2009-02-10
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 10 am
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members and guests, I advise this morning there will be a condolence motion for the victims of the Victorian bushfires. Given the seriousness of this tragedy I thought it appropriate to cancel the celebrations associated with the opening of the parliamentary year. However, there will be refreshments served in the Main Hall following the condolence motion.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence of many guests to the parliament this morning. It is wonderful to see so many people here for the beginning of our parliamentary year.
Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of His Honour the Administrator of the Northern Territory, Hon Tom Pauling AO QC. On behalf of honourable members I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I also draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of the Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Darwin, Mr Graeme Sawyer; the Deputy Mayor of Palmerston, and Alderman Ian Abbott. From the Defence Forces, I acknowledge Commander Northern Command, Commodore David Gwyther and Mrs Kay Gwyther. I welcome you to the Northern Territory. This is your first occasion of being present in the parliament, and I am sure all honourable members extend a warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: I welcome Commander of 1st Brigade, Brigadier Michael Krause ADC; Commander of the Australian Navy Patrol Boat Captain Vaughn Rixon CSC ADC; and representing the Air Force is Wing Group Commander Neville Donnelly. On behalf of all honourable members I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we are also honoured by having the presence in the galleries of members of various churches: Reverend Wendell Flentje, Moderator of the Northern Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia; Bishop Greg Thompson, the Anglican Bishop of the Northern Territory; Pastor Mal Sercomb, from the Baptist Union of the Northern Territory; and Pastor John Whitbourne from the Baptist Union at Casuarina. On behalf of honourable members I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Further dignitaries whom I would like to acknowledge this morning are the former Administrator of the Northern Territory, the Honourable Austin Asche AC QC and Dr Valerie Asche. Representing other nations we have the Head of Chancery from the Republic of Indonesia, Ms Maimunah Vera Syafik and Ms Nadya Sumampow, the Vice Consul of the Republic of Indonesia; the Honorary Consul for Sweden, Mr Hugh Bradley; the Honorary Consul for Portugal, Mrs Maria dos Anjos Vidigal de Castro and Mr Joaquim de Castro; and the Honorary Consul for Belgium, Mr Simon Warner Lee. On behalf of honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we also have former members of parliament: the Hon Grant Tambling, who is also a former Administrator for Norfolk Island and a former Senator for the Northern Territory; and the former member for Araluen and former Northern Territory minister, the Hon Eric Poole. On behalf of honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we have two school groups here today. From Wanguri Primary School we have students from Years 5 and 6; and also students, teachers and parents from the Essington School in Darwin. On behalf of honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Visitors, if you were not acknowledged today it does not mean you are not important. We are very grateful that you have joined us this morning.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table a letter from Mr Gerry McCarthy MLA, member for Barkly, resigning as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee as of 4:15 pm on 9 February 2009.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I table the Administrative Arrangements Orders dated 9 February 2009. The ministers and ministerial offices are as follows:
the House Committee discharge Mr McCarthy and appoint Ms Scrymgour;
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received from His Honour the Administrator Message No 4 notifying assent to bills passed in the December sitting of the Assembly.
The CLERK: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 100A, I inform honourable members that responses to petition Nos 4, 5 and 7 have been received and circulated to honourable members. A copy of the response has been provided to the member who tabled the petition for distribution to petitioners.Petition No 4
Kaden Bill
Date presented: 29 October 2008
Presented by: Mr Mills
Referred to: Justice and Attorney-General
Date response due: 29 April 2009
Date response received: 4 February 2009Response:
Presented by: Mr Styles
Referred to: Minister for Health
Date response due: 29 April 2009
Date response received: 4 February 2009Response:
Presented by: Mr Mills
Date response received: 6 January 2009Response:
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Media Arrangements
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that I have given approval for various media representatives to remain until the completion of the debate on the motion relating to the Victorian bushfires.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, the Governor General, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, has received the following message from Her Majesty the Queen:
CONDOLENCE MOTION
Victorian Bushfires
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, at the completion of the debate, I will ask members to stand in silence for one minute as a sign of respect. I call the Chief Minister.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move – That this Assembly -
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on the unfolding tragedy of the bushfires across country Victoria. This is a tragedy that is unfolding minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day. It is an extraordinary tragedy for the people of Australia and the people of Victoria.
Above all else, I offer our deepest condolences to the people who have lost family members, friends, and loved ones.
This is an unprecedented national tragedy of immense and overwhelming grief and sadness. I pay tribute to those who battled the ferocity of those fires, and those who are offering comfort, assistance and compassion to those affected.
More than 400 bushfires have swept across the state of Victoria during the most severe weather conditions in Victoria’s history. The size of the devastation is beyond words and beyond belief. I am sure for all of us in this House, and everyone in the galleries, watching this unfolding on our television screens, and with family and friends, is beyond belief that this is happening.
Entire communities have been engulfed by flames and turned to ash. Some communities have all but been wiped from the map. To put things in perspective, the fires in the Kinglake area alone devastated 330 000 ha of land. That is an area more than 30 times the size of Darwin, and the Kinglake fire is but a fraction of the ruined country our fellow Australians in Victoria face. I am deeply saddened by the reports of the increasing number of people who have lost their lives.
Madam Speaker, today, just before I came into the House, 173 people are reported to have died, and I have to say that we need to brace ourselves for even worse numbers because, sadly, the authorities believe this figure could increase substantially. People perished in their homes and in their cars trying to escape the approaching fires. In some cases, people tried to escape only to find the road ahead blocked. Even those who are expert in dealing with fires have not been immune from the ferocity of the fires, with a CFA member also being lost. The number of people hospitalised as a result of the fires continues to grow. Over the weekend, in just one 24-hour period, 20 people with burns to 30% of their body were admitted to the Alfred Hospital.
Many communities are deeply affected by this devastation. People have died in more than 23 communities. There are too many fire-affected communities for me to list here today, but the stories and images coming out of places such as Marysville, and in particular, Kinglake, which appears to have taken the full force of the fire with 20 people losing their lives, is truly heartbreaking. Some place names, unknown to me, unknown to many Australians, now figure in our hearts as places of loss and mourning.
The authorities have classified this tragedy as being far worse than the Ash Wednesday fire of 1983 and the Black Friday fire of 1939. Indeed, people are saying this is the worst tragedy in peace time in this nation’s history. I can only imagine what the victims and survivors of this tragedy have gone through - mums and dads, grandparents, children, neighbours and friends, owners of livestock and pets, the elderly, firefighters at the front line. So many people from so many walks of life have suffered stress, injury, pain, and, tragically, loss.
Temperatures were already in excess of 48 C in many places before these fires approached. The flames were reported to be as high as a five-storey building, as high as this Parliament House, and the fire fronts travelled towards communities at speeds of 120km/h. I find it inconceivable that you could escape such a raging wall of fire.
I remember listening to one person being interviewed who said that when the fires approached it seemed like it started to rain fire. Some survivors escaped with just seconds to spare, whilst their neighbours, sadly, did not make it. Incredible stories of survival have come to light, such as the woman who left her house and covered herself with wet blankets and hid in the opening of a wombat burrow. I read the story in The Australian of Sonja Parkinson, who sheltered with her husband and infant son, Sam, under a sodden blanket in a dirty pool of water as the Kinglake fire roared around them. She said: ‘As we left the house, I thought we were going to die’. Firefighters could not believe they had lived through the ordeal with the odds so much against them. Many people have put themselves at personal risk to rescue others. A woman called Rhiannon called the radio station saying she was stranded at her house with eight children. Her brother got to her on his tractor and rescued them all.
I have been deeply touched and on occasions overwhelmed by the stories of courage and the footage of ordinary Australians standing side by side considering their future together against a backdrop of such loss, by the stories of children’s lives cut so short under such terrible circumstances, by the sacrifice that some gave in an attempt to save others, and of the stories of the courage shown by the firefighters who have persevered over such incredibly long hours.
Disasters such as this bring out all that is good in the Australian culture: a sense of community, a sense of compassion, of courage and mateship. There is no one else I would prefer to stand alongside in such circumstances than a fellow Australian.
I also understand that the member for Nelson’s brother had a close shave: whilst he lost some of his property, he survived and so did his house. Sadly that is not the case for many. Over 750 houses have been lost, with over 5000 people now homeless and around 4000 people having registered for emergency assistance. The houses that have been lost in the fires were, of course, not just buildings; they represented the very fabric of people’s lives - their hopes, their dreams. They were family homes that people had worked hard for and had lived in for many years. They contained valued possessions and memories which have sadly been lost. The ferocity of these fires is unprecedented in our history and difficult to comprehend.
Madam Speaker, as the tragedy unfolded over the weekend, I made a call to the Victorian Premier, John Brumby, to offer my condolences and to tell him that the people of the Northern Territory would stand by the people of Victoria, and assure him that we would make available the resources of our Police, Fire and Emergency Services and other agencies, where required, to assist wherever and however we can. It is something that the Territory understands from our own history of disasters. It is something we are committed to dealing with and that is compassion and with heartfelt solidarity with our fellow Australians.
Following an official request for assistance yesterday, four Northern Territory Police forensic experts, two from Darwin and two from Alice Springs, will be departing for Victoria today. Northern Territory Police are recognised for expert skills in disaster recovery following a number of tragic incidents including the Bali bombings. Our Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Services and Northern Territory Emergency Services have been engaging in regular national telephone conferences with the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council to clarify resource requirements. The Fire and Rescue Services has a designated liaison officer on standby to fly to Melbourne and an additional two members are also on standby to establish a Northern Territory contingent.
In the Northern Territory we have often benefited from the excellent support delivered by the Australian Defence Force at times of crisis. I think back to the Katherine floods as a good example. This crisis is no exception with more than 200 Defence personnel assembled to provide specialist and emergency support including clearing roads, searching houses and erecting tents. I note that the ADF swung into action yesterday with heavy equipment from Puckapunyal, moving to the fire threatened town of Yea. I commend the great support that Defence is providing.
The Victorian government and Australian government have together donated an additional $4m to establish a Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund. On behalf of all Territorians and the NT government, I have pledged $500 000 to the fund. I take this opportunity to draw to the attention of members of this House and members of the broader community that individuals and organisations wishing to make a donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal fund can go to www.redcross.org.au or call the toll free number 1800 811 700. My government is encouraging Northern Territory public sector employees to support the appeal and arrangements have been made to allow public sector employees to contribute donations through the Department of Business and Employment’s Payroll Services. All donations will be made to the Darwin Division of Red Cross, which has confirmed that 100% of all donations will go towards the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
Private sector organisations which have contributed to the appeal include the banks, NAB, ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac with $1m each; and Wesfarmers, owners of Bunnings and Coles, $500 000. I congratulate these companies on their generosity and hope that many more will follow their lead.
Northern Territorians are known for their generosity and already we are hearing of individual commitments from within our community such as Tony Milhinhos who has set up a fundraising activity at his Nightcliff Shopping Centre where he will match dollar-for-dollar, up to $0.5m, donations which shoppers make at his shopping centre. We all know Tony is an incredibly generous businessman, a part of our community. As he said today in an article in the newspaper, he lost everything during Cyclone Tracy - he lost his business, he lost everything. The generosity of Australians helped him to rebuild and since that time he has spent a large part of his life donating back to Australians who supported him as an immigrant to this country.
I congratulate Tony and everyone else because I know right around the Northern Territory as we move into the week, across workplaces, across sporting groups, community groups, clubs, schools - even the children at Wanguri Primary School. I just met with them upstairs and they are having a mufti day on Friday to raise money for the appeals. Right across the Northern Territory everyone is going to be doing what they can. I commend all Territorians at this time of great national tragedy for the support I know we will give our fellow Australians.
We are a proud nation of Australians who live on a vast continent and in a variety of environments and climates, and we dearly love this country. However, at times its climate can turn upon us in unforgiving and disastrous ways. In the Territory we experience cyclones, floods and bushfires and we understand the pain caused by such natural disasters.
In closing, whilst the weather has improved in the last 24 hours with cooler temperatures, around 4000 personnel are still in the field fighting around 30 fires still burning across Victoria threatening communities. People are still trying to escape the flames and protect their families and properties. Our thoughts are with those affected and with the brave firefighters who stood in the path of fires in an attempt to halt their progress. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the hundreds of other volunteers who are helping their fellow Australians in these hours of need.
Madam Speaker, I am sure honourable members will join with me today in offering our deepest condolences to the people of Victoria and those who have lost family members, friends and loved ones.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I rise to support this condolence motion and acknowledge that it is difficult times which define character; and this is an enormously difficult time. It defines the character of our nation. To listen to those who have the opportunity to speak, those whom we respond to who have suffered such profound loss, we have a defining of character as Australians across this great land reach their hands out in support and comfort and to do whatever they can. These few words spoken in this place are but an expression of that sentiment, that desire, that defining of national character spoken here in the Northern Territory of support for those who suffer loss.
For those who battle alongside of those who have suffered profound and extraordinary loss. For those who are in the burns units, the hand of comfort extended to the 400 to 500 people who are suffering serious burns, who are confused and suffering enormous, unbelievable pain, as anyone who has suffered burns would know. To those who have suffered the loss of loved ones and endured extraordinary pain and horrific memories, may those who stand around them be reinforced by the support and expression of the character of a nation. We join in prayer, in support and generosity to find whatever we can do to ease their terrible burden.
I am encouraged, for last night one of our senior citizens found my number and phoned. He said: ‘Terry, I have a fridge full of food; they can have it all’. I said: ‘Bless you’. They need cash, they need money, they need blood’. ‘They can have my blood,’ he said. The queues at Red Cross of those who want to contribute were impressive, and define the character of this great nation.
For those who know the beauty of Marysville, and have visited that place - there have been weddings held there, there have been conferences; it is a place most know. The beauty of that place has become a place of terror. I received an e-mail yesterday from a former student telling me of her marriage in Dubbo in New South Wales. The family comes from Marysville. The family attended the wedding except for, I understand, one of the uncles. He stayed in Marysville and helped coordinate those who were suffering the terror of the destruction of a place of beauty on the oval while the rest of the family were celebrating until they received the horrific news of what had happened in Marysville. It goes to show that, in one way, this nation is connected. We all have a relationship one way or another, whether it is someone in this Chamber or someone in our networks, it will all come when we recognise that we are connected one way or another.
That is why, in this land of great beauty and of terror, that the defining of character is expressed through our generous giving. I commend the government and the Chief Minister for a prompt response. It was heartening to hear that response announced on Sunday. I felt proud of that expression of support extended so promptly from this government, from the Northern Territory, finding what we can do to assist.
The memory of our nation is etched with Ash Wednesday and Black Friday. For those who have longer memories, we have heard the stories of those times. Now will be added another etching on the national memory.
As an indulgence, I share this story to reinforce of our resolve to continue to extend the hand of support to those who are suffering, particularly from burns, because it is ongoing pain, year upon year – a painful recovery.
Nearly five years ago, my nephew and his friend were working on my brother’s farm and were caught in a bushfire. They could not get their vehicle started and they were not sure what to do. They buried themselves in the bottom of the vehicle to shelter in the vehicle from the fire that was out of control and circling all around them. The vehicle was consumed in flames. My nephew’s friend was killed. My nephew, to this day, has had surgery upon surgery. The family has seen the terror that has been visited upon the family. It is almost impossible to talk to our nephew about what he felt at that time. Still, it is not really spoken about, the terror of fire, and to this day, surgery upon surgery, the disfigurement remains.
Now 400 or 500 people have experienced that. Let us not lift our hand to support. Let us extend it and continue to extend it for those who are suffering the pain and the after effects.
It was almost 100 years ago that Dorothea Mackellar wrote those famous words. As the Chief Minister said, this great land is a land we love. At one end of this continent we have floods and loss, and we have fire at the other end. We love our country, and we are proud of the opportunity to see our character further defined by the way in which we respond and will continue to do so. In the words of Dorothea Mackellar, there is a beauty and there is a terror:
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!
Madam Speaker, our condolences to the lost.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I join with members of this Assembly to extend my condolences to the communities in Victoria which have experienced such devastating loss and, indeed, the communities which are still battling to prevent further loss. My deepest condolences to the families who have suffered in these horrendous bushfires raging through Victoria.
The Territory has always extended above the normal generosity. I know, recalling the horrific Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria, per capita, Territorians extended more in financial support to the Victorians than any other part of the nation. I believe this comes from our understanding of loss in the Territory, whether it is the horrendous loss that many of us experienced through Cyclone Tracy, and the people of Katherine from the floods, and in Central Australia they have had their periods of drought as well.
It is an unbelievable tragedy that has been unfolding in Victoria. I commend the Chief Minister for his swift action in extending the support of our tremendous Police, Fire and Emergency Services. That logistical support is essential when you are battling something on such an enormous scale. The people at the front line are experiencing extreme conditions and endless hours of hard work. They go for days with very little sleep. Getting that logistical backing and support is critical. The financial support, the $500 000 donation, it is a small amount of money, but it is an important gesture to stand beside our Victorian counterparts and say we are here and we are willing to help in this time of enormous tragedy.
Kinglake is a community I know well. I spent many years working in the region. I know many families in the region. I am very concerned about their wellbeing. It is difficult for people trying to reach and find out how people are. I know the area above Kinglake and Flowerdale. The country around there is magnificent and beautiful. My heart goes to the families of that region. They are a generous community in Kinglake. I know that the experiences that they have been through are beyond comprehension, in the enormity of how horrendous they are.
Those 400 fires ripping through Victoria is almost inconceivable, and the extreme weather, with temperatures in the high 40Cs, and fires spreading at speeds of 120 km/h. How do you confront that? I know the authorities were working as hard as they could to get warnings to people but it was the sheer speed and ferocity of the fires that has left a horrendous wake of many deaths and, as the Chief Minister has said, our gravest concern may be realised, that there may indeed be a much higher toll.
As the Leader of the Opposition has pointed out, not only do you have the fatalities, but you have the burns victims who will go through enormous suffering and pain. We are a nation that has become a world leader in dealing with burns victims through experience - horrendous experience - and the methods these days are far better than what we had around the time of the Ash Wednesday fires. Burns victims carry scars not just physically, but emotionally for the rest of their lives. It affects everything about the way they go through the rest of their lives. In the Kinglake area I have worked with families who carried burns from the Ash Wednesday fires, where they had gone and fought across other areas of Victoria.
I do not think that there is anyone in this Chamber or in the gallery today who would not be feeling the effect of this horror that has been unfolding in Victoria. I know that we will be extending our heartfelt compassion to the families, to those who have lost their lives, but the families, the victims who remain, and for those of us who have been through a natural disaster and lost property, that is no small loss either. I know the impact it had on my family to lose everything we owned in Cyclone Tracy and the decades that it took to rebuild our shattered lives after that disaster, because whilst you are trying to build your home, you have lost all of your possessions, you no longer have your family photos, for example, but you also know loved ones that you have lost. This will be the experience of those communities in Victoria.
For those who have survived, they have the unenviable task of rebuilding from nothing into shattered communities where they will know many who have died, and they will know many more who are suffering horrendous burns. This is no easy task. There are sociological studies that show decades later, the impact that has had on families. Divorce rates, for example, when they did studies after Cyclone Tracy, had gone through the roof. It puts families under enormous additional pressure and many buckle.
But as you have heard from the Chief Minister, there are those incredible stories of survival and resilience, the courage of the people and their capacity to risk their lives for others. These same people will turn that courage to rebuilding their lives, their communities and assisting in every way they can despite having been left with nothing themselves, assisting their neighbours and assisting in their community. That was my experience in what I witnessed in Darwin after Cyclone Tracy.
I hope, together with everyone I am sure in the Chamber or in the gallery, that Territorians dig deep to contribute because it takes an enormous amount of resources to rebuild that extent of devastation. I congratulate the generous Territorians we have seen coming forward, people like Tony Milhinhos, with his dollar-for-dollar pledge at Nightcliff Shopping Centre, and the many Territory businesses and members of the community who are stepping up with their group fundraising activities, whether it be the school kids to the offices - we show our strength of community in times of horror and adversity such as the Victorian bushfires now. So far, the nation has pledged more than $11m to the Victorian Bushfires Appeal. I know that as the horror continues to dawn on people, to genuinely understand, that amount will rise.
The fires are still burning in Victoria, the battles continue and, as I said, we gravely fear that tragic death toll will rise significantly. As we have heard, the shattered lives and the burns victims will have to deal with the horror for a very long time to come and, for many, the rest of their lives.
Our thoughts are with the workers who have been out there risking their own lives; the Police, Fire and Emergency Services; the Defence personnel and the many volunteers who risk their lives to save their communities from that devastating force of fire. Many people say that fire is the most horrendous of all the natural disasters to deal with. I have not experienced it, but in talking to the survivors of Ash Wednesday, with whom I worked closely, I can well imagine that that is the case.
Our thoughts are with the health workers and the social workers who will need to deal with those long-term consequences of the victims of the fires, dealing with the trauma that will go on for years. My thoughts are with those who are recovering from horrendous burns in those burns units and for the staff who will be working tirelessly in the health system to assist them through that recovery.
My prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and the communities which are shattered. They have shown enormous resilience and they will have courage, and they will come back from this horror. It is with the support of Territorians and the support of people right across our nation that is most needed now. I urge everyone to support in whatever way they can. Our government stands ready to support in every effort to help the shattered communities in Victoria. Our deepest condolences to the people of Victoria.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I support this condolence motion by the Chief Minister and I believe it is important for this House to do so. It might seem that it does not mean much, but I am sure the people of the Northern Territory will appreciate it and, more so, the people of Victoria and the whole nation.
It is a tragedy of immense proportion not seen before in peace time, as the Chief Minister mentioned, and perhaps not comparable to anything overseas. The only thing that has probably surpassed it in tragedy is the bombing of Darwin; but as we know that was during war time.
The toll is alarming and distressing. We know that there may be more to be found who have perished. The impact on the communities, on the people, on the state of Victoria is immeasurable. For every person that we as a country have lost, there could be 10-plus people who will be affected by the loss of one person: relatives, friends, grandmas, grandpas, uncles, brothers, sisters, sporting teams. Across the nation everyone will be touched by the loss and the tragedy in Victoria.
Some of them were very small communities that will be in mourning. The state of Victoria is in mourning, and as a nation we are in mourning, across the country and overseas. People have been lost forever, but their memories will never be lost. The pictures we have seen on television and also in newspapers do look like a war zone, there are no other words to describe it, and we know that with war zone-type photographs you do get enormous loss. People are suffering. The shock is visible not only on those who have lost, but on those who have survived.
Most, if not all, the people who live in those regions would know about bushfires, they would have had training, and they would have had their own fire management plans. I rang a friend who lives in the region, but not impacted, and she said from a young age they had certain things drilled into them with regards to bushfires: never get in the tanks, never get in the pools, never get in bathtubs, do this, do that. What caught people by surprise, including the authorities, was the ferocity and the speed. The combination was deadly, with high temperatures, low humidity, winds and, of course, mountains. There is a saying in the firefighting world that ‘black is your friend’. Generally, that is true. However, in this case, the black is not the friend as that reveals more tragedy, more losses as the authorities go through houses and ruins and find lost people.
The Deputy Chief Minister mentioned that we should not underestimate the impact on the rescuers and those who are helping: the firies, the ambulance officers, the health workers, the police who have to go in and sift through the ruins of houses and communities. We need to have them in our thoughts, memories and prayers as well.
As the Territory, we will be reaching out, as is the nation, to touch the people who have lost so much, to lend a helping hand when we can, or just to have a quiet prayer for them. I and my family went through Cyclone Tracy and probably, comparatively, a cyclone is predictable even though you do not quite know what is happening. Quite obviously, fire is not predictable; it makes its own patterns and is a force unto itself. I know the support that we received after Cyclone Tracy from the nation, and it was enormous, both financially and in goods. I know that the nation is going to do the same, if not more, for the people of Victoria. Football clubs, sporting groups, the cricket team - I had an e-mail from Coles Myers, as I suppose everyone else did. They are contributing their profits from a day from across their stores across the country.
People will rebuild their lives, will rebuild their communities but it will be slow and painful. Whichever way and however we can help them, I know that we will through support, encouragement, love, caring and, perhaps goods and financially - whichever way is appropriate is what people will do.
I know that my electorate will be extending their sympathies and condolences through me to the people of Victoria. My electorate is a rural electorate, as members would know, and we, too, have fires but nothing compares to what Victoria has had. The volunteers in my electorate, of which there are many - and also in the member for Nelson’s electorate - would be understanding of and feeling for their compatriots in Victoria. From my memory, we have not actually lost people in the rural area but we have definitely lost property and animals. Once we get through the tragedy and it has unfolded and we will really have a clear picture, it is only then that we can start to rebuild and start to lend a healing hand for those who have lost so much.
My condolences to all the people of Victoria and those who have suffered loss.
Mr KNIGHT (Local Government): Madam Speaker, I also pay my respects and condolences to the families and the people affected by the Victorian bushfires.
It has been an evolving set of circumstances over the last few days. On Sunday, I was travelling home and speaking to some people and giving them the update. There were around 40 dead at that time. We were astounded at that level. Here we are today and it is creeping closer to the 200 mark. The number of people who have died is absolutely astounding and with 5000 people homeless, the scale of this disaster in Victoria is truly staggering.
It does have particular relevance to me, with a bush and rural electorate with areas that I have worked around and visited over my time as the local member. It makes me think about those people in Victoria, predominately in the rural area with 20-acre blocks, large blocks, with a lot of vegetation on them and small house sites. Often here is a lot of gamba grass. We all know the problems with gamba grass, which can burn hotter than an oxy torch when it is fully dry. When I think about the people in Victoria, I think about the people in my electorate who are in similar precarious situations.
I also think about the volunteer groups. The Bushfire Council brigades throughout the Northern Territory do an absolutely fabulous job. The bushfire brigades are all volunteers who give their time and sometimes they give their own money. They dip into their own pocket and they use their own vehicles. At times they leave their families to fight fires for their neighbours or people in completely different regions, to try to save lives and properties. It is a great credit to them.
Also, throughout the Territory and regional towns, and the more far flung locations, you have those key workers – the police, the local nurse and the clinic and other workers like that who, with their colleagues, their counterparts in Victoria, are well and truly on the front line, experiencing some horrific scenes. My sympathies go out to them. They are incredible people who go into some very difficult circumstances.
I have spoken to various members of the bushfire brigades and they are very keen to go. They acknowledge the work that those brigades, the CFA and volunteers do, and they are ready to go. A comprehensive list of people and equipment is being compiled. As soon as the Victorian government authorities make the request for the specific labour and skills set required, and equipment, they will go.
It reminds me of Christmas 2006 when there were similar, smaller bushfires there. Smaller, I guess, in the scale of property loss and certainly of life. Only two to three lives were lost during the 2006-07 Victorian bushfires and some one million hectares was burnt out. The local bushfire brigades from around the Territory, and throughout my electorate in Batchelor and Berry Springs and those areas, volunteered their time. Around 104 volunteers left their jobs and travelled down over a period of a month. They went down in groups of 25. They took six emergency vehicles and six larger fire emergency vehicles with them. They were certainly appreciated by the Victorian authorities. These volunteers proved how capable they are. I understand it was the largest contingent of Territorians in response to a natural disaster since Cyclone Tracy. I hope the Victorian authorities make use of these volunteers as they are very good.
I also acknowledge the contribution that Territorians have made, are making, and will make fundraising for this disaster. I believe the national total is approaching $14m as I speak. It goes up $1m every hour, so it is certainly a great contribution nationally. Locally, we have the public sector, as the Chief Minister acknowledged, which is generating the ability for public servants to donate. As the Minister for Public Employment, I am gratified that the public service is responding as a group. They would know that their interstate counterparts would certainly be under a lot of pressure.
Yesterday, I spoke to the CEO of Litchfield Council, and they are looking at ways of contributing within the rural community. The rural community understands the difficulties in living in the bush, so they are looking at ways of donating either cash, goods or produce, whatever it may be, and getting that down to Victoria. I know the President, Mary Walshe, has her mind focused on that. I believe there will be a council meeting this week to look at ways of doing it, and I encourage them and I will support them any way I can. Also, local radio personality, Pete Davies on Mix FM, has been very active - he is always active in the charity sector - and he has been able to raise $40 000 from locals thus far. It is a huge contribution from individuals or groups within the Northern Territory. I know everyone is putting their mind to ways that they can raise money to contribute to those victims.
I use the word ‘victims’ cautiously, Madam Speaker. I was straightened up very early on in my career: when someone has died, they truly are a victim of a particular incident. Those people who did not die are survivors. I was told very clearly early on in my life that you should refer to these people as survivors. They have survived something and they will survive and they will continue.
In listening to all the accounts of the deaths and the level of life that has been lost, the one thing that has really brought it home to me is the loss of children. To think of infants or young children or even teenagers dying in a fire is unbelievable. It is brings it home to people who do have children: you think about that loss of life, that senseless loss of life, of these people who had so much ahead of them.
I cannot believe that many of these fires have been attributed to arsonists. I believe that no mercy should be afforded to these arsonists. People know what happens when you light fires. In that environment around Victoria in the last few weeks with the massive drying of country through high temperatures it is a wilful act of murder. They should be dealt with appropriately as murderers.
I would just like to finish on Australians in general. We are very resilient people. We have heard accounts about Cyclone Tracy and about families and individuals in Darwin who suffered significantly during that disaster and they have been resilient. They have built lives, they have built families and they have built businesses. I know that those areas of Victoria will come back. It is very much like the Australian bush as we all have known. When you do get these big fires coming through the bush it devastates them. I know that the people of those parts of Victoria, like the bush, will come back even stronger and even more glorious than before.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I support the motion, which is very difficult, as a Victorian. As has been said, this tragedy has shocked and rocked, I believe, the nation. As someone who was raised in Victoria, it is particularly difficult.
I am from Central Victoria, parts of which have been ravaged by fire. I was raised in Long Gully and Eaglehawk, both parts of Bendigo. My parents live in Eaglehawk and I have a brother in Eaglehawk. I have family and other connections in towns and regions that have been affected by the fires – Maiden Gully, Beechworth, Yackandandah, Heathcote, Benalla, Stanley, Wangaratta, Alexandra and others. Anyone raised in country Victoria knows the regions very well.
Only a few weeks ago – and this will cheer me up – I met with my parents in the Yarra Valley to see Leonard Cohen in concert. It was a wonderful weekend in a beautiful region. Parts of it have now gone and, sadly, will never be the same. The town of Marysville is very special to Victorians and anyone who has been there will know why. The landscape of my home state has changed with homes and towns razed to the ground; it really is incredible.
I am pleased to say, on a personal note, that my parents’ house has not been affected. They are interstate at the moment, and I am sure members can imagine their anxiety late on Saturday night as they heard that Bendigo and Eaglehawk were burning. Unfortunately, they are unable to return at present which, I am sure our Lord Mayor will appreciate, is a particular sadness to my mother who was once the Mayor of Eaglehawk and Mayor of Bendigo.
Late on Saturday night I rang my brother - one on my brothers lives in Eaglehawk; he has a young family and they were prepared to evacuate but, fortunately, did not need to. They could see the flames and they could smell the air thick with smoke. They had endured 48C heat on Saturday and extremely high temperatures for days beforehand, as had so many other Victorians. They were very nervous and, no doubt, very frightened. One of their friends has lost their home. We have some close family friends who have a vineyard near Heathcote and they lost some of their property in fires many years ago. On the weekend they, along with other winemakers in the area, joined together to help the owner of a winery nearby to fight the fires. I do not know whether they succeeded. Other people I know were evacuated; others are on high alert as the fires continue.
I have mentioned before in this parliament in the context of other debates that my older brother is a volunteer firefighter. He is an air attack supervisor which means he goes up in helicopters and coordinates water drops; I believe he is in the air as I speak. He has a very highly specialised role but he is, nevertheless, a volunteer and, of course, I always worry about him but I admire his courage and selflessness. There are thousands of people like him who are willing to give whatever they can to assist others - and what great work they do.
Sadly, as we know, so many people could not be saved and the death toll continues to rise. It is a tragedy of unprecedented proportion in size, of severity and impact. So many words have been said and written yet what words can adequately describe the shock and sadness we feel about this terrible, terrible tragedy?
Madam Speaker, I am not sure I have any more words other than to support the motion.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I have in my parliamentary office this clock which is not just any clock. It has a chicken coop as part of its design. It is special because I bought it at the Marysville Post Office just over four-and-a-half weeks ago. The Marysville Post Office was like many other country post offices, which not only sold stamps and envelopes but sold local art and paraphernalia; a post office which served not only the locals but the many visitors who came to enjoy the peace and beauty of the Yarra Valley region of Victoria; a place from which to send that post card saying ‘Hello from Marysville’. Marysville Post Office is no more.
Marysville had a main street lined with beautiful oak trees, with a hardware store, service station, and supermarket, the Christmas shop where just the year before I bought a nativity scene for my Howard Springs office, a toy shop and its famous lolly shop; the coffee shops and restaurants, the gift shops, the arts and crafts shops, the hairdresser - all gone. At the bottom of the main street, a small creek ran cool water down from the hills, past the football ground and the local park and, then, the beautiful houses. The guesthouses are what Marysville was famous for - no more, all gone. Nestled in the hills as they had been for many years, surviving past bushfires, but not this time. In one foul swoop, in one hot inferno, in just less than an hour - no more the Marysville I knew. Not as well as others knew it, but enough to know that this tragedy that had unfolded has forever changed this small and beautiful town.
The town was a special place for many young couples who would spend their honeymoons there. It was special for me, not because I had visited and stayed there overnight over the last couple of years, but it was where my mum and dad visited many times with their friends to get away from the city - a place to have time alone, a place to rekindle romance, a place to enjoy the company of friends. All those memories - they remain, but not Marysville.
It also had another personal connection because one usually drove through Marysville to get to my brother’s place just up the road near the little town of Buxton. Perched halfway up the side of the steep hill overlooking the nearby valley is his house. He had built it some years ago as a retreat from Melbourne. He designed it to stand up against bushfires, with double glazing on the windows, screens to stop leaves falling in the gutters, and sprinklers around the house fed by a pump in a nearby dam. He did not know the fire was coming that Saturday. Although the police had evacuated everyone else they missed him. So, he stayed and the fire raged up the slope towards his house. The pump failed, and all he had left was a knapsack on his back to put out flying embers which threatened to burn the house down. The fire passed over; his sheds and tractor destroyed, his car and house amazingly left intact. However, more miraculously, he survived.
Then there were my good friends, Philip and Helen Clancy, who live at Kilmore, only a few kilometres away from where the fires started at Kilmore East. I had stayed with them at the beginning of January this year. The country was the best I had seen it, and had a shade of green, though that can be deceptive, as we know now. Luckily, the Kilmore East fire went north, not west, and their farm was not under threat. However, the Clancys were like so many in country towns throughout Australia and the Northern Territory. Phil, as a member of the local fire brigade, manned a local command post for the area, and still was doing that late last night when I rang, while Helen and family baked cakes and prepared food to give to the fire crews and helicopter pilots. The Clancys would have been doing what many other country people would have been doing: helping others in times of need. It was hard to believe, as I wrote this condolence motion last night, that it was raining - in fact, pouring monsoon, heavy rain. Oh, if they in Marysville and some of those other towns only had some of that rain before Saturday.
My brother was one of the lucky ones. We all know the numbers who were not so lucky. Marysville is now totally closed as a crime scene, with already 12 dead. I wonder if the lady at the Post Office who sold me the clock was one of them. Perhaps I will never know. I live thousands of kilometres away and, in a way, I would not have expected to have been affected, not in the same way as the many people who have lost their loved ones, their homes and farms, their livelihoods.
However, I am affected like many others because we are all part of this country - a country that has a tradition of floods and drought, of fire and rain. ‘We'll all be rooned,’ said Hanrahan. Only this time, it was a fire that even Hanrahan would not have believed.
This is not about state boundaries; it is about a commonality we share as Australians. We are Australians, and a tragedy such as this brings us together and makes us realise the common bonds we do have. When tragedy strikes as it did last weekend, it strikes us all no matter how far we live from the fires. We all weep. In the Territory, we know tragedy can strike quickly, as with Cyclone Tracy, and people responded from all over Australia. This is far worse than Cyclone Tracy so we should do our best to help those Australians who now need our prayers and our practical help to ease the pain that they are now suffering. I am sure all Territorians will give generously.
Madam Speaker, when I see this clock hanging on the wall in my room it will forever be the permanent memory in my mind of the events that I have just seen and heard - a memory I will never forget. These events are not over yet as fires still burn in north-eastern Victoria and Gippsland. However, when the fires are out and the bush sprouts again, as it will, when the dead are laid to rest, when the living have time to grieve, when the brave firefighters have rolled up their hoses, and communities start to rebuild their shattered lives, when the years move on, this clock on the wall will remind me not only of Marysville and the people who have lived there, but how lucky I am and how I should thank God for each minute of my life, because who knows when I will be called.
To those who have died, rest in peace. To those who survived, our prayers and assistance, and for those who are helping the survivors, thank you and God Bless.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, I offer my condolences to the victims and to the community of Victoria. I also offer my condolences on behalf of Central Australians, Alice Springs and all the Indigenous communities around Central Australia. I thank you, Chief Minister, for being very prompt in offering the hand of Territorians to these people.
As the member for Araluen said, we can talk about these issues, but these are very hurtful and painful events that have happened. We are a unique and, in some ways, very funny people. When there is tragedy, there is love that falls out of us like the river flows, like the ocean that we see out here. Every other day, we lock ourselves in our homes and attend to our immediate families and do not really knock on the door of our neighbours and talk to them as they walk past. It is tragedies like this that bring us together and actually show the rest of the world that we are a unique group of Australians, that we do care about our brothers and sisters in time of need, whether they are black or white. We should never underestimate the power of passion and love that we give out in this time as human beings, and we have seen this in this very tragic time.
I thank all volunteers, hospital staff, firies, ambulance officers, and ordinary men and women who have volunteered their time to bake cakes, make cups of tea, be a friend, just be the shoulder for someone to cry on, be that shoulder to listen to other people’s pain and grief.
I ask, as Australians, as Territorians, that we reflect and pray as a nation for the victims and survivors of this tragedy. I sincerely, as a Territorian, pass on my condolences to everyone in Victoria.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I support today’s motion. Words sometimes do not come to mind, and some people can articulate words very well. For these times, sometimes words are not enough.
I am from Victoria originally. I was born in Swan Hill and spent much of my time in Victoria. I have a brother who is a paramedic there, my mum and dad live north of Melbourne, and my sister and her husband are both police officers. They are going through a time of extreme challenge at the moment.
I congratulate the Chief Minister. As the Leader of the Opposition said, it was absolutely wonderful to have you come out so early and to provide, not only monetary contributions towards this tragedy, but also to help with resources and people trained in specific vocations that can be dearly used at the moment in Victoria.
It is at times like these, as the Opposition Leader has said, that brings out the character of Australians. We are a funny race and, as the member for Macdonnell said, we are a strange bunch of people. We find it very easy to pick on little things, whether it is your neighbour, whether it is if we have lost power for 10 minutes, an hour or a day. Yet in times like this we come together as a nation and it brings out an absolutely wonderful character that I believe is at the absolute foundation of this nation.
I acknowledge those people who have given so much and hope that more give in future. I acknowledge, in particular, my sister, Robyn and Tim, her husband. As I said, they are both police officers. Rob is working in the communications area at the moment and with just on 20 years’ service with the Victorian Police, it is the first time I have heard my sister break with that sort of emotion, with the stories that she has been made aware of. Tim is part of the forensic crew that are going from house to house, from car to car. The stories that are coming out - I believe the media can only do so much and there are so many areas at the moment that we are not seeing and there are some absolute tragic stories that will come out in the next few days, in the next few weeks, and over the coming months.
What people went through – the fear, the terror – I am sure none of us want to experience. The member for Goyder said earlier the temperature, the humidity and the wind had all come together. I do not like using those terms such as ‘the perfect storm’, but this is certainly what happened across Victoria. The winds, perhaps unprecedented, at a time when temperatures had gone to unbearable heights, and to see vision of fire going across plains of dry grass, and up mountain sides, quicker than a galloping horse could get away from it - what hope did people have?
Many of the rules will perhaps be rewritten on how we manage in a situation like this. I know the rules of when a bushfire approaches your house was to stay in the house and yes, the houses would probably catch fire, but you would then have a chance to get out afterwards. I am sure many perhaps listened to that advice and did just that. But this was a different storm. This was a fire storm pushed by winds in excess of 100 km/h and it took everything in its wake. I do not think even the best advice is going to help in a situation like that. A gentleman on the television only yesterday said: ‘It would not have mattered if we were given a warning to move out. It would not have mattered if we had stayed. It just came too quickly’. As I said, the record books may be rewritten.
I also saw, which just adds to the situation, farmers going through their properties and putting down animals – sheep and others – that had also been burnt in this tragic time. And not to take away from the grief of losing people, there are so many wild and domestic animals as well as farm animals that have suffered as well. That compounds the situation even more.
For the people who have passed away, our prayers can go with them and, other than to pray, there is not a lot more we can do for those. For the people who have survived, that is where we can help. We have, and I know we will continue to help. My condolences to all in Victoria. This does not only go to the communities that have been directly affected, but to others who are also affected by the tragedy.
Mr HAMPTON (Sport and Recreation): Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues on both sides of the House in offering my heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of all of those who have perished in the Victorian bushfires. I also send my best wishes for a speedy recovery to all of those who have been injured.
Even though in the Territory we are no strangers to national disasters from Cyclone Tracy to the Katherine floods, through to the drought in the Barkly and the bushfires in Central Australia, the scale of this tragedy is almost incomprehensible. The images we have seen on television and in the newspapers are absolutely horrifying. The stories we are hearing are tragic and heart-rending. All of us in this place have connections with Victoria and Victorians, be they family, friends or colleagues. There are no six degrees of separation. The fire scenes may be thousands of kilometres away, but this is happening to our fellow Australians, and I am very proud of how Territorians are rallying to help.
As Territorians, we love our footy; it is something that we have in common with Victorians. As well as being passionate footy fans, Territorians are also compassionate Australians. When the idea was raised with me to move Friday’s Darwin AFL NAB Cup game back to Melbourne as a fundraiser, I agreed immediately. It is one immediate way we, as Territorians, can give to the bushfire disaster relief, and my office has already had positive feedback that this was the right thing to do. It is also worth noting what our national sporting teams are doing: the Australian Cricketers are donating their match fees from today’s one-day international against New Zealand; the Socceroos will wear black armbands when they take on Japan tomorrow, while the Football Federation has made a substantial cash donation. I have contacted the office of the Victorian Minister for Sport, the Hon James Merlino, to pass on the Northern Territory’s condolences and best wishes.
As Australians, we all want to do what we can to help in tough times. In Central Australia, individuals are digging deep and many businesses are showing their support. The local radio station, 8HA, has swung into action with an appeal for donations of clothes and toys; and local company, Talbot Transport, has offered to get the goods to Victoria. Businesses and organisations such as Outback Automotive, Linfox, Central Communications, Cartridge World, Bendigo Bank, the Centralian Advocate, Yeperenye Shopping Centre, and Araluen Christian College have all volunteered to be drop-off and collection points for goods and money. The local takeway, Red Rooster, is running an appeal, and I have been told that many local sporting clubs will be passing the hat around at fixtures on the weekend in Alice Springs. I also feel for the Victorian cricketers currently competing in the Imparja Cup tournament in Alice Springs.
Madam Speaker, I am proud that the Northern Territory clubs are showing generous support for the bushfires appeal, and are aiming to raise $50 000. I am told they have already reached the $35 000 mark and, on Friday night, clubs around the Northern Territory will be donating a percentage of their turnover to bushfire victims. Territorians are looking for ways to help our southern cousins, and as always, will do what it takes.
Finally, I would like to remind Territorians here this morning in the galleries or those listening, that they can make a donation to the 2009 Victoria Bushfire Appeal Fund by phoning 1800 811 700.
Madam Speaker, at this difficult time, all those affected by this tragedy are in our thoughts and in our prayers.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Katherine): Madam Speaker, I pass on my sincerest condolences to the victims and to the families, and to all those people who are affected by the bushfires in Victoria.
Like many of my parliamentary colleagues, I represent an electorate which has both urban and rural folk and their associated blocks of land. In fact, I am a landowner also with a rural block just on the outskirts of Katherine. I often think about the difficulties we all face on a day-to-day basis and I hark back a few years ago when a bushfire raced across my block. It took me, together with several of the local bushfire council volunteers, six hours to put it out. It was a hard six hours and we worked hard at it. Then I think to the tragedy that is unfolding before us today and what I went through just pales into insignificance. There was simply no comparison.
Part of the problem we have living so far away from this tragedy is that the television reports we see and all the information we are receiving makes the whole thing almost surreal. Without being physically there, it is very difficult to imagine the suffering, the intensity and the absolute tragedy of this horrible occurrence in Victoria.
I love living in the Northern Territory and there are many reasons for that love. I would share that with many people who live in the Northern Territory. I specifically refer to the people who live in the Top End, and perhaps all the people who live in the northern tropics of Australia. Unfortunately, living in the tropics can bring with it the threat of natural disasters and one of those is the ever-present possibility of a cyclone.
For the people of rural Victoria, I imagine that they would share a love of living in their particular part of the world. I can only imagine that one of the reasons they would live there is because they love living in the bush. It is sad that what we love so much about the place we live in can also bring with it such disaster. It is sad and rather poignant that the bush in Victoria that people love so much has been the bringer of such horrible tragedy to the people, with the bushfires.
Madam Speaker, much that can be said I believe has been said in this House today. On behalf of the people of Katherine, the people in my electorate, I offer to all the people in Victoria who are suffering to any degree in relation to the bushfires our deepest and sincerest sympathy.
Mr McCARTHY (Transport): Madam Speaker, it is with a mixture of shock and disbelief, empathy and sadness that I support this condolence motion. The effects of such devastation will, undoubtedly, be felt by Victoria and our nation for many years to come.
This is a national disaster which affects each one of us. In the Territory, families are gathering together what they can – money, clothes, toys, tinned food; trucking companies have donated their services and offered to pack and transport donated items to the people who need them in Victoria; members of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association have offered their homes and accommodation to any of those affected families who not only need a place to stay but also need to get away from the devastation and be given the chance to plan and rebuild their lives. Fodder has also been offered to the farmers who have lost everything and have nothing left to feed their important animals, which are also their livelihood. In these most awful, incomprehensible circumstances, Territorians and Australians are pulling together.
Through this condolence motion, in a small way we are able to join together and demonstrate our willingness to help those we can.
In the Barkly, we are used to the fire season, and we know what bushfire brings with it. In Tennant Creek, there are two legends. The first legend is of the gold. The second legend is of the support that Tennant Creek provided to Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. That reflects the Territory, and we have heard that time and time again in this House today. We stand as proud Territorians on that.
Members today have mentioned burns survivors. If you have been in a burns ward, then you will share what was said today in this House, and you will appreciate the ongoing nature of burns and the challenges that burns survivors face in their daily lives for years to come. It was mentioned very succinctly by the Leader of the Opposition: the challenges of the families of burns survivors and what they will face. We must acknowledge that and remember those people in our thoughts and in our prayers.
I commend the Northern Territory government and the Chief Minister for leading the way. I commend the business community of the Northern Territory and celebrate their generosity. I commend the ordinary Territorians and Australians who, out of tragedy, will come together and have come together to support our fellow Australians in rebuilding.
The irony that I share with members today is of the Australians who choose to live in our beautiful environment and in our bush that they suffered when our beautiful country goes through a vicious cycle of destruction. Out of that I offer prayers and sincere condolences from myself, from the people of Tennant Creek, and from the Barkly. I am proud to share in this motion this morning.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I listened very carefully to the comments by the Chief Minister, particularly in relation to the desperate measures taken by individuals who sought to protect themselves with wet blankets. It set in mind something I had read. It was a quote which I would like to read into the Parliamentary Record:
Madam Speaker, that is not a description that is entirely different from what we have heard from the Chief Minister in his address to this House today. That quote was from a person by the name of Lothar Metzger who was a victim of the Dresden firestorm. The Dresden firestorm was a product of a deliberate attempt to set fire to a city using incendiary weapons. It was so successful it killed tens upon tens of thousands.
The descriptions I have heard from people in the last few days, and the description here from the Chief Minister today, have not been at all different to the quote which I just read in to the Parliamentary Record.
The fires that have started burning in Victoria are truly beyond the description of the English language.
The fires burning to the height of five-story buildings; the fires burning with such intensity and firestorms reaching temperatures exceeding 1500C; the fires moving through the canopies of trees because the unburnt material thrown up in smoke has collected in those canopies and has accumulated enough oxygen go off more like an explosion than a fire and tear through those canopies is truly horrible.
Small wonder so many people were caught. Small wonder so many people were trapped in their cars, because fires that move at speeds in excess of 100 km/h are not something that can be easily escaped from.
I have been tracking, even whilst we were sitting here today, on news.com, the news as it is coming in across the wire. It states that police have a suspect - I believe in custody, I am not sure. If, indeed, that is true, then I certainly hope that the normal systems of justice that operate in our society will continue to operate, and that this person, if charged, receives a fair trial. May I say, that if that person is, indeed, found guilty of an offence of causing the deaths of these people, then, from my position, I would urge the sentencing judge to show no leniency and no consideration in mitigation whatsoever and come down upon this individual or any individual like them, with such ferocity, that the message that is sent from the courts in relation to this matter is unmistakeable in its swiftness.
One has to remember that the person who deliberately set this fire, if it was indeed deliberately lit, has killed more people than Martin Bryant managed to do in Tasmania a few years ago. These homicides are a direct and foreseeable consequence of what has occurred when you deliberately set a fire. Without trying to turn a condolence motion into a call for retribution, this is a message that needs to be sent and sent clearly.
I listened to what the member for Nelson had to say and I thought about what the forest will look like today, what the forest of Victoria will look like in two weeks time. Some rain will fall at some point in the near future in those areas and then the forest floor will start to sprout and you will start to see small green plants trying to push their way through. Many trees will not survive a fire storm of that ferocity but some will and some seeds will start to sprout. It is the very nature of life that even when you are almost expunged entirely from a particular area, that life still finds a way to renew itself, regenerate and recover. That point will also come. Our species have adopted that particular path of nature and we, too, will sprout and Victorians will sprout and begin to grow anew into the future.
I hope that those Victorians who are survivors and who live in these areas take heart from that fact and that there is recovery and that in the future they will be able to rebuild their lives. It will not be like as it was before, it never is. Darwin after Cyclone Tracy was not anything like Darwin before Cyclone Tracy. But there is hope and there is life and there is a passion for the future that resonates through the human condition. I fully expect, and I know, that that passion and that hope will yet again come to the surface in Victoria and that Victorians and Australians will recover from this process and make the most of it.
My condolences to those people who have lost their loved ones, and my condolences to the people of Victoria.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I rise today to also support this condolence motion and to offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the people of Victoria who have suffered beyond belief in the wake of bushfires which have ravaged their communities and destroyed and devastated so many lives.
In my 46 years I have witnessed, along with other Australians some of the most awful and devastating events inflicted upon innocent people – men, women and children – by nature and by man. They include but are certainly not limited to the Granville train disaster, Cyclone Tracy, the Ash Wednesday bushfires, the Port Arthur massacre, the landslide in the ski resort of Thredbo, the destruction of the twin towers in New York and the Bali bombings. Any loss of life whether at the hands of nature or man, is difficult to grapple with and come to terms with but when it is on such a large scale and the losses become so far-reaching, well, it becomes incomprehensible.
Here we have unfolding before us the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. And all the more painful because the extraordinary forces of nature, in this case, once unleashed were quite literally ignited by fellow human beings. It is this element that makes the grief and the anger and the disbelief all the more palpable.
Can I say, like so many others that I struggle to find the words, the right words to express my shock and sorrow and disbelief that so many people have been affected.
It is a disbelief that has captured the attention of all Territorians and all Australians. The magnitude of the horror has brought condolences from people far and wide including Queen Elizabeth, prime ministers and other world leaders to express their shock, their dismay, their grief and their sadness as well as their admiration for the courage and resilience of victims, survivors, volunteers and communities.
The figures are staggering. More than 170 confirmed dead with that figure continuing to rise and many people missing, unaccounted for. More than 750 properties lost, thousands upon thousands of hectares burnt out, and more than 4000 homeless. There are people who have lost everything except the clothes they stand in, people who have lost hope and faith. The cost of these losses becomes immeasurable – the cost of land and businesses built up over lives and generations and the cost of a precious life. It is the human toll which is immeasurable.
We have all kept close to a television or a radio where and when we can to try to understand and come to terms with this disaster. We have seen shocking images of towns and streets razed to the ground, burnt out cars huddled together in the midst of an escape, and heard the heart-breaking stories of people who have lost everything, lost a loved one, lost neighbours and who, through their tears say things like: ‘This is my worst nightmare’, or ‘Try to think of the worst day in your life and times it by 10’, and ‘We did everything right, we did everything we were supposed to do in this situation but we have still lost it all’. And quite typical in these sorts of disasters are the feelings of guilt of those who have survived – through courage and skill and sheer luck – while their neighbours have perished. And that is not to say that those who perished were not courageous or lacking skill, but rather that fires approached with such suddenness, with such ferocity and burning a path which was so unpredictable and indiscriminate, that nothing could save them.
There are stories of death and survival which will remain etched on our psyche for sometime - like the man and his wife who survived only because they managed to crawl into a small concrete tunnel running beneath a road with a few inches of creek water running through it and whilst the fire sucked all of the oxygen as it passed over, they managed to breathe with wet t-shirts over their mouths. And the story of a woman found in her burnt out car with a few pieces of crockery she had tried to save on the seat next to her.
Madam Speaker, I pay tribute to the hundreds of people who have supported the rescue and relief efforts of this disaster: the police, fire and emergency services and defence force men and women who have worked tirelessly and courageously whether at the front line fighting fires and rescuing people or in other roles – they are also included amongst the awful tally of lost lives and lost homes; the ambulance services and hospital staff in ICUs and burns units dealing with unprecedented numbers of burns victims and the tragedy of deaths.
I pay tribute to the many charitable organisations such as Red Cross and Salvation Army and I know there are countless others, which have rallied to support. The volunteers from communities who have rallied to help in any way they can through the donation of their time, their energy, clothes and food, and amongst the most precious of gifts, their blood. The national fund for relief stands at a staggering sum of almost $14m and continue to grow.
I thank the Chief Minister for his prompt support with the contribution of $500 000 on behalf of the Northern Territory government as well as my fellow Territorians for their support. This includes the people in my electorate of Nhulunbuy who are rallying to provide support . Nhulunbuy Corporation, which is the equivalent of our local council, will be opening the local town hall on Saturday morning and coordinating the hall as a drop-off point for donation of goods such as clothes which Perkins Shipping is generously shipping to Darwin by barge free of charge. And from there I am sure, as I have heard my colleague, the member for Barkly, talk about the generosity of trucking companies, that some company will then provide free transport of these goods to Victoria. Nhulunbuy Rotary Club is also working to collect donations and forward them to the Red Cross. I know that Nhulunbuy people will give generously.
Madam Speaker, we will learn lessons from this disaster. I hope that we never see a repeat of a disaster like this and on this scale. In the meantime, I offer my sincere condolences, my hopes, my prayers and my thoughts to the people of Victoria who have lost so much in the last few days.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, I support the condolence motion. I wish to send my condolences and that of my electorate to those families and friends who have suffered great loss in Victoria. We cannot also forget those who are suffering in Queensland with the floods.
I look back on my life where I have been trained as a base firefighter when I was with the Defence Force. I look back on my training with the Bushfire Council and the responsibilities we had as the only fire service in remote communities. I look back on the time when, in the Defence Force, I willingly went to the Katherine floods and did recovery work through Katherine. I recall the foul stench that simply could not be removed. It was an amazing event and the men and women we worked with in Katherine worked tirelessly and, if they were like me, wanted never to stop working for the people who were there. We did not feel the hunger; we just continued to work.
All those experiences, I can only imagine, pale compared to those experiences of those who worked tirelessly in Victoria. The sights and the stories that I have heard have totally shocked me. I have heard stories today that have shocked me. These fires were fanned with wind that was inconceivable. We can only believe that they created a fire storm like that of a blacksmith’s furnace. Unfortunately, people had very little chance. For all their goodwill, for all their preparation, people were caught and, unfortunately, have lost their lives.
As much as we talk, we probably cannot do any justice. We cannot heal the pain that the fire officers, the police, the emergency services, the ambulance officers, the Defence personal who will continue to help will go through. The memories of the people of the community who helped out during these fire storms will never ever be erased. The healing will never be complete. As the time goes by, as the trees grow back, and the communities rebuild, their hearts will never totally heal.
They can, hopefully, take some comfort in knowing that everyone in Australia, including the Northern Territory, send their love to those people and will always give them their support, as people supported the Territory during our darkest hours of Tracy and our floods.
I would like to say one more thing. From what I have learned when I have taken trips to Queensland to speak with emergency services there, and the Red Cross in Queensland during my December trip, the Red Cross needs financial support and our blood. Both the financial support and the support of our blood will go on for many months. If you can only give your blood, part of your person, please do so. Call the Red Cross, arrange a time to give your blood, because those burns victims that have come out this disgusting and unbelievable occurrence will need your blood to help them heal. If we can give nothing more, I believe that is the most amazing thing we can do. If you do wish to donate to the many different groups that are choosing to raise money, you can do so, or you can ring Red Cross on 1800 811 700.
Madam Speaker, I send my deepest sympathy to all the people involved. Thank you, I cannot say any more.
Ms McCARTHY (Children and Families): Madam Speaker, I support this motion and express my sincere thoughts to the people of Victoria and, indeed, to those members in our own parliament who are closely associated with Victoria: to the member for Araluen and the member for Nelson for your sharing of your personal stories in regard to the impact of what is going on in Victoria.
While I may be unfamiliar with the particular communities in Victoria that have experienced such tragic events these past few days, I know I am by no means not at all unfamiliar with the sense to empathise and to sympathise with the struggles that are going on there at the moment as their communities try to come together.
On behalf of the people of Arnhem and, in particular, Groote Eylandt, and those families who I know are very connected with the Victorian community, I pay tribute to the parliament here, and to the Victorian parliament, our sincere condolences, knowing that our thoughts and prayers are very much at work right at this moment, and in particular the support of the volunteers across the Northern Territory and in Arnhem, in the support that can be given to the people of Victoria in their time of crisis.
I believe what this episode and this time in the history of this country is showing is the inspirational courage of those who have given so much to support those who are suffering. The many stories that we have heard here, and the many stories that we have seen across the television and in print, bring home to each and every Australian just what is important. What is important is how we value one another and care for one another and those we love, and those who we do not know, a universal sense of care and compassion knowing that, as an Australian community, we must all pull together. The people of Victoria can feel heartened by what is going on right across this nation, that they are not alone, that there are so many Australians who grieve with them, who wish them well, who want so much to see that they can pull through this.
It is clear that every single person in Victoria who has been a part of this experience, whether be it in their own homes, whether as firefighters on the front, they know that they have survived.
From all Australians and all Territorians, we wish them well in their survival, and those, yes, indeed, who are in the hospitals recovering and who have a road ahead of them, we share our thoughts and our prayers with them.
I would like to finally say that, while I may be unfamiliar with Victoria, I do have close family members in Woori Yallock, which is not too far from some of these communities, in my cousin, brother and his wife and daughters. We have been ringing and were in contact with them over the weekend just to make sure that they are okay. They shared with us their concerns about the flow of information around their neighbourhood. They shared with us the fact that ashes were coming down in their back yard, and while the fire at that stage was a fair way away, they were very aware of the need to have an emergency plan in place.
In some respects, we are all touched by what is going on there. I will say that there has been great inspiration shown by our politicians in the federal parliament. I express my most heartfelt thank you to the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader for showing remarkable leadership at such a high level in the grief that this country is sharing with the people of Victoria and the example that they have sent to all Australians, right across every state and every parliament, to all sides of politics. My prayers and thoughts go with the people of Victoria.
Mr STYLES (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, I support this motion of condolence. I believe that much has already been said in relation to the victims, both those who have died and those who have been seriously injured, and about those who have lost loved ones and those who are currently at hospitals supporting those who are injured. I express my sincere condolences to those people.
In particular, I acknowledge the men and women of the Victorian Country Fire Authority, the State Emergency Services, which is made up of people from all walks of life and community, to the police and ambulance services, the medical staff in hospitals, to the doctors, to the nurses, all of whom are working frantically day and night to save lives and reduce the suffering of those who have been injured.
Amongst those people there are many accidental and unsung heroes and stories will come out of those who have given so much. I sincerely believe that they share similar values to those of that other Australian group - the ANZACs - and that is when your mates are in trouble, you get up and give them a hand. There is a saying that the greatest gift of all is to lay down your life for another and tragically we have lost some firefighters and other people who have been trying to save others. That is a sacrifice we can only admire and we cannot understand the bravery that goes with that.
I have family in western Victoria who have been victims of fire over the years. I have spent many summers on that farming property. They live constantly with the fear of fire. As one grows from a very young man and over those years, when you share the time in summer, you live with that fear also. When you wake in the night to voices and things you do not know or do not understand and you get up and walk down to the kitchen and there is your father-in-law standing there next to the Country Fire Authority radio crackling in the night, and then he is pulling on a pair of trousers and suddenly you find yourself on the fire truck and off to some distant place fighting fires in the middle of the night. You also understand why the best maintained vehicle on a farming property in Victoria is the fire truck. It is so absolutely essential. You also understand the call that goes from the community when someone else is in trouble.
As a former volunteer firefighter, I understand and have experienced the fear of wild fire, it is one of the most frightening experiences that you can have in life. I have also experienced the aftermath of these sorts of events, but in a positive light, I have seen the gratitude of those who have been helped by their fellow community members.
I would just like to quote a particular song that we all sing from time to time: ‘We are one, we are Australians’. Although we cannot stand next to these people in Victoria, we can help by donating and giving our assistance to them both financially and in the gift of blood.
I offer my sincere condolences to the families and convey my utmost admiration and respect to those who are assisting to save lives and to prevent further injuries.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I commend the motion and thank the Chief Minister for bringing the motion on. I stand here personally and as an elected representative for Braitling. Personally, in that I was born and bred in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales and have gone through three rather large fires myself, without the devastation and the loss of these current Victorian fires. My father was a volunteer fireman and my brother is currently a fireman living in the Blue Mountains. I have lived in Melbourne and my heart goes out to the Victorians. Also, I have lived in Canberra during the fires there and seen the devastation in Canberra.
I stand here, as well, as the elected representative for the people of Braitling. Many people have spoken to me and raised their concerns. I want to pass on my sympathy to all Victorians, Territorians and Australians who are affected by this.
The minister for Sport raised the idea of six degrees of separation and I listened because of the notes I have here. Many people talk about the six degrees of separation, but in times of tragedy like this it is not six degrees - it comes back to one degree. There are many people in the Territory who are hurting like Victorians because there are many people in the Territory who are from interstate or grew up interstate or have worked interstate. It is very important that we remember there are people who might live in our electorates who are hurting just as badly as some people in Victoria.
I want to put it on the record that there are people in Braitling, people in Alice Springs, who send their love and their wishes, who are contributing to campaigns for donations.
There are many fundraisers as the minister for Sport mentioned earlier, and there are more being announced all the time and people continue to help. It is important that the Premier of Victoria, the Prime Minister and the federal Opposition Leader understand that the people of Braitling and Alice Springs feel the pain, and are contributing as well.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues and pass my sincere sympathy and condolences to all the people of Victoria. I come from a country that shares the history of bushfires every summer. Fortunately in my mother country, because of urbanisation, these bushfires would not result in victims, however, it was only two years ago that a severe bushfire burnt the whole of the Peloponnese and hundreds of people were killed. I remember watching satellite television from Greece when the news arrived that in a paddock they found a mother protecting her three children, all dead, from the bushfire.
I was watching television on Sunday and the events became immediate. They were not something that was happening 5000 km away. It was something that was happening in my own lounge room. I could see houses burning. I still remember years ago watching a reporter reporting on a bushfire in Victoria, and turning around and pointing at his own house going up in flames. That was happening not in Victoria, but in my own lounge room.
I know many people died and most probably more people will be found dead; many people have suffered burns, and many people lost their houses, but clearly they lost their lives. They will never find the photographs of their children when they were young; they will never find their wedding photographs; they will never find some of their mementoes they collected from their grandmother, their grandfather, some of their relatives. It is not the walls that went up in flames - their whole life went up in flames - and that is a significant trauma.
The bush will grow again. It will become green; life will come back again; people will get on with their lives. But what will come out of it is the memories we lost, the memories of the people we lost, and it is a very strong community not only Victoria but all over Australia. You are quite right, we are a funny race, and I, as an adopted Australian, an Australian by choice, I agree with you: we are a funny race. We joke about each other, but when something happens we come together.
I cannot tell you much about Cyclone Tracy, I was not here, but I heard that the support we received from other states was enormous. But I am here today, and I say we have to give all our support, our money and our blood, and if we can do either of them, I will help enormously.
My sympathy to all the victims in Victoria, my sympathy to all the families who lost loved ones, and my sympathy to all the people who lost their lives and their livelihoods.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I also extend my condolences to the many Victorians whose families have been lost, and to the Victorian government and members of parliament there, and wish them all the best for recovery. I also thank all honourable members for their contributions to this debate.
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I ask you to stand for one minute.
Members stood in silence as a mark of respect.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 12, I hereby nominate the following member to act as Deputy Chairman of Committees: Mr Michael Gunner, the member for Fannie Bay, when requested to do so by the Speaker.
Given under my hand this day this 10th day of February 2009.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, last week I briefed industry and community leaders on research and planning the government was undertaking on the Territory’s growth needs. Today I wish to do the same for this House. Last week I focused on Darwin and Palmerston and today I intend to range more broadly across land issues, in particular, around the Northern Territory.
Around the world we are seeing an unfolding picture of economic meltdown unprecedented in 80 years and, yes, the Northern Territory will be affected by this. Our economy still relies very strongly on the national economy for the greater proportion of our budget and reductions in national growth will impact on our revenue as a government. The Territory budget will be in deficit whilst we, along with governments around the world, act to stimulate the economy through government expenditure. However, unlike the rest of Australia our fundamental path is still growth and development, albeit on a rockier trajectory.
Access Economics predicts growth of 4.7% this year, slowing to 2.4% in 2009-10. This growth prediction is confirmed by our Treasury who have predicted a 4.5% for 2008-09. Importantly, key drivers like private consumption, residential dwellings investment and exports are expected to remain strong. Reductions in interest rates and lowering of inflation are also acting to ease the cost of living impact on the pockets of Territorians, although pressures still remain. I believe with good management, clever planning and hard work we will come through this crisis a strong place - the economy of choice in Australia.
Planned properly and managed well, we will turn into a nationally recognised reality our boast that the Territory is the place to be, different from the rest of the nation because of confidence, lifestyle and opportunity.
Members are aware that I am a firm believer in the axiom that a failure to plan is a plan for failure. I also believe that it is necessary to bring to our public administration better levels of forecasting, renewed thinking and new perspectives and ideas, particularly on planning. Following the August 2008 election, I immediately set in place two processes: one of those is focused on the immediate future planning for today and the medium term; the second is more focused on long-term goals.
Last August, even when the economy travelling a lot more robustly, I established the Territory Growth Planning Unit. This unit has been tasked to look at growth issues across the Territory. The unit has been able to coordinate and harness the considerable expertise that exists across Territory government agencies. I am pleased with the strong whole-of-government work that has resulted; that work is fundamentally designed to look beyond the electoral cycle. Parallel with, and complementing the work of the Territory Growth Planning Unit, has been the establishment of the development of Territory 2030. Territory 2030 will be the strategic plan for the Territory that will set directions through the next two decades.
In this ministerial statement I wish to focus on the more immediate issues resulting from research of the Territory Growth Planning Unit. What that work is showing is twofold: there is a significant population increase occurring in the greater Darwin and Palmerston area; and there is a further significant population increase occurring in remote communities. The data on the remote communities is being compiled and analysed as part of further work being done by the unit. In terms of Darwin and Palmerston, data has been collated from the 2006 census and subsequent ABS, Treasury and Charles Darwin University work. The figures I present today are based on their medium projections to 2021, and straight line projections beyond this to 2030.
Current population projections suggest that from a base of 114 000 in 2006, the greater Darwin and Palmerston population is likely to increase by 19 000 to 133 000 in 2013, and by 39 000 to 154 000 by 2021, an increase of 34%. A straight line forecast to 2030 will take the population to 177 000, an increase of 63 000 from 2006 or 55%. In 2006, the working age population was 83 000, with projections suggesting that the working age population will increase to 94 000 by 2013 and 106 000 by 2021, an increase of 27%. In 2030, the working age population in greater Darwin and Palmerston will increase to 119 000, an increase of 36 000 from 2006, or 43%.
Employment growth in greater Darwin and Palmerston in the next 10 years alone will be between 14 000 and 19 000 people. This will lead to a significant expansion in the requirement for housing. Using population size and household size data, it is estimated that there were 43 000 dwellings in greater Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield in 2006. It is further estimated that to meet growth, approximately 1700 additional dwellings at least would be required annually in the immediate future.
The kinds of housing we will require will depend on our family structures as we move forward. In 2006, 11 500 families were couples with children - 46%; 4400 families with children where single parent families - 18%; and 8800 are families consisting of childless couples as the remaining 36%.
Based on population growth between 2006 and 2021 and the percentages of family types in 2006, in 2021 there are likely to be 15 400 couples with children, 6000 single-parent families and 12 000 childless couples. In 2030, there is likely to be 18 000 couples with children, 7000 single-parent families and 14 000 childless couples.
In 2006, the population of school-aged kids, five to 19 years of age, in greater Darwin and Palmerston was 24 000. Revised population projections suggest that the population of school-aged kids will increase to 31 000 by 2021, an increase of 27%. By 2030, it will be 35 000, an increase of 11 000 from 2006 or 43%.
Although the Territory will remain the youngest jurisdiction in the nation, our population will be an ageing one, with the social advantages it gives Territory families in being close to older relatives. An ageing population also presents challenges in relation to aged care, health facilities and other service needs. In 2006, the population over 60 years of age in greater Darwin and Palmerston was 10 000 people. Population projections suggest that the population over 60 years of age will increase to 21 000 by 2021, an increase of 107%. The aged population will more than double in 12 years. 2030 will see the population over 60 years of age in greater Darwin to 28 000 people, an increase of 18 000; that is 170% from 2006.
There are, of course, factors which will affect these figures, but all of the signs are that it will be an upwards rather than a downwards revision. In projecting forward, our demographers and planners have been conservative in the expected effect of the INPEX project and in subsequent flow-on industrial expansion.
In remote communities, the population growth has been trending upwards for some time. Early evidence is that this is now gaining momentum. Certainly, there is a high proportion of young people in remote communities who require services such as schools. As I have said in previous statements to this House, unlike the spectre of rural decline faced in so many other parts of Australia, towns in the bush are growing.
By 2023, Wadeye will have a greater population than present-day Nhulunbuy. By that date, the number of such Aboriginal population centres with more than 2000 people is likely to be eight or nine times the current number, with at least three over the 3000 population mark. Currently, there are 21 remote Territory communities with a population of around 500 or greater, and whose populations can be expected to double within a generation.
Work will also be done on population pressures in regional towns. At this stage, whilst we know there are land pressures, more detailed examination such as that which is occurring with Darwin and Palmerston is under way. Similar work with remote communities is in the pipeline.
This planning places us in an ideal position to manage the growth of the Territory with some confidence in what we need to provide, and how quickly. The task is a sobering one. Since 2001, the government has invested heavily in infrastructure to the tune of more than $3bn in cash. We have lifted basic services in a very significant way. There are now more doctors, nurses, specialists, teachers, assistant teachers, police, firefighters and ambulance crews than ever before.
Today, we are facing the challenge of shrinking revenue as a result of the global crisis and its impact on the Australian economy at the very time we need to be expanding even further the infrastructure investment we have already made. That is why the government accepts the need for temporary deficits. That is why we reject the talk of cutting back. There is no option for the future of the Territory but to continue to grow.
Across the Territory we are already working to meet the enormous challenges these projections suggest. The single most massive investment in education infrastructure is occurring right now as we stand here today.
In Palmerston, we are building two new schools at Rosebery to accommodate hundreds of children. Sixteen new classrooms have been built in 12 communities across the bush. More than $5m has been spent rebuilding the Borroloola Community Education Centre. Tenders are about to be called for the upgrading of five more community education centres – Yuendumu, Yirrkala, Alekerenge, Ngukurr and Ramingining. Tenders are being prepared or already out for works at Jingili, Leanyer, Malak and Nakara. Work has already commenced on a major upgrade for Ross Park Primary.
Our contribution will be well supplemented by the announcements from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the tens of millions of dollars the Australian government has committed to Territory schools. We are also focusing on the release of land for new housing and development.
Under current growth scenarios, the new Palmerston East suburbs of Bellamack, Mitchell, Zuccoli and Johnston will be taken up over the next four years and beyond, totalling some 3670 lots of land. Bellamack will yield some 700 lots: 150 to be turned off in 2009, 300 in 2010, and 250 in 2011. Johnston will yield 820 lots: 400 to be turned off in 2009 and 2010, 220 in 2011, and 200 in 2012. Turn-off in Zuccoli will commence in 2010, with 150 lots, followed by 200 in 2011, and 400 in 2012, with a further 1000 lots to be turned off during and after 2013. Mitchell will yield a total of 400 lots. Yield will commence in 2012 with 100 lots, with a further 300 lots to be turned off during and after 2013.
The government is also committed to residential infill in the Berrimah corridor with the proposed move of the prison and the sale of Berrimah Farm. There is more work to be done to finalise testing on the Berrimah Farm site, and we expect this to take some time during the course of this year. We are also lobbying the Commonwealth to sell the 11 Mile Aerial Farm. Private developers in the DHA are expanding their growth in the developing suburbs of Lyons and Muirhead.
