2005-06-30
Madam Speaker Aagaard took the Chair at 10 am.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, this morning I provide a report to the Assembly on recent developments in relation to gas coming onshore in the Territory and the Alcan expansion at Gove.
As members will be aware, earlier this week Alcan announced that it had terminated commercial negotiations with the Blacktip joint venture to purchase 800 petajoules of gas over the next 20 years. The next day, it was announced that Alcan is now looking at gas from PNG, and has reached conditional agreement with Esso Highlands Limited, the operator of the PNG gas project, and the subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation. PNG has not yet reached a final investment decision, but it does appear to be a project making progress.
Clearly, the government would have preferred the Blacktip option to have proceeded. However, gas coming onshore in the Territory is still a very positive thing. The events of earlier this week demonstrate that there are numerous options for gas coming onshore to the Territory. In relation to the Blacktip project, without a gas sales agreement in place between both commercial entities there is, consequently, no need at this time for the proposed trans-Territory pipeline from Wadeye to Gove. This pipeline would have also connected Blacktip into the north-south pipeline. This announcement is disappointing, as both projects had progressed almost to the starting gates and both, clearly, would have represented another step towards the industrial development to the Territory.
However, these are private sector projects, and it is up to these parties to negotiate the commercial arrangements. The government’s role, quite rightly, is to provide the project facilitation services necessary to get the infrastructure and regulatory component of the project completed. We have done that, firstly, in facilitating the Alcan G3 expansion project in Gove. The task force I established for G3 also took responsibility for Blacktip and the TTP. Project specific legislation has already been passed by this Assembly, and the task force was in the final moments of negotiating the project agreement and agency level protocols for the TTP. This work will serve as a springboard for a future Blacktip project that will surely come in the not-too-distant future.
Members should not lose sight of the fact that the resource within the Blacktip field remains, and there are other possible options that could underpin its development. It is now up to the Blacktip joint venture to construct a new commercial case for the project and to pursue it. Regardless of when that does happen, the $10m committed to upgrade the Wadeye to Nauiyu road will still most definitely go ahead.
It is important to understand what the decision by Alcan to now look at the PNG gas means for the Territory. First, it is important that Alcan, which is investing some $2bn in expanding its facility in Gove, has access to gas which delivers long-term price stability and, importantly, significant environmental improvements in the performance of the refinery. Next, gas is simply gas. Where it comes from is nowhere near as important as having it readily available to underpin the Territory’s industrial expansion. In addition, multiple projects will also deliver gas on gas competition, an important ingredient in being cost-competitive in the longer term. Finally, PNG gas is a large gas project with large volumes and, while the focus of today is Alcan, it would open new opportunities for Territory developments in the longer term once it could be connected to the north-south pipeline.
My government still remains firmly focused on the 22 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Timor Sea. The Sunrise negotiations are continuing; drilling of new prospects will occur this year. I expect the Blacktip joint venture, once past this setback, to be actively marketing its project to prospective buyers of gas, including our own Power and Water Corporation.
The events of the last few days demonstrate the high stakes associated with developing gas projects. Decisions are measured in the billions of dollars, and a deal requires an exacting alignment of all interests. I also acknowledge that there are a range of stakeholders, such as traditional owners and our business community, which would share this government’s disappointment that the Blacktip deal, on this occasion, has fallen through. However, projects like this are difficult and complex; they involve large amounts of private sector capital and it is the marketplace that determines the decision to go forward. It can be frustrating at times like this, but it is the nature of the new economy emerging in the Territory. It also means that as one door closes, another opens. This is what has happened on this occasion.
Gas coming onshore is very important for the future of the Northern Territory. Events in recent days underline how complex the energy market is, and how quickly things can change. I commend this report to the Assembly.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Thank you, Chief Minister, for your statement. However, you would be expecting a great deal of criticism, not just from me today, but others in the future.
Madam Speaker, this is a Chief Minister and government that failed with Bayu-Undan. This is a government that forgot to get some of the gas linked into the Northern Territory so Territorians could benefit from it. What a chameleon the Chief Minister is, because now she is saying things such as: ‘We would have preferred gas to come onshore’, and ‘It is a private sector project’.
During the election campaign, this Chief Minister was at pains to affix her personal stamp to this project. She declared before all and sundry, including at the Chamber of Commerce election launch, that gas would come onshore; she and her government would ensure that it would. Now, she is running a million miles from what she said. The people of the Northern Territory will not forget that the CLP said - weeks before, apparently, the Chief Minister knew anything about this - that the project was in doubt. What were the business minister’s and Chief Minister’s response? Complete and utter indignity and outrage that we dared to suggest that this project, to which they had tried so desperately to affix their stamp, was in great doubt. Now: ‘Whoops! Yes, it is in doubt’.
An apology to Denis Burke is the first order of the day, and an apology to Territorians for misleading them. There are a number of questions about what the government knew …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please pause. Would you withdraw ‘misleading them’ please? Unless you are going to have a substantive motion, you are not able to say that kind of thing.
Ms CARNEY: Could I speak to the point of order and request …
Madam SPEAKER: No. I am making a ruling, so would you withdraw that?
Ms CARNEY: A point of clarification, Madam Speaker. Are you saying that we are not to use the word ‘mislead’ or ‘misleading’ in the parliament?
Madam SPEAKER: I believe you were implying that the Chief Minister misled people …
Ms CARNEY: Yes.
Madam SPEAKER: … and unless you are going to do that by substantive motion, I will not allow that.
Ms CARNEY: Again, for clarification, to suggest that government members are misleading, or have misled, we would need a substantive motion in future. Correct?
Madam SPEAKER: That is correct.
Ms CARNEY: I am compelled to abide by your ruling, Madam Speaker. I note that this seems to be very different from past practice. I will use the words ‘telling untruths’ to Territorians or ‘being dishonest’, which, obviously, will be words that we will interchange as a result of your ruling.
In any event, this Chief Minister is now distancing herself from a platform of her election policy; that is, ‘We are pro-business, we love business, we are going to get the job done’. Well, this government, based on this and so many other examples, demonstrates how crippled it is when it comes to so many projects, but gas in particular. I remind them that they did fail in terms of getting gas onshore from Bayu-Undan, and this another failure: gas to Territorians, who would benefit from the obvious advantages which gas to Territorians will provide. So the Chief Minister cannot be believed.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, your time has expired.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, it is very disappointing to hear, in response to this report, that the new Opposition Leader - and I congratulate her on her position - simply has lots of facts either jumbled or wrong. Gas is coming onshore. I just let the Opposition Leader know gas is coming onshore. We have a pipeline that is being laid between …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: No, no. If you are going to make comments in here which are simply wrong, I have to correct them. Gas is coming onshore. There is a pipeline of 540 km that goes from a quite large LNG plant at Wickham Point out to Bayu-Undan. Yes, gas is coming onshore.
When the then Opposition Leader said in the last week of the election campaign and said: ‘I heard that this project is not going ahead’ – no source; simply selling a project down - I clearly said: ‘We know that the project is in its final stages, and there are very complex and gritty negotiations going on’. Any attempt by the opposition to say I misled or anything like that, is simply ignorance, ignorance, ignorance. Gas is good.
Environment Policy
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, the Martin Labor government has acted to protect our unique environment. We have protected 96% of Darwin Harbour mangroves. We now have a proper plan for our very special Darwin Harbour and the toughest land clearing controls in Australia. This government puts the community first on the environment. We have shown this with Darwin Harbour, the Daly, and our new environment plan.
The recent election saw a clear choice for Territorians between a Labor government committed to balancing growth with the environment, and an opposition with no plans for protecting the environment. Territorians made their choice clear. They chose a Labor government to fund and establish an independent EPA; one which is delivering joint management with indigenous groups across a world-class parks system; which will protect the Daly, keep the moratoriums in place and put $3.5m into the highest standards of land and water monitoring; that said no to mining at Koongarra; and is cleaning up Mt Todd.
I very much look forward to implementing this government’s environment agenda. Government will be acting immediately to establish an EPA and completely rewrite our environmental laws. We will commission the Northern Territory’s first state of the environment report to ensure that the EPA has good information to work with. Three new indigenous ranger positions will be created, and we will further enhance our world-class park system.
The Central Australian landscape is a national treasure and a very important part of this vision. We will put this very special part of the Territory on world stage, working with the Alice Springs community to seek World Heritage listing of the West MacDonnell Ranges. We will build a new visitor information centre and upgrade tourist facilities at the western entry to the ranges. Along with the sealing of the West MacDonnell tourism loop road, this initiative will firmly establish the MacDonnell Ranges as a major global tourism destination.
The Daly will be managed as a living river. This is a new approach to environmental planning that will elevate the management of our most important river system so that we never get into water problems suffered elsewhere in Australia, and our rivers continue to offer the best fishing in Australia.
Weeds, fire and ferals have the potential to change our unique Territory environment forever. We will refocus our efforts by creating a new Tackling Territory Invaders program. Our first priority will be an urgent scientific summit to get the best scientific advice in front of government, and to identify priority action. Government will be expanding our support for community environment action with a new Rapid Creek environment hub, with subsidised rent and a green office refit to showcase environmentally-friendly practices. The hub will enable environment groups to work more effectively together.
We are also very conscious that, as a community, we all need to play a part in securing a sustainable future. How we live our lives, from driving the car to work and watering the garden really can make a difference. That is why we will embark on a new sustainable living agenda. Priority action will see a doubling of funding to the Cool Mob in Darwin and Alice Springs to enable them to extend their work into water conservation. A new water saver rebate will also be established for Alice Springs and Tennant Creek residents to encourage the use of low-cost devices such as tap timers and water efficient shower heads.
Madam Speaker, it is ambitious, but it is an agenda that is vitally important for our great lifestyle, the important industries that rely on our natural assets and, most importantly, the future environment that our grandkids with inherit.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for her report. There is quite a lot that she has covered and, of course, in two minutes I cannot reply to all of that.
However, one of the areas that I am very familiar with environmentally is the Daly River. I will touch on that because I have been addressing that with Primary Industry and Fisheries. While we definitely support the environment and making sure that we look after our environment, I believe that this government has made a kneejerk reaction to the Daly area. They have implemented moratorium upon moratorium in that area without any sound scientific research being carried out. There is no sound scientific data available to allow them to put a moratorium on that land.
The area generates $27m directly towards the Northern Territory economy and that is four times greater than any other industry in that area. What this government has effectively said to those pastoralists and people who live in the Daly area is that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing; they are irresponsible. They have taken back all of that responsibility from those people. I strongly object to it.
Another thing just before the two minutes is up - what has happened to the Daly River reference group’s report that was supposed to be delivered to this government? Where is it? There was no …
Members: It was released!
Mrs MILLER: Of course, it was during the election campaign, but nobody could reply to it. I say that there is no quality scientific evidence presented to support that land and water was being degraded in the Daly, and that this government should lift the moratorium to support the pastoralists who are working in that area.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, I let you know that in the Sessional Orders which we passed yesterday, there is actually no capacity for Independents to speak during ministerial reports. However, I will, by leave of the Chair, allow you to speak today. Between now and the next sittings of the parliament, it is something which the Standing Orders Committee needs to discuss.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): I am surprised that that has changed, but thank you, Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: It has not actually changed; the former Speaker allowed Independents to speak.
Mr WOOD: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr Henderson: Fix it, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: Okay. Thank you, minister, for your comments. I must admit, when you first started off, I thought we were going into another election campaign because it certainly sounded like electoral rhetoric. However, we are past the election now and into a new term of parliament.
Whilst the government has done many good things with the environment, there are just as many things it has not done. A classic example is the silence on recycling of waste in the Northern Territory. The pay-off by the beverage industry to this government not to bring in container deposit legislation is shown so much when you go down to tips such as at Litchfield Shire and see the amount of waste that is buried and not recycled because this government does not have a policy on recycling. It does not have a policy because it was bought out by the beverage industry due to …
Members interjecting.
Mr WOOD: It was bought out by the beverage industry to have a litter campaign which got rid of container deposit legislation, which would have taken out much of the waste that goes into landfill. I know there are people on that side who agree with CDL; it is just that the government has got together and said: ‘No, we have this $0.5m and we do not want to upset the beverage industry’.
Gamba grass: you do not need a big inquiry at the moment about gamba grass. We know gamba grass is one of the major threats to the tropical flora of the north, and we should be doing something about it now. We should say there is a boundary around how fast gamba grass can spread and we should put someone in that area and say: ‘Your job is to make sure there are no outbreaks of gamba grass past that area’. Then, we sit down and work out a program to get rid of it. We need to do something right now.
On cane toads, you had a chance to at least try a fence across the Cobourg Peninsula - something recommended by your own environmental sustainable group. Ask the member for Karama. You did not do it; you had your chance.
With regard to the harbour, go out and look at the damage done by mines in the middle of the harbour - a disgrace!
Members interjecting.
Mr WOOD: A disgrace! You have wrecked the middle of the harbour …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time has expired.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, a number of things. First, I will touch on comments by the member for Nelson: no pay-off by BIEC. There is a process during estimates where you will be able to question …
Mr Wood: Where is the container deposit legislation?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: We have heard these allegations time and time again. They were certainly sprouted before the election that there was nearly $1m in a pay-off from BIEC. There has never been any pay-off by BIEC.
Mr Mills: Oh, come on!
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: With regard to the member for Katherine, there was a report released. If the member for Katherine had been watching the news, the Chief Minister released that when we released our environment policy. The science is needed, member for Katherine. There was, clearly, evidence that there was no science. We need to have the science. Therefore, instead of saying a lot of gooblidook that you did, do some research and you might find out, particularly about the report on the Daly.
No rhetoric, member for Nelson, it is about action. We are putting our words to action, and that is a lot different from what the CLP did when they were in government.
Mr STIRLING (Racing, Gaming and Licensing): Madam Speaker, my congratulations to you on your elevation to such a high office. My best wishes for your time in the Chair as Speaker of this Assembly.
The Dry Season provides Top Enders with many reasons to celebrate – the V8s, the Glenti, Territory Day, BassintheGrass, the Beer Can Regatta, the Darwin Festival, the show circuit, to name just a few. However, the biggest and the most keenly anticipated Top End celebration each year is, without doubt, the Darwin Cup Carnival due to kick off this Saturday. It is an icon event. It is well known throughout the length and breadth of Australia as the most exciting and entertaining racing carnival that you can possibly attend.
We know we will never be able to compete with the Melbourne Cup, the Sydney Cup, the Adelaide Cup in size in those southern cities, but what we have is a uniquely Territorian event and, of course, with much better weather than Flemington offers on the first Tuesday in November.
The carnival is much more than just a great spectacle; it is an enormous contributor to the Top End economy. Anecdotal evidence tells how many local businesses benefit from the event. Darwin Cup Day alone is estimated to inject $10m into the local economy each year. During carnival time we know how difficult it is to get a hotel room, a restaurant booking, a private hire car or a cab - virtually impossible. Each year, it gets harder because more people find it more difficult to leave the party, and accommodation places stay full for longer periods of time after the carnival has finished.
Alice Springs Cup Carnival is also a great money spinner for local business, as is the Tennant Creek Cup, the Katherine Cup, the Pine Creek Cup and the Adelaide River Cup.
In recognition of this critical role that racing plays in the social, as well as the economic, life of the Territory, the Martin government has increased the level of financial support we provide to the industry right across the Territory. As part of that new funding deal, base operational funding for the racing industry is indexed by 5% each year from 2004-05. That means base funding has risen to more than $5.8m in 2004-05 and, in addition, government injected a one off $1.05m for capital.
On the weekend, I took part in the opening ceremony of the new equine swimming pool at Fannie Bay Racecourse, partly funded out of that capital injection. That will make a big difference to the ability of our horses to cope during the Wet and the build-up, and will assist with recovery of injuries. Also, it will help to attract interstate trainers and horses.
From 2005-06, there will be ongoing capital funding of $350 000 a year on top of the base. That will see a total of more than $6.46m provided in 2005-06, rising to over $6.8m in 2006-07.
This funding is not just for Darwin Racecourse; it is for the whole of the industry right throughout the Territory. It will help to support racing in Alice Springs, Pine Creek, Adelaide River, Tennant Creek and Katherine. Each of those clubs will benefit from both the operational and capital funding. Pioneer Park, Alice Springs, has already bought and installed new starting gates, and other clubs will reap benefits in the near future.
There was an impressive crowd at the opening of the new pool on Sunday, and it is indicative of an industry that is going from strength to strength. Chief Executive, Des Friedrich, has ambitious plans for making the Darwin Cup Carnival even bigger and better. Knowing just how good Des is, I am sure his plans will be achieved.
What is particularly exciting is that the Principal Racing Authority is currently in negotiation with the new Thorough Vision channel to have Territory races screened right throughout Australia. It has the potential to build the industry further; it will present enormous opportunity to build on our efforts to promote the Territory as a great place to visit, live and work, and bring your horse.
Territory racing will reach millions of people around Australia via Thorough Vision and, I understand, will be given air time to advertise the Territory - an opportunity, I would have thought, for the Territory Tourist Commission.
Territory racing is on the verge of exciting times, both in the immediate future with the Darwin Cup Carnival, and over the longer term. We are proud to support Territory racing to keep the industry moving ahead, and Picayune is in Race 3 Saturday if you want a good each-way bet.
Mr MILLS (Blain): I missed that last bit; I shall be monitoring the tip. Madam Speaker, generally, racing and gaming has enjoyed bipartisan support in this Chamber because we recognise the importance of this industry, both for the social and economic benefits that flow to the Territory.
I also share with the minister a particular passion for racing. My family has been involved in racing for many years and, to have had a horse in a race is the most exciting thing imaginable. For that reason, I recognise the need to support this industry right across the Territory - the Alice Springs Cup recently, the Adelaide River races.
The Darwin Carnival is very significant, particularly in the conversations you have with people who come to the Territory for the first time, attracted by racing, who discover the beauty of Darwin. They go away and tell their stories of what a wonderful place the Northern Territory is to all corners of this nation.
The CLP opposition wholeheartedly supports the investment in this very important industry. In addition, it is good to recognise how the profile of the Top End is raised during this carnival with the addition of advertising to profile to the rest of the country what a wonderful place the Territory is, particularly when they are shivering down south at this time of year. Any glimpse of what is going on up here would be very attractive to those who are shivering at TAB outlets right around the country, who look up and realise that, in their country, there is a beautiful place of sunshine when the rest are shivering.
Mr STIRLING (Racing, Gaming and Licensing): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his supportive comments. It is true, racing and gaming has generally had bipartisan support, and I always appreciated the efforts of ministers before me in keeping me in the loop. There are tricky issues that come to light in racing and gaming from time to time, and I give this assurance: I will keep the member for Blain up to speed with where we are on issues across racing and gaming in general. I appreciate his support, and I look forward to working with him.
Dr BURNS (Lands and Planning): Madam Speaker, on 25 May 2005, I amended the Northern Territory Planning Scheme to rezone Lot 5690 at the corner of Dashwood Crescent and Gardens Road in the Town of Darwin to O3 Conservation, from CBD, Central Business Darwin. Lot 5690 is Crown land and has an area of 9610 m2 and is located at the city end of Garden Park Golf Course.
Members may recall, in the late 1980s, a resort hotel complex was proposed for this site. The former CLP government subdivided the golf course land, creating Lot 5690, which was then rezoned to allow the development to proceed. However, the development did not proceed and, in the years that followed, there have been quite a number of other developments proposed for that site. However, the land has remained vacant.
The land is severely constrained by steep slopes and has always been a challenge for potential developers. In October 2004, Mrs Sharyn Yelverton applied to amend the NT Planning Scheme to rezone that lot to O3 Conservation. This stemmed from a desire expressed by residents of the area and Landcare groups to maintain, conserve, rehabilitate and promote remnant areas of native vegetation within Darwin city.
I would like to commend Mrs Yelverton for her application; it was very thoroughly prepared and researched and was widely canvassed with local residents. The application proposed rubbish removal, weed management, revegetation programs, community involvement, and tourism programs - all to be undertaken by a new urban Landcare group. The proposal has the support of Greening Australia, the Myilly Point and Duke Street Rainforest Landcare Groups, and about 100 residents in the area.
The proposal displayed considerable merit and, on 7 November 2004, I agreed to place it on public exhibition to provide for community comment. Two public submissions were received; from PLan, the Planning Action Network, and Mr Roger Dee, who is the lessee of the Gardens Park Golf course. PLan supported the proposal; however, Mr Dee objected. The Darwin City Council also wrote to me objecting to the rezoning to O3. The council requested that ownership of the site be transferred to Darwin City Council and that the land be rezoned to O2. This is the zoning the land had before it was subdivided from the golf course in the late 1980s by the former CLP government, and could allow for the development of licensed premises.
The Development Consent Authority held a public hearing on 12 January 2005, considered the views of all parties and, subsequently, provided me with a report. The DCA supported the proposal. Before making my decision, I met with Mr Roger Dee, the lessee of the Gardens Golf Club, to discuss his proposal for the area. I should place on the record that I have known Mr Dee for many years; I have a friendship with him. I certainly listened to what he had to say and could understand his point of view very clearly. I also met with a property developer who was proposing to redevelop land on the other side of Gardens Road to incorporate the particular lot in the development. In his proposal, the two areas were to be linked by a tunnel under Gardens Road.
Finally, I met with the proponent, Mrs Sharyn Yelverton and others. They proposed to involve Greening Australia, Myilly Point, Duke Street Rainforest Land Care groups, conservation volunteers, Darwin High School and Charles Darwin University in this project. I asked the proponent to provide a work plan detailing how the site would be cleaned up; a plan for the rehabilitation of native vegetation; a list of volunteers and supporters; and a time frame for the project. These were all provided. A future possibility is to construct a network of walking paths and interpretive signage which takes in the golf course and follows the escarpment through to Myilly Point, Mindil Beach and the Botanic Gardens.
In this rapidly developing area of Darwin city, it is essential to retain areas of open space to be enjoyed by present and future Territorians and visitors to the city. Therefore, I accepted the advice provided to me by the Development Consent Authority and the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, and have rezoned the lot to O3 Conservation. I believe this will enhance the area for visitors and local residents alike.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his fulsome report on Lot 5690. I would rather that he gave us a fulsome report on what he proposes to do with the land at the wharf precinct where there is huge land contamination, and how he proposes to clean the land up so the precinct can be developed in a proper and orderly fashion without excessive cost to Territorians. That is what I would have preferred the Minister for Lands and Planning to do: provide Territorians with clear advice on what he is going to do with the land at the wharf precinct.
We all know that the land is severely contaminated and millions upon millions of dollars will be required to fix the land up. Unfortunately, this minister is not prepared to do that. That is more important to Territorians at this moment. It is well and good that you have rezoned land to open space for the enjoyment of the public and for people around the Gardens Golf Course area.
However, more important to Territorians is: what are we going to be paying for the unforeseeable future? How much are we going to be spending to clean up the land that the wharf precinct is going to be built on? I repeat: we all know that that land is severely contaminated and the government has already given an open guarantee to the developers that it will clean this land up. It is important for us to know what that is going to entail in fixing it up. It is up to this minister to tell us. This is the time he should be doing that. Instead of giving a report, he should be coming to parliament with a proper statement detailing every item of contamination which is in that land and how the government proposes to fix it up, at what cost, and what sort of time frame we need to look at.
Madam SPEAKER: Time has expired.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that this Assembly, pursuant to section 4(3) of the Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act, and section 9(1) of the Health and Community Services Complaints Act, recommend to His Honour the Administrator that he appoint Carolyn Richards to hold the office of the Ombudsman and the office of the Health and Community Complaints Commissioner for the Northern Territory for a period of five years, effective upon endorsement from the Executive Council.
The position of the Ombudsman became vacant when the former incumbent completed his tenure on 26 March this year. Mr Vic Feldman has been acting as the Ombudsman since then, and I will be proposing to the Assembly in a separate motion that he continue to act in the role until Ms Richards can commence her duties.
The vacancy of Ombudsman for the Northern Territory was advertised nationally, with a provision that the successful applicant may also hold the appointment of commissioner. Interviews were held in Darwin by a panel which comprised a government representative, the Leader of the Opposition’s nominee, an Independent member, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of Chief Minister, and the Commissioner for Public Employment. The panel has recommended Ms Richards as the most suitable applicant.
Ms Richards is well qualified and demonstrated strong claims for the position, given her extensive background in complaints resolution, communication skills, policy and people management skills, and experience in public administration law. Madam Speaker, I move the motion.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I support wholeheartedly every word that the Chief Minister said. We look forward to Carolyn Richards coming to the Northern Territory; a woman who is held in very high regard by many people. I know that she is a lawyer. I do not tend to have very many soft spots for lawyers, having been one myself, but a woman of her calibre is to be welcomed wholeheartedly to the Territory. It is good to see yet another woman in such a high-profile role. She can join the ranks of Jennifer Prince, Under Treasurer and so on. We welcome without reservation, and with much enthusiasm, the appointment and the arrival of Carolyn Richards, and we thank Mr Feldman for his efforts so far.
Motion agreed to.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that this Assembly, pursuant to section 9(1) of the Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act, and section 10(1) of the Health and Community Services Complaints Act, recommend to His Honour the Administrator that he appoint Mr Victor Percival Feldman to act in the offices of the Ombudsman and Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner for the Northern Territory until the new Ombudsman and commissioner can commence duties.
The positions of the Ombudsman and commissioner became vacant when the former incumbent completed his tenure in March this year. Mr Feldman has been acting as both the Ombudsman and commissioner since then. Mr Feldman was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner in 1998, and the Deputy Ombudsman in 2002.
The Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act and the Health and Community Services Complaints Act provide for the Administrator to appoint a person to act in the offices of the Ombudsman and commissioner during any vacancies in the office. The legislation provides that such a person shall not act in the offices of the Ombudsman and commissioner for a continuous period exceeding three months, unless the appointment was made on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly. It is, therefore, proposed that Mr Feldman continue to act in the offices of the Ombudsman and the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner for the Northern Territory until the substantive appointee can commence duties. Madam Speaker, I now move this motion.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I apologise, it is actually hard for me to see you there. I believe my hair, perhaps, gets in the way. My apologies if I do not always call you.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I am reluctant to move at this stage; it is so early.
Madam Speaker, once again, I support the motion for all of the obvious reasons.
Motion agreed to.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I table the Remuneration Tribunal’s report on the salary, allowances and other benefits for magistrates, and the accompanying Determination No 1 of 2005, dated 25 May 2005.
Prior to October last year, the Remuneration Tribunal was empowered to, from time to time, inquire into the salary, allowances and other benefits to be paid to magistrates, and make recommendations as to those matters for consideration by government.
In October 2005, the Magistrates Act and the Remuneration Tribunal Act were amended to put in place a more independent process of remuneration setting for magistrates. This process now enables the Remuneration Tribunal to make determinations as to the salary, allowances and other benefits to be paid to magistrates, and to review these at least annually. These determinations must be tabled in the Assembly, and the Assembly may disprove all or part of these determinations within 10 sitting days. This is the first such determination to be made by the Remuneration Tribunal in respect of magistrates.
I note the tribunal received a number of submissions during the course of its inquiry. It also gathered evidence, considered economic conditions, and examined salary and responsibility levels for the public and judicial sectors in the Territory and the rest of Australia. The tribunal’s report sets out how it conducted its review, the issues taken into account in reviewing magistrates’ entitlements, and looked at such matters such as relativities within the Northern Territory judiciary, comparisons with magistrates elsewhere, and changes in responsibilities and working conditions.
In respect of salary determination, the tribunal decided that the 5% relativities increase should flow on to magistrates, and that a compounding economic conditions increase of 3.4% should be applied. The tribunal has recommended that the date of effect of these increases should be 1 December 2004, being one year after the previous increase.
In respect of travelling allowance, the tribunal has adjusted the rates of travelling allowance and the conditions under which travelling allowance can be paid, to be in line with rates and conditions currently determined for comparable officers by the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal. Some of those rates are lower than those previously determined for magistrates, and the tribunal notes that this is the first time that a rate has been reduced since the introduction of the no-detriment provision. On this point, the tribunal comments that travel allowance rates are set after comprehensive price reviews and, in its view, reduction of a particular rate on that basis is not detrimental to the recipient.
In relation to communications, magistrates are currently entitled to a telephone allowance up to a maximum of $750 per quarter. The tribunal has determined that an increase of $50 in the quarterly limit is warranted.
The tribunal has agreed that magistrates should have the right to purchase up to four full weeks of additional leave per financial year in order to better balance work and family commitments - known as leaving banking - and this has been included in the determination.
The tribunal has also made some specific provisions to ensure that the consolidation of benefits in the determination operates fairly and independently.
I thank the tribunal for its work on this matter, and table the Remuneration Tribunal’s Report on the Salary, Allowances and Other Benefits for Magistrates, and Determination No 1 of 2005.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for tabling the RTD.
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I lay on the Table Message No 2 recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act to make interim provision for the issuing and expending of the public monies of the Territory in respect of the year 30 June 2006.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Supply Bill 2005-06 (Serial 1) passing through all stages at this sitting.
Motion agreed to.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The Supply Bill is required to be passed prior to 1 July 2005 as appropriation provided under the Appropriation Act 2004-05 lapses on 30 June 2005.
The 2005-06 Supply Bill will provide agencies with appropriation from 1 July 2005 until the Appropriation Act 2005-06 is passed following Estimate Committee proceedings next week.
The use of a Supply Bill is not unusual, as it has been required in each year that the Territory has introduced a budget after the commencement of the new financial year. Some members may recall that this was the standard practice in all Australian parliaments until a decade ago.
A Supply Bill provides agencies with sufficient funds to ensure the continuation of capital works programs, grant programs, and normal services of government. It ensures that the machinery of government does not come to a halt pending the outcome of the passage of the Appropriation Bill.
The 2005-06 Supply Bill provides for one-twelfth, or one month, of the appropriations set out in Appropriation Act 2005-06 which I tabled with the 2005-06 Budget Papers on 3 May 2005. One month of appropriation equals $202.867m. This Supply Bill will ensure sufficient funds are available for normal government business to continue until the Appropriation Act 2005-06 is passed, subsequent to review by the Estimates Committee. Madam Speaker, I heartily commend this bill to honourable members.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, in similar spirit, it is not the intention of opposition to obstruct the passage of this very important legislation. Contained behind this message from the Administrator is the necessity to provide confidence to the public sector to continue their fine work. I understand that this legislation does not increase the total allocation within appropriation, but merely provides the mechanism whereby supply could flow into the new financial year while we conduct our business of estimates.
For that reason, and out of respect for the ongoing programs and work of the public sector, it is the express position of the opposition to support this very important legislation.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain and the opposition for their support of what is, in fact, critical legislation which will enable the ongoing business of government to continue until the budget is expected to be passed next Thursday evening. As I said, I thank the member for his support and we expect this bill to proceed through.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I lay on the Table Message No 3 from His Honour the Administrator recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act to make provision for the issuing and expending of public monies of the Territory in respect of the year 30 June 2006.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Appropriation Bill (No 2) 2005-06 (Serial 2) passing through all stages at this sitting.
Motion agreed to.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. I reintroduce the Appropriation Bill 2005-06 and related budget papers. Subject to an amendment to the wording of the Appropriation Bill, the bill is identical to the bill presented with 3 May 2005 budget tabled in the May sittings.
The amendment states that the appropriation set out in this bill includes the Supply Bill appropriation. This ensures that agencies will only be provided with the appropriation set out in the 2005-06 Budget. Apart from this minor amendment, the second reading speech is identical to the budget speech I delivered in the May 2005 sittings. To the extent that it is identical, I seek leave to have the second leaving speech incorporated into the Parliamentary Record.
Leave granted.
Mr STIRLING: Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills entitled Payroll Tax Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 3), Taxation (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 4), and Stamp Duty Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 5):
Motion agreed to.
Bills presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills entitled Pay-roll Tax Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 3), Taxation (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 4), and Stamp Duty Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 5) passing through all stages at these sittings.
Motion agreed to.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.
The bills seek to put in place a package of revenue measures announced as part of the 2005-06 budget and the recent Northern Territory election by proposing amendments to the Taxation (Administration) Act, the Stamp Duty Act and the Pay-roll Tax Act. The key proposals announced in the budget involve abolishing electronic debit transaction duty from 1 July 2005 and increasing, from 3 May 2005, the stamp duty first home owner concession from the first $125 000 of a property’s value to the first $200 000 of a property’s value.
In addition, the government subsequently made an election commitment that, from 1 July 2005, it would further increase the stamp duty first home owner concession from the first $200 000 of a property’s value to the first $225 000 of a property’s value, and increase the stamp duty principal place of residence rebate from a maximum of $1500 to a maximum of $2500. The commencement date for these commitments has been brought forward to 20 June 2005 to avoid any disruption to the real estate market.
All of these proposals are intended to complement the initiatives announced in last year’s budget which increased the payroll tax threshold to $1m and abolish debits tax from 1 July 2005. In all, taxes will cut by about $18m in 2005-06, and bank accounts held in the Northern Territory will be free from taxes for the first time in many years.
I will now address the changes proposed in the bills in more detail.
As part of the Territory’s commitment to national tax reform, it is proposed to abolish electronic debit transaction duty for transactions that occur after 30 June 2005. This will save Territorians $2.7m in 2005-06. Importantly, electronic debit transaction duty will remain payable for transactions that occur before 1 July 2005. The old rule, such as the requirement to keep records, will continue to apply to those transactions.
Since coming to office, the government has made substantial changes to stamp duty on conveyancing of residential property. These changes have benefited Territory families and young people, assisting many hundreds of Territorians to get into their own home. When we came to office in 2001, the tax-free threshold that applied to first home buyers was $80 000. There was no concession at all for people purchasing their family home. We initially increased the tax-free threshold to $125 000 and introduced a principal place of residence rebate of $1500 for all Territorians buying their own home.
In the May budget, we increased the stamp duty first home owner concession from the first $125 000 of a property’s value to the first $200 000 value of a property’s value and now, further, to $225 000. This will more than double the stamp duty saving on the purchase of a first home. The maximum concession will increase from $3640 to $6800 for instruments entered into on or after 3 May 2005, and then to $8016 for instruments entered into on or after 20 June 2005. A total of 1400 Territorians a year will benefit from this increase in threshold.
The stamp duty principal place of residence rebate will also increase from a maximum of $1500 to a maximum of $2500 for instruments entered into on or after 20 June 2005. This will provide increased stamp duty savings of up to 67% for all Territorians buying a home to reside in, other than first home buyers; and 1900 people will benefit from the increase in this rebate. The revenue will be safeguarded for the increases in both stamp duty home owner concessions by ensuring that purchases secured prior to the nominated dates, either by contract or option, will not be eligible for the increased concessions. Stamp duty home owner concession increases are expected to cost $450 000 in 2004-05, and $5.7m on a full-year basis in 2005-06.
There are two other stamp duty initiatives which have arisen from submissions to government that set out sensible reasons why changes to the law are desirable. The first seeks to extend the stamp duty exemption for motor vehicles registered in the name of a totally and permanently incapacitated war veteran to include extreme, disabled adjustment war veterans. The fact that these war veterans were not eligible for the stamp duty exemption was brought to government’s attention by the Australian War Veterans EDA Society. These EDA veterans are the most disabled of all veteran pension recipients, and it is only appropriate that the exemption be extended to cover them. It is proposed that this exemption will be available for motor vehicle certificates and registration issued to these veterans on or after 1 July 2005.
The second seeks an exemption to the so-called ‘family farm’ exemption. The exemption provides an incentive to encourage younger generations to continue to work the family farm, and to increase the use of more modern and productive farming techniques, by providing a stamp duty exemption on the transfer of the family farm to the next generation of the family. The exemption has been limited to pastoral property since it was introduced, due to the significant capital cost associated with that industry and the relatively low returns on their investment. However, this reasoning applies equally to other land-based primary producers and, accordingly, it is proposed to extend the ‘family farm’ stamp duty exemption to property used for other forms of land-based primary production.
In addition, the Territory’s current exemption is limited to transfers between natural person relatives and excludes land held in other structures such as companies and trusts. This does not address the commercial reality of how such property is generally held. For instance, primary production land may be held in a company or trust as a form of asset protection. To overcome this limitation, it is proposed to allow the exemption for transfers between family members, family companies in which all of the shareholders are family members, and trusts where the beneficiaries are all family members. It is proposed that the changes to the ‘family farm’ exemption apply to instruments executed on or after 3 May 2005.
Another stamp duty proposal relates to the power provided to the Commissioner of Taxes under the Taxation Administration Act to extend the time for taxpayers to undertake actions required under the act, such as lodging documents for assessment and paying tax. To exercise this power, the commissioner must serve an instrument on each individual taxpayer. A minor amendment to the act is proposed, to operate from 3 May 2005, so that the commissioner can, by way of a published notice, grant general extensions of time to classes of people.
The government has endorsed the commissioner utilising this power to issue a notice which will be effective from 3 May 2005, extending the time for lodging and paying duty on instruments that are conditional contracts. Previously, these instruments had to be lodged and paid within 60 days after execution. Where the conditions were not met, a refund would be made. The new approach will only require the lodgement and payment of duty within 60 days after the contract becomes unconditional, subject to certain safeguards such as a maximum length of time before the instrument must be lodged, even if subject to unfulfilled conditions. This is a more efficient and fairer manner of assessing such instruments.
Under stamp duty legislation, conveyances of dutiable property and marketable securities are assessed on the consideration or unencumbered value of the property conveyed, which ever is the higher. Where such a contract includes an amount of consideration that is only payable on the happening of a future event - that is, a contingent consideration - the consideration for the conveyance is taken to be the highest that could possibly be payable under the contract, irrespective of whether that consideration is ultimately paid. This treatment is long established under the common law and is applied consistently in all states and territories; however, this may result in purchasers paying more stamp duty than if duty had been assessed only on the amount of consideration that is actually paid. In addition, due to the way in which stamp duty laws operate, these purchasers would not normally be entitled to any refund of stamp duty in the event that an amount of contingent consideration is not paid. Accordingly, it is proposed to allow a refund where stamp duty has been assessed and paid on the basis of contingent consideration included in a contract executed on or after 1 July 2005, and the full amount of that consideration is not subsequently paid, and will not be paid.
Finally, the payroll tax grouping provisions caused companies to be grouped where the same person or persons can control the businesses carried on by those companies because they hold the majority of the voting shares in the companies, or because they control the majority of votes at meetings of the directors of the companies. A recent New South Wales case has cast some doubt on whether those provisions apply to companies that are acting as a trustee of a trust. It was not intended that the grouping provisions be limited in this way. Accordingly, amendments are sought to reassert the operation of the grouping provisions in relation to corporate trustees. It is proposed that this amendment apply from 1 July 2005.
Madam Speaker, I commend these bills to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
BAIL AMENDMENT (REPEAT OFFENDERS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 6)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The purpose of this bill is to give effect to the government’s commitment to create safer communities by removing the entitlement to bail for those people who have a history of serious repeat offending. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the Bail Act currently provides that a person is presumed to be entitled to be granted bail. This does not mean that bail must always automatically be granted. Rather, the act sets criteria for determining a grant of bail, including consideration of factors such as the likelihood of committing another offence while on bail. The court always retains discretion to deny bail to an offender. However, this bill specifically restricts the operation of the current presumptions in favour of bail for certain repeat offenders. It also introduces a provision to allow for a decision of a magistrate or justice to grant bail to be stayed for a maximum period of three business days for the purpose of review by the Supreme Court.
The Bail Act already addresses, in a limited way, repeat offending with respect to serious violence. Section 8 of the Bail Act removes the presumption in favour of bail for an accused person who is seeking bail in relation to a charge of causing grievous harm, sexual intercourse without consent, or failure to comply with a restraining order under section 10 of the Domestic Violence Act where the accused has already been found guilty of an offence of a similar nature within the last 10 years. Section 8 also removes the presumption in favour of bail for a person who commits an offence whilst on a suspended sentence unless the alleged offence is so minor that it is unlikely to be regarded as a breach.
This bill will extend the application of section 8 of the act to include a situation where a person is charged with a serious offence, and that offence is alleged to have been committed while the offender was on bail for another serious offence, and the offender already has a prior conviction for a serious violence offence within the last 10 years or a serious offence within the last two years. ‘Serious offence’ is defined in the bill as any offence which attracts a penalty of five or more years imprisonment.
This amendment specifically targets persons who have a history of serious offending and who offend in a similar manner whilst on bail. Existing section 7A of the Bail Act sets out the offences for which there is a presumption against bail. The offences targeted at present are the most serious kind and include murder, treason and serious drug offences attracting a penalty of at least seven years imprisonment, and certain Commonwealth narcotics offences. A person accused of any of these offences will be refused bail unless he or she can satisfy the court that bail should not be refused. The presumption against bail is a particularly heavy onus to discharge and one that is not usually overcome. Basically, the applicant must satisfy the court that there are special reasons, above and beyond the ordinary arguments favouring bail, which justify a grant of bail in the particular circumstances of the case. This provision recognises the serious nature of the offences in question, the higher level of risk to the community, and the increased risk of the offender absconding if released on bail.
The government believes that our bail legislation should reflect the importance of protecting the community from offenders who repeatedly commit serious violent offences and continue to offend whilst on bail. Under amendments to section 7A proposed by this bill, violent offenders can expect to be denied bail where they have a history of repeat serious violent offending. There will be a presumption against the court granting bail where an offender is seeking bail for a serious violence offence; he or she is alleged to have committed that offence whilst on bail for another serious offence or another serious violence offence; he or she also has a prior conviction for a serious violence offence within the last 10 years or a serious offence within the last two years; and at least two of the offences in question involve serious violence.
‘Serious violence offence’ is defined under the bill as covering a full range of offences against the person, including sexual offences, homicide, grievous harm or bodily harm, assault, robbery and assault with intent to steal where the offence in question attracts a penalty of five or more years imprisonment.
The provisions in this bill have been drafted to cover a wide combination of offences. To achieve this, definitions of ‘serious offence’ and ‘serious violence offence’ overlap insofar as they both cover offences which attract a penalty of imprisonment of five years or more. However, for the avoidance of doubt, clause 5(5) of the bill makes it absolutely clear that, where there are at least two serious violence offences involved, one of which is committed whilst on bail, the matter must be dealt with under section 7A as a presumption against bail.
In line with international and government policy regarding offending by young people, these amendments will apply to adult offenders only. This recognises that young offenders require quite different approaches and have quite different needs from those that apply in the case of adult offenders. It also recognises that one of the primary aims of an effective youth justice system is to prevent young people from moving on to become adult offenders.
In recognition of the success of the offender rehabilitation programs such as CREDIT and the importance of rehabilitation in controlling crime generally, the amendments will not affect the continuing operation of any existing bail rehabilitation programs.
A provision has been inserted to allow for programs to be prescribed in the regulations and for the court, where a person is assessed as suitable for such programs, to be able to consider this option despite any applicable presumptions against bail.
Finally, the bill provides for a stay of bail. The Bail Act already provides a process for reviewing bail decisions made by justices and magistrates. However, this new provision will mean that, where the prosecution indicates its intention to seek a review in the Supreme Court of the court’s decision to grant bail, the grant of bail will be stayed pending the outcome of the review. The result is that the accused person will remain in custody while the stay remains in effect. The bill requires any such review to be dealt with as expediously as possible, as the stay remains in place for a maximum period of three business days.
The review is by way of a rehearing of the bail application before the Supreme Court, and the court may vary the decision or make a substituted decision. As the review is by way of rehearing, there may be cases where the court will not be in a position to reach a decision within the three-day time frame. For example, it may be necessary for the court to obtain further reports relevant to the question of bail. To provide for those circumstances, the bill allows the Supreme Court to order extensions of the three-day period where it considers it is appropriate to do so. I should make it clear that this is a matter for the court to determine; the bill does not provide for a party to the proceeding to make an application for an extension of the stay period.
This legislation is intended to protect the community from known recidivist offenders who commit serious crimes. In making amendments to such important legislation as the Bail Act, we are mindful of the balance between community safety and the rights of the individual. We believe that this bill addresses the issue of serious re-offending while, at the same time, recognising that important balance. The amendments will apply in relation to the granting of bail to accused persons for offences committed before the amending act commences.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bill. I table the explanatory statement which accompanies this bill, and I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
This bill is identical to the Criminal Code Amendment (Criminal Responsibility Reform) Bill 2005 I presented in the May sittings, save for some drafting changes aimed at clarifying the operation of certain provisions. The bill proposes the most significant set of reforms to the Northern Territory’s Criminal Code that have occurred since its inception. This government has worked consistently during its term to identify areas of criminal law that require reform.
There is a tendency for debate on reform of the criminal justice system to focus on punishment, to consider reforms in terms of the penalties that are set for offences. The adequacy of the punishment set for crimes is certainly a matter that requires attention and revision as necessary. However, the punishment set by legislation is, in reality, the final consideration in the criminal justice process. It is even more fundamental that we ensure that existing offence provisions are not flawed in criminalising particular conduct; that, where necessary, new offences are enacted to ensure that particularly abhorrent behaviour is criminalised; and that the evidentiary and procedural rules necessary to safeguard a fair criminal trial process are adequately addressed within our criminal law legislation.
Ongoing review of our criminal laws is required to ensure that they both meet current community expectations and deal with emerging forms of criminal activity. As a legislature in a jurisdiction in which the Criminal Code operates to the exclusion of the common law, we have a greater level of responsibility for ensuring that the code sets the proper fault standards for conduct in terms of the offences that have been created.
This bill has a two-stage effect and purpose. First, it proposes reform of the Criminal Code that goes to the heart of fault theory in criminal law by enacting new general principles upon which persons may be held criminally responsible for their conduct. It does so by enacting a new Part IIAA to the Criminal Code. The bill establishes a foundation upon which, over a proposed period of at least five years, the new general principles of criminal responsibility set by new Part IIAA will progressively be applied to all offences, eventually replacing existing Part II of the Criminal Code that currently sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.
Secondly, the bill provides for the existing manslaughter and dangerous act provisions to be repealed. They are to be replaced by a revised manslaughter offence and by offences of: recklessly endangering life; recklessly endangering serious harm; negligently causing serious harm; and dangerous driving causing death or serious harm. Significantly, the existing rape offence is also to be amended. Part IIAA of the new criminal responsibility principles will be immediately applied to all of these offences.
This government has given extensive consideration as to whether existing Northern Territory laws which apply to acts of violence against a person are adequate and, in particular, whether those laws are consistent with criminal responsibility standards for that form of conduct in other jurisdictions.
Before I move to detail the contents of the bill, it is necessary to provide some history of the code provisions which are the subject of reform by this bill. The current criminal responsibility provisions of the Northern Territory code differ from the other code states - that is, Queensland and Western Australia - whIch utilise the Griffith code model, and Tasmania. The Northern Territory code was intended to be a unique code formulation; however, it is apparent that its authors drew upon provisions and concepts from other codes including the Griffiths code. It has been described as ‘eclectic in the utilisation of earlier models’, containing provisions which are ‘quite individual, indeed, almost idiosyncratic’. It is certainly all that and more.
As a result of the current formulation of criminal responsibility provisions in Part II, we have a justice system under which offenders who have caused the death of another have not been held criminally responsible to the same degree as they would have been had they committed an identical act in another jurisdiction. That recognition is hardly new. As early as 1992, in the case of The Queen v Hofschuster, Justice Mildren had this to say:
This would not be such an astonishing observation and circumstance if it was simply that dangerous act was another homicide offence that carried an equivalent degree of culpability for the conduct recognised by the same penalty. However, it most demonstrably is not. It is not part of the division of the code which deals with homicides, and the crime of dangerous act causing death carries only a 10-year maximum, with an increased maximum of 14 years where intoxication is applied as an aggravating factor.
The offence of manslaughter, on the other hand, carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. We are left with the result that the Northern Territory Criminal Code has failed to set the proper level of criminal responsibility for many acts that have resulted in the death of another person. A prime example is the case of Dooley v The Queen, in which the killing in question, as observed in the Court of Criminal Appeal, involved a ‘… vicious beating of a victim in a vigilante fashion …’ involving ‘… premeditation and planning …’. It was characterised as being within the worst category of offending in its kind. It is doubtful whether a revenge-style vigilante killing would result in anything less than, at very least, a conviction of manslaughter in any other jurisdiction. Here in the Territory, it was dealt with as a dangerous act.
This is not a matter which we can remedy simply by increasing the penalty for dangerous act causing death. The dangerous act provision under section 154 of the code is, in itself, unique and has been the subject of much criticism. Section 154 is of remarkable width because it covers an infinite range of conduct ranging from, at one end of the scale, conduct which creates only limited potential danger to the health or safety of a member of the public, to the other end of the scale, conduct involving actual grave danger to the lives, health and safety of many including, as I have said, causing actual death. Again, there is nothing new in this observation. As far back as 1988, the Australian High Court in Baumer v The Queen described section 154 as an:
It would scarcely be an appropriate legislative response to increase the maximum penalty to life imprisonment for an offence that also applies to conduct causing not actual, but only potential, harm.
Members may wonder at this point how such a situation can have arisen. How is it that manslaughter in the Territory does not appear to be the same crime as it is in other jurisdictions? It is the general criminal responsibility provisions of the code that brings this state of affairs about. In particular, it is section 31, the key and general criminal responsibility provision of the Criminal Code that is of pivotal importance in understanding these problems. Amending the manslaughter provisions and repealing section 154, Dangerous Act, and replacing it with new offences would not be possible without addressing the problems created by section 31.
The former High Court Chief Justice has described this provision as ‘astonishing’. In its application to manslaughter, section 31 creates the peculiar result that an accused is excused from criminal responsibility for the death of a person unless he or she personally foresaw that death would result from his or her conduct. It, therefore, provides a subjective fault standard rather than an objective standard by which criminal responsibility is to be judged.
Heavy intoxication is a prevalent element in violent conduct in the Northern Territory. Because of the subject fault requirement in section 31, it is extremely difficult to prove that a heavily intoxicated accused had personal foresight that the beating they were inflicting, or the stabbing that they were committing, might result in death. In other jurisdictions, conduct of this nature would fall within the category of manslaughter by negligence. In the Territory, by default, this can amount only to a dangerous act. Even more surprisingly, the history of section 154 makes it clear that it was actually intended to be used as a default provision for those crimes that section 31 precluded from conviction for manslaughter because of the circumstances of self-induced heavy intoxication. It can be used in this way because section 31 does not apply to section 154.
Section 154 has even been defended by some on the basis that, without such a provision, violent conduct committed by intoxicated persons would go unpunished. In 1989, when the matter of Baumer was returned from the High Court to the Court of Criminal Appeal, Nader J observed:
That is the way the code stood in 1989, and how it still stands. This is not good enough. It is not good enough to be satisfied that a person can just be convicted for some offence - any old offence it seems - when, if that conduct was committed elsewhere, they would be made to bear full criminal responsibility and punishment for manslaughter. It has sent the wrong message about personal responsibility and alcohol: if you get drunk and commit a violent offence, you are not as responsible and get to be treated more leniently than a sober person committing the same offence.
The problem with section 31 is not limited to manslaughter. As we know, sexual violence is also a prevalent crime in the Northern Territory. Section 31 has a profoundly unsatisfactory effect when applied to the rape offence under section 192 of the code.
In its recent decision, in Director of Public Prosecutions v WJI, the High Court considered the effect of section 31 on section 192. It held that because of section 31, the relevant fault element for this offence is that the accused must intend the act of having sexual intercourse without consent. The result of this is that, if an accused believes that the victim is consenting, even if that belief is an entirely unreasonable one, he cannot be held to have intended to have sexual intercourse without consent and must be acquitted. Further, if an accused does not turn his mind to the issue of consent claiming, for example, that in his state of intoxication he gave consent no thought at all, his conduct would again fail to satisfy the requisite fault element imposed by section 31; that is, the intention to have sexual intercourse without consent.
The effect of the WJI ruling is such that, in a recent case before the Northern Territory Supreme Court, the jury was instructed in accordance with the decision of WJI that, if they accepted that the accused had never given consent a thought, then they must acquit him. In the case in question, the accused had come upon a naked woman asleep in her bed. His argument was that he had had a few beers and thought that he would have sex with her, and never gave any thought to whether she was or might not be consenting. He was acquitted.
In his judgment in WJI, Justice Kirby noted that this view of the law had been acted upon in the Territory for some time. He commented upon the failure of the Northern Territory legislature to amend the code, and suggested that ‘… it is more reasonable than otherwise to infer that the approach of the Northern Territory courts to the operation of the NT code was deemed acceptable to the legislature …’.
This is a fundamental flaw. There is no fallback offence provision here for the intoxicated accused. An accused, in these circumstances, must simply be acquitted. If our laws are to address the problems of intoxication and violent and sexual offending in any significant way, then we must, at least, start by ensuring that, in the Northern Territory, we do not accept lower standards of criminal responsibility than other jurisdictions. It is for this reason that I propose this bill to give effect to fundamental reform in the Criminal Code.
As I have said, the bill proposes a new Part IIAA that provides the general principles of criminal responsibility. The Model Criminal Code Officers Committee, established by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, has produced nine chapters for a Model Criminal Code in work undertaken from over more than a decade. Part IIAA is based on Chapter 2 of the Model Criminal Code.
The Commonwealth has already used Chapter 2 as a basis for criminal responsibility provisions in the Commonwealth Criminal Code, which are now in force in the Territory in respect of the commission of federal offences it creates. Establishing the general principles of criminal responsibility, using the model code as the basis for our own code, seeks to create uniformity of standards in the criminal laws that apply in the Territory by aligning the criminal responsibility for Territory offences to that for federal offences.
It will not be possible to immediately apply the new criminal responsibility provisions to the whole of the Criminal Code. This is a significant and substantial reform process that we are embarking on. Each successive report of the Model Criminal Code Officers Committee has included detailed model legislation that is designed to operate with the general principles of criminal responsibility provided by Chapter 2. This bill commences a process by which parts of the model code will gradually be considered, and new offences introduced to replace current offences under the Territory code. Those offences will be rewritten to conform to the new general principles of criminal responsibility introduced to the code by the current bill. Offences will need to be drafted according to the style of the model code, so that the fault elements of the new part can be applied to them. This new style uses clear and precise language to make our criminal laws more readily understandable.
The Australian Capital Territory has embarked on a similar reform process, having already enacted Chapter 2 of the model code. The ACT is gradually enacting provisions to replace the common law and the Crimes Act in that jurisdiction, a process that they also estimate will take at least five years to complete.
New Part IIAA of the code inserted by this bill will immediately be applied to the offences either amended by or created by this bill that I will now describe in detail.
The bill repeals the existing manslaughter offence and replaces it with a crime of manslaughter, which provides that a person will be guilty of manslaughter if they engage in conduct that causes the death of another person and they are either reckless or negligent as to causing that death by their conduct.
New Part IIAA provides the detail of what is encompassed by the fault elements of recklessness and negligence for the purposes of the code. Negligence is not the civil standard with which members may be familiar but, rather, is a criminal standard drawn from the Victorian decision of R v Nydam (1977) VR 430.
The bill also amends section 192 of the code, Sexual intercourse or gross indecency without consent, the offence more commonly referred to as ‘rape’. The amendment alters the fault element for the offence so that a person who has sexual intercourse with or commits an act of gross indecency on another person, and who knows about or is reckless as to the lack of consent, is guilty of a crime.
Once again, Part IIAA provides for definitions of what is encompassed by ‘knowledge’ or ‘recklessness’ for the purposes of this crime. A defence of mistake as to consent will still be available; however, unlike the present situation, such a mistake must be a reasonable one.
The bill proposes the repeal of section 154, Dangerous acts or omissions. The conduct previously encompassed by section 154 will now be covered by manslaughter; reckless endangerment offences; negligent harm offence; and an offence of causing death or serious harm by dangerous driving. At present, that conduct is dealt with under the generality of section 154. It is appropriate that these forms of criminal conduct should be separately recognised and prosecuted as such.
The bill also provides for a list of aggravating circumstances for each of the endangerment offences to which an increased penalty applies. The new harm offences draw on the definition of ‘serious harm’ and ‘harm’ from the model code. The bill also replaces all current references to ‘grievous harm’ in the code and other legislation with a new definition of ‘serious harm’, and replaces all references to ‘bodily harm’ with a new definition of ‘harm’.
Each of the current harm standards are considered to have defects which make it preferable that they be immediately repealed and new harm standards applied. The definition of ‘grievous harm’ requires a physical or mental injury that either endangers life or causes, or is likely to cause, permanent injury to health. The latter requirement is problematic in that it is unlikely that cosmetic injuries - even extensive ones such as facial scarring or loss of an ear - would amount to a permanent injury to health unless accompanied by some lasting psychological consequence. The definition of ‘bodily harm’ is limited by the requirement that the harm be physical in nature. The consequence is curious in establishing proper levels of criminal responsibility. An offender who causes psychiatric injury but no physical harm to a victim may be guilty of a grievous harm offence but not bodily harm. If a psychiatric injury is not permanent, then they will not be able to be convicted of either, and the offence would revert to a common assault.
The new definition of ‘harm’ removes these odd distinctions and provides that harm includes physical harm and harm to a person’s mental health. ‘Serious harm’ removes the requirement for permanency and replaces it with a requirement that the harm is, or is likely to be, significant and long-standing.
As I have said, the bill proposes a new offence of causing death or serious harm by driving a motor vehicle. The code has not previously provided for this offence because section 154 was intended to cover culpable driving offences. These offences had existed as statutory offences under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act prior to the introduction of the Criminal Code. Section 154 has caused difficulty here also, again particularly where alcohol is involved. Driving under the influence of alcohol or another drug may not in itself amount to a ‘dangerous act’, nor is driving at an excessive speed necessarily dangerous. This has led to an acquittal in a case where an intoxicated person drove at an excessive speed causing death (Volz v R (1990) 100 FLR 393 at 404).
The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction that does not have a specific offence of causing death or serious harm by driving a motor vehicle. The bill proposes that such an offence be enacted. Persons who drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a drug so as to be incapable of exercising proper control over a vehicle, or who drive in a manner or at a speed dangerous to another person, will be guilty of this crime. Dangerous driving causing death or serious harm will be an offence of strict liability. In other words, the prosecution will not be required to prove any fault elements - for example, recklessness - but must prove only the physical elements of the offence. However, the defence of mistake of fact remains available.
The creation of a specific offence of causing death or serious harm from driving a motor vehicle will not preclude, in proper cases, such matters being prosecuted as manslaughter. Under the present structure of the crime of manslaughter, such a prosecution was unlikely to be considered because the prosecution was required to prove that a defendant foresaw the victim’s death as a possible consequence of his or her conduct. Under the new manslaughter offence, if there is a level of recklessness or criminal negligence in the driving of a vehicle which is considered to be such that a higher degree of culpability should be considered, then a prosecution for manslaughter may be available.
Of the criminal justice reforms undertaken so far by this government, this will be of the most far-reaching, and will be of enduring importance in ensuring that the standards of criminal responsibility in the Northern Territory are set at a proper level. It is high time we moved away from an acceptance that intoxication can excuse criminal behaviour; it may explain it, but it should never excuse it. Inadequate criminal responsibility provisions which have allowed for the situation to exist will no longer be tolerated.
The reform path that I have announced will be long and complex; however, at the end of the day, Territorians will have a Criminal Code which sets appropriate standards for criminality in our community.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bill, and I table the explanatory statement which accompanies the bill. I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent two bills entitled the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 10) and Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 11):
Bills presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005, and the Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) (No 2) Bill 2005 be now read a second time.
The purpose of the main bill, the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005, is to ensure that the legislation that applies to offending by young people provides an appropriate framework for responding effectively to the different circumstances and needs which arise when young people become involved in the criminal justice system. The framework set in place by the bill will cover all facets of a youth justice system, from the investigation of offences through to trial and sentencing outcomes.
The Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill (No 2) 2005 amends various acts and subordinate legislation consequent upon the enactment of the Youth Justice Act. In particular, there are amendments to the Justices Act, the Police Administration Act, and the Sentencing Act. The majority of the amendments in this bill are aimed at correcting terminology, or repealing provisions which are no longer necessary. However, amendments to the Sentencing Act will also make it clear that the Supreme Court can exercise powers under either the Sentencing Act or the new Youth Justice Act. This is consistent with provisions in the substantive bill dealing with the powers of the new Youth Justice Court and the Supreme Court, respectively.
I return now to the main bill, the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 10). This bill was intended to repeal and replace the Juvenile Justice Act. The bill arises out of a lengthy process of consultation with a wide range of government and community stakeholders. A discussion paper on a review of the Juvenile Justice Act was publicly released in March 2004. A process of extensive consultation with stakeholders with experience and/or interest in the youth justice system was undertaken by the working party conducting the review. This process of consultation informed the working party’s subsequent recommendations which shaped the policy underlying the bill in its current form. One of the most significant new features of the legislation to arise out of the working party review was the inclusion in the bill of overarching objectives and guiding principles based on national standards and international conventions relating to the treatment of young offenders.
The guiding principles set out in clause 4 of the bill provide the framework for responding to offending by young people. It is these principles that must be taken into account in administering the act as a whole. The principles will also inform the decisions of the courts made under the new act. Key guiding principles under the bill include holding young people accountable and encouraging them to accept full responsibility for their behaviour; balancing the needs of young people with the interests of victims and the community at large, including providing greater opportunities for victims to participate in youth justice processes; strengthening and preserving family relationships where appropriate and encouraging parents to fulfil their responsibilities; and recognising racial, ethnic and cultural identity and involving a young person’s own community in responding to offending behaviour where appropriate.
These principles recognise that young offenders require quite different approaches and have quite different needs to those that apply in the case of adult offenders. Young people need to be dealt with by the criminal justice system in a way that takes account of their age and maturity. However, they also must be held accountable for breaking the law and encouraged to accept responsibility for their behaviour. One of the primary aims of the youth justice system is to prevent young people moving on to become adult offenders. Young people need to be given the opportunity to address their offending, and to develop themselves in a socially responsible way. It is only when such strategies fail that detention in custody may become the appropriate option for addressing offending.
The general principles also recognise the importance of family relationships, cultural identity and the need to encourage parents and caregivers to fulfil their responsibility in terms of the care and supervision of young people. It is nothing new to observe that youth offending frequently goes hand-in-hand with family dysfunction, neglect and a failure to properly care for and supervise children and young people.
In addition to the review of the youth justice system, the government has also undertaken an extensive review of the legislation that provides for the care and protection of children and young people, the Community Welfare Act. A discussion paper of the proposed Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill was tabled in this House during the December 2004 sittings.
Madam Speaker, together, the Youth Justice Bill, and the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill will provide a complete legislative framework for dealing with the problems faced by children and young people in our society, including ensuring children and young people are afforded appropriate levels of care and protection; preventing the exploitation of children and young people; and dealing with youth offending in a way that will divert young people from becoming adult offenders and wasting their potential to develop into valuable members of the community.
We have dealt with many bills during this term of the Legislative Assembly that have made specific provision for matters affecting children. As a legislature, we have been particularly mindful that children and young people are vulnerable members of our society. That is why we passed legislation providing for longer sentences for people who commit sexual crimes against children, and who would engage in child abuse in the form of pornography. That is why we have attempted to heighten protection for children against sexual predators by establishing a Child Sex Offenders Register and reporting obligations for child sex offenders. That is why we have provided evidentiary procedures in criminal trials involving children as victims or witnesses, to ensure that they are dealt with fairly and compassionately during the trial process. All of these matters are fair and just measures and consistent with our appreciation that children and young people are not adults.
In the criminal justice system, recognition of the reduced capacity of children and young people calls for consideration of special measures, whether the young person is a victim of crime or an actual offender. From time to time we hear calls to, in essence, lock up young offenders and throw the key away and, in reality, some young offenders will certainly need to be held in custody. The seriousness of a young person’s actions and repeated offending may be matters that, in individual cases, do warrant detention and, in some cases, detention for a lengthy period of time. In recognition of their greater level of maturity, this bill provides for young offenders over the age of 15 years to be detained for longer periods of time up to a maximum period of two years, and to be subject to non-parole periods that may be imposed by a court in any case where a sentence involves detention for 12 months or longer.
However, such cases are at one end of the spectrum of youth offending. We must be careful not to cast all young people into this single mould. Legislation in this area must recognise the whole range of offending by young people that occurs, and the whole spectrum of youthful behaviour and needs.
In addition to outlining objectives and guiding principles to inform the overarching approach to responding to offending by young people, this bill provides for a full range of dispositions necessary to deal with offending behaviour by young people. In summary, this bill:
One of the key features of the bill is an expansion of the successful pre-court diversion scheme previously contained in the Police Administration Act. That scheme offered four levels of diversion: verbal warnings; written warnings; formal cautions and family conferences; and victim/offender conferences. Similar levels of diversion will also be offered under the scheme in this bill, with a presumption in favour of diversion as the appropriate response to youth offending in all cases except those involving serious offences or those involving offending by young people with a history of offending or previous diversions.
The new provisions also include the capacity for the Youth Justice Court to refer a young person back to the Police Diversion Unit to reassess their suitability to participate in diversionary programs. In the interests of furthering rehabilitation of young offenders, it will be an offence to publish information about a young person who is participating in a diversionary program.
Under the diversionary scheme, in addition to coordinating family or victim/offender conferences, the police are able to refer young offenders to community-based youth offender programs, which include counselling, education, training and life skills programs. Under the bill, an upgraded version of the existing diversion scheme is transferred from the Police Administration Act to the proposed Youth Justice Act. This has been done because provision for such a diversion scheme is more appropriately situated in legislation that deals with the full range of responses to offending by young people, rather than in legislation that provides for the powers of police officers and the establishment of the police force. Nevertheless, the police will continue to play an important operational role in administering youth diversion under the new act.
Making young people aware of their rights and obligations: the bill also provides for a youth justice system that is sensitive to cultural differences, and requires adults dealing with young offenders to explain what is happening at all stages of the process. They must make these explanations in language which is appropriate to the young person’s age, maturity, cultural background and language skills. If we are to expect young people to be responsive to our efforts to curb their offending and to accept full responsibility for their actions, we must start by making sure that they actually understand what is happening to them and why.
This bill provides that, wherever practical, the police must ensure that young offenders understand processes they are subject to during an investigation, and their entitlement to legal representation, and the presence of support persons where appropriate. The courts must explain the nature of court proceedings and the effect of any sentencing or other court order made. Likewise, detention centre staff must explain to young offenders their rights and responsibilities at the time they are admitted to the detention centre.
Each of these measures is aimed at ensuring that young offenders fully appreciate the nature of the consequences that flow from their offending behaviour. However, they also recognise that young peoples’ lower level of maturity and capacity to understand and anticipate consequences, means that they warrant different treatment from adult offenders.
Another new initiative established by the bill is the Youth Justice Advisory Committee. This will allow for a greater level of community input to the youth justice system, and aims to encourage government agencies responsible for youth matters to take a whole-of-government approach in responding to youth issues.
Part 13 of the bill provides for a new committee to be comprised of government, non-government and community representatives; for the composition of the committee to reflect the composition of the community at large as well as drawing membership from a number of youth specific organisations and agencies; for the committee to be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the administration and operation of the new act and providing advice to the minister on issues relevant to the administration of youth justice; and for the committee to prepare an annual report on its activities to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly. I anticipate that the Youth Justice Advisory Committee will meet two or three times a year.
In another new initiative under this bill, the Youth Justice Advisory Committee will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining a register of appropriate persons. The new register will contain a list of people who have been selected as being appropriate persons to act as support persons where a young person’s chosen support person cannot be contacted or cannot attend within a reasonable period of time. Young people have an existing right to have a support person present when they are apprehended by the police for the purposes of interview, a search or any other matter in connection with an investigation. The support person will usually be the young person’s parent or guardian. However, there will be circumstances where the main caregiver may not always be present and it will be important to avoid further delays in progressing a police investigation.
The new provisions under this bill ensure that, where the police have made reasonable attempts to have a young person’s support person or legal representative attend an investigation but that person is not available, the police may instead contact someone from the Register of Appropriate Persons to act in the role of a support person. This measure ensures that young people are assured of appropriate support mechanisms during investigative procedures, but that police processes are not unduly delayed by the inability to locate relatives or legal representatives.
Greater victim participation: this bill impacts upon all criminal justice agencies at the point at which they become involved with young offenders, including police, court officers and Correctional Services. It also impacts on the community at large. In addition to providing for greater community participation through the Youth Justice Advisory Committee and the Register of Appropriate Persons, the bill specifically provides for a greater level of engagement by victims of youth offending. Victim offender conferences are already used as a very effective tool in our diversion programs. Under the bill, this tool has been extended to matters that proceed before the Youth Justice Court.
In addition to the court receiving victim impact statements or a victim report, the court may adjourn sentencing proceedings and order a youth to participate in a pre-sentencing conference. Such conferences may be with the victim, or with such community representatives or other persons as the court may consider appropriate. This new initiative will implement a practical way of ensuring young offenders face up to the actual consequences of their actions. They will be required to meet with and hear directly from the individual or individuals whose lives their offending behaviour has affected. I am convinced that this is the most powerful way of encouraging young offenders to accept full responsibility for their behaviour and, again, a very real insight into the consequences of their actions.
A greater range of sentencing options: the bill also makes a wide range of sentencing dispositions available to the court in dealing with young offenders. Sentencing principles are set out in Part 6, Division 1 of the proposed act. These principles are consistent with government policy underlying justice for young people and the community in general, and clearly articulate current sentencing philosophy. The bill sets out the sentencing options in a logical manner in order of seriousness. This is similar to the approach taken under the Sentencing Act, which deals with sentencing of adult offenders. The wide range of sentencing options available to the court will ensure maximum flexibility for magistrates and judges, allowing them to order the most appropriate sentence and outcome for a young offender in question.
Some of the new options available to the court include provision for supervised bail; more comprehensive provisions for periodic detention; consolidated probation and good behaviour orders; application of review and breach provisions to all sentences; provision for the court to order aggregate sentences or that sentences be served concurrently or cumulatively; and a new option for the court to sentence a young person to strictly monitored home detention as an alternative to detention in an institution. As mentioned previously, among the new sentencing options available to the court are longer sentences for detention for young people over 15 years old, as well as the capacity for the court to impose non-parole periods to such offenders.
While this bill provides a sound framework and a wide range of mechanisms for dealing with young people involved in the criminal justice system, it has to be recognised that legislation cannot, of itself, provide all the answers to youth offending. We are fortunate, however, in the Northern Territory to have agencies and individuals who bring dedication and determination to the often difficult task of working with young people to address the offending behaviour, and assisting them to develop their lives in a constructive, rather than destructive, way. The outcomes of operationally-based responses, such as the Territory’s Juvenile Diversion Scheme, have been very encouraging. Such programs demonstrate the importance of a continuing commitment to alternative approaches to dealing with youth offending.
An evaluation of the NT diversion scheme undertaken by the Commonwealth highlighted that significant results can be achieved from this approach to youth offending. Diversion was offered to over 50% of the 4159 young people apprehended in the first three years of the scheme. The vast majority of young people offered diversion accepted this option rather than going to court, and over 95% of all diversions were completed to the satisfaction of police.
The outcomes, in terms of recidivism, are also extremely positive. The vast majority of young people who completed diversion were not re-apprehended within a year of their initial arrest. Furthermore, the rate of recidivism for young people who have completed a diversion program was lower than that for young people who continued through the court process.
Other benefits of diversion included the positive impact on the lives of young people; a high level of victim satisfaction; consistency in the application of diversionary measures; and an enhanced perception of the NT Police Force.
I am grateful for the participation of victims of crime in this process, and for their generosity in engaging with young people who have offended against them in conferences in an attempt to assist them to turn their lives around. Of course, under this bill the role of victims has been enhanced. It is acknowledged that there is more work to be done, but with dedication and hard work exhibited by these outcomes and within the framework of the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005, I am certain that we will continue to build on and achieve a more positive outcome for the youth justice system.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bills. I table the explanatory statements which accompany the bills and I commend the bills to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I move the bill be read a second time.
The purpose of the bill is to ensure that governance of the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE) is in line with preferred national practice in the higher education sector. The bill amends the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Act to incorporate new national governance protocols for higher education institutions. The Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training has defined percentage increases in Commonwealth grant scheme funding for higher education institutions that are dependent on meeting certain workplace reforms, including compliance with national governance protocols. Therefore, an additional purpose of these changes is to ensure BIITE can access maximum Commonwealth government funding flowing from its compliance with the national protocols.
Without these amendments, BIITE will not receive a 5% increase in funding for 2006 from the Commonwealth government. This is equal to approximately $0.4m. The Territory, along with all other state and territory governments, is upgrading legislation to ensure that the requirements of the protocols are reflected in their legislation for higher education institutions. The issues addressed in the amendments of the act in relation to the BIITE governing council are: requiring some members with financial and commercial expertise; making explicit the duties of members; vacation of office if a member is otherwise disqualified from acting as a director of a company; and the power to remove any member. The amendments ensure that the BIITE Council has at least two members with financial expertise, and one of those two to also have commercial expertise. This must be demonstrated by relevant qualifications at a senior level in the public or private sector.
The proposed bill spells out the governance duties of the members of council, in addition to penalties for breach of duties. The duties include: must act solely in the interests of the institution as a whole, with this obligation to be observed in priority to any duties that a member may owe to those electing or appointing him or her; must act in good faith and honestly; must exercise appropriate care and diligence; must not use his or her office to improperly gain an advantage either for the member or another person; and must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest. A member must automatically vacate the office if he or she is, or becomes, disqualified acting as a director of a company, or managing corporations under Part 2D.6 of the Corporations Act. The proposed bill meets the requirement that the government body has the power by a two-thirds majority to remove any member of the BIITE Council. The two-thirds majority ensures that there is broad consensus for removal from the council before this occurs.
Madam Speaker, the bill promotes national consistency in the regulation of governance of higher education institutions. I commend the bill to honourable members. I table the accompanying explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to ensure governance of Charles Darwin University (CDU) is in line with preferred national practice in the higher education sector. The bill amends the Charles Darwin University Act to incorporate new national governance protocols for higher education institutions. The Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training has defined percentage increases in Commonwealth Grant Scheme funding for higher education institutions which is dependent on meeting certain workplace reforms, including compliance with national governance protocols. Therefore, an additional purpose of these changes is to ensure CDU can access maximum Commonwealth government funding flowing from its compliance with the national protocols. Without these amendments, CDU will not receive a 5% increase in funding for 2006 from the Commonwealth government, equal to approximately $1m.
The Territory, along with all other state and territory governments, is upgrading legislation to ensure that the requirements of the protocols are reflected in the legislation for higher education institutions. The issues addressed in the amendments to the act in relation to the CDU Governing Council are: maximum terms of service; making explicit the duties of members; and the power to remove any member. The amendments specify that the maximum term of office a member may serve on the council. This would generally not exceed 12 years unless specifically agreed by two-thirds of the council. The proposed bill spells out the governance duties of the members of council, in addition to the penalties for breach of duties that are currently in the act. The duties include: must act solely in the interests of the institution and not as a representative of a particular constituency; must act in good faith and honestly; must exercise appropriate care and diligence; must not use his or her office to improperly gain an advantage either for the member of another person; and must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest.
The proposed bill meets the requirement that the governing body has the power by a two-thirds majority to remove any member of the CDU Council. The two-thirds majority ensures broad consensus for removal from the council before this occurs.
While the Charles Darwin University Act is open for review, section 38(2) is being removed as it is now obsolete. Section 38(2) requires CDU, as soon as it adopts or amends a budget, to forward a copy of it to the Treasurer. The section dates from when the former Northern Territory University was part of the Northern Territory government reporting. CDU now provides financial information, as required, in its annual report and the Treasurer can require information to be provided at any time.
Madam Speaker, the bill promotes national consistency in the regulation of governance of higher education institutions. I commend the bill to honourable members, and table the accompanying explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of graduates from the Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development 2005 NTPS Graduate Program. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
Continued from 29 June 2005.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, just under four years ago, I stood here and thanked Territorians for electing the first Labor government in the Northern Territory’s history as a self-governing Territory.
Today, I stand here and feel both deeply gratified and humbled by the vote of confidence in Territory Labor on 18 June, which returned this government with an increased majority. My commitment here today is that we will repay that confidence by governing for all Territorians from Alice Springs to Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Kintore, Borroloola, Wadeye, the Tiwi Islands and everywhere else that time precludes me from mentioning.
We will work with and for all Territorians, whoever they voted for, to build on the achievements of the last four years to build a Territory where all citizens and their children can live in safety and security, are able to access high-quality health and education services, and have the opportunity to work and fulfil their aspirations for a satisfying life.
This work starts now. My government will be immediately getting on with the job of delivering on our commitments. This is the Tenth Assembly in the Territory’s relatively short history of independent government and, when I look around this Chamber, it seems to me that this Assembly more truly represents the people of the Territory than any other which has gathered at the start of a new Territory government.
Ten of the 25 members are women, which is unprecedented representation of women not just here, but anywhere else in Australia. Five members of the Assembly are indigenous Territorians - again, an unprecedented and a very timely representation of 28% of the Territory’s population. We also have representatives from three other ethnic groups which have made a proud contribution to the Territory’s history: the Chinese, the Greek and the Italian. In addition, we have a wide spread of ages represented in this Assembly, from young and vigorous adulthood to the wisdom and maturity of those with senior years.
Mrs Braham: Oh, that is very nice.
Ms MARTIN: Anyone over 50, member for Braitling!
Mrs Braham: Nice way to put it.
Ms MARTIN: Over 50.
I believe that at the beginning of this Tenth Assembly, we stand on the threshold of a new era for our Territory - an era both of unprecedented opportunity and challenge. The economy is growing strongly with visible expansion in construction, tourism, gas, mineral processing and primary industry. Population growth has recovered and there is a mood of optimism. However, this is also a time of great challenge.
