for bringing this motion to the House. The member for Nelson spoke about the technical issues around our differences. Whilst government supports the principle - the member for Nelson explained to this House we are all trying to achieve better outcomes and better systems to protect Territorians - the technical difficulties are around the Northern Territory Planning Scheme already providing for what the member for Nelson’s motion is saying.
Government will be supporting the motion. In explanation, I will go through some important points. The Northern Territory Planning Scheme provides certainty and a level of standard for subdivisions and development across the Territory. This certainty exists in rural subdivisions and what is termed the 1% AEP or Annual Exceedance Probability. What this means is that the land, the subject of a subdivision, has a 1% chance in any year of inundation that is above the levels that would otherwise be expected in a river locality.
By way of specifics, the Northern Territory Planning Scheme clause 11.4, Subdivision of Rural and Unzoned Land, sets out prescriptively the site characteristics of rural land and what should be avoided. For example, this extends to avoiding development on rural land in what would be classified as unsuitable soils - for example, seasonally waterlogged land - through to avoiding development of land that is affected by the 1% AEP flood or storm surge event.
Developers are required, as part of lodging their development application for Development Consent Authority consideration, to address in detail the requirements in clause 11.4 of the Northern Territory Planning Scheme including showing any 1% AEP levels. On this basis, government supports the member for Nelson’s motion as the 1% AEP requirement is already in existence in the Northern Territory Planning Scheme as it relates to river localities.
I need to clarify for members that the 1% AEP relates to flooding only as a result of a river flow event. The 1% AEP does not relate to low-lying areas of land that may experience some seasonal periods of waterlogging as a result of extraordinary events. In February 2011, the Territory experienced an extraordinary Wet Season where Cyclone Carlos generated a series of heavy rainfall events which saturated the entire Darwin Harbour catchment. It led to several hundred properties being adversely affected by flood events in the rural area.
It is important to note the Northern Territory Planning Scheme requires 1 ha of developable land, and that this information must be provided by a developer at the time a development application is lodged with the Development Consent Authority. This requirement enables low-lying areas to be identified, and developers are required to demonstrate this requirement can be met. During this process, developers can also identify potential engineering solutions, such as drains, to achieve this outcome.
The 1% AEP is not a magic fix in ensuring lots are not impacted upon by a storm event. The 1% AEP is as good as the data provided at a point in time on the basis of the modelling and estimations. It is not an exact science, as water will always find its own levels. While I acknowledge this does not provide 100% certainty and comfort to residents, I acknowledge there are improvements that can be made to the nature and extent of this information captured by government.
It is on this basis, I am advised, agencies will be discussing and working together on how this data can be extended or enhanced, particularly in the areas of greatest risk across the Territory, and identifying the costs associated with progressing this important work.
Drainage flooding - the rate at which water may drain from a site - and periodic seasonal inundation of low-lying areas are very complex matters and can vary, depending on the general landscape and the weather patterns, not only within the subdivided land, but the general landscape outside of that immediate area. As members would appreciate, there are no controls on how people undertake minor earthworks in landscaping their yards and properties, which may or may not inadvertently negatively impact on drainage flows in a wider subdivision.
The issue of 1% AEP has also attracted national attention, as a result of rain events in other states experienced earlier this year. The Department of Natural Resources, the Environment, the Arts and Sport and the Department of Lands and Planning are represented in the national forums to ensure the Territory’s interests in this matter are advanced and feed into the national agenda.
There is currently a review of the national Australian rainfall and runoff guidelines in progress to enhance the scientific base behind calculating flood risks. This work is expected to be completed in 2012 and the Territory will take a great interest in such work.
In addition, education also plays an important part in land purchase. This is a very important point, not only in relation to purchasing of land, but also the developing of land. As I mentioned today in the House, the Department of Lands and Planning has been developing a guide to assist buyers in purchasing land and building new homes. I look forward to being in a position to share this guide with members. The release in the near future will support all Territorians - and the Territorians the member talks about who can be vulnerable and need good advice before they enter into purchase agreements.
To conclude, the Northern Territory Planning Scheme already requires 1% AEP levels to be provided by the developer at the time a development application is lodged. In addition, developers must also demonstrate the subdivision meets the Northern Territory Planning Scheme as it relates to having 1 ha of developable, dry land. The maps provided as part of this process should be made available by developers for viewing if required by a prospective purchaser. I have, however, asked that agencies work together to identify what improvements can be made to the current system.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Nelson for the motion and say in good faith this motion also supports the work we will do to continue to refine the systems and provide that good advice and educational awareness for the consumer. However, we cannot really take on the responsibility of giving 100% surety. That, as I said, relates to not only land forms, but also extraordinary weather events.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder and the minister for their responses. I understand where the minister is coming from. His support of this motion is the very reason I was concerned about this motion actually having the teeth it needed to have. The idea that the 1% AEP technically is a figure in relation to flooding on a river is a convenient way of avoiding the issue before us. In the Top End, we have lagoons. Lagoons flow from one lagoon into another and, eventually, into a river. The department has conveniently said these lagoons are just storm water, which means they are exempt from that definition. Where does that leave people when they have water lying around their house? One cannot say that is waterlogging; that is flooding.
These are the blocks of land. That is the house on Beddington Road - that is Potts’ house - and that water is about half an inch from going through the house. This is Saunders’ demountable. Water goes right through under the demountable. The shed at the back is full of water, and their air-conditioner is sitting in water. That is flooding; that is not waterlogging. Waterlogging is where you get in your gum boots, and you go squelch, squelch, squelch, and the water just bubbles out of the ground.
The government is just getting away for a technical reason, from what is the issue. It is, first of all, saying that lagoons are not waterways. Therefore, it removes any responsibility from the Department of NRETAS, to look after those areas. That is why Mr Chrisp was able to freely pump masses of water out of that lagoon over three to four weeks, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I have great concerns this lagoon is going to be partially destroyed. I have to live with the fact that, for some people to live there still, that has to be lowered. I do not like it. To me, it is a sign of exactly what I am saying - very poor planning!
The minister is saying the requirement is 1 ha of dry land. However, what the minister has forgotten is you are supposed to have 1 ha of unconstrained land - and that is not via drainage, or not via fill. Those requirements are not recommended within the NT Planning Scheme for the rural area. We do not promote drainage of wetlands and we do not promote fill; you can only get permission to do that through the DCA. The reason is because we live in the rural area and we are trying to protect the environment, as well as live with it. We are not trying to get developers to have 100% of their land developed, so they can make enormous profits out of carving up wetlands. That is what happened in this case.
This developer wanted the maximum number of blocks out of this land. He was told by me, he was told by one of the neighbours. When I say ‘he’ – the Development Consent Authority was told - this land was not suitable for subdivision. That is why I am involved in this debate. It is the member for Goyder’s electorate, if someone thinks I am trying to pick up brownie points from my constituents …
Ms Purick: Looking after my constituents. I like that!
Mr WOOD: Yes. I will say now the member for Goyder and I work together as a good team because we have our constituents at heart. The block of land on Power Road, is not – it used to be in my electorate - in my electorate. That lady from Girraween Primary School, which is in my electorate, has basically spent all that money on a house that goes under water. We - that is, the member for Goyder and I - believe something has to change.
The minister says the department has done its job. Minister, I used to walk the blocks in Litchfield when I was the President. I was the Chair of the Planning Committee in Litchfield Shire, from the day I started on the council, which was in 1986. I walked with Mr Chrisp, gumboots and all, on many of his subdivisions to find out where the seepage line was. It was done simply by walking through and marking the area with pink tape.
That did not require great scientific knowledge. It required knowledge of what went squelch, squelch. It also required a simple knowledge of vegetation. This vegetation report was done by the Department of NRETAS, by Peter Brocklehurst. He is a local man, a very good person who knows his vegetation. He drew a basic map of the wet areas by using vegetation. He did not need to survey; he just needed observation. The observation was not done by the department. If it had been done by the department, you would not have this trouble. If the DCA had stuck to its rules about not allowing subdivision of natural drainage areas, which this is, you would not have this block of land subdivided into six blocks, and you probably would not have had anyone being flooded. You would have protected the environment, and the purchasers of this land.
I believe the government has to accept it did a poor job on this particular subdivision – it did an extremely poor job. I say that from a background of experience, because I have seen other blocks which were poorly subdivided. From those poorly subdivided blocks we got changes to the development, NT Planning Scheme.
This particular developer subdivided land in Howard Springs at the end of Melaleuca Road. He bought a very large block of land; a fair proportion of which was wet. We took his Q100 line, or his seepage line, as gospel and, when the next Wet Season came, we found it was totally inaccurate. From that day on, I said we just cannot accept what a developer puts forward as being right; you need to go out. I would go out with the Department of NRETAS, or the department of Planning, and physically walk the land. The reason was to protect the people who were to purchase it. This did not really happen in this case. There was not what I call the vigour that the EPA talked about. They did not do it in this case. The same with Madsen Road; it was not done. Now, we have to face the consequences of that.
What am I supposed to tell those people? Oh well, too bad, your block goes under water. Sell it for half the price. The next people cannot live on it because the septic tank goes under water. What do they do? What do they do? They have relied on the government for help, and they have not received that help. The help has not come in the form of good planning decisions, and it really has not come in ‘Well, we understand where the problem is and we are going to try to help you fix it, either financially or looking at some other option’. I am not saying the government is not looking at another option but, by gee, it is slow at getting there, and that makes it disheartening for people when they see the big clouds overheard.
Another group of people from the member for Daly’s electorate wrote to me earlier this year, and I have not had a chance to investigate the site. They live next to a block of land that was given subdivision approval at Dundee. They have shown me pictures of that block. It goes totally under water when there is a big heavy rain. The water goes entirely through the block. I believe it is down the monsoon vine thicket. It was given approval by the minister or the minister’s delegate, and they have pictures to say this land is not suitable; it just goes totally under water in a big rain. I admit that rain is probably passing rain, but there is a lot of water that goes through that land. They are concerned people who buy it will find they will have water going through their house as well. I have a real concern that there is not enough effort being made.
I understand the minister said he would support this motion. Well, of course, that is nice. However, in fact, if the minister supports it from the context that there will be a 1% AEP line drawn only from rivers, well, then, there is only a handful of rivers in Litchfield Shire, but there is a monumental area of wetlands. If the government or the department is pushing that wetlands are not waterways, then the motion is pretty well useless. Unless you take the Darwin River, the Elizabeth River, and the Howard River, the rest of the country which I showed in that waterlogging map is made up of wetlands. That is the area that is causing the problem.
This area has a lagoon. Up until this year, that was a lagoon. For some reason, a statement was made the department - and the EPA quotes it. It was so disappointing to hear what the department had to say:
- Our present view is that approval for the purposed works …
… is not required under the Water Act because the depression is not a waterway within the meaning of the act. Please note that this advise is confined to the position under the Water Act. It has no bearing upon the requirements of other departments of the Northern Territory government.
The department failed, the government failed. I am disappointed to hear the government has not made a statement in this debate saying it will consider helping those people who are financially disabled by this poor planning decision. I have not heard from the minister what happens to someone who is affected by a poor planning decision that can be proven. You can prove the department, the DCA, and the developer made a poor planning decision in the case of Pelly Road/Lorikeet Court, and the case of Madsen Road. You can get lawyers; they cost money. However, the reality and the facts before us are that a poor decision was made and people in that area are now out of pocket.
I hope the government reconsiders and understands if decisions were made, it could fix things quickly. This would make the government put that energy into the subdivisions - that rigour that is required - because it would not have this happen again. It does not want to be forking out $300 000 or $400 000. It would ensure it does not happen again, and be sending a message to the department: ‘You have to do better’.
That is what the EPA has said, I am saying, and what I hope the government will be saying. I hope out of this, even though it has not been said here, perhaps somewhere up there on the fifth floor, the government will realise it has a moral obligation to fix a problem caused by poor planning, poor advice, and an omission of doing what should have been done - adequately checking the facts and figures required to make a good planning decision in the case of Pelly Road, Lorikeet Court, and Madsen Road.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the minister for his support for the motion. It does not cover, from what I heard, the areas I am talking about. It covers rivers, it does not cover wetlands. I am happy for it to be supported but I am not happy for it to be confined to the area the minister is talking about. I thank again the member for Goyder for her contribution. She loves the rural area as we all do. We want to ensure people can live there without these issues coming up every Wet Season.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Deficiencies in Services in Darwin Rural Area
Deficiencies in Services in Darwin Rural Area
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the NT government notes the serious deficiencies in the delivery of services and programs into the greater Darwin rural area in the important areas of youth, mental healthcare, aged care, and sport and recreation.
This motion seeks to highlight the issues facing the greater rural area and for the government to take seriously what is happening in the rural area, or what is not happening as the case may be.
The rural area I refer to in this motion includes land and people from Berrimah through to Adelaide River and beyond in the Top End, which I call the greater rural area. The rural area - or as it is colloquially known, the bush - has a place in the lives of its people and in the areas of social, political, and economic capital. Words such as ‘country’, ‘the bush’ and ‘the rural area’ are used in every day parlance. Sometimes it is difficult to know where the city finishes and the bush begins.
Just look at what is being called Palmerston East and the new suburb of Zuccoli. It backs onto an old area of Howard Springs, Radford Road. On one side of Radford Road are Litchfield Council residents and my constituents, and very much rural people with rural thinking. On the other side of the road and down that little hill, will be a high density housing project of Zuccoli, and what I say is city or urban people. One way of categorising regions is the road distances from services. While this is a standard method to define rural and remoteness for statistical purpose in Australia, it does not really identify the key issues facing the greater rural area of Darwin.
While some places in the rural area may be close to services, many are not and that is what this motion is all about. The rural area is an area of immense importance to the history and future of Darwin, Palmerston and the proposed city of Weddell. It needs to be seriously considered and have careful planning and development principles applied such that the past is preserved, the present accommodated in a sustainable way, and the future is a time when Territorians can enjoy what today’s rural people enjoy.
The rural area has so much to offer and provides so much to urban Darwin and Palmerston, yet has limited services compared to urban areas, lacks sound and proper infrastructure, and seems to lack clear vision as to its future shape, size and scope of where it is heading over the next 10 to 20 years. It is important in the regional context regarding water resources and extractive materials. Indeed, it provides all of the water requirements for all urban residents and businesses from Darwin River Dam and bore extraction at Girraween. It is home to the horticultural and plant industries and is facing increasing pressure from growth and development.
The rural area provides a high level of recreation for many urban people and is viewed as a desirable place to buy, rent, and live with the high-quality amenity and lifestyle. Much of the development in the greater rural area has come about through historical activities or ad hoc past development. I will give some brief examples. The Australian Army created Howard Springs and Berry Springs as recreational sites for the personnel and provided much relief from the rigours of military life in the tropics. Today, they are just our recreational facilities. Fogg Dam was developed by American business people and, while it is not known for its agricultural success, it has become the lovely park and environment attraction it is today, thanks to a combination of both community work and government support.
Two of the rural area’s oldest hotels were built by pioneering families. Some of those people and those families still reside in the rural today. These places, of course, are the Humpty Doo and Noonamah pubs. Good places, too, are they not, member for Nelson?
There is much more to tell in regard to the history of the rural area. Many people have made it the place it is today, including those behind the building of the Humpty Doo Golf Course; those who were instrumental in setting up the Volunteer Fire Brigades; those who have worked towards making the rural area a better place for families by setting up sporting clubs and recreational groups; those who have provided care to the elderly and the frail; those who have worked hard to reinvigorate the Country Women’s Association only recently; and all of those families who have worked countless hours working to make schools institutions of excellence they are today.
Having said all of that, it sounds as if the rural area is Utopia and we want for nothing. That is partially true. We often are not wanting for much other than our block of land, a couple of fridges full of liquid refreshments, a bike or two, a good rubbish pile, a few chooks, geese, horse and dogs and the occasional patch of interesting herbs. However, there is another part to the story; that is, the rural area is growing - and growing quickly. With that growth will come challenges and it is my belief that government is not fully comprehending exactly what is going on in the rural area, apart from the stories that get broadcast across the media with the sensational slant.
The rural area is the food bowl for Darwin and Palmerston, yet where is the planning for the expansion of the horticultural industry? Where is the next Lambells Lagoon, which is home to the melon, banana and nursery industries? Lambells Lagoon and Berry Springs have soils that have been identified as having high capability for horticulture, and both of these areas are fully occupied. Yes, there is horticulture at Acacia Hills. However, more work needs to be done to ensure the land capability, with sustainable water resources, is identified for our future.
What work has been done, or is being done, to identify the future for the horticultural activities outside of those areas I have just mentioned? All of industry knows – as I do and I presume the departmental people do - there is great scope for increased production, economic benefits, and community benefits for all. However, where is the master plan across the greater rural area? The village document that government has released is not that master plan.
The rural area is home to the extractive resources and industries, and we know these industries need to be relatively close to their markets. Where is the planning for the extractive industries and their future? Already, we have had clashes between the extractive industries and the contractors for the builders of the new gaol who are trying to deny access to the extractive operators. They are trying to deny them their legal rights to access their tenements - not a good situation. I know the government is aware of this matter, so I say to you, minister for Corrections and Infrastructure: sort out the contractors and this issue as quickly as possible, as one thing is for sure - the sight of an angry extractive operator is not a good thing to see.