We have also worked hard to settle the Kenbi Land Claim to allow the further availability of land around the Cox Peninsula. We did so because Cox Peninsula will provide the medium to longer term development and land potential for the expansion of Darwin. I am very proud of this achievement. It is a triumph from the different approach that we have taken to land issues than that of our predecessors. For 20 years, and after, the expenditure of tens of millions of dollars, no headway being made in resolving this fundamental complex. Now the future longer term growth of Darwin is assured, and it is done so hand in hand with the traditional owners.
The in-principle settlement of the Kenbi Land Claim, land protection and additional potential residential expansion will come on line over the next decade on Cox Peninsula. We are encouraging the Commonwealth to finalise this as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will be actively working with all stakeholders in planning for this development.
The government has announced further planning decisions to meet the challenges presented by our strong growth in Darwin and Palmerston. On 3 February, I announced the establishment of the Territory’s next city, Weddell. The government has taken time to carefully decide the future direction of the growth of Darwin and Palmerston. Our decision is to proceed full steam ahead at Weddell. As a development area of some 2000 ha, it will be a city with up to 40 000 Territorians calling it home. At the moment, the Weddell locality is little more than unremarkable lines on a map. Those lines will take shape as houses, shops and schools, with parks and sporting grounds, with clinics and new businesses across four suburbs. It will take on a new life as a growing vibrant community, but also as a 21st century place to live. As well as low cost housing, there will also be an emphasis on environmental considerations, including the carbon footprint of the new city, recycling, and transport systems.
In today’s costs, our early estimates suggest that arterial roads, power, water and sewerage trunk services will come to around $0.75bn, which will generate an additional private investment of at least several billion. I anticipate this new city will match Palmerston for its growth over the next quarter of a century as it builds to an estimated 10 000 housing lots. Stage 1 of power supplies to the Weddell locality is already in place, with a zone substation ready to meet early development. An additional substation will be required down the track. The first stage will need some 30 km of connector and internal roads. A water storage facility, treatment plant and transfer station will be required to meet anticipated future demand of Weddell and Middle Arm Peninsula. Work is under way on the planning of Weddell. I anticipate the first suburbs of Weddell will be under way in a seamless development following the completion of the Palmerston East suburbs, approximately in five years’ time.
On 29 January, I visited the site of the auction of 35 blocks of land for Katherine. I was pleased to be able to fulfil so quickly our election commitment to release more land for residential development in Katherine. I am also pleased to report to the House that the land was sold. Since August, the government has also released nine more blocks of land for residential development in Tennant Creek. Further investigations are under way for the release of more land within the town.
On 17 December 2008, in Alice Springs, the government and the native title owners signed an Indigenous Land Use Agreement that will see the release of 80 residential blocks of land at Mt Johns Valley, with 40 in the first stage. The headworks have already been put in place by this government. This is the second significant land release that has been brokered by this government with the native titleholders and more work is being done to release further blocks.
Other ministers will detail the work that is being done to manage the growth of the Territory within their portfolios.
In brief, we are employing far greater levels of police than ever before: 311 have been recruited to date with more already in the planning. Health and hospital services are being expanded across the Territory. We are investing more than $1bn in Power and Water infrastructure and all members would be aware of the hundreds of millions of dollars that are now being pumped into housing across the Territory. Over the next five years, around $1bn will be invested in public housing in the Territory, with much of this going into remote communities where there is a critical shortage.
There would be few other communities in Australia today talking of the level of growth and expansion we have forecast for the Territory. There would be few other communities talking about the development of a whole new city. That is the confidence of the Territory today, a confidence based on growth.
The government will not be doing this on its own. We will be developing the Territory hand-in-hand with the private business and development sector and the non-government community sector. Despite the immense challenges we all face, the Territory remains an exciting place. The opportunities that exist here exist no where else in Australia, and it is my intention and the government’s intention, to ensure that those opportunities are turned into real outcomes for all Territorians.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, this is our first statement for 2009 and it is an important statement. We face very uncertain times and for anyone to rise in these circumstances and to have a clear fix on the nature of the problem and therefore the proposed solution is taking a courageous step. You only have to look across the landscape, within the nation, the states and internationally – there is great conjecture as to what is the right response to a problem that is difficult to grasp.
We need to recognise the difficult and challenging circumstances in which we are placed, and be humbled by these circumstances, so that we may endeavour to find the right path through. We need to have a reasoned discussion on these matters in order to provide good leadership.
Anyone who watched Four Corners last night would recognise that Mr Masters, who put that package together, had done the same nearly two years before. It was at that time he predicted that there would be significant fallout in Australia. At that time there was a denial that there would be such an impact in Australia, as we looked at what had happened in the United States.
I believe it is bordering on arrogance, perhaps foolishness would be more appropriate, to not look at the possibilities of what may occur in order to be well positioned in order to acquit our responsibility as leaders, and to be aware of the conflicting circumstances in order to be well prepared. The program last night visited much of what would have been indicated as possibilities in the program some 18 months before as occurring in Australia. It focused on the impact in the Townsville and Cairns area as cases in point, which has some connection to circumstances in the Northern Territory, similar communities, in some ways.
The way the Chief Minister has finished speaks of confidence, growth, and the prediction that Weddell will grow, as Palmerston has grown, and is perhaps taking a quick assessment of the growth that we have experienced for many years in Palmerston and forgetting the early stages of Palmerston. They were very challenging times, when interest rates were very high and, as a community, it was a difficult time. We have had growth now for a period of time, but it has not been the same story all the way through. There are challenges that we will confront and contend with, and as we are confronting that challenge we may not see the whole story.
Growth will be dependent upon a flow of credit. You cannot have growth if there is no credit flowing into the marketplace no matter how hopeful you are or how good the circumstances. You only need to speak to local businesses and you will find strong, good businesses with strong business plans here in the Northern Territory are having some difficulties with the change in the credit market. One phrase has come out at one of my meetings which has said that the banks have become ‘nasty’, that being a reluctance to pass on credit when it is justified in every circumstance by their good record and so on.
Let us not get past this too easily: growth is a good thing to aspire to and I hope for growth. However, let us recognise that there will be some challenges with regards to the flow of credit into the marketplace. That is a reality. It is not a talking down of the market or the economy. That is a churlish and foolish response to make. These are times that will require cool heads and clear analysis to provide good leadership and support to our hard-working businesses which, through no fault of their own, are facing the real brunt of the changing circumstances both nationally and internationally.
Rogoff and Reinhardt in their presentation to the annual American Economic Association meeting last month outlined what we can expect from this current global financial crisis. You only have to go on the Financial Review website, The Australian, or look at international economists and so on and you will see comment and all the minds are working to try to see a way through this. By analysing past major recessions and depressions they concluded that we can expect the economic downturn to last around seven years. Three and half years for the equity and housing price decline - and if you talk to local businesses that is an impact; you talk to the mining sector and then the flow-on into the marketplace and with the banks being very nervous, that is what we are experiencing now, for a period; followed then by four years of rising unemployment as a result of two years of output decline. So by historic analysis we can expect to be tightening our belts for approximately seven years.
Bill Gates in his 2009 Gates Foundation letter said:
If you watched Four Corners last night you saw interviews with strong local businesses taken two weeks ago where everything was just fine and recognised the challenges and then by the end of the program, when the second interview was taken and a bank had made a call and said: ‘No, sorry, we cannot extend credit any longer’, it meant the empire collapsed or was under serious threat.
There are circumstances beyond the domain of expressions of hope. I hope, and I hope beyond hope, that we are able to weather this storm, but we must be sober in our assessments in order to provide that quality of leadership. It would be foolish to close our ears to the comments of others who are trying their best with experience and with qualifications who are endeavouring to make assessments on how these circumstances are conspiring and how we must then respond.
The cost to government to bail out and to keep their economies afloat pale next to the revenue lost in tax and own source revenue - there will be an impact. As Treasurer Swan was commenting last night, the magnitude of the reduction in revenue is significant. The analysis of the big five post-World War II recessions - Spain in 1977, Norway in 1987, Finland in 1991, Sweden 1991, and Japan 1992 – saw government debt explode on average by 86%.
Stimulus packages are part of the solution to an economy regaining financial health. Governments must provide a responsible balance between social and physical capital. During the Japanese recession in the early 1990s, the government made massive investments into infrastructure which would allow individual sectors of the community a solid foundation to grow and see the economy pick up. The fundamental - and I have said this in media conferences and in other fora – is that there is a great need for a stimulus package, without a doubt; it is part of it. However, applied without an understanding of the broader context in which we are operating, there are many other aspects to this. There is a need to stimulate the economy, to focus that investment on infrastructure, and the intent of the stimulus package as has been described by the Prime Minister is supported. It is the nature of the package which is implemented and carried through to the states which really is the challenge that falls rightly to us.
The US government has a package of around 5% of their GDP. If Prime Minister Rudd’s latest stimulus package gets through the Senate unscathed, it will bring Australia’s bail-out to around 5% of our GDP. Governments provide these large stimulus packages to boost infrastructure investment, ensuring jobs and keeping the economy going to offset the contraction in the private sector. On that point, if circumstances beyond the control of our own domestic economy in the Territory conspire to knock a couple of our small business operators out, the question that was asked at the Chief Minister’s forum on his return from his trip overseas will be amplified; that being, if INPEX and ConocoPhillips come on at the same time it will place immense pressure on our own local economy. If that does occur, or even if they occur at the same proximity, and we have local businesses that have not been able to make it that distance through more than a couple of years, then we are in a very challenging position. We need to recognise that possibility and turn our attention to that to find a response to support local businesses however we can do that. You cannot have a policy fix until you understand the nature of the problem. Talking to local businesses, that is the point of challenge. Over the horizon, INPEX and ConocoPhillips are good; it provides some confidence. However, it is over the horizon.
Here and now is where we need to bring our policy fix to bear to ensure that, in a market where credit is becoming harder to secure, we have to keep small local Territory businesses in the game which are suffering the unintended consequences of a downturn in the resource sector. That is the point of challenge. How do we construct a meaningful - and the Treasurer may roll her eyes at this, because she obviously has a complete grasp on this and I look forward to hearing her solution to this. Perhaps the rest of the world can then go to bed easily tonight. There are some serious and realistic challenges ...
Ms Lawrie: I look forward to the Libs supporting the economic stimulus package in Canberra too, so we get $200m …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! The Leader of the Opposition has the call.
Mr MILLS: It is good to note that the Commonwealth government promotes, on their Understanding Money website, a basic introduction to financial literacy - probably a good thing for all members to have a look at. Explained in laymen’s terms, it is aimed at the average Australian. This is the time, as minds are focused on these matters, for us to get a better understanding of these matters so we can provide good leadership. Perhaps the Treasurer might like to have a good look at that website.
On the subject of windfalls, the website makes a key point:
Well, blow me down! That is a word of wisdom that has been offered again and again to this Labor government during their time in office. When they have had …
Ms Lawrie: We have driven down debt.
Mr MILLS: … the rivers of revenue flowing in, in terms of GST, $1.2bn …
Ms Lawrie: Yes. Driven it down.
Mr MILLS: … of unexpected windfalls flowing into the Northern Territory …
Mr MILLS: … they have had the opportunity to make provision for the lean times.
Ms Lawrie: Debt to revenue ratio, look it up.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: Excuse me, Madam Speaker?
Madam SPEAKER: Yes. Deputy Chief Minister, if you would please cease interjecting.
Ms Lawrie: He is misleading the parliament. We have driven down debt.
Mr MILLS: Sorry, Madam Speaker, just …
Madam SPEAKER: I beg your pardon?
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, I said I thought you had passed a direction to the Deputy Leader and she just back-chatted you, but …
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry. I did not actually hear that, but Deputy Chief Minister, if you would cease interjecting, please.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I certainly will. The member for Drysdale has been interjecting across to my staff and I have been responding.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Please resume your seat. The Leader of the Opposition has the call. If members could cease interjecting, thank you.
Mr MILLS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. So this is fairly basic guidance for anyone seeking to get an understanding of what is the wisest thing to do if you have an unexpected bonus. This government has received $1.2bn of unexpected bonuses in their eight years. You only have to look at the record and you will see that there has been counsel upon counsel to make good use of the times of plenty because the lean times will come.
You must make use of the times of plenty, because when the lean times come, if you have not made provision, you are given less room to manoeuvre and you are setting yourselves up – in this case, the public purse – with some severe challenges which will not just fall on the watch of those who are in office now but in administrations to come, and our children who are to come after us who will be saddled with the consequences of the lack of preparation that had been made.
In simple terms, if you receive a windfall, you can either erode some of your underlying debt now and your obligations now, or you can spend it now. If you deal with it now and erode some of your underlying financial obligations, you have a very large impact on future debt. And that is an opportunity that has been lost.
They also recommend on this website putting some of that windfall away into savings or investments, and as you are looking after your debts, to put some away for a rainy day. Only after you have done that, shout yourself to a treat, such as say a $500 000 party to open a convention centre. You have been counselled on your wisdom in the use of this money, for what purpose? To erode underlying debt for the sake of the future generations, or largesse today so that you are a jolly good fellow right here and now and blow tomorrow.
We are, as a result of this attitude, not in the position that we should or could be. That is a fact. That cannot be changed, unfortunately, but by recognising the problem, recognising the situation, we are positioned to be able to bring discussion to bear on the nature of the challenge that we are facing and then move forward. To ignore this and to go on with assertions and an expression of hope could well be foolish without a clear fix on the challenges that we face.
We are coming into this government’s ninth budget cycle. Across eight of these budgets, the government has received a total of $1.2bn in unexpected GST windfall - not budgeted for, over and above, windfalls. Not only have they not paid off debts or reduced superannuation liabilities, they have not significantly reduced borrowings. What they have achieved over the past eight years is a bloated, top heavy public service; an 83% increase in crime; the highest recidivism and incarceration rate in Australia; close to the longest waiting lists in health; completely failed our students by not ensuring they achieve a basic level of literacy and numeracy; they have drained the public housing pool – shame – of 2000 homes without reinvesting the proceeds to ensure the most needy Territorians have roofs over their heads. At a time they need shelter they do not have that shelter. There is a three year waiting list in Palmerston for those who are in need of crisis housing - shame upon shame - dragged their heels on land release causing housing prices and rents to sky rocket. Shame upon shame.
To have this issue now being attended to with the expression of hope that things will get better and that I have the confidence in the future, when it was only a matter of 18 months ago that this was a government holding firm to a position that there was no need. It was the Treasurer who denied the need and the argument for the release of land.
Ms Lawrie: Not at all.
Mr MILLS: Check your own record and go and check the people of Palmerston who are on waiting lists, who are desperate to get into housing because there is no room in the Territory, a place of abundant land, but no plan. There goes to the Chief Minister …
Ms Lawrie: Political rhetoric.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: Just go then to the axiom that the Chief Minister just referred to: a failure to plan is a plan to fail. I think that proves it. That is quite a correct statement. There has been a failure to plan and therefore there is a plan to fail and it has failed.
Forget the politics of it; that is the least of my concerns. It should be the least of your concerns Treasurer. It has failed hard-working, young families. That is who it has failed. Forget your glossy brochures, forget your great assertions and your smug looks and comments. Forget that. Have a look at those young families out there. Look at those young families who have invested in the Territory, of a hope in the Territory, and decided they cannot make it and they have to go somewhere else. That is where it bites. That is where it should hurt.
Not only to look at the remote communities, basic infrastructure, roads and bridges and to start to build it from the grassroots up - a genuine plan, a real plan. Forget the rhetoric. Focus on receiving a result for your expenditure, not more assertions spoken into the wind for a good grab on the media but a real result for real people, something that takes a bit of courage and foresight. Put yourself second, put someone else first and use the resources that you have had to make a real difference so you can retire from this job feeling that you have actually done something.
Ms Lawrie: Political rhetoric, get on with it.
Mr MILLS: Stings, doesn’t it?
Ms Lawrie: No.
Mr MILLS: If it does not sting, you should be ashamed of yourself. I would be worried if it does not sting.
Ms Lawrie: You are on your pulpit, stay on your pulpit.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
When this government is questioned over their failings in economic management and service provision, they alternate between sticking their heads in the sand and then embarking on an impressive tap dancing routine boasting of, believe it or not, record expenditure, and increased spending, and when that fails comparing themselves against a pre-GST CLP government. It is disingenuous.
It is about as caring as a mum or a dad who think they love their children by spending lots of money on them, and saying: ‘Do not worry, we have problems in health, do not worry, we will spend a lot of money’. No, that is not care. That is not a result. That is just spending money. The result is the delivery of care; the result is the expenditure of money to deliver results in education, in infrastructure - a real change. It might be small or modest, it might not get you the headlines of the day, but if it produces the result at the end of our time, then that is something to count as a real achievement - when those waiting lists in public housing are dropped and young families can find a place to stay.
To say that five years from now we are going to have Weddell online, hello, that has been called for a very long time and now you say it is going to be fast-tracked. The Mayor of Palmerston said that the concept of timely release of suitable serviced land is one outcome that council is supporting. Who does not support that? What we have seen after eight or nine years is the announcements of such things that sound just fine, like the Hollow Men, sounds good, but can that actually be achieved? Look at the record. Holding a position, there is no need to release land; the opposition want to flood the market, etcetera, etcetera.
That was the holding pattern by the Treasurer at that time, then a dramatic shift, obviously did a focus group, so quick, we will change our story. Then we made some very firm commitments, genuine commitments looking straight down the camera: ‘We are going to fast-track Bellamack’. My goodness, there is a lightning shift from one position to another - fast-track Bellamack.
If we match up the announcements - the rhetoric - regarding Bellamack from the firm announcements, and I had people coming to my office: ‘I want to get some of that land. That’s great news’. Well, they knew it was great news, they had done the focus groups and it all of a sudden changed: ‘So we can say this’. So they said it and they set a date, and if you measure the date from the announcement to when - when? ‘When are we going to get a block at Bellamack?’
And if we go to say, announce, and that time line keeps moving, and there is still uncertainty about other announcements that have been made, if those time lines have been moved, how on earth can we expect that in five years time we are going to see activity in a city? We cannot even bring a suburb online in time. Let us extrapolate. Twelve months from now there is going to be something in Weddell, then that gets moved to 18 months and two years, we still have not seen in Bellamack. So we will double it, five years, just double that, 10 years, maybe 15 years before we see it. Can this government actually turn off a subdivision? Can they really turn off a city of 40 000 people? Let us wait and see. Please do it. The expressions of hope that are contained in the statement, I stand in hope, I want it to happen.
We will have these debates in here and if you cast all this, Treasurer, in terms of political rhetoric and just get past that narrative and look through to see whether there is actually any truth in this, if there is anything that bites in any way, maybe you cannot admit it in here because you are too proud for that, because there is image and this is argy-bargy after all. Forget it. This is more than argy-bargy. This is the real deal. There are real families out there who are demanding, crying out for solutions and some traction at a time they most need it, a time of uncertainty. Certainty?
Certainty was what the last election was all about, the provision of certainty. That was a well-crafted little focus group phrase. Certainty is what is required. Let us all go around and say that. What sort of certainty do we have in these uncertain times? We have a position, an economic and fiscal position which should be far better than it is. We do not have that certainty. We have assertions made out of the blue, apparently. After denying that there was a need for Weddell during the campaign, mocking the opposition for saying that we should get on with Weddell - mocked us - and now on a day where there is some sort of unusual announcement that comes from government - out of the blue comes Weddell.
Hello, what is going on here? Is this all governed by the need to create impressions? Or is it real? Because at this time, more than any, Territorians want something that is real, something of substance, and all that you can come back with, Treasurer, is ‘political rhetoric’, ‘it is all politics’. It is far more than politics.
There are colossal challenges, and those challenges can be spoken about, and if we do not take the time to slow ourselves down and look at those challenges and the nature of those challenges, we will not be able to craft a policy fix that goes close to addressing them.
There is another axiom. The Chief Minister has used one and I think that the performance of government has confirmed the veracity of that axiom - the failure to plan is a plan to fail. And those families, I believe, have been failed by the lack of real action. The other one is the contrast that either you are the ringmaster or the beast. If you have lost control of the processes, you are controlled by them, and though there is a lot of flurry and activity in the circus ring, not a lot is being achieved. You have lost control of the circus ring. There are so many forces circling around at the moment that no matter what you say or what impression you try to generate, the ringmaster has now become the beast.
I believe we need to get some control back over that circus and ensure we are in control of these circumstances. There is change going on, and this is not a time for unsteadiness or uncertain rhetoric. This is not a time to say one thing but mean something completely different. So, line the two up. You have to line the two up. You either lead the change or you will be led by change.
There is so much happening now that it is time for some certainty - real certainty, not a slogan that is bandied around in an election campaign, but real certainty. It is time to dig a little deeper. I am prepared, in a spirit of goodwill, to work on these matters and have reasoned debates in here because, in our constituency, Territorians require that and they want it. They are calling out for it, asking for people to listen to them, hear what they have to say, forget the game playing and cut right through and get to the heart of the matter.
You can only run the formula for so long. However, that formula has grown thin because we have seen the results of that. Government has put itself at the centre of this when a government is meant to be there to serve the best interests of Territorians …
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, I move that the Opposition Leader be given a further 10 minutes to conclude his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr MILLS: I will go back then, because I have a little extra time. I am very grateful to the member for Fong Lim.
Until mid-2008, the Henderson government continued to promote a conservative approach to land release to avoid flooding the market and driving prices down. That was an extraordinarily embarrassing position to be taken by government. Once again, the Treasurer thought that was just politics. Well, it is more than politics. I have heard comments from the other side. They think this is some kind of game, but it is not. To hold that position at that time was a grave error. When you had the capacity to do something like release land and get ahead of the game, you did not, and you held on to some position for fear of actually making a decision and giving yourselves some real direction in these times. We needed to get ahead of the game, but they did not.
Then they caved into criticism over ever-decreasing housing affordability and rental availability. This tune quickly changed by the end of last year to a sudden rush to bring forward the development of Johnston, Mitchell, Zuccoli, and Berrimah, at the same time as criticising those who championed the development of the new city, which was on the books well before Labor came to office. Territorians had been promised the opportunity of buying land in the Bellamack subdivision since September 2007, with land expected to be turned off by the end of 2008. This time line has crept since the original announcement to early 2009, mid-2009 and, finally, somewhere around 2009. Now, when they are turned off there will only be 150 blocks available. That is a spit in the ocean compared to the size of the need. Check the waiting list for public housing as an indication of the intense need there is out there. ‘But do not worry, we are on track to release 400 blocks in Johnston by the end of 2009’, a suburb that has not even been on the cards 12 months ago.
To put a human story to this, regarding the filling teacher positions, I heard this very interesting story the other day. One school had lined up a teacher from Western Australia who was offered a full-time position in the Northern Territory and had accepted. That was early in the Christmas break, I would assume. However, as they assessed the implications of moving to the Northern Territory – that is, rent, etcetera - and wanting to move from a part-time position they held in Perth to a full-time position in the Northern Territory, when they did the sums and the full assessment, they decided it was better to stay in Perth working part-time than to live in the Top End with a full-time job such is the cost of housing in the Territory. Therefore, we lost a teacher as a direct result of the position that was held by government. The failure to release land, the place that has an abundance of land, has had those sorts of effects.
If you talk to the industry groups they will tell you that that is where the bite is going to be felt. Separate from the financial crisis, those who they are going to need to have employment in their enterprises will not be able to find a place to stay that is affordable so they cannot stay here. If a teacher cannot afford to rent in the Territory, think that through. Where is the poverty line now? Where is it? Once it was those who were on welfare. Now it is those who have qualifications, nurses, receptionists, those with some skills, some tertiary qualifications, they cannot find themselves into the market.
Assuming Bellamack is turned off in September will mean a three-year window from announcement to actual land release - if you apply this yardstick to other Palmerston suburbs, it is very concerning. This is the reality of it. We get so caught up in this that we may forget that the rest of the community is not dumb. They are seeing this and they are doing the crunching and are thinking: ‘Come on, is this mob for real? Do we believe anything they say about any announcement? We need Weddell. Do they really believe it is going to happen?’
Well, the evidence is starting to mount up and I think confidence is being eroded. Do not think I am talking anybody down except that the performance of government has been such that it has caused a declining confidence of the capacity of this government to attend to the real business, and that is to build confidence.
We need confidence now like we have never had it before. That is why we need decisive action - look at it and make a decision, and we have not had that. That is what we needed for five, six, seven, eight years. And now when we most need it, we do not have it. We have announcements for effect, but not announcements that are backed up by a track record of substance. We have to do better than that.
When you do any assessment of the economic challenges we face, one thing, yes, ‘certainty’ was a good slogan. We actually want certainty. There is a psychological aspect to an economic downturn - people start to tighten up; they choose not to spend; they are uncertain about an investment; a bank has a profound effect; they want to hold back; they want to reduce risk - and a lot of it is based on fear. You can erode that fear by some decisive leadership from government. Putting it on the line and counting what you say as though it is something you really, genuinely, actually mean, recognise the deficiency in your performance to date, be honest about that, and then move forward on that basis and you will start to claw back some credibility. Free advice: I know it would work, because that is what we need, we need a restored confidence. There are many things I can say on that front, but they will be reserved for another time.
Madam Speaker, these are very challenging times. There will be strong debate in this place, and I hope that that debate is approached with informed consideration, with a level of honesty, and recognition that these are uncertain times. It is not a time for empty assertions and wishful thinking. Our fellow Territorians, if you speak to them now, just as the member for Macdonnell spoke very well in regard to a crisis, a catastrophe like we see in Victoria, that people are funny, in times like this there is an underlining uncertainty and people are starting to drift together and starting to talk about deeper things, about certainty, about their future, about their plans. They will pick in a flash if it is insincere or empty or it is shallow, if it is just the hollow man sort of stuff. They could pick it at a mile. They have had a steady diet of that sort of confectionary for about eight years.
They are looking for something nourishing now, something to get them through. Now is the time, as people are engaged on these very serious matters, without even mentioning the social impact, the law and order that will be fed by this uncertainty, the problems that we have faced in times of plenty, what is it going to be like if we do not have the capacity to respond, and people are uncertain and they become frightened.
There are social and economic challenges ahead. It is time to entertain some serious thoughts about how we are going to apply genuine policy fixers and get out of the politics, and policy direction governed by good debate – honest, genuine debate – and genuine engagement with the community. Hear what they have to say. Do not grab them all together and say: ‘We are interested in having some kind of review or consideration and we want to know what you think about it’. They have had enough of being asked what they think about something and government going off and doing whatever they want to do. They do not want to be managed. They want to be listened to. Now is the time to hear them, with two ears that work and one mouth that speaks after listening.
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the statement. It is an important statement. I am pleased that, at least, there is reference now to Weddell. I am ever hopeful.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition made much of the here and now and the importance of the crisis facing families in terms of housing. Well, I will let the Assembly know that here and now, the CLP Senator Nigel Scullion stands in the Senate and has spoken against the federal government’s $42bn economic stimulus package. That is what is happening in the here and now. That is the disgrace that the CLP will deliver up to Territorians in the here and now. What does a $42bn economic stimulus package deliver?
Mr Conlan: Debt, debt for your kids, my kids.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: And the interjection just goes to show the shallowness of the understanding that members opposite have of this issue. Because if they had actually read the comments of the federal Treasurer and the Prime Minister, they would have some inkling of what the federal government is saying about how it will return to the surplus once it has taken our nation through the toughest time this nation has faced, in economic circumstances, since World War II.
We are in unprecedented times. We are in a new paradigm when it comes to the economic realities confronting this nation. Not of this nation’s making. Not of this Territory government’s making - which is what the Leader of the Opposition would have us believe. This is what the shadow Treasurer would like to paint throughout this sitting period. It is a global financial crisis; a global financial crisis that is just hitting Australia. We have a severe economic downturn, particularly in the southern states. We have credit that is constricted beyond anyone’s experiences of the past. We have a whole raft of economic analysis out there about what the response to this crisis should be.
The federal government has said they will provide a $42bn economic stimulus package. Why, as the Territory government, did we go to Canberra last week and sign up to the delivery of that package? Because genuinely, it will deliver for Territorians. Conservative estimates at this stage put a $200m injection of capital into the Territory in the next two to three years. $200m that we would otherwise not have coming in, in capital investment into the Territory, over the next two to three years. It starts now. The whole package is designed for the rubber to hit the road now.
We are ready to go. We have identified where we have vacant lots of land, where we can knock down houses and build new houses. We are ready to go with approximately 200 public houses. Two hundred dwellings - when that rubber will hit the road. The Leader of the Opposition talks about public housing waiting lists, yet at the same time, the CLP is saying: ‘No. No, we do not want the Territory to receive funding for 200 public housing dwellings’. They are saying: ‘No, we do not want the Territory to receive critical infrastructure across all of its primary schools’.
This infrastructure can be used in so many ways, particularly across our regional and remote schools. A multipurpose hall: we all know what a difference a multipurpose hall makes to a school, whether they are in an urban, regional or remote setting. It is a critical piece of infrastructure for a school.
Libraries: the CLP is saying: ‘No, no, do not do this. We do not want to receive that in the Territory’. They do not get that this is a once in a decade, perhaps century, opportunity for the Territory. We are better placed than the other jurisdictions in Australia in terms of the global financial crisis and the economic downturn. Yes, we are better placed. We are not immune, but we are better placed. What this presents is an opportunity to go streets ahead in terms of the capital infrastructure backlog that we have as a result of the inheritance of self-government. There is a whole raft of economic debate that can occur around the infrastructure backlog the Territory has. $1.65bn in roads backlog, for example, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Confused messages are coming from the Leader of the Opposition. The opposition is saying that the government has had this GST windfall and they have been spending like drunken sailors but they have to understand that there is a real concern out there in industry and with businesses because INPEX is on the horizon, and the horizon is two years away. What are we going to do to deal with industry capacity between now and the INPEX opportunities on the horizon?
Well, guess what you have? You have a $200m capital investment pipeline ready to hit the road to keep businesses, tradies and subbies in work, building the capital as a result of the $200m injection from the federal government. But no, the CLP is saying: ‘Do not give the Territory the money’.
Their representative in the federal opposition in the Senate has spoken against it. They are on the record as saying they are against it. And do not even worry about the retail sector or the hospitality sector which is going to be hit by tourism. Do not worry about them. Do not worry about the $950 spend going into families’ pockets and what that will mean to retail, what that will mean to hospitality…
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The motion we are talking to is about land release, not about something that was put forward in federal parliament.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Please resume your seat.
Ms LAWRIE: Yes, and is it not interesting that the member for Braitling in a statement about growing the Territory, in a statement where the Opposition Leader spoke of the need for economic stimulus, where he spoke of the need to support industry in jobs, in work in the pipeline, does not get the connection with the $42bn stimulus package which delivers $200m in capital into the Territory with the rubber hitting the road now.
The delivery of 200 public houses in the Territory is additional to the $800m-odd public housing package that we are spending in the bush to deliver thousands of houses. We would have an urban public housing construction program with a regional and remote public housing construction program. But the CLP’s answer to that is: ‘No, do not do it, we do not agree with that package’.
The Leader of the Opposition makes much of: ‘Need to listen. As a government, we need to listen’. Well, the Chief Minister, our minister for Business, other ministers and I have been busy meeting with sectors of the community to listen to what they are saying. My message as Treasurer has been a very clear message since the global financial crisis commenced, which is that there is no more important time than now for government to be hearing directly from industry and immediately from industry about how they are faring because we will respond.
The first response was Buildstart. We put Buildstart out there to generate investment in the residential sector, recognising that we had a rental squeeze going on, recognising that we had lots of land available which were under-utilised, putting incentives in place for investors to return to the market. Why had investors fled the market? Well, the economic debate is pretty clear. High interest rates had turned investors out of the rental marketplace. We saw low interest rates and we saw the opportunity with the economic stimulus needs to come in with a targeted program such as Buildstart.
We are listening to the resources sector. We have seen shedding of jobs in that sector so we have been talking to the resources sector and the construction sector about where those jobs can transfer across. I know there will be cheap shots like: ‘Why doesn’t a politician take a pay cut? I am asking them to’. If you have a choice of unemployment, which is what the job sheds in the resources sector have led to, then of course you want to look at where you can pick up another job. Construction is a transferable skill industry for our resources sector workers, as well as transport industry for those heavy vehicle licence holders. We are seeing that. We are seeing the transferability and the move across. We are seeing, for example, tenders for road projects that would have attracted two to three tenders in the past, for which we are now getting eight. We have seen industry capacity increase over the years because we have had record after record capital works budgets. That is not squandering the GST revenue.
The GST revenue has not been a windfall, as the opposition would lead you to believe. It is simply our fair share of Commonwealth revenues - our fair share. It is only just above the guaranteed minimum that we would have received regardless of the economic growth circumstances that have led to the consumer, which has led to the GST. It is our fair share and we have not been squandering it. What have we been doing? We have been driving down the debt we inherited - six surpluses in a row ...
Mr Elferink: No you have not. You are borrowing like you would not believe.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: Six surpluses in a row, driving down the horrendous debt levels that we inherited. It is useful to point out that, when we came to government, the debt to revenue ratio was ballooning out of control at 134%. Our debt reduction strategy - one that the opposition would like to pretend has not occurred - is now down to 89%. Moody’s, the rating agency, actually has commented …
Mr Elferink: No it is not. Read your mid-year financial report! No, it is not.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Member for Port Darwin.
Ms LAWRIE: Moody’s has commented on our AA1 rating that the Territory’s improving financial performance is relatively high in the Australian context, but declining debt burden. Their rating reflects this.
The opposition does not understand that we have been receiving our fair revenue. The opposition has not understood that we have also, quite aside from the GST - because we have always recognised our vulnerability to the GST in revenue; the GST is 67% of our budget, of our revenue - we have always recognised our vulnerability there, so, what have we done as a government? We have targeted the SPPs and NPs that southern states largely had relied on in Commonwealth revenues, and we have succeeded in pulling down significant additional revenue in SPPs. This economic stimulus package would represent conservatively - very conservative early figures - $200m in an NP for the next two financial years. And the CLP is saying no - no to the revenue, no to the school buildings, no to the improvements in the roads, no to the improvements in the rail crossings, and no - most critically and cynically and, to me, obscenely - to the public housing: 200 public dwellings.
Mr Elferink: You have taken 500 off the books in the last five years.
Ms LAWRIE: No …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: They are saying no to the 185 Defence houses in there. For Darwin and Palmerston, that means a significant freeing up of our rental market. Quite aside from the construction jobs, we know we have significant numbers of Defence personnel in our rental marketplace. If we can decamp them into the new 185 Defence houses - or even a portion of them because we know they have some old stock that no longer meets their criteria - we are freeing up rental. However, the CLP’s answer to that is: ‘No, do not take that money without matching requirements’.
I have been around long enough over SPPs and NPs to know the sting in the tail of matching requirements from the Commonwealth. This one comes without matching requirements, and the CLP is still saying no. Well, it is economic vandalism at its worst. The construction sector is saying: ‘Take it and we will run with you in getting the jobs constructed’. The resources sector is saying it is a good package. The banks, who I have met with, are saying it is a great package. They were very excited when I told them about the opportunity in there of buying off the plan. The policy shift inherent in the public housing of buying off the plan is significant for our private sector because the banks have toughened up. Credit is tied up. It is harder to get your apartment dwellings built, your developments approved, because your percentages of pre-sales have increased. The requirements and the criteria from the banks have increased.
For government to come in and buy off those plans, delivering the housing at a quicker pace, because we know we have something like 360 apartments approved through the DCA process, we can buy off the plan. The CLP is saying: ‘No. No, no, no. That cannot work. Vote against it’. Yes, businesses are going to be experiencing difficulty as a result of the credit crunch. We are not immune; we have never said we would be immune. But are we best placed, yes. If you meet with the bankers across the Northern Territory, they say they would rather be here in the Territory than anywhere else in Australia. The financial institutions are watching jobs being shed down south. It is not occurring here.
A 4.5% economic growth is what we are predicting for this financial year, and Access Economics are predicting 4.7%. Well, I can tell you that southern jurisdictions would love those figures - absolutely love those figures for economic growth.
So, when the Leader of the Opposition says this is just a statement from the Chief Minister, a statement of hope, well, actually, it is a statement based on more than that. It is based on real economic indicators. It is also based on …
Mr Elferink: Like? Zinc sales.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: … population growth …
Mr Elferink: Manganese sales, gold sales.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, please cease interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: It is also based on population growth forecast, strong population growth forecasts. Why do we have a housing squeeze in our urban centres of Darwin and Palmerston? Because of the extraordinary population growth we have been experiencing.
A member: Good planning would have managed that.
Ms LAWRIE: Good planning would have managed that. Well, they are all back room economists over on the opposition benches, aren’t they? Yet, they would not back a $200m capital injection without any matching requirements. That has to be the most extraordinary stamp of any backroom economist I have ever heard. Industry is very interested that the CLP is opposing this, and we have been talking significantly across the sectors about that.
The Leader of the Opposition made much of the need for the jobs now because INPEX is on the horizon. The government’s own capital works program, $870m this year, and I will be announcing our capital works program for the 2009-10 financial year in the budget - that is a record program that provides the capacity building we need in industry. You add $200m to that, and that is over two-and-a-half financial years, we have strategic response teams in place now pulling together what we can bring down into the 2008-09 year from the $200m if it drops, if the federal opposition could ever understand what it will really mean to the economic health of this nation and what it will mean in real opportunity for families - I emphasise ‘for families’ - because it will provide the ones on public housing waiting lists with a place to live. It will provide the money necessary to cover some of those families’ expenditure, and it will provide better education infrastructure into the schools. So, yes, it is a package, absolutely targeted at helping families while it stimulates the economy which, in its construct, is an incredibly wise package.
The whole basis to the Leader of the Opposition saying: ‘They cannot deliver those subdivisions, they cannot deliver land’, well, I look forward to him driving through the streets of Bellamack and Johnston in 2009. He queried why we could turn off Johnston within a year, he queried how on earth we could possibly deliver the Johnston commitment. Well, the beauty of having a Treasurer who is also the Planning and Infrastructure minister is you are able to fast-track.
We pulled forward $50m in terms of capital investment for the headworks to create the Johnston, Zuccoli and Mitchell/Palmerston East suburbs. We have also ensured that we are fast-tracking our planning processes to get that land turned off. We have existing headworks off Lambrick Avenue in Johnston which will bring the lots on in Johnston. We are not just resting with the land and the turnoff that we have here in Darwin and Palmerston. Of course, the Chief Minister’s statement does talk about the exciting developments elsewhere. We are working closely with Defence Housing - critically important in terms of the turnoff existing in Lyons at the moment and the 185 defence houses, if the economic stimulus package gets through the idiocy of the Liberals in Canberra - their mates in Canberra. It is an amazing development at Lyons, but it will also mean a continued fast-tracking of Muirhead - 1000 lots in the northern suburbs.
I have been negotiating with Defence Housing on the percentages of the Defence housing in the private sector - they are very positive negotiations - also delivering into their affordable and public housing. This is critical. I will remind the opposition that we are the only government in the Territory’s history to have created an affordable housing policy in terms of turn off of government Crown land. They claimed affordable housing but they never had a policy on it and they never had a process of delivering it.
Mr HAMPTON: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the Deputy Chief Minister be given an extension of time to finish her statement, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Deputy Speaker, Lyons and Muirhead, when you are talking about the delivery of lots and houses in the context of Darwin and Palmerston, are critical subdivisions. Seven hundred-odd lots in Lyons, 1000 lots in Muirhead and we are talking time frames that if we can get Muirhead turning off from 2010, they are the real time frames that Territory families need.
Mr Tollner: You are claiming Lyons and Muirhead are you? I thought you rejected it and the DHA took it up.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Tollner: Now you are claiming credit for it. You are joking.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please!
Ms LAWRIE: The member for Fong Lim has missed most of the debate, so I will just refresh and recap for his benefit because he has dropped in here having missed it.
Ms PURICK: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! The Deputy Chief Minister has referred to a member of the House when he has been absent. I understand that it is not permitted.
Members interjecting.
Ms PURICK: The Deputy Chief Minister said that the honourable member had been absent from the House for half of the debate, implying that he was not here.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Allow me to confer with the Clerk.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw it, Madam Deputy Speaker. Not a problem. I will withdraw the fact that the member for Fong Lim has just dropped in to the debate.
The government is not claiming Lyons and Muirhead, as the member for Fong Lim interjected. The government is saying that the economic stimulus package provides for 185 Defence houses which will fast-track the last stages of Lyons, which will give the buy in to fast-tracking Muirhead. We have also been negotiating with the Defence Housing Association on the percentage of Defence Housing in Muirhead versus the private lots that will turn off in the marketplace in Muirhead, as well as inserting into Muirhead affordable housing.
This then led me to point out to the Chamber that this is a government, the first government in the history of the Territory, that actually has an affordable housing policy, as opposed to a public housing construction policy, and we are delivering 15% affordable and public housing into new subdivisions. For example, Bellamack, for example, Johnston, and we are going after Muirhead as well. That is the bit that the member for Fong Lim seems not to understand.
The Territory is well placed for its exciting future in what has to be the most challenging economic times in our history, globally and for the nation. This is a new paradigm, as I have said. The members opposite want to go on with their normal political rhetoric, which is foolish because in talking and listening to industry, in talking and listening to the social services sector …
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, I ask you to cease your interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: ... members of those sectors understand that it will take innovative policy, with action from government, to take us through these absolutely tough times. However, across all of the indicators in the Territory, yes, we will be receiving significant hits on our revenue coming out of the Commonwealth. I am out there publicly saying that. I am out there publicly saying we will have in the vicinity of a $47m deficit this financial year, staring down the barrel of a deficit in the vicinity of $150m in the 2009-10 financial year.
While I, as Treasurer, say publicly that we are prepared to go into deficit, even the International Monetary Fund says to governments: ‘You need to spend in these toughest times and focus on the infrastructure, focus on your capital’. And guess who has a record capital investment in the Territory? And why are we well placed to rise into and drop into a deficit - and I am also on the record as saying, as Treasurer, that I will be climbing us out of that as soon as we can - because we have driven down debt. We can absorb it. We have reduced the debt. If we had not driven down debt, if we had not had those six surpluses in a row, we would not be as well placed to absorb a deficit, to absorb a couple of years of deficit. But we are well placed.
The industry of the Territory needs us to continue to spend. The community of the Territory needs us to continue to spend. The private sector is going to do it as tough as many of them would have ever seen, with perhaps the exception of the 0% growth that we inherited in 2000-01 financial year from the CLP; they were hellishly tough times in the Territory. So if we are not going to drop down to that whole extent that the CLP drove the Territory to, we need stimulus. We need economic stimulus from government to deliver strong growth.
We have gone out aggressively for the big projects such as INPEX and if you look at what Access Economics is predicting in the economic growth figures, the 2% over five years is without INPEX in it. If you apply INPEX across the years of negative you know what you will get, even the shadow Treasurer knows what we will get. We will get a healthy positive.
But apply then across those figures, a $200m capital injection, dollars into the construction sector, no matching required from the Commonwealth and they are good growth figures too. That is without the massive expansion at the port if we get the Infrastructure Australia tick of some $200m-odd just for our port which will see export figures grow - and that is an if.
So put all those factors together and is this Territory government sitting back not listening to the needs of the sectors? No. Are we going to deliver the nation’s most expansive land release based on the strong growth figures, based on, particularly, the strong population growth figures? Yes. Are we ensuring that we are going to ride through the toughest economic times in the best possible way? Yes.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the opposition is at sixes and sevens on the economic debate. They are saying: ‘Do not accept the economic stimulus, knock it back, we do not want a $200m capital injection into the Territory’, which is actually going to deliver real infrastructure that is needed, and ‘Do not give families $950-plus in their kick to spend to help the retail sector, to help that consumer spending …
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting!
Ms LAWRIE: … to help the quality spending in a time when tourism is obviously going to take a hit. Hospitality takes a hit when tourism is taking a hit; all the indicators are that tourism is going to be hurt through these tough times, so something that will help hospitality you are knocking back - an extraordinary response from an opposition which is clearly out of touch.
This government is constantly heeding across all of our sectors including the financial institutions of the Territory, and just as an indicator, banks are opening branches. In the toughest of economic times in our nation, here in the Territory, banks are opening branches. There are jobs being shed down south, and as a sign of confidence in business and opportunity in the Territory, we have a couple of branches about to open from different banks up here. But that lot over there do not get the significance of it. I would like to think that the shadow Treasurer might start to understand it, but the other bunch of clowns on the other side do not have a clue.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend the Chief Minister’s statement. I was going to talk primarily on the land release that is occurring in Alice Springs, in Tennant Creek, in Katherine, in Darwin and in Palmerston, but the economic commentary of the fanciful Leader of the Opposition did lead me to make more of a Treasurer’s comments than a Planning minister’s comments.
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Deputy Speaker, I always enjoy listening to the Treasurer because she truly knows how to leave sentences dangling in the air without punctuation marks. Punctuation marks, such as full stops, imply that there was an end to the sentence. Of course, if she completes some of the sentences she says, it means she fills in the little blank bits of information that she otherwise would have had to have filled in to make it paint a complete picture, thus justifying the use of a full stop.
The Treasurer is very good at half-explaining things and uttering things. However, at the outset, I do have to pick up on what she called an obscenity. If we assume that is correct - and we do not for a second on this side of the House accept her assertion that we are against 200 public houses - and that is an obscenity, then I cannot find the word in the English language strong enough to describe the 500 dwellings which have been removed from the public housing list over the period of the last five or six years. If 200 is an obscenity, then 500 comes with a XXX rating. It is all well and good for her to stand up in this place and beat her chest and say how horrible it is that 200 houses will be questioned, when they are, as a government, quite prepared to remove 500 dwellings from the public housing list. They have consistently done so over the past few financial years, including the period during which the Treasurer was the Treasurer. This is part of the problem of this Treasurer; that sentences are only half uttered.
I also pick up on the point that the Treasurer made in relation to income to debt ratio. She is quite happy to stand up and say that the income to debt ratio has fallen from 131% to 89% under her government’s fine management. She is wrong - and she is completely wrong. If she reads her own Mid-year Financial Report, she will discover that the income to debt ratio is actually 106%, not 89%. She is relying on the 89% figure because that was the final result for last year. However, here is the rub. You have to actually understand how the income to debt ratio system works to be able to demonstrate why it can jump so radically in the space of a few months from 89% to 106%. The reason is this - and it is explained on page 24 of the Mid-year Financial Report. It is worth quoting into the Parliamentary Record:
This was written in November last year, and I ask members to think about that. I return to my quote:
Madam Deputy Speaker, that is very important because if you lower the bond rate from 6.5% to 5%, the change in the debt to income ratio shifts 17% from 89%, which the Treasurer still believes it is, to 106% in her most recently produced public document. However, this is where the rub lies. Check with the Reserve Bank of Australia: the 10-year government bond yields in November last year were indeed around the 5% mark. This document from which I have just quoted predicts that bond rate to go up. However, what in actuality has occurred between November last year and now – I would urge members to check the website themselves – the 10-year government bond rate for Australia at the moment is set at just a smidgen, a wee little fraction, over 4%, actually 4%, you round it down because it is insignificant.
If the dropping of a bond rate by 1.5% has a 17% impact on the income to debt ratio, then what will the effect of the bond rate falling rather than going up, as predicted by the mid-year annual report, add to income to debt ratio? Oops – now we are heading back towards the 125% to 130% mark, exactly where she says it was so heinous for the last CLP government to leave us at. That, by the way, was when the CLP’s last income was $2.2bn, not $3.5bn which it is now.
So there is a substantial opportunity, or has been a substantial opportunity, for this government to retire debt, and they have retired nett debt on the general government sector balance sheet, which is great. But if you take the non-financial public sector balance sheet and have a look at that and see where nett debt is going over the next few years, it incorporates the extra borrowings taken by the Power and Water Corporation to fund this $1bn fix up on our electricity and water systems. And if you check that set of nett debts and you factor in what PAWC is borrowing as part of our overall debt, up goes the debt, and it goes up substantially. Compounding on top of that is a public sector superannuation liability which has ballooned out of control over that period.
So, all of a sudden, what we have generated is a nett debt situation which is increasing. You compound on top of that a superannuation liability which is also projected to continue increasing for the medium term. All of a sudden you start looking at this employee to income ratio in a completely different light.
There is a bit of history …
Dr Burns: So you are going to sack public servants?
Mr ELFERINK: There is a little history to this, and I will pick up on that. It is actually …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr ELFERINK: It is actually worth picking up on that. Making the public service smaller through normal processes of attrition is actually your policy. It is the policy that the former Treasurer, Syd Stirling, would often espouse. I recall that he said he would go ‘he’ if the public service did not get any smaller. All I have done is articulate Labor Party policy, simple as that, nothing else. I have not talked about sacking public servants. I have not said sack one public servant, not one.
Dr Burns: Your leader did.
Mr ELFERINK: I have not said it. So you are making it up and these are the sorts of furphies that they like to trot out there.
This is a government which has seen, year in, year out, increases in its income. Now, income increases are expected, they are a natural part of what happens on a year-to-year basis for governments. Every year, governments get record income. Well, if you allow for CPI, that makes sense. However, what has happened is that government income in the Territory has exceeded CPI. It is worth tracking back, because if you go through the Budget Paper No 2 every year, which is the guess as to how much income is going to be, and at the end of the year you go and look at the financial report, the actual end of the year financial report so they actually know how much it was, if you collect all of those gaps between how much we predicted and how much we knew and finally got over a period of several years, you get the $1.2bn that the Leader of the Opposition was talking about.
That is $1.2bn of money over several years that they did not budget for, which means that all their police stations and all the buildings that they were going to plan, and all those extra things that they were going to do at the beginning of the financial year, had already been paid for in the normal expected increases. This is extra money on top of that, more money and they had not budgeted for it, so there was no need to expend it unless there was going to be a change to budgets.
This is the problem. If you go through these reports you can see that one Cabinet decision after another justify an off-budget spend. ‘Oh, we need to do this, we need to do that,’ they say, ‘that is all right. We have heaps of cash in the kick’.
The point is that you have the choice: you either run your budget a little more firmly and ask for a bit of restraint from your departments, or you spend it at the next Cabinet decision. What was the off-budget spend for the steering wheel locks, the DUI locks? I believe it was $500 000 to $600 000; that was an off-budget spend. It was not budgeted for, it was just, hey man, it is a really cool idea. How does Cabinet work? Is it like a bunch of guys sitting around smoking a bit of dope going: ‘Hey, I have a really good idea’. ‘Oh, oh, what about me? Why don’t we do that?’ And they go: ‘Yeah, cool, we will do that. Let’s spend the money, man, cool’. Is that how it goes? Is that how they run government? Is that how you run government or do you actually say this is our budget, we are going to do everything in our power to stick to it?
That is what we are talking about. That is what this is about. We are going to stick to a budget. And if they stuck to their budget, and I accept that you do occasionally have to overstep the mark – why? Because there are things that happen in a financial year that you cannot expect. That is what the Treasurer’s Advance is all about - the favourite credit card of this government I might add. There is expenditure that you just cannot anticipate throughout the year. That is fine. You can allow $200m over that period and it still leaves you $1bn over that period that you could have done to reduce debt.
If you had taken $1bn and reduced nett debt in the Northern Territory, there would have been no nett debt in the Northern Territory and then we would have been well positioned to deal with the issue that is before us now. The one that Treasury warns of in every Budget Paper No 2: GST revenue is not guaranteed; we are overly exposed on it. Could you imagine how good it would be if our nett debt situation was zip, nothing. If the Treasurer walked in and said: ‘We have been saving and been careful over the last few years and we now have no debt. We are now in a strong position to borrow to do infrastructure projects, to bring the Northern Territory forward in these tough economic times,’ I would stand up and applaud, absolutely.
That is what is counter cyclical spending is all about. But we have not been counter cyclical in our spending approach. We have actually been borrowing in the good times and now we have to borrow in the bad times. That is the challenge that has been before government, not this year, but for the last seven years. That is singularly the largest fiscal failure of this government - they have not been capable of containing themselves and the decision-making process they have had and reducing debt in the good times, so that there was a blank credit card, a surplus even, in our savings. We actually had put money away in to savings and we even got close to doing that in cases like the Conditions of Service Reserve, but even that, the superannuation savings of Territorians, that is going to be the next place they raid. Why do I know that? They changed the name of the Conditions of Service Reserve, which implies that it is superannuation funding and they changed it to the Territory and Infrastructure Fund. What is the name of it? Something like that. All of a sudden, even when we do have money in a piggy bank and it is reserved for a specific purpose, here comes the raid. A raid on a fund like that appears on the books as a borrowing. That is the problem that this government has.
In November last year there were still press releases coming out of this Treasurer saying we expect one year of deficit then we will be right after that, we will be going back in to the black. Based on what? If you think about it, the GST guarantee, this is the little number that she talks about where we have been 1% above the guarantee, runs out at the end of 2009. What has happened is the only reason we have not fallen in to a $150m hole this year is because the GST minimum was guaranteed. It was part of the deal that the states struck with the Commonwealth to introduce the new tax system: we guarantee you a certain amount of income and if the GST shrinks, you will get that guarantee up until the end of the financial year 2008-09. And all the Treasurers at the time said: ‘Yes, we will sign up for that, because we know that we are going to get a base level’. And for that reason, although the GST has shrunk as a pool, not just the growth has shrunk, but the actual pool available has shrunk this financial year, the impact is not going to be so bad.
Although the Treasurer says it is only going to be $56m, already she is at odds with the feds who in the last Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the MYEFO, said it was going to be $64m. So even her Treasury and the federal Treasury disagree as to what the amount is going to be, but that is an aside.
So what we have here is a situation where all of a sudden that guarantee finishes and the GST pool is still going to shrink in the next financial year; so out comes a press release last week: ‘Oh, we are going to talk about this, that and the other and, by the way’ - as a throw-away line at the bottom of the press release - ’we are going to be in deficit by $150m next financial year’. $150m after, of course, taking another $64m hit, I will use the MYEFO figure, this financial year and, as a consequence of that, a $200m black hole. Sound familiar? Except it is bigger than anything we ever produced or are accused of having produced because most of the decisions back in 2001 were made by the Labor government, but that is beside the point.
The fact is …
Dr Burns: Well, that is what Percy found.
Mr ELFERINK: That is actually what Percy found? You read the documents, you want to have a read of his documents, mate. You have a close read of it, because it is exactly what …
Dr Burns interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: The answer to the difference between the MYFR and the mid-year report is that the government says that own source revenue is going to increase, that is going to plug the difference because the fall in federal money coming in is actually going to be offset by increases in local income, in own-source revenue. Really? Based on what? Mining royalties? Are you going to tell me that McArthur River Mine is going to produce more mining royalties this year for the Territory, or is it the case that there had to be a refund this year to McArthur River Mine? Maybe it is from Browns, the Compass project. Maybe that is where the mining royalties are going to increase.
I am really curious to see where this extra money is coming from. The only way the logic of that argument stacks is if there is an increase in own-source revenue. I am not sure where it is. Is it coming from gaming taxes this year? Are we expecting people to spend in tough economic times more on recreation such as gaming? What about taxes on employers? Are we expecting with an increase in unemployment rate in the Northern Territory, albeit small, but an increasing unemployment rate, that the expected $146m from payroll tax is going to go up? Where is this extra money coming from?
It is a very important question because the projected debts of $47m is assuming that our own source revenues go up. If our own source revenue is going up, I would really like to know from the Treasurer or any other government minister in what sector do we expect this own-source revenue to rise. If it is not going up, then the deficit that is projected is going to get worse. I am waiting to see what the other source of income is. Or are we going to see another three card trick like we saw in last year’s Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report where we sit on the SPPs and the NPs right at the end of the financial year and start spending them the moment after, so we have the money in the bank when the auditor sticks their nose in the bank and checks how much cash is on board in spite of the fact, of course, the next day we had to start spending it anyhow; it was not money to really hold over.
Madam Deputy Speaker, this is a government which has not positioned the Territory anywhere near as well as it could have been positioned with a bit of frugal thinking. With a little care and a little less abandon in the way that they made their decisions, so much more could have been achieved with so much that they had received. The politics of the time when the GST was introduced saw this government resisting and saying how evil the GST was and all those sorts of things. The GST has been a gold mine for this government and sadly they have wasted those opportunities. There is nothing we can do about it, despite the fact that we, Treasury and so many other people have warned this government of the wastrel mentality to what they do. The fact is that the opportunity has been lost and, sadly, the only opportunity available to us now is to rack it up on the credit card.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I welcome the Chief Minister’s statement on growing the Territory which, in general, has an emphasis on land release. Notwithstanding some of the economic debates that we have had so far, I will concentrate most of my attention to the land release portion of this statement. I should say as an aside that I know there will be much debate about the stimulus package that Canberra is trying to put forward in parliament at the moment. I am one of those who believe the handing over of $950 to people is simply a waste of time. We should be thinking that through much further. It is a very short-term approach to stimulating the economy. We need to look at more solid approaches to this particular issue which is affecting us all.
We should be putting our money into infrastructure for the future, and trying to create employment through that infrastructure. I would prefer that the money we are talking about to stimulate the economy be more in the category of having long-term benefits for the future of the Territory especially. I will make a comment on that as a part of my speech on land releases.
There is no doubt that it is good news that at last Weddell is on the cards, from the government’s point of view. I raised Weddell long before I was even in this House, as the President of Litchfield Shire Council. Even back then I asked the government to start planning Weddell to ensure that this city is not as poorly planned - and this is not knocking the people of Palmerston - but I would not like to see a repeat of some of the poor planning decisions that were made in the development of Palmerston. What worries me is that, even though I was saying this for a long time, and the government was saying that Weddell was not really on the cards for 10 to 15 years when I have asked questions in parliament, all of a sudden it is now on a five-year plan.
What should have been happening is that we should have had the plans completed. The competitions, the plans for the headworks, the plans for the infrastructure should have all been sitting ready so that, at a moment’s notice, the government could say: ‘Right, it is time for Weddell to be developed. We have done all the background work. Let us go’. What we have now is a decision to finally go ahead with Weddell because of this debate about Cox Peninsula. They have finally decided that Weddell is a better site for a number of reasons. One of the very basic reasons is that the cost of providing infrastructure is about half of what is required to start up a suburb at Cox Peninsula. So, there are some straight-out economic reasons as to why Weddell should be built now.
However, the planning should have been done ages ago, and we should be on the way. One of the arguments government has shied away from is that it drip-feeds land to ensure land prices do not drop. I can understand what they are talking about; people have concerns about losing the value of the land they built their house on.
On the other hand, we have made sure that many people are tied to extremely high rents, or have to live with their parents, or live in a caravan park, or as Somerville Homes have told me recently, they have to live in a tent because they simply cannot afford the cost of moving into the housing market. We have an opportunity with the announcement that Weddell is going to go ahead to put this on the fast-track. If we need to go to the Commonwealth government and say this is some of the money we need to get Weddell going, then that is what we should be doing. Infrastructure is expensive, especially the headworks required for a city of over 40000, and that is what we should be doing right now. Do not go down the path of the five years.
I say that because the government’s own figures do not make much sense. When you look at the figures for the number of houses that is required, they say 1700 houses are required annually.
A member: Dwellings.
Mr WOOD: It might sound wrong, but I am reading from the Chief Minister’s statement, if I can find it. It says:
Unless you are presuming that most of those dwellings are going on one block, I would presume that is 1700 blocks required.
A member: Or units.
Mr WOOD: Well, there may be but you are still going to require a fair bit of land for those 1700 dwellings.
Then you go to the figure that says that if we look at Palmerston East, Bellamack, Mitchell, Zuccoli and Johnston, there will be a total of 3670 blocks. The government has said you will need 1700 dwellings; that will be 6800 dwellings required; you are roughly 50% short of what you need if you use Bellamack, Mitchell, Zuccoli and Johnston. Taking in Muirhead and Lyons, it is still not going to get anywhere near it. If you go down the silly path of Berrimah, you are still not going to get there. You need to bring forward Weddell if you are to keep up with the number of dwellings you are saying are required. You simply do not have enough land to keep up with the 1700 dwellings required annually as in this statement.
I am concerned about the development of Palmerston. I was recently approached by a building supplier who said that they feel there were only 300 blocks left in Palmerston to build on, and the word they heard is that Bellamack will not be ready probably until about October this year. They are concerned that the government is going to run out of land in Palmerston for houses. I am interested to hear what the minister has to say about that.
Bellamack has not even gone to the Planning Authority yet for approval. So notwithstanding there might be some objections, and I can guarantee I will be objecting to small streets that you can hardly turn a truck around in, or park three cars in, notwithstanding the normal objections you would get to a development, we appear to be a fair way off opening up the land in Palmerston at Bellamack, and of course, that is only according to the figures here which would allow you 150 dwellings this year.
I believe the government really has to start pushing forward with Weddell at the same time as pushing forward with suburbs in Palmerston, because what will happen, again, if we run out of land is that the price of land will increase, and once again the young people will be right out of the market.
Another issue I believe the government really has to look at is when it sells land it needs to cap the price at which land is then resold. By all means, developers who buy the land should be allowed to profit, they must cover the cost of the development and they must be allowed to have a profit. But as I have been told, land in Palmerston can be turned off for between $50 000 and $70 000 a block, so why is land being sold at $240 000 to $270 000 a block? No one minds a profit. That is part of what we are in, a capitalist society. However, when one remembers that the land the government has sold off to developers is our land - it is Crown land - it seems to me there should be some control over the selling price of this land. After all, the price of the land is what really makes or breaks people getting onto the land.
If you can build a house on cheap land, you help the economy. If you can just buy a block and you do not have the money to build a house, you are no help to the economy. Once you build a house, you buy a fridge and a washing machine and beds and all that sort of thing which helps the economy. If you just buy a block of land then that is no help. If we want to move the economy, then land has to be cheaper.
I believe the Territory should still work on the principle of the Old Wild West here: when you provide cheap land, you open up our Territory for development. You give people opportunities. That was one of our great sayings in the Territory, that the NT was a land of opportuNiTies with the ‘n’ and ‘t’ in capitals, but I do not believe it is a land of opportunity, except for those who can afford it.
We really need to be taking up these issues. I say that to the Labor government that says: ‘We support the worker, the battler, the single mum’, the people that it says it stands up for. It needs to show it in practical terms by providing not only affordable housing but providing affordable land. We do not want everyone in public housing. That would be the wrong move. But we might allow people who cannot afford the land to be able to have public housing. It would be preferable if we had cheap enough land for people to buy their own home, which would be much better for our society.
The government needs to bring forward a second high school and build it on the edge of Weddell. Taminmin High School is full and is going so well now that it is attracting people from Palmerston because of the courses it runs and the academic standard it is now achieving. You do not want Taminmin High to be any bigger. Big high schools create problems, as we know, and Taminmin High School might now be a prisoner of its own success.
There are many people in the rural area, and I include places like Batchelor, Acacia, Darwin River, Berry Springs, and Adelaide River, where we can have a school on the edge of Weddell, which would have that area as the feeder area. That needs to be done in a hurry, because if children from the rural area now want to go to their local high school, they are going to have to travel all the way into Palmerston or beyond. We already know that Palmerston High School is full, so now is the time to be making some decisions. If the plans for Weddell had been set out, if we had the competition, if we had the design, if we had everything ready, we could pick the site for the school right now and start building. It does not matter if it is in the cow paddock, it does not matter, the school could be built there and the suburb is built around it. The children will come to that school because they will be bussed to that school. The government should seriously look now at building a high school at Weddell.
I also believe that here is an opportunity for the economic stimulus package to be used for the building of a new dam at Warrai. I know the government is increasing the height of the slipway at Darwin River Dam to increase the capacity by 20%, but if we are looking at combining a town with increased water and also looking for ways of increasing employment, then I believe that this is the right time to do it. It may not be needed for five to 10 years, but it is a construction that does not matter if it sits there full of water, when the time comes to use it, we will use it, but we could build it now. We could make sure that people, especially from the mining industry who are obviously struggling now because of all the mines that have shut, we could be making opportunities for them to work on a construction site which will benefit the Darwin region in the future.
This statement talks about land release. How many times have I asked the minister to release some rural land? We talk about suburban land. Which is the fifth most popular place in Australia to live? Which is the fifth happiest place to live in Australia?
A member: Howard Springs!
Mr WOOD: We are immensely happy at Howard Springs. But people say they would like to live at Litchfield Shire. Why? Because it has some space around it, you can move.
If you have baked beans for tea in the rural area no one knows you had them, but if you have them in some parts of Palmerston and some parts of Darwin everyone knows you had baked beans for tea about 11 o’clock at night. That is how close people live. The reason why people are happy to live in the rural area is because they have the space, they have the freedom, they can have the dog, they can have the chooks, they can have a horse and the kids can grow up with a bit of space around them. Which has the lowest crime rate in the Territory? The rural area. You see some graffiti. We do have some crime. Does that not say that we should be opening up more land for families to have a choice, not just squashed in suburbia as we are doing at the present time, which I hope is not repeated in Weddell; but we should be opening up land.
The government has substantial Crown land in the rural area, especially around Howard Springs, already zoned as residential, but they are not willing to even open up or release limited amounts of land for first homeowners. That is what they should be doing. Thirty blocks a year. What is the big deal? The water and the power already goes past some of this land. If it needs upgrading, let us upgrade it. I say to the government: do not talk about looking after the battlers. I am not worried about the people on two super duper incomes. I am not worried about the executives. They will look after themselves. I am worried about the guy that is a truck driver. He might be a removalist or he might drive cattle trucks, his wife is at home looking after the two kids – they are not in the market to buy a house and block these days. We might think that is the case, but why are so many people building granny flats in the rural area? Because mum and dad are moving out just so the kids can live in a house, because they cannot afford to get a mortgage.
The reality is: yes, things can be rosy on the surface and we can think things are all going well, but dig a bit deeper and talk to the right people and you will find many people cannot afford to live in the Territory. I am asking the government to once again look at releasing some land. You will not compete with the market with 30 blocks. Have a look at the price of land at Gray. It is up there in the $290 000 to $340 000. Well, $340000 has done your HomeNorth loan straightaway. You can buy land and you will have to put a toy house on it. You can build a shed. Watch out, they will be around checking you out that you are doing something highly illegal like sleeping in your shed. Oh, naughty!
Mr Knight: No, they will not. Only when neighbours complain, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: No, they do not. We have too many people who are too fastidious about regulations when they do not need to be. That is the problem. Regulations are good in their place, but we have to realise that some people have no other place to live, and we need to balance regulations with common sense. Nothing wrong with regulation, but there are times in society where you have to ask: have they hurt anyone? And that is what we should be looking at. That is the difficulty for many of young people who want to start up living in the rural area.
The minister mentions aged care facilities. There are no aged care facilities in the rural area. There were plans to put a retirement village in Howard Springs and there is nothing else. I have called year in, year out for aged care facilities to be developed in the rural area. Two years ago the Chief Minister, Clare Martin, had a meeting in the rural area at Girraween Primary School. She got together people from the area. They sat down and they said this is what we want. The Chief Minister had been down south previously to look at various aged care facilities. So have I, the same places, the same person, Ian Tuxworth. I visited those places about four or five years ago.
Has there been anything from the government to say they would facilitate putting aged care facilities in the rural area? Nothing. So people either have go to Palmerston or Darwin or leave, and we should not be doing that to people in the rural area. They are part of the community; we should be encouraging them to be able to spend the remainder of their life in that community with their friends. The government has not done anything in that regard in the rural area.
I put this to the government: INPEX, as we know, is going to build its 1500 to 2000 construction village in Howard Springs. That is a fact. I do not think it is a secret. They are going around talking to people now about it. I want the government to say to INPEX: ‘Fine, we will give you the land to build this construction village on, but in return you will put something back into the community; you will design a construction village that will be able to be used as an aged care facility when it is finished’. They are only here for four or five years. They will spend billions of dollars building a gas plant. I believe it is this government’s job to push INPEX, if that has to be the case, to build a facility …
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the member for Nelson be granted an extension of time to complete his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: I believe it is the government’s job to say to INPEX: ‘Fine, we are giving you this land. Fine, you are coming to Darwin. We have offered you land in Darwin Harbour’. That is all terrific, but they need to say to INPEX: ‘You must leave something as a long-term legacy for the people of the Darwin region. If you are going to build this facility in the rural area, here is an opportunity to tell them that they will design it as if it is going to be an aged-care facility, so when they leave it, that is what it will be. There needs to be discussion about it because the design and what goes in there are all-important. However, if you do the groundwork first with the intention that the end product will be that, we can come up with something that we can say this company has done the right thing by the community. It just has not come and gone. It has come, built something and left us something for the benefit of the community, and that is important.
Berrimah! Oh, Berrimah! Let us leave Berrimah out of the equation. The government has enough on its plate without worrying about Berrimah. Let us get Palmerston developed. Let us get Lyons and Muirhead developed and fast-track Weddell, making sure you do all the right things – competition, get the design right. I believe there are enough people out there who will make life very uneasy for the government in regard to Berrimah. There are people out there who believe this is a mistake. They wish Berrimah Farm to stay, especially the facilities that are there. We really have not given it enough effort and community consultation to look at the alternatives.
I will say again: if you stand at the top of Berrimah Farm and look down to the harbour you can say what a wonderful view. What do you look at? You look at the port, and there is limited land for the port to expand because it is simply the geography of the land. There are mangroves on both sides. With the narrow peninsula where is the development of the port going to be? If we squash our port development out of existence we will regret that in 15, 20, 30 years. We will be wondering why the heck did the planners decide to use a piece of land inside the port for housing, when we have plenty of land at Weddell - 2000 ha. I believe we have more than that really, but we have 2000 ha at Weddell. So, why are we pushing for this so-called ‘in fill’?
We are also trying to look for a site for a new prison. I am told there are five prison sites ...
A member: We need five prisons.
Mr WOOD: We need five prisons. However, if we are going to rebuild the prison, build it there. We could use part of Berrimah on nice land there and use it for a prison farm. But we will not debate the prisons today.
Regarding Alice Springs, when I was asked when I was down the track recently: ‘What do you think of Weddell and how do you think it would affect Alice Springs?’ We are not saying it would affect Alice Springs, but what they are saying is that the government is willing to develop and open up all this land for Palmerston and the Darwin region, so why is the government not doing more for Alice Springs? We are talking about 2000 ha of land. Palmerston has a population of 27 000; Alice Springs about 25 000. Look at the number of blocks we are turning off for Palmerston. Why aren’t we promoting larger numbers of blocks opened up for Alice Springs to give people an opportunity?
An area that the government has not looked at in this debate, because it talks about land release - land release is important for our economy from an agricultural point of view. One of the failings of the Territory now - and more so than ever - is that we have put our eggs in some baskets, and that is it. We have put them into tourism so, if the economy collapses, tourism collapses - people do not travel as far. We put it into mining - resource prices drop and people are out of work.
However, we have agriculture and what interest do we really put on to agriculture? We rely on the live cattle export. Thank heavens everybody still eats. That is probably our shining light, except for the GST. It is agriculture that is keeping us going at the moment. What has the government really done to say they really believe that the Territory should advance in agriculture? Ord River Stage 2 – Mr Rudd was there recently. He said it is a great place. I do not have the quotes here, but a journalist, when asked about what the Territory was doing, there was some laughter, which is a shame. Naturally, there are issues, but we should be promoting it. We should be developing the land, not as we originally thought by getting these huge multinational companies in. We should be opening up the land for average farmers at a reasonable price, encourage them up here.
Do not make the mistake of doing what we did at Douglas/Daly, where I believe we sweetened them up with the wrong information and they thought that the land was going to grow all crops all year round. Of course, many of those farmers were disillusioned and left. The Ord River Stage 2 has permanent water, and therefore you could have reliable cropping. We are not doing enough work there. The Sturt Plateau - now I know some of that land is partial, but I think there are great opportunities for that land to be developed for horticulture and more intensive agriculture. We need to be forward thinking because, at the moment, we just seem to be staggering.
Agriculture is fine as long as it is live cattle. Mangoes, some Asian vegetables, and then you would have to say, where is the rest? Some of our good land has been taken over by forestry at the moment but, to me, agriculture and primary industry is something we have to crank up. I always call it the ‘poor cousin department’ of the Northern Territory.
When I came, it was totally the opposite. It was so great to go to the department of Primary Industry at Berrimah, to see all the experimental work they were doing. They had open days. When was the last open day in the Northern Territory on a farm? Probably down at the VRD looking at the growth of cattle there or something. I know the Minister for Local Government was there, but when did we last have a vegetable open day on an experimental farm? It has been years. I was at Douglas/Daly about 15 years ago and I remember looking at the department’s research farm with its peanut trials. I believe we have taken our eye off the ball when it comes to agriculture. I think we are too scared, you might say, of the green lobby. We need sustainable agriculture, but that does not mean we need nil agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is what we need, and we can do it sensibly today, but somehow we have lost it.
When I debated the question of GM cotton, the politics is what it is about. The science, as they always claim here, had nothing to do with it. The report said we can grow this safely and it will not affect the environment if it is grown this way. We spent seven years doing experimental work with cotton, and we threw it out the door because the policy of the Labor government was no GM crops, no crops. It did not matter about the science. We have not moved on from the thinking of 20 years ago. Life moves on, technology moves on, the growing of crops moves on. Growing cotton 20 years ago in the Northern Territory was a failure, it was a disaster. We come along with new ways of doing things and we still reject it because it is not politically correct. I feel that reflects on the lack of bravado, the lack of drive, that we need to promote the agricultural economy that we need.
We are in dire times. We do not know whether the ripple effect is still going to affect us. Wall Street dropped the stone, and we are sitting up here in the Northern Territory hoping that it will not hit us too hard. We need to have a mixed economy so that when troubles do come we can lessen the burden of what is going to happen. We have not done that with agriculture.
We need to release more land and allow the Territory to develop. We need to do it carefully, we need to do it sustainably but, at the moment, we are doing nothing at all, and that is a shame.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the minister for the statement. It is an important statement. We need things like infrastructure as well. When I started off, we were talking about Weddell. We need public infrastructure, especially public transport. We can develop our rail service through this new city into Darwin. We need to be thinking those things as well.
I hope the minister will take some note of what we say. Let us speed up Weddell, let us open up some land in the rural area, let us get Bellamack going pretty fast, let us open up some more land in Alice Springs so young people can find a home at a reasonable price, and let us look at developing agriculture in the Northern Territory so that we have a great place for people to live, but also to develop work opportunities for the people who want to live here.