I can think of no starker illustration than almost 40% of the Territory’s school-aged children are indigenous, and almost 70% of these live outside the main urban centres. The challenge we all face is to ensure that these children have the opportunity to receive an education that will enable them to participate fully as citizens, to access employment and to live a satisfying life. If we do not rise to meet that challenge full on, the consequences will certainly be disastrous for them and their children, but will also have a major impact on the Territory economy and on the lifestyle of all Territorians. This is not a challenge we can afford to ignore, and our success or failure in facing and meeting it will determine the Territory’s future.
I will not touch on every area of our plans today; I will leave that up to individual ministers. I will talk about some of our priority areas and our goals.
Economic development is the first one I would like to mention, particularly recovering from the slump of 2000-01. When we came to government in 2001, the Territory economy was at rock bottom. One of our first steps was to call an economic summit in November of that year, which brought together business people, community leaders, unions, economists and ordinary Territorians to map a path forward for the Territory economy. This resulted in the publication in June of the next year of the economic development strategy, Building a Better Territory. This laid out a plan covering both core and emerging industries; economic drivers such as transport, infrastructure and land; the requirements for a supportive business environment; and the need for regional development. Just over two years later, in October 2004, I was able to report that 95% of the initiatives identified in that strategy had been actioned.
The Territory economy has recovered from the slump of 2000-01 and, in almost all sectors and indicators, is now performing more strongly than it was at its previous peak. Business confidence is high, I am pleased to say, and business investment is at an all-time high. Engineering construction is also at the same all-time high, and annual growth in residential building approvals and housing finance commitments is the highest in the country. Annual retail growth is the strongest in the country at 8%, and annual motor vehicle sales growth is the second highest at 11%.
In the last few years, the government has laid a solid foundation for economic growth, with the lowest taxes for small business, responsible business management of the budget, together with an investment in infrastructure to support development and service delivery.
The Territory’s economy is strong and prospects for the future are good. However, this government will not be resting on these laurels. We will be getting on with the job of delivering the initiatives we outlined during the election campaign. We are committed to further payroll tax cuts, raising the tax-free threshold to $1.25m, and bringing the rate below 6%. We promised that spending on strategic infrastructure such as roads and tourism would continue. We are also committed to introduce a 20% weighting for local business in government contracts, to support local business growth and jobs for Territorians.
Tourism will continue to be a key industry for our Northern Territory. We have been successful in the past two years in attracting a greater number of interstate tourists. The popularity of The Ghan has been one factor in that success. We can build on that success, but we also need to attract a greater share of the international tourism market. The growing cruise ship sector is an area where we have done well, and where we can do even better over the next years.
The conventions, conferences and meetings market is another sector where we have been successful in boosting visitor numbers, and where there is scope for further expansion. Alice Springs has attracted a greater market share with its convention centre, and the Darwin convention centre associated with the Darwin City Waterfront development, will have a significant impact on visitor numbers in the Top End once that is completed in 2008.
Over the next four years, this government will work with the tourism industry to develop more quality tourist experiences, and to effectively market the Northern Territory to the world.
Volatility has been a major feature of the Territory economy. To some extent, this has been an inevitable result of volatility in offshore oil and gas production and investment. It is also a feature of new and growing economies. There have also been other factors beyond the control of government, such as the events of 11 September 2001, and the collapse of Ansett Airlines. However, there are steps that governments can take to help smooth the wider fluctuations of the onshore economy. Over the last four years, this government took very deliberate steps to support the tourism industry with a $27.5m package of promotion and development, and also to assist the construction industry recover from the slump of 2000-01.
This government will continue to take appropriate action to smooth the boom and bust cycle, and to support a healthy and sustainable level of economic growth. We must also look beyond our established industries such as tourism, mining, mineral processing and primary industries, in order to broaden the Territory’s economic base. One of the disadvantages of a relatively narrow economic base is that the Territory economy is more susceptible to the impact of major external events of the kind that caused a slump in tourism in 2001.
The development of onshore gas and the potential it holds for generating a stronger manufacturing base is a key priority for this government over the next four years.
Defence Support is another area where the Territory has potential to expand its economic base.
We will also be working with business to grow the AustralAsia Trade Route. Yesterday, FreightLink announced the addition of a link, six times a week, between Melbourne and Adelaide, to join up with the Adelaide to Darwin railway from 4 July. In October this year, we will be hosting on The Ghan a conference of business leaders in transport, logistics, retail and manufacturing to promote the potential of the trade route and bring together key decision makers.
Addressing the skills shortage is one our biggest challenges. With the Territory economy now strong and growing, we are facing a very strong demand for skilled workers and professionals in a range of industries and areas. This government has committed to training 10 000 Territorians over the next four years under Jobs Plan 2. This will include an increase in school-based apprenticeships and prevocational courses, and further funding for fast-tracking skill development for existing workers in the automotive, construction, mining and hospitality industries.
Developing the skills of school leavers and existing Territory workers will not be enough to meet the demand of our growing economy. Attracting additional skilled workers and professionals to live and work in the Territory will also be a priority for this government over the next four years. We will also collaborate with researchers and undertake studies of the labour market in the Territory, particularly in key industries such as tourism, to guide government policy and more effectively target government programs.
The Economic Development Strategy of 2002, which set the path for development over the past few years, has served us well, but we now need to move to another stage in planning. Early in the term of this government, we will develop, in consultation with industry, unions and other stakeholders, an updated economic development strategy.
A significant feature of our population story has been the volatility of interstate migration. The expansion which followed the first years of self-government saw a nett flow of interstate migration to the Territory. This was followed by a nett outflow of interstate migration for the next 10 years, which did not end until the beginning of the move of an Army battalion to Darwin in 1995. Another period of interstate migration loss followed in 1998, and we only began to turn the corner, once again, in 2003.
If we are to attract and retain tradespeople and professional workers to keep pace with our growing economy, we must first understand the critical factors which influence migration to and from the Territory. This government will undertake studies to better understand these factors and inform government policy and programs to reduce the population churn, and attract and retain valuable skills to grow the Territory. We will also work in collaboration with Charles Darwin University to better understand the Territory’s demographics. This government will implement a whole-of-government strategy to build the Territory’s population.
Across Australia, one impact of globalisation has been the relative decline of regional areas, and a drift to the larger cities. In this sense, the whole of the Territory is a region which is susceptible to the same global pressures. The Territory has not yet attained the critical population mass which is necessary to generate sustainable growth in many sectors of the economy. We also need a larger population to support the level of tertiary education and health services to which we aspire.
The Territory cannot stand still; it must grow and develop in order to survive as a vital community which offers a wide range of opportunities and challenges - especially to our young people - in competition with the larger southern population centres. Not only do we need to ensure growth continues, but we need to ensure that everyone in the Territory benefits from it. We will develop strategies for our regions to guide development and generate sustainable economies and jobs, especially for our young people.
The development of strategic infrastructure is opening up opportunities for regional development. The railway and expansion of the Darwin port made the development of the Bootu Creek mine possible. The opportunity now exists to develop Katherine and Tennant Creek as freight hubs associated with the AustralAsia trade route.
The completion of the Mereenie and West MacDonnell Loop Road will facilitate the growth of tourism in the West MacDonnells, including the development of new tourism enterprises in the region.
The government’s parks master plan, in addition to protecting biological diversity and enhancing recreational opportunities, will help create a sustainable base for regional economic development. Nature-based and cultural tourism are two of the key building blocks for growing visitor numbers to the Territory.
Joint management arrangements will boost employment opportunities for local communities. Viable and effective local government is an important ingredient in regional development. Negotiations are at a advanced stage with a view to establishing regional authorities at Anindilyakwa west central Arnhem, and in the Top End rural region. There are also encouraging discussions taking place in three further regions.
I have already mentioned the vital importance of education. With the youngest population profile in the country, sound investment in the education of our children has to be a key priority for the Territory. Implementation of the major initiatives following the review of secondary education will be an important focus over the next few years. This will see increased choices for secondary students, and will better equip our secondary schools to meet the needs of students in the middle years - the 11- to 14-year-old age group. These initiatives also include the provision of qualified counsellors and career advisers, greater professional support for teachers, and a boost to distance education.
The new teachers’ EBA will see our teachers among the best remunerated in the country over the next few years, and will ensure that we maintain the ability to attract and retain skilled teachers.
Another important element of the response to the secondary education review announced in the budget was the commitment to invest a further $16m over the next four years to improve the quality of education in remote communities. This will fund a pool of specialist teachers to support face-to-face teaching in the remote schools, and the establishment of mentorship programs for indigenous students.
Over the term of government, we have established ambitious targets to increase the number of Territory students achieving national numeracy and literacy benchmarks by 10%, and the number of indigenous students achieving those benchmarks by 25%. The efforts of the Wadeye community at the beginning of this year, which saw school attendance numbers double for the start of school, shows what can be done. Our challenge is now to keep those students at school, and to work with other communities to reproduce that achievement across the Territory.
To successfully respond to that challenge, we will need help from the federal government because the implications to school infrastructure alone will put a significant strain on our budget. This is a national issue which much be addressed for the sake of the nation, not just the Territory.
I talked earlier about the challenges we face to provide opportunities, especially for young indigenous Territorians growing up on remote communities. When I visited Ntaria in April this year for Community Cabinet, I was approached by two bright 17-year-old young women who wanted to talk to me about their future. They had both completed Year 12 and wanted to find employment, but there were neither jobs nor vocational training available on their community. They were not ready yet to settle down to motherhood, which was the option of many of their contemporaries; many chosen by default. The Territory owes these young people - particularly these two young women who had the initiative to come and talk to me - an opportunity to forge a future for themselves and contribute to the Territory’s future.
This government will work with indigenous people, industry and the wider community to develop a whole-of-government strategy for a viable and sustainable future for indigenous people in remote areas. This strategy will be coordinated through the Chief Executive Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs. The Territory cannot succeed in this alone, and I will be seeking the assistance and support of the federal government.
In April, I was the first state or territory head of government to sign a bilateral agreement on indigenous affairs with the Prime Minister, which outlined a cooperative agenda to work together to enhance the wellbeing of indigenous Territorians. I am already talking with the federal government about the future of the CDEP program to see how we can ensure the program becomes a springboard for sustainable employment. We are already committed to generating indigenous employment under our plan for joint management of parks. We also need to progress our thinking on the potential for sustainable employment in Caring for Country Program in cooperation with the Commonwealth.
The Indigenous Economic Development Strategy, which I launched in May of this year, outlines the potential for indigenous employment in primary industry and tourism, especially. It is vital that we start now to equip young indigenous people living on remote communities to take on the public service delivery and local government roles in remote communities, as well as in our towns. The Territory needs many more young indigenous people in these positions, both to provide a future for Territory youth, and to deliver appropriate and sustainable services. We should be aiming to fill teaching, nursing and police positions and local government jobs with young indigenous Territorians; rather than having to recruit non-indigenous people who grew up, perhaps, in Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. Our indigenous young people will be a significant part of the Territory’s future. It is vital that we equip them to take up that responsibility.
Territory families need access, not only to education and jobs, but also to quality health services, affordable housing and community services attuned to their needs. This government’s strategy for Building Healthier Communities outlines the direction and priorities for health and community services over the next four years. A particular focus will be on infant and child health. This is the area where we have the greatest opportunity to improve the prevention of disease and disability. Maternal care will be boosted with the employment of additional midwives in both Central Australia and the Top End, and increased funding from midwifery training.
During the election campaign, we announced a commitment to spend $25m to modernise the Royal Darwin Hospital tower block. We will also be developing site master plans for each of our hospitals over this term of government, to lay the foundation for further improvement in acute care services.
We will continue helping families get ahead. Our stamp duty cuts and the enhancements for HomeNorth scheme announced during the election campaign will increase the accessibility of home ownership across the Territory by raising both the eligibility threshold and the maximum house price allowed under the scheme. This will further consolidate the Territory as the most affordable location to buy a home.
In order to live satisfying lives, people need to feel that they can walk the streets and sleep at night in safety and security, without fear of harassment, violence or robbery. When we came to government, property crime was spiralling out of control; it was increasing at a rate of 20% per year. Since then, we have boosted the police budget by 38%, and house break-ins have been reduced by 53%. This government will continue to work to reduce crime and increase community safety and security.
During the election campaign, we made further commitments to tackle antisocial behaviour. These measures have a dual objective: to enhance safety and harmony in our neighbours and on our streets; and to ensure help for people with a chronic and uncontrolled alcohol problem, and their families. We do not want more people in our gaols but, unfortunately, the threat of gaol may need to be used as a last resort to get help for chronic alcoholics. We cannot stand by and let this situation deteriorate further.
In the Territory, we are very fortunate to live in a relatively unspoilt environment, which has largely escaped serious degradation. This government is committed to establishing an Environmental Protection Agency, and to introduce responsible and balanced environmental regulation to ensure that current and future generations will continue to enjoy what we do now. In the lead-up to the election, we committed to protecting the Daly River, and to provide an additional $3.5m to extend land and water monitoring systems. This will be the beginning of an innovative Living Rivers program that will ensure that our rivers are maintained for the benefit and enjoyment for all.
None of the things I have outlined can be achieved without a framework of responsible and responsive government. Initiatives to strengthen the accountability and transparency of government were among the earliest actions of the last term of government. We will continue to strive to achieve high standards of accountability, and to deliver responsive and responsible government.
I will talk a little during this Address-in-Reply about some of the exciting plans within my electorate of Fannie Bay. Both Parap Primary and Darwin High Schools will continue with their upgrades. At Parap, Stage 1 has been completed, and Stage 2 is now under way. Once completed, the school will have new classrooms and an airconditioned assembly area that will not only provide a great facility for the school, but also for our local community. At Darwin High, the new Home Economics and Science building is due to be completed by the end of the year. A further $2m has been committed to the Stage 2 upgrade, which will see work done on existing buildings.
Work at the old Arafura Bowls site has been commenced, and will include an aviation theme park to recognise the significant aviation heritage in the electorate; a third of that site will be a park and open space. The Ross Smith master plan will be jointly funded by the Darwin City Council and government, and will recognise the aviation significance of Ross Smith Avenue.
The netball complex on Darwin City Council land will move over this term of government to Marrara - which I am sure you will welcome, Mr Deputy Speaker, as the member for Sanderson - which will create opportunities for possible expansion of the pool and a skate park. What is being discussed, initially, by members of the community is that the old Darwin netball site would be great for an oval for use by Parap Primary, which does not have a great deal of land.
There are also some expanded facilities for some of our parks, reserves, and waterways. The $4m Visitor Centre at the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens announced during the election will not only be a great tourist attraction but a great facility for locals with a new caf.
I began by saying this government is committed to governing for the benefit of all Territorians wherever they live across the broad expanse of one-sixth of the country’s land mass. That this is a very serious commitment will be evident from the directions and priorities I have outlined for the government over the next four years. The development of our regions and the opportunity for all Territorians to access quality education and employment, experience safety and security and good health, and to have the means to achieve a satisfying life, will be the priority goals for this government over the next fours years.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the election is over. We have a new parliament and a new government. My government will immediately set about getting on with the job of working to achieve these goals for all Territorians.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for her opening address, even though we heard from the ‘newbies’ - which I know government members are calling their own - yesterday. I congratulate all new members on being elected, and I hope that their experience in this parliament is as interesting and challenging as mine has been over the last four years. I extend to all a welcome.
I also extend my sincere congratulations to the Chief Minister. It is no mean feat to win an election in such a way that results in so many seats; so my sincere congratulations are offered. Labor has done it in a way that reminds us only of the Paul Everingham success in the 1980s. By any measure, it is a decisive result and I congratulate you, and wish you well in this term.
All members of this Assembly are focused on the future of the Territory and, despite various political differences, I feel confident when I say that all 25 members of the Assembly, although they see things differently, have the best interests of the Territory and its citizens at heart. We all agree that there is much more to be done, and we look forward to working with, and challenging, government where it is appropriate. Although Territorians voted decisively for Labor at the election, most of them know that, probably like so many other governments - and it is no wonder people are cynical of politicians and governments - even if half of what government promised is delivered, then that is good and the Territory would be a better place. Our job will be to ensure that all of the promises made by the Labor Party are, in fact, delivered over the next four years.
As I have said publicly, I have had a look at the figures for the election and my view is that they are instructive. About 40 000 people gave their primary vote to Labor and about 30 000 gave their primary vote to the Country Liberal Party. In opposition, we will be the voice of those people whom Labor ignores; those 30 000 who did not vote Labor. We will be the voice of an alternative government, for Territorians who are adversely affected by decisions of government. For example, we will be the voice for so many Territorians who experience crime, antisocial behaviour, humbugging and the like on our streets, and we will not rest until Territorians are safe in their homes or walking in our streets - particularly women and children. We will also be the voice for those who cannot understand why repeat offenders often do not receive punishment in line with community expectations.
We will be the voice for the nurses and other health professionals who tell us that they are still working too hard and too long. So many of them are thinking about leaving their jobs and leaving the Territory. Despite government claims that it has provided scores of nurses, why is it that our nurses tell us that they have not seen the results? Why is it that Tennant Creek and Alice Springs Hospitals were included in the list of the country’s 26 worst hospitals in the report from the National Healthcare Standards Council? Why is it that there has been a blow-out in each health budget under Labor, when problems such as bed shortages, lengthy waiting times and staff shortages continue to exist?
We will also be a voice for business, large and small. Under the last four years of this government, many businesses have struggled to make a go of it. This was perfectly illustrated by the Sensis Small Business Index released just before the election. It showed that business support for the Labor government’s business policies was at an all-time low. I was not surprised. This Labor government has been, we all know, the beneficiary of huge GST windfalls, yet Territorians are paying more tax to the Labor government’s coffers than at any stage in our history. Businesses are crying out for tax relief, and we will champion their cause.
We will be a voice for those who want to see the Territory restored to where it was many years ago - a place that attracted people from other jurisdictions, a can-do place noticed by people everywhere. The population decline we have witnessed in Labor’s first term simply cannot be allowed to continue.
We will be a voice for Aboriginal Territorians who were offered so much during the election campaign. What was promised must be delivered, and I will strive to ensure that they receive the improvements to their lives that Labor promised.
We will be the voice for the average Territory family concerned at the rising household expenses experienced under Labor. For example, the ABS tells us that the average price of a basket of groceries has increased in the Territory. We have seen Labor receive more and more money from motor vehicle registrations. I would like this Labor government to give a rock solid, iron clad commitment to Territorians that their electricity bills will not increase in the next four years.
They are just some of the people we will represent, and some of the issues we will pursue over the next four years. In essence, we will be the voice that questions, challenges, advocates and provides alternative views.
In relation to the Independents, we will work with them where appropriate. Given much media commentary, it is very appropriate that I clarify the opposition’s position with respect to the Independents. I know both the members for Braitling and Nelson pride themselves on their independence and I respect them for so doing. I also know that both of them take their roles as parliamentarians very seriously and that they, like us, will strive to represent their electorates. I am hopeful, however, that we can assist each other when it is appropriate and reasonable to do so, as we all endeavour to perform our own functions. I take this opportunity of reminding the Independents that we, the opposition, hold all shadow portfolios and we have an obligation to prosecute issues both in and out of the parliament. While we are few in number, we are Her Majesty’s loyal opposition, and I ask the Independents to bear that in mind.
Much has been said and written about the future of my party, the CLP, as a result of this election. Those doomsayers who suggest that it is the end of the road for the CLP have no regard to history, do not have a thorough understanding of the present, and need to open their minds as to the possibilities of the future. I remind Territorians and members of the Assembly that, on this day four years ago, the CLP held 18 seats in parliament, and Labor held seven. This was only four years ago, and today’s seating in the Chamber shows how quickly and dramatically things can change in the Northern Territory.
The fact that some 30 000 people voted for the CLP out of a total of approximately 75 000 people who did vote, was significant. To assert that the election spells the end of the CLP is to suggest that there is no place for conservative politics in the Northern Territory. Those 30 000 people are likely to think otherwise. It is noteworthy that several CLP seats were lost by less than 150 votes. The election shows us how quickly and dramatically things can change in politics in the Territory. The election has shown us that there is no such thing as a safe seat. Margins of 10% to 20% have become meaningless. We have small, volatile electorates with a highly transient population; it demonstrates that, at each election, anything is possible.
In October 2001, when I made my maiden speech in this place, I did not expect to be standing here in the capacity of Leader of the Opposition. Although not well known for my driving ambition, I had thought that I may wish to consider aiming for higher office in a few years from now. I did not expect to be in this position less than four years after first standing in this place. This also demonstrates how quickly and dramatically things can change in politics in the Northern Territory.
This opposition, although few in number, knows that every seat is gettable at the next election. We know that politics is the art of the possible. We know that governments get sloppy and arrogant. We know that we will enjoy the challenges before us and that we will capably identify and exploit opportunities that are presented to us.
Chief Minister and all members of your government: enjoy your victory, savour every moment of it, be proud of your individual and collective achievements and, most importantly, act well and decently. It is often said that it is harder to be a gracious winner than a gracious loser. I hope you can be gracious winners.
Twenty-seven years in opposition has, it seems to me, made some of your members be driven by hatred of the CLP and all of its supporters and elected representatives. Perhaps that is what 27 years in opposition does to people. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to hate my political opponents, but I certainly do not intend for my party to spend 27 years in opposition in an effort to find out.
In any event, for the second time, the CLP is in opposition. We have a duty to represent and serve those 30 000 people who voted for us. These people voted for the CLP for a variety of reasons, one of which must have been because they have profound disagreement with Labor’s priorities and the direction it has set for the Northern Territory. I count myself among them. We must stand for those people who voted for us; it is the right thing to do. All Territorians, regardless of how they voted have, I suggest, an expectation that an opposition party, whatever its political colour, provides them with an effective opposition; democracy demands an effective opposition. Territorians deserve and expect their government to be kept accountable, given that all governments are so notoriously bad at doing it themselves.
As politicians, we have a number of duties and obligations to people in our electorates, our parties, supporters, each other and, of course, to ourselves as individuals. Given the situation in which we now find ourselves, my colleagues and I have determined that there is another and, perhaps an even higher duty; that is, to provide Territorians with an effective opposition which they expect and deserve. We must ensure that government does not act unquestioned or unchallenged. We must provide the alternative view, or series of alternative views. Not all decisions which government makes are right or good, and there will be contrary views. There is a crucial need to challenge and question.
Governments which are not questioned or challenged grow into dictatorships. I do not, for the moment, suggest that this government is, or will be, but I simply make the point that there exists sound philosophical and political reasons to provide Territorians with an effective opposition. That is the higher duty we have now, and we look forward to meeting this duty and our objectives. We will work with government when it is appropriate and responsible to do so. When we believe it is our responsibility to oppose government measures, we will oppose them and oppose them strongly. I am sure the government and Territorians would expect nothing less.
Mr Deputy Speaker, given the numbers, this is going to be, as I have previously said, a David and Goliath struggle, but everyone loves a hero.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Deputy Speaker, I respond to the address by His Honour the Administrator, conscious that the trust placed by the people of the Northern Territory in our government is both overwhelming but, at the same time, most humbling.
Since coming to office in 2001, the Martin government has been determined to achieve a lift in the educational outcomes for Territorians, no matter where they live or what background they have. My colleagues and I believe that education provides opportunity; it arms people with the ability to break poverty cycles, to lift themselves from their circumstances, and to achieve to their best ability. Education is the true leveller.
Over the last four years, in pursuit of this goal, the government has introduced 100 above establishment teachers in a broad range of areas, eight attendance officers, and an increase to DEET’s budget by 22%, or $109m. We have implemented almost all of the Learning Lessons Report recommendations we have consulted on and, finally, implemented a secondary school review titled Building Better Schools. Over the next year, it is this government’s intention to maintain the focus on improving educational outcomes. I intend to maintain a very strong focus on literacy and numeracy in our schools.
In the next four years, the government will increase the overall number of students achieving national benchmark outcomes by 10%; an ambitious target and one which we will strive to achieve. Indigenous students make up some 40% of all students, and we have the specific goal of 25% improvement in literacy and numeracy benchmark outcomes. To achieve this, the government will focus on the accelerated program in a more focused way than before. We will introduce the program to 10 000 students and 700 teachers in 100 schools across the Territory. The government and federal government will jointly fund the effort to the tune of $16m over the next four years.
The government will also breathe new life into the two-way or bilingual education. Like the accelerated program, it will be an important teaching method in achieving improved literacy and numeracy over the next four years. Both of these programs will be subject to rigorous assessment. I am determined not to continue a program simply because it exists – it must justify its funding. I will undertake to regularly publish for Territorians the results of these programs. Numeracy will also receive significant focus, as I am concerned by the drop in outcomes across all students when they reach Year 5.
Over the next four years, the government will place a strong emphasis on indigenous education. In the near future, I will release a four-year strategic plan for indigenous education, which I and my agency was developing in the last months of the previous government. The strategic plan will back innovation. No longer will educators in the field feel unsupported by the central agency in their efforts to trial and implement teaching and learning techniques aimed at improving student outcomes. Similarly, there will be a strong expectation of achievement placed on all participants in the education process.
At the core of the strategic plan is a commitment to community consultation. For too long, indigenous communities have felt outside of the education system, separated from it. It is obvious that, where a community is involved in the education of the children, those children perform significantly better than in other communities. Community engagement is not a one-way street; it involves the commitment by government to deliver real resources to support the community’s education desires. In this way, we intend to develop a stronger education culture right across the Territory.
I also intend to continue the roll-out of secondary education across the Territory, and to refine the development of middle years education as outlined by the government’s Building Better Schools policy announced in February this year. Community consultation will be at the core of continuing the reforms of secondary education.
The government will also place a strong emphasis on training Territorians. Over the past four years, we have lifted the training effort significantly. We now have over 3200 Territorians in training, an increase of 48% since we were elected in August 2001. We introduced Jobs Plan 1 and Jobs Plan 2. We provided a work force report that predicts future needs, and a training strategy that guides our decisions about where to place the training dollar. I am pleased with the outcomes achieved, however, there is more to do.
Over the next four years, the government intends to train 10 000 Territorians, with a special emphasis on training for those areas of identified skills shortages. We will provide a Workwear/ Workgear Bonus to all trainees and apprentices: $1000 for those in identified skills shortage areas; $300 for those in other areas. We will provide funding to upskill existing Territorians to allow them to fast-track their achievement of improved qualification. We will provide increased funds for Territorians unemployed to be skilled for employment.
I intend to ensure that schools are more responsive to Vocational Education and Training needs. There is still a gap between the expectations of industry and the delivery of Schools in VET, and I intend to close this gap.
In the next four years, the government will also put into place key strategies for training indigenous Territorians and Territorians with disabilities. It is my intention to ensure that every Territorian leaving school has the choice of attending further education, training, or a job. After all, what better legacy can we provide our youth than a solid start in life?
I turn to the portfolio areas of Racing, Gaming and Licensing. Over the last four years, the government has strived to provide a strong future for the racing industry. Members will be aware that I have an interest in racing; an interest shared by many Territorians. I am proud of the improved resources provided to the racing industry, particularly the new funding package, and I am hopeful it will provide an ever-expanding industry in the Territory.
On the issue of gaming, I am waiting with interest on the outcome of significant research that the government initiated into gambling-related issues in the Territory. The research, costing around $400 000, will begin to show how and where the government needs to tackle gambling-related problems in our community.
The issue of alcohol and substance abuse is one that has been a core problem for the Northern Territory for many years, which takes a long time to turn around. However, we are determined, as a government, to begin the slow process of bringing to book the historic issues of over-consumption of alcohol in all of our communities, and the damaging effects on the community arising from this problem.
Prior to the election, I outlined the initial reaction of the government in response to the Alcohol Framework Review we put into place, chaired by Donna Ah Chee and Daryl Manzie. Implementing this framework is now a key item on my agenda. It is clear that we need to restrict the issuing of new licences. We also need to overhaul and rewrite the Liquor Act. I am concerned about the operations of the Liquor Commission. It is clear that it is past time for a significant overhaul of this body, its roles and responsibilities, and the way it does business.
I have delivered three budgets; I look forward to the opportunity to deliver more. Our budget strategy has been clear. We have placed great emphasis on backing infrastructure expenditure, and have deliberately and positively put additional funds into the core areas of our government’s priorities: education, health and community safety. We have not been afraid to provide additional funding into areas of the economy lagging behind the growth of others; for example, tourism, where this government proudly invested an additional $27m into the marketing of tourism across Australia and the world.
The government has been vigilant in maintaining tight fiscal discipline, which will continue to be a hallmark of this government over the next four years. The fiscal targets set by the government in Budget 2005 will see the Territory returning to balance by 2008-09. Colleagues and I ensured that the Labor government election commitments and promises remained within the forward estimates ability to absorb and maintain this important outer year target. We will continue to ensure the support that is required for our economy will be there. I am proud of our overall growth achievement, and I will be working hard to ensure this continues.
Finally, in relation to my electorate, there are many people I wish to thank for their role in my re-election. I would like to thank the people in the electorate of Nhulunbuy. They have placed a great trust in me, as they have done since 1990. I have never squandered that trust and never will. I will work with them to deliver the services and support they need and deserve, as an important part of the Territory. Particularly, I would like to thank my partner, Jennifer, who is a tremendous and constant support in my role. At Galiwinku on Elcho Island, our dear friend Oscar always supports us and looks out for us, and no more so than on election day. At Gapuwiyak, my thanks to Robert and Mayula, and Wally Wunungmurra from Yirrkala who came out with us to catch up with family and supporters on the day. In Nhulunbuy, thanks to branch president and booth captain, John Keogh, who has played that role of booth captain for more years than any of us really like to remember. He does a great job and we love him dearly for it.
My son, Scott Stirling, travelled from Melbourne and went through the mobiles right through to the Saturday of home town polling at Nhulunbuy. Thanks, Scott, you did a great job out there with us. It was good for him to be back in the country in which he was born and to catch up with very many people he had not seen for quite some years. Jenny Laverty, my part-time electorate officer, helped us all the way through the campaign. Lawrence and Lyn Walker, branch members; Wendy Troe, Ann Barr; Simone O’Mealley; Brian Graham; Graeme Bean - who has been around almost as long as John Keogh; Laurie Reed, also a staunch long-time member of the local branch; Dave Mitchell - who travelled the mobiles with us and has also been around for many years; Rob Thompson; Denise Fincham; Denise Sylvestro; Neil Lancely; Will Stubbs; David Simmons at Yirrkala also lent us a hand on the Saturday voting at Yirrkala; and Sue Haddock who did much to support us with those very necessary food packages to keep us on the road and keep us standing vertical on election day. A tremendous bunch of people – I thank them for their loyalty, their support and for all the efforts throughout the campaign.
To the people of Nhulunbuy, I say thank you for the fifth time I have been to a Northern Territory election. There have only been 10, and I have been there for the last five of them. I am particularly proud to be re-elected this time, and I will continue to work as hard and as diligently as I can for the good folk of the Nhulunbuy electorate.
Dr BURNS (Transport and Infrastructure): Madam Speaker, I respond to the Address by His Honour the Administrator. His Honour said that, while the result of 18 June represented an endorsement of the government’s actions and policies of the past four years, it was also an affirmation of the hopes and expectations that Territorians hold for the future. His Honour made it clear that Territorians expect the government to continue to move the Territory ahead and get the job done.
I am privileged to hold four portfolios of Transport and Infrastructure, Lands and Planning, Parks and Wildlife, and Essential Services. I will now outline how the Martin Labor government will move the Territory ahead within these portfolios.
This government is proud of its record capital works expenditure over the past four years. We intend to continue to deliver jobs for Territorians in all regions through the infrastructure program, and to achieve a balance between the needs of small, medium and large Territory businesses. Leading the list of infrastructure projects is, of course, the development of the Darwin City Waterfront. This $1.1bn project represents a fully integrated development of tourism, commercial, residential and community facilities. The construction phase is expected to last 15 years and will create almost 1000 new jobs. An 85% local content component guaranteed in the project contracts will ensure Territory businesses reap the benefits from the development of the waterfront.
This government is committed to providing the tourism infrastructure required to make all regions more accessible. The West MacDonnell tourist loop roads take in some of the most spectacular scenery of Central Australia. Our commitment to seal this loop will open up the Central Australian experience for more to enjoy. The Labor government is committed to improving the Territory’s road network. We are playing our part, but we need the Commonwealth to pull its weight.
The government will continue to lobby the Commonwealth to address the $20m shortfall in funding suffered by the Territory’s 9000 km of roads in unincorporated areas in the AusLink program over the previous four years. We are still looking for that catch-up. The Commonwealth’s current AusLink framework raises a number of other concerns for the Territory. AusLink’s new distribution formula for road maintenance funding cuts the Territory’s maintenance allocation by 20%. We believe this formula disadvantages regional and remote Australians and, in particular, Territorians. Secondly, AusLink makes no allowance for the escalation of costs for either maintenance or capital allocations over the five-year program. In recent years, there have been significant increases in road construction costs Australia-wide, but particularly in the Northern Territory. Without escalation factors, it makes it very difficult to plan for completed projects.
The draft bilateral agreement covering this first period of AusLink is currently being discussed with the Commonwealth. It does allow for a cost overrun on a particular project to be accommodated, but at the expense of reduced funding for other AusLink projects in the Northern Territory. I can inform the House that I have written to the federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services outlining the above and other concerns. I look forward to reporting his response to the House in due course.
The next four years will mark some significant milestones for the port of Darwin. In this period, LNG exports will commence on approximately a weekly basis, with potential for increased frequency. Bulk mineral loadings from the Bootu Creek mine will also commence later this year or early next year. Annual exports will total some 600 000 tonnes, also with potential for expansion.
Construction work on the rail bottom dump facility is now well advanced at the Darwin Business Park. The Board of the Port Corporation has also been revised to enhance its focus on development of international trade. The recent publicity concerning queuing delays in southern ports highlights some of the advantages that we need to further promote in regard to the port of Darwin.
A key election commitment that falls within the Lands and Planning portfolio is the continuation of a moratorium on land clearing in the Daly region. Management strategies based on research, monitoring and evaluation of the Daly region will maintain the cultural and ecological values of this unique environment.
I will pick up on something that was said earlier today about a lack of science behind the measures that we have taken in the Daly River. I would suggest anyone with those sorts of questions should read the Erskine Report, which is a very comprehensive report on some of the threats to the Daly. Those threats were identified and worked through within the Daly Reference Group, and further gaps in knowledge were identified. That is what this government is identifying and investing in, in terms of the Daly. On that subject, while the potential for cautious development in some areas will be assessed, high standards of water and land monitoring will be applied. The moratorium on new land clearing applications will remain until this monitoring is in place.
In its first term, the Martin Labor government completed the review of the Building Act and passed the Building Amendment Bill. The revised act will implement government’s commitments to introduce a residential builders’ registration scheme and home warranty insurance. It is planned to introduce the scheme in 2006.
Government has also completed its review of the Planning Act, and the Planning Amendment Bill was passed in February of this year. The revised act removes the current distinction between land use objectives, development provisions, and incorporated documents as separate elements of the Planning Scheme. The act will also introduce limited rights of third party appeal, which was a key commitment by the Labor government in 2001. These are appeals by parties other than the applicant, such as neighbours.
Planning regulations are currently being developed, and it is expected the new Planning Act will commence in early 2006. After informal exhibition of a new Territory-wide Planning Scheme in 2003, it is further being refined and will be placed on formal exhibition under the new Planning Act in 2006. This will give the community a further opportunity to comment on the new Territory-wide scheme.
Government will undertake a review of the Crown Lands Act. This act was last amended in 1992 concurrently when the Pastoral Land Act was enacted. However, this was largely a matter of tidying up after the pastoral land and community living areas provisions were removed.
I will now turn to the Parks and Wildlife portfolio. An exciting initiative unveiled during the election campaign is the government’s commitment to seeking world heritage listing for the West MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia. We believe such a listing will promote the West MacDonnells as an international tourist destination on a par with the Territory’s other world heritage listed sites, Kakadu and Uluru Kata Tjuta. The promotion of Alice Springs as the focal point for tourism servicing the West MacDonnells will be a central element of our campaign, which will be conducted in consultation with the traditional owners, tourism industry and the Central Australian community. The world’s greatest natural and cultural treasures are listed as world heritage sites. We believe the West MacDonnell Ranges, which inspired so many of the paintings of Albert Namatjira, deserve a place on the list beside global icons like the Grand Canyon and the Taj Mahal.
The government is also committed to building a West MacDonnell Ranges visitor information centre, incorporating an indigenous, commercial and cultural facility. We are already committed to the sealing of the West MacDonnell tourist loop roads, and further development of the Larapinta Trail.
Litchfield National Park is also one of the Northern Territory’s most popular attractions, and very popular with locals. Our long-term Litchfield National Park Development Strategy will ensure that nearly 250 000 visitors annually will continue to enjoy this magnificent park. The Martin government has outlined details of its $7.4m commitment to upgrade facilities at Litchfield National Park over three years, the centrepiece of which is a $3.4m visitor centre at Wangi Falls. Territorians will probably focus more on the redevelopment of the day use area, camp ground and car park at Wangi Falls, the upgrade of the camp ground at Florence Falls, the development of the hiking track between Tableland Creek and Mistake Creek, and the extension of the Reynolds River four-wheel drive track to Adelaide River, with new camping facilities along the way.
The government will proceed with a $5.2m upgrade of the Leanyer Recreation Park, a hugely successful initiative by this Labor government. Since its official opening in January 2004, more than 100 000 people have visited the park which is managed by Parks and Wildlife Service. The upgrade will be refined through public consultation. Proposed upgrades that will be included in the consultation phase include water slides, skate bowls and a BMX moguls track. There will also be extensive shading and extensions to the parking area.
The government is committed to building a $4m visitors centre at the George Brown Botanic Gardens, which is also managed by the Parks and Wildlife Service. This commitment is part of our 10-year vision for the development of the Botanic Gardens, which ties in with our plans to increase the range of tourism attractions available in order to increase the length of visitor stays in Darwin. The visitor centre will incorporate a caf/restaurant; an information centre; offices; meeting area; minor commercial facilities selling souvenirs, books and art relating to tropical horticulture; and public toilets. The caf/restaurant will cater for a range of functions including weddings and parties. Restaurant seating will be both indoor and outdoor, with the outdoor area being opened up in the Dry Season. A large outdoor deck area will provide diners with a magnificent view over the gardens.
Meanwhile, the Parks and Wildlife Conservation Plan is currently in the final stages of preparation as a draft plan for wider public comment. Relevant stakeholder groups have been involved in developing the draft plan through a community advisory committee. The draft master plan explores a full range of issues concerning the conservation of the Territory’s biodiversity across all land tenures, including Aboriginal and pastoral lands, as well as the marine environment.
Under the Parks and Reserves (Framework for the Future) Act, indigenous land use agreements, or ILUAs, have been signed for 27 national parks and reserves. This settlement has been described by the Native Title Tribunal as, and I will quote:
It is anticipated that the outcomes of the negotiated settlement of land and native title claims over Territory parks and reserves will have a positive flow-on social and economic benefit to Aboriginal people, particularly those with close ties to the jointly managed parks. Additionally, the continued future use of Territory parks and reserves by the general public is guaranteed on a no-fee, no-permit basis. A number of joint management training programs are being developed and implemented by Parks and Wildlife staff in association with the land councils and traditional owners in order to streamline the adoption of joint management within the Parks and Wildlife Service.
The fourth and final portfolio I have the privilege to hold is that of Essential Services. This covers the operation of the government-owned corporation, which, of course, is the Power and Water Corporation.
Madam Speaker, as the member for Nightcliff, you will be very pleased to hear that the government remains committed to the undergrounding of powerlines in Darwin’s northern suburbs, starting with Nightcliff. The undergrounding of power project is well under way in Nightcliff and Rapid Creek. This project will result in 9000 lots and 16 000 customers in suburban Darwin having their overhead powerlines replaced with reliable and safe underground lines ...
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: It is interesting to hear a bit of noise from the opposition on the undergrounding project. I can clearly remember them being absolutely opposed to this project. The former Leader of the Opposition publicly said they would not be doing it and then, coming into the election campaign, they suddenly changed their minds and were all for it.
We have consistently been in favour of the undergrounding of power. We are funding it and it is being done, as you well know, Madam Speaker. The project is being funded jointly by the Northern Territory government to the amount of $3m per year, with the Power and Water Corporation contributing $1m per year. To date, contracts to the value of more than $6.4m have been awarded to local Territory businesses for labour and materials associated with the project for the undergrounding of power to the first 686 homes.
With community consultation being crucial to the success of this project, residents affected by the works are being kept informed by letters and weekly newspaper advertisements regarding progress. Madam Speaker, as you are aware, a project office is operating at Shop 2B, 40 Progress Drive, Nightcliff.
Power and Water is currently reviewing future generation augmentation and plant life extension requirements at major centres. The study includes a review of the criteria for generation planning to determine the basis on which decisions for future plant additions and retirements will be made, having regard to the reliability of supply at each location. It is planned to present a final strategic options paper, including recommendations, to the Power and Water Board at its July meeting. The current forward capital budget has allowances for additional generation and capacity in Alice Springs in 2006-07 and Darwin in 2007-08.
I have covered my portfolio areas. I would now like to turn to the election campaign briefly. First, I would like to acknowledge my CLP opponent in the seat of Johnston, Ross Connolly, who fought a very fair and gentlemanly campaign. He was very gracious during the campaign and in defeat. Ross, as most people would know, is a very successful architect in Darwin. His architecture practice is very successful and he is returning to that practice. I commend Ross Connolly for a very gentlemanly and fair campaign, fought in a very good spirit.
I would also like to thank the many people who assisted me in the campaign. There were so many of them I do not think time really permits. I will certainly be holding a function for all those people in the very near future. There are a few people I would like to single out, if I may. Obviously, there were many people who folded and prepared letters, made deliveries around the suburbs to letterboxes, took posters in their yard, handed out how-to-vote cards and, generally, supported the campaign. They are numerous. However, there are people I would like to give a special commendation to: my electorate officer, Judy Herring, always works very hard but worked extra hard during the campaign. She is a tireless worker. We have been together now for about four years or so, and it is a pretty good partnership. It was Judy’s first campaign, but she certainly handled it very well. As always, she attends to every detail and I am very grateful for her support. Her husband, Barry, helped out here and there as well, and I thank Barry for his support.
I thank Russell Wilson, my campaign manager. It was Russell’s first campaign, but he did a great job, always with a good sense of humour, and bright, cheerful and unflappable. That is how I would describe Russell, a great bloke and a great support. A few people specifically helped me from some of the ethnic communities. Teng Murray is a great worker. She explained the how-to-vote order to quite a number of people and made it very clear that Labor was the one to vote for. Mr Taek Fung Lay helped stuff envelopes. His English is not all that good and he would be the first to acknowledge that, but he is a great worker and a good man. Also, thank you to Mr Mu, who lives in my electorate.
I give a special thanks to Ian Bishop who comes from Western Australia. I had never met Ian before. He is a Labor Party stalwart there and took holidays to come here and work in the campaign. He just came into my electorate office. He is a very experienced operator, and did not mind sweeping the floors, stuffing envelopes, giving very good political advice, helping to write letters – just anything that was asked of Ian, he would do. He was a great support to my campaign and my electorate officer. It shows the solidarity between Labor people in states; that he was willing to give up his holidays. He had a hell of a time and really enjoyed himself. He thought it was a very unusual campaign, quite different from Western Australia. It had a few similarities between the canal and the electricity line, but he had never seen anything like the headline in the paper at the campaign launch. He cut that one out to take home, as it certainly caught his eye.
I also thank Allan Phillips and Louise Greenaway, who helped a lot and in many ways. Allan is an old friend of mine and made himself available. Both of them worked very hard, as did Bill McMahon, a great bloke who chipped in at a few places. I could not forget Mr Frank Moukaddem. Frank is such a tireless worker who works himself into the ground. He works hard and was a great support. It is always good to see him and he is a great support to so many people. From the bottom of my heart, Frank, thanks very much for your support.
Very importantly, my family: Elizabeth, Amy, Daniel, and David, who lives down south but took a very active interest. For the family of all candidates - it does not matter what side it is - there are always stresses and strain, particularly around election time. However, my family really supported me. Special thanks to Bruiser, the dog, who makes me very happy. He is a great dog and I like him …
Ms Scrymgour: They wag their tail.
Dr BURNS: He wags his tail. He is a good dog and very affectionate, and we all love him. He is quite a large dog, too, I might add.
Finally, during the adjournment debate, I heard the Opposition Leader talking about some of the shenanigans with campaign posters, and I suppose we all have a few that have been graffitied and turn up in strange areas. I have a story to relate regarding one of my campaign posters. A constituent who lives on Trower Road gave some campaign volunteers permission to place a poster in her front garden. When it was erected a couple of days later, she found it was one that belonged to Ross Connolly, my opponent. She immediately contacted my office and asked us to put up one of my posters. Then, later in the day, she contacted the office again and spoke to me personally. She said: ‘Dr Burns, I have a very good surprise for you. I want you to drive past my house tonight and there is a special surprise for you’. Anyway, on my way home that night I drove past her house and - lo and behold - Ross’s posters were there, beside mine where they had been put, but she had wreathed my campaign poster in flashing lights. I received quite a number of calls and even took my daughter down there to have a look at it. She said: ‘Dad, you look a bit like a deity there with the flashing lights’.
It certainly lifted my spirits, and I would like to thank Lodya for that; I had a chuckle every time I went past. A number of people, including the member for Casuarina, commented on it. Lodya told me on election day that I was her special choice, so I thank Lodya.
I thank all the electors of Johnston for putting their faith in me. I am very relieved to be re-elected. Elections are a trial for all candidates and we are always aware, as the member for Araluen said, with the possibility of losing. That is the game we are in. However, we were successful this time, and it is incumbent on us - I agree with what the opposition said - that, basically, we have to govern for the Territory and, in this place, do the right thing. I will certainly be attempting to do that in the next four years.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, if the member for Johnston is relieved to be here, how does he think I feel? Election night, three votes in front and, as I said, it is better to be three votes in front than three votes behind. Sixty-two votes was the final margin, so it was very close.
It is my pleasure to give my Address-in-Reply for this Tenth Assembly as the member for Braitling. I entered parliament in 1994 as a CLP candidate with a majority of 72%, so that will probably give you an indication of how strong a conservative seat Braitling is. I have always been very conscious of that in the back of my mind; that I was fighting a very strong party. I have said on a number of occasions that the CLP has been a very strong party in Alice Springs. The campaign that they carried out for the 18 months prior to the election obviously stood them in good stead, and I congratulate them on giving me such a fright. However, at the end of the day, you only need one and I guess that is all that is important. I am very grateful to all those voters of Braitling who gave me their first or their second preference, because that is why I am here.
Members will be aware that it was a very difficult time for me to decide whether I would stand or not. I have to admit my family were rather perplexed, and wondered what I would do if I was beaten - who would want to end a rather wonderful parliamentary career being rejected by voters? However, I just had to do it that one more time. I could not have done it without the support of all of my friends, in particular, the moral support that my family gave me. My daughter, Michelle, came down from Darwin with baby Finn and Samantha, my granddaughter, and held fort at home, not just with letterbox drops but with marathon meals. My son, Peter, said he remembered his father saying: ‘No more posters, no more posters; we are not putting up any more’ but, of course, he did. He got out his truck and, with Levi, he did the arduous task of putting up posters for me. My sister Shirley - people call her the Mini Me because she looks so much like me - came up with her husband Norm and my brother, Ray, with his wife, Betty. We had a family team. My other two brothers were in Bendigo and, although they wished they were with me, unfortunately, due to health reasons, they were not.
My good friends, Mary and Dennis Blaiklock interrupted their wanderings to come back to Alice Springs. As Dennis said, he had not missed one count for me and he was certainly not going to miss this one. My electorate officer, Robyn, has been a tower of strength. Everyone knows of her strong organisational skills and her knowledge of the community. Her work, and her friendship, is invaluable to me. I am pleased to say that she is staying on with me. Of course, there are all the many supporters who helped letterbox drop for me, stuffed envelopes as we say, handed out how-to-vote cards and gave me encouragement and advice. My thanks to all of them; I could not have done it without them. However, to whoever stole my banner, would you please give it back as I have not paid for it yet.
The CLP, in my opinion, have only themselves to blame for what they did. Let us face it: ever since they decided that they would not preselect me, they have been slowly going downhill. I believe that blunder cost them dearly and the electors of the Northern Territory are still giving them a fairly strong message. They still tend to preselect their mates, and they should know by now that voters want the best person to do the job, not their mates. It is time the CLP really re-thought their membership base.
I am pleased to say that independents also played a part in the result of the election. There were 18 independents standing all told and, although they only received 8% of the vote, they did give people an alternative. That is important in such a robust democracy as we have. I trust the Chief Minister keeps her word in acknowledging that Independents should enjoy status in this parliament, and I quote from her speech:
The Administrator’s speech covered many aspects of government policy. I was surprised there were some areas not touched. I am referring to the mining industry, knowing what a great economic contribution to the Territory that makes. It was not acknowledged or mentioned, particularly in light of events over the question of uranium mining. I trust the government realises there are many areas also that were not covered in that speech that they should be looking at. I know the minister for the environment gets on her high horse when we mention container deposit legislation, but she must understand that it is an important issue, and anything to do with the environment is something that we really must encourage.
It was interesting that Toowoomba council recently made it mandatory that all new homes should have water tanks. I am still wondering why we are building homes in remote communities without water tanks. Those are the things that we will still keep pushing.
The speech also talked about ‘… building our regions as an objective of good governance ... Unless we get regional development in the Northern Territory right we will never be independent, economic and social’. I ask the Chief Minister and her government to look at what is happening in the regions. You have to decentralise the decision-making that is occurring across the Territory at the moment. Far too often, people in remote areas and in towns out of Darwin are having the decision-making taken from them. I say clearly to the Chief Minister to give that back to the people who understand the culture of the town in which they live.
For instance, if you look at Health - and I know the Bansemer Report many years ago said that Health was top heavy - it still continues to be centralised. As far as I can see in Alice Springs there does not seem to be anyone who has taken the responsibility for health, and decisions are still being made far too often in Darwin. There is a review currently under way and that is certainly undermining the confidence of many of the long-term officers in the Health department.
The review of education in the Alice Springs office still sees numerous officers travelling constantly to Darwin. I wonder why when, in fact, many of those of decisions could be made at a regional level. I ask the Chief Minister to be serious about looking at the public service and the departments in Alice Springs and give them back the means to make decisions and not have to go forever back to their Darwin bosses for something that is quite often simple. It is a problem and something that I stress that we will be following up.
There are other issues in Alice Springs that I will be looking at. One of the things that needs attention in Health is breast screening. At the moment, we only have two blocks a year; we really need to have four blocks and a full time coordinator. This is something which the government should look at carefully.
We have constantly been talking about the problem of petrol sniffers in Alice Springs. However, even with the new legislation, if the police do pick up petrol sniffers who are at risk, they have nowhere to put them. I stress to the government that it is no good having all this wonderful legislation if you do not have the regulation and the means to make it happen.
We also talked about the problem of self-funded retirees leaving Alice Springs, and it is still happening. There are opportunities now, with land being released in Alice Springs, for the government to do something about it. With U3A emerging in Alice Springs, the strength of it and the number of people involved in it, it is an opportunity for the government to now seriously look at this problem and, perhaps, find a way of making sure that these self-funded retirees do not leave town.
I have also talked to the minister for Education about school holidays and the need for seriously looking at change. There are many people who do not think that four weeks in the middle of the year and only one week at the end of September before the heavy fourth term is a good idea. This is something that we need to follow up.
We are constantly saying we need land available for first home buyers. Although the government has indicated they will buy back 12 blocks in the Larapinta subdivision that are soon to be, or are, on the market, I believe they are not for first home buyers. The last thing Larapinta really wants is more public housing, as we are well aware of the problems we have had in that area. Instead of buying back the land to put more problems there for us, perhaps they could buy back the land to make sure it is available to first home buyers at a reasonable price. As you can see, there are many things which still have to be done.
I have to admit that my time as Speaker in this House has been a great experience for me. Some of the highlights included taking the parliament to Alice Springs; it has been such a success. We now have a very good education unit in the department, and we strongly promote the Youth Parliament and, of course, in primary schools, the Parliament of the Birds, which was such a success. That has made this parliament stronger and more well-known throughout the Territory.
As well as that, I have enjoyed being the Australian representative on the CPA, and I am pleased to say I have one more trip in September to finish my term. I encourage you, Madam Speaker, to be part of the CPA, and to travel and meet some of your colleagues in this area. It broadens your network, and certainly broadens your understanding of the Commonwealth, which is important for all of us.
I have also been fortunate to continue to address many meetings and conferences. The most recent was the Australasian Valuer Generals’ Conference in Alice Springs. It was interesting to hear the different areas of concern each of them have within their province. We tend to think that we are the only ones who have a problem.
It has been a good time for me as the Speaker. I will try very hard, Madam Speaker - and I say this most sincerely - to step back and not come knocking on your door and rushing into your office and trying to tell you what to do. My time is over and I appreciate that. I know that you will enjoy your time as the Speaker. You have an extremely good department and staff to work with who will give you lots of advice. I say to all the department people: thank you very much for all the assistance you gave me and for the memories.
To all new members who have entered parliament, I wish you well. I am particularly happy to see this young lady beside me. Her father and I were colleagues in the Education Department in Alice Springs when she was just a tiny lass. To see her grow and blossom as much as she has, and be a representative of her people, is a wonderful thing. That is the wonderful thing about being a teacher: you see children grow and develop as adults. You receive such a reward when you see them fulfill something such as this lady has achieved, which is a dream come true.
I know her father would be extremely proud of her after her speech yesterday, and that she wishes, as I wish, that he had been here to see her. I guess we will make sure that he gets a copy of what she said. She was right; it was a difficult time for a single dad to bring up a daughter, and he did a wonderful job. I know her links with her family and her mother have been always strong, so she is a wonderful example of someone who has been able to walk and be successful in two worlds. I believe she will be able to represent all the people in her electorate very well.
Saying that, the imbalance in this parliament worries me a little. Even now, you get the feeling of a great deal of confidence from the government, and I can understand that. If anyone who had a win such as theirs, of course it would boost their confidence and morale. It is going to be difficult on this side of the House to provide a strong opposition. I say to new members – and do not tell the Chief Minister I said this - if you want any advice, free from your party, come and see the Independent member for Nelson and me. We are only ever too willing to give you any advice you require. However, remember, no matter what happens this term, we are here for all Territorians; we are not here for ourselves. We must continually remember that. If the government does not have a member in a particular electorate, they still cannot ignore that electorate; they still must be there for all of us. That is the message that Territorians will very much appreciate; that they can vote with the confidence of knowing that this government will do exactly that.
I congratulate the government on their great win. All I can say to the opposition is: join the club. We are here with you and we will help you when we can, but do not expect us to help you all the time. You can understand that we also will be very independent in the way that we operate. That is what democracy is all about. I look forward to this term. I apologise for that initial outburst. If I could start all over again, I am sure I would be fine.
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Madam Speaker, I begin by acknowledging the Larrakia people on whose traditional land we stand today. I would also like to congratulate you on your election. I know that you will act with authority and impartiality in this important role.
This is also an opportunity for me to thank the people of Casuarina for the faith and confidence they have shown in me by re-electing me for another term as their representative in this parliament. I am humbled by the level of support and the very kind wishes that have been offered by people in my electorate – an electorate that I am truly honoured and privileged to represent. The electorate of Casuarina is one of those northern suburbs seats that had been regarded as blue ribbon CLP since the commencement of self-government. That was, of course, until August 2001, when the people of Casuarina joined so many others in the northern suburbs to elect Labor. Some people thought – and certainly the opposition believed – that this was merely a ‘protest vote’ that went wrong. I recall, not so long ago, a former opposition member predicting that the CLP would soon be returned to its ‘rightful inheritance’ of running the Territory. How wrong they were. The 2001 election result was the outcome of frustration within the electorate with a government that would not listen, that had become arrogant, had created a flat economy and could not generate jobs. The 2005 election result, that has given us such as overwhelming majority, is a vote of confidence in a government that has presented itself as a united team, delivered on the commitments it made at the last election – which include the strong economy and growing jobs market – and has a sustainable vision for the future.
However, let me talk about my electorate, the electorate of Casuarina. The electorate of Casuarina is truly representative of the Territory; 25% of the population was born overseas. There is a mix of public servants, subcontractors, small business operators and private business employees. Among other things, the electorate is home to Casuarina Shopping Square, the Territory’s largest shopping centre and the Casuarina Coastal Reserve, the most visited reserve in the Territory. Within the electorate, a number of suburbs, such as Alawa and Tiwi, are undergoing a demographic transformation with younger families with children now replacing older families. The new suburb of Lyons is expected to bring even more new, young families into the electorate.
Despite the fact that Casuarina had always been represented by a member of the government, in 2001, I took over an electorate which had many issues that had never been properly addressed. In the past four years, I have tried to address many of these issues, especially with those associated with the change in demographics. It has been a particular need for the improvement and renovation of existing facilities to provide assistance and support for families with young and school-age children. I am very proud that, as a local member, I was instrumental in retaining the Territory Kidz Childcare Centre in Tiwi; I assisted the Dripstone childcare centre to acquire a high-quality transportable building for children under two years of age; and I provided support by lobbying both government and Darwin City Council for the Casuarina Childcare Centre to access extra funding for upgrades and equipment, such as airconditioning and playground equipment.
I was particularly pleased to see my 2001 election promises become reality with the completion of the $1m Stage 1 renovation of the Nakara Primary School and the $2m Stage 1 renovation of the Alawa Primary School currently under way. These schools were built in the 1970s, and have not received any substantial amount of money for renovations in the past 30 years. There were in urgent need of attention, and I am pleased to say that our government provided this attention.
Our government also cared for the ever-increasing number of Territorians who decided to retire here, or would even come from interstate to be with their families here in the later years of their lives. The retirement village in Casuarina is now complemented by the Masonic Nursing Home that was built on land granted by our government. There are plans by the Masonic Foundation to expand its facility to cater not only for senior Territorians, but also for people who require day care.
Our promise for Casuarina in the 2001 election included the removal of the Royal Darwin Hospital incinerator and the construction of a hospice and a birthing centre. I am very pleased that the incinerator has now been decommissioned, and both the hospice and the birthing centre are currently under construction.
Another important promise was our plan to address crime, Territory-wide. With our introduction of legislation to properly address the significant drug problem in the Territory and our increased resources for police, we have had outstanding success, as indicated in the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. The number of police at the Casuarina Police Station has now increased by 25, and many residents have commented to me that this is the first time they have seen police everywhere - on foot, on motorbikes, on bicycles and even mounted police at the Casuarina Coastal Reserve. We said before the 2001 election that we wanted to see police on the streets, and I am very proud that we have also delivered this promise.
We have achieved a lot in the past three years, and I am sure that Casuarina had its fair share of government funding initiatives; however, there is more to be done. In the next four years, our government will continue with school upgrades, and $4m has been allocated for the Stage 2 upgrades to the Nakara and Alawa Primary Schools; $800 000 will be provided to Tracy Village Sports Club for a much-needed upgrade; $300 000 has been allocated for landscaping, seating and lighting around the Dripstone Cliffs area to cater for tourists, visitors and locals; $0.5m has been allocated for child-care centres to acquire necessary equipment; and low impact lights will be provided for the Nakara Park oval at a cost of $400 000. These are just a few examples of the promises I will delivering over the next four years.
As the recent election has shown us, there are no safe seats anymore, and nobody can bask in past glories. The seats are won in the streets, not sitting in the offices. Promises contribute to a successful campaign, but they do not win elections. In the past four years, I have worked very hard to deliver on promises made for Casuarina, but I have also worked very hard by visiting every house in every street in every suburb of Casuarina, because I feel firmly that the best place to gain the confidence of the electorate is on the door step.
In addition to this, a great support team helps enormously, not only during the campaign and on election day, but for the entire four-year term. I have a great team to thank: Mr Andrew Fyles, my campaign manager - a very dear friend, a long-term member of the Labor Party - as well as his wife, Cherryl, and his daughter, Natasha, for their continued encouragement and support; my electorate officer, Debbie Rowland and her family, Ted, Simone and Candice, for the hours they spent in the office and the polling booths. At the risk of leaving someone out, there are many long-term friends and supporters who helped in any way they could: Agapi Zahos, Garry and Marilyn Hawthorn, John and Di Knight, Daniel Hughes, Alan and Jacinta Haines, Irene Roussos, Indrani, Ken O’Brien, Kon Hnaris, Sandy Kunatunge, Denise Horvath, Patricia Werner, Frank Moukaddem, Reijo Keitaakira, Eunice de Ramos, Janie Mason, Di Yali, Pip Hodge, Margot Bailey, Helen Paterakis, Darryll Hodgkiss, Stergio Bouhoris, Brend Kulatunga, Nikos Mouzourakis, Lam Tac Tam, Jack Bailey, Liz Walker and, most of all, of course, my family - my son, Alexander, who has now discovered politics and enjoys it; Michael, who puts up with it and would prefer to have his father at home; my parents-in-law, Ivor and Doreen Moulds, who came from Perth to help with the family in the campaign; and most of all my wife, Margaret, who supported me, guided me, and cared for me prior to, during and post-election campaign. She is my wonderful wife and dear friend. Thank you, Margaret.
I always like politics but, I must admit, when I was living through a military dictatorship in Greece, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that one day I would be elected to parliament, either in Greece or in Australia. We do not know how lucky we are. My family and my own life is very extraordinary. Some other people in Australia live ordinary lives; however, if I describe my family’s life throughout the century you will find how extraordinary it is. My grandparents, both paternal and maternal, were born Turkish citizens in Greece and became Greek citizens 12 years later when Greece liberated the area where they were living. My paternal grandfather went to World War I and came home eight years later because he participated in the Asia Minor campaign. He was one of the officers arrested by the Germans in 1943. He was put in the concentration camps and died six months after he was released.
My mother and father found themselves in the middle of civil war in 1945. They were both taken away by communist guerrillas. My father managed to escape. My mother was actually taken in the so-called socialist countries and was indoctrinated and, as a 15-year-old, she was put in the front to fight against the regular army. She fought for five years and was one of the lucky ones who survived. She was captured in 1949 and was given back to my grandfather. For many years, she would not sleep at night. She would stay awake and sleep in the daytime because she was a trained guerrilla and that was what she learnt for so many years of her life, and that is what she was doing. My mother and father worked very hard to raise my sister and I.
My family had a hard life. I recall very well that the first birthday present I received when I was seven years old was given to me by the father of one of my friends. The first present I bought myself was when I was five years old. I went around and sang Christmas carols and collected a few drachmas - I still remember, it was eight drachmas, nine cents. I went and bought a plastic truck. Things were very hard in Greece when I was growing up. I never saw my father until I was eight or nine years old. He used to leave for work at 6 am and come back at 8 pm or 9 pm. It was an extraordinary and very difficult life, but it taught me a lot of things about social justice, human rights and, most of all, democracy.
Many times, I refer to my life through the military dictatorship in Greece. I will never forget the scene when the military police came and arrested my neighbour in front of his two very young daughters, put him in the back of a truck - no warrant, no court orders, just grabbed him - and he came back five years later. His brother and sister-in-law were taken from their apartment by the military police who left behind a sleeping two-year-old child. The neighbours found the child in the morning when he woke up; he was hungry and crying. They went to see what happened and found the door broken down and the child left alone when the parents were taken away. They did not come back until seven years later.
Many times, I refer to how lucky we are here in Australia, and how lucky I am to be here in Australia today to be able to represent the people in Casuarina in parliament. I would like to assure my colleagues in parliament, and also the people in Casuarina, that I am here to represent all the people in Casuarina - all Territorians.
I now turn to the plans we have in place for the next four years within the ministerial portfolio areas which - at least for the next little while - I have responsibility for. This government will continue to work with business and the wider community to achieve the best possible outcomes for Territorians.
My Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development has a vital role in contributing to the sustainable and responsible management of our resources. We remain committed to indigenous economic development. This will be achieved through building business management capacities, developing partnerships to advance indigenous economic development, and establishing sustainable enterprises on indigenous land. We are delivering on our promises and promising what we can deliver.
I am very proud to say that fishing is the lure of the Territory. That is why we have committed at least $1.2m to continue commercial fishing licence buy backs. We are committed to a five-year plan and a ten-year vision, in partnership with all stakeholders, to ensure that barramundi fishing only gets better. Despite media reports to the contrary, we will continue to be the envy of anglers anywhere else in Australia. Recreational fishing development continues as a priority. Key projects focusing on making recreational fishing even better include: $2.8m for a new boat ramp at Hatches Creek in Darwin Harbour; and additional $2m over the next four years for improving facilities for recreation anglers - that is on top of the $1.5m already spent on boat ramps and facilities; $150 000 will also be spent on a new pontoon at the upgraded Dinah Beach boat ramp; and an expanded barramundi fingerling stocking program.
The long-term outlook for sustainable wild stock fisheries is promising, with domestic consumption of seafood increasing steadily. While seasonal conditions and market price fluctuations can be unpredictable, the demand for quality seafood for countries in the Asian region remains strong. Demand from markets in southern Australia for fresh fish is also strong. The benefits from these potential markets have not yet been fully exploited.
Key priorities for the government include: encouraging industry investment opportunities for the commercial seafood industry; maintaining export accreditation for all export fisheries; resolving resource allocation issues between major stakeholders; working through issues relating to marine protected areas in the Northern Territory and Commonwealth jurisdictions; and supporting indigenous communities to play a key role in managing the resources through initiatives such as the Indigenous Marine Ranger program.
Barramundi aquaculture has increased production and value by more than 400% since 2002, and is now producing more than the wild catch fishery. Production is likely to increase to more than 4000 tonnes within the next four years.
The pearling industry is going through a period of restructure, and my department has conducted negotiations with industry and the Western Australian government to assist this process.
We are assisting the development of the sea cucumber culture industry by leasing an area for a pilot hatchery and the provision of technical support.
Negotiations are completed for the establishment of a demonstration mud crab farm at the Kulaluk community in Darwin. Assistance has also been provided to several indigenous communities, especially Maningrida, to establish aquaculture ventures. The first trial with mud crabs in mangrove enclosures will commence shortly. The Darwin Aquaculture Centre is one of the partners in a project at the Kulaluk community in Darwin, which aims to develop suitable culture techniques for crabs in indigenous communities.
The government has committed to review the Fisheries Act 1988, which has been in existence for some 17 years and was introduced primarily as a licensing tool, and assist with the development of new fishing activities in the Territory. We must ensure that our aquatic resources are managed in an ecologically sustainable manner, ensuring an ecosystem-based approach, and encourage indigenous development through creative participation in fishing and aquaculture activities.
We continue to support the marine ranger program. An additional $366 000 will be provided over the next term to fund new marine ranger programs.
Primary industry in the Territory includes cattle and other livestock such as buffalo, crocodiles, pigs, and camels; the horticultural industry which includes fruit, vegetables, nurseries and cut flowers; and mixed farming including field crops, hay, seeds, and forestry. Rural and fisheries industries have significantly links to other sectors of the Territory economy such as manufacturing, transport, retail and wholesale. These industries are vital in regional areas, providing economic stimulus and direct employment for about 2300 people. They also account for a significant proportion of the Territory’s export revenue. We will continue to pursue opportunities to add value here in the Territory through encouraging our own unique food industry.
Key issues for this term of government include:
We are developing cattle research programs in Katherine to focus on breeding to suit future market opportunities in South-East Asia and elsewhere as part of the opening market development for the industry.
The value of mineral and energy production and processing is likely to increase by around 8%, due primarily to higher oil prices and the inclusion of Australia’s share of crude oil produced in the joint petroleum development area in the Timor Sea. This government is committed to mineral exploration and development. This will be achieved by our Building the Territory’s Resource Base program, an accelerated program to provide information to industry on the prospectivity of the Northern Territory; and providing a regulatory environment which meets community needs and expectation and supports the Northern Territory’s economic development.
The government will continue with its program involving the acquisition of high-quality geoscientific data, and provision of this data to the mining and petroleum sectors. We have an enhanced capability to process and manage exploration and mining tenures. We are committed to work with the mining industry and indigenous organisations to encourage partnerships and indigenous involvement in mining. We will continue to promote the Territory as an attractive exploration investment destination.
This government will continue with the Mt Todd Mine Site Rehabilitation Reference Group, which will provide community input into the management and rehabilitation of the site.
Multiculturalism is celebrated throughout the Territory and, collectively, we should all be proud of what the Territory has achieved. The Administrator’s closing comments yesterday, when he reflected upon the wide range of cultures and languages here in the Territory, was a fantastic illustration of the rich and diverse tapestry that makes up this wonderful place that we all call home.
This government delivered the Northern Territory’s first multicultural policy, Building on the Territory’s Diversity. The policy seeks to celebrate how people from different backgrounds, beliefs, customs and values can come together, live in harmony and enrich Australian society, and how valuable cultural diversity is in developing a broader world view and applying this in our approach to business and government service provision.
The government is providing a record level of spending in delivering real outcomes, including providing $750 000 each year for multicultural community grants, and $0.5m each year for three years for facility grants.
A new initiative we will be focusing on during this term is boosting jobs and training assistance for migrants and refugees as part of the Jobs Plan, including a skilled apprenticeship scheme for mature-aged migrants and assistance with the recognition of overseas skills and qualifications for refugees.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we have achieved much and there is still more to do. The portfolio responsibilities of primary industry, mines and energy, fisheries and multicultural affairs offer tremendous opportunities to move the Territory ahead.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Deputy Speaker, the re-election of the Labor Party by the people of the Northern Territory on 18 June 2005 was, indeed, an historic event. As the Administrator said, the election result is an endorsement of this government’s actions and policies over the last four years. In response to the Administrator’s address, I will outline some of the highlights of the government’s achievements in the portfolio areas for which I am responsible, and add some further information about the government’s agenda for the next four years in those portfolio areas.
I will deal with the Justice portfolio first. When Labor gained government in 2001, we immediately acted to put in place our policies to tackle drug abuse and property crime. During our first term of government, we saw property crime almost cut in half. We will continue to focus on drug abuse and property crime in the second term, and will turn the spotlight on alcohol abuse and violent crime.
Examples of this commitment are before this parliament in this first sittings. Today, I introduced the Criminal Code Amendment (Criminal Responsibility Reform) Bill, which overhauls criminal responsibility laws so that criminals cannot escape the full weight of the law because they were drunk or high on drugs. I also introduced the Bail Amendment (Repeat Offenders) Bill, which makes it more difficult for repeat offenders, particularly repeat violent offenders, to obtain bail. Within the next few months, this parliament will see the introduction of legislation to put in place our plan to tackle the damage caused by chronic habitual drunks. Part of that plan is the establishment of an alcohol court. This will build on the success of the drug court established during our first term of government. The alcohol court will have access to rehabilitation options for chronic, habitual drunks who offend, and those rehabilitation options will be adequately funded.
The community safety initiatives of the first four years of the Labor government are paying real dividends. The Office of Crime Prevention has established whole-of-government crime prevention policies, and work in partnership with the police and the community on community-led strategies. The government is getting the message across that community safety is not just the responsibility of the police or the courts; it is the responsibility for the whole community. Our Crime Prevention Grant Scheme - more than $1.75m in the past four years - is helping the community put their crime prevention ideas into action, complementing police and government efforts to reduce crime. Crime prevention councils have been established across the Territory to advise government on crime and safety issues in the community. As announced in the budget, we will provide an extra $350 000 per annum to implement community safety plans. Independent crime statistics are now released quarterly, giving Territorians access to real data about crime levels in their areas.
Reforms to our correctional system are under way with a $26.4m injection over four years, to turn our prisons and prison officers into a second crime fighting force by focusing on reintegration and preventing re-offending; building on the law enforcement work of our police force. A new low-security facility is soon to be opened at Darwin Correctional Centre to deal with increased prisoner numbers and longer gaol sentences. The rate of indigenous incarceration - the highest in the country - is being addressed through a number of programs and strategies including community-based law and justice strategies to prevent crime, without watering down the intent of the law. In the next four years, we will continue that focus on reintegration preventing re-offending, and will continue to work at local community level on the causes of crime.
We will also continue to work with indigenous crime prevention councils and the law and justice committees to implement the recommendations of the inquiry into customary law conducted by the Labor government in its first term.
This government has a strong record on victim support. We have provided tangible assistance to victims of crime to help clean up and secure homes that have been broken into. We have also made significant changes to our law to protect victims of crime. In the next four years, we will continue to put victims first by increasing financial support to Victims of Crime NT to expand their services. We will also upgrade the Darwin and Alice Springs Court Houses to improve victim and witness facilities. We will legislate for victims’ rights and establish a Victims of Crime Register so that families affected by serious crime can follow the movements of offenders in the prison system. We will also review and revamp the Victims of Crime Compensation Scheme to better meet the needs of victims.
I now turn to Health. In 2001, when the first Martin government was elected, we inherited a health system that had been neglected and under-funded for years. Today, we face a very different scenario. Over the last four years, we have achieved a great deal. We have dramatically increased our health spending - up by 43% - and using these extra funds to deliver more and better services to Territorians. We have exceeded our promise of 74 extra nurses; today we have over 100 extra nurses. We have made major improvements to our hospitals with more doctors and nurses, more resources and better conditions.
However, I am the first to admit that our health system is not perfect and needs more to be done. The re-election of the Martin Labor government was an endorsement by Territorians of what we have achieved, and what we have committed to achieve over our next term. I would like to briefly review the progress the first Martin Labor government has made in health.
When we gained government in 2001, spending on health was uncontrolled and inadequate. Financial and management controls were poor, leading to a position where the Health Department blew its budget every year. This lack of controls and chronic under-funding meant that often hospitals sucked up resources from other areas of the health system.
To address these issues, we commissioned a comprehensive and independent review of the Department of Health and Community Services. The review involved extensive consultation within and outside the department. The Bansemer Review was delivered in February 2003 and contained 300 recommendations for putting our health system back on track. We implement these recommendations and embarked on a comprehensive restructuring of the department, including the imposition of strict controls on transfer of funds between different areas of the department. In this way, we brought the health budget under control such that, in 2003-04, for the first time in around a decade, there was no significant cost blow-out in the budget.
These reforms, especially the restructuring of the department, were not easy. No fundamental change process ever is. I commend the former Minister for Health and Community Services for the job she did in such difficult times, and the staff of the department for their continued dedication. However, these reforms have allowed us to set out with confidence on our own path towards improving the future health and wellbeing of all Territorians.
In February 2004, I and the Minister for Family and Community Services described this path in Building Healthier Communities - A Framework for Health and Community Services 2004 to 2009. Building healthier communities was, and continues to be, our vision for better health for all Territorians. Unlike so many such documents that sit and gather dust, our plan has led to action and change. Immediately following the launch of Building Healthier Communities, the Department of Health and Community Services began a process of extensive consultation to make that vision a reality. As a result, I am proud to say that Building Healthier Communities has really engaged both our health staff and the community.
Although there has been action across all the areas of the health system, it has not been possible to do everything immediately. Certainly, one of our key priorities in our first term has been the acute care system. Our hospitals were in a critical state when we came into power in 2001. It has been a major effort to turn that around. When Territorians are sick enough to require hospital care, they need to know the care the get is of the highest possible quality. Our key achievements have included over 100 extra nurses including a range of specialist positions such as Clinical Nurse Educators, Nurse Managers, Renal Critical Care and Midwifery Nurses; more hospital beds - up by 52 from 567 in 2001 to 619 funded and established beds today; the employment of more doctors in Alice Springs Hospital including key medical positions in anaesthetics and critical care areas; upgrading of the Alice Springs Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit with an extra $11m; a new emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital with more staff and resources; and increased resources, staff and equipment for our regional hospital in Katherine, Gove and Tennant Creek.
Our efforts, and the hard work and dedication of our staff, have been rewarded with all the five of our hospitals being accredited against national standards for quality of care, something that no previous government managed to achieve. There have been other areas of significant achievement, particularly in maternal and child health and in setting up an expanding renal service for remote and regional areas. These are accomplishments of which we can all be proud, but there is more to be done.
I turn now to our plans for the future. Better health for Territorians is at the heart of this government’s second term agenda. We have made a number of commitments in recent weeks which we will deliver over the next four years. These include employing 75 more nurses across the Territory health system; opening 48 more beds in our hospitals to treat more patients and reduce waiting times; upgrading hospital facilities, with $5m for the refurbishment and the extension of the emergency department in Alice Springs Hospital and $25m to bring Darwin Hospital’s tower block to a state-of-art standard; and expanding the Hospital in the Home service, supporting patients in the community after discharge and freeing up beds. These commitments will ensure that our hospitals are at the best they can be.
However, increasingly, the balance of our efforts is going to shift towards prevention and primary health care. We have already made a good start in this area but, in the long term, this is where the real health gains for the Territory can be made. We need to make sure that every Territorian has access to high-quality professional care from doctors, nurses and health workers as close as possible to where they live. This care - the vital day-to-day work of prevention and management of chronic and acute conditions - is what is going to help us turn the corner on health for all Territorians and, especially, for Aboriginal Territorians who continue to bear the heaviest burden of ill health.
Following on our achievements in our first term in addressing the health of mothers and children, we have already made commitments to the future. We will establish universal hearing tests for newborn babies so that every new baby in the Northern Territory has a hearing test shortly after birth; set up a community midwifery program in Alice Springs to provide care for women in the community before and after they have a baby; expand the successful child health initiative with 10 more community-based child health care workers across the Territory and extra midwives to provide antenatal and postnatal care to remote centres; and fund midwifery training for the Territory nurses to support local recruitment of midwives and reduce the need for interstate recruitment.