Associated with the extractive industries is the key issue of roads. What is going to happen to the future of the Arnhem Highway when there are triple, if not quad, road trains travelling down the road every 10 minutes for upwards of 10 hours per day to provide armour rock for the INPEX gas plant? Let me repeat that – every 10 minutes, triple and quad road trains down the Arnhem Highway. It is a busy highway already, servicing the rural area, the Jabiru township, the Ranger mine. Something needs to be well thought out as to the future of that road for the safety of everyone.
The rural area provides water supply to all urban areas, plus some areas in the rural area. However, I have serious concerns about the future of our water supply. Not because there is a lack of water, but rather how the water will be harvested and managed going into the future, given the growth in the rural area and the proposed industrialisation of Darwin with projects such as INPEX’s gas plant. For example, can the government tell me exactly how much water INPEX intends to use in the setup of its plant and on an annual basis? I have received information that the consumption will be enormous. I ask where is the planning so rural bores are not affected by the extraction from the government bores if it has to be increased to meet this demand from industry? Talking about government bores, I sought details on the bores’ capacity and extraction through Questions on Notice and I thank the minister for supplying answers.
My questions now are: what would be the impact on the Howard River East aquifer of an increase in extraction to supply additional water for the operations of INPEX? What work has been undertaken by the Power Water Corporation or NRETAS of this development and its water requirements?
While I am on questions: what work has the major project group of the Chief Minister’s Department done in regard to the water supply for the proposed industrial projects other than INPEX? What growth scenarios have been developed by the Power and Water Corporation or government departments to have water supplied to these proposed projects?
Finally, on water questions: where is the work at in regard to the return of Manton Dam into the water supply infrastructure as has been detailed in the answers to my Question on Notice?
Madam Deputy Speaker, the motion referenced aged and mental healthcare and facilities, so I turn my attention briefly to those areas. I have spoken on these previously in this House. In the area of mental health support services, there is limited delivery of services into the rural area from government. headspace Top End is based at Palmerston. It targets 14- to 25-year-olds and provides many valuable services, but does not have a base in the rural area - a growing rural area. Top End Mental Health Services provides specialist mental health services and, while there are some services to the rural area, it does not have a base there. TEAMHealth provides a recovery assistance program on an outreach basis, but does not have a base in the rural area. Top End Mental Health Consumer Organisation provides consumer support and does have some services into the rural area but, again, does not have a base there. Other mental health teams provide services, mostly from the Tamarind Centre and the hospitals, but no services similar to these services are based in the greater rural area.
In the area of supported accommodation, there is Anglicare youth housing program and Health Connections for Youth which caters for and provides emergency and crisis accommodation for young people 15 to 20 years of age and helps those based in the rural area. It does not have a base in the area. There is also an extensive waiting list for these services, and rural youth are required to travel to Palmerston to initially access the services. Again, health connections such as these are overworked and under-resourced and, as a consequence, those further afield are left out.
There is a group in the rural area called the Bush Baptist Church that provides emergency accommodation, food relief, and counselling. Their resources are stretched and they operate on limited grants and funds, and a small band of volunteers. There is pretty much nothing else.
In the area of aged care, there are limited services. Yes, there are many recreational activities for seniors, and they are all good fun activities; however, there is limited, if nothing, in the area of actual aged heathcare. Again, people in need of such care have to travel to Royal Darwin Hospital or elsewhere in the urban town areas, or perhaps Palmerston. I am interested to hear from government what they think is in the rural area in the areas of recovery assistance programs, subacute care, family youth services, day-to-day living programs, long-term residential Manse programs and community aged-care packages.
Government needs to seriously work on delivering mental health services to the rural area, more so than what is happening at the moment. While people can travel to either Palmerston or other town areas, why should they have to? There are upwards of 18 000 people living in the greater rural area, and we know from the information I have provided previously to this House, the rural area has a high incidence of suicide and self-harm. Yes, the select committee is addressing this very issue and meeting in the rural area. However, the government needs to tell me and the people in the rural area where those in need can get help if they need it.
Another issue is the rural area is taking on foster children at a greater rate than in the urban areas. That information has been given to me by someone who works in that care industry. This is placing greater stress on the schools and, of course, families and the services.
That brings me to another key issue in the rural area; that is, the schools, particularly Taminmin College, which is bursting at the seams. Classes are held on courts and squeezed into the library, and limited resources exist to cater for the 1200 students. Taminmin College is over capacity and needs new classrooms, more resources, and a study area for senior students with study lights, particularly for students in Year 12. The long-term solution is a separate campus for senior school. However, I know this is not going to happen in the short term. The government will claim that it will be part of the Weddell master plan. However, where is that master plan, and planning for future schools in the rural area?
I will not speak on sport and recreation, as that is a whole subject matter in itself. I may well reserve that for a separate motion somewhere down the line …
Mr Wood: I can do it.
Ms PURICK: The member for Nelson will talk about sport and recreation. Thank you, member for Nelson.
I want to talk on the document, Rural Centre Plans, which the member for Nelson and I prepared in response to the government’s Rural Villages Discussion Paper. I know the minister believes that his plan is the best - well, it is not. It does have some good points, but it is flawed as there is no serious consideration to supporting infrastructure, growth of service delivery, community living areas and, more importantly, did not actually seem to show the current land uses or land capability. The plan I put together with the member for Nelson is a positive and practical alternative to the government’s plans. I can tell you, not one person has said they think our plans are not good - indeed, quite to the contrary. Yes, I know a couple of large landowners down Noonamah way are not happy with me and have lobbied my leader to get me off these alternative plans. However, I will not, because the majority of people support our proposal.
My job is to represent all constituents’ views, not just the views of a select few who have vested interests and want to operate contrary to zoning, rural amenity, and the good future of the rural area. It is my job to stand up and speak for the people who want to preserve the rural amenity and who want to keep the rural area rural. I have no opposition to development - not at all.
I will highlight the key points in regard to keeping the rural, rural. The main difference between the alternate plan the member for Nelson and I have put together and the government plans are:
the rural lifestyle is shown as a legitimate lifestyle as opposed to living in the suburbs of Darwin, Palmerston or the future city of Weddell;
rural living is protected, will be protected under these proposed plans;
These rural centre plans are based on a principle of good planning rather than vested interest. In previous speeches before the House, the minister welcomed these documents from the member for Nelson and me, and I hope the minister and government is looking at them seriously. We look forward to more dialogue with the government in that regard.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I will leave it at that for now because other speakers will want to talk on this matter, perhaps in slightly different ways. It is my firm view the government needs to look more carefully and seriously at the services and the programs delivered into the rural area, particularly in the area of mental healthcare and aged care. We know we have an ageing population, an abundant and growing young population, and our schools are bursting at the seams. We need to ensure the services and planning for the greater rural area accommodates the needs of these family groups and individuals such that they can continue to enjoy into the future, the rural lifestyle so many of us want to protect and preserve for future generations.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for her, to some extent, nearly emotional discussion about the rural area. Those of us who live there get a little emotional about the area because it is a good area. I sometimes think people do not realise what a great place we have. We can live fairly close to services in the city but can go home and have a bit of space around our community. I have said before, the good thing about the rural community is, generally speaking, we have low crime rates which I put down to we have space …
A member: Because we have guns.
Mr WOOD: Yes, we do have some crime. Sometimes, we have big crimes, but the kids in the rural area have opportunities kids do not have in the blocks of land now in parts of Palmerston where the back yard is about – well, I do not know how big it is but you are no longer allowed to have a clothes line, you have to tie it up against the wall.
One of the advantages of living in the rural area is you can have chooks, a dog, a horse, or you can have some bush and wake up in the morning, probably at the moment watching those silly birds called magpie geese sitting in the top of a gum tree. I will never understand why a goose that normally swims and wanders around wetlands goes to bed balancing on a very delicate branch way up in the top of gum tree. It amazes me. I can think of eagles, galahs, cockatoos, but with magpie geese it does not seem quite right. I will leave the good Lord to work that out; he invented them, so he can work it out.
The member for Goyder has highlighted we are in a growing area and the rural area should not, because of its diversity and rural nature, miss out on some of the services often expected in suburban areas. She touched on keeping our rural area, rural. I will not go into the detail she did, but I agree with everything she said. What we want is sensible development within district centres or towns, ensuring that does not spread out into the rural area as proposed by the government’s plans.
One of the key issues to be looked at urgently by the government is the high school. We have two high schools in the rural area. One is the Good Shepherd Lutheran School at Howard Springs, which is expanding and already has a large number of students.
Our biggest school, which is the biggest high school in the Northern Territory, is Taminmin College with a population around 1200. There is a desperate need for planning for that to change. There are too many kids in one place. That school has developed so quickly in a way that is not conducive to good education although it is bringing out champions. Eighteen students from Taminmin recently won science awards - a great achievement by that school. Much of the credit goes to the teacher, Greg Owens, who has shown that kids out there can achieve just as much kids can in the town.
The school is big and I believe the idea that has been floating around that perhaps the middle school be built at Freds Pass district centre is an idea that should be seriously looked at. Otherwise, you should at least look at building a school at Weddell right now. You do not have to wait for the city to be built; if you have the planning done - and I am interested to know where we are at with Weddell - you can build a school now. You might say it is out in the sticks but, eventually, the houses will come to the school. That is certainly an area that needs looking at.
The library at Taminmin College is a community library. Community libraries are a great way to get maximum benefits out of libraries. However, that service has not been expanded since that school started, which was way back in the early 1980s. You have a school which has a population of 1200 and a library that has stayed static. There is definitely a requirement by government to put some effort into rebuilding the library. Computers were hardly around at the beginning of 1980. They are around now, yet you only have a very small space of that library for students to use computers. We certainly need a major rebuild of the library at Taminmin so it satisfies the requirements of a large high school and also a large population that uses it as part of the community facilities in the area. That is something that certainly needs looking at.
With regard to a retirement village, the member for Goyder mentioned aged care. There is no doubt that both retirement and aged care are a concern for people living in the rural area. The rural area was developed, both in Humpty Doo and Howard Springs, around 1960. That was when the first, I suppose, subdivisions occurred and the population built up further. It was around about the time of Cyclone Tracy when quite a few people moved out. They are also concerned at that time - I remember plans being put forward that the boundaries of Darwin City Council go to the township of Adelaide River. Well, that scared the living day lights out of many people. They decided to shift out of town. Thankfully, Darwin City Council’s boundaries did not go that far. They moved out in that area.
Those people now are getting into their 60s and 70s and they are looking for a place to stay in the rural area. They do not want to move into Tiwi. They do not want to go to Bellamack. They do not want to go to Fannie Bay if they can afford it. It is a fairly expensive retirement village there, member for Fannie Bay. The more moderately financial people in the rural area want a place where they can sell up their 5 acre or 2 ha block, purchase a small retirement unit in, say, Humpty Doo, and have some money left over to put in the bank.
There is a desperate need for the government to do something. There is land in Humpty Doo. It just requires a little willpower for the government to allow that land to be developed. I know the government is putting out a survey at the moment to see what the demand is. However, I also think they really need to bite the bullet, because I know, anecdotally, there are people who want to live and stay in the rural area. They are now in their 60s and they do not want to go …
Mr Elferink: With your support, Gerry, we will organise it next week.
Mr WOOD: Okay. They do not want to go and live in the suburbs. That is something that needs to be done. I hope the government will move positively in the next budget to show us it is fair dinkum about looking after older people in the rural area.
The other area in relation to that is industrial land. The industrial development in Humpty Doo has come to a dead stop. There is a large area set aside for industry. The area that has been developed is full – it has been full for a number of years. I have asked and nearly begged the government to develop this land. It will sell. They tell me there are some technical issues. Well, I am not sure there are not technical issues everywhere. If a private developer can develop the land near the old piggery on Gulnare Road and sell one acre blocks for $1m, I am sure the government can do something which has services right next to it - that is, sewerage, water, and electricity, and open up the land so people who want to run small or large businesses in the rural area can do so.
The problem you have is that by being slow in opening up that industrial land, you are encouraging people to develop industrial projects on rural blocks. That was the very reason the Humpty Doo District Centre had an area set aside for industrial development. So, there is a definite need to do something. The government - I do not know whether it was the government or Power and Water - has just doubled the size of the sewage ponds in Humpty Doo. We have land available; it just needs someone to say ‘Let us go’. The rural area is growing, as people know, yet the services are not keeping up with it. That is why the government has issued out a plan which is tending to take the responsibility away from it by asking other people to cut up their rural blocks, when they have land sitting at Humpty Doo. They have had it there for years, and they are not doing anything about it. They need to do something about it.
Regarding public transport, I congratulate the government on its park-ride facilities and its express bus service. We are up to 15 cars now at the Coolalinga park-ride - it has gone from four to 15. I have asked the government to install a sign. I have not been past there recently because I have been here, but I gather they have now put a sign up - I hope the minister can confirm this - which encourages people to catch the bus from Coolalinga for $2 a trip, $4 a day, $15 a week. What better thing could you promote? If you are all about greenhouse gases and carbon emissions, getting cars off the road, and trying to get people to work in a relaxed manner, what better way, if you are going to the CBD of Darwin every day on an air-conditioned bus - sit down and read the paper, read a book, save money on your car?
It is not just about building the facilities and putting the buses on the road; it is about encouraging the use of buses. I say Northern Territory people are the hardest people to get out of cars; they love their cars. However, you would think if people go from point A to point B every day of the week and you can do it for $15 - please, get out there and promote it. The buses are full on the way back to Palmerston, but they are not that full on the way from Palmerston to the rural area, so that needs to be encouraged.
There also needs to be more buses. I know the buses are meant for the workers but, if you live in Humpty Doo or Howard Springs, it is difficult to go to Palmerston if you want to go shopping because there are no buses that go both ways. In the morning, there are three buses from Humpty Doo through to Howard Springs. They only go from Humpty Doo to Howard Springs to Palmerston; they do not go back. In the afternoon, they go Palmerston, Howard Springs, Humpty Doo; they do not go back. It is a one-way trip. If you want to go shopping or go to the pictures at Palmerston, you cannot go unless you go at, say, 7.30 in the morning and wait for the afternoon bus at about 3.30 pm; there is no midday bus. Some of the Palmerston bus services could be extended at least into the Howard Springs area, if they can find some land for the bus to turn around. There is already a bus picking up people from the 15 Mile Aboriginal community, which is only five minutes away from Howard Springs District Centre.
Ambulances: we should start looking at an ambulance centre at Humpty Doo. We have police and fire. We do not have a service for the elderly; the elderly service stops at the Palmerston boundary. The man who runs the bus lives in Howard Springs, but the service is not for rural people. There should be some talk about whether you can combine an ambulance service and an aged care and sick service as one, so it is not just there as an ambulance, but it is giving the opportunity to deliver those people in the rural area who need to be taken to the doctors, or the clinic at Palmerston, or even to Royal Darwin Hospital, if that is needed. That is an area that is certainly missing. I know it is difficult in the rural area to have a service for all seniors because of the distances between residents but, if you could combine it with another service like an ambulance service, that would be great.
Cycle paths: I am very pleased the government has taken the cycle path down to Howard Springs; it is very popular. I was talking to the owner of the bakery at Howard Springs and he said he gets these people every weekend now coming down for a cup of coffee and something to chew on at his bakery, just because you have enabled people to extend the bicycle path out, probably through the nicest part of that whole railway line where it goes through the bush and through some cuttings and across bridges, and people are enjoying it. It is great to see people taking advantage of it. It is also used for getting people to work and, hopefully, it will be extended to Coolalinga in the next financial year.
I notice the secure care centre is being built at Holtze at the moment. There was much fuss and hullaballoo about it at the time, but it is good to see it is now up and running - or not quite running, but it is nearly at completion. I believe that is a good thing as well. It is there, more or less, to allow people from Palmerston and Darwin to have a facility, but it is in the rural area. It is near the Aboriginal Development Foundation in Holtze in a nice bushing setting, which is fantastic.
I should mention sport and recreation. The member for Goyder said she would talk about it another time. I understand the government has put money in as part of the agreement - $3.6m I believe it is, over three years. As much as I believe that is a good start and our local clubs will benefit from that, I note around $14m went into the facilities at Palmerston. Of course, I get people in my electorate saying: ‘Well, how come they got this much and how come we got that much?’ The thing we, hopefully, will have very soon is the pool. I am not going to go into all the controversy over the pool, but I do know that a new site has been selected. I am not saying it will be the site, but they have already done planning for the pool on that site. Hopefully, that will be up and running - at least started - very soon. It is important people have access to a pool and a water park. The early plans I have seen, which are between Freds Pass and Coolalinga, I believe, will work just as well as if it was on Freds Pass itself.
We have great sport and recreation facilities, and I believe the government needs to recognise that as well. One of the unfortunate things, from the equestrian side of sport and recreation in the rural area, is the stables have been condemned by the Building Board. Those stables, of course, provide shelter for the pony clubs, the show jumping people, and the polocrosse. The amount of money required to actually rebuild those stables is quite high. It was not planned in the $3.6m that was agreed to; it is going to have to be extra money.
We have a great facility in the AFL oval; it is probably one of the best ovals in Darwin. It had inches of rain on it on the weekend. I know it was wet, but not too much mud on that ground. If you looked at the grounds last year when Cyclone Carlos was on, Gardens Oval was actually just a mud heap, Marrara was also a mud heap - and actually it smelt, it was that bad - and TIO 1 was in a bad way. But Southern Districts, the Norbuilt Oval, stood all that rain and was in very good nick. You could play on that any time of the year …
Dr Burns: And umpire on it.