Dr BURNS (Business): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on growing the Territory’s land release. I hope everyone in this Chamber will recall the recessions we had in 2000-2001. When the Labor government first came to power in 2001 growth was negative, unemployment was high and business confidence was shot to ribbons. That is a fact in 2001. There is no doubt that business had stagnated in the last years of the CLP government. I know all too well, from doorknocking and speaking to people, that subcontractors and workers were pleading for jobs.
It was a time of negative growth. It was a time with the CLP government of the day when the revote was actually larger than the capital injection into the infrastructure spending. It was a very dark time. I was very interested to hear the tape of the member for Port Darwin on those days and the findings of Professor Percy Allan into what went wrong under the CLP’s financial management of that time.
I have gone to the trouble of printing Professor Percy Allan’s Independent Review of the Northern Territory’s Financial Position. The reason I am doing that is because I believe history is worth revisiting. There are many contractors and business people in Darwin who will remember those times and who would be loath to give the CLP another shot at holding the reins, the economic levers and the Treasury benches particularly given the flights of fancy of the member for Port Darwin.
I put out a press release about the member for Port Darwin in relation to Treasury matters. I said, that he should not let his mind wander because it is too little to go out by itself. Just listening to the froth and bubble that he had to say here, the completely unconvincing froth and bubble, looking at the past and trying to look into the future, I do not think business could have confidence in the member for Port Darwin to be the Treasurer. I think you blokes are in a little trouble having him as your economic spokesman.
I would like to read some pertinent sections from Percy Allan’s report, bearing in mind that Percy Allan is a renowned economist and he has been an Under Treasurer in another state. He is talking about the CLP and why the budget outlook was deteriorating. He is talking about budget annual deficits that were repeatedly between $70m and $114m and about a situation that particularly deteriorated between 1998-99, and 2000-01, when the total expenditure rose $202m, yet total revenue went up only by $103m. What does that mean? It means that the CLP was spending more than was coming into their coffers, that is plain and simple. You do not have to be an economic guru to see that. He said at least four budgets incorporated unrealistically low growth forecasts for the government final consumption expenditure. And this is a crucial finding by Percy Allan - the decision to adopt such low forecasts was made by the government, not the Treasury.
So here were political decisions made about the budget. I well remember the member for Port Darwin talking about the Conditions of Service fund. I can remember Mike Reed pillaging that. There was $150m in it; he pillaged it for about $149m – sorry, there was probably more in it than $150m, but he pillaged it for $149m to bring them into surplus by $1m. Financial sleight of hand was not unknown to the CLP. We had an inquiry into the way they fiddled with the forward estimates and played all sorts of games with the budget. Here is another conclusion that Percy Allan had: little or no effort was made to contain the ballooning deficit in 1999-2000, 2000-01. What did Percy Allan recommend? Adopt a fiscal integrity and transparency act to ensure that the budget is based on Treasury estimates, discloses all assumptions, is confined to the general government sector, and is prepared by the uniform presentation framework.
This government adopted that. We passed the FITA which now forms the budget, the aspects of transparency around the budget, and enables proper, informed debate around our budget.
I will table a copy of this and members opposite and members on this side who were not present in 2001 would do very well to read this. I know business people in this town know the way in which the CLP completely bungled financial management during the last years of their reign. They have seen unprecedented growth under this Labor government. They have seen us invest in infrastructure. Yes, we have been the beneficiaries of GST funds, but we have spent them wisely. We have spent that on infrastructure funds, and we have spent that on the development of services for the people of the Northern Territory. I know there are contractors and business people out there who have confidence in this government and the way that it manages their financial affairs.
And for the member for Port Darwin to come in here and say that the Cabinet sits around and arbitrarily picks numbers and projects - I have been a Cabinet minister for eight years and I can assure this House and members opposite, none of whom have ever been a Cabinet minister, that there is a lot of rigor in what happens in our budget processes. We do have an eye to the future. We do have an eye to unallocated expenditure in …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order; Madam Deputy Speaker! I am sorry I misunderstood the minister; did he say rigor or rigor mortis? I am not quite sure.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Resume you seat. You have the call, minister.
Dr BURNS: This is a government that has delivered surpluses in the majority of our budgets, unlike the CLP and what Percy Allan had to say about the way you mob managed the finances. I will reiterate, but I think you are in a bit of trouble with the member for Port Darwin, God bless him, as your Treasury spokesman. Maybe I should say, keep him there. Keep him there. I love to see him on television talking about drunken sailors and all the rest of it, all the colourful turns of phrase, but he is not cutting it out there with the business community. I can assure this House of that, and I know that.
I challenge the member for Port Darwin to go out and ask the contractors and the business people to regurgitate what he said in here today about budgets and the way budgets should be managed and all the rest of it. Regurgitate that to the business people of Darwin, and they will just look sideways at you. What they are interested in is having confidence and there is unprecedented confidence in our economy in the Northern Territory, and in the way in which this government is managing the economy.
We know we have a significant role in helping business to maximise its contribution to economic growth, in conducting our government, corporate and business activities to support business, and maintain and improve the Territory’s business and operating environment. As I said previously that is why we have invested unprecedented amounts, record amounts, in infrastructure spending over a sustained period whilst we have been in government, and it has been much appreciated by the business community. As the Chief Minister noted, there is much work under way across all portfolios including the new portfolios I now hold.
Naturally, we are continuing to monitor the global and national economic situation as well as the circumstances of our major trading partners. The objective is to ensure the global economic and financial challenges are understood, and their implications and potential impacts on the Northern Territory economy and businesses are adequately assessed. From this analysis, the Territory response is to underpin continued economic development and to complement national and private sector action. These are being developed and implemented. I propose to provide more on these crucial issues on another occasion, but it may be useful to touch on some of the main issues now.
Global economic data highlights continued rapid economic decline worldwide, and significant retrenchments across industry sectors in a number of major economies. Most advanced economies are now in recession. Estimates of GDP growth in 2009 now range from minus 1.2% to minus 2.8% for the USA and what is called the Euro zone - UK and Japan -- according to the IMF. Sharply slowing growth is already observed in other major economies such as China, India, and Brazil. GDP growth in China is declining from 13% in 2007 to around 6% in 2009. Nationally, the global financial conditions are the most testing since the 1930s depression.
Against this backdrop, COAG resolved last week to introduce new arrangements to provide economic stimulus within the Australian economy and reduce the impact of the world financial challenges. The Australian national economy is expected by some forecasters to grow into mild recession in 2009, with the IMF projecting Australia’s economic growth to be close to zero. This compares with the latest federal Treasury forecast of plus 0.75% in 2009, which incorporates the expected outcome from the second national economic stimulus package.
A second national stimulus package was agreed at the most recent COAG meeting and is currently progressing through the federal parliament - we hope it is progressing. The plan includes $21.5bn to the states and territories for education, social housing, and road and rail infrastructure, and complements measures already taken by the Commonwealth and COAG in 2008. An additional $500m is to be provided to local government for community infrastructure. COAG leaders agree that the additional stimulus needed to flow quickly to aggregate demand through rapid implementation of the plan. That also includes the Western Australian Premier, I might add.
This package will provide the major stimulus in the Australian context when implemented, with stimulatory results expected to continue until the second half of 2011. Territory economic growth is also expected to ease in the coming period. As the Chief Minister said, with good management, clever planning and hard work we will come through this crisis in strong place - the economy of choice in Australia.
We believe that a measured response and action is needed, and growing Territory land release is part of plotting our course for continued economic growth, overcoming hurdles that have been encountered as a result of our recent rapid economical development, and responding to the inevitable challenges thrown up by the global financial challenge. The Treasurer and Minister for Lands and Planning has certainly outlined what is on the table and what is being done in land release.
The availability of workers, and skilled staff in particular, has been a continuing constraint. Unlike the rest of Australia, this has remained a challenge right through 2008. The Sensis Small Business Index results in November 2008 showed that the main concern for Territory small and medium enterprises remain finding and keeping staff. This is very different to the current national and states’ picture where concern about the economic climate was the predominant issue. In the December report, Sensis noted that while SME business confidence fell by 22 percentage points during the quarter to 24%, Territory’s SME confidence remained almost double the national average of 13%. That is a critical finding and it shows the confidence that our business has in the future of the Northern Territory.
Additional focused action on land release and further planning, as outlined by the Chief Minister and the Minister for Lands and Planning, is critical.
We also need industrial land to support the continued economic development of the Northern Territory. The Land Development Corporation plays a part in this with the private sector. The Land Development Corporation has a vital role in the release and development of industrial land - a key component of the Territory’s overall land release responsibilities. It has been a primary focus of the Board of the Land Development Corporation for the last 12 months. I recently received the first draft of the strategy outlining what the corporation intends to develop in the next 10 to 15 years. It is a substantial body of work that addresses issues such as intended land uses, indicative service land turn-off, total area of service lots, approximate parcel lines, lot yield, environmental assessment and approval requirements.
Madam Speaker, I invite people to take a drive along East Arm to the port through the Business Park to see the developments springing from what for many years was vacant industrial allotment. We now have more than $200m-worth of development occurring, with many more millions to come. Vopak’s Darwin Industry Fuel Terminal, the adjoining biodiesel plant, and the massive coal distribution facility were multimillion dollar foundation customers at the Business Park. The LDC is continuing to experience high demand for these industrial lots.
Some of the activity taking place at the Darwin Business Park includes: Gibbons Investment, currently constructing a $1.2m distribution warehouse facility; Gwelo Developments is currently constructing a $3.5m distribution facility for the import of building products from Asia; Gaymark Investments, currently constructing a major warehouse complex; Top Class Fruit Supply commenced site works on a $4m warehouse cold storage facility for the importing and exporting of produce; Amcor Packaging recently completed a new $1.5m facility; the new $20m warehouse distribution facility for Metcash, otherwise known as Independent Grocers, was opened on 19 November 2008; an additional $2.7m Toll warehouse facility was completed in 2008; Shaws Transport completed an $8.5m warehouse and distribution facility in 2008; Smorgon Steel is relocating its distribution centre to the Darwin Business Park, and work has commenced on a new $300m warehouse facility.
A further eight lots were released by the Land Development Corporation in 2008, seven of these are under contract, with the remaining parcel under active negotiation. Construction on these sites should commence within the next 12 months. Design and documentation for a new large subdivision delivering parcels, each larger than one hectare, are nearing completion and will be released in stages with the development leases as soon as possible. Other East Arm land releases and developments by the corporation include the current call for expressions of interest to develop Stage 2 of the East Arm Marine Precinct, with nearly 15 ha of waterfront access which closes on 27 February 2009; planning and design work for Stage 3 of the East Arm Marine Precinct adjoining the new recreational boat ramp; and site works on the new 20 ha common use area. Access roadworks have already commenced and internal services will be available before mid year.
The corporation focuses on businesses seeking to capitalise on major developments and projects, including the AustralAsia Railway; East Arm Port and Container Terminal; development of Timor Sea oil and gas; gas-based manufacturing and processing; and, of course, Defence.
The LDC has also called for expressions of interest in the development of a Defence Support Hub, and this is subject to assessment by a review panel.
Mr Tollner: How many people are knocking down the door to go there?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: That is a work in process, member for Fong Lim. You can laugh at developments and future developments …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: Anyway, we will listen to what your contribution is and what your position is on the second stimulus package. That will be very interesting.
The Department of Business and Employment provides valuable programs and services for small business, including advice on funding; business continuity; planning; tendering for government work; financial management; risk management; business planning; responses to the current world financial market pressures; and general business help, so with 95% of our Territory businesses classified as SMEs, these support programs are particularly important.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, I move an extension of time for the minister to complete his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, one of the key programs is Territory Business Upskills. This program provides skills consultants with business diagnostic tools and solutions to assist business operators to enhance their business management skills and maintain and develop competitive positioning. The first Upskills workshop for February 2009 is focused on pricing, costing and quoting.
Territory business growth is another initiative offered by the department to assist businesses throughout the Territory. This program provides funding and development services to enhance business performance, profitability, employment levels and market penetration.
Many of these services and support programs are available to Territory firms, including those involved in land release developments and in building and construction developments based on released land. The department also has an important role in providing investment, promotion and facilitation services to investors seeking to invest in development opportunities in the Northern Territory. It is crucial that we secure new and additional investment and this underpins continued economic growth for the Northern Territory.
The Territory’s Industry Participation Plans aim to increase business and industry participation in projects by providing competitive local businesses with more opportunities to compete for business generated by relevant major projects. It is targeted to maximise business and industry benefits arising from Territory economic growth including the development of industry capability skills and experience. Under the policy of this government, the industry participation plans are intended to assist project proponents and developers to maximise opportunities, to utilise local suppliers, services and labour to improve the capacity of businesses to compete locally. The IPPs also assist in decision-making in relation to government purchasing and investment where value will be the primary consideration.
Very importantly, a part of my new portfolio area involves procurement. Procurement matters are being tackled as well in order to assist business generally and those involved in the delivery of land release, building and construction activities in particular. I recall when I was previously procurement minister we were able to completely revise the Treasury guidelines for procurement, and collapse them from 34 to about 14 or 15 and simplifying …
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: You were not even around. DJ over there, you would not even know about it …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … would not even know about procurement. You would not know about it.
Mr Conlan: We used to listen to you …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Greatorex, thank you.
Dr BURNS: I was letting the House know that I do have experience in the procurement area. I was involved in procurement reform previously, which was very well received by business and industry, member for Greatorex. I am flagging to this House that there are further reforms that this government wants to drive through in terms of procurement and simplification of procurement procedures, particularly given the stimulus package that will be flowing through the Territory and the need for that money to hit the ground as soon as possible.
This government is committed to supporting the Territory, to supporting local business. What we look back at in the past is the fiasco of the previous CLP government which did not even have enough money for their capital works. It was a shame, it was a fiasco. This is a government that has proven itself as economic managers. The business community knows it, the building community knows it. Economically we have proved ourselves and the opposition is still wallowing in its mire of the past and whatever. They have yet to prove themselves, and they have yet to put forward cogent, solid policies that would convince anyone of their worth.
As announced by the Chief Minister last week, a five point plan to fast-track the implementation of the second stimulus package has implications for our procurement and service delivery arrangements. The Development Consent Authority is to meet every fortnight instead of every month and there will be more staff recruited to the DCA. A summit of construction industry leaders is to be held on Sunday, 15 February, to brief industry and get all the ideas on the table. Dedicated stimulus action squads are to be set up in government departments to get these projects up and running as fast as possible. Advertisements seeking expressions of interest from industry will be placed within two weeks. A short, sharp review of procurement to streamline development processes and cut red tape, including raising the threshold before you need to go to tender and getting contractors involved earlier in the processes – all very positive things which I am sure will be welcomed by industry.
The national stimulus package funding will be used to provide new infrastructure such as assembly halls, libraries and science laboratories, and to upgrade and repair schools. We have had a record funding commitment of $246m for school infrastructure, bringing the total school funding to more than $392m.
Under the stimulus …
Mr Tollner: What are the outcomes?
Dr BURNS: Which school do you not want to get the money?
Mr Tollner: What are the outcomes? What are the outcomes?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr Tollner: Leading the country in education are we?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Under the stimulus package every primary school is to have a large scale infrastructure project such as a library, a hall, built or upgraded; some 500 new science labs and language centres for schools across Australia and up to $200 000 for every school for upgrades and maintenance.
Obviously, the member for Fong Lim does not want any of this money to flow to schools in his electorate. The Territory is also set to benefit from other measures in the package including road maintenance, energy efficiency for houses, public and Defence housing and one-off bonus payments for Territorians.
I could detail more of what the government is doing in encouraging our workforce: Workwear/Workgear Bonus, employer incentives for employers who take on an apprentice, and Build Skills to assist in the upskilling and reskilling of existing Territory workers. The Territory government recognises the significant employment contribution made by the small business sector in the Territory. That is why we have the business upskills and business growth programs which I have mentioned.
I have talked about cutting the red tape and that is very important. One thing the opposition might forget is that we are the lowest taxing jurisdiction in Australia on small business. We have cut taxes on our small businesses and I know that is very welcome. We have commitments for further cuts and further easing of taxation on our small businesses. Making government services more efficient is an important component in providing a better service for business and the wider community, and my department is integrally involved in that.
I have started in this portfolio and I have already contacted the major business associations. Once this parliamentary sitting is completed I will be meeting with many of those associations. I know them from other portfolios I have held, including Planning and Infrastructure. I am undertaking to work well with industry to further support them. They know we are a government which supports industry, they know we are a government which supports our economy but, more importantly, they know we are a government which can manage the economy.
We have proven ourselves. We will continue to prove ourselves in difficult economic times by working with the Rudd Labor government federally and in terms of their …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Dr BURNS: … response to the global economic crisis which seems to have passed the mob opposite. I see DJ Glib Gab over there, the member for Greatorex, laughing. Well, he might be flippant about it, but we are deadly serious.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Conlan: Not a bad performance, Burnsey. Not a bad performance, mate. You should have been sacked a long time ago.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Greatorex, cease interjecting.
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Speaker, that was certainly very entertaining from the member for Jingili.
Dr Burns: Get it right - member for Johnston.
Mr TOLLNER: Highly entertaining. As I said in a past sitting, it is not hard to see why you are one of the key men in the Labor government. You have that uncanny knack of painting a picture that just does not exist. And good on you. I suppose that is probably why they all love you over that side; more than likely why you have the plum portfolio now of Business.
It is interesting you sort of tried …
Mr Knight: What does that mean?
Mr TOLLNER: Like the portfolio of Business.
Mr Knight: What do you mean by that?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Local Government, cease interjecting. Member for Fong Lim, you have the call.
Mr TOLLNER: It is interesting that the member for Jingili stands there …
Dr Burns: Johnston.
Mr TOLLNER: … and talks about – the member for Johnston, sorry, I will make a note of that. The member for Johnston pushes out things about how bad things were under the previous CLP governments and how good they have it now. It is a bit hard to reconcile that with reality. You walk outside of this place, you walk around Darwin and Palmerston, you have a look in Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs and pretty well nearly every single structure, every type of government investment, was ultimately put there by previous CLP governments.
Look in comparison to what we have today, what eight years of Labor government have given us. I have absolutely no doubt they have given us the convention centre. That was an idea originally stolen from Denis Burke, a previous Chief Minister, who made it some sort of election commitment. In any case, they massaged it, shaped it, and it is their project. We will give you credit for the convention centre and the wave pool. I was there in September last year, in the budgie smugglers, had my towel, with the kids waiting for the opening of the wave pool. It was September it opened? Is that right?
Mr Conlan: No, it was before the election.
Mr TOLLNER: No, I am sure you said that it opened in September.
Mr Conlan: With a $500 000 party.
Mr TOLLNER: Well, yes, then we had the $500 000 party. I remember in 2001 …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Members, cease interjecting.
Mr TOLLNER: … it was Territory Labor which promised an oncology unit. Territory Labor had a mini-budget where they actually budgeted $14m for an oncology unit. They were going to get it done. Members are aware ...
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Greatorex!
Mr TOLLNER: It sort of morphed into being: ‘We cannot do it without help from Canberra’ - irrespective of the massive GST windfalls that they received. They found they could not find $14m. Ultimately, and correct me if I am wrong - you were minister at the time, if I recall, member for Johnston - the Territory government’s ultimate contribution to this much-needed and long-promised oncology unit was somewhere around $1m and a block of land for something you originally budgeted $14m for. Ultimately, you could not do it without the support of the Commonwealth government.
I remember a little medical practice in Palmerston called the Farrar Medical Centre which was put in the Palmerston Health Precinct by – surprise, surprise! - the previous CLP government. That little medical centre used to survive on $250 000, or something around that, per annum government support. That was the government’s subsidy to keep that going. What did Territory Labor do? They said: ‘No, no, we are not paying that subsidy’, and they cut it out. Consequently, the Farrar Medical Centre went to the wall. Now what do we have? Kevin Rudd has promised a $10m super clinic to go in the same location. The member for Drysdale tells me it is nothing but a demountable. They do not even have basic equipment there to do anything. Something like that $10m would have kept the Farrar Medical Centre going at $250 000 per year, something like 40 years – 40 years! You guys have it. You are the good economic managers. Make sense of that! Absolutely ridiculous!
You spend $1.5m fighting the imposition of the Commonwealth’s nuclear waste management facility - $1.5m public campaign, strutting around; Territorians wanting to stop this terrible thing. All of a sudden, you have your good mate down there elected in Canberra. What does Martin Ferguson say about it? Has Martin Ferguson come in and ruled it out of the Territory immediately? I have photos of a sign. It says: ‘Stop Tollner’s nuclear waste dump. Vote Labor’. What happened then? People voted Labor and they still get the nuclear waste dump. You spent $1.5m of Territorians’ money running petitions, putting ads out, because there was no way known you were going to stomach that – no way known.
The defence hub! Minister, you have to get across this one. Mothball the thing while you can, because it is costing, it will cost, Territorians a bomb to get this thing off the ground. I cannot see too many businesses who want to go there. You said yourself they are all going out to East Arm. Why? Because they want to be near the port, they want to be near the railway, they want to be near a whole range of different facilities that are out there. That is where business wants to go.
If you want to do something for Defence, how about you get on your bike and pedal down to Canberra and talk to Kevin Rudd and Joel Fitzgibbon about the alleged $3bn they are going to cut out of the Defence budget. That would be something you could do to for Territory business. Get down there to Canberra and start lobbying on their behalf, like our Mines minister should have done with McArthur River Mine. No, he does not get boo! When was the last time you flew to Canberra and talked to Peter Garrett and asked him to sign off on the McArthur River Mine? He said he would do it last Friday.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, can I remind you that all comments must come through the Chair, that they are addressed to me and not to individual ministers? Thank you, member for Fong Lim.
Mr TOLLNER: Certainly, Madam Speaker. The Mines minister should have been in Canberra talking with Peter Garrett two months ago, as soon as that decision came out of the Federal Court. He should have been telling that minister how important that mine was to the Territory economy. The federal Environment minister, Garrett, made a commitment that he would sign the thing off as soon as the 10 days expired. Well, that was last Friday. It is now Tuesday. We still do not have a decision out of the guy. There are still 300 workers sitting around doing nothing, just waiting for Peter Garrett - I don’t know, forget the whales, forget the war, whatever - to sign off on their jobs! What is our government doing about it? Nothing, absolutely nothing. It is absolutely appalling. You want to spend $300m to move a prison! In these tough economic times, you are going to blow $300m to move the prison - absolutely ridiculous.
You look all around the place, and you talk about record spending in health, record spending in education. Where is it going? We have some of the worst education numbers coming out of the country. You have just had a minister basically resign because she was not up to the job. We have an absolutely disgraceful education system and you are talking about the amount of money you have thrown it!
Health is another example. Massive amounts of money going into the health system, but you will not get a nurse. We have known for months and months about the nurse staffing crisis, but what has been done about it? Absolutely nothing! The roads are getting washed away. The Stuart Highway, the Barkly Highway and the Victoria Highway are actually responsibilities of Canberra to pay the bills. Now, the way things work with that national highway is that the Territory government just does the work, invoices Canberra and they pay the bill, no questions asked.
Dr Burns: No, it is not that simple.
Mr TOLLNER: Oh, yes it is! Labor should know that it is that simple, it is their road. They do not have a road …
Dr Burns interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr TOLLNER: Absolute rubbish. You were the guy who decided what needed maintaining.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr TOLLNER: The fact is that this Labor government is absolutely wasteful and irresponsible, and now they are going to put us into another $200m black hole. This is what Labor is good at: putting people into debt. It is not just this Labor government. You are not on your own here. This is happening right around the country. State government debt is through the roof - absolutely though the roof. The only place in the country where we have a surplus is in the federal government, and now Kevin, not even in the job for 12 months …
Madam SPEAKER: Please pause, member for Fong Lim. I remind you that when we are referring to people such as the Prime Minister, that is, in fact, the way we are supposed to refer them, and ministers of other parliaments. It is a normal courtesy and part of the standing orders. So, if you would be so kind.
Mr TOLLNER: Sorry, Madam Speaker. The federal member for Griffith is now telling us that we are going to go into, goodness knows, how much debt now, but I know that we inherited $96bn of debt in 1996 and it took us something like eight or nine years of very tight and prudent management in order to repay that debt. Eight or nine years, a huge amount of time to pay $96bn. This guy has only been in office for less than 12 months and he has already wracked up a bill like that. If this was about me or any other adult person here, you would say, ah well, just slug them, but you are talking about the kids now. You are talking about the kids. It is the kids who are going to be paying for this. For years and years down the track, people are going to be lumbered with this debt.
That is just the lack of imagination, the lack of any sort of wit, from these Labor politicians right around Australia and around the world that just amazes me. How do we get out of this? Let us just throw bucket loads of money at it. Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister, expects that every party in Canberra is just going to sign up and say, oh yes, yes that is fine. No one has any detail. Buy a pig in a poke. Cross your fingers. Even Barack Obama is not that bold. Barack Obama’s massive package is scrutinised heavily, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and it is altered and changed and chopped and it is looked at. But not here in Australia. People had a debate on it. That is not what Kevin wants. That is not what the Prime Minister wants.
I listened to this debate this afternoon, and there have been a few references that this government is a bit of a circus. I think the Opposition Leader talked about the circus of Territory Labor. The member for Port Darwin was talking about the three card trick and the thought occurred to me that this is a seriously dud circus. It is a dreadful circus.
We have the member for Wanguri over there, the ring master, showman No 1, who gets out there and hypes the crowd up. They are going to fleece you when you come through the door, sit down, we will hype you all up, wait for this wonderful big show. And we have this great show and what do you get? You get the crazy acrobat. The member for Johnston, the crazy acrobat, the accident-prone high wire act. One thing about him is that he keeps getting up. The member for Arafura is obviously the lion. We know who the lion tamer is, don’t we? - the member for Macdonnell. She has put her in her place. The member for Daly is a silly clown. The silly clown who cannot keep the lights on but he makes all the kids laugh.
We cannot forget, last but not least, the member for Karama, the fortune teller. You know when you head around the back of the dodgy circus there is this dark tent with bits of bling hanging off it. You walk in there, first thing she does: ‘I will read your fortune’. Hits you up for big bucks, you get in there and it is dark, full of candles and smoke and mirrors. You sit down and she pulls out the tarot cards, the runes, does a bit of speaking to the dead, gets the crystal ball out and ultimately she just tells the customers what they want to hear. It is all voodoo fortune telling, and for that people pay much money. They pay to hear what they wanted to be told. Go to the member for Karama, she will paint a rosy picture, tell your fortune – it is all roses.
Meanwhile outside, the main tent burning down, the crazy acrobat is falling off the high wire, the lion tamer is eaten alive, the member for Daly is wandering around in the dark, and you would not laugh if it was not so serious. It is a serious thing. We are sitting here being told that we have to somehow jump in and get into contact with our federal colleagues to get this pork-barrel union-pay-off, lazy state Labor government pay-off, fiscal stimulus package that Mr Rudd is putting in. We somehow have to support this crazy notion that we are going to send Australia into debt for the next few decades. Like I say, there is not an inkling of imagination, not one inkling of imagination.
You do not have to look very far. You can look just across the Tasman. Across the Tasman there is a bloke called John Key. He is the Prime Minister of New Zealand. John Key has taken a completely different approach to all these other socialist governments around the world which believe they will just spend their way out of this. You find out you have no money, so what do you do? You spend more of it - somehow that is going to help the world. John Key has taken a completely different approach. John Key is not throwing massive amounts of money at the problem at all. In fact, John Key says what we spend through this, actually …
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, I move that the member be given an extension of 10 minutes to conclude his comments, pursuant to Standing Order 77
Motion agreed to.
Mr TOLLNER: Thank you, Madam Speaker, I thank the House.
John Key takes a different approach to it; he is not into throwing big dollars at this problem. What he says is that he wants to streamline the bureaucracy; he has a few different tactics here. One, is he is going to streamline the bureaucracy and demand efficiencies from the public service. He is going to cut red tape and there is a lot of that over there following a decade of Labor rule in New Zealand. Helen Clark left them up to their gills in red tape. So he is going to cut government red tape. He is going to free up industrial relations laws in New Zealand to allow business to employ more people, have more flexible conditions of employment.
That is what John Key wants to do, and John Key’s main focus is he knows New Zealand is in the doldrums at the moment, but John Key’s focus is on what happens after this. He says that at the moment they are at the bottom of the pecking order. If at the end of this financial crisis they can come through it out of debt, with a freed up business and enterprise culture, with a freed up workplace relations system, a streamlined government, they are going to come out of it at the top of the pile. That is where we should be positioning ourselves.
We want to be at the top of the pile. We were practically at the top of the pile only a year or 18 months ago. Australia was the envy of the world, and now we are slowly slipping down into the middle of it, into the mire. Kevin Rudd has taken us there at a rate of knots that is amazing. Look at what Kevin Rudd does. Kevin Rudd says we are going to throw massive dollars at this problem; ‘we will throw everything but the kitchen sink’, I think I recall him saying. He is going to put Australia in debt for decades to come. There is no suggestion at all of streamlining the public service, there is no cutting government red tape and, as far as demanding efficiencies and making a better climate for business to operate, what does Kevin Rudd do? He says: ‘We are going to sign up to an emissions trading scheme. Let us, right in the middle of a dreadful crisis, whack an impost on business’. He is also going to introduce IR laws that will take us back a good 35 years to a stage that it is going to make it almost impossible for business to be employing people.
The fact is that Labor governments have never been governments that are pro-employment. They have been pro-union. That is what Kevin Rudd’s whole plan is with his construction scheme: pay off the mates of the CFMEU and the AWU. Give them all a payoff for all their support during the last federal campaign. He is doing it exactly the same thing as the state Labor governments. Through their inefficiencies, their mismanagement, they have left Australia’s infrastructure slide totally into the doldrums. The health system is stuffed in the country, everywhere you look. The education system is going backwards everywhere you look. All because of lacklustre, mediocre Labor state administrations. That is exactly what we have here.
Labor’s own little economic think tank - whatever you want to call it – is gun-for-hire Access Economics. We heard plenty from them prior to the 2001 election. They have come out now and just bagged the Territory. They said we are almost in the same boat as New South Wales. In New South Wales, I do not know how many years they have had a Labor government but, after Bob Carr, Morris Iemma, and Nathan Rees, the place is absolutely going to hell in a hand basket, to put it mildly. Access Economics says that we are not far behind them. We are not far behind them, but that does not suit us up here. We have to talk about INPEX. Well, I support INPEX - looking forward to them turning up. However, if they lay a foundation stone in the next two or three years, I will be absolutely surprised. I hope you can fast-track it but it is certainly a way down the track.
What is happening in the Territory in the next two to three years? Maybe the wave pool might open. Maybe we can hope to go for a swim at the wave pool. I understand that will be free, as that was an election promise, if I am not wrong …
A member: It is subsidised entry now.
Mr TOLLNER: Oh, it is subsidised entry. Now, we do not even have a free swim at the wave pool while they are all going to hell in a hand basket. We have to pay for that as well. When will it open? It was supposed to be open in September - looking forward to it. The whole of Darwin is looking forward to it. I hear that Alice Springs people are going to come up en masse.
The member for Nelson has talked about the attacks on agriculture and farming. I do not think he went anywhere near farming.
Mr Wood: I ran out of time.
Mr TOLLNER: The Daly River, member for Nelson, has been a basket case since these guys took over – an absolute basket case. Previous governments had development planned. What has happened? Nothing - absolutely nothing. We have had moratorium after moratorium, and people - mum and dad farmers - are sitting out there going broke. Mum and dad farmers - not big-time multinationals hoarding up land. These are people who are getting those blocks of land and want to make an income from it, but they cannot.
Labor is driven by ideology, and that is, basically, all they are driven by. They are not into sound economic management; they are not into making practical decisions. They come out with the most amazing things at the most amazing times - but it is all cant, it is all spin, it is all voodoo economics. It is just absolute nonsense.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased that the Chief Minister has made this ministerial statement. What I am not pleased about is what is in it because, ultimately, there is nothing in it. There is no commitment to do anything, and even if he did make a commitment, you would have a hard time believing that that commitment would be realised. We have seen it time and time again: the oncology unit; when is the super clinic happening at Palmerston? The list is as long as your arm about things that never seem to eventuate. I am at the point where I could almost support anything that they propose if they could actually get it to happen.
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Speaker, I rise to support the statement. It was good to hear from the member for Fong Lim. It is quite rare that he makes a response to a ministerial statement. How many years were you in federal parliament? Six years. How many times did you make a speech responding to a ministerial statement?
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: Sorry? I believe …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please direct your comments through the Chair.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, for six years, our representative in the federal parliament made one – one - supporting ministerial statement in six years in the federal parliament. What a lazy, incompetent member of parliament we had in the federal parliament. He was asleep there for six years. He sat in the back. They put him in the back. Just put Dave out the back. Keep him out there and he will fall asleep and he will not say anything. So, one ministerial statement in six years in the federal parliament.
He made reference to the circus. Well, many people have made the correlation with Bozo the Clown. Good old Bozo the Clown, trots in whenever he feels like it, in a jovial manner, and there are a few Keystone Cops over there, quite literally, Keystone Cops. They are there to kind of potter around, a few dancing poodles to the ringmaster, the right honourable the member for Port Darwin, so there are a few dancing poodles. There is a lion tamer, or a dog tamer maybe. Yes, certainly, there is quite a circus over there and I am sure the party room is quite exciting at the moment.
It is quite interesting that the authority – I mean, I am no economist, Madam Speaker, nobody in here is an economist, but all around the world we have developed countries trying to stimulate their economies, trying to get confidence back into the marketplace. There are multibillion dollar efforts in the United States, in Europe, in the United Kingdom, trying to get their economies restarted, to get monies flowing, to get confidence back into the business sector, to continue the circulation of money in their economies. But, somehow, the former insurance salesman knows better than every single one of those other countries. He knows better than historians, economic historians, who know that you do not tighten up in depressions or recessions. You stimulate, you keep the money flowing. Somehow he knows better than every other developed country, the think tanks that they have out there, about how to respond in a downturn, a recession or even a depression.
He also referred to his new, best friend, Mr Key in New Zealand. He supported and used the words ‘streamlining the bureaucracy’. That is code for a slash in the public service.
Members interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: That is code. The member for Port Darwin and the CLP obviously should not support massive public sector cutbacks in times of economic downturn. They support cutting back nurses, teachers, police, all the key workers. They are all public servants. ‘Streamlining the economy’ is code for doing exactly that.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would like the minister to prove his assertions by tabling all documents which make those assertions or support those assertions that have been produced by this side of the House.
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry, I do not know what the documents are that he is referring to.
Mr ELFERINK: Otherwise you are telling fibs and you are manufacturing untruths.
Madam SPEAKER: Please pause.
Mr KNIGHT: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, minister.
Mr KNIGHT: The member for Port Darwin made many assertions about a whole range of people and made many assumptions …
Mr Elferink: Supported by references to documents.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: As has been the practice in this House, Madam Speaker, people have had some liberty in interpreting …
Mr Elferink: You do not have the liberty to tell lies.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Elferink: You do not have the liberty to tell lies.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, I ask you to withdraw, thank you.
Mr ELFERINK: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order. We can certainly table the Under-Treasurer’s assessment of the CLP’s election commitments which shows that they would have to slash the public service right across the board if they were to meet what they said would be their spending.
Mr Elferink: This is your policy. It is called attrition. The same policy that you have been running, you goose.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Cease interjecting. Did you have a point of order as well, member for Greatorex?
Mr CONLAN: The member for Daly clearly said ‘sacking nurses’. Nowhere did it ever say in CLP policy about sacking nurses …
Ms Lawrie: You should read what the Under-Treasurer wrote about …
Mr CONLAN: … public servants. Nurses may be public servants, but nowhere did it say sacking nurses. Madam Speaker, I ask that he withdraw that.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, please resume your seat. There is no point of order. Minister, do you have documents that relate to this speech that you have which you wish to table?
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, many opposition speakers on the other side have made unsubstantiated assertions.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, I am asking you a question. Do you have a document which relates to these matters?
Mr KNIGHT: No, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: I have listened to the speech from the member for Fong Lim and he certainly made a number of very significant comments regarding members on the other side. In relation to this, I will ask the minister to be as careful as possible. I have given a lot of latitude to the opposition in the comments that the member for Fong Lim made.
Minister, you may continue but bear in mind those comments. I will call you up if there are problems.
Mr KNIGHT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will just make one more comment about the new Liberal government in New Zealand, which the member for Port Darwin is supporting. The new policy direction is the freeing up of industrial relations laws. Have you learned nothing from the federal election? Have you learned nothing about the kick in the arse that the …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, I ask you to withdraw, thank you.
Mr KNIGHT: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
A member: Have you learned nothing from the August election?
Mr KNIGHT: Have you learned nothing from the kick up the backside that the Coalition got at the last federal election? Your industrial relations laws were the single most important reason why you lost your seat. And yet, here you are today supporting the ‘freeing up of industrial relations laws’. You have learned nothing. Territorians should be very aware that, given your chance, you would be going straight back there again to those draconian industrial relations laws that you supported and were subsequently booted out of parliament.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call and if you could continue to address your comments through the Chair.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, I will address my comments more directly to the statement.
I welcome the statement by the Chief Minister about growing the Territory. In a general sense, it is about developing the Territory, but in these very tough economic times we need to cater for businesses in the Territory and Territorians. We have, as Territorians, watched the global economic crisis developing and it will affect the Territory in some way or another. We have to be very prudent in what we do. It is thanks to this government’s financial management that we are going to experience a lesser effect from these economic downturns than any other jurisdiction in the country.
With the work of the Chief Minister’s Growth Planning Unit showing significant population increases in the greater Darwin and Palmerston area and in the bush, it is estimated that we need about 1700 extra dwellings a year in the immediate future. We have boosted funding to public housing by 65% since 2001 and, over the next five years, about $1bn will be invested in public housing with a strong focus on critical shortages in our remote communities.
A member: The waiting list has got longer.
Mr KNIGHT: It must be noted, Madam Speaker, that our wait lists are probably the shortest in the country. In the last two years of the CLP government they sold, on average, 300 public housing dwellings. Sixty five percent of the properties we sell are to low income public housing tenants. That is about giving those people a chance to enter the private ownership market.
As our population continues to grow, strategic land releases will be the key to getting more affordable public housing opportunities into the market. That is why this government has taken the decision to set aside 15% of all significant land release projects for this purpose. In the immediate future, the effect of this policy decision will be played out in Palmerston East, in Bellamack and the fast-track suburbs of Mitchell, Johnston and Zuccoli.
As a practical example of this decision, I was pleased to recently announce that this government will construct a $10m, 40-unit seniors’ village in the new suburb of Bellamack. Many senior Territorians who currently reside in public housing, what we are seeing in Fannie Bay and Leanyer, have taken up the opportunity to move into those units thus freeing up those dwellings that they are in for other people to occupy. Headworks will begin this year, as it has been stated, and I look forward to those seniors moving into those units next year.
Other public and affordable housing opportunities at Bellamack will be identified as detailed planning for lots in the suburb continue to take shape. I look forward to being able to make announcements about the investment in affordable and public housing, in due course, across Palmerston East and also in Larapinta in Alice Springs.
Improving public housing is not restricted to land release developments. We are continually looking at our existing stock for options for improvements in the way public housing is delivered. Government’s commitment to re-development of the higher density public housing complexes along Parap Road is a good example of this approach. High levels of antisocial behaviour and the condition of the public housing complexes along the road make it clear that this high density public housing is no longer suitable.
The re-development project is an investment in the future of Parap while reducing antisocial behaviour and creating opportunities for affordable housing, seniors’ accommodation and for first homebuyers. The project will be staged, ensuring that none of the residents of these Territory Housing complexes will be left without a home. I have had numerous meetings with the member for Fannie Bay and he is a champion of this project. He has received positive feedback about the project at Parap and about the development. I have asked Territory Housing to keep the tenants in that complex up-to-date about the project developments.
One of the largest and growing demand areas of public housing is for senior Territorians. When you consider that the population forecast predicts the number of Territorians over the age of 60 in the greater Darwin area will increase to 28 000 people by 2030, up 170%, it makes projects like the Parap re-development and the Bellamack Seniors’ Village solid investments in our future public housing needs.
This government knows how difficult it can be to make that step from renting to home ownership, particularly as property prices continue to buck the national trend with solid growth. The solid growth in our real estate market has been good news for homeowners and investors, but the government understands the pressure it has put on people wanting to buy their own home. That is why our planning for the future includes getting more affordable homes into the marketplace.
Members will be aware of the government’s decision to redevelop 26 Emery Avenue, a 16-unit townhouse complex that is simply no longer suitable for public housing. Work is under way now on the $1m upgrade of the two-bedroom units, and they will be sold on a ballot system to low- to middle-income Territorians. Territorians can now register their interest in this development, and I look forward to making further announcements about the ballot process for the sale of the units this Dry Season. This government initiative gives Territorians another opportunity to make a start in the property market.
Another practical way this government is supporting Territorians to make the step into home ownership is the successful HomeNorth Scheme. Since 1 July 2004, 1120 Territory households have accessed the scheme to make their dream of home ownership a reality. That equates to more than $218m in loans and shared equity purchases. Fifty-two households have accessed these schemes so far this financial year, equating to $12.2m in loans and shared equity purchases. There are a further 10 Territory households awaiting settlement to the value of $2.7m. Significantly, 96% of HomeNorth clients this financial year have taken up the option of purchasing in shared equity with the government, boosting home affordability for these Territorians by reducing the initial loan repayments.
In recent months, I have also been pleased to announce that this government has passed on the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut to HomeNorth customers, delivering an average mortgage saving of more than $300. Also, the government has revamped the HomeNorth Scheme in budget 2008-09, to better reflect budget market demands including boosting income thresholds by $5000 for both singles and couples with no dependents. Many of us in this House will know Territorians who have bought their own home with the support of HomeNorth. We will continue to assess and update the scheme as needed into the future.
The Prime Minister’s $42bn economic stimulus package includes $6.4bn for housing. I welcome this on behalf of the Northern Territory government. The Prime Minister has made it clear that he wants to see action on the ground, and he is offering funding support for the upgrade and redevelopment of public housing, for the construction and delivery of more affordable housing, and support for projects that will boost the capacity of our all-important non-government housing services. The Territory can expect to receive at least $64m from the housing packages, and we are working hard on the package we will put to the Prime Minister very soon. We are looking across the Territory at public housing properties for upgrade and major redevelopment. We are also looking at blocks owned by the government for possible redevelopment for public housing, with the emphasis on meeting our growing demand areas of one- to two-bedroom units, particularly for seniors.
In line with the scope of the Prime Minister’s package, we are also considering developments that could be done in partnership, with or for the benefit of the non-government housing support sector. This is an exciting opportunity for the Northern Territory. We will be putting forward solid proposals to secure the Territory’s share of the funding package and secure a great real result for Territorians.
One of the most exciting components of the Prime Minister’s package is its capacity to support the work well under way in the Northern Territory in planning for our future housing needs. Improving the standard and supply of public housing, boosting the capacity of our non-government housing support sector, and getting more affordable housing onto the market will all feature in this government’s housing strategy as announced by the Chief Minister late last year. As demand for public housing continues to grow, so too does demand for short-term and supported accommodation services. We are all working to help meet that demand. We have boosted funding to services including the Ayiparinya and Topsy Smith Hostels in Alice Springs, as well as establishing Stuart Lodge for short-term accommodation. Further, non-government accommodation providers are also able to access financial support through the Community Housing Program and the Crisis Accommodation Program. These schemes are funded by the Australian government and are administered by the Northern Territory government.
The government’s Industry Housing Assistance Scheme is in place to support the non-government housing sector deliver services, including short-term accommodation and managed accommodation. Through Territory Housing, the government currently leases more than 330 properties at a subsidised rate to community organisations, saving those organisations more than $2.5m per year in rent. Government is currently seeking expressions of interest for community organisations to use three Territory Housing properties, two in Alice Springs and one in Darwin, to deliver managed accommodation services. Boosting short-term accommodation is an important part of Building Safer Communities. Working in partnership with non-government organisations helps drive growth in the private sector and better services for Territorians. I look forward to continuing to work with that sector, both individual providers and peak bodies, such as NT Shelter.
The growth of the Northern Territory is not restricted to our main centres. As highlighted by the Chief Minister, by 2023, Wadeye - the largest community in my electorate and the largest community in the Northern Territory - will have a greater population than present day Nhulunbuy. By 2023, at least three Aboriginal communities will have a population of more than 3000 people, and a number of centres with populations of more than 2000 is likely to be eight or nine times the current number. These growth forecasts are significant, and as both the Housing Minister and the elected representative of a bush electorate, I acknowledge the challenges they present. Improving the standard and quality of housing is central to our commitment to closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage. It is a task that cannot be …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, you time has expired.
Mr GUNNER: Madam Deputy Speaker, I ask for an extension of time for the member to complete his remarks.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: I believe that is not possible once time has actually expired.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to comment on the Chief Minister’s statement which is very similar to his previous statement, Economic Direction of the Third Labor Government, which is still on the Notice Paper, which we still have not finalised. It is high on rhetoric and low on substance.
There is much talk about greater Darwin and Palmerston but no real mention of the rural area. I know my constituents, whilst they have no issue with Darwin and Palmerston, I do not think they really want to be lumped in and be called greater Darwin or even outer Darwin. They are the Litchfield Shire and rural area and that is how they would like ...
Mr Wood: Knock the signs down.
Ms PURICK: Yes, we will knock the signs down. … and that is how they would like to be classified.
Yes, there is an unprecedented economic downturn across the globe and across our country and, of course, in the Northern Territory. Yes, the Territory will be affected by this and this government has been incredibly slow to acknowledge this downturn and to respond to it in the Northern Territory. Indeed, we have not seen any real response in regard to how we are going to tackle the economic downturn in the Northern Territory.
The statement says that the Territory budget will be in deficit. Well, I think that is an understatement. The Territory budget will be in a large deficit for some time, and there will be large debt attributed to each man, woman and child in the Northern Territory.
The statement says our fundamental part is still growth and development, albeit it is on a more rocky trajectory. That is a good use of the word ‘rocky’ because, given that rocks comes from mines, our mining industry in the Northern Territory is in a very sad state at this time with only four major mines currently, and possibly two smaller mines. This time last year, that number was double. And yes, our economic growth has gone downwards.
The Chief Minister’s statement talks about private consumption, residential dwellings and that exports are expected to remain strong. I am not quite sure what these exports actually are given that our mineral exports are down and will be down in the next couple of years. Our cattle exports, whilst it was a good year last year and early into the Wet Season, there will not be as high numbers this year, if not into next year, given that the majority of the Barkly region had to be destocked, given the lack of feed, plus some would say that they were overstocked and that contributed to the problem. About 15 to 20 stations in the Barkly region destocked most of their cattle and it is going to take some time for that to return to normal levels. Yes, they can and do buy stock in from Queensland, but that will be affected as well, given the floods they have had. To make a statement that our exports are expected to remain strong, I believe, is misleading and inaccurate.
He talks about interest rates driving inflation - that is fine - that is nothing to do with the Northern Territory government - and to ease the cost of living and impact on the pockets of Territorians. I am not sure what the Chief Minister is referring to because we do have a high cost of living and we do pay more for our fuel than the rest of the country. No evidence has been tabled as to how this is going to change in the short term. Good management, clever planning is something I have not seen from this government. And hard work? I have not seen that either, given that our hours are shorter in this parliament from now on in. There is no track record of clever planning, good management or hard work.
Last August, even when the economy was travelling a lot more smoothly, it established the Territory Growth Planning Unit. There is reference to it later that they have done some research about immediate issues. I ask the government to table this research so we can see exactly what the TGPU has done. The work so far has shown significant population increase occurring in the Darwin and Palmerston area. Well, that is not rocket science. Of course the population is increasing, and it is increasing in the rural area and it will continue to increase as time passes. If that is the research that this planning unit has done to date, that is not very good.
We have current populations of greater Darwin. I think it should be split between Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area. There is pressure on the rural area in regards to population increase. I have said that previously and I will keep saying it: the areas are discrete and different in their needs and in the services that are required. It talks about the ageing population in the greater Darwin area. Again, rural area – that is not anything new. We know we have an ageing population. We know we have an ageing workforce. Expansion of population will lead to significant expansion in the requirement for housing – well, of course it will. But before you have the housing, you have to have the land and this government has been spectacular in not releasing land at a pace to keep up with the demands of the community, hence the prices in our real estate market.
It talks about population growth, and children and couples and families, and the increases but there is not a lot of reference in regards to the schools that are going to be required for these children and their families, or health centres or childcare centres. A classic example is statements that reference the Berrimah Farm proposed development, which I will come to in a moment, but it should be noted that if there are the 600 lots at Berrimah Farm, there is a good chance there will be approximately 200 to 300 school-aged children. Where are they going to go to school? The closest primary school to the Berrimah Farm area is Karama. There are no public transport systems that go that way. Perhaps these children are meant to go all the way to Palmerston. Again, there is not much planning, nor clever planning in trying to develop the Berrimah Farm.
The Territory will remain the youngest jurisdiction but our population is ageing. That is fine, but we want to have a society and a community regardless of the age. Social advantages: we already have good social advantages. It is not talking about economic growth; it is not talking about value adding and how things are going. Ageing population: yes, that will and does present challenges, none more so in the rural area. We have very few health facilities. We have very few aged care facilities and we have very poor public transport. There needs to be some serious planning with the new Weddell if we are talking about putting 40 000 people there over the next 10 to 20 years given that the public transport down the Stuart Highway from the rural area is not very good, particularly as we get to the later part of the day.
Further on in the statement, it says that the government has invested heavily in infrastructure. They may have spent some money but I cannot see any real new infrastructure apart from the convention centre. Other infrastructure, most likely, is from private investment and from the private business community.
Where is the new infrastructure over the last eight years of a Labor government in Pine Creek associated with the tourism industry? Nothing. Where is the infrastructure related to the tourism industry in Katherine? What new facility has been built in Katherine? Nothing, and there has been nothing new built in Tennant Creek either that is related to tourism. This is one of the main industries that we need to value add and to boost our economy.
Mr Giles: You have to remember they funded the Battery Hill Mine for the ex-member for Tennant Creek to get a job.
Ms PURICK: The member for Barkly. Ah, yes, so there is no heavy investment in infrastructure. They have not invested heavily in their road infrastructure. In fact, we know our road infrastructure is deteriorating, particularly the roads that are managed by the Northern Territory government.
I have no issue with investing in schools. We desperately need more schools. The schools in the rural area are bursting at the seams. Taminmin High School has over 1300 students. They are at capacity; they need a new library. And the same for Humpty Doo Primary School and also Bees Creek Primary School; they are a capacity because more people are moving to the rural area and they have young families. I accept that it is good that more money is being put into schools whether they are in urban areas or in the remote areas.
Government is committed to the residential infill of the Berrimah corridor. That is very interesting given the words, and I quote:
That tells me is that that site is showing to be not suitable for residential development. The testing that they are doing, the environmental consultants they have contracted, no doubt by now they have some preliminary results and it is probably showing that it is not suitable for residential development. The government is also lobbying the Commonwealth to sell the 11 Mile aerial farm. Well, good luck. The Commonwealth and Defence are not known to give up ground very easily or quickly. I understand there has also been planning in the past for a major road to go straight through the aerial farm, anyway. I do not see how that can be turned into a residential area when you have a major arterial road going through there.
The statement says that the future long-term growth of Darwin is assured because the Kenbi land claim has been sorted out. Well done, and I congratulate the Northern Land Council and all involved in getting that long-standing land claim sorted out. But that is not going to guarantee the future growth of Darwin.
One of the key issues that I am very concerned about, and others in my electorate and elsewhere, is the lack of planning by this government for the future water supply for Darwin. A government official briefed the Litchfield Shire Council last week about Weddell. The question was put to this officer: where will the water come from to service Weddell? The answer was: from Darwin River Dam - which is already servicing the Darwin and rural areas and all the expansions. We know that there should be a new dam somewhere in the near future; the planning for this has been very slow given that once a new dam is constructed it will take the best past of 10 years to fill to design yield. We need to be starting construction and serious planning now, right now. They already have sites allocated; they have sites identified.
The other concerning part about our water supply for the future is that Power and Water has a licence to pump 12 000 mega litres of water from their bores in the rural area. They are currently using two bores to capacity. They currently use only 3700 mega litres per year. If Power and Water pumps up to its full licence availability, it would impact on the aquifer. The government is telling rural block owners not to use their bores and that it would like to meter and charge for water, yet the government will be the main user of water out of the rural area. Where is the planning? I would say there is no planning, and that is a very scary proposition.
Weddell: the government says that it has taken time to carefully decide the future direction of the growth of Darwin and its decision is to proceed full steam at Weddell. Weddell was never this government’s idea; Weddell was previous Country Liberal government’s proposal way, way back. It is only now that the government has come up with this announcement to deflect and to distract people from the problems that they have internally in regards to their performance.
Yes, I agree we need more low cost housing. Yes, if Weddell does have environmental considerations including carbon footprint, new city recycling transport systems, but I stress that we need good public transport systems. We do not need to see the situation in some of the Palmerston suburbs where the roads are so narrow public transport cannot get down there because the developers have been allowed to take as much land as possible to make as much profit as they would like to make, but it means that public transport will never get down those streets when people might need it. So if there is to be good planning for these new areas at Weddell, at least plan the roads well so that public transport and emergency services can get right into all the areas.
It references the water storage facility, treatment plant, and transfer station for water. If there is to be a transfer station, where are they transferring the water from? Is it from the proposed Warrai Dam that we should actually have, or are they proposing it from somewhere else?
Mr Wood: That is for the rubbish.
Ms PURICK: Ah, rubbish transfer, not water transfer. Okay. Again, where will they transport the rubbish to? Where is the rubbish going? Is the rubbish going all the way back into Leanyer, which means that that is going to be extra expense on ratepayers? Or are they going to have their own rubbish facility out there?
As I said at the beginning, similar to the statement on the economic direction of the third Labor government, there is no direction in this. It does not talk about growing the Territory. It does not really talk about land release. It does not talk about economic development, and it does not talk about any fiscal stimulus for the Northern Territory such that we can get ahead of the pack when things start to turn for the better. This government has shown that they are not planning for the Territory. They have never planned for the Territory, and that concerns me. Whilst the statement is tabled, it really does not have a lot of substance worth talking about.
Mr HAMPTON (Regional Development): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am very pleased to speak in support of the Chief Minister’s statement on Growing the Northern Territory. It has become painfully clear that the Northern Territory’s economy is going to be buffeted by the global downturn. The Chief Minister has spoken of the impact that a reduction in national growth will have upon Territory government revenues. He has also highlighted the forecast for reduced growth within the Northern Territory economy. He has stressed the importance of good management, clever planning and hard work in seeing us through the tough times ahead.
To that, I add the importance of maintaining confidence. Some people would spread only doom and gloom, and would happily talk themselves and the Territory into a recession, even a depression. That is, quite simply, irresponsible. It brings to mind the words of Franklin Roosevelt who said: ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself’.
An economic slump is certainly a tragedy for those who lose their jobs, but here in the Territory we are better placed than most to weather the storm, thanks in no small part to seven years of careful and strong management of our economy. The Chief Minister has made it clear that he is placing an emphasis on securing jobs for Territorians. Our unemployment rate is just 3.8% - the third lowest in the country behind the ACT and Western Australia. This is the economic indicator that is universally appreciated. A growing economy means job creation. People are able to provide for themselves and their families. While the Labor government can point to its achievements with pride, we should never forget the very real challenge of creating jobs in our regions. The Chief Minister has outlined the role government has played in successfully managing the economy.
As the Henderson government continues the job of expanding the Territory economy in difficult circumstances, my task, as the Minister for Regional Development, is assisting in spreading the benefits of economic growth to regional and remote communities. If there is one objective above all others in regional development it would simply be jobs. After all, I am sure we can recall attending a school function in our electorates, and perhaps sitting back for a moment looking into the eyes of the kids assembled and wondering to ourselves just what sort of future awaits them. A job is a fundamental starting point.
As I have said before, and I will say again, regional development is one of the most enduring challenges the Territory faces. As I also say, regional development is everyone’s business.
We live in a vast land of considerable opportunity, but we are also a relatively small population spread across considerable distances. We are one-sixth of Australia’s land mass but only 1% of the population. We are bigger than South Africa but our population is about the same as that of Vanuatu. Around 100 000 people live outside Darwin in varying circumstances, but all are entitled to full participation in the Territory’s economy. Our people live in communities that are at different stages of economic and social development. Some of our major regional centres are vital economic hubs servicing huge tracts of land. Others are ready for the next phase in their development cycle but require support to make that leap.
Places such as the Tiwi Islands which have suffered setbacks over the years continue to look for new opportunities. Maningrida, which is home to a range of activities, is now looking to develop more commercially oriented economies. This is a community which now has a blueprint for change, thanks to the Maningrida Study. This study was commissioned by my predecessor, the member for Casuarina, as Minister for Regional Development, and shines as a spotlight on the business potential that exists in our Indigenous communities.
There are some communities which will only see modest growth in the near term because of a range of challenges and capacity constraints. What is certain though is the great desire of Territorians to sustain and build their communities and, most importantly, to secure a future for their children. My challenge as the Minister for Regional Development is to contribute to this process of development and to spread the word about the tremendous opportunities that exist if we all work together.
As part of our program of planning for growth, we have established nine economic development committees (EDCs). These committees are tasked with identifying economic development priorities in the regions ensuring that the priorities and aspirations of individual communities are communicated directly to the Northern Territory government. The EDCs also develop and monitor the implementation of economic development plans with the aim of achieving sustainable job creation and business growth opportunities. There are nine EDCs in the Territory. Examples of their work include: the production of an economic profile of Alice Springs to assist with and attract investment; encouraging people in the Anmatjere region to make the transition to the workforce; seeing more land available in Katherine for recreation, commercial and residential purposes; increasing land access for development in Timber Creek; broadening the enterprise base in East Arnhem; and supporting the main street upgrade project in Tennant Creek.
The Tennant Creek EDC is also a strong advocate of the Tennant Creek Foundation, which is a substantial commitment by the Northern Territory government. Some $258 000 will be spent over the next two years to build the businesses of the Battery Hill Mining Centre and the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre. My department has worked very hard to establish this foundation and it is an example of the thinking outside the box that is essential in regional development.
Returning to the issue of jobs, I see one of my major tasks as incorporating into the workforce around 15 000 mainly Aboriginal people who live on the economic periphery of Australian society. It is interesting that most definitions of economies will refer to the study of the production and consumption of scarce goods and services. Economists usually state that scarcity is a natural condition of mankind, a concept that most Australians would have difficulty grasping. In the Northern Territory it is a tragic truth that a sizeable proportion of our community exactly knows what scarcity of goods and services means. There is another economic concept that states that the allocation of scarce resources often leads to conflict. Such conflict is a fundamental part of the Territory’s history and continues in some areas to this day.
Madam Deputy Speaker, at first, land acquisition by pastoralists lay at the heart of conflict between white and black Australians. It is ironic that, within a few years, Aboriginal people were the backbone of the pastoral industry. With the market collapse in the mid-1970s, mechanisation of the industry and a substantial drift from properties into major population centres during the 1980s, Aboriginal participation in this industry dwindled. Various attempts are now being made to turn this around. The heady days of mass employment, albeit on minimal wages, are gone, but there is still a strong desire to establish an Aboriginal presence in the industry.
In its widest context, regional development is a key responsibility for all NT agencies. My role, as I said, is to keep our regions at the forefront of everyone’s mind, including my Cabinet colleagues, as their agencies look to roll out and deliver their programs across the Territory.
I would like to take one moment to talk about the most important element in regional economic development. The Territory has a wealth of untapped opportunity, but it takes plenty of hard work to unlock that potential. There are some quarters of our community that have fallen into the trap of believing that there are limited opportunities outside of Darwin. I say that could not be further from the truth. A very large percentage of wealth generated in the Territory every single day flows from our regions, from the toil of Territorians working hard, and from continues investment by businesses.
Business opportunities abound, whether to provide goods and services to the people who live in and around our major centres, or to take advantage of the wealth tied up in our natural resources, or to provide services to the businesses operating in that area. Economic development is about helping entrepreneurs convert those opportunities into realities, removing the barriers or red tape that might exist, and just as importantly, making the investments in our people and infrastructure to enable this to occur.
I look at the government’s successful partnership with Telstra, Rio Tinto, ALCAN and the NLC to bring high speed broadband to East Arnhem Land, where 800 km of optical fibre has been laid in record time connecting the communities of Oenpelli, Maningrida, Ramingining, Gapuwiyak, Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala to the information superhighway. Residents are now able to use high speed broadband at the same cost as people in Alice Springs and Darwin. This access will complement the government’s Closing the Gap initiative to address indigenous disadvantages across a range of areas including health, education and business.
Governments of all levels need to work together with business and the wider community. Following the transition from the Area Consultative Committee program to the new Regional Development Australia program, the Northern Territory government and my department are working closely with the Office of North Australia and the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. We have also held discussions with the Australian Employment Covenant, the national industry-led initiative which aims to create 50 000 jobs in two years to break the cycle of unemployment and poverty amongst Indigenous Australians. I congratulate our Chief Minister on becoming the first state or territory to sign up to this covenant, committing 200 job opportunities for Indigenous workers in our public service.
As government, we can do much but we cannot achieve long-term sustainable development on our own. We can only do it in partnership with business and with individual communities. My department focuses its efforts on four key activities. These are the provision of programs and services locally helping entrepreneurs in developing or building their business, and we do this from our offices in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Nhulunbuy and Darwin.
I also point out that the executive of the Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources is now headquartered in Alice Springs, including the positions of Chief Executive, Executive Director of Primary Industries, and Executive Director of Regional Development. This will ensure important government decisions and policies affecting the Territory’s many regional communities are developed from a regional perspective.
The department also focuses on developing and implementing key strategic projects which contribute to economic development. For example, the Indigenous Business Development Program is an NT government-funded facilitator of new Indigenous businesses throughout the Territory. The success of this program was reviewed last year, with a healthy 87% of businesses still operating after two years.
The next focus point is engaging with communities and that is listening to the people in the region about their development aspirations. Finally, there is the department’s role as an advocate for the regions across government. An essential part of our planning for growth has been the compilation of economic profiles of Alice Springs and Katherine. These projects have required rigorous economic research and analysis with months of data collection and analysis. The results have been definitive documents describing the Alice Springs and Katherine economies and they have also become the baseline for discussions within the community and government on the future directions of these towns, and identifying areas for potential growth, strength and improvement. They also assist businesses and the Northern Territory government to make informed economic decisions for the future of both towns. This is crucial, especially in the current economic climate.
Success in regional development will not come from government leadership alone. That is why partnerships lie at the heart of our strategy. As I said at the beginning, regional development is everyone’s business and it is the Territory’s most enduring challenge.
The new challenge that now confronts us is the global economic crisis. My commitment is to ensure that we continue to grow our economy and, in particular, grow our regions for the benefit of all Territorians. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to support the Chief Minister’s statement.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, I heard this statement from the Chief Minister with great pleasure. It is an interesting document. It is about the future - and that is probably about it, because the Chief Minister has not actually talked about his real delivery of the urgent need. We have already talked of eight years of waiting for land release and in the last six months we have seen this massive flurry, like a flock of startled pigeons, to deliver – or least to say we are delivering - land. So, we see more time lines added to that: we will deliver in, we will deliver in, we will deliver in. Yet we have failed to see an actual delivery. They are simple words, they are easily understood. The people on the street understand the simple words - like homelessness, not having enough money to pay the mortgage because they are unemployed, because the ministers were unavailable when there was an urgent need to resolve issues at the beginning of the year that revolved around their jobs.
I will quote the Chief Minister from page 6:
Two words which can be very open-ended are ‘immediate’ which is now, and ‘future’, which is some time away. Is the Chief Minister confused that he needs it immediately, or does he need it in the future? Or is that an open plan of escape so when he does not deliver again, he can say: ‘We said in the immediate future, which is an open-ended time frame’. So, when is the immediate future of annually delivering 1700 additional dwellings starting? Is that starting immediately, or in the future? I say it needed to be started the day they re-took office, the day that they came to this parliament and said that they had heard what the public have to say. I say it to them today that they have not heard what the public have said because they had not delivered. Six months later we still do not see the delivery that we need.
We have $2.6m outstanding in rental arrears from the Housing Commission as of June last year. That could be building another five houses to put on the market. Do the simple sums. It is not hard. $2.6m divided by, say, $500 000 per house equals five dwellings, or 5.2 dwellings. That means maybe 20 people can have a house for them to live in – not bad, a good idea, may be even practicable. Turn around times of Territory Housing houses is 68 days – some three times the national average. So, what housing stock we have, be it limited, we are slow at turning around. Whilst the queues at our refuge centres are growing – Somerville House, Mission Australia – we are slow at delivering, which seems to be a common thread with this government.
Our average occupancy is down compared to the national average yet we still have people who are verging on homeless, some who are homeless, and need our help. We need to recognise this. We also have some 421 dwellings that are deemed to be moderately overcrowded. What ‘moderately overcrowded’ is, I am uncertain, but that is overcrowded. That means that either we do not have the dwellings required to put them in, or they all choose to overcrowd themselves. I suggest that we simply do not have the dwellings and we have failed to deliver.
This is the government that says that they will need to deliver immediately in the future - immediately in the future, sometime. We go from the number of 1700 houses immediately in the future which is on page 6 of the Chief Minister’s statement and we turn to a future page, page 11 - some distance but close to or near the other comment; maybe further enough so you can be confused – where he talked about Bellamack and its lot yields; that in the immediate future, with such urgency to roll out land - and I clearly say it is urgent to get land out there for people to buy and be able to build, particularly while the interest rates are good for them. We are only going to be able to turn off 150 lots of land from Bellamack by the end of 2009, where we should be perhaps turning those off in the early part of 2009 so that we can keep our builders employed, and start building these homes for these people who urgently need them. Johnston will yield 400 in 2009, which is a decent number. However, if you add those two numbers together that is only 550 in 2009 - 1150 lots short of your immediate future requirements of 1700 dwellings required annually.
Does that mean next year we require nearly 3000 to be completed? To be honest, that is not going to be achievable; it is a compounded effect. It is like when you unnecessarily borrow money and you never repay it; it continues to compound.
I do not know whether the Chief Minister has deliberately separated those sets of figures to confuse people or not but, if you put them on top of each other - and we can fold the paper and put them like that and say: ‘Look, there they are’. On one hand he is saying that we must immediately deliver 1700 dwellings and, several pages later, he says that we will only actually turn out 550 lots. Who does he think he is kidding? Who is he fooling? Or is he just fooling himself? Or has he trusted one too many advisors to give him the numbers? It is atrocious to think that the Chief Minister cannot even sort out the basic maths. I know the Treasurer would have no problems using a calculator to evaluate those simple numbers. I can do them pretty loosely without a calculator, so I would hope that the Chief Minister could too.
The people are telling us: ‘We need the housing now’. The economic crisis in the world is telling us that we will - not might, not a possibility, we will - need more public housing. Do you think that the people without jobs, without the money to pay for their homes, will be able to afford their home? No, they will not. They will need emergency crisis care. They will need a house that will support their family. That is going to be the role of the government - always has been, always will be.
After World War II we had some settlement blocks handed over to our Diggers. Is that what we will need to do, hand over land? How will this government deal with an urgent need for more housing when they only intend to roll out 550 blocks in the greater Darwin region this year, or 11 months now, because we have used up some of it? It leaves me very concerned that the people who urgently need the support of this government in this financial crisis period are not going to find that support.
We are already seeing an increased burden upon the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Mission Australia, and Somerville. We are seeing the burden that they will not be able to carry by themselves. It is the government that has those resources, but we have squandered them. This government continues to off sell the housing we need. They continue to fail to deliver sufficient …
Ms Scrymgour: Off sell! There is no such word as off sell.
Mr BOHLIN: I have made a confusion of words. I apologise.
Ms Scrymgour: You are the one confusing yourself. That is about it.
Mr BOHLIN: I am quite happy to apologise, I am sorry. I created a new word. We can add that to the dictionary this year. Thank you.
If we cannot support these people, who will? What is there to catch the people who will not have a house at the end of the year? Do we hear the government talking of this yet? We do not. Are they closing their eyes, hoping that it will not occur? It will occur. It is occurring right now. We need to be able to support our people and this government is missing in action when it comes to supporting those people. As we saw in January: all missing in action and no one there to deal with the problems. The problems are there, the problems are real, and I do not think the government we have has the ability to deal with it.
The problems we have with our water supply are real, and what a perfect time to deliver such a project. We are investing in the future of the Northern Territory and its people by ensuring it has a water supply, but we might just ignore that just in case we can get away with it. It would also mean jobs. It would support industries like the mines. They support our industries. Creating sustainable water catchment areas will support our industries.
I am significantly worried for the people who may not fare so well through this storm because I do not think our safety net is there any more. I grew up in a Housing Commission house. I understand that without that we may not have been so lucky. It was an important part of our culture. It was the safety net that was a normal part of life, and this government continues to close their eyes and play peekaboo with reality. Reality is real if you just ask the right people. Get out of your cocoons. Go and visit some places, and be honest and fair and ask them real questions. Have a cup of tea with them. They will tell you that there are people hurting whilst you play with ‘in the future immediately’.
In the future, an immediate future, I do not think the Chief Minister knows which way he wishes to go. I think he may wish to get into his DeLorean and fly back to some other time when he was much better wanted.
Mr McCARTHY (Transport): Madam Speaker, the Chief Minister has outlined initiatives this government is taking to meet the Territory’s growth needs. The key idea behind the statement is summed up in a couple of concepts: growth and confidence. None of us here are kidding ourselves that the Northern Territory will be unaffected by the toxic debt that has crippled the international markets through a collapse in credit available to everyone, from small business to large corporations.
Back home, in Tennant Creek, for so long the victim of rises and falls in the resources and the agricultural commodity market, is well versed in the vicissitudes of the economy and no stranger to hard times. Yet, in a world in which the word growth has disappeared from the economic vocabulary it is a word still very much at the forefront of this government’s thinking and there are no options for us to do otherwise.
Growth and confidence. Our economy still is growing. Our general population growth is the second highest in the nation. Our remote population is set to double within a generation. We are obliged to plan for and invest in growing the future. There have been many quotes and we have heard the figures from the Chief Minister, but let us put them in to perspective. Between now and 2021, a short 12 years away, the greater Darwin area is said to increase in population by 39 000, the equivalent of nearly four towns the size of Katherine. That is a town the size of Katherine every three years. Let us go back to Tennant Creek. Only a few years ago, property was being sold, if you could find a buyer, for next to nothing. But just recently, under this government, nine new blocks of residential land were auctioned and were sold. The government is now looking at infrastructure needs for the release of a further 40 blocks in Tennant Creek.
This has been possible for two reasons: growth and confidence …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I was wondering if the minister would be kind enough to tell me what the average sale price of those blocks were?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr Elferink: Go on, what was the average sale price?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr Elferink: He does not know, because it has been written for him.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr Knight: You are a smart arse.
Mr Elferink: Why do you not actually learn your portfolios?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, you are on a warning.
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would like the words withdrawn that the Minister for Housing has just used …
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry I was not able to hear, there was far too much yelling. Resume your seat. There was far too much disorder. I was unable to hear anything other than the yelling of the member for Port Darwin, which was completely unacceptable. Member for Daly, is there something that you said which was offensive? If there was, I ask you to withdraw.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, I withdraw the word ‘smart arse’.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, it is really unacceptable. Thank you for withdrawing that, but it is clearly unacceptable language in this House. Minister for Transport, please continue.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Let me reiterate to my parliamentary colleagues, growth and confidence, not negativity, not insinuating second class, not trying to run down Tennant Creek, the economy or the government. I will get back to growth and confidence. Let us talk about this government reaching an Indigenous Land Use Agreement with the Patta Warumungu native title claimants in 2007. This allows confidence in planning, and confidence in dealing with town lands for future commercial, industrial and residential development. It is in response to a government that encourages investment projects which build and sustain employment and an economy in which the private sector is encouraged and prepared to invest.
The real tragedy in all of this, from what I hear in this debate, is that those opposite have lost the concept of growth and confidence. It is why they have happily rejected the nation building programs of the Rudd Labor government which are designed to invest in sustained employment and to stimulate growth. It is why they have cheerfully rejected the vital spending to come to the Territory through this program on housing, on education and on infrastructure.
The key to growing the Territory, as the Chief Minister rightly pointed out, is in planning for the future and investing in the future. That is what the Rudd stimulus package is all about, and that is what this government is about.
This is nowhere more important for the Territory than in the provision of transport. Although we comprise only one percent of the Australian population, we cover a sixth of the continent. Our transport needs are, as a consequence, enormous. This is something that I can speak of from knocking around the bush in the Barkly for the past three decades. It is hard country, it is remote country and getting around has always been difficult. The member for Nelson would know this from his recent road trips into the Barkly and I commend him for that. This government, in growing the Territory, is working to change that isolation.
Remote and regional areas of the Northern Territory have a small and widely dispersed population that covers a vast geographical area and face extreme climatic conditions. The recent, and continuing, disruptions to roads during the Wet Season are evidence of that. These conditions provide considerable challenges for the provision of transport services to these areas; transport to connect remote communities with the major regional service centres which is critical for social and economic development in the Territory.
We are focusing on regional areas and transport is vital to growing a regional and remote Territory. Reliable transport services and road access are also fundamental for the successful implementation of Northern Territory government initiatives aimed at building stronger and safer remote communities, including to enhance business and tourism development opportunities, and provide for greater education, health and social outcomes - building regional towns.
The different nature of the communities in the Northern Territory means that a mix of road, air and marine transport is required across the different regions, and that is reflected in the fresh ideas outlined by the Chief Minister. That is what we aim to achieve, and that is what the community demands.