We will also work with Aboriginal communities to ensure that the Australian government resources for primary health care continues and are expanded in the Northern Territory. This will mean continuing our joint work on improving access to Medicare resources for primary health care in the Territory, as well as on going support for grants-based programs such as the Commonwealth Primary Health Care Access Program. By working with our health professionals and community leaders, this government will continue the path to a better health system and better health and wellbeing for all Territorians.
I turn now to my other portfolio in Central Australia. As the Administrator outlined in his address, one of the five goals of our government during its second term will be to build and expand on existing commitments to regional areas in the Northern Territory.
Central Australia is my home, and it is very important to the economic, social and cultural development of the Northern Territory. The Labor government will continue its commitment to Central Australia in our second term, and we will build on the work already done.
Tourism is one of the Northern Territory’s main industry sectors, and employs over 15 000 Territorians. We will ensure that Central Australia is in a good position to capitalise on the recovery in tourism. The Labor government has worked hard in its first term by making sure there is infrastructure to make all regions accessible to tourists, and focusing on marketing and tourism developments in six priority destinations, including Alice Springs and surrounds. The recent $1.2m Destination Alice Springs campaign is an example of that work. The sealing of the Mereenie and West MacDonnell loop was one of our first term commitments, and work is progressing on this project.
Our commitment to seek World Heritage listing for the Western MacDonnell Ranges is a reflection of this government’s commitment to expanding tourism opportunities, and preserving our unique natural environment.
The Ghan service from Alice Springs to Darwin was seen as a significant boost in tourism numbers to the Territory. We will upgrade the railway station in Alice Springs and build an interpretive walkway from the railway station to ensure that short-stay visitors are attracted to visit the town centre.
During our second term, we will ensure that our community safety, health and education priorities are reflected throughout the Territory. The government will continue to build our police force and provide police with tools to tackle crime. As an example, we recently announced a mobile police station for Alice Springs to tackle hot spots.
We have committed $150m in upgrades to schools. Included in this is the $5m upgrade of Ross Park Primary School. We will continue our commitment to upgrade and improve services to Alice Springs Hospital with, as an example, the promise to fund an extra 24 beds for that hospital in the next term.
Sport is an important part of the Territory lifestyle and Central Australia is no exception. In our next term of government, we will construct a heated swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool and interactive water park in Alice Springs, and upgrade the town’s soccer facilities. Importantly, we have committed to build a drag strip and upgrade the start/finish line for the Finke Desert Race. This particularly interests me, as a participant in the Finke this year.
I must digress because it is obsession of mine. I wish to pay tribute to my driver, Billy Yan, and Rick Schembri and to the Mighty Fugly, the Class 1 buggie that got us there and back. We did not come first; we came 35th. Out of 98 cars, only 40 finished, so we were there at the finish and that is what counts. Let us go with the Finke. We had a difficult race this year with the unfortunate death of a competitor – which, I understand, was unrelated to the race - and a couple of spectators who got into strife while they were camping down by the track. However, the race will go on and it will continue to grow. It is a magnificent event and very important to the Alice Springs economy, along with our great Masters Games every second year.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this Labor government is a government for all Territorians. We have achieved much, but there is more to do, and Territorians have given us a mandate to deliver our second term agenda. All Territorians can be confident that we have plans, the energy, and will deliver on the agenda.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker, I congratulate all new members of the Assembly. I listened with great interest to each one of your maiden speeches, and the one thing that stood out was the many concerns and aspirations you have. These are concerns and aspirations with which most Territorians would agree because, whilst we think the Territory is the best place to live, it has issues we cannot ignore.
High prison rates, especially indigenous prison rates, are unacceptable. High alcohol consumption, sexual assaults, youth problems, high unemployment, especially in remote areas, high suicide rates, and low education standards are just some of the problems we face.
I am sure there would be no one in this place who would say we can sit back and do nothing about these problems. The big question is: how? Whilst we all might want to fix the problems, I believe the differences that might occur in this House are how to do just that.
For many years, millions of dollars have been poured into the Territory to fix things. Committees have been formed, programs have been launched, conferences and workshops have become an industry on their own, all with very little change to the problems. After all, since Labor came to power, we have the highest indigenous rates of incarceration and our gaols are full. It was interesting to read, when Labor was first elected, the first Aboriginal minister, the member for Arnhem, Mr John Ah Kit, said that one of his first objectives was to reduce the high level of imprisonment amongst Territory Aborigines. This has not happened and, in fact, has gone well above the figures when the previous government was in power. Whilst we may have great intentions, and pour buckets of money into programs, it is much harder than people think.
Employment, housing and education are the key and, until some hard decisions are made about employment, the rest will be a waste of time. I have spoken on this many times before. You can put people in school; if they do not have a job, it is a waste of time. We have to create employment. The Americans created employment during the Depression. They made employment. It was better to have people working on policy programs, or just doing work throughout the country, than have people sitting down doing nothing. I believe we really have to talk to the Commonwealth, and we have to create jobs. They may not be the best skilled jobs, but we have to start somewhere. People have to know how to work, get used to working. As people are educated and more opportunities develop, they will rise from those jobs to more skilled jobs. I do not believe we are doing anywhere near enough to solve the problem. We talk, talk, talk. I believe the conditions are worse than when they were 30 years ago in many parts of the Territory. We really have to work hard, as the Territory parliament with the Commonwealth, to do something that is really going to change the lives of many people, especially indigenous people.
I also note that many members of the new Labor government spoke about their working class background, their concern for the not-so-well-off, the poor, the youth, indigenous people, the workers, sections of our community which need to be protected, assisted and encouraged by government, as part of the common good philosophy. I also espouse those issues.
However, sadly, as so often happens today, protection of the most vulnerable in our society - the ones who have no voice, whose future is in our hands; the unborn - are not protected or stuck up for by the ones who say they care for the youth, the indigenous, the sick and aged, the poor and the working class, the ones who wish to preserve the Daly from destruction or protect the Darwin Harbour. Recently, the government shouted loudly about the population increase of 1000 and how that was a sign of prosperity for our Territory. However, what was not heard was the fact that, over the last four years, there were 4000 abortions. Just from an economic point of view, that is an enormous loss to the Territory. From a social point of view, we have lost the potential that those human beings would have given to our society and, from a human life perspective, we have lost 4000 lives. A tragedy under any other circumstances except, in this case, the victims are insignificant and cannot write letters to the paper, or their local politicians, or collect petitions, or be interviewed by Julia or John Laws.
I say to all those people who in this parliament support the weak, the poor, the underprivileged, the disadvantaged, the sick: why can we not have a common goal that would at least reduce the number of abortions? Why cannot this government say to the Department of Health that their goal is to reduce the number of abortions in the Territory; their goal is for life, to encourage mothers to go through with their pregnancies, and to provide counselling, support, compassion, love, understanding, financial assistance, or whatever, to help with that objective. In other words, the basic philosophy behind the government is the protection and support of human life backed up by a proactive approach. No doubt, as I have heard many times before in this parliament, there will be those who disagree. I realise that abortion is not a simple issue. The issue of unwanted pregnancy, a woman’s right, and the definition of medical reasons are all matters that raise strong opposing views. However, I would sincerely hope that no one in this House would say that abortion is a good thing, or would be opposed to reducing the number of abortions in the Territory. I hope that if there are like-minded people on either side of the House, we could throw away our political party handicaps and do something positive for the most disadvantaged of us all.
On a local note, I congratulate new members in parliament whose electorates are part of my rural area and take in a section of the Litchfield Shire, part of the Territory with which I had a long affiliation; that is, the members for Goyder and Daly. I have a strong affiliation with both those areas. I was married on the Daly River; my wife comes from Bulgul at the mouth of the Daly River. Her father worked for many years at Delissaville, now Belyuen, which is now in Goyder. He also worked during the war with the Army on the Perron Islands. I have some relations in Batchelor. As I said, I not only worked on the Daly River Mission, but on one of the farms there. Of course, now I live in the rural area, so I have a strong affiliation and love for the area.
There are certainly quite a few issues in that area that need addressing, and I would be happy to work with those members in achieving solutions to them, as well as keeping the government to any of the promises it made during the election. I like that bit.
As an aside, I notice that the new member for Goyder is using the same logo as the previous member for Goyder: ‘A Strong Voice In the Rural Area’. Obviously, this will save on paint when he moves into his new office, which is a good thing.
However, we hear of some of the issues that need addressing. Water conservation is certainly an issue that has been in the paper in recent times. Some of it, I believe, was drummed up to some extent by the media just before the election, because the issue was not about metering bores to pay for the water, it was really about whether the production bores were taking water out of the rural area, whether that was affecting the existing bores, how much effect the very dry Wet Season had on the provision of water, and whether the government should be putting town water supply into the rural area. Those issues went from that to the metering bores, about which an editorial in the NT News said rural people should pay for water. It is amazing how a subject which really needs serious attention can, all of sudden, be heated up and taken off onto a different path. The minister said today he will not be charging people for water from bores in the rural area. However, we need to tackle the issue of water conservation from the point of view of domestic supplies, horticulture usage, and production bores of Darwin. As you know, 10% of the water that Darwin and Palmerston people drink comes from the bores. It is mixed with 90% of water from Darwin River Dam to make it softer so it does not corrode copper pipes and fittings.
As well as that, there is the environment. We do know that high water tables are what keep places like Black Jungle, the Howard River and our lagoons full with water. If they are drying out earlier than they should be, we have to look at the long-term effects of whether that is eventually going to kill off those areas.
There are many issues. I am hoping to have a forum around September, because by September we will know whether the Dry Season has had some effect on water levels to the point where people are struggling for water. We need to come together and look at that problem. There are also problems of whether we should have more subdivisions. Have we come to limited subdivisions with bores? Do we need to provide town water?
Earlier, I mentioned power problems. I know when I asked the question about power problems, the minister mentioned Marrakai. I know that on both sides of the Arnhem Highway - in upper Humpty Doo and lower Humpty Doo if you want to call it that - there are continual power problems. It is causing many problems for people who are using computers, working at home. This has been going on for quite a while because I have been getting phones calls asking me if I had five or six interruptions to my power last night in about three or four hours. It is an issue that is a problem. I realise bats can be a problem, but I hope that we can continue to try and solve that problem.
There is another issue with water. Large parts of the rural area have what we call spaghetti lines. They are private lines which were run from the end of the mains - in some cases they go for about a kilometre - which are poly pipe. Of course, a lot of poly pipe, if not laid properly, starts to leak. If you go down roads in the rural area, you will see a great heap of meters at one end of the road and you know that there is a water pipe going off to someone’s place. I think the government should be looking at a program to remove those spaghetti lines and replace it with a proper town water supply. I know they might say that it belongs to a private person; my argument is that you can put the powerlines underground in the northern suburbs free - because you do not need to put them underground - then you can do a similar thing for the rural area over a period of time, and it would get rid of all those spaghetti lines.
Buses - a favourite one - and before I forget, I thank the minister for the bus shelters. Yes, they are being moved slowly from Marjory Street at the 11 Mile to the Freds Pass Reserve. There had been some issues with the council wanting to accept them, but they have finally received the letter saying that they are receiving them and they have said they will accept them. One of the questions that needs to be asked, of course, is: why are bus shelters provided free in the urban areas, yet they are not really provided free - that is, the setting up of them - in the rural areas? A bus stop with a shelter is provided by the Darwin Bus Service. In the rural area, we have to collect them and we will have to put them up ourselves. There seems to be two different philosophies when it comes to provision of bus shelters.
There are issues about bus routes. I know, minister, you announced changes to the bus routes. I am hoping that will come out fairly soon because estimates is coming up next week. I hope to know the times when the new buses are coming. I should highlight how poor are bus services in the rural area. I know the minister has said we are getting an upgrade. However, you cannot go from Palmerston to the rural area in the morning, for instance. You can go from the rural area to Palmerston in the morning, but you cannot go the other way. The bus goes one way only. In the evening, you cannot go from Humpty Doo to Palmerston in the evening, only from Palmerston to Humpty Doo. The bus goes down there but it does not take anyone back. It is parked at Shuker’s bus shed in Humpty Doo. Who else has a system that only has a one-way bus service? We do. It is very poor and is not good enough today with a population of 14 000 to 17 000 people in that area. I believe that is something that needs to be improved.
People in the urban areas take bicycle paths for granted. You can practically ride from Palmerston all the way around Darwin on a bicycle path. Yet, for 10 years, we have not had one inch of bitumen in the form of a bicycle path in the rural area. I know that Transport and Works put us as a low priority. I know they want to put one over near Farrar, but we have asked why we cannot have a bicycle path going on the old railway line. It preserves the old railway line and will stop the bridges getting knocked off - which we have not found. It may be at Dundee. Member for Goyder, if you see something that looks like a bridge, please let me know. We think that is where it has gone. Not only will it help preserve the heritage, it will be a great place for people to ride their bikes and for rural area people to be able to come to Palmerston by bike; not on highways as they have to do at the moment. I just do not know why it is so hard to get a bit of bicycle path past the Palmerston line.
No one can swim in the Howard Springs Reserve anymore; it has not been cleaned out for 15 years. It has a lot of trees over growing it. I did have a meeting, thank you, minister, with people from Parks and Wildlife. There are some issues. If you look up the web site, Howard Springs Reserve is a nature reserve where swimming occurs. It does not anymore. We have to really look at the issue of whether we have to pump water in it from down further in the aquifer to keep it flowing. People did go there for a barbecue and a dip, and they cannot do that anymore. We have to make some decisions about how we can get that back into a nature park, but also a park where we can enjoy the swimming. Some people go swimming at Leanyer which is, by the way, in my electorate. I would not mind if you could fix up the Howard Springs Nature Reserve and make it suitable for swimming. It might take up a bit of work to work out what the problems are, but it is 15 years since it was cleaned out.
The cost of land was mentioned by the member for Braitling. I believe the price of land in the rural areas is excessive for first home owners. Forget the HomeNorth schemes. If the cost of the land and the cost of the house is above what you can get a loan on, well you cannot get a house and a block of land in the rural areas unless you want to go down to Goyder and beyond. The land in my area is becoming too expensive. You cannot get a five acre block under $200 000. To put a house on top of that, there is only $44 000 more and you have reached the HomeNorth limitations, and it will not be much of a house. I really think where the government has Crown land, it can contribute by opening some rural land, because the rural lifestyle is the best lifestyle for raising a family. You can have a few chooks, a dog and, maybe, half a cow, depending on the planning authority’s ruling on that. It is a much better lifestyle, I believe, than being jammed in the suburbs on blocks where the walls of houses are 1.5 m apart. Kids need room to breathe and play. Rural areas are a great place, and we should consider opening up some land. I have been criticised by my opponent in the election who believes that a cheaper land equals cheaper blocks; small blocks equal high density housing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cheaper land, I am saying, could be provided for young families to help the Territory grow.
The swimming pool! That should get the members for Goyder and Daly going! It is partly in the Litchfield Shire. I will be interested to see what happens with the swimming pool. I would like to say a couple of things about it. I am all for things that help kids take up sport. I am a great fan of kids being active, and the best way of keeping kids out of crime is to get them into sport. Swimming pools can be part of that. However, we have to realise it is expensive and it will cost the council a fair bit of money. They are suffering at present from potential financial cuts, so we need to look at it carefully, talk to the council and work in cooperation with them.
The siting of a pool is important. If you are in Goyder, you will say Humpty Doo; Daly, you probably would not care; and I am in Nelson so I say it should be at Freds Pass. However, we should sit down and not look at it so much from a political point of view. If we build one, we should build it at a place where it will be most used and be most viable. People would accept that. If it means that we bring in an independent person to assess the swimming pool - so be it. We should take our biases out and have someone come in to tell us where, in the long term, this pool would have the most use. We can work together on that and we might come up with a good result.
On to environmental issues, gamba grass, which I mentioned today, really needs to be tackled. There is probably more gamba grass in the electorate of Daly than in Nelson, where there is plenty of it. Goyder, being in between, probably has a fair sample of it, too. I went to the gamba workshop at Batchelor, and I probably should have brought my Gamba Samba poem, but I will do it next time.
A member: Oh, please!
Mr WOOD: Oh, it is not bad. It took a private person to get something going about gamba. Gamba something we could control far easier than the cane toad, but will probably affect the Territory far more. It will, potentially, ruin native bush in the Top End. We should do one thing: work out the farthest point that gamba grass has reached, draw a line on the map and pay someone – a full-time job for one person, a contractor or whatever. That person’s job is not to let gamba grass move out of that area. Then we should sit down and work out strategies for reducing gamba, whether that be block by block, council by council, section of land by section of land, but we need to work out some way of fighting it back.
If we do not do anything about it, it is going to ruin our country. I know pastoralists love it, and perhaps they should be licensed with part of the license being a requirement that they must keep it within the confines of their block, or incur a penalty. We need a carrot and stick approach; something by which we say: ‘If you do the right thing, we give you some money. If you do not …’. It might be the licence fee, for instance. You could say that to grow gamba will cost $1000 a year, but if you prevent it from growing outside your block, you get your $1000 back. If there are outbreaks of gamba grass around, they do not get their $1000 back. With this approach, pastoralists could still use gamba grass, but we have to get rid of it. I have it on my block at Adelaide River and I do not know how the heck I am going to get rid of it because it is that high and my tractor is this high. It is incredibly tough to get rid of. Weeds in general – we have plenty of them. We have mission grass and mimosa, but gamba is the No 1 priority.
I have mentioned publicly the tip at Humpty Doo. I know the government is saying the licence will be closed in February. I hope we do not have to take rubbish to Shoal Bay; it will increase the rates for Litchfield Shire enormously. I hear that the government is looking at putting …
Ms Scrymgour: The licence is until the end of the year.
Mr WOOD: That is right. After that, we have to transport it. We do know, because we did costs when I was on council, that that increases transport costs for rubbish for Litchfield residents enormously. On top of that, you would have to ask about the future of the Shoal Bay tip because the government is talking to Darwin City Council about putting all the contaminated soil from the wharf there, so how long will the Shoal Bay tip last?
I ask the government to consider establishing a tip site in the Litchfield Shire where it is much closer for the transport of rubbish. Otherwise, it will hurt the council. I do not know why a place of 14 000 to 17 000 people cannot have its own tip site. If you are going to knock the old Litchfield Shire for having a tip, then knock out Coomalie, and a lot of the other communities. It seems poor old Litchfield is hit a bit harder because it is a little closer for the department to drive to.
Ms Scrymgour: No, it is not just the Humpty Doo dump, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: Well, I reckon it is. The minister might complain that the Humpty Doo tip was a great place for people to take their cars to get crushed ...
Ms Scrymgour: It was in a swamp!
Mr WOOD: No. Now you cannot take a wrecked car to the only place in Litchfield Shire to be crushed. The sign up there says it is because of the department’s rules on environmental protection. For the life of me, why something simple like dropping your old bomb down there for the Simms portable crusher to come down and crush it and recycle it is now banned at Humpty Doo, the only place you could take it in the whole of the shire. I would ask you, minister, to find out why, because it seems to me that people will now dump it in the forest, and that is sad. You can have these great legal eagles working in the department who know everything about the environment but, in reality, people will just say: ‘Stuff you, I will stick my car in the bush and too bad’. If you can find out why we cannot put cars in Humpty Doo tip to be recycled I would like to hear. It is an issue.
I know you jump up and down every time I mention container deposit legislation. I ask you, minister …
Ms Scrymgour: I do not jump up and down!
Mr WOOD: In a nice way. You know my views on it. If you go to the Humpty Doo tip - and the member for Goyder has the Humpty Doo tip in his area - just look at the amount of rubbish that is being buried day after day.
Ms Scrymgour: Two issues: litter and recycling.
Mr WOOD: Container deposit legislation in the remote areas such as Litchfield – and we are relatively remote as a whole in the Territory - will solve that problem, because it will not let it get there. It will not let it get to the landfill. I bet the member for Drysdale is a great supporter of CDL, but he will have to keep quiet because the party does not support it. He comes from Port Adelaide, one of the most popular …
Ms Lawrie: Oh no, we do support it. We support it at a national level.
Ms Scrymgour: Oh, come on, Gerry!
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr WOOD: No, not the national. South Australia has not gone national. South Australia has done it on its own. South Australia proved it could do it ...
Ms Scrymgour: And they are paying for it.
Mr WOOD: South Australians say it is the most popular piece of legislation they ever introduced ...
Ms Scrymgour: Have you called for cotton growing yet?
Mr WOOD: We should do it. We should not …
Ms Lawrie: And we say …
Ms Scrymgour: South Australia …
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Karama, member for Arafura, please let him have his say.
Ms Lawrie: He is provoking us.
Mr WOOD: We will continue to fight for CDL because while the rubbish in the rural area is continually dumped, while glass and plastic is not recycled …
Ms Scrymgour: That is not true.
Mr WOOD: In the rural area it is not. There are no bins now in the rural area for glass collection for recycling because it is not commercially viable. Plastic is not recycled. The only thing that is recycled is cans, through the Scouts. We all have one of those. Do you know why they are recycled? Because they are worth money. They are CDL with a very small deposit - a quarter of a cent for a can - and that is why they are being recycled. It will work; it just requires government to do it.
I know the wharf has come up as well. I am talking about the environment. I hope the issue of where the mud is going to be pumped, and where the contaminated soil is going, has environmental approval, because there will be a lot of mud, I presume, and a lot of soil going somewhere. One of those areas, at least, is in my electorate, at Shoal Bay dump, so I will be taking up my concern about that.
Ms Scrymgour: Come and get a briefing.
Mr WOOD: I do not know whether people realise how far my electorate now goes.
There are many issues. I hope to work with the members for Goyder and Daly. I believe we can work as a good team. There will be times when we do not get it quite right. That is all right, that is part of the argy-bargy of politics. We will get the landscaping design done for Coolalinga - one day. It is coming, but I have not seen it yet. It is going to come. The master plan for landscaping of the highway; it is coming one day. It was promised earlier this year - it will come one day. We will get Girraween Road attached to the lights at Coolalinga where Henning Road meets the Stuart Highway - one day. It has been a promise but we are hoping it comes. We will be keeping on those issues, and I will be working with the members for those areas because, even though we have our differences, we are going to work for residents in the rural area to make it a better place.
The other thing I would say is that, while we will work together, we need to make sure we work together with Litchfield Shire Council. We might not always agree with it. I know, I worked on it for a long time. It has many issues, and one of the issues will be the loss of revenue that it is purporting it is going to have - $500 000. Whether it is over one year or two years has not been decided. One of the problems the council has is that the Northern Territory Grants Commission does not announce what it is going to give the council until August, yet the council has to bring out its budget months before that. That makes it difficult for a council to work out what its rates will be.
Mr Bonson: Five years …
Mr WOOD: We are not sure. We have not seen …
A member: They have had five years to do it.
Mr WOOD: Well, we will see what happens when the Grants Commission ...
Mr Henderson: It has just put the rates up 16%.
Mr WOOD: Yes, to cover what might be the Northern Territory Grants Commission’s losses.
Mr Henderson: What about the $20m they have in the bank?
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I remind members that there should not be any cross-floor chatter.
Mr WOOD: That is right.
Ms Scrymgour: He is being provocative again.
Mr WOOD: No, I am not being provocative. That is not blaming the Northern Territory government; the Northern Territory Grants Commission is funded by the Commonwealth. I will be going to see the two federal members if Litchfield Shire Council’s funding is cut. Why should a council that is lean and mean and sticks to its basics end up supporting some councils that have taken on roles that they probably should never have taken on? I believe the reason some of our poor little community councils are struggling is because they take on post office, banks, health, and housing. That is not the role of a council; that is the role of departments. Let the council do its basics. No wonder they become dysfunctional; they just run out of money doing other people’s work.
Quickly, I would like to say something about the election. As everyone knows, it is a stressful time. I think I lost 5 kg and I thought I ate more. However, it was an interesting election. There were some - what you would call - party strategies on both sides that I was not happy with overall. The CLP decided that I supported high density housing and that I had received personal incentives from the government to shut up. The government knows that is not quite so. On the other hand, I was disappointed the government put out some ads which clearly did not state were their ads - the ones that said ‘Independents or Greens’ and had all these things underneath: ‘please put CLP last’. I do not mind you putting out that ad, as long as you put up the heading so everyone can read it of ‘Labor says Independents or Greens’. I saw an ad at the polling booth at Humpty Doo at Taminmin High School which said ‘Save the Daly, put the CLP last’. It did not have anything, except for Brett Walker’s name on the side …
Ms Lawrie: That was authorised.
Mr WOOD: Yes, but what it should have said - hang on, wait until I finish. There was a good bloke there I have known for a lot of years, Jack Crosby, a fine man. I said to him: ‘Jack, that is not fair; you should be saying that that is a Labor Party poster’. What did he do? He wrote it on …
Ms Scrymgour: Yes, but that was authorised.
Mr WOOD: Yes, but Fred Nerk from Wongabilla would not have a clue who Brett Walker is. It should have said ‘Labor Party says this’. He did that and I congratulate him, because Jack Crosby is a decent bloke and he understood that the ad, by itself, was misleading. I just say thanks, Jack, you did the right thing, and people knew it. It was stuck right next to my sign. I was not promoting that sign; it was not my sign. It was his sign. I just say he is a good fellow.
Ms Lawrie: He is a top bloke; hard worker.
Mr WOOD: Okay. Electoral issues: I believe that the Electoral Commission needs to look at a few issues. Some of my constituents seemed to end up voting for the member for Drysdale. We do not know, but some might have because they were on the wrong roll. We hope that will be fixed. There were issues about the Army. There was going to be a mobile polling booth which we were told was going to happen, was not going to happen and, eventually, at 12 noon on the Friday before the election, it did not happen.
I had a funny word from someone who was looking after the votes at Bees Creek who, on the way back to the polling booth that night, was asked by someone in the Electoral Commission to open up and count the votes on the way home in the car. I am going to write a letter to the Electoral Commissioner to ask why. They were confused; they really did not want to do it. However, they were told that they had to open them up on the way back and count them in the car. I am not sure what that story is, but I have that from the person who had to do it.
I should say a couple of other things. One is that, if anything in the Nelson electorate, you can prove you do not need your face on an election poster to win an election; all you need is some feathery chooks. The good thing about that is you can sell them or give them away to anyone else, and they can cut out my name and put ‘school fete next week’ and they have a reusable sign. However, once you have someone’s ugly face sitting on a sign, it is there forever. I just say to you: if you want your signs recycled do not put your face on them, and give them to the schools or someone later to use.
Ms Lawrie: We are giving them to the schools; they do recycle them.
Mr Wood: Yes, but your face would be on them all the time.
Ms Lawrie: Love that.
Mr WOOD: I say so. I would like to thank all the people who helped me. My mum came up. She did not mean to come up for the election, she just arrived. My sister came from Bendigo to give us a hand. My good wife still never sees me. I now have a security card just to check when I come home. To my sister and brother, Trish and Tony, to all my workers, to the chook balloon manufacturer, to all those people who dropped in and filled up the balloons – as the member for Johnston said - delivered fliers, manned the polling booths, to Jenny Hillier who is my secretary who lived and died for this election - she told me if I did not win she was going to hit me. She stressed out just as much as I did, and I know she is so glad that we did win. I thank all the people in the rural area for their support. What went from a so-called marginal seat of 1.1% is now a lot more than that. I thank all those people and I also the bloke upstairs for his help as well, because I certainly needed it.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Family and Community Services): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand before the House today as the re-elected member for Arafura. It is a great honour for me to be first entrusted in 2001 with the responsibility for representing the people of Arafura and for bringing forward their views and their aspirations in this House. Today, I am again honoured by the trust and responsibility that has been placed in me.
The portfolios for which I am responsible, Family and Community Services and Environment and Heritage, are key priorities of this government. We have done so much in this area over the last four years …
Mr Wood: That should take 60 seconds.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: I know that the member for Nelson does not like me repeating what government has achieved over four years. I might just go back over it all and reaffirm to the member for Nelson just what we have done in the four years. There is more to be done, and investing in health and community services and protecting our great environment will continue to be priorities in our second term.
Rather than talking about the breadth of our achievements in Family and Community Services, I want to first reflect on an achievement of which I am personally very proud. Earlier this year, legislation to deal with the devastating effects of petrol sniffing passed through this House. Through this legislation and the $10m committed by this government, we will be putting in place a comprehensive, integrated and broad-ranging package of measures to tackle sniffing. Regulations and guidelines are being developed to underpin the operation of legislation, and services across the Territory are being strengthened.
But what does this mean, when we use these words? It means that this government has drawn a line in the sand and said: ‘Enough’. We have had enough of this generation destroying its present and its future through substance abuse. We have had enough of watching elders in our community leaders fighting and, in many cases without support, to prevent the next generation from throwing away its future. We are putting in place these strategies.
I have always believed that substance abuse is the biggest problem facing our communities. I believe this through personal experiences of watching fellow Territorians suffer its effects. I believe it as a parliamentarian after many months as chair of the select committee on substance abuse. I believe it after travelling through the Territory as a minister and listening to the stories of all my fellow Territorians. Substance abuse affects everyone in our community, whether they are white or black. It affects adults, both directly and indirectly, and it affects our children. Substance abuse can destroy families and I am not alone in my belief that it is the major factor contributing to the too-high rates of domestic violence in our community. It is for all these reasons that I, with the support of my colleagues, brought forward these measures that will tackle petrol sniffing.
It is why I strongly support this government’s approach to alcohol abuse. Many of our people in the communities are sick and tired of alcohol abuse and the problem it causes being ignored. They are sick of the funerals. Our new antisocial behaviour act will create tough new ways of tackling this behaviour. We will expand treatment programs and treatment options, with 50 new alcohol treatment beds. If people are habitual drunks, refuse treatment and continue to break the law, then gaol may be the only option taken up by the courts. I support this policy because it does not ignore the devastation of alcohol abuse. I support this policy because it is going to get people, finally, the support and treatment they need.
In the areas of child protection, significant change has also been made by this government, and will continue to be made. Not only is this change in the form of crisis intervention in our $53m investment in improving our child protection services, it is in the services we have put in place to support and nurture Territory families, such as Parent Line, the telephone advice service for parents and grandparents, and the Northern Territory Families web site which provides advice and support to Territory families 24 hours a day. They are there when and where families need them, and before a crisis occurs.
Throughout our second term in government we will continue to fund and deliver those services which may make a difference to Territorians lives: the family centre in Karama providing a one-stop shop to support and assist families; a $50 voucher for each Territory child enrolled in school to help offset the costs of uniforms and school supplies; and a new carer’s card providing concessions on essential services to help carers pay for essential services such as electricity, water, motor vehicle registration, and public transport. That is financial relief to carers worth up to $750 each year.
I turn to my Environment and Heritage portfolio. I cannot put it better than the Environment Centre did when it said the environment was the big winner from the 18 June Territory election. We did run a positive, pro-environment campaign focusing on the key issues: protecting the Daly River; no uranium mining; creating an EPA; and conserving the Darwin Harbour. We ran on these issues because this is what we are committed to do. We will continue to balance strong economic growth with protecting our unique environment because I believe that is what Territorians want us to do.
We have a strong record from which we are moving forward. We have already protected the Darwin Harbour’s mangroves, put in place a proper plan for the future management and monitoring of the harbour through the Darwin Harbour Plan of Management, passed new laws to make it clear that Territorians do not want their backyard to be the dumping ground for the Commonwealth’s nuclear waste; banned GM cotton; and moved to protect the Daly region with a moratorium on land clearing.
We will continue to move forward with the immediate establishment of an independent EPA, an Environmental Protection Agency for the Northern Territory. We will continue to protect the Daly, keeping the moratorium in place and putting $3.5m into the highest standards of land and water monitoring. We will introduce a Living Rivers program, elevating the environmental management of our most important river systems so that we do not get the water problems suffered elsewhere in Australia. We will continue to oppose mining at Koongarra, and to make clear our position of no new uranium mines for the Territory. We will put the Central Australian landscape on the world stage, working with the Alice Springs community to seek World Heritage listing of the West MacDonnell Ranges. We are cleaning up Mt Todd.
We have already shown our commitment to the communities through our $1m Environment Grants program. In the Top End, in particular, we will expand our support for community environment action with the establishment of the new Environment Hub at Rapid Creek. Through generous rental subsidies, organisations will be invited and encouraged to co-locate in offices in the Rapid Creek area. While making these organisations more accessible to the public, a green office fit-out will also showcase environmentally friendly practices in action. This government believes in a strong voice for the environment. We have shown this in funding, for the first time, groups such as the Environment Centre and the Arid Lands Environment Centre. The hub is the further demonstration of our commitment to community involvement and action to protect our unique environment.
We are moving on a sustainable living agenda. Priority action will see a doubling of funding to The Cool Mob in Darwin and Alice Springs to enable them to extend their work into water conservation. A new Water Saver Rebate for Alice Springs and Tennant Creek residents will encourage the use of low-cost devices such as tap timers and water efficient shower heads. I look forward to implementing this government’s agenda. As I said this morning, it is ambitious but it is an agenda that is vitally important.
I now turn to my electorate of Arafura. It was with great trepidation that I gave my maiden speech in this Chamber in October 2001. It was an opportunity for me to introduce myself by reference to the sacrifices of my parents and the complex strands of identity that I share with so many Territory Aboriginal women of my generation: modern, yet grounded in tradition; capable of individual achievement but obligation-bound to immediate and extended family; galvanised by the realisation late, but not too late in life, of the value and importance of education; and by the desire to create better opportunity for our kids. I also tried to reflect on the cultural and environmental wealth and diversity of the Arafura electorate, which I have been honoured to represent.
One of my big worries has been making sure that, in my efforts to be a good and effective minister, I do not neglect the people who placed their confidence and trust in me to be their representative in parliament in the first place; that is, the electors of Arafura. With that in mind, I have tried my hardest to stay focused on the local issues and concerns in my electorate. It is a big area to cover, with different language groups and geographic landscapes, but a lot of similar social and economic challenges. I am touched and humbled by the resounding vote of confidence that my constituents have given me in the recent election. My resolve for the next four years is to try to work even harder as their local member. I see my role as the member for Arafura not as a right - and it has never been a right - but as a privilege and an honour bestowed upon me by the people of my electorate.
I would like to touch on briefly and pay tribute to the many individuals who have worked tirelessly supporting me throughout the last four years of my parliamentary term, and also during the recent election. They are my brothers, Robert and John, who both live and work on the Tiwi Islands. The same friends come and go, but family are with you through all the good and bad times. I thank my brothers for their support, insight, determination, and strength. My marvellous Tiwi team included: Philip Burns, Nola Tipungwuti, Andre and Carmen Puatjimi, Bernardo Pupangamirri, Irene Hull, Pamela Warlapinni, Jason Palipuaminni, Dominica Johnson, Marie Napatali and John Ross Pilakui. In Kakadu and Gunbalanya region, Liam Maher and Andrew Ralph drove many distances to the various outstations supporting my re-election campaign. Peter Cooke is unsung, and often unrecognised, for all the work he does on the Caring for Country Program with the indigenous rangers in the Gunbalanya area.
I have to disagree with the members for Arnhem and Daly when they were claiming having the greatest electorate. I do not know if everyone saw on one of the news items of the recent election showing the choppers landing on this beautiful escarpment in Arnhem Land and it showed …
Mr McAdam: In the Barkly.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: No, that was not the Barkly, I am sorry, member for Barkly. You do not get much water down there. It showed the choppers landing on this beautiful escarpment, and the indigenous rangers from Gunbalanya doing a cross-country walk from Gunbalanya up through to Maningrida as part of the Caring for Country Program. We worked with the Electoral Commission. A request was made that the rangers would be at a certain area, so their coordinates were taken and the Electoral Commission with the choppers went in and met them on the top of this great escarpment in West Arnhem with the falls in the background, and set up all the polling booths on the top of this beautiful escarpment, which is my electorate.
Mr Henderson: It looked pretty good.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: It is fantastic footage. This is what we all call home; it is a beautiful part of the Territory. All of our bush electorates - I am not just saying Arafura, but Arnhem, Daly, the Barkly, and the Centre - have such beauty …
Mrs Miller: Do not forget Katherine.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: And Katherine. I am not being biased, member for Katherine, because I have worked in Katherine and there are some beautiful landscapes there.
However, I have digressed enough. I will go back to what I was talking about. I cannot thank Ronnie Westmead enough. The only problem with Ronnie - and I kept telling him that - was that he barracks for Collingwood. But I forgave him for that. Don Elphink and Joan and Tony Mount, drove out from Darwin early on the Saturday morning of the main static poll to assist with the Jabiru booth. I thank Mark Ramjan, Joe Singh, Esther Djahgurrnga, Tess Bulliwana and Julie Narndal and the many strong women at Gunbalanya, especially Aunty Barbara Wauchope and Raylene Wauchope and many others. I also thank and appreciate the support that I got from Uncle Jimmy Walker.
At Maningrida, my team consisted of David Bond, Helen Bond-Sharp, Helen Williams, Dean Hereen, Jaclyn Puatjimi, Maurice Geinbaraba and John Cooper. To my sisters, Valerie Rowland and Marie Napatali, and my brother-in-law, Peter Rowland, thank you. To my dear friend, Diat Callope, thank you for travelling all the way up from Sydney to keep me company on the mobile for the two weeks.
Finally, I would like to thank my children, Cherise, Richard and Helen Daiyi, for their love, support and strength, not only over the past four years. It has not always been easy and we have had a few rocky patches, but our love as a family allows us to overcome any obstacles that may be placed in our way. To my husband, David - and I know that he will feel really embarrassed when he reads it - because he is my rock and my strength and, for the first time, took on the role of campaign manager along with the brunt of all the frustrations and the tears. He was totally unfazed and, when I was losing the plot, steered me back on course.
To the electorate, thank you. I promise, as I promised in 2001, regardless of how you voted, I will represent everyone in my electorate equally and with great pride.
Mr HENDERSON (Business and Industry): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Administrator’s address to the House yesterday, and further outline the Martin Labor government’s agenda for the next four years.
First of all, I am very humbled to be returned with an increased majority in my electorate of Wanguri. It certainly was a very amazing feeling on Saturday night – a mixture of real excitement and also great humility, given the increased majority in my seat. My very sincere thanks to the electorate of Wanguri - residents in Wanguri and Leanyer - who voted for me and the Labor government on 18 June. I give my absolute commitment to work as hard as possible to return their trust and confidence in me over the next four years. All of us come here, having worked really hard in our electorates during the campaign - and if we were previously members of parliament, for the last four years - to receive the endorsement that we did was a very humbling experience.
I congratulate all members of the House on being either elected for the first time or returned to the parliament. I give an absolute commitment from myself, the Chief Minister and our Labor team on this side of the House - and also on the other side of the House for the first time - that we will govern for all Territorians regardless of whether they voted for us. There has been a great endorsement of the Labor government and our Chief Minister by the people of the Northern Territory, a very strong mandate on the campaign and the commitments that we have made. We will deliver on those commitments without fear or favour across the Northern Territory.
Saturday, 18 June, was an historic day in the Territory, returning the Territory’s first-ever Labor government for a second term. On that day, the Chief Minister and her team were delivered a clear mandate from Territorians to continue building on the work done over the past four years to take the Territory forward.
The Territory has certainly grown since 2001, and we are in an exciting period of economic growth and development. We now have the highest economic growth in Australia at 7.2%, and our population has passed the 200 000 mark for the first time. We have the lowest taxes for small business in Australia, there are more than 3000 Territorians in training, and Territory’s small business is the most confident in Australia. It is certainly a record of which we are very proud. However, as we said in the campaign, there is much more to do.
The coming years look bright, with economic growth predicted to be in the order of 4.6% in the five years to 2008-09, and more than $5bn worth of projects under way or in the near future. These results do not happen by accident and, for the second Martin Labor government, a key objective will be to continue to drive this economic development and back Territory small business to take advantage of the major projects and new developments under way or on the horizon.
One of the most exciting areas of growth in the near future, presenting significant opportunities for small business, is in the Defence support sector. There are almost 13 000 Defence personnel and their family members living in the Territory, making up about 6.5% of our total population. In 2002-03, Defence spending injected about $1bn into the Territory economy. The Defence presence is set to grow even further with the arrival of the Army’s 17 new armed reconnaissance Tiger helicopters at the end of 2005 and start of 2006, and the supporting relocation of 200 personnel and their families from the 1st Aviation Regiment from Townsville and Oakey to Robertson Barracks. The Tiger helicopters have already generated significant benefits for Territory business, with the majority of the $75m in capital works to prepare Robertson Barracks for the arrival of the helicopters going to local business.
The arrival of 10 new Armidale patrol boats for the Navy - the first of which was commissioned last week and it was great to be there with the new member for Port Darwin at the commissioning of the first Armidale patrol boat – will also open up new opportunities for Territory business in support and maintenance of the vessels over their 15-year lifespan, and $16m in infrastructure contracts to upgrade facilities at HMAS Coonawarra.
Finally, the 41 new Abrams tanks which will be based at Robertson Barracks from 2007, are expected to generate about $10m in maintenance and support contracts each year. Through our dedicated Defence Support Division located in the Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development, the Martin government will continue to promote the capabilities and capacities of Territory business to secure Defence-related contracts. We will also continue to lobby the federal government to release the Crown land adjacent to Robertson Barracks to allow the establishment of the Defence support hub, which would increase the opportunity for Territory business to secure support and maintenance contracts from the Abrams tanks and other Defence equipment. I am astounded that the federal Defence minister has not responded to repeated correspondence putting forward this suggestion. It just makes absolute logistical sense to set aside land adjacent to the barracks to allow enterprises to set up and support the platforms based at the barracks. I will continue to lobby Senator Hill on this particular issue.
The Defence Support Division is funded to the tune of $570 000 in Budget 2005, and plays a key role in strengthening the Territory’s relationship with the Australian Defence Forces and its prime contractors. The Territory’s relationship with the ADF is more than money. Between 700 and 1000 ADF personnel are posted to the Territory each year for an average two-year posting. Over this term, Labor will establish a new package to help Defence families get the most out of their postings. Welcome to the Territory expos will now be held for Defence families in their home state in the event of major relocations, offering information about life in the Territory including services, schools, job opportunities and recreation. The first expo will be held this September in Queensland to welcome 1st Aviation Regiment families to the Top End. It was great to be able to announce this initiative during the campaign, and it has been very much welcomed by the Defence community organisations and other Defence family associations in regard to trying to ease the anxiety of people who are coming to the Territory for the first time.
Secondly, $100 000 will be allocated to trial a new bus service to military bases around Darwin and Palmerston, with a possibility of a trial for RAAF Base Tindal. This initiative was developed in response to feedback from Defence families. It will make it easier for families to make most of life off base. Finally, a new Defence Force liaison position will be created for the first time providing a single point of contact for ADF families to get information about services to help make their posting as smooth as possible, and provide advice to government agencies on the practical issues impacting on Defence families. Again, I am very pleased to have this position created in my department.
The government knows the Territory’s trading future lies in Asia, and we have done much over the past four years to strengthen and build relationships with the region. The AustralAsia trade route has opened up new opportunities for the Territory for trade into Asia and as the gateway for the trade from Asia to the rest of Australia, and the government has been active in promoting the benefits of the trade routes to our Asian neighbours. The significant advantage, setting the Port of Darwin apart from other Australian ports, is our Indonesian customs pre-inspection facility established during the first term of the Martin government. The facility, the first of its kind in Australia, expedites goods ship through or from Darwin bound for Indonesia’s eastern provinces. Talks are now under way to expand the service to include Java and Sumatra, and the government will further market and promote the facility to see its success build.
Over the past four years, the Territory has strengthened its relationship with the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, east Asian growth area trading block, or BIMP-EAGA, as never before. Last year, the Territory was named as a BIMP-EAGA development partner in recognition of our strong ties. The NT is the only Australian state or territory to have such a strong link with the trading block. We were also honoured to host a BIMP-EAGA delegation in Darwin late last year. Trading doors into the region have been opened as a result of this relationship with BIMP-EAGA, and work is now underway to establish a web-based one-stop shop business portal linking businesses from the BIMP-EAGA region to Australia, and vice versa.
Opening up trade routes is only half the work needed. We must back Territory business to ensure that they are able to harness the advantage of our ties with Asia and, indeed, target new trade deals as far and wide as they present themselves. In our first term, the government replaced the outdated and under-funded export market assistance scheme with the new Trade Support Scheme. The scheme is structured to provide both financial and practical assistance to Territory exporters and, in its first year, was allocated $336 000 in funding. The scheme has been a huge success and government funding in Budget 2005 has been boosted to $407 000. In this financial year alone, more than 100 businesses have accessed the trade grants and practical support available through the Trade Support Scheme to target new trade opportunities, and the government will continue to deliver this program to support Territory business.
As I mentioned earlier, the challenge for the government is to strengthen economic development and see major projects complement the needs of small business. The $5bn in major projects in the Territory’s future brings huge opportunities for local business. Many of these projects have been outlined to the House before, including the $1bn Darwin City Waterfront project and the Alcan Gove expansion, not to mention developments in our mining sector and the strengthening tourism industry.
With these opportunities come challenges, and the most pressing challenge for business at the moment in the Territory, as in the rest of Australia, is the skill shortage - a huge issue which must be tackled if we are to ensure our businesses are equipped to harness the opportunities that are here now and in the future.
The government’s new initiatives for training and skilling Territorians have been discussed by my colleague, the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, including the expanded Workwear/Workgear Bonus and the ambitious commitment to train 10 000 Territorians under Jobs Plan 2. Equally as important as helping Territorians into the work force with new skills is giving existing business people the support to further develop their skills to grow their operations.
The Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development is the leading agency delivering the government’s programs that are backing business to grow. Among the programs that will continue to be delivered is the Business Growth program, offering information, funding and development services to existing business people to grow their operation; the Upskills program, which is becoming more and more popular, offering a range of business improvement programs; and, of course, October Business Month, which provides a month-long program of workshops and seminars dedicated to helping business grow.
In addition to the push to train Territorians, the government is continuing to pursue business and skilled migration as a complementary avenue for attracting new skilled workers to our work force. After releasing the Territory’s first Business and Skilled Migration strategy earlier this year, the government has boosted funding to this area by $250 000 to $595 0000 in Budget 2005 to see the strategy delivered. To date this financial year, DBIRD has assisted Territory businesses bring more than 300 skilled workers to the Territory to meet skill shortage needs in the health, education, trades and tourism sectors.
When the Martin Labor government came to office in 2001, the Territory economy was in trouble. Economic growth had almost stopped, our population was not growing, and many small businesses were doing it tough. As business minister, I have been pleased to see the economy turn around over the past four years to see growth now exceeding national levels, Territory business the most confident in the country, the vital tourism industry gaining strength after being badly hurt by world events, and a business climate that is open to investment and development. However, there is always more to be done, and this government will continue to drive economic development because we know it means jobs for Territorians.
As the Administrator noted in his address yesterday, community safety is the foundation of the social wellbeing of Territorians, and has a strong bearing on business and economic development. Labor is committed to building safe communities for all Territorians. Budget 2005 delivers record funding for the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services of $189m, a 38% increase in funding since 2001. Labor knows that a properly resourced and equipped police force is essential if we are to build a safer community.
In August 2003, the government appointed former Police Commissioner Jim O’Sullivan to conduct an independent review of the Northern Territory Police Force. He uncovered more than a decade of under-funding and under-resourcing that had driven the Northern Territory police almost to its knees, including a four-year recruitment freeze in the early 1990s that is still being felt today.
In response to O’Sullivan, the Labor government launched its $75m Building our Police Force plan, committing to deliver an extra 200 police on the beat by the end of 2006, and improve working conditions to keep our experienced officers in the Territory. That work will continue this term. Following the release of O’Sullivan, a record recruitment campaign was immediately launched and now, just two years later, there are 120 extra police on the beat, with 80 more on the way.
In our first term, this government turned the tables on what had been the status quo, and acknowledged the damage drugs were causing in our community. We took action with new tools for our police, including the drug house and criminal property forfeiture legislation. Known drug dens such as Foils at Moil have been closed down, dealers harassed out of business, and almost $3m worth of property believed to be the proceeds of crime have been restrained. This work continues.
The police now have their first ever Drug Detection Dog Unit, meeting another recommendation from the O’Sullivan report. Its two officers, Senior Constables Richard O’Brien and Dave Young, and their dogs Scent and Monte, are actively supporting the work of local police and specialist teams such the Remote Community Drug Desk to target the supply of drugs into Territory communities. I commend these officers on the outstanding results they are achieving in tackling this difficult issue.
The increase in the number of officers is also enabling Northern Territory Police to deliver new initiatives to boost community safety, including community bike patrols around hot spots, which have been warmly welcomed by the business community in particular, and new Personal and Domestic Violence Protection Units which are allowing police to target these crimes with proven intelligence-led policing techniques. In our second term, the government will deliver new Aboriginal Community Police Officer public place patrols in Darwin and Palmerston as part of our antisocial behaviour package, giving police strength and powers to target these issues.
Our commitment to boosting police resources does not rest with getting more police on the beat. In our first term, the government delivered on our election commitments to build a new police and fire station in Humpty Doo, ending the rural area’s 20-year wait for a station of their own, and a police station in Kintore. Work is under way to build a police station in Numbulwar. In our second term, the government will deliver a $4.8m police station for Darwin’s northern suburbs, replacing the 30-year-old station at Casuarina which is run down and no longer meets the needs of our modern police force - and leaks like a sieve in the Wet Season. We will also support the Commonwealth government in the construction of the new $2.3m police facility at Mutitjulu, and deliver mobile police stations in Darwin’s CBD and northern suburbs and in Alice Springs.
The men and women of the Northern Territory Police do a tough job, and they do it well right across the Territory including, amongst other achievements, seeing property crime cut in half over the last four years. They deserve our thanks and support.
Our fire fighters also deserve our thanks, as do the volunteers who put up their hands to help fellow Territorians through the Northern Territory Emergency Service. The 2004 Metis review of human resources and industrial relations issues within the NT Fire and Rescue Service exposed a culture of behaviour that had to change, and delivered the road map for a new era. Now, 16 months on, that new era is becoming a reality and the government will continue to fund the recommendations of the Metis review for a stronger Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service. There are now 16 extra fire fighters on the job, meeting a first term election commitment. In this term, Labor will deliver a new $3.6m fire and rescue station for Darwin’s northern suburbs to further enhance emergency response times and service. The government is committed to building safer communities. We achieved much over the last four years; however, we know there is much more to be done. We will continue to support the Police, Fire and Emergency Services with the funding and resources they need to protect Territorians.
It is a great honour to be chosen as a minister in the Territory government but, first and foremost, we are all here to represent the people of our electorates. In 1999, the people of Wanguri and Leanyer voted for me to be their voice in parliament. On 18 June, I was honoured and humbled to again be chosen for that role for another four years as part of Clare Martin’s Labor team. I am excited about the opportunities and improvements that will be delivered for the families and residents in the Wanguri electorate over this term.
I am sure all northern suburbs members are hugely excited about the $5.2m improvements that will be made to the Leanyer Recreation Park. I know many of us take our kids there, and this great facility will soon be an even better place for families to spend time together. Following on from the new shade cloths at our schools, Leanyer Primary will undergo Stage 2 of upgrades, and $1m will be spent upgrading Wanguri Primary. $800 000 will be spent installing lights at the Tracy Village Sports Club baseball/softball field, allowing night training and games, and helping make the club a leading facility in the northern suburbs. We will also install more lighting around problem shops and laneways, and deliver play equipment for Baroalba and Harmanis Parks. There is much to be done, but I am committed to keeping on working for the people of the Wanguri electorate.
18 June was a big day for the Labor Party in the Territory, and made possible by a huge team of workers and supporters who helped make it happen. I take this opportunity to thank the people who helped me, both during the campaign and over the last four years. It has been an extraordinary team effort. My extremely hardworking campaign team - or as they are now calling themselves, Team Wanguri - have been meeting regularly for the last three months in order to be ready for the much anticipated election announcements. George Mu, my campaign manager, Costa Karaolias, Robert De Araujo, Erin Grace, Kent Rowe and my electorate officer, Jarna Neve, all worked long hours and put in a lot of effort. I cannot thank these people enough – a huge effort. Roberto was taking long service leave and spent most of the three weeks of the campaign in my office, helping out from the moment the office was open until the moment it closed. To everybody who helped, you have a really big place in my heart. Frank Moukaddem, again, as other members have said, is a wonderful stalwart, who does anything and everything you ask of him and much more. Rebecca Want said she would have a surprise for me on election day, and turned up with her pet dog Toby all decked out in Labor colours and wearing a ‘Vote 1 Hendo’ T-shirt. Rebecca, thanks very much.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as to allow the minister to finish his comments.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you. To the volunteers who helped on my campaign, thanks for your hard work to help me be re-elected to represent you for another four years, from letterboxing to handing out how-to-vote cards on polling day, setting up polling booths, corflutes, folding and stuffing the thousands of letters that were delivered, and all the behind-the-scenes work and running around that was so time-consuming. Thank you very much.
I will let honourable members know about the poster wars. I had a big banner up in Gsell Street and I was worried about it being knocked off during the campaign. Sure enough, in week two, I was driving to work and the poster was gone. It was quite a decent sized poster, so I was certainly a bit peeved. About an hour later, I received a phone call in the electorate office from a gentleman in Larrakeyah who had woken up that morning to find the ‘Vote 1 Paul Henderson Wanguri’ banner tied to his fence in Larrakeyah. He rang me up and brought it back to the electorate office. People were having a bit of fun. So, member for Braitling, hopefully, your banner will turn up as well. He was wondering which electorate he was in when he woke up to see a very big poster on his fence in Larrakeyah.
It is hard to thank everybody and, if I miss people I am very sorry. However, I have to put on the record special thanks to many of these people who helped me over the last three weeks and four years. Special thanks and my sincere gratitude to Ron and Jeannie Abbott, Brett Hagen, Paul Nieuwenhoven, Lorraine Connell, Sue Wright, Sherie Pilkington, Lisa Dakin, Myra Ramsay, Julie and Brett Donohue, the Hakeem family, Nathan Franklin, Carol Sullivan, Robert and Ryan Neve, the Karaolias family, Sam Hatzivalsamis, Lester Lemke, Christine Gray, Rebecca Want, Jacob and Lisa Lay, Christine Beaumont, the Johnson family, the Wilson family, Jean Burnell, Chandra, Bob and Shirley Robinson, Deb Kneebone, Kim Cowan, John Lay, the Hawke family, and Wilfred Muttumukaru and his family. For all these people to donate their precious time to help me means so much. Your help was vital to getting the support of the electorate for another four years. I sincerely thank you and I will not let you down.
I also make mention of the central campaign team which made the whole campaign come together so well, and everything run so smoothly. Those people know who they are and did an enormous job, working 20 hours a day for weeks at a time. We are not here on the Labor side of this parliament without some tremendously committed people working for us. Hopefully, we can deliver on your aspirations for the next four years.
One of the great joys I have as member for Wanguri is getting along to school assemblies and sport days and catching up with teachers and parents. I am grateful for the support the school communities in my electorate have given me. Together, we have been able to address issues and concerns that have emerged, and worked together to deliver improvements and upgrade the school facilities. To principals, Henry Gray, Jenny Robinson, Tom Leach, Gill Webb, Michael Jones, and Lyn Elphinstone, I thank you for the great times over the last four years. We really have done a lot of wonderful things together, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with you all over the next four years. To school council chairs, Julie Donohue in Wanguri and Denise Phelps at Leanyer, it has been a great pleasure working with you over the last four years and I look forward to another four productive years.
I have also been lucky enough to have ongoing support from the businesses in Hibiscus Shopping town, all bar one – I will not mention who that is - where my electorate office is situated. They have a long-term affiliation with the CLP, but it is a great business and I support that as well. Thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes to me during the campaign, and cards, faxes and e-mails after. It is all much appreciated and makes the job even more rewarding.
I thank my ministerial staff for their efforts, not only in the election period, but over the last four years, and for the work to come. Mark Nelson, my senior adviser and great friend, it has been wonderful working with you for nine years, I think you said the other day. Hopefully, it is going to be many more to come. I have really enjoyed our time and, together, we have made a great difference and will continue to do so. Rebecca Cass, my media advisor does a great job putting up with me and harassing me to make media comments. Carole Frost has been on the team probably for about probably 12 months now. She comes from the Chamber of Commerce and made the big jump to come to work for me as my business advisor. We have had a great time and look forward to continuing that into the future. Thank you, Carole, for all your very solid and important advice. Charlie Phillips is a long-time friend of mine. Charlie is just a great champion and supporter of the Labor Party and is well respected in the community. Charlie, it has been great working with you for four years and certainly for many more to come. Jenny Tiernan, my departmental liaison officer, has done a magnificent job and has become a good friend. Jenny, if you want to stay on I am sure we can keep you on. Christine Gray and Sandy Sinclair, who keep the office running and me organised along with everybody in my office, do a great job. We are a great team and we have a lot of fun.
As all local members would agree, this job puts a lot of demands and sacrifices on families. To my wife Stacey and two sons, Alasdair and Liam, and my little girl, Isabell, thank you so much for your support over the last four years, especially over the election period.
I would also like to thank Mum for making the trip up from interstate to be with me during the campaign. Mum is 83 years young and she has had an absolute whale of a time. She went back to Brisbane today. I would not have missed it for quids; it was very special to be able to share this particular campaign and victory with Mum, and for her to be here in the parliament yesterday to see us sworn in is something that will stay with me forever. So Mum, it was great to have you here.
I also join with my colleagues in welcoming the newest members of the Clare Martin Labor Team – Barbara McCarthy, James Burke, Robert Knight, Chris Natt, Ted Warren, Alison Anderson and Kerry Sacilotto. What a great team! As the Chief Minister said in our meeting before Question Time, to sit here and listen to those seven maiden speeches yesterday, highlighted the diverse range of people - great people coming into this parliament - whom I know will represent their electorates so well over the next four years. I really look forward to working with you guys and ladies over the next four years. It is a fabulous team.
I wish all the best to former member for Arnhem, John Ah Kit. Jack did a fabulous job. As Jack’s local MLA now - he lives in Dotterel Court in Leanyer - when we come back in August I will pay fuller tribute to Jack and his history of achievement for the people of the Northern Territory in the adjournment debate. Jack, as I said to you on election night, I am going to miss you, mate. I know all of us are going to miss Jack, but he ain’t going anywhere and I am certain that he will be giving us a hurry-up from time to time. I am sure we will catch up and I will pay fuller tribute to John Ah Kit and his history of commitment to the people of the Territory in a future parliament.
It has been said numerous times over the last few weeks but it remains true: the first ever Martin government achieved a lot in four years. There is a lot more to do. I cannot wait to get stuck into it.
Madam Speaker, congratulations to you on your appointment to such high office. I am looking forward to working with you over the next four years and all other 24 members of this House.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, I will commence with congratulating you for your elevation and, further to that, reflect on the maiden speeches that were delivered yesterday. As a member of the opposition, I am pleased to report that the quality of those speeches impressed me. It lifted my spirits to know that we must reflect very seriously upon what is our duty and objective here. Is it the advancement of politics and the triumph of our own party over another? Or is it, as we say at the beginning of each of our parliaments, ‘to advance and prosper the true welfare of all Territorians’? I heard in those first speeches that sentiment strongly and genuinely expressed, and I am prepared to work as an elected member of this parliament to achieve that objective. At times, of course, there will be conflict by nature of the adversarial manner in which we conduct our business. However, we must always keep our eyes on the prize, which is to advance and prosper the true welfare of Territorians - not ourselves or the prospects of our party necessarily. I was reminded by what I heard.
Irrespective of the path travelled that has brought all 25 of us to this place, deep down I know that each member wants to make a difference, rather than to make a name for ourselves. I, for one, have strong feelings when the motivation behind our actions is really driven by self-interest. I want to see that desire to make a difference increased. We should be concerned less about politics and more about people, particularly those who have no clear voice. We must be able to hear people’s voices so that we can understand the nature of the issue that keeps them from progressing and advancing.
I often ask: ‘Why I am on this side of politics?’ It comes back to the understanding that it is an individual that, ultimately, takes responsibility. A strong core is really a strong individual contributing to a family; a strong family builds a strong community. It comes back to the individual and the need to take personal responsibility. In that proverb that the member for Greatorex will claim comes from his particular group - and I am not sure whether this is the case but probably is - Confucius said: ‘It is better to teach a man to catch a fish than to feed him fish’. That is really the core of politics; we need to empower people so that they have the capacity to be self-reliant.
That is why I see the great value in private enterprise. There is nothing more liberating than a person who gets that sense of confidence, is able to make their own way, to make a difference and, therefore, contribute to the betterment of others, or the notion of reward for personal endeavour, for people to be strong and self-assured and reliant and confident. That is what makes for a strong society.
During the campaign, when all the messages were going around the places, it seemed like a desperate contest to win, it caught me by surprise when I was listening one Sunday to a report from South Australia about a minister for Police boasting about the number of police that they had put on the beat. I was thinking: ‘Is this South Australia or the Northern Territory?’ It sounded exactly the same rhetoric and the same boasting: ‘We have made some great gains and we have 200 extra coppers’. The opposition was saying: ‘Yes, but it is not really 200’. I thought: ‘This sounds exactly the same; it is just coming from another state’. I had to check to see where it was being reported from.
Going through that process, it made me realise that we get easily caught up in a silly game here. Sure, we need additional police, but the deeper question is: why do we need additional police? Isn’t the core problem that there is an increase in lawlessness? That is a core issue. If we fast forward to five years down the track and I am on the other side of the House and I am boasting that we need 300 additional coppers, and the five years later we have 400 additional coppers, underneath this is the increase in disorder and lawlessness. That is what should occupy our thinking more than seeing an achievement as having additional police.
Of course, we have to move in that direction, but we need to reflect more deeply to see the way our society is going. I have heard mention of substance abuse. There is a great concern. As one who has worked with young people, you know that a self-assured and confident person takes care of their health and what they put in their mouth - what they drink, what they eat -and what they do. They look after their health. Why? Because they have a sense of hope and personal worth, and an obligation that comes from that, because they feel good about themselves. The only reason why someone embarks upon a life of self-destructive behaviour is they do not have that.
I would like to see greater consideration of those sorts of aspects rather than the self-congratulatory type of approach, where we talk about the great programs we have in place to deal with the symptoms, and to genuinely, as a group of people - 25 of us, from our own different communities - try to find solutions to the deeper issues. Why are people continually and increasingly embarking upon self-harm? They are the sorts of things that, in the next four years, I want to see us start to make some progress on, and get past the self-congratulations and the back-slapping, and ‘How wonderful this team is, and how poor the record was from the past’. Forget that. We have some very serious issues to attend to, and I want to play my part in here in these next four years to actually see that, next time - if the electorate of Blain chooses to have me here again - there has been an improvement to the deeper problems that affect families in the Northern Territory.
I, like many others, in a private moment, when we heard the story about the trans-Territory pipeline collapsing, and we had the usual toing-and-froing - which is to be expected in the way we conduct our business in this Chamber - reflected on the human story behind that; the real sadness of the people of Wadeye. I really feel for them, because there was a hope, an expectation that something really special was going to happen. Forget all the hype and the spin - I know what went on there. Sometimes, we can win. It is a great tragedy that needs to be looked at and responded to sensitively. To have that hope crushed at that point, when people started to buy equipment and prepare and to train for this special thing that was going to happen in their neck of the woods, to me, is the saddest thing in all of this. I do not care about looking at the scoreboard to see who has the most number of points at the end of the day. That speaks to me more loudly than anything in all this. I really feel for those people.
I hope that gas comes onshore not for some political scoreboard’s benefit, but for their sake, for the families, so we can start to strengthen some hope. Without real hope, we are not really going to make many gains with the issues of self-harm and substance abuse. We have to have strong individuals and families who sit around and think about the future. I know people who are on welfare, and they have a sense of hope and self-worth, and they are able to save money. The only reason why someone will put a little money aside in an account is because they have hope for the future. They will defer gratification because they believe in the future. Once we see evidence of people starting to put money aside with a plan for the future, then we have only really started to advance and prosper the true welfare of Territorians.
There is much work to be done here. I genuinely congratulate every member who has the great honour of holding a seat in this Chamber. Yes, there is politics that is going to be played, but I will not be satisfied, and I am sure, in our heart of hearts, many of us will not be satisfied unless we actually make a real difference. If we see our greatest achievement as having our name on a plaque at a shopping centre or somewhere like that to take your grandchildren to see one day - forget it. There is something more serious than that that we have to attend to.
I would like to reflect on the candidates who were unsuccessful, and all the people who were around them. At the heart of each of those candidates, whatever you may believe - whether they were your desperate opponent; we are going to knock you off and deny your opportunity to have a place in here - every one of them, just like yourself, had an aspiration and a belief for the future. I wish them all the best. I know that many of them have already made a contribution to the Territory, and they sought to make it in this place and, at this point, were unsuccessful. As I said to Brendan Cabry, who was a candidate for the Labor Party against me, when I spoke to him the other day: ‘If you wish to continue to advance the things in this community that you are interested in, I am more than happy to work with you, because it is not about you or me; it is about the people of Blain’. Those good people out there who had a shot, spent a lot of money, late nights and had a dream - I just hope their dream stays alive and, in whatever way they can, they will continue to make a contribution. That contribution will make a difference but perhaps not at this time in this Chamber.
For those helpers, they may be disappointed but, of course, we reflect on what the real purpose of all of this is - it is about the wider community, those who need some real leadership, and strong honesty and reflecting on what this is really about.
To talk about the economy, I mentioned at the beginning that it is better to teach a man to catch a fish. We are talking about a resource, and need to have some energy to be involved in making progress. For our economy to operate, we need to have access to resources. The truth is, we are running short of gas - no doubt about that, it is a fact. Any person who has taken responsibility for their own economic path in life and has put their money on the line and opened up a small business knows that the energy supply into the Territory in the form of gas is running out. It is like going on a very long trip and being unsure where the next service station is, driving down the road hoping to get to Adelaide and you do not have enough fuel to get there. I know many of you have driven in a car and not being sure where the next service station is and you are just hoping that you are going to get there. You start backing off because you do not want to burn up too much fuel because you want to get to the next gas station. The truth is the Territory economy is in that situation. Those who have actually analysed and thought ahead know that we do not have a future of certainty with regards to resources and energy to keep the economy going. That is the truth of the matter.
There may well have been points scored by our opponents on the other side with regards to electricity. I ask our opposition, the current government, to put all of that silly business aside and think about it; there is some merit in what was proposed. Yes, you may be a little too proud to have a look at it, but we do have some serious issues of energy supplied to the Territory to attend to. There is a case – albeit it may be difficult to swallow at this point - to actually look for the answers. I suspect in two or three years time, we will start to hear reference to electricity being brought into the Territory. Without that, the gas companies have us over a barrel and there is no point of leverage. If we have electricity brought into the Territory, when gas does come onshore and is used for power generation, we can then export energy to the rest of the country. We need to think nationally. Only yesterday, Treasurer Costello began a discussion, which we should be involved in, of how our country, our whole nation, with its vast resources of coal, gas and hydroelectricity, combine to produce cheap and efficient electricity to power the nation. These are discussions that we must have.
The Territory has another massive resource, and we need to apply our creative minds to addressing a serious national issue, which is water. We have water in abundance in the Top End of the Territory, and we need to start thinking creatively of how we can actually play our part in the development of our nation to open up these resources, and realise the real potential of our nation. That will require us working together, thinking creatively, and looking for the benefit and the betterment of the nation, rather than our own particular political club that we represent, where we measure our success by news bulletins at 6 pm or 7 pm or whenever, and think how fantastically we have done today. We have done fantastically when we have actually made a real difference to the people whom we represent who are not in here. Gas and water are issues that we must advance in our discussions over the next four years.
Clever words are already being uttered in this Chamber about the great gains that we are making to address a serious issue, the skills shortage. Oh, come on! We need to change the culture of our education so that our community values trade and technical skills, that the tech studies rooms in all our high schools are buzzing with activity, that our young people - particularly our boys - are getting their hands dirty on stripping small motors, understanding how to weld and learning how to use basic equipment that we need to have all at all of our high schools. That is the change we need; that we actually have half of our secondary school actively involved in the hands-on skills - not the talk about the great gains we are making because we have this and that program.
I went to Borroloola in early December. I reckon it is right across the Territory, that you have these little sheds that were ones places where mechanics or plumbers were trained which are closed - and they have been closed for sometime. I do not want to somebody get up and say: ‘Ah well, it is the CLP that closed it’. Forget that! I do not know who closed them – they are closed! There are kids wandering around those communities with nothing to do, and no one can fix anything. There are these facilities there that should be opened up and real skills taught so that they have some sense of confidence and can fix something - they can change the oil, weld something, or fix up some pipes and know how to do some things and have some sense of confidence. Those places need to be opened up again, and our high schools need to have our tech studies room operating, and not be places where all the broken furniture is stored. That is the sort of change we need to see. Get on with it!
Our regional engagement: we all talk about glossy brochures and engagements strategies and yadi-yadi-ya. We really do need to think about the fact that we have a strategic opportunity here in the Northern Territory. Once we captured the imagination of the nation which did not seem to realise that we are so close to Indonesia. There are 200 million people just to our north and we need to develop strong, personal and strategic relationships, and upon those relationships we will develop trade. We need to think more broadly than just industry and business, but of sporting engagements, educational exchanges, and a stronger interface between our health system and the health needs of our region which will attract AusAid money in millions of dollars flowing into the region. Very little of it flows to the Territory. We need to develop a capacity to meet the needs of our immediate region. That is why we need to broaden our approach into the region to education and sporting exchanges which we once had.
You start at that level and, through sport, you can develop great relationships and strategic relationships in the region which develop and grow into trade. That is how you do business in the region. They develop a confidence, they know who you are, then trade begins to grow. It takes some time. Many years ago, there were education exchanges and they were very well supported. Interestingly, those who were hosted here from our region are, generally, from important and influential families. They came and had a bit of education here and have gone back. Years go by - 20 years perhaps - and some of these people are now in significant influential positions within the region. They prefer the Territory because they know it. However, we have a significant gap in that program. You start these things and they grow into something. Good, small relationships grow into something. Ultimately, through that relationship, trade will flow.
I turn to a couple of local issues, one being the Palmerston Magpies. In the heat of the last campaign in 2001, $2m was committed to provide the Palmerston Magpies with a home ground facility. A couple of petitions circulated and, ultimately, the decision was made to honour that commitment. Sadly, that commitment was honoured too late because the $2m, when it was finally delivered, could not buy what it was originally intended to buy. If you were going to build a house three years ago when people were looking around for work, you could get a pretty nice house built. Try to build a house now and you will find that the price of construction has increased. Therefore, there is a problem now that exactly what the university and the Magpies had planned could have been purchased for less than $2m. Now, it is going to cost, I think, $2.3m or $2.4m. That is an issue that government will have to respond to.
In respect of the indoor recreation facility - and we will pursue this during estimates - it appears that the commitment to have this facility constructed this year has some question marks over it now. I suspect that will not be the case. There was a flurry of activity just before the election - signs and graders moving around the place after, of course, extensive community consultation, which I reminded government at the time that we had already gone through a whole period of community consultation. We had community meetings in abundance leading up to the last election in 2001. The first decision of the new Labor government was that they would look seriously into that and engage some community consultation - which took about three years. Then out came the graders and they put a fence up, and it looked like a bit of action there. However, those graders have not moved since the election.
I want to make sure that the facility actually does get completed; that we get on with the job. It is not about signs and wonders to excite people, but to actually achieve something and make sure what you said you will do happens. It is the job of the opposition to make sure that that occurs.
During the election campaign, I became interested in the cane toad issue. The cane toads are coming closer. I have been aware of it but, in the last four years, we have had all sorts of issues to attend to in this parliament. However, when I took a little time in the bush last year around October or November - I just love seeing what is around at night time - I did not expect to see cane toads where I was. I thought: ‘Gee whiz, there are a lot of frogs around tonight’. I was having a look with the torch and I thought: ‘My goodness! They are not regular frogs; they are bloody cane toads’. I did not expect to see them there and it shook me; they are advancing.
I went to Borroloola and I could not believe the places I had been to before had cane toads everywhere. They are coming here and it is a shame. However, there is something we can do. I believe the fence across Cobourg can be constructed. I was further strengthened in my resolve to make sure we do something - and I am happy to join with the member for Nelson on this, along with anyone who wants to actually make sure we achieve something, because it is possible.
I went to Perth a few weeks ago. Perth is now activated in their desire to stop cane toads coming into Western Australia. It was a freezing cold Saturday in Perth. I went to the shopping centre to buy some flowers for my daughter for her birthday. When I walked out, there was this person with a beanie on, a jacket and gloves with the fingers cut out, with a little green plastic jar rattling the can. ‘What are you rattling the can for, love?’ She said: ‘Cane toads. We are putting up a fight against cane toads in Western Australia’. I thought: ‘Blow me down! In the Northern Territory, where I come from, we let them come in and say: “Gee, it is a shame, you know. We will sponsor you if you want to buy a trap. All the best”.’
We can save Cobourg. We can do it. It is not a very long fence. I come from Western Australia; I have seen the rabbit-proof fence. That was a mighty endeavour all those years ago: two different fences. All right, it failed, but look at the breadth of that fence! We only have a short section of fence, with today’s technology, to have a shot at saving Cobourg. At least put protocols in to save those islands - at least put those in. Put up a fight!
There is one other issue I would like to raise. During the election, everyone started to take a bit of an interest in what is going on. Some old timers came out, and they did not mind sharing their story. It struck me that there are people out there with stories to tell. We need to invest more in the recording of oral history. When I see some of our older folk, and start to coax a story out of them, and tell them their story is very important, they think: ‘Surely not?’ Yes it is, because they are reflecting on things past. They think they are not as significant as those who have passed before them. We really need to let them know that they are very important and their stories must be reported. We need to invest more in the recording of the stories that people have to tell.
There are a number of issues I would like to touch on, but I will leave it at that. Of course, we have four years to talk about all manner of things.
I would like to thank my team; however, the truth is, a lot of the team would not really like their names mentioned in parliament, which is interesting. Out of respect for some of them, I will not. It really should not be, should it, that some of them feel a bit nervous about having their names mentioned in this Chamber? It should not be, and out of respect for some of them, I will not. I know that they should not feel concern, because they are just playing their part. However, all of them know exactly who they are, and I appreciate the efforts of every one of them, because they joined with me in that core objective to try to find a way where we can actually make some progress on some core issues. The good people of Palmerston who supported me and worked alongside me in that team, I sincerely appreciate your support. I will mention Tasma, of course. She has been with me now for five-and-a-half years, and is a real trooper and I appreciate the support she has given me.
The election in Palmerston, in Blain, which is the only seat I can comment on, was conducted in a way I am very pleased with; that the opposing sides worked together. We understand that, really, it is about the people of Palmerston and, in this case, Blain, expressing their view through the polls. Our job there is, primarily, to assist and play the game within respectful boundaries, and respect their decision.
However, of course, at the close of any election, I cannot help but reflect on - as I am sure many of you do - all that nonsense with a million how-to-votes, umpteen signs, slicker operations and T-shirts, flags and all that sort of stuff. It seems to detract, I believe, from the seriousness of citizens just making their decisions. I am asking that question of my community, to tell me what you reckon: could we do our election business better?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain, your time has expired.
Mr MILLS: That will do. We will talk about plenty of other things in time to come. Welcome, everybody. We are going to have a good time together and, in four years time, may the Territory be a better place.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I have pleasure in speaking to the Administrator’s address yesterday. In all the issues mentioned by His Honour, what I was not hearing was how this government plans to govern for all Territorians. I recall the Chief Minister’s words when she addressed the victory ceremony on Saturday night two weeks ago. She kept saying that she was there to govern for all Territorians and here, today, in this very room a scant two hours ago, the Leader of Government Business said for the first time they – meaning the government – would govern for all Territorians - for the first time! So, for the last four years, they have not been governing for the all Territorians? Is that what the government is for? We, in Alice Springs in Central Australia, say that four years of Labor neglect has caused us to grieve in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. I am sure the member for Barkly would agree with me about the dismal state of the Tennant Creek Hospital ...
Mr McAdam: No, he would not!
Dr LIM: I challenge you to say that the Tennant Creek Hospital is not in trouble.
Similarly, in the Alice Springs Hospital, there are great issues. This government, for the last fours years, has not governed for all Territorians. Now, they are saying they will, for the first time, govern for all Territorians. Go through the Hansard and see what the member for Wanguri said. He said that, for the first time, they will govern for all Territorians. I wrote it down.
I do not want to sound as if I am crying sour grapes about the election, but someone said to me after the election that the Country Liberal Party was seen probably as the very much-loved corner shop, the delicatessen people in the suburbs know very well, and have been going in and out of for years buying their supplies, knowing the owner of the shop, his spouse and his family - the dearly loved corner shop, the delicatessen in our neighbourhood. In came this multinational chain with all of the bells and whistles and all of the signs of marketing that swamped the corner shop - the multinational with its predatory practices. If you look at the two different campaigns, it is quite obvious that is what it was, in fact - a much slicker, better funded operation that won the day.
Congratulations to the government for winning the election. You cannot deny that, and I would not be so churlish to say that they should not have won it. They did well. The seven new members who made their maiden speeches reminded me of when I was first elected 11 years ago with five other members of the CLP. Six of us in 1994 were elected in quite a significant win, and now the shoe is on the other foot; the tables have been turned. Now the government has that majority, and congratulations to all government members for being so successful.