Mr WOOD: And umpire, yes. I would have had to take my spikes. I did not umpire last weekend, but I would have had to have spikes, because I would have fallen over with normal running shoes. Fev – Brendan Fevola - was there, yes. A great crowd was there, a terrific football match, two points the difference. It was a big crowd.
Freds Pass Reserve is not recognised as much as it should be, because Marrara is the big centre, but you have just as many facilities at Freds Pass. There is archery, paintball, Rugby Union, and two new soccer pitches. They already have one soccer pitch under lights. Much of this work is being done voluntarily. It has been done with some grants from the government, but much of the work is done by volunteers. We have 270 kids playing soccer. We have probably the same playing Aussie Rules in the Wet Season. We have Rugby League - huge numbers of kids. We have people, young girls especially, riding horses every Saturday and Sunday during the Dry Season.
We have polocrosse. If you want to watch a great sport, come down and watch polocrosse; it is a vigorous sport, especially the A Graders who take it seriously. You might think the horses get a hard time. My understanding is the horses love it. When they are actually out there racing against one another, they are really in the mood and they seem to enjoy it as well. It is a great sport, but probably needs more promotion. We are hosting the nationals. The Australian National Polocrosse is coming in two years’ time and they are already developing an extra field.
We have great sporting facilities. It is unfortunate the swimming pool is not going there with it, because there is a building there that is going to be used for indoor sport. I was hoping that would complement that. However, that is life and we move on and hope to have the pool built nearby.
They are the good things that are happening, but I encourage the government to not just rely on the agreement I had with the Chief Minister. There is need for continual financial support because those sporting bodies need help. Lights are really important, especially as it enables more games to be held in the cool of the night. I do 12 noon matches and it is hot. I even do 8 am to 12 noon and it is hot. Perhaps I am used to it and drink lots of water, but it would be much better if you could play more matches in the evening - and better for the spectators. I say to the government those services still need to be supported by government.
Regarding youth, the member for Goyder mentioned the Bush Baptists at Humpty Doo. They have boxing matches there every now and then. Yes, member for Johnston, I understand, but I am a supporter of amateur boxing as long as it is well run. We have people like – his name escapes me now …
Dr Burns: Boyd Scully.
Mr WOOD: Yes, Boyd Scully, a great person with kids at heart. He has always had kids at heart. He has trained Olympians and he loves kids because he wants kids to not get into trouble. He sees boxing as a way of doing that.
We can look at boxing as something that is dangerous to health if it is poorly run. If you want to be a professional and go 15 rounds, each round for three minutes, and end up looking like Mohammed Ali, that is where the sport is dangerous. However, for amateur boxing it is well run, the rules are strict, and you have to wear a helmet. I have watched quite a bit of amateur boxing in the Territory. It is great because you have to be disciplined to be a boxer and you have to be fit. You think you could handle three two-minutes rounds. I see these young blokes come off nearly dead with exhaustion. It is hard work, and you require good discipline if you want to be a boxer.
It is good to see people like Boyd still promoting it but, again, it needs promotion from the government. The government is probably reluctant to support boxing because, somewhere out there in the great unwashed, it is a dangerous sport and a terrible thing. In reality, it is not if it is well run and well policed. Boyd has been trying to get more money from the government to help because it is a sport that has a good following and helps kids. In this day and age, when we talk about whole-of-government and intervention so kids do not get into trouble, boxing is one of those ways of early intervention so kids do not get into trouble and do not get into crime. That is why it has always been a good sport.
The Police Boys Club used to have boxing behind Parliament House for many years. It is an area that we should still promote as long as it is run by the right people. Boyd Scully would certainly be one of the right people. Of course, it is in the Arafura Games so why not encourage people? We see some terrific boxing at the Arafura Games. It is one of the most popular sports people go along to watch.
Much as we have some facilities for youth, we should not forget services for young people should still be provided. When I talk about buses, we only have a few buses on the weekend and they are a long way apart. We have no buses on Sundays or public holidays so it is difficult if people have no car and have to rely on mum and dad to help.
Day care: I recently mentioned the development of Girraween District Centre. It is a classic example of the government promoting the district centre and then, all of a sudden, it stopped dead because of problems with sewerage. We have a developer, Graham Churcher, who owns land there. If the issue of sewerage could be sorted out that land could be sold. I was talking to the Principal of Girraween Primary School recently and it would be a great place to develop a day care centre because there are so many people living in that area using that school. They are some of the things that need looking at.
Roads will be a big problem in the rural area. I mentioned yesterday the amount of development that is going to occur in the rural area: INPEX; INPEX camp; the abattoirs; the Good Shepherd Lutheran School, which I did not mention last night, is turning into a fully-fledged high school; the possible development of the forestry land into residential development; the prison; the development around Girraween Lagoon of 80 blocks; and the shopping centre at Coolalinga with about 40 to 90 dwellings being built behind it. There is enormous development happening in my area, and one of the big issues will be whether the roads are capable of taking this big increase in traffic.
The member for Goyder mentioned other things about water. Water is, of course, one of the most important things we have to worry about. What is the future of our water supply, not only for the rural area, but for Darwin itself? With the expansion of Weddell and possibly Cox Peninsula in the future, where are we going with our water supply? The existing water supply will definitely not be able to keep up with demand if those cities go ahead.
Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I thank the member for Goyder for putting this motion. She is asking for the government to note, but it is more than just note, it is saying to the government that we, as local rural members, are saying there is a need for services in the rural area. Do not forget us. Do not leave the industrial areas to Palmerston. Do not leave the retirement villages to Palmerston and the city. Develop some of those facilities in the rural area, so rural people can continue to live and work in the rural area and be part of the future development which is occurring at this moment for the benefit of the Northern Territory.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Acting Deputy Speaker, I guess the last two speakers have indulged themselves in a bit of rural nostalgia. I will talk about my part of the rural area now. It is a wonderful place. I had a five-acre block on Burdens Creek Road for a while. Now I am living on a 1.3-acre block at Wagait Beach. It is a beautiful lifestyle. It is not unusual to wake up in the morning - and the member for Nelson mentioned the magpie geese in the trees - when you get a big bang on the roof and it sounds like someone is running down the roof. The next minute, a few Burdekin ducks come flying off and they are into the mangoes on the ground. Over my way at the moment, there are wallabies everywhere because of the new shoots of green grass coming through. It certainly is a wonderful place.
It presents its challenges to families who have to run kids around. It is a fair old way into town for practice or actual playing of the sport, even if you are playing at Freds Pass. So it provides certain challenges, but they are compensated by the lifestyle you lead outside of that.
We just had the Berry Springs schoolkids in this morning. They are great kids, and I had them on the Chief Minister’s balcony, singing the Berry Springs School song, which is probably the best school song I have ever heard …
Mr Wood: How does it go, member for Daly?
Mr KNIGHT: I do not think I would do it justice. Some 40-odd young, six-year-olds singing would sound much better than I would.
It talks about the rural area, opening up their minds, opening up the doors for opportunity, and about the great rural lifestyle of hay in the paddocks. So, it is a great place, but it does provide challenges.
We will not be supporting this motion. I sympathise, as a rural member, with the other two rural members, regarding the challenges for services. As everyone in this Chamber, they go to bat for their particular areas. There was much talk about five-acre blocks, and 2.5-acre blocks. However, I have the 20-acre, 180-acre and 320-acre blocks. I have the people of Dundee and Adelaide River and Batchelor - all those places ...
A member: All the Mahonys.
Mr KNIGHT: All the Mahonys there, yes. I have not heard from them for a while. Yes, there have been quite a number of representations from a certain person at Dundee over many years about the services in those particular areas. So, there is representation, there is always the aspirational thing. That is what I am noticing with the rural area now. Many new people go to Dundee now for the rural lifestyle, but demand those city services. We should aspire to those, and I always make representations for them for those things. However, it all has to fit within the financial constraints of the Northern Territory Budget, but we always go in there to bat.
The only reason we will not be supporting this is because it talks about ‘serious’ deficiencies. There are services being provided in the rural area. The member for Goyder touched on some of the services, but she talked about everything else other than services. She talked about water - and perhaps I will pick up on a few of those things. Water is a challenge for the Top End. Everything from Palmerston in comes from Darwin River Dam, with a bit of supplementation from the Howard East bore fields. Howard East bore fields; there is a licence. Power and Water only use half their licence quota and they have done that for the reasons of protecting that aquifer.
There is work occurring with the Berry Springs aquifer water advisory group, I think it is called. That is to try to get to an allocation plan because, at the moment, the Minister for Lands and Planning is flying blind when someone comes to him and says: ‘I want to subdivide this 320-acre block into five-acre blocks or 20-acre blocks. Whether the extra 20 bores or extra 100 bores that go into the ground, is going to start to have detriment on the aquifer, which is, basically, a water tank in the ground. Every single year, it fills up, and then people draw out of it. The more the people draw out of it, the more likely it is to run dry.
The work that NRETAS is doing with the water allocation plans is vital. I have attended one of the most hairy public meetings I have ever had in my life. I had the member for Goyder’s mother come all the way from …
Ms Purick: All the way?
Mr KNIGHT: … from Holtze, all the way down to Berry Springs just to come to the public meeting. Very interested, she was …
Ms Purick: She needs to get out more.
Mr KNIGHT: Yelled and screamed at me. That was about the water measuring gauges; water meters they were called. That was just about trying to get an idea of what a particular household would typically use in a year and then extrapolate that over the rural area to see what it would actually get to. Those water allocation plans will help. There has been much work done with INPEX about what water usage they will have. Power and Water is doing a lot of work with the demand and supply analysis going forward. We have raised the Darwin River Dam; the next big project is Manton. They have done water testing; there is water at the bottom of Manton Dam that has not been touched since before the war. The new water is going straight over and the old water is sitting there, so they are looking at ways of bringing that back …
A member: Stir it up.
Mr KNIGHT: Basically stirring it up to bring it to the surface and getting a bit more air into it, I think. So, there is much work going on.
The plan is to bring that back online. It is going to be costly because of the work that needs to be done. We also want to protect the water skiing opportunities there as well. Also, there is a high cost of transporting that water. What people actually pay for when they pay for water is the transportation of the water, not the water itself. That is all in hand, and Warrai Dam will go up after that. By the time we get to the Warrai Dam, it is going to be a $1bn project, so it is something you obviously try to push further into the future as much as you can.
The member for Goyder talked about the bush, not about the rural area. I guess my area is the rural area; it has the bigger blocks. The bush is a bit further out.
The member for Goyder talked about mental health services, and I will just touch on some of these services. She mentioned the Top End Mental Health Services which provides services to the residents of the Litchfield Shire. This team is staffed by a multidiscipline team of nurses, psychiatrists, and allied health staff. They provide outreach to clients where appropriate. Government also funds a number of NGOs to provide services in the Darwin rural area including headspace providing mental health prevention, promotional services, as well as clinical services for young people. headspace has links with the schools in the rural area for health promotion and counselling services. Also, there are personal helpers and mentors, and Family and Youth Services provide respite and individual support to clients with disabilities related to mental health issues. This service is also provided to the Darwin rural area.
In the 2009-10 year, the Darwin Family Support Centre received funding for a dedicated case worker to service families in the Palmerston and the Darwin rural area, provided in the Family Responsibility Program. This position was based in a small team operating from a family support centre, and supports parental responsibility capacity in relation to their child’s behaviour. There are services there. There will be a further allocation in this year’s budget for a second case worker, so there is work going on.
In the aged care area, there are 50 aged-care packages and seven extended aged care in the home packages in the Darwin rural area. It is a small number. I acknowledge the ageing population in the rural area. When I was doorknocking, some of the places you go into can be a scary situation, for many reasons. One of those reasons is you come upon some very old and frail people with a car that probably may not get them down the road, with a great deal of gamba grass growing up to their house - they do not have the capacity to mow it - with not many support siblings around them as well, I imagine. It is a bit confronting, knowing that person is on these 20-acre blocks, and you probably would not hear your neighbour if they did try to scream out, let alone an older person trying to get help. I acknowledge the comments made by the member for Nelson about trying to get some aged care or retirement villages in the rural area, without the burden of chasing a mower or having to drive large distances to get food.
The minister for Housing well knows the public housing dollars we get are very tight. I would like to see the private sector step up, and that is something we have struggled with. We had the survey in Alice Springs. I just do not think our private sector developers really see this as an opportunity - which it really is. It is something we are going to have to keep on pushing, and hope that once these rural villages get going, we can allocate some land for the private sector to develop some independent living retirement villages. You can sell a 20-acre block for $300 000 - or, if someone has some development on it, for more - to try to retire into a nice little flat, something like you see in Humpty Doo, where you have your friends around you, the services within walking distance or scooter distance. It is something we need to work on.
There are aged-care services being provided into the rural area. The Home and Community Care Program is available to residents in the rural area as well. They provide meals, domestic assistance, social support, centre-based day care, personal care, assessment, care coordination case management, and also counselling and respite for frail, aged and young people with disabilities. So, there are services being provided. There are service providers that cover the rural area such as the Alzheimer’s Association, Red Cross, Anglicare, Carers NT, United Church Frontier Services, D&R Community Services and Community Support Incorporated.
There are services through the Rural Seniors. They do a fabulous job. We have had a number of seniors events funded for the rural area. They certainly hit me up on a regular basis, and I donate some fuel money for their little minibus to pick up seniors. There are activities out there. However, again, as rural members, it is our job to keep bashing on the door of Treasury to get more services out there, and we continue to do that together. I know we share the same interests in that respect.
The member for Nelson touched on the sport and recreation services and facilities. Certainly, there has been a great deal of money go in. It really is a great facility at Freds Pass. I was there on the weekend. We go there from time to time. There was an amazing number of kids that, I guess, you do not see because they are on rural blocks. They come out of the woodwork for sport and are active kids and really get stuck into their sport. It is great to see a facility that provides such an immense amount of variety of sport. I could reel them all off: the pony clubs, the footy clubs, the soccer, and a whole range of things. I do not know how the paintball is going out that way, but the pistol clubs seem to be very popular as well.
With respect to the library, member for Nelson, it is about what it is. Is it a school library? Is it a public library? This is the great conundrum ...
Mr Wood: It is a community library.
Mr KNIGHT: I know it is a community library, but we had the situation at Batchelor of a dual purpose institute and the primary school using it. Concerns were raised and, in the end, it went back to the institute and the school. We built a new library for the primary and middle school because it is an area school. If it is a school library, the government would fund it within its capacity. If it is a community library, local government takes on that responsibility ...
Mr Wood: It has country borrowers. It is …
Mr KNIGHT: Country borrowers, from the country?
Mr Wood: … actually the Northern Territory Library.
Mr KNIGHT: I know what you are saying. I struggled with it as Local Government Minister, and as a rural member ...
Mr Wood: There still needs to be a bigger library.
Mr KNIGHT: Yes, and they do a great job. They come with all their books to the Berry Springs markets. They unload boxes and boxes of books. They do a great job and I will leave it up to the Local Government Minister to handle. It is a challenge. What is it? Is it a school library or is it a local government library? The Palmerston City Council and the Darwin City Council run their own libraries ...
Mr Wood: They do not get enough money.
Mr KNIGHT: It is different out there in the rural area, I know.
Mr Wood: You need to be a Litchfield ratepayer.
Mr KNIGHT: Do you want to start on Litchfield?
I am quite supportive of the industrial land issue at Humpty Doo you talked about. We would like to see development out there and keep many of those businesses local. I do not know what the holdup is there, but I am happy to lend my support to bashing up the Planning minister on this. It is great to see development is happening in Humpty Doo, and I would like to see it spill out.
With respect to the rural villages, I have looked at your submission. I thought the submission that came out and consultation I went to with the government’s submission was well thought out. The lack of disagreement, certainly at Berry Springs, was a little staggering to me. There were many people there and many mixed groups. It is not miles apart, it is very close.
The CLP came up with urbanising the rural area – those were the words in their document. I do not think we want to urbanise the rural area. The model you have with Humpty Doo is a fairly good one. I would like to see smaller blocks around the Noonamah area; not in the pocket of anyone. It needs a degree of size. Tony and Janina run a great pub and have developed the pub area …
Mr Wood: Make that a town.
Mr KNIGHT: Make it a town, yes. We are not miles apart. It is a good result, but we are going to struggle with the viability issue. That is the big thing. Berry Springs has had a business district plan for many years and it has not gone anywhere except for that first bit. That really has not gone too far either.
It needs to be attractive enough for developers to come in and stump up the headworks costs because, for Berry Springs, they are going to have to come up with a package sewerage plant initially, then bring in the water supply and upgrade the power supply. They are going to have to …
Mr Wood: Do not worry, wait for Weddell.
Mr KNIGHT: Well, that is partly true. The people of Berry Springs do not want to go all the way into Weddell either. Berry Springs is a really nice little location …
Mr Wood: Keep it little.