A 10-year roads plan is currently in preparation. A 10-year infrastructure strategy is soon to be completed and a strategic land use plan is being developed. This body of work is fundamental to planning for future growth and will underpin further work, particularly for the development of an integrated regional transport strategy which coordinates transport services and infrastructure delivery across the Northern Territory. An integrated transport strategy for the Northern Territory is needed to establish a set of principles for the development of transport policy in the Northern Territory and provide a guiding framework for strategic transport planning.
The transport strategy from this government is based on certain goals: sustainable social inclusion, community engagement, and economic participation. It is a transport strategy designed around meeting future needs and the growing Territory. Again, one can only be puzzled as to why the opposition oppose a Commonwealth government stimulus package, because a significant amount of resources from that package will flow to the Territory.
The Territory is set to benefit across the construction sector with approximately $200m to flow through to Territory infrastructure, including Territory roads and rail crossings. Black spots, boom gates and community infrastructure component of the stimulus package provides $890m to improve community infrastructure for local councils and road safety around the nation. This will fund an expected 350 additional road safety improvement projects across the country under the Black Spot Program in 2008-09 and 2009-10, including projects on our national highways.
An extra $150m will be spent in 2008-09 on repairing regional roads, with the majority of the funding to be allocated to the jurisdictions with the largest backlogs of maintenance projects, including the Northern Territory. We are encouraged by the Commonwealth’s acknowledgment of the challenges in the Territory, where only 23% of our large road network is sealed. The Infrastructure minister has actively lobbied her federal counterparts about the need for more roads funding in the Territory, and we are hopeful of more funding to come on top of the package from our bid to Infrastructure Australia. It is certainly something that I will be taking up in my new role as Transport minister.
This package also delivers $2.52m over two years to fast-track rail safety improvements, including boom gate installation and other safety measures. The Territory is in a good position to receive this funding. It complements our own $4.26m program. We have already completed an Australian level crossing assessment model audit across our rail crossings - a criteria to receive this funding. Twelve priority rail crossings across the Territory have been identified for upgrade, which will include more crossing signals, boom gates, bells, advance warning signs and vegetation management.
Madam Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement. In closing, I expect the opposition to address three points: (1) from my parliamentary colleague, to take an acknowledged look at the world economists; (2) to accept a very recent comment by some senior banking officials in Australia: that one way to stimulate this economy, particularly for the Territory, is to invest in infrastructure and construction that spreads right down through the whole community; and (3) to assess the psychological damage of continual negativity that is bombarding the community. I commend the Chief Minister in the interests of growth and confidence.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I was going to get up a couple of hours ago but I got pushed in front of by our deputy, which was unfortunate. However, I did have the opportunity to hear one of the bushies, the Minister for Regional Development, jump in and say something. Then I was pushed in front of again by the member for Drysdale, so I had an opportunity to listen to the member for Barkly. I will quickly touch on a couple of things that the member for Barkly finished on. The point is that we do not see the stimulus package as a negative for the Territory; we see it as a positive. However, it is what is in the package that is not the most positive thing for the Territory. It could be further refined, and it could be done differently.
I refer to 2007 because people talk about the global financial crisis. It is quite an easy thing to blame the global financial crisis on the expected outcomes for the Northern Territory and for all of Australia. In actual effect, the global financial crisis does not have to have a negative impact on Australia or on the Northern Territory. We saw the SARS virus and 11 September; that was not a negative impact on Australia as was seen overseas. The global financial crisis will have an impact in the Northern Territory but it does not have to be as significant as it is.
Business and consumer confidence started eroding, in my opinion, when the polls started turning negative against Howard in 2007. People knew if Howard lost that the economy would go down, unemployment would go up, business confidence would go down - and that is exactly what has happened. The global financial crisis, which is real and which is evident around the world, is a great example to be able to blame poor economic management by the federal Labor government as it brings on a Kevin Rudd recession in Australia. The easiest thing to blame that on is a global financial crisis, and that is where we are now.
The member for Fong Lim spoke about the repayment of $96bn in government debt since the Howard government came to power. What he did not talk about though was the creation of a future fund for medical, the creation of a future fund for university infrastructure, the creation of a future fund for telecommunications infrastructure. There was plenty of money put aside during the Howard years, where money can be utilised in the crisis that we see coming to the Northern Territory. The member for Fong Lim spoke about whether or not the mining minister has been lobbying the federal minister for the Environment about the 300 jobs at McArthur River Mine. The question also has to be asked: has the Education minister, the previous one or the new one, taken up the opportunity of lobbying the federal government about getting some money for the university infrastructure to build up CDU? There are opportunities. There are buckets of money there already. So, in response to the discussion about the stimulus package put up by the federal government, there are other opportunities on the table.
Telecommunications: the roll-out of telecommunications in the bush would be great for the bush. The money is sitting in Canberra at the moment. There is an opportunity for us to create jobs utilising that money, so we should be investigating all avenues in that regard, and the same with medical and the rest of the future fund.
The concept by the federal government of putting money through the plan into schools in the Northern Territory, at first glance, seems like a good idea. I am sure there are plenty of schools that could do with it. I am not sure that every school could do with all that money. I do not think it is necessary for all schools; some schools could do it. But it is ill-conceived in the fact that the Northern Territory government had a plan of investing $200 000 for every school in the Northern Territory to upgrade its facilities, and I commend the Northern Territory government for that. I think it is a good idea. I believe it is a bit late in being delivered, but I do think it is a good idea.
Where the Rudd government stimulus package falls down is, it is actually duplicating what the Northern Territory government is already doing. It would have been far better placed to pool the education money and build new schools where kids can access the schools. There are plenty of kids in the Territory who cannot access schools, so instead of putting all the money into duplicating infrastructure into some schools, put money into building new infrastructure in a bigger package so that kids can get to school or kids have a school to go to. Instead of spending $200 000 on upgrading a hall that may not necessarily need the full impact of upgrading a hall, why not put the money towards transport services so kids can actually get to school. There are plenty of kids in the Territory who cannot get to schools. There are kids in Alice Springs who cannot get to school. There are kids who are 60 km out of Alice Springs who still cannot get to school. It is about what is in the package, not the package itself.
We do not need to go into debt of $200bn when there is money put aside. What we are seeing coming on is a Rudd recession. Although the Labor government has supported the stimulus package that has been discussed widely today, there has not been a lot of discussion about the $950, or the impact on the Northern Territory economy of the thousands of dollars that was paid before Christmas – whether it had positive impact for the retailers in the Northern Territory, where that positive impact was put – was it put into clothing or plasma televisions, or poker machines, or alcohol. What were the negative impacts that came out of that stimulus in December? Were there increases in law and order issues, was there more money that needed to be spent on the judicial system, were there more family breakdowns? We have to have a complete analysis of this before you start supporting a $950 additional payment to people.
I know anecdotally, in my town of Alice Springs, that there were more people drunk on the streets, there were more people locked up. In January, we had the highest number of break-ins in Alice Springs that we have ever had. There were negative elements that came out of it. You have to look at the positive and negative sides of things. I do not agree that $950 is the best bang for your buck to get long-term jobs.
The only thing that that immediate stimulus is designed to do is to play politics on behalf of the Rudd government. It is designed to play politics because back in the Keating days we had that recession we had to have. Rudd will do anything to avoid having another recession. That is exactly what is happening now. This is political, because if it goes into recession, it paints Labor with two tarred brushes of a recession in a row. That is exactly what he is trying to prevent happening. That is why the stimulus was in December - to boost the quarter’s retail figures so it did not look like they were going backwards. And then we will get another $950.
It reminds me of a joke that seems to somehow get sent around all the time on e-mails. It is the one about the little kid who talks to his Mum and Dad and asks: ‘What is the difference between Labor and Liberal?’ The mum, being a Labor supporter, says to the little child: ‘See that person over there that is homeless? He cannot afford any dinner. We will give him $50 so he can have a feed. That is what the people in the Labor party do’. Then the dad, always keen to start up a fight, being a Liberal supporter, said: ‘I tell you what we will do. We will get that person a job so he can earn an income, so he can buy his dinner for every day for the rest of his life’. And that is the difference. We can give people $950 so they can pay their rent or buy their dinner or pay off debt or gambling or grog or whatever it may be for that person but it does not help that person in the longer term.
Sure it might help the retail sales figures go up and there will be GST revenue that will come in, and there will be different taxes that are taken off and it might get a couple of people employed for a couple of weeks but, in the longer term, that will not happen. That is exactly the position we are in now after the December input that happened. It is not the size of the stimulus that is a problem but it is the design of the stimulus.
We need infrastructure in the Territory and, if you were so keen on infrastructure you would be going back to the federal member for Lingiari who, in November 2007, promised to build a multimillion dollar bypass around Katherine, a Daly River bridge, and wanted to do a lot more infrastructure on the roads. That was coming out of the federal government as election promises. These are the things that you should be pleading for, not just backing on something that is a political stimulus by the Prime Minister to try to save his skin and save Labor’s skin, because that is all it is designed to do. It is not designed for anything else. Some of the infrastructure elements maybe, but the cash bonus is about the polls and it is about nothing else but the polls. Maybe you need to get some free money put out there, member for Daly. Put some free money out there and you might save your skin next time around.
I want to talk about the title of the statement - Growing the Territory Land Release. I thought there would have been a lot spoken about land release today. It took me back to 8 June 2008 when the now Deputy Chief Minister ran a planning forum in Alice Springs and talked about the future of Alice Springs and land release and development. That is what creates jobs and that is what stops us from going into recession. In previous decades, when the rest of the country was burning, Alice Springs was booming. It is about land release, it is about housing construction, it is about growing jobs which supports retail and tourism. From that June meeting there was supposed to be a report brought down in November to say this is the future for Alice Springs. Alice Springs people are crying out for that report to be released. I have asked for it to be done many times before Christmas and post Christmas – so we know how we can support our construction industry and housing development.
I have spoken in this House before about housing shortages in Central Australia and it is at crisis level when rental vacancies are at 0.03%, public housing is full, overcrowded, there are long waiting list – four to five years for different types of accommodation. It is a problem. We have an opportunity for a solution here, but the Deputy Chief Minister will not release that report about the future for Alice Springs.
I have been working in a bipartisan way with the previous Minister for Central Australia, the member for Macdonnell. I decided something needed to be done, so within our local branch in Alice Springs I have put forward a discussion paper about how we can take things forward in Alice Springs. The Country Liberals in Alice Springs are not in government but we are getting ready for government for when it comes around next term and I have had to take the leadership for our own plan. It is not just a policy position. We have to come up with our plan because this government will not release a plan.
This whole paper is supposed to be about land release but it did not talk about anywhere in the bush. It had nine blocks in Tennant Creek and I respect that and I know there are other opportunities there. It did not really go in to Nhulunbuy. I did not hear Borroloola mentioned. I did not hear any of the Aboriginal communities - and I understand there are complications with the leasing arrangements and the process. I would have thought Alice Springs, being the third biggest town, would have had a plan for land release, or an economic stimulus package by the Northern Territory government on how to create jobs.
We are going to get an impact on the tourism industry, jobs will decline, economic turnover will go backwards, retail spending will go down, through both tourism and local events, and now is a prime opportunity to release the land.
It says in here that we have 40 blocks. What is 40 blocks? And they are still a long way from coming on line. What we should be doing is releasing that plan by the Planning minister immediately so we can set forth what we are going to do in Alice Springs to create jobs and to create housing.
We have spoken a lot today about the budget of the Northern Territory and the $200m black hole, but there is much within that Territory budget that is funded by the Australian government such as the SIHIP program. The money comes in and it is supposed to deliver housing to the bush regions. Well, that is delivering a program, but there is no policy around that. How you are going to expand that further? Once that money runs out, the Brough money, the Howard money, the GST dollars, once that runs out what is the plan for those communities? What is the future housing plan? You do not have a plan. We know that…
A member: There is, it is in the SIHIP program. Ongoing jobs.
Mr GILES: I think that I have just said the SIHIP program, the Howard government’s SIHIP dollars that have come down to help boost your coffers to try to roll these things out so you can spend in other areas and not concentrate on helping Aboriginal people in their housing. You just let Brough’s dollars do that and then criticise them.
Let me tell you, the only way you house Aboriginal people these days is by putting them in gaol. It is your government that has put the Indigenous prison population up to 89%. That is where you are housing people. You are not building houses for people on your own bat.
The waiting list in Alice Springs now – create a construction industry and build houses. I was part of those decisions, I know what it is about and I know where the money came from. It would not come from your initiative. Build houses in Alice Springs.
I have put on the Notice Paper that the next General Business day I want to talk about establishing a parliamentary committee in Central Australia and I would like to support for that committee. I would like to put development and growth, creation of jobs in Central Australia, in the Alice Springs region, firmly on the Notice Paper as the first agenda item so we can look at how we move forward with planning and how we can move forward with job creation in Central Australia. The only way we are going to stimulate our industry is through the construction industry, the large scale measures to create lots of jobs, to support our retailers, our suppliers, and our transporters. It will have the biggest stimulus you can have in central Australia.
If you roll off 200, 300 or 400 houses or lots in a fast way that can have a positive impact, and that is what we should be doing. And no one in government has spoken about that. The planning paper has not been released and we have only had negativity about not supporting the stimulus package, and these are other ways to do that.
I have not heard the new minister, or the previous Transport minister, talk about the new fatigue management laws, where the rest stops every 100 km are going to be on the roads; that is part of the new process that is coming in. The federal government stimulus package could have supported that. That is not in the stimulus package. There are things that could be in the stimulus package. The stimulus package should be infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure, which is about jobs in the long term. That is what we should be looking at. We should be looking at how we can help out places like Borroloola. How we can get greater land release in subdivisions in places like Hermannsburg, albeit with a controversy surrounding some of those things there, with town leasing.
We need that plan. The plan will create the jobs with the housing release and we can stimulate things to move forward. That will grow the Territory greatly. The current plan by this Northern Territory government has seen Alice Springs go from the second biggest town to the third biggest town. With the announcement of Weddell, although I appreciate that is good, we will see Alice Springs go to the fourth biggest town. There is no growth strategy for Alice Springs; there is absolutely no growth strategy. No development strategy, no planning strategy, no nothing.
I know you do not get votes there and I know that the people support the Country Liberals there, but I would think that when you are elected to govern that you should govern for all, and you should have a plan for Alice Springs.
Madam Speaker, I will just finish on a couple of items that can be taken forward. I heard the new Minister for Correctional Services speak earlier about rehabilitation centres, or it might have been a paper I saw. Some things that the Country Liberals locally in Alice Springs have put forward and have put forward as a party is support for building a rehabilitation centre for chronic alcoholics. We are talking about a place of up to 80 beds where we could try to help people who have chronic alcohol problems. That is also part of a stimulus on how that can be done. This is a necessary requirement for Alice Springs or Central Australia to have this service. That could have been part of an infrastructure stimulus package to support Alice Springs. It would have created jobs in the building and construction phase and would have created long-term jobs in servicing these people. That is something that could be done.
The building of a halfway house for up to 20 people who come out of gaol can be supported through employment for six or 12 months, taught living, employment and housing skills, and slowly transition them into the private sector market because you are out there building more houses. These are the things that should have been in that smart stimulus package, not just a ‘political saving face to avoid a recession’ announcement put out in Canberra. This was not tailored to the regions. It was not tailored to the jurisdictions at all. Darwin has necessary needs, Tennant Creek has necessary needs, Nhulunbuy has needs, and Central Australia has needs. That is what the stimulus package should have been: something designed around what is required in each specific area. It did not happen.
I will leave it there, Madam Speaker. I reiterate that it is an absolute disgrace that this land release economic package that was put out today forgot about Alice Springs, forgot about Central Australia. The negativity surrounding this stimulus package and the position of the Country Liberals – yes, we know that there needs to be a stimulus but the model did not support the Territory and did not support the regions within the Territory.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, the Chief Minister’s statement has been delivered during a time of global economic crisis, and all speakers have touched upon that today. We have read the newspapers, read the Internet, watched the television news, and seen what is happening around the world with the stock markets, the currency exchange rates, the financial institutions, banks, insurance companies, the impact on people, on families, of unemployment going up, mortgage stress, loss of retirement savings - and we are not immune. We are not immune in the Territory. As a government, our budget is heavily reliant on the national economy.
Yet, this is the time when we must lead. We must act with confidence, plan with confidence and invest with confidence. The economy is, in many respects, a confidence game. We cannot lose sight of the fact that the Northern Territory is in a healthier state than other places around the country and around the world. We are still growing. Access Economics says 4.7% this year and 2.4% next year. It is easy for people to get caught up in the global problems, to see what they are seeing and hearing in the media and to react to that, to become negative. However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the Territory is still growing. Things are still happening here. We, unlike many, still have positive economic growth, positive population growth, and projects like INPEX and ConocoPhillips coming.
It is with this positive growth in mind that we must plan for the future. The Chief Minister’s decision in August last year to establish a Territory Growth Planning Unit within the Department of Chief Minister was sensible. It was an acknowledgement that we can plan better, we can plan smarter. We need to do it on two levels: for the immediate to medium-term, say the next five or so years, and for the long-term future where the Territory will be in 2030. It is important that we see planning for the medium-term future as being around that five-plus year mark as it puts it beyond one government term. It puts it beyond an ordinary election period, beyond that electoral cycle.
We can see in the statement the Chief Minister has delivered today the level of detail and research that had been done by the Territory Growth Planning Unit. The twofold result of that work is in many respects self-evident. There is going to be a significant population increase in the greater Darwin and Palmerston area, and occurring in remote communities. What is important and what the Chief Minister spoke about today and the work that has been done by the Territory Growth Planning Unit is where the growth will occur and the nature of that growth: the kind of family units we can expect, and the likely age breakdowns. In other words, the level of detail we needed to know to work out what we must do to meet it.
In Darwin and Palmerston, we are all aware of the pressures people are feeling right now in finding housing, to pay the rent, to break into the housing market for purchasing. The challenge we face here is placed in a stark and practical context by the population projections for Darwin and Palmerston, a 55% increase by 2030, which breaks down to roughly 1700 homes a year. That is big challenge. The work the Territory Growth Planning Unit has done to drill down into those figures allows us to plan and to balance the type of land we need to release, where, the different densities we will need and, importantly, the infrastructure and services we will need to budget for.
Before getting into those services, I want to talk about the trend. The Territory Growth Planning Unit has identified that our population is ageing. We will remain the youngest jurisdiction in Australia, but it is already evident in my electorate that we have a growing need to better accommodate our seniors. This is a conversation I am already having with my constituency, with the Seniors minister and the Housing minister.
People often want to remain if they can in the community they live in. Often it is the community they grew up, especially in my electorate around Parap, Fannie Bay and Stuart Park – there are many long-term residents. On the old Waratah Oval site, we have the new Southern Cross Care integrated aged care development, and Stage 1 of that has been approved. We have already built a public senior village in Fannie Bay on the site of the old Kurringal units. We knocked down five of the eight tower blocks, and we have identified that Sports House will, in the future, be used to meet the needs of seniors, whether that is for housing, or if it is for medical or other requirements. We have identified that block next to the old Waratahs Oval site and the Kurringal/Fannie Bay Seniors Villages as being important for future seniors needs. We have also promised at the last election that Pitscheneder Court, a public housing complex on Parap Road, will be redeveloped as a public housing seniors village.
As the Minister for Housing said, we are working right now on our plan for public housing in Parap. The first stage is to knock down Wirrina and rebuild that as a mixed public/private housing complex. There is a lot of work that has to go into that, most particularly taking care of the tenants already living in there and working with them about where they can go, but we can do that. The mixed public/private model is a model that has been demonstrated to work. We have also said we will work affordable housing into that model on that site at Wirrina.
What is interesting about what we are doing at Wirrina, and I have been talking with the Housing Minister about this, I believe it is worth exploring the capacity for the proposed seniors development at Pitscheneder Court to make that a mixed public/private development, whether it is possible to allow the private market into that. Now, there are obviously challenges there and I think we can meet those challenges but it is worth discussing. I am working with people in my electorate on it, I am talking to the Seniors minister, and I am talking to the Housing Minister about it.
For example, in my electorate there are people living one person in a four-bedroom house. They are over 60 years old; they are asset rich and cash poor. They do not necessarily qualify for public housing but they will not necessarily be able to afford the new Southern Cross Care development either. These are the kind of people who would be interested in buying into a public housing seniors village if we could get across those challenges and make it public/private.
In the Chief Minister’s statement, our population of people aged over 60 in Darwin is flagged to increase by 18 000 people, or 170%. There are some real challenges here and we need to meet them with a variety of housing models and we need to look at the services we provide. The member for Nelson touched on some of those needs as well in his electorate. The conservative estimates of the work we need to do, the services we need to provide, based on the population figures the Chief Minister touched upon in his statement, are clear. Schools for 7000 new students, 430 additional teachers, 172 extra police, 293 more nurses, 54 additional doctors, 121 more hospital beds – and that is conservatively. These are minimum needs. They will all have flow-on costs. They will all have significant recurrent impacts on the budget and we need to be making allowance for that now, knowing what is coming down the line.
But the things the Chief Minister talked about there are in addition to the work we are already doing right now. The Chief Minister went through a significant list of things there, but perhaps the most important was the establishment of a new city in the Territory, Weddell. It is an exciting development and we need to get it right. Parks, education, health, public transport, the carbon footprint, sporting and community infrastructure and governance are just some of the challenges we are going to face there, but they are welcome challenges when you consider the current global context. We are planning confidently for the future, investing with confidence. As I said at the start, the economy is often a confidence game, and we are confident in the future of this place and that is why we are planning with confidence. That is why I commend the statement to the House.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for his statement on growing the Territory and for the strong leadership he brings to Territorians on this very important subject of growth. Indeed, our need to plan for the future and growth is a pressing matter for any government and one of the reasons why I am sure the Chief Minister announced in August 2008 the formation of the Territory Growth Planning Unit followed by the establishment of the Territory 2030 steering committee. The far reaching work of this committee will assist the government to provide a planning direction for the next 20 years in the Northern Territory.
As the member for Nhulunbuy, I can say that Nhulunbuy township – forgive me, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: I understand the member for Nhulunbuy’s microphone is not working properly so you have my leave to stand at my chair there.
Ms WALKER: My apologies, I forgot.
Madam Speaker, as the member for Nhulunbuy, I can say that Nhulunbuy township and the surrounding communities that make up the Nhulunbuy electorate certainly seek and welcome opportunities to support the region’s growth, development and strengthening of infrastructure and with it training and employment to provide a better and stronger future.
Whilst there may be a more pressing need since the realisation of the impact of the global economic downturn to provide stimulus, there were already a range of initiatives under way and committed to before we found ourselves in the current economic climate. As honourable members have heard during a number of debates and reports in this Chamber, the Strategic Indigenous Housing Improvement Plan, or SIHIP as it is known, is a bold and costly but very necessary joint initiative of the federal and territory governments. It will address the chronic housing shortage and the terrible state of disrepair of so many houses in Indigenous communities. Of course it is very much this type of infrastructure program which is at the heart of the current stimulus package.
In the Nhulunbuy electorate the communities of Yirrkala, Galiwinku and Gunyangara, and the people - the families and the children - who live there will benefit from a total of over $45m being spent on the SIHIP program. Improved living conditions will bring with it improvements in health and education, as this government works towards closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage. At the outset, the SIHIP program will also bring with it employment and training opportunities for those who live in the communities. To ensure that this occurs, it is a part of the contractual arrangements in place for the alliance partners who have been successful in securing contracts that they must plan for and demonstrate that they are training and employing local Indigenous people. This measure not only creates a degree of ownership in the construction of housing but also provides these communities and their residents with lasting and valuable skills well into the future.
As I talk about skills and training, growth in that area will also be supported through the Nhulunbuy regional jobs training hub. This initiative was flagged as an election commitment and recognises that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to matching jobs and training, and hence this project is an important pilot program to provide a model for other regional centres.
This initiative affirms the government’s commitment to providing strong support for regional economic development. The hub will provide an analysis of the job market in the East Arnhem region, a better understanding of what jobs are available, and facilitate the matching of training requirements and skills of jobseekers for those available jobs. Consultations with stakeholders to investigate options for the Nhulunbuy regional job hub have been thorough and widespread across a number of businesses, government agencies and service providers. Obviously, discussions have also involved community leaders. Meetings were held in January and February in Darwin and Nhulunbuy and there were early meetings in September with officers from the Employment Division within the Department of Business and Employment.
At this point, a model and implementation plan for the Nhulunbuy hub is soon to be presented to the minister for Business, before seeing it, all being well, operating by the third quarter of this year. I feel quite confident that we will have a very workable outcome that will see people with the right skills matched to the right jobs. The hub will have a strong local focus and it will be an important source of information on a range of matters associated with the local job market. Accurate local information will enable the government to better direct investment, matching training to individuals to business needs and, as I said, available jobs.
In the Nhulunbuy region we have a number of organisations and businesses which work hard to contribute to training and employment and each of them have much to offer to the proposed hub. What is more, each of them and the people they represent, who are mainly Yolngu, stand to gain enormously from the hub concept. If the development of a training hub for Nhulunbuy is important because it recognises local needs, then I would also like to flag the importance of growing our own in other areas of critical employment. As my colleagues in bush electorates know only too well, attracting and retaining skilled workers to regional and remote areas brings with it some real and certainly very unique challenges. I believe this government has worked hard to meet the demands of the Territory and Territorians in increasing the number of police, nurses and teachers to record levels. And, as it should be, education, health and law and order are at the core of people’s lives - men, women and especially children.
At Galiwinku on Elcho Island in my electorate we will see in March – next month – the opening of its new and very own police station which will be home to police officers to be stationed there permanently. This service will also extend to looking after all the homeland communities, the Marthakal homeland communities which are an extension of the Elcho Island community, and it will certainly bring to an end a situation of rotating police officers from Nhulunbuy Police Station. More importantly, it will provide assurance to the 2000 or so people who live in Galiwinku that they have dedicated police officers and law and order support and enforcement living alongside them in the community.
One profession which remains a constant challenge in attraction and retention is doctors; something I know our Health ministers past and present know only too well. Nhulunbuy is privileged to have a branch open for just over 12 months now of the Northern Territory Rural Clinical School, which is an arm of Flinders University. The Northern Territory Rural Clinical School aims to provide placements for medical students from first through to final year studies to give them exposure to the challenges of remote clinical experience with Indigenous health, a large part of their exposure. The program also aims to provide students with a holistic experience by bringing them into and immersing them in community life and exposing them to the wonderful and unique lifestyle and benefits that come with the Territory’s remote regions.
In September last year, I met with a number of students who had recently arrived. Amongst them were two young men from Darwin who, on completion of their schooling in Darwin, had accepted places to study medicine at James Cook University in Townsville. They had leapt at the opportunity to spend a two month stint attached to Gove District Hospital while also being actively involved in outreach services as part of their clinical learning and exposure.
If the Territory is to continue to grow, then we must continue to make a concerted effort to grow our own and train our own workforce. Who knows, maybe one day we might even see a medical school at Charles Darwin University. I may be talking to the converted in this Chamber, but the Territory is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. We need to attract and keep those people here and, ideally, grow our own.
The Chief Minister has provided in his statement a good deal of data around population growth and recognises that in remote communities the population growth has been trending upwards for some time. With this has come the recognition that we need to shift our thinking away from regarding the larger communities as communities, but rather to transform these places to towns with the necessary infrastructure, planning and economic base which would not be dissimilar to what we see and expect of other small towns around Australia. The Chief Minister in his statement, and reiterated by the member for Daly, mentioned that in a little under 15 years the community of Wadeye, which is in the electorate of Daly, will be the same size as the town of Nhulunbuy – that is over 4000 people.
Amongst the 20 future towns which have been identified around the Territory there are two in the electorate of Nhulunbuy. They are Yirrkala, and Galiwinku on Elcho Island. For me, this is a very logical step in planning for growth. It is also a logical step to progress directly from the introduction of local government reforms and formation of shires. Galiwinku and Yirrkala are both major centres for delivery of municipal services in the East Arnhem Shire. While the roll-out of shires has not been without its challenges and as we would expect when we have such significant changes implemented, in my electorate we are starting to see great progress and, above all, better delivery of services on the ground in communities. For these two communities, Yirrkala and Galiwinku, to make that transition to towns with all the services and enterprises one would expect to find in a small town, will allow the growth and development of both employment and business.
In a recent media release the former Minister for Business and Employment summed it up by saying, and I quote:
Of course this was specifically in relation to the results of a comparative study which my colleague, the Minister for Regional Development, has talked about – the study between Maningrida and Gundagai in New South Wales which revealed the enormous gap in business enterprise between these two similarly sized communities and the gap that we need to work towards closing.
Madam Speaker, the laying of fibre optic cable between Jabiru and Nhulunbuy, a $34m project, is now completed and is evidence of a successful partnership this government has had with Telstra, Rio Tinto and the Northern Land Council, and it has brought fantastic results.
The $34m Arnhem Land broadband project was a significant infrastructure project and, as I have already said, delivered better services. It will dramatically improve communication channels and support core services around health and education. At a time when we will see considerable funding boosts to schools through this economic stimulus packages, the reality of schools in small communities is that they will have smart boards and virtual classrooms. Delivery of health services to remote locations will also be boosted by technology, all made possible through the completion of this project.
Similarly, fibre optic cable also opens up the business opportunities in my region and, with it, an increase in efficiencies. The homeland communities now have access, and new opportunities, to markets for their businesses not previously available. This will allow small communities like Mata Mata, on the coast of my electorate and home to the delightful Phyllis Binmilla, to sell her artwork online. That project, in itself, has been further boosted by a recent Commonwealth grant to renovate a building in her community to become an art studio.
Much of what the Chief Minister talked about was, quite rightly, about the importance of land release as underpinning population growth. I am encouraged, as I am sure others are, that land release will bring with it much-needed housing and jobs to see them built. Land release in the town of Nhulunbuy remains a challenge, but something which is, nevertheless, critical. I have spoken previously about the unique challenges that the town faces, existing as it does on a special purpose lease with mining company Rio Tinto Alcan, and under a federal agreement which was signed with the mining company in 1969. The end of the first term of this lease comes around in 2011.
Of course, over the years, Rio Tinto Alcan and its predecessors have released blocks of land for the building of homes to assist the needs beyond the mining community, private enterprise and government. While Territory Housing has good and well-maintained housing stock, it is insufficient to meet the needs of Territory government employees and public tenants. As local member, I have had many discussions with constituents, including local business people and public servants, who want to see land released. I know that discussions are well under way to look at what the options might be in Nhulunbuy for the future to see that land is released.
I have lived in Nhulunbuy for 19 of my 22 years in the Territory. It is an important and growing region. We do have a mining company at the heart of the community. In fact, it is why the whole town was established some 40 years ago. At this stage, I am fairly confident that Rio Tinto Alcan’s operations will continue well into the future. It is fair to say that in 2009, a little over 50% of the rates in the township are paid by Rio Tinto Alcan.
The people of Nhulunbuy have a vested interest in continuing to support the wonderful region that we live and work in, and we look forward, in turn, to the government’s continued support as our region’s population grows.
Madam Speaker, I commend the Chief Minister on his statement.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank all members for their contribution. At a time of global financial crisis and a slowing Australian economy, this was a debate we needed to have this evening to outline some of the plans the government has to cater for the underlying growth projects we see in the Northern Territory. I detailed some very precise and concise statistics which outline that growth and also outline the body of work we are doing in other regional towns and remote communities to deal with the population growth we are seeing in the Northern Territory. The debate has certainly occurred at an interesting time.
It was also an opportunity for all members to put their vision forward for how to cater for the growth projections we are seeing in the Northern Territory. It was interesting that members opposite did not really have a plan of their own to put forward.
As we were debating this statement, the Senate is debating its stimulus package. In that debate today, we heard that the CLP Senator for the Northern Territory, Mr Nigel Scullion, bagged the $42bn stimulus package and, by implication, in bagging that package, he is bagging the share of that package the Northern Territory will get. He was just promoting the Liberal Party and the National Party policy position without mentioning the potential it has for the Northern Territory.
I was at the COAG meeting. I was certainly at the presentation from the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, Treasury officials feverishly working behind me, about what this could mean for schools, roads, the people and housing, and even rail crossings for the Northern Territory. It is a significant potential investment from the Commonwealth to the Northern Territory which is not only going to improve infrastructure in the Territory, but underpins jobs at a time when there is a downturn in the economy and companies are laying off people.
Tonight, the CLP Senator hardly mentioned the Northern Territory in his speech. It was as though he was given a copy of the speech from Malcolm Turnbull’s office and told: ‘Away you go, this is what you have to say’. That is the CLP position on supporting - and that is their position. The CLP used to stand up for the Territory. You know, if there was a bag of money out there to be had for the Northern Territory, the good old CLP would have been saying, quite rightly: ‘That is our share. That is our right. We are going for our share of the money on behalf of Territorians’. But, not tonight. No, the Northern Territory should not get its share.
They are saying ‘no’ to new infrastructure in schools, they are saying ‘no’ to our share of the $6.6bn-worth of new housing. Goodness me, Madam Speaker, we debated tonight the pressures on rent due to the very low vacancy rate in rental housing across the Northern Territory. Well, our share of this money, and we are still working it out, but even 185 new Defence houses means that Defence Force personnel move out of those houses in the northern suburbs, and particularly in Palmerston, into the new housing, thus freeing up housing for other people who are looking to rent. The CLP is saying ‘no’ to that: ‘We do not want our share of the $6.6bn, and the 185 Defence houses, we do not want those either’.
The estimation from Treasury is that some 80 000 Territorians will qualify for the $950 payment. That is going to go to huge numbers of families right across all of our electorates …
Mr Knight: And business.
Mr HENDERSON: … and the money - absolutely, member for Daly - will go straight into the economy one way or the other. But no, Territorians cannot get their $950. It used to be the party which stood up for small business - 30% rebate in terms of capital expenditure; they do not want small business to get their rebates on expenditure which is going to help turn the money around, I heard today, even on secondhand equipment. So if the contractor wants to buy a second-hand ute for his business, there is a 30% rebate on that. But no, you are not going to get that.
Madam Speaker, it is absolutely extraordinary. I sat next to Colin Barnett, the Premier of Western Australia, actually one down from him, at the media conference after the COAG meeting. There was a journalist there - I do not know the national media pack that well - who thought that they would be able to wedge the Western Australian Premier with the Prime Minister. The Western Australian Premier spoke eloquently on the benefits of the package that he signed up to, as a Liberal Premier, on behalf of what that meant for Western Australia: what it meant for schools, businesses, and for jobs. He took the responsible position of putting politics aside. Predominately the stimulus package is about jobs. We can have debates about could it be a bit better targeted around the edges but, fundamentally, it is about jobs. The Western Australian Premier, and good luck to him, he seems to be quite a decent sort of fellow personally, stood up for jobs in Western Australia.
What do we have tonight? The opposition here and Nigel Scullion in the Senate: ‘No, we are going to play political games with this and hold it up and potentially derail it’. Shameful.
The Leader of the Opposition spent his response bagging the plans of government but offered no plans of his own. In contrast, I outlined a plan for the development of the Territory. It is a plan that sees the growth of four new suburbs in Palmerston, two suburbs at Lyons and Muirhead, and a whole new city at Weddell. It is a plan that sees Darwin and Palmerston given the room to grow through expansion around the Cox Peninsula. It is a plan that sees growth in the communities of the Territory and in regional towns. Where else in Australia is a parliament debating that level of growth? There is nowhere else in Australia with plans for the level of growth that we are seeing in the Northern Territory.
It is a plan that brings confidence to the Territory and it will stand us in good stead through these difficult times. This was a plan that I outlined last week. A number of my ministerial colleagues were present and I believe there would have been 120 to 150 of our business leaders and also quite a few people from the non-government sector at the convention centre. My responsibility is to be absolutely realistic about the impacts of the global financial crisis and the economic downturn that is going to affect Australia and the Northern Territory, but also be confident in the future of the Northern Territory and present to people who make investment decisions in their businesses, the growth trajectory we are on so that they can have confidence in the future investment decisions they will be planning. It was a very well received presentation.
The numbers in the statement tonight, the forecast, they may be up, they may be down, but they are the best forecasts that we have at this particular point in time. It is the first time that a Territory government has pulled together from the ABS, the census, from work that Charles Darwin University is doing and our own demographers to get that level of detail out there into the community and into the parliament today.
There is no question we are entering a very rocky time. That rocky time will take good management and good planning and that is what we are trying to do, as well as responsibly working with the Australian government to get our share of the stimulus package the Prime Minister is trying to get through both houses of the federal parliament.
We are the party that has the credentials on economic management. After all, we took a CLP $130m deficit and turned it into a $211m surplus last year. The budget papers that were tabled prior to the August 2001 election were projecting a deficit of around $9m, but we know that was for presentation purposes only and we uncovered the $130m deficit. We drove the nett debt and employee liabilities down from 147% in 2000 to 89% at the end of the 2007-08 financial year - a remarkable turn around in terms of nett debt and employee liabilities.
We are the party that has been spending record amounts of funds on infrastructure. This financial year included, we will have spent $4.3bn in cash since taking office on infrastructure across the Territory. That is $4.3bn for hospital expansions, roads, schools, and infrastructure across the Territory. As we speak we are in the middle of the largest building and rebuilding of Territory schools - and that is before we had the federal government package in place. The numbers are still coming in but our estimation for Territory primary schools alone - and we can all count the primary schools in our electorates – is that primary schools stand to benefit to the tune of nearly $150m over the next two-and-a-half years in infrastructure from the Australian government. When you couple that money with the $247m we have in our election commitments for schools across the Northern Territory, it is a very significant boost, the most significant investment in infrastructure in our schools since self-government. And members opposite and Nigel Scullion in the Senate want to play politics and want to deny those primary schools their share of the $146m.
I was at Moulden Primary School in Palmerston last week, and for people who know Moulden Primary School, it is a school that battles, it has a demographic that is challenging. The new Principal, Gary Fry, is doing a magnificent job in turning that school around. He is working very hard and on the estimates from the Commonwealth government that school will receive up to $3m. That is a significant amount of money for Moulden Primary School, and Nigel Scullion in the Senate tonight said: ‘No, no, you should not have that. I am siding with the merchant banker from Sydney and we are going to play politics with this and Moulden Primary School, sorry, you will not get your $3m for your school’.
We bring forward $50m in headworks for the Palmerston East suburbs alone – because we can – through careful financial management. When the CLP left office in 2001, the CLP could not scratch enough money together to pay for the minor new works program. So forget capital works, we could not even get the minor new works program work out of the door. It ran out of cash in November after the new financial year started in June.
I remember my colleague, the member for Casuarina and the new Health minister, when we were presented with those Gantt charts which showed the money flowing out in November, and the thought of all those small contractors in the northern suburbs who had no work coming to them at all in November because the cash had dried up. It was absolutely astounding. We really had to scrape money together to even keep the minor new works program going. That was the legacy of CLP budget management.
All we hear from the CLP tonight is a demand that we cut public expenditure. Cut public expenditure is the call tonight. I know they want to sack public servants because their election policy is still part of the policy suite that says - and they are very disparaging, they still use the language, I find it very disparaging language - they talk about fat cats. Seventy-five to 80 hard-working Territorians in the senior ranks of our public service are Territorians who provide frank and fearless advice to government, who implement government policy of the day, who are Territorians, who are spoken so derisively of by members opposite, who have mortgages, whose kids go to our schools, and who are part of the fabric of our community. They are disparaged as fat cats and can be just thrown to the wolves, thrown on the scrap heap, 75 to 80, we do not care who they are.
Mr Elferink: Is Peter Campos one of them?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, you are on a warning, I remind you. Chief Minister, please continue.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you. These people are expendable even though they are Territorians because somehow, to the opposition, senior public servants are a species to be derided. We believe all public servants from the humble AO1, AO2 through to the ECO5, ECO6 level do a great job for the Northern Territory, by and large.
They then go on to say that they will remove 700 public servants from the system to achieve their savings – 700 public servants. That is 700 families without a job. Apart from sacking public servants, the CLP has offered no solution in their speeches to what else we should have cut. Nowhere have they said what they would have done to save the money that they believe should not have been spent, apart from sacking public servants.
Perhaps they would not have funded $1bn for Power and Water. Perhaps they would not have said, that is okay, we know we starved Power and Water for the 27 years we were in office and we tried to sell it off, but that plan came unstuck and we have inherited a legacy and, yes, with greater foresight and clarity we should have put additional money into Power and Water three or four years ago; the extent of the problems were not as well known as they are today. But in all of these savings that we should have going forward, where does the $1bn for Power and Water stand in the CLP plan? I did not see $1bn committed to Power and Water during the August election commitments. There was nothing in their budget documents that went to Treasury to say: ‘We will put an extra billion dollars into Power and Water’. No, it was not there. So, maybe they would find the money for Power and Water. Maybe they would not have expanded education services to the bush - the roll-out of secondary education to the bush.
While I am talking about what they would not have done to achieve their savings, the additional $340m that we have committed to Closing the Gap over the next four years is committed for in our forward estimates. Did I see any of those spending programs committed in the CLP budgets to the election? No. There was no money there for Closing the Gap; no money there for expanding secondary education in the bush; there were no commitments made by the CLP in those areas in the lead-up to the Northern Territory election. Maybe that is where they find the money. There was $1bn for Power and Water, there was $350m from Closing the Gap they can save on top of the public service they would sack.
There is no plan from the CLP in terms of the mantra that we should have cut spending. It is very easy to say that, but I have articulated and demonstrated today we have a growing Territory that has a demand for more land, more infrastructure, and more services across the Northern Territory from our capital city to our most remote communities. Governments can only fund that infrastructure, and improvements and increased levels of service, by expanding the budget. That has come as a result of increasing revenues from the Australian government when times were good and we have had our share. We have never had a windfall; we have had our share, and we have invested it wisely.
The opposition had an opportunity tonight to put forward their plan. All we heard was a roll call of criticisms and general observations and assertions that, somehow, this government, with all the extra doctors, teachers, nurses that we have throughout the Northern Territory should not have been employed, and Territorians should have been happy with what they had.
We are about growing the Northern Territory, not shrinking the Northern Territory. We are about growing the Northern Territory, growing our Territory from our capital city to our regional towns to our remote communities. We will be rolling out plans over the term of this government to do that, as opposed to members opposite who have no ideas, no plans, and all they would do is sack good hard-working Northern Territory public servants.
Madam Speaker, I commend the statement to the House.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Just a few minutes ago, I heard that the death toll of the Victorian bushfire has now risen to 181 people, out of these, 50 bodies will probably never be recognised because they have been burnt beyond recognition.
The tragedy of the Victorian situation has hit the Territory and the Royal Darwin Hospital. A few hours ago, I was advised that Professor Robert Pierce, Senior Respiratory Physician at the Austin Hospital is believed to be a victim of these fires. Professor Rob Pierce, 62, has for some time been involved, through work with the Lung Foundation, minister Burns, the Northern Territory government, the federal government, the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families, and the Royal Darwin Hospital, with planning for the establishment of a sustainable respiratory service in Darwin and the Top End.
To this end, Professor Pierce was due to commence an extended locum as a Respiratory Physician at the Royal Darwin Hospital early in May, during which time he was planning to establish a much anticipated respiratory service, working closely with Charles Darwin University and the Menzies School of Health.
His group was also producing educational materials for East Arnhem that would be applicable elsewhere. In recent years, he put a lot of work into understanding Aboriginal culture and developing programs to improve Indigenous respiratory health. Professor Pierce is well recognised nationally as a leader in this field and as an outstanding Respiratory Physician. He was to provide high-level on-the-ground training and support in respiratory medicine for local general physicians and training Registrars, providing advice and supervision and fashioning a visiting service which would supplement the local service that he had established.
Professor Pierce’s wife is in ICU with inhalation injuries, and his son is believed to be safe. Colleagues in Darwin will remember Professor Pierce as an all-round good guy, and an advocate for both specialist services and those who need them, particularly the Indigenous population.
Madam Speaker, I have another sad notice today. On a very sad note, I pay tribute to Mr Colin Friel, a valued friend and long-term Territorian and constituent, who recently passed away peacefully in his house in Alawa, aged 80 years. Colin leaves behind his wife Judy, 11 children and stepchildren and many grandchildren.
He was always admired as a strong advocate of social justice, education and the environment. He had a long and very interesting career, including a stint in the Navy, and working as a rabbit buyer at Mildura and Pooncarrie in New South Wales, where he grew up. He moved to the Territory in the 1950s. He worked as a wharfie, miner, truck driver, and a surveyor with the Water Resources Branch. Colin and his family survived Cyclone Tracy huddled in the lounge room of their Fannie Bay home. After that Colin moved away from the Northern Territory and went to Mildura in Victoria where he grew grapes, but before long he returned to the Northern Territory.
His daughter, Meg, said: ‘He was a lifelong learner, self-taught’ and a strong, disciplined and community-minded man, dedicated to free speech, the environment and education, which are values he imparted to his family.
He was also very well known to all Territorians, because if there was something controversial happening in the Territory, you would expect the day after, or a couple of days afterwards, there would be a strong letter to the newspaper advocating his views about everything in the Territory that had to do with the community, the environment, with personal freedoms, democracy or the republic.
Although he battled ill health, he was still writing until a couple of weeks before he passed away. I recall a few months before he passed away, I visited his house and he was very distraught because his computer had broken down and he could not write letters to the editor of the NT News. Even Howard Young from Kununurra, who had very strong views on the other side politics, recognised Colin Friel as a great Territorian who will be missed sadly from the Territory and certainly from the pages of the NT News.
My heartfelt condolences go to Judy and the Friel family on the passing of a wonderful husband, father and grandfather, and certainly a comrade.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her work as Deputy Chief Minister, and the Minister for Education and Indigenous Policy. Whether we agreed with her policy, I want to put this on the record and thank her for her work.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr GILES: I congratulate the member for Barkly on his appointment to the ministry. I believe that is excellent. Well done and a good win for Central Australia. The three members in the lower half of the Territory are now ministers, which is a great thing.
I congratulate the member for Stuart for his elevation to Minister for Central Australia. I had a good working relationship with the previous Minister for Central Australia, the member for Macdonnell, and I hope that relationship can continue as we try to achieve good outcomes in Central Australia.
I acknowledge that the member for Macdonnell is now the Minister for Indigenous Policy and I look forward to working with her on that - I believe it is an exciting time.
Recently in Alice Springs, there was a bipartisan meeting between the members for Stuart, Macdonnell, Arnhem, Araluen, and Greatorex, the Minister for Young Territorians, the Mayor of Alice Springs, and myself. That meeting was a very frank and positive meeting for Alice Springs. I believe that approaches such as that are very good for the advancement of our town. We may not always agree on the different policies, or the philosophy behind our approaches, but I think that the approach of that meeting was very good and I would really like to thank the Minister for Young Territorians for coming down and being a part of that, it was very good.
With that approach in mind, I believe that we can move forward on a number of matters in Indigenous Policy. As we move forward, I wholeheartedly endorse the comments like, ‘there is not a black way, there is not a white way, there is a right way of doing business’. It is time to end the philosophy or the policy of separatism, and the development of apartheid in that separatist ideology and move to the right, work with the new Minister for Indigenous Policy and develop some new solutions about doing things the right way; incorporating Aboriginal people in the Territory as people in the Territory, rather than blackfellas and whitefellas and have a proper way of doing things.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr GILES: Ending that separatism will be a great thing for the Territory. It might not be widely visible as these policies change, but for the long- term, there will be a benefit for the Territory. I believe that we need to continue to work together throughout the Territory, not just in Central Australia. I look forward to doing that. Thank you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Speaker, I place on the record how proud I am of all the 2009 Australia Day award recipients in my electorate of Daly.
I had a very busy day on Australia Day, attending as many of the events as I could fit into the day, starting off at 7 am with a delicious breakfast at the Batchelor Area School for the Coomalie region’s celebrations. After I delivered the Australia Day address, I was very excited to announce the winners and present certificates to the following individuals and groups around the region.
Zoe Clegg from the Adelaide River Primary School was the winner of the Student Citizenship Awards. The Young Sportsperson for the region was gymnast Tyler Bilston. Darryl Butler was named the Sportsperson of the Year.
There are a number of fantastic community organisations in the Coomalie region and it must be hard to pick one group. However, I was very pleased to present the Community Group of the Year award to the Friends of the North Australian Railway. The Friends of the North Australian Railway was established in 2001 at Adelaide River and is a wonderful group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation of our history and heritage, as we head into a world that seems to be ‘disposable’ everything. It is great to see groups like this keeping our heritage alive. Congratulations to the Friends of the North Australian Railway. Keep up the fantastic work.
Those who travelled down the track in September last year to the Lingalonga Festival, would know that this festival is a great showcase of the talent that comes from the Batchelor township and surrounding areas. The committee that put the Lingalonga Festival together has been rewarded for its hard work and dedication by being announced the Community Event of the Year. I also congratulate the Adelaide River Show Society, Adelaide River Races, and the Batchelor Carols by Candlelight for being nominated for this category.
The Coomalie Hero of the Year for 2009 was awarded to Colin Wain. Colin is a very popular volunteer in the Batchelor Business Centre, receiving many compliments in the Visitor’s Book about how helpful and cheerful he is towards the visitors. I also mention Therese Balanzategui, who was nominated as the Coomalie Hero of the Year. The Young Citizen of the Year award went to Meg Ellis who commenced her education at Batchelor Pre-School and continued through to Year 9 and then went on to complete year 12, with an excellent score, at Ballarat Grammar. Congratulations Meg.
Nominees for Citizen of the Year for 2009 were Jan Thompson, Trevor Horman, Jan Hills, and Graham Cheater. You should all be very proud of what you do, and my congratulations for being nominated for this category. However, there can only be one winner and I announced Myra Skinner as the Citizen of the Year for 2009 for the Coomalie region. Myra has been a Batchelor resident for 30 years, and has taken a special interest in the underprivileged or needy children in the town. Many Batchelor residents have been lucky to have received a helping hand or acts from kindness from Myra. Myra is a quiet achiever, who does so much for so many in the community, without seeking any remuneration or reward and is most worthy of the Coomalie Citizen of the Year award.
The Coomalie Community Government Council awarded certificates of appreciation to Paul Maccioni and Robert Northey, from the Batchelor Police, and Jason Scott, who is a recreation officer from the Coomalie Community Government Council, for all his efforts above and beyond the call of duty.
Australia Day is an opportunity to acknowledge and reward the hard work and dedication of our community and many wonderful Territorians. I was also pleased to be part of a number of other celebrations. Madam Speaker, I will continue my remarks tomorrow night.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I say at the outset that my annoying comments are no reflection on yourself, but I will comment on the five-minute adjournment.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr WOOD: Madam Speaker, I quote from Nicolas Rothwell, of The Weekend Australian, 7-8 February, and what he says in relation to this change:
Madam Speaker, I could not agree more. Since I received the rules and guidelines for incorporation of material into the Hansard record, I am even more opposed to the five minutes. This time in parliament gives us a chance to say things as a person, not as a piece of paper given to someone who will then approve whether that can be incorporated into Hansard. For instance, it says these are to be delivered: ‘… to the Office of the Speaker by 10 pm of the day before the day of proposed incorporation’.
Under the previous system, I might decide to do an adjournment debate based on some of the material that was debated during this day, not the previous day. I might have just decided I heard something from my local school that I thought was worthwhile putting into Hansard. However, if it was longer than five minutes, I would have to have your approval or the office’s approval at 10 pm the previous day.
There are other things that concern me. Again, you would have to approve it and you would have to tell me before the adjournment debate whether it was approved. It has to be in a format, 9.5 font, two A4 pages, no tables, no photographs - some of my favourite things. Standing here, I can show a photograph or a table. That is all part of the expression that one needs sometimes when giving a speech. That would be lost.
It is a sad day for this parliament. There are only 25 people in this parliament. It may be all right for the parliament in Canberra, which has about 100 or 200 people. Obviously, if they all speak for 15 minutes, you would just be catching yourself up in time for the next sittings of parliament. However, we do not have those numbers, and it is not often that all 25 people in this parliament decide to do adjournment debates on one night.
It was an overreaction. I believe that we have lost something that is important to all of us as individuals; to have the opportunity to say something that we could not say during the day.
From my point of view, as an Independent, sometimes the debates do not allow very much opportunity to bring in other subjects, outside what the government has decided on the day. The adjournment debate allows me to talk about anything I would like, within reason, naturally. It makes this parliament a better parliament. To tie me down to five minutes, I will be doing this all the time, hurrying through something that may require thought while I speak, to give passion while I speak and, hopefully, to put forward arguments to members of parliament trying to convince them that what I am saying is a good thing.
Madam Speaker, I believe Nicolas Rothwell summed it up perfectly, in his heading: ‘Free Speech Down to Five Minutes’. I do hope the parliament will reconsider this. I do not believe it will do any harm to the length of time we work in this House. I do not care if it goes to 11 pm and people are still giving adjournment debates. We are only here for 33 or 36 days of the year. Surely, we can afford that luxury and give the people of the Northern Territory the right to hear what their local members have to say without being limited to, ‘Madam Speaker, I only have 30 seconds to go’ and, if I am not sure what I was going to say, I will be panicking, all because I have been forced to give a speech which is compacted, purely to fit in with the five-minute limit. It would be far better if I could make a speech which at least gave me the room to say what I really felt.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I will tag team straight off the back of what the member for Nelson had to say - I could not agree more. I also wish to add my objections to the concept that anything that I want to table in this place needs to be vetted by a third party.
Third parties should not be vetting what I say in this place; I am answerable to the public for what I say. I could use expletives or say the most outrageous things, and it should not be vetted. Everything I say is recorded so that the public can examine what I say and, if I say something that is offensive or objectionable, it is still my right to say it - until now.
That right is going to be taken away because someone else can vet what I say. If there is anything so objectionable it is a principle where someone else can cast an eye over what I want to say and silence me. It stands juxtaposed and across the purpose of this House completely and utterly - with no disrespect to you, Madam Speaker - that I have to submit what I talk about in this place, or what I want to have tabled, to a third party for their endorsement or otherwise.
No matter how broadly or how loosely that rule is interpreted, it is still the rule that exists. It is an obscenity to the purposes of this House. This House is a place where we come in and live and die in by our words, but our words are there for the record for all to see. To force any member of parliament to submit for approval something that they might want to say in this place is a reprehensible breach of the system.
Madam Speaker, in 1938, or 1936 it may have been, there was a truncated approach to another parliament in a place called Germany, where they simply burnt down the Reichstag because it got in the way. This government, however, has to take a slightly more obtuse approach, and so we are being saddled with this reprehensible set of rules.
We have the right to be heard; we carry the mandate of thousands of Territorians – each one of us. I know that in Aboriginal society in Central Australia, if you are authorised by your cultural system to speak, you cannot be silenced because you have a right to speak. We are authorised by our cultural system to have a right to speak. Yet, we are in a situation where I can be vetoed. You may not choose to use that veto, but the potentiality is there, and I am silenced. If there was ever an affront to the democratic system in this nation, it is being perpetrated by this government upon this House, because it has the numbers.
I am first and foremost a passionate defender of the parliamentary process. I have spoken before about the discipline that is needed by the executive arm of government, in the unicameral system, to subordinate itself to this House. But, because this government cannot stomach the criticisms that are levelled at it, its only option is to gag and silence the House.
The member for Nelson made the point quite well - there are only 25 of us. For goodness sake, we do not all make an adjournment debate every night. However, because we want to go to bed early, we are going to silence the right of people to speak? I am astonished that members on both sides of this House would sign up to this; would allow themselves to be subordinated.
The other problem is that it is a demonstration of what a stranglehold the executive arm of government has over this House. Under these new rules, if a minister is criticised, another minister can ask the minister who is criticised to rise to their feet and spend twice as long on their feet defending their position, as the accuser may spend on their feet. That is also reprehensible, because it demonstrates that the Crown and her representatives are now reaching their tentacles deeper into this place. If anyone knows anything about the history of our parliamentary system, that intrusion is the exact reverse of what responsible government is about.
Parliament is not responsible for the government; government is responsible to the parliament. That is why we have Question Time, because we can ask government questions and this parliament can satisfy itself that the government is doing its job right. Government, by dint of its force of numbers, has thrown a hand over my mouth. I find that objectionable, reprehensible, and I found it such a retrograde step that it diminishes this parliament enormously.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I read from a letter that came from someone who is related to someone in my constituency, regarding health. It is not a sad story, but I will read it and it will become evident:
Dear Ms Purick
Madam Speaker, this woman was in her mid-sixties.
Remembering this woman had calliper crutches to get around and had just had treatment.
Madam Speaker, I do not know much about the test, but I understand it is somewhat intrusive to the body:
Yours sincerely
Madam Speaker, I will be taking this matter up with the Minister for Health and his office, because the woman who travelled to Adelaide was a woman in her mid- to late sixties. She obviously walked with difficulty. She had to have heart treatment, so obviously that is reasonably serious. She was alone, and it was a friend of a friend that had gone to help her.
I do not believe that is good enough for a Territorian, and I know this woman is a long-term Territorian. I put it on the Hansard that I will be taking this up with the Minister for Health, to see if we can have a system in place to meet people or to assist them when they are travelling to and from hospitals and to and from the airports.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, the Australia Day celebrations were held in Nhulunbuy, and the rest of Australia, on Monday, 26 January. They were the best I have seen during my 19 years as a resident of Nhulunbuy, and certainly one of the best attended with more than 600 locals turning up.
It was organised by the Nhulunbuy Corporation Limited, which is the equivalent of our town council, and the ever energetic community relations officer, Kendall Kenway. The celebrations were held at our beautiful town pool, and a huge thank you to all the volunteers from the Gove Peninsula Surf Lifesaving Club who gave their time as lifeguards. I must not forget Gove FM, that time and again comes along to our community events to provide great music and a PA system. On this occasion, it was a live outside broadcast.
The day commenced with a fun walk, which included a fun run, as there were people who wanted to push prams. Everyone was invited. It started at the early hour of 6.30 am in a bid to beat the heat and it was organised and run very safely by our Runners North group. This was followed by a free breakfast at the town pool, which was organised by Nhulunbuy BMX Club, which has a great reputation for doing barbeques and burgers, and on this day it was bacon and egg muffins. There were around 30 kilograms of bacon, 300 eggs and far too many sausages to count.
For those with a sweet tooth, the girls from the Gove Variety Club cooked up fresh doughnuts, and it is this sort of fundraising activity that has helped to keep them as the top Variety fundraising group in the Northern Territory.
The morning celebrations also included a ‘beaut ute’ competition, organised and judged by BC Autos which also very generously provided the prizes. The naval cadets from TS Melville Bay were there for the flag raising ceremony, and local teenager, the very talented Tamika Kasper, sang the National Anthem.
We were privileged, as one of the few communities in the Northern Territory, to have an Australia Day ambassador. We welcomed to our community Mr Peter Hadfield, a former Olympic athlete, whose event was the decathlon, along with his wife, Marilyn, who travelled from Sydney especially for the event. They spent a couple of days in Nhulunbuy to have a good look around the place and joined me in the honours of presenting Australia Day awards to our locals.
This year’s award recipients for Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year were all the more special because it was the mother/daughter team of Cindy and Larissa Ellis. I know Cindy and Larissa – Larissa has just finished Year 12 and Cindy currently works in the high school laboratory as a laboratory assistant. The awards were given on the strength of the many activities that they are involved in on a community level, but in particular with Cubs and Scouts. Both mother and daughter were also involved with the high school trip last year in June to Papua New Guinea to do the Kokoda walk.
The Achievement Medallion went to Tamika Kasper who sang the National Anthem, but last year saw her way through a crowd of 1200 competitors to reach the final 30 in Teenage Idol, which she performed in Nhulunbuy last year.
The Community Event of the Year went to a group of local bike riders who were part of the Tour de Arnhemland, which was a very special event. It is a bike ride from Jabiru to Nhulunbuy which is about 700 km, and in doing this event over 10 days they also raised $30 000 for St John Ambulance; quite a remarkable amount.
A Participation Certificate went to young Georgia Manwaring for her efforts to promote collection and recycling of cans, and it is notable that this young lady has just completed Transition at Nhulunbuy Primary School.
An Achievement Certificate went to High School English teacher, Wendy Troe, who, after being selected to represent the NT at the Bell Shakespeare Company’s scholarship program for teachers of Shakespeare, was then successful in bringing Bell Shakespeare Education to Nhulunbuy for two weeks to participate in workshops across all of our local schools and performances at the end of the fortnight.
I was extremely proud to see the late Dr Marika posthumously recognised in the Australia Day Honours List with the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Waninya Marika was also a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia. Waninya has worked tirelessly for years at the Yirrkala Health Clinic, driving the bus for patients between the clinic and the district hospital.
It was a highly successful day in Nhulunbuy, that event finished at around about midday. I was happy to then attend the Arnhem Club for the toad races, raising money for charity, which was quite a bit of fun. Also, our local golf club held an ambrose event which was extremely well attended.
It was another successful Australia Day in Nhulunbuy. I acknowledge Mick Dodson, for being named Australian Citizen of the Year, and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who was one of eight nominated for the national award. Thank you.
Mr STYLES (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, I endorse the words spoken by the members for Nelson and Port Darwin in relation to five minute adjournment speeches.
As a new member of this establishment, I found it very refreshing to be able to speak on various issues without having to race the clock. It gave me an opportunity to speak about issues in my electorate, and it was great.
I came to the Northern Territory many years ago, as a very young man, and decided that it was great place to be and a great place to raise a family. I came back and I stayed here because it is a different place to live in Australia. It is unlike anywhere else I had been around the country, and I had travelled all over Australia at that stage of my life, so I chose to come and stay. I remain here because I believe it is still the best place in Australia to live and to raise families. I hope that my children, once they have kids and raise their families, have the same sort of lifestyle that I had. That is why we come here; because it is different.
However, I have noted, on some of the correspondence I have seen coming from the Territory government recently, a heading which says, ‘The difference is opportunity’. It would appear that it is only different if the Henderson government approves or chooses it to be different to have an opportunity to do things. What we do not have is the opportunity to be able to express all sorts of things. Yes, it is different to the House of Representatives in Canberra and most other houses of parliament in Australia. But we are different and that is why so many people come to the Territory and remain in the Territory.
It appears to me that this government is changing many of the values and things that we hold dear; the reasons why so many people chose to come here in the first place and choose to stay. Once we start to change that, we will have an irreversible trend, where people will say, it is just like down south except that it is a little hotter or something. We hear these words. We hear the government pronouncing that the Territory is a great place, with a fantastic lifestyle.
We now have an attack on our lifestyle; by not being able to speak on behalf of our constituents or to share the type of things the member for Nelson was saying - the nuts and bolts stuff, the warts and all stuff, that goes on in our electorates. We are very small electorates in the Northern Territory. We do have face-to-face contact with many of our constituents. I believe our constituents expect us to be able to stand up in this House and talk about their achievements, what they are doing in their community, and recognise individuals.
I only wanted to speak briefly about the five minutes, because I had something else to talk about - which I will have to do tomorrow night - a wonderful Territorian who has just celebrated his 90th birthday.
However, there are other more important issues and what I see as an attack on us to be able to express these things. It is almost an affront to the democratic process, in a small, provincial sort of a parliament. I believe it is a disgrace that the government has moved to do this and I ask them to reconsider.
I have spoken to constituents, in relation to this matter, and I have not come across one person who thinks it is a great idea to stifle debate in this House. I am sure that some of them may have been supporters of the government, but they do see that it is not a fair and proper system, for a small parliament to start to gag the opposition and push them into corners, where we cannot express all sorts of things.
The point was made, by the member for Port Darwin, that it is not every night that people get up, but the opportunity has been there to do that without feeling the pressure. I have a few more notes, but I am now watching the clock tick down very quickly now, and I am going to run out of time to express it.
One of the things that I believe we should all consider, and I ask members on the other side to consider, is that we revisit this at some point. I do not think it is going to go away and I will be talking to my constituents and telling them that I feel that we are being gagged in their House.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Madam Deputy Speaker, I pay tribute to a very special colleague, the member for Arafura. I put on the Parliamentary Record sincere thanks from the people of Arnhem for her incredible work and her dedication to improving the lives of Indigenous people across the Northern Territory. I know that the pressure any politician in this House undergoes, in their responsibility to serve the people of the Northern Territory, can often come at very personal cost.
I know the integrity of the member for Arafura and her dedication not only to her own constituents, but to all people across the Northern Territory. It is important that members in the Northern Territory parliament acknowledge a person who, when she took on the role as the first Indigenous woman in the Northern Territory Labor government, paved the way not only for Indigenous people, but also for women across the Northern Territory, and women aspiring to hold bush seats in the Northern Territory.
I recall her first time as Acting Chief Minister, when she visited the people of Wugularr, at a time of crisis and flooding, in a helicopter to provide food to the people of Wugularr, my constituents at that time. They are now constituents in the seat of Stuart.
It is important that all Australians acknowledge the tremendous work of the member for Arafura, Marion Scrymgour. While she remains a very competent, strong, and dedicated person to the people of Arafura, I know that she is also a valued member of this parliament. I sincerely wish her well in her recovery, and also her family, and thank them for their continued work, and look forward to her continued work here in this parliament.
Dr BURNS (Johnston): Madam Deputy Speaker, the CLP has shown where its true allegiance lies, once and for all. It does not support business and infrastructure development in the Territory.
During today’s debate in federal parliament, Nigel Scullion would not support the Rudd government’s $42bn stimulus package. It is a package that would create new jobs and retain and support existing jobs in the Territory. Without this package, Territorians will lose jobs, will miss out on new buildings and upgrades in every Territory primary school, will lose more public and Defence housing, and will lose temporary tax breaks for small businesses.
Senator Nigel Scullion described the package as economic lunacy. He said that the people who support the building of new libraries and gymnasiums in primary schools are sadly misguided. I will quote from what Senator Scullion said in the Hansard record:
That is what Senator Scullion said and I table the Hansard record for other members to peruse. He is the one who is sadly misguided. He wants to stop the Territory getting better roads, upgraded schools, and timely $950 cash bonuses. We had the local leader of the CLP, backing up his mate in Canberra, saying that he does not support the package either. I say shame to them.
The $42bn stimulus package is designed to stimulate growth in response to the global economic crisis. Influential national bodies, such as the Council for Small Business in Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Business Council of Australia, all back the package. These are the natural constituency of the conservatives in Australia and they are backing the Rudd government package.
Territory business people I have spoken to support it because they know it is good for the growth of the Territory economy. However, Senator Nigel Scullion and the CLP locally do not support this package for the Territory or Territorians.
The construction industry has the biggest flow-on effect of all the industries: concreters, painters, plumbers, and electricians. It is the same situation as in 2001, when the CLP government did not give two hoots about contractors or people working in the construction game; they let them languish.
I want to know what you, on the other side of this Chamber, and your mates in Canberra, are going to say to these people. What are you going to say to them? Nigel Scullion and the CLP do not support Territorians.
I give the CLP leader a challenge tonight. Terry Mills, get yourself down to Canberra, knock on your mate Scullion’s door and demand that he support this package for Territory families, Territory jobs, and the Territory economy. I say again, shame on Nigel Scullion and shame on the CLP.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Opening of Parliamentary Year
Opening of Parliamentary Year
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members and guests, I advise this morning there will be a condolence motion for the victims of the Victorian bushfires. Given the seriousness of this tragedy I thought it appropriate to cancel the celebrations associated with the opening of the parliamentary year. However, there will be refreshments served in the Main Hall following the condolence motion.
DISTINGUISHED VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence of many guests to the parliament this morning. It is wonderful to see so many people here for the beginning of our parliamentary year.
Honourable members, I draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of His Honour the Administrator of the Northern Territory, Hon Tom Pauling AO QC. On behalf of honourable members I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I also draw your attention to the presence in the Speaker’s Gallery of the Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Darwin, Mr Graeme Sawyer; the Deputy Mayor of Palmerston, and Alderman Ian Abbott. From the Defence Forces, I acknowledge Commander Northern Command, Commodore David Gwyther and Mrs Kay Gwyther. I welcome you to the Northern Territory. This is your first occasion of being present in the parliament, and I am sure all honourable members extend a warm welcome to you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: I welcome Commander of 1st Brigade, Brigadier Michael Krause ADC; Commander of the Australian Navy Patrol Boat Captain Vaughn Rixon CSC ADC; and representing the Air Force is Wing Group Commander Neville Donnelly. On behalf of all honourable members I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we are also honoured by having the presence in the galleries of members of various churches: Reverend Wendell Flentje, Moderator of the Northern Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia; Bishop Greg Thompson, the Anglican Bishop of the Northern Territory; Pastor Mal Sercomb, from the Baptist Union of the Northern Territory; and Pastor John Whitbourne from the Baptist Union at Casuarina. On behalf of honourable members I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Further dignitaries whom I would like to acknowledge this morning are the former Administrator of the Northern Territory, the Honourable Austin Asche AC QC and Dr Valerie Asche. Representing other nations we have the Head of Chancery from the Republic of Indonesia, Ms Maimunah Vera Syafik and Ms Nadya Sumampow, the Vice Consul of the Republic of Indonesia; the Honorary Consul for Sweden, Mr Hugh Bradley; the Honorary Consul for Portugal, Mrs Maria dos Anjos Vidigal de Castro and Mr Joaquim de Castro; and the Honorary Consul for Belgium, Mr Simon Warner Lee. On behalf of honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we also have former members of parliament: the Hon Grant Tambling, who is also a former Administrator for Norfolk Island and a former Senator for the Northern Territory; and the former member for Araluen and former Northern Territory minister, the Hon Eric Poole. On behalf of honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, we have two school groups here today. From Wanguri Primary School we have students from Years 5 and 6; and also students, teachers and parents from the Essington School in Darwin. On behalf of honourable members, I extend you a very warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Madam SPEAKER: Visitors, if you were not acknowledged today it does not mean you are not important. We are very grateful that you have joined us this morning.
Members: Hear, hear!
TABLED PAPER
Public Accounts Committee – Resignation of Mr McCarthy
Public Accounts Committee – Resignation of Mr McCarthy
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I table a letter from Mr Gerry McCarthy MLA, member for Barkly, resigning as the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee as of 4:15 pm on 9 February 2009.
ADMINISTRATIVE ARRANGEMENTS
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I table the Administrative Arrangements Orders dated 9 February 2009. The ministers and ministerial offices are as follows:
- Paul Raymond Henderson - Chief Minister; Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services; Minister for Major Projects, Employment and Economic Development; Minister for Education and Training; Minister for Climate Change; Minister for Territory-Federal Relations; and Minister for Multicultural Affairs.
- Delia Phoebe Lawrie - Deputy Chief Minister; Treasurer; Minister for Justice and Attorney-General; Minister for Planning and Lands; and Minister for Infrastructure.
- Christopher Bruce Burns - Leader of Government Business; Minister for Business; Minister for Tourism; Minister for Trade; Minister for Asian Relations; and Minister for Defence Support.
Konstantine Vatskalis - Minister for Health; Minister for Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources; Minister for Racing, Gaming and Licensing; and Minister for Alcohol Policy.
Daniel Robert Knight - Minister for Housing; Minister for Local Government; Minister for Essential Services; Minister for Public Employment.
Malarndirri Barbara Anne McCarthy - Minister for Children and Families; Minister for Child Protection; Minister for Statehood; Minister for Senior Territorians; Minister for Young Territorians; Minister for Women’s Policy; and Minister Assisting the Chief Minister on Multicultural Affairs and Education.
Alison Anderson - Minister for Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage; Minister for Parks and Wildlife; Minister for Arts and Museums; and Minister for Indigenous Policy.
Karl Rio Hampton - Minister for Regional Development; Minister for Sport and Recreation; Minister for Information Communications and Technology Policy; Minister Assisting the Chief Minister on Major Projects and Economic Development; and Minister for Central Australia.
Gerald Francis McCarthy - Minister for Transport; and Minister for Correctional Services.
MOTION
Parliamentary Committee Membership
Parliamentary Committee Membership
the House Committee discharge Mr McCarthy and appoint Ms Scrymgour;
Motion agreed to.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Message No 4
Message No 4
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I have received from His Honour the Administrator Message No 4 notifying assent to bills passed in the December sitting of the Assembly.
RESPONSE TO PETITIONS
The CLERK: Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 100A, I inform honourable members that responses to petition Nos 4, 5 and 7 have been received and circulated to honourable members. A copy of the response has been provided to the member who tabled the petition for distribution to petitioners.Petition No 4
Kaden Bill
Date presented: 29 October 2008
Presented by: Mr Mills
Referred to: Justice and Attorney-General
Date response due: 29 April 2009
Date response received: 4 February 2009Response:
- The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Kaden) Bill 2007 (‘the Kaden Bill’) was introduced to the Legislative Assembly in the October 2007
sittings of the Legislative Assembly by the member for Blain to allow for the registration of the birth and death of a stillborn child before 20 weeks.
The Kaden Bill was not passed by parliament in the February 2008 sittings.
The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act (‘the Act’) requires the registration of a child born in the Northern Territory, including the birth of a ‘stillborn child’,
defined as a child of at least 20 weeks gestation or with a body mass of at least 400 grams at birth that exhibits no sign of respiration or heartbeat, or other sign of life.
Particulars for registration include whether the child was born alive or stillborn. The death of a ‘stillborn child’ cannot be registered (‘death’ does not include a stillbirth).
A stillborn child born before 20 weeks could be registered if of a body mass of at least 400 grams.
All other Australian jurisdictions have legislative provisions concerning registration of stillbirths similar to those in the Northern Territory. No Australian jurisdiction allows
for registration of the birth or death of a stillborn child below 20 weeks of 400 grams body mass.
Any amendment to change the births, deaths and marriages scheme could potentially have unintended but widespread and negative consequences.
The clearest and most immediate effect of such a change in the boundaries of births and deaths classification would put the Territory at odds with the nationally agreed births
and deaths registration system. Uniform registration processes mean that figures for births, deaths and indeed stillbirths are able to feed into a national picture by the
Australian Bureau of Statistics (‘ABS’).
The ABS has adopted the legal requirement for registration of a perinatal death as the statistical standard, and publishes perinatal death statistics, unless otherwise stated, of
all foetuses and infants delivered weighing at least 400 grams or (when birth weight is unavailable) the corresponding gestational age (20 weeks), whether alive or dead.