Some of the ministers talked about population having recovered in the Northern Territory. Yes, population numbers have gone up to a little over 200,000 now, but every minister has admitted, and in the budget books it has been shown, that the population increase has been due to new births being more than people dying. However, nett interstate migration is actually going in the opposite direction; there are more people leaving than coming into the Territory. That is a real problem for us in the Territory, where people who have productive lives and have been in businesses or in gainful employment are choosing to leave. The problem is we lose productive people. While our GST share is coming in, in increasing numbers because of the rising population, the productivity of the Territory is not, in fact, as high as it could have been. If we had not lost the 1200 people in the last 12 months, we could have had much better productivity.
In the minister for Education’s speech, he spoke about his keenness to concentrate on education, and I commend him on that. I believe that education is one of the biggest avenues that the Territory can use to further the ability, the activity, and intellect of our community. In my own education policy, I call education the bridge to our future. I believe that is what it is, whether you are an indigenous, an overseas Chinese immigrant, or a whitefella Australian. Without education we are nowhere.
I have looked at the minister’s words in his address today and did not see very much that he was going to do - nothing very concrete in what he was going to do. I suggest to him that, in his attempts to bring about education, particularly to our indigenous youth, he ensures that every child - irrespective of whether they are indigenous, overseas immigrant or whitefella Australian - goes to school every day. They must go to school every day. Show them that school and education is meaningful; if they are not going to school every day, they are not going to get anywhere. It does not matter how good the school is. You can have a gold-plated school with all the best teachers in the world, with the best furniture, the best books; however, if the kids do not turn up to school each day, they are not going to get anywhere.
You all heard recently that I went to India to have a look at their education there, where I saw kids from rich families going to school, and literally paupers who could only attend school a couple of hours a day in the afternoon when they can get time away from their work. Children working for a living can take a couple of hours off to go to school. However, they went to school every day, they learned and progressed and, eventually, were able to then go to mainstream school and get themselves educated. India is one of the places in the world that produces more university graduates than any other because their people are all educated.
I offer you a suggestion that you make sure that every child goes to school every day. You also need to teach them English, irrespective of what language area they come from. Sure, language and culture is very important, and community elders should be held responsible to teach them that. However, the Department of Employment, Education and Training must provide good mainstream teaching. English is, after all, our link language. In this Chamber, if we did not have English, we would not be talking to each other - not at all. I heard the member for Macdonnell speak in language yesterday and I thought it was terrific. I spoke in language when I entered parliament 11 years ago. However, then I went to English because that is the link language we need. Every indigenous kid in the bush needs that link language. Without that, you have nowhere to go. Therefore, you have to teach English.
English is also the enabling skill that allows us to grab every opportunity there is in this country. Without that skill, it is the same as if you cannot walk, you cannot climb. If you cannot use English, you cannot achieve the things you want to do. Can you do that in this room? You cannot without English. That is the problem. Therefore, English has to be the enabling skill that every child should have. It is something that they have every right to have and it should be given, and given in the best way it possibly can.
As I see it, indigenous youth should now form the next wave of tradesmen in this country. That is the next way for people coming through and there is so much opportunity to grab the trades. I compared myself to one of my friends whose son is training as a plumber. That young fellow is now in his forties, and he makes more money now than I ever could as a doctor - and I was running a very good practice in Alice Springs. Tradespeople now have very highly valued skills where they can actually make a lot of money if that is what they want. A trade is now as good a choice as a university degree and, in fact, can do a lot better. We should be encouraging indigenous children to pick up trades and be the next wave of tradespeople that we so desperately need.
Mr Henderson: That is why we are going to train 10 000 of them.
Dr LIM: I pick up on that interjection from the member for Wanguri. He said they are going to train 10 000 Territorians over the next four years. I can remember the time when they were saying: ‘We will have 10 000 apprentices in the next four years’. Over the last six months, those words have slowly been changed; it is now 10 000 Territorians. Do you know what has happened? Instead of making sure that there are 2500 apprentices in the Territory, anyone who wants to take up a bit of a TAFE course or any sort of re-training is considered a trainee. If you want to do English as a Second Language, learn how to change a car tyre or something, that is training. Therefore, suddenly you can have 2500 new trainees of all sorts. That is not honest. If you are going to train, talk about apprenticeships and traineeships. Then people can believe what you want to try to do for the Territory.
Dr Burns: Something like trainee Deputy Leader.
Dr LIM: The insults can flow as much you like. I have been here 11 years. I have a pretty thick skin and it is like water off a duck’s back, mate. I do not particularly worry, all right? You are supposed to be the professional with the PhD. I would have thought you had the intellect to, at least, have some honour, honesty and decency in your interjections.
Anyway, what I would like to do is to at least offer this government a couple of very good policies that the Country Liberal Party had, which I put to you for you to consider. The most useful one is the payment of HECS fees for university graduates who are trained at the Charles Darwin University in areas of skill shortage.
Let us take a teacher, for instance. To recruit a teacher to the Territory costs the government something between $20 000 to $25 000 each. That includes their air fares, going down to interview them, flying them into the Territory, relocating them, and then to relocate them when they have completed their term in the Territory. The HECS fees for a graduate teacher each year is about $5000 maximum. If a student teacher would train at Charles Darwin University, the student comes of their own accord and it does not cost the Territory any money at all. If the student is at university for one year, let us say, graduates as a teacher and teaches in one of the schools in the Territory, by June of the first year of teaching, the HECS fees will fall due. The teacher will pay the HECS fees as part of the tax return that the teacher has to provide. If the teacher continued to teach in the Territory until December of the same year, then reimburse the teacher the HECS fee that was paid in June. In other words, if the teacher stays in the Territory for 12 months, paying off the HECS fee of $5000 is the teacher’s reward for staying the 12 months. You have saved $15 000 to $20 000 of your recruitment fees. For every teacher you would keep in the Territory, by paying HECS fees, you are saving $15 000 to $20 000. That is a saving and money that this government could be using for some other project.
Each year, the Territory needs to recruit between 200 and 250 teachers. That is what is required if the government was honest and did the right thing, and not lose all the students that they have lost in the last few years. Talk to the union. They will tell you that is what you need: 200 to 250 teachers a year. Multiply that by $20 000 each that you do not have to spend in recruiting, and you save millions.
Go to nursing - exactly the same thing. You recruit a nurse, and it costs you $20 000 to $25 000. Train them at the university here and you save $15 000 to $20 000 for each nurse that you retain working in the Territory. On top of that, the Charles Darwin University gets an increased number of students. It means it gets more federal funding for those students. So money comes in, in lots of ways. You get increase in population because the students are all coming to Territory to study. Therefore, you have more people living in the Territory, so you get GST based on population. Then the university gets funding because it has more students there. You are saving money not having to recruit nurses from interstate, so it is a win-win for all people.
I offer you this policy, minister for Education, because I believe it would be a big plus for you if you did that, and I will not be so churlish to say that it was my policy. You can take it on. If you want to have any briefings about it, any greater detail, I will be more than happy to talk to you to assist you in this.
Regarding traineeships and apprenticeships, there are also very useful things you can do. For instance, we all talk about how poorly first- and second-year apprentices are paid. They are paid in the order of $5 or $6 per hour, when their mates of the same age are working at the fast food takeaway places for something like $12 an hour. Why would they want to be an apprentice? They need to have their salary scale reviewed. Talk to unions and employers and try to come up with a realistic wage structure. Ensure that first- and second-year apprentices receive direct subsidies from government, in the form of living subsidies, to allow them to live away from home if they want and choose to, because most apprentices find it is too difficult to live away from home, and they have to stay home with their parents so they can get some level of support.
Many people cannot access the apprenticeship scheme because they are too old. If I were, say, working for Darwin Mitsubishi as a labourer cleaning the yard, detailing the cars, etcetera, but after six months or so working as a detailer, I decided: ‘Gee, taking up an apprenticeship with this employer to be a motor mechanic is not such a bad thing’. If I apply to be an apprentice, I cannot get on to the apprenticeship scheme. The employer would have to pay me full wages, not an apprenticeship wage of $5.50 an hour, and then get a subsidy. I cannot access any of the benefits of an apprenticeship scheme. What I am saying is that the government should seriously look at that and say, if this is your first apprenticeship, you should be able to access this. If it is a second one - if you are a plumber then you decide to become an electrician - well, you pay for the second trade. However, if it is your first trade, then you should be able to access that without any penalty.
Kids should be encouraged to take up apprenticeships through bursaries so that, at the completion of each year, they will get a bursary for the next year. That is what used to happen when I was going to university. When you went to university, the government gave you money for one year as a bursary. If you were successful, you got the bursary for the second year, and so on. With each year of completion, you got further funding for the coming year. Through that scheme, it encouraged the student, once graduated, to then remain to work in the Territory for at least 12 months. It does not matter whether the successful apprentice - or the tradesman now - works with the same employer who trained him, or he or she goes to another employer. The thing is to increase the skills pool in the Territory, and that is what matters.
When you apply that to indigenous kids, I suggest to you, once they start getting all these skills behind them, the self-esteem is tremendous. They have been able to hold down a job as an apprentice for four years, demonstrated that they are prepared to work and do the hard yards with their employer. Naturally, most employers would be keen to take them on because they have demonstrated their ability to stay with the job.
We also know the Charles Darwin University is not performing as well as it can be. It had all the potential in the world. When we amalgamated the Northern Territory University with Centralian College, there were great expectations for the Charles Darwin University. However, day in and day out, we hear criticisms of how the university has not been performing. It is important that this government really puts its mind to the university to see how it can ensure that the higher education section of the university works cooperatively and supportively with the TAFE side. Otherwise, we will find more and more staff leaving, as they are now. I hear the staff who are in the TAFE section are very unhappy and have been leaving every year. In Alice Springs, in the TAFE section of Centralian College, the staff numbers are starting to dwindle to almost non-existent.
In welcoming the seven new members to this Chamber, I would like to also make mention of the members of this side of politics who have lost their seats. They were the former members for Drysdale, Brennan, Port Darwin and Macdonnell. The former member for Brennan and I were both elected together in 1994. I believe he was a person who was badly misjudged by many people. Denis was – well, not was, is - an honest man. He did his utmost to serve the Territory as a member of parliament. There were times when his judgment was changed or influenced by others around him but, most of the time, I felt that he did what he genuinely thought was right. I thought that, in putting his hand up again to help lead the Country Liberal Party into this last election, he was very brave. I thought he was probably putting his neck on the line and, unfortunately, he did. The workload that he had to carry as leader probably took him away from his electorate more than it should have, and he suffered the consequences of that. He did not have enough time in his electorate.
I know the former member for Drysdale well. I knew him back in the days when he was the ministerial advisor to people like Mike Reed, Denis Burke, and many other ministers before them. He is a very knowledgeable man. Again, he tried to be the mainstay for the Top End over this last election and, unfortunately, suffered the huge swing in Darwin that was just too large to withstand.
Sue Carter, the former member for Port Darwin is a lovely lady. I grew very close to during her two terms in parliament. She worked very hard in her electorate doorknocking. I believe she doorknocked the whole of her electorate at least once a year. You would have thought that a strong local member such as her could have withstood whatever swing there was in this last election. I do not understand; maybe it is something that is quite different between the Top End and Central Australia.
In Alice Springs, we withstood the swing except for the former member for Macdonnell, John Elferink. I thought he was a little distracted in the last few weeks because of the impending birth of his child, Eleanor. The baby was born, I think, two days before the Chief Minister called the election. However, he tried hard. He was away in the bush a lot. I assume that, to be the member for Macdonnell, you have to travel the bush a lot. I anticipate that the current member will have to do the same thing as well. John won the confidence of many people in Macdonnell. I did spend quite a bit of time with him in Macdonnell. He actually once said, as a minister I spent more time in Macdonnell than all the other ministers combined. We spent quite a bit of time in Macdonnell and I saw that he enjoyed what he did. He introduced me to many people in the electorate of Macdonnell I continue to have close links with.
I am sorry to see them go. I doubt very much now that they will be back in this Chamber, but you never know. John Elferink, Sue Carter and Steve Dunham are still young people and there is always the option for them to come back in the future if they chose to.
With the little time left, I would like to just say a few things about Central Australia. When you combine the number of votes the Country Liberal Party received in Alice Springs, we held our own very well. The member for Araluen achieved a swing towards her and the candidate for Braitling, Michael Jones, achieved a huge swing towards him. It was unfortunate that his margin was still insufficient to be overwhelmed by the second preferences from the Labor candidate. As for me, yes, I suffered a swing against me, but I withstood the huge swing. I was not surprised that I was able to withhold that to hold that seat. I believe I have a strong connection with the electorate, and I thank the electorate for showing the confidence that they have in me. It was strange to have, probably, the strongest candidate that Labor Party had this time around to challenge for Greatorex. I thought that, had she stood in another seat, she would probably have been more successful. I am not boasting here, but I thought that she would have been a lot more successful elsewhere than Greatorex.
The funny part with this whole campaign with the current Mayor of Alice Springs was that, coming from a family that was closely involved with the Country Liberal Party, I think is what cost her. The people in Alice Springs did not like that, and it did not help her at all one bit in the election. However, with her candidacy came all the promises that the Labor Party made for Greatorex, and that I am going to enjoy. I am going to enjoy seeing this government deliver into Greatorex on every promise that it made. The other Labor candidates in Alice Springs were disappointed that absolutely nothing went their way because the government was so focused on making sure that the Labor candidate tipped me, and they were prepared to put everything they could into it. Over the next four years, we will make sure that this Labor government delivers for Alice Springs. I will be making sure they do that at the appropriate times.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is only 21 months since I was first sworn into this Assembly following the by-election in Katherine in 2003, so it is with great joy that I stand here today as the re-elected member for Katherine. I am very grateful for the support of the people in my electorate who know how committed I am to representing them. I now have the opportunity to do that for a full term of four years, and I thank them sincerely for their confidence and support. I can reassure them that I will not let them down.
Last night, I gave an adjournment speech and thanked many people who have supported me during my time as member for Katherine and during the recent election. In mentioning names, it leaves me open for missing out someone and, when I looked through the Daily Hansard today, I realised I missed out a very important person to thank; and that is my husband. My husband, Mike, has stood beside me through thick and thin in this last 21 months, and has been extremely supportive of me. I am very grateful for that because we do not have any children left at home, so he is home on his own with two dogs, Jed and Kizzie, our beautiful Labradors. I do thank Mike for his continuing support. He is definitely my most loyal supporter. I did not deliberately miss him out last night. He makes my life so much easier in the community. I have a lot of commitments in Katherine community, so our meals are very spasmodic and rarely taken together.
In addition, I would like to especially thank one of our daughters who was here with me yesterday. My daughter, Trisha Wachtel, and grandchildren, Jack and Jorja, were here to witness the opening of the Tenth Assembly and to support me. It is very special for me to have them here. Also, at the opening of the Assembly yesterday were three other people who supported me totally: Val and Barry Densley, Jim Bitossi, along with Lorna Hart, all of whom who came from Katherine for the ceremony.
Next week, we are going into estimates with an opposition, unfortunately, smaller in number. However, we are very passionate about representing our electorates, and assure the people of the Northern Territory that we will be enthusiastically questioning ministers about Budget 2005-06.
Katherine residents were led to believe during the recent election that nothing would happen in Katherine in the next four years unless the Labor candidate was elected as the member for Katherine. Well, that did not happen. The people of Katherine had the confidence to re-elect me to represent them, and I will ensure that they have the best representation possible during the next four years.
The re-elected Chief Minister, Clare Martin, who had an overwhelmingly huge win, has promised that her government is for all people. I will be holding her to that promise. She reiterated again today in her speech that her government promises to govern for all Territorians. I trust that is what she has been doing for the last four years, and that she will continue to do it in the next four years, because that is what good governance is all about.
In the time I have been representing Katherine as a member of the opposition, I have been fortunate to have the shadow portfolios of Tourism, Youth, Housing, Mines and Energy and Primary Industry and Fisheries. Tourism, of course, has been of special interest to me for years, beginning when my husband, Mike, and I purchased Red Gum Tourist Park in 1993 in Katherine. Talking to so many visitors each day about what we have to offer really got us quite excited about what there is in the Territory. It is easy to be excited and to become involved. In addition to that, I ended up being on the executive of the Katherine Regional Tourist Association, following on to the Board of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission and Tourism Training Northern Territory, which was a natural progression.
The importance of tourism to our economy cannot be underestimated, and this fact came home loud and clear following the 1998 disaster of the Katherine floods. It was a time of hardship for most people in Katherine, not only losing their places of residence and personal belongings but, in many instances, losing their businesses as well. As chairman of the tourist association and, with the help of an enthusiastic operator, Mike Keeley of FarOut Tours, we developed a marketing campaign called Back on Track, which we promoted through sending representatives to trade and consumer shows in all states. The campaign was extremely successful and resulted in a huge tourism season in 1998. The success of the campaign assisted business in general - not just the tourist operators - to have one of the best financial tourism seasons ever. What this highlights is that tourism is everyone’s business, not just those specifically identified as accommodation or tourist operators.
Because tourism generates so much economic benefit to regional areas in the Northern Territory, I will be watching closely the marketing and blending that the Northern Territory Tourist Commission is planning for the coming 12 months. Without a doubt, the larger centres of Darwin and Alice Springs receive the larger portion of marketing dollars and, of course, they are the entry points for the Northern Territory. However, the smaller regional centres must not be overlooked. It is evident already that the tourist numbers in Katherine this year are down, with most of the caravan parks still not filling up - and this is supposed to be the peak of the tourist season. It is clear that much more comprehensive destination marketing needs to be done. If Katherine is going through this low tourist season, then it is fair to say that other regional centres in the Northern Territory are experiencing the same. The tourist season is definitely upon Darwin, as was witnessed by walking around the city today at lunchtime. Of course, this weekend will see a huge influx of visitors for the V8 Supercars. It is very exciting to see so many tourists here.
In Katherine in the past few months, it has been interesting watching a change in the way the Regional Tourist Association operates now. It is now under the responsibility of the Katherine Town Council. I have to say I had some reservations about how it would work and whether it would be effective, but I have reserved my judgment to give council a fair go and wait and see. I am very glad to say that they made the decision to appoint Maureen Thearle as the Acting Manager of the Visitors Centre, as it is important to have people with passion about their area talking to visitors. Maureen has a proven record of efficiency and handling membership responsibilities, and promoting Katherine and the rest of the Territory in general.
The pastoral industry in the Katherine region is definitely experiencing more challenging times, with the numbers of export cattle sales significantly down from previous years. One of the highest priorities for the pastoral industry right across the Territory is, of course, the state of the roads. It is pleasing to see that the federal and Territory governments are putting some money towards these roads, but much more must be done. The previous Country Liberal Party Leader offered a bipartisan approach with this government to lobby the federal government for additional funding for roads, and that offer still stands. We need to urgently address the state of our Territory roads.
In the area of Mines and Energy, I wanted to briefly touch on a sensitive subject that people seem to shy away from quite easily; that is, uranium. At the moment, there are currently 14 different companies looking for uranium, mostly in the north of the Territory. Exploration licences have been issued by this Territory to look for uranium. I find that really unusual. If this government is so adamant that uranium will not be mined here, why are we issuing licences? I was quite interested to read what the federal Minister for Resources, Ian Macfarlane, said on the Morning program on Wednesday on the ABC, and I will quote some of his words:
Another quote:
Getting back to Katherine, the Office of Territory Development visited Katherine during the election campaign, which I actually thought was an unusual time for them to be visiting. Nevertheless, the meeting was very well attended by a wide cross-section of the community which gave valuable input to this meeting that was combined with a workshop. The outcome of the workshop was five key points identified after a couple of hours of consultation. We got down to five key points that most of the attendees considered were important to moving Katherine forward economically.
I have been in Katherine for 16 years now, and I can recall having at least three of these talk fests - as I call them - over that time, with pretty much the same points coming out at the end of each one. The problem is: just where does it go from here? Dot points on a piece of white paper seem to go off and disappear into some department somewhere, to re-emerge some years later to begin the cycle again. We need the outcomes to be moved forward to some meaningful development. I trust that the Office of Territory Development will get back to Katherine with some meaningful way for us to move forward to advance all of these ideas that have been bandied around for so long. None of them are very out of the world; they are all very relatively easy in reach.
I fully support the additional funding for traineeships and apprentices. It is very important to have our people trained to be valuable members in our work force, and to give them a good foundation for the future. Again, I refer to the situation in Katherine. The interest shown by the students at Katherine High School in the VET and trainee schemes far outnumbers the positions that are available for them. We need many more economic opportunities in Katherine to put these great training initiatives in place. The VET teacher, Lesley Bannon, said she normally can place half the number of people who have inquired about traineeships and VET courses. It is heartening to know that there are so many young ones out there who want to take part in advancing their skills. We need jobs for them and we do not have the jobs.
The Chief Minister today mentioned in her statement that the north/south railway offers great opportunities for a freight hub at centres including Katherine. I could not agree more. The opportunity to establish a processing and packaging plant at Katherine, that would serve the horticultural industry year round, needs to be investigated. The closeness of the Ord River Scheme in Western Australia to Katherine encourages a freight link that should be affordable and beneficial to both regions. I will be pursuing with vigour the idea of developing a processing and packaging plant in Katherine which will complement and assist a freight hub.
The nice thing about having an election is that, from all the promises and commitments that are made, whoever wins has an obligation to honour those promises. In this case, Katherine’s promises from Labor were not unlike that of the Country Liberal Party. Their $1m upgrade to Katherine Terrace will finish the beautification which was begun by the Country Liberal Party. Stage 3, which covers the largest part of the northern end of Katherine Terrace, has been ignored by Labor during their first term of government. Katherine Terrace is also the main highway and needs to be made as attractive as possible, as all traffic drives through there to cross over the bridge.
The $150 000 that has been promised to develop the high-level bridge area, which is going to be underneath the high-level bridge and around in the river corridor, will complement the northern end of Katherine Terrace and will encourage locals and tourists to utilise the Katherine River. We have a beautiful river that is not utilised. I know wherever I go visiting, I am always attracted to water, and the Katherine River is the first continuous flowing water this side of Port Augusta on the Stuart Highway. We need to enhance that area, and this $150 000 will go somewhere towards doing that so that, not only the visitors who come to Katherine will go there, but also the locals will use it in a proper manner.
The Tindal to Katherine stormwater drains have been talked about several times during my time in this Assembly and, of course, that followed the record rainfalls at the Tindal Airport during the 2004 Wet Season. During that time, many residences, the Katherine Research Station and businesses in Katherine South - especially Hobbits Auto Electrics, although it also included Red Gum Tourist Park where my husband still was - were inundated several times. This was a very stressful and expensive time for all people involved, and highlighted the fact that the drains had not had any upgrading and maintenance since they had been built, which was at the time of the development of Tindal Base.
One of the contentious issues was who owned them. Katherine Town Council, when I was alderman, refused to say they owned them, and we said NT government owned them. Not a lot of lobbying was done at that time but, of course, it was highlighted when we had those heavy rains.
Following that Wet Season, and the constant lobbying, the Northern Territory government committed $100 000 to begin maintenance of the drains. That amount of money covered about 300 m, if that. We know that the Tindal is 17 km from Katherine, so we have a long way to go. It is obvious that considerably more money was needed to complete this upgrade. In Katherine, we were fortunate that the rainfall we received in the last Wet Season was well below average, and everybody sighed a huge sigh of relief. However, the drains have to be done sooner rather than later, and I hope that a considerable amount will be spent very shortly, before the season starts.
The Katherine Cultural Centre precinct received $500 000 for the headworks in last year’s budget, and that has been revoted into this year’s budget. It has had commitments of $6m-plus from both parties leading up to this election, to finance the building of the cultural precinct. I first viewed this concept over four years ago. Mike Reed was presented with the concept by Jenny Madden and Deborah King. I can still remember when they presented it to him that I was very excited because these two women who were extremely interested in the arts community and contribute a lot to it had put a lot of research into it, and it was put together very professionally. I was very impressed. It proceeded from there to having a feasibility study done. All of the right processes were put into place. Then, it came to a huge stumbling block, which is the location that was selected for the positioning of this cultural precinct.
The offer was made by Katherine Town Council without consultation - and there is argument about this - with the sporting user groups and with the general community as to where this cultural precinct would be located. In their wisdom, the Cultural Precinct Action Group decided the best location was going to be on that sports ground which is, traditionally, the baseball diamond. This has created furore in Katherine, and has really brought out stiff opposition. I am in the middle listening to both sides; I understand all of the arguments for and against. The argument for it going on the baseball diamond is that it is the only location in Katherine that is going to work viably. The arguments against are that it is a site that has had a lot of personal attention over the years from a lot of older people who are still living in the community. They built it with their own hands. They hand-watered all the trees with buckets from 44 gallon drums on the back of their trucks, so there has been a lot of love, sweat and tears gone into that area.
The important thing to remember is that it is recognised as a sporting precinct. The whole area caters for sport. There is a way out of this and it is through very serious mediation, which means that both sides of the argument have to give a little. Of course, right now there are two lots of stubborn arguments in Katherine: this lot who will give; and the cultural precinct people who will not look at another location. Fortunately, the Cultural Precinct Action Group now has a very conciliatory and obliging chairman, Dennis Coburn, who is happy to put in place all the consultation processes that should have happened 18 months, two years ago, or three years ago, arguably. Hopefully, we can get around this with the consultation process that Dennis has put in place. He is a great negotiator, and I do hope for Katherine that we can actually push this forward.
One of the reasons why we need to have this cultural precinct is that Katherine has been stagnant for a very long time. It definitely needs the development; there is absolutely no question about that. I ran a survey myself, whereby I contacted 1142 constituents by telephone, which was a mammoth job. From that, 73% wanted to have the cultural precinct. The argument was that 63% of them do not want it on the baseball diamond. It is the location that we have to sort out. I seem to be harping on this a fair bit, but it is such an issue in Katherine it has divided the community, and it is tragic that it has done that.
I have never lost belief that we would get it. I have always had faith that we would have the cultural precinct. Despite the fact that there were some threats made by the previous Chairman of the Cultural Precinct Action Group that the Northern Territory government would withdraw the funding if it was not on the baseball diamond, I have clarified that that is incorrect. The people of Katherine were given the wrong information. I believe that the cultural precinct will go ahead after some more negotiation. I thank the Northern Territory government for making the commitment of $6.5m - I think it was $6.5m; and may have crept to $7m - to develop the cultural precinct. It will be a delight to have everyone there when we finally do get it.
One of the major inhibitors to development in and around Katherine are the obstacles that are put in the way of the construction industry. There are no building engineers and no building inspectors or certifiers based in Katherine. The additional financial burden placed on all building and construction contractors is quite ridiculous and does nothing to encourage development. Every aspect of construction is affected, from the erection of a carport to the building of a house. I will be pursuing the establishment of a one-stop shop in Katherine for the building and construction industry. I hope that the government will look into this earlier rather than later, to ensure that contractors meet the necessary regulations and Katherine moves ahead.
What is happening is that there are so many obstacles in their way, they are almost encouraged to break the law and some of them are very uncomfortable with that. They are held up in trying to get development started. One man, in particular, has invested over $40 000 so far in all of the necessary stuff he has to go through with engineers’ reports etcetera, and there has not been one blade of grass touched on his block. He has reached the point now where he has had enough. He is a good investor in Katherine and I would hate to see him withdraw from that, but he has had enough. I will be asking government to look at this. We need to make sure that we do get a one-stop shop in Katherine so that the construction and building industry can go ahead and Katherine can develop without all the impediments it is going through at the moment.
Madam Speaker, last night, in my adjournment speech, you were not in the Chair, but I did congratulate you on your appointment to the position of Madam Speaker. I know that you will be very fair in your new position, and I welcome you to it.
The coming four years are going to be a huge learning curve for my colleagues in opposition, in that we have the responsibility of all shadow portfolios between us. There is no doubt that we will be much more knowledgeable across all areas that are so important to every Territorian, so that is the big bonus. I look forward with great enthusiasm to serving the Territory, and especially serving my electorate of Katherine, for the next four years.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Katherine, for the warm comments.
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I will advise you when His Honour the Administrator is able to receive the Address-in-Reply, and will invite all members to accompany me to Government House to present the Address-in-Reply on that occasion.
Continued from earlier this day.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, pursuant to resolution of the Assembly of 29 June 2005 relating to the conduct of the Estimates and Government Owned Corporations Scrutiny Committees, the remaining stages of the Appropriation Bill (No 2) 2005-06 (Serial 2) will be considered on Thursday, 7 July 2005.
SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly, at its rising, adjourn until 1 pm on Thursday, 7 July 2005, or such other time as notified by the Speaker, with one hour’s notice being given to government and opposition Whips and members by the Speaker, or such other time and/or date that may be advised by the Speaker pursuant to sessional order.
Motion agreed to.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, in preparation for the Estimates Committee on Monday, 4 July 2005, I table the Legislative Assembly Department Portfolio Budget Statement. This statement contains detailed information on the department at output and sub-output level, and financial variations between 2004-05 and 2005-06. This statement is in addition to the information provided to the Assembly on an annual basis in respect of members’ travel expenses.
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Madam Speaker, this evening, I continue to thank people who worked tirelessly for the Karama election campaign. It was certainly a massive team effort of people who rallied around me to seek my re-election as the member for Karama. I was overwhelmed by the generosity and the well wishes that I received from constituents. As soon as the Chief Minister announced the election, I had people coming into my office every day giving us their well wishes. It was a very humbling and heartening experience, and I thank all those constituents who took the time to come in and wish me all the best. I certainly saw it as acknowledgement that I am very much a part of the community, rather than someone who sees themselves as, somehow, separate or above the community. I very much work at a grassroots community level, and am humbled by the support that I received during that campaign from constituents.
As members of parliament, we have a whole variety of duties and functions that we have to carry out in our term. I certainly found it invaluable during my first term as a member, and during the election campaign, to have key people I could seek advice from. There are many people who gave me wonderful advice, but I want to acknowledge a few, specifically, whose advice I was always able to value and enact without any hesitation.
I thank Jamie Gallacher, Adele Young, Mark Nelson, Alf Leonardi and Laurene Hull. They were all very hardworking, tireless members of the Labor team, and they have among them an enormous wisdom and campaigning capacity. They never hesitated in being forthright with their advice to me about just what I should be doing and how I should be doing it. I really enjoyed the opportunity of having worked with them in the first term that I have been a member of this parliament. I am certainly looking forward to working closely with them in this Martin Labor government because they are enormously committed to the Territory. They are enormously committed to improving the life of Territorians. They have vision and ability, and our government is extremely fortunate to have people of this talent to assist and advise us and nurture a greater capacity to improve the life of all Territorians.
Amongst my colleagues, I have to make special mention of the member for Wanguri, our Chief Minister, and the member for Arafura who, at various times, also were there supporting me. You, Madam Speaker, have always provided personal support and I acknowledge and thank you for that. I have enjoyed the close working relationship of my fellow branch member, the member for Sanderson. As a team of people working together, it is difficult to single anybody out, but I did just want to mention those few whom I have relied on more than others as the member for Karama.
At the grassroots level, there is such an overwhelming enthusiasm to work in a campaign. It always amazes me how people are prepared to drop all the other issues they have going on in their life, and all the other aspects that usually pull on their day-to-day business, and go out and campaign on a person’s behalf. I had a fantastic team of people who were prepared to do everything that we reached out and asked them to do. I really want to make special thanks to Richo. He is a terrific man who is incredibly passionate and hardworking, and no task was to onerous for Richo. A day did not go by without him doing something to assist me. So, Richo you have my enormous thanks and admiration.
Kerry Wetherall and her kids: Kerry Wetherall is an absolute stand-out performer in our community. She has been an active member of school councils and has pulled together the Karama Childcare Centre as the current chairperson. She has been extremely hardworking in the area of foster care in the Territory for many years. Kerry Wetherall, you have my enduring respect and admiration. You have so many kids of your own and kids that you foster. She put them all to excellent work letterboxing a section of my electorate.
Angela Bush and her boys: Angela is a hardworking single mother who has a tremendous sense of humour. She was just a joy to have regular contact with.
Jacqui Grant is a powerhouse of a woman who is a nurse at the hospital. She cares for very ill children and has a tremendous passion and compassion in her work as a nurse. The moment my T-shirts were made, she had one on and was out around her area of the electorate letterboxing tirelessly for me. Jacqui’s support right through my term as the member for Karama has been unwavering and unstinting. Indeed, she was one of the first people to grab my little son, Zac, and get him to go to sleep in her arms. She has a fantastic natural talent with kids and I just love and admire Jacqui; she is a wonderful woman.
Trish and Luis Espinoza are great people. Trish is so well loved in the Malak school community. Her husband, Luis, is such a gentleman, and they have beautiful children attending Darwin High School. They worked very hard for me in the Malak area, and I really thank them, along with a neighbour of theirs Rod Ellis, who worked tremendously hard letterboxing.
Den and Jenny Cole’s sons have actually grown up letterboxing for one Labor Karama candidate after another. I do not think their boys can remember an election when they were not sent out to the letterboxes, and they are all adult men now. They are a tremendous family who, through thick and thin, the lean times and the good times, have been there to support Labor in Karama. Jenny works with children with disability, and I know her extremely well in that capacity; she is a fantastic person. Den works at the university and has a great passion for training our talented youth. They are absolute assets in our community.
Bong, Diday and Bing: I take my hat off to you, Bong; you have trained Bing incredibly well and she is already a fantastic campaigner. She is still only at primary school level, but Bing will be a force to be reckoned with. She is a most beautiful, talented, young Filipino girl and Bong has taken campaigning to new levels. He is a very intelligent, capable, IT specialist and I am very fortunate to know Bong, Diday and Bing. I look forward to their little boys growing up old enough to letterbox as well.
Joy Cardona came to me during the campaign and said she wanted to work with me, doing anything I wanted her to do. She got stuck in and helped out in a variety of ways including with how-to-vote cards on election day. Joy, I humbly thank you for stepping forward and offering your assistance. I look forward to working with you to assist the indigenous youth of the area to reach their potential, because I know Joy is absolutely passionate and hardworking in that area.
Iain Govan and Marrilyn Willis: Iain is a businessman and Merilynn is a very talented teacher/librarian. They are both not necessarily card-carrying members of the Labor Party, but they have been incredibly staunch in their support and I thank them.
Julie Fawcett is someone I met as the candidate for Karama in the 2001 election, and she grilled me about policies and what I was standing for. She decided that I passed muster and, since then, has been steadfast in the loyalty and assistance that she has given me. Julie, I am humbled by your friendship and by support. I respect what you say to me because I know it is without fear or favour. She will tell me exactly what she believes our government needs to be hearing, and it is the Julie Fawcetts of the world that keep me on track in my work.
Tania McLeod and Cecil Lewis: Cecil is a traditional owner of the Larrakia land and he is working very hard with his community to ensure that the Larrakia people go from strength to strength. I really thank Tania and Cecil for the time they took out from their very busy lives to help me on the campaign trail.
Christopher Davis turned up from Tennant Creek and said: ‘I am here to help’. He did not waver in his energy in helping; he was up to every single task we put him to - and there were many tasks that we put Christopher to. Christopher, I want to say a very big thank you for all the effort you went to, and I really look forward to continuing to work with you through the years.
Thanks also to Susannah and Henry Yap who own the Malak Shopping Centre. They have been a source of wisdom to me about issues pertaining to a whole range of matters from multiculturalism through to business. They have a very hardworking, intelligent family and I have been very fortunate to form a close friendship and a very strong professional relationship with Susannah and Henry. I thank them for their support.
Likewise Peter, Nica and Nat La Pira, the owners of the Karama Shopping Centre. They are a family that I have been able to work closely with over four years as a member Karama. I pledge to continue to work closely to enhance the Karama electorate. Particularly, I am looking forward to working you in terms of the Karama family hub and the beautification funding for Karama Shopping Centre. I thank you for your ongoing support. Peter knows that I am always there to let him know what the good residents of Karama are saying about the shopping centre, and he takes it in very good grace. I thank him for that. He has spent a lot of money improving the Karama Shopping Centre in four years, and I know there still a lot we will be doing together.
Giovanna and Grahame Webb are fantastic business people in our community, the very successful owners of Crocodylus Park. They came out publicly on election day with an advertisement in the paper supporting me. They have lived in Karama for eight years and Grahame has never voted Labor before, but he did this time. It just goes to show how far-reaching our government has been in reaching out to people who are not of one political ideology. They are there for the Territory and put the Territory first. Grahame and Giovanna are very much in this category; they are passionate about the Territory, and good business in the Territory, and saw that Labor was very much the government that was delivering for them. On a personal level, we have been able to work extremely closely together over four years. I thank Grahame for his great advice regarding the cane toad incursion in the Territory. We have worked very closely together on that subject, and I continue to heed his advice on environmental management issues.
It has been my absolute pleasure and delight to work hard for the members of my constituency in Karama and Malak. We have an exciting four years ahead. We have some really good initiatives that I talked about last night in the adjournment debate. I am looking forward to Stage 2 of Leanyer water park; that will be fantastic. The family hub is a dream and a vision, that I pursued for four years and, to be able to see it come to reality during these coming four years, will be a very special time for me. I saw how that can occur through the creation of the multicultural hub at Malak. It was a vision I had. I never let it go; I kept seeking it, and there is a multicultural service operating out of Malak now. Interestingly enough, Melaleuca are now keen to come and join the other multicultural groups at Malak. I encourage the government to work with Melaleuca to see if the torture and trauma aspects of multicultural service delivery can join the other service delivery that is going from strength to strength at the Malak Shopping Centre.
I encourage all members of this Assembly never to lose sight of why we are here: fundamentally, to improve the lives of all Territorians. I know each of us, despite different ideology, is very keen to do that. I see an opportunity in this term of government to do that in far-reaching ways that, I believe, are very exciting and of which we have never seen the like in the Territory. To hear the Chief Minister determinedly talk about regional development is very heartening to me. Many of my constituents come from the regions and have settled in Karama and Malak simply because there are no opportunities for their children in their own communities. It will be heartening to see the very fair and equitable development of the Territory in the next four years.
Darwin will go from strength to strength. We are a beautiful city; we have a bright future. We will have a fantastic convention and exhibition centre at the waterfront, which will draw more and more tourists. I have no doubt about our potential in engagement with South-East Asia and trade. In terms of regional development, I know that we will focus on extending opportunity and potential right throughout the Territory, and I find that very exciting and look forward to being a part of that in whatever capacity I can be.
I pledge to continue to work extremely hard for my constituents in Karama and Malak and, more broadly, for all Territorians.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I speak about Mr Lesley John Loy who passed away recently. I have two eulogies: one by Michael Loy, his eldest son; and the other by Paul Everingham at a church service in Darwin. It is unlikely that I am going to be able to read these eulogies into Hansard. If I cannot finish them, I seek leave to have them incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
Dr LIM: Thank you. I will read from Michael Loy’s eulogy:
I have a story myself to tell about Les when he and I travelled to Hong Kong together and we had some very special Chinese dishes. I will come back to that if I have time.
The ceremony was held at the OLSH Church, where Michael said:
I recall Les’ idiosyncrasies with food. He was very much into Australian food but not, obviously, rabbit. He and I travelled to Hong Kong together in the late 1980s where he was introduced to some snake soup. He thought that it was lovely and had a couple of helpings of it, not realising what the soup contained. When we was later told that it was snake, he made a beeline for the nearest toilet he could find to get rid of it. Whenever we met at social functions, we would talk about that experience and he would rue the day that he went to Hong Kong to taste different foods there.
Out of the eulogy that was delivered by Paul Everingham, someone who has known him for many years, Paul had this to say:
Then he went on to say:
Talking about Les and what he knew about him, Paul said this:
Paul said:
You have heard the story about that and how he then went to develop land with the Larrakia people. That is one of the biggest success stories about land release in the Northern Territory, where indigenous people now have ownership of a lot of private land. Anyway, in his concluding comment Paul said:
Madam Speaker, Les was real Territory character, a Centralian who has kept us all going with his skill, his enterprise, his entrepreneurship and, without him the Territory would not be what it is today. Vale, a very sincere Territorian.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Madam Speaker, today I put on record my thanks to the constituents of the Millner electorate. I was lucky enough on 18 June to be re-elected by those people who saw me as being a fit, worthy representative in this honourable House. The last four years has been an exciting time for me and the Martin Labor government and, no doubt, all my colleagues.
When I was first elected, my seat was actually the last that went to the Labor government to allow us to have a government in its own right. Mine become the 13th seat which held the balance or the majority within this House. At that time, I had to defeat an incumbent member who held a 9.6% margin, and we were able to achieve a 9.9%, nearly 10%, swing which, of course, down south is unheard of, but in a small electorate is possible to do. However, we were then the most marginal seat in the Northern Territory, holding the seat by a mere 81 votes.
My seat is unique in the sense that it is made up of very separate areas. One of the specific areas of its uniqueness, out of the urban seats held by the Martin Labor government in the northern suburbs, is that it was the only seat that had a 20% Defence Force family contingent in the RAAF Base making up 1000 votes. I was also the only indigenous member to hold a seat within an urban area and, as far as anyone can tell, it is the first time in history since Federation that an indigenous person was able to win a seat in an urban area. While 87% of my electorate is of non-indigenous background with most of those living in the suburbs of Millner, Ludmilla, and Coconut Grove, 13% is indigenous, in the communities of Bagot, Minmarama and Kulaluk. Therefore, for the Martin Labor government to win 19 seats on 18 June was a credit to many people.
There were many different aspects of the campaign that was run; the saying is ‘act global, think local’. What we were able to do was learn from our campaign strategies in the first campaign and implement them over four years. From being a seat that was the most marginal, to getting - I think the figure ends up around 16% swing on top of the 9.9% swing – a 25% swing in two elections is a fantastic result; a reflection on how we are going as a team and as a government, how the local member goes and, of course, how the communities have been able to get behind both individual groups.
First and foremost, one of the big reasons why we have been able to achieve such fantastic results is our Chief Minister at present is Clare Martin, the member for Fannie Bay. She does a fantastic job in articulating our goals as a government, as a group of people, in where we see the Northern Territory heading. We have all been amazed by the number of hours she has put in over four years. I have had two weeks holiday a year for four years, and I cannot remember the last day off I had this year. We have all worked those type of hours, and Clare works more on top of that. She does a fantastic job.
The dedication over the course of four years of the people on the fifth floor has been fantastic. The campaign they ran globally was magnificent, responsive to issues the opposition raised, but also gave a plan of where we are going in the future. Special thanks have to go to people like Adele Young who worked very hard with often little thanks; Fred McCue who was able to change the face of how the media viewed the Martin Labor government over the last two years; James Hook who was a fantastic source of knowledge for me; and all the other people on the fifth floor who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Some of those I will thank in my general thanks to everyone who helped in my electorate.
My family has played an important role in the history of Darwin. My grandmothers on my mother’s and father’s side were in this town when there were 200 people here. They can tell you fantastic stories about the pearling days, the opium dens of the Chinese miners, and all the history of Darwin. People who have been here for a long time know me, members of my family, or people who are associated with our family. There is not one person within my family that I cannot honestly say is a not good person. We take pride in the fact that, when we meet people, we try to sell Darwin as a place to live. Without their help, of course, on both my mother’s and father’s side of the family, I would not be here today.
As a local solicitor with a variety of different working experiences throughout Darwin as a barman, working for the Northern Land Council, NTU, etcetera, I have had an opportunity to see a vast variety of aspects of Darwin and, of course, through sporting connections. Many of those people turned out to help - not only Millner residents, but people from across Darwin.
Some of those I first want to thank are those who came into the office to help during the campaign period: Geoff Hull, John Martin, Kent Rowe, John D’Agastino and Joe Gallagher. They were magnificent. I am going to read the list of names, Madam Speaker, because every one of these people needs to be recognised. They letterboxed, they phone canvassed, they doorknocked, they did barbecues with me, etcetera: David Dalrymple; Charlie Marrengo; Chris Karaolias and Mr Karaolias, his father; Frank Moukaddem, a fantastic worker for the Australian Labor Party; Mike Nixon; Trish Schebella; Bronwyn Butler; Susie McGinn; Joseph Gallagher; Matthew Gardiner; John Oliver; Mark Ramjan; Michael Rees; Kenneth da Costa; Phillip Baban; Cameron MacMeikan; Pedro Dearaujo; Margit Lindburg; Michael Purcell; Jean Kelly; Uncle John Bonson; Ron Mitchell; Lesley Cameron; Robert Tindal; Patricia Anderson; David Cole; Ken Jackson; Joan Angeles; Thai Nguyen; Tuyet Tran; nephew Cowan Bonson; Steven Brennan; Rosanne Brennan; my sister Nicole Lewis; Michael McGregor; Peter O’Hagan; Julie O’Hagan; Michael Cubillo; Ronald Riddle; Cathy Spurr; Willy Markos; Darryl Spurr; Pat De Ramos-Bremond; Maureen Hack; Joseph Ah-Sam, Toni Ah-Sam and Aunty Denise, of course; my wife, Mona Lisa Bonson; Michael Lemmon; Wes Miller; Maree de la Cruz; Brett Walker; Paul Kane; Esther Egger, who is the chairperson of the local school council of Millner and she does a fantastic job in assisting me with her husband, Terry Lawler, and Glen Stanford.
Others who helped out, not only on the day but also doing the phone canvassing, the letterboxing and all the jobs it takes to run a local campaign are: Damien Zammit; Murray McLaughlin and Christine; Peter Mayo; Linda Bonson; Paul and Della Seden; Bronwyn Butler; John and Bettina Oliver; Darryl Spurr; Ron Mitchell and Elaine Hirst; Mike Purcell; Varenya from SDA; Fiona Hussin; Chris Baggley; Natasha and Judy Carne; Helen Fejo-Frith, the Vice President of Bagot Community; Darryl Cooktown, President of Bagot Community; Kevin and Betty Gould – Kevin being chairperson of the Seniors Hall at Coconut Grove, thank you for your help for the last four years, you have been magnificent; Donna Minchen, who is one of the tireless workers at Ludmilla Primary School; David Parfitt; Jason Bonson; Stuart O’Connell; Stuart Williams; Schultzy, Lushy, Dutchy, Matty Work and many of the other boys from the RAAF footy team - I just cannot think of them all - Stevo, Gino and all the rest of the gang; and Tank, thanks for your help; Lesley Cameron and Bob; Joe and Pacita Bonson, Aaron Small; Matthew Ah Mat; John Ah Mat; William Cole; Clinton Hoffman; Ziggy Vogt; Beau Carne; Damien Kneebone; Laura Hopkins; Shannon and Sally Tye; Tim Edwards and the kids; Paddy Edwards and the kids; Limpy Lyle; Dennis Lew Fat; Bob Hale and Bev; Tacky; John McLean; Mark Motlop; Patty Stevenson; Aggi and gang; and Helen Zahos and Tanya.
To Cathy Spurr, my campaign manager, I cannot forget. She does a fantastic job for me and really dots the i’s and crosses the t’s, and is also president of the NT Branch Australian Labor Party. We work well as a team in campaigns. She lets me do 90% of the things I want and pulls me up for the 10% of the things I need to be pulled up on, so that is fantastic.
I also thank Norm Hoffman; Anne-Marie Scholl; Tanya and Sheree McLeod; Anne-Marie McLeod, who does a fantastic job for me; Kane and Kirsty Bonson; Jacob and Shelley Bonson; Janet Roe; Maree De La Cruz; Yvette Carolin; Dennis and Liz Carolin; Richy Vogt and Cass; Sarah and Ziggy; Wes Miller and Amanda Hart; Ingvar Dryting and Tanyah Nasir; Michael McGregor; Mick Hartwell; Benny Ah Mat; Steve Lolias and Beckie Taylor; Matty Koulakis; Dookie Bonson, of course; Anne and John Wallace who manage the Rapid Creek Shopping Centre, and without their support at the Sunday markets in signage issues and all the other things they did for me, I would not be a success; Clem Chang; David and Josie Guy; Esther Carolin; Steve Brennan, Glen and Jacinta Stanford, Marian Paterson, Big Joe Gallagher; Jane Biddlecome - thanks Jane, again, when you appeared in my endorsement fliers every man between 16 and 55 really appreciated your smiling face; you do a lot of good work around the community, and I really thank you for your support; Aunty Nini; Donna Stokes; Tricia Stokes; Kon Lazarou; Kenny Namoa; and Wayne Connop, who does a fantastic job down at Bagot Community for me and I would like to thank him for that.
That is the list of the gang. If there is anyone I forgot to mention, forgive me. Obviously, I do this job as a responsibility and an honour for the people I believe that I represent; that is, the people who have born and bred locals in Darwin who have a lasting commitment to, not only Darwin, but the Northern Territory in general. It cannot be done without the combination of local knowledge, global campaigning. Obviously, in the last campaign, as I have mentioned before, the job Clare Martin did was fantastic. I know all my family and friends support the vision that she provides for us. We will keep, as the Administrator summed up in his address, everything that we stand for as a group of people - not only just as Australian Labor Party but as a government – and will continue to fight for it.
Over the next for years, some of the things that I have promised for the electorate, and we will ensure that we deliver, are in particular, the $1m upgrade to Millner School. That will be fantastic. There is $300 000 for Rapid Creek freshwater for environmental purposes; $1m for Kulaluk water drainage and environment issues; improving of Hazel Court, Reynolds Court, Bagot Road, Kulaluk access; landscaping Bagot Road; underground power in Millner; and many other things.
We ran a fantastic campaign. A 25% swing in two elections is a fantastic result. I thank everyone I have worked with for the last four years, and those I will work with in the next four years.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Millner, your time has expired.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, thanks to those who have been sitting patiently in the House for letting me just briefly adjourn tonight. I just wanted to put on the public record my thanks to the people who supported me on election day and did the hard work in the 19 days up to that election and before. I thank the people of Fannie Bay, the electorate that I have now been the member for - on the 17th it was 10 years, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Congratulations, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: A decade as the member for Fannie Bay, and I could not feel prouder.
I would certainly like to thanks some of the people who really did do the shoe leather in and are probably now buying the next pair of joggers, and maybe even feeling a bit thinner after the exertions they did during the election campaign.
I thank my campaign team: Mark Hathaway, Mark Johnson, Scott Knight, Jess Horn, and Chris Grace. We had a great letterbox team, the ones who did all their shoe leather in, who delivered around eight flyers throughout the campaign period. I certainly want to thank them for their commitment and support: Charlie Fitzgerald, Betty Gould, John Edwards, Mary-Anne Meginess, John Pollock, Phil Roberts, Caroline Holdstock, Ron Weepers, Scott Knight, Kelly Bertei, Maureen O’Sullivan, Irene Stark, Doug Nisbet, Jane Barlow, Annette Milikins, Denis Carroll, Jo Parish, Janis Shaw, Louise Jones, Stephen van den Nieuwenhof and Maureen O’Sullivan. Oh, she got there twice – well, she must have worked twice as hard.
On election day, helpers who handed out were Christine Gray, Liz DeSailly, Jessica Horn, Mark Hathaway, Gerry Copeland, Helen Priest, Jean Vickery, Sue Coleman, Alan and Liza Day, Merilyn Barnes, Helen Haritos, Monica van den Nieuwenhof, Mark Johnson, Stan Phillips, and Nicole Reeves. To anyone I missed, thank you! I also thank my son, who decided he would do it this time, as well as his mate, James, who put in a sterling effort. A special thanks to Denis Carroll who helped set up the booth on Friday and who also spent Saturday driving the minibus and doing pick-ups of people who needed assistance to get to the poll.
Again, I thank the electorate of Fannie Bay for their ongoing support of me. I give a very strong commitment to continue working very hard for the electorate. As I said in the Address-in-Reply today, there are some great initiatives happening in the Fannie Bay electorate. When we talk about a $150m going towards schools and their improvements and upgrades over the next four years, there is a reasonable chunk of that that is being spent in the Fannie Bay electorate - and well deserved.
Parap Primary is a school I am incredibly fond of. My children went there. I have been on the school council now for 13 years. I have a very vested interest. We had the pennant awards for the last day of school last Friday. I had the pleasure to present those awards and would like to share with the House the names of students who received them, because they were very proud and there was a whole range of proud parents there as well.
Amanda Williams for always achieving her personal best; Oliver Elias for outstanding effort in all subject areas; Seileshia Calma-Goodrem for a great effort; Piers Coulter for an excellent effort in all writing activities this term; Hannah French for a great improvement in writing and confidence in all areas; and Jay Blazely for a big improvement in work and attitude - some of these are just tiny kids and they wander up to the stage and look absolutely overwhelmed at getting a pennant, but it is lovely; Eamon Saunders for becoming a responsible and reliable class member; Isabelle Billias for high achievement in story writing; Thomas Clarke for outstanding effort with literacy this term; Alison Williams for outstanding effort in all areas and curriculum, Thalia Alexander for being a very hardworking student; Thomas Lawrie for a big improvement in writing - and his mother said it was an extraordinary improvement in writing; Jo Guthridge achieves an excellent standards all times; Jessica Henderson who also achieves an excellent standard at all times; Charlotte Guthridge for being a hardworking and friendly class member; Blake Harper for his friendly nature and wonderful attitude to school and learning; Hannah Cox for her mature attitude and cooperative abilities in everything she does; Andrew Frangoulis for excellence in all areas; Jean Harding for always attempting her personal best in all she does; Hannah Murphy for excellence in all areas; Chelsea Miller for great effort in all areas, always; Jack Townsend for great efforts in all areas, always; Patrick Schofield for hard work and a positive attitude; Lily Burrow for excellence in all areas; Shanice Sebastian for an excellent achiever; Kyle O’Keefe for a fantastic improvement; Jonathon Day for a quiet achiever who does his personal best; Tasia Twigg for a quiet achiever who does his personal best; Joseph Frigerio for excellent results this term; Jake Davis for improved results; Dominique Neaves for consistent hard work, beautiful manners and helpfulness in the classroom; Callan Summers for consistent hard work, beautiful manners and helpfulness in the classroom – and his Dad was very proud; Heidi West for always doing her personal best; and Stephan De Sylva for always doing his personal best.
It was a proud moment for all those students and their parents. For all those students now on holidays - some of whom were there welcoming the convoy of the V8s today - I hope you continue to enjoy a wonderful mid-semester break and, of course, the teachers also.
Now to a couple of things that I have done over the last couple of weeks. I had the pleasure of launching, on 19 June, a new book on Territory history by my friend and Fannie Bay constituent Claire Henty-Gebert. Paint Me Black is the story of Claire’s life with its triumph over adversity. It is also an important part of our history. Aboriginal Studies Press should be congratulated for continuing to publish and preserve the unique stories of our Territory families. Quite simply, it is a wonderful book with fantastic photos and a reflection of Claire’s amazing spirit. Peter and Sheila Forrest have long encouraged Claire to publish, and Peter wrote the foreword to the book Paint Me Black. The launch was a part of the WordStorm Festival and a celebration of writing in our region. It has been a long time in the planning by Claire, and I give her my congratulations for a terrific publication, and urge everyone who has an interest in our history, in those who were part of the Stolen Generation, to buy a copy and read Paint Me Black.
Finally, I want to share with the House a wonderful exhibition I attended at the Darwin Entertainment Centre’s exhibition gallery on Friday, 17 June by my friend, Cecily Bree. The exhibition started that night and ran for a week. Cecily is well known to us all. She has been working for the Territory arts community in both Alice and Darwin since the early 1980s. This exhibition, which she has been working on full-time for a while, featured paintings, ceramics and craft incorporating antique furniture, exploring things of emotion. Certainly, the emotion was there in a very powerful sense through all the works. Even better, the works were selling very fast. In all, a wonderful exhibition well attended by the arts community as well as - and this might be the relationship with her husband - many engineers. It is always interesting to get a group of people at an exhibition when you have this collective of engineers standing altogether. I encouraged them, even though they were engineers, to buy up well. It was a diverse group at the exhibition and I wish Cecily all the best. I hope she sells everything in sight and makes lots of money.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Speaker, I would just like to make a brief adjournment speech about a couple of subjects to do with my electorate. One is the trans-Territory pipeline project, and also the election promise of the Labor government for the Port Keats road.
As we have heard recently, the TTP project has run into trouble, and it looks like the Blacktip gas coming onshore at Port Keats for this project may not happen. I am hopeful that future negotiation may make it happen. I have been involved in that project over the years with various people from Timber Creek through to Port Keats, Daly, Peppimenarti, and Palumpa, and I know that, as this news filters out to them, they will be genuinely upset. They were getting more and more excited as the project started to roll out and they started to have their meetings, and the land council briefed them. They put back their proposals and they were genuinely interested. The royalties from the use of their land was primarily going to go back into economic development for the clan groups, and for equity in the pipeline, and that was going to bring some long-term sustainability to the area.
I am still very hopeful that it will go ahead, but I am absolutely confident, as the Chief Minister stated earlier today, that gas will come onshore at some point in time. It is still there; it is not going away. The demand for gas worldwide will continue, and that gas will definitely come onshore at some point in time. I would like it to be with this project because it would have so much benefit for my electorate, as is the case with the members for Arafura and Nhulunbuy.
I will continue to keep the electorate briefed on it. Any opportunity I have to feed into any negotiations with Woodside or Alcan, I will gladly grasp. I hope Alcan takes into consideration the social benefits to Australians, if not first Australians, that this will have, as opposed to members of the Papua New Guinea community, who, I am sure, have their own issues. However, I represent the people of the Daly electorate and we look after Territorians and Australians first. I hope they take that into consideration, being a corporate citizen in the NT.
The other aspect to the project was the election commitment of the Labor government to the Port Keats road. We made an election promise of $10m to upgrade that road in partnership, we hoped, with the Commonwealth government and the TTP project. With those three partners, we hoped to get it quickly up to a stage of an all-weather road and, hopefully, sealed. Obviously, the TTP has run into trouble, but our money is there. It is staying there and is not going anywhere. It will be spent on that road. We are hoping that the Commonwealth government will come to the party with their share, as they should. As the Prime Minister indicated earlier this year, they are willing to participate in that road; they have been involved in the COAG trial at Wadeye, and they see that road as a huge part of changing the circumstances at Wadeye.
The road will not only benefit Wadeye. There is a range of communities along that road: outstations like Woodykupuldiya, Nemarluk, Merrepen, Emu Point, Palumpa, Peppimenarti, and the Daly community to name a few. There are people at Nauiyu who are from the other side of the river and who stay there for various reasons, one of which is the fact that they cannot get through in the Wet Season. It benefits all those people, and that is one of the primary reasons that election commitment came about.
As I said, the money is there and I will continue to be heavily involved in when and how that road is delivered. I am going to be all over the issue to ensure that it starts as soon as possible, and that all those stakeholders along that road have equal input into what should be done with it; what the money can do. They have the best knowledge. They have seen that road for countless decades and they know which creeks go out first, and what the money should be spent on first - if we only have the $10m, or if we have $20m or $30m with the Commonwealth government.
I will be heavily involved in it and I know it will bring benefits. The cost of living in Port Keats and along that road is huge because of the cost of freight during the Wet Season. It will mean a lot to the lifestyle of the people out there to change. Madam Speaker, I will be reporting regularly on the progress of it.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Madam Speaker, I would like to add to the member for Daly’s contribution in respect of the Alcan development. I would like to express the needs of the Arnhem electorate in wanting to be a part of the pipeline. They will be interested to see what developments go from here with regards to the pipeline, and if it can, at some stage, continue from Nhulunbuy across to Katherine. Following on further, with the member for Daly, there are many people who have put so much work into that pipeline occurring in Arnhem and in the Daly regions.
Second, I would like to mention two people I did not mention in my maiden speech yesterday, who are strong members of the Labor Party, who were greatly influential in my years at Booroloola and here in Darwin. The first is the former Labor leader, Maggie Hickey, who was a tremendous role model for women in the Barkly region and, certainly, for women in Booroloola. I would like to pay tribute to Maggie Hickey for the distances that she travelled in the Barkly electorate and the interest that she had for all people, in particular in Borroloola.
At the same time, I would also like to express deepest gratitude to Kerry Gardner, who I began to know when he travelled to Borroloola working alongside Maggie Hickey. I was very fortunate in the preparation of my campaign to join the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, to have Kerry as part of my support team. In fact, Kerry was the first person who took me out into the electorate and introduced me to the people of Groote Eylandt and spent a few days with me there. He also travelled with me to Milingimbi. To Kerry Gardner and Maggie Hickey, two very special people I hold dear in the Labor Party, thank you.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before I adjourn the House, I place on the record my thanks to the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk of the House and staff of the Legislative Assembly. There has not been much time to put these first two days of the Assembly together, and I believe all honourable members will join with me in thanking the Legislative Assembly staff for a fantastic first two days of the Tenth Assembly.
Members: Hear, hear!
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
MINISTERIAL REPORTS
Blacktip Gas and Alcan Expansion
Blacktip Gas and Alcan Expansion
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, this morning I provide a report to the Assembly on recent developments in relation to gas coming onshore in the Territory and the Alcan expansion at Gove.
As members will be aware, earlier this week Alcan announced that it had terminated commercial negotiations with the Blacktip joint venture to purchase 800 petajoules of gas over the next 20 years. The next day, it was announced that Alcan is now looking at gas from PNG, and has reached conditional agreement with Esso Highlands Limited, the operator of the PNG gas project, and the subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation. PNG has not yet reached a final investment decision, but it does appear to be a project making progress.
Clearly, the government would have preferred the Blacktip option to have proceeded. However, gas coming onshore in the Territory is still a very positive thing. The events of earlier this week demonstrate that there are numerous options for gas coming onshore to the Territory. In relation to the Blacktip project, without a gas sales agreement in place between both commercial entities there is, consequently, no need at this time for the proposed trans-Territory pipeline from Wadeye to Gove. This pipeline would have also connected Blacktip into the north-south pipeline. This announcement is disappointing, as both projects had progressed almost to the starting gates and both, clearly, would have represented another step towards the industrial development to the Territory.
However, these are private sector projects, and it is up to these parties to negotiate the commercial arrangements. The government’s role, quite rightly, is to provide the project facilitation services necessary to get the infrastructure and regulatory component of the project completed. We have done that, firstly, in facilitating the Alcan G3 expansion project in Gove. The task force I established for G3 also took responsibility for Blacktip and the TTP. Project specific legislation has already been passed by this Assembly, and the task force was in the final moments of negotiating the project agreement and agency level protocols for the TTP. This work will serve as a springboard for a future Blacktip project that will surely come in the not-too-distant future.
Members should not lose sight of the fact that the resource within the Blacktip field remains, and there are other possible options that could underpin its development. It is now up to the Blacktip joint venture to construct a new commercial case for the project and to pursue it. Regardless of when that does happen, the $10m committed to upgrade the Wadeye to Nauiyu road will still most definitely go ahead.
It is important to understand what the decision by Alcan to now look at the PNG gas means for the Territory. First, it is important that Alcan, which is investing some $2bn in expanding its facility in Gove, has access to gas which delivers long-term price stability and, importantly, significant environmental improvements in the performance of the refinery. Next, gas is simply gas. Where it comes from is nowhere near as important as having it readily available to underpin the Territory’s industrial expansion. In addition, multiple projects will also deliver gas on gas competition, an important ingredient in being cost-competitive in the longer term. Finally, PNG gas is a large gas project with large volumes and, while the focus of today is Alcan, it would open new opportunities for Territory developments in the longer term once it could be connected to the north-south pipeline.
My government still remains firmly focused on the 22 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Timor Sea. The Sunrise negotiations are continuing; drilling of new prospects will occur this year. I expect the Blacktip joint venture, once past this setback, to be actively marketing its project to prospective buyers of gas, including our own Power and Water Corporation.
The events of the last few days demonstrate the high stakes associated with developing gas projects. Decisions are measured in the billions of dollars, and a deal requires an exacting alignment of all interests. I also acknowledge that there are a range of stakeholders, such as traditional owners and our business community, which would share this government’s disappointment that the Blacktip deal, on this occasion, has fallen through. However, projects like this are difficult and complex; they involve large amounts of private sector capital and it is the marketplace that determines the decision to go forward. It can be frustrating at times like this, but it is the nature of the new economy emerging in the Territory. It also means that as one door closes, another opens. This is what has happened on this occasion.
Gas coming onshore is very important for the future of the Northern Territory. Events in recent days underline how complex the energy market is, and how quickly things can change. I commend this report to the Assembly.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Thank you, Chief Minister, for your statement. However, you would be expecting a great deal of criticism, not just from me today, but others in the future.
Madam Speaker, this is a Chief Minister and government that failed with Bayu-Undan. This is a government that forgot to get some of the gas linked into the Northern Territory so Territorians could benefit from it. What a chameleon the Chief Minister is, because now she is saying things such as: ‘We would have preferred gas to come onshore’, and ‘It is a private sector project’.
During the election campaign, this Chief Minister was at pains to affix her personal stamp to this project. She declared before all and sundry, including at the Chamber of Commerce election launch, that gas would come onshore; she and her government would ensure that it would. Now, she is running a million miles from what she said. The people of the Northern Territory will not forget that the CLP said - weeks before, apparently, the Chief Minister knew anything about this - that the project was in doubt. What were the business minister’s and Chief Minister’s response? Complete and utter indignity and outrage that we dared to suggest that this project, to which they had tried so desperately to affix their stamp, was in great doubt. Now: ‘Whoops! Yes, it is in doubt’.
An apology to Denis Burke is the first order of the day, and an apology to Territorians for misleading them. There are a number of questions about what the government knew …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, please pause. Would you withdraw ‘misleading them’ please? Unless you are going to have a substantive motion, you are not able to say that kind of thing.
Ms CARNEY: Could I speak to the point of order and request …
Madam SPEAKER: No. I am making a ruling, so would you withdraw that?
Ms CARNEY: A point of clarification, Madam Speaker. Are you saying that we are not to use the word ‘mislead’ or ‘misleading’ in the parliament?
Madam SPEAKER: I believe you were implying that the Chief Minister misled people …
Ms CARNEY: Yes.
Madam SPEAKER: … and unless you are going to do that by substantive motion, I will not allow that.
Ms CARNEY: Again, for clarification, to suggest that government members are misleading, or have misled, we would need a substantive motion in future. Correct?
Madam SPEAKER: That is correct.
Ms CARNEY: I am compelled to abide by your ruling, Madam Speaker. I note that this seems to be very different from past practice. I will use the words ‘telling untruths’ to Territorians or ‘being dishonest’, which, obviously, will be words that we will interchange as a result of your ruling.
In any event, this Chief Minister is now distancing herself from a platform of her election policy; that is, ‘We are pro-business, we love business, we are going to get the job done’. Well, this government, based on this and so many other examples, demonstrates how crippled it is when it comes to so many projects, but gas in particular. I remind them that they did fail in terms of getting gas onshore from Bayu-Undan, and this another failure: gas to Territorians, who would benefit from the obvious advantages which gas to Territorians will provide. So the Chief Minister cannot be believed.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, your time has expired.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, it is very disappointing to hear, in response to this report, that the new Opposition Leader - and I congratulate her on her position - simply has lots of facts either jumbled or wrong. Gas is coming onshore. I just let the Opposition Leader know gas is coming onshore. We have a pipeline that is being laid between …
Ms Carney interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: No, no. If you are going to make comments in here which are simply wrong, I have to correct them. Gas is coming onshore. There is a pipeline of 540 km that goes from a quite large LNG plant at Wickham Point out to Bayu-Undan. Yes, gas is coming onshore.
When the then Opposition Leader said in the last week of the election campaign and said: ‘I heard that this project is not going ahead’ – no source; simply selling a project down - I clearly said: ‘We know that the project is in its final stages, and there are very complex and gritty negotiations going on’. Any attempt by the opposition to say I misled or anything like that, is simply ignorance, ignorance, ignorance. Gas is good.
Environment Policy
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, the Martin Labor government has acted to protect our unique environment. We have protected 96% of Darwin Harbour mangroves. We now have a proper plan for our very special Darwin Harbour and the toughest land clearing controls in Australia. This government puts the community first on the environment. We have shown this with Darwin Harbour, the Daly, and our new environment plan.
The recent election saw a clear choice for Territorians between a Labor government committed to balancing growth with the environment, and an opposition with no plans for protecting the environment. Territorians made their choice clear. They chose a Labor government to fund and establish an independent EPA; one which is delivering joint management with indigenous groups across a world-class parks system; which will protect the Daly, keep the moratoriums in place and put $3.5m into the highest standards of land and water monitoring; that said no to mining at Koongarra; and is cleaning up Mt Todd.
I very much look forward to implementing this government’s environment agenda. Government will be acting immediately to establish an EPA and completely rewrite our environmental laws. We will commission the Northern Territory’s first state of the environment report to ensure that the EPA has good information to work with. Three new indigenous ranger positions will be created, and we will further enhance our world-class park system.
The Central Australian landscape is a national treasure and a very important part of this vision. We will put this very special part of the Territory on world stage, working with the Alice Springs community to seek World Heritage listing of the West MacDonnell Ranges. We will build a new visitor information centre and upgrade tourist facilities at the western entry to the ranges. Along with the sealing of the West MacDonnell tourism loop road, this initiative will firmly establish the MacDonnell Ranges as a major global tourism destination.
The Daly will be managed as a living river. This is a new approach to environmental planning that will elevate the management of our most important river system so that we never get into water problems suffered elsewhere in Australia, and our rivers continue to offer the best fishing in Australia.
Weeds, fire and ferals have the potential to change our unique Territory environment forever. We will refocus our efforts by creating a new Tackling Territory Invaders program. Our first priority will be an urgent scientific summit to get the best scientific advice in front of government, and to identify priority action. Government will be expanding our support for community environment action with a new Rapid Creek environment hub, with subsidised rent and a green office refit to showcase environmentally-friendly practices. The hub will enable environment groups to work more effectively together.
We are also very conscious that, as a community, we all need to play a part in securing a sustainable future. How we live our lives, from driving the car to work and watering the garden really can make a difference. That is why we will embark on a new sustainable living agenda. Priority action will see a doubling of funding to the Cool Mob in Darwin and Alice Springs to enable them to extend their work into water conservation. A new water saver rebate will also be established for Alice Springs and Tennant Creek residents to encourage the use of low-cost devices such as tap timers and water efficient shower heads.
Madam Speaker, it is ambitious, but it is an agenda that is vitally important for our great lifestyle, the important industries that rely on our natural assets and, most importantly, the future environment that our grandkids with inherit.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for her report. There is quite a lot that she has covered and, of course, in two minutes I cannot reply to all of that.
However, one of the areas that I am very familiar with environmentally is the Daly River. I will touch on that because I have been addressing that with Primary Industry and Fisheries. While we definitely support the environment and making sure that we look after our environment, I believe that this government has made a kneejerk reaction to the Daly area. They have implemented moratorium upon moratorium in that area without any sound scientific research being carried out. There is no sound scientific data available to allow them to put a moratorium on that land.
The area generates $27m directly towards the Northern Territory economy and that is four times greater than any other industry in that area. What this government has effectively said to those pastoralists and people who live in the Daly area is that they have absolutely no idea what they are doing; they are irresponsible. They have taken back all of that responsibility from those people. I strongly object to it.
Another thing just before the two minutes is up - what has happened to the Daly River reference group’s report that was supposed to be delivered to this government? Where is it? There was no …
Members: It was released!
Mrs MILLER: Of course, it was during the election campaign, but nobody could reply to it. I say that there is no quality scientific evidence presented to support that land and water was being degraded in the Daly, and that this government should lift the moratorium to support the pastoralists who are working in that area.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, I let you know that in the Sessional Orders which we passed yesterday, there is actually no capacity for Independents to speak during ministerial reports. However, I will, by leave of the Chair, allow you to speak today. Between now and the next sittings of the parliament, it is something which the Standing Orders Committee needs to discuss.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): I am surprised that that has changed, but thank you, Madam Speaker …
Madam SPEAKER: It has not actually changed; the former Speaker allowed Independents to speak.
Mr WOOD: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr Henderson: Fix it, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: Okay. Thank you, minister, for your comments. I must admit, when you first started off, I thought we were going into another election campaign because it certainly sounded like electoral rhetoric. However, we are past the election now and into a new term of parliament.
Whilst the government has done many good things with the environment, there are just as many things it has not done. A classic example is the silence on recycling of waste in the Northern Territory. The pay-off by the beverage industry to this government not to bring in container deposit legislation is shown so much when you go down to tips such as at Litchfield Shire and see the amount of waste that is buried and not recycled because this government does not have a policy on recycling. It does not have a policy because it was bought out by the beverage industry due to …
Members interjecting.
Mr WOOD: It was bought out by the beverage industry to have a litter campaign which got rid of container deposit legislation, which would have taken out much of the waste that goes into landfill. I know there are people on that side who agree with CDL; it is just that the government has got together and said: ‘No, we have this $0.5m and we do not want to upset the beverage industry’.
Gamba grass: you do not need a big inquiry at the moment about gamba grass. We know gamba grass is one of the major threats to the tropical flora of the north, and we should be doing something about it now. We should say there is a boundary around how fast gamba grass can spread and we should put someone in that area and say: ‘Your job is to make sure there are no outbreaks of gamba grass past that area’. Then, we sit down and work out a program to get rid of it. We need to do something right now.
On cane toads, you had a chance to at least try a fence across the Cobourg Peninsula - something recommended by your own environmental sustainable group. Ask the member for Karama. You did not do it; you had your chance.
With regard to the harbour, go out and look at the damage done by mines in the middle of the harbour - a disgrace!
Members interjecting.
Mr WOOD: A disgrace! You have wrecked the middle of the harbour …
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Nelson, your time has expired.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Environment and Heritage): Madam Speaker, a number of things. First, I will touch on comments by the member for Nelson: no pay-off by BIEC. There is a process during estimates where you will be able to question …
Mr Wood: Where is the container deposit legislation?
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: We have heard these allegations time and time again. They were certainly sprouted before the election that there was nearly $1m in a pay-off from BIEC. There has never been any pay-off by BIEC.
Mr Mills: Oh, come on!
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms SCRYMGOUR: With regard to the member for Katherine, there was a report released. If the member for Katherine had been watching the news, the Chief Minister released that when we released our environment policy. The science is needed, member for Katherine. There was, clearly, evidence that there was no science. We need to have the science. Therefore, instead of saying a lot of gooblidook that you did, do some research and you might find out, particularly about the report on the Daly.
No rhetoric, member for Nelson, it is about action. We are putting our words to action, and that is a lot different from what the CLP did when they were in government.
Racing Industry – Financial Support
Mr STIRLING (Racing, Gaming and Licensing): Madam Speaker, my congratulations to you on your elevation to such a high office. My best wishes for your time in the Chair as Speaker of this Assembly.
The Dry Season provides Top Enders with many reasons to celebrate – the V8s, the Glenti, Territory Day, BassintheGrass, the Beer Can Regatta, the Darwin Festival, the show circuit, to name just a few. However, the biggest and the most keenly anticipated Top End celebration each year is, without doubt, the Darwin Cup Carnival due to kick off this Saturday. It is an icon event. It is well known throughout the length and breadth of Australia as the most exciting and entertaining racing carnival that you can possibly attend.
We know we will never be able to compete with the Melbourne Cup, the Sydney Cup, the Adelaide Cup in size in those southern cities, but what we have is a uniquely Territorian event and, of course, with much better weather than Flemington offers on the first Tuesday in November.
The carnival is much more than just a great spectacle; it is an enormous contributor to the Top End economy. Anecdotal evidence tells how many local businesses benefit from the event. Darwin Cup Day alone is estimated to inject $10m into the local economy each year. During carnival time we know how difficult it is to get a hotel room, a restaurant booking, a private hire car or a cab - virtually impossible. Each year, it gets harder because more people find it more difficult to leave the party, and accommodation places stay full for longer periods of time after the carnival has finished.
Alice Springs Cup Carnival is also a great money spinner for local business, as is the Tennant Creek Cup, the Katherine Cup, the Pine Creek Cup and the Adelaide River Cup.
In recognition of this critical role that racing plays in the social, as well as the economic, life of the Territory, the Martin government has increased the level of financial support we provide to the industry right across the Territory. As part of that new funding deal, base operational funding for the racing industry is indexed by 5% each year from 2004-05. That means base funding has risen to more than $5.8m in 2004-05 and, in addition, government injected a one off $1.05m for capital.
On the weekend, I took part in the opening ceremony of the new equine swimming pool at Fannie Bay Racecourse, partly funded out of that capital injection. That will make a big difference to the ability of our horses to cope during the Wet and the build-up, and will assist with recovery of injuries. Also, it will help to attract interstate trainers and horses.
From 2005-06, there will be ongoing capital funding of $350 000 a year on top of the base. That will see a total of more than $6.46m provided in 2005-06, rising to over $6.8m in 2006-07.
This funding is not just for Darwin Racecourse; it is for the whole of the industry right throughout the Territory. It will help to support racing in Alice Springs, Pine Creek, Adelaide River, Tennant Creek and Katherine. Each of those clubs will benefit from both the operational and capital funding. Pioneer Park, Alice Springs, has already bought and installed new starting gates, and other clubs will reap benefits in the near future.
There was an impressive crowd at the opening of the new pool on Sunday, and it is indicative of an industry that is going from strength to strength. Chief Executive, Des Friedrich, has ambitious plans for making the Darwin Cup Carnival even bigger and better. Knowing just how good Des is, I am sure his plans will be achieved.
What is particularly exciting is that the Principal Racing Authority is currently in negotiation with the new Thorough Vision channel to have Territory races screened right throughout Australia. It has the potential to build the industry further; it will present enormous opportunity to build on our efforts to promote the Territory as a great place to visit, live and work, and bring your horse.
Territory racing will reach millions of people around Australia via Thorough Vision and, I understand, will be given air time to advertise the Territory - an opportunity, I would have thought, for the Territory Tourist Commission.