Mr KNIGHT: Yes. The rural area is a great place. There are services going out there. Could there be more? Yes, there could. There could be more services at Adelaide River, Batchelor, Dundee, Daly River, or Wagait Beach. We certainly go to bat for each one of those communities. I acknowledge there needs to be more recognition within government - not just the elected members but also within the wider public service - about what the rural area is about. It is changing; it is maturing; it will continue to change. I guess that creep out from the rural area will continue to happen. Berrimah used to be classed as a rural area a few decades ago. Who knows, in the next few decades, what Howard Springs, Bees Creek or Virginia will be classed as? That is a matter of time before we see it all happen.
I thank the member for Goyder for bringing her motion to the House. I sympathise, but our position is there are services going there. We will keep trying to get more out there, but there certainly is not a serious deficiency in the services in the rural area.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I place on the record my thanks to the member for Nelson for his constructive comments in regard to this motion. I also thank the member for Daly for his contribution and comments and constructive points of view. There will be areas of difference between me and the member for Daly, but I understand and acknowledge there are many areas where we have much in common regarding to the rural area, and what the rural area needs and where it needs to go; that is has to have good sound planning.
Yes, I accept we will never have all the same services as you get in an urban area - and for many different reasons. However, we have to be very aware of the needs that are going to face us in the near future in regard to aged care and mental healthcare for the reasons I articulated previously.
I pick up on one comment made by the member for Nelson. He spoke about public transport into the rural area. We know it is a balancing act for government in the provision of services and making them cost-effective. However, we need more public transport. When government comes up with public transport special bus routes or bus services, the rural area is invariably overlooked.
I point to a particular case as an example - and I have written to the Minister for Transport. The government wants us to drive carefully, drive safely, do not drink and drive - who is your sober Bob? The Christmas Express has just been advertised. The poster says:
- Catch your Christmas Express shuttle from the CBD to your door
Saturday 26 November to Sunday 25 December
…
Darwin $5/person
Northern suburbs $10/person
Palmerston $15/person
I do not see any mention on that poster of the bus services going down into the rural area - not even to the government-sponsored Coolalinga park and drive, not even to Humpty Doo. I have written to the minister in the last two weeks in this regard, because I understand a tender was put out to providing Christmas express services for people in the top part of the Territory, so if they want to go out and have parties and, perhaps, have a wine or a beer or two, they can catch the bus home. There is no mention here of the service going any further than Palmerston. What happens after Palmerston lights? Is it an area that is just forgotten?
There is a route 440 Humpty Doo to Humpty Doo, Coolalinga, Virginia, Noonamah, Palmerston. So, you can get a bus from Palmerston to take you down to these sites. It says here it does not go on Good Friday or Christmas Day. Yet, the good people of Darwin, northern suburbs and Palmerston can get an express bus on Christmas Day - but not people in the rural area. If there was ever an example of services not being delivered to the rural area that is clearly one of them.
Minister, presumably you would have received my letter by now. It is just alarming and appalling. You want people to do the right thing - and some people just need a little help to do the right thing. Providing buses to the Coolalinga exchange and also into the Humpty Doo area will just give that incentive to people to be a little more responsible.
What I find disappointing is the government says it cannot support this motion. All this motion is asking is the government notes the deficiencies in the delivery of services and programs into the greater rural area. I am not asking you to do anything; I just want you to note it. The member for Daly noted that, yes, there could be more services there, and better services. The member for Nelson highlighted areas where there could be better, improved services. Yes, I did deviate and talk about many other issues in the rural area in regard to agriculture, horticulture, the future water supply, and the future of the extractive industries. They are all wrapped up into it. That is where the challenges are going to be in the near future in regard to the growth and development of the greater Darwin area.
I find it very churlish of the government that it cannot even note this motion. It is not a political motion. It is just bringing it to the attention of the House, the people of the Northern Territory, and the people in the rural area because their voices are just as important as any other voice in the Northern Territory.
I thank the members for Nelson and Daly for their comments, and I move this motion be noted and accepted.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Northern Regional Marine Plan –
Impact of Implementation
Northern Regional Marine Plan –
Impact of Implementation
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I move –
- That, the Northern Territory government provide a comprehensive summary of the impact of the implementation of a Northern Region Marine Plan to the Northern Territory economy with particular reference to:
- 1. what discussions have taken place between the Northern Territory government and the Commonwealth government;
- 2. what will be the economic impact if areas become unavailable to the commercial fishing industry, including the northern prawn fisheries, offshore net fisheries, and line fisheries;
- 3. what will be the impact on the charter and recreational fishing industry;
- 4. what will be the impact on the oil and gas industry;
- 5. what will be the impact to the shipping to and from Northern Territory ports; and
- 6. what will be the impact on marine-based tourism industry.
I commended and complimented the minister when he said that he did not accept what the Australian Marine Conservation Society wanted to do - and we do not accept it either. I believe that is good because their claim was just outrageous. I just want to hear from the minister exactly what he and the government are doing in regard to these proposed areas.
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources): Madam Speaker, I want to explain first that the federal government has released two different documents. The first one is the proposed marine reserve network which proposes closing all fishing in an area north of Gove and some restrictions on some commercial fishers in other areas. This document is the one that has attracted media attention and the one for which the government was criticised - in some areas quite rightly so - for not consulting with stakeholders. To their credit, they extended the consultation period for another 90 days. The only area now that is going to be closed will be an area 125 miles north of Nhulunbuy near the Wessel Islands.
That is nothing to what was proposed by previous governments, particularly the Howard government which proposed to close up to 70% of the waters around the Territory. It was so bad even Senator Scullion stood up in the AFANT meeting and said there was no way he was going to support it.
The government also released a draft bioregional plan for the north marine region. The program is primarily about biodiversity conservation objectives, and not fisheries management. This plan does not stipulate the zoning arrangement for the marine reserve network. Rather, the draft plan describes objectives, conservation values, and regional priorities for the north marine area to assist decision-making under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. That is in the ‘never-never’, probably in the very distant future. This one will not have any immediate impact on our fisheries in the Territory, either commercial or amateur. It clearly states there is only one area; that is, 150 km north of Nhulunbuy, just off the Wessel Islands.
I have repeated many times, I do not have a problem to do something based on science. I have a serious problem when a particular interest group comes here, pretends to present a scientific report, and demands a closure – no-go, no-take areas in the waters around the Territory.
My understanding from the proposed marine reserve network is the only area which is closed, will be available only to Indigenous, not commercial fishing. Of course, that will exclude mining, oil and gas activity and commercial fisheries, which is far enough. There are some areas that are sensitive. There are some areas you can do things, some areas you cannot do things. Our government has had numerous discussions with the Commonwealth government. I personally made clear my feelings to the previous minister responsible for fisheries in the Commonwealth government, and I continue to do so. I will continue the discussion about what the situation is with fisheries in the Territory.
The fishing reserves in the Territory are very healthy. That is not because I said so as a minister, but because internationally known scientists have proven our resources are healthy. Our resources are so healthy because we only choose to take about 8% of the available resources. In other jurisdictions, they take 20% to 30%m and they consider that to be healthy.
We are very well known to oppose any wholesale closures of areas of the Territory. Fishing in the Territory, both recreational and commercial, brings a significant income. Actually, amateur fishing brings more income into the Territory than commercial fishing, for the simple reason it is not only Territorians who fish, but also people come from down south, because we do not have the restrictions as they have in other states, such as, say, Western Australia. If anyone has visited Western Australia and has attempted to go fishing, you have to have a licence to put a boat in the water, and a licence to catch a particular fish in a certain distance from the coast line. If you go further out, you have to have another licence. People complain to me that if they really want to go out and catch different species, they have to have four or five licences - something that does not occur in the Territory …
Mr Elferink: And nor should it.
Mr VATSKALIS: Well, there is an argument over that; being that the fisheries have not been managed correctly from the very beginning.
There was a very good example in some of the northwest coastline. Because of the development of technology, new boats with bigger engines can go further out. Also, let us not forget the GPS. We can actually pinpoint the place where fish tend to congregate. In a particular area in the northwest, one species of snapper was nearly completely wiped out because people marked where it congregated and over-fished. The result was the population was decimated. The Western Australian government prohibited any fishing for a period of time in that particular area.
We do not do that. We actually assess our fisheries. We had a limit of five barramundi; now you can only take three. That applies on the Daly River. In the Mary River, where the fish stock is very healthy, we actually went from two barramundi to three as the limit, but we maintained the closures during the breeding season.
There are calls now from the amateur fishermen to put restrictions on the size of barramundi you can take home. They say taking the big barramundi will actually destroy the future population, because these are the barramundi that will reproduce and put the fingerlings in the water. They are probably right. I am not afraid to take hard decisions. I went against the wishes of the industry with regard to mud crabs. The industry told me it was the end of the world as we know it. Two years later, they came back and told me it was a wise decision and they were happy I did not listen to them, because the mud crab fishery is now much better than it was before. We are managing our fisheries very well; they are very healthy.
The interesting thing you see in the commercial sector when, in other jurisdictions such as Western Australia the shark fishery has collapsed, in the Northern Territory it was the commercial shark fishermen who came up with the proposal to restrict the days of the year they can go fishing and the length of the hooks. In fact, the Territory is the only jurisdiction where every shark fisherman has to bring back not only the carcasses and the fins, but the appropriate percentage of carcasses. Finning is what they do in other jurisdictions: fishers cut out the fin, throw the body overboard and keep the fin, which is a waste of resource. They find this carcass can be exported to Southeast Asian countries and can be utilised to produce fish balls in the Philippines. We do not just take the fins and throw the rest of it back; people are obliged to bring back the appropriate percentage of carcasses.
That is the reason why the Territory is the only jurisdiction in Australia where you are still allowed to go fishing for sharks. As I have been advised by scientists, it is the only place where you will find numerous sharks very close to the coastline, or even in the deep water - something you do not see in other jurisdictions.
There was not going to be any impact on shipping; shipping is allowed. The area, which is now closed, is a very small area - it is not big so it is not going to impact on shipping. Much of the marine based tourism industry comes to the Territory to go out fishing with charters. As I said before, the only area proposed by the Commonwealth to be closed is near the Wessel Islands, a small area considering the length of the coastline in the Territory and how far these boats can travel.
One commitment I give to this House is I will resist strongly any attempt for other closures and any demands by interested groups to close areas, especially when these demands are not supported by industry. I will not support non-scientific nonsense; I will only support scientific evidence. I am prepared to take action if the scientists come to me and say: ‘This particular fish is in danger’. For example, we are very concerned about the Jewfish because they tend to aggregate during certain periods of time and fishermen use to hammer them. We considered putting a significant limit on them - we did and it works well. If necessary in the future we need to do something we will.
I will argue with the federal government and any other group for closure of areas in the Territory as no-go, no-tag areas.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his reply and considered comments. I take heart from what he said. I agree with him completely in regard to basing decisions on science and factual items, not on the emotional feelings we sometimes get out of interest groups that really do not have the best interest of the Northern Territory, its industry and its livelihood at heart.
Thank you, minister, for your comments. I will continue to monitor this issue and work with the industries and various groups involved in the offshore industry. If there are any issues I will bring them back to the House for discussion.
Motion agreed to.
WITHDRAWAL OF MOTION
Education of NT Children to Meet
National Average of NAPLAN Testing
Education of NT Children to Meet
National Average of NAPLAN Testing
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): A point of order, Madam Speaker! It may assist the Chamber - and I have described this to the Leader of Government Business who has indicated there is no problem – regarding Item No 4 standing in the name of Mr Mills. He has sought leave to have the matter withdrawn. He is not in the House at the moment. We can either withdraw it or allow it to lapse; I do not much mind. It is for your information. I thank the House for its indulgence, Madam Speaker.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Failure by Northern Territory and Federal Governments to Address Crime and Antisocial Behaviour in Alice Springs
Continued from 10 August 2011.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): To assist the House, Madam Speaker, Mr Mills is not present in the House today. He has 17 minutes in continuation and has indicated he will allow that to lapse so the debate can continue.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you very much.
Mr GILES (Braitling): This is closing debate Madam Speaker. I thought this was an important issue government would want to be involved in. They stood here all day with their puff piece statement talking about how we were not talking, then something important comes up and nothing, zip, zero - and on this important day. We are talking about Alice Springs issues and antisocial behaviour on this very important day, 23 November 2011, a day that will go down in history as when Labor introduced legislation into the federal Parliament for Labor’s second intervention. You would think they would have something to say on this debate but no, they sit back quietly.
These are the people who speak with forked tongue. In federal opposition, they were very keen to comment when John Howard was still Prime Minister and Mal Brough was the federal Indigenous Affairs minister - they screamed from the rooftops. This current government complained until they were blue in the face. The member for Arafura was talking about the black kids’ Tampa - about child abuse, the Little Children Are Sacred report. But now they have their same-coloured brothers of the Labor Party in the federal government, in power, they sit back like little chickens, not saying a thing.
This week we have heard the Territory rights debate and how Labor pontificated about the federal member for Solomon and the CLP Senator for the Northern Territory, and who stood up for what rights. When you look through the legislation introduced into federal parliament today, you see the feds are trampling all over Territory rights, once again. We have this statehood debate going on at the same time. But, today in federal parliament, Labor introduced legislation to stamp all over Territory rights once again. So, which side of the tongue are they speaking on, this forked-tongue Labor government?
The interesting thing when you have a look through the statements that were made today, the speeches and the legislation, there is not a skerrick of evidence about children - nothing about child protection or abused children at all. That is what the intervention was about at the start. Mal Brough who was the former minister, and Senator Nigel Scullion, who was the assistant minister during that time, made it clear that was what this was about. That was the housing measures were supposed to be about until the Territory Labor government got it so wrong. That is what the policing was supposed to be about. That is what the quarantining was about - to protect children. However, today, Jenny Macklin, the federal minister for Indigenous Affairs, did not even talk about children. This impacts Alice Springs just as much as anywhere else in the Northern Territory.
I am not surprised this Labor government is sitting quietly because we remember the 2007 federal election when Labor ran around campaigning against the nuclear waste repository at Muckaty Station; how they were going to get rid of it. We have had two elections, 2007 and 2011, and the federal member for Lingiari, Warren Snowdon, has had every opportunity to overturn that decision. He has not done it. Speaking with forked tongue, he says one thing in opposition, and another thing when in government. We see now that the Labor mob is all out there campaigning against uranium mines - then Julia Gillard talks about the desire to export uranium to India. You just cannot take these people on face value. They say one thing and do another, whether they are in government or in opposition.
Now, we see what has been introduced today in the federal parliament in Canberra about Labor’s second intervention, which tramples all over Territory rights. Some measures of that intervention are good measures, but you have to ask why they are stepping into the Territory once again. Once again, it is because this government have failed to act in a number of areas. It is very interesting when you go through the second reading speech of the minister, Jenny Macklin, when she talks about the Northern Territory evaluation report. She says it shows us there has been no overall improvement in school attendance. They are talking about the intervention over the last four years: no overall improvement in school attendance.
There are only a couple of things left for this government to do in Indigenous affairs. One of them was housing. The federal government under the national partnership agreement, gave them $1.7bn - and didn’t they get that wrong!
Then, have a look at education. The minister here has said there has been no overall improvement in school attendance. Over four years, how many billions of dollars have been spent? And you have had no overall improvement in school attendance! You stand here and talk about education being the most important element. You have done nothing at all in four years – nothing at all. It is an absolute disgrace.
I look at the measures that are being introduced in this legislation that was introduced today such as alcohol management plans. You would think the Northern Territory government could introduce alcohol management plans themselves. But no, they did not do that, did not get around to that, despite the success in Queensland, and what is happening in Western Australia. They could not do it themselves, so the feds have had to intervene and do that. Now, they are bringing in licensing for community stores, and some sort of socialist, communist model to try to protect the food.
Sure, we all want to have good food security in these stores. However, do we really need to go in and apply a whole bunch load more bureaucrats to run around testing the quality of apples, ruling out any private sector enterprise that is possible? This is about driving out the private sector and making sure the Outback Stores are so successful. These are the Outback Stores that have buildings of bureaucrats in Canberra trying to oversee the management of community stores in the Northern Territory. This is just amazing.
The positive effect that has come out of this legislation, so far as I have read today – and I do need to read a little more into it and see what happens with the parliamentary inquiry – is the land reform measure about town camps; something that I have been calling for, for a long time. My colleague, the member for Fong Lim has called for it. The Leader of the Opposition, Terry Mills, has called for it. Even the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory has spoken about how we would like to see Bagot normalised, turned into a beautiful vibrant community, part of everyday suburbs. However, they did not do that. The Minister for Central Australia even had the hide to ask me what my plan was for town camps in Alice Springs. He is the Minister for Central Australia, being led by the Chief Minister who says he wants to normalise town camps. What are they doing? Absolutely nothing! Despite lobbying, despite pleading from people living on town camps to be able to purchase their own home, the federal government has now had to come in - Madam Speaker, it is directly relevant to the motion …
Madam SPEAKER: I am giving a lot of latitude, member for Braitling, but I have to say …
Mr GILES: Absolutely relevant.
Madam SPEAKER: … it is actually totally irrelevant. However, no one has called a point of order, so I will leave it.
Mr GILES: It is totally relevant because the federal government has introduced legislation today on how to overturn Northern Territory legislation on town camps in Alice Springs. That is exactly what they did today because these guys here would not do anything; they sat on their hands. They sat on their hands when children were being abused. They have sat on their hands while kids were not going to school. They talk about Indigenous home ownership but sit on their hands and do nothing. In fact, they are kicking people out of Darwin homes left, right, and centre; people who are trying to buy their homes. Long-term Aboriginal families in Darwin; you are kicking them out of their homes - left, right, and centre. There is a long list of family names I will not read out.