Twenty weeks or 400 grams body mass is used as a threshold as these are the nationally accepted clinical criteria linked to the medical evidence of the viability of the foetus
to survive.
The definition recognises the availability of reliable 400 grams/20 weeks data from all state and territory Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
- Independent Review of RDH and Acute Care Services
Presented by: Mr Styles
Referred to: Minister for Health
Date response due: 29 April 2009
Date response received: 4 February 2009Response:
- The petition requests immediate commissioning of an independent review to assess the adequacy of resources, policies and procedures and systems at the Royal Darwin
Hospital and Acute Care Services. The petitioners further request an investigation of current staffing levels of nurses and doctors to assess whether patients are at risk due
to low numbers and public reporting on the outcomes.
An organisation-wide survey of the Royal Darwin Hospital was conducted from 3 to 7 November 2008 by a team of expert surveyors from the Australian Council on Healthcare
Standards (ACHS) and a report is pending.
In response to public concerns following the handing down of the coroner’s findings in the Winter case, I immediately commissioned a Governance Review of Royal Darwin
Hospital. The ACHS Chief Executive is coordinating this review and I am expecting a report to be made available to me by the end of February 2009.
Four independent experts will review and make recommendations on any matter relating to governance at the Royal Darwin Hospital including the current policy framework,
practices supporting clinical governance and the structural relationships between corporate and clinical governance within the hospital and between the hospital and the
Department of Health and Families.
- To establish a Safe Children’s Crossing on Chung Wah Terrace between Woodroffe and Rosebery
Presented by: Mr Mills
- Referred to: Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Date response received: 6 January 2009Response:
- Thank you for your letter of 25 November 2008 regarding petition No 7 – petition to establish a safe children’s crossing on Chung Wah Terrace between Woodroffe and Rosebery.
I am pleased to advise the Legislative Assembly that the Henderson government had committed to traffic safety measures at this site and that work has already commenced to
install a signalised crossing on Chung Wah Terrace.
The new crossing is expected to be completed in early 2009.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Media Arrangements
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise that I have given approval for various media representatives to remain until the completion of the debate on the motion relating to the Victorian bushfires.
MESSAGE FROM HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
Victorian Bushfires
Victorian Bushfires
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, the Governor General, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, has received the following message from Her Majesty the Queen:
- I was shocked and saddened to learn of the terrible toll being exacted by the fires this weekend. I send my heartfelt condolences to the families of all those who have died
and my deep sympathy to the many who have lost their homes in this disaster.
On so dreadful an occasion as this for Australia, the firefighters and other emergency services have been making extraordinary efforts to contain the situation and tend to
those who have been injured. Please also convey to them my renewed admiration for all that they are doing.
Elizabeth R.
CONDOLENCE MOTION
Victorian Bushfires
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, at the completion of the debate, I will ask members to stand in silence for one minute as a sign of respect. I call the Chief Minister.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move – That this Assembly -
- (1) extend its deepest sympathies and condolences to the people who have lost family members, friends and loved ones in the tragic bushfires in Victoria;
- (2) acknowledge the enormity of the bushfire tragedy and records its deep regret at the widespread loss of property and destruction of communities caused
by the fires; and
- (3) commend the efforts of the firefighters, police, emergency services, Defence, community members and other personnel who have assisted friends,
neighbours and other community members, recognising that many of them have placed their own safety at risk to protect and rescue others.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on the unfolding tragedy of the bushfires across country Victoria. This is a tragedy that is unfolding minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day. It is an extraordinary tragedy for the people of Australia and the people of Victoria.
Above all else, I offer our deepest condolences to the people who have lost family members, friends, and loved ones.
This is an unprecedented national tragedy of immense and overwhelming grief and sadness. I pay tribute to those who battled the ferocity of those fires, and those who are offering comfort, assistance and compassion to those affected.
More than 400 bushfires have swept across the state of Victoria during the most severe weather conditions in Victoria’s history. The size of the devastation is beyond words and beyond belief. I am sure for all of us in this House, and everyone in the galleries, watching this unfolding on our television screens, and with family and friends, is beyond belief that this is happening.
Entire communities have been engulfed by flames and turned to ash. Some communities have all but been wiped from the map. To put things in perspective, the fires in the Kinglake area alone devastated 330 000 ha of land. That is an area more than 30 times the size of Darwin, and the Kinglake fire is but a fraction of the ruined country our fellow Australians in Victoria face. I am deeply saddened by the reports of the increasing number of people who have lost their lives.
Madam Speaker, today, just before I came into the House, 173 people are reported to have died, and I have to say that we need to brace ourselves for even worse numbers because, sadly, the authorities believe this figure could increase substantially. People perished in their homes and in their cars trying to escape the approaching fires. In some cases, people tried to escape only to find the road ahead blocked. Even those who are expert in dealing with fires have not been immune from the ferocity of the fires, with a CFA member also being lost. The number of people hospitalised as a result of the fires continues to grow. Over the weekend, in just one 24-hour period, 20 people with burns to 30% of their body were admitted to the Alfred Hospital.
Many communities are deeply affected by this devastation. People have died in more than 23 communities. There are too many fire-affected communities for me to list here today, but the stories and images coming out of places such as Marysville, and in particular, Kinglake, which appears to have taken the full force of the fire with 20 people losing their lives, is truly heartbreaking. Some place names, unknown to me, unknown to many Australians, now figure in our hearts as places of loss and mourning.
The authorities have classified this tragedy as being far worse than the Ash Wednesday fire of 1983 and the Black Friday fire of 1939. Indeed, people are saying this is the worst tragedy in peace time in this nation’s history. I can only imagine what the victims and survivors of this tragedy have gone through - mums and dads, grandparents, children, neighbours and friends, owners of livestock and pets, the elderly, firefighters at the front line. So many people from so many walks of life have suffered stress, injury, pain, and, tragically, loss.
Temperatures were already in excess of 48 C in many places before these fires approached. The flames were reported to be as high as a five-storey building, as high as this Parliament House, and the fire fronts travelled towards communities at speeds of 120km/h. I find it inconceivable that you could escape such a raging wall of fire.
I remember listening to one person being interviewed who said that when the fires approached it seemed like it started to rain fire. Some survivors escaped with just seconds to spare, whilst their neighbours, sadly, did not make it. Incredible stories of survival have come to light, such as the woman who left her house and covered herself with wet blankets and hid in the opening of a wombat burrow. I read the story in The Australian of Sonja Parkinson, who sheltered with her husband and infant son, Sam, under a sodden blanket in a dirty pool of water as the Kinglake fire roared around them. She said: ‘As we left the house, I thought we were going to die’. Firefighters could not believe they had lived through the ordeal with the odds so much against them. Many people have put themselves at personal risk to rescue others. A woman called Rhiannon called the radio station saying she was stranded at her house with eight children. Her brother got to her on his tractor and rescued them all.
I have been deeply touched and on occasions overwhelmed by the stories of courage and the footage of ordinary Australians standing side by side considering their future together against a backdrop of such loss, by the stories of children’s lives cut so short under such terrible circumstances, by the sacrifice that some gave in an attempt to save others, and of the stories of the courage shown by the firefighters who have persevered over such incredibly long hours.
Disasters such as this bring out all that is good in the Australian culture: a sense of community, a sense of compassion, of courage and mateship. There is no one else I would prefer to stand alongside in such circumstances than a fellow Australian.
I also understand that the member for Nelson’s brother had a close shave: whilst he lost some of his property, he survived and so did his house. Sadly that is not the case for many. Over 750 houses have been lost, with over 5000 people now homeless and around 4000 people having registered for emergency assistance. The houses that have been lost in the fires were, of course, not just buildings; they represented the very fabric of people’s lives - their hopes, their dreams. They were family homes that people had worked hard for and had lived in for many years. They contained valued possessions and memories which have sadly been lost. The ferocity of these fires is unprecedented in our history and difficult to comprehend.
Madam Speaker, as the tragedy unfolded over the weekend, I made a call to the Victorian Premier, John Brumby, to offer my condolences and to tell him that the people of the Northern Territory would stand by the people of Victoria, and assure him that we would make available the resources of our Police, Fire and Emergency Services and other agencies, where required, to assist wherever and however we can. It is something that the Territory understands from our own history of disasters. It is something we are committed to dealing with and that is compassion and with heartfelt solidarity with our fellow Australians.
Following an official request for assistance yesterday, four Northern Territory Police forensic experts, two from Darwin and two from Alice Springs, will be departing for Victoria today. Northern Territory Police are recognised for expert skills in disaster recovery following a number of tragic incidents including the Bali bombings. Our Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Services and Northern Territory Emergency Services have been engaging in regular national telephone conferences with the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council to clarify resource requirements. The Fire and Rescue Services has a designated liaison officer on standby to fly to Melbourne and an additional two members are also on standby to establish a Northern Territory contingent.
In the Northern Territory we have often benefited from the excellent support delivered by the Australian Defence Force at times of crisis. I think back to the Katherine floods as a good example. This crisis is no exception with more than 200 Defence personnel assembled to provide specialist and emergency support including clearing roads, searching houses and erecting tents. I note that the ADF swung into action yesterday with heavy equipment from Puckapunyal, moving to the fire threatened town of Yea. I commend the great support that Defence is providing.
The Victorian government and Australian government have together donated an additional $4m to establish a Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund. On behalf of all Territorians and the NT government, I have pledged $500 000 to the fund. I take this opportunity to draw to the attention of members of this House and members of the broader community that individuals and organisations wishing to make a donation to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal fund can go to www.redcross.org.au or call the toll free number 1800 811 700. My government is encouraging Northern Territory public sector employees to support the appeal and arrangements have been made to allow public sector employees to contribute donations through the Department of Business and Employment’s Payroll Services. All donations will be made to the Darwin Division of Red Cross, which has confirmed that 100% of all donations will go towards the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
Private sector organisations which have contributed to the appeal include the banks, NAB, ANZ, Commonwealth and Westpac with $1m each; and Wesfarmers, owners of Bunnings and Coles, $500 000. I congratulate these companies on their generosity and hope that many more will follow their lead.
Northern Territorians are known for their generosity and already we are hearing of individual commitments from within our community such as Tony Milhinhos who has set up a fundraising activity at his Nightcliff Shopping Centre where he will match dollar-for-dollar, up to $0.5m, donations which shoppers make at his shopping centre. We all know Tony is an incredibly generous businessman, a part of our community. As he said today in an article in the newspaper, he lost everything during Cyclone Tracy - he lost his business, he lost everything. The generosity of Australians helped him to rebuild and since that time he has spent a large part of his life donating back to Australians who supported him as an immigrant to this country.
I congratulate Tony and everyone else because I know right around the Northern Territory as we move into the week, across workplaces, across sporting groups, community groups, clubs, schools - even the children at Wanguri Primary School. I just met with them upstairs and they are having a mufti day on Friday to raise money for the appeals. Right across the Northern Territory everyone is going to be doing what they can. I commend all Territorians at this time of great national tragedy for the support I know we will give our fellow Australians.
We are a proud nation of Australians who live on a vast continent and in a variety of environments and climates, and we dearly love this country. However, at times its climate can turn upon us in unforgiving and disastrous ways. In the Territory we experience cyclones, floods and bushfires and we understand the pain caused by such natural disasters.
In closing, whilst the weather has improved in the last 24 hours with cooler temperatures, around 4000 personnel are still in the field fighting around 30 fires still burning across Victoria threatening communities. People are still trying to escape the flames and protect their families and properties. Our thoughts are with those affected and with the brave firefighters who stood in the path of fires in an attempt to halt their progress. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the hundreds of other volunteers who are helping their fellow Australians in these hours of need.
Madam Speaker, I am sure honourable members will join with me today in offering our deepest condolences to the people of Victoria and those who have lost family members, friends and loved ones.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I rise to support this condolence motion and acknowledge that it is difficult times which define character; and this is an enormously difficult time. It defines the character of our nation. To listen to those who have the opportunity to speak, those whom we respond to who have suffered such profound loss, we have a defining of character as Australians across this great land reach their hands out in support and comfort and to do whatever they can. These few words spoken in this place are but an expression of that sentiment, that desire, that defining of national character spoken here in the Northern Territory of support for those who suffer loss.
For those who battle alongside of those who have suffered profound and extraordinary loss. For those who are in the burns units, the hand of comfort extended to the 400 to 500 people who are suffering serious burns, who are confused and suffering enormous, unbelievable pain, as anyone who has suffered burns would know. To those who have suffered the loss of loved ones and endured extraordinary pain and horrific memories, may those who stand around them be reinforced by the support and expression of the character of a nation. We join in prayer, in support and generosity to find whatever we can do to ease their terrible burden.
I am encouraged, for last night one of our senior citizens found my number and phoned. He said: ‘Terry, I have a fridge full of food; they can have it all’. I said: ‘Bless you’. They need cash, they need money, they need blood’. ‘They can have my blood,’ he said. The queues at Red Cross of those who want to contribute were impressive, and define the character of this great nation.
For those who know the beauty of Marysville, and have visited that place - there have been weddings held there, there have been conferences; it is a place most know. The beauty of that place has become a place of terror. I received an e-mail yesterday from a former student telling me of her marriage in Dubbo in New South Wales. The family comes from Marysville. The family attended the wedding except for, I understand, one of the uncles. He stayed in Marysville and helped coordinate those who were suffering the terror of the destruction of a place of beauty on the oval while the rest of the family were celebrating until they received the horrific news of what had happened in Marysville. It goes to show that, in one way, this nation is connected. We all have a relationship one way or another, whether it is someone in this Chamber or someone in our networks, it will all come when we recognise that we are connected one way or another.
That is why, in this land of great beauty and of terror, that the defining of character is expressed through our generous giving. I commend the government and the Chief Minister for a prompt response. It was heartening to hear that response announced on Sunday. I felt proud of that expression of support extended so promptly from this government, from the Northern Territory, finding what we can do to assist.
The memory of our nation is etched with Ash Wednesday and Black Friday. For those who have longer memories, we have heard the stories of those times. Now will be added another etching on the national memory.
As an indulgence, I share this story to reinforce of our resolve to continue to extend the hand of support to those who are suffering, particularly from burns, because it is ongoing pain, year upon year – a painful recovery.
Nearly five years ago, my nephew and his friend were working on my brother’s farm and were caught in a bushfire. They could not get their vehicle started and they were not sure what to do. They buried themselves in the bottom of the vehicle to shelter in the vehicle from the fire that was out of control and circling all around them. The vehicle was consumed in flames. My nephew’s friend was killed. My nephew, to this day, has had surgery upon surgery. The family has seen the terror that has been visited upon the family. It is almost impossible to talk to our nephew about what he felt at that time. Still, it is not really spoken about, the terror of fire, and to this day, surgery upon surgery, the disfigurement remains.
Now 400 or 500 people have experienced that. Let us not lift our hand to support. Let us extend it and continue to extend it for those who are suffering the pain and the after effects.
It was almost 100 years ago that Dorothea Mackellar wrote those famous words. As the Chief Minister said, this great land is a land we love. At one end of this continent we have floods and loss, and we have fire at the other end. We love our country, and we are proud of the opportunity to see our character further defined by the way in which we respond and will continue to do so. In the words of Dorothea Mackellar, there is a beauty and there is a terror:
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of drought and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!
Madam Speaker, our condolences to the lost.
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I join with members of this Assembly to extend my condolences to the communities in Victoria which have experienced such devastating loss and, indeed, the communities which are still battling to prevent further loss. My deepest condolences to the families who have suffered in these horrendous bushfires raging through Victoria.
The Territory has always extended above the normal generosity. I know, recalling the horrific Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria, per capita, Territorians extended more in financial support to the Victorians than any other part of the nation. I believe this comes from our understanding of loss in the Territory, whether it is the horrendous loss that many of us experienced through Cyclone Tracy, and the people of Katherine from the floods, and in Central Australia they have had their periods of drought as well.
It is an unbelievable tragedy that has been unfolding in Victoria. I commend the Chief Minister for his swift action in extending the support of our tremendous Police, Fire and Emergency Services. That logistical support is essential when you are battling something on such an enormous scale. The people at the front line are experiencing extreme conditions and endless hours of hard work. They go for days with very little sleep. Getting that logistical backing and support is critical. The financial support, the $500 000 donation, it is a small amount of money, but it is an important gesture to stand beside our Victorian counterparts and say we are here and we are willing to help in this time of enormous tragedy.
Kinglake is a community I know well. I spent many years working in the region. I know many families in the region. I am very concerned about their wellbeing. It is difficult for people trying to reach and find out how people are. I know the area above Kinglake and Flowerdale. The country around there is magnificent and beautiful. My heart goes to the families of that region. They are a generous community in Kinglake. I know that the experiences that they have been through are beyond comprehension, in the enormity of how horrendous they are.
Those 400 fires ripping through Victoria is almost inconceivable, and the extreme weather, with temperatures in the high 40Cs, and fires spreading at speeds of 120 km/h. How do you confront that? I know the authorities were working as hard as they could to get warnings to people but it was the sheer speed and ferocity of the fires that has left a horrendous wake of many deaths and, as the Chief Minister has said, our gravest concern may be realised, that there may indeed be a much higher toll.
As the Leader of the Opposition has pointed out, not only do you have the fatalities, but you have the burns victims who will go through enormous suffering and pain. We are a nation that has become a world leader in dealing with burns victims through experience - horrendous experience - and the methods these days are far better than what we had around the time of the Ash Wednesday fires. Burns victims carry scars not just physically, but emotionally for the rest of their lives. It affects everything about the way they go through the rest of their lives. In the Kinglake area I have worked with families who carried burns from the Ash Wednesday fires, where they had gone and fought across other areas of Victoria.
I do not think that there is anyone in this Chamber or in the gallery today who would not be feeling the effect of this horror that has been unfolding in Victoria. I know that we will be extending our heartfelt compassion to the families, to those who have lost their lives, but the families, the victims who remain, and for those of us who have been through a natural disaster and lost property, that is no small loss either. I know the impact it had on my family to lose everything we owned in Cyclone Tracy and the decades that it took to rebuild our shattered lives after that disaster, because whilst you are trying to build your home, you have lost all of your possessions, you no longer have your family photos, for example, but you also know loved ones that you have lost. This will be the experience of those communities in Victoria.
For those who have survived, they have the unenviable task of rebuilding from nothing into shattered communities where they will know many who have died, and they will know many more who are suffering horrendous burns. This is no easy task. There are sociological studies that show decades later, the impact that has had on families. Divorce rates, for example, when they did studies after Cyclone Tracy, had gone through the roof. It puts families under enormous additional pressure and many buckle.
But as you have heard from the Chief Minister, there are those incredible stories of survival and resilience, the courage of the people and their capacity to risk their lives for others. These same people will turn that courage to rebuilding their lives, their communities and assisting in every way they can despite having been left with nothing themselves, assisting their neighbours and assisting in their community. That was my experience in what I witnessed in Darwin after Cyclone Tracy.
I hope, together with everyone I am sure in the Chamber or in the gallery, that Territorians dig deep to contribute because it takes an enormous amount of resources to rebuild that extent of devastation. I congratulate the generous Territorians we have seen coming forward, people like Tony Milhinhos, with his dollar-for-dollar pledge at Nightcliff Shopping Centre, and the many Territory businesses and members of the community who are stepping up with their group fundraising activities, whether it be the school kids to the offices - we show our strength of community in times of horror and adversity such as the Victorian bushfires now. So far, the nation has pledged more than $11m to the Victorian Bushfires Appeal. I know that as the horror continues to dawn on people, to genuinely understand, that amount will rise.
The fires are still burning in Victoria, the battles continue and, as I said, we gravely fear that tragic death toll will rise significantly. As we have heard, the shattered lives and the burns victims will have to deal with the horror for a very long time to come and, for many, the rest of their lives.
Our thoughts are with the workers who have been out there risking their own lives; the Police, Fire and Emergency Services; the Defence personnel and the many volunteers who risk their lives to save their communities from that devastating force of fire. Many people say that fire is the most horrendous of all the natural disasters to deal with. I have not experienced it, but in talking to the survivors of Ash Wednesday, with whom I worked closely, I can well imagine that that is the case.
Our thoughts are with the health workers and the social workers who will need to deal with those long-term consequences of the victims of the fires, dealing with the trauma that will go on for years. My thoughts are with those who are recovering from horrendous burns in those burns units and for the staff who will be working tirelessly in the health system to assist them through that recovery.
My prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and the communities which are shattered. They have shown enormous resilience and they will have courage, and they will come back from this horror. It is with the support of Territorians and the support of people right across our nation that is most needed now. I urge everyone to support in whatever way they can. Our government stands ready to support in every effort to help the shattered communities in Victoria. Our deepest condolences to the people of Victoria.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I support this condolence motion by the Chief Minister and I believe it is important for this House to do so. It might seem that it does not mean much, but I am sure the people of the Northern Territory will appreciate it and, more so, the people of Victoria and the whole nation.
It is a tragedy of immense proportion not seen before in peace time, as the Chief Minister mentioned, and perhaps not comparable to anything overseas. The only thing that has probably surpassed it in tragedy is the bombing of Darwin; but as we know that was during war time.
The toll is alarming and distressing. We know that there may be more to be found who have perished. The impact on the communities, on the people, on the state of Victoria is immeasurable. For every person that we as a country have lost, there could be 10-plus people who will be affected by the loss of one person: relatives, friends, grandmas, grandpas, uncles, brothers, sisters, sporting teams. Across the nation everyone will be touched by the loss and the tragedy in Victoria.
Some of them were very small communities that will be in mourning. The state of Victoria is in mourning, and as a nation we are in mourning, across the country and overseas. People have been lost forever, but their memories will never be lost. The pictures we have seen on television and also in newspapers do look like a war zone, there are no other words to describe it, and we know that with war zone-type photographs you do get enormous loss. People are suffering. The shock is visible not only on those who have lost, but on those who have survived.
Most, if not all, the people who live in those regions would know about bushfires, they would have had training, and they would have had their own fire management plans. I rang a friend who lives in the region, but not impacted, and she said from a young age they had certain things drilled into them with regards to bushfires: never get in the tanks, never get in the pools, never get in bathtubs, do this, do that. What caught people by surprise, including the authorities, was the ferocity and the speed. The combination was deadly, with high temperatures, low humidity, winds and, of course, mountains. There is a saying in the firefighting world that ‘black is your friend’. Generally, that is true. However, in this case, the black is not the friend as that reveals more tragedy, more losses as the authorities go through houses and ruins and find lost people.
The Deputy Chief Minister mentioned that we should not underestimate the impact on the rescuers and those who are helping: the firies, the ambulance officers, the health workers, the police who have to go in and sift through the ruins of houses and communities. We need to have them in our thoughts, memories and prayers as well.
As the Territory, we will be reaching out, as is the nation, to touch the people who have lost so much, to lend a helping hand when we can, or just to have a quiet prayer for them. I and my family went through Cyclone Tracy and probably, comparatively, a cyclone is predictable even though you do not quite know what is happening. Quite obviously, fire is not predictable; it makes its own patterns and is a force unto itself. I know the support that we received after Cyclone Tracy from the nation, and it was enormous, both financially and in goods. I know that the nation is going to do the same, if not more, for the people of Victoria. Football clubs, sporting groups, the cricket team - I had an e-mail from Coles Myers, as I suppose everyone else did. They are contributing their profits from a day from across their stores across the country.
People will rebuild their lives, will rebuild their communities but it will be slow and painful. Whichever way and however we can help them, I know that we will through support, encouragement, love, caring and, perhaps goods and financially - whichever way is appropriate is what people will do.
I know that my electorate will be extending their sympathies and condolences through me to the people of Victoria. My electorate is a rural electorate, as members would know, and we, too, have fires but nothing compares to what Victoria has had. The volunteers in my electorate, of which there are many - and also in the member for Nelson’s electorate - would be understanding of and feeling for their compatriots in Victoria. From my memory, we have not actually lost people in the rural area but we have definitely lost property and animals. Once we get through the tragedy and it has unfolded and we will really have a clear picture, it is only then that we can start to rebuild and start to lend a healing hand for those who have lost so much.
My condolences to all the people of Victoria and those who have suffered loss.
Mr KNIGHT (Local Government): Madam Speaker, I also pay my respects and condolences to the families and the people affected by the Victorian bushfires.
It has been an evolving set of circumstances over the last few days. On Sunday, I was travelling home and speaking to some people and giving them the update. There were around 40 dead at that time. We were astounded at that level. Here we are today and it is creeping closer to the 200 mark. The number of people who have died is absolutely astounding and with 5000 people homeless, the scale of this disaster in Victoria is truly staggering.
It does have particular relevance to me, with a bush and rural electorate with areas that I have worked around and visited over my time as the local member. It makes me think about those people in Victoria, predominately in the rural area with 20-acre blocks, large blocks, with a lot of vegetation on them and small house sites. Often here is a lot of gamba grass. We all know the problems with gamba grass, which can burn hotter than an oxy torch when it is fully dry. When I think about the people in Victoria, I think about the people in my electorate who are in similar precarious situations.
I also think about the volunteer groups. The Bushfire Council brigades throughout the Northern Territory do an absolutely fabulous job. The bushfire brigades are all volunteers who give their time and sometimes they give their own money. They dip into their own pocket and they use their own vehicles. At times they leave their families to fight fires for their neighbours or people in completely different regions, to try to save lives and properties. It is a great credit to them.
Also, throughout the Territory and regional towns, and the more far flung locations, you have those key workers – the police, the local nurse and the clinic and other workers like that who, with their colleagues, their counterparts in Victoria, are well and truly on the front line, experiencing some horrific scenes. My sympathies go out to them. They are incredible people who go into some very difficult circumstances.
I have spoken to various members of the bushfire brigades and they are very keen to go. They acknowledge the work that those brigades, the CFA and volunteers do, and they are ready to go. A comprehensive list of people and equipment is being compiled. As soon as the Victorian government authorities make the request for the specific labour and skills set required, and equipment, they will go.
It reminds me of Christmas 2006 when there were similar, smaller bushfires there. Smaller, I guess, in the scale of property loss and certainly of life. Only two to three lives were lost during the 2006-07 Victorian bushfires and some one million hectares was burnt out. The local bushfire brigades from around the Territory, and throughout my electorate in Batchelor and Berry Springs and those areas, volunteered their time. Around 104 volunteers left their jobs and travelled down over a period of a month. They went down in groups of 25. They took six emergency vehicles and six larger fire emergency vehicles with them. They were certainly appreciated by the Victorian authorities. These volunteers proved how capable they are. I understand it was the largest contingent of Territorians in response to a natural disaster since Cyclone Tracy. I hope the Victorian authorities make use of these volunteers as they are very good.
I also acknowledge the contribution that Territorians have made, are making, and will make fundraising for this disaster. I believe the national total is approaching $14m as I speak. It goes up $1m every hour, so it is certainly a great contribution nationally. Locally, we have the public sector, as the Chief Minister acknowledged, which is generating the ability for public servants to donate. As the Minister for Public Employment, I am gratified that the public service is responding as a group. They would know that their interstate counterparts would certainly be under a lot of pressure.
Yesterday, I spoke to the CEO of Litchfield Council, and they are looking at ways of contributing within the rural community. The rural community understands the difficulties in living in the bush, so they are looking at ways of donating either cash, goods or produce, whatever it may be, and getting that down to Victoria. I know the President, Mary Walshe, has her mind focused on that. I believe there will be a council meeting this week to look at ways of doing it, and I encourage them and I will support them any way I can. Also, local radio personality, Pete Davies on Mix FM, has been very active - he is always active in the charity sector - and he has been able to raise $40 000 from locals thus far. It is a huge contribution from individuals or groups within the Northern Territory. I know everyone is putting their mind to ways that they can raise money to contribute to those victims.
I use the word ‘victims’ cautiously, Madam Speaker. I was straightened up very early on in my career: when someone has died, they truly are a victim of a particular incident. Those people who did not die are survivors. I was told very clearly early on in my life that you should refer to these people as survivors. They have survived something and they will survive and they will continue.
In listening to all the accounts of the deaths and the level of life that has been lost, the one thing that has really brought it home to me is the loss of children. To think of infants or young children or even teenagers dying in a fire is unbelievable. It is brings it home to people who do have children: you think about that loss of life, that senseless loss of life, of these people who had so much ahead of them.
I cannot believe that many of these fires have been attributed to arsonists. I believe that no mercy should be afforded to these arsonists. People know what happens when you light fires. In that environment around Victoria in the last few weeks with the massive drying of country through high temperatures it is a wilful act of murder. They should be dealt with appropriately as murderers.
I would just like to finish on Australians in general. We are very resilient people. We have heard accounts about Cyclone Tracy and about families and individuals in Darwin who suffered significantly during that disaster and they have been resilient. They have built lives, they have built families and they have built businesses. I know that those areas of Victoria will come back. It is very much like the Australian bush as we all have known. When you do get these big fires coming through the bush it devastates them. I know that the people of those parts of Victoria, like the bush, will come back even stronger and even more glorious than before.
Ms CARNEY (Araluen): Madam Speaker, I support the motion, which is very difficult, as a Victorian. As has been said, this tragedy has shocked and rocked, I believe, the nation. As someone who was raised in Victoria, it is particularly difficult.
I am from Central Victoria, parts of which have been ravaged by fire. I was raised in Long Gully and Eaglehawk, both parts of Bendigo. My parents live in Eaglehawk and I have a brother in Eaglehawk. I have family and other connections in towns and regions that have been affected by the fires – Maiden Gully, Beechworth, Yackandandah, Heathcote, Benalla, Stanley, Wangaratta, Alexandra and others. Anyone raised in country Victoria knows the regions very well.
Only a few weeks ago – and this will cheer me up – I met with my parents in the Yarra Valley to see Leonard Cohen in concert. It was a wonderful weekend in a beautiful region. Parts of it have now gone and, sadly, will never be the same. The town of Marysville is very special to Victorians and anyone who has been there will know why. The landscape of my home state has changed with homes and towns razed to the ground; it really is incredible.
I am pleased to say, on a personal note, that my parents’ house has not been affected. They are interstate at the moment, and I am sure members can imagine their anxiety late on Saturday night as they heard that Bendigo and Eaglehawk were burning. Unfortunately, they are unable to return at present which, I am sure our Lord Mayor will appreciate, is a particular sadness to my mother who was once the Mayor of Eaglehawk and Mayor of Bendigo.
Late on Saturday night I rang my brother - one on my brothers lives in Eaglehawk; he has a young family and they were prepared to evacuate but, fortunately, did not need to. They could see the flames and they could smell the air thick with smoke. They had endured 48C heat on Saturday and extremely high temperatures for days beforehand, as had so many other Victorians. They were very nervous and, no doubt, very frightened. One of their friends has lost their home. We have some close family friends who have a vineyard near Heathcote and they lost some of their property in fires many years ago. On the weekend they, along with other winemakers in the area, joined together to help the owner of a winery nearby to fight the fires. I do not know whether they succeeded. Other people I know were evacuated; others are on high alert as the fires continue.
I have mentioned before in this parliament in the context of other debates that my older brother is a volunteer firefighter. He is an air attack supervisor which means he goes up in helicopters and coordinates water drops; I believe he is in the air as I speak. He has a very highly specialised role but he is, nevertheless, a volunteer and, of course, I always worry about him but I admire his courage and selflessness. There are thousands of people like him who are willing to give whatever they can to assist others - and what great work they do.
Sadly, as we know, so many people could not be saved and the death toll continues to rise. It is a tragedy of unprecedented proportion in size, of severity and impact. So many words have been said and written yet what words can adequately describe the shock and sadness we feel about this terrible, terrible tragedy?
Madam Speaker, I am not sure I have any more words other than to support the motion.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I have in my parliamentary office this clock which is not just any clock. It has a chicken coop as part of its design. It is special because I bought it at the Marysville Post Office just over four-and-a-half weeks ago. The Marysville Post Office was like many other country post offices, which not only sold stamps and envelopes but sold local art and paraphernalia; a post office which served not only the locals but the many visitors who came to enjoy the peace and beauty of the Yarra Valley region of Victoria; a place from which to send that post card saying ‘Hello from Marysville’. Marysville Post Office is no more.
Marysville had a main street lined with beautiful oak trees, with a hardware store, service station, and supermarket, the Christmas shop where just the year before I bought a nativity scene for my Howard Springs office, a toy shop and its famous lolly shop; the coffee shops and restaurants, the gift shops, the arts and crafts shops, the hairdresser - all gone. At the bottom of the main street, a small creek ran cool water down from the hills, past the football ground and the local park and, then, the beautiful houses. The guesthouses are what Marysville was famous for - no more, all gone. Nestled in the hills as they had been for many years, surviving past bushfires, but not this time. In one foul swoop, in one hot inferno, in just less than an hour - no more the Marysville I knew. Not as well as others knew it, but enough to know that this tragedy that had unfolded has forever changed this small and beautiful town.
The town was a special place for many young couples who would spend their honeymoons there. It was special for me, not because I had visited and stayed there overnight over the last couple of years, but it was where my mum and dad visited many times with their friends to get away from the city - a place to have time alone, a place to rekindle romance, a place to enjoy the company of friends. All those memories - they remain, but not Marysville.
It also had another personal connection because one usually drove through Marysville to get to my brother’s place just up the road near the little town of Buxton. Perched halfway up the side of the steep hill overlooking the nearby valley is his house. He had built it some years ago as a retreat from Melbourne. He designed it to stand up against bushfires, with double glazing on the windows, screens to stop leaves falling in the gutters, and sprinklers around the house fed by a pump in a nearby dam. He did not know the fire was coming that Saturday. Although the police had evacuated everyone else they missed him. So, he stayed and the fire raged up the slope towards his house. The pump failed, and all he had left was a knapsack on his back to put out flying embers which threatened to burn the house down. The fire passed over; his sheds and tractor destroyed, his car and house amazingly left intact. However, more miraculously, he survived.
Then there were my good friends, Philip and Helen Clancy, who live at Kilmore, only a few kilometres away from where the fires started at Kilmore East. I had stayed with them at the beginning of January this year. The country was the best I had seen it, and had a shade of green, though that can be deceptive, as we know now. Luckily, the Kilmore East fire went north, not west, and their farm was not under threat. However, the Clancys were like so many in country towns throughout Australia and the Northern Territory. Phil, as a member of the local fire brigade, manned a local command post for the area, and still was doing that late last night when I rang, while Helen and family baked cakes and prepared food to give to the fire crews and helicopter pilots. The Clancys would have been doing what many other country people would have been doing: helping others in times of need. It was hard to believe, as I wrote this condolence motion last night, that it was raining - in fact, pouring monsoon, heavy rain. Oh, if they in Marysville and some of those other towns only had some of that rain before Saturday.
My brother was one of the lucky ones. We all know the numbers who were not so lucky. Marysville is now totally closed as a crime scene, with already 12 dead. I wonder if the lady at the Post Office who sold me the clock was one of them. Perhaps I will never know. I live thousands of kilometres away and, in a way, I would not have expected to have been affected, not in the same way as the many people who have lost their loved ones, their homes and farms, their livelihoods.
However, I am affected like many others because we are all part of this country - a country that has a tradition of floods and drought, of fire and rain. ‘We'll all be rooned,’ said Hanrahan. Only this time, it was a fire that even Hanrahan would not have believed.
This is not about state boundaries; it is about a commonality we share as Australians. We are Australians, and a tragedy such as this brings us together and makes us realise the common bonds we do have. When tragedy strikes as it did last weekend, it strikes us all no matter how far we live from the fires. We all weep. In the Territory, we know tragedy can strike quickly, as with Cyclone Tracy, and people responded from all over Australia. This is far worse than Cyclone Tracy so we should do our best to help those Australians who now need our prayers and our practical help to ease the pain that they are now suffering. I am sure all Territorians will give generously.
Madam Speaker, when I see this clock hanging on the wall in my room it will forever be the permanent memory in my mind of the events that I have just seen and heard - a memory I will never forget. These events are not over yet as fires still burn in north-eastern Victoria and Gippsland. However, when the fires are out and the bush sprouts again, as it will, when the dead are laid to rest, when the living have time to grieve, when the brave firefighters have rolled up their hoses, and communities start to rebuild their shattered lives, when the years move on, this clock on the wall will remind me not only of Marysville and the people who have lived there, but how lucky I am and how I should thank God for each minute of my life, because who knows when I will be called.
To those who have died, rest in peace. To those who survived, our prayers and assistance, and for those who are helping the survivors, thank you and God Bless.
Ms ANDERSON (Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, I offer my condolences to the victims and to the community of Victoria. I also offer my condolences on behalf of Central Australians, Alice Springs and all the Indigenous communities around Central Australia. I thank you, Chief Minister, for being very prompt in offering the hand of Territorians to these people.
As the member for Araluen said, we can talk about these issues, but these are very hurtful and painful events that have happened. We are a unique and, in some ways, very funny people. When there is tragedy, there is love that falls out of us like the river flows, like the ocean that we see out here. Every other day, we lock ourselves in our homes and attend to our immediate families and do not really knock on the door of our neighbours and talk to them as they walk past. It is tragedies like this that bring us together and actually show the rest of the world that we are a unique group of Australians, that we do care about our brothers and sisters in time of need, whether they are black or white. We should never underestimate the power of passion and love that we give out in this time as human beings, and we have seen this in this very tragic time.
I thank all volunteers, hospital staff, firies, ambulance officers, and ordinary men and women who have volunteered their time to bake cakes, make cups of tea, be a friend, just be the shoulder for someone to cry on, be that shoulder to listen to other people’s pain and grief.
I ask, as Australians, as Territorians, that we reflect and pray as a nation for the victims and survivors of this tragedy. I sincerely, as a Territorian, pass on my condolences to everyone in Victoria.
Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Speaker, I support today’s motion. Words sometimes do not come to mind, and some people can articulate words very well. For these times, sometimes words are not enough.
I am from Victoria originally. I was born in Swan Hill and spent much of my time in Victoria. I have a brother who is a paramedic there, my mum and dad live north of Melbourne, and my sister and her husband are both police officers. They are going through a time of extreme challenge at the moment.
I congratulate the Chief Minister. As the Leader of the Opposition said, it was absolutely wonderful to have you come out so early and to provide, not only monetary contributions towards this tragedy, but also to help with resources and people trained in specific vocations that can be dearly used at the moment in Victoria.
It is at times like these, as the Opposition Leader has said, that brings out the character of Australians. We are a funny race and, as the member for Macdonnell said, we are a strange bunch of people. We find it very easy to pick on little things, whether it is your neighbour, whether it is if we have lost power for 10 minutes, an hour or a day. Yet in times like this we come together as a nation and it brings out an absolutely wonderful character that I believe is at the absolute foundation of this nation.
I acknowledge those people who have given so much and hope that more give in future. I acknowledge, in particular, my sister, Robyn and Tim, her husband. As I said, they are both police officers. Rob is working in the communications area at the moment and with just on 20 years’ service with the Victorian Police, it is the first time I have heard my sister break with that sort of emotion, with the stories that she has been made aware of. Tim is part of the forensic crew that are going from house to house, from car to car. The stories that are coming out - I believe the media can only do so much and there are so many areas at the moment that we are not seeing and there are some absolute tragic stories that will come out in the next few days, in the next few weeks, and over the coming months.
What people went through – the fear, the terror – I am sure none of us want to experience. The member for Goyder said earlier the temperature, the humidity and the wind had all come together. I do not like using those terms such as ‘the perfect storm’, but this is certainly what happened across Victoria. The winds, perhaps unprecedented, at a time when temperatures had gone to unbearable heights, and to see vision of fire going across plains of dry grass, and up mountain sides, quicker than a galloping horse could get away from it - what hope did people have?
Many of the rules will perhaps be rewritten on how we manage in a situation like this. I know the rules of when a bushfire approaches your house was to stay in the house and yes, the houses would probably catch fire, but you would then have a chance to get out afterwards. I am sure many perhaps listened to that advice and did just that. But this was a different storm. This was a fire storm pushed by winds in excess of 100 km/h and it took everything in its wake. I do not think even the best advice is going to help in a situation like that. A gentleman on the television only yesterday said: ‘It would not have mattered if we were given a warning to move out. It would not have mattered if we had stayed. It just came too quickly’. As I said, the record books may be rewritten.
I also saw, which just adds to the situation, farmers going through their properties and putting down animals – sheep and others – that had also been burnt in this tragic time. And not to take away from the grief of losing people, there are so many wild and domestic animals as well as farm animals that have suffered as well. That compounds the situation even more.
For the people who have passed away, our prayers can go with them and, other than to pray, there is not a lot more we can do for those. For the people who have survived, that is where we can help. We have, and I know we will continue to help. My condolences to all in Victoria. This does not only go to the communities that have been directly affected, but to others who are also affected by the tragedy.
Mr HAMPTON (Sport and Recreation): Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues on both sides of the House in offering my heartfelt sympathy to the families and friends of all of those who have perished in the Victorian bushfires. I also send my best wishes for a speedy recovery to all of those who have been injured.
Even though in the Territory we are no strangers to national disasters from Cyclone Tracy to the Katherine floods, through to the drought in the Barkly and the bushfires in Central Australia, the scale of this tragedy is almost incomprehensible. The images we have seen on television and in the newspapers are absolutely horrifying. The stories we are hearing are tragic and heart-rending. All of us in this place have connections with Victoria and Victorians, be they family, friends or colleagues. There are no six degrees of separation. The fire scenes may be thousands of kilometres away, but this is happening to our fellow Australians, and I am very proud of how Territorians are rallying to help.
As Territorians, we love our footy; it is something that we have in common with Victorians. As well as being passionate footy fans, Territorians are also compassionate Australians. When the idea was raised with me to move Friday’s Darwin AFL NAB Cup game back to Melbourne as a fundraiser, I agreed immediately. It is one immediate way we, as Territorians, can give to the bushfire disaster relief, and my office has already had positive feedback that this was the right thing to do. It is also worth noting what our national sporting teams are doing: the Australian Cricketers are donating their match fees from today’s one-day international against New Zealand; the Socceroos will wear black armbands when they take on Japan tomorrow, while the Football Federation has made a substantial cash donation. I have contacted the office of the Victorian Minister for Sport, the Hon James Merlino, to pass on the Northern Territory’s condolences and best wishes.
As Australians, we all want to do what we can to help in tough times. In Central Australia, individuals are digging deep and many businesses are showing their support. The local radio station, 8HA, has swung into action with an appeal for donations of clothes and toys; and local company, Talbot Transport, has offered to get the goods to Victoria. Businesses and organisations such as Outback Automotive, Linfox, Central Communications, Cartridge World, Bendigo Bank, the Centralian Advocate, Yeperenye Shopping Centre, and Araluen Christian College have all volunteered to be drop-off and collection points for goods and money. The local takeway, Red Rooster, is running an appeal, and I have been told that many local sporting clubs will be passing the hat around at fixtures on the weekend in Alice Springs. I also feel for the Victorian cricketers currently competing in the Imparja Cup tournament in Alice Springs.
Madam Speaker, I am proud that the Northern Territory clubs are showing generous support for the bushfires appeal, and are aiming to raise $50 000. I am told they have already reached the $35 000 mark and, on Friday night, clubs around the Northern Territory will be donating a percentage of their turnover to bushfire victims. Territorians are looking for ways to help our southern cousins, and as always, will do what it takes.
Finally, I would like to remind Territorians here this morning in the galleries or those listening, that they can make a donation to the 2009 Victoria Bushfire Appeal Fund by phoning 1800 811 700.
Madam Speaker, at this difficult time, all those affected by this tragedy are in our thoughts and in our prayers.
Mr WESTRA van HOLTHE (Katherine): Madam Speaker, I pass on my sincerest condolences to the victims and to the families, and to all those people who are affected by the bushfires in Victoria.
Like many of my parliamentary colleagues, I represent an electorate which has both urban and rural folk and their associated blocks of land. In fact, I am a landowner also with a rural block just on the outskirts of Katherine. I often think about the difficulties we all face on a day-to-day basis and I hark back a few years ago when a bushfire raced across my block. It took me, together with several of the local bushfire council volunteers, six hours to put it out. It was a hard six hours and we worked hard at it. Then I think to the tragedy that is unfolding before us today and what I went through just pales into insignificance. There was simply no comparison.
Part of the problem we have living so far away from this tragedy is that the television reports we see and all the information we are receiving makes the whole thing almost surreal. Without being physically there, it is very difficult to imagine the suffering, the intensity and the absolute tragedy of this horrible occurrence in Victoria.
I love living in the Northern Territory and there are many reasons for that love. I would share that with many people who live in the Northern Territory. I specifically refer to the people who live in the Top End, and perhaps all the people who live in the northern tropics of Australia. Unfortunately, living in the tropics can bring with it the threat of natural disasters and one of those is the ever-present possibility of a cyclone.
For the people of rural Victoria, I imagine that they would share a love of living in their particular part of the world. I can only imagine that one of the reasons they would live there is because they love living in the bush. It is sad that what we love so much about the place we live in can also bring with it such disaster. It is sad and rather poignant that the bush in Victoria that people love so much has been the bringer of such horrible tragedy to the people, with the bushfires.
Madam Speaker, much that can be said I believe has been said in this House today. On behalf of the people of Katherine, the people in my electorate, I offer to all the people in Victoria who are suffering to any degree in relation to the bushfires our deepest and sincerest sympathy.
Mr McCARTHY (Transport): Madam Speaker, it is with a mixture of shock and disbelief, empathy and sadness that I support this condolence motion. The effects of such devastation will, undoubtedly, be felt by Victoria and our nation for many years to come.
This is a national disaster which affects each one of us. In the Territory, families are gathering together what they can – money, clothes, toys, tinned food; trucking companies have donated their services and offered to pack and transport donated items to the people who need them in Victoria; members of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association have offered their homes and accommodation to any of those affected families who not only need a place to stay but also need to get away from the devastation and be given the chance to plan and rebuild their lives. Fodder has also been offered to the farmers who have lost everything and have nothing left to feed their important animals, which are also their livelihood. In these most awful, incomprehensible circumstances, Territorians and Australians are pulling together.
Through this condolence motion, in a small way we are able to join together and demonstrate our willingness to help those we can.
In the Barkly, we are used to the fire season, and we know what bushfire brings with it. In Tennant Creek, there are two legends. The first legend is of the gold. The second legend is of the support that Tennant Creek provided to Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. That reflects the Territory, and we have heard that time and time again in this House today. We stand as proud Territorians on that.
Members today have mentioned burns survivors. If you have been in a burns ward, then you will share what was said today in this House, and you will appreciate the ongoing nature of burns and the challenges that burns survivors face in their daily lives for years to come. It was mentioned very succinctly by the Leader of the Opposition: the challenges of the families of burns survivors and what they will face. We must acknowledge that and remember those people in our thoughts and in our prayers.
I commend the Northern Territory government and the Chief Minister for leading the way. I commend the business community of the Northern Territory and celebrate their generosity. I commend the ordinary Territorians and Australians who, out of tragedy, will come together and have come together to support our fellow Australians in rebuilding.
The irony that I share with members today is of the Australians who choose to live in our beautiful environment and in our bush that they suffered when our beautiful country goes through a vicious cycle of destruction. Out of that I offer prayers and sincere condolences from myself, from the people of Tennant Creek, and from the Barkly. I am proud to share in this motion this morning.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I listened very carefully to the comments by the Chief Minister, particularly in relation to the desperate measures taken by individuals who sought to protect themselves with wet blankets. It set in mind something I had read. It was a quote which I would like to read into the Parliamentary Record:
So many people were horribly burnt and injured. It became more and more difficult to breathe. It was dark and all of us tried to leave this cellar with inconceivable panic.
Dead and dying people were trampled upon, luggage was left or snatched up out of our hands by rescuers. The basket with our twins covered with wet cloths was snatched
up out of my mother’s hands and we were pushed upstairs by the people behind us. We saw the burning street, the falling ruins and the terrible firestorm. My mother covered
us with wet blankets and coats she found in a water tub.
Madam Speaker, that is not a description that is entirely different from what we have heard from the Chief Minister in his address to this House today. That quote was from a person by the name of Lothar Metzger who was a victim of the Dresden firestorm. The Dresden firestorm was a product of a deliberate attempt to set fire to a city using incendiary weapons. It was so successful it killed tens upon tens of thousands.
The descriptions I have heard from people in the last few days, and the description here from the Chief Minister today, have not been at all different to the quote which I just read in to the Parliamentary Record.
The fires that have started burning in Victoria are truly beyond the description of the English language.
The fires burning to the height of five-story buildings; the fires burning with such intensity and firestorms reaching temperatures exceeding 1500C; the fires moving through the canopies of trees because the unburnt material thrown up in smoke has collected in those canopies and has accumulated enough oxygen go off more like an explosion than a fire and tear through those canopies is truly horrible.
Small wonder so many people were caught. Small wonder so many people were trapped in their cars, because fires that move at speeds in excess of 100 km/h are not something that can be easily escaped from.
I have been tracking, even whilst we were sitting here today, on news.com, the news as it is coming in across the wire. It states that police have a suspect - I believe in custody, I am not sure. If, indeed, that is true, then I certainly hope that the normal systems of justice that operate in our society will continue to operate, and that this person, if charged, receives a fair trial. May I say, that if that person is, indeed, found guilty of an offence of causing the deaths of these people, then, from my position, I would urge the sentencing judge to show no leniency and no consideration in mitigation whatsoever and come down upon this individual or any individual like them, with such ferocity, that the message that is sent from the courts in relation to this matter is unmistakeable in its swiftness.
One has to remember that the person who deliberately set this fire, if it was indeed deliberately lit, has killed more people than Martin Bryant managed to do in Tasmania a few years ago. These homicides are a direct and foreseeable consequence of what has occurred when you deliberately set a fire. Without trying to turn a condolence motion into a call for retribution, this is a message that needs to be sent and sent clearly.
I listened to what the member for Nelson had to say and I thought about what the forest will look like today, what the forest of Victoria will look like in two weeks time. Some rain will fall at some point in the near future in those areas and then the forest floor will start to sprout and you will start to see small green plants trying to push their way through. Many trees will not survive a fire storm of that ferocity but some will and some seeds will start to sprout. It is the very nature of life that even when you are almost expunged entirely from a particular area, that life still finds a way to renew itself, regenerate and recover. That point will also come. Our species have adopted that particular path of nature and we, too, will sprout and Victorians will sprout and begin to grow anew into the future.
I hope that those Victorians who are survivors and who live in these areas take heart from that fact and that there is recovery and that in the future they will be able to rebuild their lives. It will not be like as it was before, it never is. Darwin after Cyclone Tracy was not anything like Darwin before Cyclone Tracy. But there is hope and there is life and there is a passion for the future that resonates through the human condition. I fully expect, and I know, that that passion and that hope will yet again come to the surface in Victoria and that Victorians and Australians will recover from this process and make the most of it.
My condolences to those people who have lost their loved ones, and my condolences to the people of Victoria.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I rise today to also support this condolence motion and to offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the people of Victoria who have suffered beyond belief in the wake of bushfires which have ravaged their communities and destroyed and devastated so many lives.
In my 46 years I have witnessed, along with other Australians some of the most awful and devastating events inflicted upon innocent people – men, women and children – by nature and by man. They include but are certainly not limited to the Granville train disaster, Cyclone Tracy, the Ash Wednesday bushfires, the Port Arthur massacre, the landslide in the ski resort of Thredbo, the destruction of the twin towers in New York and the Bali bombings. Any loss of life whether at the hands of nature or man, is difficult to grapple with and come to terms with but when it is on such a large scale and the losses become so far-reaching, well, it becomes incomprehensible.
Here we have unfolding before us the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. And all the more painful because the extraordinary forces of nature, in this case, once unleashed were quite literally ignited by fellow human beings. It is this element that makes the grief and the anger and the disbelief all the more palpable.
Can I say, like so many others that I struggle to find the words, the right words to express my shock and sorrow and disbelief that so many people have been affected.
It is a disbelief that has captured the attention of all Territorians and all Australians. The magnitude of the horror has brought condolences from people far and wide including Queen Elizabeth, prime ministers and other world leaders to express their shock, their dismay, their grief and their sadness as well as their admiration for the courage and resilience of victims, survivors, volunteers and communities.
The figures are staggering. More than 170 confirmed dead with that figure continuing to rise and many people missing, unaccounted for. More than 750 properties lost, thousands upon thousands of hectares burnt out, and more than 4000 homeless. There are people who have lost everything except the clothes they stand in, people who have lost hope and faith. The cost of these losses becomes immeasurable – the cost of land and businesses built up over lives and generations and the cost of a precious life. It is the human toll which is immeasurable.
We have all kept close to a television or a radio where and when we can to try to understand and come to terms with this disaster. We have seen shocking images of towns and streets razed to the ground, burnt out cars huddled together in the midst of an escape, and heard the heart-breaking stories of people who have lost everything, lost a loved one, lost neighbours and who, through their tears say things like: ‘This is my worst nightmare’, or ‘Try to think of the worst day in your life and times it by 10’, and ‘We did everything right, we did everything we were supposed to do in this situation but we have still lost it all’. And quite typical in these sorts of disasters are the feelings of guilt of those who have survived – through courage and skill and sheer luck – while their neighbours have perished. And that is not to say that those who perished were not courageous or lacking skill, but rather that fires approached with such suddenness, with such ferocity and burning a path which was so unpredictable and indiscriminate, that nothing could save them.
There are stories of death and survival which will remain etched on our psyche for sometime - like the man and his wife who survived only because they managed to crawl into a small concrete tunnel running beneath a road with a few inches of creek water running through it and whilst the fire sucked all of the oxygen as it passed over, they managed to breathe with wet t-shirts over their mouths. And the story of a woman found in her burnt out car with a few pieces of crockery she had tried to save on the seat next to her.
Madam Speaker, I pay tribute to the hundreds of people who have supported the rescue and relief efforts of this disaster: the police, fire and emergency services and defence force men and women who have worked tirelessly and courageously whether at the front line fighting fires and rescuing people or in other roles – they are also included amongst the awful tally of lost lives and lost homes; the ambulance services and hospital staff in ICUs and burns units dealing with unprecedented numbers of burns victims and the tragedy of deaths.
I pay tribute to the many charitable organisations such as Red Cross and Salvation Army and I know there are countless others, which have rallied to support. The volunteers from communities who have rallied to help in any way they can through the donation of their time, their energy, clothes and food, and amongst the most precious of gifts, their blood. The national fund for relief stands at a staggering sum of almost $14m and continue to grow.
I thank the Chief Minister for his prompt support with the contribution of $500 000 on behalf of the Northern Territory government as well as my fellow Territorians for their support. This includes the people in my electorate of Nhulunbuy who are rallying to provide support . Nhulunbuy Corporation, which is the equivalent of our local council, will be opening the local town hall on Saturday morning and coordinating the hall as a drop-off point for donation of goods such as clothes which Perkins Shipping is generously shipping to Darwin by barge free of charge. And from there I am sure, as I have heard my colleague, the member for Barkly, talk about the generosity of trucking companies, that some company will then provide free transport of these goods to Victoria. Nhulunbuy Rotary Club is also working to collect donations and forward them to the Red Cross. I know that Nhulunbuy people will give generously.
Madam Speaker, we will learn lessons from this disaster. I hope that we never see a repeat of a disaster like this and on this scale. In the meantime, I offer my sincere condolences, my hopes, my prayers and my thoughts to the people of Victoria who have lost so much in the last few days.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, I support the condolence motion. I wish to send my condolences and that of my electorate to those families and friends who have suffered great loss in Victoria. We cannot also forget those who are suffering in Queensland with the floods.
I look back on my life where I have been trained as a base firefighter when I was with the Defence Force. I look back on my training with the Bushfire Council and the responsibilities we had as the only fire service in remote communities. I look back on the time when, in the Defence Force, I willingly went to the Katherine floods and did recovery work through Katherine. I recall the foul stench that simply could not be removed. It was an amazing event and the men and women we worked with in Katherine worked tirelessly and, if they were like me, wanted never to stop working for the people who were there. We did not feel the hunger; we just continued to work.
All those experiences, I can only imagine, pale compared to those experiences of those who worked tirelessly in Victoria. The sights and the stories that I have heard have totally shocked me. I have heard stories today that have shocked me. These fires were fanned with wind that was inconceivable. We can only believe that they created a fire storm like that of a blacksmith’s furnace. Unfortunately, people had very little chance. For all their goodwill, for all their preparation, people were caught and, unfortunately, have lost their lives.
As much as we talk, we probably cannot do any justice. We cannot heal the pain that the fire officers, the police, the emergency services, the ambulance officers, the Defence personal who will continue to help will go through. The memories of the people of the community who helped out during these fire storms will never ever be erased. The healing will never be complete. As the time goes by, as the trees grow back, and the communities rebuild, their hearts will never totally heal.
They can, hopefully, take some comfort in knowing that everyone in Australia, including the Northern Territory, send their love to those people and will always give them their support, as people supported the Territory during our darkest hours of Tracy and our floods.
I would like to say one more thing. From what I have learned when I have taken trips to Queensland to speak with emergency services there, and the Red Cross in Queensland during my December trip, the Red Cross needs financial support and our blood. Both the financial support and the support of our blood will go on for many months. If you can only give your blood, part of your person, please do so. Call the Red Cross, arrange a time to give your blood, because those burns victims that have come out this disgusting and unbelievable occurrence will need your blood to help them heal. If we can give nothing more, I believe that is the most amazing thing we can do. If you do wish to donate to the many different groups that are choosing to raise money, you can do so, or you can ring Red Cross on 1800 811 700.
Madam Speaker, I send my deepest sympathy to all the people involved. Thank you, I cannot say any more.
Ms McCARTHY (Children and Families): Madam Speaker, I support this motion and express my sincere thoughts to the people of Victoria and, indeed, to those members in our own parliament who are closely associated with Victoria: to the member for Araluen and the member for Nelson for your sharing of your personal stories in regard to the impact of what is going on in Victoria.
While I may be unfamiliar with the particular communities in Victoria that have experienced such tragic events these past few days, I know I am by no means not at all unfamiliar with the sense to empathise and to sympathise with the struggles that are going on there at the moment as their communities try to come together.
On behalf of the people of Arnhem and, in particular, Groote Eylandt, and those families who I know are very connected with the Victorian community, I pay tribute to the parliament here, and to the Victorian parliament, our sincere condolences, knowing that our thoughts and prayers are very much at work right at this moment, and in particular the support of the volunteers across the Northern Territory and in Arnhem, in the support that can be given to the people of Victoria in their time of crisis.
I believe what this episode and this time in the history of this country is showing is the inspirational courage of those who have given so much to support those who are suffering. The many stories that we have heard here, and the many stories that we have seen across the television and in print, bring home to each and every Australian just what is important. What is important is how we value one another and care for one another and those we love, and those who we do not know, a universal sense of care and compassion knowing that, as an Australian community, we must all pull together. The people of Victoria can feel heartened by what is going on right across this nation, that they are not alone, that there are so many Australians who grieve with them, who wish them well, who want so much to see that they can pull through this.
It is clear that every single person in Victoria who has been a part of this experience, whether be it in their own homes, whether as firefighters on the front, they know that they have survived.
From all Australians and all Territorians, we wish them well in their survival, and those, yes, indeed, who are in the hospitals recovering and who have a road ahead of them, we share our thoughts and our prayers with them.
I would like to finally say that, while I may be unfamiliar with Victoria, I do have close family members in Woori Yallock, which is not too far from some of these communities, in my cousin, brother and his wife and daughters. We have been ringing and were in contact with them over the weekend just to make sure that they are okay. They shared with us their concerns about the flow of information around their neighbourhood. They shared with us the fact that ashes were coming down in their back yard, and while the fire at that stage was a fair way away, they were very aware of the need to have an emergency plan in place.
In some respects, we are all touched by what is going on there. I will say that there has been great inspiration shown by our politicians in the federal parliament. I express my most heartfelt thank you to the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader for showing remarkable leadership at such a high level in the grief that this country is sharing with the people of Victoria and the example that they have sent to all Australians, right across every state and every parliament, to all sides of politics. My prayers and thoughts go with the people of Victoria.
Mr STYLES (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, I support this motion of condolence. I believe that much has already been said in relation to the victims, both those who have died and those who have been seriously injured, and about those who have lost loved ones and those who are currently at hospitals supporting those who are injured. I express my sincere condolences to those people.
In particular, I acknowledge the men and women of the Victorian Country Fire Authority, the State Emergency Services, which is made up of people from all walks of life and community, to the police and ambulance services, the medical staff in hospitals, to the doctors, to the nurses, all of whom are working frantically day and night to save lives and reduce the suffering of those who have been injured.
Amongst those people there are many accidental and unsung heroes and stories will come out of those who have given so much. I sincerely believe that they share similar values to those of that other Australian group - the ANZACs - and that is when your mates are in trouble, you get up and give them a hand. There is a saying that the greatest gift of all is to lay down your life for another and tragically we have lost some firefighters and other people who have been trying to save others. That is a sacrifice we can only admire and we cannot understand the bravery that goes with that.
I have family in western Victoria who have been victims of fire over the years. I have spent many summers on that farming property. They live constantly with the fear of fire. As one grows from a very young man and over those years, when you share the time in summer, you live with that fear also. When you wake in the night to voices and things you do not know or do not understand and you get up and walk down to the kitchen and there is your father-in-law standing there next to the Country Fire Authority radio crackling in the night, and then he is pulling on a pair of trousers and suddenly you find yourself on the fire truck and off to some distant place fighting fires in the middle of the night. You also understand why the best maintained vehicle on a farming property in Victoria is the fire truck. It is so absolutely essential. You also understand the call that goes from the community when someone else is in trouble.
As a former volunteer firefighter, I understand and have experienced the fear of wild fire, it is one of the most frightening experiences that you can have in life. I have also experienced the aftermath of these sorts of events, but in a positive light, I have seen the gratitude of those who have been helped by their fellow community members.
I would just like to quote a particular song that we all sing from time to time: ‘We are one, we are Australians’. Although we cannot stand next to these people in Victoria, we can help by donating and giving our assistance to them both financially and in the gift of blood.
I offer my sincere condolences to the families and convey my utmost admiration and respect to those who are assisting to save lives and to prevent further injuries.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I commend the motion and thank the Chief Minister for bringing the motion on. I stand here personally and as an elected representative for Braitling. Personally, in that I was born and bred in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales and have gone through three rather large fires myself, without the devastation and the loss of these current Victorian fires. My father was a volunteer fireman and my brother is currently a fireman living in the Blue Mountains. I have lived in Melbourne and my heart goes out to the Victorians. Also, I have lived in Canberra during the fires there and seen the devastation in Canberra.
I stand here, as well, as the elected representative for the people of Braitling. Many people have spoken to me and raised their concerns. I want to pass on my sympathy to all Victorians, Territorians and Australians who are affected by this.
The minister for Sport raised the idea of six degrees of separation and I listened because of the notes I have here. Many people talk about the six degrees of separation, but in times of tragedy like this it is not six degrees - it comes back to one degree. There are many people in the Territory who are hurting like Victorians because there are many people in the Territory who are from interstate or grew up interstate or have worked interstate. It is very important that we remember there are people who might live in our electorates who are hurting just as badly as some people in Victoria.
I want to put it on the record that there are people in Braitling, people in Alice Springs, who send their love and their wishes, who are contributing to campaigns for donations.
There are many fundraisers as the minister for Sport mentioned earlier, and there are more being announced all the time and people continue to help. It is important that the Premier of Victoria, the Prime Minister and the federal Opposition Leader understand that the people of Braitling and Alice Springs feel the pain, and are contributing as well.
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues and pass my sincere sympathy and condolences to all the people of Victoria. I come from a country that shares the history of bushfires every summer. Fortunately in my mother country, because of urbanisation, these bushfires would not result in victims, however, it was only two years ago that a severe bushfire burnt the whole of the Peloponnese and hundreds of people were killed. I remember watching satellite television from Greece when the news arrived that in a paddock they found a mother protecting her three children, all dead, from the bushfire.
I was watching television on Sunday and the events became immediate. They were not something that was happening 5000 km away. It was something that was happening in my own lounge room. I could see houses burning. I still remember years ago watching a reporter reporting on a bushfire in Victoria, and turning around and pointing at his own house going up in flames. That was happening not in Victoria, but in my own lounge room.
I know many people died and most probably more people will be found dead; many people have suffered burns, and many people lost their houses, but clearly they lost their lives. They will never find the photographs of their children when they were young; they will never find their wedding photographs; they will never find some of their mementoes they collected from their grandmother, their grandfather, some of their relatives. It is not the walls that went up in flames - their whole life went up in flames - and that is a significant trauma.
The bush will grow again. It will become green; life will come back again; people will get on with their lives. But what will come out of it is the memories we lost, the memories of the people we lost, and it is a very strong community not only Victoria but all over Australia. You are quite right, we are a funny race, and I, as an adopted Australian, an Australian by choice, I agree with you: we are a funny race. We joke about each other, but when something happens we come together.
I cannot tell you much about Cyclone Tracy, I was not here, but I heard that the support we received from other states was enormous. But I am here today, and I say we have to give all our support, our money and our blood, and if we can do either of them, I will help enormously.
My sympathy to all the victims in Victoria, my sympathy to all the families who lost loved ones, and my sympathy to all the people who lost their lives and their livelihoods.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I also extend my condolences to the many Victorians whose families have been lost, and to the Victorian government and members of parliament there, and wish them all the best for recovery. I also thank all honourable members for their contributions to this debate.
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I ask you to stand for one minute.
Members stood in silence as a mark of respect.
WARRANT
Deputy Chairman of Committees
Deputy Chairman of Committees
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 12, I hereby nominate the following member to act as Deputy Chairman of Committees: Mr Michael Gunner, the member for Fannie Bay, when requested to do so by the Speaker.
Given under my hand this day this 10th day of February 2009.
MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
Growing the Territory’s Land Release
Growing the Territory’s Land Release
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, last week I briefed industry and community leaders on research and planning the government was undertaking on the Territory’s growth needs. Today I wish to do the same for this House. Last week I focused on Darwin and Palmerston and today I intend to range more broadly across land issues, in particular, around the Northern Territory.
Around the world we are seeing an unfolding picture of economic meltdown unprecedented in 80 years and, yes, the Northern Territory will be affected by this. Our economy still relies very strongly on the national economy for the greater proportion of our budget and reductions in national growth will impact on our revenue as a government. The Territory budget will be in deficit whilst we, along with governments around the world, act to stimulate the economy through government expenditure. However, unlike the rest of Australia our fundamental path is still growth and development, albeit on a rockier trajectory.
Access Economics predicts growth of 4.7% this year, slowing to 2.4% in 2009-10. This growth prediction is confirmed by our Treasury who have predicted a 4.5% for 2008-09. Importantly, key drivers like private consumption, residential dwellings investment and exports are expected to remain strong. Reductions in interest rates and lowering of inflation are also acting to ease the cost of living impact on the pockets of Territorians, although pressures still remain. I believe with good management, clever planning and hard work we will come through this crisis a strong place - the economy of choice in Australia.
Planned properly and managed well, we will turn into a nationally recognised reality our boast that the Territory is the place to be, different from the rest of the nation because of confidence, lifestyle and opportunity.
Members are aware that I am a firm believer in the axiom that a failure to plan is a plan for failure. I also believe that it is necessary to bring to our public administration better levels of forecasting, renewed thinking and new perspectives and ideas, particularly on planning. Following the August 2008 election, I immediately set in place two processes: one of those is focused on the immediate future planning for today and the medium term; the second is more focused on long-term goals.
Last August, even when the economy travelling a lot more robustly, I established the Territory Growth Planning Unit. This unit has been tasked to look at growth issues across the Territory. The unit has been able to coordinate and harness the considerable expertise that exists across Territory government agencies. I am pleased with the strong whole-of-government work that has resulted; that work is fundamentally designed to look beyond the electoral cycle. Parallel with, and complementing the work of the Territory Growth Planning Unit, has been the establishment of the development of Territory 2030. Territory 2030 will be the strategic plan for the Territory that will set directions through the next two decades.
In this ministerial statement I wish to focus on the more immediate issues resulting from research of the Territory Growth Planning Unit. What that work is showing is twofold: there is a significant population increase occurring in the greater Darwin and Palmerston area; and there is a further significant population increase occurring in remote communities. The data on the remote communities is being compiled and analysed as part of further work being done by the unit. In terms of Darwin and Palmerston, data has been collated from the 2006 census and subsequent ABS, Treasury and Charles Darwin University work. The figures I present today are based on their medium projections to 2021, and straight line projections beyond this to 2030.
Current population projections suggest that from a base of 114 000 in 2006, the greater Darwin and Palmerston population is likely to increase by 19 000 to 133 000 in 2013, and by 39 000 to 154 000 by 2021, an increase of 34%. A straight line forecast to 2030 will take the population to 177 000, an increase of 63 000 from 2006 or 55%. In 2006, the working age population was 83 000, with projections suggesting that the working age population will increase to 94 000 by 2013 and 106 000 by 2021, an increase of 27%. In 2030, the working age population in greater Darwin and Palmerston will increase to 119 000, an increase of 36 000 from 2006, or 43%.
Employment growth in greater Darwin and Palmerston in the next 10 years alone will be between 14 000 and 19 000 people. This will lead to a significant expansion in the requirement for housing. Using population size and household size data, it is estimated that there were 43 000 dwellings in greater Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield in 2006. It is further estimated that to meet growth, approximately 1700 additional dwellings at least would be required annually in the immediate future.
The kinds of housing we will require will depend on our family structures as we move forward. In 2006, 11 500 families were couples with children - 46%; 4400 families with children where single parent families - 18%; and 8800 are families consisting of childless couples as the remaining 36%.
Based on population growth between 2006 and 2021 and the percentages of family types in 2006, in 2021 there are likely to be 15 400 couples with children, 6000 single-parent families and 12 000 childless couples. In 2030, there is likely to be 18 000 couples with children, 7000 single-parent families and 14 000 childless couples.
In 2006, the population of school-aged kids, five to 19 years of age, in greater Darwin and Palmerston was 24 000. Revised population projections suggest that the population of school-aged kids will increase to 31 000 by 2021, an increase of 27%. By 2030, it will be 35 000, an increase of 11 000 from 2006 or 43%.
Although the Territory will remain the youngest jurisdiction in the nation, our population will be an ageing one, with the social advantages it gives Territory families in being close to older relatives. An ageing population also presents challenges in relation to aged care, health facilities and other service needs. In 2006, the population over 60 years of age in greater Darwin and Palmerston was 10 000 people. Population projections suggest that the population over 60 years of age will increase to 21 000 by 2021, an increase of 107%. The aged population will more than double in 12 years. 2030 will see the population over 60 years of age in greater Darwin to 28 000 people, an increase of 18 000; that is 170% from 2006.
There are, of course, factors which will affect these figures, but all of the signs are that it will be an upwards rather than a downwards revision. In projecting forward, our demographers and planners have been conservative in the expected effect of the INPEX project and in subsequent flow-on industrial expansion.
In remote communities, the population growth has been trending upwards for some time. Early evidence is that this is now gaining momentum. Certainly, there is a high proportion of young people in remote communities who require services such as schools. As I have said in previous statements to this House, unlike the spectre of rural decline faced in so many other parts of Australia, towns in the bush are growing.
By 2023, Wadeye will have a greater population than present-day Nhulunbuy. By that date, the number of such Aboriginal population centres with more than 2000 people is likely to be eight or nine times the current number, with at least three over the 3000 population mark. Currently, there are 21 remote Territory communities with a population of around 500 or greater, and whose populations can be expected to double within a generation.
Work will also be done on population pressures in regional towns. At this stage, whilst we know there are land pressures, more detailed examination such as that which is occurring with Darwin and Palmerston is under way. Similar work with remote communities is in the pipeline.
This planning places us in an ideal position to manage the growth of the Territory with some confidence in what we need to provide, and how quickly. The task is a sobering one. Since 2001, the government has invested heavily in infrastructure to the tune of more than $3bn in cash. We have lifted basic services in a very significant way. There are now more doctors, nurses, specialists, teachers, assistant teachers, police, firefighters and ambulance crews than ever before.
Today, we are facing the challenge of shrinking revenue as a result of the global crisis and its impact on the Australian economy at the very time we need to be expanding even further the infrastructure investment we have already made. That is why the government accepts the need for temporary deficits. That is why we reject the talk of cutting back. There is no option for the future of the Territory but to continue to grow.
Across the Territory we are already working to meet the enormous challenges these projections suggest. The single most massive investment in education infrastructure is occurring right now as we stand here today.
In Palmerston, we are building two new schools at Rosebery to accommodate hundreds of children. Sixteen new classrooms have been built in 12 communities across the bush. More than $5m has been spent rebuilding the Borroloola Community Education Centre. Tenders are about to be called for the upgrading of five more community education centres – Yuendumu, Yirrkala, Alekerenge, Ngukurr and Ramingining. Tenders are being prepared or already out for works at Jingili, Leanyer, Malak and Nakara. Work has already commenced on a major upgrade for Ross Park Primary.
Our contribution will be well supplemented by the announcements from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the tens of millions of dollars the Australian government has committed to Territory schools. We are also focusing on the release of land for new housing and development.
Under current growth scenarios, the new Palmerston East suburbs of Bellamack, Mitchell, Zuccoli and Johnston will be taken up over the next four years and beyond, totalling some 3670 lots of land. Bellamack will yield some 700 lots: 150 to be turned off in 2009, 300 in 2010, and 250 in 2011. Johnston will yield 820 lots: 400 to be turned off in 2009 and 2010, 220 in 2011, and 200 in 2012. Turn-off in Zuccoli will commence in 2010, with 150 lots, followed by 200 in 2011, and 400 in 2012, with a further 1000 lots to be turned off during and after 2013. Mitchell will yield a total of 400 lots. Yield will commence in 2012 with 100 lots, with a further 300 lots to be turned off during and after 2013.
The government is also committed to residential infill in the Berrimah corridor with the proposed move of the prison and the sale of Berrimah Farm. There is more work to be done to finalise testing on the Berrimah Farm site, and we expect this to take some time during the course of this year. We are also lobbying the Commonwealth to sell the 11 Mile Aerial Farm. Private developers in the DHA are expanding their growth in the developing suburbs of Lyons and Muirhead.