Territory racing is on the verge of exciting times, both in the immediate future with the Darwin Cup Carnival, and over the longer term. We are proud to support Territory racing to keep the industry moving ahead, and Picayune is in Race 3 Saturday if you want a good each-way bet.
Mr MILLS (Blain): I missed that last bit; I shall be monitoring the tip. Madam Speaker, generally, racing and gaming has enjoyed bipartisan support in this Chamber because we recognise the importance of this industry, both for the social and economic benefits that flow to the Territory.
I also share with the minister a particular passion for racing. My family has been involved in racing for many years and, to have had a horse in a race is the most exciting thing imaginable. For that reason, I recognise the need to support this industry right across the Territory - the Alice Springs Cup recently, the Adelaide River races.
The Darwin Carnival is very significant, particularly in the conversations you have with people who come to the Territory for the first time, attracted by racing, who discover the beauty of Darwin. They go away and tell their stories of what a wonderful place the Northern Territory is to all corners of this nation.
The CLP opposition wholeheartedly supports the investment in this very important industry. In addition, it is good to recognise how the profile of the Top End is raised during this carnival with the addition of advertising to profile to the rest of the country what a wonderful place the Territory is, particularly when they are shivering down south at this time of year. Any glimpse of what is going on up here would be very attractive to those who are shivering at TAB outlets right around the country, who look up and realise that, in their country, there is a beautiful place of sunshine when the rest are shivering.
Mr STIRLING (Racing, Gaming and Licensing): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his supportive comments. It is true, racing and gaming has generally had bipartisan support, and I always appreciated the efforts of ministers before me in keeping me in the loop. There are tricky issues that come to light in racing and gaming from time to time, and I give this assurance: I will keep the member for Blain up to speed with where we are on issues across racing and gaming in general. I appreciate his support, and I look forward to working with him.
Rezoning of Lot 5690, Town of Darwin
Dr BURNS (Lands and Planning): Madam Speaker, on 25 May 2005, I amended the Northern Territory Planning Scheme to rezone Lot 5690 at the corner of Dashwood Crescent and Gardens Road in the Town of Darwin to O3 Conservation, from CBD, Central Business Darwin. Lot 5690 is Crown land and has an area of 9610 m2 and is located at the city end of Garden Park Golf Course.
Members may recall, in the late 1980s, a resort hotel complex was proposed for this site. The former CLP government subdivided the golf course land, creating Lot 5690, which was then rezoned to allow the development to proceed. However, the development did not proceed and, in the years that followed, there have been quite a number of other developments proposed for that site. However, the land has remained vacant.
The land is severely constrained by steep slopes and has always been a challenge for potential developers. In October 2004, Mrs Sharyn Yelverton applied to amend the NT Planning Scheme to rezone that lot to O3 Conservation. This stemmed from a desire expressed by residents of the area and Landcare groups to maintain, conserve, rehabilitate and promote remnant areas of native vegetation within Darwin city.
I would like to commend Mrs Yelverton for her application; it was very thoroughly prepared and researched and was widely canvassed with local residents. The application proposed rubbish removal, weed management, revegetation programs, community involvement, and tourism programs - all to be undertaken by a new urban Landcare group. The proposal has the support of Greening Australia, the Myilly Point and Duke Street Rainforest Landcare Groups, and about 100 residents in the area.
The proposal displayed considerable merit and, on 7 November 2004, I agreed to place it on public exhibition to provide for community comment. Two public submissions were received; from PLan, the Planning Action Network, and Mr Roger Dee, who is the lessee of the Gardens Park Golf course. PLan supported the proposal; however, Mr Dee objected. The Darwin City Council also wrote to me objecting to the rezoning to O3. The council requested that ownership of the site be transferred to Darwin City Council and that the land be rezoned to O2. This is the zoning the land had before it was subdivided from the golf course in the late 1980s by the former CLP government, and could allow for the development of licensed premises.
The Development Consent Authority held a public hearing on 12 January 2005, considered the views of all parties and, subsequently, provided me with a report. The DCA supported the proposal. Before making my decision, I met with Mr Roger Dee, the lessee of the Gardens Golf Club, to discuss his proposal for the area. I should place on the record that I have known Mr Dee for many years; I have a friendship with him. I certainly listened to what he had to say and could understand his point of view very clearly. I also met with a property developer who was proposing to redevelop land on the other side of Gardens Road to incorporate the particular lot in the development. In his proposal, the two areas were to be linked by a tunnel under Gardens Road.
Finally, I met with the proponent, Mrs Sharyn Yelverton and others. They proposed to involve Greening Australia, Myilly Point, Duke Street Rainforest Land Care groups, conservation volunteers, Darwin High School and Charles Darwin University in this project. I asked the proponent to provide a work plan detailing how the site would be cleaned up; a plan for the rehabilitation of native vegetation; a list of volunteers and supporters; and a time frame for the project. These were all provided. A future possibility is to construct a network of walking paths and interpretive signage which takes in the golf course and follows the escarpment through to Myilly Point, Mindil Beach and the Botanic Gardens.
In this rapidly developing area of Darwin city, it is essential to retain areas of open space to be enjoyed by present and future Territorians and visitors to the city. Therefore, I accepted the advice provided to me by the Development Consent Authority and the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, and have rezoned the lot to O3 Conservation. I believe this will enhance the area for visitors and local residents alike.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I thank the minister for his fulsome report on Lot 5690. I would rather that he gave us a fulsome report on what he proposes to do with the land at the wharf precinct where there is huge land contamination, and how he proposes to clean the land up so the precinct can be developed in a proper and orderly fashion without excessive cost to Territorians. That is what I would have preferred the Minister for Lands and Planning to do: provide Territorians with clear advice on what he is going to do with the land at the wharf precinct.
We all know that the land is severely contaminated and millions upon millions of dollars will be required to fix the land up. Unfortunately, this minister is not prepared to do that. That is more important to Territorians at this moment. It is well and good that you have rezoned land to open space for the enjoyment of the public and for people around the Gardens Golf Course area.
However, more important to Territorians is: what are we going to be paying for the unforeseeable future? How much are we going to be spending to clean up the land that the wharf precinct is going to be built on? I repeat: we all know that that land is severely contaminated and the government has already given an open guarantee to the developers that it will clean this land up. It is important for us to know what that is going to entail in fixing it up. It is up to this minister to tell us. This is the time he should be doing that. Instead of giving a report, he should be coming to parliament with a proper statement detailing every item of contamination which is in that land and how the government proposes to fix it up, at what cost, and what sort of time frame we need to look at.
Madam SPEAKER: Time has expired.
Reports noted pursuant to Sessional Order.
MOTION
Appointment of Ombudsman and Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
Appointment of Ombudsman and Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that this Assembly, pursuant to section 4(3) of the Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act, and section 9(1) of the Health and Community Services Complaints Act, recommend to His Honour the Administrator that he appoint Carolyn Richards to hold the office of the Ombudsman and the office of the Health and Community Complaints Commissioner for the Northern Territory for a period of five years, effective upon endorsement from the Executive Council.
The position of the Ombudsman became vacant when the former incumbent completed his tenure on 26 March this year. Mr Vic Feldman has been acting as the Ombudsman since then, and I will be proposing to the Assembly in a separate motion that he continue to act in the role until Ms Richards can commence her duties.
The vacancy of Ombudsman for the Northern Territory was advertised nationally, with a provision that the successful applicant may also hold the appointment of commissioner. Interviews were held in Darwin by a panel which comprised a government representative, the Leader of the Opposition’s nominee, an Independent member, the Deputy Chief Executive of the Department of Chief Minister, and the Commissioner for Public Employment. The panel has recommended Ms Richards as the most suitable applicant.
Ms Richards is well qualified and demonstrated strong claims for the position, given her extensive background in complaints resolution, communication skills, policy and people management skills, and experience in public administration law. Madam Speaker, I move the motion.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I support wholeheartedly every word that the Chief Minister said. We look forward to Carolyn Richards coming to the Northern Territory; a woman who is held in very high regard by many people. I know that she is a lawyer. I do not tend to have very many soft spots for lawyers, having been one myself, but a woman of her calibre is to be welcomed wholeheartedly to the Territory. It is good to see yet another woman in such a high-profile role. She can join the ranks of Jennifer Prince, Under Treasurer and so on. We welcome without reservation, and with much enthusiasm, the appointment and the arrival of Carolyn Richards, and we thank Mr Feldman for his efforts so far.
Motion agreed to.
MOTION
Appointment of Acting Ombudsman and Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
Appointment of Acting Ombudsman and Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that this Assembly, pursuant to section 9(1) of the Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act, and section 10(1) of the Health and Community Services Complaints Act, recommend to His Honour the Administrator that he appoint Mr Victor Percival Feldman to act in the offices of the Ombudsman and Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner for the Northern Territory until the new Ombudsman and commissioner can commence duties.
The positions of the Ombudsman and commissioner became vacant when the former incumbent completed his tenure in March this year. Mr Feldman has been acting as both the Ombudsman and commissioner since then. Mr Feldman was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner in 1998, and the Deputy Ombudsman in 2002.
The Ombudsman (Northern Territory) Act and the Health and Community Services Complaints Act provide for the Administrator to appoint a person to act in the offices of the Ombudsman and commissioner during any vacancies in the office. The legislation provides that such a person shall not act in the offices of the Ombudsman and commissioner for a continuous period exceeding three months, unless the appointment was made on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly. It is, therefore, proposed that Mr Feldman continue to act in the offices of the Ombudsman and the Health and Community Services Complaints Commissioner for the Northern Territory until the substantive appointee can commence duties. Madam Speaker, I now move this motion.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I apologise, it is actually hard for me to see you there. I believe my hair, perhaps, gets in the way. My apologies if I do not always call you.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I am reluctant to move at this stage; it is so early.
Madam Speaker, once again, I support the motion for all of the obvious reasons.
Motion agreed to.
TABLED PAPER
Remuneration Tribunal Report on Salary, Allowances and Other Benefits for Magistrates and Determination No 1 of 2005
Remuneration Tribunal Report on Salary, Allowances and Other Benefits for Magistrates and Determination No 1 of 2005
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I table the Remuneration Tribunal’s report on the salary, allowances and other benefits for magistrates, and the accompanying Determination No 1 of 2005, dated 25 May 2005.
Prior to October last year, the Remuneration Tribunal was empowered to, from time to time, inquire into the salary, allowances and other benefits to be paid to magistrates, and make recommendations as to those matters for consideration by government.
In October 2005, the Magistrates Act and the Remuneration Tribunal Act were amended to put in place a more independent process of remuneration setting for magistrates. This process now enables the Remuneration Tribunal to make determinations as to the salary, allowances and other benefits to be paid to magistrates, and to review these at least annually. These determinations must be tabled in the Assembly, and the Assembly may disprove all or part of these determinations within 10 sitting days. This is the first such determination to be made by the Remuneration Tribunal in respect of magistrates.
I note the tribunal received a number of submissions during the course of its inquiry. It also gathered evidence, considered economic conditions, and examined salary and responsibility levels for the public and judicial sectors in the Territory and the rest of Australia. The tribunal’s report sets out how it conducted its review, the issues taken into account in reviewing magistrates’ entitlements, and looked at such matters such as relativities within the Northern Territory judiciary, comparisons with magistrates elsewhere, and changes in responsibilities and working conditions.
In respect of salary determination, the tribunal decided that the 5% relativities increase should flow on to magistrates, and that a compounding economic conditions increase of 3.4% should be applied. The tribunal has recommended that the date of effect of these increases should be 1 December 2004, being one year after the previous increase.
In respect of travelling allowance, the tribunal has adjusted the rates of travelling allowance and the conditions under which travelling allowance can be paid, to be in line with rates and conditions currently determined for comparable officers by the Commonwealth Remuneration Tribunal. Some of those rates are lower than those previously determined for magistrates, and the tribunal notes that this is the first time that a rate has been reduced since the introduction of the no-detriment provision. On this point, the tribunal comments that travel allowance rates are set after comprehensive price reviews and, in its view, reduction of a particular rate on that basis is not detrimental to the recipient.
In relation to communications, magistrates are currently entitled to a telephone allowance up to a maximum of $750 per quarter. The tribunal has determined that an increase of $50 in the quarterly limit is warranted.
The tribunal has agreed that magistrates should have the right to purchase up to four full weeks of additional leave per financial year in order to better balance work and family commitments - known as leaving banking - and this has been included in the determination.
The tribunal has also made some specific provisions to ensure that the consolidation of benefits in the determination operates fairly and independently.
I thank the tribunal for its work on this matter, and table the Remuneration Tribunal’s Report on the Salary, Allowances and Other Benefits for Magistrates, and Determination No 1 of 2005.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Madam Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for tabling the RTD.
Motion agreed to.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Message No 2
Message No 2
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I lay on the Table Message No 2 recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act to make interim provision for the issuing and expending of the public monies of the Territory in respect of the year 30 June 2006.
SUPPLY BILL 2005-06
(Serial 1)
(Serial 1)
Bill presented and read a first time.
____________________
Suspension of Standing Orders - Pass all Stages
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Supply Bill 2005-06 (Serial 1) passing through all stages at this sitting.
Motion agreed to.
___________________
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The Supply Bill is required to be passed prior to 1 July 2005 as appropriation provided under the Appropriation Act 2004-05 lapses on 30 June 2005.
The 2005-06 Supply Bill will provide agencies with appropriation from 1 July 2005 until the Appropriation Act 2005-06 is passed following Estimate Committee proceedings next week.
The use of a Supply Bill is not unusual, as it has been required in each year that the Territory has introduced a budget after the commencement of the new financial year. Some members may recall that this was the standard practice in all Australian parliaments until a decade ago.
A Supply Bill provides agencies with sufficient funds to ensure the continuation of capital works programs, grant programs, and normal services of government. It ensures that the machinery of government does not come to a halt pending the outcome of the passage of the Appropriation Bill.
The 2005-06 Supply Bill provides for one-twelfth, or one month, of the appropriations set out in Appropriation Act 2005-06 which I tabled with the 2005-06 Budget Papers on 3 May 2005. One month of appropriation equals $202.867m. This Supply Bill will ensure sufficient funds are available for normal government business to continue until the Appropriation Act 2005-06 is passed, subsequent to review by the Estimates Committee. Madam Speaker, I heartily commend this bill to honourable members.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, in similar spirit, it is not the intention of opposition to obstruct the passage of this very important legislation. Contained behind this message from the Administrator is the necessity to provide confidence to the public sector to continue their fine work. I understand that this legislation does not increase the total allocation within appropriation, but merely provides the mechanism whereby supply could flow into the new financial year while we conduct our business of estimates.
For that reason, and out of respect for the ongoing programs and work of the public sector, it is the express position of the opposition to support this very important legislation.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain and the opposition for their support of what is, in fact, critical legislation which will enable the ongoing business of government to continue until the budget is expected to be passed next Thursday evening. As I said, I thank the member for his support and we expect this bill to proceed through.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer)(by leave): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a third time.
Motion agreed to; bill read a third time.
MESSAGE FROM ADMINISTRATOR
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I lay on the Table Message No 3 from His Honour the Administrator recommending to the Legislative Assembly a bill for an act to make provision for the issuing and expending of public monies of the Territory in respect of the year 30 June 2006.
APPROPRIATION BILL (No 2) 2005-06
(Serial 2)
(Serial 2)
Bill presented and read a first time.
_______________
Suspension of Standing Orders - Pass all Stages
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Appropriation Bill (No 2) 2005-06 (Serial 2) passing through all stages at this sitting.
Motion agreed to.
______________
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. I reintroduce the Appropriation Bill 2005-06 and related budget papers. Subject to an amendment to the wording of the Appropriation Bill, the bill is identical to the bill presented with 3 May 2005 budget tabled in the May sittings.
The amendment states that the appropriation set out in this bill includes the Supply Bill appropriation. This ensures that agencies will only be provided with the appropriation set out in the 2005-06 Budget. Apart from this minor amendment, the second reading speech is identical to the budget speech I delivered in the May 2005 sittings. To the extent that it is identical, I seek leave to have the second leaving speech incorporated into the Parliamentary Record.
Leave granted.
- Budget 2005 is about backing Territorians. It delivers less tax, local jobs and better skills. Budget 2005 outlines cuts in
taxes of $40m, including record payroll tax and record stamp duty cuts. The Martin government is the most tax reforming
government in the Territory’s history; we have cut more taxes than any other government. Budget 2005 makes the Territory
the lowest taxing jurisdiction in Australia for a business with up to 100 staff.
Budget 2005 also provides a significant boost to the task of skilling Territorians. This budget delivers Jobs Plan 2, with the
centrepiece being a commitment to training 10 000 Territorians over the next four years, up 25% since 2000.
The Martin government continues record infrastructure spending with $476m in Budget 2005. This budget also fulfils
the Martin government’s commitments to a healthier Territory, better education outcomes and a safer community by
providing record health, education and police budgets.
This year, the budget also includes the Territory’s financial commitment to the redevelopment of the Darwin waterfront
and convention centre. This development, delivered through a public/private partnership, is one of the most significant
investments for long-term economic gain that the Territory has ever made. Work will commence shortly on the
community infrastructure, which will be substantially complete in 2007, while the Darwin convention and exhibition
centre is expected to open in 2008.
The tax reforms outlined in this budget lead the rest of the nation in their support for business. They make the Martin Labor
government the most tax reforming government in the Territory’s history. They provide local business with a strong,
competitive edge against the rest of Australia. On 1 July 2005, the payroll tax threshold will rise to $1m. Some 79 businesses,
including 61 locally-based Territory businesses, will no longer pay payroll tax. The government announces today that, from
1 July 2006, the payroll tax threshold will again rise; this time to $1.25m, the equal best in Australia. From 1 July 2006,
a business or group of businesses with wages of less than $1.25m will not pay any payroll tax. That means 53 more
locally-based Territory businesses will no longer pay payroll tax. These announcements continue the government’s record
payroll tax reform. Since 1 July 2004, we will have doubled the payroll tax threshold, meaning 215 businesses will no longer pay
payroll tax. Those businesses still paying payroll tax will save an average of $31 900 per year.
The government will continue its strong efforts to support Territorians achieving their dream of home ownership. Today, the
government announces that we will increase the stamp duty concession for first home buyers. In 2002, we lifted this threshold
from $80 000 to $125 000, as we promised. From today, the threshold will be increased to $200 000. This nearly doubles the value
of the stamp duty concession from a maximum of $3640 to $6800, putting about $2.7m back into Territorians’ pockets. No stamp
duty will be payable by a first home buyer on a property up to $200 000. Some 1400 Territorians will benefit each year from this
threshold increase. The Martin government’s commitment to get more Territorians into their own homes is now supported
by three strong planks: the $200 000 threshold for stamp duty for first home buyers, the successful HomeNorth scheme and
a $1500 stamp duty rebate for people buying a home to live in. No other government has made such a concerted effort to make
home ownership a reality for Territorians.
As already announced, the Martin government will remove electronic debit duty from 1 July 2005. This duty is applied to all
electronic withdrawals from accounts held with financial institutions in the Territory. Combined with our decision to remove debits
tax, this is an $8.9m ongoing reduction in tax to Territorians and will save small business with 20 staff around $1430 per year.
Skilling Territorians is a centrepiece of Budget 2005. The Martin government acted quickly to focus funds on training, implemented
the first ever Jobs Plan, and fulfilled our election commitment to deliver major improvements in the Territory’s skill levels. In
Budget 2005, we take that effort another step. We will train 10 000 Territorians over the next four years. Since the year 2000, that
is a 25% increase in the number of Territorians in training.
In Budget 2005 we introduce four new training initiatives. These are:
- a Workwear/Workgear cash bonus providing up to $500;
- Through Jobs Plan 2, Budget 2005 will increase our commitment to training by an additional $3.6m.
The budget also continues the Martin government’s record infrastructure effort. Budget 2005 boosts infrastructure spending
by $476m. We have increased the minor new works budget by 40% to $28.6m. We have also significantly increased the
amount of money being spent on repairs and maintenance of roads and schools. This expenditure will provide additional work
for smaller local contractors across the Territory. The minor new works threshold has been increased from $150 000 to
$300 000, a reform which will see work issued more rapidly. This $476m brings the total of cash injected into infrastructure
to $2.23bn since 2001, an effort unparalleled in the Territory. These funds have lifted the construction industry and sustained
thousands of local jobs. The Martin government’s cash commitment contrasts with the low levels of cash put in by the
previous government.
I turn now to the Territory economy. Economic recovery: over the past two to three years, the Territory economy has recovered
from a period of flat growth returning to solid growth in recent times. The onshore economy strengthened in 2004-05, boosted by
activity for the construction of the LNG plant at Wickham Point and initial work for the Alcan G3 alumina expansion at Gove.
The tourism sector continued to recover over the year, supported by increased marketing activity. Importantly, business
confidence strengthened as the outlook for the onshore economy continued to improve. In 2004-05, Territory gross state
product is estimated to increase by 7.3% and state final demand by 1.2%. Solid income growth has supported consumer
sentiment reflected in high motor vehicle sales and retail turnover growth, and strengthening residential construction
and property markets.
Consumption is estimated to increase by 5.1% in 2004-05 with private consumption growth of 6.1%. Business investment, which
will be above $2bn for the third consecutive year, continues to be heavily influenced by major infrastructure works and resource
projects. Improved nett interstate migration sees population growth strengthening to 1.1% in 2005.
The Territory labour market was characterised by labour and skill shortages in 2004-05, with stronger activity in key
employing industries. However, based on official statistics, employment is estimated to decline by 1.3% in 2004-05.
These differences underlie the volatility in the Territory’s official employment data and the government’s caution with these
figures. Treasury forecasts gross state product growth in 2005-06 at 6.2%. Continued strong growth reflects the improving
employment outlook, population growth, and ongoing recovery across a range of industries. Territory final demand is
forecast to increase by 4.7% in 2005-06. Consumption growth is forecast to moderate to 4.2%, and investment is set to increase
by 6% supported by increased public sector expenditure.
Output will be boosted by the commencement of LNG production, and manganese production from Bootu Creek. Offshore,
Bayu-Undan’s Stage 1 output is forecast to double as production reaches its design capacity.
Employment associated with major projects will continue through 2005-06, though the focus of activity will shift to the Alcan G3
alumina expansion. The strengthening tourism sector and residential construction will also contribute to forecast employment
growth of 2%. Population is forecast to increase by 1% in 2006. Year-on-year inflation in Darwin is forecast to increase
to 2.3% in 2005-06. It is clear that 2005-06 will see continuing economic prosperity throughout the Territory.
I now move to the fiscal projections in the budget. In 2001, the government set a target of achieving a balanced budget by 2004-05.
The expected outcome for 2004-05 is a surplus of $46m, which will be used as the Territory’s partial contribution to the Darwin
waterfront and convention centre project. During 2004-05, receipts increased by $143m, and payments by $97m. The higher
receipts were largely the result of continuing economic improvement. Specific purpose payments were $19m higher through the
year, but come with additional expenditure commitments. Adjustments to timing of taxes paid by government businesses resulted
in a one-off improvement of $15m.
Higher population growth of 1.2% and higher GST collections resulted in a revenue increase of $46m and assists the Territory to
pay for the additional services a higher population requires. It is a good signal of the success of the government’s continued
efforts to boost the Territory’s population. Earlier this year, we were very proud to announce we passed 200 000 Territorians,
a significant milestone.
The improved property market and the stronger economy mean greater levels of activity, with conveyancing duty up by
$16m and payroll tax by $8m. Operating payments have increased in the government’s key service delivery areas of
health - $16m, education - $31m, and police - $7m, meaning improved services, extra teachers, nurses and police.
Capital spending increased by $19m. In 2005-06, operating receipts are expected to be $2.75bn, $62m higher than
2004-05. This increase is the result of the usual anticipated growth in GST revenue of around $90m to pay for service
delivery offset by lower specific purpose payments and a return to the usual level of tax equivalents paid by government
businesses.
Operating payments are expected to increase by $93m to $2.56bn. The government will continue to improve services in
health, education and police, the government’s key priority areas.
Our fiscal strategy targets were re-set in 2004 and included deficits from 2005-06, with the budget returning to balance in 2008-09.
The underlying targets remain unchanged: the inclusion of payments for the Darwin waterfront and convention centre increases
the deficit for three years as the community infrastructure and the Darwin convention centre are constructed. The budget will
return to balance as planned in 2008-09.
I turn now to the detail of budget initiatives. Budget 2005 delivers less tax, local jobs and better skills; it backs Territorians.
Tax reform, skills and business support: as a result of tax changes to business from 1 July 2006, Territory businesses employing
up to 100 staff will pay the lowest tax in Australia. In New South Wales, a business with 50 staff will pay $72 024 more than its
Territory counterpart. In Western Australia, they will pay $28 479 more. Businesses of 100 staff in New South Wales will pay
$73 597 more than in the Territory, and in Western Australia they will pay $15 443 more.
Budget 2005 includes the Territory’s tax reform initiatives in line with the intergovernmental agreement. In addition to the removal
of debits tax and electronic debits duty, the Territory will remove stamp duty on: leases, franchises and unquoted marketable
securities on 1 July 2006 at a saving to business of $2m; hiring arrangements on 1 July 2007, at a saving to business of $5.3m;
and non-real business conveyances on 1 July 2009 at a saving of $5.5m.
Budget 2005 delivers a major boost to training and skilling Territorians. In this budget, incentive grants to small business for
trainees increased from $2200 to $3000. There will be 250 grants available. Employers putting on traditional trade apprentices
will be eligible for a $7000 grant. The number of these grants will be 150, almost 400% up from the original 40.
The Martin government is also delivering a new Build Skills NT program, backing Territorians already in work by upgrading their
skills through training. Some $500 000 will be spent targeting workers in the automotive, building, construction, hospitality and
mining industries. These funds will be injected directly to industry and will give them the flexibility to move existing workers
through new skill levels.
To improve the transition from school to work, the government will also invest in a new Work Ready NT initiative, and $200 000 will
fund the Work Ready Pathways program. Some $4.4m is included this year for the VET in Schools program. This program is
expected to prepare 1100 students for the Territory work force.
In Budget 2005, the government has lifted funding for vocational education and training at Charles Darwin University by $1.5m,
taking annual VET funding for Charles Darwin University to $35.2m. To provide further support for local business, the Martin
government will allocate:
- $3.8m for the continued implementation of Building the Territory’s Resource Base for
mining exploration;
through the business and skilled migration strategy; and
Palmerston for information, business and community justice services.
- Better schools: education has been a priority of the Martin government since coming to office. The education budget this year
is $582m, up by 22% from 2001-02. This year, the record education budget continues the $42m improvements in secondary
education. Specific support includes:
increasing teaching resources by providing 19 student counsellors;
- Overall, the education budget provides $266m for early childhood and primary education in government schools; $139m for
government secondary schools; and $81m for assistance for non-government schools. The budget supports the ongoing
employment of the additional 100 teachers in our system.
This year, around $74m is programmed for new and ongoing capital works, minor new works and repairs and maintenance,
including:
$5.5m for education facilities, additional teacher housing and programs at Wadeye;
Education Centre totalling $2.5m; and
- Community safety: the Martin government is backing Territorians by providing a safer community. We have focused on
preventing crime, responding hard when it does occur, and tackling antisocial behaviour. Budget 2005 delivers a record Police,
Fire and Emergency Services budget of $189m. This budget has increased 38% since 2001. The Martin government is
tackling antisocial behaviour and violence through record growth in police numbers. We have put an extra 120 police on the beat
since 2001.
Funding of $200 000 in 2005-06 has been provided for mobile police stations in Darwin and Alice Springs. These stations will
provide police with the flexibility to respond immediately to crime hot spots and community needs. Personal and domestic
violence protection units are being established across all major centres. An ongoing program has been approved to deliver
25 additional police vehicles for use by Aboriginal community police officers. These vehicles will strengthen the capacity to
address violence and antisocial behaviour across the Territory.
Budget 2005 commits $750 000 to community grants, a substantial increase on the $400 000 provided in Budget 2004:
$400 000 will be allocated to crime prevention grants, and $350 000 for approved community safety plans.
Funding to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute sexual assault matters will increase by $200 000.
Additional funding of $330 000 will be provided for the formal establishment of the Community Justice Centre.
The government will build a fire station at Marrara at a cost of $3.6m.
Health and Community Services: Budget 2005 provides another record health budget. The budget of $687m is an increase
of 43% since 2001-02. It includes: $392m for hospitals; $110m for community health services; $87m for aged, disability
and mental health services; $48m for family and children’s services; and $50m for public health services and health research.
Additional recurrent funding of $1.94m has been allocated for Alice Springs Hospital to provide improved medical staffing levels
for the Intensive Care Unit. Additional funding of $395 000 will be provided for home birth care services and the provision of
outreach antenatal services to remote communities. $203 000 will be provided to support Territory nurses to study locally as
midwives.
An additional $1.5m will be allocated for the provision of essential mental health services. This includes $200 000 to strengthen
24-hour emergency response and consultation across the Territory, and $350 000 to provide four additional psychiatrists for
children and adolescents in rural centres. $1.2m will be spent on mental health facilities to provide community-based residential
care in Darwin and Alice Springs.
The government will provide $500 000 per year to assist Territorians requiring travel interstate for life-saving cancer treatment.
In addition, my colleague, the Minister for Health, has announced that the government will call for expressions of interest from
established oncology radiation services in setting up a unit at the Royal Darwin Hospital.
Alice Springs Hospital will undergo an upgrade to Ward 4 at a cost of $1m to provide eight renal stations for patients. Other
capital investment to support health services includes: a $1m upgrade to Flynn Drive renal facilities; $650 000 for
a staff accommodation upgrade at Alice Springs Hospital; and continuation of the program to improve renal facilities
in remote communities with Stage 3 costing $400 000.
The government will improve the indexation of grant payments to health and community services non-government organisations.
These organisations provide an important service to our community and are recognised for this service by the Martin government.
This will increase funding by $1.13m.
Supporting families: Budget 2005 backs Territory families with funding designed to support family needs and to keep downward
pressure on the cost of living. This year, the budget includes: $8.13m to support Territory seniors and the Pensioner
Concession Scheme; $3.7m to subsidise child care, making child care cheaper; $395 000 for additional maternity services;
$500 000 for an intensive family support service; and $300 000 to support seven new remote youth services. Budget 2005
supports families and sees no increases in charges.
Lifestyle and environment: Territorians enjoy a great lifestyle. Budget 2005 continues the Martin government’s strong backing
of that lifestyle. A capital grant of $5m will be provided in 2005-06 for Stage 1 of the Palmerston Recreation Centre.
Additional funding of $750 000 per annum will be provided from 2005-06 to the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern
Territory for ongoing development.
Continued additional funding of $500 000 will be provided to support sporting events in the Territory. The Martin government
has an outstanding record of bringing world-class sport to Territorians, and we will continue that in 2005-06. Funding of $300 000
will be provided to assist elite Territory athletes to compete at national and international levels.
Funding of $140 000 will provide additional bus services for public housing seniors villages in Darwin and Palmerston.
$500 000 is provided for a program of multicultural development, and $700 000 for the Multicultural Affairs Sponsorship and
Grants program.
Increased funding of $1.2m has been provided for recurrent Territory park management operations, and management of the
new Channel Point Recreation Reserve.
Other capital investments include: $5.8m for the Darwin Soccer Stadium; $3.8m for the Hidden Valley Raceway upgrade, which
includes eight additional pit garages for the V8 Supercar event; $800 000 for the Alice Springs Drag Strip; and $500 000 for
improved recreational fishing infrastructure.
Regional initiatives: the government is committed to continue strong support for Territorians living in our regions. The
government provides power, water, sewerage services, aerodromes and barge landings in remote indigenous communities
through the Indigenous Essential Services program. The payment to the Power and Water Corporation for providing these
services will increase by $1.2m to $47m. The government will employ a Regional Government Coordinator for the West
Arnhem region based in Jabiru, and a coordinator at Nhulunbuy to assist with development opportunities and obligations
in regard to the Alcan expansion. The government has committed to significant capital expenditure in the regions. Some of
the projects include:
- $2.7m for headworks Stage 2 at the Desert Knowledge Precinct;
Beswick to Gove;
- Budget 2005 backs Territorians. It delivers less tax, local jobs, and better skills. It is pro-business, pro-jobs, and pro-growth.
This budget outlines tax cuts totalling $40m. It takes on the task of training another 10 000 Territorians, and it provides more local
jobs through $476m of infrastructure spending. The budget delivers a healthier Territory, better educational outcomes, and a
safer community. It tackles violence and antisocial behaviour. Budget 2005 strengthens our great Territory lifestyle. It
backs Territorians on a continued path of growth and development. This budget builds on four years of strong economic
management and hard work by the Martin government. Much has been achieved; there is much more to do.
Madam Speaker, I commend this budget to the House and to all Territorians.
Mr STIRLING: Madam Speaker, I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Take three Bills together
Take three Bills together
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills entitled Payroll Tax Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 3), Taxation (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 4), and Stamp Duty Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 5):
- (a) being presented and read a first time together and one motion being put in regard to, respectively,
the second readings, the committee’s report stage and the third reading of the bills together; and
- (b) the consideration of the bills separately in the Committee of the Whole.
Motion agreed to.
PAY-ROLL TAX AMENDMENT BILL (No 2)
(Serial 3)
TAXATION (ADMINISTRATION) AMENDMENT BILL (No 2)
(Serial 4)
STAMP DUTY AMENDMENT BILL (No 2)
(Serial 5)
(Serial 3)
TAXATION (ADMINISTRATION) AMENDMENT BILL (No 2)
(Serial 4)
STAMP DUTY AMENDMENT BILL (No 2)
(Serial 5)
Bills presented and read a first time.
____________________
Suspension of Standing Orders - Pass Bills all Stages
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent bills entitled Pay-roll Tax Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 3), Taxation (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 4), and Stamp Duty Amendment Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 5) passing through all stages at these sittings.
Motion agreed to.
____________________
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move that the bills be now read a second time.
The bills seek to put in place a package of revenue measures announced as part of the 2005-06 budget and the recent Northern Territory election by proposing amendments to the Taxation (Administration) Act, the Stamp Duty Act and the Pay-roll Tax Act. The key proposals announced in the budget involve abolishing electronic debit transaction duty from 1 July 2005 and increasing, from 3 May 2005, the stamp duty first home owner concession from the first $125 000 of a property’s value to the first $200 000 of a property’s value.
In addition, the government subsequently made an election commitment that, from 1 July 2005, it would further increase the stamp duty first home owner concession from the first $200 000 of a property’s value to the first $225 000 of a property’s value, and increase the stamp duty principal place of residence rebate from a maximum of $1500 to a maximum of $2500. The commencement date for these commitments has been brought forward to 20 June 2005 to avoid any disruption to the real estate market.
All of these proposals are intended to complement the initiatives announced in last year’s budget which increased the payroll tax threshold to $1m and abolish debits tax from 1 July 2005. In all, taxes will cut by about $18m in 2005-06, and bank accounts held in the Northern Territory will be free from taxes for the first time in many years.
I will now address the changes proposed in the bills in more detail.
As part of the Territory’s commitment to national tax reform, it is proposed to abolish electronic debit transaction duty for transactions that occur after 30 June 2005. This will save Territorians $2.7m in 2005-06. Importantly, electronic debit transaction duty will remain payable for transactions that occur before 1 July 2005. The old rule, such as the requirement to keep records, will continue to apply to those transactions.
Since coming to office, the government has made substantial changes to stamp duty on conveyancing of residential property. These changes have benefited Territory families and young people, assisting many hundreds of Territorians to get into their own home. When we came to office in 2001, the tax-free threshold that applied to first home buyers was $80 000. There was no concession at all for people purchasing their family home. We initially increased the tax-free threshold to $125 000 and introduced a principal place of residence rebate of $1500 for all Territorians buying their own home.
In the May budget, we increased the stamp duty first home owner concession from the first $125 000 of a property’s value to the first $200 000 value of a property’s value and now, further, to $225 000. This will more than double the stamp duty saving on the purchase of a first home. The maximum concession will increase from $3640 to $6800 for instruments entered into on or after 3 May 2005, and then to $8016 for instruments entered into on or after 20 June 2005. A total of 1400 Territorians a year will benefit from this increase in threshold.
The stamp duty principal place of residence rebate will also increase from a maximum of $1500 to a maximum of $2500 for instruments entered into on or after 20 June 2005. This will provide increased stamp duty savings of up to 67% for all Territorians buying a home to reside in, other than first home buyers; and 1900 people will benefit from the increase in this rebate. The revenue will be safeguarded for the increases in both stamp duty home owner concessions by ensuring that purchases secured prior to the nominated dates, either by contract or option, will not be eligible for the increased concessions. Stamp duty home owner concession increases are expected to cost $450 000 in 2004-05, and $5.7m on a full-year basis in 2005-06.
There are two other stamp duty initiatives which have arisen from submissions to government that set out sensible reasons why changes to the law are desirable. The first seeks to extend the stamp duty exemption for motor vehicles registered in the name of a totally and permanently incapacitated war veteran to include extreme, disabled adjustment war veterans. The fact that these war veterans were not eligible for the stamp duty exemption was brought to government’s attention by the Australian War Veterans EDA Society. These EDA veterans are the most disabled of all veteran pension recipients, and it is only appropriate that the exemption be extended to cover them. It is proposed that this exemption will be available for motor vehicle certificates and registration issued to these veterans on or after 1 July 2005.
The second seeks an exemption to the so-called ‘family farm’ exemption. The exemption provides an incentive to encourage younger generations to continue to work the family farm, and to increase the use of more modern and productive farming techniques, by providing a stamp duty exemption on the transfer of the family farm to the next generation of the family. The exemption has been limited to pastoral property since it was introduced, due to the significant capital cost associated with that industry and the relatively low returns on their investment. However, this reasoning applies equally to other land-based primary producers and, accordingly, it is proposed to extend the ‘family farm’ stamp duty exemption to property used for other forms of land-based primary production.
In addition, the Territory’s current exemption is limited to transfers between natural person relatives and excludes land held in other structures such as companies and trusts. This does not address the commercial reality of how such property is generally held. For instance, primary production land may be held in a company or trust as a form of asset protection. To overcome this limitation, it is proposed to allow the exemption for transfers between family members, family companies in which all of the shareholders are family members, and trusts where the beneficiaries are all family members. It is proposed that the changes to the ‘family farm’ exemption apply to instruments executed on or after 3 May 2005.
Another stamp duty proposal relates to the power provided to the Commissioner of Taxes under the Taxation Administration Act to extend the time for taxpayers to undertake actions required under the act, such as lodging documents for assessment and paying tax. To exercise this power, the commissioner must serve an instrument on each individual taxpayer. A minor amendment to the act is proposed, to operate from 3 May 2005, so that the commissioner can, by way of a published notice, grant general extensions of time to classes of people.
The government has endorsed the commissioner utilising this power to issue a notice which will be effective from 3 May 2005, extending the time for lodging and paying duty on instruments that are conditional contracts. Previously, these instruments had to be lodged and paid within 60 days after execution. Where the conditions were not met, a refund would be made. The new approach will only require the lodgement and payment of duty within 60 days after the contract becomes unconditional, subject to certain safeguards such as a maximum length of time before the instrument must be lodged, even if subject to unfulfilled conditions. This is a more efficient and fairer manner of assessing such instruments.
Under stamp duty legislation, conveyances of dutiable property and marketable securities are assessed on the consideration or unencumbered value of the property conveyed, which ever is the higher. Where such a contract includes an amount of consideration that is only payable on the happening of a future event - that is, a contingent consideration - the consideration for the conveyance is taken to be the highest that could possibly be payable under the contract, irrespective of whether that consideration is ultimately paid. This treatment is long established under the common law and is applied consistently in all states and territories; however, this may result in purchasers paying more stamp duty than if duty had been assessed only on the amount of consideration that is actually paid. In addition, due to the way in which stamp duty laws operate, these purchasers would not normally be entitled to any refund of stamp duty in the event that an amount of contingent consideration is not paid. Accordingly, it is proposed to allow a refund where stamp duty has been assessed and paid on the basis of contingent consideration included in a contract executed on or after 1 July 2005, and the full amount of that consideration is not subsequently paid, and will not be paid.
Finally, the payroll tax grouping provisions caused companies to be grouped where the same person or persons can control the businesses carried on by those companies because they hold the majority of the voting shares in the companies, or because they control the majority of votes at meetings of the directors of the companies. A recent New South Wales case has cast some doubt on whether those provisions apply to companies that are acting as a trustee of a trust. It was not intended that the grouping provisions be limited in this way. Accordingly, amendments are sought to reassert the operation of the grouping provisions in relation to corporate trustees. It is proposed that this amendment apply from 1 July 2005.
Madam Speaker, I commend these bills to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
BAIL AMENDMENT (REPEAT OFFENDERS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 6)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time. The purpose of this bill is to give effect to the government’s commitment to create safer communities by removing the entitlement to bail for those people who have a history of serious repeat offending. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the Bail Act currently provides that a person is presumed to be entitled to be granted bail. This does not mean that bail must always automatically be granted. Rather, the act sets criteria for determining a grant of bail, including consideration of factors such as the likelihood of committing another offence while on bail. The court always retains discretion to deny bail to an offender. However, this bill specifically restricts the operation of the current presumptions in favour of bail for certain repeat offenders. It also introduces a provision to allow for a decision of a magistrate or justice to grant bail to be stayed for a maximum period of three business days for the purpose of review by the Supreme Court.
The Bail Act already addresses, in a limited way, repeat offending with respect to serious violence. Section 8 of the Bail Act removes the presumption in favour of bail for an accused person who is seeking bail in relation to a charge of causing grievous harm, sexual intercourse without consent, or failure to comply with a restraining order under section 10 of the Domestic Violence Act where the accused has already been found guilty of an offence of a similar nature within the last 10 years. Section 8 also removes the presumption in favour of bail for a person who commits an offence whilst on a suspended sentence unless the alleged offence is so minor that it is unlikely to be regarded as a breach.
This bill will extend the application of section 8 of the act to include a situation where a person is charged with a serious offence, and that offence is alleged to have been committed while the offender was on bail for another serious offence, and the offender already has a prior conviction for a serious violence offence within the last 10 years or a serious offence within the last two years. ‘Serious offence’ is defined in the bill as any offence which attracts a penalty of five or more years imprisonment.
This amendment specifically targets persons who have a history of serious offending and who offend in a similar manner whilst on bail. Existing section 7A of the Bail Act sets out the offences for which there is a presumption against bail. The offences targeted at present are the most serious kind and include murder, treason and serious drug offences attracting a penalty of at least seven years imprisonment, and certain Commonwealth narcotics offences. A person accused of any of these offences will be refused bail unless he or she can satisfy the court that bail should not be refused. The presumption against bail is a particularly heavy onus to discharge and one that is not usually overcome. Basically, the applicant must satisfy the court that there are special reasons, above and beyond the ordinary arguments favouring bail, which justify a grant of bail in the particular circumstances of the case. This provision recognises the serious nature of the offences in question, the higher level of risk to the community, and the increased risk of the offender absconding if released on bail.
The government believes that our bail legislation should reflect the importance of protecting the community from offenders who repeatedly commit serious violent offences and continue to offend whilst on bail. Under amendments to section 7A proposed by this bill, violent offenders can expect to be denied bail where they have a history of repeat serious violent offending. There will be a presumption against the court granting bail where an offender is seeking bail for a serious violence offence; he or she is alleged to have committed that offence whilst on bail for another serious offence or another serious violence offence; he or she also has a prior conviction for a serious violence offence within the last 10 years or a serious offence within the last two years; and at least two of the offences in question involve serious violence.
‘Serious violence offence’ is defined under the bill as covering a full range of offences against the person, including sexual offences, homicide, grievous harm or bodily harm, assault, robbery and assault with intent to steal where the offence in question attracts a penalty of five or more years imprisonment.
The provisions in this bill have been drafted to cover a wide combination of offences. To achieve this, definitions of ‘serious offence’ and ‘serious violence offence’ overlap insofar as they both cover offences which attract a penalty of imprisonment of five years or more. However, for the avoidance of doubt, clause 5(5) of the bill makes it absolutely clear that, where there are at least two serious violence offences involved, one of which is committed whilst on bail, the matter must be dealt with under section 7A as a presumption against bail.
In line with international and government policy regarding offending by young people, these amendments will apply to adult offenders only. This recognises that young offenders require quite different approaches and have quite different needs from those that apply in the case of adult offenders. It also recognises that one of the primary aims of an effective youth justice system is to prevent young people from moving on to become adult offenders.
In recognition of the success of the offender rehabilitation programs such as CREDIT and the importance of rehabilitation in controlling crime generally, the amendments will not affect the continuing operation of any existing bail rehabilitation programs.
A provision has been inserted to allow for programs to be prescribed in the regulations and for the court, where a person is assessed as suitable for such programs, to be able to consider this option despite any applicable presumptions against bail.
Finally, the bill provides for a stay of bail. The Bail Act already provides a process for reviewing bail decisions made by justices and magistrates. However, this new provision will mean that, where the prosecution indicates its intention to seek a review in the Supreme Court of the court’s decision to grant bail, the grant of bail will be stayed pending the outcome of the review. The result is that the accused person will remain in custody while the stay remains in effect. The bill requires any such review to be dealt with as expediously as possible, as the stay remains in place for a maximum period of three business days.
The review is by way of a rehearing of the bail application before the Supreme Court, and the court may vary the decision or make a substituted decision. As the review is by way of rehearing, there may be cases where the court will not be in a position to reach a decision within the three-day time frame. For example, it may be necessary for the court to obtain further reports relevant to the question of bail. To provide for those circumstances, the bill allows the Supreme Court to order extensions of the three-day period where it considers it is appropriate to do so. I should make it clear that this is a matter for the court to determine; the bill does not provide for a party to the proceeding to make an application for an extension of the stay period.
This legislation is intended to protect the community from known recidivist offenders who commit serious crimes. In making amendments to such important legislation as the Bail Act, we are mindful of the balance between community safety and the rights of the individual. We believe that this bill addresses the issue of serious re-offending while, at the same time, recognising that important balance. The amendments will apply in relation to the granting of bail to accused persons for offences committed before the amending act commences.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bill. I table the explanatory statement which accompanies this bill, and I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT (CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY REFORM) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 7)
(Serial 7)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
This bill is identical to the Criminal Code Amendment (Criminal Responsibility Reform) Bill 2005 I presented in the May sittings, save for some drafting changes aimed at clarifying the operation of certain provisions. The bill proposes the most significant set of reforms to the Northern Territory’s Criminal Code that have occurred since its inception. This government has worked consistently during its term to identify areas of criminal law that require reform.
There is a tendency for debate on reform of the criminal justice system to focus on punishment, to consider reforms in terms of the penalties that are set for offences. The adequacy of the punishment set for crimes is certainly a matter that requires attention and revision as necessary. However, the punishment set by legislation is, in reality, the final consideration in the criminal justice process. It is even more fundamental that we ensure that existing offence provisions are not flawed in criminalising particular conduct; that, where necessary, new offences are enacted to ensure that particularly abhorrent behaviour is criminalised; and that the evidentiary and procedural rules necessary to safeguard a fair criminal trial process are adequately addressed within our criminal law legislation.
Ongoing review of our criminal laws is required to ensure that they both meet current community expectations and deal with emerging forms of criminal activity. As a legislature in a jurisdiction in which the Criminal Code operates to the exclusion of the common law, we have a greater level of responsibility for ensuring that the code sets the proper fault standards for conduct in terms of the offences that have been created.
This bill has a two-stage effect and purpose. First, it proposes reform of the Criminal Code that goes to the heart of fault theory in criminal law by enacting new general principles upon which persons may be held criminally responsible for their conduct. It does so by enacting a new Part IIAA to the Criminal Code. The bill establishes a foundation upon which, over a proposed period of at least five years, the new general principles of criminal responsibility set by new Part IIAA will progressively be applied to all offences, eventually replacing existing Part II of the Criminal Code that currently sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.
Secondly, the bill provides for the existing manslaughter and dangerous act provisions to be repealed. They are to be replaced by a revised manslaughter offence and by offences of: recklessly endangering life; recklessly endangering serious harm; negligently causing serious harm; and dangerous driving causing death or serious harm. Significantly, the existing rape offence is also to be amended. Part IIAA of the new criminal responsibility principles will be immediately applied to all of these offences.
This government has given extensive consideration as to whether existing Northern Territory laws which apply to acts of violence against a person are adequate and, in particular, whether those laws are consistent with criminal responsibility standards for that form of conduct in other jurisdictions.
Before I move to detail the contents of the bill, it is necessary to provide some history of the code provisions which are the subject of reform by this bill. The current criminal responsibility provisions of the Northern Territory code differ from the other code states - that is, Queensland and Western Australia - whIch utilise the Griffith code model, and Tasmania. The Northern Territory code was intended to be a unique code formulation; however, it is apparent that its authors drew upon provisions and concepts from other codes including the Griffiths code. It has been described as ‘eclectic in the utilisation of earlier models’, containing provisions which are ‘quite individual, indeed, almost idiosyncratic’. It is certainly all that and more.
As a result of the current formulation of criminal responsibility provisions in Part II, we have a justice system under which offenders who have caused the death of another have not been held criminally responsible to the same degree as they would have been had they committed an identical act in another jurisdiction. That recognition is hardly new. As early as 1992, in the case of The Queen v Hofschuster, Justice Mildren had this to say:
- … Under the Northern Territory’s Criminal Code, the offences of murder and manslaughter are not the same as those
offences at common law, and have their own peculiarities which are not always easy to understand or explain ... The effect
of the provisions of the code relating to murder, manslaughter, and dangerous act is that, in some circumstances, what
would amount to murder or manslaughter in other jurisdictions is a crime of dangerous act in this Territory ...
This would not be such an astonishing observation and circumstance if it was simply that dangerous act was another homicide offence that carried an equivalent degree of culpability for the conduct recognised by the same penalty. However, it most demonstrably is not. It is not part of the division of the code which deals with homicides, and the crime of dangerous act causing death carries only a 10-year maximum, with an increased maximum of 14 years where intoxication is applied as an aggravating factor.
The offence of manslaughter, on the other hand, carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. We are left with the result that the Northern Territory Criminal Code has failed to set the proper level of criminal responsibility for many acts that have resulted in the death of another person. A prime example is the case of Dooley v The Queen, in which the killing in question, as observed in the Court of Criminal Appeal, involved a ‘… vicious beating of a victim in a vigilante fashion …’ involving ‘… premeditation and planning …’. It was characterised as being within the worst category of offending in its kind. It is doubtful whether a revenge-style vigilante killing would result in anything less than, at very least, a conviction of manslaughter in any other jurisdiction. Here in the Territory, it was dealt with as a dangerous act.
This is not a matter which we can remedy simply by increasing the penalty for dangerous act causing death. The dangerous act provision under section 154 of the code is, in itself, unique and has been the subject of much criticism. Section 154 is of remarkable width because it covers an infinite range of conduct ranging from, at one end of the scale, conduct which creates only limited potential danger to the health or safety of a member of the public, to the other end of the scale, conduct involving actual grave danger to the lives, health and safety of many including, as I have said, causing actual death. Again, there is nothing new in this observation. As far back as 1988, the Australian High Court in Baumer v The Queen described section 154 as an:
- … unusual section … The offence so created can therefore cover an enormous range of conduct from the comparatively
trivial to the most serious ...
It would scarcely be an appropriate legislative response to increase the maximum penalty to life imprisonment for an offence that also applies to conduct causing not actual, but only potential, harm.
Members may wonder at this point how such a situation can have arisen. How is it that manslaughter in the Territory does not appear to be the same crime as it is in other jurisdictions? It is the general criminal responsibility provisions of the code that brings this state of affairs about. In particular, it is section 31, the key and general criminal responsibility provision of the Criminal Code that is of pivotal importance in understanding these problems. Amending the manslaughter provisions and repealing section 154, Dangerous Act, and replacing it with new offences would not be possible without addressing the problems created by section 31.
The former High Court Chief Justice has described this provision as ‘astonishing’. In its application to manslaughter, section 31 creates the peculiar result that an accused is excused from criminal responsibility for the death of a person unless he or she personally foresaw that death would result from his or her conduct. It, therefore, provides a subjective fault standard rather than an objective standard by which criminal responsibility is to be judged.
Heavy intoxication is a prevalent element in violent conduct in the Northern Territory. Because of the subject fault requirement in section 31, it is extremely difficult to prove that a heavily intoxicated accused had personal foresight that the beating they were inflicting, or the stabbing that they were committing, might result in death. In other jurisdictions, conduct of this nature would fall within the category of manslaughter by negligence. In the Territory, by default, this can amount only to a dangerous act. Even more surprisingly, the history of section 154 makes it clear that it was actually intended to be used as a default provision for those crimes that section 31 precluded from conviction for manslaughter because of the circumstances of self-induced heavy intoxication. It can be used in this way because section 31 does not apply to section 154.
Section 154 has even been defended by some on the basis that, without such a provision, violent conduct committed by intoxicated persons would go unpunished. In 1989, when the matter of Baumer was returned from the High Court to the Court of Criminal Appeal, Nader J observed:
- … The prime purpose of section 154 was to provide for charges of criminal offences involving serious personal injury when
the Crown was unable to establish some necessary mental element, solely because the jury was satisfied that the accused
was too drunk to have the necessary intent or foresight … Section 154 was considered to be necessary because of the high
incident of serious alcohol induced crime in the Territory. It was believed to be unacceptable that a citizen should be left
legally unprotected from unprovoked violence, where that violence was a consequence of alcohol which had obliterated the
capacity of the perpetrator to know what he was doing, or its consequences … Section 154 was a corollary to framing the
Criminal Code so as to accept the law as stated in R v O’Connor, rather than, for example, as stated in section 28 of
the Queensland Criminal Code.
That is the way the code stood in 1989, and how it still stands. This is not good enough. It is not good enough to be satisfied that a person can just be convicted for some offence - any old offence it seems - when, if that conduct was committed elsewhere, they would be made to bear full criminal responsibility and punishment for manslaughter. It has sent the wrong message about personal responsibility and alcohol: if you get drunk and commit a violent offence, you are not as responsible and get to be treated more leniently than a sober person committing the same offence.
The problem with section 31 is not limited to manslaughter. As we know, sexual violence is also a prevalent crime in the Northern Territory. Section 31 has a profoundly unsatisfactory effect when applied to the rape offence under section 192 of the code.
In its recent decision, in Director of Public Prosecutions v WJI, the High Court considered the effect of section 31 on section 192. It held that because of section 31, the relevant fault element for this offence is that the accused must intend the act of having sexual intercourse without consent. The result of this is that, if an accused believes that the victim is consenting, even if that belief is an entirely unreasonable one, he cannot be held to have intended to have sexual intercourse without consent and must be acquitted. Further, if an accused does not turn his mind to the issue of consent claiming, for example, that in his state of intoxication he gave consent no thought at all, his conduct would again fail to satisfy the requisite fault element imposed by section 31; that is, the intention to have sexual intercourse without consent.
The effect of the WJI ruling is such that, in a recent case before the Northern Territory Supreme Court, the jury was instructed in accordance with the decision of WJI that, if they accepted that the accused had never given consent a thought, then they must acquit him. In the case in question, the accused had come upon a naked woman asleep in her bed. His argument was that he had had a few beers and thought that he would have sex with her, and never gave any thought to whether she was or might not be consenting. He was acquitted.
In his judgment in WJI, Justice Kirby noted that this view of the law had been acted upon in the Territory for some time. He commented upon the failure of the Northern Territory legislature to amend the code, and suggested that ‘… it is more reasonable than otherwise to infer that the approach of the Northern Territory courts to the operation of the NT code was deemed acceptable to the legislature …’.
This is a fundamental flaw. There is no fallback offence provision here for the intoxicated accused. An accused, in these circumstances, must simply be acquitted. If our laws are to address the problems of intoxication and violent and sexual offending in any significant way, then we must, at least, start by ensuring that, in the Northern Territory, we do not accept lower standards of criminal responsibility than other jurisdictions. It is for this reason that I propose this bill to give effect to fundamental reform in the Criminal Code.
As I have said, the bill proposes a new Part IIAA that provides the general principles of criminal responsibility. The Model Criminal Code Officers Committee, established by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, has produced nine chapters for a Model Criminal Code in work undertaken from over more than a decade. Part IIAA is based on Chapter 2 of the Model Criminal Code.
The Commonwealth has already used Chapter 2 as a basis for criminal responsibility provisions in the Commonwealth Criminal Code, which are now in force in the Territory in respect of the commission of federal offences it creates. Establishing the general principles of criminal responsibility, using the model code as the basis for our own code, seeks to create uniformity of standards in the criminal laws that apply in the Territory by aligning the criminal responsibility for Territory offences to that for federal offences.
It will not be possible to immediately apply the new criminal responsibility provisions to the whole of the Criminal Code. This is a significant and substantial reform process that we are embarking on. Each successive report of the Model Criminal Code Officers Committee has included detailed model legislation that is designed to operate with the general principles of criminal responsibility provided by Chapter 2. This bill commences a process by which parts of the model code will gradually be considered, and new offences introduced to replace current offences under the Territory code. Those offences will be rewritten to conform to the new general principles of criminal responsibility introduced to the code by the current bill. Offences will need to be drafted according to the style of the model code, so that the fault elements of the new part can be applied to them. This new style uses clear and precise language to make our criminal laws more readily understandable.
The Australian Capital Territory has embarked on a similar reform process, having already enacted Chapter 2 of the model code. The ACT is gradually enacting provisions to replace the common law and the Crimes Act in that jurisdiction, a process that they also estimate will take at least five years to complete.
New Part IIAA of the code inserted by this bill will immediately be applied to the offences either amended by or created by this bill that I will now describe in detail.
The bill repeals the existing manslaughter offence and replaces it with a crime of manslaughter, which provides that a person will be guilty of manslaughter if they engage in conduct that causes the death of another person and they are either reckless or negligent as to causing that death by their conduct.
New Part IIAA provides the detail of what is encompassed by the fault elements of recklessness and negligence for the purposes of the code. Negligence is not the civil standard with which members may be familiar but, rather, is a criminal standard drawn from the Victorian decision of R v Nydam (1977) VR 430.
The bill also amends section 192 of the code, Sexual intercourse or gross indecency without consent, the offence more commonly referred to as ‘rape’. The amendment alters the fault element for the offence so that a person who has sexual intercourse with or commits an act of gross indecency on another person, and who knows about or is reckless as to the lack of consent, is guilty of a crime.
Once again, Part IIAA provides for definitions of what is encompassed by ‘knowledge’ or ‘recklessness’ for the purposes of this crime. A defence of mistake as to consent will still be available; however, unlike the present situation, such a mistake must be a reasonable one.
The bill proposes the repeal of section 154, Dangerous acts or omissions. The conduct previously encompassed by section 154 will now be covered by manslaughter; reckless endangerment offences; negligent harm offence; and an offence of causing death or serious harm by dangerous driving. At present, that conduct is dealt with under the generality of section 154. It is appropriate that these forms of criminal conduct should be separately recognised and prosecuted as such.
The bill also provides for a list of aggravating circumstances for each of the endangerment offences to which an increased penalty applies. The new harm offences draw on the definition of ‘serious harm’ and ‘harm’ from the model code. The bill also replaces all current references to ‘grievous harm’ in the code and other legislation with a new definition of ‘serious harm’, and replaces all references to ‘bodily harm’ with a new definition of ‘harm’.
Each of the current harm standards are considered to have defects which make it preferable that they be immediately repealed and new harm standards applied. The definition of ‘grievous harm’ requires a physical or mental injury that either endangers life or causes, or is likely to cause, permanent injury to health. The latter requirement is problematic in that it is unlikely that cosmetic injuries - even extensive ones such as facial scarring or loss of an ear - would amount to a permanent injury to health unless accompanied by some lasting psychological consequence. The definition of ‘bodily harm’ is limited by the requirement that the harm be physical in nature. The consequence is curious in establishing proper levels of criminal responsibility. An offender who causes psychiatric injury but no physical harm to a victim may be guilty of a grievous harm offence but not bodily harm. If a psychiatric injury is not permanent, then they will not be able to be convicted of either, and the offence would revert to a common assault.
The new definition of ‘harm’ removes these odd distinctions and provides that harm includes physical harm and harm to a person’s mental health. ‘Serious harm’ removes the requirement for permanency and replaces it with a requirement that the harm is, or is likely to be, significant and long-standing.
As I have said, the bill proposes a new offence of causing death or serious harm by driving a motor vehicle. The code has not previously provided for this offence because section 154 was intended to cover culpable driving offences. These offences had existed as statutory offences under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act prior to the introduction of the Criminal Code. Section 154 has caused difficulty here also, again particularly where alcohol is involved. Driving under the influence of alcohol or another drug may not in itself amount to a ‘dangerous act’, nor is driving at an excessive speed necessarily dangerous. This has led to an acquittal in a case where an intoxicated person drove at an excessive speed causing death (Volz v R (1990) 100 FLR 393 at 404).
The Northern Territory is the only jurisdiction that does not have a specific offence of causing death or serious harm by driving a motor vehicle. The bill proposes that such an offence be enacted. Persons who drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a drug so as to be incapable of exercising proper control over a vehicle, or who drive in a manner or at a speed dangerous to another person, will be guilty of this crime. Dangerous driving causing death or serious harm will be an offence of strict liability. In other words, the prosecution will not be required to prove any fault elements - for example, recklessness - but must prove only the physical elements of the offence. However, the defence of mistake of fact remains available.
The creation of a specific offence of causing death or serious harm from driving a motor vehicle will not preclude, in proper cases, such matters being prosecuted as manslaughter. Under the present structure of the crime of manslaughter, such a prosecution was unlikely to be considered because the prosecution was required to prove that a defendant foresaw the victim’s death as a possible consequence of his or her conduct. Under the new manslaughter offence, if there is a level of recklessness or criminal negligence in the driving of a vehicle which is considered to be such that a higher degree of culpability should be considered, then a prosecution for manslaughter may be available.
Of the criminal justice reforms undertaken so far by this government, this will be of the most far-reaching, and will be of enduring importance in ensuring that the standards of criminal responsibility in the Northern Territory are set at a proper level. It is high time we moved away from an acceptance that intoxication can excuse criminal behaviour; it may explain it, but it should never excuse it. Inadequate criminal responsibility provisions which have allowed for the situation to exist will no longer be tolerated.
The reform path that I have announced will be long and complex; however, at the end of the day, Territorians will have a Criminal Code which sets appropriate standards for criminality in our community.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bill, and I table the explanatory statement which accompanies the bill. I commend the bill to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
Take two Bills together
Take two Bills together
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent two bills entitled the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 10) and Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 11):
- (a) being presented and read a first time together and one motion being put in regard to, respectively,
the second readings, the committee’s report stage and the third readings of the bills together; and
(b) the consideration of the bills separately in the Committee of the Whole.
YOUTH JUSTICE BILL (No 2)
(Serial 10)
YOUTH JUSTICE (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 11)
(Serial 10)
YOUTH JUSTICE (CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS) BILL (No 2)
(Serial 11)
Bills presented and read a first time.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Madam Speaker, I move that the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005, and the Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) (No 2) Bill 2005 be now read a second time.
The purpose of the main bill, the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005, is to ensure that the legislation that applies to offending by young people provides an appropriate framework for responding effectively to the different circumstances and needs which arise when young people become involved in the criminal justice system. The framework set in place by the bill will cover all facets of a youth justice system, from the investigation of offences through to trial and sentencing outcomes.
The Youth Justice (Consequential Amendments) Bill (No 2) 2005 amends various acts and subordinate legislation consequent upon the enactment of the Youth Justice Act. In particular, there are amendments to the Justices Act, the Police Administration Act, and the Sentencing Act. The majority of the amendments in this bill are aimed at correcting terminology, or repealing provisions which are no longer necessary. However, amendments to the Sentencing Act will also make it clear that the Supreme Court can exercise powers under either the Sentencing Act or the new Youth Justice Act. This is consistent with provisions in the substantive bill dealing with the powers of the new Youth Justice Court and the Supreme Court, respectively.
I return now to the main bill, the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005 (Serial 10). This bill was intended to repeal and replace the Juvenile Justice Act. The bill arises out of a lengthy process of consultation with a wide range of government and community stakeholders. A discussion paper on a review of the Juvenile Justice Act was publicly released in March 2004. A process of extensive consultation with stakeholders with experience and/or interest in the youth justice system was undertaken by the working party conducting the review. This process of consultation informed the working party’s subsequent recommendations which shaped the policy underlying the bill in its current form. One of the most significant new features of the legislation to arise out of the working party review was the inclusion in the bill of overarching objectives and guiding principles based on national standards and international conventions relating to the treatment of young offenders.
The guiding principles set out in clause 4 of the bill provide the framework for responding to offending by young people. It is these principles that must be taken into account in administering the act as a whole. The principles will also inform the decisions of the courts made under the new act. Key guiding principles under the bill include holding young people accountable and encouraging them to accept full responsibility for their behaviour; balancing the needs of young people with the interests of victims and the community at large, including providing greater opportunities for victims to participate in youth justice processes; strengthening and preserving family relationships where appropriate and encouraging parents to fulfil their responsibilities; and recognising racial, ethnic and cultural identity and involving a young person’s own community in responding to offending behaviour where appropriate.
These principles recognise that young offenders require quite different approaches and have quite different needs to those that apply in the case of adult offenders. Young people need to be dealt with by the criminal justice system in a way that takes account of their age and maturity. However, they also must be held accountable for breaking the law and encouraged to accept responsibility for their behaviour. One of the primary aims of the youth justice system is to prevent young people moving on to become adult offenders. Young people need to be given the opportunity to address their offending, and to develop themselves in a socially responsible way. It is only when such strategies fail that detention in custody may become the appropriate option for addressing offending.
The general principles also recognise the importance of family relationships, cultural identity and the need to encourage parents and caregivers to fulfil their responsibility in terms of the care and supervision of young people. It is nothing new to observe that youth offending frequently goes hand-in-hand with family dysfunction, neglect and a failure to properly care for and supervise children and young people.
In addition to the review of the youth justice system, the government has also undertaken an extensive review of the legislation that provides for the care and protection of children and young people, the Community Welfare Act. A discussion paper of the proposed Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill was tabled in this House during the December 2004 sittings.
Madam Speaker, together, the Youth Justice Bill, and the Care and Protection of Children and Young People Bill will provide a complete legislative framework for dealing with the problems faced by children and young people in our society, including ensuring children and young people are afforded appropriate levels of care and protection; preventing the exploitation of children and young people; and dealing with youth offending in a way that will divert young people from becoming adult offenders and wasting their potential to develop into valuable members of the community.
We have dealt with many bills during this term of the Legislative Assembly that have made specific provision for matters affecting children. As a legislature, we have been particularly mindful that children and young people are vulnerable members of our society. That is why we passed legislation providing for longer sentences for people who commit sexual crimes against children, and who would engage in child abuse in the form of pornography. That is why we have attempted to heighten protection for children against sexual predators by establishing a Child Sex Offenders Register and reporting obligations for child sex offenders. That is why we have provided evidentiary procedures in criminal trials involving children as victims or witnesses, to ensure that they are dealt with fairly and compassionately during the trial process. All of these matters are fair and just measures and consistent with our appreciation that children and young people are not adults.
In the criminal justice system, recognition of the reduced capacity of children and young people calls for consideration of special measures, whether the young person is a victim of crime or an actual offender. From time to time we hear calls to, in essence, lock up young offenders and throw the key away and, in reality, some young offenders will certainly need to be held in custody. The seriousness of a young person’s actions and repeated offending may be matters that, in individual cases, do warrant detention and, in some cases, detention for a lengthy period of time. In recognition of their greater level of maturity, this bill provides for young offenders over the age of 15 years to be detained for longer periods of time up to a maximum period of two years, and to be subject to non-parole periods that may be imposed by a court in any case where a sentence involves detention for 12 months or longer.
However, such cases are at one end of the spectrum of youth offending. We must be careful not to cast all young people into this single mould. Legislation in this area must recognise the whole range of offending by young people that occurs, and the whole spectrum of youthful behaviour and needs.
In addition to outlining objectives and guiding principles to inform the overarching approach to responding to offending by young people, this bill provides for a full range of dispositions necessary to deal with offending behaviour by young people. In summary, this bill:
- provides for matters related to the apprehension and remand of young offenders;
young people;
offenders; and
centres or serving some form of sentence in the community.
One of the key features of the bill is an expansion of the successful pre-court diversion scheme previously contained in the Police Administration Act. That scheme offered four levels of diversion: verbal warnings; written warnings; formal cautions and family conferences; and victim/offender conferences. Similar levels of diversion will also be offered under the scheme in this bill, with a presumption in favour of diversion as the appropriate response to youth offending in all cases except those involving serious offences or those involving offending by young people with a history of offending or previous diversions.
The new provisions also include the capacity for the Youth Justice Court to refer a young person back to the Police Diversion Unit to reassess their suitability to participate in diversionary programs. In the interests of furthering rehabilitation of young offenders, it will be an offence to publish information about a young person who is participating in a diversionary program.
Under the diversionary scheme, in addition to coordinating family or victim/offender conferences, the police are able to refer young offenders to community-based youth offender programs, which include counselling, education, training and life skills programs. Under the bill, an upgraded version of the existing diversion scheme is transferred from the Police Administration Act to the proposed Youth Justice Act. This has been done because provision for such a diversion scheme is more appropriately situated in legislation that deals with the full range of responses to offending by young people, rather than in legislation that provides for the powers of police officers and the establishment of the police force. Nevertheless, the police will continue to play an important operational role in administering youth diversion under the new act.
Making young people aware of their rights and obligations: the bill also provides for a youth justice system that is sensitive to cultural differences, and requires adults dealing with young offenders to explain what is happening at all stages of the process. They must make these explanations in language which is appropriate to the young person’s age, maturity, cultural background and language skills. If we are to expect young people to be responsive to our efforts to curb their offending and to accept full responsibility for their actions, we must start by making sure that they actually understand what is happening to them and why.
This bill provides that, wherever practical, the police must ensure that young offenders understand processes they are subject to during an investigation, and their entitlement to legal representation, and the presence of support persons where appropriate. The courts must explain the nature of court proceedings and the effect of any sentencing or other court order made. Likewise, detention centre staff must explain to young offenders their rights and responsibilities at the time they are admitted to the detention centre.
Each of these measures is aimed at ensuring that young offenders fully appreciate the nature of the consequences that flow from their offending behaviour. However, they also recognise that young peoples’ lower level of maturity and capacity to understand and anticipate consequences, means that they warrant different treatment from adult offenders.
Another new initiative established by the bill is the Youth Justice Advisory Committee. This will allow for a greater level of community input to the youth justice system, and aims to encourage government agencies responsible for youth matters to take a whole-of-government approach in responding to youth issues.
Part 13 of the bill provides for a new committee to be comprised of government, non-government and community representatives; for the composition of the committee to reflect the composition of the community at large as well as drawing membership from a number of youth specific organisations and agencies; for the committee to be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the administration and operation of the new act and providing advice to the minister on issues relevant to the administration of youth justice; and for the committee to prepare an annual report on its activities to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly. I anticipate that the Youth Justice Advisory Committee will meet two or three times a year.
In another new initiative under this bill, the Youth Justice Advisory Committee will also be responsible for establishing and maintaining a register of appropriate persons. The new register will contain a list of people who have been selected as being appropriate persons to act as support persons where a young person’s chosen support person cannot be contacted or cannot attend within a reasonable period of time. Young people have an existing right to have a support person present when they are apprehended by the police for the purposes of interview, a search or any other matter in connection with an investigation. The support person will usually be the young person’s parent or guardian. However, there will be circumstances where the main caregiver may not always be present and it will be important to avoid further delays in progressing a police investigation.
The new provisions under this bill ensure that, where the police have made reasonable attempts to have a young person’s support person or legal representative attend an investigation but that person is not available, the police may instead contact someone from the Register of Appropriate Persons to act in the role of a support person. This measure ensures that young people are assured of appropriate support mechanisms during investigative procedures, but that police processes are not unduly delayed by the inability to locate relatives or legal representatives.
Greater victim participation: this bill impacts upon all criminal justice agencies at the point at which they become involved with young offenders, including police, court officers and Correctional Services. It also impacts on the community at large. In addition to providing for greater community participation through the Youth Justice Advisory Committee and the Register of Appropriate Persons, the bill specifically provides for a greater level of engagement by victims of youth offending. Victim offender conferences are already used as a very effective tool in our diversion programs. Under the bill, this tool has been extended to matters that proceed before the Youth Justice Court.
In addition to the court receiving victim impact statements or a victim report, the court may adjourn sentencing proceedings and order a youth to participate in a pre-sentencing conference. Such conferences may be with the victim, or with such community representatives or other persons as the court may consider appropriate. This new initiative will implement a practical way of ensuring young offenders face up to the actual consequences of their actions. They will be required to meet with and hear directly from the individual or individuals whose lives their offending behaviour has affected. I am convinced that this is the most powerful way of encouraging young offenders to accept full responsibility for their behaviour and, again, a very real insight into the consequences of their actions.
A greater range of sentencing options: the bill also makes a wide range of sentencing dispositions available to the court in dealing with young offenders. Sentencing principles are set out in Part 6, Division 1 of the proposed act. These principles are consistent with government policy underlying justice for young people and the community in general, and clearly articulate current sentencing philosophy. The bill sets out the sentencing options in a logical manner in order of seriousness. This is similar to the approach taken under the Sentencing Act, which deals with sentencing of adult offenders. The wide range of sentencing options available to the court will ensure maximum flexibility for magistrates and judges, allowing them to order the most appropriate sentence and outcome for a young offender in question.
Some of the new options available to the court include provision for supervised bail; more comprehensive provisions for periodic detention; consolidated probation and good behaviour orders; application of review and breach provisions to all sentences; provision for the court to order aggregate sentences or that sentences be served concurrently or cumulatively; and a new option for the court to sentence a young person to strictly monitored home detention as an alternative to detention in an institution. As mentioned previously, among the new sentencing options available to the court are longer sentences for detention for young people over 15 years old, as well as the capacity for the court to impose non-parole periods to such offenders.
While this bill provides a sound framework and a wide range of mechanisms for dealing with young people involved in the criminal justice system, it has to be recognised that legislation cannot, of itself, provide all the answers to youth offending. We are fortunate, however, in the Northern Territory to have agencies and individuals who bring dedication and determination to the often difficult task of working with young people to address the offending behaviour, and assisting them to develop their lives in a constructive, rather than destructive, way. The outcomes of operationally-based responses, such as the Territory’s Juvenile Diversion Scheme, have been very encouraging. Such programs demonstrate the importance of a continuing commitment to alternative approaches to dealing with youth offending.
An evaluation of the NT diversion scheme undertaken by the Commonwealth highlighted that significant results can be achieved from this approach to youth offending. Diversion was offered to over 50% of the 4159 young people apprehended in the first three years of the scheme. The vast majority of young people offered diversion accepted this option rather than going to court, and over 95% of all diversions were completed to the satisfaction of police.
The outcomes, in terms of recidivism, are also extremely positive. The vast majority of young people who completed diversion were not re-apprehended within a year of their initial arrest. Furthermore, the rate of recidivism for young people who have completed a diversion program was lower than that for young people who continued through the court process.
Other benefits of diversion included the positive impact on the lives of young people; a high level of victim satisfaction; consistency in the application of diversionary measures; and an enhanced perception of the NT Police Force.
I am grateful for the participation of victims of crime in this process, and for their generosity in engaging with young people who have offended against them in conferences in an attempt to assist them to turn their lives around. Of course, under this bill the role of victims has been enhanced. It is acknowledged that there is more work to be done, but with dedication and hard work exhibited by these outcomes and within the framework of the Youth Justice Bill (No 2) 2005, I am certain that we will continue to build on and achieve a more positive outcome for the youth justice system.
Madam Speaker, that concludes my explanation of the bills. I table the explanatory statements which accompany the bills and I commend the bills to honourable members.
Debate adjourned.
BATCHELOR INSTITUTE OF INDIGENOUS TERTIARY EDUCATION AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 8)
(Serial 8)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I move the bill be read a second time.
The purpose of the bill is to ensure that governance of the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE) is in line with preferred national practice in the higher education sector. The bill amends the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Act to incorporate new national governance protocols for higher education institutions. The Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training has defined percentage increases in Commonwealth grant scheme funding for higher education institutions that are dependent on meeting certain workplace reforms, including compliance with national governance protocols. Therefore, an additional purpose of these changes is to ensure BIITE can access maximum Commonwealth government funding flowing from its compliance with the national protocols.
Without these amendments, BIITE will not receive a 5% increase in funding for 2006 from the Commonwealth government. This is equal to approximately $0.4m. The Territory, along with all other state and territory governments, is upgrading legislation to ensure that the requirements of the protocols are reflected in their legislation for higher education institutions. The issues addressed in the amendments of the act in relation to the BIITE governing council are: requiring some members with financial and commercial expertise; making explicit the duties of members; vacation of office if a member is otherwise disqualified from acting as a director of a company; and the power to remove any member. The amendments ensure that the BIITE Council has at least two members with financial expertise, and one of those two to also have commercial expertise. This must be demonstrated by relevant qualifications at a senior level in the public or private sector.
The proposed bill spells out the governance duties of the members of council, in addition to penalties for breach of duties. The duties include: must act solely in the interests of the institution as a whole, with this obligation to be observed in priority to any duties that a member may owe to those electing or appointing him or her; must act in good faith and honestly; must exercise appropriate care and diligence; must not use his or her office to improperly gain an advantage either for the member or another person; and must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest. A member must automatically vacate the office if he or she is, or becomes, disqualified acting as a director of a company, or managing corporations under Part 2D.6 of the Corporations Act. The proposed bill meets the requirement that the government body has the power by a two-thirds majority to remove any member of the BIITE Council. The two-thirds majority ensures that there is broad consensus for removal from the council before this occurs.