You say you are doing good things. You talk about all the things that matter to get you the headline. I note the minister for Indigenous policy has just issued a media release talking about how they are going to pay their rent on leases. Well, that is your job. That is not a landmark decision; that is your job. That is what you signed up for.
Dr Burns: Is that CLP policy?
Mr GILES: You are in government to pay the rental on those leases. Pay your rent that you are supposed to. The question is: where did you get the money from? Did you get it from the ABA? Did you take it from the mining account? Is that where you got the money from? They are the questions that need to be asked, minister.
You can come up with these little sly comments here, but you are the minister for Education. If you want to improve things in Alice Springs, get kids to school. What did Jenny Macklin say? ‘After four years of the intervention, there has been no overall improvement in school attendance’. Hundreds and millions of dollars, bureaucrats everywhere, and no improvement. She called you out. She called you out for your litany of failures. You are the same minister who presides over SIHIP - albeit, the member for Daly got it wrong for you in the first place and before that, the member for Casuarina, when they were Housing minister. Then you got stuck with this rotten egg, so to speak. But, you have those two portfolios. The two responsibilities for the Northern Territory government in Indigenous affairs - the two biggest ones - both a failure. When you have 15% of Aboriginal kids who are actually attending school in the middle years as per Budget Paper No 3, there is a real failure - a real failure.
When you are looking at addressing or identifying short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to address antisocial behaviour in Alice Springs, you cannot look to this government. The reason you cannot look to this government is because they cannot get any of this stuff right. That is why the federal government intervened on 23 November 2011 – today - with Labor’s second intervention because Labor in the Northern Territory has it so wrong again. Over all the social indicators - over all of them.
You talk about your tough alcohol measures, and we still have John Boffa in Alice Springs talking about floor prices on grog. Nothing has worked. Try the free market. Try getting people into jobs and developing businesses. Give them responsibility to own their own homes. I know people in Alice Springs who are desperate to buy their own homes on town camps. You will not even listen to them, so the feds have had to intervene. Jenny Macklin gave people in Alice Springs town camps a heads up a couple of months ago when she wrote to them, saying there was going to be changes. There was an indication in that correspondence that they would have to make a job of the Northern Territory laws because you guys will not do the job. This is the proof; this is the result. This is actually the result. They have had to come in here and intervene.
You would think when you had Labor/Labor, you would actually do something. I am looking at you, minister, because the two bush members will not look up. So, I apologise for directing all my comments to you, but I know you are listening where the other two just do not care. One of them is Indigenous policy minister and one is the member for Stuart, the Minister for Central Australia, who has no contribution to add in this debate at all. He has nothing to add for vision and direction of Indigenous affairs in the Northern Territory - nothing at all. Not a bright word has come from him in finding solutions. He has his Youth Hub in Alice Springs that is not open at night - no one can get in there, and no one knows who stays there. How many millions of dollars is it, member for Araluen? Hundred and whatever millions of dollars. No one knows what it is. It is just this ether that sucks up money. And he asks me for my plan! What are you doing, being transparent? You keep announcing federal government money, why do you not tell us exactly what you are doing?
I find it funny that this federal legislation comes down this week, when Labor is all in a tiff about statehood, and the feds have just come in with a second Labor intervention. There was a motion here the other day about Territory rights. I have not heard you say one thing today. You walked in here at Question Time all prepared to talk about Indigenous policy and ‘We have it right’. Did you say: ‘That damn federal government, they have trodden on our toes’? Not one word! You hypocrites! Non-performing hypocrites - completely non-performing hypocrites. We will get the member for Daly in here next talking about how he is building the bridge over the Daly River - federal government money. You are quick to announce …
Mr Westra van Holthe: Five years too late.
Mr GILES: Yes, announced in 2005, still not ready for the Wet Season, mind you - just like most of the roads that are getting repaired at the moment during the start of the Wet Season. Smart move. You might want to put your tenders out earlier next year. However, this is Labor.
Madam Speaker, I welcome the attempts by the federal government to make land tenure reforms on town camps in the Northern Territory. I believe it is a defining moment for change in the Northern Territory, and something that can move towards eradicating the apartheid approach of town camps in our suburban areas; the separatism that drives differences between whole communities.
If we do want to get change, people have to take on responsibility, and be able to buy their own home and have a job to service those debts. A part of that reform means we have to change the land tenure on town camps. It is something I have been working on for a long period of time with a couple of my colleagues. I really look forward to that coming into the future. However, I am disgusted that the Territory Labor government has done nothing in the last four years, and that the federal government has had to intervene again. It is good that the federal government has intervened to try to fix the Territory Labor government’s failures, but what was introduced today is a real congratulations to Senator Nigel Scullion and Mal Brough for the initiative they took four years ago in the interests of protecting children. I believe it has been ratified today by Jenny Macklin following that up.
For the member for Lingiari to go into hiding once again - the person who was so opposed to quarantining and to the intervention - having to eat humble pie again, or cower in a corner like normal, is just the way things go. This legislation, if its land tenure reform component works the way I would like to see it work - and I am very keen to work with the federal Indigenous Affairs minister, whether that be Jenny Macklin or Nigel Scullion or a Coalition government, to implement this process.
Food security may be well intentioned but, if we are going to have millions of dollars spent on bureaucrats assessing supermarkets or community stores, that is a failure. The legislation does not even identify who they can assess. It looks like they can assess roadhouses or pretty much anyone between Darwin and Alice Springs, including Darwin and Alice Springs. It needs some clarity, and I hope the parliamentary committee looks at that.
I would also like them to look at the area on alcohol, particularly where it talks about venues which, clearly, have concerns around those venues, of people going in there with a view to trying to close them down. It is a very poor regulatory response to this issue, and there needs to be a great deal more consideration put into this. I hope the parliamentary committee has a good look at that aspect of it too.
Quite frankly, the Minister for Central Australia should be condemned for failing to provide leadership on any short-, medium-, or long-term strategies for Central Australia. He has not done anything. He has not done anything to address antisocial behaviour. As crime is, once again, getting out of control in Alice Springs - and I spoke about it this week at length - we still have to live in an environment where things are not pleasant for anyone. People in other parts of the country would not want to live in an environment like that.
I commend this motion to the House, Madam Speaker. We will see whether or not the member for Stuart votes to condemn the Minister for Central Australia.
The Assembly divided:
- Ayes 11 Noes 12
Ms Anderson Mrs Aagaard
Mr Bohlin Dr Burns
Mr Chandler Mr Gunner
Mr Conlan Mr Hampton
Mr Elferink Mr Henderson
Mr Giles Mr Knight
Mrs Lambley Ms Lawrie
Ms Purick Mr McCarthy
Mr Styles Ms McCarthy
Mr Tollner Ms Scrymgour
Mr Westra van Holthe Mr Vatskalis
Ms Walker
Motion negatived.
MOTION
Live Cattle Export Ban – Impact on Agricultural and Transport Industries
Live Cattle Export Ban – Impact on Agricultural and Transport Industries
Continued from 17 August 2011.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, this motion was brought to the House in August, some few months back, not long after, from memory, the ban had lifted. Perhaps it had not, I cannot recall now. However, I thank the minister for his comments and I thank all other members who spoke to this motion.
There is no doubt the suspension of the live export trade had a devastating effort on the Northern Territory, in the industries as well as the communities across the Northern Territory, if not across northern Australia. Whilst the ban has been lifted and the trade resumed, there still is much work to be done to get us back to the position that we, as the Northern Territory in the industry, were in, prior to the suspension.
It was a poor decision by the Commonwealth government, and it was badly managed by both the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments. I fully expect many lessons have been learnt from this incident, and that such poor decisions are never taken again in the future without consultation with the Northern Territory government. I look forward to hearing, at future dates and times, of the progress of the resumption of the trade, and also work by the government in finding new markets for our live export trade. It is very important, not only to those industries involved - notably the pastoral industry, the agricultural industry, the helicopter industry and the transport industry - but to all of the Northern Territory.
Motion agreed to.
DANGEROUS PRISONERS
(SEXUAL OFFENDERS) BILL
(Serial 168)
(SEXUAL OFFENDERS) BILL
(Serial 168)
Continued from 19 October 2011.
Madam SPEAKER: Do we have someone to speak on that?
Ms Purick: Where is he?
Dr BURNS (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I oppose this particular bill raised by the member for Port Darwin. Madam Speaker, the …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
A member: They are not used to getting through so much business.
Madam SPEAKER: The Leader of Government Business has the call.
Mr Elferink: You must be embarrassed, Chris. Do you know what you are arguing against? Do you have the vaguest?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: I do. Member for Port Darwin, our argument will be that we appreciate the seriousness and the intent of the bill you have proposed here …
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: No, but…
A member: He is here now!
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: We also understand there are similar bills operating in other jurisdictions. However, we want to refer this bill to the Law Reform Committee of the Northern Territory to get a view on it, because whilst we understand its importance and the intent of what the member for Port Darwin is proposing, we believe there should be an expert view put on this for further consideration. Having said that, Madam Speaker, I will now hand to the Attorney-General.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, the government is aware that this type of legislation does exist in four other jurisdictions in Australia, and this particular legislation appears to be the Queensland version of that legislation.
The government supports the protection of our community from sexual predators. However, this type of post-sentence regulation requires careful analysis and consideration, particularly in regard to the suitability within the Northern Territory jurisdiction. I have concerns about simply picking up the Queensland version, as the member for Port Darwin seems to have done, and settling it down into the Northern Territory without considering the local needs and issues here. The context in which the legislation will operate is setting the legislation up for failure. This government does not want to see any legislation fail and, in particular, legislation which is intended to prevent the commissioning of any further offences.
This is why the former Minister for Justice and Attorney-General referred the question of whether this type of legislation is appropriate or suitable to the Northern Territory to the Law Reform Committee, as the Education minister has highlighted. She did that in August of this year, so it is with them at the moment - headed up by Austin Asche - and they will be getting together an expert panel with experience for this particular matter.
The government recognises that this type of legislation is not something that can be translated easily into the Northern Territory context. It certainly is not a cut-and-paste option for us. It has taken a more prudent and careful approach to developing such a policy within the Northern Territory. The Law Reform Committee is equipped to undertake thorough research and analysis on all issues surrounding the construction and implementation of such a regime within the Territory. Following the committee’s report, we will consider whether we go ahead with it or not.
In the meantime, this is not to say during the intervening period our victims of crime or concerned community members have no protections available in the Northern Territory. For offenders who have committed sexual offences against children, the Child Protection (Offender Reporting and Registration) Act mandates reportable offenders report to police after their release. The failure to comply with those reporting obligations is currently punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years, which will shortly be raised to a maximum of five years of imprisonment following passage of the government’s Criminal Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 that was passed in October this year.
This act also allows police to apply to the Court of Summary Jurisdiction, the Magistrates Court, for a prohibition order. These prohibition orders can prohibit the offender from engaging in certain types of behaviours, contacting certain people, being in certain places, and working in certain types of employment - a fairly broad range of measures that can contain people who are given these prohibition orders.
If that person fails to comply with the prohibition order, they will be punishable currently for two years imprisonment. Again, that will rise to a five-year maximum penalty with the passage of the legislation I mentioned previously.
The government is committed to protecting our community, but it needs to be done in a way that is carefully considered and examines the sufficiency of existing safeguards already in place, such as the Care and Protection of Children Act, and ensures the policy instruments chosen are the most effective vehicles in the particular circumstances within the Northern Territory. The government does not wish to set such a scheme up for failure by failing to take into account all the issues that are involved, including whether you can actually deliver the intended purpose of controlling and rehabilitating offenders and protecting the community.
Although I can see where the member for Port Darwin is coming from, it is something we want to get right. It needs to be considered. The Law Reform Committee is the correct vehicle for that investigation and appropriate recommendations to come back to government. We do look forward to that work coming back in a timely manner so we can thoroughly consider it.
Madam Speaker, we will not be supporting this bill. We look forward to the work of the Law Reform Committee coming back into the House.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, never in the history of this parliament has a minister been so poorly prepared to respond to a legislative instrument brought before this House, as we have just seen. He was so poorly prepared the Leader of Government Business had to talk about a bill he knew, effectively, nothing about for some five minutes whilst the Attorney-General got organised. Moreover, I do not actually believe the Attorney-General has the vaguest inkling of what is in this bill. That is evidenced by the fact that he has given a speech dealing with what I and many Territorians consider to be a very serious issue, in the most vague possible terms. He then talked about other legislation which is unrelated to this and, then, finished by saying: ‘Oh, we are going to flick it off to the Law Reform Commission’.
I did not expect government to support this. They do not, as a matter of policy, tend to support opposition bills. I accept that; that is a natural part of the process we have. However, to treat this genuine attempt of bringing a bill before this House with the contempt I have seen here tonight just demonstrates how poorly organised this government is. What I witnessed here tonight was embarrassing. Frankly, I have personally put much work, with the assistance of a number of other people, into bringing this bill before the House. This is not an insubstantial document. This is a bill which is some 38 pages long; it is not something that you just whip up the night before, put together, and walk into parliament with. It is a bill which was genuinely intended to protect victims of crime in the Northern Territory before they even became victims of crime.
I am thunderstruck at the lack of preparation I have seen here tonight because, as a matter of courtesy, if nothing else - not to me necessarily, but to the House and to the people of the Northern Territory - you could at least do a decent dissection of the bill before you just simply dismiss it. It is clear the minister was thoroughly, utterly, and completely unprepared for the debate here tonight, and that the Leader of Government Business did not have the vaguest idea what he was talking about, simply because he could only refer to it in the most general terms.
This is a genuine attempt to deal with issues. I would have been more than happy to give the minister and the Leader of Government Business a full and complete briefing. I am forever being told on this side of the House to get a briefing, and I get many of them. I try to find out as much information as I possibly can about government bills as a general rule, unless they are so screamingly obvious in their intent you do not need a briefing. I would have been happy to provide the ministers and law officers with a briefing, but none of them bothered to even pick up the telephone.
The minister is correct; this is modelled largely on the Queensland model. I had looked at the other models prior to bringing this model into the House, and the Queensland model was the one I thought would work the best in the Northern Territory. Did the minister discuss the four models available? No, he simply said there were four models available because that is what his briefing note said.
One of the reasons we looked at the Queensland model is because it does work in rural and remote communities just as well.
This bill was intended to keep people in custody beyond the expiration of their prison sentence with a view to preventing those people, where they showed a high likelihood of becoming sexual offenders, from offending again. A version of this law was introduced in the New South Wales parliament many years ago and, from it, came one of the most famous constitutional law cases in this country’s history; namely, the Kable’s case. It is right up there with Boilermakers’ case with regard to fame in the constitutional structure of this nation. It, ultimately, meant the New South Wales law was determined to be ultra vires. However, as a consequence of that, Queensland introduced a similar legislative instrument which addressed the issues identified in Kable’s case and that, too, found itself in the High Court having its validity challenged.
One of the other things that made the Queensland legislation so attractive is because its validity was challenged in the High Court, and the High Court determined it was a valid piece of law, which meant the legal instrument I was offering to the House here was, in every likelihood, going to be a legal instrument which would be able to survive a challenge. I am fully aware of the - for lack of better words - flirtation with the principles of double jeopardy this type of legal instrument suggests.
I am fully aware one of the fundamental principles of double jeopardy is you cannot be punished twice for the same offence. Which is why this bill goes to so much trouble and so much detail to make certain the person who is subject to an order under this legislative instrument is not being punished but, rather, restrained from raping children, women, and men, if the case may be, again.
I do not walk into this House lightly with a legislative instrument that would suggest we would keep people in custody beyond the term of the expiration of their sentence, because I believe in the rule of law. I also believe in victim protection. If either minister could have stood on their hind legs in this House and had the courtesy to describe how the bill worked, I would have been at least satisfied they had done more than the merest of cursory investigations into this matter, and asked someone on the fifth floor of Parliament House to scratch out some notes on the back of a beer coaster and say: ‘This is how we dismiss legislation from the Country Liberals’.
I do not mind the fact this has been referred to the Law Reform Commission - I will be checking with the Law Reform Commission as to whether, indeed, that referral has taken place - because that is probably not such a bad suggestion. However, no one from the department of Law, or the minister’s office, has telephoned me and said: ‘This is what we want to do with this because the Country Liberals have a point that might be worth exploring’. No one has bothered to do that. The contempt with which this bill has been treated disappoints me, to say the least. It is not as though I am working in a vacuum here; there will be people who read this Parliamentary Record who have an expectation of this Parliamentary Record.
I asked victims of crime organisations to comment on this bill and get their support, including organisations in other states which deal with offences against children in particular. They will be shattered when they see, not only the government has resisted this bill - something that I expected, and warned them to expect - but, moreover, the fact the government was so poorly organised the Attorney-General had to be covered by the Leader of Government Business, to deal with this matter. Then, the Attorney-General gave a five-minute dismissive little meandering speech. I am gravely and profoundly disappointed, because this government has failed to offer the courtesy it has a duty to do, not only to members of this House, but to the people who look to this House for leadership when it comes to these sorts of things.