We have also worked hard to settle the Kenbi Land Claim to allow the further availability of land around the Cox Peninsula. We did so because Cox Peninsula will provide the medium to longer term development and land potential for the expansion of Darwin. I am very proud of this achievement. It is a triumph from the different approach that we have taken to land issues than that of our predecessors. For 20 years, and after, the expenditure of tens of millions of dollars, no headway being made in resolving this fundamental complex. Now the future longer term growth of Darwin is assured, and it is done so hand in hand with the traditional owners.
The in-principle settlement of the Kenbi Land Claim, land protection and additional potential residential expansion will come on line over the next decade on Cox Peninsula. We are encouraging the Commonwealth to finalise this as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will be actively working with all stakeholders in planning for this development.
The government has announced further planning decisions to meet the challenges presented by our strong growth in Darwin and Palmerston. On 3 February, I announced the establishment of the Territory’s next city, Weddell. The government has taken time to carefully decide the future direction of the growth of Darwin and Palmerston. Our decision is to proceed full steam ahead at Weddell. As a development area of some 2000 ha, it will be a city with up to 40 000 Territorians calling it home. At the moment, the Weddell locality is little more than unremarkable lines on a map. Those lines will take shape as houses, shops and schools, with parks and sporting grounds, with clinics and new businesses across four suburbs. It will take on a new life as a growing vibrant community, but also as a 21st century place to live. As well as low cost housing, there will also be an emphasis on environmental considerations, including the carbon footprint of the new city, recycling, and transport systems.
In today’s costs, our early estimates suggest that arterial roads, power, water and sewerage trunk services will come to around $0.75bn, which will generate an additional private investment of at least several billion. I anticipate this new city will match Palmerston for its growth over the next quarter of a century as it builds to an estimated 10 000 housing lots. Stage 1 of power supplies to the Weddell locality is already in place, with a zone substation ready to meet early development. An additional substation will be required down the track. The first stage will need some 30 km of connector and internal roads. A water storage facility, treatment plant and transfer station will be required to meet anticipated future demand of Weddell and Middle Arm Peninsula. Work is under way on the planning of Weddell. I anticipate the first suburbs of Weddell will be under way in a seamless development following the completion of the Palmerston East suburbs, approximately in five years’ time.
On 29 January, I visited the site of the auction of 35 blocks of land for Katherine. I was pleased to be able to fulfil so quickly our election commitment to release more land for residential development in Katherine. I am also pleased to report to the House that the land was sold. Since August, the government has also released nine more blocks of land for residential development in Tennant Creek. Further investigations are under way for the release of more land within the town.
On 17 December 2008, in Alice Springs, the government and the native title owners signed an Indigenous Land Use Agreement that will see the release of 80 residential blocks of land at Mt Johns Valley, with 40 in the first stage. The headworks have already been put in place by this government. This is the second significant land release that has been brokered by this government with the native titleholders and more work is being done to release further blocks.
Other ministers will detail the work that is being done to manage the growth of the Territory within their portfolios.
In brief, we are employing far greater levels of police than ever before: 311 have been recruited to date with more already in the planning. Health and hospital services are being expanded across the Territory. We are investing more than $1bn in Power and Water infrastructure and all members would be aware of the hundreds of millions of dollars that are now being pumped into housing across the Territory. Over the next five years, around $1bn will be invested in public housing in the Territory, with much of this going into remote communities where there is a critical shortage.
There would be few other communities in Australia today talking of the level of growth and expansion we have forecast for the Territory. There would be few other communities talking about the development of a whole new city. That is the confidence of the Territory today, a confidence based on growth.
The government will not be doing this on its own. We will be developing the Territory hand-in-hand with the private business and development sector and the non-government community sector. Despite the immense challenges we all face, the Territory remains an exciting place. The opportunities that exist here exist no where else in Australia, and it is my intention and the government’s intention, to ensure that those opportunities are turned into real outcomes for all Territorians.
Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly take note of the statement.
Mr MILLS (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, this is our first statement for 2009 and it is an important statement. We face very uncertain times and for anyone to rise in these circumstances and to have a clear fix on the nature of the problem and therefore the proposed solution is taking a courageous step. You only have to look across the landscape, within the nation, the states and internationally – there is great conjecture as to what is the right response to a problem that is difficult to grasp.
We need to recognise the difficult and challenging circumstances in which we are placed, and be humbled by these circumstances, so that we may endeavour to find the right path through. We need to have a reasoned discussion on these matters in order to provide good leadership.
Anyone who watched Four Corners last night would recognise that Mr Masters, who put that package together, had done the same nearly two years before. It was at that time he predicted that there would be significant fallout in Australia. At that time there was a denial that there would be such an impact in Australia, as we looked at what had happened in the United States.
I believe it is bordering on arrogance, perhaps foolishness would be more appropriate, to not look at the possibilities of what may occur in order to be well positioned in order to acquit our responsibility as leaders, and to be aware of the conflicting circumstances in order to be well prepared. The program last night visited much of what would have been indicated as possibilities in the program some 18 months before as occurring in Australia. It focused on the impact in the Townsville and Cairns area as cases in point, which has some connection to circumstances in the Northern Territory, similar communities, in some ways.
The way the Chief Minister has finished speaks of confidence, growth, and the prediction that Weddell will grow, as Palmerston has grown, and is perhaps taking a quick assessment of the growth that we have experienced for many years in Palmerston and forgetting the early stages of Palmerston. They were very challenging times, when interest rates were very high and, as a community, it was a difficult time. We have had growth now for a period of time, but it has not been the same story all the way through. There are challenges that we will confront and contend with, and as we are confronting that challenge we may not see the whole story.
Growth will be dependent upon a flow of credit. You cannot have growth if there is no credit flowing into the marketplace no matter how hopeful you are or how good the circumstances. You only need to speak to local businesses and you will find strong, good businesses with strong business plans here in the Northern Territory are having some difficulties with the change in the credit market. One phrase has come out at one of my meetings which has said that the banks have become ‘nasty’, that being a reluctance to pass on credit when it is justified in every circumstance by their good record and so on.
Let us not get past this too easily: growth is a good thing to aspire to and I hope for growth. However, let us recognise that there will be some challenges with regards to the flow of credit into the marketplace. That is a reality. It is not a talking down of the market or the economy. That is a churlish and foolish response to make. These are times that will require cool heads and clear analysis to provide good leadership and support to our hard-working businesses which, through no fault of their own, are facing the real brunt of the changing circumstances both nationally and internationally.
Rogoff and Reinhardt in their presentation to the annual American Economic Association meeting last month outlined what we can expect from this current global financial crisis. You only have to go on the Financial Review website, The Australian, or look at international economists and so on and you will see comment and all the minds are working to try to see a way through this. By analysing past major recessions and depressions they concluded that we can expect the economic downturn to last around seven years. Three and half years for the equity and housing price decline - and if you talk to local businesses that is an impact; you talk to the mining sector and then the flow-on into the marketplace and with the banks being very nervous, that is what we are experiencing now, for a period; followed then by four years of rising unemployment as a result of two years of output decline. So by historic analysis we can expect to be tightening our belts for approximately seven years.
Bill Gates in his 2009 Gates Foundation letter said:
- I hope two years from now when I write this letter I can look at this section as a reflection of something that was short-term and that has passed, but I think the effects
of the crisis will last beyond that.
….
If you take a longer time frame, such as five to 10 years, I am very optimistic that these problems will be behind us.
If you watched Four Corners last night you saw interviews with strong local businesses taken two weeks ago where everything was just fine and recognised the challenges and then by the end of the program, when the second interview was taken and a bank had made a call and said: ‘No, sorry, we cannot extend credit any longer’, it meant the empire collapsed or was under serious threat.
There are circumstances beyond the domain of expressions of hope. I hope, and I hope beyond hope, that we are able to weather this storm, but we must be sober in our assessments in order to provide that quality of leadership. It would be foolish to close our ears to the comments of others who are trying their best with experience and with qualifications who are endeavouring to make assessments on how these circumstances are conspiring and how we must then respond.
The cost to government to bail out and to keep their economies afloat pale next to the revenue lost in tax and own source revenue - there will be an impact. As Treasurer Swan was commenting last night, the magnitude of the reduction in revenue is significant. The analysis of the big five post-World War II recessions - Spain in 1977, Norway in 1987, Finland in 1991, Sweden 1991, and Japan 1992 – saw government debt explode on average by 86%.
Stimulus packages are part of the solution to an economy regaining financial health. Governments must provide a responsible balance between social and physical capital. During the Japanese recession in the early 1990s, the government made massive investments into infrastructure which would allow individual sectors of the community a solid foundation to grow and see the economy pick up. The fundamental - and I have said this in media conferences and in other fora – is that there is a great need for a stimulus package, without a doubt; it is part of it. However, applied without an understanding of the broader context in which we are operating, there are many other aspects to this. There is a need to stimulate the economy, to focus that investment on infrastructure, and the intent of the stimulus package as has been described by the Prime Minister is supported. It is the nature of the package which is implemented and carried through to the states which really is the challenge that falls rightly to us.
The US government has a package of around 5% of their GDP. If Prime Minister Rudd’s latest stimulus package gets through the Senate unscathed, it will bring Australia’s bail-out to around 5% of our GDP. Governments provide these large stimulus packages to boost infrastructure investment, ensuring jobs and keeping the economy going to offset the contraction in the private sector. On that point, if circumstances beyond the control of our own domestic economy in the Territory conspire to knock a couple of our small business operators out, the question that was asked at the Chief Minister’s forum on his return from his trip overseas will be amplified; that being, if INPEX and ConocoPhillips come on at the same time it will place immense pressure on our own local economy. If that does occur, or even if they occur at the same proximity, and we have local businesses that have not been able to make it that distance through more than a couple of years, then we are in a very challenging position. We need to recognise that possibility and turn our attention to that to find a response to support local businesses however we can do that. You cannot have a policy fix until you understand the nature of the problem. Talking to local businesses, that is the point of challenge. Over the horizon, INPEX and ConocoPhillips are good; it provides some confidence. However, it is over the horizon.
Here and now is where we need to bring our policy fix to bear to ensure that, in a market where credit is becoming harder to secure, we have to keep small local Territory businesses in the game which are suffering the unintended consequences of a downturn in the resource sector. That is the point of challenge. How do we construct a meaningful - and the Treasurer may roll her eyes at this, because she obviously has a complete grasp on this and I look forward to hearing her solution to this. Perhaps the rest of the world can then go to bed easily tonight. There are some serious and realistic challenges ...
Ms Lawrie: I look forward to the Libs supporting the economic stimulus package in Canberra too, so we get $200m …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order! The Leader of the Opposition has the call.
Mr MILLS: It is good to note that the Commonwealth government promotes, on their Understanding Money website, a basic introduction to financial literacy - probably a good thing for all members to have a look at. Explained in laymen’s terms, it is aimed at the average Australian. This is the time, as minds are focused on these matters, for us to get a better understanding of these matters so we can provide good leadership. Perhaps the Treasurer might like to have a good look at that website.
On the subject of windfalls, the website makes a key point:
- You may save a significant amount of money in the long-term if you use a windfall to pay off your mortgage and other debts.
Well, blow me down! That is a word of wisdom that has been offered again and again to this Labor government during their time in office. When they have had …
Ms Lawrie: We have driven down debt.
Mr MILLS: … the rivers of revenue flowing in, in terms of GST, $1.2bn …
Ms Lawrie: Yes. Driven it down.
Mr MILLS: … of unexpected windfalls flowing into the Northern Territory …
Mr MILLS: … they have had the opportunity to make provision for the lean times.
Ms Lawrie: Debt to revenue ratio, look it up.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: Excuse me, Madam Speaker?
Madam SPEAKER: Yes. Deputy Chief Minister, if you would please cease interjecting.
Ms Lawrie: He is misleading the parliament. We have driven down debt.
Mr MILLS: Sorry, Madam Speaker, just …
Madam SPEAKER: I beg your pardon?
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, I said I thought you had passed a direction to the Deputy Leader and she just back-chatted you, but …
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry. I did not actually hear that, but Deputy Chief Minister, if you would cease interjecting, please.
Ms LAWRIE: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I certainly will. The member for Drysdale has been interjecting across to my staff and I have been responding.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Please resume your seat. The Leader of the Opposition has the call. If members could cease interjecting, thank you.
Mr MILLS: Thank you, Madam Speaker. So this is fairly basic guidance for anyone seeking to get an understanding of what is the wisest thing to do if you have an unexpected bonus. This government has received $1.2bn of unexpected bonuses in their eight years. You only have to look at the record and you will see that there has been counsel upon counsel to make good use of the times of plenty because the lean times will come.
You must make use of the times of plenty, because when the lean times come, if you have not made provision, you are given less room to manoeuvre and you are setting yourselves up – in this case, the public purse – with some severe challenges which will not just fall on the watch of those who are in office now but in administrations to come, and our children who are to come after us who will be saddled with the consequences of the lack of preparation that had been made.
In simple terms, if you receive a windfall, you can either erode some of your underlying debt now and your obligations now, or you can spend it now. If you deal with it now and erode some of your underlying financial obligations, you have a very large impact on future debt. And that is an opportunity that has been lost.
They also recommend on this website putting some of that windfall away into savings or investments, and as you are looking after your debts, to put some away for a rainy day. Only after you have done that, shout yourself to a treat, such as say a $500 000 party to open a convention centre. You have been counselled on your wisdom in the use of this money, for what purpose? To erode underlying debt for the sake of the future generations, or largesse today so that you are a jolly good fellow right here and now and blow tomorrow.
We are, as a result of this attitude, not in the position that we should or could be. That is a fact. That cannot be changed, unfortunately, but by recognising the problem, recognising the situation, we are positioned to be able to bring discussion to bear on the nature of the challenge that we are facing and then move forward. To ignore this and to go on with assertions and an expression of hope could well be foolish without a clear fix on the challenges that we face.
We are coming into this government’s ninth budget cycle. Across eight of these budgets, the government has received a total of $1.2bn in unexpected GST windfall - not budgeted for, over and above, windfalls. Not only have they not paid off debts or reduced superannuation liabilities, they have not significantly reduced borrowings. What they have achieved over the past eight years is a bloated, top heavy public service; an 83% increase in crime; the highest recidivism and incarceration rate in Australia; close to the longest waiting lists in health; completely failed our students by not ensuring they achieve a basic level of literacy and numeracy; they have drained the public housing pool – shame – of 2000 homes without reinvesting the proceeds to ensure the most needy Territorians have roofs over their heads. At a time they need shelter they do not have that shelter. There is a three year waiting list in Palmerston for those who are in need of crisis housing - shame upon shame - dragged their heels on land release causing housing prices and rents to sky rocket. Shame upon shame.
To have this issue now being attended to with the expression of hope that things will get better and that I have the confidence in the future, when it was only a matter of 18 months ago that this was a government holding firm to a position that there was no need. It was the Treasurer who denied the need and the argument for the release of land.
Ms Lawrie: Not at all.
Mr MILLS: Check your own record and go and check the people of Palmerston who are on waiting lists, who are desperate to get into housing because there is no room in the Territory, a place of abundant land, but no plan. There goes to the Chief Minister …
Ms Lawrie: Political rhetoric.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Leader of the Opposition, you have the call.
Mr MILLS: Just go then to the axiom that the Chief Minister just referred to: a failure to plan is a plan to fail. I think that proves it. That is quite a correct statement. There has been a failure to plan and therefore there is a plan to fail and it has failed.
Forget the politics of it; that is the least of my concerns. It should be the least of your concerns Treasurer. It has failed hard-working, young families. That is who it has failed. Forget your glossy brochures, forget your great assertions and your smug looks and comments. Forget that. Have a look at those young families out there. Look at those young families who have invested in the Territory, of a hope in the Territory, and decided they cannot make it and they have to go somewhere else. That is where it bites. That is where it should hurt.
Not only to look at the remote communities, basic infrastructure, roads and bridges and to start to build it from the grassroots up - a genuine plan, a real plan. Forget the rhetoric. Focus on receiving a result for your expenditure, not more assertions spoken into the wind for a good grab on the media but a real result for real people, something that takes a bit of courage and foresight. Put yourself second, put someone else first and use the resources that you have had to make a real difference so you can retire from this job feeling that you have actually done something.
Ms Lawrie: Political rhetoric, get on with it.
Mr MILLS: Stings, doesn’t it?
Ms Lawrie: No.
Mr MILLS: If it does not sting, you should be ashamed of yourself. I would be worried if it does not sting.
Ms Lawrie: You are on your pulpit, stay on your pulpit.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr MILLS: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
When this government is questioned over their failings in economic management and service provision, they alternate between sticking their heads in the sand and then embarking on an impressive tap dancing routine boasting of, believe it or not, record expenditure, and increased spending, and when that fails comparing themselves against a pre-GST CLP government. It is disingenuous.
It is about as caring as a mum or a dad who think they love their children by spending lots of money on them, and saying: ‘Do not worry, we have problems in health, do not worry, we will spend a lot of money’. No, that is not care. That is not a result. That is just spending money. The result is the delivery of care; the result is the expenditure of money to deliver results in education, in infrastructure - a real change. It might be small or modest, it might not get you the headlines of the day, but if it produces the result at the end of our time, then that is something to count as a real achievement - when those waiting lists in public housing are dropped and young families can find a place to stay.
To say that five years from now we are going to have Weddell online, hello, that has been called for a very long time and now you say it is going to be fast-tracked. The Mayor of Palmerston said that the concept of timely release of suitable serviced land is one outcome that council is supporting. Who does not support that? What we have seen after eight or nine years is the announcements of such things that sound just fine, like the Hollow Men, sounds good, but can that actually be achieved? Look at the record. Holding a position, there is no need to release land; the opposition want to flood the market, etcetera, etcetera.
That was the holding pattern by the Treasurer at that time, then a dramatic shift, obviously did a focus group, so quick, we will change our story. Then we made some very firm commitments, genuine commitments looking straight down the camera: ‘We are going to fast-track Bellamack’. My goodness, there is a lightning shift from one position to another - fast-track Bellamack.
If we match up the announcements - the rhetoric - regarding Bellamack from the firm announcements, and I had people coming to my office: ‘I want to get some of that land. That’s great news’. Well, they knew it was great news, they had done the focus groups and it all of a sudden changed: ‘So we can say this’. So they said it and they set a date, and if you measure the date from the announcement to when - when? ‘When are we going to get a block at Bellamack?’
And if we go to say, announce, and that time line keeps moving, and there is still uncertainty about other announcements that have been made, if those time lines have been moved, how on earth can we expect that in five years time we are going to see activity in a city? We cannot even bring a suburb online in time. Let us extrapolate. Twelve months from now there is going to be something in Weddell, then that gets moved to 18 months and two years, we still have not seen in Bellamack. So we will double it, five years, just double that, 10 years, maybe 15 years before we see it. Can this government actually turn off a subdivision? Can they really turn off a city of 40 000 people? Let us wait and see. Please do it. The expressions of hope that are contained in the statement, I stand in hope, I want it to happen.
We will have these debates in here and if you cast all this, Treasurer, in terms of political rhetoric and just get past that narrative and look through to see whether there is actually any truth in this, if there is anything that bites in any way, maybe you cannot admit it in here because you are too proud for that, because there is image and this is argy-bargy after all. Forget it. This is more than argy-bargy. This is the real deal. There are real families out there who are demanding, crying out for solutions and some traction at a time they most need it, a time of uncertainty. Certainty?
Certainty was what the last election was all about, the provision of certainty. That was a well-crafted little focus group phrase. Certainty is what is required. Let us all go around and say that. What sort of certainty do we have in these uncertain times? We have a position, an economic and fiscal position which should be far better than it is. We do not have that certainty. We have assertions made out of the blue, apparently. After denying that there was a need for Weddell during the campaign, mocking the opposition for saying that we should get on with Weddell - mocked us - and now on a day where there is some sort of unusual announcement that comes from government - out of the blue comes Weddell.
Hello, what is going on here? Is this all governed by the need to create impressions? Or is it real? Because at this time, more than any, Territorians want something that is real, something of substance, and all that you can come back with, Treasurer, is ‘political rhetoric’, ‘it is all politics’. It is far more than politics.
There are colossal challenges, and those challenges can be spoken about, and if we do not take the time to slow ourselves down and look at those challenges and the nature of those challenges, we will not be able to craft a policy fix that goes close to addressing them.
There is another axiom. The Chief Minister has used one and I think that the performance of government has confirmed the veracity of that axiom - the failure to plan is a plan to fail. And those families, I believe, have been failed by the lack of real action. The other one is the contrast that either you are the ringmaster or the beast. If you have lost control of the processes, you are controlled by them, and though there is a lot of flurry and activity in the circus ring, not a lot is being achieved. You have lost control of the circus ring. There are so many forces circling around at the moment that no matter what you say or what impression you try to generate, the ringmaster has now become the beast.
I believe we need to get some control back over that circus and ensure we are in control of these circumstances. There is change going on, and this is not a time for unsteadiness or uncertain rhetoric. This is not a time to say one thing but mean something completely different. So, line the two up. You have to line the two up. You either lead the change or you will be led by change.
There is so much happening now that it is time for some certainty - real certainty, not a slogan that is bandied around in an election campaign, but real certainty. It is time to dig a little deeper. I am prepared, in a spirit of goodwill, to work on these matters and have reasoned debates in here because, in our constituency, Territorians require that and they want it. They are calling out for it, asking for people to listen to them, hear what they have to say, forget the game playing and cut right through and get to the heart of the matter.
You can only run the formula for so long. However, that formula has grown thin because we have seen the results of that. Government has put itself at the centre of this when a government is meant to be there to serve the best interests of Territorians …
Mr TOLLNER: Madam Speaker, I move that the Opposition Leader be given a further 10 minutes to conclude his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr MILLS: I will go back then, because I have a little extra time. I am very grateful to the member for Fong Lim.
Until mid-2008, the Henderson government continued to promote a conservative approach to land release to avoid flooding the market and driving prices down. That was an extraordinarily embarrassing position to be taken by government. Once again, the Treasurer thought that was just politics. Well, it is more than politics. I have heard comments from the other side. They think this is some kind of game, but it is not. To hold that position at that time was a grave error. When you had the capacity to do something like release land and get ahead of the game, you did not, and you held on to some position for fear of actually making a decision and giving yourselves some real direction in these times. We needed to get ahead of the game, but they did not.
Then they caved into criticism over ever-decreasing housing affordability and rental availability. This tune quickly changed by the end of last year to a sudden rush to bring forward the development of Johnston, Mitchell, Zuccoli, and Berrimah, at the same time as criticising those who championed the development of the new city, which was on the books well before Labor came to office. Territorians had been promised the opportunity of buying land in the Bellamack subdivision since September 2007, with land expected to be turned off by the end of 2008. This time line has crept since the original announcement to early 2009, mid-2009 and, finally, somewhere around 2009. Now, when they are turned off there will only be 150 blocks available. That is a spit in the ocean compared to the size of the need. Check the waiting list for public housing as an indication of the intense need there is out there. ‘But do not worry, we are on track to release 400 blocks in Johnston by the end of 2009’, a suburb that has not even been on the cards 12 months ago.
To put a human story to this, regarding the filling teacher positions, I heard this very interesting story the other day. One school had lined up a teacher from Western Australia who was offered a full-time position in the Northern Territory and had accepted. That was early in the Christmas break, I would assume. However, as they assessed the implications of moving to the Northern Territory – that is, rent, etcetera - and wanting to move from a part-time position they held in Perth to a full-time position in the Northern Territory, when they did the sums and the full assessment, they decided it was better to stay in Perth working part-time than to live in the Top End with a full-time job such is the cost of housing in the Territory. Therefore, we lost a teacher as a direct result of the position that was held by government. The failure to release land, the place that has an abundance of land, has had those sorts of effects.
If you talk to the industry groups they will tell you that that is where the bite is going to be felt. Separate from the financial crisis, those who they are going to need to have employment in their enterprises will not be able to find a place to stay that is affordable so they cannot stay here. If a teacher cannot afford to rent in the Territory, think that through. Where is the poverty line now? Where is it? Once it was those who were on welfare. Now it is those who have qualifications, nurses, receptionists, those with some skills, some tertiary qualifications, they cannot find themselves into the market.
Assuming Bellamack is turned off in September will mean a three-year window from announcement to actual land release - if you apply this yardstick to other Palmerston suburbs, it is very concerning. This is the reality of it. We get so caught up in this that we may forget that the rest of the community is not dumb. They are seeing this and they are doing the crunching and are thinking: ‘Come on, is this mob for real? Do we believe anything they say about any announcement? We need Weddell. Do they really believe it is going to happen?’
Well, the evidence is starting to mount up and I think confidence is being eroded. Do not think I am talking anybody down except that the performance of government has been such that it has caused a declining confidence of the capacity of this government to attend to the real business, and that is to build confidence.
We need confidence now like we have never had it before. That is why we need decisive action - look at it and make a decision, and we have not had that. That is what we needed for five, six, seven, eight years. And now when we most need it, we do not have it. We have announcements for effect, but not announcements that are backed up by a track record of substance. We have to do better than that.
When you do any assessment of the economic challenges we face, one thing, yes, ‘certainty’ was a good slogan. We actually want certainty. There is a psychological aspect to an economic downturn - people start to tighten up; they choose not to spend; they are uncertain about an investment; a bank has a profound effect; they want to hold back; they want to reduce risk - and a lot of it is based on fear. You can erode that fear by some decisive leadership from government. Putting it on the line and counting what you say as though it is something you really, genuinely, actually mean, recognise the deficiency in your performance to date, be honest about that, and then move forward on that basis and you will start to claw back some credibility. Free advice: I know it would work, because that is what we need, we need a restored confidence. There are many things I can say on that front, but they will be reserved for another time.
Madam Speaker, these are very challenging times. There will be strong debate in this place, and I hope that that debate is approached with informed consideration, with a level of honesty, and recognition that these are uncertain times. It is not a time for empty assertions and wishful thinking. Our fellow Territorians, if you speak to them now, just as the member for Macdonnell spoke very well in regard to a crisis, a catastrophe like we see in Victoria, that people are funny, in times like this there is an underlining uncertainty and people are starting to drift together and starting to talk about deeper things, about certainty, about their future, about their plans. They will pick in a flash if it is insincere or empty or it is shallow, if it is just the hollow man sort of stuff. They could pick it at a mile. They have had a steady diet of that sort of confectionary for about eight years.
They are looking for something nourishing now, something to get them through. Now is the time, as people are engaged on these very serious matters, without even mentioning the social impact, the law and order that will be fed by this uncertainty, the problems that we have faced in times of plenty, what is it going to be like if we do not have the capacity to respond, and people are uncertain and they become frightened.
There are social and economic challenges ahead. It is time to entertain some serious thoughts about how we are going to apply genuine policy fixers and get out of the politics, and policy direction governed by good debate – honest, genuine debate – and genuine engagement with the community. Hear what they have to say. Do not grab them all together and say: ‘We are interested in having some kind of review or consideration and we want to know what you think about it’. They have had enough of being asked what they think about something and government going off and doing whatever they want to do. They do not want to be managed. They want to be listened to. Now is the time to hear them, with two ears that work and one mouth that speaks after listening.
Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the statement. It is an important statement. I am pleased that, at least, there is reference now to Weddell. I am ever hopeful.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms LAWRIE (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition made much of the here and now and the importance of the crisis facing families in terms of housing. Well, I will let the Assembly know that here and now, the CLP Senator Nigel Scullion stands in the Senate and has spoken against the federal government’s $42bn economic stimulus package. That is what is happening in the here and now. That is the disgrace that the CLP will deliver up to Territorians in the here and now. What does a $42bn economic stimulus package deliver?
Mr Conlan: Debt, debt for your kids, my kids.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: And the interjection just goes to show the shallowness of the understanding that members opposite have of this issue. Because if they had actually read the comments of the federal Treasurer and the Prime Minister, they would have some inkling of what the federal government is saying about how it will return to the surplus once it has taken our nation through the toughest time this nation has faced, in economic circumstances, since World War II.
We are in unprecedented times. We are in a new paradigm when it comes to the economic realities confronting this nation. Not of this nation’s making. Not of this Territory government’s making - which is what the Leader of the Opposition would have us believe. This is what the shadow Treasurer would like to paint throughout this sitting period. It is a global financial crisis; a global financial crisis that is just hitting Australia. We have a severe economic downturn, particularly in the southern states. We have credit that is constricted beyond anyone’s experiences of the past. We have a whole raft of economic analysis out there about what the response to this crisis should be.
The federal government has said they will provide a $42bn economic stimulus package. Why, as the Territory government, did we go to Canberra last week and sign up to the delivery of that package? Because genuinely, it will deliver for Territorians. Conservative estimates at this stage put a $200m injection of capital into the Territory in the next two to three years. $200m that we would otherwise not have coming in, in capital investment into the Territory, over the next two to three years. It starts now. The whole package is designed for the rubber to hit the road now.
We are ready to go. We have identified where we have vacant lots of land, where we can knock down houses and build new houses. We are ready to go with approximately 200 public houses. Two hundred dwellings - when that rubber will hit the road. The Leader of the Opposition talks about public housing waiting lists, yet at the same time, the CLP is saying: ‘No. No, we do not want the Territory to receive funding for 200 public housing dwellings’. They are saying: ‘No, we do not want the Territory to receive critical infrastructure across all of its primary schools’.
This infrastructure can be used in so many ways, particularly across our regional and remote schools. A multipurpose hall: we all know what a difference a multipurpose hall makes to a school, whether they are in an urban, regional or remote setting. It is a critical piece of infrastructure for a school.
Libraries: the CLP is saying: ‘No, no, do not do this. We do not want to receive that in the Territory’. They do not get that this is a once in a decade, perhaps century, opportunity for the Territory. We are better placed than the other jurisdictions in Australia in terms of the global financial crisis and the economic downturn. Yes, we are better placed. We are not immune, but we are better placed. What this presents is an opportunity to go streets ahead in terms of the capital infrastructure backlog that we have as a result of the inheritance of self-government. There is a whole raft of economic debate that can occur around the infrastructure backlog the Territory has. $1.65bn in roads backlog, for example, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Confused messages are coming from the Leader of the Opposition. The opposition is saying that the government has had this GST windfall and they have been spending like drunken sailors but they have to understand that there is a real concern out there in industry and with businesses because INPEX is on the horizon, and the horizon is two years away. What are we going to do to deal with industry capacity between now and the INPEX opportunities on the horizon?
Well, guess what you have? You have a $200m capital investment pipeline ready to hit the road to keep businesses, tradies and subbies in work, building the capital as a result of the $200m injection from the federal government. But no, the CLP is saying: ‘Do not give the Territory the money’.
Their representative in the federal opposition in the Senate has spoken against it. They are on the record as saying they are against it. And do not even worry about the retail sector or the hospitality sector which is going to be hit by tourism. Do not worry about them. Do not worry about the $950 spend going into families’ pockets and what that will mean to retail, what that will mean to hospitality…
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The motion we are talking to is about land release, not about something that was put forward in federal parliament.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Please resume your seat.
Ms LAWRIE: Yes, and is it not interesting that the member for Braitling in a statement about growing the Territory, in a statement where the Opposition Leader spoke of the need for economic stimulus, where he spoke of the need to support industry in jobs, in work in the pipeline, does not get the connection with the $42bn stimulus package which delivers $200m in capital into the Territory with the rubber hitting the road now.
The delivery of 200 public houses in the Territory is additional to the $800m-odd public housing package that we are spending in the bush to deliver thousands of houses. We would have an urban public housing construction program with a regional and remote public housing construction program. But the CLP’s answer to that is: ‘No, do not do it, we do not agree with that package’.
The Leader of the Opposition makes much of: ‘Need to listen. As a government, we need to listen’. Well, the Chief Minister, our minister for Business, other ministers and I have been busy meeting with sectors of the community to listen to what they are saying. My message as Treasurer has been a very clear message since the global financial crisis commenced, which is that there is no more important time than now for government to be hearing directly from industry and immediately from industry about how they are faring because we will respond.
The first response was Buildstart. We put Buildstart out there to generate investment in the residential sector, recognising that we had a rental squeeze going on, recognising that we had lots of land available which were under-utilised, putting incentives in place for investors to return to the market. Why had investors fled the market? Well, the economic debate is pretty clear. High interest rates had turned investors out of the rental marketplace. We saw low interest rates and we saw the opportunity with the economic stimulus needs to come in with a targeted program such as Buildstart.
We are listening to the resources sector. We have seen shedding of jobs in that sector so we have been talking to the resources sector and the construction sector about where those jobs can transfer across. I know there will be cheap shots like: ‘Why doesn’t a politician take a pay cut? I am asking them to’. If you have a choice of unemployment, which is what the job sheds in the resources sector have led to, then of course you want to look at where you can pick up another job. Construction is a transferable skill industry for our resources sector workers, as well as transport industry for those heavy vehicle licence holders. We are seeing that. We are seeing the transferability and the move across. We are seeing, for example, tenders for road projects that would have attracted two to three tenders in the past, for which we are now getting eight. We have seen industry capacity increase over the years because we have had record after record capital works budgets. That is not squandering the GST revenue.
The GST revenue has not been a windfall, as the opposition would lead you to believe. It is simply our fair share of Commonwealth revenues - our fair share. It is only just above the guaranteed minimum that we would have received regardless of the economic growth circumstances that have led to the consumer, which has led to the GST. It is our fair share and we have not been squandering it. What have we been doing? We have been driving down the debt we inherited - six surpluses in a row ...
Mr Elferink: No you have not. You are borrowing like you would not believe.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: Six surpluses in a row, driving down the horrendous debt levels that we inherited. It is useful to point out that, when we came to government, the debt to revenue ratio was ballooning out of control at 134%. Our debt reduction strategy - one that the opposition would like to pretend has not occurred - is now down to 89%. Moody’s, the rating agency, actually has commented …
Mr Elferink: No it is not. Read your mid-year financial report! No, it is not.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order! Member for Port Darwin.
Ms LAWRIE: Moody’s has commented on our AA1 rating that the Territory’s improving financial performance is relatively high in the Australian context, but declining debt burden. Their rating reflects this.
The opposition does not understand that we have been receiving our fair revenue. The opposition has not understood that we have also, quite aside from the GST - because we have always recognised our vulnerability to the GST in revenue; the GST is 67% of our budget, of our revenue - we have always recognised our vulnerability there, so, what have we done as a government? We have targeted the SPPs and NPs that southern states largely had relied on in Commonwealth revenues, and we have succeeded in pulling down significant additional revenue in SPPs. This economic stimulus package would represent conservatively - very conservative early figures - $200m in an NP for the next two financial years. And the CLP is saying no - no to the revenue, no to the school buildings, no to the improvements in the roads, no to the improvements in the rail crossings, and no - most critically and cynically and, to me, obscenely - to the public housing: 200 public dwellings.
Mr Elferink: You have taken 500 off the books in the last five years.
Ms LAWRIE: No …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: They are saying no to the 185 Defence houses in there. For Darwin and Palmerston, that means a significant freeing up of our rental market. Quite aside from the construction jobs, we know we have significant numbers of Defence personnel in our rental marketplace. If we can decamp them into the new 185 Defence houses - or even a portion of them because we know they have some old stock that no longer meets their criteria - we are freeing up rental. However, the CLP’s answer to that is: ‘No, do not take that money without matching requirements’.
I have been around long enough over SPPs and NPs to know the sting in the tail of matching requirements from the Commonwealth. This one comes without matching requirements, and the CLP is still saying no. Well, it is economic vandalism at its worst. The construction sector is saying: ‘Take it and we will run with you in getting the jobs constructed’. The resources sector is saying it is a good package. The banks, who I have met with, are saying it is a great package. They were very excited when I told them about the opportunity in there of buying off the plan. The policy shift inherent in the public housing of buying off the plan is significant for our private sector because the banks have toughened up. Credit is tied up. It is harder to get your apartment dwellings built, your developments approved, because your percentages of pre-sales have increased. The requirements and the criteria from the banks have increased.
For government to come in and buy off those plans, delivering the housing at a quicker pace, because we know we have something like 360 apartments approved through the DCA process, we can buy off the plan. The CLP is saying: ‘No. No, no, no. That cannot work. Vote against it’. Yes, businesses are going to be experiencing difficulty as a result of the credit crunch. We are not immune; we have never said we would be immune. But are we best placed, yes. If you meet with the bankers across the Northern Territory, they say they would rather be here in the Territory than anywhere else in Australia. The financial institutions are watching jobs being shed down south. It is not occurring here.
A 4.5% economic growth is what we are predicting for this financial year, and Access Economics are predicting 4.7%. Well, I can tell you that southern jurisdictions would love those figures - absolutely love those figures for economic growth.
So, when the Leader of the Opposition says this is just a statement from the Chief Minister, a statement of hope, well, actually, it is a statement based on more than that. It is based on real economic indicators. It is also based on …
Mr Elferink: Like? Zinc sales.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: … population growth …
Mr Elferink: Manganese sales, gold sales.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, please cease interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: It is also based on population growth forecast, strong population growth forecasts. Why do we have a housing squeeze in our urban centres of Darwin and Palmerston? Because of the extraordinary population growth we have been experiencing.
A member: Good planning would have managed that.
Ms LAWRIE: Good planning would have managed that. Well, they are all back room economists over on the opposition benches, aren’t they? Yet, they would not back a $200m capital injection without any matching requirements. That has to be the most extraordinary stamp of any backroom economist I have ever heard. Industry is very interested that the CLP is opposing this, and we have been talking significantly across the sectors about that.
The Leader of the Opposition made much of the need for the jobs now because INPEX is on the horizon. The government’s own capital works program, $870m this year, and I will be announcing our capital works program for the 2009-10 financial year in the budget - that is a record program that provides the capacity building we need in industry. You add $200m to that, and that is over two-and-a-half financial years, we have strategic response teams in place now pulling together what we can bring down into the 2008-09 year from the $200m if it drops, if the federal opposition could ever understand what it will really mean to the economic health of this nation and what it will mean in real opportunity for families - I emphasise ‘for families’ - because it will provide the ones on public housing waiting lists with a place to live. It will provide the money necessary to cover some of those families’ expenditure, and it will provide better education infrastructure into the schools. So, yes, it is a package, absolutely targeted at helping families while it stimulates the economy which, in its construct, is an incredibly wise package.
The whole basis to the Leader of the Opposition saying: ‘They cannot deliver those subdivisions, they cannot deliver land’, well, I look forward to him driving through the streets of Bellamack and Johnston in 2009. He queried why we could turn off Johnston within a year, he queried how on earth we could possibly deliver the Johnston commitment. Well, the beauty of having a Treasurer who is also the Planning and Infrastructure minister is you are able to fast-track.
We pulled forward $50m in terms of capital investment for the headworks to create the Johnston, Zuccoli and Mitchell/Palmerston East suburbs. We have also ensured that we are fast-tracking our planning processes to get that land turned off. We have existing headworks off Lambrick Avenue in Johnston which will bring the lots on in Johnston. We are not just resting with the land and the turnoff that we have here in Darwin and Palmerston. Of course, the Chief Minister’s statement does talk about the exciting developments elsewhere. We are working closely with Defence Housing - critically important in terms of the turnoff existing in Lyons at the moment and the 185 defence houses, if the economic stimulus package gets through the idiocy of the Liberals in Canberra - their mates in Canberra. It is an amazing development at Lyons, but it will also mean a continued fast-tracking of Muirhead - 1000 lots in the northern suburbs.
I have been negotiating with Defence Housing on the percentages of the Defence housing in the private sector - they are very positive negotiations - also delivering into their affordable and public housing. This is critical. I will remind the opposition that we are the only government in the Territory’s history to have created an affordable housing policy in terms of turn off of government Crown land. They claimed affordable housing but they never had a policy on it and they never had a process of delivering it.
Mr HAMPTON: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the Deputy Chief Minister be given an extension of time to finish her statement, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Deputy Speaker, Lyons and Muirhead, when you are talking about the delivery of lots and houses in the context of Darwin and Palmerston, are critical subdivisions. Seven hundred-odd lots in Lyons, 1000 lots in Muirhead and we are talking time frames that if we can get Muirhead turning off from 2010, they are the real time frames that Territory families need.
Mr Tollner: You are claiming Lyons and Muirhead are you? I thought you rejected it and the DHA took it up.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Tollner: Now you are claiming credit for it. You are joking.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, please!
Ms LAWRIE: The member for Fong Lim has missed most of the debate, so I will just refresh and recap for his benefit because he has dropped in here having missed it.
Ms PURICK: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker! The Deputy Chief Minister has referred to a member of the House when he has been absent. I understand that it is not permitted.
Members interjecting.
Ms PURICK: The Deputy Chief Minister said that the honourable member had been absent from the House for half of the debate, implying that he was not here.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Allow me to confer with the Clerk.
Ms LAWRIE: I withdraw it, Madam Deputy Speaker. Not a problem. I will withdraw the fact that the member for Fong Lim has just dropped in to the debate.
The government is not claiming Lyons and Muirhead, as the member for Fong Lim interjected. The government is saying that the economic stimulus package provides for 185 Defence houses which will fast-track the last stages of Lyons, which will give the buy in to fast-tracking Muirhead. We have also been negotiating with the Defence Housing Association on the percentage of Defence Housing in Muirhead versus the private lots that will turn off in the marketplace in Muirhead, as well as inserting into Muirhead affordable housing.
This then led me to point out to the Chamber that this is a government, the first government in the history of the Territory, that actually has an affordable housing policy, as opposed to a public housing construction policy, and we are delivering 15% affordable and public housing into new subdivisions. For example, Bellamack, for example, Johnston, and we are going after Muirhead as well. That is the bit that the member for Fong Lim seems not to understand.
The Territory is well placed for its exciting future in what has to be the most challenging economic times in our history, globally and for the nation. This is a new paradigm, as I have said. The members opposite want to go on with their normal political rhetoric, which is foolish because in talking and listening to industry, in talking and listening to the social services sector …
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Honourable members, I ask you to cease your interjecting.
Ms LAWRIE: ... members of those sectors understand that it will take innovative policy, with action from government, to take us through these absolutely tough times. However, across all of the indicators in the Territory, yes, we will be receiving significant hits on our revenue coming out of the Commonwealth. I am out there publicly saying that. I am out there publicly saying we will have in the vicinity of a $47m deficit this financial year, staring down the barrel of a deficit in the vicinity of $150m in the 2009-10 financial year.
While I, as Treasurer, say publicly that we are prepared to go into deficit, even the International Monetary Fund says to governments: ‘You need to spend in these toughest times and focus on the infrastructure, focus on your capital’. And guess who has a record capital investment in the Territory? And why are we well placed to rise into and drop into a deficit - and I am also on the record as saying, as Treasurer, that I will be climbing us out of that as soon as we can - because we have driven down debt. We can absorb it. We have reduced the debt. If we had not driven down debt, if we had not had those six surpluses in a row, we would not be as well placed to absorb a deficit, to absorb a couple of years of deficit. But we are well placed.
The industry of the Territory needs us to continue to spend. The community of the Territory needs us to continue to spend. The private sector is going to do it as tough as many of them would have ever seen, with perhaps the exception of the 0% growth that we inherited in 2000-01 financial year from the CLP; they were hellishly tough times in the Territory. So if we are not going to drop down to that whole extent that the CLP drove the Territory to, we need stimulus. We need economic stimulus from government to deliver strong growth.
We have gone out aggressively for the big projects such as INPEX and if you look at what Access Economics is predicting in the economic growth figures, the 2% over five years is without INPEX in it. If you apply INPEX across the years of negative you know what you will get, even the shadow Treasurer knows what we will get. We will get a healthy positive.
But apply then across those figures, a $200m capital injection, dollars into the construction sector, no matching required from the Commonwealth and they are good growth figures too. That is without the massive expansion at the port if we get the Infrastructure Australia tick of some $200m-odd just for our port which will see export figures grow - and that is an if.
So put all those factors together and is this Territory government sitting back not listening to the needs of the sectors? No. Are we going to deliver the nation’s most expansive land release based on the strong growth figures, based on, particularly, the strong population growth figures? Yes. Are we ensuring that we are going to ride through the toughest economic times in the best possible way? Yes.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the opposition is at sixes and sevens on the economic debate. They are saying: ‘Do not accept the economic stimulus, knock it back, we do not want a $200m capital injection into the Territory’, which is actually going to deliver real infrastructure that is needed, and ‘Do not give families $950-plus in their kick to spend to help the retail sector, to help that consumer spending …
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting!
Ms LAWRIE: … to help the quality spending in a time when tourism is obviously going to take a hit. Hospitality takes a hit when tourism is taking a hit; all the indicators are that tourism is going to be hurt through these tough times, so something that will help hospitality you are knocking back - an extraordinary response from an opposition which is clearly out of touch.
This government is constantly heeding across all of our sectors including the financial institutions of the Territory, and just as an indicator, banks are opening branches. In the toughest of economic times in our nation, here in the Territory, banks are opening branches. There are jobs being shed down south, and as a sign of confidence in business and opportunity in the Territory, we have a couple of branches about to open from different banks up here. But that lot over there do not get the significance of it. I would like to think that the shadow Treasurer might start to understand it, but the other bunch of clowns on the other side do not have a clue.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I commend the Chief Minister’s statement. I was going to talk primarily on the land release that is occurring in Alice Springs, in Tennant Creek, in Katherine, in Darwin and in Palmerston, but the economic commentary of the fanciful Leader of the Opposition did lead me to make more of a Treasurer’s comments than a Planning minister’s comments.
Members interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Deputy Speaker, I always enjoy listening to the Treasurer because she truly knows how to leave sentences dangling in the air without punctuation marks. Punctuation marks, such as full stops, imply that there was an end to the sentence. Of course, if she completes some of the sentences she says, it means she fills in the little blank bits of information that she otherwise would have had to have filled in to make it paint a complete picture, thus justifying the use of a full stop.
The Treasurer is very good at half-explaining things and uttering things. However, at the outset, I do have to pick up on what she called an obscenity. If we assume that is correct - and we do not for a second on this side of the House accept her assertion that we are against 200 public houses - and that is an obscenity, then I cannot find the word in the English language strong enough to describe the 500 dwellings which have been removed from the public housing list over the period of the last five or six years. If 200 is an obscenity, then 500 comes with a XXX rating. It is all well and good for her to stand up in this place and beat her chest and say how horrible it is that 200 houses will be questioned, when they are, as a government, quite prepared to remove 500 dwellings from the public housing list. They have consistently done so over the past few financial years, including the period during which the Treasurer was the Treasurer. This is part of the problem of this Treasurer; that sentences are only half uttered.
I also pick up on the point that the Treasurer made in relation to income to debt ratio. She is quite happy to stand up and say that the income to debt ratio has fallen from 131% to 89% under her government’s fine management. She is wrong - and she is completely wrong. If she reads her own Mid-year Financial Report, she will discover that the income to debt ratio is actually 106%, not 89%. She is relying on the 89% figure because that was the final result for last year. However, here is the rub. You have to actually understand how the income to debt ratio system works to be able to demonstrate why it can jump so radically in the space of a few months from 89% to 106%. The reason is this - and it is explained on page 24 of the Mid-year Financial Report. It is worth quoting into the Parliamentary Record:
- When compared to the 2007‑08 outcome of 89%, nett debt plus employee liabilities as a ratio to revenue has significantly increased in all forward years. As foreshadowed
in the 2007‑08 Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report and the Pre‑Election Fiscal Outlook report, this increase is predominantly due to the long‑term bond rate used to value
the Territory’s superannuation liability. A discount rate of 6.5%, as required by accounting standards, was applied in the 2007‑08 actual outcome resulting in a lower liability.
However since 30 June 2008, the current downturn in financial markets and associated rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia have reduced the 10‑year bond rate to
around 5% …
This was written in November last year, and I ask members to think about that. I return to my quote:
… at the time of writing. Accordingly 5% has been used in valuing the Territory’s superannuation for 2008‑09, with 5.35% used for 2009‑10 and 5.7% estimated for all other
forward years …
Madam Deputy Speaker, that is very important because if you lower the bond rate from 6.5% to 5%, the change in the debt to income ratio shifts 17% from 89%, which the Treasurer still believes it is, to 106% in her most recently produced public document. However, this is where the rub lies. Check with the Reserve Bank of Australia: the 10-year government bond yields in November last year were indeed around the 5% mark. This document from which I have just quoted predicts that bond rate to go up. However, what in actuality has occurred between November last year and now – I would urge members to check the website themselves – the 10-year government bond rate for Australia at the moment is set at just a smidgen, a wee little fraction, over 4%, actually 4%, you round it down because it is insignificant.
If the dropping of a bond rate by 1.5% has a 17% impact on the income to debt ratio, then what will the effect of the bond rate falling rather than going up, as predicted by the mid-year annual report, add to income to debt ratio? Oops – now we are heading back towards the 125% to 130% mark, exactly where she says it was so heinous for the last CLP government to leave us at. That, by the way, was when the CLP’s last income was $2.2bn, not $3.5bn which it is now.
So there is a substantial opportunity, or has been a substantial opportunity, for this government to retire debt, and they have retired nett debt on the general government sector balance sheet, which is great. But if you take the non-financial public sector balance sheet and have a look at that and see where nett debt is going over the next few years, it incorporates the extra borrowings taken by the Power and Water Corporation to fund this $1bn fix up on our electricity and water systems. And if you check that set of nett debts and you factor in what PAWC is borrowing as part of our overall debt, up goes the debt, and it goes up substantially. Compounding on top of that is a public sector superannuation liability which has ballooned out of control over that period.
So, all of a sudden, what we have generated is a nett debt situation which is increasing. You compound on top of that a superannuation liability which is also projected to continue increasing for the medium term. All of a sudden you start looking at this employee to income ratio in a completely different light.
There is a bit of history …
Dr Burns: So you are going to sack public servants?
Mr ELFERINK: There is a little history to this, and I will pick up on that. It is actually …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr ELFERINK: It is actually worth picking up on that. Making the public service smaller through normal processes of attrition is actually your policy. It is the policy that the former Treasurer, Syd Stirling, would often espouse. I recall that he said he would go ‘he’ if the public service did not get any smaller. All I have done is articulate Labor Party policy, simple as that, nothing else. I have not talked about sacking public servants. I have not said sack one public servant, not one.
Dr Burns: Your leader did.
Mr ELFERINK: I have not said it. So you are making it up and these are the sorts of furphies that they like to trot out there.
This is a government which has seen, year in, year out, increases in its income. Now, income increases are expected, they are a natural part of what happens on a year-to-year basis for governments. Every year, governments get record income. Well, if you allow for CPI, that makes sense. However, what has happened is that government income in the Territory has exceeded CPI. It is worth tracking back, because if you go through the Budget Paper No 2 every year, which is the guess as to how much income is going to be, and at the end of the year you go and look at the financial report, the actual end of the year financial report so they actually know how much it was, if you collect all of those gaps between how much we predicted and how much we knew and finally got over a period of several years, you get the $1.2bn that the Leader of the Opposition was talking about.
That is $1.2bn of money over several years that they did not budget for, which means that all their police stations and all the buildings that they were going to plan, and all those extra things that they were going to do at the beginning of the financial year, had already been paid for in the normal expected increases. This is extra money on top of that, more money and they had not budgeted for it, so there was no need to expend it unless there was going to be a change to budgets.
This is the problem. If you go through these reports you can see that one Cabinet decision after another justify an off-budget spend. ‘Oh, we need to do this, we need to do that,’ they say, ‘that is all right. We have heaps of cash in the kick’.
The point is that you have the choice: you either run your budget a little more firmly and ask for a bit of restraint from your departments, or you spend it at the next Cabinet decision. What was the off-budget spend for the steering wheel locks, the DUI locks? I believe it was $500 000 to $600 000; that was an off-budget spend. It was not budgeted for, it was just, hey man, it is a really cool idea. How does Cabinet work? Is it like a bunch of guys sitting around smoking a bit of dope going: ‘Hey, I have a really good idea’. ‘Oh, oh, what about me? Why don’t we do that?’ And they go: ‘Yeah, cool, we will do that. Let’s spend the money, man, cool’. Is that how it goes? Is that how they run government? Is that how you run government or do you actually say this is our budget, we are going to do everything in our power to stick to it?
That is what we are talking about. That is what this is about. We are going to stick to a budget. And if they stuck to their budget, and I accept that you do occasionally have to overstep the mark – why? Because there are things that happen in a financial year that you cannot expect. That is what the Treasurer’s Advance is all about - the favourite credit card of this government I might add. There is expenditure that you just cannot anticipate throughout the year. That is fine. You can allow $200m over that period and it still leaves you $1bn over that period that you could have done to reduce debt.
If you had taken $1bn and reduced nett debt in the Northern Territory, there would have been no nett debt in the Northern Territory and then we would have been well positioned to deal with the issue that is before us now. The one that Treasury warns of in every Budget Paper No 2: GST revenue is not guaranteed; we are overly exposed on it. Could you imagine how good it would be if our nett debt situation was zip, nothing. If the Treasurer walked in and said: ‘We have been saving and been careful over the last few years and we now have no debt. We are now in a strong position to borrow to do infrastructure projects, to bring the Northern Territory forward in these tough economic times,’ I would stand up and applaud, absolutely.
That is what is counter cyclical spending is all about. But we have not been counter cyclical in our spending approach. We have actually been borrowing in the good times and now we have to borrow in the bad times. That is the challenge that has been before government, not this year, but for the last seven years. That is singularly the largest fiscal failure of this government - they have not been capable of containing themselves and the decision-making process they have had and reducing debt in the good times, so that there was a blank credit card, a surplus even, in our savings. We actually had put money away in to savings and we even got close to doing that in cases like the Conditions of Service Reserve, but even that, the superannuation savings of Territorians, that is going to be the next place they raid. Why do I know that? They changed the name of the Conditions of Service Reserve, which implies that it is superannuation funding and they changed it to the Territory and Infrastructure Fund. What is the name of it? Something like that. All of a sudden, even when we do have money in a piggy bank and it is reserved for a specific purpose, here comes the raid. A raid on a fund like that appears on the books as a borrowing. That is the problem that this government has.
In November last year there were still press releases coming out of this Treasurer saying we expect one year of deficit then we will be right after that, we will be going back in to the black. Based on what? If you think about it, the GST guarantee, this is the little number that she talks about where we have been 1% above the guarantee, runs out at the end of 2009. What has happened is the only reason we have not fallen in to a $150m hole this year is because the GST minimum was guaranteed. It was part of the deal that the states struck with the Commonwealth to introduce the new tax system: we guarantee you a certain amount of income and if the GST shrinks, you will get that guarantee up until the end of the financial year 2008-09. And all the Treasurers at the time said: ‘Yes, we will sign up for that, because we know that we are going to get a base level’. And for that reason, although the GST has shrunk as a pool, not just the growth has shrunk, but the actual pool available has shrunk this financial year, the impact is not going to be so bad.
Although the Treasurer says it is only going to be $56m, already she is at odds with the feds who in the last Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the MYEFO, said it was going to be $64m. So even her Treasury and the federal Treasury disagree as to what the amount is going to be, but that is an aside.
So what we have here is a situation where all of a sudden that guarantee finishes and the GST pool is still going to shrink in the next financial year; so out comes a press release last week: ‘Oh, we are going to talk about this, that and the other and, by the way’ - as a throw-away line at the bottom of the press release - ’we are going to be in deficit by $150m next financial year’. $150m after, of course, taking another $64m hit, I will use the MYEFO figure, this financial year and, as a consequence of that, a $200m black hole. Sound familiar? Except it is bigger than anything we ever produced or are accused of having produced because most of the decisions back in 2001 were made by the Labor government, but that is beside the point.
The fact is …
Dr Burns: Well, that is what Percy found.
Mr ELFERINK: That is actually what Percy found? You read the documents, you want to have a read of his documents, mate. You have a close read of it, because it is exactly what …
Dr Burns interjecting.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
Mr ELFERINK: The answer to the difference between the MYFR and the mid-year report is that the government says that own source revenue is going to increase, that is going to plug the difference because the fall in federal money coming in is actually going to be offset by increases in local income, in own-source revenue. Really? Based on what? Mining royalties? Are you going to tell me that McArthur River Mine is going to produce more mining royalties this year for the Territory, or is it the case that there had to be a refund this year to McArthur River Mine? Maybe it is from Browns, the Compass project. Maybe that is where the mining royalties are going to increase.
I am really curious to see where this extra money is coming from. The only way the logic of that argument stacks is if there is an increase in own-source revenue. I am not sure where it is. Is it coming from gaming taxes this year? Are we expecting people to spend in tough economic times more on recreation such as gaming? What about taxes on employers? Are we expecting with an increase in unemployment rate in the Northern Territory, albeit small, but an increasing unemployment rate, that the expected $146m from payroll tax is going to go up? Where is this extra money coming from?
It is a very important question because the projected debts of $47m is assuming that our own source revenues go up. If our own source revenue is going up, I would really like to know from the Treasurer or any other government minister in what sector do we expect this own-source revenue to rise. If it is not going up, then the deficit that is projected is going to get worse. I am waiting to see what the other source of income is. Or are we going to see another three card trick like we saw in last year’s Treasurer’s Annual Financial Report where we sit on the SPPs and the NPs right at the end of the financial year and start spending them the moment after, so we have the money in the bank when the auditor sticks their nose in the bank and checks how much cash is on board in spite of the fact, of course, the next day we had to start spending it anyhow; it was not money to really hold over.
Madam Deputy Speaker, this is a government which has not positioned the Territory anywhere near as well as it could have been positioned with a bit of frugal thinking. With a little care and a little less abandon in the way that they made their decisions, so much more could have been achieved with so much that they had received. The politics of the time when the GST was introduced saw this government resisting and saying how evil the GST was and all those sorts of things. The GST has been a gold mine for this government and sadly they have wasted those opportunities. There is nothing we can do about it, despite the fact that we, Treasury and so many other people have warned this government of the wastrel mentality to what they do. The fact is that the opportunity has been lost and, sadly, the only opportunity available to us now is to rack it up on the credit card.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Deputy Speaker, I welcome the Chief Minister’s statement on growing the Territory which, in general, has an emphasis on land release. Notwithstanding some of the economic debates that we have had so far, I will concentrate most of my attention to the land release portion of this statement. I should say as an aside that I know there will be much debate about the stimulus package that Canberra is trying to put forward in parliament at the moment. I am one of those who believe the handing over of $950 to people is simply a waste of time. We should be thinking that through much further. It is a very short-term approach to stimulating the economy. We need to look at more solid approaches to this particular issue which is affecting us all.
We should be putting our money into infrastructure for the future, and trying to create employment through that infrastructure. I would prefer that the money we are talking about to stimulate the economy be more in the category of having long-term benefits for the future of the Territory especially. I will make a comment on that as a part of my speech on land releases.
There is no doubt that it is good news that at last Weddell is on the cards, from the government’s point of view. I raised Weddell long before I was even in this House, as the President of Litchfield Shire Council. Even back then I asked the government to start planning Weddell to ensure that this city is not as poorly planned - and this is not knocking the people of Palmerston - but I would not like to see a repeat of some of the poor planning decisions that were made in the development of Palmerston. What worries me is that, even though I was saying this for a long time, and the government was saying that Weddell was not really on the cards for 10 to 15 years when I have asked questions in parliament, all of a sudden it is now on a five-year plan.
What should have been happening is that we should have had the plans completed. The competitions, the plans for the headworks, the plans for the infrastructure should have all been sitting ready so that, at a moment’s notice, the government could say: ‘Right, it is time for Weddell to be developed. We have done all the background work. Let us go’. What we have now is a decision to finally go ahead with Weddell because of this debate about Cox Peninsula. They have finally decided that Weddell is a better site for a number of reasons. One of the very basic reasons is that the cost of providing infrastructure is about half of what is required to start up a suburb at Cox Peninsula. So, there are some straight-out economic reasons as to why Weddell should be built now.
However, the planning should have been done ages ago, and we should be on the way. One of the arguments government has shied away from is that it drip-feeds land to ensure land prices do not drop. I can understand what they are talking about; people have concerns about losing the value of the land they built their house on.
On the other hand, we have made sure that many people are tied to extremely high rents, or have to live with their parents, or live in a caravan park, or as Somerville Homes have told me recently, they have to live in a tent because they simply cannot afford the cost of moving into the housing market. We have an opportunity with the announcement that Weddell is going to go ahead to put this on the fast-track. If we need to go to the Commonwealth government and say this is some of the money we need to get Weddell going, then that is what we should be doing. Infrastructure is expensive, especially the headworks required for a city of over 40000, and that is what we should be doing right now. Do not go down the path of the five years.
I say that because the government’s own figures do not make much sense. When you look at the figures for the number of houses that is required, they say 1700 houses are required annually.
A member: Dwellings.
Mr WOOD: It might sound wrong, but I am reading from the Chief Minister’s statement, if I can find it. It says:
- It is further estimated that to meet growth, approximately 1700 additional dwellings at least would be required annually in the immediate future.
Unless you are presuming that most of those dwellings are going on one block, I would presume that is 1700 blocks required.
A member: Or units.
Mr WOOD: Well, there may be but you are still going to require a fair bit of land for those 1700 dwellings.
Then you go to the figure that says that if we look at Palmerston East, Bellamack, Mitchell, Zuccoli and Johnston, there will be a total of 3670 blocks. The government has said you will need 1700 dwellings; that will be 6800 dwellings required; you are roughly 50% short of what you need if you use Bellamack, Mitchell, Zuccoli and Johnston. Taking in Muirhead and Lyons, it is still not going to get anywhere near it. If you go down the silly path of Berrimah, you are still not going to get there. You need to bring forward Weddell if you are to keep up with the number of dwellings you are saying are required. You simply do not have enough land to keep up with the 1700 dwellings required annually as in this statement.
I am concerned about the development of Palmerston. I was recently approached by a building supplier who said that they feel there were only 300 blocks left in Palmerston to build on, and the word they heard is that Bellamack will not be ready probably until about October this year. They are concerned that the government is going to run out of land in Palmerston for houses. I am interested to hear what the minister has to say about that.
Bellamack has not even gone to the Planning Authority yet for approval. So notwithstanding there might be some objections, and I can guarantee I will be objecting to small streets that you can hardly turn a truck around in, or park three cars in, notwithstanding the normal objections you would get to a development, we appear to be a fair way off opening up the land in Palmerston at Bellamack, and of course, that is only according to the figures here which would allow you 150 dwellings this year.
I believe the government really has to start pushing forward with Weddell at the same time as pushing forward with suburbs in Palmerston, because what will happen, again, if we run out of land is that the price of land will increase, and once again the young people will be right out of the market.
Another issue I believe the government really has to look at is when it sells land it needs to cap the price at which land is then resold. By all means, developers who buy the land should be allowed to profit, they must cover the cost of the development and they must be allowed to have a profit. But as I have been told, land in Palmerston can be turned off for between $50 000 and $70 000 a block, so why is land being sold at $240 000 to $270 000 a block? No one minds a profit. That is part of what we are in, a capitalist society. However, when one remembers that the land the government has sold off to developers is our land - it is Crown land - it seems to me there should be some control over the selling price of this land. After all, the price of the land is what really makes or breaks people getting onto the land.
If you can build a house on cheap land, you help the economy. If you can just buy a block and you do not have the money to build a house, you are no help to the economy. Once you build a house, you buy a fridge and a washing machine and beds and all that sort of thing which helps the economy. If you just buy a block of land then that is no help. If we want to move the economy, then land has to be cheaper.
I believe the Territory should still work on the principle of the Old Wild West here: when you provide cheap land, you open up our Territory for development. You give people opportunities. That was one of our great sayings in the Territory, that the NT was a land of opportuNiTies with the ‘n’ and ‘t’ in capitals, but I do not believe it is a land of opportunity, except for those who can afford it.
We really need to be taking up these issues. I say that to the Labor government that says: ‘We support the worker, the battler, the single mum’, the people that it says it stands up for. It needs to show it in practical terms by providing not only affordable housing but providing affordable land. We do not want everyone in public housing. That would be the wrong move. But we might allow people who cannot afford the land to be able to have public housing. It would be preferable if we had cheap enough land for people to buy their own home, which would be much better for our society.
The government needs to bring forward a second high school and build it on the edge of Weddell. Taminmin High School is full and is going so well now that it is attracting people from Palmerston because of the courses it runs and the academic standard it is now achieving. You do not want Taminmin High to be any bigger. Big high schools create problems, as we know, and Taminmin High School might now be a prisoner of its own success.
There are many people in the rural area, and I include places like Batchelor, Acacia, Darwin River, Berry Springs, and Adelaide River, where we can have a school on the edge of Weddell, which would have that area as the feeder area. That needs to be done in a hurry, because if children from the rural area now want to go to their local high school, they are going to have to travel all the way into Palmerston or beyond. We already know that Palmerston High School is full, so now is the time to be making some decisions. If the plans for Weddell had been set out, if we had the competition, if we had the design, if we had everything ready, we could pick the site for the school right now and start building. It does not matter if it is in the cow paddock, it does not matter, the school could be built there and the suburb is built around it. The children will come to that school because they will be bussed to that school. The government should seriously look now at building a high school at Weddell.
I also believe that here is an opportunity for the economic stimulus package to be used for the building of a new dam at Warrai. I know the government is increasing the height of the slipway at Darwin River Dam to increase the capacity by 20%, but if we are looking at combining a town with increased water and also looking for ways of increasing employment, then I believe that this is the right time to do it. It may not be needed for five to 10 years, but it is a construction that does not matter if it sits there full of water, when the time comes to use it, we will use it, but we could build it now. We could make sure that people, especially from the mining industry who are obviously struggling now because of all the mines that have shut, we could be making opportunities for them to work on a construction site which will benefit the Darwin region in the future.
This statement talks about land release. How many times have I asked the minister to release some rural land? We talk about suburban land. Which is the fifth most popular place in Australia to live? Which is the fifth happiest place to live in Australia?
A member: Howard Springs!
Mr WOOD: We are immensely happy at Howard Springs. But people say they would like to live at Litchfield Shire. Why? Because it has some space around it, you can move.
If you have baked beans for tea in the rural area no one knows you had them, but if you have them in some parts of Palmerston and some parts of Darwin everyone knows you had baked beans for tea about 11 o’clock at night. That is how close people live. The reason why people are happy to live in the rural area is because they have the space, they have the freedom, they can have the dog, they can have the chooks, they can have a horse and the kids can grow up with a bit of space around them. Which has the lowest crime rate in the Territory? The rural area. You see some graffiti. We do have some crime. Does that not say that we should be opening up more land for families to have a choice, not just squashed in suburbia as we are doing at the present time, which I hope is not repeated in Weddell; but we should be opening up land.
The government has substantial Crown land in the rural area, especially around Howard Springs, already zoned as residential, but they are not willing to even open up or release limited amounts of land for first homeowners. That is what they should be doing. Thirty blocks a year. What is the big deal? The water and the power already goes past some of this land. If it needs upgrading, let us upgrade it. I say to the government: do not talk about looking after the battlers. I am not worried about the people on two super duper incomes. I am not worried about the executives. They will look after themselves. I am worried about the guy that is a truck driver. He might be a removalist or he might drive cattle trucks, his wife is at home looking after the two kids – they are not in the market to buy a house and block these days. We might think that is the case, but why are so many people building granny flats in the rural area? Because mum and dad are moving out just so the kids can live in a house, because they cannot afford to get a mortgage.
The reality is: yes, things can be rosy on the surface and we can think things are all going well, but dig a bit deeper and talk to the right people and you will find many people cannot afford to live in the Territory. I am asking the government to once again look at releasing some land. You will not compete with the market with 30 blocks. Have a look at the price of land at Gray. It is up there in the $290 000 to $340 000. Well, $340000 has done your HomeNorth loan straightaway. You can buy land and you will have to put a toy house on it. You can build a shed. Watch out, they will be around checking you out that you are doing something highly illegal like sleeping in your shed. Oh, naughty!
Mr Knight: No, they will not. Only when neighbours complain, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: No, they do not. We have too many people who are too fastidious about regulations when they do not need to be. That is the problem. Regulations are good in their place, but we have to realise that some people have no other place to live, and we need to balance regulations with common sense. Nothing wrong with regulation, but there are times in society where you have to ask: have they hurt anyone? And that is what we should be looking at. That is the difficulty for many of young people who want to start up living in the rural area.
The minister mentions aged care facilities. There are no aged care facilities in the rural area. There were plans to put a retirement village in Howard Springs and there is nothing else. I have called year in, year out for aged care facilities to be developed in the rural area. Two years ago the Chief Minister, Clare Martin, had a meeting in the rural area at Girraween Primary School. She got together people from the area. They sat down and they said this is what we want. The Chief Minister had been down south previously to look at various aged care facilities. So have I, the same places, the same person, Ian Tuxworth. I visited those places about four or five years ago.
Has there been anything from the government to say they would facilitate putting aged care facilities in the rural area? Nothing. So people either have go to Palmerston or Darwin or leave, and we should not be doing that to people in the rural area. They are part of the community; we should be encouraging them to be able to spend the remainder of their life in that community with their friends. The government has not done anything in that regard in the rural area.
I put this to the government: INPEX, as we know, is going to build its 1500 to 2000 construction village in Howard Springs. That is a fact. I do not think it is a secret. They are going around talking to people now about it. I want the government to say to INPEX: ‘Fine, we will give you the land to build this construction village on, but in return you will put something back into the community; you will design a construction village that will be able to be used as an aged care facility when it is finished’. They are only here for four or five years. They will spend billions of dollars building a gas plant. I believe it is this government’s job to push INPEX, if that has to be the case, to build a facility …
Mr CHANDLER: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the member for Nelson be granted an extension of time to complete his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Mr WOOD: I believe it is the government’s job to say to INPEX: ‘Fine, we are giving you this land. Fine, you are coming to Darwin. We have offered you land in Darwin Harbour’. That is all terrific, but they need to say to INPEX: ‘You must leave something as a long-term legacy for the people of the Darwin region. If you are going to build this facility in the rural area, here is an opportunity to tell them that they will design it as if it is going to be an aged-care facility, so when they leave it, that is what it will be. There needs to be discussion about it because the design and what goes in there are all-important. However, if you do the groundwork first with the intention that the end product will be that, we can come up with something that we can say this company has done the right thing by the community. It just has not come and gone. It has come, built something and left us something for the benefit of the community, and that is important.
Berrimah! Oh, Berrimah! Let us leave Berrimah out of the equation. The government has enough on its plate without worrying about Berrimah. Let us get Palmerston developed. Let us get Lyons and Muirhead developed and fast-track Weddell, making sure you do all the right things – competition, get the design right. I believe there are enough people out there who will make life very uneasy for the government in regard to Berrimah. There are people out there who believe this is a mistake. They wish Berrimah Farm to stay, especially the facilities that are there. We really have not given it enough effort and community consultation to look at the alternatives.
I will say again: if you stand at the top of Berrimah Farm and look down to the harbour you can say what a wonderful view. What do you look at? You look at the port, and there is limited land for the port to expand because it is simply the geography of the land. There are mangroves on both sides. With the narrow peninsula where is the development of the port going to be? If we squash our port development out of existence we will regret that in 15, 20, 30 years. We will be wondering why the heck did the planners decide to use a piece of land inside the port for housing, when we have plenty of land at Weddell - 2000 ha. I believe we have more than that really, but we have 2000 ha at Weddell. So, why are we pushing for this so-called ‘in fill’?
We are also trying to look for a site for a new prison. I am told there are five prison sites ...
A member: We need five prisons.
Mr WOOD: We need five prisons. However, if we are going to rebuild the prison, build it there. We could use part of Berrimah on nice land there and use it for a prison farm. But we will not debate the prisons today.
Regarding Alice Springs, when I was asked when I was down the track recently: ‘What do you think of Weddell and how do you think it would affect Alice Springs?’ We are not saying it would affect Alice Springs, but what they are saying is that the government is willing to develop and open up all this land for Palmerston and the Darwin region, so why is the government not doing more for Alice Springs? We are talking about 2000 ha of land. Palmerston has a population of 27 000; Alice Springs about 25 000. Look at the number of blocks we are turning off for Palmerston. Why aren’t we promoting larger numbers of blocks opened up for Alice Springs to give people an opportunity?
An area that the government has not looked at in this debate, because it talks about land release - land release is important for our economy from an agricultural point of view. One of the failings of the Territory now - and more so than ever - is that we have put our eggs in some baskets, and that is it. We have put them into tourism so, if the economy collapses, tourism collapses - people do not travel as far. We put it into mining - resource prices drop and people are out of work.
However, we have agriculture and what interest do we really put on to agriculture? We rely on the live cattle export. Thank heavens everybody still eats. That is probably our shining light, except for the GST. It is agriculture that is keeping us going at the moment. What has the government really done to say they really believe that the Territory should advance in agriculture? Ord River Stage 2 – Mr Rudd was there recently. He said it is a great place. I do not have the quotes here, but a journalist, when asked about what the Territory was doing, there was some laughter, which is a shame. Naturally, there are issues, but we should be promoting it. We should be developing the land, not as we originally thought by getting these huge multinational companies in. We should be opening up the land for average farmers at a reasonable price, encourage them up here.
Do not make the mistake of doing what we did at Douglas/Daly, where I believe we sweetened them up with the wrong information and they thought that the land was going to grow all crops all year round. Of course, many of those farmers were disillusioned and left. The Ord River Stage 2 has permanent water, and therefore you could have reliable cropping. We are not doing enough work there. The Sturt Plateau - now I know some of that land is partial, but I think there are great opportunities for that land to be developed for horticulture and more intensive agriculture. We need to be forward thinking because, at the moment, we just seem to be staggering.
Agriculture is fine as long as it is live cattle. Mangoes, some Asian vegetables, and then you would have to say, where is the rest? Some of our good land has been taken over by forestry at the moment but, to me, agriculture and primary industry is something we have to crank up. I always call it the ‘poor cousin department’ of the Northern Territory.
When I came, it was totally the opposite. It was so great to go to the department of Primary Industry at Berrimah, to see all the experimental work they were doing. They had open days. When was the last open day in the Northern Territory on a farm? Probably down at the VRD looking at the growth of cattle there or something. I know the Minister for Local Government was there, but when did we last have a vegetable open day on an experimental farm? It has been years. I was at Douglas/Daly about 15 years ago and I remember looking at the department’s research farm with its peanut trials. I believe we have taken our eye off the ball when it comes to agriculture. I think we are too scared, you might say, of the green lobby. We need sustainable agriculture, but that does not mean we need nil agriculture. Sustainable agriculture is what we need, and we can do it sensibly today, but somehow we have lost it.