Madam Speaker, the bill promotes national consistency in the regulation of governance of higher education institutions. I commend the bill to honourable members. I table the accompanying explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
CHARLES DARWIN UNIVERSITY AMENDMENT BILL
(Serial 9)
(Serial 9)
Bill presented and read a first time.
Mr STIRLING (Employment, Education and Training): Madam Speaker, I move that the bill be now read a second time.
The purpose of this bill is to ensure governance of Charles Darwin University (CDU) is in line with preferred national practice in the higher education sector. The bill amends the Charles Darwin University Act to incorporate new national governance protocols for higher education institutions. The Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training has defined percentage increases in Commonwealth Grant Scheme funding for higher education institutions which is dependent on meeting certain workplace reforms, including compliance with national governance protocols. Therefore, an additional purpose of these changes is to ensure CDU can access maximum Commonwealth government funding flowing from its compliance with the national protocols. Without these amendments, CDU will not receive a 5% increase in funding for 2006 from the Commonwealth government, equal to approximately $1m.
The Territory, along with all other state and territory governments, is upgrading legislation to ensure that the requirements of the protocols are reflected in the legislation for higher education institutions. The issues addressed in the amendments to the act in relation to the CDU Governing Council are: maximum terms of service; making explicit the duties of members; and the power to remove any member. The amendments specify that the maximum term of office a member may serve on the council. This would generally not exceed 12 years unless specifically agreed by two-thirds of the council. The proposed bill spells out the governance duties of the members of council, in addition to the penalties for breach of duties that are currently in the act. The duties include: must act solely in the interests of the institution and not as a representative of a particular constituency; must act in good faith and honestly; must exercise appropriate care and diligence; must not use his or her office to improperly gain an advantage either for the member of another person; and must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest.
The proposed bill meets the requirement that the governing body has the power by a two-thirds majority to remove any member of the CDU Council. The two-thirds majority ensures broad consensus for removal from the council before this occurs.
While the Charles Darwin University Act is open for review, section 38(2) is being removed as it is now obsolete. Section 38(2) requires CDU, as soon as it adopts or amends a budget, to forward a copy of it to the Treasurer. The section dates from when the former Northern Territory University was part of the Northern Territory government reporting. CDU now provides financial information, as required, in its annual report and the Treasurer can require information to be provided at any time.
Madam Speaker, the bill promotes national consistency in the regulation of governance of higher education institutions. I commend the bill to honourable members, and table the accompanying explanatory statement.
Debate adjourned.
VISITORS
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I advise of the presence in the gallery of graduates from the Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development 2005 NTPS Graduate Program. On behalf of all honourable members, I extend to you a warm welcome.
Members: Hear, hear!
ADDRESS-IN-REPLY
Continued from 29 June 2005.
Ms MARTIN (Chief Minister): Madam Speaker, just under four years ago, I stood here and thanked Territorians for electing the first Labor government in the Northern Territory’s history as a self-governing Territory.
Today, I stand here and feel both deeply gratified and humbled by the vote of confidence in Territory Labor on 18 June, which returned this government with an increased majority. My commitment here today is that we will repay that confidence by governing for all Territorians from Alice Springs to Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Kintore, Borroloola, Wadeye, the Tiwi Islands and everywhere else that time precludes me from mentioning.
We will work with and for all Territorians, whoever they voted for, to build on the achievements of the last four years to build a Territory where all citizens and their children can live in safety and security, are able to access high-quality health and education services, and have the opportunity to work and fulfil their aspirations for a satisfying life.
This work starts now. My government will be immediately getting on with the job of delivering on our commitments. This is the Tenth Assembly in the Territory’s relatively short history of independent government and, when I look around this Chamber, it seems to me that this Assembly more truly represents the people of the Territory than any other which has gathered at the start of a new Territory government.
Ten of the 25 members are women, which is unprecedented representation of women not just here, but anywhere else in Australia. Five members of the Assembly are indigenous Territorians - again, an unprecedented and a very timely representation of 28% of the Territory’s population. We also have representatives from three other ethnic groups which have made a proud contribution to the Territory’s history: the Chinese, the Greek and the Italian. In addition, we have a wide spread of ages represented in this Assembly, from young and vigorous adulthood to the wisdom and maturity of those with senior years.
Mrs Braham: Oh, that is very nice.
Ms MARTIN: Anyone over 50, member for Braitling!
Mrs Braham: Nice way to put it.
Ms MARTIN: Over 50.
I believe that at the beginning of this Tenth Assembly, we stand on the threshold of a new era for our Territory - an era both of unprecedented opportunity and challenge. The economy is growing strongly with visible expansion in construction, tourism, gas, mineral processing and primary industry. Population growth has recovered and there is a mood of optimism. However, this is also a time of great challenge.
I can think of no starker illustration than almost 40% of the Territory’s school-aged children are indigenous, and almost 70% of these live outside the main urban centres. The challenge we all face is to ensure that these children have the opportunity to receive an education that will enable them to participate fully as citizens, to access employment and to live a satisfying life. If we do not rise to meet that challenge full on, the consequences will certainly be disastrous for them and their children, but will also have a major impact on the Territory economy and on the lifestyle of all Territorians. This is not a challenge we can afford to ignore, and our success or failure in facing and meeting it will determine the Territory’s future.
I will not touch on every area of our plans today; I will leave that up to individual ministers. I will talk about some of our priority areas and our goals.
Economic development is the first one I would like to mention, particularly recovering from the slump of 2000-01. When we came to government in 2001, the Territory economy was at rock bottom. One of our first steps was to call an economic summit in November of that year, which brought together business people, community leaders, unions, economists and ordinary Territorians to map a path forward for the Territory economy. This resulted in the publication in June of the next year of the economic development strategy, Building a Better Territory. This laid out a plan covering both core and emerging industries; economic drivers such as transport, infrastructure and land; the requirements for a supportive business environment; and the need for regional development. Just over two years later, in October 2004, I was able to report that 95% of the initiatives identified in that strategy had been actioned.
The Territory economy has recovered from the slump of 2000-01 and, in almost all sectors and indicators, is now performing more strongly than it was at its previous peak. Business confidence is high, I am pleased to say, and business investment is at an all-time high. Engineering construction is also at the same all-time high, and annual growth in residential building approvals and housing finance commitments is the highest in the country. Annual retail growth is the strongest in the country at 8%, and annual motor vehicle sales growth is the second highest at 11%.
In the last few years, the government has laid a solid foundation for economic growth, with the lowest taxes for small business, responsible business management of the budget, together with an investment in infrastructure to support development and service delivery.
The Territory’s economy is strong and prospects for the future are good. However, this government will not be resting on these laurels. We will be getting on with the job of delivering the initiatives we outlined during the election campaign. We are committed to further payroll tax cuts, raising the tax-free threshold to $1.25m, and bringing the rate below 6%. We promised that spending on strategic infrastructure such as roads and tourism would continue. We are also committed to introduce a 20% weighting for local business in government contracts, to support local business growth and jobs for Territorians.
Tourism will continue to be a key industry for our Northern Territory. We have been successful in the past two years in attracting a greater number of interstate tourists. The popularity of The Ghan has been one factor in that success. We can build on that success, but we also need to attract a greater share of the international tourism market. The growing cruise ship sector is an area where we have done well, and where we can do even better over the next years.
The conventions, conferences and meetings market is another sector where we have been successful in boosting visitor numbers, and where there is scope for further expansion. Alice Springs has attracted a greater market share with its convention centre, and the Darwin convention centre associated with the Darwin City Waterfront development, will have a significant impact on visitor numbers in the Top End once that is completed in 2008.
Over the next four years, this government will work with the tourism industry to develop more quality tourist experiences, and to effectively market the Northern Territory to the world.
Volatility has been a major feature of the Territory economy. To some extent, this has been an inevitable result of volatility in offshore oil and gas production and investment. It is also a feature of new and growing economies. There have also been other factors beyond the control of government, such as the events of 11 September 2001, and the collapse of Ansett Airlines. However, there are steps that governments can take to help smooth the wider fluctuations of the onshore economy. Over the last four years, this government took very deliberate steps to support the tourism industry with a $27.5m package of promotion and development, and also to assist the construction industry recover from the slump of 2000-01.
This government will continue to take appropriate action to smooth the boom and bust cycle, and to support a healthy and sustainable level of economic growth. We must also look beyond our established industries such as tourism, mining, mineral processing and primary industries, in order to broaden the Territory’s economic base. One of the disadvantages of a relatively narrow economic base is that the Territory economy is more susceptible to the impact of major external events of the kind that caused a slump in tourism in 2001.
The development of onshore gas and the potential it holds for generating a stronger manufacturing base is a key priority for this government over the next four years.
Defence Support is another area where the Territory has potential to expand its economic base.
We will also be working with business to grow the AustralAsia Trade Route. Yesterday, FreightLink announced the addition of a link, six times a week, between Melbourne and Adelaide, to join up with the Adelaide to Darwin railway from 4 July. In October this year, we will be hosting on The Ghan a conference of business leaders in transport, logistics, retail and manufacturing to promote the potential of the trade route and bring together key decision makers.
Addressing the skills shortage is one our biggest challenges. With the Territory economy now strong and growing, we are facing a very strong demand for skilled workers and professionals in a range of industries and areas. This government has committed to training 10 000 Territorians over the next four years under Jobs Plan 2. This will include an increase in school-based apprenticeships and prevocational courses, and further funding for fast-tracking skill development for existing workers in the automotive, construction, mining and hospitality industries.
Developing the skills of school leavers and existing Territory workers will not be enough to meet the demand of our growing economy. Attracting additional skilled workers and professionals to live and work in the Territory will also be a priority for this government over the next four years. We will also collaborate with researchers and undertake studies of the labour market in the Territory, particularly in key industries such as tourism, to guide government policy and more effectively target government programs.
The Economic Development Strategy of 2002, which set the path for development over the past few years, has served us well, but we now need to move to another stage in planning. Early in the term of this government, we will develop, in consultation with industry, unions and other stakeholders, an updated economic development strategy.
A significant feature of our population story has been the volatility of interstate migration. The expansion which followed the first years of self-government saw a nett flow of interstate migration to the Territory. This was followed by a nett outflow of interstate migration for the next 10 years, which did not end until the beginning of the move of an Army battalion to Darwin in 1995. Another period of interstate migration loss followed in 1998, and we only began to turn the corner, once again, in 2003.
If we are to attract and retain tradespeople and professional workers to keep pace with our growing economy, we must first understand the critical factors which influence migration to and from the Territory. This government will undertake studies to better understand these factors and inform government policy and programs to reduce the population churn, and attract and retain valuable skills to grow the Territory. We will also work in collaboration with Charles Darwin University to better understand the Territory’s demographics. This government will implement a whole-of-government strategy to build the Territory’s population.
Across Australia, one impact of globalisation has been the relative decline of regional areas, and a drift to the larger cities. In this sense, the whole of the Territory is a region which is susceptible to the same global pressures. The Territory has not yet attained the critical population mass which is necessary to generate sustainable growth in many sectors of the economy. We also need a larger population to support the level of tertiary education and health services to which we aspire.
The Territory cannot stand still; it must grow and develop in order to survive as a vital community which offers a wide range of opportunities and challenges - especially to our young people - in competition with the larger southern population centres. Not only do we need to ensure growth continues, but we need to ensure that everyone in the Territory benefits from it. We will develop strategies for our regions to guide development and generate sustainable economies and jobs, especially for our young people.
The development of strategic infrastructure is opening up opportunities for regional development. The railway and expansion of the Darwin port made the development of the Bootu Creek mine possible. The opportunity now exists to develop Katherine and Tennant Creek as freight hubs associated with the AustralAsia trade route.
The completion of the Mereenie and West MacDonnell Loop Road will facilitate the growth of tourism in the West MacDonnells, including the development of new tourism enterprises in the region.
The government’s parks master plan, in addition to protecting biological diversity and enhancing recreational opportunities, will help create a sustainable base for regional economic development. Nature-based and cultural tourism are two of the key building blocks for growing visitor numbers to the Territory.
Joint management arrangements will boost employment opportunities for local communities. Viable and effective local government is an important ingredient in regional development. Negotiations are at a advanced stage with a view to establishing regional authorities at Anindilyakwa west central Arnhem, and in the Top End rural region. There are also encouraging discussions taking place in three further regions.
I have already mentioned the vital importance of education. With the youngest population profile in the country, sound investment in the education of our children has to be a key priority for the Territory. Implementation of the major initiatives following the review of secondary education will be an important focus over the next few years. This will see increased choices for secondary students, and will better equip our secondary schools to meet the needs of students in the middle years - the 11- to 14-year-old age group. These initiatives also include the provision of qualified counsellors and career advisers, greater professional support for teachers, and a boost to distance education.
The new teachers’ EBA will see our teachers among the best remunerated in the country over the next few years, and will ensure that we maintain the ability to attract and retain skilled teachers.
Another important element of the response to the secondary education review announced in the budget was the commitment to invest a further $16m over the next four years to improve the quality of education in remote communities. This will fund a pool of specialist teachers to support face-to-face teaching in the remote schools, and the establishment of mentorship programs for indigenous students.
Over the term of government, we have established ambitious targets to increase the number of Territory students achieving national numeracy and literacy benchmarks by 10%, and the number of indigenous students achieving those benchmarks by 25%. The efforts of the Wadeye community at the beginning of this year, which saw school attendance numbers double for the start of school, shows what can be done. Our challenge is now to keep those students at school, and to work with other communities to reproduce that achievement across the Territory.
To successfully respond to that challenge, we will need help from the federal government because the implications to school infrastructure alone will put a significant strain on our budget. This is a national issue which much be addressed for the sake of the nation, not just the Territory.
I talked earlier about the challenges we face to provide opportunities, especially for young indigenous Territorians growing up on remote communities. When I visited Ntaria in April this year for Community Cabinet, I was approached by two bright 17-year-old young women who wanted to talk to me about their future. They had both completed Year 12 and wanted to find employment, but there were neither jobs nor vocational training available on their community. They were not ready yet to settle down to motherhood, which was the option of many of their contemporaries; many chosen by default. The Territory owes these young people - particularly these two young women who had the initiative to come and talk to me - an opportunity to forge a future for themselves and contribute to the Territory’s future.
This government will work with indigenous people, industry and the wider community to develop a whole-of-government strategy for a viable and sustainable future for indigenous people in remote areas. This strategy will be coordinated through the Chief Executive Taskforce on Indigenous Affairs. The Territory cannot succeed in this alone, and I will be seeking the assistance and support of the federal government.
In April, I was the first state or territory head of government to sign a bilateral agreement on indigenous affairs with the Prime Minister, which outlined a cooperative agenda to work together to enhance the wellbeing of indigenous Territorians. I am already talking with the federal government about the future of the CDEP program to see how we can ensure the program becomes a springboard for sustainable employment. We are already committed to generating indigenous employment under our plan for joint management of parks. We also need to progress our thinking on the potential for sustainable employment in Caring for Country Program in cooperation with the Commonwealth.
The Indigenous Economic Development Strategy, which I launched in May of this year, outlines the potential for indigenous employment in primary industry and tourism, especially. It is vital that we start now to equip young indigenous people living on remote communities to take on the public service delivery and local government roles in remote communities, as well as in our towns. The Territory needs many more young indigenous people in these positions, both to provide a future for Territory youth, and to deliver appropriate and sustainable services. We should be aiming to fill teaching, nursing and police positions and local government jobs with young indigenous Territorians; rather than having to recruit non-indigenous people who grew up, perhaps, in Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide. Our indigenous young people will be a significant part of the Territory’s future. It is vital that we equip them to take up that responsibility.
Territory families need access, not only to education and jobs, but also to quality health services, affordable housing and community services attuned to their needs. This government’s strategy for Building Healthier Communities outlines the direction and priorities for health and community services over the next four years. A particular focus will be on infant and child health. This is the area where we have the greatest opportunity to improve the prevention of disease and disability. Maternal care will be boosted with the employment of additional midwives in both Central Australia and the Top End, and increased funding from midwifery training.
During the election campaign, we announced a commitment to spend $25m to modernise the Royal Darwin Hospital tower block. We will also be developing site master plans for each of our hospitals over this term of government, to lay the foundation for further improvement in acute care services.
We will continue helping families get ahead. Our stamp duty cuts and the enhancements for HomeNorth scheme announced during the election campaign will increase the accessibility of home ownership across the Territory by raising both the eligibility threshold and the maximum house price allowed under the scheme. This will further consolidate the Territory as the most affordable location to buy a home.
In order to live satisfying lives, people need to feel that they can walk the streets and sleep at night in safety and security, without fear of harassment, violence or robbery. When we came to government, property crime was spiralling out of control; it was increasing at a rate of 20% per year. Since then, we have boosted the police budget by 38%, and house break-ins have been reduced by 53%. This government will continue to work to reduce crime and increase community safety and security.
During the election campaign, we made further commitments to tackle antisocial behaviour. These measures have a dual objective: to enhance safety and harmony in our neighbours and on our streets; and to ensure help for people with a chronic and uncontrolled alcohol problem, and their families. We do not want more people in our gaols but, unfortunately, the threat of gaol may need to be used as a last resort to get help for chronic alcoholics. We cannot stand by and let this situation deteriorate further.
In the Territory, we are very fortunate to live in a relatively unspoilt environment, which has largely escaped serious degradation. This government is committed to establishing an Environmental Protection Agency, and to introduce responsible and balanced environmental regulation to ensure that current and future generations will continue to enjoy what we do now. In the lead-up to the election, we committed to protecting the Daly River, and to provide an additional $3.5m to extend land and water monitoring systems. This will be the beginning of an innovative Living Rivers program that will ensure that our rivers are maintained for the benefit and enjoyment for all.
None of the things I have outlined can be achieved without a framework of responsible and responsive government. Initiatives to strengthen the accountability and transparency of government were among the earliest actions of the last term of government. We will continue to strive to achieve high standards of accountability, and to deliver responsive and responsible government.
I will talk a little during this Address-in-Reply about some of the exciting plans within my electorate of Fannie Bay. Both Parap Primary and Darwin High Schools will continue with their upgrades. At Parap, Stage 1 has been completed, and Stage 2 is now under way. Once completed, the school will have new classrooms and an airconditioned assembly area that will not only provide a great facility for the school, but also for our local community. At Darwin High, the new Home Economics and Science building is due to be completed by the end of the year. A further $2m has been committed to the Stage 2 upgrade, which will see work done on existing buildings.
Work at the old Arafura Bowls site has been commenced, and will include an aviation theme park to recognise the significant aviation heritage in the electorate; a third of that site will be a park and open space. The Ross Smith master plan will be jointly funded by the Darwin City Council and government, and will recognise the aviation significance of Ross Smith Avenue.
The netball complex on Darwin City Council land will move over this term of government to Marrara - which I am sure you will welcome, Mr Deputy Speaker, as the member for Sanderson - which will create opportunities for possible expansion of the pool and a skate park. What is being discussed, initially, by members of the community is that the old Darwin netball site would be great for an oval for use by Parap Primary, which does not have a great deal of land.
There are also some expanded facilities for some of our parks, reserves, and waterways. The $4m Visitor Centre at the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens announced during the election will not only be a great tourist attraction but a great facility for locals with a new caf.
I began by saying this government is committed to governing for the benefit of all Territorians wherever they live across the broad expanse of one-sixth of the country’s land mass. That this is a very serious commitment will be evident from the directions and priorities I have outlined for the government over the next four years. The development of our regions and the opportunity for all Territorians to access quality education and employment, experience safety and security and good health, and to have the means to achieve a satisfying life, will be the priority goals for this government over the next fours years.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the election is over. We have a new parliament and a new government. My government will immediately set about getting on with the job of working to achieve these goals for all Territorians.
Ms CARNEY (Opposition Leader): Mr Deputy Speaker, I thank the Chief Minister for her opening address, even though we heard from the ‘newbies’ - which I know government members are calling their own - yesterday. I congratulate all new members on being elected, and I hope that their experience in this parliament is as interesting and challenging as mine has been over the last four years. I extend to all a welcome.
I also extend my sincere congratulations to the Chief Minister. It is no mean feat to win an election in such a way that results in so many seats; so my sincere congratulations are offered. Labor has done it in a way that reminds us only of the Paul Everingham success in the 1980s. By any measure, it is a decisive result and I congratulate you, and wish you well in this term.
All members of this Assembly are focused on the future of the Territory and, despite various political differences, I feel confident when I say that all 25 members of the Assembly, although they see things differently, have the best interests of the Territory and its citizens at heart. We all agree that there is much more to be done, and we look forward to working with, and challenging, government where it is appropriate. Although Territorians voted decisively for Labor at the election, most of them know that, probably like so many other governments - and it is no wonder people are cynical of politicians and governments - even if half of what government promised is delivered, then that is good and the Territory would be a better place. Our job will be to ensure that all of the promises made by the Labor Party are, in fact, delivered over the next four years.
As I have said publicly, I have had a look at the figures for the election and my view is that they are instructive. About 40 000 people gave their primary vote to Labor and about 30 000 gave their primary vote to the Country Liberal Party. In opposition, we will be the voice of those people whom Labor ignores; those 30 000 who did not vote Labor. We will be the voice of an alternative government, for Territorians who are adversely affected by decisions of government. For example, we will be the voice for so many Territorians who experience crime, antisocial behaviour, humbugging and the like on our streets, and we will not rest until Territorians are safe in their homes or walking in our streets - particularly women and children. We will also be the voice for those who cannot understand why repeat offenders often do not receive punishment in line with community expectations.
We will be the voice for the nurses and other health professionals who tell us that they are still working too hard and too long. So many of them are thinking about leaving their jobs and leaving the Territory. Despite government claims that it has provided scores of nurses, why is it that our nurses tell us that they have not seen the results? Why is it that Tennant Creek and Alice Springs Hospitals were included in the list of the country’s 26 worst hospitals in the report from the National Healthcare Standards Council? Why is it that there has been a blow-out in each health budget under Labor, when problems such as bed shortages, lengthy waiting times and staff shortages continue to exist?
We will also be a voice for business, large and small. Under the last four years of this government, many businesses have struggled to make a go of it. This was perfectly illustrated by the Sensis Small Business Index released just before the election. It showed that business support for the Labor government’s business policies was at an all-time low. I was not surprised. This Labor government has been, we all know, the beneficiary of huge GST windfalls, yet Territorians are paying more tax to the Labor government’s coffers than at any stage in our history. Businesses are crying out for tax relief, and we will champion their cause.
We will be a voice for those who want to see the Territory restored to where it was many years ago - a place that attracted people from other jurisdictions, a can-do place noticed by people everywhere. The population decline we have witnessed in Labor’s first term simply cannot be allowed to continue.
We will be a voice for Aboriginal Territorians who were offered so much during the election campaign. What was promised must be delivered, and I will strive to ensure that they receive the improvements to their lives that Labor promised.
We will be the voice for the average Territory family concerned at the rising household expenses experienced under Labor. For example, the ABS tells us that the average price of a basket of groceries has increased in the Territory. We have seen Labor receive more and more money from motor vehicle registrations. I would like this Labor government to give a rock solid, iron clad commitment to Territorians that their electricity bills will not increase in the next four years.
They are just some of the people we will represent, and some of the issues we will pursue over the next four years. In essence, we will be the voice that questions, challenges, advocates and provides alternative views.
In relation to the Independents, we will work with them where appropriate. Given much media commentary, it is very appropriate that I clarify the opposition’s position with respect to the Independents. I know both the members for Braitling and Nelson pride themselves on their independence and I respect them for so doing. I also know that both of them take their roles as parliamentarians very seriously and that they, like us, will strive to represent their electorates. I am hopeful, however, that we can assist each other when it is appropriate and reasonable to do so, as we all endeavour to perform our own functions. I take this opportunity of reminding the Independents that we, the opposition, hold all shadow portfolios and we have an obligation to prosecute issues both in and out of the parliament. While we are few in number, we are Her Majesty’s loyal opposition, and I ask the Independents to bear that in mind.
Much has been said and written about the future of my party, the CLP, as a result of this election. Those doomsayers who suggest that it is the end of the road for the CLP have no regard to history, do not have a thorough understanding of the present, and need to open their minds as to the possibilities of the future. I remind Territorians and members of the Assembly that, on this day four years ago, the CLP held 18 seats in parliament, and Labor held seven. This was only four years ago, and today’s seating in the Chamber shows how quickly and dramatically things can change in the Northern Territory.
The fact that some 30 000 people voted for the CLP out of a total of approximately 75 000 people who did vote, was significant. To assert that the election spells the end of the CLP is to suggest that there is no place for conservative politics in the Northern Territory. Those 30 000 people are likely to think otherwise. It is noteworthy that several CLP seats were lost by less than 150 votes. The election shows us how quickly and dramatically things can change in politics in the Territory. The election has shown us that there is no such thing as a safe seat. Margins of 10% to 20% have become meaningless. We have small, volatile electorates with a highly transient population; it demonstrates that, at each election, anything is possible.
In October 2001, when I made my maiden speech in this place, I did not expect to be standing here in the capacity of Leader of the Opposition. Although not well known for my driving ambition, I had thought that I may wish to consider aiming for higher office in a few years from now. I did not expect to be in this position less than four years after first standing in this place. This also demonstrates how quickly and dramatically things can change in politics in the Northern Territory.
This opposition, although few in number, knows that every seat is gettable at the next election. We know that politics is the art of the possible. We know that governments get sloppy and arrogant. We know that we will enjoy the challenges before us and that we will capably identify and exploit opportunities that are presented to us.
Chief Minister and all members of your government: enjoy your victory, savour every moment of it, be proud of your individual and collective achievements and, most importantly, act well and decently. It is often said that it is harder to be a gracious winner than a gracious loser. I hope you can be gracious winners.
Twenty-seven years in opposition has, it seems to me, made some of your members be driven by hatred of the CLP and all of its supporters and elected representatives. Perhaps that is what 27 years in opposition does to people. I cannot begin to imagine what it would be like to hate my political opponents, but I certainly do not intend for my party to spend 27 years in opposition in an effort to find out.
In any event, for the second time, the CLP is in opposition. We have a duty to represent and serve those 30 000 people who voted for us. These people voted for the CLP for a variety of reasons, one of which must have been because they have profound disagreement with Labor’s priorities and the direction it has set for the Northern Territory. I count myself among them. We must stand for those people who voted for us; it is the right thing to do. All Territorians, regardless of how they voted have, I suggest, an expectation that an opposition party, whatever its political colour, provides them with an effective opposition; democracy demands an effective opposition. Territorians deserve and expect their government to be kept accountable, given that all governments are so notoriously bad at doing it themselves.
As politicians, we have a number of duties and obligations to people in our electorates, our parties, supporters, each other and, of course, to ourselves as individuals. Given the situation in which we now find ourselves, my colleagues and I have determined that there is another and, perhaps an even higher duty; that is, to provide Territorians with an effective opposition which they expect and deserve. We must ensure that government does not act unquestioned or unchallenged. We must provide the alternative view, or series of alternative views. Not all decisions which government makes are right or good, and there will be contrary views. There is a crucial need to challenge and question.
Governments which are not questioned or challenged grow into dictatorships. I do not, for the moment, suggest that this government is, or will be, but I simply make the point that there exists sound philosophical and political reasons to provide Territorians with an effective opposition. That is the higher duty we have now, and we look forward to meeting this duty and our objectives. We will work with government when it is appropriate and responsible to do so. When we believe it is our responsibility to oppose government measures, we will oppose them and oppose them strongly. I am sure the government and Territorians would expect nothing less.
Mr Deputy Speaker, given the numbers, this is going to be, as I have previously said, a David and Goliath struggle, but everyone loves a hero.
Mr STIRLING (Treasurer): Mr Deputy Speaker, I respond to the address by His Honour the Administrator, conscious that the trust placed by the people of the Northern Territory in our government is both overwhelming but, at the same time, most humbling.
Since coming to office in 2001, the Martin government has been determined to achieve a lift in the educational outcomes for Territorians, no matter where they live or what background they have. My colleagues and I believe that education provides opportunity; it arms people with the ability to break poverty cycles, to lift themselves from their circumstances, and to achieve to their best ability. Education is the true leveller.
Over the last four years, in pursuit of this goal, the government has introduced 100 above establishment teachers in a broad range of areas, eight attendance officers, and an increase to DEET’s budget by 22%, or $109m. We have implemented almost all of the Learning Lessons Report recommendations we have consulted on and, finally, implemented a secondary school review titled Building Better Schools. Over the next year, it is this government’s intention to maintain the focus on improving educational outcomes. I intend to maintain a very strong focus on literacy and numeracy in our schools.
In the next four years, the government will increase the overall number of students achieving national benchmark outcomes by 10%; an ambitious target and one which we will strive to achieve. Indigenous students make up some 40% of all students, and we have the specific goal of 25% improvement in literacy and numeracy benchmark outcomes. To achieve this, the government will focus on the accelerated program in a more focused way than before. We will introduce the program to 10 000 students and 700 teachers in 100 schools across the Territory. The government and federal government will jointly fund the effort to the tune of $16m over the next four years.
The government will also breathe new life into the two-way or bilingual education. Like the accelerated program, it will be an important teaching method in achieving improved literacy and numeracy over the next four years. Both of these programs will be subject to rigorous assessment. I am determined not to continue a program simply because it exists – it must justify its funding. I will undertake to regularly publish for Territorians the results of these programs. Numeracy will also receive significant focus, as I am concerned by the drop in outcomes across all students when they reach Year 5.
Over the next four years, the government will place a strong emphasis on indigenous education. In the near future, I will release a four-year strategic plan for indigenous education, which I and my agency was developing in the last months of the previous government. The strategic plan will back innovation. No longer will educators in the field feel unsupported by the central agency in their efforts to trial and implement teaching and learning techniques aimed at improving student outcomes. Similarly, there will be a strong expectation of achievement placed on all participants in the education process.
At the core of the strategic plan is a commitment to community consultation. For too long, indigenous communities have felt outside of the education system, separated from it. It is obvious that, where a community is involved in the education of the children, those children perform significantly better than in other communities. Community engagement is not a one-way street; it involves the commitment by government to deliver real resources to support the community’s education desires. In this way, we intend to develop a stronger education culture right across the Territory.
I also intend to continue the roll-out of secondary education across the Territory, and to refine the development of middle years education as outlined by the government’s Building Better Schools policy announced in February this year. Community consultation will be at the core of continuing the reforms of secondary education.
The government will also place a strong emphasis on training Territorians. Over the past four years, we have lifted the training effort significantly. We now have over 3200 Territorians in training, an increase of 48% since we were elected in August 2001. We introduced Jobs Plan 1 and Jobs Plan 2. We provided a work force report that predicts future needs, and a training strategy that guides our decisions about where to place the training dollar. I am pleased with the outcomes achieved, however, there is more to do.
Over the next four years, the government intends to train 10 000 Territorians, with a special emphasis on training for those areas of identified skills shortages. We will provide a Workwear/ Workgear Bonus to all trainees and apprentices: $1000 for those in identified skills shortage areas; $300 for those in other areas. We will provide funding to upskill existing Territorians to allow them to fast-track their achievement of improved qualification. We will provide increased funds for Territorians unemployed to be skilled for employment.
I intend to ensure that schools are more responsive to Vocational Education and Training needs. There is still a gap between the expectations of industry and the delivery of Schools in VET, and I intend to close this gap.
In the next four years, the government will also put into place key strategies for training indigenous Territorians and Territorians with disabilities. It is my intention to ensure that every Territorian leaving school has the choice of attending further education, training, or a job. After all, what better legacy can we provide our youth than a solid start in life?
I turn to the portfolio areas of Racing, Gaming and Licensing. Over the last four years, the government has strived to provide a strong future for the racing industry. Members will be aware that I have an interest in racing; an interest shared by many Territorians. I am proud of the improved resources provided to the racing industry, particularly the new funding package, and I am hopeful it will provide an ever-expanding industry in the Territory.
On the issue of gaming, I am waiting with interest on the outcome of significant research that the government initiated into gambling-related issues in the Territory. The research, costing around $400 000, will begin to show how and where the government needs to tackle gambling-related problems in our community.
The issue of alcohol and substance abuse is one that has been a core problem for the Northern Territory for many years, which takes a long time to turn around. However, we are determined, as a government, to begin the slow process of bringing to book the historic issues of over-consumption of alcohol in all of our communities, and the damaging effects on the community arising from this problem.
Prior to the election, I outlined the initial reaction of the government in response to the Alcohol Framework Review we put into place, chaired by Donna Ah Chee and Daryl Manzie. Implementing this framework is now a key item on my agenda. It is clear that we need to restrict the issuing of new licences. We also need to overhaul and rewrite the Liquor Act. I am concerned about the operations of the Liquor Commission. It is clear that it is past time for a significant overhaul of this body, its roles and responsibilities, and the way it does business.
I have delivered three budgets; I look forward to the opportunity to deliver more. Our budget strategy has been clear. We have placed great emphasis on backing infrastructure expenditure, and have deliberately and positively put additional funds into the core areas of our government’s priorities: education, health and community safety. We have not been afraid to provide additional funding into areas of the economy lagging behind the growth of others; for example, tourism, where this government proudly invested an additional $27m into the marketing of tourism across Australia and the world.
The government has been vigilant in maintaining tight fiscal discipline, which will continue to be a hallmark of this government over the next four years. The fiscal targets set by the government in Budget 2005 will see the Territory returning to balance by 2008-09. Colleagues and I ensured that the Labor government election commitments and promises remained within the forward estimates ability to absorb and maintain this important outer year target. We will continue to ensure the support that is required for our economy will be there. I am proud of our overall growth achievement, and I will be working hard to ensure this continues.
Finally, in relation to my electorate, there are many people I wish to thank for their role in my re-election. I would like to thank the people in the electorate of Nhulunbuy. They have placed a great trust in me, as they have done since 1990. I have never squandered that trust and never will. I will work with them to deliver the services and support they need and deserve, as an important part of the Territory. Particularly, I would like to thank my partner, Jennifer, who is a tremendous and constant support in my role. At Galiwinku on Elcho Island, our dear friend Oscar always supports us and looks out for us, and no more so than on election day. At Gapuwiyak, my thanks to Robert and Mayula, and Wally Wunungmurra from Yirrkala who came out with us to catch up with family and supporters on the day. In Nhulunbuy, thanks to branch president and booth captain, John Keogh, who has played that role of booth captain for more years than any of us really like to remember. He does a great job and we love him dearly for it.
My son, Scott Stirling, travelled from Melbourne and went through the mobiles right through to the Saturday of home town polling at Nhulunbuy. Thanks, Scott, you did a great job out there with us. It was good for him to be back in the country in which he was born and to catch up with very many people he had not seen for quite some years. Jenny Laverty, my part-time electorate officer, helped us all the way through the campaign. Lawrence and Lyn Walker, branch members; Wendy Troe, Ann Barr; Simone O’Mealley; Brian Graham; Graeme Bean - who has been around almost as long as John Keogh; Laurie Reed, also a staunch long-time member of the local branch; Dave Mitchell - who travelled the mobiles with us and has also been around for many years; Rob Thompson; Denise Fincham; Denise Sylvestro; Neil Lancely; Will Stubbs; David Simmons at Yirrkala also lent us a hand on the Saturday voting at Yirrkala; and Sue Haddock who did much to support us with those very necessary food packages to keep us on the road and keep us standing vertical on election day. A tremendous bunch of people – I thank them for their loyalty, their support and for all the efforts throughout the campaign.
To the people of Nhulunbuy, I say thank you for the fifth time I have been to a Northern Territory election. There have only been 10, and I have been there for the last five of them. I am particularly proud to be re-elected this time, and I will continue to work as hard and as diligently as I can for the good folk of the Nhulunbuy electorate.
Dr BURNS (Transport and Infrastructure): Madam Speaker, I respond to the Address by His Honour the Administrator. His Honour said that, while the result of 18 June represented an endorsement of the government’s actions and policies of the past four years, it was also an affirmation of the hopes and expectations that Territorians hold for the future. His Honour made it clear that Territorians expect the government to continue to move the Territory ahead and get the job done.
I am privileged to hold four portfolios of Transport and Infrastructure, Lands and Planning, Parks and Wildlife, and Essential Services. I will now outline how the Martin Labor government will move the Territory ahead within these portfolios.
This government is proud of its record capital works expenditure over the past four years. We intend to continue to deliver jobs for Territorians in all regions through the infrastructure program, and to achieve a balance between the needs of small, medium and large Territory businesses. Leading the list of infrastructure projects is, of course, the development of the Darwin City Waterfront. This $1.1bn project represents a fully integrated development of tourism, commercial, residential and community facilities. The construction phase is expected to last 15 years and will create almost 1000 new jobs. An 85% local content component guaranteed in the project contracts will ensure Territory businesses reap the benefits from the development of the waterfront.
This government is committed to providing the tourism infrastructure required to make all regions more accessible. The West MacDonnell tourist loop roads take in some of the most spectacular scenery of Central Australia. Our commitment to seal this loop will open up the Central Australian experience for more to enjoy. The Labor government is committed to improving the Territory’s road network. We are playing our part, but we need the Commonwealth to pull its weight.
The government will continue to lobby the Commonwealth to address the $20m shortfall in funding suffered by the Territory’s 9000 km of roads in unincorporated areas in the AusLink program over the previous four years. We are still looking for that catch-up. The Commonwealth’s current AusLink framework raises a number of other concerns for the Territory. AusLink’s new distribution formula for road maintenance funding cuts the Territory’s maintenance allocation by 20%. We believe this formula disadvantages regional and remote Australians and, in particular, Territorians. Secondly, AusLink makes no allowance for the escalation of costs for either maintenance or capital allocations over the five-year program. In recent years, there have been significant increases in road construction costs Australia-wide, but particularly in the Northern Territory. Without escalation factors, it makes it very difficult to plan for completed projects.
The draft bilateral agreement covering this first period of AusLink is currently being discussed with the Commonwealth. It does allow for a cost overrun on a particular project to be accommodated, but at the expense of reduced funding for other AusLink projects in the Northern Territory. I can inform the House that I have written to the federal Minister for Transport and Regional Services outlining the above and other concerns. I look forward to reporting his response to the House in due course.
The next four years will mark some significant milestones for the port of Darwin. In this period, LNG exports will commence on approximately a weekly basis, with potential for increased frequency. Bulk mineral loadings from the Bootu Creek mine will also commence later this year or early next year. Annual exports will total some 600 000 tonnes, also with potential for expansion.
Construction work on the rail bottom dump facility is now well advanced at the Darwin Business Park. The Board of the Port Corporation has also been revised to enhance its focus on development of international trade. The recent publicity concerning queuing delays in southern ports highlights some of the advantages that we need to further promote in regard to the port of Darwin.
A key election commitment that falls within the Lands and Planning portfolio is the continuation of a moratorium on land clearing in the Daly region. Management strategies based on research, monitoring and evaluation of the Daly region will maintain the cultural and ecological values of this unique environment.
I will pick up on something that was said earlier today about a lack of science behind the measures that we have taken in the Daly River. I would suggest anyone with those sorts of questions should read the Erskine Report, which is a very comprehensive report on some of the threats to the Daly. Those threats were identified and worked through within the Daly Reference Group, and further gaps in knowledge were identified. That is what this government is identifying and investing in, in terms of the Daly. On that subject, while the potential for cautious development in some areas will be assessed, high standards of water and land monitoring will be applied. The moratorium on new land clearing applications will remain until this monitoring is in place.
In its first term, the Martin Labor government completed the review of the Building Act and passed the Building Amendment Bill. The revised act will implement government’s commitments to introduce a residential builders’ registration scheme and home warranty insurance. It is planned to introduce the scheme in 2006.
Government has also completed its review of the Planning Act, and the Planning Amendment Bill was passed in February of this year. The revised act removes the current distinction between land use objectives, development provisions, and incorporated documents as separate elements of the Planning Scheme. The act will also introduce limited rights of third party appeal, which was a key commitment by the Labor government in 2001. These are appeals by parties other than the applicant, such as neighbours.
Planning regulations are currently being developed, and it is expected the new Planning Act will commence in early 2006. After informal exhibition of a new Territory-wide Planning Scheme in 2003, it is further being refined and will be placed on formal exhibition under the new Planning Act in 2006. This will give the community a further opportunity to comment on the new Territory-wide scheme.
Government will undertake a review of the Crown Lands Act. This act was last amended in 1992 concurrently when the Pastoral Land Act was enacted. However, this was largely a matter of tidying up after the pastoral land and community living areas provisions were removed.
I will now turn to the Parks and Wildlife portfolio. An exciting initiative unveiled during the election campaign is the government’s commitment to seeking world heritage listing for the West MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia. We believe such a listing will promote the West MacDonnells as an international tourist destination on a par with the Territory’s other world heritage listed sites, Kakadu and Uluru Kata Tjuta. The promotion of Alice Springs as the focal point for tourism servicing the West MacDonnells will be a central element of our campaign, which will be conducted in consultation with the traditional owners, tourism industry and the Central Australian community. The world’s greatest natural and cultural treasures are listed as world heritage sites. We believe the West MacDonnell Ranges, which inspired so many of the paintings of Albert Namatjira, deserve a place on the list beside global icons like the Grand Canyon and the Taj Mahal.
The government is also committed to building a West MacDonnell Ranges visitor information centre, incorporating an indigenous, commercial and cultural facility. We are already committed to the sealing of the West MacDonnell tourist loop roads, and further development of the Larapinta Trail.
Litchfield National Park is also one of the Northern Territory’s most popular attractions, and very popular with locals. Our long-term Litchfield National Park Development Strategy will ensure that nearly 250 000 visitors annually will continue to enjoy this magnificent park. The Martin government has outlined details of its $7.4m commitment to upgrade facilities at Litchfield National Park over three years, the centrepiece of which is a $3.4m visitor centre at Wangi Falls. Territorians will probably focus more on the redevelopment of the day use area, camp ground and car park at Wangi Falls, the upgrade of the camp ground at Florence Falls, the development of the hiking track between Tableland Creek and Mistake Creek, and the extension of the Reynolds River four-wheel drive track to Adelaide River, with new camping facilities along the way.
The government will proceed with a $5.2m upgrade of the Leanyer Recreation Park, a hugely successful initiative by this Labor government. Since its official opening in January 2004, more than 100 000 people have visited the park which is managed by Parks and Wildlife Service. The upgrade will be refined through public consultation. Proposed upgrades that will be included in the consultation phase include water slides, skate bowls and a BMX moguls track. There will also be extensive shading and extensions to the parking area.
The government is committed to building a $4m visitors centre at the George Brown Botanic Gardens, which is also managed by the Parks and Wildlife Service. This commitment is part of our 10-year vision for the development of the Botanic Gardens, which ties in with our plans to increase the range of tourism attractions available in order to increase the length of visitor stays in Darwin. The visitor centre will incorporate a caf/restaurant; an information centre; offices; meeting area; minor commercial facilities selling souvenirs, books and art relating to tropical horticulture; and public toilets. The caf/restaurant will cater for a range of functions including weddings and parties. Restaurant seating will be both indoor and outdoor, with the outdoor area being opened up in the Dry Season. A large outdoor deck area will provide diners with a magnificent view over the gardens.
Meanwhile, the Parks and Wildlife Conservation Plan is currently in the final stages of preparation as a draft plan for wider public comment. Relevant stakeholder groups have been involved in developing the draft plan through a community advisory committee. The draft master plan explores a full range of issues concerning the conservation of the Territory’s biodiversity across all land tenures, including Aboriginal and pastoral lands, as well as the marine environment.
Under the Parks and Reserves (Framework for the Future) Act, indigenous land use agreements, or ILUAs, have been signed for 27 national parks and reserves. This settlement has been described by the Native Title Tribunal as, and I will quote:
- The biggest simultaneous negotiation of indigenous land use agreements in Australia’s history.
It is anticipated that the outcomes of the negotiated settlement of land and native title claims over Territory parks and reserves will have a positive flow-on social and economic benefit to Aboriginal people, particularly those with close ties to the jointly managed parks. Additionally, the continued future use of Territory parks and reserves by the general public is guaranteed on a no-fee, no-permit basis. A number of joint management training programs are being developed and implemented by Parks and Wildlife staff in association with the land councils and traditional owners in order to streamline the adoption of joint management within the Parks and Wildlife Service.
The fourth and final portfolio I have the privilege to hold is that of Essential Services. This covers the operation of the government-owned corporation, which, of course, is the Power and Water Corporation.
Madam Speaker, as the member for Nightcliff, you will be very pleased to hear that the government remains committed to the undergrounding of powerlines in Darwin’s northern suburbs, starting with Nightcliff. The undergrounding of power project is well under way in Nightcliff and Rapid Creek. This project will result in 9000 lots and 16 000 customers in suburban Darwin having their overhead powerlines replaced with reliable and safe underground lines ...
Members interjecting.
Dr BURNS: It is interesting to hear a bit of noise from the opposition on the undergrounding project. I can clearly remember them being absolutely opposed to this project. The former Leader of the Opposition publicly said they would not be doing it and then, coming into the election campaign, they suddenly changed their minds and were all for it.
We have consistently been in favour of the undergrounding of power. We are funding it and it is being done, as you well know, Madam Speaker. The project is being funded jointly by the Northern Territory government to the amount of $3m per year, with the Power and Water Corporation contributing $1m per year. To date, contracts to the value of more than $6.4m have been awarded to local Territory businesses for labour and materials associated with the project for the undergrounding of power to the first 686 homes.
With community consultation being crucial to the success of this project, residents affected by the works are being kept informed by letters and weekly newspaper advertisements regarding progress. Madam Speaker, as you are aware, a project office is operating at Shop 2B, 40 Progress Drive, Nightcliff.
Power and Water is currently reviewing future generation augmentation and plant life extension requirements at major centres. The study includes a review of the criteria for generation planning to determine the basis on which decisions for future plant additions and retirements will be made, having regard to the reliability of supply at each location. It is planned to present a final strategic options paper, including recommendations, to the Power and Water Board at its July meeting. The current forward capital budget has allowances for additional generation and capacity in Alice Springs in 2006-07 and Darwin in 2007-08.
I have covered my portfolio areas. I would now like to turn to the election campaign briefly. First, I would like to acknowledge my CLP opponent in the seat of Johnston, Ross Connolly, who fought a very fair and gentlemanly campaign. He was very gracious during the campaign and in defeat. Ross, as most people would know, is a very successful architect in Darwin. His architecture practice is very successful and he is returning to that practice. I commend Ross Connolly for a very gentlemanly and fair campaign, fought in a very good spirit.
I would also like to thank the many people who assisted me in the campaign. There were so many of them I do not think time really permits. I will certainly be holding a function for all those people in the very near future. There are a few people I would like to single out, if I may. Obviously, there were many people who folded and prepared letters, made deliveries around the suburbs to letterboxes, took posters in their yard, handed out how-to-vote cards and, generally, supported the campaign. They are numerous. However, there are people I would like to give a special commendation to: my electorate officer, Judy Herring, always works very hard but worked extra hard during the campaign. She is a tireless worker. We have been together now for about four years or so, and it is a pretty good partnership. It was Judy’s first campaign, but she certainly handled it very well. As always, she attends to every detail and I am very grateful for her support. Her husband, Barry, helped out here and there as well, and I thank Barry for his support.
I thank Russell Wilson, my campaign manager. It was Russell’s first campaign, but he did a great job, always with a good sense of humour, and bright, cheerful and unflappable. That is how I would describe Russell, a great bloke and a great support. A few people specifically helped me from some of the ethnic communities. Teng Murray is a great worker. She explained the how-to-vote order to quite a number of people and made it very clear that Labor was the one to vote for. Mr Taek Fung Lay helped stuff envelopes. His English is not all that good and he would be the first to acknowledge that, but he is a great worker and a good man. Also, thank you to Mr Mu, who lives in my electorate.
I give a special thanks to Ian Bishop who comes from Western Australia. I had never met Ian before. He is a Labor Party stalwart there and took holidays to come here and work in the campaign. He just came into my electorate office. He is a very experienced operator, and did not mind sweeping the floors, stuffing envelopes, giving very good political advice, helping to write letters – just anything that was asked of Ian, he would do. He was a great support to my campaign and my electorate officer. It shows the solidarity between Labor people in states; that he was willing to give up his holidays. He had a hell of a time and really enjoyed himself. He thought it was a very unusual campaign, quite different from Western Australia. It had a few similarities between the canal and the electricity line, but he had never seen anything like the headline in the paper at the campaign launch. He cut that one out to take home, as it certainly caught his eye.
I also thank Allan Phillips and Louise Greenaway, who helped a lot and in many ways. Allan is an old friend of mine and made himself available. Both of them worked very hard, as did Bill McMahon, a great bloke who chipped in at a few places. I could not forget Mr Frank Moukaddem. Frank is such a tireless worker who works himself into the ground. He works hard and was a great support. It is always good to see him and he is a great support to so many people. From the bottom of my heart, Frank, thanks very much for your support.
Very importantly, my family: Elizabeth, Amy, Daniel, and David, who lives down south but took a very active interest. For the family of all candidates - it does not matter what side it is - there are always stresses and strain, particularly around election time. However, my family really supported me. Special thanks to Bruiser, the dog, who makes me very happy. He is a great dog and I like him …
Ms Scrymgour: They wag their tail.
Dr BURNS: He wags his tail. He is a good dog and very affectionate, and we all love him. He is quite a large dog, too, I might add.
Finally, during the adjournment debate, I heard the Opposition Leader talking about some of the shenanigans with campaign posters, and I suppose we all have a few that have been graffitied and turn up in strange areas. I have a story to relate regarding one of my campaign posters. A constituent who lives on Trower Road gave some campaign volunteers permission to place a poster in her front garden. When it was erected a couple of days later, she found it was one that belonged to Ross Connolly, my opponent. She immediately contacted my office and asked us to put up one of my posters. Then, later in the day, she contacted the office again and spoke to me personally. She said: ‘Dr Burns, I have a very good surprise for you. I want you to drive past my house tonight and there is a special surprise for you’. Anyway, on my way home that night I drove past her house and - lo and behold - Ross’s posters were there, beside mine where they had been put, but she had wreathed my campaign poster in flashing lights. I received quite a number of calls and even took my daughter down there to have a look at it. She said: ‘Dad, you look a bit like a deity there with the flashing lights’.
It certainly lifted my spirits, and I would like to thank Lodya for that; I had a chuckle every time I went past. A number of people, including the member for Casuarina, commented on it. Lodya told me on election day that I was her special choice, so I thank Lodya.
I thank all the electors of Johnston for putting their faith in me. I am very relieved to be re-elected. Elections are a trial for all candidates and we are always aware, as the member for Araluen said, with the possibility of losing. That is the game we are in. However, we were successful this time, and it is incumbent on us - I agree with what the opposition said - that, basically, we have to govern for the Territory and, in this place, do the right thing. I will certainly be attempting to do that in the next four years.
Mrs BRAHAM (Braitling): Madam Speaker, if the member for Johnston is relieved to be here, how does he think I feel? Election night, three votes in front and, as I said, it is better to be three votes in front than three votes behind. Sixty-two votes was the final margin, so it was very close.
It is my pleasure to give my Address-in-Reply for this Tenth Assembly as the member for Braitling. I entered parliament in 1994 as a CLP candidate with a majority of 72%, so that will probably give you an indication of how strong a conservative seat Braitling is. I have always been very conscious of that in the back of my mind; that I was fighting a very strong party. I have said on a number of occasions that the CLP has been a very strong party in Alice Springs. The campaign that they carried out for the 18 months prior to the election obviously stood them in good stead, and I congratulate them on giving me such a fright. However, at the end of the day, you only need one and I guess that is all that is important. I am very grateful to all those voters of Braitling who gave me their first or their second preference, because that is why I am here.
Members will be aware that it was a very difficult time for me to decide whether I would stand or not. I have to admit my family were rather perplexed, and wondered what I would do if I was beaten - who would want to end a rather wonderful parliamentary career being rejected by voters? However, I just had to do it that one more time. I could not have done it without the support of all of my friends, in particular, the moral support that my family gave me. My daughter, Michelle, came down from Darwin with baby Finn and Samantha, my granddaughter, and held fort at home, not just with letterbox drops but with marathon meals. My son, Peter, said he remembered his father saying: ‘No more posters, no more posters; we are not putting up any more’ but, of course, he did. He got out his truck and, with Levi, he did the arduous task of putting up posters for me. My sister Shirley - people call her the Mini Me because she looks so much like me - came up with her husband Norm and my brother, Ray, with his wife, Betty. We had a family team. My other two brothers were in Bendigo and, although they wished they were with me, unfortunately, due to health reasons, they were not.
My good friends, Mary and Dennis Blaiklock interrupted their wanderings to come back to Alice Springs. As Dennis said, he had not missed one count for me and he was certainly not going to miss this one. My electorate officer, Robyn, has been a tower of strength. Everyone knows of her strong organisational skills and her knowledge of the community. Her work, and her friendship, is invaluable to me. I am pleased to say that she is staying on with me. Of course, there are all the many supporters who helped letterbox drop for me, stuffed envelopes as we say, handed out how-to-vote cards and gave me encouragement and advice. My thanks to all of them; I could not have done it without them. However, to whoever stole my banner, would you please give it back as I have not paid for it yet.
The CLP, in my opinion, have only themselves to blame for what they did. Let us face it: ever since they decided that they would not preselect me, they have been slowly going downhill. I believe that blunder cost them dearly and the electors of the Northern Territory are still giving them a fairly strong message. They still tend to preselect their mates, and they should know by now that voters want the best person to do the job, not their mates. It is time the CLP really re-thought their membership base.
I am pleased to say that independents also played a part in the result of the election. There were 18 independents standing all told and, although they only received 8% of the vote, they did give people an alternative. That is important in such a robust democracy as we have. I trust the Chief Minister keeps her word in acknowledging that Independents should enjoy status in this parliament, and I quote from her speech:
- We recognise the importance of a strong parliamentary system in which a strong opposition and forthright Independents
must play a part. It is for this reason, and in the interests of democracy in the Territory, that the government will
maintain proper resourcing to the opposition. We will also continue resourcing the Independent Assembly members,
recognising their role in their electorates as well as parliamentary process.
The Administrator’s speech covered many aspects of government policy. I was surprised there were some areas not touched. I am referring to the mining industry, knowing what a great economic contribution to the Territory that makes. It was not acknowledged or mentioned, particularly in light of events over the question of uranium mining. I trust the government realises there are many areas also that were not covered in that speech that they should be looking at. I know the minister for the environment gets on her high horse when we mention container deposit legislation, but she must understand that it is an important issue, and anything to do with the environment is something that we really must encourage.
It was interesting that Toowoomba council recently made it mandatory that all new homes should have water tanks. I am still wondering why we are building homes in remote communities without water tanks. Those are the things that we will still keep pushing.
The speech also talked about ‘… building our regions as an objective of good governance ... Unless we get regional development in the Northern Territory right we will never be independent, economic and social’. I ask the Chief Minister and her government to look at what is happening in the regions. You have to decentralise the decision-making that is occurring across the Territory at the moment. Far too often, people in remote areas and in towns out of Darwin are having the decision-making taken from them. I say clearly to the Chief Minister to give that back to the people who understand the culture of the town in which they live.
For instance, if you look at Health - and I know the Bansemer Report many years ago said that Health was top heavy - it still continues to be centralised. As far as I can see in Alice Springs there does not seem to be anyone who has taken the responsibility for health, and decisions are still being made far too often in Darwin. There is a review currently under way and that is certainly undermining the confidence of many of the long-term officers in the Health department.
The review of education in the Alice Springs office still sees numerous officers travelling constantly to Darwin. I wonder why when, in fact, many of those of decisions could be made at a regional level. I ask the Chief Minister to be serious about looking at the public service and the departments in Alice Springs and give them back the means to make decisions and not have to go forever back to their Darwin bosses for something that is quite often simple. It is a problem and something that I stress that we will be following up.
There are other issues in Alice Springs that I will be looking at. One of the things that needs attention in Health is breast screening. At the moment, we only have two blocks a year; we really need to have four blocks and a full time coordinator. This is something which the government should look at carefully.
We have constantly been talking about the problem of petrol sniffers in Alice Springs. However, even with the new legislation, if the police do pick up petrol sniffers who are at risk, they have nowhere to put them. I stress to the government that it is no good having all this wonderful legislation if you do not have the regulation and the means to make it happen.
We also talked about the problem of self-funded retirees leaving Alice Springs, and it is still happening. There are opportunities now, with land being released in Alice Springs, for the government to do something about it. With U3A emerging in Alice Springs, the strength of it and the number of people involved in it, it is an opportunity for the government to now seriously look at this problem and, perhaps, find a way of making sure that these self-funded retirees do not leave town.
I have also talked to the minister for Education about school holidays and the need for seriously looking at change. There are many people who do not think that four weeks in the middle of the year and only one week at the end of September before the heavy fourth term is a good idea. This is something that we need to follow up.
We are constantly saying we need land available for first home buyers. Although the government has indicated they will buy back 12 blocks in the Larapinta subdivision that are soon to be, or are, on the market, I believe they are not for first home buyers. The last thing Larapinta really wants is more public housing, as we are well aware of the problems we have had in that area. Instead of buying back the land to put more problems there for us, perhaps they could buy back the land to make sure it is available to first home buyers at a reasonable price. As you can see, there are many things which still have to be done.
I have to admit that my time as Speaker in this House has been a great experience for me. Some of the highlights included taking the parliament to Alice Springs; it has been such a success. We now have a very good education unit in the department, and we strongly promote the Youth Parliament and, of course, in primary schools, the Parliament of the Birds, which was such a success. That has made this parliament stronger and more well-known throughout the Territory.
As well as that, I have enjoyed being the Australian representative on the CPA, and I am pleased to say I have one more trip in September to finish my term. I encourage you, Madam Speaker, to be part of the CPA, and to travel and meet some of your colleagues in this area. It broadens your network, and certainly broadens your understanding of the Commonwealth, which is important for all of us.
I have also been fortunate to continue to address many meetings and conferences. The most recent was the Australasian Valuer Generals’ Conference in Alice Springs. It was interesting to hear the different areas of concern each of them have within their province. We tend to think that we are the only ones who have a problem.
It has been a good time for me as the Speaker. I will try very hard, Madam Speaker - and I say this most sincerely - to step back and not come knocking on your door and rushing into your office and trying to tell you what to do. My time is over and I appreciate that. I know that you will enjoy your time as the Speaker. You have an extremely good department and staff to work with who will give you lots of advice. I say to all the department people: thank you very much for all the assistance you gave me and for the memories.
To all new members who have entered parliament, I wish you well. I am particularly happy to see this young lady beside me. Her father and I were colleagues in the Education Department in Alice Springs when she was just a tiny lass. To see her grow and blossom as much as she has, and be a representative of her people, is a wonderful thing. That is the wonderful thing about being a teacher: you see children grow and develop as adults. You receive such a reward when you see them fulfill something such as this lady has achieved, which is a dream come true.
I know her father would be extremely proud of her after her speech yesterday, and that she wishes, as I wish, that he had been here to see her. I guess we will make sure that he gets a copy of what she said. She was right; it was a difficult time for a single dad to bring up a daughter, and he did a wonderful job. I know her links with her family and her mother have been always strong, so she is a wonderful example of someone who has been able to walk and be successful in two worlds. I believe she will be able to represent all the people in her electorate very well.
Saying that, the imbalance in this parliament worries me a little. Even now, you get the feeling of a great deal of confidence from the government, and I can understand that. If anyone who had a win such as theirs, of course it would boost their confidence and morale. It is going to be difficult on this side of the House to provide a strong opposition. I say to new members – and do not tell the Chief Minister I said this - if you want any advice, free from your party, come and see the Independent member for Nelson and me. We are only ever too willing to give you any advice you require. However, remember, no matter what happens this term, we are here for all Territorians; we are not here for ourselves. We must continually remember that. If the government does not have a member in a particular electorate, they still cannot ignore that electorate; they still must be there for all of us. That is the message that Territorians will very much appreciate; that they can vote with the confidence of knowing that this government will do exactly that.
I congratulate the government on their great win. All I can say to the opposition is: join the club. We are here with you and we will help you when we can, but do not expect us to help you all the time. You can understand that we also will be very independent in the way that we operate. That is what democracy is all about. I look forward to this term. I apologise for that initial outburst. If I could start all over again, I am sure I would be fine.
Mr VATSKALIS (Primary Industry and Fisheries): Madam Speaker, I begin by acknowledging the Larrakia people on whose traditional land we stand today. I would also like to congratulate you on your election. I know that you will act with authority and impartiality in this important role.
This is also an opportunity for me to thank the people of Casuarina for the faith and confidence they have shown in me by re-electing me for another term as their representative in this parliament. I am humbled by the level of support and the very kind wishes that have been offered by people in my electorate – an electorate that I am truly honoured and privileged to represent. The electorate of Casuarina is one of those northern suburbs seats that had been regarded as blue ribbon CLP since the commencement of self-government. That was, of course, until August 2001, when the people of Casuarina joined so many others in the northern suburbs to elect Labor. Some people thought – and certainly the opposition believed – that this was merely a ‘protest vote’ that went wrong. I recall, not so long ago, a former opposition member predicting that the CLP would soon be returned to its ‘rightful inheritance’ of running the Territory. How wrong they were. The 2001 election result was the outcome of frustration within the electorate with a government that would not listen, that had become arrogant, had created a flat economy and could not generate jobs. The 2005 election result, that has given us such as overwhelming majority, is a vote of confidence in a government that has presented itself as a united team, delivered on the commitments it made at the last election – which include the strong economy and growing jobs market – and has a sustainable vision for the future.
However, let me talk about my electorate, the electorate of Casuarina. The electorate of Casuarina is truly representative of the Territory; 25% of the population was born overseas. There is a mix of public servants, subcontractors, small business operators and private business employees. Among other things, the electorate is home to Casuarina Shopping Square, the Territory’s largest shopping centre and the Casuarina Coastal Reserve, the most visited reserve in the Territory. Within the electorate, a number of suburbs, such as Alawa and Tiwi, are undergoing a demographic transformation with younger families with children now replacing older families. The new suburb of Lyons is expected to bring even more new, young families into the electorate.
Despite the fact that Casuarina had always been represented by a member of the government, in 2001, I took over an electorate which had many issues that had never been properly addressed. In the past four years, I have tried to address many of these issues, especially with those associated with the change in demographics. It has been a particular need for the improvement and renovation of existing facilities to provide assistance and support for families with young and school-age children. I am very proud that, as a local member, I was instrumental in retaining the Territory Kidz Childcare Centre in Tiwi; I assisted the Dripstone childcare centre to acquire a high-quality transportable building for children under two years of age; and I provided support by lobbying both government and Darwin City Council for the Casuarina Childcare Centre to access extra funding for upgrades and equipment, such as airconditioning and playground equipment.
I was particularly pleased to see my 2001 election promises become reality with the completion of the $1m Stage 1 renovation of the Nakara Primary School and the $2m Stage 1 renovation of the Alawa Primary School currently under way. These schools were built in the 1970s, and have not received any substantial amount of money for renovations in the past 30 years. There were in urgent need of attention, and I am pleased to say that our government provided this attention.
Our government also cared for the ever-increasing number of Territorians who decided to retire here, or would even come from interstate to be with their families here in the later years of their lives. The retirement village in Casuarina is now complemented by the Masonic Nursing Home that was built on land granted by our government. There are plans by the Masonic Foundation to expand its facility to cater not only for senior Territorians, but also for people who require day care.
Our promise for Casuarina in the 2001 election included the removal of the Royal Darwin Hospital incinerator and the construction of a hospice and a birthing centre. I am very pleased that the incinerator has now been decommissioned, and both the hospice and the birthing centre are currently under construction.
Another important promise was our plan to address crime, Territory-wide. With our introduction of legislation to properly address the significant drug problem in the Territory and our increased resources for police, we have had outstanding success, as indicated in the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. The number of police at the Casuarina Police Station has now increased by 25, and many residents have commented to me that this is the first time they have seen police everywhere - on foot, on motorbikes, on bicycles and even mounted police at the Casuarina Coastal Reserve. We said before the 2001 election that we wanted to see police on the streets, and I am very proud that we have also delivered this promise.
We have achieved a lot in the past three years, and I am sure that Casuarina had its fair share of government funding initiatives; however, there is more to be done. In the next four years, our government will continue with school upgrades, and $4m has been allocated for the Stage 2 upgrades to the Nakara and Alawa Primary Schools; $800 000 will be provided to Tracy Village Sports Club for a much-needed upgrade; $300 000 has been allocated for landscaping, seating and lighting around the Dripstone Cliffs area to cater for tourists, visitors and locals; $0.5m has been allocated for child-care centres to acquire necessary equipment; and low impact lights will be provided for the Nakara Park oval at a cost of $400 000. These are just a few examples of the promises I will delivering over the next four years.
As the recent election has shown us, there are no safe seats anymore, and nobody can bask in past glories. The seats are won in the streets, not sitting in the offices. Promises contribute to a successful campaign, but they do not win elections. In the past four years, I have worked very hard to deliver on promises made for Casuarina, but I have also worked very hard by visiting every house in every street in every suburb of Casuarina, because I feel firmly that the best place to gain the confidence of the electorate is on the door step.
In addition to this, a great support team helps enormously, not only during the campaign and on election day, but for the entire four-year term. I have a great team to thank: Mr Andrew Fyles, my campaign manager - a very dear friend, a long-term member of the Labor Party - as well as his wife, Cherryl, and his daughter, Natasha, for their continued encouragement and support; my electorate officer, Debbie Rowland and her family, Ted, Simone and Candice, for the hours they spent in the office and the polling booths. At the risk of leaving someone out, there are many long-term friends and supporters who helped in any way they could: Agapi Zahos, Garry and Marilyn Hawthorn, John and Di Knight, Daniel Hughes, Alan and Jacinta Haines, Irene Roussos, Indrani, Ken O’Brien, Kon Hnaris, Sandy Kunatunge, Denise Horvath, Patricia Werner, Frank Moukaddem, Reijo Keitaakira, Eunice de Ramos, Janie Mason, Di Yali, Pip Hodge, Margot Bailey, Helen Paterakis, Darryll Hodgkiss, Stergio Bouhoris, Brend Kulatunga, Nikos Mouzourakis, Lam Tac Tam, Jack Bailey, Liz Walker and, most of all, of course, my family - my son, Alexander, who has now discovered politics and enjoys it; Michael, who puts up with it and would prefer to have his father at home; my parents-in-law, Ivor and Doreen Moulds, who came from Perth to help with the family in the campaign; and most of all my wife, Margaret, who supported me, guided me, and cared for me prior to, during and post-election campaign. She is my wonderful wife and dear friend. Thank you, Margaret.
I always like politics but, I must admit, when I was living through a military dictatorship in Greece, I never imagined in my wildest dreams that one day I would be elected to parliament, either in Greece or in Australia. We do not know how lucky we are. My family and my own life is very extraordinary. Some other people in Australia live ordinary lives; however, if I describe my family’s life throughout the century you will find how extraordinary it is. My grandparents, both paternal and maternal, were born Turkish citizens in Greece and became Greek citizens 12 years later when Greece liberated the area where they were living. My paternal grandfather went to World War I and came home eight years later because he participated in the Asia Minor campaign. He was one of the officers arrested by the Germans in 1943. He was put in the concentration camps and died six months after he was released.
My mother and father found themselves in the middle of civil war in 1945. They were both taken away by communist guerrillas. My father managed to escape. My mother was actually taken in the so-called socialist countries and was indoctrinated and, as a 15-year-old, she was put in the front to fight against the regular army. She fought for five years and was one of the lucky ones who survived. She was captured in 1949 and was given back to my grandfather. For many years, she would not sleep at night. She would stay awake and sleep in the daytime because she was a trained guerrilla and that was what she learnt for so many years of her life, and that is what she was doing. My mother and father worked very hard to raise my sister and I.
My family had a hard life. I recall very well that the first birthday present I received when I was seven years old was given to me by the father of one of my friends. The first present I bought myself was when I was five years old. I went around and sang Christmas carols and collected a few drachmas - I still remember, it was eight drachmas, nine cents. I went and bought a plastic truck. Things were very hard in Greece when I was growing up. I never saw my father until I was eight or nine years old. He used to leave for work at 6 am and come back at 8 pm or 9 pm. It was an extraordinary and very difficult life, but it taught me a lot of things about social justice, human rights and, most of all, democracy.
Many times, I refer to my life through the military dictatorship in Greece. I will never forget the scene when the military police came and arrested my neighbour in front of his two very young daughters, put him in the back of a truck - no warrant, no court orders, just grabbed him - and he came back five years later. His brother and sister-in-law were taken from their apartment by the military police who left behind a sleeping two-year-old child. The neighbours found the child in the morning when he woke up; he was hungry and crying. They went to see what happened and found the door broken down and the child left alone when the parents were taken away. They did not come back until seven years later.
Many times, I refer to how lucky we are here in Australia, and how lucky I am to be here in Australia today to be able to represent the people in Casuarina in parliament. I would like to assure my colleagues in parliament, and also the people in Casuarina, that I am here to represent all the people in Casuarina - all Territorians.
I now turn to the plans we have in place for the next four years within the ministerial portfolio areas which - at least for the next little while - I have responsibility for. This government will continue to work with business and the wider community to achieve the best possible outcomes for Territorians.
My Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development has a vital role in contributing to the sustainable and responsible management of our resources. We remain committed to indigenous economic development. This will be achieved through building business management capacities, developing partnerships to advance indigenous economic development, and establishing sustainable enterprises on indigenous land. We are delivering on our promises and promising what we can deliver.
I am very proud to say that fishing is the lure of the Territory. That is why we have committed at least $1.2m to continue commercial fishing licence buy backs. We are committed to a five-year plan and a ten-year vision, in partnership with all stakeholders, to ensure that barramundi fishing only gets better. Despite media reports to the contrary, we will continue to be the envy of anglers anywhere else in Australia. Recreational fishing development continues as a priority. Key projects focusing on making recreational fishing even better include: $2.8m for a new boat ramp at Hatches Creek in Darwin Harbour; and additional $2m over the next four years for improving facilities for recreation anglers - that is on top of the $1.5m already spent on boat ramps and facilities; $150 000 will also be spent on a new pontoon at the upgraded Dinah Beach boat ramp; and an expanded barramundi fingerling stocking program.
The long-term outlook for sustainable wild stock fisheries is promising, with domestic consumption of seafood increasing steadily. While seasonal conditions and market price fluctuations can be unpredictable, the demand for quality seafood for countries in the Asian region remains strong. Demand from markets in southern Australia for fresh fish is also strong. The benefits from these potential markets have not yet been fully exploited.
Key priorities for the government include: encouraging industry investment opportunities for the commercial seafood industry; maintaining export accreditation for all export fisheries; resolving resource allocation issues between major stakeholders; working through issues relating to marine protected areas in the Northern Territory and Commonwealth jurisdictions; and supporting indigenous communities to play a key role in managing the resources through initiatives such as the Indigenous Marine Ranger program.
Barramundi aquaculture has increased production and value by more than 400% since 2002, and is now producing more than the wild catch fishery. Production is likely to increase to more than 4000 tonnes within the next four years.
The pearling industry is going through a period of restructure, and my department has conducted negotiations with industry and the Western Australian government to assist this process.
We are assisting the development of the sea cucumber culture industry by leasing an area for a pilot hatchery and the provision of technical support.
Negotiations are completed for the establishment of a demonstration mud crab farm at the Kulaluk community in Darwin. Assistance has also been provided to several indigenous communities, especially Maningrida, to establish aquaculture ventures. The first trial with mud crabs in mangrove enclosures will commence shortly. The Darwin Aquaculture Centre is one of the partners in a project at the Kulaluk community in Darwin, which aims to develop suitable culture techniques for crabs in indigenous communities.
The government has committed to review the Fisheries Act 1988, which has been in existence for some 17 years and was introduced primarily as a licensing tool, and assist with the development of new fishing activities in the Territory. We must ensure that our aquatic resources are managed in an ecologically sustainable manner, ensuring an ecosystem-based approach, and encourage indigenous development through creative participation in fishing and aquaculture activities.
We continue to support the marine ranger program. An additional $366 000 will be provided over the next term to fund new marine ranger programs.
Primary industry in the Territory includes cattle and other livestock such as buffalo, crocodiles, pigs, and camels; the horticultural industry which includes fruit, vegetables, nurseries and cut flowers; and mixed farming including field crops, hay, seeds, and forestry. Rural and fisheries industries have significantly links to other sectors of the Territory economy such as manufacturing, transport, retail and wholesale. These industries are vital in regional areas, providing economic stimulus and direct employment for about 2300 people. They also account for a significant proportion of the Territory’s export revenue. We will continue to pursue opportunities to add value here in the Territory through encouraging our own unique food industry.
Key issues for this term of government include:
- building on markets throughout South-East Asia and beyond. This means building on government to
government relations and forging new inroads with producers an exporters;
response against the invasion of pests and diseases that might affect the viability of the Territory’s plant
and animal industries;
guidelines for the ‘whole of life’ traceability of cattle;
as Northern Territory producers have never received federal government drought assistance;
sustainability of current and emerging primary industries;
working with stakeholders to increase indigenous participation, in particular horticulture in Central Australia,
aquaculture development in the Top End, and bringing indigenous land into pastoral production;
particularly for mangoes;
the relationships forged with Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines;
on opportunities to encourage the further development of our beef, buffalo and camel industries.
We are developing cattle research programs in Katherine to focus on breeding to suit future market opportunities in South-East Asia and elsewhere as part of the opening market development for the industry.
The value of mineral and energy production and processing is likely to increase by around 8%, due primarily to higher oil prices and the inclusion of Australia’s share of crude oil produced in the joint petroleum development area in the Timor Sea. This government is committed to mineral exploration and development. This will be achieved by our Building the Territory’s Resource Base program, an accelerated program to provide information to industry on the prospectivity of the Northern Territory; and providing a regulatory environment which meets community needs and expectation and supports the Northern Territory’s economic development.
The government will continue with its program involving the acquisition of high-quality geoscientific data, and provision of this data to the mining and petroleum sectors. We have an enhanced capability to process and manage exploration and mining tenures. We are committed to work with the mining industry and indigenous organisations to encourage partnerships and indigenous involvement in mining. We will continue to promote the Territory as an attractive exploration investment destination.
This government will continue with the Mt Todd Mine Site Rehabilitation Reference Group, which will provide community input into the management and rehabilitation of the site.
Multiculturalism is celebrated throughout the Territory and, collectively, we should all be proud of what the Territory has achieved. The Administrator’s closing comments yesterday, when he reflected upon the wide range of cultures and languages here in the Territory, was a fantastic illustration of the rich and diverse tapestry that makes up this wonderful place that we all call home.
This government delivered the Northern Territory’s first multicultural policy, Building on the Territory’s Diversity. The policy seeks to celebrate how people from different backgrounds, beliefs, customs and values can come together, live in harmony and enrich Australian society, and how valuable cultural diversity is in developing a broader world view and applying this in our approach to business and government service provision.
The government is providing a record level of spending in delivering real outcomes, including providing $750 000 each year for multicultural community grants, and $0.5m each year for three years for facility grants.
A new initiative we will be focusing on during this term is boosting jobs and training assistance for migrants and refugees as part of the Jobs Plan, including a skilled apprenticeship scheme for mature-aged migrants and assistance with the recognition of overseas skills and qualifications for refugees.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we have achieved much and there is still more to do. The portfolio responsibilities of primary industry, mines and energy, fisheries and multicultural affairs offer tremendous opportunities to move the Territory ahead.
Dr TOYNE (Justice and Attorney-General): Mr Deputy Speaker, the re-election of the Labor Party by the people of the Northern Territory on 18 June 2005 was, indeed, an historic event. As the Administrator said, the election result is an endorsement of this government’s actions and policies over the last four years. In response to the Administrator’s address, I will outline some of the highlights of the government’s achievements in the portfolio areas for which I am responsible, and add some further information about the government’s agenda for the next four years in those portfolio areas.
I will deal with the Justice portfolio first. When Labor gained government in 2001, we immediately acted to put in place our policies to tackle drug abuse and property crime. During our first term of government, we saw property crime almost cut in half. We will continue to focus on drug abuse and property crime in the second term, and will turn the spotlight on alcohol abuse and violent crime.
Examples of this commitment are before this parliament in this first sittings. Today, I introduced the Criminal Code Amendment (Criminal Responsibility Reform) Bill, which overhauls criminal responsibility laws so that criminals cannot escape the full weight of the law because they were drunk or high on drugs. I also introduced the Bail Amendment (Repeat Offenders) Bill, which makes it more difficult for repeat offenders, particularly repeat violent offenders, to obtain bail. Within the next few months, this parliament will see the introduction of legislation to put in place our plan to tackle the damage caused by chronic habitual drunks. Part of that plan is the establishment of an alcohol court. This will build on the success of the drug court established during our first term of government. The alcohol court will have access to rehabilitation options for chronic, habitual drunks who offend, and those rehabilitation options will be adequately funded.
The community safety initiatives of the first four years of the Labor government are paying real dividends. The Office of Crime Prevention has established whole-of-government crime prevention policies, and work in partnership with the police and the community on community-led strategies. The government is getting the message across that community safety is not just the responsibility of the police or the courts; it is the responsibility for the whole community. Our Crime Prevention Grant Scheme - more than $1.75m in the past four years - is helping the community put their crime prevention ideas into action, complementing police and government efforts to reduce crime. Crime prevention councils have been established across the Territory to advise government on crime and safety issues in the community. As announced in the budget, we will provide an extra $350 000 per annum to implement community safety plans. Independent crime statistics are now released quarterly, giving Territorians access to real data about crime levels in their areas.