What I am terrified of is that, whilst we muck about with this, some prisoner at the end of their sentence, even despite of the fact their parole has been extended as far as it possibly could be - they have served their full term, have not been granted parole - now has to be released. That prisoner leaves that prison and, within a few days, is busy raping a child or a woman. That is what this bill would have prevented from occurring. It is not going to happen now. There is no potential; there is no legal vehicle where we can restrain those sort of people.
I have spoken to prison officers about this bill. There are prison officers who today stand in prisons and look at prisoners as they walk out the door, and say: ‘We will be seeing that person shortly’. They are talking about rapists. They know there is a high likelihood these people will go back and reoffend within moments of being released. I am desperately upset that the government could not find its way to bring in some amendments. Gosh, I would have accepted this: ‘John, we cannot really support your bill, we want to find some problems with it, but we have another bill that we will bring into the House and we will replace it with our version of the same thing’. I would have said, ‘Okay, that is cool’, because that would have been a genuine attempt.
I have seen this stuff happen: the number of times I have seen prisoners come out of prisons and reoffend. It does not make headlines, more often than not because, sadly, it often occurs in remote Aboriginal communities where the victims are not heard as much as victims in town. However, they are victims just the same. If you consider the problems we continue to have - and a future CLP government will continue to have - with the rape of children in remote communities, as well as in our towns - but particularly in remote communities - this bill was intended to give comfort. The government gives no comfort.
I am disappointed because I now fear that within the next few days, weeks, months, I will open a newspaper and, in that newspaper, will see ‘prisoner X released a few weeks ago from custody went out and raped a child’. This House, with this bill, had an opportunity to stop that from happening. This government has chosen to not grasp that opportunity, by whatever means available to it. They could have introduced their own bill. They could have supported this bill with amendments. They could have taken over this bill. I would have walked across the House and given it to them and said: ‘Stick it in your own name and say it is ALP policy’. I would have accepted all of that.
However, I sat here and watched what just happened, which was a three-ring circus of disorganisation. It sends all the wrong messages to the people who have come to me with these issues. I am going to go back and explain to them what I saw here tonight, and I know they are going to be desperately disappointed.
Madam Speaker, should there be a change of government, it will be one of my priorities, should I be the Attorney-General - should I get re-elected; there is no guarantee of any of this - that this will become one of the primary drivers of my Attorney-Generalship. It will become a primary driver of the CLP to bring legislation like this into force in the Northern Territory.
Again, I am just staggered with the contempt with which this government has dealt with this legislation. It was a genuine attempt to make a real difference. To see the government deal with it in the way that they have, speaks volumes about the people who sit on the other side of this House.
The Assembly divided:
- Ayes 12 Noes 12
Ms Anderson Mrs Aagaard
Mr Bohlin Dr Burns
Mr Chandler Mr Gunner
Mr Conlan Mr Hampton
Mr Elferink Mr Henderson
Mr Giles Mr Knight
Mrs Lambley Ms Lawrie
Mr Mills Mr McCarthy
Ms Purick Ms McCarthy
Mr Styles Ms Scrymgour
Mr Tollner Mr Vatskalis
Mr Westra van Holthe Ms Walker
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, there being 12 ayes and 12 noes, the result is an equality of votes. Pursuant to section 27(1) of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act, as there is not a majority of votes, the question is resolved in the negative.
Motion negatived.
CRIMINAL CODE (UNLAWFUL ASSAULT CAUSING DEATH) AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 171)
(Serial 171)
Continued from 19 October 2011.
Mr KNIGHT (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, this opposition bill proposes to amend the Criminal Code to introduce a new section 189B. Section 189B would provide that a person who has committed the offence of an unlawful assault causing death when a person unlawfully assaults another person and that assault results in a death. That penalty would be a maximum of 16 years imprisonment.
The government has previously considered this issue, and whether a new offence such as the one proposed by the opposition is required. In doing this, we identified a number of complex issues, particularly regarding how much such an offence could fit within the structure of the existing Criminal Code Act. This government supports improvements to our judicial system and we are constantly reviewing and amending the statute books with this particular objective.
It has been brought to our attention that the new offence proposed by the opposition has the potential to create a number of inconsistencies with the current structure of the Criminal Code Act. It is my understanding that these inconsistencies focus around whether the offence should be considered a homicide offence such as manslaughter, or as a lesser offence such as an assault or serious harm.
For example, on the current drafting, this offence relies on the criminal responsibility provision of Part II, and not Part IIAA which applies to all other homicide offences. As this is labelled an assault offence, the prosecution will need to prove an absence of consent in relation to the proposed offence where the consent is not an element of manslaughter or serious harm. This will cause difficulties for jury trials where manslaughter is charged and unlawful assault causing death is an alternative verdict, as a jury will need to understand and distinguish between different elements.
There are concerns regarding the appropriateness of the maximum penalty and again, whether it appropriately reflects the homicide or the lesser, non-fatal offence. The maximum penalty for this offence is 16 years; however, under the current laws, a person who unlawfully assaults a person causing their death may be tried and convicted of manslaughter, which attracts a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
I have not sought advice on how sentencing would be affected by this reduction in penalties. However, a reduction in the maximum penalty can only limit the sentencing options of the sentencing judge and, potentially, result in a lesser sentence than may currently be obtained. So, that discretion is limited to the judges. It is because of these concerns that my predecessor referred this matter to the Law Reform Committee in August this year - several months ago. I believe it is appropriate that, again, we rely on the Law Reform Committee, which is headed up by Hon Austin Asche, to consider this matter thoroughly. They will get together a committee which will look at this area, and it will consult with the profession and also guide the government with its recommendations.
Accordingly, the government cannot support this bill until we get those recommendations. This bill has been circulated across several departments within the Northern Territory government: the Department of the Chief Minister, the Department of Children and Families; Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and the DPP. The DPP is of the view that consideration of the bill should be deferred until such time as the Law Reform Committee comes back with its report. The police have come up with similar advice about the way forward; that is, waiting for the Law Reform Committee to come back.
I understand, again, what the opposition is trying to do but, as I have highlighted, your current bill limits the capacity of judges with sentencing, and there are some inconsistencies in it as well.
Madam Speaker, the government will not be supporting this legislation.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I have to say I am somewhat surprised to hear the minister saying in this House he is going to defer the bill, and then not support it. He just said this should be deferred …
Mr Knight: The DPP.
Mr ELFERINK: This should be deferred, and then he says: ‘By the way, we are not going to support it’. If the Law Reform Committee has not reported back, I would actually say, come and talk to me and I will happily defer the bill until the Law Reform Committee comes back. If you defer the bill until the Law Reform Committee reports back, and they actually come back and say this is workable legislation then, in that case, you would find yourself in a circumstance where the Northern Territory government could adopt this bill after receiving positive advice - if that positive advice was forthcoming.
Rather than give the consistent message to us and the parties who are interested in this matter - not least of whom was Amee Meredith, the widow of Sergeant Brett Meredith, who has been pushing this particular issue since her husband’s death - you would be able at least say: ‘We are looking at it seriously’. However, for you to say you are going to defer the bill and, in the next breath say ‘Oh, by the way, we will not be supporting this bill’ sends the wrong message to the people who have interest in this particular issue.
I am fully aware the matter in relation to the death of Sergeant Meredith as a result of being king hit in a pub one night has been dealt with by the courts, and the matter of sentencing has been dealt with by the courts. I am also fully aware that the offender in that matter was found guilty of manslaughter.
However, the hole this bill is trying to fix in our legislative instruments is if the evidence had been only a small amount weaker against the accused there would have been a finding, quite possibly, of not guilty. I am led to understand the determination of guilt in that particular instance relied fairly heavily on the CCTV footage which was picked up in the hotel where the death occurred. If, however, that evidence had not been available, it is entirely conceivable that in a similar circumstance where a similar death had occurred, a person accused of the homicide death – that is, manslaughter of another person - may well be found not guilty.
If they are found not guilty what happens then? There is no doubt the punch was thrown. There was no doubt the accused person had king hit another person. However, because of insufficient evidence to prove negligence - one of the two required elements of manslaughter is either negligence or recklessness - if neither of those two elements could be established in a manslaughter case, the person walks; they are not guilty. Whilst there might be a dozen witnesses who say ‘I saw him punch him’, if the requisite evidence of recklessness or negligence is not there, what you end up with is a not guilty verdict.
If you then go cascading down through the offences, the next available offence is aggravated assault. If you are charged in a case of manslaughter and the only available offence after that was aggravated assault, you would find yourself in the astonishing position, quite conceivably, where the court could hear evidence of the aggravated assault – that is, he fell over and he had a fractured skull - but you could not consider the death in the sentencing process, assuming you could even make aggravated assault stick.
What I was hoping this legislation would do is fill in the same gap other jurisdictions have found themselves in with similar legislative instruments. The problem is, when Amee Meredith spoke to me about this particular issue she was aware, in the instance of the death of her husband, it did not apply in that case any longer because manslaughter had been established. She has, nevertheless, become a strong advocate for this concept of one-punch homicide because there are so many other examples that fall between the cracks. This is a legislative instrument aimed at picking up what falls between the cracks.
Justice Barr, in his sentencing submissions in relation to the Meredith matter, touched on the broadness of the offence of manslaughter. He said, from memory, that it could be anywhere from anything just shy of murder to a prank gone wrong, so long as you could demonstrate the requisite elements of recklessness or negligence.
This legislative instrument sought to remove that particular challenge or, at least, part of that challenge. I note in the sentencing remarks of the court reviewing the sentence that had been handed down to the accused in that matter that they make some comments about one-punch homicide - and they are not particularly flattering comments in relation to one-punch homicide. However, if I now about those sorts of comments why does the Attorney-General talk not about those comments? Surely, those comments are available to him as well? Surely, he is keeping an eye on one of the most high-profile cases that has gone through the courts of the Northern Territory in the last 10 years? He makes no reference to that; no reference to the comments being made off the benches. He simply says they are going to flick it off to the Law Reform Committee and have them look at it.
Not everything this government does goes before the Law Reform Committee. In fact, only a fraction of what this government does goes before the Law Reform Committee. So, I do not see, in any way, that this government is at all genuine about dealing with this law. They want it to go away, but they are sensitive to what they consider to be a political attitude; that is, the political attitude that they have to deal with this as a political problem. Rather than simply saying they do not like it and do not approve of it, and giving us some good reasons for why they do not like it and do not approve of it, they simply say they are going to flick it off to the Law Reform Committee. The reason is they do not want to be seen to be rejecting a plea from the widow of Sergeant Brett Meredith.
What is really happening here and behind the scenes is this is a political obfuscation. It is not really dealing with a legislative issue, which I believe it should be dealing with. If this government did not approve of this particular legislation, they would do what they normally do, which is to just walk in here and say so. However, the point is they do not want to have to deal with this issue. They would rather flick it off to someone else and get someone else to reject it on their behalf. They have become so flaccid and so insipid as a government that even a simple rejection of a legislative instrument, as short and as brief as this one is, is something they just do not want to deal with.
I am thoroughly disappointed the government has failed to understand what Mrs Meredith is attempting to achieve. I am thoroughly disappointed they have not taken the comments we have brought into this House under consideration. I am thoroughly disappointed I did not hear even a brief dissertation, if you like, from the minister and the Attorney-General, in the law surrounding manslaughter and the law surrounding one-punch homicide as it operates in other jurisdictions, so as to convince Territorians they have even bothered to look at how this legislation works in other jurisdictions or, for that matter, bothered to do any homework into homicide at all.
The minister has 45 minutes in which to respond to a bill like this, as the minister with carriage. He was on his feet for about eight or nine minutes and then said: ‘Oh well, it is all too hard. We will flick it off to the Law Reform Committee’. The Law Reform Committee is suddenly the only source of Northern Territory government policy? Is that what we are meant to believe? The Law Reform Committee is the only source the Northern Territory government will take advice from …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, I am sorry, it is 9 pm. Do you wish to continue for up to 10 minutes, or would you prefer to have it deferred to the next General Business Day?
Mr ELFERINK: I think we will defer it to the next General Business Day, Madam Speaker. The reason being that Mrs Meredith wanted to be here to watch the government’s attitude to this bill. Unfortunately, it has come on tonight unexpectedly. I would like to hold it over so, when we divide the House, she can see those people who vote against the policy she wants to protect.
Debate adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, pursuant to standing orders the Assembly is now adjourned.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, tonight I wish to talk about The Nutcracker Ballet, held last Saturday night, 19 November 2011, in association with The Palmerston Association for Dancing at the Darwin Entertainment Centre, in the Playhouse Theatre.
The Palmerston Association for Dancing is an association in my electorate; the electorate of Drysdale, and captures many dancers from right across Darwin, including those mentioned by the member for Fannie Bay two days ago in this House. Two of those dancers who are going to Western Australia come from The Palmerston Association for Dancing and, trust me; they are fantastic young dancers doing a great job. They are Cameron Goodman and Nicole Kershaw particularly; they are fantastic young dancers.
One of the dancers who was here last year has skipped away to Paris, to further her skills. This time, we had two international dancers come across.
Before I table the document for posterity, I would like to quickly read some information for everyone to share:
The Director’s Introduction
- Note from the Artistic Director of The Palmerston Association for Dancing Inc (PAD)’s Production ‘Nutcracker’.
Welcome to this very special Gala Performance. It is an historical event. ‘Nutcracker’ has not been performed in Darwin before accompanied by a live orchestra.
Directed by Dr Martin Jarvis OAM, with two international guest principal dancers: Madison Keesler as ‘The Sugar Plum Fairy’ and her partner Adam Thurlow ‘The Prince of the Land of Sweets’.
Dr Martin Jarvis OAM has formed an orchestra in association with the Darwin Symphony Orchestra. Dr Jarvis plus Janusz Kwasny, Principal Flautist, appear courtesy of Charles Darwin University. Interstate guest musicians joining the orchestra include Penny Reiss as Concert Master; Miriam Lawson Principal Harpist; Cathy Finnis, Principal Cellis and John Finnis, Principal Double Bassist.
The combination of live music with guest principal artists will inspire our local dancers. Principal dancers of the future may stem from this performance.
In order to give our dancers this unique experience, many volunteers have willingly given huge amounts of time and effort. Congratulations to all involved in set construction, costume making, fund raising, publicising, and so on.
And finally a very special thank you goes to the PAD committee members led by President Ingid Jacka, Secretary Cheryl Salter, Treasurer Jane Marshall and Vice President, Terri-Anne Van Cuylenburg for their constant support.
It is with great pleasure that we present “Nutcracker” first performed at the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, in 1892 to a musical score that was written specifically for this ballet by Pytor IlyichTchaikovsky.
That is written by Jan Hedenig. Jan is the Principal for The Palmerston Association for Dancing. Some members may like to know that I actually participated as an artist last Saturday in this lovely ballet.
First scene, up there on stage dancing around having a great time - it was fantastic. A great many rehearsals went into that and, as any performing artist know, it does take a great deal to either get it right or get it wrong on the night. Either way, you are still up there having a great time.
I would like to quickly mention the production team. Artistic Director and Choreographer, Jan Hedenig; Musical Director, Dr Martin Jarvis OAM; Producer, Palmerston Association for Dancing; Production Manager, Chris Osborne; Sound Production, Darwin Entertainment Centre; Make-Up Design, Jane Marshall; Wardrobe Management, Lara Kershaw; Costume Construction, Maxine Way, Lara Kershaw, Pam McLeod, Margaret Carroll, Veronica Statham; Christmas Tree Artist, which I have to say was an amazing Christmas tree that went all the way to the top of the Darwin Entertainment Centre. It was a massive tree that grew as part of the actual production - it was an amazing tree in itself - created by Darren Williams. Other members of the production team were: Castle Artist, Stacey Albano; Poster Artist, Catherine Paton; and Resident Musician, Doug Loft.
Guest Principal Artists included: Sugar Plum Fairy, Madison Keesler, and she appeared courtesy of San Francisco Ballet Company. Now, this is somewhat like AFL players; they have to get approval from the dance companies they are involved with, so many thanks to the San Francisco Ballet Company. Prince of Land of Sweets, Adam Thurlow of the Australian Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet.
Local Principal Artists: Clara, who is the young girl in the Nutcracker, Michelle Wilson; the Nutcracker himself, Cameron Goodman; the Magician, who is Drosselmeyer, Nick Manly; the Mouse King, Nick Manly; Herr Stahlbaum, Ross Bohlin MLA, so I was the father of the family; Frau Stahlbaum, Sheree Higgins; Fritz Stahlbaum, Kaiden Oats; Harlequin Doll, Michelle Buse; Columbine Doll, Terri-Anne van Cuylenburg; Spanish Dancer, Crystal Loft; Arabian Dancer, Nicole Kershaw; Chinese Dancers, Sau-Ching Leung and Georgia Chin.
Adult Party Guests, Adam Falconer, Nadine Mellor, John Phillips, Karina Osborne, Emily Corpus, and Morris Pitt.
There are many more names you could mention, because there were over 100 artists involved. Many of them were, as the member for Nelson mentioned, the little pint-sized children, the Snowflakes and the like, who danced energetically across the stage in their beautiful white outfits. It was absolutely fantastic to see so many.