When I debated the question of GM cotton, the politics is what it is about. The science, as they always claim here, had nothing to do with it. The report said we can grow this safely and it will not affect the environment if it is grown this way. We spent seven years doing experimental work with cotton, and we threw it out the door because the policy of the Labor government was no GM crops, no crops. It did not matter about the science. We have not moved on from the thinking of 20 years ago. Life moves on, technology moves on, the growing of crops moves on. Growing cotton 20 years ago in the Northern Territory was a failure, it was a disaster. We come along with new ways of doing things and we still reject it because it is not politically correct. I feel that reflects on the lack of bravado, the lack of drive, that we need to promote the agricultural economy that we need.
We are in dire times. We do not know whether the ripple effect is still going to affect us. Wall Street dropped the stone, and we are sitting up here in the Northern Territory hoping that it will not hit us too hard. We need to have a mixed economy so that when troubles do come we can lessen the burden of what is going to happen. We have not done that with agriculture.
We need to release more land and allow the Territory to develop. We need to do it carefully, we need to do it sustainably but, at the moment, we are doing nothing at all, and that is a shame.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank the minister for the statement. It is an important statement. We need things like infrastructure as well. When I started off, we were talking about Weddell. We need public infrastructure, especially public transport. We can develop our rail service through this new city into Darwin. We need to be thinking those things as well.
I hope the minister will take some note of what we say. Let us speed up Weddell, let us open up some land in the rural area, let us get Bellamack going pretty fast, let us open up some more land in Alice Springs so young people can find a home at a reasonable price, and let us look at developing agriculture in the Northern Territory so that we have a great place for people to live, but also to develop work opportunities for the people who want to live here.
Dr BURNS (Business): Madam Deputy Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement on growing the Territory’s land release. I hope everyone in this Chamber will recall the recessions we had in 2000-2001. When the Labor government first came to power in 2001 growth was negative, unemployment was high and business confidence was shot to ribbons. That is a fact in 2001. There is no doubt that business had stagnated in the last years of the CLP government. I know all too well, from doorknocking and speaking to people, that subcontractors and workers were pleading for jobs.
It was a time of negative growth. It was a time with the CLP government of the day when the revote was actually larger than the capital injection into the infrastructure spending. It was a very dark time. I was very interested to hear the tape of the member for Port Darwin on those days and the findings of Professor Percy Allan into what went wrong under the CLP’s financial management of that time.
I have gone to the trouble of printing Professor Percy Allan’s Independent Review of the Northern Territory’s Financial Position. The reason I am doing that is because I believe history is worth revisiting. There are many contractors and business people in Darwin who will remember those times and who would be loath to give the CLP another shot at holding the reins, the economic levers and the Treasury benches particularly given the flights of fancy of the member for Port Darwin.
I put out a press release about the member for Port Darwin in relation to Treasury matters. I said, that he should not let his mind wander because it is too little to go out by itself. Just listening to the froth and bubble that he had to say here, the completely unconvincing froth and bubble, looking at the past and trying to look into the future, I do not think business could have confidence in the member for Port Darwin to be the Treasurer. I think you blokes are in a little trouble having him as your economic spokesman.
I would like to read some pertinent sections from Percy Allan’s report, bearing in mind that Percy Allan is a renowned economist and he has been an Under Treasurer in another state. He is talking about the CLP and why the budget outlook was deteriorating. He is talking about budget annual deficits that were repeatedly between $70m and $114m and about a situation that particularly deteriorated between 1998-99, and 2000-01, when the total expenditure rose $202m, yet total revenue went up only by $103m. What does that mean? It means that the CLP was spending more than was coming into their coffers, that is plain and simple. You do not have to be an economic guru to see that. He said at least four budgets incorporated unrealistically low growth forecasts for the government final consumption expenditure. And this is a crucial finding by Percy Allan - the decision to adopt such low forecasts was made by the government, not the Treasury.
So here were political decisions made about the budget. I well remember the member for Port Darwin talking about the Conditions of Service fund. I can remember Mike Reed pillaging that. There was $150m in it; he pillaged it for about $149m – sorry, there was probably more in it than $150m, but he pillaged it for $149m to bring them into surplus by $1m. Financial sleight of hand was not unknown to the CLP. We had an inquiry into the way they fiddled with the forward estimates and played all sorts of games with the budget. Here is another conclusion that Percy Allan had: little or no effort was made to contain the ballooning deficit in 1999-2000, 2000-01. What did Percy Allan recommend? Adopt a fiscal integrity and transparency act to ensure that the budget is based on Treasury estimates, discloses all assumptions, is confined to the general government sector, and is prepared by the uniform presentation framework.
This government adopted that. We passed the FITA which now forms the budget, the aspects of transparency around the budget, and enables proper, informed debate around our budget.
I will table a copy of this and members opposite and members on this side who were not present in 2001 would do very well to read this. I know business people in this town know the way in which the CLP completely bungled financial management during the last years of their reign. They have seen unprecedented growth under this Labor government. They have seen us invest in infrastructure. Yes, we have been the beneficiaries of GST funds, but we have spent them wisely. We have spent that on infrastructure funds, and we have spent that on the development of services for the people of the Northern Territory. I know there are contractors and business people out there who have confidence in this government and the way that it manages their financial affairs.
And for the member for Port Darwin to come in here and say that the Cabinet sits around and arbitrarily picks numbers and projects - I have been a Cabinet minister for eight years and I can assure this House and members opposite, none of whom have ever been a Cabinet minister, that there is a lot of rigor in what happens in our budget processes. We do have an eye to the future. We do have an eye to unallocated expenditure in …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order; Madam Deputy Speaker! I am sorry I misunderstood the minister; did he say rigor or rigor mortis? I am not quite sure.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Resume you seat. You have the call, minister.
Dr BURNS: This is a government that has delivered surpluses in the majority of our budgets, unlike the CLP and what Percy Allan had to say about the way you mob managed the finances. I will reiterate, but I think you are in a bit of trouble with the member for Port Darwin, God bless him, as your Treasury spokesman. Maybe I should say, keep him there. Keep him there. I love to see him on television talking about drunken sailors and all the rest of it, all the colourful turns of phrase, but he is not cutting it out there with the business community. I can assure this House of that, and I know that.
I challenge the member for Port Darwin to go out and ask the contractors and the business people to regurgitate what he said in here today about budgets and the way budgets should be managed and all the rest of it. Regurgitate that to the business people of Darwin, and they will just look sideways at you. What they are interested in is having confidence and there is unprecedented confidence in our economy in the Northern Territory, and in the way in which this government is managing the economy.
We know we have a significant role in helping business to maximise its contribution to economic growth, in conducting our government, corporate and business activities to support business, and maintain and improve the Territory’s business and operating environment. As I said previously that is why we have invested unprecedented amounts, record amounts, in infrastructure spending over a sustained period whilst we have been in government, and it has been much appreciated by the business community. As the Chief Minister noted, there is much work under way across all portfolios including the new portfolios I now hold.
Naturally, we are continuing to monitor the global and national economic situation as well as the circumstances of our major trading partners. The objective is to ensure the global economic and financial challenges are understood, and their implications and potential impacts on the Northern Territory economy and businesses are adequately assessed. From this analysis, the Territory response is to underpin continued economic development and to complement national and private sector action. These are being developed and implemented. I propose to provide more on these crucial issues on another occasion, but it may be useful to touch on some of the main issues now.
Global economic data highlights continued rapid economic decline worldwide, and significant retrenchments across industry sectors in a number of major economies. Most advanced economies are now in recession. Estimates of GDP growth in 2009 now range from minus 1.2% to minus 2.8% for the USA and what is called the Euro zone - UK and Japan -- according to the IMF. Sharply slowing growth is already observed in other major economies such as China, India, and Brazil. GDP growth in China is declining from 13% in 2007 to around 6% in 2009. Nationally, the global financial conditions are the most testing since the 1930s depression.
Against this backdrop, COAG resolved last week to introduce new arrangements to provide economic stimulus within the Australian economy and reduce the impact of the world financial challenges. The Australian national economy is expected by some forecasters to grow into mild recession in 2009, with the IMF projecting Australia’s economic growth to be close to zero. This compares with the latest federal Treasury forecast of plus 0.75% in 2009, which incorporates the expected outcome from the second national economic stimulus package.
A second national stimulus package was agreed at the most recent COAG meeting and is currently progressing through the federal parliament - we hope it is progressing. The plan includes $21.5bn to the states and territories for education, social housing, and road and rail infrastructure, and complements measures already taken by the Commonwealth and COAG in 2008. An additional $500m is to be provided to local government for community infrastructure. COAG leaders agree that the additional stimulus needed to flow quickly to aggregate demand through rapid implementation of the plan. That also includes the Western Australian Premier, I might add.
This package will provide the major stimulus in the Australian context when implemented, with stimulatory results expected to continue until the second half of 2011. Territory economic growth is also expected to ease in the coming period. As the Chief Minister said, with good management, clever planning and hard work we will come through this crisis in strong place - the economy of choice in Australia.
We believe that a measured response and action is needed, and growing Territory land release is part of plotting our course for continued economic growth, overcoming hurdles that have been encountered as a result of our recent rapid economical development, and responding to the inevitable challenges thrown up by the global financial challenge. The Treasurer and Minister for Lands and Planning has certainly outlined what is on the table and what is being done in land release.
The availability of workers, and skilled staff in particular, has been a continuing constraint. Unlike the rest of Australia, this has remained a challenge right through 2008. The Sensis Small Business Index results in November 2008 showed that the main concern for Territory small and medium enterprises remain finding and keeping staff. This is very different to the current national and states’ picture where concern about the economic climate was the predominant issue. In the December report, Sensis noted that while SME business confidence fell by 22 percentage points during the quarter to 24%, Territory’s SME confidence remained almost double the national average of 13%. That is a critical finding and it shows the confidence that our business has in the future of the Northern Territory.
Additional focused action on land release and further planning, as outlined by the Chief Minister and the Minister for Lands and Planning, is critical.
We also need industrial land to support the continued economic development of the Northern Territory. The Land Development Corporation plays a part in this with the private sector. The Land Development Corporation has a vital role in the release and development of industrial land - a key component of the Territory’s overall land release responsibilities. It has been a primary focus of the Board of the Land Development Corporation for the last 12 months. I recently received the first draft of the strategy outlining what the corporation intends to develop in the next 10 to 15 years. It is a substantial body of work that addresses issues such as intended land uses, indicative service land turn-off, total area of service lots, approximate parcel lines, lot yield, environmental assessment and approval requirements.
Madam Speaker, I invite people to take a drive along East Arm to the port through the Business Park to see the developments springing from what for many years was vacant industrial allotment. We now have more than $200m-worth of development occurring, with many more millions to come. Vopak’s Darwin Industry Fuel Terminal, the adjoining biodiesel plant, and the massive coal distribution facility were multimillion dollar foundation customers at the Business Park. The LDC is continuing to experience high demand for these industrial lots.
Some of the activity taking place at the Darwin Business Park includes: Gibbons Investment, currently constructing a $1.2m distribution warehouse facility; Gwelo Developments is currently constructing a $3.5m distribution facility for the import of building products from Asia; Gaymark Investments, currently constructing a major warehouse complex; Top Class Fruit Supply commenced site works on a $4m warehouse cold storage facility for the importing and exporting of produce; Amcor Packaging recently completed a new $1.5m facility; the new $20m warehouse distribution facility for Metcash, otherwise known as Independent Grocers, was opened on 19 November 2008; an additional $2.7m Toll warehouse facility was completed in 2008; Shaws Transport completed an $8.5m warehouse and distribution facility in 2008; Smorgon Steel is relocating its distribution centre to the Darwin Business Park, and work has commenced on a new $300m warehouse facility.
A further eight lots were released by the Land Development Corporation in 2008, seven of these are under contract, with the remaining parcel under active negotiation. Construction on these sites should commence within the next 12 months. Design and documentation for a new large subdivision delivering parcels, each larger than one hectare, are nearing completion and will be released in stages with the development leases as soon as possible. Other East Arm land releases and developments by the corporation include the current call for expressions of interest to develop Stage 2 of the East Arm Marine Precinct, with nearly 15 ha of waterfront access which closes on 27 February 2009; planning and design work for Stage 3 of the East Arm Marine Precinct adjoining the new recreational boat ramp; and site works on the new 20 ha common use area. Access roadworks have already commenced and internal services will be available before mid year.
The corporation focuses on businesses seeking to capitalise on major developments and projects, including the AustralAsia Railway; East Arm Port and Container Terminal; development of Timor Sea oil and gas; gas-based manufacturing and processing; and, of course, Defence.
The LDC has also called for expressions of interest in the development of a Defence Support Hub, and this is subject to assessment by a review panel.
Mr Tollner: How many people are knocking down the door to go there?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: That is a work in process, member for Fong Lim. You can laugh at developments and future developments …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: Anyway, we will listen to what your contribution is and what your position is on the second stimulus package. That will be very interesting.
The Department of Business and Employment provides valuable programs and services for small business, including advice on funding; business continuity; planning; tendering for government work; financial management; risk management; business planning; responses to the current world financial market pressures; and general business help, so with 95% of our Territory businesses classified as SMEs, these support programs are particularly important.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, I move an extension of time for the minister to complete his remarks, pursuant to Standing Order 77.
Motion agreed to.
Dr BURNS: Madam Speaker, one of the key programs is Territory Business Upskills. This program provides skills consultants with business diagnostic tools and solutions to assist business operators to enhance their business management skills and maintain and develop competitive positioning. The first Upskills workshop for February 2009 is focused on pricing, costing and quoting.
Territory business growth is another initiative offered by the department to assist businesses throughout the Territory. This program provides funding and development services to enhance business performance, profitability, employment levels and market penetration.
Many of these services and support programs are available to Territory firms, including those involved in land release developments and in building and construction developments based on released land. The department also has an important role in providing investment, promotion and facilitation services to investors seeking to invest in development opportunities in the Northern Territory. It is crucial that we secure new and additional investment and this underpins continued economic growth for the Northern Territory.
The Territory’s Industry Participation Plans aim to increase business and industry participation in projects by providing competitive local businesses with more opportunities to compete for business generated by relevant major projects. It is targeted to maximise business and industry benefits arising from Territory economic growth including the development of industry capability skills and experience. Under the policy of this government, the industry participation plans are intended to assist project proponents and developers to maximise opportunities, to utilise local suppliers, services and labour to improve the capacity of businesses to compete locally. The IPPs also assist in decision-making in relation to government purchasing and investment where value will be the primary consideration.
Very importantly, a part of my new portfolio area involves procurement. Procurement matters are being tackled as well in order to assist business generally and those involved in the delivery of land release, building and construction activities in particular. I recall when I was previously procurement minister we were able to completely revise the Treasury guidelines for procurement, and collapse them from 34 to about 14 or 15 and simplifying …
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: You were not even around. DJ over there, you would not even know about it …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Dr BURNS: … would not even know about procurement. You would not know about it.
Mr Conlan: We used to listen to you …
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Greatorex, thank you.
Dr BURNS: I was letting the House know that I do have experience in the procurement area. I was involved in procurement reform previously, which was very well received by business and industry, member for Greatorex. I am flagging to this House that there are further reforms that this government wants to drive through in terms of procurement and simplification of procurement procedures, particularly given the stimulus package that will be flowing through the Territory and the need for that money to hit the ground as soon as possible.
This government is committed to supporting the Territory, to supporting local business. What we look back at in the past is the fiasco of the previous CLP government which did not even have enough money for their capital works. It was a shame, it was a fiasco. This is a government that has proven itself as economic managers. The business community knows it, the building community knows it. Economically we have proved ourselves and the opposition is still wallowing in its mire of the past and whatever. They have yet to prove themselves, and they have yet to put forward cogent, solid policies that would convince anyone of their worth.
As announced by the Chief Minister last week, a five point plan to fast-track the implementation of the second stimulus package has implications for our procurement and service delivery arrangements. The Development Consent Authority is to meet every fortnight instead of every month and there will be more staff recruited to the DCA. A summit of construction industry leaders is to be held on Sunday, 15 February, to brief industry and get all the ideas on the table. Dedicated stimulus action squads are to be set up in government departments to get these projects up and running as fast as possible. Advertisements seeking expressions of interest from industry will be placed within two weeks. A short, sharp review of procurement to streamline development processes and cut red tape, including raising the threshold before you need to go to tender and getting contractors involved earlier in the processes – all very positive things which I am sure will be welcomed by industry.
The national stimulus package funding will be used to provide new infrastructure such as assembly halls, libraries and science laboratories, and to upgrade and repair schools. We have had a record funding commitment of $246m for school infrastructure, bringing the total school funding to more than $392m.
Under the stimulus …
Mr Tollner: What are the outcomes?
Dr BURNS: Which school do you not want to get the money?
Mr Tollner: What are the outcomes? What are the outcomes?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Mr Tollner: Leading the country in education are we?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, cease interjecting.
Dr BURNS: Under the stimulus package every primary school is to have a large scale infrastructure project such as a library, a hall, built or upgraded; some 500 new science labs and language centres for schools across Australia and up to $200 000 for every school for upgrades and maintenance.
Obviously, the member for Fong Lim does not want any of this money to flow to schools in his electorate. The Territory is also set to benefit from other measures in the package including road maintenance, energy efficiency for houses, public and Defence housing and one-off bonus payments for Territorians.
I could detail more of what the government is doing in encouraging our workforce: Workwear/Workgear Bonus, employer incentives for employers who take on an apprentice, and Build Skills to assist in the upskilling and reskilling of existing Territory workers. The Territory government recognises the significant employment contribution made by the small business sector in the Territory. That is why we have the business upskills and business growth programs which I have mentioned.
I have talked about cutting the red tape and that is very important. One thing the opposition might forget is that we are the lowest taxing jurisdiction in Australia on small business. We have cut taxes on our small businesses and I know that is very welcome. We have commitments for further cuts and further easing of taxation on our small businesses. Making government services more efficient is an important component in providing a better service for business and the wider community, and my department is integrally involved in that.
I have started in this portfolio and I have already contacted the major business associations. Once this parliamentary sitting is completed I will be meeting with many of those associations. I know them from other portfolios I have held, including Planning and Infrastructure. I am undertaking to work well with industry to further support them. They know we are a government which supports industry, they know we are a government which supports our economy but, more importantly, they know we are a government which can manage the economy.
We have proven ourselves. We will continue to prove ourselves in difficult economic times by working with the Rudd Labor government federally and in terms of their …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order!
Dr BURNS: … response to the global economic crisis which seems to have passed the mob opposite. I see DJ Glib Gab over there, the member for Greatorex, laughing. Well, he might be flippant about it, but we are deadly serious.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr Conlan: Not a bad performance, Burnsey. Not a bad performance, mate. You should have been sacked a long time ago.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Greatorex, cease interjecting.
Mr TOLLNER (Fong Lim): Madam Speaker, that was certainly very entertaining from the member for Jingili.
Dr Burns: Get it right - member for Johnston.
Mr TOLLNER: Highly entertaining. As I said in a past sitting, it is not hard to see why you are one of the key men in the Labor government. You have that uncanny knack of painting a picture that just does not exist. And good on you. I suppose that is probably why they all love you over that side; more than likely why you have the plum portfolio now of Business.
It is interesting you sort of tried …
Mr Knight: What does that mean?
Mr TOLLNER: Like the portfolio of Business.
Mr Knight: What do you mean by that?
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister for Local Government, cease interjecting. Member for Fong Lim, you have the call.
Mr TOLLNER: It is interesting that the member for Jingili stands there …
Dr Burns: Johnston.
Mr TOLLNER: … and talks about – the member for Johnston, sorry, I will make a note of that. The member for Johnston pushes out things about how bad things were under the previous CLP governments and how good they have it now. It is a bit hard to reconcile that with reality. You walk outside of this place, you walk around Darwin and Palmerston, you have a look in Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs and pretty well nearly every single structure, every type of government investment, was ultimately put there by previous CLP governments.
Look in comparison to what we have today, what eight years of Labor government have given us. I have absolutely no doubt they have given us the convention centre. That was an idea originally stolen from Denis Burke, a previous Chief Minister, who made it some sort of election commitment. In any case, they massaged it, shaped it, and it is their project. We will give you credit for the convention centre and the wave pool. I was there in September last year, in the budgie smugglers, had my towel, with the kids waiting for the opening of the wave pool. It was September it opened? Is that right?
Mr Conlan: No, it was before the election.
Mr TOLLNER: No, I am sure you said that it opened in September.
Mr Conlan: With a $500 000 party.
Mr TOLLNER: Well, yes, then we had the $500 000 party. I remember in 2001 …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Members, cease interjecting.
Mr TOLLNER: … it was Territory Labor which promised an oncology unit. Territory Labor had a mini-budget where they actually budgeted $14m for an oncology unit. They were going to get it done. Members are aware ...
Mr Conlan interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Greatorex!
Mr TOLLNER: It sort of morphed into being: ‘We cannot do it without help from Canberra’ - irrespective of the massive GST windfalls that they received. They found they could not find $14m. Ultimately, and correct me if I am wrong - you were minister at the time, if I recall, member for Johnston - the Territory government’s ultimate contribution to this much-needed and long-promised oncology unit was somewhere around $1m and a block of land for something you originally budgeted $14m for. Ultimately, you could not do it without the support of the Commonwealth government.
I remember a little medical practice in Palmerston called the Farrar Medical Centre which was put in the Palmerston Health Precinct by – surprise, surprise! - the previous CLP government. That little medical centre used to survive on $250 000, or something around that, per annum government support. That was the government’s subsidy to keep that going. What did Territory Labor do? They said: ‘No, no, we are not paying that subsidy’, and they cut it out. Consequently, the Farrar Medical Centre went to the wall. Now what do we have? Kevin Rudd has promised a $10m super clinic to go in the same location. The member for Drysdale tells me it is nothing but a demountable. They do not even have basic equipment there to do anything. Something like that $10m would have kept the Farrar Medical Centre going at $250 000 per year, something like 40 years – 40 years! You guys have it. You are the good economic managers. Make sense of that! Absolutely ridiculous!
You spend $1.5m fighting the imposition of the Commonwealth’s nuclear waste management facility - $1.5m public campaign, strutting around; Territorians wanting to stop this terrible thing. All of a sudden, you have your good mate down there elected in Canberra. What does Martin Ferguson say about it? Has Martin Ferguson come in and ruled it out of the Territory immediately? I have photos of a sign. It says: ‘Stop Tollner’s nuclear waste dump. Vote Labor’. What happened then? People voted Labor and they still get the nuclear waste dump. You spent $1.5m of Territorians’ money running petitions, putting ads out, because there was no way known you were going to stomach that – no way known.
The defence hub! Minister, you have to get across this one. Mothball the thing while you can, because it is costing, it will cost, Territorians a bomb to get this thing off the ground. I cannot see too many businesses who want to go there. You said yourself they are all going out to East Arm. Why? Because they want to be near the port, they want to be near the railway, they want to be near a whole range of different facilities that are out there. That is where business wants to go.
If you want to do something for Defence, how about you get on your bike and pedal down to Canberra and talk to Kevin Rudd and Joel Fitzgibbon about the alleged $3bn they are going to cut out of the Defence budget. That would be something you could do to for Territory business. Get down there to Canberra and start lobbying on their behalf, like our Mines minister should have done with McArthur River Mine. No, he does not get boo! When was the last time you flew to Canberra and talked to Peter Garrett and asked him to sign off on the McArthur River Mine? He said he would do it last Friday.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Fong Lim, can I remind you that all comments must come through the Chair, that they are addressed to me and not to individual ministers? Thank you, member for Fong Lim.
Mr TOLLNER: Certainly, Madam Speaker. The Mines minister should have been in Canberra talking with Peter Garrett two months ago, as soon as that decision came out of the Federal Court. He should have been telling that minister how important that mine was to the Territory economy. The federal Environment minister, Garrett, made a commitment that he would sign the thing off as soon as the 10 days expired. Well, that was last Friday. It is now Tuesday. We still do not have a decision out of the guy. There are still 300 workers sitting around doing nothing, just waiting for Peter Garrett - I don’t know, forget the whales, forget the war, whatever - to sign off on their jobs! What is our government doing about it? Nothing, absolutely nothing. It is absolutely appalling. You want to spend $300m to move a prison! In these tough economic times, you are going to blow $300m to move the prison - absolutely ridiculous.
You look all around the place, and you talk about record spending in health, record spending in education. Where is it going? We have some of the worst education numbers coming out of the country. You have just had a minister basically resign because she was not up to the job. We have an absolutely disgraceful education system and you are talking about the amount of money you have thrown it!
Health is another example. Massive amounts of money going into the health system, but you will not get a nurse. We have known for months and months about the nurse staffing crisis, but what has been done about it? Absolutely nothing! The roads are getting washed away. The Stuart Highway, the Barkly Highway and the Victoria Highway are actually responsibilities of Canberra to pay the bills. Now, the way things work with that national highway is that the Territory government just does the work, invoices Canberra and they pay the bill, no questions asked.
Dr Burns: No, it is not that simple.
Mr TOLLNER: Oh, yes it is! Labor should know that it is that simple, it is their road. They do not have a road …
Dr Burns interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr TOLLNER: Absolute rubbish. You were the guy who decided what needed maintaining.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr TOLLNER: The fact is that this Labor government is absolutely wasteful and irresponsible, and now they are going to put us into another $200m black hole. This is what Labor is good at: putting people into debt. It is not just this Labor government. You are not on your own here. This is happening right around the country. State government debt is through the roof - absolutely though the roof. The only place in the country where we have a surplus is in the federal government, and now Kevin, not even in the job for 12 months …
Madam SPEAKER: Please pause, member for Fong Lim. I remind you that when we are referring to people such as the Prime Minister, that is, in fact, the way we are supposed to refer them, and ministers of other parliaments. It is a normal courtesy and part of the standing orders. So, if you would be so kind.
Mr TOLLNER: Sorry, Madam Speaker. The federal member for Griffith is now telling us that we are going to go into, goodness knows, how much debt now, but I know that we inherited $96bn of debt in 1996 and it took us something like eight or nine years of very tight and prudent management in order to repay that debt. Eight or nine years, a huge amount of time to pay $96bn. This guy has only been in office for less than 12 months and he has already wracked up a bill like that. If this was about me or any other adult person here, you would say, ah well, just slug them, but you are talking about the kids now. You are talking about the kids. It is the kids who are going to be paying for this. For years and years down the track, people are going to be lumbered with this debt.
That is just the lack of imagination, the lack of any sort of wit, from these Labor politicians right around Australia and around the world that just amazes me. How do we get out of this? Let us just throw bucket loads of money at it. Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister, expects that every party in Canberra is just going to sign up and say, oh yes, yes that is fine. No one has any detail. Buy a pig in a poke. Cross your fingers. Even Barack Obama is not that bold. Barack Obama’s massive package is scrutinised heavily, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and it is altered and changed and chopped and it is looked at. But not here in Australia. People had a debate on it. That is not what Kevin wants. That is not what the Prime Minister wants.
I listened to this debate this afternoon, and there have been a few references that this government is a bit of a circus. I think the Opposition Leader talked about the circus of Territory Labor. The member for Port Darwin was talking about the three card trick and the thought occurred to me that this is a seriously dud circus. It is a dreadful circus.
We have the member for Wanguri over there, the ring master, showman No 1, who gets out there and hypes the crowd up. They are going to fleece you when you come through the door, sit down, we will hype you all up, wait for this wonderful big show. And we have this great show and what do you get? You get the crazy acrobat. The member for Johnston, the crazy acrobat, the accident-prone high wire act. One thing about him is that he keeps getting up. The member for Arafura is obviously the lion. We know who the lion tamer is, don’t we? - the member for Macdonnell. She has put her in her place. The member for Daly is a silly clown. The silly clown who cannot keep the lights on but he makes all the kids laugh.
We cannot forget, last but not least, the member for Karama, the fortune teller. You know when you head around the back of the dodgy circus there is this dark tent with bits of bling hanging off it. You walk in there, first thing she does: ‘I will read your fortune’. Hits you up for big bucks, you get in there and it is dark, full of candles and smoke and mirrors. You sit down and she pulls out the tarot cards, the runes, does a bit of speaking to the dead, gets the crystal ball out and ultimately she just tells the customers what they want to hear. It is all voodoo fortune telling, and for that people pay much money. They pay to hear what they wanted to be told. Go to the member for Karama, she will paint a rosy picture, tell your fortune – it is all roses.
Meanwhile outside, the main tent burning down, the crazy acrobat is falling off the high wire, the lion tamer is eaten alive, the member for Daly is wandering around in the dark, and you would not laugh if it was not so serious. It is a serious thing. We are sitting here being told that we have to somehow jump in and get into contact with our federal colleagues to get this pork-barrel union-pay-off, lazy state Labor government pay-off, fiscal stimulus package that Mr Rudd is putting in. We somehow have to support this crazy notion that we are going to send Australia into debt for the next few decades. Like I say, there is not an inkling of imagination, not one inkling of imagination.
You do not have to look very far. You can look just across the Tasman. Across the Tasman there is a bloke called John Key. He is the Prime Minister of New Zealand. John Key has taken a completely different approach to all these other socialist governments around the world which believe they will just spend their way out of this. You find out you have no money, so what do you do? You spend more of it - somehow that is going to help the world. John Key has taken a completely different approach. John Key is not throwing massive amounts of money at the problem at all. In fact, John Key says what we spend through this, actually …
Mr MILLS: Madam Speaker, I move that the member be given an extension of 10 minutes to conclude his comments, pursuant to Standing Order 77
Motion agreed to.
Mr TOLLNER: Thank you, Madam Speaker, I thank the House.
John Key takes a different approach to it; he is not into throwing big dollars at this problem. What he says is that he wants to streamline the bureaucracy; he has a few different tactics here. One, is he is going to streamline the bureaucracy and demand efficiencies from the public service. He is going to cut red tape and there is a lot of that over there following a decade of Labor rule in New Zealand. Helen Clark left them up to their gills in red tape. So he is going to cut government red tape. He is going to free up industrial relations laws in New Zealand to allow business to employ more people, have more flexible conditions of employment.
That is what John Key wants to do, and John Key’s main focus is he knows New Zealand is in the doldrums at the moment, but John Key’s focus is on what happens after this. He says that at the moment they are at the bottom of the pecking order. If at the end of this financial crisis they can come through it out of debt, with a freed up business and enterprise culture, with a freed up workplace relations system, a streamlined government, they are going to come out of it at the top of the pile. That is where we should be positioning ourselves.
We want to be at the top of the pile. We were practically at the top of the pile only a year or 18 months ago. Australia was the envy of the world, and now we are slowly slipping down into the middle of it, into the mire. Kevin Rudd has taken us there at a rate of knots that is amazing. Look at what Kevin Rudd does. Kevin Rudd says we are going to throw massive dollars at this problem; ‘we will throw everything but the kitchen sink’, I think I recall him saying. He is going to put Australia in debt for decades to come. There is no suggestion at all of streamlining the public service, there is no cutting government red tape and, as far as demanding efficiencies and making a better climate for business to operate, what does Kevin Rudd do? He says: ‘We are going to sign up to an emissions trading scheme. Let us, right in the middle of a dreadful crisis, whack an impost on business’. He is also going to introduce IR laws that will take us back a good 35 years to a stage that it is going to make it almost impossible for business to be employing people.
The fact is that Labor governments have never been governments that are pro-employment. They have been pro-union. That is what Kevin Rudd’s whole plan is with his construction scheme: pay off the mates of the CFMEU and the AWU. Give them all a payoff for all their support during the last federal campaign. He is doing it exactly the same thing as the state Labor governments. Through their inefficiencies, their mismanagement, they have left Australia’s infrastructure slide totally into the doldrums. The health system is stuffed in the country, everywhere you look. The education system is going backwards everywhere you look. All because of lacklustre, mediocre Labor state administrations. That is exactly what we have here.
Labor’s own little economic think tank - whatever you want to call it – is gun-for-hire Access Economics. We heard plenty from them prior to the 2001 election. They have come out now and just bagged the Territory. They said we are almost in the same boat as New South Wales. In New South Wales, I do not know how many years they have had a Labor government but, after Bob Carr, Morris Iemma, and Nathan Rees, the place is absolutely going to hell in a hand basket, to put it mildly. Access Economics says that we are not far behind them. We are not far behind them, but that does not suit us up here. We have to talk about INPEX. Well, I support INPEX - looking forward to them turning up. However, if they lay a foundation stone in the next two or three years, I will be absolutely surprised. I hope you can fast-track it but it is certainly a way down the track.
What is happening in the Territory in the next two to three years? Maybe the wave pool might open. Maybe we can hope to go for a swim at the wave pool. I understand that will be free, as that was an election promise, if I am not wrong …
A member: It is subsidised entry now.
Mr TOLLNER: Oh, it is subsidised entry. Now, we do not even have a free swim at the wave pool while they are all going to hell in a hand basket. We have to pay for that as well. When will it open? It was supposed to be open in September - looking forward to it. The whole of Darwin is looking forward to it. I hear that Alice Springs people are going to come up en masse.
The member for Nelson has talked about the attacks on agriculture and farming. I do not think he went anywhere near farming.
Mr Wood: I ran out of time.
Mr TOLLNER: The Daly River, member for Nelson, has been a basket case since these guys took over – an absolute basket case. Previous governments had development planned. What has happened? Nothing - absolutely nothing. We have had moratorium after moratorium, and people - mum and dad farmers - are sitting out there going broke. Mum and dad farmers - not big-time multinationals hoarding up land. These are people who are getting those blocks of land and want to make an income from it, but they cannot.
Labor is driven by ideology, and that is, basically, all they are driven by. They are not into sound economic management; they are not into making practical decisions. They come out with the most amazing things at the most amazing times - but it is all cant, it is all spin, it is all voodoo economics. It is just absolute nonsense.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased that the Chief Minister has made this ministerial statement. What I am not pleased about is what is in it because, ultimately, there is nothing in it. There is no commitment to do anything, and even if he did make a commitment, you would have a hard time believing that that commitment would be realised. We have seen it time and time again: the oncology unit; when is the super clinic happening at Palmerston? The list is as long as your arm about things that never seem to eventuate. I am at the point where I could almost support anything that they propose if they could actually get it to happen.
Mr KNIGHT (Housing): Madam Speaker, I rise to support the statement. It was good to hear from the member for Fong Lim. It is quite rare that he makes a response to a ministerial statement. How many years were you in federal parliament? Six years. How many times did you make a speech responding to a ministerial statement?
Mr Tollner interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: Sorry? I believe …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, please direct your comments through the Chair.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, for six years, our representative in the federal parliament made one – one - supporting ministerial statement in six years in the federal parliament. What a lazy, incompetent member of parliament we had in the federal parliament. He was asleep there for six years. He sat in the back. They put him in the back. Just put Dave out the back. Keep him out there and he will fall asleep and he will not say anything. So, one ministerial statement in six years in the federal parliament.
He made reference to the circus. Well, many people have made the correlation with Bozo the Clown. Good old Bozo the Clown, trots in whenever he feels like it, in a jovial manner, and there are a few Keystone Cops over there, quite literally, Keystone Cops. They are there to kind of potter around, a few dancing poodles to the ringmaster, the right honourable the member for Port Darwin, so there are a few dancing poodles. There is a lion tamer, or a dog tamer maybe. Yes, certainly, there is quite a circus over there and I am sure the party room is quite exciting at the moment.
It is quite interesting that the authority – I mean, I am no economist, Madam Speaker, nobody in here is an economist, but all around the world we have developed countries trying to stimulate their economies, trying to get confidence back into the marketplace. There are multibillion dollar efforts in the United States, in Europe, in the United Kingdom, trying to get their economies restarted, to get monies flowing, to get confidence back into the business sector, to continue the circulation of money in their economies. But, somehow, the former insurance salesman knows better than every single one of those other countries. He knows better than historians, economic historians, who know that you do not tighten up in depressions or recessions. You stimulate, you keep the money flowing. Somehow he knows better than every other developed country, the think tanks that they have out there, about how to respond in a downturn, a recession or even a depression.
He also referred to his new, best friend, Mr Key in New Zealand. He supported and used the words ‘streamlining the bureaucracy’. That is code for a slash in the public service.
Members interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: That is code. The member for Port Darwin and the CLP obviously should not support massive public sector cutbacks in times of economic downturn. They support cutting back nurses, teachers, police, all the key workers. They are all public servants. ‘Streamlining the economy’ is code for doing exactly that.
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would like the minister to prove his assertions by tabling all documents which make those assertions or support those assertions that have been produced by this side of the House.
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry, I do not know what the documents are that he is referring to.
Mr ELFERINK: Otherwise you are telling fibs and you are manufacturing untruths.
Madam SPEAKER: Please pause.
Mr KNIGHT: Speaking to the point of order, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Yes, minister.
Mr KNIGHT: The member for Port Darwin made many assertions about a whole range of people and made many assumptions …
Mr Elferink: Supported by references to documents.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Order! Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr KNIGHT: As has been the practice in this House, Madam Speaker, people have had some liberty in interpreting …
Mr Elferink: You do not have the liberty to tell lies.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Elferink: You do not have the liberty to tell lies.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Member for Port Darwin, I ask you to withdraw, thank you.
Mr ELFERINK: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, speaking to the point of order. We can certainly table the Under-Treasurer’s assessment of the CLP’s election commitments which shows that they would have to slash the public service right across the board if they were to meet what they said would be their spending.
Mr Elferink: This is your policy. It is called attrition. The same policy that you have been running, you goose.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Cease interjecting. Did you have a point of order as well, member for Greatorex?
Mr CONLAN: The member for Daly clearly said ‘sacking nurses’. Nowhere did it ever say in CLP policy about sacking nurses …
Ms Lawrie: You should read what the Under-Treasurer wrote about …
Mr CONLAN: … public servants. Nurses may be public servants, but nowhere did it say sacking nurses. Madam Speaker, I ask that he withdraw that.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Greatorex, please resume your seat. There is no point of order. Minister, do you have documents that relate to this speech that you have which you wish to table?
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, many opposition speakers on the other side have made unsubstantiated assertions.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Minister, I am asking you a question. Do you have a document which relates to these matters?
Mr KNIGHT: No, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: I have listened to the speech from the member for Fong Lim and he certainly made a number of very significant comments regarding members on the other side. In relation to this, I will ask the minister to be as careful as possible. I have given a lot of latitude to the opposition in the comments that the member for Fong Lim made.
Minister, you may continue but bear in mind those comments. I will call you up if there are problems.
Mr KNIGHT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will just make one more comment about the new Liberal government in New Zealand, which the member for Port Darwin is supporting. The new policy direction is the freeing up of industrial relations laws. Have you learned nothing from the federal election? Have you learned nothing about the kick in the arse that the …
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, I ask you to withdraw, thank you.
Mr KNIGHT: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
A member: Have you learned nothing from the August election?
Mr KNIGHT: Have you learned nothing from the kick up the backside that the Coalition got at the last federal election? Your industrial relations laws were the single most important reason why you lost your seat. And yet, here you are today supporting the ‘freeing up of industrial relations laws’. You have learned nothing. Territorians should be very aware that, given your chance, you would be going straight back there again to those draconian industrial relations laws that you supported and were subsequently booted out of parliament.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Minister, you have the call and if you could continue to address your comments through the Chair.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, I will address my comments more directly to the statement.
I welcome the statement by the Chief Minister about growing the Territory. In a general sense, it is about developing the Territory, but in these very tough economic times we need to cater for businesses in the Territory and Territorians. We have, as Territorians, watched the global economic crisis developing and it will affect the Territory in some way or another. We have to be very prudent in what we do. It is thanks to this government’s financial management that we are going to experience a lesser effect from these economic downturns than any other jurisdiction in the country.
With the work of the Chief Minister’s Growth Planning Unit showing significant population increases in the greater Darwin and Palmerston area and in the bush, it is estimated that we need about 1700 extra dwellings a year in the immediate future. We have boosted funding to public housing by 65% since 2001 and, over the next five years, about $1bn will be invested in public housing with a strong focus on critical shortages in our remote communities.
A member: The waiting list has got longer.
Mr KNIGHT: It must be noted, Madam Speaker, that our wait lists are probably the shortest in the country. In the last two years of the CLP government they sold, on average, 300 public housing dwellings. Sixty five percent of the properties we sell are to low income public housing tenants. That is about giving those people a chance to enter the private ownership market.
As our population continues to grow, strategic land releases will be the key to getting more affordable public housing opportunities into the market. That is why this government has taken the decision to set aside 15% of all significant land release projects for this purpose. In the immediate future, the effect of this policy decision will be played out in Palmerston East, in Bellamack and the fast-track suburbs of Mitchell, Johnston and Zuccoli.
As a practical example of this decision, I was pleased to recently announce that this government will construct a $10m, 40-unit seniors’ village in the new suburb of Bellamack. Many senior Territorians who currently reside in public housing, what we are seeing in Fannie Bay and Leanyer, have taken up the opportunity to move into those units thus freeing up those dwellings that they are in for other people to occupy. Headworks will begin this year, as it has been stated, and I look forward to those seniors moving into those units next year.
Other public and affordable housing opportunities at Bellamack will be identified as detailed planning for lots in the suburb continue to take shape. I look forward to being able to make announcements about the investment in affordable and public housing, in due course, across Palmerston East and also in Larapinta in Alice Springs.
Improving public housing is not restricted to land release developments. We are continually looking at our existing stock for options for improvements in the way public housing is delivered. Government’s commitment to re-development of the higher density public housing complexes along Parap Road is a good example of this approach. High levels of antisocial behaviour and the condition of the public housing complexes along the road make it clear that this high density public housing is no longer suitable.
The re-development project is an investment in the future of Parap while reducing antisocial behaviour and creating opportunities for affordable housing, seniors’ accommodation and for first homebuyers. The project will be staged, ensuring that none of the residents of these Territory Housing complexes will be left without a home. I have had numerous meetings with the member for Fannie Bay and he is a champion of this project. He has received positive feedback about the project at Parap and about the development. I have asked Territory Housing to keep the tenants in that complex up-to-date about the project developments.
One of the largest and growing demand areas of public housing is for senior Territorians. When you consider that the population forecast predicts the number of Territorians over the age of 60 in the greater Darwin area will increase to 28 000 people by 2030, up 170%, it makes projects like the Parap re-development and the Bellamack Seniors’ Village solid investments in our future public housing needs.
This government knows how difficult it can be to make that step from renting to home ownership, particularly as property prices continue to buck the national trend with solid growth. The solid growth in our real estate market has been good news for homeowners and investors, but the government understands the pressure it has put on people wanting to buy their own home. That is why our planning for the future includes getting more affordable homes into the marketplace.
Members will be aware of the government’s decision to redevelop 26 Emery Avenue, a 16-unit townhouse complex that is simply no longer suitable for public housing. Work is under way now on the $1m upgrade of the two-bedroom units, and they will be sold on a ballot system to low- to middle-income Territorians. Territorians can now register their interest in this development, and I look forward to making further announcements about the ballot process for the sale of the units this Dry Season. This government initiative gives Territorians another opportunity to make a start in the property market.
Another practical way this government is supporting Territorians to make the step into home ownership is the successful HomeNorth Scheme. Since 1 July 2004, 1120 Territory households have accessed the scheme to make their dream of home ownership a reality. That equates to more than $218m in loans and shared equity purchases. Fifty-two households have accessed these schemes so far this financial year, equating to $12.2m in loans and shared equity purchases. There are a further 10 Territory households awaiting settlement to the value of $2.7m. Significantly, 96% of HomeNorth clients this financial year have taken up the option of purchasing in shared equity with the government, boosting home affordability for these Territorians by reducing the initial loan repayments.
In recent months, I have also been pleased to announce that this government has passed on the Reserve Bank’s interest rate cut to HomeNorth customers, delivering an average mortgage saving of more than $300. Also, the government has revamped the HomeNorth Scheme in budget 2008-09, to better reflect budget market demands including boosting income thresholds by $5000 for both singles and couples with no dependents. Many of us in this House will know Territorians who have bought their own home with the support of HomeNorth. We will continue to assess and update the scheme as needed into the future.
The Prime Minister’s $42bn economic stimulus package includes $6.4bn for housing. I welcome this on behalf of the Northern Territory government. The Prime Minister has made it clear that he wants to see action on the ground, and he is offering funding support for the upgrade and redevelopment of public housing, for the construction and delivery of more affordable housing, and support for projects that will boost the capacity of our all-important non-government housing services. The Territory can expect to receive at least $64m from the housing packages, and we are working hard on the package we will put to the Prime Minister very soon. We are looking across the Territory at public housing properties for upgrade and major redevelopment. We are also looking at blocks owned by the government for possible redevelopment for public housing, with the emphasis on meeting our growing demand areas of one- to two-bedroom units, particularly for seniors.
In line with the scope of the Prime Minister’s package, we are also considering developments that could be done in partnership, with or for the benefit of the non-government housing support sector. This is an exciting opportunity for the Northern Territory. We will be putting forward solid proposals to secure the Territory’s share of the funding package and secure a great real result for Territorians.
One of the most exciting components of the Prime Minister’s package is its capacity to support the work well under way in the Northern Territory in planning for our future housing needs. Improving the standard and supply of public housing, boosting the capacity of our non-government housing support sector, and getting more affordable housing onto the market will all feature in this government’s housing strategy as announced by the Chief Minister late last year. As demand for public housing continues to grow, so too does demand for short-term and supported accommodation services. We are all working to help meet that demand. We have boosted funding to services including the Ayiparinya and Topsy Smith Hostels in Alice Springs, as well as establishing Stuart Lodge for short-term accommodation. Further, non-government accommodation providers are also able to access financial support through the Community Housing Program and the Crisis Accommodation Program. These schemes are funded by the Australian government and are administered by the Northern Territory government.
The government’s Industry Housing Assistance Scheme is in place to support the non-government housing sector deliver services, including short-term accommodation and managed accommodation. Through Territory Housing, the government currently leases more than 330 properties at a subsidised rate to community organisations, saving those organisations more than $2.5m per year in rent. Government is currently seeking expressions of interest for community organisations to use three Territory Housing properties, two in Alice Springs and one in Darwin, to deliver managed accommodation services. Boosting short-term accommodation is an important part of Building Safer Communities. Working in partnership with non-government organisations helps drive growth in the private sector and better services for Territorians. I look forward to continuing to work with that sector, both individual providers and peak bodies, such as NT Shelter.
The growth of the Northern Territory is not restricted to our main centres. As highlighted by the Chief Minister, by 2023, Wadeye - the largest community in my electorate and the largest community in the Northern Territory - will have a greater population than present day Nhulunbuy. By 2023, at least three Aboriginal communities will have a population of more than 3000 people, and a number of centres with populations of more than 2000 is likely to be eight or nine times the current number. These growth forecasts are significant, and as both the Housing Minister and the elected representative of a bush electorate, I acknowledge the challenges they present. Improving the standard and quality of housing is central to our commitment to closing the gap on indigenous disadvantage. It is a task that cannot be …
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: Minister, you time has expired.
Mr GUNNER: Madam Deputy Speaker, I ask for an extension of time for the member to complete his remarks.
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: I believe that is not possible once time has actually expired.
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise to comment on the Chief Minister’s statement which is very similar to his previous statement, Economic Direction of the Third Labor Government, which is still on the Notice Paper, which we still have not finalised. It is high on rhetoric and low on substance.
There is much talk about greater Darwin and Palmerston but no real mention of the rural area. I know my constituents, whilst they have no issue with Darwin and Palmerston, I do not think they really want to be lumped in and be called greater Darwin or even outer Darwin. They are the Litchfield Shire and rural area and that is how they would like ...
Mr Wood: Knock the signs down.
Ms PURICK: Yes, we will knock the signs down. … and that is how they would like to be classified.
Yes, there is an unprecedented economic downturn across the globe and across our country and, of course, in the Northern Territory. Yes, the Territory will be affected by this and this government has been incredibly slow to acknowledge this downturn and to respond to it in the Northern Territory. Indeed, we have not seen any real response in regard to how we are going to tackle the economic downturn in the Northern Territory.
The statement says that the Territory budget will be in deficit. Well, I think that is an understatement. The Territory budget will be in a large deficit for some time, and there will be large debt attributed to each man, woman and child in the Northern Territory.
The statement says our fundamental part is still growth and development, albeit it is on a more rocky trajectory. That is a good use of the word ‘rocky’ because, given that rocks comes from mines, our mining industry in the Northern Territory is in a very sad state at this time with only four major mines currently, and possibly two smaller mines. This time last year, that number was double. And yes, our economic growth has gone downwards.
The Chief Minister’s statement talks about private consumption, residential dwellings and that exports are expected to remain strong. I am not quite sure what these exports actually are given that our mineral exports are down and will be down in the next couple of years. Our cattle exports, whilst it was a good year last year and early into the Wet Season, there will not be as high numbers this year, if not into next year, given that the majority of the Barkly region had to be destocked, given the lack of feed, plus some would say that they were overstocked and that contributed to the problem. About 15 to 20 stations in the Barkly region destocked most of their cattle and it is going to take some time for that to return to normal levels. Yes, they can and do buy stock in from Queensland, but that will be affected as well, given the floods they have had. To make a statement that our exports are expected to remain strong, I believe, is misleading and inaccurate.
He talks about interest rates driving inflation - that is fine - that is nothing to do with the Northern Territory government - and to ease the cost of living and impact on the pockets of Territorians. I am not sure what the Chief Minister is referring to because we do have a high cost of living and we do pay more for our fuel than the rest of the country. No evidence has been tabled as to how this is going to change in the short term. Good management, clever planning is something I have not seen from this government. And hard work? I have not seen that either, given that our hours are shorter in this parliament from now on in. There is no track record of clever planning, good management or hard work.
Last August, even when the economy was travelling a lot more smoothly, it established the Territory Growth Planning Unit. There is reference to it later that they have done some research about immediate issues. I ask the government to table this research so we can see exactly what the TGPU has done. The work so far has shown significant population increase occurring in the Darwin and Palmerston area. Well, that is not rocket science. Of course the population is increasing, and it is increasing in the rural area and it will continue to increase as time passes. If that is the research that this planning unit has done to date, that is not very good.
We have current populations of greater Darwin. I think it should be split between Darwin, Palmerston and the rural area. There is pressure on the rural area in regards to population increase. I have said that previously and I will keep saying it: the areas are discrete and different in their needs and in the services that are required. It talks about the ageing population in the greater Darwin area. Again, rural area – that is not anything new. We know we have an ageing population. We know we have an ageing workforce. Expansion of population will lead to significant expansion in the requirement for housing – well, of course it will. But before you have the housing, you have to have the land and this government has been spectacular in not releasing land at a pace to keep up with the demands of the community, hence the prices in our real estate market.
It talks about population growth, and children and couples and families, and the increases but there is not a lot of reference in regards to the schools that are going to be required for these children and their families, or health centres or childcare centres. A classic example is statements that reference the Berrimah Farm proposed development, which I will come to in a moment, but it should be noted that if there are the 600 lots at Berrimah Farm, there is a good chance there will be approximately 200 to 300 school-aged children. Where are they going to go to school? The closest primary school to the Berrimah Farm area is Karama. There are no public transport systems that go that way. Perhaps these children are meant to go all the way to Palmerston. Again, there is not much planning, nor clever planning in trying to develop the Berrimah Farm.
The Territory will remain the youngest jurisdiction but our population is ageing. That is fine, but we want to have a society and a community regardless of the age. Social advantages: we already have good social advantages. It is not talking about economic growth; it is not talking about value adding and how things are going. Ageing population: yes, that will and does present challenges, none more so in the rural area. We have very few health facilities. We have very few aged care facilities and we have very poor public transport. There needs to be some serious planning with the new Weddell if we are talking about putting 40 000 people there over the next 10 to 20 years given that the public transport down the Stuart Highway from the rural area is not very good, particularly as we get to the later part of the day.
Further on in the statement, it says that the government has invested heavily in infrastructure. They may have spent some money but I cannot see any real new infrastructure apart from the convention centre. Other infrastructure, most likely, is from private investment and from the private business community.
Where is the new infrastructure over the last eight years of a Labor government in Pine Creek associated with the tourism industry? Nothing. Where is the infrastructure related to the tourism industry in Katherine? What new facility has been built in Katherine? Nothing, and there has been nothing new built in Tennant Creek either that is related to tourism. This is one of the main industries that we need to value add and to boost our economy.
Mr Giles: You have to remember they funded the Battery Hill Mine for the ex-member for Tennant Creek to get a job.
Ms PURICK: The member for Barkly. Ah, yes, so there is no heavy investment in infrastructure. They have not invested heavily in their road infrastructure. In fact, we know our road infrastructure is deteriorating, particularly the roads that are managed by the Northern Territory government.
I have no issue with investing in schools. We desperately need more schools. The schools in the rural area are bursting at the seams. Taminmin High School has over 1300 students. They are at capacity; they need a new library. And the same for Humpty Doo Primary School and also Bees Creek Primary School; they are a capacity because more people are moving to the rural area and they have young families. I accept that it is good that more money is being put into schools whether they are in urban areas or in the remote areas.
Government is committed to the residential infill of the Berrimah corridor. That is very interesting given the words, and I quote:
- There is much more work to be done to finalise testing on the Berrimah Farm site and we expect this to take some time during the course of the year.
That tells me is that that site is showing to be not suitable for residential development. The testing that they are doing, the environmental consultants they have contracted, no doubt by now they have some preliminary results and it is probably showing that it is not suitable for residential development. The government is also lobbying the Commonwealth to sell the 11 Mile aerial farm. Well, good luck. The Commonwealth and Defence are not known to give up ground very easily or quickly. I understand there has also been planning in the past for a major road to go straight through the aerial farm, anyway. I do not see how that can be turned into a residential area when you have a major arterial road going through there.
The statement says that the future long-term growth of Darwin is assured because the Kenbi land claim has been sorted out. Well done, and I congratulate the Northern Land Council and all involved in getting that long-standing land claim sorted out. But that is not going to guarantee the future growth of Darwin.
One of the key issues that I am very concerned about, and others in my electorate and elsewhere, is the lack of planning by this government for the future water supply for Darwin. A government official briefed the Litchfield Shire Council last week about Weddell. The question was put to this officer: where will the water come from to service Weddell? The answer was: from Darwin River Dam - which is already servicing the Darwin and rural areas and all the expansions. We know that there should be a new dam somewhere in the near future; the planning for this has been very slow given that once a new dam is constructed it will take the best past of 10 years to fill to design yield. We need to be starting construction and serious planning now, right now. They already have sites allocated; they have sites identified.
The other concerning part about our water supply for the future is that Power and Water has a licence to pump 12 000 mega litres of water from their bores in the rural area. They are currently using two bores to capacity. They currently use only 3700 mega litres per year. If Power and Water pumps up to its full licence availability, it would impact on the aquifer. The government is telling rural block owners not to use their bores and that it would like to meter and charge for water, yet the government will be the main user of water out of the rural area. Where is the planning? I would say there is no planning, and that is a very scary proposition.
Weddell: the government says that it has taken time to carefully decide the future direction of the growth of Darwin and its decision is to proceed full steam at Weddell. Weddell was never this government’s idea; Weddell was previous Country Liberal government’s proposal way, way back. It is only now that the government has come up with this announcement to deflect and to distract people from the problems that they have internally in regards to their performance.
Yes, I agree we need more low cost housing. Yes, if Weddell does have environmental considerations including carbon footprint, new city recycling transport systems, but I stress that we need good public transport systems. We do not need to see the situation in some of the Palmerston suburbs where the roads are so narrow public transport cannot get down there because the developers have been allowed to take as much land as possible to make as much profit as they would like to make, but it means that public transport will never get down those streets when people might need it. So if there is to be good planning for these new areas at Weddell, at least plan the roads well so that public transport and emergency services can get right into all the areas.
It references the water storage facility, treatment plant, and transfer station for water. If there is to be a transfer station, where are they transferring the water from? Is it from the proposed Warrai Dam that we should actually have, or are they proposing it from somewhere else?
Mr Wood: That is for the rubbish.
Ms PURICK: Ah, rubbish transfer, not water transfer. Okay. Again, where will they transport the rubbish to? Where is the rubbish going? Is the rubbish going all the way back into Leanyer, which means that that is going to be extra expense on ratepayers? Or are they going to have their own rubbish facility out there?
As I said at the beginning, similar to the statement on the economic direction of the third Labor government, there is no direction in this. It does not talk about growing the Territory. It does not really talk about land release. It does not talk about economic development, and it does not talk about any fiscal stimulus for the Northern Territory such that we can get ahead of the pack when things start to turn for the better. This government has shown that they are not planning for the Territory. They have never planned for the Territory, and that concerns me. Whilst the statement is tabled, it really does not have a lot of substance worth talking about.
Mr HAMPTON (Regional Development): Madam Deputy Speaker, I am very pleased to speak in support of the Chief Minister’s statement on Growing the Northern Territory. It has become painfully clear that the Northern Territory’s economy is going to be buffeted by the global downturn. The Chief Minister has spoken of the impact that a reduction in national growth will have upon Territory government revenues. He has also highlighted the forecast for reduced growth within the Northern Territory economy. He has stressed the importance of good management, clever planning and hard work in seeing us through the tough times ahead.
To that, I add the importance of maintaining confidence. Some people would spread only doom and gloom, and would happily talk themselves and the Territory into a recession, even a depression. That is, quite simply, irresponsible. It brings to mind the words of Franklin Roosevelt who said: ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself’.
An economic slump is certainly a tragedy for those who lose their jobs, but here in the Territory we are better placed than most to weather the storm, thanks in no small part to seven years of careful and strong management of our economy. The Chief Minister has made it clear that he is placing an emphasis on securing jobs for Territorians. Our unemployment rate is just 3.8% - the third lowest in the country behind the ACT and Western Australia. This is the economic indicator that is universally appreciated. A growing economy means job creation. People are able to provide for themselves and their families. While the Labor government can point to its achievements with pride, we should never forget the very real challenge of creating jobs in our regions. The Chief Minister has outlined the role government has played in successfully managing the economy.
As the Henderson government continues the job of expanding the Territory economy in difficult circumstances, my task, as the Minister for Regional Development, is assisting in spreading the benefits of economic growth to regional and remote communities. If there is one objective above all others in regional development it would simply be jobs. After all, I am sure we can recall attending a school function in our electorates, and perhaps sitting back for a moment looking into the eyes of the kids assembled and wondering to ourselves just what sort of future awaits them. A job is a fundamental starting point.
As I have said before, and I will say again, regional development is one of the most enduring challenges the Territory faces. As I also say, regional development is everyone’s business.
We live in a vast land of considerable opportunity, but we are also a relatively small population spread across considerable distances. We are one-sixth of Australia’s land mass but only 1% of the population. We are bigger than South Africa but our population is about the same as that of Vanuatu. Around 100 000 people live outside Darwin in varying circumstances, but all are entitled to full participation in the Territory’s economy. Our people live in communities that are at different stages of economic and social development. Some of our major regional centres are vital economic hubs servicing huge tracts of land. Others are ready for the next phase in their development cycle but require support to make that leap.
Places such as the Tiwi Islands which have suffered setbacks over the years continue to look for new opportunities. Maningrida, which is home to a range of activities, is now looking to develop more commercially oriented economies. This is a community which now has a blueprint for change, thanks to the Maningrida Study. This study was commissioned by my predecessor, the member for Casuarina, as Minister for Regional Development, and shines as a spotlight on the business potential that exists in our Indigenous communities.
There are some communities which will only see modest growth in the near term because of a range of challenges and capacity constraints. What is certain though is the great desire of Territorians to sustain and build their communities and, most importantly, to secure a future for their children. My challenge as the Minister for Regional Development is to contribute to this process of development and to spread the word about the tremendous opportunities that exist if we all work together.
As part of our program of planning for growth, we have established nine economic development committees (EDCs). These committees are tasked with identifying economic development priorities in the regions ensuring that the priorities and aspirations of individual communities are communicated directly to the Northern Territory government. The EDCs also develop and monitor the implementation of economic development plans with the aim of achieving sustainable job creation and business growth opportunities. There are nine EDCs in the Territory. Examples of their work include: the production of an economic profile of Alice Springs to assist with and attract investment; encouraging people in the Anmatjere region to make the transition to the workforce; seeing more land available in Katherine for recreation, commercial and residential purposes; increasing land access for development in Timber Creek; broadening the enterprise base in East Arnhem; and supporting the main street upgrade project in Tennant Creek.
The Tennant Creek EDC is also a strong advocate of the Tennant Creek Foundation, which is a substantial commitment by the Northern Territory government. Some $258 000 will be spent over the next two years to build the businesses of the Battery Hill Mining Centre and the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre. My department has worked very hard to establish this foundation and it is an example of the thinking outside the box that is essential in regional development.
Returning to the issue of jobs, I see one of my major tasks as incorporating into the workforce around 15 000 mainly Aboriginal people who live on the economic periphery of Australian society. It is interesting that most definitions of economies will refer to the study of the production and consumption of scarce goods and services. Economists usually state that scarcity is a natural condition of mankind, a concept that most Australians would have difficulty grasping. In the Northern Territory it is a tragic truth that a sizeable proportion of our community exactly knows what scarcity of goods and services means. There is another economic concept that states that the allocation of scarce resources often leads to conflict. Such conflict is a fundamental part of the Territory’s history and continues in some areas to this day.
Madam Deputy Speaker, at first, land acquisition by pastoralists lay at the heart of conflict between white and black Australians. It is ironic that, within a few years, Aboriginal people were the backbone of the pastoral industry. With the market collapse in the mid-1970s, mechanisation of the industry and a substantial drift from properties into major population centres during the 1980s, Aboriginal participation in this industry dwindled. Various attempts are now being made to turn this around. The heady days of mass employment, albeit on minimal wages, are gone, but there is still a strong desire to establish an Aboriginal presence in the industry.
In its widest context, regional development is a key responsibility for all NT agencies. My role, as I said, is to keep our regions at the forefront of everyone’s mind, including my Cabinet colleagues, as their agencies look to roll out and deliver their programs across the Territory.
I would like to take one moment to talk about the most important element in regional economic development. The Territory has a wealth of untapped opportunity, but it takes plenty of hard work to unlock that potential. There are some quarters of our community that have fallen into the trap of believing that there are limited opportunities outside of Darwin. I say that could not be further from the truth. A very large percentage of wealth generated in the Territory every single day flows from our regions, from the toil of Territorians working hard, and from continues investment by businesses.
Business opportunities abound, whether to provide goods and services to the people who live in and around our major centres, or to take advantage of the wealth tied up in our natural resources, or to provide services to the businesses operating in that area. Economic development is about helping entrepreneurs convert those opportunities into realities, removing the barriers or red tape that might exist, and just as importantly, making the investments in our people and infrastructure to enable this to occur.
I look at the government’s successful partnership with Telstra, Rio Tinto, ALCAN and the NLC to bring high speed broadband to East Arnhem Land, where 800 km of optical fibre has been laid in record time connecting the communities of Oenpelli, Maningrida, Ramingining, Gapuwiyak, Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala to the information superhighway. Residents are now able to use high speed broadband at the same cost as people in Alice Springs and Darwin. This access will complement the government’s Closing the Gap initiative to address indigenous disadvantages across a range of areas including health, education and business.
Governments of all levels need to work together with business and the wider community. Following the transition from the Area Consultative Committee program to the new Regional Development Australia program, the Northern Territory government and my department are working closely with the Office of North Australia and the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. We have also held discussions with the Australian Employment Covenant, the national industry-led initiative which aims to create 50 000 jobs in two years to break the cycle of unemployment and poverty amongst Indigenous Australians. I congratulate our Chief Minister on becoming the first state or territory to sign up to this covenant, committing 200 job opportunities for Indigenous workers in our public service.
As government, we can do much but we cannot achieve long-term sustainable development on our own. We can only do it in partnership with business and with individual communities. My department focuses its efforts on four key activities. These are the provision of programs and services locally helping entrepreneurs in developing or building their business, and we do this from our offices in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs, Nhulunbuy and Darwin.
I also point out that the executive of the Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources is now headquartered in Alice Springs, including the positions of Chief Executive, Executive Director of Primary Industries, and Executive Director of Regional Development. This will ensure important government decisions and policies affecting the Territory’s many regional communities are developed from a regional perspective.
The department also focuses on developing and implementing key strategic projects which contribute to economic development. For example, the Indigenous Business Development Program is an NT government-funded facilitator of new Indigenous businesses throughout the Territory. The success of this program was reviewed last year, with a healthy 87% of businesses still operating after two years.
The next focus point is engaging with communities and that is listening to the people in the region about their development aspirations. Finally, there is the department’s role as an advocate for the regions across government. An essential part of our planning for growth has been the compilation of economic profiles of Alice Springs and Katherine. These projects have required rigorous economic research and analysis with months of data collection and analysis. The results have been definitive documents describing the Alice Springs and Katherine economies and they have also become the baseline for discussions within the community and government on the future directions of these towns, and identifying areas for potential growth, strength and improvement. They also assist businesses and the Northern Territory government to make informed economic decisions for the future of both towns. This is crucial, especially in the current economic climate.
Success in regional development will not come from government leadership alone. That is why partnerships lie at the heart of our strategy. As I said at the beginning, regional development is everyone’s business and it is the Territory’s most enduring challenge.
The new challenge that now confronts us is the global economic crisis. My commitment is to ensure that we continue to grow our economy and, in particular, grow our regions for the benefit of all Territorians. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to support the Chief Minister’s statement.
Mr BOHLIN (Drysdale): Madam Speaker, I heard this statement from the Chief Minister with great pleasure. It is an interesting document. It is about the future - and that is probably about it, because the Chief Minister has not actually talked about his real delivery of the urgent need. We have already talked of eight years of waiting for land release and in the last six months we have seen this massive flurry, like a flock of startled pigeons, to deliver – or least to say we are delivering - land. So, we see more time lines added to that: we will deliver in, we will deliver in, we will deliver in. Yet we have failed to see an actual delivery. They are simple words, they are easily understood. The people on the street understand the simple words - like homelessness, not having enough money to pay the mortgage because they are unemployed, because the ministers were unavailable when there was an urgent need to resolve issues at the beginning of the year that revolved around their jobs.
I will quote the Chief Minister from page 6:
- It is further estimated that to meet growth approximately 1700 additional dwellings, at least, would be required annually in the immediate future.
Two words which can be very open-ended are ‘immediate’ which is now, and ‘future’, which is some time away. Is the Chief Minister confused that he needs it immediately, or does he need it in the future? Or is that an open plan of escape so when he does not deliver again, he can say: ‘We said in the immediate future, which is an open-ended time frame’. So, when is the immediate future of annually delivering 1700 additional dwellings starting? Is that starting immediately, or in the future? I say it needed to be started the day they re-took office, the day that they came to this parliament and said that they had heard what the public have to say. I say it to them today that they have not heard what the public have said because they had not delivered. Six months later we still do not see the delivery that we need.
We have $2.6m outstanding in rental arrears from the Housing Commission as of June last year. That could be building another five houses to put on the market. Do the simple sums. It is not hard. $2.6m divided by, say, $500 000 per house equals five dwellings, or 5.2 dwellings. That means maybe 20 people can have a house for them to live in – not bad, a good idea, may be even practicable. Turn around times of Territory Housing houses is 68 days – some three times the national average. So, what housing stock we have, be it limited, we are slow at turning around. Whilst the queues at our refuge centres are growing – Somerville House, Mission Australia – we are slow at delivering, which seems to be a common thread with this government.
Our average occupancy is down compared to the national average yet we still have people who are verging on homeless, some who are homeless, and need our help. We need to recognise this. We also have some 421 dwellings that are deemed to be moderately overcrowded. What ‘moderately overcrowded’ is, I am uncertain, but that is overcrowded. That means that either we do not have the dwellings required to put them in, or they all choose to overcrowd themselves. I suggest that we simply do not have the dwellings and we have failed to deliver.
This is the government that says that they will need to deliver immediately in the future - immediately in the future, sometime. We go from the number of 1700 houses immediately in the future which is on page 6 of the Chief Minister’s statement and we turn to a future page, page 11 - some distance but close to or near the other comment; maybe further enough so you can be confused – where he talked about Bellamack and its lot yields; that in the immediate future, with such urgency to roll out land - and I clearly say it is urgent to get land out there for people to buy and be able to build, particularly while the interest rates are good for them. We are only going to be able to turn off 150 lots of land from Bellamack by the end of 2009, where we should be perhaps turning those off in the early part of 2009 so that we can keep our builders employed, and start building these homes for these people who urgently need them. Johnston will yield 400 in 2009, which is a decent number. However, if you add those two numbers together that is only 550 in 2009 - 1150 lots short of your immediate future requirements of 1700 dwellings required annually.
Does that mean next year we require nearly 3000 to be completed? To be honest, that is not going to be achievable; it is a compounded effect. It is like when you unnecessarily borrow money and you never repay it; it continues to compound.
I do not know whether the Chief Minister has deliberately separated those sets of figures to confuse people or not but, if you put them on top of each other - and we can fold the paper and put them like that and say: ‘Look, there they are’. On one hand he is saying that we must immediately deliver 1700 dwellings and, several pages later, he says that we will only actually turn out 550 lots. Who does he think he is kidding? Who is he fooling? Or is he just fooling himself? Or has he trusted one too many advisors to give him the numbers? It is atrocious to think that the Chief Minister cannot even sort out the basic maths. I know the Treasurer would have no problems using a calculator to evaluate those simple numbers. I can do them pretty loosely without a calculator, so I would hope that the Chief Minister could too.
The people are telling us: ‘We need the housing now’. The economic crisis in the world is telling us that we will - not might, not a possibility, we will - need more public housing. Do you think that the people without jobs, without the money to pay for their homes, will be able to afford their home? No, they will not. They will need emergency crisis care. They will need a house that will support their family. That is going to be the role of the government - always has been, always will be.
After World War II we had some settlement blocks handed over to our Diggers. Is that what we will need to do, hand over land? How will this government deal with an urgent need for more housing when they only intend to roll out 550 blocks in the greater Darwin region this year, or 11 months now, because we have used up some of it? It leaves me very concerned that the people who urgently need the support of this government in this financial crisis period are not going to find that support.
We are already seeing an increased burden upon the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Mission Australia, and Somerville. We are seeing the burden that they will not be able to carry by themselves. It is the government that has those resources, but we have squandered them. This government continues to off sell the housing we need. They continue to fail to deliver sufficient …
Ms Scrymgour: Off sell! There is no such word as off sell.
Mr BOHLIN: I have made a confusion of words. I apologise.
Ms Scrymgour: You are the one confusing yourself. That is about it.
Mr BOHLIN: I am quite happy to apologise, I am sorry. I created a new word. We can add that to the dictionary this year. Thank you.
If we cannot support these people, who will? What is there to catch the people who will not have a house at the end of the year? Do we hear the government talking of this yet? We do not. Are they closing their eyes, hoping that it will not occur? It will occur. It is occurring right now. We need to be able to support our people and this government is missing in action when it comes to supporting those people. As we saw in January: all missing in action and no one there to deal with the problems. The problems are there, the problems are real, and I do not think the government we have has the ability to deal with it.
The problems we have with our water supply are real, and what a perfect time to deliver such a project. We are investing in the future of the Northern Territory and its people by ensuring it has a water supply, but we might just ignore that just in case we can get away with it. It would also mean jobs. It would support industries like the mines. They support our industries. Creating sustainable water catchment areas will support our industries.
I am significantly worried for the people who may not fare so well through this storm because I do not think our safety net is there any more. I grew up in a Housing Commission house. I understand that without that we may not have been so lucky. It was an important part of our culture. It was the safety net that was a normal part of life, and this government continues to close their eyes and play peekaboo with reality. Reality is real if you just ask the right people. Get out of your cocoons. Go and visit some places, and be honest and fair and ask them real questions. Have a cup of tea with them. They will tell you that there are people hurting whilst you play with ‘in the future immediately’.
In the future, an immediate future, I do not think the Chief Minister knows which way he wishes to go. I think he may wish to get into his DeLorean and fly back to some other time when he was much better wanted.
Mr McCARTHY (Transport): Madam Speaker, the Chief Minister has outlined initiatives this government is taking to meet the Territory’s growth needs. The key idea behind the statement is summed up in a couple of concepts: growth and confidence. None of us here are kidding ourselves that the Northern Territory will be unaffected by the toxic debt that has crippled the international markets through a collapse in credit available to everyone, from small business to large corporations.
Back home, in Tennant Creek, for so long the victim of rises and falls in the resources and the agricultural commodity market, is well versed in the vicissitudes of the economy and no stranger to hard times. Yet, in a world in which the word growth has disappeared from the economic vocabulary it is a word still very much at the forefront of this government’s thinking and there are no options for us to do otherwise.
Growth and confidence. Our economy still is growing. Our general population growth is the second highest in the nation. Our remote population is set to double within a generation. We are obliged to plan for and invest in growing the future. There have been many quotes and we have heard the figures from the Chief Minister, but let us put them in to perspective. Between now and 2021, a short 12 years away, the greater Darwin area is said to increase in population by 39 000, the equivalent of nearly four towns the size of Katherine. That is a town the size of Katherine every three years. Let us go back to Tennant Creek. Only a few years ago, property was being sold, if you could find a buyer, for next to nothing. But just recently, under this government, nine new blocks of residential land were auctioned and were sold. The government is now looking at infrastructure needs for the release of a further 40 blocks in Tennant Creek.
This has been possible for two reasons: growth and confidence …
Mr ELFERINK: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I was wondering if the minister would be kind enough to tell me what the average sale price of those blocks were?
Madam SPEAKER: There is no point of order.
Mr Elferink: Go on, what was the average sale price?
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr Elferink: He does not know, because it has been written for him.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, cease interjecting.
Mr Knight: You are a smart arse.
Mr Elferink: Why do you not actually learn your portfolios?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, you are on a warning.