Reforms to our correctional system are under way with a $26.4m injection over four years, to turn our prisons and prison officers into a second crime fighting force by focusing on reintegration and preventing re-offending; building on the law enforcement work of our police force. A new low-security facility is soon to be opened at Darwin Correctional Centre to deal with increased prisoner numbers and longer gaol sentences. The rate of indigenous incarceration - the highest in the country - is being addressed through a number of programs and strategies including community-based law and justice strategies to prevent crime, without watering down the intent of the law. In the next four years, we will continue that focus on reintegration preventing re-offending, and will continue to work at local community level on the causes of crime.
We will also continue to work with indigenous crime prevention councils and the law and justice committees to implement the recommendations of the inquiry into customary law conducted by the Labor government in its first term.
This government has a strong record on victim support. We have provided tangible assistance to victims of crime to help clean up and secure homes that have been broken into. We have also made significant changes to our law to protect victims of crime. In the next four years, we will continue to put victims first by increasing financial support to Victims of Crime NT to expand their services. We will also upgrade the Darwin and Alice Springs Court Houses to improve victim and witness facilities. We will legislate for victims’ rights and establish a Victims of Crime Register so that families affected by serious crime can follow the movements of offenders in the prison system. We will also review and revamp the Victims of Crime Compensation Scheme to better meet the needs of victims.
I now turn to Health. In 2001, when the first Martin government was elected, we inherited a health system that had been neglected and under-funded for years. Today, we face a very different scenario. Over the last four years, we have achieved a great deal. We have dramatically increased our health spending - up by 43% - and using these extra funds to deliver more and better services to Territorians. We have exceeded our promise of 74 extra nurses; today we have over 100 extra nurses. We have made major improvements to our hospitals with more doctors and nurses, more resources and better conditions.
However, I am the first to admit that our health system is not perfect and needs more to be done. The re-election of the Martin Labor government was an endorsement by Territorians of what we have achieved, and what we have committed to achieve over our next term. I would like to briefly review the progress the first Martin Labor government has made in health.
When we gained government in 2001, spending on health was uncontrolled and inadequate. Financial and management controls were poor, leading to a position where the Health Department blew its budget every year. This lack of controls and chronic under-funding meant that often hospitals sucked up resources from other areas of the health system.
To address these issues, we commissioned a comprehensive and independent review of the Department of Health and Community Services. The review involved extensive consultation within and outside the department. The Bansemer Review was delivered in February 2003 and contained 300 recommendations for putting our health system back on track. We implement these recommendations and embarked on a comprehensive restructuring of the department, including the imposition of strict controls on transfer of funds between different areas of the department. In this way, we brought the health budget under control such that, in 2003-04, for the first time in around a decade, there was no significant cost blow-out in the budget.
These reforms, especially the restructuring of the department, were not easy. No fundamental change process ever is. I commend the former Minister for Health and Community Services for the job she did in such difficult times, and the staff of the department for their continued dedication. However, these reforms have allowed us to set out with confidence on our own path towards improving the future health and wellbeing of all Territorians.
In February 2004, I and the Minister for Family and Community Services described this path in Building Healthier Communities - A Framework for Health and Community Services 2004 to 2009. Building healthier communities was, and continues to be, our vision for better health for all Territorians. Unlike so many such documents that sit and gather dust, our plan has led to action and change. Immediately following the launch of Building Healthier Communities, the Department of Health and Community Services began a process of extensive consultation to make that vision a reality. As a result, I am proud to say that Building Healthier Communities has really engaged both our health staff and the community.
Although there has been action across all the areas of the health system, it has not been possible to do everything immediately. Certainly, one of our key priorities in our first term has been the acute care system. Our hospitals were in a critical state when we came into power in 2001. It has been a major effort to turn that around. When Territorians are sick enough to require hospital care, they need to know the care the get is of the highest possible quality. Our key achievements have included over 100 extra nurses including a range of specialist positions such as Clinical Nurse Educators, Nurse Managers, Renal Critical Care and Midwifery Nurses; more hospital beds - up by 52 from 567 in 2001 to 619 funded and established beds today; the employment of more doctors in Alice Springs Hospital including key medical positions in anaesthetics and critical care areas; upgrading of the Alice Springs Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit with an extra $11m; a new emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital with more staff and resources; and increased resources, staff and equipment for our regional hospital in Katherine, Gove and Tennant Creek.
Our efforts, and the hard work and dedication of our staff, have been rewarded with all the five of our hospitals being accredited against national standards for quality of care, something that no previous government managed to achieve. There have been other areas of significant achievement, particularly in maternal and child health and in setting up an expanding renal service for remote and regional areas. These are accomplishments of which we can all be proud, but there is more to be done.
I turn now to our plans for the future. Better health for Territorians is at the heart of this government’s second term agenda. We have made a number of commitments in recent weeks which we will deliver over the next four years. These include employing 75 more nurses across the Territory health system; opening 48 more beds in our hospitals to treat more patients and reduce waiting times; upgrading hospital facilities, with $5m for the refurbishment and the extension of the emergency department in Alice Springs Hospital and $25m to bring Darwin Hospital’s tower block to a state-of-art standard; and expanding the Hospital in the Home service, supporting patients in the community after discharge and freeing up beds. These commitments will ensure that our hospitals are at the best they can be.
However, increasingly, the balance of our efforts is going to shift towards prevention and primary health care. We have already made a good start in this area but, in the long term, this is where the real health gains for the Territory can be made. We need to make sure that every Territorian has access to high-quality professional care from doctors, nurses and health workers as close as possible to where they live. This care - the vital day-to-day work of prevention and management of chronic and acute conditions - is what is going to help us turn the corner on health for all Territorians and, especially, for Aboriginal Territorians who continue to bear the heaviest burden of ill health.
Following on our achievements in our first term in addressing the health of mothers and children, we have already made commitments to the future. We will establish universal hearing tests for newborn babies so that every new baby in the Northern Territory has a hearing test shortly after birth; set up a community midwifery program in Alice Springs to provide care for women in the community before and after they have a baby; expand the successful child health initiative with 10 more community-based child health care workers across the Territory and extra midwives to provide antenatal and postnatal care to remote centres; and fund midwifery training for the Territory nurses to support local recruitment of midwives and reduce the need for interstate recruitment.
We will also work with Aboriginal communities to ensure that the Australian government resources for primary health care continues and are expanded in the Northern Territory. This will mean continuing our joint work on improving access to Medicare resources for primary health care in the Territory, as well as on going support for grants-based programs such as the Commonwealth Primary Health Care Access Program. By working with our health professionals and community leaders, this government will continue the path to a better health system and better health and wellbeing for all Territorians.
I turn now to my other portfolio in Central Australia. As the Administrator outlined in his address, one of the five goals of our government during its second term will be to build and expand on existing commitments to regional areas in the Northern Territory.
Central Australia is my home, and it is very important to the economic, social and cultural development of the Northern Territory. The Labor government will continue its commitment to Central Australia in our second term, and we will build on the work already done.
Tourism is one of the Northern Territory’s main industry sectors, and employs over 15 000 Territorians. We will ensure that Central Australia is in a good position to capitalise on the recovery in tourism. The Labor government has worked hard in its first term by making sure there is infrastructure to make all regions accessible to tourists, and focusing on marketing and tourism developments in six priority destinations, including Alice Springs and surrounds. The recent $1.2m Destination Alice Springs campaign is an example of that work. The sealing of the Mereenie and West MacDonnell loop was one of our first term commitments, and work is progressing on this project.
Our commitment to seek World Heritage listing for the Western MacDonnell Ranges is a reflection of this government’s commitment to expanding tourism opportunities, and preserving our unique natural environment.
The Ghan service from Alice Springs to Darwin was seen as a significant boost in tourism numbers to the Territory. We will upgrade the railway station in Alice Springs and build an interpretive walkway from the railway station to ensure that short-stay visitors are attracted to visit the town centre.
During our second term, we will ensure that our community safety, health and education priorities are reflected throughout the Territory. The government will continue to build our police force and provide police with tools to tackle crime. As an example, we recently announced a mobile police station for Alice Springs to tackle hot spots.
We have committed $150m in upgrades to schools. Included in this is the $5m upgrade of Ross Park Primary School. We will continue our commitment to upgrade and improve services to Alice Springs Hospital with, as an example, the promise to fund an extra 24 beds for that hospital in the next term.
Sport is an important part of the Territory lifestyle and Central Australia is no exception. In our next term of government, we will construct a heated swimming pool, hydrotherapy pool and interactive water park in Alice Springs, and upgrade the town’s soccer facilities. Importantly, we have committed to build a drag strip and upgrade the start/finish line for the Finke Desert Race. This particularly interests me, as a participant in the Finke this year.
I must digress because it is obsession of mine. I wish to pay tribute to my driver, Billy Yan, and Rick Schembri and to the Mighty Fugly, the Class 1 buggie that got us there and back. We did not come first; we came 35th. Out of 98 cars, only 40 finished, so we were there at the finish and that is what counts. Let us go with the Finke. We had a difficult race this year with the unfortunate death of a competitor – which, I understand, was unrelated to the race - and a couple of spectators who got into strife while they were camping down by the track. However, the race will go on and it will continue to grow. It is a magnificent event and very important to the Alice Springs economy, along with our great Masters Games every second year.
Mr Deputy Speaker, this Labor government is a government for all Territorians. We have achieved much, but there is more to do, and Territorians have given us a mandate to deliver our second term agenda. All Territorians can be confident that we have plans, the energy, and will deliver on the agenda.
Mr WOOD (Nelson): Mr Deputy Speaker, I congratulate all new members of the Assembly. I listened with great interest to each one of your maiden speeches, and the one thing that stood out was the many concerns and aspirations you have. These are concerns and aspirations with which most Territorians would agree because, whilst we think the Territory is the best place to live, it has issues we cannot ignore.
High prison rates, especially indigenous prison rates, are unacceptable. High alcohol consumption, sexual assaults, youth problems, high unemployment, especially in remote areas, high suicide rates, and low education standards are just some of the problems we face.
I am sure there would be no one in this place who would say we can sit back and do nothing about these problems. The big question is: how? Whilst we all might want to fix the problems, I believe the differences that might occur in this House are how to do just that.
For many years, millions of dollars have been poured into the Territory to fix things. Committees have been formed, programs have been launched, conferences and workshops have become an industry on their own, all with very little change to the problems. After all, since Labor came to power, we have the highest indigenous rates of incarceration and our gaols are full. It was interesting to read, when Labor was first elected, the first Aboriginal minister, the member for Arnhem, Mr John Ah Kit, said that one of his first objectives was to reduce the high level of imprisonment amongst Territory Aborigines. This has not happened and, in fact, has gone well above the figures when the previous government was in power. Whilst we may have great intentions, and pour buckets of money into programs, it is much harder than people think.
Employment, housing and education are the key and, until some hard decisions are made about employment, the rest will be a waste of time. I have spoken on this many times before. You can put people in school; if they do not have a job, it is a waste of time. We have to create employment. The Americans created employment during the Depression. They made employment. It was better to have people working on policy programs, or just doing work throughout the country, than have people sitting down doing nothing. I believe we really have to talk to the Commonwealth, and we have to create jobs. They may not be the best skilled jobs, but we have to start somewhere. People have to know how to work, get used to working. As people are educated and more opportunities develop, they will rise from those jobs to more skilled jobs. I do not believe we are doing anywhere near enough to solve the problem. We talk, talk, talk. I believe the conditions are worse than when they were 30 years ago in many parts of the Territory. We really have to work hard, as the Territory parliament with the Commonwealth, to do something that is really going to change the lives of many people, especially indigenous people.
I also note that many members of the new Labor government spoke about their working class background, their concern for the not-so-well-off, the poor, the youth, indigenous people, the workers, sections of our community which need to be protected, assisted and encouraged by government, as part of the common good philosophy. I also espouse those issues.
However, sadly, as so often happens today, protection of the most vulnerable in our society - the ones who have no voice, whose future is in our hands; the unborn - are not protected or stuck up for by the ones who say they care for the youth, the indigenous, the sick and aged, the poor and the working class, the ones who wish to preserve the Daly from destruction or protect the Darwin Harbour. Recently, the government shouted loudly about the population increase of 1000 and how that was a sign of prosperity for our Territory. However, what was not heard was the fact that, over the last four years, there were 4000 abortions. Just from an economic point of view, that is an enormous loss to the Territory. From a social point of view, we have lost the potential that those human beings would have given to our society and, from a human life perspective, we have lost 4000 lives. A tragedy under any other circumstances except, in this case, the victims are insignificant and cannot write letters to the paper, or their local politicians, or collect petitions, or be interviewed by Julia or John Laws.
I say to all those people who in this parliament support the weak, the poor, the underprivileged, the disadvantaged, the sick: why can we not have a common goal that would at least reduce the number of abortions? Why cannot this government say to the Department of Health that their goal is to reduce the number of abortions in the Territory; their goal is for life, to encourage mothers to go through with their pregnancies, and to provide counselling, support, compassion, love, understanding, financial assistance, or whatever, to help with that objective. In other words, the basic philosophy behind the government is the protection and support of human life backed up by a proactive approach. No doubt, as I have heard many times before in this parliament, there will be those who disagree. I realise that abortion is not a simple issue. The issue of unwanted pregnancy, a woman’s right, and the definition of medical reasons are all matters that raise strong opposing views. However, I would sincerely hope that no one in this House would say that abortion is a good thing, or would be opposed to reducing the number of abortions in the Territory. I hope that if there are like-minded people on either side of the House, we could throw away our political party handicaps and do something positive for the most disadvantaged of us all.
On a local note, I congratulate new members in parliament whose electorates are part of my rural area and take in a section of the Litchfield Shire, part of the Territory with which I had a long affiliation; that is, the members for Goyder and Daly. I have a strong affiliation with both those areas. I was married on the Daly River; my wife comes from Bulgul at the mouth of the Daly River. Her father worked for many years at Delissaville, now Belyuen, which is now in Goyder. He also worked during the war with the Army on the Perron Islands. I have some relations in Batchelor. As I said, I not only worked on the Daly River Mission, but on one of the farms there. Of course, now I live in the rural area, so I have a strong affiliation and love for the area.
There are certainly quite a few issues in that area that need addressing, and I would be happy to work with those members in achieving solutions to them, as well as keeping the government to any of the promises it made during the election. I like that bit.
As an aside, I notice that the new member for Goyder is using the same logo as the previous member for Goyder: ‘A Strong Voice In the Rural Area’. Obviously, this will save on paint when he moves into his new office, which is a good thing.
However, we hear of some of the issues that need addressing. Water conservation is certainly an issue that has been in the paper in recent times. Some of it, I believe, was drummed up to some extent by the media just before the election, because the issue was not about metering bores to pay for the water, it was really about whether the production bores were taking water out of the rural area, whether that was affecting the existing bores, how much effect the very dry Wet Season had on the provision of water, and whether the government should be putting town water supply into the rural area. Those issues went from that to the metering bores, about which an editorial in the NT News said rural people should pay for water. It is amazing how a subject which really needs serious attention can, all of sudden, be heated up and taken off onto a different path. The minister said today he will not be charging people for water from bores in the rural area. However, we need to tackle the issue of water conservation from the point of view of domestic supplies, horticulture usage, and production bores of Darwin. As you know, 10% of the water that Darwin and Palmerston people drink comes from the bores. It is mixed with 90% of water from Darwin River Dam to make it softer so it does not corrode copper pipes and fittings.
As well as that, there is the environment. We do know that high water tables are what keep places like Black Jungle, the Howard River and our lagoons full with water. If they are drying out earlier than they should be, we have to look at the long-term effects of whether that is eventually going to kill off those areas.
There are many issues. I am hoping to have a forum around September, because by September we will know whether the Dry Season has had some effect on water levels to the point where people are struggling for water. We need to come together and look at that problem. There are also problems of whether we should have more subdivisions. Have we come to limited subdivisions with bores? Do we need to provide town water?
Earlier, I mentioned power problems. I know when I asked the question about power problems, the minister mentioned Marrakai. I know that on both sides of the Arnhem Highway - in upper Humpty Doo and lower Humpty Doo if you want to call it that - there are continual power problems. It is causing many problems for people who are using computers, working at home. This has been going on for quite a while because I have been getting phones calls asking me if I had five or six interruptions to my power last night in about three or four hours. It is an issue that is a problem. I realise bats can be a problem, but I hope that we can continue to try and solve that problem.
There is another issue with water. Large parts of the rural area have what we call spaghetti lines. They are private lines which were run from the end of the mains - in some cases they go for about a kilometre - which are poly pipe. Of course, a lot of poly pipe, if not laid properly, starts to leak. If you go down roads in the rural area, you will see a great heap of meters at one end of the road and you know that there is a water pipe going off to someone’s place. I think the government should be looking at a program to remove those spaghetti lines and replace it with a proper town water supply. I know they might say that it belongs to a private person; my argument is that you can put the powerlines underground in the northern suburbs free - because you do not need to put them underground - then you can do a similar thing for the rural area over a period of time, and it would get rid of all those spaghetti lines.
Buses - a favourite one - and before I forget, I thank the minister for the bus shelters. Yes, they are being moved slowly from Marjory Street at the 11 Mile to the Freds Pass Reserve. There had been some issues with the council wanting to accept them, but they have finally received the letter saying that they are receiving them and they have said they will accept them. One of the questions that needs to be asked, of course, is: why are bus shelters provided free in the urban areas, yet they are not really provided free - that is, the setting up of them - in the rural areas? A bus stop with a shelter is provided by the Darwin Bus Service. In the rural area, we have to collect them and we will have to put them up ourselves. There seems to be two different philosophies when it comes to provision of bus shelters.
There are issues about bus routes. I know, minister, you announced changes to the bus routes. I am hoping that will come out fairly soon because estimates is coming up next week. I hope to know the times when the new buses are coming. I should highlight how poor are bus services in the rural area. I know the minister has said we are getting an upgrade. However, you cannot go from Palmerston to the rural area in the morning, for instance. You can go from the rural area to Palmerston in the morning, but you cannot go the other way. The bus goes one way only. In the evening, you cannot go from Humpty Doo to Palmerston in the evening, only from Palmerston to Humpty Doo. The bus goes down there but it does not take anyone back. It is parked at Shuker’s bus shed in Humpty Doo. Who else has a system that only has a one-way bus service? We do. It is very poor and is not good enough today with a population of 14 000 to 17 000 people in that area. I believe that is something that needs to be improved.
People in the urban areas take bicycle paths for granted. You can practically ride from Palmerston all the way around Darwin on a bicycle path. Yet, for 10 years, we have not had one inch of bitumen in the form of a bicycle path in the rural area. I know that Transport and Works put us as a low priority. I know they want to put one over near Farrar, but we have asked why we cannot have a bicycle path going on the old railway line. It preserves the old railway line and will stop the bridges getting knocked off - which we have not found. It may be at Dundee. Member for Goyder, if you see something that looks like a bridge, please let me know. We think that is where it has gone. Not only will it help preserve the heritage, it will be a great place for people to ride their bikes and for rural area people to be able to come to Palmerston by bike; not on highways as they have to do at the moment. I just do not know why it is so hard to get a bit of bicycle path past the Palmerston line.
No one can swim in the Howard Springs Reserve anymore; it has not been cleaned out for 15 years. It has a lot of trees over growing it. I did have a meeting, thank you, minister, with people from Parks and Wildlife. There are some issues. If you look up the web site, Howard Springs Reserve is a nature reserve where swimming occurs. It does not anymore. We have to really look at the issue of whether we have to pump water in it from down further in the aquifer to keep it flowing. People did go there for a barbecue and a dip, and they cannot do that anymore. We have to make some decisions about how we can get that back into a nature park, but also a park where we can enjoy the swimming. Some people go swimming at Leanyer which is, by the way, in my electorate. I would not mind if you could fix up the Howard Springs Nature Reserve and make it suitable for swimming. It might take up a bit of work to work out what the problems are, but it is 15 years since it was cleaned out.
The cost of land was mentioned by the member for Braitling. I believe the price of land in the rural areas is excessive for first home owners. Forget the HomeNorth schemes. If the cost of the land and the cost of the house is above what you can get a loan on, well you cannot get a house and a block of land in the rural areas unless you want to go down to Goyder and beyond. The land in my area is becoming too expensive. You cannot get a five acre block under $200 000. To put a house on top of that, there is only $44 000 more and you have reached the HomeNorth limitations, and it will not be much of a house. I really think where the government has Crown land, it can contribute by opening some rural land, because the rural lifestyle is the best lifestyle for raising a family. You can have a few chooks, a dog and, maybe, half a cow, depending on the planning authority’s ruling on that. It is a much better lifestyle, I believe, than being jammed in the suburbs on blocks where the walls of houses are 1.5 m apart. Kids need room to breathe and play. Rural areas are a great place, and we should consider opening up some land. I have been criticised by my opponent in the election who believes that a cheaper land equals cheaper blocks; small blocks equal high density housing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Cheaper land, I am saying, could be provided for young families to help the Territory grow.
The swimming pool! That should get the members for Goyder and Daly going! It is partly in the Litchfield Shire. I will be interested to see what happens with the swimming pool. I would like to say a couple of things about it. I am all for things that help kids take up sport. I am a great fan of kids being active, and the best way of keeping kids out of crime is to get them into sport. Swimming pools can be part of that. However, we have to realise it is expensive and it will cost the council a fair bit of money. They are suffering at present from potential financial cuts, so we need to look at it carefully, talk to the council and work in cooperation with them.
The siting of a pool is important. If you are in Goyder, you will say Humpty Doo; Daly, you probably would not care; and I am in Nelson so I say it should be at Freds Pass. However, we should sit down and not look at it so much from a political point of view. If we build one, we should build it at a place where it will be most used and be most viable. People would accept that. If it means that we bring in an independent person to assess the swimming pool - so be it. We should take our biases out and have someone come in to tell us where, in the long term, this pool would have the most use. We can work together on that and we might come up with a good result.
On to environmental issues, gamba grass, which I mentioned today, really needs to be tackled. There is probably more gamba grass in the electorate of Daly than in Nelson, where there is plenty of it. Goyder, being in between, probably has a fair sample of it, too. I went to the gamba workshop at Batchelor, and I probably should have brought my Gamba Samba poem, but I will do it next time.
A member: Oh, please!
Mr WOOD: Oh, it is not bad. It took a private person to get something going about gamba. Gamba something we could control far easier than the cane toad, but will probably affect the Territory far more. It will, potentially, ruin native bush in the Top End. We should do one thing: work out the farthest point that gamba grass has reached, draw a line on the map and pay someone – a full-time job for one person, a contractor or whatever. That person’s job is not to let gamba grass move out of that area. Then we should sit down and work out strategies for reducing gamba, whether that be block by block, council by council, section of land by section of land, but we need to work out some way of fighting it back.
If we do not do anything about it, it is going to ruin our country. I know pastoralists love it, and perhaps they should be licensed with part of the license being a requirement that they must keep it within the confines of their block, or incur a penalty. We need a carrot and stick approach; something by which we say: ‘If you do the right thing, we give you some money. If you do not …’. It might be the licence fee, for instance. You could say that to grow gamba will cost $1000 a year, but if you prevent it from growing outside your block, you get your $1000 back. If there are outbreaks of gamba grass around, they do not get their $1000 back. With this approach, pastoralists could still use gamba grass, but we have to get rid of it. I have it on my block at Adelaide River and I do not know how the heck I am going to get rid of it because it is that high and my tractor is this high. It is incredibly tough to get rid of. Weeds in general – we have plenty of them. We have mission grass and mimosa, but gamba is the No 1 priority.
I have mentioned publicly the tip at Humpty Doo. I know the government is saying the licence will be closed in February. I hope we do not have to take rubbish to Shoal Bay; it will increase the rates for Litchfield Shire enormously. I hear that the government is looking at putting …
Ms Scrymgour: The licence is until the end of the year.
Mr WOOD: That is right. After that, we have to transport it. We do know, because we did costs when I was on council, that that increases transport costs for rubbish for Litchfield residents enormously. On top of that, you would have to ask about the future of the Shoal Bay tip because the government is talking to Darwin City Council about putting all the contaminated soil from the wharf there, so how long will the Shoal Bay tip last?
I ask the government to consider establishing a tip site in the Litchfield Shire where it is much closer for the transport of rubbish. Otherwise, it will hurt the council. I do not know why a place of 14 000 to 17 000 people cannot have its own tip site. If you are going to knock the old Litchfield Shire for having a tip, then knock out Coomalie, and a lot of the other communities. It seems poor old Litchfield is hit a bit harder because it is a little closer for the department to drive to.
Ms Scrymgour: No, it is not just the Humpty Doo dump, Gerry.
Mr WOOD: Well, I reckon it is. The minister might complain that the Humpty Doo tip was a great place for people to take their cars to get crushed ...
Ms Scrymgour: It was in a swamp!
Mr WOOD: No. Now you cannot take a wrecked car to the only place in Litchfield Shire to be crushed. The sign up there says it is because of the department’s rules on environmental protection. For the life of me, why something simple like dropping your old bomb down there for the Simms portable crusher to come down and crush it and recycle it is now banned at Humpty Doo, the only place you could take it in the whole of the shire. I would ask you, minister, to find out why, because it seems to me that people will now dump it in the forest, and that is sad. You can have these great legal eagles working in the department who know everything about the environment but, in reality, people will just say: ‘Stuff you, I will stick my car in the bush and too bad’. If you can find out why we cannot put cars in Humpty Doo tip to be recycled I would like to hear. It is an issue.
I know you jump up and down every time I mention container deposit legislation. I ask you, minister …
Ms Scrymgour: I do not jump up and down!
Mr WOOD: In a nice way. You know my views on it. If you go to the Humpty Doo tip - and the member for Goyder has the Humpty Doo tip in his area - just look at the amount of rubbish that is being buried day after day.
Ms Scrymgour: Two issues: litter and recycling.
Mr WOOD: Container deposit legislation in the remote areas such as Litchfield – and we are relatively remote as a whole in the Territory - will solve that problem, because it will not let it get there. It will not let it get to the landfill. I bet the member for Drysdale is a great supporter of CDL, but he will have to keep quiet because the party does not support it. He comes from Port Adelaide, one of the most popular …
Ms Lawrie: Oh no, we do support it. We support it at a national level.
Ms Scrymgour: Oh, come on, Gerry!
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, order!
Mr WOOD: No, not the national. South Australia has not gone national. South Australia has done it on its own. South Australia proved it could do it ...
Ms Scrymgour: And they are paying for it.
Mr WOOD: South Australians say it is the most popular piece of legislation they ever introduced ...
Ms Scrymgour: Have you called for cotton growing yet?
Mr WOOD: We should do it. We should not …
Ms Lawrie: And we say …
Ms Scrymgour: South Australia …
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Karama, member for Arafura, please let him have his say.
Ms Lawrie: He is provoking us.
Mr WOOD: We will continue to fight for CDL because while the rubbish in the rural area is continually dumped, while glass and plastic is not recycled …
Ms Scrymgour: That is not true.
Mr WOOD: In the rural area it is not. There are no bins now in the rural area for glass collection for recycling because it is not commercially viable. Plastic is not recycled. The only thing that is recycled is cans, through the Scouts. We all have one of those. Do you know why they are recycled? Because they are worth money. They are CDL with a very small deposit - a quarter of a cent for a can - and that is why they are being recycled. It will work; it just requires government to do it.
I know the wharf has come up as well. I am talking about the environment. I hope the issue of where the mud is going to be pumped, and where the contaminated soil is going, has environmental approval, because there will be a lot of mud, I presume, and a lot of soil going somewhere. One of those areas, at least, is in my electorate, at Shoal Bay dump, so I will be taking up my concern about that.
Ms Scrymgour: Come and get a briefing.
Mr WOOD: I do not know whether people realise how far my electorate now goes.
There are many issues. I hope to work with the members for Goyder and Daly. I believe we can work as a good team. There will be times when we do not get it quite right. That is all right, that is part of the argy-bargy of politics. We will get the landscaping design done for Coolalinga - one day. It is coming, but I have not seen it yet. It is going to come. The master plan for landscaping of the highway; it is coming one day. It was promised earlier this year - it will come one day. We will get Girraween Road attached to the lights at Coolalinga where Henning Road meets the Stuart Highway - one day. It has been a promise but we are hoping it comes. We will be keeping on those issues, and I will be working with the members for those areas because, even though we have our differences, we are going to work for residents in the rural area to make it a better place.
The other thing I would say is that, while we will work together, we need to make sure we work together with Litchfield Shire Council. We might not always agree with it. I know, I worked on it for a long time. It has many issues, and one of the issues will be the loss of revenue that it is purporting it is going to have - $500 000. Whether it is over one year or two years has not been decided. One of the problems the council has is that the Northern Territory Grants Commission does not announce what it is going to give the council until August, yet the council has to bring out its budget months before that. That makes it difficult for a council to work out what its rates will be.
Mr Bonson: Five years …
Mr WOOD: We are not sure. We have not seen …
A member: They have had five years to do it.
Mr WOOD: Well, we will see what happens when the Grants Commission ...
Mr Henderson: It has just put the rates up 16%.
Mr WOOD: Yes, to cover what might be the Northern Territory Grants Commission’s losses.
Mr Henderson: What about the $20m they have in the bank?
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: I remind members that there should not be any cross-floor chatter.
Mr WOOD: That is right.
Ms Scrymgour: He is being provocative again.
Mr WOOD: No, I am not being provocative. That is not blaming the Northern Territory government; the Northern Territory Grants Commission is funded by the Commonwealth. I will be going to see the two federal members if Litchfield Shire Council’s funding is cut. Why should a council that is lean and mean and sticks to its basics end up supporting some councils that have taken on roles that they probably should never have taken on? I believe the reason some of our poor little community councils are struggling is because they take on post office, banks, health, and housing. That is not the role of a council; that is the role of departments. Let the council do its basics. No wonder they become dysfunctional; they just run out of money doing other people’s work.
Quickly, I would like to say something about the election. As everyone knows, it is a stressful time. I think I lost 5 kg and I thought I ate more. However, it was an interesting election. There were some - what you would call - party strategies on both sides that I was not happy with overall. The CLP decided that I supported high density housing and that I had received personal incentives from the government to shut up. The government knows that is not quite so. On the other hand, I was disappointed the government put out some ads which clearly did not state were their ads - the ones that said ‘Independents or Greens’ and had all these things underneath: ‘please put CLP last’. I do not mind you putting out that ad, as long as you put up the heading so everyone can read it of ‘Labor says Independents or Greens’. I saw an ad at the polling booth at Humpty Doo at Taminmin High School which said ‘Save the Daly, put the CLP last’. It did not have anything, except for Brett Walker’s name on the side …
Ms Lawrie: That was authorised.
Mr WOOD: Yes, but what it should have said - hang on, wait until I finish. There was a good bloke there I have known for a lot of years, Jack Crosby, a fine man. I said to him: ‘Jack, that is not fair; you should be saying that that is a Labor Party poster’. What did he do? He wrote it on …
Ms Scrymgour: Yes, but that was authorised.
Mr WOOD: Yes, but Fred Nerk from Wongabilla would not have a clue who Brett Walker is. It should have said ‘Labor Party says this’. He did that and I congratulate him, because Jack Crosby is a decent bloke and he understood that the ad, by itself, was misleading. I just say thanks, Jack, you did the right thing, and people knew it. It was stuck right next to my sign. I was not promoting that sign; it was not my sign. It was his sign. I just say he is a good fellow.
Ms Lawrie: He is a top bloke; hard worker.
Mr WOOD: Okay. Electoral issues: I believe that the Electoral Commission needs to look at a few issues. Some of my constituents seemed to end up voting for the member for Drysdale. We do not know, but some might have because they were on the wrong roll. We hope that will be fixed. There were issues about the Army. There was going to be a mobile polling booth which we were told was going to happen, was not going to happen and, eventually, at 12 noon on the Friday before the election, it did not happen.
I had a funny word from someone who was looking after the votes at Bees Creek who, on the way back to the polling booth that night, was asked by someone in the Electoral Commission to open up and count the votes on the way home in the car. I am going to write a letter to the Electoral Commissioner to ask why. They were confused; they really did not want to do it. However, they were told that they had to open them up on the way back and count them in the car. I am not sure what that story is, but I have that from the person who had to do it.
I should say a couple of other things. One is that, if anything in the Nelson electorate, you can prove you do not need your face on an election poster to win an election; all you need is some feathery chooks. The good thing about that is you can sell them or give them away to anyone else, and they can cut out my name and put ‘school fete next week’ and they have a reusable sign. However, once you have someone’s ugly face sitting on a sign, it is there forever. I just say to you: if you want your signs recycled do not put your face on them, and give them to the schools or someone later to use.
Ms Lawrie: We are giving them to the schools; they do recycle them.
Mr Wood: Yes, but your face would be on them all the time.
Ms Lawrie: Love that.
Mr WOOD: I say so. I would like to thank all the people who helped me. My mum came up. She did not mean to come up for the election, she just arrived. My sister came from Bendigo to give us a hand. My good wife still never sees me. I now have a security card just to check when I come home. To my sister and brother, Trish and Tony, to all my workers, to the chook balloon manufacturer, to all those people who dropped in and filled up the balloons – as the member for Johnston said - delivered fliers, manned the polling booths, to Jenny Hillier who is my secretary who lived and died for this election - she told me if I did not win she was going to hit me. She stressed out just as much as I did, and I know she is so glad that we did win. I thank all the people in the rural area for their support. What went from a so-called marginal seat of 1.1% is now a lot more than that. I thank all those people and I also the bloke upstairs for his help as well, because I certainly needed it.
Ms SCRYMGOUR (Family and Community Services): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is with great pride that I stand before the House today as the re-elected member for Arafura. It is a great honour for me to be first entrusted in 2001 with the responsibility for representing the people of Arafura and for bringing forward their views and their aspirations in this House. Today, I am again honoured by the trust and responsibility that has been placed in me.
The portfolios for which I am responsible, Family and Community Services and Environment and Heritage, are key priorities of this government. We have done so much in this area over the last four years …
Mr Wood: That should take 60 seconds.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: I know that the member for Nelson does not like me repeating what government has achieved over four years. I might just go back over it all and reaffirm to the member for Nelson just what we have done in the four years. There is more to be done, and investing in health and community services and protecting our great environment will continue to be priorities in our second term.
Rather than talking about the breadth of our achievements in Family and Community Services, I want to first reflect on an achievement of which I am personally very proud. Earlier this year, legislation to deal with the devastating effects of petrol sniffing passed through this House. Through this legislation and the $10m committed by this government, we will be putting in place a comprehensive, integrated and broad-ranging package of measures to tackle sniffing. Regulations and guidelines are being developed to underpin the operation of legislation, and services across the Territory are being strengthened.
But what does this mean, when we use these words? It means that this government has drawn a line in the sand and said: ‘Enough’. We have had enough of this generation destroying its present and its future through substance abuse. We have had enough of watching elders in our community leaders fighting and, in many cases without support, to prevent the next generation from throwing away its future. We are putting in place these strategies.
I have always believed that substance abuse is the biggest problem facing our communities. I believe this through personal experiences of watching fellow Territorians suffer its effects. I believe it as a parliamentarian after many months as chair of the select committee on substance abuse. I believe it after travelling through the Territory as a minister and listening to the stories of all my fellow Territorians. Substance abuse affects everyone in our community, whether they are white or black. It affects adults, both directly and indirectly, and it affects our children. Substance abuse can destroy families and I am not alone in my belief that it is the major factor contributing to the too-high rates of domestic violence in our community. It is for all these reasons that I, with the support of my colleagues, brought forward these measures that will tackle petrol sniffing.
It is why I strongly support this government’s approach to alcohol abuse. Many of our people in the communities are sick and tired of alcohol abuse and the problem it causes being ignored. They are sick of the funerals. Our new antisocial behaviour act will create tough new ways of tackling this behaviour. We will expand treatment programs and treatment options, with 50 new alcohol treatment beds. If people are habitual drunks, refuse treatment and continue to break the law, then gaol may be the only option taken up by the courts. I support this policy because it does not ignore the devastation of alcohol abuse. I support this policy because it is going to get people, finally, the support and treatment they need.
In the areas of child protection, significant change has also been made by this government, and will continue to be made. Not only is this change in the form of crisis intervention in our $53m investment in improving our child protection services, it is in the services we have put in place to support and nurture Territory families, such as Parent Line, the telephone advice service for parents and grandparents, and the Northern Territory Families web site which provides advice and support to Territory families 24 hours a day. They are there when and where families need them, and before a crisis occurs.
Throughout our second term in government we will continue to fund and deliver those services which may make a difference to Territorians lives: the family centre in Karama providing a one-stop shop to support and assist families; a $50 voucher for each Territory child enrolled in school to help offset the costs of uniforms and school supplies; and a new carer’s card providing concessions on essential services to help carers pay for essential services such as electricity, water, motor vehicle registration, and public transport. That is financial relief to carers worth up to $750 each year.
I turn to my Environment and Heritage portfolio. I cannot put it better than the Environment Centre did when it said the environment was the big winner from the 18 June Territory election. We did run a positive, pro-environment campaign focusing on the key issues: protecting the Daly River; no uranium mining; creating an EPA; and conserving the Darwin Harbour. We ran on these issues because this is what we are committed to do. We will continue to balance strong economic growth with protecting our unique environment because I believe that is what Territorians want us to do.
We have a strong record from which we are moving forward. We have already protected the Darwin Harbour’s mangroves, put in place a proper plan for the future management and monitoring of the harbour through the Darwin Harbour Plan of Management, passed new laws to make it clear that Territorians do not want their backyard to be the dumping ground for the Commonwealth’s nuclear waste; banned GM cotton; and moved to protect the Daly region with a moratorium on land clearing.
We will continue to move forward with the immediate establishment of an independent EPA, an Environmental Protection Agency for the Northern Territory. We will continue to protect the Daly, keeping the moratorium in place and putting $3.5m into the highest standards of land and water monitoring. We will introduce a Living Rivers program, elevating the environmental management of our most important river systems so that we do not get the water problems suffered elsewhere in Australia. We will continue to oppose mining at Koongarra, and to make clear our position of no new uranium mines for the Territory. We will put the Central Australian landscape on the world stage, working with the Alice Springs community to seek World Heritage listing of the West MacDonnell Ranges. We are cleaning up Mt Todd.
We have already shown our commitment to the communities through our $1m Environment Grants program. In the Top End, in particular, we will expand our support for community environment action with the establishment of the new Environment Hub at Rapid Creek. Through generous rental subsidies, organisations will be invited and encouraged to co-locate in offices in the Rapid Creek area. While making these organisations more accessible to the public, a green office fit-out will also showcase environmentally friendly practices in action. This government believes in a strong voice for the environment. We have shown this in funding, for the first time, groups such as the Environment Centre and the Arid Lands Environment Centre. The hub is the further demonstration of our commitment to community involvement and action to protect our unique environment.
We are moving on a sustainable living agenda. Priority action will see a doubling of funding to The Cool Mob in Darwin and Alice Springs to enable them to extend their work into water conservation. A new Water Saver Rebate for Alice Springs and Tennant Creek residents will encourage the use of low-cost devices such as tap timers and water efficient shower heads. I look forward to implementing this government’s agenda. As I said this morning, it is ambitious but it is an agenda that is vitally important.
I now turn to my electorate of Arafura. It was with great trepidation that I gave my maiden speech in this Chamber in October 2001. It was an opportunity for me to introduce myself by reference to the sacrifices of my parents and the complex strands of identity that I share with so many Territory Aboriginal women of my generation: modern, yet grounded in tradition; capable of individual achievement but obligation-bound to immediate and extended family; galvanised by the realisation late, but not too late in life, of the value and importance of education; and by the desire to create better opportunity for our kids. I also tried to reflect on the cultural and environmental wealth and diversity of the Arafura electorate, which I have been honoured to represent.
One of my big worries has been making sure that, in my efforts to be a good and effective minister, I do not neglect the people who placed their confidence and trust in me to be their representative in parliament in the first place; that is, the electors of Arafura. With that in mind, I have tried my hardest to stay focused on the local issues and concerns in my electorate. It is a big area to cover, with different language groups and geographic landscapes, but a lot of similar social and economic challenges. I am touched and humbled by the resounding vote of confidence that my constituents have given me in the recent election. My resolve for the next four years is to try to work even harder as their local member. I see my role as the member for Arafura not as a right - and it has never been a right - but as a privilege and an honour bestowed upon me by the people of my electorate.
I would like to touch on briefly and pay tribute to the many individuals who have worked tirelessly supporting me throughout the last four years of my parliamentary term, and also during the recent election. They are my brothers, Robert and John, who both live and work on the Tiwi Islands. The same friends come and go, but family are with you through all the good and bad times. I thank my brothers for their support, insight, determination, and strength. My marvellous Tiwi team included: Philip Burns, Nola Tipungwuti, Andre and Carmen Puatjimi, Bernardo Pupangamirri, Irene Hull, Pamela Warlapinni, Jason Palipuaminni, Dominica Johnson, Marie Napatali and John Ross Pilakui. In Kakadu and Gunbalanya region, Liam Maher and Andrew Ralph drove many distances to the various outstations supporting my re-election campaign. Peter Cooke is unsung, and often unrecognised, for all the work he does on the Caring for Country Program with the indigenous rangers in the Gunbalanya area.
I have to disagree with the members for Arnhem and Daly when they were claiming having the greatest electorate. I do not know if everyone saw on one of the news items of the recent election showing the choppers landing on this beautiful escarpment in Arnhem Land and it showed …
Mr McAdam: In the Barkly.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: No, that was not the Barkly, I am sorry, member for Barkly. You do not get much water down there. It showed the choppers landing on this beautiful escarpment, and the indigenous rangers from Gunbalanya doing a cross-country walk from Gunbalanya up through to Maningrida as part of the Caring for Country Program. We worked with the Electoral Commission. A request was made that the rangers would be at a certain area, so their coordinates were taken and the Electoral Commission with the choppers went in and met them on the top of this great escarpment in West Arnhem with the falls in the background, and set up all the polling booths on the top of this beautiful escarpment, which is my electorate.
Mr Henderson: It looked pretty good.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: It is fantastic footage. This is what we all call home; it is a beautiful part of the Territory. All of our bush electorates - I am not just saying Arafura, but Arnhem, Daly, the Barkly, and the Centre - have such beauty …
Mrs Miller: Do not forget Katherine.
Ms SCRYMGOUR: And Katherine. I am not being biased, member for Katherine, because I have worked in Katherine and there are some beautiful landscapes there.
However, I have digressed enough. I will go back to what I was talking about. I cannot thank Ronnie Westmead enough. The only problem with Ronnie - and I kept telling him that - was that he barracks for Collingwood. But I forgave him for that. Don Elphink and Joan and Tony Mount, drove out from Darwin early on the Saturday morning of the main static poll to assist with the Jabiru booth. I thank Mark Ramjan, Joe Singh, Esther Djahgurrnga, Tess Bulliwana and Julie Narndal and the many strong women at Gunbalanya, especially Aunty Barbara Wauchope and Raylene Wauchope and many others. I also thank and appreciate the support that I got from Uncle Jimmy Walker.
At Maningrida, my team consisted of David Bond, Helen Bond-Sharp, Helen Williams, Dean Hereen, Jaclyn Puatjimi, Maurice Geinbaraba and John Cooper. To my sisters, Valerie Rowland and Marie Napatali, and my brother-in-law, Peter Rowland, thank you. To my dear friend, Diat Callope, thank you for travelling all the way up from Sydney to keep me company on the mobile for the two weeks.
Finally, I would like to thank my children, Cherise, Richard and Helen Daiyi, for their love, support and strength, not only over the past four years. It has not always been easy and we have had a few rocky patches, but our love as a family allows us to overcome any obstacles that may be placed in our way. To my husband, David - and I know that he will feel really embarrassed when he reads it - because he is my rock and my strength and, for the first time, took on the role of campaign manager along with the brunt of all the frustrations and the tears. He was totally unfazed and, when I was losing the plot, steered me back on course.
To the electorate, thank you. I promise, as I promised in 2001, regardless of how you voted, I will represent everyone in my electorate equally and with great pride.
Mr HENDERSON (Business and Industry): Mr Deputy Speaker, I support the Administrator’s address to the House yesterday, and further outline the Martin Labor government’s agenda for the next four years.
First of all, I am very humbled to be returned with an increased majority in my electorate of Wanguri. It certainly was a very amazing feeling on Saturday night – a mixture of real excitement and also great humility, given the increased majority in my seat. My very sincere thanks to the electorate of Wanguri - residents in Wanguri and Leanyer - who voted for me and the Labor government on 18 June. I give my absolute commitment to work as hard as possible to return their trust and confidence in me over the next four years. All of us come here, having worked really hard in our electorates during the campaign - and if we were previously members of parliament, for the last four years - to receive the endorsement that we did was a very humbling experience.
I congratulate all members of the House on being either elected for the first time or returned to the parliament. I give an absolute commitment from myself, the Chief Minister and our Labor team on this side of the House - and also on the other side of the House for the first time - that we will govern for all Territorians regardless of whether they voted for us. There has been a great endorsement of the Labor government and our Chief Minister by the people of the Northern Territory, a very strong mandate on the campaign and the commitments that we have made. We will deliver on those commitments without fear or favour across the Northern Territory.
Saturday, 18 June, was an historic day in the Territory, returning the Territory’s first-ever Labor government for a second term. On that day, the Chief Minister and her team were delivered a clear mandate from Territorians to continue building on the work done over the past four years to take the Territory forward.
The Territory has certainly grown since 2001, and we are in an exciting period of economic growth and development. We now have the highest economic growth in Australia at 7.2%, and our population has passed the 200 000 mark for the first time. We have the lowest taxes for small business in Australia, there are more than 3000 Territorians in training, and Territory’s small business is the most confident in Australia. It is certainly a record of which we are very proud. However, as we said in the campaign, there is much more to do.
The coming years look bright, with economic growth predicted to be in the order of 4.6% in the five years to 2008-09, and more than $5bn worth of projects under way or in the near future. These results do not happen by accident and, for the second Martin Labor government, a key objective will be to continue to drive this economic development and back Territory small business to take advantage of the major projects and new developments under way or on the horizon.
One of the most exciting areas of growth in the near future, presenting significant opportunities for small business, is in the Defence support sector. There are almost 13 000 Defence personnel and their family members living in the Territory, making up about 6.5% of our total population. In 2002-03, Defence spending injected about $1bn into the Territory economy. The Defence presence is set to grow even further with the arrival of the Army’s 17 new armed reconnaissance Tiger helicopters at the end of 2005 and start of 2006, and the supporting relocation of 200 personnel and their families from the 1st Aviation Regiment from Townsville and Oakey to Robertson Barracks. The Tiger helicopters have already generated significant benefits for Territory business, with the majority of the $75m in capital works to prepare Robertson Barracks for the arrival of the helicopters going to local business.
The arrival of 10 new Armidale patrol boats for the Navy - the first of which was commissioned last week and it was great to be there with the new member for Port Darwin at the commissioning of the first Armidale patrol boat – will also open up new opportunities for Territory business in support and maintenance of the vessels over their 15-year lifespan, and $16m in infrastructure contracts to upgrade facilities at HMAS Coonawarra.
Finally, the 41 new Abrams tanks which will be based at Robertson Barracks from 2007, are expected to generate about $10m in maintenance and support contracts each year. Through our dedicated Defence Support Division located in the Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development, the Martin government will continue to promote the capabilities and capacities of Territory business to secure Defence-related contracts. We will also continue to lobby the federal government to release the Crown land adjacent to Robertson Barracks to allow the establishment of the Defence support hub, which would increase the opportunity for Territory business to secure support and maintenance contracts from the Abrams tanks and other Defence equipment. I am astounded that the federal Defence minister has not responded to repeated correspondence putting forward this suggestion. It just makes absolute logistical sense to set aside land adjacent to the barracks to allow enterprises to set up and support the platforms based at the barracks. I will continue to lobby Senator Hill on this particular issue.
The Defence Support Division is funded to the tune of $570 000 in Budget 2005, and plays a key role in strengthening the Territory’s relationship with the Australian Defence Forces and its prime contractors. The Territory’s relationship with the ADF is more than money. Between 700 and 1000 ADF personnel are posted to the Territory each year for an average two-year posting. Over this term, Labor will establish a new package to help Defence families get the most out of their postings. Welcome to the Territory expos will now be held for Defence families in their home state in the event of major relocations, offering information about life in the Territory including services, schools, job opportunities and recreation. The first expo will be held this September in Queensland to welcome 1st Aviation Regiment families to the Top End. It was great to be able to announce this initiative during the campaign, and it has been very much welcomed by the Defence community organisations and other Defence family associations in regard to trying to ease the anxiety of people who are coming to the Territory for the first time.
Secondly, $100 000 will be allocated to trial a new bus service to military bases around Darwin and Palmerston, with a possibility of a trial for RAAF Base Tindal. This initiative was developed in response to feedback from Defence families. It will make it easier for families to make most of life off base. Finally, a new Defence Force liaison position will be created for the first time providing a single point of contact for ADF families to get information about services to help make their posting as smooth as possible, and provide advice to government agencies on the practical issues impacting on Defence families. Again, I am very pleased to have this position created in my department.
The government knows the Territory’s trading future lies in Asia, and we have done much over the past four years to strengthen and build relationships with the region. The AustralAsia trade route has opened up new opportunities for the Territory for trade into Asia and as the gateway for the trade from Asia to the rest of Australia, and the government has been active in promoting the benefits of the trade routes to our Asian neighbours. The significant advantage, setting the Port of Darwin apart from other Australian ports, is our Indonesian customs pre-inspection facility established during the first term of the Martin government. The facility, the first of its kind in Australia, expedites goods ship through or from Darwin bound for Indonesia’s eastern provinces. Talks are now under way to expand the service to include Java and Sumatra, and the government will further market and promote the facility to see its success build.
Over the past four years, the Territory has strengthened its relationship with the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, east Asian growth area trading block, or BIMP-EAGA, as never before. Last year, the Territory was named as a BIMP-EAGA development partner in recognition of our strong ties. The NT is the only Australian state or territory to have such a strong link with the trading block. We were also honoured to host a BIMP-EAGA delegation in Darwin late last year. Trading doors into the region have been opened as a result of this relationship with BIMP-EAGA, and work is now underway to establish a web-based one-stop shop business portal linking businesses from the BIMP-EAGA region to Australia, and vice versa.
Opening up trade routes is only half the work needed. We must back Territory business to ensure that they are able to harness the advantage of our ties with Asia and, indeed, target new trade deals as far and wide as they present themselves. In our first term, the government replaced the outdated and under-funded export market assistance scheme with the new Trade Support Scheme. The scheme is structured to provide both financial and practical assistance to Territory exporters and, in its first year, was allocated $336 000 in funding. The scheme has been a huge success and government funding in Budget 2005 has been boosted to $407 000. In this financial year alone, more than 100 businesses have accessed the trade grants and practical support available through the Trade Support Scheme to target new trade opportunities, and the government will continue to deliver this program to support Territory business.
As I mentioned earlier, the challenge for the government is to strengthen economic development and see major projects complement the needs of small business. The $5bn in major projects in the Territory’s future brings huge opportunities for local business. Many of these projects have been outlined to the House before, including the $1bn Darwin City Waterfront project and the Alcan Gove expansion, not to mention developments in our mining sector and the strengthening tourism industry.
With these opportunities come challenges, and the most pressing challenge for business at the moment in the Territory, as in the rest of Australia, is the skill shortage - a huge issue which must be tackled if we are to ensure our businesses are equipped to harness the opportunities that are here now and in the future.
The government’s new initiatives for training and skilling Territorians have been discussed by my colleague, the Minister for Employment, Education and Training, including the expanded Workwear/Workgear Bonus and the ambitious commitment to train 10 000 Territorians under Jobs Plan 2. Equally as important as helping Territorians into the work force with new skills is giving existing business people the support to further develop their skills to grow their operations.
The Department of Business, Industry and Resource Development is the leading agency delivering the government’s programs that are backing business to grow. Among the programs that will continue to be delivered is the Business Growth program, offering information, funding and development services to existing business people to grow their operation; the Upskills program, which is becoming more and more popular, offering a range of business improvement programs; and, of course, October Business Month, which provides a month-long program of workshops and seminars dedicated to helping business grow.
In addition to the push to train Territorians, the government is continuing to pursue business and skilled migration as a complementary avenue for attracting new skilled workers to our work force. After releasing the Territory’s first Business and Skilled Migration strategy earlier this year, the government has boosted funding to this area by $250 000 to $595 0000 in Budget 2005 to see the strategy delivered. To date this financial year, DBIRD has assisted Territory businesses bring more than 300 skilled workers to the Territory to meet skill shortage needs in the health, education, trades and tourism sectors.
When the Martin Labor government came to office in 2001, the Territory economy was in trouble. Economic growth had almost stopped, our population was not growing, and many small businesses were doing it tough. As business minister, I have been pleased to see the economy turn around over the past four years to see growth now exceeding national levels, Territory business the most confident in the country, the vital tourism industry gaining strength after being badly hurt by world events, and a business climate that is open to investment and development. However, there is always more to be done, and this government will continue to drive economic development because we know it means jobs for Territorians.
As the Administrator noted in his address yesterday, community safety is the foundation of the social wellbeing of Territorians, and has a strong bearing on business and economic development. Labor is committed to building safe communities for all Territorians. Budget 2005 delivers record funding for the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services of $189m, a 38% increase in funding since 2001. Labor knows that a properly resourced and equipped police force is essential if we are to build a safer community.
In August 2003, the government appointed former Police Commissioner Jim O’Sullivan to conduct an independent review of the Northern Territory Police Force. He uncovered more than a decade of under-funding and under-resourcing that had driven the Northern Territory police almost to its knees, including a four-year recruitment freeze in the early 1990s that is still being felt today.
In response to O’Sullivan, the Labor government launched its $75m Building our Police Force plan, committing to deliver an extra 200 police on the beat by the end of 2006, and improve working conditions to keep our experienced officers in the Territory. That work will continue this term. Following the release of O’Sullivan, a record recruitment campaign was immediately launched and now, just two years later, there are 120 extra police on the beat, with 80 more on the way.
In our first term, this government turned the tables on what had been the status quo, and acknowledged the damage drugs were causing in our community. We took action with new tools for our police, including the drug house and criminal property forfeiture legislation. Known drug dens such as Foils at Moil have been closed down, dealers harassed out of business, and almost $3m worth of property believed to be the proceeds of crime have been restrained. This work continues.
The police now have their first ever Drug Detection Dog Unit, meeting another recommendation from the O’Sullivan report. Its two officers, Senior Constables Richard O’Brien and Dave Young, and their dogs Scent and Monte, are actively supporting the work of local police and specialist teams such the Remote Community Drug Desk to target the supply of drugs into Territory communities. I commend these officers on the outstanding results they are achieving in tackling this difficult issue.
The increase in the number of officers is also enabling Northern Territory Police to deliver new initiatives to boost community safety, including community bike patrols around hot spots, which have been warmly welcomed by the business community in particular, and new Personal and Domestic Violence Protection Units which are allowing police to target these crimes with proven intelligence-led policing techniques. In our second term, the government will deliver new Aboriginal Community Police Officer public place patrols in Darwin and Palmerston as part of our antisocial behaviour package, giving police strength and powers to target these issues.
Our commitment to boosting police resources does not rest with getting more police on the beat. In our first term, the government delivered on our election commitments to build a new police and fire station in Humpty Doo, ending the rural area’s 20-year wait for a station of their own, and a police station in Kintore. Work is under way to build a police station in Numbulwar. In our second term, the government will deliver a $4.8m police station for Darwin’s northern suburbs, replacing the 30-year-old station at Casuarina which is run down and no longer meets the needs of our modern police force - and leaks like a sieve in the Wet Season. We will also support the Commonwealth government in the construction of the new $2.3m police facility at Mutitjulu, and deliver mobile police stations in Darwin’s CBD and northern suburbs and in Alice Springs.
The men and women of the Northern Territory Police do a tough job, and they do it well right across the Territory including, amongst other achievements, seeing property crime cut in half over the last four years. They deserve our thanks and support.
Our fire fighters also deserve our thanks, as do the volunteers who put up their hands to help fellow Territorians through the Northern Territory Emergency Service. The 2004 Metis review of human resources and industrial relations issues within the NT Fire and Rescue Service exposed a culture of behaviour that had to change, and delivered the road map for a new era. Now, 16 months on, that new era is becoming a reality and the government will continue to fund the recommendations of the Metis review for a stronger Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service. There are now 16 extra fire fighters on the job, meeting a first term election commitment. In this term, Labor will deliver a new $3.6m fire and rescue station for Darwin’s northern suburbs to further enhance emergency response times and service. The government is committed to building safer communities. We achieved much over the last four years; however, we know there is much more to be done. We will continue to support the Police, Fire and Emergency Services with the funding and resources they need to protect Territorians.
It is a great honour to be chosen as a minister in the Territory government but, first and foremost, we are all here to represent the people of our electorates. In 1999, the people of Wanguri and Leanyer voted for me to be their voice in parliament. On 18 June, I was honoured and humbled to again be chosen for that role for another four years as part of Clare Martin’s Labor team. I am excited about the opportunities and improvements that will be delivered for the families and residents in the Wanguri electorate over this term.
I am sure all northern suburbs members are hugely excited about the $5.2m improvements that will be made to the Leanyer Recreation Park. I know many of us take our kids there, and this great facility will soon be an even better place for families to spend time together. Following on from the new shade cloths at our schools, Leanyer Primary will undergo Stage 2 of upgrades, and $1m will be spent upgrading Wanguri Primary. $800 000 will be spent installing lights at the Tracy Village Sports Club baseball/softball field, allowing night training and games, and helping make the club a leading facility in the northern suburbs. We will also install more lighting around problem shops and laneways, and deliver play equipment for Baroalba and Harmanis Parks. There is much to be done, but I am committed to keeping on working for the people of the Wanguri electorate.
18 June was a big day for the Labor Party in the Territory, and made possible by a huge team of workers and supporters who helped make it happen. I take this opportunity to thank the people who helped me, both during the campaign and over the last four years. It has been an extraordinary team effort. My extremely hardworking campaign team - or as they are now calling themselves, Team Wanguri - have been meeting regularly for the last three months in order to be ready for the much anticipated election announcements. George Mu, my campaign manager, Costa Karaolias, Robert De Araujo, Erin Grace, Kent Rowe and my electorate officer, Jarna Neve, all worked long hours and put in a lot of effort. I cannot thank these people enough – a huge effort. Roberto was taking long service leave and spent most of the three weeks of the campaign in my office, helping out from the moment the office was open until the moment it closed. To everybody who helped, you have a really big place in my heart. Frank Moukaddem, again, as other members have said, is a wonderful stalwart, who does anything and everything you ask of him and much more. Rebecca Want said she would have a surprise for me on election day, and turned up with her pet dog Toby all decked out in Labor colours and wearing a ‘Vote 1 Hendo’ T-shirt. Rebecca, thanks very much.
Ms LAWRIE: Madam Speaker, I move that so much of standing orders be suspended as to allow the minister to finish his comments.
Motion agreed to.
Mr HENDERSON: Thank you. To the volunteers who helped on my campaign, thanks for your hard work to help me be re-elected to represent you for another four years, from letterboxing to handing out how-to-vote cards on polling day, setting up polling booths, corflutes, folding and stuffing the thousands of letters that were delivered, and all the behind-the-scenes work and running around that was so time-consuming. Thank you very much.
I will let honourable members know about the poster wars. I had a big banner up in Gsell Street and I was worried about it being knocked off during the campaign. Sure enough, in week two, I was driving to work and the poster was gone. It was quite a decent sized poster, so I was certainly a bit peeved. About an hour later, I received a phone call in the electorate office from a gentleman in Larrakeyah who had woken up that morning to find the ‘Vote 1 Paul Henderson Wanguri’ banner tied to his fence in Larrakeyah. He rang me up and brought it back to the electorate office. People were having a bit of fun. So, member for Braitling, hopefully, your banner will turn up as well. He was wondering which electorate he was in when he woke up to see a very big poster on his fence in Larrakeyah.
It is hard to thank everybody and, if I miss people I am very sorry. However, I have to put on the record special thanks to many of these people who helped me over the last three weeks and four years. Special thanks and my sincere gratitude to Ron and Jeannie Abbott, Brett Hagen, Paul Nieuwenhoven, Lorraine Connell, Sue Wright, Sherie Pilkington, Lisa Dakin, Myra Ramsay, Julie and Brett Donohue, the Hakeem family, Nathan Franklin, Carol Sullivan, Robert and Ryan Neve, the Karaolias family, Sam Hatzivalsamis, Lester Lemke, Christine Gray, Rebecca Want, Jacob and Lisa Lay, Christine Beaumont, the Johnson family, the Wilson family, Jean Burnell, Chandra, Bob and Shirley Robinson, Deb Kneebone, Kim Cowan, John Lay, the Hawke family, and Wilfred Muttumukaru and his family. For all these people to donate their precious time to help me means so much. Your help was vital to getting the support of the electorate for another four years. I sincerely thank you and I will not let you down.
I also make mention of the central campaign team which made the whole campaign come together so well, and everything run so smoothly. Those people know who they are and did an enormous job, working 20 hours a day for weeks at a time. We are not here on the Labor side of this parliament without some tremendously committed people working for us. Hopefully, we can deliver on your aspirations for the next four years.
One of the great joys I have as member for Wanguri is getting along to school assemblies and sport days and catching up with teachers and parents. I am grateful for the support the school communities in my electorate have given me. Together, we have been able to address issues and concerns that have emerged, and worked together to deliver improvements and upgrade the school facilities. To principals, Henry Gray, Jenny Robinson, Tom Leach, Gill Webb, Michael Jones, and Lyn Elphinstone, I thank you for the great times over the last four years. We really have done a lot of wonderful things together, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with you all over the next four years. To school council chairs, Julie Donohue in Wanguri and Denise Phelps at Leanyer, it has been a great pleasure working with you over the last four years and I look forward to another four productive years.
I have also been lucky enough to have ongoing support from the businesses in Hibiscus Shopping town, all bar one – I will not mention who that is - where my electorate office is situated. They have a long-term affiliation with the CLP, but it is a great business and I support that as well. Thank you to everyone who sent their best wishes to me during the campaign, and cards, faxes and e-mails after. It is all much appreciated and makes the job even more rewarding.
I thank my ministerial staff for their efforts, not only in the election period, but over the last four years, and for the work to come. Mark Nelson, my senior adviser and great friend, it has been wonderful working with you for nine years, I think you said the other day. Hopefully, it is going to be many more to come. I have really enjoyed our time and, together, we have made a great difference and will continue to do so. Rebecca Cass, my media advisor does a great job putting up with me and harassing me to make media comments. Carole Frost has been on the team probably for about probably 12 months now. She comes from the Chamber of Commerce and made the big jump to come to work for me as my business advisor. We have had a great time and look forward to continuing that into the future. Thank you, Carole, for all your very solid and important advice. Charlie Phillips is a long-time friend of mine. Charlie is just a great champion and supporter of the Labor Party and is well respected in the community. Charlie, it has been great working with you for four years and certainly for many more to come. Jenny Tiernan, my departmental liaison officer, has done a magnificent job and has become a good friend. Jenny, if you want to stay on I am sure we can keep you on. Christine Gray and Sandy Sinclair, who keep the office running and me organised along with everybody in my office, do a great job. We are a great team and we have a lot of fun.
As all local members would agree, this job puts a lot of demands and sacrifices on families. To my wife Stacey and two sons, Alasdair and Liam, and my little girl, Isabell, thank you so much for your support over the last four years, especially over the election period.
I would also like to thank Mum for making the trip up from interstate to be with me during the campaign. Mum is 83 years young and she has had an absolute whale of a time. She went back to Brisbane today. I would not have missed it for quids; it was very special to be able to share this particular campaign and victory with Mum, and for her to be here in the parliament yesterday to see us sworn in is something that will stay with me forever. So Mum, it was great to have you here.
I also join with my colleagues in welcoming the newest members of the Clare Martin Labor Team – Barbara McCarthy, James Burke, Robert Knight, Chris Natt, Ted Warren, Alison Anderson and Kerry Sacilotto. What a great team! As the Chief Minister said in our meeting before Question Time, to sit here and listen to those seven maiden speeches yesterday, highlighted the diverse range of people - great people coming into this parliament - whom I know will represent their electorates so well over the next four years. I really look forward to working with you guys and ladies over the next four years. It is a fabulous team.
I wish all the best to former member for Arnhem, John Ah Kit. Jack did a fabulous job. As Jack’s local MLA now - he lives in Dotterel Court in Leanyer - when we come back in August I will pay fuller tribute to Jack and his history of achievement for the people of the Northern Territory in the adjournment debate. Jack, as I said to you on election night, I am going to miss you, mate. I know all of us are going to miss Jack, but he ain’t going anywhere and I am certain that he will be giving us a hurry-up from time to time. I am sure we will catch up and I will pay fuller tribute to John Ah Kit and his history of commitment to the people of the Territory in a future parliament.
It has been said numerous times over the last few weeks but it remains true: the first ever Martin government achieved a lot in four years. There is a lot more to do. I cannot wait to get stuck into it.
Madam Speaker, congratulations to you on your appointment to such high office. I am looking forward to working with you over the next four years and all other 24 members of this House.
Mr MILLS (Blain): Madam Speaker, I will commence with congratulating you for your elevation and, further to that, reflect on the maiden speeches that were delivered yesterday. As a member of the opposition, I am pleased to report that the quality of those speeches impressed me. It lifted my spirits to know that we must reflect very seriously upon what is our duty and objective here. Is it the advancement of politics and the triumph of our own party over another? Or is it, as we say at the beginning of each of our parliaments, ‘to advance and prosper the true welfare of all Territorians’? I heard in those first speeches that sentiment strongly and genuinely expressed, and I am prepared to work as an elected member of this parliament to achieve that objective. At times, of course, there will be conflict by nature of the adversarial manner in which we conduct our business. However, we must always keep our eyes on the prize, which is to advance and prosper the true welfare of Territorians - not ourselves or the prospects of our party necessarily. I was reminded by what I heard.
Irrespective of the path travelled that has brought all 25 of us to this place, deep down I know that each member wants to make a difference, rather than to make a name for ourselves. I, for one, have strong feelings when the motivation behind our actions is really driven by self-interest. I want to see that desire to make a difference increased. We should be concerned less about politics and more about people, particularly those who have no clear voice. We must be able to hear people’s voices so that we can understand the nature of the issue that keeps them from progressing and advancing.
I often ask: ‘Why I am on this side of politics?’ It comes back to the understanding that it is an individual that, ultimately, takes responsibility. A strong core is really a strong individual contributing to a family; a strong family builds a strong community. It comes back to the individual and the need to take personal responsibility. In that proverb that the member for Greatorex will claim comes from his particular group - and I am not sure whether this is the case but probably is - Confucius said: ‘It is better to teach a man to catch a fish than to feed him fish’. That is really the core of politics; we need to empower people so that they have the capacity to be self-reliant.
That is why I see the great value in private enterprise. There is nothing more liberating than a person who gets that sense of confidence, is able to make their own way, to make a difference and, therefore, contribute to the betterment of others, or the notion of reward for personal endeavour, for people to be strong and self-assured and reliant and confident. That is what makes for a strong society.
During the campaign, when all the messages were going around the places, it seemed like a desperate contest to win, it caught me by surprise when I was listening one Sunday to a report from South Australia about a minister for Police boasting about the number of police that they had put on the beat. I was thinking: ‘Is this South Australia or the Northern Territory?’ It sounded exactly the same rhetoric and the same boasting: ‘We have made some great gains and we have 200 extra coppers’. The opposition was saying: ‘Yes, but it is not really 200’. I thought: ‘This sounds exactly the same; it is just coming from another state’. I had to check to see where it was being reported from.
Going through that process, it made me realise that we get easily caught up in a silly game here. Sure, we need additional police, but the deeper question is: why do we need additional police? Isn’t the core problem that there is an increase in lawlessness? That is a core issue. If we fast forward to five years down the track and I am on the other side of the House and I am boasting that we need 300 additional coppers, and the five years later we have 400 additional coppers, underneath this is the increase in disorder and lawlessness. That is what should occupy our thinking more than seeing an achievement as having additional police.
Of course, we have to move in that direction, but we need to reflect more deeply to see the way our society is going. I have heard mention of substance abuse. There is a great concern. As one who has worked with young people, you know that a self-assured and confident person takes care of their health and what they put in their mouth - what they drink, what they eat -and what they do. They look after their health. Why? Because they have a sense of hope and personal worth, and an obligation that comes from that, because they feel good about themselves. The only reason why someone embarks upon a life of self-destructive behaviour is they do not have that.
I would like to see greater consideration of those sorts of aspects rather than the self-congratulatory type of approach, where we talk about the great programs we have in place to deal with the symptoms, and to genuinely, as a group of people - 25 of us, from our own different communities - try to find solutions to the deeper issues. Why are people continually and increasingly embarking upon self-harm? They are the sorts of things that, in the next four years, I want to see us start to make some progress on, and get past the self-congratulations and the back-slapping, and ‘How wonderful this team is, and how poor the record was from the past’. Forget that. We have some very serious issues to attend to, and I want to play my part in here in these next four years to actually see that, next time - if the electorate of Blain chooses to have me here again - there has been an improvement to the deeper problems that affect families in the Northern Territory.
I, like many others, in a private moment, when we heard the story about the trans-Territory pipeline collapsing, and we had the usual toing-and-froing - which is to be expected in the way we conduct our business in this Chamber - reflected on the human story behind that; the real sadness of the people of Wadeye. I really feel for them, because there was a hope, an expectation that something really special was going to happen. Forget all the hype and the spin - I know what went on there. Sometimes, we can win. It is a great tragedy that needs to be looked at and responded to sensitively. To have that hope crushed at that point, when people started to buy equipment and prepare and to train for this special thing that was going to happen in their neck of the woods, to me, is the saddest thing in all of this. I do not care about looking at the scoreboard to see who has the most number of points at the end of the day. That speaks to me more loudly than anything in all this. I really feel for those people.
I hope that gas comes onshore not for some political scoreboard’s benefit, but for their sake, for the families, so we can start to strengthen some hope. Without real hope, we are not really going to make many gains with the issues of self-harm and substance abuse. We have to have strong individuals and families who sit around and think about the future. I know people who are on welfare, and they have a sense of hope and self-worth, and they are able to save money. The only reason why someone will put a little money aside in an account is because they have hope for the future. They will defer gratification because they believe in the future. Once we see evidence of people starting to put money aside with a plan for the future, then we have only really started to advance and prosper the true welfare of Territorians.
There is much work to be done here. I genuinely congratulate every member who has the great honour of holding a seat in this Chamber. Yes, there is politics that is going to be played, but I will not be satisfied, and I am sure, in our heart of hearts, many of us will not be satisfied unless we actually make a real difference. If we see our greatest achievement as having our name on a plaque at a shopping centre or somewhere like that to take your grandchildren to see one day - forget it. There is something more serious than that that we have to attend to.
I would like to reflect on the candidates who were unsuccessful, and all the people who were around them. At the heart of each of those candidates, whatever you may believe - whether they were your desperate opponent; we are going to knock you off and deny your opportunity to have a place in here - every one of them, just like yourself, had an aspiration and a belief for the future. I wish them all the best. I know that many of them have already made a contribution to the Territory, and they sought to make it in this place and, at this point, were unsuccessful. As I said to Brendan Cabry, who was a candidate for the Labor Party against me, when I spoke to him the other day: ‘If you wish to continue to advance the things in this community that you are interested in, I am more than happy to work with you, because it is not about you or me; it is about the people of Blain’. Those good people out there who had a shot, spent a lot of money, late nights and had a dream - I just hope their dream stays alive and, in whatever way they can, they will continue to make a contribution. That contribution will make a difference but perhaps not at this time in this Chamber.
For those helpers, they may be disappointed but, of course, we reflect on what the real purpose of all of this is - it is about the wider community, those who need some real leadership, and strong honesty and reflecting on what this is really about.
To talk about the economy, I mentioned at the beginning that it is better to teach a man to catch a fish. We are talking about a resource, and need to have some energy to be involved in making progress. For our economy to operate, we need to have access to resources. The truth is, we are running short of gas - no doubt about that, it is a fact. Any person who has taken responsibility for their own economic path in life and has put their money on the line and opened up a small business knows that the energy supply into the Territory in the form of gas is running out. It is like going on a very long trip and being unsure where the next service station is, driving down the road hoping to get to Adelaide and you do not have enough fuel to get there. I know many of you have driven in a car and not being sure where the next service station is and you are just hoping that you are going to get there. You start backing off because you do not want to burn up too much fuel because you want to get to the next gas station. The truth is the Territory economy is in that situation. Those who have actually analysed and thought ahead know that we do not have a future of certainty with regards to resources and energy to keep the economy going. That is the truth of the matter.
There may well have been points scored by our opponents on the other side with regards to electricity. I ask our opposition, the current government, to put all of that silly business aside and think about it; there is some merit in what was proposed. Yes, you may be a little too proud to have a look at it, but we do have some serious issues of energy supplied to the Territory to attend to. There is a case – albeit it may be difficult to swallow at this point - to actually look for the answers. I suspect in two or three years time, we will start to hear reference to electricity being brought into the Territory. Without that, the gas companies have us over a barrel and there is no point of leverage. If we have electricity brought into the Territory, when gas does come onshore and is used for power generation, we can then export energy to the rest of the country. We need to think nationally. Only yesterday, Treasurer Costello began a discussion, which we should be involved in, of how our country, our whole nation, with its vast resources of coal, gas and hydroelectricity, combine to produce cheap and efficient electricity to power the nation. These are discussions that we must have.
The Territory has another massive resource, and we need to apply our creative minds to addressing a serious national issue, which is water. We have water in abundance in the Top End of the Territory, and we need to start thinking creatively of how we can actually play our part in the development of our nation to open up these resources, and realise the real potential of our nation. That will require us working together, thinking creatively, and looking for the benefit and the betterment of the nation, rather than our own particular political club that we represent, where we measure our success by news bulletins at 6 pm or 7 pm or whenever, and think how fantastically we have done today. We have done fantastically when we have actually made a real difference to the people whom we represent who are not in here. Gas and water are issues that we must advance in our discussions over the next four years.
Clever words are already being uttered in this Chamber about the great gains that we are making to address a serious issue, the skills shortage. Oh, come on! We need to change the culture of our education so that our community values trade and technical skills, that the tech studies rooms in all our high schools are buzzing with activity, that our young people - particularly our boys - are getting their hands dirty on stripping small motors, understanding how to weld and learning how to use basic equipment that we need to have all at all of our high schools. That is the change we need; that we actually have half of our secondary school actively involved in the hands-on skills - not the talk about the great gains we are making because we have this and that program.
I went to Borroloola in early December. I reckon it is right across the Territory, that you have these little sheds that were ones places where mechanics or plumbers were trained which are closed - and they have been closed for sometime. I do not want to somebody get up and say: ‘Ah well, it is the CLP that closed it’. Forget that! I do not know who closed them – they are closed! There are kids wandering around those communities with nothing to do, and no one can fix anything. There are these facilities there that should be opened up and real skills taught so that they have some sense of confidence and can fix something - they can change the oil, weld something, or fix up some pipes and know how to do some things and have some sense of confidence. Those places need to be opened up again, and our high schools need to have our tech studies room operating, and not be places where all the broken furniture is stored. That is the sort of change we need to see. Get on with it!
Our regional engagement: we all talk about glossy brochures and engagements strategies and yadi-yadi-ya. We really do need to think about the fact that we have a strategic opportunity here in the Northern Territory. Once we captured the imagination of the nation which did not seem to realise that we are so close to Indonesia. There are 200 million people just to our north and we need to develop strong, personal and strategic relationships, and upon those relationships we will develop trade. We need to think more broadly than just industry and business, but of sporting engagements, educational exchanges, and a stronger interface between our health system and the health needs of our region which will attract AusAid money in millions of dollars flowing into the region. Very little of it flows to the Territory. We need to develop a capacity to meet the needs of our immediate region. That is why we need to broaden our approach into the region to education and sporting exchanges which we once had.
You start at that level and, through sport, you can develop great relationships and strategic relationships in the region which develop and grow into trade. That is how you do business in the region. They develop a confidence, they know who you are, then trade begins to grow. It takes some time. Many years ago, there were education exchanges and they were very well supported. Interestingly, those who were hosted here from our region are, generally, from important and influential families. They came and had a bit of education here and have gone back. Years go by - 20 years perhaps - and some of these people are now in significant influential positions within the region. They prefer the Territory because they know it. However, we have a significant gap in that program. You start these things and they grow into something. Good, small relationships grow into something. Ultimately, through that relationship, trade will flow.
I turn to a couple of local issues, one being the Palmerston Magpies. In the heat of the last campaign in 2001, $2m was committed to provide the Palmerston Magpies with a home ground facility. A couple of petitions circulated and, ultimately, the decision was made to honour that commitment. Sadly, that commitment was honoured too late because the $2m, when it was finally delivered, could not buy what it was originally intended to buy. If you were going to build a house three years ago when people were looking around for work, you could get a pretty nice house built. Try to build a house now and you will find that the price of construction has increased. Therefore, there is a problem now that exactly what the university and the Magpies had planned could have been purchased for less than $2m. Now, it is going to cost, I think, $2.3m or $2.4m. That is an issue that government will have to respond to.