Really, for a small local association, everyone I have spoken to has really been captivated by this particular performance. I was involved in another performance two years ago as King Triton in Little Mermaid, by the same dance company, also at the Darwin Entertainment Centre, and that was a fantastic performance, but this one just seemed to have a little bit more magic to it, for whatever reason - whether it was the different themes involved or the colours and the people involved - it was just amazing. I was wearing a suit of the period 1800, more like a curtain than what we would call a suit today.
The association, the mums and dads and the families, just think about the logistics of carefully bringing all these kids in, getting them dressed up in their various costumes, make-up on, the whole thing. No one misses out here. It really is amazing to be involved in such a big production. Full house, over 800 people rocked up. You cannot see the people out there in the crowd, but you know when you finish a particular set and the crowd wildly cheers and claps; then you do another piece, and the same thing happens again. Of course, it is not just you, but it is the fact that everyone has done their bit to really pull off an amazing performance.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I seek leave to table the program.
Leave granted.
Mr BOHLIN: Thank you very much. I will quickly sign that for Mr Mills. There you go, Mr Mills.
Thank you very much to the association for allowing me to be involved. Thank you to Donna Ellice, my electorate officer, for helping out with some of the set design and getting people involved; much of the work our electorate office does is to help this local organisation. There are many sponsors listed in here as well. Well done; it was an amazing night - a night to remember.
Mr HAMPTON (Stuart): Madam Deputy Speaker, that is going to be a hard act to follow.
Tonight I acknowledge the achievements of some great Central Australians. These people are inspiring and courageous and, to my mind, no one exemplifies these attributes more than Centralian cattleman, Rob Cook.
Many in the House may know Rob, even though he is not a bloke who seeks the spotlight. Rob has shown the country that having a disability need never hold you back; his terrible helicopter accident in 2008 left him a quadriplegic, and made national headlines. However, it is his recovery and determination to achieve, despite his disability, that is the real story.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Rob a few times, most recently when he was on his trek across the Tanami to raise funds, at a large fundraising event held on Mount Doreen Station in my electorate. Part of his message was to encourage other farmers with disabilities to stay productive.
Rob Cook became the first person to travel the Tanami track, more than 700 km from his home on remote Suplejack Station near the WA border to Alice Springs, in a wheelchair. He has been determined to continue his working life on the station and, with the support of his wife, Sarah, his family and friends, he is doing that.
I might add, Rob is also a very talented artist and I am proud to say I have one his pieces of art in my electorate office in Alice Springs.
Rob Cook has been travelling the world lately on his Nuffield scholarship studying innovation and technology within the beef industry and looking at ways to encourage injured producers and farmers to remain actively involved in their business. Last night, he was awarded the National Pride of Australia Courage Medal in recognition of his amazing achievements. He was also recognised recently in the Territory’s section of the Australian of the Year awards as the Local Hero winner.
I pass my congratulations on to Rob Cook, and I am sure his family, his wife and children, are very proud of him. Rob, you certainly are a Territory inspiration.
Also, Central Australians figured largely in the NT Australian of the Year awards. Alcohol reform campaigner, Dr John Boffa, was recognised as the NT Australian of the Year for his years of work in getting grog reforms on the national agenda. I have had many discussions with John on the topic and his passion and dedication, as well as his commitment to improving the lives of Territorians, is to be commended.
John first came to the Territory 23 years ago when he went to work at Anyinginyi Congress in Tennant Creek. Now a GP and the Public Health Medical Officer at the Central Australian Aboriginal Health Congress in Alice Springs, John has devoted his career to changing alcohol use patterns in Indigenous communities.
Over the years, John has played an active and inspirational role in changing attitudes towards alcohol in Northern Territory communities through supply reduction, early learning and mental health programs. He continues his remarkable contribution as the spokesperson for the People’s Alcohol Action Coalition reform group. He has been a representative on the Alice Springs Alcohol Reference Group and played a strong role in the development of the Alcohol Management Plans in the Red Centre.
Again, I pass on my, and the government’s, congratulations on his award.
The Northern Territory could not have had better representatives in the national Australian of the Year Awards for 2012 than Rob Cook and Dr John Boffa. We are very proud of them.
It is not just individual Centralians who have been getting the gongs. My favourite radio station, CAAMA Radio, won the Contribution to Indigenous Broadcasting award at the 2011 Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Awards Ceremony on the weekend. The award, known as the Voxie, represents a big year of reporting, broadcasting and hard work by a dedicated team. I pass on my congratulations to GMAN and all the CAAMA mob in Alice Springs on a job well done.
While I am recognising these achievers, I would also like to congratulate Marion Swift from the Ntaria Community and Alison Andrews from Manyallaluk in my electorate of Stuart who were recipients of this year’s Aboriginal Health Worker Excellence Awards. Marion is part of the Child Health Development Program at Ntaria Health Clinic and was presented with the highest honour, the Legend Award, as well as winning the Remote Health category.
Ms Swift has been an Aboriginal Health Worker for 28 years and during this time she has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to her community of Ntaria and to the wellbeing of children and young people.
Ms Andrews won the category of New Practitioner for her work at the Manyallaluk Clinic. She completed her Certificate IV in Aboriginal Health Work last year and was nominated by Sunrise Health staff from Katherine. Her sister, Andrea Andrews, also works at the clinic and says Alison loves her job and is really good at it.
Again, congratulations to all these award winners; they are certainly inspirations to us all.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker and star of The Nutcracker ballet.
Tonight I would like to read a letter from a constituent. I said I would raise this in parliament because he has raised some concerns about service in a particular government department. I raise it because I believe government departments sometimes forget there is a public out there and if people who are servicing those departments feel the service is bad, or people are actually rude or bad mannered, they find that quite upsetting, and this particular letter is about that.
The reason I am reading it is because there may be times the government has to step back and say: ‘Are we providing a good service to the public? Or are we just treating the public as people who just drop in?’ I know there are many good public servants who treat the public well, but there are times when I hear, as I will quote from this letter, there is not always good service and, if I were the minister, I would be asking questions as to why that was happening, because it does reflect on the government and, of course, the government does not want bad publicity. So I am putting it forward to the government tonight to see if this particular issue can be addressed and the service could be improved.
This is letter he wrote to me:
- Maybe I am getting grumpier as I get older and becoming Victor Meldrew like, however, I am very tired of the general decline in services and standards, particularly government services. The NT departments constantly extol their professionalism and businesslike manner. When I first noticed them saying this, I laughed, but not now. They never have operated in a businesslike manner and, in fact, it really appears to be a cover up for less service. Take that to read longer queues, rudeness, inability to understand, more things that are not free, more dehumanising interaction, etcetera.
The episode with MVR is the straw that broke the camel’s back. I have included a copy of my letter to the minister. Could you give them a kick in a place where it hurts? I do not believe my complaining will make any difference, but teachers have taught me that we are all important and we can change things. I know, as I am a teacher, ha, ha. Seriously, I am sick of it. There is no reason for rudeness, lack of care, consideration and basically just being unhelpful.
Gerry, this is not a whinge about my experience today; it is about something that is progressively getting worse, a situation that is slowly making us less human, less community minded. The problem includes private enterprise, but that is not something you can do anything about. However, you can raise it with the NT departments and I would be grateful if you would.
Dear Sir/Madam
I have on four occasions attempted to renew the registration of my vehicle. One, the first being at MVR’s Palmerston office on the morning of Tuesday 11 October, however, the room was full with approximately 30 people with decidedly unhappy looks on their faces in the queue, and my queue number being many numbers after those being called, I left deciding to complete the registration via MVR’s internet facilities.
Two, the second was via the Internet. I completed all procedures as directed and recorded the details on the form. The process appeared to be successful.
Four, I rang MVR’s 1300 number and after 20 minutes of listening to information about ABN numbers, their 14-day service, and Internet service etcetera and, I might add, the only friendly voice, I spoke to a lady who was abrupt and rude.
My four attempts to register the vehicle were not successful. However, today, the fifth, I think, is. I hope so. It was a shock to discover that I had been driving an unregistered vehicle with all the risks that entailed. In view of the money and importance of keeping motor vehicles registered, I see no reason why the process should be so difficult. Why should each time people have to wait in such long queues? Why should callers wait 20 minutes or more on the telephone? God help those that only have mobile phones and, to top it off, receive rudeness and curtness when speaking to MVR staff.
MVR and many government departments extol the professionalism and business-like manner of their services. That is not what I have experienced from MVR. Basically, today is at the end of many years of waiting in queues that have been progressively getting longer and longer, and been particularly careful with abrupt staff, not to upset them. I do not see why. It is time it stopped.
Although some may say it is the Territory way to be addressed as ‘mate;, it is not. It is not professional, nor is it courteous; nor is waiting in queues yearly getting longer, and waiting longer on the telephone. Unfortunately, the service is starting to resemble that of Italian government services - what a disgrace to even suggest it. However, and thankfully, it is still without the corruption and nepotism. But, if the service continues to deteriorate, as it has, that may also result.
I would be grateful if you would bring this to the attention of the MVR staff, particularly the lady manning the telephone.
I worked for 16 years at Howard Springs Hardware, every day behind the counter, and the worst thing you can do is be short and sharp with people, because you want those customers to come back, so you treat those customers fairly. There were a few customers that probably did not need to be treated fairly because they were rude and arrogant themselves but, in general, one respected the people on the other side, tried to help them, said hello, had a smile on your face, and dealt with them properly.
I believe, reflecting on this letter, it might be time all government departments where people serve the public, may need to have an audit.
It may be a method I remember BP used. I used to supply eggs to many small shops in Darwin and many of them were BP service stations and you get to know that BP was probably one of the cleanest and best-looking companies, when it came to service stations, in the Darwin region. Why? Because every now and again they sent out an anonymous person; you knew they were coming at some stage, but that person went into the shop and asked a few questions, checked the cobwebs, looked at the shelves, and did all those types of things. They reported back to BP, and BP would report back to the owner of the shops if the standard of service was not up to scratch.
Perhaps that would be good for government to do. You could employ an anonymous person to go round to government departments, do some transactions with various facilities; it does not have to be MVR, the Receiver of Territory Monies, or it could be at the hospital, it could be any government department where members of the public go to get advice. I believe it would be worth doing to see whether standards are slipping.
The gentleman who wrote this letter believes standards are slipping. He obviously has a reasonable complaint - you would hope you could get your car registered in a reasonable time. There is nothing worse than sitting on the phone for 20 minutes and end up with someone who is grumpy and rude at the end of it. You really think: I am not going to have a happy day.
I put the suggestion to the government that, first of all, they take this particular complaint seriously and investigate the reason this gentleman had so much trouble getting his car registered.
Second, it would be good if the government did an audit of all those sections of their departments that deal directly with the public. Planning, that is one area that deals continually with the public; the Building Board deals directly with the public; the bus service deals directly with the public. It would be good to see if the standards of service we hope are used in dealing with the public are what most people would find acceptable - a happy, cheerful, service that is polite and efficient at the same time.
I ask the government to take notice of this letter, and take on those suggestions I have made tonight.
Dr BURNS (Johnston): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, child protection is, of course, is an extremely important issue in the Northern Territory, and it is a matter being debated, quite rightly so, in this parliament in a robust manner. I believe that is the way it has to be.
Tonight I want to talk about the adjournment debate given last night by the member for Araluen. My underlying message here is I believe a few rocks were thrown last night against organisations and, ultimately, individuals, that are quite hurtful and, I believe, ill-directed. I am not going to get savage about this, member for Araluen, but I want to talk about it.
In your adjournment speech last night you talked about the annual report from the department, and about $700 000 that had been granted to the Menzies School of Health Research for research into chlamydia. The underlying assertion of your speech was there was an agenda going on, particularly on the part of the department, to explain away the high rates of reporting for chlamydia within the Northern Territory and this research project was a vehicle, because it was examining possibly alternate sources of infection or issues to do with the diagnostic tests, a Trojan horse, if you like, to explain away high rates of reports of STDs.
You said things like: ‘They are using $700 000 of federal government funds or taxpayers’ money to try and find a non-sexual abuse reason for children in the Northern Territory having chlamydia’. You talked about the fact, which is correct, that questions have been raised about whether other modes of transmission were possible, and that this mechanism would determine whether a child protection police response is required. You also said towards the end of your speech that in the annual report: ‘The government endorses expenditure of $700 000 to try to prove that children with chlamydia may not have acquired it through non-sexual means or through vaginal birth, is mightily suspicious from your perspective’.
I hope I have put forward the arguments you raised here last night. I would like to talk about these assertions, and encourage you to visit the Menzies School of Health Research, and talk with the researchers there and find out about their work and what this particular project is all about.
I will also speak about the Menzies School of Research in and its importance to the Northern Territory. I want to talk about it as an ethical organisation.
I have a conflict of interest here, Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, in that I spent about seven years at the Menzies School of Health Research. Actually, the chief investigator of this research project alluded to by the member for Araluen was my boss, and is a friend of mine, Professor Bart Currie, someone I admire greatly. The Director of the Menzies School of Research is Professor Jonathon Carapetis, who was a colleague of mine there; he is a paediatrician and he investigated and brought about changes in service provision for rheumatic heart disease across the Northern Territory. Bart Currie, of course, is well-known as an infectious diseases physician and someone who gives much of his time to travel to remote communities as a physician within the hospital. He is also one of the world’s foremost toxinologists and expert on meliodosis. He is the chief investigator here.
The first point to make is chlamydia causes both genital infections as well as eye infections. There are two different serovars of Chlamydia trachomatis which cause the eye infection and the genital infection. The wisdom over many years is these were two completely separate serovars that cause these infections, they were not interchangeable; but that notion is coming into question as to whether a child with an eye infection could inadvertently transfer that infection, or even organisms, from their eye to their genital area. That is part of what this project is looking at, and looking at the veracity. As well as this, it comes down to the testing for chlamydia and how accurate the DNA tests are in separating these two serovars; and there are questions about that.
There are also large questions about possible sample contamination, and work has been done overseas which shows, in environments where there is contamination with chlamydia, there can often be contamination of samples for analysis.
I hope I have summarised the questions asked about this research project. It is crucially important because there may be reliance in legal cases on this particular testing, so it has to be right. The whole issue of false positives is a very important issue that has to be settled for many reasons and, of course, there are often court proceedings along with that.
I also want to say in relation to the National Health and Medical Research Council which is funding this project to the tune of approximately $700 000 over a couple of years, this is an independent, autonomous body established under Commonwealth legislation. It is very difficult to get research projects funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. I know, because I got two of them when I was a researcher, and only 20% of projects actually are funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. There is a very rigorous process of choosing, and those projects chosen have to be scientifically valid; they have to be ethical in nature; and they have to answer very important questions.
Member for Araluen, I noticed in your speech last night you talked about this particular project as if it was a confabulation of the department; however, what you did not read in the annual report was the project is trying to get a better scientific understanding of whether there is any basis to concerns expressed by a range of professionals including doctors, child protection workers, police, and the courts in relation to possible sources of false positive tests for chlamydia in children and diagnostic test malfunction.
I am advised that the impetus for this particular project came from clinicians themselves, from people working in the field themselves, to answer a very important question. There are divided views amongst professionals about whether there are false positives, whether there is the possibility of cross-contamination or chlamydia being transferred from the eyes to the genital region, etcetera. There is debate about this professionally; however, there is consensus that this issue needs to be settled impartially and scientifically.
I encourage you, member for Araluen, to make contact with the Menzies School of Health Research and go out there to talk not only about this project, but they have some fantastic work going on there particularly in childhood development. There is a range of areas they are operating in, not just infectious disease. I believe they are a jewel of the Territory.
The Menzies School of Health Research was established by Paul Everingham’s government back in those days and has had some very fine people serve on the board including, I might add, Dr Richard Lim, the former member for Greatorex.
I will finish by saying that we throw stones in this place, and sometimes the unintended consequence is that we hurt others. These people are prestigious; they are honest; they are ethical; they are trying to do the right thing.
I suggest, member for Araluen, you go to the Menzies school and find out, not only about this project, but about the entire gamut of their work, the entire breadth and depth of their work which is recognised nationally and internationally. I believe you will come away from there with a very positive attitude to the Menzies School of Health Research and their research. I encourage you to do that.
Mrs LAMBLEY (Araluen): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I stand here tonight to respond to the comments made by the Leader of Government Business. He has picked up on my adjournment speech from last night in which I talked about the fairly unusual part of the Department of Children and Families Annual Report 2010–11 about research into false positive in the diagnosis of sexually transmitted Chlamydia trachomatis infection in children.
I did read this article with some concern and suspicion, and I expressed that in parliament last night. This article I felt was not fitting; it did not really fit into the context of an annual report which usually reflects the business and the performance of the department. As the shadow minister for Child Protection, I thought it was highly unusual that this piece was even in the report, and I made note of that in my adjournment speech.
My concern was, given the context of this report on child protection, this piece was really saying that the department was supporting this research into the incidents of chlamydia infection in children and how it impacted, presumably, on the Department of Children and Families and the work it undertakes.
Now, what I am hearing from the Leader of Government Business is he feels a need to protect and defend the Menzies School of Health Research. My comments were not at all directed at the Menzies School of Health Research. My comments were directed fairly and squarely at the Department of Children and Families, asking questions about why they had included this piece on the research that the Menzies School of Health and Research was undertaking in terms of child protection and the incidents of chlamydia in children.