Mr GILES: A point of order, Madam Speaker! I would like the words withdrawn that the Minister for Housing has just used …
Madam SPEAKER: I am sorry I was not able to hear, there was far too much yelling. Resume your seat. There was far too much disorder. I was unable to hear anything other than the yelling of the member for Port Darwin, which was completely unacceptable. Member for Daly, is there something that you said which was offensive? If there was, I ask you to withdraw.
Mr KNIGHT: Madam Speaker, I withdraw the word ‘smart arse’.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Daly, it is really unacceptable. Thank you for withdrawing that, but it is clearly unacceptable language in this House. Minister for Transport, please continue.
Mr McCARTHY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Let me reiterate to my parliamentary colleagues, growth and confidence, not negativity, not insinuating second class, not trying to run down Tennant Creek, the economy or the government. I will get back to growth and confidence. Let us talk about this government reaching an Indigenous Land Use Agreement with the Patta Warumungu native title claimants in 2007. This allows confidence in planning, and confidence in dealing with town lands for future commercial, industrial and residential development. It is in response to a government that encourages investment projects which build and sustain employment and an economy in which the private sector is encouraged and prepared to invest.
The real tragedy in all of this, from what I hear in this debate, is that those opposite have lost the concept of growth and confidence. It is why they have happily rejected the nation building programs of the Rudd Labor government which are designed to invest in sustained employment and to stimulate growth. It is why they have cheerfully rejected the vital spending to come to the Territory through this program on housing, on education and on infrastructure.
The key to growing the Territory, as the Chief Minister rightly pointed out, is in planning for the future and investing in the future. That is what the Rudd stimulus package is all about, and that is what this government is about.
This is nowhere more important for the Territory than in the provision of transport. Although we comprise only one percent of the Australian population, we cover a sixth of the continent. Our transport needs are, as a consequence, enormous. This is something that I can speak of from knocking around the bush in the Barkly for the past three decades. It is hard country, it is remote country and getting around has always been difficult. The member for Nelson would know this from his recent road trips into the Barkly and I commend him for that. This government, in growing the Territory, is working to change that isolation.
Remote and regional areas of the Northern Territory have a small and widely dispersed population that covers a vast geographical area and face extreme climatic conditions. The recent, and continuing, disruptions to roads during the Wet Season are evidence of that. These conditions provide considerable challenges for the provision of transport services to these areas; transport to connect remote communities with the major regional service centres which is critical for social and economic development in the Territory.
We are focusing on regional areas and transport is vital to growing a regional and remote Territory. Reliable transport services and road access are also fundamental for the successful implementation of Northern Territory government initiatives aimed at building stronger and safer remote communities, including to enhance business and tourism development opportunities, and provide for greater education, health and social outcomes - building regional towns.
The different nature of the communities in the Northern Territory means that a mix of road, air and marine transport is required across the different regions, and that is reflected in the fresh ideas outlined by the Chief Minister. That is what we aim to achieve, and that is what the community demands.
A 10-year roads plan is currently in preparation. A 10-year infrastructure strategy is soon to be completed and a strategic land use plan is being developed. This body of work is fundamental to planning for future growth and will underpin further work, particularly for the development of an integrated regional transport strategy which coordinates transport services and infrastructure delivery across the Northern Territory. An integrated transport strategy for the Northern Territory is needed to establish a set of principles for the development of transport policy in the Northern Territory and provide a guiding framework for strategic transport planning.
The transport strategy from this government is based on certain goals: sustainable social inclusion, community engagement, and economic participation. It is a transport strategy designed around meeting future needs and the growing Territory. Again, one can only be puzzled as to why the opposition oppose a Commonwealth government stimulus package, because a significant amount of resources from that package will flow to the Territory.
The Territory is set to benefit across the construction sector with approximately $200m to flow through to Territory infrastructure, including Territory roads and rail crossings. Black spots, boom gates and community infrastructure component of the stimulus package provides $890m to improve community infrastructure for local councils and road safety around the nation. This will fund an expected 350 additional road safety improvement projects across the country under the Black Spot Program in 2008-09 and 2009-10, including projects on our national highways.
An extra $150m will be spent in 2008-09 on repairing regional roads, with the majority of the funding to be allocated to the jurisdictions with the largest backlogs of maintenance projects, including the Northern Territory. We are encouraged by the Commonwealth’s acknowledgment of the challenges in the Territory, where only 23% of our large road network is sealed. The Infrastructure minister has actively lobbied her federal counterparts about the need for more roads funding in the Territory, and we are hopeful of more funding to come on top of the package from our bid to Infrastructure Australia. It is certainly something that I will be taking up in my new role as Transport minister.
This package also delivers $2.52m over two years to fast-track rail safety improvements, including boom gate installation and other safety measures. The Territory is in a good position to receive this funding. It complements our own $4.26m program. We have already completed an Australian level crossing assessment model audit across our rail crossings - a criteria to receive this funding. Twelve priority rail crossings across the Territory have been identified for upgrade, which will include more crossing signals, boom gates, bells, advance warning signs and vegetation management.
Madam Speaker, I support the Chief Minister’s statement. In closing, I expect the opposition to address three points: (1) from my parliamentary colleague, to take an acknowledged look at the world economists; (2) to accept a very recent comment by some senior banking officials in Australia: that one way to stimulate this economy, particularly for the Territory, is to invest in infrastructure and construction that spreads right down through the whole community; and (3) to assess the psychological damage of continual negativity that is bombarding the community. I commend the Chief Minister in the interests of growth and confidence.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I was going to get up a couple of hours ago but I got pushed in front of by our deputy, which was unfortunate. However, I did have the opportunity to hear one of the bushies, the Minister for Regional Development, jump in and say something. Then I was pushed in front of again by the member for Drysdale, so I had an opportunity to listen to the member for Barkly. I will quickly touch on a couple of things that the member for Barkly finished on. The point is that we do not see the stimulus package as a negative for the Territory; we see it as a positive. However, it is what is in the package that is not the most positive thing for the Territory. It could be further refined, and it could be done differently.
I refer to 2007 because people talk about the global financial crisis. It is quite an easy thing to blame the global financial crisis on the expected outcomes for the Northern Territory and for all of Australia. In actual effect, the global financial crisis does not have to have a negative impact on Australia or on the Northern Territory. We saw the SARS virus and 11 September; that was not a negative impact on Australia as was seen overseas. The global financial crisis will have an impact in the Northern Territory but it does not have to be as significant as it is.
Business and consumer confidence started eroding, in my opinion, when the polls started turning negative against Howard in 2007. People knew if Howard lost that the economy would go down, unemployment would go up, business confidence would go down - and that is exactly what has happened. The global financial crisis, which is real and which is evident around the world, is a great example to be able to blame poor economic management by the federal Labor government as it brings on a Kevin Rudd recession in Australia. The easiest thing to blame that on is a global financial crisis, and that is where we are now.
The member for Fong Lim spoke about the repayment of $96bn in government debt since the Howard government came to power. What he did not talk about though was the creation of a future fund for medical, the creation of a future fund for university infrastructure, the creation of a future fund for telecommunications infrastructure. There was plenty of money put aside during the Howard years, where money can be utilised in the crisis that we see coming to the Northern Territory. The member for Fong Lim spoke about whether or not the mining minister has been lobbying the federal minister for the Environment about the 300 jobs at McArthur River Mine. The question also has to be asked: has the Education minister, the previous one or the new one, taken up the opportunity of lobbying the federal government about getting some money for the university infrastructure to build up CDU? There are opportunities. There are buckets of money there already. So, in response to the discussion about the stimulus package put up by the federal government, there are other opportunities on the table.
Telecommunications: the roll-out of telecommunications in the bush would be great for the bush. The money is sitting in Canberra at the moment. There is an opportunity for us to create jobs utilising that money, so we should be investigating all avenues in that regard, and the same with medical and the rest of the future fund.
The concept by the federal government of putting money through the plan into schools in the Northern Territory, at first glance, seems like a good idea. I am sure there are plenty of schools that could do with it. I am not sure that every school could do with all that money. I do not think it is necessary for all schools; some schools could do it. But it is ill-conceived in the fact that the Northern Territory government had a plan of investing $200 000 for every school in the Northern Territory to upgrade its facilities, and I commend the Northern Territory government for that. I think it is a good idea. I believe it is a bit late in being delivered, but I do think it is a good idea.
Where the Rudd government stimulus package falls down is, it is actually duplicating what the Northern Territory government is already doing. It would have been far better placed to pool the education money and build new schools where kids can access the schools. There are plenty of kids in the Territory who cannot access schools, so instead of putting all the money into duplicating infrastructure into some schools, put money into building new infrastructure in a bigger package so that kids can get to school or kids have a school to go to. Instead of spending $200 000 on upgrading a hall that may not necessarily need the full impact of upgrading a hall, why not put the money towards transport services so kids can actually get to school. There are plenty of kids in the Territory who cannot get to schools. There are kids in Alice Springs who cannot get to school. There are kids who are 60 km out of Alice Springs who still cannot get to school. It is about what is in the package, not the package itself.
We do not need to go into debt of $200bn when there is money put aside. What we are seeing coming on is a Rudd recession. Although the Labor government has supported the stimulus package that has been discussed widely today, there has not been a lot of discussion about the $950, or the impact on the Northern Territory economy of the thousands of dollars that was paid before Christmas – whether it had positive impact for the retailers in the Northern Territory, where that positive impact was put – was it put into clothing or plasma televisions, or poker machines, or alcohol. What were the negative impacts that came out of that stimulus in December? Were there increases in law and order issues, was there more money that needed to be spent on the judicial system, were there more family breakdowns? We have to have a complete analysis of this before you start supporting a $950 additional payment to people.
I know anecdotally, in my town of Alice Springs, that there were more people drunk on the streets, there were more people locked up. In January, we had the highest number of break-ins in Alice Springs that we have ever had. There were negative elements that came out of it. You have to look at the positive and negative sides of things. I do not agree that $950 is the best bang for your buck to get long-term jobs.
The only thing that that immediate stimulus is designed to do is to play politics on behalf of the Rudd government. It is designed to play politics because back in the Keating days we had that recession we had to have. Rudd will do anything to avoid having another recession. That is exactly what is happening now. This is political, because if it goes into recession, it paints Labor with two tarred brushes of a recession in a row. That is exactly what he is trying to prevent happening. That is why the stimulus was in December - to boost the quarter’s retail figures so it did not look like they were going backwards. And then we will get another $950.
It reminds me of a joke that seems to somehow get sent around all the time on e-mails. It is the one about the little kid who talks to his Mum and Dad and asks: ‘What is the difference between Labor and Liberal?’ The mum, being a Labor supporter, says to the little child: ‘See that person over there that is homeless? He cannot afford any dinner. We will give him $50 so he can have a feed. That is what the people in the Labor party do’. Then the dad, always keen to start up a fight, being a Liberal supporter, said: ‘I tell you what we will do. We will get that person a job so he can earn an income, so he can buy his dinner for every day for the rest of his life’. And that is the difference. We can give people $950 so they can pay their rent or buy their dinner or pay off debt or gambling or grog or whatever it may be for that person but it does not help that person in the longer term.
Sure it might help the retail sales figures go up and there will be GST revenue that will come in, and there will be different taxes that are taken off and it might get a couple of people employed for a couple of weeks but, in the longer term, that will not happen. That is exactly the position we are in now after the December input that happened. It is not the size of the stimulus that is a problem but it is the design of the stimulus.
We need infrastructure in the Territory and, if you were so keen on infrastructure you would be going back to the federal member for Lingiari who, in November 2007, promised to build a multimillion dollar bypass around Katherine, a Daly River bridge, and wanted to do a lot more infrastructure on the roads. That was coming out of the federal government as election promises. These are the things that you should be pleading for, not just backing on something that is a political stimulus by the Prime Minister to try to save his skin and save Labor’s skin, because that is all it is designed to do. It is not designed for anything else. Some of the infrastructure elements maybe, but the cash bonus is about the polls and it is about nothing else but the polls. Maybe you need to get some free money put out there, member for Daly. Put some free money out there and you might save your skin next time around.
I want to talk about the title of the statement - Growing the Territory Land Release. I thought there would have been a lot spoken about land release today. It took me back to 8 June 2008 when the now Deputy Chief Minister ran a planning forum in Alice Springs and talked about the future of Alice Springs and land release and development. That is what creates jobs and that is what stops us from going into recession. In previous decades, when the rest of the country was burning, Alice Springs was booming. It is about land release, it is about housing construction, it is about growing jobs which supports retail and tourism. From that June meeting there was supposed to be a report brought down in November to say this is the future for Alice Springs. Alice Springs people are crying out for that report to be released. I have asked for it to be done many times before Christmas and post Christmas – so we know how we can support our construction industry and housing development.
I have spoken in this House before about housing shortages in Central Australia and it is at crisis level when rental vacancies are at 0.03%, public housing is full, overcrowded, there are long waiting list – four to five years for different types of accommodation. It is a problem. We have an opportunity for a solution here, but the Deputy Chief Minister will not release that report about the future for Alice Springs.
I have been working in a bipartisan way with the previous Minister for Central Australia, the member for Macdonnell. I decided something needed to be done, so within our local branch in Alice Springs I have put forward a discussion paper about how we can take things forward in Alice Springs. The Country Liberals in Alice Springs are not in government but we are getting ready for government for when it comes around next term and I have had to take the leadership for our own plan. It is not just a policy position. We have to come up with our plan because this government will not release a plan.
This whole paper is supposed to be about land release but it did not talk about anywhere in the bush. It had nine blocks in Tennant Creek and I respect that and I know there are other opportunities there. It did not really go in to Nhulunbuy. I did not hear Borroloola mentioned. I did not hear any of the Aboriginal communities - and I understand there are complications with the leasing arrangements and the process. I would have thought Alice Springs, being the third biggest town, would have had a plan for land release, or an economic stimulus package by the Northern Territory government on how to create jobs.
We are going to get an impact on the tourism industry, jobs will decline, economic turnover will go backwards, retail spending will go down, through both tourism and local events, and now is a prime opportunity to release the land.
It says in here that we have 40 blocks. What is 40 blocks? And they are still a long way from coming on line. What we should be doing is releasing that plan by the Planning minister immediately so we can set forth what we are going to do in Alice Springs to create jobs and to create housing.
We have spoken a lot today about the budget of the Northern Territory and the $200m black hole, but there is much within that Territory budget that is funded by the Australian government such as the SIHIP program. The money comes in and it is supposed to deliver housing to the bush regions. Well, that is delivering a program, but there is no policy around that. How you are going to expand that further? Once that money runs out, the Brough money, the Howard money, the GST dollars, once that runs out what is the plan for those communities? What is the future housing plan? You do not have a plan. We know that…
A member: There is, it is in the SIHIP program. Ongoing jobs.
Mr GILES: I think that I have just said the SIHIP program, the Howard government’s SIHIP dollars that have come down to help boost your coffers to try to roll these things out so you can spend in other areas and not concentrate on helping Aboriginal people in their housing. You just let Brough’s dollars do that and then criticise them.
Let me tell you, the only way you house Aboriginal people these days is by putting them in gaol. It is your government that has put the Indigenous prison population up to 89%. That is where you are housing people. You are not building houses for people on your own bat.
The waiting list in Alice Springs now – create a construction industry and build houses. I was part of those decisions, I know what it is about and I know where the money came from. It would not come from your initiative. Build houses in Alice Springs.
I have put on the Notice Paper that the next General Business day I want to talk about establishing a parliamentary committee in Central Australia and I would like to support for that committee. I would like to put development and growth, creation of jobs in Central Australia, in the Alice Springs region, firmly on the Notice Paper as the first agenda item so we can look at how we move forward with planning and how we can move forward with job creation in Central Australia. The only way we are going to stimulate our industry is through the construction industry, the large scale measures to create lots of jobs, to support our retailers, our suppliers, and our transporters. It will have the biggest stimulus you can have in central Australia.
If you roll off 200, 300 or 400 houses or lots in a fast way that can have a positive impact, and that is what we should be doing. And no one in government has spoken about that. The planning paper has not been released and we have only had negativity about not supporting the stimulus package, and these are other ways to do that.
I have not heard the new minister, or the previous Transport minister, talk about the new fatigue management laws, where the rest stops every 100 km are going to be on the roads; that is part of the new process that is coming in. The federal government stimulus package could have supported that. That is not in the stimulus package. There are things that could be in the stimulus package. The stimulus package should be infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure, which is about jobs in the long term. That is what we should be looking at. We should be looking at how we can help out places like Borroloola. How we can get greater land release in subdivisions in places like Hermannsburg, albeit with a controversy surrounding some of those things there, with town leasing.
We need that plan. The plan will create the jobs with the housing release and we can stimulate things to move forward. That will grow the Territory greatly. The current plan by this Northern Territory government has seen Alice Springs go from the second biggest town to the third biggest town. With the announcement of Weddell, although I appreciate that is good, we will see Alice Springs go to the fourth biggest town. There is no growth strategy for Alice Springs; there is absolutely no growth strategy. No development strategy, no planning strategy, no nothing.
I know you do not get votes there and I know that the people support the Country Liberals there, but I would think that when you are elected to govern that you should govern for all, and you should have a plan for Alice Springs.
Madam Speaker, I will just finish on a couple of items that can be taken forward. I heard the new Minister for Correctional Services speak earlier about rehabilitation centres, or it might have been a paper I saw. Some things that the Country Liberals locally in Alice Springs have put forward and have put forward as a party is support for building a rehabilitation centre for chronic alcoholics. We are talking about a place of up to 80 beds where we could try to help people who have chronic alcohol problems. That is also part of a stimulus on how that can be done. This is a necessary requirement for Alice Springs or Central Australia to have this service. That could have been part of an infrastructure stimulus package to support Alice Springs. It would have created jobs in the building and construction phase and would have created long-term jobs in servicing these people. That is something that could be done.
The building of a halfway house for up to 20 people who come out of gaol can be supported through employment for six or 12 months, taught living, employment and housing skills, and slowly transition them into the private sector market because you are out there building more houses. These are the things that should have been in that smart stimulus package, not just a ‘political saving face to avoid a recession’ announcement put out in Canberra. This was not tailored to the regions. It was not tailored to the jurisdictions at all. Darwin has necessary needs, Tennant Creek has necessary needs, Nhulunbuy has needs, and Central Australia has needs. That is what the stimulus package should have been: something designed around what is required in each specific area. It did not happen.
I will leave it there, Madam Speaker. I reiterate that it is an absolute disgrace that this land release economic package that was put out today forgot about Alice Springs, forgot about Central Australia. The negativity surrounding this stimulus package and the position of the Country Liberals – yes, we know that there needs to be a stimulus but the model did not support the Territory and did not support the regions within the Territory.
Mr GUNNER (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, the Chief Minister’s statement has been delivered during a time of global economic crisis, and all speakers have touched upon that today. We have read the newspapers, read the Internet, watched the television news, and seen what is happening around the world with the stock markets, the currency exchange rates, the financial institutions, banks, insurance companies, the impact on people, on families, of unemployment going up, mortgage stress, loss of retirement savings - and we are not immune. We are not immune in the Territory. As a government, our budget is heavily reliant on the national economy.
Yet, this is the time when we must lead. We must act with confidence, plan with confidence and invest with confidence. The economy is, in many respects, a confidence game. We cannot lose sight of the fact that the Northern Territory is in a healthier state than other places around the country and around the world. We are still growing. Access Economics says 4.7% this year and 2.4% next year. It is easy for people to get caught up in the global problems, to see what they are seeing and hearing in the media and to react to that, to become negative. However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the Territory is still growing. Things are still happening here. We, unlike many, still have positive economic growth, positive population growth, and projects like INPEX and ConocoPhillips coming.
It is with this positive growth in mind that we must plan for the future. The Chief Minister’s decision in August last year to establish a Territory Growth Planning Unit within the Department of Chief Minister was sensible. It was an acknowledgement that we can plan better, we can plan smarter. We need to do it on two levels: for the immediate to medium-term, say the next five or so years, and for the long-term future where the Territory will be in 2030. It is important that we see planning for the medium-term future as being around that five-plus year mark as it puts it beyond one government term. It puts it beyond an ordinary election period, beyond that electoral cycle.
We can see in the statement the Chief Minister has delivered today the level of detail and research that had been done by the Territory Growth Planning Unit. The twofold result of that work is in many respects self-evident. There is going to be a significant population increase in the greater Darwin and Palmerston area, and occurring in remote communities. What is important and what the Chief Minister spoke about today and the work that has been done by the Territory Growth Planning Unit is where the growth will occur and the nature of that growth: the kind of family units we can expect, and the likely age breakdowns. In other words, the level of detail we needed to know to work out what we must do to meet it.
In Darwin and Palmerston, we are all aware of the pressures people are feeling right now in finding housing, to pay the rent, to break into the housing market for purchasing. The challenge we face here is placed in a stark and practical context by the population projections for Darwin and Palmerston, a 55% increase by 2030, which breaks down to roughly 1700 homes a year. That is big challenge. The work the Territory Growth Planning Unit has done to drill down into those figures allows us to plan and to balance the type of land we need to release, where, the different densities we will need and, importantly, the infrastructure and services we will need to budget for.
Before getting into those services, I want to talk about the trend. The Territory Growth Planning Unit has identified that our population is ageing. We will remain the youngest jurisdiction in Australia, but it is already evident in my electorate that we have a growing need to better accommodate our seniors. This is a conversation I am already having with my constituency, with the Seniors minister and the Housing minister.
People often want to remain if they can in the community they live in. Often it is the community they grew up, especially in my electorate around Parap, Fannie Bay and Stuart Park – there are many long-term residents. On the old Waratah Oval site, we have the new Southern Cross Care integrated aged care development, and Stage 1 of that has been approved. We have already built a public senior village in Fannie Bay on the site of the old Kurringal units. We knocked down five of the eight tower blocks, and we have identified that Sports House will, in the future, be used to meet the needs of seniors, whether that is for housing, or if it is for medical or other requirements. We have identified that block next to the old Waratahs Oval site and the Kurringal/Fannie Bay Seniors Villages as being important for future seniors needs. We have also promised at the last election that Pitscheneder Court, a public housing complex on Parap Road, will be redeveloped as a public housing seniors village.
As the Minister for Housing said, we are working right now on our plan for public housing in Parap. The first stage is to knock down Wirrina and rebuild that as a mixed public/private housing complex. There is a lot of work that has to go into that, most particularly taking care of the tenants already living in there and working with them about where they can go, but we can do that. The mixed public/private model is a model that has been demonstrated to work. We have also said we will work affordable housing into that model on that site at Wirrina.
What is interesting about what we are doing at Wirrina, and I have been talking with the Housing Minister about this, I believe it is worth exploring the capacity for the proposed seniors development at Pitscheneder Court to make that a mixed public/private development, whether it is possible to allow the private market into that. Now, there are obviously challenges there and I think we can meet those challenges but it is worth discussing. I am working with people in my electorate on it, I am talking to the Seniors minister, and I am talking to the Housing Minister about it.
For example, in my electorate there are people living one person in a four-bedroom house. They are over 60 years old; they are asset rich and cash poor. They do not necessarily qualify for public housing but they will not necessarily be able to afford the new Southern Cross Care development either. These are the kind of people who would be interested in buying into a public housing seniors village if we could get across those challenges and make it public/private.
In the Chief Minister’s statement, our population of people aged over 60 in Darwin is flagged to increase by 18 000 people, or 170%. There are some real challenges here and we need to meet them with a variety of housing models and we need to look at the services we provide. The member for Nelson touched on some of those needs as well in his electorate. The conservative estimates of the work we need to do, the services we need to provide, based on the population figures the Chief Minister touched upon in his statement, are clear. Schools for 7000 new students, 430 additional teachers, 172 extra police, 293 more nurses, 54 additional doctors, 121 more hospital beds – and that is conservatively. These are minimum needs. They will all have flow-on costs. They will all have significant recurrent impacts on the budget and we need to be making allowance for that now, knowing what is coming down the line.
But the things the Chief Minister talked about there are in addition to the work we are already doing right now. The Chief Minister went through a significant list of things there, but perhaps the most important was the establishment of a new city in the Territory, Weddell. It is an exciting development and we need to get it right. Parks, education, health, public transport, the carbon footprint, sporting and community infrastructure and governance are just some of the challenges we are going to face there, but they are welcome challenges when you consider the current global context. We are planning confidently for the future, investing with confidence. As I said at the start, the economy is often a confidence game, and we are confident in the future of this place and that is why we are planning with confidence. That is why I commend the statement to the House.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for his statement on growing the Territory and for the strong leadership he brings to Territorians on this very important subject of growth. Indeed, our need to plan for the future and growth is a pressing matter for any government and one of the reasons why I am sure the Chief Minister announced in August 2008 the formation of the Territory Growth Planning Unit followed by the establishment of the Territory 2030 steering committee. The far reaching work of this committee will assist the government to provide a planning direction for the next 20 years in the Northern Territory.
As the member for Nhulunbuy, I can say that Nhulunbuy township – forgive me, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: I understand the member for Nhulunbuy’s microphone is not working properly so you have my leave to stand at my chair there.
Ms WALKER: My apologies, I forgot.
Madam Speaker, as the member for Nhulunbuy, I can say that Nhulunbuy township and the surrounding communities that make up the Nhulunbuy electorate certainly seek and welcome opportunities to support the region’s growth, development and strengthening of infrastructure and with it training and employment to provide a better and stronger future.
Whilst there may be a more pressing need since the realisation of the impact of the global economic downturn to provide stimulus, there were already a range of initiatives under way and committed to before we found ourselves in the current economic climate. As honourable members have heard during a number of debates and reports in this Chamber, the Strategic Indigenous Housing Improvement Plan, or SIHIP as it is known, is a bold and costly but very necessary joint initiative of the federal and territory governments. It will address the chronic housing shortage and the terrible state of disrepair of so many houses in Indigenous communities. Of course it is very much this type of infrastructure program which is at the heart of the current stimulus package.
In the Nhulunbuy electorate the communities of Yirrkala, Galiwinku and Gunyangara, and the people - the families and the children - who live there will benefit from a total of over $45m being spent on the SIHIP program. Improved living conditions will bring with it improvements in health and education, as this government works towards closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage. At the outset, the SIHIP program will also bring with it employment and training opportunities for those who live in the communities. To ensure that this occurs, it is a part of the contractual arrangements in place for the alliance partners who have been successful in securing contracts that they must plan for and demonstrate that they are training and employing local Indigenous people. This measure not only creates a degree of ownership in the construction of housing but also provides these communities and their residents with lasting and valuable skills well into the future.
As I talk about skills and training, growth in that area will also be supported through the Nhulunbuy regional jobs training hub. This initiative was flagged as an election commitment and recognises that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution to matching jobs and training, and hence this project is an important pilot program to provide a model for other regional centres.
This initiative affirms the government’s commitment to providing strong support for regional economic development. The hub will provide an analysis of the job market in the East Arnhem region, a better understanding of what jobs are available, and facilitate the matching of training requirements and skills of jobseekers for those available jobs. Consultations with stakeholders to investigate options for the Nhulunbuy regional job hub have been thorough and widespread across a number of businesses, government agencies and service providers. Obviously, discussions have also involved community leaders. Meetings were held in January and February in Darwin and Nhulunbuy and there were early meetings in September with officers from the Employment Division within the Department of Business and Employment.
At this point, a model and implementation plan for the Nhulunbuy hub is soon to be presented to the minister for Business, before seeing it, all being well, operating by the third quarter of this year. I feel quite confident that we will have a very workable outcome that will see people with the right skills matched to the right jobs. The hub will have a strong local focus and it will be an important source of information on a range of matters associated with the local job market. Accurate local information will enable the government to better direct investment, matching training to individuals to business needs and, as I said, available jobs.
In the Nhulunbuy region we have a number of organisations and businesses which work hard to contribute to training and employment and each of them have much to offer to the proposed hub. What is more, each of them and the people they represent, who are mainly Yolngu, stand to gain enormously from the hub concept. If the development of a training hub for Nhulunbuy is important because it recognises local needs, then I would also like to flag the importance of growing our own in other areas of critical employment. As my colleagues in bush electorates know only too well, attracting and retaining skilled workers to regional and remote areas brings with it some real and certainly very unique challenges. I believe this government has worked hard to meet the demands of the Territory and Territorians in increasing the number of police, nurses and teachers to record levels. And, as it should be, education, health and law and order are at the core of people’s lives - men, women and especially children.
At Galiwinku on Elcho Island in my electorate we will see in March – next month – the opening of its new and very own police station which will be home to police officers to be stationed there permanently. This service will also extend to looking after all the homeland communities, the Marthakal homeland communities which are an extension of the Elcho Island community, and it will certainly bring to an end a situation of rotating police officers from Nhulunbuy Police Station. More importantly, it will provide assurance to the 2000 or so people who live in Galiwinku that they have dedicated police officers and law and order support and enforcement living alongside them in the community.
One profession which remains a constant challenge in attraction and retention is doctors; something I know our Health ministers past and present know only too well. Nhulunbuy is privileged to have a branch open for just over 12 months now of the Northern Territory Rural Clinical School, which is an arm of Flinders University. The Northern Territory Rural Clinical School aims to provide placements for medical students from first through to final year studies to give them exposure to the challenges of remote clinical experience with Indigenous health, a large part of their exposure. The program also aims to provide students with a holistic experience by bringing them into and immersing them in community life and exposing them to the wonderful and unique lifestyle and benefits that come with the Territory’s remote regions.
In September last year, I met with a number of students who had recently arrived. Amongst them were two young men from Darwin who, on completion of their schooling in Darwin, had accepted places to study medicine at James Cook University in Townsville. They had leapt at the opportunity to spend a two month stint attached to Gove District Hospital while also being actively involved in outreach services as part of their clinical learning and exposure.
If the Territory is to continue to grow, then we must continue to make a concerted effort to grow our own and train our own workforce. Who knows, maybe one day we might even see a medical school at Charles Darwin University. I may be talking to the converted in this Chamber, but the Territory is the best place to live, work, and raise a family. We need to attract and keep those people here and, ideally, grow our own.
The Chief Minister has provided in his statement a good deal of data around population growth and recognises that in remote communities the population growth has been trending upwards for some time. With this has come the recognition that we need to shift our thinking away from regarding the larger communities as communities, but rather to transform these places to towns with the necessary infrastructure, planning and economic base which would not be dissimilar to what we see and expect of other small towns around Australia. The Chief Minister in his statement, and reiterated by the member for Daly, mentioned that in a little under 15 years the community of Wadeye, which is in the electorate of Daly, will be the same size as the town of Nhulunbuy – that is over 4000 people.
Amongst the 20 future towns which have been identified around the Territory there are two in the electorate of Nhulunbuy. They are Yirrkala, and Galiwinku on Elcho Island. For me, this is a very logical step in planning for growth. It is also a logical step to progress directly from the introduction of local government reforms and formation of shires. Galiwinku and Yirrkala are both major centres for delivery of municipal services in the East Arnhem Shire. While the roll-out of shires has not been without its challenges and as we would expect when we have such significant changes implemented, in my electorate we are starting to see great progress and, above all, better delivery of services on the ground in communities. For these two communities, Yirrkala and Galiwinku, to make that transition to towns with all the services and enterprises one would expect to find in a small town, will allow the growth and development of both employment and business.
In a recent media release the former Minister for Business and Employment summed it up by saying, and I quote:
- We need to consider each community on the basis of its aspirations, assets, opportunities and challenges and understand where the gaps and barriers
to development exist in order to develop a targeted approach.
Of course this was specifically in relation to the results of a comparative study which my colleague, the Minister for Regional Development, has talked about – the study between Maningrida and Gundagai in New South Wales which revealed the enormous gap in business enterprise between these two similarly sized communities and the gap that we need to work towards closing.
Madam Speaker, the laying of fibre optic cable between Jabiru and Nhulunbuy, a $34m project, is now completed and is evidence of a successful partnership this government has had with Telstra, Rio Tinto and the Northern Land Council, and it has brought fantastic results.
The $34m Arnhem Land broadband project was a significant infrastructure project and, as I have already said, delivered better services. It will dramatically improve communication channels and support core services around health and education. At a time when we will see considerable funding boosts to schools through this economic stimulus packages, the reality of schools in small communities is that they will have smart boards and virtual classrooms. Delivery of health services to remote locations will also be boosted by technology, all made possible through the completion of this project.
Similarly, fibre optic cable also opens up the business opportunities in my region and, with it, an increase in efficiencies. The homeland communities now have access, and new opportunities, to markets for their businesses not previously available. This will allow small communities like Mata Mata, on the coast of my electorate and home to the delightful Phyllis Binmilla, to sell her artwork online. That project, in itself, has been further boosted by a recent Commonwealth grant to renovate a building in her community to become an art studio.
Much of what the Chief Minister talked about was, quite rightly, about the importance of land release as underpinning population growth. I am encouraged, as I am sure others are, that land release will bring with it much-needed housing and jobs to see them built. Land release in the town of Nhulunbuy remains a challenge, but something which is, nevertheless, critical. I have spoken previously about the unique challenges that the town faces, existing as it does on a special purpose lease with mining company Rio Tinto Alcan, and under a federal agreement which was signed with the mining company in 1969. The end of the first term of this lease comes around in 2011.
Of course, over the years, Rio Tinto Alcan and its predecessors have released blocks of land for the building of homes to assist the needs beyond the mining community, private enterprise and government. While Territory Housing has good and well-maintained housing stock, it is insufficient to meet the needs of Territory government employees and public tenants. As local member, I have had many discussions with constituents, including local business people and public servants, who want to see land released. I know that discussions are well under way to look at what the options might be in Nhulunbuy for the future to see that land is released.
I have lived in Nhulunbuy for 19 of my 22 years in the Territory. It is an important and growing region. We do have a mining company at the heart of the community. In fact, it is why the whole town was established some 40 years ago. At this stage, I am fairly confident that Rio Tinto Alcan’s operations will continue well into the future. It is fair to say that in 2009, a little over 50% of the rates in the township are paid by Rio Tinto Alcan.
The people of Nhulunbuy have a vested interest in continuing to support the wonderful region that we live and work in, and we look forward, in turn, to the government’s continued support as our region’s population grows.
Madam Speaker, I commend the Chief Minister on his statement.
Mr HENDERSON (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, I thank all members for their contribution. At a time of global financial crisis and a slowing Australian economy, this was a debate we needed to have this evening to outline some of the plans the government has to cater for the underlying growth projects we see in the Northern Territory. I detailed some very precise and concise statistics which outline that growth and also outline the body of work we are doing in other regional towns and remote communities to deal with the population growth we are seeing in the Northern Territory. The debate has certainly occurred at an interesting time.
It was also an opportunity for all members to put their vision forward for how to cater for the growth projections we are seeing in the Northern Territory. It was interesting that members opposite did not really have a plan of their own to put forward.
As we were debating this statement, the Senate is debating its stimulus package. In that debate today, we heard that the CLP Senator for the Northern Territory, Mr Nigel Scullion, bagged the $42bn stimulus package and, by implication, in bagging that package, he is bagging the share of that package the Northern Territory will get. He was just promoting the Liberal Party and the National Party policy position without mentioning the potential it has for the Northern Territory.
I was at the COAG meeting. I was certainly at the presentation from the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, Treasury officials feverishly working behind me, about what this could mean for schools, roads, the people and housing, and even rail crossings for the Northern Territory. It is a significant potential investment from the Commonwealth to the Northern Territory which is not only going to improve infrastructure in the Territory, but underpins jobs at a time when there is a downturn in the economy and companies are laying off people.
Tonight, the CLP Senator hardly mentioned the Northern Territory in his speech. It was as though he was given a copy of the speech from Malcolm Turnbull’s office and told: ‘Away you go, this is what you have to say’. That is the CLP position on supporting - and that is their position. The CLP used to stand up for the Territory. You know, if there was a bag of money out there to be had for the Northern Territory, the good old CLP would have been saying, quite rightly: ‘That is our share. That is our right. We are going for our share of the money on behalf of Territorians’. But, not tonight. No, the Northern Territory should not get its share.
They are saying ‘no’ to new infrastructure in schools, they are saying ‘no’ to our share of the $6.6bn-worth of new housing. Goodness me, Madam Speaker, we debated tonight the pressures on rent due to the very low vacancy rate in rental housing across the Northern Territory. Well, our share of this money, and we are still working it out, but even 185 new Defence houses means that Defence Force personnel move out of those houses in the northern suburbs, and particularly in Palmerston, into the new housing, thus freeing up housing for other people who are looking to rent. The CLP is saying ‘no’ to that: ‘We do not want our share of the $6.6bn, and the 185 Defence houses, we do not want those either’.
The estimation from Treasury is that some 80 000 Territorians will qualify for the $950 payment. That is going to go to huge numbers of families right across all of our electorates …
Mr Knight: And business.
Mr HENDERSON: … and the money - absolutely, member for Daly - will go straight into the economy one way or the other. But no, Territorians cannot get their $950. It used to be the party which stood up for small business - 30% rebate in terms of capital expenditure; they do not want small business to get their rebates on expenditure which is going to help turn the money around, I heard today, even on secondhand equipment. So if the contractor wants to buy a second-hand ute for his business, there is a 30% rebate on that. But no, you are not going to get that.
Madam Speaker, it is absolutely extraordinary. I sat next to Colin Barnett, the Premier of Western Australia, actually one down from him, at the media conference after the COAG meeting. There was a journalist there - I do not know the national media pack that well - who thought that they would be able to wedge the Western Australian Premier with the Prime Minister. The Western Australian Premier spoke eloquently on the benefits of the package that he signed up to, as a Liberal Premier, on behalf of what that meant for Western Australia: what it meant for schools, businesses, and for jobs. He took the responsible position of putting politics aside. Predominately the stimulus package is about jobs. We can have debates about could it be a bit better targeted around the edges but, fundamentally, it is about jobs. The Western Australian Premier, and good luck to him, he seems to be quite a decent sort of fellow personally, stood up for jobs in Western Australia.
What do we have tonight? The opposition here and Nigel Scullion in the Senate: ‘No, we are going to play political games with this and hold it up and potentially derail it’. Shameful.
The Leader of the Opposition spent his response bagging the plans of government but offered no plans of his own. In contrast, I outlined a plan for the development of the Territory. It is a plan that sees the growth of four new suburbs in Palmerston, two suburbs at Lyons and Muirhead, and a whole new city at Weddell. It is a plan that sees Darwin and Palmerston given the room to grow through expansion around the Cox Peninsula. It is a plan that sees growth in the communities of the Territory and in regional towns. Where else in Australia is a parliament debating that level of growth? There is nowhere else in Australia with plans for the level of growth that we are seeing in the Northern Territory.
It is a plan that brings confidence to the Territory and it will stand us in good stead through these difficult times. This was a plan that I outlined last week. A number of my ministerial colleagues were present and I believe there would have been 120 to 150 of our business leaders and also quite a few people from the non-government sector at the convention centre. My responsibility is to be absolutely realistic about the impacts of the global financial crisis and the economic downturn that is going to affect Australia and the Northern Territory, but also be confident in the future of the Northern Territory and present to people who make investment decisions in their businesses, the growth trajectory we are on so that they can have confidence in the future investment decisions they will be planning. It was a very well received presentation.
The numbers in the statement tonight, the forecast, they may be up, they may be down, but they are the best forecasts that we have at this particular point in time. It is the first time that a Territory government has pulled together from the ABS, the census, from work that Charles Darwin University is doing and our own demographers to get that level of detail out there into the community and into the parliament today.
There is no question we are entering a very rocky time. That rocky time will take good management and good planning and that is what we are trying to do, as well as responsibly working with the Australian government to get our share of the stimulus package the Prime Minister is trying to get through both houses of the federal parliament.
We are the party that has the credentials on economic management. After all, we took a CLP $130m deficit and turned it into a $211m surplus last year. The budget papers that were tabled prior to the August 2001 election were projecting a deficit of around $9m, but we know that was for presentation purposes only and we uncovered the $130m deficit. We drove the nett debt and employee liabilities down from 147% in 2000 to 89% at the end of the 2007-08 financial year - a remarkable turn around in terms of nett debt and employee liabilities.
We are the party that has been spending record amounts of funds on infrastructure. This financial year included, we will have spent $4.3bn in cash since taking office on infrastructure across the Territory. That is $4.3bn for hospital expansions, roads, schools, and infrastructure across the Territory. As we speak we are in the middle of the largest building and rebuilding of Territory schools - and that is before we had the federal government package in place. The numbers are still coming in but our estimation for Territory primary schools alone - and we can all count the primary schools in our electorates – is that primary schools stand to benefit to the tune of nearly $150m over the next two-and-a-half years in infrastructure from the Australian government. When you couple that money with the $247m we have in our election commitments for schools across the Northern Territory, it is a very significant boost, the most significant investment in infrastructure in our schools since self-government. And members opposite and Nigel Scullion in the Senate want to play politics and want to deny those primary schools their share of the $146m.
I was at Moulden Primary School in Palmerston last week, and for people who know Moulden Primary School, it is a school that battles, it has a demographic that is challenging. The new Principal, Gary Fry, is doing a magnificent job in turning that school around. He is working very hard and on the estimates from the Commonwealth government that school will receive up to $3m. That is a significant amount of money for Moulden Primary School, and Nigel Scullion in the Senate tonight said: ‘No, no, you should not have that. I am siding with the merchant banker from Sydney and we are going to play politics with this and Moulden Primary School, sorry, you will not get your $3m for your school’.
We bring forward $50m in headworks for the Palmerston East suburbs alone – because we can – through careful financial management. When the CLP left office in 2001, the CLP could not scratch enough money together to pay for the minor new works program. So forget capital works, we could not even get the minor new works program work out of the door. It ran out of cash in November after the new financial year started in June.
I remember my colleague, the member for Casuarina and the new Health minister, when we were presented with those Gantt charts which showed the money flowing out in November, and the thought of all those small contractors in the northern suburbs who had no work coming to them at all in November because the cash had dried up. It was absolutely astounding. We really had to scrape money together to even keep the minor new works program going. That was the legacy of CLP budget management.
All we hear from the CLP tonight is a demand that we cut public expenditure. Cut public expenditure is the call tonight. I know they want to sack public servants because their election policy is still part of the policy suite that says - and they are very disparaging, they still use the language, I find it very disparaging language - they talk about fat cats. Seventy-five to 80 hard-working Territorians in the senior ranks of our public service are Territorians who provide frank and fearless advice to government, who implement government policy of the day, who are Territorians, who are spoken so derisively of by members opposite, who have mortgages, whose kids go to our schools, and who are part of the fabric of our community. They are disparaged as fat cats and can be just thrown to the wolves, thrown on the scrap heap, 75 to 80, we do not care who they are.
Mr Elferink: Is Peter Campos one of them?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Port Darwin, you are on a warning, I remind you. Chief Minister, please continue.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you. These people are expendable even though they are Territorians because somehow, to the opposition, senior public servants are a species to be derided. We believe all public servants from the humble AO1, AO2 through to the ECO5, ECO6 level do a great job for the Northern Territory, by and large.
They then go on to say that they will remove 700 public servants from the system to achieve their savings – 700 public servants. That is 700 families without a job. Apart from sacking public servants, the CLP has offered no solution in their speeches to what else we should have cut. Nowhere have they said what they would have done to save the money that they believe should not have been spent, apart from sacking public servants.
Perhaps they would not have funded $1bn for Power and Water. Perhaps they would not have said, that is okay, we know we starved Power and Water for the 27 years we were in office and we tried to sell it off, but that plan came unstuck and we have inherited a legacy and, yes, with greater foresight and clarity we should have put additional money into Power and Water three or four years ago; the extent of the problems were not as well known as they are today. But in all of these savings that we should have going forward, where does the $1bn for Power and Water stand in the CLP plan? I did not see $1bn committed to Power and Water during the August election commitments. There was nothing in their budget documents that went to Treasury to say: ‘We will put an extra billion dollars into Power and Water’. No, it was not there. So, maybe they would find the money for Power and Water. Maybe they would not have expanded education services to the bush - the roll-out of secondary education to the bush.
While I am talking about what they would not have done to achieve their savings, the additional $340m that we have committed to Closing the Gap over the next four years is committed for in our forward estimates. Did I see any of those spending programs committed in the CLP budgets to the election? No. There was no money there for Closing the Gap; no money there for expanding secondary education in the bush; there were no commitments made by the CLP in those areas in the lead-up to the Northern Territory election. Maybe that is where they find the money. There was $1bn for Power and Water, there was $350m from Closing the Gap they can save on top of the public service they would sack.
There is no plan from the CLP in terms of the mantra that we should have cut spending. It is very easy to say that, but I have articulated and demonstrated today we have a growing Territory that has a demand for more land, more infrastructure, and more services across the Northern Territory from our capital city to our most remote communities. Governments can only fund that infrastructure, and improvements and increased levels of service, by expanding the budget. That has come as a result of increasing revenues from the Australian government when times were good and we have had our share. We have never had a windfall; we have had our share, and we have invested it wisely.
The opposition had an opportunity tonight to put forward their plan. All we heard was a roll call of criticisms and general observations and assertions that, somehow, this government, with all the extra doctors, teachers, nurses that we have throughout the Northern Territory should not have been employed, and Territorians should have been happy with what they had.
We are about growing the Northern Territory, not shrinking the Northern Territory. We are about growing the Northern Territory, growing our Territory from our capital city to our regional towns to our remote communities. We will be rolling out plans over the term of this government to do that, as opposed to members opposite who have no ideas, no plans, and all they would do is sack good hard-working Northern Territory public servants.
Madam Speaker, I commend the statement to the House.
Motion agreed to; statement noted.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr VATSKALIS (Health): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Just a few minutes ago, I heard that the death toll of the Victorian bushfire has now risen to 181 people, out of these, 50 bodies will probably never be recognised because they have been burnt beyond recognition.
The tragedy of the Victorian situation has hit the Territory and the Royal Darwin Hospital. A few hours ago, I was advised that Professor Robert Pierce, Senior Respiratory Physician at the Austin Hospital is believed to be a victim of these fires. Professor Rob Pierce, 62, has for some time been involved, through work with the Lung Foundation, minister Burns, the Northern Territory government, the federal government, the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families, and the Royal Darwin Hospital, with planning for the establishment of a sustainable respiratory service in Darwin and the Top End.
To this end, Professor Pierce was due to commence an extended locum as a Respiratory Physician at the Royal Darwin Hospital early in May, during which time he was planning to establish a much anticipated respiratory service, working closely with Charles Darwin University and the Menzies School of Health.
His group was also producing educational materials for East Arnhem that would be applicable elsewhere. In recent years, he put a lot of work into understanding Aboriginal culture and developing programs to improve Indigenous respiratory health. Professor Pierce is well recognised nationally as a leader in this field and as an outstanding Respiratory Physician. He was to provide high-level on-the-ground training and support in respiratory medicine for local general physicians and training Registrars, providing advice and supervision and fashioning a visiting service which would supplement the local service that he had established.
Professor Pierce’s wife is in ICU with inhalation injuries, and his son is believed to be safe. Colleagues in Darwin will remember Professor Pierce as an all-round good guy, and an advocate for both specialist services and those who need them, particularly the Indigenous population.
Madam Speaker, I have another sad notice today. On a very sad note, I pay tribute to Mr Colin Friel, a valued friend and long-term Territorian and constituent, who recently passed away peacefully in his house in Alawa, aged 80 years. Colin leaves behind his wife Judy, 11 children and stepchildren and many grandchildren.
He was always admired as a strong advocate of social justice, education and the environment. He had a long and very interesting career, including a stint in the Navy, and working as a rabbit buyer at Mildura and Pooncarrie in New South Wales, where he grew up. He moved to the Territory in the 1950s. He worked as a wharfie, miner, truck driver, and a surveyor with the Water Resources Branch. Colin and his family survived Cyclone Tracy huddled in the lounge room of their Fannie Bay home. After that Colin moved away from the Northern Territory and went to Mildura in Victoria where he grew grapes, but before long he returned to the Northern Territory.
His daughter, Meg, said: ‘He was a lifelong learner, self-taught’ and a strong, disciplined and community-minded man, dedicated to free speech, the environment and education, which are values he imparted to his family.
He was also very well known to all Territorians, because if there was something controversial happening in the Territory, you would expect the day after, or a couple of days afterwards, there would be a strong letter to the newspaper advocating his views about everything in the Territory that had to do with the community, the environment, with personal freedoms, democracy or the republic.
Although he battled ill health, he was still writing until a couple of weeks before he passed away. I recall a few months before he passed away, I visited his house and he was very distraught because his computer had broken down and he could not write letters to the editor of the NT News. Even Howard Young from Kununurra, who had very strong views on the other side politics, recognised Colin Friel as a great Territorian who will be missed sadly from the Territory and certainly from the pages of the NT News.
My heartfelt condolences go to Judy and the Friel family on the passing of a wonderful husband, father and grandfather, and certainly a comrade.
Mr GILES (Braitling): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Arafura for her work as Deputy Chief Minister, and the Minister for Education and Indigenous Policy. Whether we agreed with her policy, I want to put this on the record and thank her for her work.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr GILES: I congratulate the member for Barkly on his appointment to the ministry. I believe that is excellent. Well done and a good win for Central Australia. The three members in the lower half of the Territory are now ministers, which is a great thing.
I congratulate the member for Stuart for his elevation to Minister for Central Australia. I had a good working relationship with the previous Minister for Central Australia, the member for Macdonnell, and I hope that relationship can continue as we try to achieve good outcomes in Central Australia.
I acknowledge that the member for Macdonnell is now the Minister for Indigenous Policy and I look forward to working with her on that - I believe it is an exciting time.
Recently in Alice Springs, there was a bipartisan meeting between the members for Stuart, Macdonnell, Arnhem, Araluen, and Greatorex, the Minister for Young Territorians, the Mayor of Alice Springs, and myself. That meeting was a very frank and positive meeting for Alice Springs. I believe that approaches such as that are very good for the advancement of our town. We may not always agree on the different policies, or the philosophy behind our approaches, but I think that the approach of that meeting was very good and I would really like to thank the Minister for Young Territorians for coming down and being a part of that, it was very good.
With that approach in mind, I believe that we can move forward on a number of matters in Indigenous Policy. As we move forward, I wholeheartedly endorse the comments like, ‘there is not a black way, there is not a white way, there is a right way of doing business’. It is time to end the philosophy or the policy of separatism, and the development of apartheid in that separatist ideology and move to the right, work with the new Minister for Indigenous Policy and develop some new solutions about doing things the right way; incorporating Aboriginal people in the Territory as people in the Territory, rather than blackfellas and whitefellas and have a proper way of doing things.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr GILES: Ending that separatism will be a great thing for the Territory. It might not be widely visible as these policies change, but for the long- term, there will be a benefit for the Territory. I believe that we need to continue to work together throughout the Territory, not just in Central Australia. I look forward to doing that. Thank you.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Speaker, I place on the record how proud I am of all the 2009 Australia Day award recipients in my electorate of Daly.
I had a very busy day on Australia Day, attending as many of the events as I could fit into the day, starting off at 7 am with a delicious breakfast at the Batchelor Area School for the Coomalie region’s celebrations. After I delivered the Australia Day address, I was very excited to announce the winners and present certificates to the following individuals and groups around the region.
Zoe Clegg from the Adelaide River Primary School was the winner of the Student Citizenship Awards. The Young Sportsperson for the region was gymnast Tyler Bilston. Darryl Butler was named the Sportsperson of the Year.
There are a number of fantastic community organisations in the Coomalie region and it must be hard to pick one group. However, I was very pleased to present the Community Group of the Year award to the Friends of the North Australian Railway. The Friends of the North Australian Railway was established in 2001 at Adelaide River and is a wonderful group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation of our history and heritage, as we head into a world that seems to be ‘disposable’ everything. It is great to see groups like this keeping our heritage alive. Congratulations to the Friends of the North Australian Railway. Keep up the fantastic work.
Those who travelled down the track in September last year to the Lingalonga Festival, would know that this festival is a great showcase of the talent that comes from the Batchelor township and surrounding areas. The committee that put the Lingalonga Festival together has been rewarded for its hard work and dedication by being announced the Community Event of the Year. I also congratulate the Adelaide River Show Society, Adelaide River Races, and the Batchelor Carols by Candlelight for being nominated for this category.
The Coomalie Hero of the Year for 2009 was awarded to Colin Wain. Colin is a very popular volunteer in the Batchelor Business Centre, receiving many compliments in the Visitor’s Book about how helpful and cheerful he is towards the visitors. I also mention Therese Balanzategui, who was nominated as the Coomalie Hero of the Year. The Young Citizen of the Year award went to Meg Ellis who commenced her education at Batchelor Pre-School and continued through to Year 9 and then went on to complete year 12, with an excellent score, at Ballarat Grammar. Congratulations Meg.
Nominees for Citizen of the Year for 2009 were Jan Thompson, Trevor Horman, Jan Hills, and Graham Cheater. You should all be very proud of what you do, and my congratulations for being nominated for this category. However, there can only be one winner and I announced Myra Skinner as the Citizen of the Year for 2009 for the Coomalie region. Myra has been a Batchelor resident for 30 years, and has taken a special interest in the underprivileged or needy children in the town. Many Batchelor residents have been lucky to have received a helping hand or acts from kindness from Myra. Myra is a quiet achiever, who does so much for so many in the community, without seeking any remuneration or reward and is most worthy of the Coomalie Citizen of the Year award.
The Coomalie Community Government Council awarded certificates of appreciation to Paul Maccioni and Robert Northey, from the Batchelor Police, and Jason Scott, who is a recreation officer from the Coomalie Community Government Council, for all his efforts above and beyond the call of duty.
Australia Day is an opportunity to acknowledge and reward the hard work and dedication of our community and many wonderful Territorians. I was also pleased to be part of a number of other celebrations. Madam Speaker, I will continue my remarks tomorrow night.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Madam Speaker, I say at the outset that my annoying comments are no reflection on yourself, but I will comment on the five-minute adjournment.
Members: Hear, hear!
Mr WOOD: Madam Speaker, I quote from Nicolas Rothwell, of The Weekend Australian, 7-8 February, and what he says in relation to this change:
- This is the change to the adjournment debate format: the lone segment of the parliamentary day when any individual voice or true emotion comes to the surface as a
member speaks. Adjournments used to last for a good 10 minutes, and could, by convention, be extended. Now there will be a five-minute cap: if members want to
speak longer, they can throw another five minutes worth into Hansard as if they had spoken the words on the floor. The point cuts to the heart of the Territory parliament
and the Territory’s public life.
This is still a lovely, small-scale community: provincial in the best sense of the word. The adjournment speeches were widely read, and almost all parliamentarians used
them to describe the grain and feel of life in their constituencies, sympathising with the bereaved, praising the bold, setting down their travels in the deep bush and the odd
back alleys of Territory towns. No one who heard Jack Ah Kit’s adjournments on sporting dynasties ever forgot them; no one was left unmoved by former Chief Minister
Clare Martin’s valedictory to her old friend, the historian Barbara James.
If anything was ever said of relevance in the great portentous fortress of the parliament, it was said in those precious, indulgent late-night hours.
Madam Speaker, I could not agree more. Since I received the rules and guidelines for incorporation of material into the Hansard record, I am even more opposed to the five minutes. This time in parliament gives us a chance to say things as a person, not as a piece of paper given to someone who will then approve whether that can be incorporated into Hansard. For instance, it says these are to be delivered: ‘… to the Office of the Speaker by 10 pm of the day before the day of proposed incorporation’.
Under the previous system, I might decide to do an adjournment debate based on some of the material that was debated during this day, not the previous day. I might have just decided I heard something from my local school that I thought was worthwhile putting into Hansard. However, if it was longer than five minutes, I would have to have your approval or the office’s approval at 10 pm the previous day.
There are other things that concern me. Again, you would have to approve it and you would have to tell me before the adjournment debate whether it was approved. It has to be in a format, 9.5 font, two A4 pages, no tables, no photographs - some of my favourite things. Standing here, I can show a photograph or a table. That is all part of the expression that one needs sometimes when giving a speech. That would be lost.
It is a sad day for this parliament. There are only 25 people in this parliament. It may be all right for the parliament in Canberra, which has about 100 or 200 people. Obviously, if they all speak for 15 minutes, you would just be catching yourself up in time for the next sittings of parliament. However, we do not have those numbers, and it is not often that all 25 people in this parliament decide to do adjournment debates on one night.
It was an overreaction. I believe that we have lost something that is important to all of us as individuals; to have the opportunity to say something that we could not say during the day.
From my point of view, as an Independent, sometimes the debates do not allow very much opportunity to bring in other subjects, outside what the government has decided on the day. The adjournment debate allows me to talk about anything I would like, within reason, naturally. It makes this parliament a better parliament. To tie me down to five minutes, I will be doing this all the time, hurrying through something that may require thought while I speak, to give passion while I speak and, hopefully, to put forward arguments to members of parliament trying to convince them that what I am saying is a good thing.
Madam Speaker, I believe Nicolas Rothwell summed it up perfectly, in his heading: ‘Free Speech Down to Five Minutes’. I do hope the parliament will reconsider this. I do not believe it will do any harm to the length of time we work in this House. I do not care if it goes to 11 pm and people are still giving adjournment debates. We are only here for 33 or 36 days of the year. Surely, we can afford that luxury and give the people of the Northern Territory the right to hear what their local members have to say without being limited to, ‘Madam Speaker, I only have 30 seconds to go’ and, if I am not sure what I was going to say, I will be panicking, all because I have been forced to give a speech which is compacted, purely to fit in with the five-minute limit. It would be far better if I could make a speech which at least gave me the room to say what I really felt.
Mr ELFERINK (Port Darwin): Madam Speaker, I will tag team straight off the back of what the member for Nelson had to say - I could not agree more. I also wish to add my objections to the concept that anything that I want to table in this place needs to be vetted by a third party.
Third parties should not be vetting what I say in this place; I am answerable to the public for what I say. I could use expletives or say the most outrageous things, and it should not be vetted. Everything I say is recorded so that the public can examine what I say and, if I say something that is offensive or objectionable, it is still my right to say it - until now.
That right is going to be taken away because someone else can vet what I say. If there is anything so objectionable it is a principle where someone else can cast an eye over what I want to say and silence me. It stands juxtaposed and across the purpose of this House completely and utterly - with no disrespect to you, Madam Speaker - that I have to submit what I talk about in this place, or what I want to have tabled, to a third party for their endorsement or otherwise.
No matter how broadly or how loosely that rule is interpreted, it is still the rule that exists. It is an obscenity to the purposes of this House. This House is a place where we come in and live and die in by our words, but our words are there for the record for all to see. To force any member of parliament to submit for approval something that they might want to say in this place is a reprehensible breach of the system.
Madam Speaker, in 1938, or 1936 it may have been, there was a truncated approach to another parliament in a place called Germany, where they simply burnt down the Reichstag because it got in the way. This government, however, has to take a slightly more obtuse approach, and so we are being saddled with this reprehensible set of rules.
We have the right to be heard; we carry the mandate of thousands of Territorians – each one of us. I know that in Aboriginal society in Central Australia, if you are authorised by your cultural system to speak, you cannot be silenced because you have a right to speak. We are authorised by our cultural system to have a right to speak. Yet, we are in a situation where I can be vetoed. You may not choose to use that veto, but the potentiality is there, and I am silenced. If there was ever an affront to the democratic system in this nation, it is being perpetrated by this government upon this House, because it has the numbers.
I am first and foremost a passionate defender of the parliamentary process. I have spoken before about the discipline that is needed by the executive arm of government, in the unicameral system, to subordinate itself to this House. But, because this government cannot stomach the criticisms that are levelled at it, its only option is to gag and silence the House.
The member for Nelson made the point quite well - there are only 25 of us. For goodness sake, we do not all make an adjournment debate every night. However, because we want to go to bed early, we are going to silence the right of people to speak? I am astonished that members on both sides of this House would sign up to this; would allow themselves to be subordinated.
The other problem is that it is a demonstration of what a stranglehold the executive arm of government has over this House. Under these new rules, if a minister is criticised, another minister can ask the minister who is criticised to rise to their feet and spend twice as long on their feet defending their position, as the accuser may spend on their feet. That is also reprehensible, because it demonstrates that the Crown and her representatives are now reaching their tentacles deeper into this place. If anyone knows anything about the history of our parliamentary system, that intrusion is the exact reverse of what responsible government is about.
Parliament is not responsible for the government; government is responsible to the parliament. That is why we have Question Time, because we can ask government questions and this parliament can satisfy itself that the government is doing its job right. Government, by dint of its force of numbers, has thrown a hand over my mouth. I find that objectionable, reprehensible, and I found it such a retrograde step that it diminishes this parliament enormously.
Members: Hear, hear!
Ms PURICK (Goyder): Madam Speaker, I read from a letter that came from someone who is related to someone in my constituency, regarding health. It is not a sad story, but I will read it and it will become evident:
Dear Ms Purick
- In writing to you I ask you to bring this letter to the attention of the Northern Territory government.
In late December a friend from Darwin advised us that a lady, also from Darwin, had been admitted to the Flinders Medical Centre.
The patient, who did not know anyone in Adelaide, on arriving from Darwin had travelled at great expense and alone from the
Adelaide airport to the hospital.
Madam Speaker, this woman was in her mid-sixties.
- (Her husband had remained in Darwin because of the threat of a cyclone and also to look after their animals.)
I visited her in the short-term cardiac unit at Flinders Medical Centre after she had been investigated by angiogram that day. She was far from well - very pale.
She walked with the aid of callipers. While I was there she received the news that she was to be discharged and would have to return to Darwin the next day.
If she was unable to obtain a seat on the plane the next morning she was expected to move to a hotel or motel until one became available. She then had
the unnecessary worry of a possible move to a place in a strange city. The list of accommodation available included hotels with upstairs rooms and no lifts.
Remembering this woman had calliper crutches to get around and had just had treatment.
- When I left the hospital at 5 pm, no arrangements had been made.
My husband and I decided to offer her a bed in our home. I phoned the hospital at 8 pm to extend the invitation. By then a spot had been found for her on the
early morning plane. A taxi had been booked for her at 6 am. She was to travel alone to the Adelaide airport and then manage somehow to make her way to
the plane.
We went to the hospital the next morning when the patient was delivered to our car in a wheelchair. On arriving at the airport, an observant member of staff saw
the need of a wheelchair and quickly supplied one. When booking in, the lass at the desk queried her fitness to travel, but was assured that the doctor said she
was well enough. I was surprised that she was allowed to travel less than 24 hours after her test.
Madam Speaker, I do not know much about the test, but I understand it is somewhat intrusive to the body:
- In fact, I was quite concerned.
If we had not escorted her I am sure she could not have managed to board the plane. Of course she did not experience difficulties at Darwin airport because we had
ordered a wheelchair for her and her husband was there to meet her.
How many people from Darwin have similar experiences to our friend? Is there no way a person can have coronary care in Darwin? I read that the population in Darwin
now includes an increased number of elderly people. Surely there must be greater need for cardiac specialists and units in the hospital. There seems to be no shortage
of money, millions of dollars being spent on a new conference centre. Is the Health Minister aware of the inconvenience, extra expense and loneliness experienced by
people who come to Adelaide for treatment? The people of Darwin deserve better.
The doctors and nurses were very helpful and kind to our friend but the obvious lack of accommodation at Flinders and the request to leave the hospital because of it
are reprehensible.
Yours sincerely
Madam Speaker, I will be taking this matter up with the Minister for Health and his office, because the woman who travelled to Adelaide was a woman in her mid- to late sixties. She obviously walked with difficulty. She had to have heart treatment, so obviously that is reasonably serious. She was alone, and it was a friend of a friend that had gone to help her.
I do not believe that is good enough for a Territorian, and I know this woman is a long-term Territorian. I put it on the Hansard that I will be taking this up with the Minister for Health, to see if we can have a system in place to meet people or to assist them when they are travelling to and from hospitals and to and from the airports.
Ms WALKER (Nhulunbuy): Madam Speaker, the Australia Day celebrations were held in Nhulunbuy, and the rest of Australia, on Monday, 26 January. They were the best I have seen during my 19 years as a resident of Nhulunbuy, and certainly one of the best attended with more than 600 locals turning up.
It was organised by the Nhulunbuy Corporation Limited, which is the equivalent of our town council, and the ever energetic community relations officer, Kendall Kenway. The celebrations were held at our beautiful town pool, and a huge thank you to all the volunteers from the Gove Peninsula Surf Lifesaving Club who gave their time as lifeguards. I must not forget Gove FM, that time and again comes along to our community events to provide great music and a PA system. On this occasion, it was a live outside broadcast.
The day commenced with a fun walk, which included a fun run, as there were people who wanted to push prams. Everyone was invited. It started at the early hour of 6.30 am in a bid to beat the heat and it was organised and run very safely by our Runners North group. This was followed by a free breakfast at the town pool, which was organised by Nhulunbuy BMX Club, which has a great reputation for doing barbeques and burgers, and on this day it was bacon and egg muffins. There were around 30 kilograms of bacon, 300 eggs and far too many sausages to count.
For those with a sweet tooth, the girls from the Gove Variety Club cooked up fresh doughnuts, and it is this sort of fundraising activity that has helped to keep them as the top Variety fundraising group in the Northern Territory.
The morning celebrations also included a ‘beaut ute’ competition, organised and judged by BC Autos which also very generously provided the prizes. The naval cadets from TS Melville Bay were there for the flag raising ceremony, and local teenager, the very talented Tamika Kasper, sang the National Anthem.
We were privileged, as one of the few communities in the Northern Territory, to have an Australia Day ambassador. We welcomed to our community Mr Peter Hadfield, a former Olympic athlete, whose event was the decathlon, along with his wife, Marilyn, who travelled from Sydney especially for the event. They spent a couple of days in Nhulunbuy to have a good look around the place and joined me in the honours of presenting Australia Day awards to our locals.
This year’s award recipients for Citizen of the Year and Young Citizen of the Year were all the more special because it was the mother/daughter team of Cindy and Larissa Ellis. I know Cindy and Larissa – Larissa has just finished Year 12 and Cindy currently works in the high school laboratory as a laboratory assistant. The awards were given on the strength of the many activities that they are involved in on a community level, but in particular with Cubs and Scouts. Both mother and daughter were also involved with the high school trip last year in June to Papua New Guinea to do the Kokoda walk.
The Achievement Medallion went to Tamika Kasper who sang the National Anthem, but last year saw her way through a crowd of 1200 competitors to reach the final 30 in Teenage Idol, which she performed in Nhulunbuy last year.
The Community Event of the Year went to a group of local bike riders who were part of the Tour de Arnhemland, which was a very special event. It is a bike ride from Jabiru to Nhulunbuy which is about 700 km, and in doing this event over 10 days they also raised $30 000 for St John Ambulance; quite a remarkable amount.
A Participation Certificate went to young Georgia Manwaring for her efforts to promote collection and recycling of cans, and it is notable that this young lady has just completed Transition at Nhulunbuy Primary School.
An Achievement Certificate went to High School English teacher, Wendy Troe, who, after being selected to represent the NT at the Bell Shakespeare Company’s scholarship program for teachers of Shakespeare, was then successful in bringing Bell Shakespeare Education to Nhulunbuy for two weeks to participate in workshops across all of our local schools and performances at the end of the fortnight.
I was extremely proud to see the late Dr Marika posthumously recognised in the Australia Day Honours List with the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Waninya Marika was also a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia. Waninya has worked tirelessly for years at the Yirrkala Health Clinic, driving the bus for patients between the clinic and the district hospital.
It was a highly successful day in Nhulunbuy, that event finished at around about midday. I was happy to then attend the Arnhem Club for the toad races, raising money for charity, which was quite a bit of fun. Also, our local golf club held an ambrose event which was extremely well attended.
It was another successful Australia Day in Nhulunbuy. I acknowledge Mick Dodson, for being named Australian Citizen of the Year, and Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, who was one of eight nominated for the national award. Thank you.
Mr STYLES (Sanderson): Madam Speaker, I endorse the words spoken by the members for Nelson and Port Darwin in relation to five minute adjournment speeches.
As a new member of this establishment, I found it very refreshing to be able to speak on various issues without having to race the clock. It gave me an opportunity to speak about issues in my electorate, and it was great.
I came to the Northern Territory many years ago, as a very young man, and decided that it was great place to be and a great place to raise a family. I came back and I stayed here because it is a different place to live in Australia. It is unlike anywhere else I had been around the country, and I had travelled all over Australia at that stage of my life, so I chose to come and stay. I remain here because I believe it is still the best place in Australia to live and to raise families. I hope that my children, once they have kids and raise their families, have the same sort of lifestyle that I had. That is why we come here; because it is different.
However, I have noted, on some of the correspondence I have seen coming from the Territory government recently, a heading which says, ‘The difference is opportunity’. It would appear that it is only different if the Henderson government approves or chooses it to be different to have an opportunity to do things. What we do not have is the opportunity to be able to express all sorts of things. Yes, it is different to the House of Representatives in Canberra and most other houses of parliament in Australia. But we are different and that is why so many people come to the Territory and remain in the Territory.
It appears to me that this government is changing many of the values and things that we hold dear; the reasons why so many people chose to come here in the first place and choose to stay. Once we start to change that, we will have an irreversible trend, where people will say, it is just like down south except that it is a little hotter or something. We hear these words. We hear the government pronouncing that the Territory is a great place, with a fantastic lifestyle.
We now have an attack on our lifestyle; by not being able to speak on behalf of our constituents or to share the type of things the member for Nelson was saying - the nuts and bolts stuff, the warts and all stuff, that goes on in our electorates. We are very small electorates in the Northern Territory. We do have face-to-face contact with many of our constituents. I believe our constituents expect us to be able to stand up in this House and talk about their achievements, what they are doing in their community, and recognise individuals.
I only wanted to speak briefly about the five minutes, because I had something else to talk about - which I will have to do tomorrow night - a wonderful Territorian who has just celebrated his 90th birthday.
However, there are other more important issues and what I see as an attack on us to be able to express these things. It is almost an affront to the democratic process, in a small, provincial sort of a parliament. I believe it is a disgrace that the government has moved to do this and I ask them to reconsider.
I have spoken to constituents, in relation to this matter, and I have not come across one person who thinks it is a great idea to stifle debate in this House. I am sure that some of them may have been supporters of the government, but they do see that it is not a fair and proper system, for a small parliament to start to gag the opposition and push them into corners, where we cannot express all sorts of things.
The point was made, by the member for Port Darwin, that it is not every night that people get up, but the opportunity has been there to do that without feeling the pressure. I have a few more notes, but I am now watching the clock tick down very quickly now, and I am going to run out of time to express it.
One of the things that I believe we should all consider, and I ask members on the other side to consider, is that we revisit this at some point. I do not think it is going to go away and I will be talking to my constituents and telling them that I feel that we are being gagged in their House.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Madam Deputy Speaker, I pay tribute to a very special colleague, the member for Arafura. I put on the Parliamentary Record sincere thanks from the people of Arnhem for her incredible work and her dedication to improving the lives of Indigenous people across the Northern Territory. I know that the pressure any politician in this House undergoes, in their responsibility to serve the people of the Northern Territory, can often come at very personal cost.
I know the integrity of the member for Arafura and her dedication not only to her own constituents, but to all people across the Northern Territory. It is important that members in the Northern Territory parliament acknowledge a person who, when she took on the role as the first Indigenous woman in the Northern Territory Labor government, paved the way not only for Indigenous people, but also for women across the Northern Territory, and women aspiring to hold bush seats in the Northern Territory.
I recall her first time as Acting Chief Minister, when she visited the people of Wugularr, at a time of crisis and flooding, in a helicopter to provide food to the people of Wugularr, my constituents at that time. They are now constituents in the seat of Stuart.
It is important that all Australians acknowledge the tremendous work of the member for Arafura, Marion Scrymgour. While she remains a very competent, strong, and dedicated person to the people of Arafura, I know that she is also a valued member of this parliament. I sincerely wish her well in her recovery, and also her family, and thank them for their continued work, and look forward to her continued work here in this parliament.
Dr BURNS (Johnston): Madam Deputy Speaker, the CLP has shown where its true allegiance lies, once and for all. It does not support business and infrastructure development in the Territory.
During today’s debate in federal parliament, Nigel Scullion would not support the Rudd government’s $42bn stimulus package. It is a package that would create new jobs and retain and support existing jobs in the Territory. Without this package, Territorians will lose jobs, will miss out on new buildings and upgrades in every Territory primary school, will lose more public and Defence housing, and will lose temporary tax breaks for small businesses.
Senator Nigel Scullion described the package as economic lunacy. He said that the people who support the building of new libraries and gymnasiums in primary schools are sadly misguided. I will quote from what Senator Scullion said in the Hansard record:
- We have had people in Canberra and in schools around Australia saying: ‘What a fantastic thing, great stuff. Can’t have enough halls and gymnasiums’.
And who would knock that? It is like trying to knock motherhood. But, if this is what people see as an economic investment in long-term infrastructure to
ensure that we move into growth in this country, they are sadly misguided.
That is what Senator Scullion said and I table the Hansard record for other members to peruse. He is the one who is sadly misguided. He wants to stop the Territory getting better roads, upgraded schools, and timely $950 cash bonuses. We had the local leader of the CLP, backing up his mate in Canberra, saying that he does not support the package either. I say shame to them.
The $42bn stimulus package is designed to stimulate growth in response to the global economic crisis. Influential national bodies, such as the Council for Small Business in Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Business Council of Australia, all back the package. These are the natural constituency of the conservatives in Australia and they are backing the Rudd government package.
Territory business people I have spoken to support it because they know it is good for the growth of the Territory economy. However, Senator Nigel Scullion and the CLP locally do not support this package for the Territory or Territorians.
The construction industry has the biggest flow-on effect of all the industries: concreters, painters, plumbers, and electricians. It is the same situation as in 2001, when the CLP government did not give two hoots about contractors or people working in the construction game; they let them languish.
I want to know what you, on the other side of this Chamber, and your mates in Canberra, are going to say to these people. What are you going to say to them? Nigel Scullion and the CLP do not support Territorians.
I give the CLP leader a challenge tonight. Terry Mills, get yourself down to Canberra, knock on your mate Scullion’s door and demand that he support this package for Territory families, Territory jobs, and the Territory economy. I say again, shame on Nigel Scullion and shame on the CLP.
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016