In respect of the indoor recreation facility - and we will pursue this during estimates - it appears that the commitment to have this facility constructed this year has some question marks over it now. I suspect that will not be the case. There was a flurry of activity just before the election - signs and graders moving around the place after, of course, extensive community consultation, which I reminded government at the time that we had already gone through a whole period of community consultation. We had community meetings in abundance leading up to the last election in 2001. The first decision of the new Labor government was that they would look seriously into that and engage some community consultation - which took about three years. Then out came the graders and they put a fence up, and it looked like a bit of action there. However, those graders have not moved since the election.
I want to make sure that the facility actually does get completed; that we get on with the job. It is not about signs and wonders to excite people, but to actually achieve something and make sure what you said you will do happens. It is the job of the opposition to make sure that that occurs.
During the election campaign, I became interested in the cane toad issue. The cane toads are coming closer. I have been aware of it but, in the last four years, we have had all sorts of issues to attend to in this parliament. However, when I took a little time in the bush last year around October or November - I just love seeing what is around at night time - I did not expect to see cane toads where I was. I thought: ‘Gee whiz, there are a lot of frogs around tonight’. I was having a look with the torch and I thought: ‘My goodness! They are not regular frogs; they are bloody cane toads’. I did not expect to see them there and it shook me; they are advancing.
I went to Borroloola and I could not believe the places I had been to before had cane toads everywhere. They are coming here and it is a shame. However, there is something we can do. I believe the fence across Cobourg can be constructed. I was further strengthened in my resolve to make sure we do something - and I am happy to join with the member for Nelson on this, along with anyone who wants to actually make sure we achieve something, because it is possible.
I went to Perth a few weeks ago. Perth is now activated in their desire to stop cane toads coming into Western Australia. It was a freezing cold Saturday in Perth. I went to the shopping centre to buy some flowers for my daughter for her birthday. When I walked out, there was this person with a beanie on, a jacket and gloves with the fingers cut out, with a little green plastic jar rattling the can. ‘What are you rattling the can for, love?’ She said: ‘Cane toads. We are putting up a fight against cane toads in Western Australia’. I thought: ‘Blow me down! In the Northern Territory, where I come from, we let them come in and say: “Gee, it is a shame, you know. We will sponsor you if you want to buy a trap. All the best”.’
We can save Cobourg. We can do it. It is not a very long fence. I come from Western Australia; I have seen the rabbit-proof fence. That was a mighty endeavour all those years ago: two different fences. All right, it failed, but look at the breadth of that fence! We only have a short section of fence, with today’s technology, to have a shot at saving Cobourg. At least put protocols in to save those islands - at least put those in. Put up a fight!
There is one other issue I would like to raise. During the election, everyone started to take a bit of an interest in what is going on. Some old timers came out, and they did not mind sharing their story. It struck me that there are people out there with stories to tell. We need to invest more in the recording of oral history. When I see some of our older folk, and start to coax a story out of them, and tell them their story is very important, they think: ‘Surely not?’ Yes it is, because they are reflecting on things past. They think they are not as significant as those who have passed before them. We really need to let them know that they are very important and their stories must be reported. We need to invest more in the recording of the stories that people have to tell.
There are a number of issues I would like to touch on, but I will leave it at that. Of course, we have four years to talk about all manner of things.
I would like to thank my team; however, the truth is, a lot of the team would not really like their names mentioned in parliament, which is interesting. Out of respect for some of them, I will not. It really should not be, should it, that some of them feel a bit nervous about having their names mentioned in this Chamber? It should not be, and out of respect for some of them, I will not. I know that they should not feel concern, because they are just playing their part. However, all of them know exactly who they are, and I appreciate the efforts of every one of them, because they joined with me in that core objective to try to find a way where we can actually make some progress on some core issues. The good people of Palmerston who supported me and worked alongside me in that team, I sincerely appreciate your support. I will mention Tasma, of course. She has been with me now for five-and-a-half years, and is a real trooper and I appreciate the support she has given me.
The election in Palmerston, in Blain, which is the only seat I can comment on, was conducted in a way I am very pleased with; that the opposing sides worked together. We understand that, really, it is about the people of Palmerston and, in this case, Blain, expressing their view through the polls. Our job there is, primarily, to assist and play the game within respectful boundaries, and respect their decision.
However, of course, at the close of any election, I cannot help but reflect on - as I am sure many of you do - all that nonsense with a million how-to-votes, umpteen signs, slicker operations and T-shirts, flags and all that sort of stuff. It seems to detract, I believe, from the seriousness of citizens just making their decisions. I am asking that question of my community, to tell me what you reckon: could we do our election business better?
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain, your time has expired.
Mr MILLS: That will do. We will talk about plenty of other things in time to come. Welcome, everybody. We are going to have a good time together and, in four years time, may the Territory be a better place.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I have pleasure in speaking to the Administrator’s address yesterday. In all the issues mentioned by His Honour, what I was not hearing was how this government plans to govern for all Territorians. I recall the Chief Minister’s words when she addressed the victory ceremony on Saturday night two weeks ago. She kept saying that she was there to govern for all Territorians and here, today, in this very room a scant two hours ago, the Leader of Government Business said for the first time they – meaning the government – would govern for all Territorians - for the first time! So, for the last four years, they have not been governing for the all Territorians? Is that what the government is for? We, in Alice Springs in Central Australia, say that four years of Labor neglect has caused us to grieve in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. I am sure the member for Barkly would agree with me about the dismal state of the Tennant Creek Hospital ...
Mr McAdam: No, he would not!
Dr LIM: I challenge you to say that the Tennant Creek Hospital is not in trouble.
Similarly, in the Alice Springs Hospital, there are great issues. This government, for the last fours years, has not governed for all Territorians. Now, they are saying they will, for the first time, govern for all Territorians. Go through the Hansard and see what the member for Wanguri said. He said that, for the first time, they will govern for all Territorians. I wrote it down.
I do not want to sound as if I am crying sour grapes about the election, but someone said to me after the election that the Country Liberal Party was seen probably as the very much-loved corner shop, the delicatessen people in the suburbs know very well, and have been going in and out of for years buying their supplies, knowing the owner of the shop, his spouse and his family - the dearly loved corner shop, the delicatessen in our neighbourhood. In came this multinational chain with all of the bells and whistles and all of the signs of marketing that swamped the corner shop - the multinational with its predatory practices. If you look at the two different campaigns, it is quite obvious that is what it was, in fact - a much slicker, better funded operation that won the day.
Congratulations to the government for winning the election. You cannot deny that, and I would not be so churlish to say that they should not have won it. They did well. The seven new members who made their maiden speeches reminded me of when I was first elected 11 years ago with five other members of the CLP. Six of us in 1994 were elected in quite a significant win, and now the shoe is on the other foot; the tables have been turned. Now the government has that majority, and congratulations to all government members for being so successful.
Some of the ministers talked about population having recovered in the Northern Territory. Yes, population numbers have gone up to a little over 200,000 now, but every minister has admitted, and in the budget books it has been shown, that the population increase has been due to new births being more than people dying. However, nett interstate migration is actually going in the opposite direction; there are more people leaving than coming into the Territory. That is a real problem for us in the Territory, where people who have productive lives and have been in businesses or in gainful employment are choosing to leave. The problem is we lose productive people. While our GST share is coming in, in increasing numbers because of the rising population, the productivity of the Territory is not, in fact, as high as it could have been. If we had not lost the 1200 people in the last 12 months, we could have had much better productivity.
In the minister for Education’s speech, he spoke about his keenness to concentrate on education, and I commend him on that. I believe that education is one of the biggest avenues that the Territory can use to further the ability, the activity, and intellect of our community. In my own education policy, I call education the bridge to our future. I believe that is what it is, whether you are an indigenous, an overseas Chinese immigrant, or a whitefella Australian. Without education we are nowhere.
I have looked at the minister’s words in his address today and did not see very much that he was going to do - nothing very concrete in what he was going to do. I suggest to him that, in his attempts to bring about education, particularly to our indigenous youth, he ensures that every child - irrespective of whether they are indigenous, overseas immigrant or whitefella Australian - goes to school every day. They must go to school every day. Show them that school and education is meaningful; if they are not going to school every day, they are not going to get anywhere. It does not matter how good the school is. You can have a gold-plated school with all the best teachers in the world, with the best furniture, the best books; however, if the kids do not turn up to school each day, they are not going to get anywhere.
You all heard recently that I went to India to have a look at their education there, where I saw kids from rich families going to school, and literally paupers who could only attend school a couple of hours a day in the afternoon when they can get time away from their work. Children working for a living can take a couple of hours off to go to school. However, they went to school every day, they learned and progressed and, eventually, were able to then go to mainstream school and get themselves educated. India is one of the places in the world that produces more university graduates than any other because their people are all educated.
I offer you a suggestion that you make sure that every child goes to school every day. You also need to teach them English, irrespective of what language area they come from. Sure, language and culture is very important, and community elders should be held responsible to teach them that. However, the Department of Employment, Education and Training must provide good mainstream teaching. English is, after all, our link language. In this Chamber, if we did not have English, we would not be talking to each other - not at all. I heard the member for Macdonnell speak in language yesterday and I thought it was terrific. I spoke in language when I entered parliament 11 years ago. However, then I went to English because that is the link language we need. Every indigenous kid in the bush needs that link language. Without that, you have nowhere to go. Therefore, you have to teach English.
English is also the enabling skill that allows us to grab every opportunity there is in this country. Without that skill, it is the same as if you cannot walk, you cannot climb. If you cannot use English, you cannot achieve the things you want to do. Can you do that in this room? You cannot without English. That is the problem. Therefore, English has to be the enabling skill that every child should have. It is something that they have every right to have and it should be given, and given in the best way it possibly can.
As I see it, indigenous youth should now form the next wave of tradesmen in this country. That is the next way for people coming through and there is so much opportunity to grab the trades. I compared myself to one of my friends whose son is training as a plumber. That young fellow is now in his forties, and he makes more money now than I ever could as a doctor - and I was running a very good practice in Alice Springs. Tradespeople now have very highly valued skills where they can actually make a lot of money if that is what they want. A trade is now as good a choice as a university degree and, in fact, can do a lot better. We should be encouraging indigenous children to pick up trades and be the next wave of tradespeople that we so desperately need.
Mr Henderson: That is why we are going to train 10 000 of them.
Dr LIM: I pick up on that interjection from the member for Wanguri. He said they are going to train 10 000 Territorians over the next four years. I can remember the time when they were saying: ‘We will have 10 000 apprentices in the next four years’. Over the last six months, those words have slowly been changed; it is now 10 000 Territorians. Do you know what has happened? Instead of making sure that there are 2500 apprentices in the Territory, anyone who wants to take up a bit of a TAFE course or any sort of re-training is considered a trainee. If you want to do English as a Second Language, learn how to change a car tyre or something, that is training. Therefore, suddenly you can have 2500 new trainees of all sorts. That is not honest. If you are going to train, talk about apprenticeships and traineeships. Then people can believe what you want to try to do for the Territory.
Dr Burns: Something like trainee Deputy Leader.
Dr LIM: The insults can flow as much you like. I have been here 11 years. I have a pretty thick skin and it is like water off a duck’s back, mate. I do not particularly worry, all right? You are supposed to be the professional with the PhD. I would have thought you had the intellect to, at least, have some honour, honesty and decency in your interjections.
Anyway, what I would like to do is to at least offer this government a couple of very good policies that the Country Liberal Party had, which I put to you for you to consider. The most useful one is the payment of HECS fees for university graduates who are trained at the Charles Darwin University in areas of skill shortage.
Let us take a teacher, for instance. To recruit a teacher to the Territory costs the government something between $20 000 to $25 000 each. That includes their air fares, going down to interview them, flying them into the Territory, relocating them, and then to relocate them when they have completed their term in the Territory. The HECS fees for a graduate teacher each year is about $5000 maximum. If a student teacher would train at Charles Darwin University, the student comes of their own accord and it does not cost the Territory any money at all. If the student is at university for one year, let us say, graduates as a teacher and teaches in one of the schools in the Territory, by June of the first year of teaching, the HECS fees will fall due. The teacher will pay the HECS fees as part of the tax return that the teacher has to provide. If the teacher continued to teach in the Territory until December of the same year, then reimburse the teacher the HECS fee that was paid in June. In other words, if the teacher stays in the Territory for 12 months, paying off the HECS fee of $5000 is the teacher’s reward for staying the 12 months. You have saved $15 000 to $20 000 of your recruitment fees. For every teacher you would keep in the Territory, by paying HECS fees, you are saving $15 000 to $20 000. That is a saving and money that this government could be using for some other project.
Each year, the Territory needs to recruit between 200 and 250 teachers. That is what is required if the government was honest and did the right thing, and not lose all the students that they have lost in the last few years. Talk to the union. They will tell you that is what you need: 200 to 250 teachers a year. Multiply that by $20 000 each that you do not have to spend in recruiting, and you save millions.
Go to nursing - exactly the same thing. You recruit a nurse, and it costs you $20 000 to $25 000. Train them at the university here and you save $15 000 to $20 000 for each nurse that you retain working in the Territory. On top of that, the Charles Darwin University gets an increased number of students. It means it gets more federal funding for those students. So money comes in, in lots of ways. You get increase in population because the students are all coming to Territory to study. Therefore, you have more people living in the Territory, so you get GST based on population. Then the university gets funding because it has more students there. You are saving money not having to recruit nurses from interstate, so it is a win-win for all people.
I offer you this policy, minister for Education, because I believe it would be a big plus for you if you did that, and I will not be so churlish to say that it was my policy. You can take it on. If you want to have any briefings about it, any greater detail, I will be more than happy to talk to you to assist you in this.
Regarding traineeships and apprenticeships, there are also very useful things you can do. For instance, we all talk about how poorly first- and second-year apprentices are paid. They are paid in the order of $5 or $6 per hour, when their mates of the same age are working at the fast food takeaway places for something like $12 an hour. Why would they want to be an apprentice? They need to have their salary scale reviewed. Talk to unions and employers and try to come up with a realistic wage structure. Ensure that first- and second-year apprentices receive direct subsidies from government, in the form of living subsidies, to allow them to live away from home if they want and choose to, because most apprentices find it is too difficult to live away from home, and they have to stay home with their parents so they can get some level of support.
Many people cannot access the apprenticeship scheme because they are too old. If I were, say, working for Darwin Mitsubishi as a labourer cleaning the yard, detailing the cars, etcetera, but after six months or so working as a detailer, I decided: ‘Gee, taking up an apprenticeship with this employer to be a motor mechanic is not such a bad thing’. If I apply to be an apprentice, I cannot get on to the apprenticeship scheme. The employer would have to pay me full wages, not an apprenticeship wage of $5.50 an hour, and then get a subsidy. I cannot access any of the benefits of an apprenticeship scheme. What I am saying is that the government should seriously look at that and say, if this is your first apprenticeship, you should be able to access this. If it is a second one - if you are a plumber then you decide to become an electrician - well, you pay for the second trade. However, if it is your first trade, then you should be able to access that without any penalty.
Kids should be encouraged to take up apprenticeships through bursaries so that, at the completion of each year, they will get a bursary for the next year. That is what used to happen when I was going to university. When you went to university, the government gave you money for one year as a bursary. If you were successful, you got the bursary for the second year, and so on. With each year of completion, you got further funding for the coming year. Through that scheme, it encouraged the student, once graduated, to then remain to work in the Territory for at least 12 months. It does not matter whether the successful apprentice - or the tradesman now - works with the same employer who trained him, or he or she goes to another employer. The thing is to increase the skills pool in the Territory, and that is what matters.
When you apply that to indigenous kids, I suggest to you, once they start getting all these skills behind them, the self-esteem is tremendous. They have been able to hold down a job as an apprentice for four years, demonstrated that they are prepared to work and do the hard yards with their employer. Naturally, most employers would be keen to take them on because they have demonstrated their ability to stay with the job.
We also know the Charles Darwin University is not performing as well as it can be. It had all the potential in the world. When we amalgamated the Northern Territory University with Centralian College, there were great expectations for the Charles Darwin University. However, day in and day out, we hear criticisms of how the university has not been performing. It is important that this government really puts its mind to the university to see how it can ensure that the higher education section of the university works cooperatively and supportively with the TAFE side. Otherwise, we will find more and more staff leaving, as they are now. I hear the staff who are in the TAFE section are very unhappy and have been leaving every year. In Alice Springs, in the TAFE section of Centralian College, the staff numbers are starting to dwindle to almost non-existent.
In welcoming the seven new members to this Chamber, I would like to also make mention of the members of this side of politics who have lost their seats. They were the former members for Drysdale, Brennan, Port Darwin and Macdonnell. The former member for Brennan and I were both elected together in 1994. I believe he was a person who was badly misjudged by many people. Denis was – well, not was, is - an honest man. He did his utmost to serve the Territory as a member of parliament. There were times when his judgment was changed or influenced by others around him but, most of the time, I felt that he did what he genuinely thought was right. I thought that, in putting his hand up again to help lead the Country Liberal Party into this last election, he was very brave. I thought he was probably putting his neck on the line and, unfortunately, he did. The workload that he had to carry as leader probably took him away from his electorate more than it should have, and he suffered the consequences of that. He did not have enough time in his electorate.
I know the former member for Drysdale well. I knew him back in the days when he was the ministerial advisor to people like Mike Reed, Denis Burke, and many other ministers before them. He is a very knowledgeable man. Again, he tried to be the mainstay for the Top End over this last election and, unfortunately, suffered the huge swing in Darwin that was just too large to withstand.
Sue Carter, the former member for Port Darwin is a lovely lady. I grew very close to during her two terms in parliament. She worked very hard in her electorate doorknocking. I believe she doorknocked the whole of her electorate at least once a year. You would have thought that a strong local member such as her could have withstood whatever swing there was in this last election. I do not understand; maybe it is something that is quite different between the Top End and Central Australia.
In Alice Springs, we withstood the swing except for the former member for Macdonnell, John Elferink. I thought he was a little distracted in the last few weeks because of the impending birth of his child, Eleanor. The baby was born, I think, two days before the Chief Minister called the election. However, he tried hard. He was away in the bush a lot. I assume that, to be the member for Macdonnell, you have to travel the bush a lot. I anticipate that the current member will have to do the same thing as well. John won the confidence of many people in Macdonnell. I did spend quite a bit of time with him in Macdonnell. He actually once said, as a minister I spent more time in Macdonnell than all the other ministers combined. We spent quite a bit of time in Macdonnell and I saw that he enjoyed what he did. He introduced me to many people in the electorate of Macdonnell I continue to have close links with.
I am sorry to see them go. I doubt very much now that they will be back in this Chamber, but you never know. John Elferink, Sue Carter and Steve Dunham are still young people and there is always the option for them to come back in the future if they chose to.
With the little time left, I would like to just say a few things about Central Australia. When you combine the number of votes the Country Liberal Party received in Alice Springs, we held our own very well. The member for Araluen achieved a swing towards her and the candidate for Braitling, Michael Jones, achieved a huge swing towards him. It was unfortunate that his margin was still insufficient to be overwhelmed by the second preferences from the Labor candidate. As for me, yes, I suffered a swing against me, but I withstood the huge swing. I was not surprised that I was able to withhold that to hold that seat. I believe I have a strong connection with the electorate, and I thank the electorate for showing the confidence that they have in me. It was strange to have, probably, the strongest candidate that Labor Party had this time around to challenge for Greatorex. I thought that, had she stood in another seat, she would probably have been more successful. I am not boasting here, but I thought that she would have been a lot more successful elsewhere than Greatorex.
The funny part with this whole campaign with the current Mayor of Alice Springs was that, coming from a family that was closely involved with the Country Liberal Party, I think is what cost her. The people in Alice Springs did not like that, and it did not help her at all one bit in the election. However, with her candidacy came all the promises that the Labor Party made for Greatorex, and that I am going to enjoy. I am going to enjoy seeing this government deliver into Greatorex on every promise that it made. The other Labor candidates in Alice Springs were disappointed that absolutely nothing went their way because the government was so focused on making sure that the Labor candidate tipped me, and they were prepared to put everything they could into it. Over the next four years, we will make sure that this Labor government delivers for Alice Springs. I will be making sure they do that at the appropriate times.
Mrs MILLER (Katherine): Mr Deputy Speaker, it is only 21 months since I was first sworn into this Assembly following the by-election in Katherine in 2003, so it is with great joy that I stand here today as the re-elected member for Katherine. I am very grateful for the support of the people in my electorate who know how committed I am to representing them. I now have the opportunity to do that for a full term of four years, and I thank them sincerely for their confidence and support. I can reassure them that I will not let them down.
Last night, I gave an adjournment speech and thanked many people who have supported me during my time as member for Katherine and during the recent election. In mentioning names, it leaves me open for missing out someone and, when I looked through the Daily Hansard today, I realised I missed out a very important person to thank; and that is my husband. My husband, Mike, has stood beside me through thick and thin in this last 21 months, and has been extremely supportive of me. I am very grateful for that because we do not have any children left at home, so he is home on his own with two dogs, Jed and Kizzie, our beautiful Labradors. I do thank Mike for his continuing support. He is definitely my most loyal supporter. I did not deliberately miss him out last night. He makes my life so much easier in the community. I have a lot of commitments in Katherine community, so our meals are very spasmodic and rarely taken together.
In addition, I would like to especially thank one of our daughters who was here with me yesterday. My daughter, Trisha Wachtel, and grandchildren, Jack and Jorja, were here to witness the opening of the Tenth Assembly and to support me. It is very special for me to have them here. Also, at the opening of the Assembly yesterday were three other people who supported me totally: Val and Barry Densley, Jim Bitossi, along with Lorna Hart, all of whom who came from Katherine for the ceremony.
Next week, we are going into estimates with an opposition, unfortunately, smaller in number. However, we are very passionate about representing our electorates, and assure the people of the Northern Territory that we will be enthusiastically questioning ministers about Budget 2005-06.
Katherine residents were led to believe during the recent election that nothing would happen in Katherine in the next four years unless the Labor candidate was elected as the member for Katherine. Well, that did not happen. The people of Katherine had the confidence to re-elect me to represent them, and I will ensure that they have the best representation possible during the next four years.
The re-elected Chief Minister, Clare Martin, who had an overwhelmingly huge win, has promised that her government is for all people. I will be holding her to that promise. She reiterated again today in her speech that her government promises to govern for all Territorians. I trust that is what she has been doing for the last four years, and that she will continue to do it in the next four years, because that is what good governance is all about.
In the time I have been representing Katherine as a member of the opposition, I have been fortunate to have the shadow portfolios of Tourism, Youth, Housing, Mines and Energy and Primary Industry and Fisheries. Tourism, of course, has been of special interest to me for years, beginning when my husband, Mike, and I purchased Red Gum Tourist Park in 1993 in Katherine. Talking to so many visitors each day about what we have to offer really got us quite excited about what there is in the Territory. It is easy to be excited and to become involved. In addition to that, I ended up being on the executive of the Katherine Regional Tourist Association, following on to the Board of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission and Tourism Training Northern Territory, which was a natural progression.
The importance of tourism to our economy cannot be underestimated, and this fact came home loud and clear following the 1998 disaster of the Katherine floods. It was a time of hardship for most people in Katherine, not only losing their places of residence and personal belongings but, in many instances, losing their businesses as well. As chairman of the tourist association and, with the help of an enthusiastic operator, Mike Keeley of FarOut Tours, we developed a marketing campaign called Back on Track, which we promoted through sending representatives to trade and consumer shows in all states. The campaign was extremely successful and resulted in a huge tourism season in 1998. The success of the campaign assisted business in general - not just the tourist operators - to have one of the best financial tourism seasons ever. What this highlights is that tourism is everyone’s business, not just those specifically identified as accommodation or tourist operators.
Because tourism generates so much economic benefit to regional areas in the Northern Territory, I will be watching closely the marketing and blending that the Northern Territory Tourist Commission is planning for the coming 12 months. Without a doubt, the larger centres of Darwin and Alice Springs receive the larger portion of marketing dollars and, of course, they are the entry points for the Northern Territory. However, the smaller regional centres must not be overlooked. It is evident already that the tourist numbers in Katherine this year are down, with most of the caravan parks still not filling up - and this is supposed to be the peak of the tourist season. It is clear that much more comprehensive destination marketing needs to be done. If Katherine is going through this low tourist season, then it is fair to say that other regional centres in the Northern Territory are experiencing the same. The tourist season is definitely upon Darwin, as was witnessed by walking around the city today at lunchtime. Of course, this weekend will see a huge influx of visitors for the V8 Supercars. It is very exciting to see so many tourists here.
In Katherine in the past few months, it has been interesting watching a change in the way the Regional Tourist Association operates now. It is now under the responsibility of the Katherine Town Council. I have to say I had some reservations about how it would work and whether it would be effective, but I have reserved my judgment to give council a fair go and wait and see. I am very glad to say that they made the decision to appoint Maureen Thearle as the Acting Manager of the Visitors Centre, as it is important to have people with passion about their area talking to visitors. Maureen has a proven record of efficiency and handling membership responsibilities, and promoting Katherine and the rest of the Territory in general.
The pastoral industry in the Katherine region is definitely experiencing more challenging times, with the numbers of export cattle sales significantly down from previous years. One of the highest priorities for the pastoral industry right across the Territory is, of course, the state of the roads. It is pleasing to see that the federal and Territory governments are putting some money towards these roads, but much more must be done. The previous Country Liberal Party Leader offered a bipartisan approach with this government to lobby the federal government for additional funding for roads, and that offer still stands. We need to urgently address the state of our Territory roads.
In the area of Mines and Energy, I wanted to briefly touch on a sensitive subject that people seem to shy away from quite easily; that is, uranium. At the moment, there are currently 14 different companies looking for uranium, mostly in the north of the Territory. Exploration licences have been issued by this Territory to look for uranium. I find that really unusual. If this government is so adamant that uranium will not be mined here, why are we issuing licences? I was quite interested to read what the federal Minister for Resources, Ian Macfarlane, said on the Morning program on Wednesday on the ABC, and I will quote some of his words:
- I do not concede that the Northern Territory cannot change its mind. What it has done is, for political ideology, locked itself
out of a position where we now have the absolutely ridiculous situation where not only is mining uranium taking place in
the Northern Territory, not only is the export of uranium not only for the Northern Territory, but also from South Australia,
taking place in Darwin, but we will have a situation where mining companies are out there exploring for new deposits. Yet,
Clare Martin, in some ad hoc, ideological way, has decided that this is not ever going to come to fruition. Why would the
company stay up there exploring if that is the case?
Another quote:
- The reality is this will cost the Northern Territory, potentially, $12m and thousands of jobs, and Clare Martin needs to
reconsider the position. The reality is that mining and exploration is an integral part of the Territory economy, and to rule
out an area as important as uranium mining and development just does not make any sense in the long term. $12m is the
biggest part of the cost that will obviously be worn locally, not only in the loss of jobs but also in the loss of valuable royalty
earning for the Northern Territory government.
Getting back to Katherine, the Office of Territory Development visited Katherine during the election campaign, which I actually thought was an unusual time for them to be visiting. Nevertheless, the meeting was very well attended by a wide cross-section of the community which gave valuable input to this meeting that was combined with a workshop. The outcome of the workshop was five key points identified after a couple of hours of consultation. We got down to five key points that most of the attendees considered were important to moving Katherine forward economically.
I have been in Katherine for 16 years now, and I can recall having at least three of these talk fests - as I call them - over that time, with pretty much the same points coming out at the end of each one. The problem is: just where does it go from here? Dot points on a piece of white paper seem to go off and disappear into some department somewhere, to re-emerge some years later to begin the cycle again. We need the outcomes to be moved forward to some meaningful development. I trust that the Office of Territory Development will get back to Katherine with some meaningful way for us to move forward to advance all of these ideas that have been bandied around for so long. None of them are very out of the world; they are all very relatively easy in reach.
I fully support the additional funding for traineeships and apprentices. It is very important to have our people trained to be valuable members in our work force, and to give them a good foundation for the future. Again, I refer to the situation in Katherine. The interest shown by the students at Katherine High School in the VET and trainee schemes far outnumbers the positions that are available for them. We need many more economic opportunities in Katherine to put these great training initiatives in place. The VET teacher, Lesley Bannon, said she normally can place half the number of people who have inquired about traineeships and VET courses. It is heartening to know that there are so many young ones out there who want to take part in advancing their skills. We need jobs for them and we do not have the jobs.
The Chief Minister today mentioned in her statement that the north/south railway offers great opportunities for a freight hub at centres including Katherine. I could not agree more. The opportunity to establish a processing and packaging plant at Katherine, that would serve the horticultural industry year round, needs to be investigated. The closeness of the Ord River Scheme in Western Australia to Katherine encourages a freight link that should be affordable and beneficial to both regions. I will be pursuing with vigour the idea of developing a processing and packaging plant in Katherine which will complement and assist a freight hub.
The nice thing about having an election is that, from all the promises and commitments that are made, whoever wins has an obligation to honour those promises. In this case, Katherine’s promises from Labor were not unlike that of the Country Liberal Party. Their $1m upgrade to Katherine Terrace will finish the beautification which was begun by the Country Liberal Party. Stage 3, which covers the largest part of the northern end of Katherine Terrace, has been ignored by Labor during their first term of government. Katherine Terrace is also the main highway and needs to be made as attractive as possible, as all traffic drives through there to cross over the bridge.
The $150 000 that has been promised to develop the high-level bridge area, which is going to be underneath the high-level bridge and around in the river corridor, will complement the northern end of Katherine Terrace and will encourage locals and tourists to utilise the Katherine River. We have a beautiful river that is not utilised. I know wherever I go visiting, I am always attracted to water, and the Katherine River is the first continuous flowing water this side of Port Augusta on the Stuart Highway. We need to enhance that area, and this $150 000 will go somewhere towards doing that so that, not only the visitors who come to Katherine will go there, but also the locals will use it in a proper manner.
The Tindal to Katherine stormwater drains have been talked about several times during my time in this Assembly and, of course, that followed the record rainfalls at the Tindal Airport during the 2004 Wet Season. During that time, many residences, the Katherine Research Station and businesses in Katherine South - especially Hobbits Auto Electrics, although it also included Red Gum Tourist Park where my husband still was - were inundated several times. This was a very stressful and expensive time for all people involved, and highlighted the fact that the drains had not had any upgrading and maintenance since they had been built, which was at the time of the development of Tindal Base.
One of the contentious issues was who owned them. Katherine Town Council, when I was alderman, refused to say they owned them, and we said NT government owned them. Not a lot of lobbying was done at that time but, of course, it was highlighted when we had those heavy rains.
Following that Wet Season, and the constant lobbying, the Northern Territory government committed $100 000 to begin maintenance of the drains. That amount of money covered about 300 m, if that. We know that the Tindal is 17 km from Katherine, so we have a long way to go. It is obvious that considerably more money was needed to complete this upgrade. In Katherine, we were fortunate that the rainfall we received in the last Wet Season was well below average, and everybody sighed a huge sigh of relief. However, the drains have to be done sooner rather than later, and I hope that a considerable amount will be spent very shortly, before the season starts.
The Katherine Cultural Centre precinct received $500 000 for the headworks in last year’s budget, and that has been revoted into this year’s budget. It has had commitments of $6m-plus from both parties leading up to this election, to finance the building of the cultural precinct. I first viewed this concept over four years ago. Mike Reed was presented with the concept by Jenny Madden and Deborah King. I can still remember when they presented it to him that I was very excited because these two women who were extremely interested in the arts community and contribute a lot to it had put a lot of research into it, and it was put together very professionally. I was very impressed. It proceeded from there to having a feasibility study done. All of the right processes were put into place. Then, it came to a huge stumbling block, which is the location that was selected for the positioning of this cultural precinct.
The offer was made by Katherine Town Council without consultation - and there is argument about this - with the sporting user groups and with the general community as to where this cultural precinct would be located. In their wisdom, the Cultural Precinct Action Group decided the best location was going to be on that sports ground which is, traditionally, the baseball diamond. This has created furore in Katherine, and has really brought out stiff opposition. I am in the middle listening to both sides; I understand all of the arguments for and against. The argument for it going on the baseball diamond is that it is the only location in Katherine that is going to work viably. The arguments against are that it is a site that has had a lot of personal attention over the years from a lot of older people who are still living in the community. They built it with their own hands. They hand-watered all the trees with buckets from 44 gallon drums on the back of their trucks, so there has been a lot of love, sweat and tears gone into that area.
The important thing to remember is that it is recognised as a sporting precinct. The whole area caters for sport. There is a way out of this and it is through very serious mediation, which means that both sides of the argument have to give a little. Of course, right now there are two lots of stubborn arguments in Katherine: this lot who will give; and the cultural precinct people who will not look at another location. Fortunately, the Cultural Precinct Action Group now has a very conciliatory and obliging chairman, Dennis Coburn, who is happy to put in place all the consultation processes that should have happened 18 months, two years ago, or three years ago, arguably. Hopefully, we can get around this with the consultation process that Dennis has put in place. He is a great negotiator, and I do hope for Katherine that we can actually push this forward.
One of the reasons why we need to have this cultural precinct is that Katherine has been stagnant for a very long time. It definitely needs the development; there is absolutely no question about that. I ran a survey myself, whereby I contacted 1142 constituents by telephone, which was a mammoth job. From that, 73% wanted to have the cultural precinct. The argument was that 63% of them do not want it on the baseball diamond. It is the location that we have to sort out. I seem to be harping on this a fair bit, but it is such an issue in Katherine it has divided the community, and it is tragic that it has done that.
I have never lost belief that we would get it. I have always had faith that we would have the cultural precinct. Despite the fact that there were some threats made by the previous Chairman of the Cultural Precinct Action Group that the Northern Territory government would withdraw the funding if it was not on the baseball diamond, I have clarified that that is incorrect. The people of Katherine were given the wrong information. I believe that the cultural precinct will go ahead after some more negotiation. I thank the Northern Territory government for making the commitment of $6.5m - I think it was $6.5m; and may have crept to $7m - to develop the cultural precinct. It will be a delight to have everyone there when we finally do get it.
One of the major inhibitors to development in and around Katherine are the obstacles that are put in the way of the construction industry. There are no building engineers and no building inspectors or certifiers based in Katherine. The additional financial burden placed on all building and construction contractors is quite ridiculous and does nothing to encourage development. Every aspect of construction is affected, from the erection of a carport to the building of a house. I will be pursuing the establishment of a one-stop shop in Katherine for the building and construction industry. I hope that the government will look into this earlier rather than later, to ensure that contractors meet the necessary regulations and Katherine moves ahead.
What is happening is that there are so many obstacles in their way, they are almost encouraged to break the law and some of them are very uncomfortable with that. They are held up in trying to get development started. One man, in particular, has invested over $40 000 so far in all of the necessary stuff he has to go through with engineers’ reports etcetera, and there has not been one blade of grass touched on his block. He has reached the point now where he has had enough. He is a good investor in Katherine and I would hate to see him withdraw from that, but he has had enough. I will be asking government to look at this. We need to make sure that we do get a one-stop shop in Katherine so that the construction and building industry can go ahead and Katherine can develop without all the impediments it is going through at the moment.
Madam Speaker, last night, in my adjournment speech, you were not in the Chair, but I did congratulate you on your appointment to the position of Madam Speaker. I know that you will be very fair in your new position, and I welcome you to it.
The coming four years are going to be a huge learning curve for my colleagues in opposition, in that we have the responsibility of all shadow portfolios between us. There is no doubt that we will be much more knowledgeable across all areas that are so important to every Territorian, so that is the big bonus. I look forward with great enthusiasm to serving the Territory, and especially serving my electorate of Katherine, for the next four years.
Madam SPEAKER: Thank you, member for Katherine, for the warm comments.
Motion agreed to.
STATEMENT BY SPEAKER
Address-in-Reply - Presentation to Administrator
Address-in-Reply - Presentation to Administrator
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, I will advise you when His Honour the Administrator is able to receive the Address-in-Reply, and will invite all members to accompany me to Government House to present the Address-in-Reply on that occasion.
APPROPRIATION BILL (No 2) 2005-06
(Serial 2)
(Serial 2)
Continued from earlier this day.
Motion agreed to; bill read a second time.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, pursuant to resolution of the Assembly of 29 June 2005 relating to the conduct of the Estimates and Government Owned Corporations Scrutiny Committees, the remaining stages of the Appropriation Bill (No 2) 2005-06 (Serial 2) will be considered on Thursday, 7 July 2005.
SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly, at its rising, adjourn until 1 pm on Thursday, 7 July 2005, or such other time as notified by the Speaker, with one hour’s notice being given to government and opposition Whips and members by the Speaker, or such other time and/or date that may be advised by the Speaker pursuant to sessional order.
Motion agreed to.
TABLED PAPER
Department of the Legislative Assembly - Portfolio Budget Statement
Department of the Legislative Assembly - Portfolio Budget Statement
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, in preparation for the Estimates Committee on Monday, 4 July 2005, I table the Legislative Assembly Department Portfolio Budget Statement. This statement contains detailed information on the department at output and sub-output level, and financial variations between 2004-05 and 2005-06. This statement is in addition to the information provided to the Assembly on an annual basis in respect of members’ travel expenses.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr HENDERSON (Leader of Government Business): Madam Speaker, I move that the Assembly do now adjourn.
Ms LAWRIE (Karama): Madam Speaker, this evening, I continue to thank people who worked tirelessly for the Karama election campaign. It was certainly a massive team effort of people who rallied around me to seek my re-election as the member for Karama. I was overwhelmed by the generosity and the well wishes that I received from constituents. As soon as the Chief Minister announced the election, I had people coming into my office every day giving us their well wishes. It was a very humbling and heartening experience, and I thank all those constituents who took the time to come in and wish me all the best. I certainly saw it as acknowledgement that I am very much a part of the community, rather than someone who sees themselves as, somehow, separate or above the community. I very much work at a grassroots community level, and am humbled by the support that I received during that campaign from constituents.
As members of parliament, we have a whole variety of duties and functions that we have to carry out in our term. I certainly found it invaluable during my first term as a member, and during the election campaign, to have key people I could seek advice from. There are many people who gave me wonderful advice, but I want to acknowledge a few, specifically, whose advice I was always able to value and enact without any hesitation.
I thank Jamie Gallacher, Adele Young, Mark Nelson, Alf Leonardi and Laurene Hull. They were all very hardworking, tireless members of the Labor team, and they have among them an enormous wisdom and campaigning capacity. They never hesitated in being forthright with their advice to me about just what I should be doing and how I should be doing it. I really enjoyed the opportunity of having worked with them in the first term that I have been a member of this parliament. I am certainly looking forward to working closely with them in this Martin Labor government because they are enormously committed to the Territory. They are enormously committed to improving the life of Territorians. They have vision and ability, and our government is extremely fortunate to have people of this talent to assist and advise us and nurture a greater capacity to improve the life of all Territorians.
Amongst my colleagues, I have to make special mention of the member for Wanguri, our Chief Minister, and the member for Arafura who, at various times, also were there supporting me. You, Madam Speaker, have always provided personal support and I acknowledge and thank you for that. I have enjoyed the close working relationship of my fellow branch member, the member for Sanderson. As a team of people working together, it is difficult to single anybody out, but I did just want to mention those few whom I have relied on more than others as the member for Karama.
At the grassroots level, there is such an overwhelming enthusiasm to work in a campaign. It always amazes me how people are prepared to drop all the other issues they have going on in their life, and all the other aspects that usually pull on their day-to-day business, and go out and campaign on a person’s behalf. I had a fantastic team of people who were prepared to do everything that we reached out and asked them to do. I really want to make special thanks to Richo. He is a terrific man who is incredibly passionate and hardworking, and no task was to onerous for Richo. A day did not go by without him doing something to assist me. So, Richo you have my enormous thanks and admiration.
Kerry Wetherall and her kids: Kerry Wetherall is an absolute stand-out performer in our community. She has been an active member of school councils and has pulled together the Karama Childcare Centre as the current chairperson. She has been extremely hardworking in the area of foster care in the Territory for many years. Kerry Wetherall, you have my enduring respect and admiration. You have so many kids of your own and kids that you foster. She put them all to excellent work letterboxing a section of my electorate.
Angela Bush and her boys: Angela is a hardworking single mother who has a tremendous sense of humour. She was just a joy to have regular contact with.
Jacqui Grant is a powerhouse of a woman who is a nurse at the hospital. She cares for very ill children and has a tremendous passion and compassion in her work as a nurse. The moment my T-shirts were made, she had one on and was out around her area of the electorate letterboxing tirelessly for me. Jacqui’s support right through my term as the member for Karama has been unwavering and unstinting. Indeed, she was one of the first people to grab my little son, Zac, and get him to go to sleep in her arms. She has a fantastic natural talent with kids and I just love and admire Jacqui; she is a wonderful woman.
Trish and Luis Espinoza are great people. Trish is so well loved in the Malak school community. Her husband, Luis, is such a gentleman, and they have beautiful children attending Darwin High School. They worked very hard for me in the Malak area, and I really thank them, along with a neighbour of theirs Rod Ellis, who worked tremendously hard letterboxing.
Den and Jenny Cole’s sons have actually grown up letterboxing for one Labor Karama candidate after another. I do not think their boys can remember an election when they were not sent out to the letterboxes, and they are all adult men now. They are a tremendous family who, through thick and thin, the lean times and the good times, have been there to support Labor in Karama. Jenny works with children with disability, and I know her extremely well in that capacity; she is a fantastic person. Den works at the university and has a great passion for training our talented youth. They are absolute assets in our community.
Bong, Diday and Bing: I take my hat off to you, Bong; you have trained Bing incredibly well and she is already a fantastic campaigner. She is still only at primary school level, but Bing will be a force to be reckoned with. She is a most beautiful, talented, young Filipino girl and Bong has taken campaigning to new levels. He is a very intelligent, capable, IT specialist and I am very fortunate to know Bong, Diday and Bing. I look forward to their little boys growing up old enough to letterbox as well.
Joy Cardona came to me during the campaign and said she wanted to work with me, doing anything I wanted her to do. She got stuck in and helped out in a variety of ways including with how-to-vote cards on election day. Joy, I humbly thank you for stepping forward and offering your assistance. I look forward to working with you to assist the indigenous youth of the area to reach their potential, because I know Joy is absolutely passionate and hardworking in that area.
Iain Govan and Marrilyn Willis: Iain is a businessman and Merilynn is a very talented teacher/librarian. They are both not necessarily card-carrying members of the Labor Party, but they have been incredibly staunch in their support and I thank them.
Julie Fawcett is someone I met as the candidate for Karama in the 2001 election, and she grilled me about policies and what I was standing for. She decided that I passed muster and, since then, has been steadfast in the loyalty and assistance that she has given me. Julie, I am humbled by your friendship and by support. I respect what you say to me because I know it is without fear or favour. She will tell me exactly what she believes our government needs to be hearing, and it is the Julie Fawcetts of the world that keep me on track in my work.
Tania McLeod and Cecil Lewis: Cecil is a traditional owner of the Larrakia land and he is working very hard with his community to ensure that the Larrakia people go from strength to strength. I really thank Tania and Cecil for the time they took out from their very busy lives to help me on the campaign trail.
Christopher Davis turned up from Tennant Creek and said: ‘I am here to help’. He did not waver in his energy in helping; he was up to every single task we put him to - and there were many tasks that we put Christopher to. Christopher, I want to say a very big thank you for all the effort you went to, and I really look forward to continuing to work with you through the years.
Thanks also to Susannah and Henry Yap who own the Malak Shopping Centre. They have been a source of wisdom to me about issues pertaining to a whole range of matters from multiculturalism through to business. They have a very hardworking, intelligent family and I have been very fortunate to form a close friendship and a very strong professional relationship with Susannah and Henry. I thank them for their support.
Likewise Peter, Nica and Nat La Pira, the owners of the Karama Shopping Centre. They are a family that I have been able to work closely with over four years as a member Karama. I pledge to continue to work closely to enhance the Karama electorate. Particularly, I am looking forward to working you in terms of the Karama family hub and the beautification funding for Karama Shopping Centre. I thank you for your ongoing support. Peter knows that I am always there to let him know what the good residents of Karama are saying about the shopping centre, and he takes it in very good grace. I thank him for that. He has spent a lot of money improving the Karama Shopping Centre in four years, and I know there still a lot we will be doing together.
Giovanna and Grahame Webb are fantastic business people in our community, the very successful owners of Crocodylus Park. They came out publicly on election day with an advertisement in the paper supporting me. They have lived in Karama for eight years and Grahame has never voted Labor before, but he did this time. It just goes to show how far-reaching our government has been in reaching out to people who are not of one political ideology. They are there for the Territory and put the Territory first. Grahame and Giovanna are very much in this category; they are passionate about the Territory, and good business in the Territory, and saw that Labor was very much the government that was delivering for them. On a personal level, we have been able to work extremely closely together over four years. I thank Grahame for his great advice regarding the cane toad incursion in the Territory. We have worked very closely together on that subject, and I continue to heed his advice on environmental management issues.
It has been my absolute pleasure and delight to work hard for the members of my constituency in Karama and Malak. We have an exciting four years ahead. We have some really good initiatives that I talked about last night in the adjournment debate. I am looking forward to Stage 2 of Leanyer water park; that will be fantastic. The family hub is a dream and a vision, that I pursued for four years and, to be able to see it come to reality during these coming four years, will be a very special time for me. I saw how that can occur through the creation of the multicultural hub at Malak. It was a vision I had. I never let it go; I kept seeking it, and there is a multicultural service operating out of Malak now. Interestingly enough, Melaleuca are now keen to come and join the other multicultural groups at Malak. I encourage the government to work with Melaleuca to see if the torture and trauma aspects of multicultural service delivery can join the other service delivery that is going from strength to strength at the Malak Shopping Centre.
I encourage all members of this Assembly never to lose sight of why we are here: fundamentally, to improve the lives of all Territorians. I know each of us, despite different ideology, is very keen to do that. I see an opportunity in this term of government to do that in far-reaching ways that, I believe, are very exciting and of which we have never seen the like in the Territory. To hear the Chief Minister determinedly talk about regional development is very heartening to me. Many of my constituents come from the regions and have settled in Karama and Malak simply because there are no opportunities for their children in their own communities. It will be heartening to see the very fair and equitable development of the Territory in the next four years.
Darwin will go from strength to strength. We are a beautiful city; we have a bright future. We will have a fantastic convention and exhibition centre at the waterfront, which will draw more and more tourists. I have no doubt about our potential in engagement with South-East Asia and trade. In terms of regional development, I know that we will focus on extending opportunity and potential right throughout the Territory, and I find that very exciting and look forward to being a part of that in whatever capacity I can be.
I pledge to continue to work extremely hard for my constituents in Karama and Malak and, more broadly, for all Territorians.
Dr LIM (Greatorex): Madam Speaker, I speak about Mr Lesley John Loy who passed away recently. I have two eulogies: one by Michael Loy, his eldest son; and the other by Paul Everingham at a church service in Darwin. It is unlikely that I am going to be able to read these eulogies into Hansard. If I cannot finish them, I seek leave to have them incorporated into Hansard.
Leave granted.
Dr LIM: Thank you. I will read from Michael Loy’s eulogy:
- Les was born at Nicholls Point on 11 August 1929 to John (Jack) and Amy (nee Hensgen) Loy. He was the eldest of
four boys born between 1929 and 1936. Through his childhood years, he lived on an eight-acre block on which they
tended cattle.
Through the tough Depression years, the family survived on picking grapes, fishing, rabbiting and a little rustling of
the next door neighbour’s sheep. I recall many years later asking Dad how they could afford so many lamb dinners in
those days. He responded that the neighbour helped himself and so did we. To this day, Dad could not eat rabbit.
I have a story myself to tell about Les when he and I travelled to Hong Kong together and we had some very special Chinese dishes. I will come back to that if I have time.
- Though nothing has been said, the war years must have been tough, as Dad’s father enlisted in 1940 and was not de-mobbed
until 1945. During this time, Amy tended the family and was the bread winner.
- At the age of 19, Les married his partner for life, Marie Therese McCarthy, on 11 June 1949. They have four children: Michael
born in 1952; Annette born in 1957; David born in 1964; and Patricia born in 1968. Sadly, Patricia was involved in a car accident
and pre-deceased Les. At the time of his death, he had four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Les’ long-time relationship with Reg Ansett started in Mildura, working as a secretary at Mildura Bus Lines. Part of his day was to
drive the bus to the depot from home along a bus route, picking up passengers, working the day at the office, and doing the same
thing on the way home. His brother Des, re-tells the story of a particular drunk called Paddy. Paddy used to be a nuisance with
the ladies. Les’ bus was equipped with a microphone, so Les called through it: ‘If you don’t behave, you’ll be in real trouble’.
Paddy, thinking it was the voice of God, never again gave trouble.
From there, Les and family moved to Hamilton, where Les became the personal secretary to Ansett in 1956. In 1958, the family
moved to Adelaide, as Dad took on running Ansett Pioneer Express for Reg. Reg must have thought a bit of Dad, as I remember
Reg Ansett inviting Dad and I to a test match in Adelaide in the late 1960s to watch the West Indies. What sticks in my mind was
Reg had hosties coming in with sandwiches; he catered airline food.
Cricket was one of Les’s great loves. He loved it all except Shane Warne. He came from a family of sportsmen. I have a photo of
the Irymple 11 in the 1950s, where there are eight Hensgens and Les in the same team. Dad often said his Uncle Les was the
best batsman who never played test cricket. In those days, you had to live in the city or be wealthy to play test cricket. Dad was a
fine bowler of repute. I remember, in 1970, as captain of the Railways Cricket Team in Alice Springs, at the age of 41, in 40o heat,
he took 7 for 14 in a season final.
Les was a natural sportsman who could play anything. He loved golf, and got down to a handicap of about 6, but could have played
much lower if he could have found time to play more often. I remember being in a Summer Nine competition, with John Ryan as
my partner, and Dad was in the group behind. There was a shout of ‘fore’ and Dad hit over the green. A character called Keith
(the Rajah) Lomas, conned Les into playing bowls with him. They won the Territory championship.
Approached by a consortium including Stan Cawood, John Ryan, Noel Buntine and others, Les took up the offer to run
Territory Transport, so the family moved to Alice Springs in 1960. Les gave the business four years and, in that period,
turnover increased from 1m to 3.5m. When he left their employ, he was given the car he was using, the house he was living
in, and the Olympic Tyre agency. I guess he must have done a good job.
My memories in those early days was of Aboriginal artists like Claude Panka and the Namatjira sons coming to his door
selling paintings. Then he gave them away to every travelling rep who came through. It was not too much later in life that
I came to realise that this was his way of putting money into the hands of Aboriginal people, when the country was still
administering indigenous people under the Department of Aboriginal Welfare.
Les then went out on his own, forming the business Alice Springs Mercantile Agency. Les took on and developed the Neptune
service station, later Shell Todd, Beaurepaire Tyres, the Nissan/Datsun dealership and, eventually, Alice Springs Real Estate.
This evolved to ASREAL, and eventually this merged to be part of LJ Hooker, Alice Springs. Until his death, Les held Real
Estate Agents Licence No 1.
Les was instrumental in a large number of developments, often unacknowledged, except by those who knew him. There are people
here today who know that he developed ways to get them out of trouble. Les’ great attribute in business was that he was a lateral
thinker. He kept thinking up ideas and schemes, often for others, without personal reward. He was involved in the development
of Yeperenye, the Western Precinct and practically every major building in town, including Helm House, Heenan House and
the FAI building. He was the consultant to the developers of the Golf Course Estate. He was instrumental in the development
of all of Sadadeen, Araluen, Geeenleaves, and about 80% of Larapinta land developments.
Les became involved in politics and public office. He was a member of the Town Management Board, the predecessor to the
town council, an alderman from 1980 to 1984, and was Deputy Mayor in 1981. Friend, Hermann Weber, recalled that he and
Les campaigned under the banner ‘Older Men for Aldermen’, with Peter Sitzler as the campaign manager. They lost, but Les got
in next time, and Hermann in a by-election. Les was involved in the formative years of the Country Liberal Party, which originated
in 1974 at a meeting at Damien Miller’s residence.
The ceremony was held at the OLSH Church, where Michael said:
- We are in one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Les helped build this church. He and Father Jimmy Dwyer raised the
money through lotteries and some more dubious methods. He spent years of hard sweat and tears fundraising, cajoling and
running a lottery to raise funds necessary to build this church. I recall Peter and Paul Sitzler built it at cost or less, and they
were non-Catholics. I do recall that Les was given the honour of being the first lay person to read in a Mass as a consequence
of his contributions.
- There is so much to say, I think the words of Darwin trainer, Anne-Marie White, at the recent Alice Springs Cup Carnival sums
it up:
- Les has given so much to the racing industry, mere words cannot express my gratitude.
Steven Smedley, current Alice Springs Turf Club Manager, also said:
- He is not only remembered for his great service to the Alice Springs Turf Club, but was actively involved in all NT racing.
Les was a life member of the club, and chairman of the club for a period of 10 years, as well as being a committee
member on many other occasions. Who can forget the pleasure of Doright, the pocket dynamite, going past the winning
post with my brother David on board?
- Marie and Les moved to Darwin in October 1995 on the family buying an interest in LJ Hooker Darwin. This was a move that
I do not think that anyone anticipated, as Alice was his home.
Here, one of what he considered one of his greatest achievements occurred. Through negotiation for and behalf of the Larrakia
people, he was able to extinguish native title on land to enable the development of freehold land sufficient for the needs of
Palmerston for 20 years. He was appointed to the inaugural board of the Larrakia Development Cooperation. He was quite
proud of the fact that he thought he had become an honorary Aboriginal. This was the model that enabled the recent
Larapinta land release on behalf of the Lhere Artepe people.
Dad passed quietly and without pain in the Calvary Hospital Mary Potter Hospice early Sunday morning, 5 June 2005.
I recall Les’ idiosyncrasies with food. He was very much into Australian food but not, obviously, rabbit. He and I travelled to Hong Kong together in the late 1980s where he was introduced to some snake soup. He thought that it was lovely and had a couple of helpings of it, not realising what the soup contained. When we was later told that it was snake, he made a beeline for the nearest toilet he could find to get rid of it. Whenever we met at social functions, we would talk about that experience and he would rue the day that he went to Hong Kong to taste different foods there.
Out of the eulogy that was delivered by Paul Everingham, someone who has known him for many years, Paul had this to say:
- Les Loy was a remarkable man and a proud Territorian. More importantly, he was a loving and loyal husband and father, and
a good provider for his wife - his child bride, Marie, who has been by his side since their married on 11 June 1949 - and his
family. Looking at Les’ life from my vantage point of 60 years, I can now unhesitatingly say that, in my view, his proudest
achievement was his long and successful union with Marie, blessed by four children, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Then he went on to say:
- We have talked too, he and I, of achievements of his children and how their successes have done him and Marie proud. How
loving the whole Loy family was in maintaining constant bedside vigil in those final sad weeks at Calvary Hospital. Marie was by
his side for weeks on end and the family rostered itself so that there was always at least one of the children or their partners
there to provide love and support.
Talking about Les and what he knew about him, Paul said this:
- It is appropriate for those who have only known Les since his move to Darwin in 1995 when the Loy family took over LJ Hooker
Real Estate operation here, that I go back a while and give you some background on this real Territory character. Les could often
find a biting remark if he thought the occasion warranted it. But underneath his sometime stern exterior, he was at once both warm
and friendly. He just hated bureaucrats and has been telling them so ever since I first knew him. He told me so, as well, when I
was in politics, with just as much force.
- I can remember our first meeting in Alice Springs …
Paul said:
- … getting close to 40 years ago now. Les had an agency business which he operated out of the Todd Driveway. Real estate in
the Territory was not the business then as it is today. Anyway, there we were, our first meeting, me a fresh-faced young lawyer.
I look around his office and recognised a familiar signature in a frame on the wall. It was a letter from one of our local JPs refusing
to pay for a mower he had bought from Les. Les knew we would not be able to sue him successfully, so he just framed the letter
and put it on the wall. That was Les; he would take on the powers-that-be if they got in his way.
- Then, at a time when most people except John Howard are thinking of retirement, Les upped stakes and moved to Darwin to
take up the LJ Hooker business.
You have heard the story about that and how he then went to develop land with the Larrakia people. That is one of the biggest success stories about land release in the Northern Territory, where indigenous people now have ownership of a lot of private land. Anyway, in his concluding comment Paul said:
- His greatest legacy is not his business achievements, significant as they are, but his many, many friendships right through the
Territory and elsewhere. There are many people who held him in high regard. On behalf of all those people, I extend to Marie
and the family our sympathy, friendship and support.
Madam Speaker, Les was real Territory character, a Centralian who has kept us all going with his skill, his enterprise, his entrepreneurship and, without him the Territory would not be what it is today. Vale, a very sincere Territorian.
Mr BONSON (Millner): Madam Speaker, today I put on record my thanks to the constituents of the Millner electorate. I was lucky enough on 18 June to be re-elected by those people who saw me as being a fit, worthy representative in this honourable House. The last four years has been an exciting time for me and the Martin Labor government and, no doubt, all my colleagues.
When I was first elected, my seat was actually the last that went to the Labor government to allow us to have a government in its own right. Mine become the 13th seat which held the balance or the majority within this House. At that time, I had to defeat an incumbent member who held a 9.6% margin, and we were able to achieve a 9.9%, nearly 10%, swing which, of course, down south is unheard of, but in a small electorate is possible to do. However, we were then the most marginal seat in the Northern Territory, holding the seat by a mere 81 votes.
My seat is unique in the sense that it is made up of very separate areas. One of the specific areas of its uniqueness, out of the urban seats held by the Martin Labor government in the northern suburbs, is that it was the only seat that had a 20% Defence Force family contingent in the RAAF Base making up 1000 votes. I was also the only indigenous member to hold a seat within an urban area and, as far as anyone can tell, it is the first time in history since Federation that an indigenous person was able to win a seat in an urban area. While 87% of my electorate is of non-indigenous background with most of those living in the suburbs of Millner, Ludmilla, and Coconut Grove, 13% is indigenous, in the communities of Bagot, Minmarama and Kulaluk. Therefore, for the Martin Labor government to win 19 seats on 18 June was a credit to many people.
There were many different aspects of the campaign that was run; the saying is ‘act global, think local’. What we were able to do was learn from our campaign strategies in the first campaign and implement them over four years. From being a seat that was the most marginal, to getting - I think the figure ends up around 16% swing on top of the 9.9% swing – a 25% swing in two elections is a fantastic result; a reflection on how we are going as a team and as a government, how the local member goes and, of course, how the communities have been able to get behind both individual groups.
First and foremost, one of the big reasons why we have been able to achieve such fantastic results is our Chief Minister at present is Clare Martin, the member for Fannie Bay. She does a fantastic job in articulating our goals as a government, as a group of people, in where we see the Northern Territory heading. We have all been amazed by the number of hours she has put in over four years. I have had two weeks holiday a year for four years, and I cannot remember the last day off I had this year. We have all worked those type of hours, and Clare works more on top of that. She does a fantastic job.
The dedication over the course of four years of the people on the fifth floor has been fantastic. The campaign they ran globally was magnificent, responsive to issues the opposition raised, but also gave a plan of where we are going in the future. Special thanks have to go to people like Adele Young who worked very hard with often little thanks; Fred McCue who was able to change the face of how the media viewed the Martin Labor government over the last two years; James Hook who was a fantastic source of knowledge for me; and all the other people on the fifth floor who work tirelessly behind the scenes. Some of those I will thank in my general thanks to everyone who helped in my electorate.
My family has played an important role in the history of Darwin. My grandmothers on my mother’s and father’s side were in this town when there were 200 people here. They can tell you fantastic stories about the pearling days, the opium dens of the Chinese miners, and all the history of Darwin. People who have been here for a long time know me, members of my family, or people who are associated with our family. There is not one person within my family that I cannot honestly say is a not good person. We take pride in the fact that, when we meet people, we try to sell Darwin as a place to live. Without their help, of course, on both my mother’s and father’s side of the family, I would not be here today.
As a local solicitor with a variety of different working experiences throughout Darwin as a barman, working for the Northern Land Council, NTU, etcetera, I have had an opportunity to see a vast variety of aspects of Darwin and, of course, through sporting connections. Many of those people turned out to help - not only Millner residents, but people from across Darwin.
Some of those I first want to thank are those who came into the office to help during the campaign period: Geoff Hull, John Martin, Kent Rowe, John D’Agastino and Joe Gallagher. They were magnificent. I am going to read the list of names, Madam Speaker, because every one of these people needs to be recognised. They letterboxed, they phone canvassed, they doorknocked, they did barbecues with me, etcetera: David Dalrymple; Charlie Marrengo; Chris Karaolias and Mr Karaolias, his father; Frank Moukaddem, a fantastic worker for the Australian Labor Party; Mike Nixon; Trish Schebella; Bronwyn Butler; Susie McGinn; Joseph Gallagher; Matthew Gardiner; John Oliver; Mark Ramjan; Michael Rees; Kenneth da Costa; Phillip Baban; Cameron MacMeikan; Pedro Dearaujo; Margit Lindburg; Michael Purcell; Jean Kelly; Uncle John Bonson; Ron Mitchell; Lesley Cameron; Robert Tindal; Patricia Anderson; David Cole; Ken Jackson; Joan Angeles; Thai Nguyen; Tuyet Tran; nephew Cowan Bonson; Steven Brennan; Rosanne Brennan; my sister Nicole Lewis; Michael McGregor; Peter O’Hagan; Julie O’Hagan; Michael Cubillo; Ronald Riddle; Cathy Spurr; Willy Markos; Darryl Spurr; Pat De Ramos-Bremond; Maureen Hack; Joseph Ah-Sam, Toni Ah-Sam and Aunty Denise, of course; my wife, Mona Lisa Bonson; Michael Lemmon; Wes Miller; Maree de la Cruz; Brett Walker; Paul Kane; Esther Egger, who is the chairperson of the local school council of Millner and she does a fantastic job in assisting me with her husband, Terry Lawler, and Glen Stanford.
Others who helped out, not only on the day but also doing the phone canvassing, the letterboxing and all the jobs it takes to run a local campaign are: Damien Zammit; Murray McLaughlin and Christine; Peter Mayo; Linda Bonson; Paul and Della Seden; Bronwyn Butler; John and Bettina Oliver; Darryl Spurr; Ron Mitchell and Elaine Hirst; Mike Purcell; Varenya from SDA; Fiona Hussin; Chris Baggley; Natasha and Judy Carne; Helen Fejo-Frith, the Vice President of Bagot Community; Darryl Cooktown, President of Bagot Community; Kevin and Betty Gould – Kevin being chairperson of the Seniors Hall at Coconut Grove, thank you for your help for the last four years, you have been magnificent; Donna Minchen, who is one of the tireless workers at Ludmilla Primary School; David Parfitt; Jason Bonson; Stuart O’Connell; Stuart Williams; Schultzy, Lushy, Dutchy, Matty Work and many of the other boys from the RAAF footy team - I just cannot think of them all - Stevo, Gino and all the rest of the gang; and Tank, thanks for your help; Lesley Cameron and Bob; Joe and Pacita Bonson, Aaron Small; Matthew Ah Mat; John Ah Mat; William Cole; Clinton Hoffman; Ziggy Vogt; Beau Carne; Damien Kneebone; Laura Hopkins; Shannon and Sally Tye; Tim Edwards and the kids; Paddy Edwards and the kids; Limpy Lyle; Dennis Lew Fat; Bob Hale and Bev; Tacky; John McLean; Mark Motlop; Patty Stevenson; Aggi and gang; and Helen Zahos and Tanya.
To Cathy Spurr, my campaign manager, I cannot forget. She does a fantastic job for me and really dots the i’s and crosses the t’s, and is also president of the NT Branch Australian Labor Party. We work well as a team in campaigns. She lets me do 90% of the things I want and pulls me up for the 10% of the things I need to be pulled up on, so that is fantastic.
I also thank Norm Hoffman; Anne-Marie Scholl; Tanya and Sheree McLeod; Anne-Marie McLeod, who does a fantastic job for me; Kane and Kirsty Bonson; Jacob and Shelley Bonson; Janet Roe; Maree De La Cruz; Yvette Carolin; Dennis and Liz Carolin; Richy Vogt and Cass; Sarah and Ziggy; Wes Miller and Amanda Hart; Ingvar Dryting and Tanyah Nasir; Michael McGregor; Mick Hartwell; Benny Ah Mat; Steve Lolias and Beckie Taylor; Matty Koulakis; Dookie Bonson, of course; Anne and John Wallace who manage the Rapid Creek Shopping Centre, and without their support at the Sunday markets in signage issues and all the other things they did for me, I would not be a success; Clem Chang; David and Josie Guy; Esther Carolin; Steve Brennan, Glen and Jacinta Stanford, Marian Paterson, Big Joe Gallagher; Jane Biddlecome - thanks Jane, again, when you appeared in my endorsement fliers every man between 16 and 55 really appreciated your smiling face; you do a lot of good work around the community, and I really thank you for your support; Aunty Nini; Donna Stokes; Tricia Stokes; Kon Lazarou; Kenny Namoa; and Wayne Connop, who does a fantastic job down at Bagot Community for me and I would like to thank him for that.
That is the list of the gang. If there is anyone I forgot to mention, forgive me. Obviously, I do this job as a responsibility and an honour for the people I believe that I represent; that is, the people who have born and bred locals in Darwin who have a lasting commitment to, not only Darwin, but the Northern Territory in general. It cannot be done without the combination of local knowledge, global campaigning. Obviously, in the last campaign, as I have mentioned before, the job Clare Martin did was fantastic. I know all my family and friends support the vision that she provides for us. We will keep, as the Administrator summed up in his address, everything that we stand for as a group of people - not only just as Australian Labor Party but as a government – and will continue to fight for it.
Over the next for years, some of the things that I have promised for the electorate, and we will ensure that we deliver, are in particular, the $1m upgrade to Millner School. That will be fantastic. There is $300 000 for Rapid Creek freshwater for environmental purposes; $1m for Kulaluk water drainage and environment issues; improving of Hazel Court, Reynolds Court, Bagot Road, Kulaluk access; landscaping Bagot Road; underground power in Millner; and many other things.
We ran a fantastic campaign. A 25% swing in two elections is a fantastic result. I thank everyone I have worked with for the last four years, and those I will work with in the next four years.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Millner, your time has expired.
Ms MARTIN (Fannie Bay): Madam Speaker, thanks to those who have been sitting patiently in the House for letting me just briefly adjourn tonight. I just wanted to put on the public record my thanks to the people who supported me on election day and did the hard work in the 19 days up to that election and before. I thank the people of Fannie Bay, the electorate that I have now been the member for - on the 17th it was 10 years, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Congratulations, Chief Minister.
Ms MARTIN: A decade as the member for Fannie Bay, and I could not feel prouder.
I would certainly like to thanks some of the people who really did do the shoe leather in and are probably now buying the next pair of joggers, and maybe even feeling a bit thinner after the exertions they did during the election campaign.
I thank my campaign team: Mark Hathaway, Mark Johnson, Scott Knight, Jess Horn, and Chris Grace. We had a great letterbox team, the ones who did all their shoe leather in, who delivered around eight flyers throughout the campaign period. I certainly want to thank them for their commitment and support: Charlie Fitzgerald, Betty Gould, John Edwards, Mary-Anne Meginess, John Pollock, Phil Roberts, Caroline Holdstock, Ron Weepers, Scott Knight, Kelly Bertei, Maureen O’Sullivan, Irene Stark, Doug Nisbet, Jane Barlow, Annette Milikins, Denis Carroll, Jo Parish, Janis Shaw, Louise Jones, Stephen van den Nieuwenhof and Maureen O’Sullivan. Oh, she got there twice – well, she must have worked twice as hard.
On election day, helpers who handed out were Christine Gray, Liz DeSailly, Jessica Horn, Mark Hathaway, Gerry Copeland, Helen Priest, Jean Vickery, Sue Coleman, Alan and Liza Day, Merilyn Barnes, Helen Haritos, Monica van den Nieuwenhof, Mark Johnson, Stan Phillips, and Nicole Reeves. To anyone I missed, thank you! I also thank my son, who decided he would do it this time, as well as his mate, James, who put in a sterling effort. A special thanks to Denis Carroll who helped set up the booth on Friday and who also spent Saturday driving the minibus and doing pick-ups of people who needed assistance to get to the poll.
Again, I thank the electorate of Fannie Bay for their ongoing support of me. I give a very strong commitment to continue working very hard for the electorate. As I said in the Address-in-Reply today, there are some great initiatives happening in the Fannie Bay electorate. When we talk about a $150m going towards schools and their improvements and upgrades over the next four years, there is a reasonable chunk of that that is being spent in the Fannie Bay electorate - and well deserved.
Parap Primary is a school I am incredibly fond of. My children went there. I have been on the school council now for 13 years. I have a very vested interest. We had the pennant awards for the last day of school last Friday. I had the pleasure to present those awards and would like to share with the House the names of students who received them, because they were very proud and there was a whole range of proud parents there as well.
Amanda Williams for always achieving her personal best; Oliver Elias for outstanding effort in all subject areas; Seileshia Calma-Goodrem for a great effort; Piers Coulter for an excellent effort in all writing activities this term; Hannah French for a great improvement in writing and confidence in all areas; and Jay Blazely for a big improvement in work and attitude - some of these are just tiny kids and they wander up to the stage and look absolutely overwhelmed at getting a pennant, but it is lovely; Eamon Saunders for becoming a responsible and reliable class member; Isabelle Billias for high achievement in story writing; Thomas Clarke for outstanding effort with literacy this term; Alison Williams for outstanding effort in all areas and curriculum, Thalia Alexander for being a very hardworking student; Thomas Lawrie for a big improvement in writing - and his mother said it was an extraordinary improvement in writing; Jo Guthridge achieves an excellent standards all times; Jessica Henderson who also achieves an excellent standard at all times; Charlotte Guthridge for being a hardworking and friendly class member; Blake Harper for his friendly nature and wonderful attitude to school and learning; Hannah Cox for her mature attitude and cooperative abilities in everything she does; Andrew Frangoulis for excellence in all areas; Jean Harding for always attempting her personal best in all she does; Hannah Murphy for excellence in all areas; Chelsea Miller for great effort in all areas, always; Jack Townsend for great efforts in all areas, always; Patrick Schofield for hard work and a positive attitude; Lily Burrow for excellence in all areas; Shanice Sebastian for an excellent achiever; Kyle O’Keefe for a fantastic improvement; Jonathon Day for a quiet achiever who does his personal best; Tasia Twigg for a quiet achiever who does his personal best; Joseph Frigerio for excellent results this term; Jake Davis for improved results; Dominique Neaves for consistent hard work, beautiful manners and helpfulness in the classroom; Callan Summers for consistent hard work, beautiful manners and helpfulness in the classroom – and his Dad was very proud; Heidi West for always doing her personal best; and Stephan De Sylva for always doing his personal best.
It was a proud moment for all those students and their parents. For all those students now on holidays - some of whom were there welcoming the convoy of the V8s today - I hope you continue to enjoy a wonderful mid-semester break and, of course, the teachers also.
Now to a couple of things that I have done over the last couple of weeks. I had the pleasure of launching, on 19 June, a new book on Territory history by my friend and Fannie Bay constituent Claire Henty-Gebert. Paint Me Black is the story of Claire’s life with its triumph over adversity. It is also an important part of our history. Aboriginal Studies Press should be congratulated for continuing to publish and preserve the unique stories of our Territory families. Quite simply, it is a wonderful book with fantastic photos and a reflection of Claire’s amazing spirit. Peter and Sheila Forrest have long encouraged Claire to publish, and Peter wrote the foreword to the book Paint Me Black. The launch was a part of the WordStorm Festival and a celebration of writing in our region. It has been a long time in the planning by Claire, and I give her my congratulations for a terrific publication, and urge everyone who has an interest in our history, in those who were part of the Stolen Generation, to buy a copy and read Paint Me Black.
Finally, I want to share with the House a wonderful exhibition I attended at the Darwin Entertainment Centre’s exhibition gallery on Friday, 17 June by my friend, Cecily Bree. The exhibition started that night and ran for a week. Cecily is well known to us all. She has been working for the Territory arts community in both Alice and Darwin since the early 1980s. This exhibition, which she has been working on full-time for a while, featured paintings, ceramics and craft incorporating antique furniture, exploring things of emotion. Certainly, the emotion was there in a very powerful sense through all the works. Even better, the works were selling very fast. In all, a wonderful exhibition well attended by the arts community as well as - and this might be the relationship with her husband - many engineers. It is always interesting to get a group of people at an exhibition when you have this collective of engineers standing altogether. I encouraged them, even though they were engineers, to buy up well. It was a diverse group at the exhibition and I wish Cecily all the best. I hope she sells everything in sight and makes lots of money.
Mr KNIGHT (Daly): Madam Speaker, I would just like to make a brief adjournment speech about a couple of subjects to do with my electorate. One is the trans-Territory pipeline project, and also the election promise of the Labor government for the Port Keats road.
As we have heard recently, the TTP project has run into trouble, and it looks like the Blacktip gas coming onshore at Port Keats for this project may not happen. I am hopeful that future negotiation may make it happen. I have been involved in that project over the years with various people from Timber Creek through to Port Keats, Daly, Peppimenarti, and Palumpa, and I know that, as this news filters out to them, they will be genuinely upset. They were getting more and more excited as the project started to roll out and they started to have their meetings, and the land council briefed them. They put back their proposals and they were genuinely interested. The royalties from the use of their land was primarily going to go back into economic development for the clan groups, and for equity in the pipeline, and that was going to bring some long-term sustainability to the area.
I am still very hopeful that it will go ahead, but I am absolutely confident, as the Chief Minister stated earlier today, that gas will come onshore at some point in time. It is still there; it is not going away. The demand for gas worldwide will continue, and that gas will definitely come onshore at some point in time. I would like it to be with this project because it would have so much benefit for my electorate, as is the case with the members for Arafura and Nhulunbuy.
I will continue to keep the electorate briefed on it. Any opportunity I have to feed into any negotiations with Woodside or Alcan, I will gladly grasp. I hope Alcan takes into consideration the social benefits to Australians, if not first Australians, that this will have, as opposed to members of the Papua New Guinea community, who, I am sure, have their own issues. However, I represent the people of the Daly electorate and we look after Territorians and Australians first. I hope they take that into consideration, being a corporate citizen in the NT.
The other aspect to the project was the election commitment of the Labor government to the Port Keats road. We made an election promise of $10m to upgrade that road in partnership, we hoped, with the Commonwealth government and the TTP project. With those three partners, we hoped to get it quickly up to a stage of an all-weather road and, hopefully, sealed. Obviously, the TTP has run into trouble, but our money is there. It is staying there and is not going anywhere. It will be spent on that road. We are hoping that the Commonwealth government will come to the party with their share, as they should. As the Prime Minister indicated earlier this year, they are willing to participate in that road; they have been involved in the COAG trial at Wadeye, and they see that road as a huge part of changing the circumstances at Wadeye.
The road will not only benefit Wadeye. There is a range of communities along that road: outstations like Woodykupuldiya, Nemarluk, Merrepen, Emu Point, Palumpa, Peppimenarti, and the Daly community to name a few. There are people at Nauiyu who are from the other side of the river and who stay there for various reasons, one of which is the fact that they cannot get through in the Wet Season. It benefits all those people, and that is one of the primary reasons that election commitment came about.
As I said, the money is there and I will continue to be heavily involved in when and how that road is delivered. I am going to be all over the issue to ensure that it starts as soon as possible, and that all those stakeholders along that road have equal input into what should be done with it; what the money can do. They have the best knowledge. They have seen that road for countless decades and they know which creeks go out first, and what the money should be spent on first - if we only have the $10m, or if we have $20m or $30m with the Commonwealth government.
I will be heavily involved in it and I know it will bring benefits. The cost of living in Port Keats and along that road is huge because of the cost of freight during the Wet Season. It will mean a lot to the lifestyle of the people out there to change. Madam Speaker, I will be reporting regularly on the progress of it.
Ms McCARTHY (Arnhem): Madam Speaker, I would like to add to the member for Daly’s contribution in respect of the Alcan development. I would like to express the needs of the Arnhem electorate in wanting to be a part of the pipeline. They will be interested to see what developments go from here with regards to the pipeline, and if it can, at some stage, continue from Nhulunbuy across to Katherine. Following on further, with the member for Daly, there are many people who have put so much work into that pipeline occurring in Arnhem and in the Daly regions.
Second, I would like to mention two people I did not mention in my maiden speech yesterday, who are strong members of the Labor Party, who were greatly influential in my years at Booroloola and here in Darwin. The first is the former Labor leader, Maggie Hickey, who was a tremendous role model for women in the Barkly region and, certainly, for women in Booroloola. I would like to pay tribute to Maggie Hickey for the distances that she travelled in the Barkly electorate and the interest that she had for all people, in particular in Borroloola.
At the same time, I would also like to express deepest gratitude to Kerry Gardner, who I began to know when he travelled to Borroloola working alongside Maggie Hickey. I was very fortunate in the preparation of my campaign to join the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, to have Kerry as part of my support team. In fact, Kerry was the first person who took me out into the electorate and introduced me to the people of Groote Eylandt and spent a few days with me there. He also travelled with me to Milingimbi. To Kerry Gardner and Maggie Hickey, two very special people I hold dear in the Labor Party, thank you.
Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, before I adjourn the House, I place on the record my thanks to the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk of the House and staff of the Legislative Assembly. There has not been much time to put these first two days of the Assembly together, and I believe all honourable members will join with me in thanking the Legislative Assembly staff for a fantastic first two days of the Tenth Assembly.
Members: Hear, hear!
Motion agreed to; the Assembly adjourned.
Last updated: 04 Aug 2016