I do not believe this piece about the research has been put in the proper context, if I take on board what the Leader of Government Business has just said. It does not make sense that it should even be there if what he is saying is correct. I do not believe it has done the Menzies School of Health Research any favours by including it in there, if I believe what the Leader of Government Business has just reported because it really is a piece about health research, if what the Leader of Government Business is saying is correct; it is not really about child protection, apparently.
So, I do not believe you have done any favours by including this piece in the annual report of the Department of Children and Families. You have made no mention of eye infections in this piece. We hear tonight it has all types of implication, and there are many details missing.
For someone who does not know a great deal about the subject most people would read it and think: ‘Gee whiz, the department is putting a great deal of money into finding alternative reasons for why children have chlamydia, apart from it being contracted through sexual contact’. I have read it several times since I gave my adjournment speech last night, and I have had other people read it and everyone is saying: ‘Yes, Robyn, that is how I would read it, too. The department is spending a great deal of federal government money trying to find an alternative explanation as to how chlamydia is passed onto children.’
I will leave it there. The department needs to consider why they put this piece in the annual report for child protection. It apparently does not fit, and perhaps the government needs to give the Menzies School of Health Research an explanation as to why they have worded it the way they have, why they have included it in the report, and even apologise to the Menzies School of Health Research for, perhaps, misleading people like me who read it, as it does read, without much knowledge of the exact nature of the research and the condition.
The second part of my speech, I would like to pay tribute to a great Central Australian woman who passed away last week. Mrs Iris Harvey, known by most people as Mrs Harvey, passed away in Adelaide on 10 November 2011. Mrs Harvey was 94 years of age, and she leaves behind grandchildren and many people in Alice Springs who will forever love and remember this great Central Australian character.
Mrs Harvey owned and ran the Arunta Art Gallery and Bookshop in Alice Springs for 50 years. She was born in 1917. She lived in Renmark, South Australia until the age of 40, when she moved to Alice Springs. In Alice Springs, she took on the role as postmistress and also opened Territory Business Supplies. She operated both businesses on the same site. Mrs Harvey opened the Arunta Art Gallery and a bookshop next door in 1949 and it became a magnet for anthropologists, artists, geologists, and historians over the years. On the ABC website is a piece placed there by Marie Bout on 20 January, 2010 just after the Arunta Gallery closed after 50 years of operation. She says:
- For many people in Central Australia and for many more who have visited there was one place in town you could go for a good chat and a lot of know how.
After more than half a century of being opened at the stern hands of Mrs Iris Harvey, the Arunta Gallery has closed.
‘It did not matter where they were from or even if they spoke very good English, Grandma would be happy to have them sit down and talk about where they were from and what they were doing here and what sort of interests they had and that was what the Arunta Gallery was all about, and that was what Mrs Harvey brought to it’, said great grandson Will Chapman.
Bruce Chatwin, the author of the 1987 book Song Lines, used to spend his time in the Arunta Gallery researching and talking to Mrs Harvey. He writes about her on page 23 of the book, referring to her as Mrs Lacey. ‘She certainly knew how to sell books, she had read almost every book about Central Australia and tried to stock every title in print. In the room which served as an art gallery, she had two easy chairs for customers. ‘Read as much as you like’, she would say, ‘No obligation’, knowing damn well, of course, that once you sat in the chair, you could not go away without buying’.
Another regular visitor to the bookstore was famous nature documentary-maker David Attenborough. Iris Harvey was at the forefront of the Indigenous art movement in Central Australia supplying art supplies to outstations and communities and offering the first of many Indigenous art galleries that fill Alice Spring’s streets today. ‘She would sell them the paints and then buy the paintings off them’ said painter and long-time friend, Angus McIver. Angus also said, ‘While her dog Pim is not a Corgi, I think Iris Harvey was the closest thing to royalty Alice Springs has ever had’.
Ted Egan sent me a story about Mrs Harvey a couple of days ago. He says:
- Dear Robyn,
I knew Iris Harvey very well for over 50 years. As you would be aware, she ran the Arunta Gallery in Todd Street for most of that time. She was a great patron of Central Australian art for she, more than anyone else, except perhaps Mona Burns, pushed for the recognition of Albert Namatjira’s artworks in the early days when southern experts dismissed his work as mere ‘potboilers’. Iris was a good friend of Rex Batterby, Albert’s mentor, and between them they arranged to have the best works go to good homes. I think Iris herself would have retained some of Namatjira’s works. She was of the opinion that Claude Pannka was about as good as Albert.
- To my knowledge, Iris was more appreciative of the first Australian water colourists rather than the later dot painters, although she may have come to appreciate the dot style in later years. She was a great mate of Bill Harney, ranger at Uluru, and himself a great raconteur. She always had portraits of Harney and Namatjira within hand’s reach in the gallery, and she liked to regale her customers with stories about the two great men. It was wonderful to see the three of them together. By and large, Iris was a very discerning gallery owner and did not accept inferior work from anyone.
I am running out of time, but I pay tribute to this strong, committed, fierce businesswoman. She was a battler, a great entrepreneur, and a pioneer of Central Australia. Mrs Harvey was the owner and operator of the famous Arunta Gallery. Mrs Harvey will be remembered as a true Centralian, a great woman of the outback. I pay my respects to Mrs Harvey’s family and bid her a very fond farewell from the people of the Northern Territory who knew her, respected her and loved her. Thank you, Mrs Harvey.
Mr McCARTHY (Barkly): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I take this opportunity to acknowledge and congratulate Dennis Powley on successfully receiving the Chief Minister’s Public Sector Medal award at the Darwin Convention Centre on Thursday, 17 November.
A Territorian for 50 years, Dennis is very highly regarded by all his colleagues and throughout industry, and is known as a true bushy with a great sense of humour and vast outback knowledge. I have been told he is always willing to share this knowledge and experience with other staff and acquaintances. Dennis has high quality expertise with great interpersonal and communication skills, and he is renowned for achieving relationships with regional coordinators, DCI personnel and stakeholder groups.
Dennis is a qualified and capable civil maintenance supervisor and has become DCI’s troubleshooter in the Katherine region. The majority of Dennis’s career with the organisation was spent as a project officer in civil maintenance servicing remote areas, checking boat ramps, airstrips and road access across the Territory, and he is renowned for knowing the regions like the back of his hand. He has worked his way through the government since commencing his employment with the public service in Tennant Creek in 1985, where he worked for six years. Dennis and his family then relocated to Katherine, where he worked for 10 years, continuing to work in civil maintenance.
Dennis took time out from this full-time position and worked in Port Keats, liaising with the Indigenous community for a number of months gaining valuable skills which now assist him with his current position. Dennis has built significant relationships with the Northern Land Council and traditional owners across the Territory. That relationship has been further strengthened by Dennis’s role as DCI’s representative working with the NLC, a position he has held for three years. Dennis has demonstrated wonderful initiative over the years, including developing mapping skills and experience in the DCI environment.
A recent achievement for Dennis was the diversion for the Daly River Bridge construction. Dennis managed to form a land swap agreement with the traditional owners allowing the diversion across Indigenous land for the construction of the Daly River Bridge and, in return, took back the portion of land where the road had been. These mutually beneficial agreements have assisted both parties to achieve their objectives.
Dennis plays a lead role in communicating future projects with traditional owners, and liaises with them on the consultation for road projects, which include changing roads, taking out bends, laying asphalt, building bridges and making improvements.
Congratulations, Dennis, your contribution to DCI and the Northern Land Council is greatly appreciated.
Last weekend I had the privilege of attending and presenting the awards to the winners of six categories at the Fist Full of Films held at the Darwin Entertainment Centre. It was a great event, and once again reminded me of the huge talent we have in the Territory. The talent of emerging filmmakers across the Territory in remote communities and in our major centres is undeniable. Our unique cultural and physical landscape results in films that are distinctively Territorian.
The showcased works at Fist Full of Films varied from stories from town camps in Alice Springs, interviews in the Darwin Mall, to amusing insights of life in the Wet Season in Ramingining.
Screen Territory, the Northern Territory government’s agency for screen development, continues to support the development of Territory screen stories. Through Screen Territory, government offers a range of support to the industry, including the $286 000 Screen Territory grants program and intensive skill development programs.
A key focus of mine, as the minister for Arts, is the further development of practical ways Screen Territory can support amateur filmmakers to further hone their talents. Supporting these talented Territorians will help share the Territory’s stories and lead to the growth of our professional screen sector. 2011 has been a big year for our screen industry; two historical Territory documentaries have just completed filming, both supported with screen grants from the Northern Territory government, with combined budgets of almost $1.5m.
Croker Island Exodus tells the story of children during WW II who, with their carers, walked for miles through Arnhem Land to escape the war. It was filmed in Darwin and the Top End, directed and produced by Territorians, Mr Steven McGregor and Ms Danielle MacLean, with many Territorians employed in its creation.
Coniston: Telling it True tells the story from a Warlpiri perspective of the terrible massacres in Central Australia of Aboriginal people during the droughts of the late 1920s. It has been produced by PAW Media and Communications out of Yuendumu and brings together Mr Francis Kelly and Mr David Batty of Bush Mechanics fame, as creative directors.
The documentary development program, REALISATOR was attended by 20 Territorians and brought mentors from broadcasters ABC and SBS to Darwin. As a result of REALISATOR, one documentary project has been commissioned to be made in the Territory which will result in increased jobs and expenditure. Other documentaries are being further developed.
The feature-winning program IGNITE has resulted in the development of 10 screenplays by Territorians, and 30 Territorians attending specialised screen writing workshops. Sixteen Territorians have been supported to travel to attend screen markets that assist them in raising finance for their screen projects.
The Northern Territory government supports events that provide opportunities for Territorians to see films. Events that have been supported with grants include the Darwin International Film Festival, which is in its second year and had a total audience of almost 2000, a 36% increase compared to 2010. Also supported were the Sydney Travelling Film Festival, and Flickerfest.
This is a really vibrant part of our arts community, and I encourage Territorians to see it for themselves.
It is great to see Territory documentaries featuring in our screen vision projects and take an interest in what was happening with the documentary regarding the Coniston massacre. First of all, in meeting people at PAW Media at Yuendumu on a visit with the member for Stuart and my parliamentary colleagues from the Henderson Labor government, talking about that project and now following it through and seeing it in the production stage reminded me of a reflection I want to share with other Territorians, so I put it on the record as a reflection.
The commencement of the first school I started in the Northern Territory in 1981 on Epenarra Station. About 46 kids started there and the infrastructure was phenomenal. We were provided with one Silver Bullet caravan - one Silver Bullet for the teacher to live in, and one Silver Bullet as an ablution block. Those were the days!
It thinned out when the Canteen Creek community started to develop, but we always had well and truly over 25 kids there. Being their first school was an interesting experience, and it was my job not only to liaise with the community and the owners of the cattle station, but also to guide these children into their first experience of formal schooling. I did it pretty formally, and I reflected on the experience I had from teacher’s college and my work in western New South Wales, much advice from family and professional colleagues. It was a pretty formal affair, but we also had a great deal of fun and cultural exchange.
There was a very old woman living on that cattle station who, as a child, had firsthand experience of the Coniston massacre. It was a reflection I took home and, sitting alone in a Silver Bullet caravan on a beautiful water frontage block, looking out over the Frew River, I started to reflect that the community had put these children in my care. I was the teacher in charge and every day they were coming into that school, into a formal school education program, and adapting well to the discipline and rigour of a government school, yet returning home to humpies and sitting down with traditional people - their family and countrymen - and possibly listening to stories from that grandmother figure who I suggest was saying: ‘Be very careful of those whitefellas because they are very cheeky people’. I have taken that reflection with me over 30 years, and beyond, as an educator and still share it today because that was certainly a moment of reflection.
Now as a minister of the Crown and a local member representing many constituents, it is still as relevant today as it was then. In translating that into good government policy, it is very applicable. It is a very sensitive road, a very sensitive journey and we should exercise that sensitivity on all occasions when dealing with our constituents.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, I would like to mention a few happenings in my electorate.
I congratulate Tim Watson from Taminmin College who won the certificate in my name; I congratulate Tim for his great effort.
Tim has had a pretty tough year this year. One of his really close mates, Ben Witham, from Adelaide River - people would know the circumstances at Mt Bundy with young Ben and his lovely family and the trauma that occurred this year. Tim was a good mate of his, and was pretty traumatised by the events surrounding Ben’s death.
It was great to see the school community encouraging him and his friends getting around him and supporting him through Year 12. He did quite well; he had some really good marks and he completed his Year 12 certificate.
Well done Tim, a great effort, and I hope you go on to bigger and better things in the future.
I would like to mention the Volunteer Bushfire Brigade which is winding down at the moment. There were a few lightening strikes and fires around, but great work goes on at Dundee. The captain is Trevor Cockin and I was delighted to be there for the opening of the Dundee Bushfire Brigade earlier this year; it is a community rallying together and getting facilities. On the same site we have the first aid post as well.
All the staff are volunteers and they made a small amount of money go a long way at the Dundee Bushfire Brigade headquarters, and I look forward to attending many more functions there in the future. We have some Christmas drinks coming up and a Christmas party.
I also attended the Acacia Hills brigade headquarters, too, and it was a great opening of that facility. The member for Nelson was there, and it is another community coming together. Those bush fire brigade headquarters are real social facilities as well, bringing the community together. Once you get to know your neighbour you can appreciate concerns about fuel loads on their property and start to respect one another and try to look after one another.
Well done to all the volunteers at the Acacia Hills Bushfire Brigade.
Back to Dundee, I congratulate Alan ‘Kiwi’ Walker for gaining presidency of the Dundee Progress Association once more; he has done a fabulous job. He has had a few health issues of late and high work demands - he works away - but he has certainly done a great job in 2011, and I look forward to working with him in the future. We have much to do there and with the rest of the committee, and the sub-committees, we look forward to doing a great deal of planning work.
The Dundee Social and Recreation Club is another great organisation out there, and I am the patron of the organisation.
It was great to hand over a cheque for $50 000, the contribution for setting up the new clubhouse there. I thank all the current members, and special thanks go to the President, Peter Pin and all the members. Keith and Lyn Hill have done a fabulous job; they put in the submission and they lobbied me, and much of the credit goes to them for their tireless work since 2008. I have attended many of their functions around the place in people’s backyards and tents, and now they have their own block of land, which we granted to them, and given them some money to get started. I saw the fence go up the other day. They have a security fence around, they have cleared the block and they have got a pad down, so I certainly hope to see work going on through the Wet Season as well.
I acknowledge the new licensees at Dundee Lodge, Scotty and Summer, his partner. They have done a really great job there and look forward to the development of the lodge. The Halkitis family have bought the lodge and I look forward to all the events going on there. We had the rodeo; we have their birthday party coming up; there have been many fishing competitions, and the kids fishing competition was highly successful, and I look forward to helping Scotty in the future with that.
I also mention the great work that goes on at the Adelaide River Show Society, with the great volunteers and committee members. The President is Sandy McLean, she does a fabulous job, ably assisted by Deb Koch and Jan Powick. I also acknowledge Therese Balanzategui for her great work with the Adelaide River Show and the talent quest.
We recently had Remembrance Day at the war graves, put on by the ‘Nashos’, members of the National Servicemen’s Association; they did a great job getting that together, and it was the Adelaide River Show Society that provided the morning teas - I gave them a few dollars for it – and they certainly put on a great morning tea. Sandy’s chocolate lamingtons were absolutely fabulous. Well done to Sandy and all the crew. That was a great effort.
Just one last mention, we had the opening of the Batchelor Museum the other day. Congratulation to Jan Hills, she does a fabulous job with the Batchelor Museum Development Association. The community really came together in a fabulous way. We had Ally Mills there at the opening, and she sang some great songs.
It is really going to be a fabulous facility. They have the buildings now; they have secured the roofs and improved those facilities. The website will show a prelude to what will be in those buildings in the future; and it was great to be there. Well done to all concerned with the Batchelor Museum.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Mr Acting Deputy Speaker, tonight I wish to briefly talk about a person who runs a business in my electorate; a lady by the name of Carolyn Reynolds. Carolyn is a lady of English descent, but has decided to make Darwin her home and the place where she runs her business. Carolyn runs the Darwin Rock Centre, which is located at Doctors Gully inside one of the old water tanks dating back to pre-World War II, if memory serves me. She is a lady of such generosity of spirit I cannot but mention her in this House for the attention of honourable members.
Carolyn works very hard; she has a great passion for the community she lives in, and she has a great and generous heart when it comes to helping other people. Recently, during the Boating and Camping Expo in Darwin, she not only had her own stall there for the rock climbing facility, but she used the rock climbing facility and ancillary events there to raise money for a disabled young fellow who needed to be sent to Melbourne for eye surgery; and she raised quite a substantial amount of money for the young fellow. Which demonstrates where she could have been making money for herself, what she was actually doing was raising funds for other people.
This shows a generosity of spirit that businesses show all too often in our community, and she exemplifies that generosity of spirit. I believe it is praiseworthy and should be publicly applauded in this place.
She continues to let anyone who will listen know that any kids with disabilities can go onto her new kids climbing rock wall for free until the end of the year. This, again, is a decision that takes money out of her own pocket, but she has such a passion for what she does and for the community she lives in that I cannot forebear but to mention her in this House and let honourable members know that our community is full of people like Carolyn. She stands out, and her enthusiasm and passion for what she does deserves, if you like, a parliamentary scratch behind the ear, and that is precisely what I am giving her.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016